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| Sunday, February
18, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Promote homoeopathy: Governor Kangra team back from
Gujarat Melting glaciers threaten
floods Vora clarifies on
rallies Plea to withhold
panchayat poll |
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Thein Dam oustees await employment 10,000 descend on Solan for recruitment Stokes okays BCC list amid charges
The nuisance of polythene bags Hindustan-Tibet
road reopened HVP likely to
merge with Congress World congress in Palampur Charas worth Rs
1.2 crore seized
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Promote homoeopathy: Governor Shimla, February 17 He was inaugurating the 10th National Homoeopathic Conference organised by the Research Society of Homoeopathy here today. He lighted a lamp to mark the beginning of the conference and garlanded the portrait of Dr Samuel Hahnemann, founder of Homoeopathy. Dr Suraj Bhan said that homoeopathic system was generally known in urban areas particularly among the literate people. He said that homoeopathy was a boon for poor patients and
should be popularised among them so that they could benefit from this economical and effective system of medicine. He called upon homoeopathic societies and associations to give wide publicity to the programmes and treatment of homoeopathy. He assured them of government help in this regard. Dr Suraj Bhan assured the Research Society of Homoeopathy that he would take up their demand of opening a Homoeopathic Medical College at Shimla with the government. Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, while delivering the presidential address stressed on mutual respect and coordination among all. He said that the state government had brought out a document called health vision-2000 with a view to give new direction to health services in the state. He said that the government was committed for development of all systems of medicine in the state and had taken
effective steps in bringing them together. It was for the first time ayurveda doctors were being involved in all national health programmes alongside allopathic doctors. Mr Nadda said that the government was giving priority to promotion of Indian system of medicines. He assured full cooperation and assistance for development and popularisation of homoeopathy in the state. He said that he would sympathetically look into the demand of opening a Homoeopathic Medical College in the state and all assistance would be provided if some body from the private sector came forward for opening such an institution. Dr SPS Bakshi, President, Central Council of Homoeopathy, said that homoeopathy needed to be popularised in states of Himachal, J and K, Chandigarh and Haryana, which are lacking in this field. He said at least three Homoeopathic Medical Colleges in Himachal Pradesh were needed for which there was a great demand. Dr CP Singh, Chairman, Research Society of Homoeopathy underlined the need for establishing Homoeopathy Pharmacy College in the country. Dr Ranji Singh, vice president, CCH said that the council was taking a serious view about homoeopathic colleges which were not adhering to the laid procedures and standards. He said that to provide education and training in homoeopathy 160 homoeopathy colleges were being run in the country. Dr Anurudh Verma, organising secretary, raised the demand for establishing separate directorate of Homoeopathy in the state. About 350 Homoeopathy doctors, research scholars and students from all parts of the country are taking part in the two-day conference. |
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Kangra team back from
Gujarat Nurpur, February 17 A team of five club members headed by Mr Jyoti Sharma which returned from Bhuj told The Tribune that they reached Bhuj on January 30. They joined the rescue and relief operation at the Tekri area of Bhuj town where relief work had yet to start. Mr Sharma revealed that it was a heart rending scene of the death and destruction. In the Nachar complex and Jain Bhavan’s area four-storeyed buildings had collapsed and turned into rubbles. The club members along with volunteers of the VHP started the relief work. Hundreds of bodies were extricated from the debris of the collapsed buildings. During rescue operation the volunteers also saved the lives of five persons, including three kids, who had been trapped under the debris, Mr Sharma said. He pointed out that the volunteers had also assisted the dog squad of Switzerland and another team of the United Kingdom. The workers of the team had to spend their nights in open at Madapur, 8 km away from Bhuj. They also helped in the mass cremation of the quake victims at Bhuj. |
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Melting glaciers threaten
floods SHIMLA, February 17 According to an official study through remote sensing, almost all 335 glaciers in the Sutlej, Beas and Spiti basins are receding probably because of global warming. The threat from these artificial lakes is not immediate, but could cause much damage incase these burst anytime. In all, 164 deglaciated valleys covering an area of 133 sq. km have been mapped in the Sutlej basin where the total area under glaciers and permanent snow fields is estimated to be 2696 sq. km. The Barashigri glacier in Lahaul-Spiti is receding at an alarming rate of 10 metres a year. This is the second largest glacier in the world. Three artificial lakes have been created on the hills on top of the strategic Pangi valley road which are threatening it in case these burst and their waters came down swirling. Such lakes are considered unsafe as these contain a sufficient quantity of water for causing floods downstream. Rupturing of moraine dammed lakes can cause floods in the valleys. The volume of the lake in the Gepang Gath glacier in the Chandra basin was estimated to be 4.86 million cubic metres in 1976 and it increased to 7.56 million cubic metres in 1990 and 8.46 million cubic metres in 1998. Environmentalists have warned that the low lying areas might be devastated by flashfloods in case the process of melting of glaciers continued in the present manner. The study indicates that the aerial size of the lake created by the Gepang Gath glacier was 0.27 sq. km in 1976 which increased to 0.47 sq. km in 1998. Through remote sensing, 38 moraine dammed lakes have been mapped in the Beas and Sutlej basins, of which 14 are in the state. Bursting of any of these lakes could cause significant damage to
life, property and roads. Scientists have suggested that in order to assess the hazards from these lakes, it is very important to study all these lakes in detail. This will help in making the assessment of possible hazards and to suggest measures to avoid floods due to bursting of moraine dammed lakes. The size of the lake near another glacier was 0.30 sq. km in 1972 and has now grown to 1.22 sq. km. Another glacial lake on the Sissu Nullah was 0.27 sq. km in 1976 and it increased to 0.47 sq.km in 1998. The recent flashflood in the Sutlej,which claimed about 170 lives,is feared to have been caused either due to a cloud burst or breach of lake in the upper reaches. The Manali and Kulu areas suffered widespread damage due to a flashflood in the Beas and its tributaries a few years ago when the headquarters of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), which predicts such disasters, was itself devastated. |
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Vora clarifies on
rallies Shimla, February 17 This was said in a fax message by Mr Vora to the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, yesterday. The clarification of Mr Vora comes in the wake of a meeting of Mr Virbhadra Singh with the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi,whom he informed that the faction led by Mrs Vidya Stokes, PCC chief, had publicly been describing the Congress rally at Kannaid in the Mandi district as an act of indiscipline by Mr Virbhadra Singh and a private affair. The rally at Kannaid, in which about 15 legislators of the Congress participated, was organised to celebrate the victory of Mr Tek Chand, MLA, in the Supreme Court which set aside the order of the High Court setting aside his election in the Assembly from the Nachan constituency. It is learnt that Mr Virbhadra Singh told the central party leadership that by holding rallies at different places in the state, the party could in a befitting manner highlight the failures of the ruling BJP. Supporters of Mr Virbhadra Singh were in a upbeat mood following the clarification of Mr Vora and they alleged that the Stokes camp was twisting the instructions of the high command in a bid to belittle Mr Virbhadra Singh. In his earlier letter, Mr Vora had told the PCC chief that statements by senior leaders against each other were painting a very bad picture of the Congress before the electorate apart from demoralising the grassroot workers. |
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Plea to withhold
panchayat poll Kulu, February 17 A representation signed by 125 residents was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, alleging that the boundaries of the new panchayat created out of the old Tegubehar panchayat deviated from the one notified by the government. They said ward no. three and four were shown in the Tegubehar panchayat as per the government notification, whereas ward no. four had been detached from that and added to the Shurad panchayat. They alleged this was done to benefit some vested interests. They said earlier the Tegubehar panchayat was reserved for the Scheduled Castes this time, but it was again being made open and the new panchayat was now reserved for a Scheduled Caste president. The District Panchayat Officer said here today that the elections to panchayats of Sachani, Tegubehar, Shurad and Buai were postponed by the Election Commission. The Election Commission ordered to delimit the notified panchayats and reorganise them keeping in view the area and population. |
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Thein Dam oustees await employment Dalhousie, February 17 Thein Dam, now Ranjeet Sagar Dam, constructed by the Punjab Government on the river Ravi at Shahpur Kandi near Pathankot is expected to be commissioned soon. In all, 537 families belonging to Dalhousie tehsil in Chamba district were uprooted from the catchment areas which now stand submerged, but out of these, 319 families have so far not been provided employment. One of the oustees, Mr P.C. Oberoi, disclosed here yesterday that several representations had been made to the Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, but no action had been taken. Producing copies of letters exchanged between Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister, and Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, in which Mr Badal had agreed to provide jobs to remaining 319 affected families, Mr Oberoi said the commitment was being ignored by the government itself. Mr Oberoi asked the government to provide jobs to the left-out families. |
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10,000 descend on Solan for recruitment Solan, February 17 The three Dharamshalas here and other guest houses were packed to capacity. A jeep owner said the tarpaulin cover of his vehicle was missing and appeared to have been stolen by some miscreants for using as a blanket at night. Six other vehicle owners had the same complaint. There were reports of eve teasing and misbehaviour. Several shopkeepers said the police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to dispel unruly crowd from busy localities. However, the SP Mr Rakesh Aggarwal, and the ADM, Mr S.C. Kalsotra, denied it. Chaos prevailed at the recruiting grounds. The authorities who were to start conducting the tests at 8 a.m. did so at about 11 a.m. |
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Stokes okays BCC list amid charges Shimla, February 17 Mr Pratap Singh has been made president of the BCC while Mr Padam Singh and Mr Kewal Ram Chauhan have been made senior vice-president and treasurer respectively. A sitting MLA, Mr Yogendera Chandra, who represents the constituency, has been taken in the executive. The Virbhadra Singh camp has complained to the party high command that “fake” elections were held by supporters of the PCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, for the Chopal BCC. They have claimed that the elections held earlier were approved by the assistant returning officer and endorsed by the district returning officer. According to the list released to news persons here today, seven vice-presidents and an equal number of general secretaries and six joint secretaries have been appointed. The vice-presidents are Mr Jodh Ram, Mr Parmanand Tegta, Mr Puran Chand Sharma, Mr Jag Mohan Madhaik, Mr Ramesh Chauhan, Mrs Sumitra Tyagi and Mrs Bindra Chauhan. The general secretaries are Mr Keshav Ram Lodta, Mr K.C. Chandel, Mr Lachi Dhareula, Mr Sandeep Rator, Mr Devinder Aukta, Mr Balwant Negi and Mr Ram Lal Pandey. Mrs Stokes has also appointed five organising secretaries and 46 members of the executive. |
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The nuisance of polythene bags Parwanoo Polythene bags are found lying scattered on road sides, drains and on the slopes of hills, as there is no follow up after the campaigns. Such campaigns, it seems, are not a permanent solution to the problem. A resident of the town said that instead of these campaigns, more efforts should be made to make people aware of the harmful effects of polythene by cinema slides, group discussion in the schools and using posters and banners in public places. During the tourist season, the situation worsens as visitors throw polythene bags all over with impunity. People from nearby towns like Chandigarh, Ambala, Panchkula, Kalka, who are excussionists for a day leave the waste polythene bags lying along the National Highway. Chartered tourist buses which go to Shimla or to other tourist places in Himachal Pradesh also serve food on the roadsides and leave polybags, waste papers and other waste materials on the roadsides, which are washed away by the rain to the nearest rivers, nallas and pollute drinking water resources. Residents also do not dispose off waste polythene bags at the dustbins provided by the local Nagar Parishad and these are scattered around the dustbins. Stray cattle eat them and sometimes die of complications. The waste scattered by dogs and monkeys also becomes a nuisance and are an invitation to many diseases. The municipal bodies are also not able to collect the total waste generated in the towns. Hindustan-Tibet
road reopened Shimla, February 17 The highway was badly damaged following a flash flood in the Sutlej on August 1 last when several bridges and about 18 km of road were washed away. A spoksman of the project Deepak of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) said that the highway was completely repaired by yesterday and thrown open to traffic this morning when military and private vehicles were allowed to cross
Wangtu.The road was completely destroyed at 94 places The BRO has launched bailey bridges at five places to re-establish the road link. |
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HVP likely to
merge with Congress Shimla, February 17 It is learnt that the leaders of the HVP informally decided to merge their organisaiton with the Congress at a meeting at Bilaspur today. However, the modalities will be finalised in their next meeting here on March 9. Among those present at the meeting were Mr O.P. Rattan, president, and Mr Kewal Ram Chauhan. Mr Rattan told the TNS that most of the participants were in favour of merging the HVP with some national-level party. He refused to identify the party with which they were holding negotiations. Mr Rattan said a four-member committee headed by him, which was set up to explore the future course of action, submitted its report today and recommended that the merger should be with some national party because of the changed political scenario in the country. |
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World congress in Palampur Shimla, February 17 The seminar is being organised by the world environment foundation which aims at minimising the catastrophic effect of environment problems in pursuit of the creation of wealth. A spokesman of the foundation said that Palampur has been selected as the venue for holding the third world congress because of its outstanding beauty and majestic
splendour. |
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Charas worth Rs
1.2 crore seized Parwanoo The market value of the charas has been estimated to be Rs 1.2 crore in the international market. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act. |
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