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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
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Chamba
SENTENCED: Mr P.D. Goel, Special Judge, Chamba on Saturday convicted Kundan Lal Soga, the then Superintendent of Block Development Office, Mehla, and Rajendra Kumar, ex-vice Chairman, Block Samiti, Mehla, for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. and sentenced them accordingly.Mandi
URGED: The advisory committee of the Mandi Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd has urged the Mandi MP, Ms Pratibha Singh, to help expedite the appointment of a full-time administrator and book those responsible for committing irregularities in the bank. In a six point memorandum addressed to Ms Pratibha Singh here on Friday, the members urged the MP to take up the matter with the Chief Minister. Nahan
RECOVERED: The Nahan police recovered 37 alive oxen, including one dead, from three trucks at Judda Ka Johar here on Saturday. According to information, the oxen were reportedly brought from Punjab. Six persons were arrested in this connection. A case has been registered. DEAD: Amar Nath (50), a resident of Gojar Adyan village, was reportedly beaten up to death by Babu Ram and his two sons here on Friday. His dead body was recovered from a nearby forest on Saturday. The accused had reportedly fled from their village. It is said illicit relations of the deceased with a woman related to one of the accused was the reason of the murder.
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Regional potpourri |
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Desperately seeking young MPs
Even though Himachal Pradesh has a high literacy rate with excellent human development indicators, issues like female foeticide and the health of women and children need to be addressed by involving young parliamentarians.The Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (HPVHA), Shimla, has decided to involve MPs so that adequate attention can be paid, both by the government as well as the public, to these problems. The three states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan will review the implementation of the action plan formulated at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development. "It is by involving young parliamentarians like Pratibha Singh in HP, Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan and Shelja Kumari in Haryana that an attempt will be made to address the state-specific problems pertaining to health, education or socio-economic issues," feels Rajan Mahajan, Executive Director, HPVHA. A workshop will be held here to invite suggestions from government officials, social workers and NGOs on these problems in view of the fast-changing demographic indicators. "It is high time that we look back and introspect into our successes and failures so that in future we adopt a strategy that is most effective and suitable," he points out. He says the declining sex ratio in Himachal Pradesh is one problem which can have serious implications on the overall socio-economic scenario in the coming years. "If corrective measures are not taken now the situation is bound to go from bad to worse, as has been the case in the last two decades," he emphasises. He feels that the policy- makers should not pursue the two-child family norm as it is adversely affecting the sex ratio, especially amongst the weaker sections. Even though Himachal has an excellent Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), issues like widespread anaemia among women, malnutrition and breast feeding of a mere 15 per cent infants need to be looked into. In the field of education, recent figures indicate a high dropout rate among girls after primary school. "Another thrust area should be streamlining of family life (sex) education in schools so that adolescents can be guided to become responsible citizens," he adds.
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Drowning GLORY
Like the other kids of his locality, he used to swim in the western Yamuna Canal for fun and frolic. Now, at 36, Sukhram, a resident of Vishwakarma mohalla in Yamunanagar, jumps into the waters mostly to fish out dead bodies or save people from drowning. This man, who barely makes both ends meet by working at a furniture shop, has virtually given a new lease of life to 15 persons who had jumped into the canal to end their lives. These feats have made him hugely popular among the cops, who need his assistance every now and then. It all started some 18 years ago, when while sitting on the banks of the canal he saw a woman jumping into it from a bridge. "I do not know what made me jump into the water, but after struggling for about half an hour, I brought her out alive", he remembers. Since then, he has been jumping into the waters either to rescue drowning persons or dead bodies. He was promised a government job as a 'reward' for saving so many lives. But it has not materialised even after two years. "Even the persons I saved did not come back to thank me. I have the addresses of some of them", says Sukhram. During the previous Independence Day celebrations, the district administration had honoured him with a cash award of Rs 2,000. But he has not been given any commendation certificate so far. "The government may not reward me, but God has already blessed me and my wife," he says. They became the proud parents of a boy after 10 years of marriage. "The doctors had said that my wife would never be able to bear a child. Perhaps, the blessings of the parents of those whom I saved made our wish come true," he
philosophises.
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Brazil boundPushkar Kashmiri, a dental surgeon based in Dharamsala (HP), has been selected as a member of a group study exchange team for Brazil. Rotary International gives this opportunity to those young professionals who're making significant contribution to their profession as well as to social work. The Rotary Governor, Dr Veena Mishra, had recommended his name along with that of four other youngsters. Pushkar is reportedly the only dentist who has performed a rare surgical operation without proper instruments. He is the only dental surgeon whose services have been recognised by the Rotarians. He says that his main aim is to gain more knowledge about his profession and help those people who cannot afford expensive treatment.
Contributed by Nishikant Dwivedi, Pratibha Chauhan and Ranju Aery
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