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Tuesday,
January 29, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Short circuit caused fire at Kasauli
Club
Shimla areas remain cut
off HP Civil Supplies Corp sales up |
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Telephone density up in Himachal Permit 3-storeyed houses in Shimla, demand residents
Youth Congress holds protest rally
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Short circuit caused fire at Kasauli
Club Kasauli, January 28 Stating this, the club secretary, Col Karnail Singh, said an inquiry had been conducted by Col Darshan Singh as per the instructions of the club Chairman, Brig V.S. Tonk. The inquiry had looked into various aspects of the fire that broke out in the historic 121-year-old Kasauli Club on the night of January 11. The report has also pointed out that no water was available in the fire tender of the Cantonment Board which arrived at the club around 11.30 on that night. The fire was first noticed in room Nos. 16 and 17 by the club watchman, Des Raj, who immediately informed other watchmen and the police authorities there. Before the rooms caught fire there was a sudden suspension of electricity supply in two rooms on the front of the club. The report has also stated that the Army men staying nearby were the first to reach the spot and a message was flashed through the Army exchange to all Army men to immediately reach the spot with fire-fighting equipment. The fire tenders from Parwanoo and Solan reached at 1 a.m. and doused the fire around 4 a.m. Meanwhile, people present there were able to retrieve some furniture from the front lounges and documents from the secretary’s office. The furniture was stacked in club rooms on the other side of the road at night. The police is yet to submit its report. Cinder samples from various parts of the club have been sent to the forensic laboratory by the police to ascertain the cause of the fire. An engineer from the Electricity Department has also been entrusted with the task of enquiring into the cause of fire incident. |
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‘Love in Simla’ inspired
Uteem Shimla, January 28 Mr Vijay Kumar, Indian High Commissioner to Mauritius, who accompanied the President, said Mr Uteem had often expressed desire to visit Shimla. Although he visited India earlier in 1993 and 1997, he could not realise his dream. This time, despite a hectic schedule, he made it a point to visit Shimla. The snowfall in the region in the past few days made his visit a memorable one. He said India had announced $ 1 million assistance to Mauritius to help it cope with the devastating cyclone, which hit the country 10 days ago. The assistance would be provided in the form of equipment and commodities required for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. The telecom and power supply networks and agriculture crops had been devastated. The country would require a lot of items, including fruits and vegetables, he added. Mr Vijay Kumar said the issue was discussed at a meeting between Mr Uteem and Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, at the dinner hosted by the Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan, at the Raj Bhavan last night. Himachal Pradesh could supply items like potato, apple, juices and other fruit products under the assistance package, he added. He said Mauritius and India had very close relations and over 68 per cent of the former’s population was of Indian origin. A large number of Indian tourists visited Mauritius. India mostly got pilgrims from Mauritius. Mr Vijay Kumar said India could take steps to attract more tourists from the islands by working out package tours.
Kashmiri embroidery fascinates
Zohra Shimla, January 28 While the President, Mr Cassam Uteem, stayed back in hotel, Ms Uteem, accompanied by her daughter, Ms Dilshad, daughter-in-law, Ms Nadira, and eight-year-old grand-daughter, Shadia, came to the Mall early this morning in biting cold and visited two shops, exclusively trading in women garments. They went for only Kashmiri embroidered garments and shawls. They purchased shawls, embroidered women suits and Kashmiri jackets worth about Rs 20,000 from the “Shahzadi” showroom. White was their favourite colour, particularly for shawls, and they also purchased dresses in black and blue colours. The stitching of the suits will be got done at Mauritius in their traditional manner. Ms Uteem and her entourage also visited another shop, but did not make any purchase there. The authorities had got three famous shops on the Mall opened early in the morning to enable the VVIP visitors to do the shopping. Ms Poornima Chauhan, secretary of the state Election Commission, who was attached with the First Lady, said she purchased Kashmiri garments last evening also soon after their arrival here. Mr Uteem and his family members made a surprise visit to the railway station to see the vintage steam engine of 1905 and the toy train which runs on the Shimla—Kalka narrow gauge section. They got themselves photographed in a compartment of the Shivalik Express and showed interest in the steam engine as there are no railways in Mauritius. They visited the historic Viceregal Lodge and saw the room where the Partition of India was signed in 1947. They showed keen interest in going around the rooms of the then Viceroy and the Lady Viceroy. Mr Uteem also went around the library which has a collection of over two lakh books. They had yesterday visited Mashobra to see the snow and did not miss an opportunity to throw snowballs on each other. The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, told Mr Uteem that he was lucky to see the snowfall as well as the bright sunshine thereafter during his visit here. Mr Uteem along with his family members flew over the town on their way to Chandigarh from where they flew to Udaipur. They were seen off at the airport by Mr Dhumal and senior functionaries of the state government. |
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Shimla areas remain cut off Shimla, January 28 Normal life was disrupted in tribal districts of Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur and Pangi valley in Chamba district due to heavy snowfall. People in the tribal areas groaned in piercing cold conditions with the temperature hovering around minus 25°C in these areas. Several areas in Shimla district, including Khadapathar, Theog and Narkanda, were cut off beyond Kufri due to heavy snowfall on the 320-km Hindustan-Tibet road. Vehicular traffic for Rampur has been diverted via Basantpur. The capital town of Shimla and its adjoining areas reeled under intense cold wave with the mercury falling below zero in the night. Water taps froze in some localities and roads in certain areas were closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall. The Sun played hide-and-seek during the day and afforded little warmth to the people.
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Hoteliers rejoice
over snowfall Kumarhatti, January 28 Yesterday’s snowfall came as a surprise to tourists. A majority of them who were heading for Shimla preferred to indulge in revelry on the snow-covered highway near
Barog. Tourist vehicles parked outside roadside hotels and restaurants caused minor traffic problems, particularly at Dharampur. During the past two days, on the stretch of the highway between Parwanoo and Barog revelers could be seen dancing near their parked vehicles. |
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HP Civil Supplies Corp sales up Shimla, January 28 The sales of the corporation have increased from Rs 14.28 crore in 1981-82 to Rs 308.24 crore in 2000-2001. Apart from the essential commodities, it had been supplying CGI sheets, LPG, medicines, cloth and other items through its network of 102 wholesale godowns, 126 retail outlets, 33 gas agencies, 21 medicines retail shops and three petrol stations. But for the corporation the tribal and far-flung areas would have been deprived of these commodities, as private entrepreneurs were reluctant to open business outlets in these areas. The corporation is also supplying cement, nutrition items, medicines, mid-day-meal rice and GI pipes to various government departments. The corporation earned a profit of Rs 294.04 lakh last year. The sale targets for the year 2001-2002 have been fixed at Rs 264 crore. To provide essential commodities at nominal rates to the people, the targeted public distribution system has been launched in the state. Under this system, 2,19,481 below poverty-line and 9,43,230 above poverty-line families are being supplied essential items. Under the BPL scheme, the corporation has distributed 1,27,478 quintals of rice, 15 kg per family, per month at the rate of Rs 6.90 per kg. Similarly, 11,13,502 quintals of wheat have been distributed to 2,19,481 BPL families at the rate of Rs 5.15 per kg. The poorest-of-the-poor families among the BPL have been covered under the Antyodya Anna Yojna. In all, the corporation has distributed 76,085 quintals of rice, 15 kg per family, per month at the rate of Rs 3 per kg and 53,537 quintals of wheat 10 kg per family, per month at the rate of Rs 2 per kg so far. The Anna Purna Anna Yojna being implemented in the state since April, 2000, for providing food security to the elderly destitute citizens aged 65 and above who are eligible for old-age pension under the National Old-Age Pension Scheme, but are not getting the same. As many as 6,373 such beneficiaries have been identified in the state. The mid-day meal scheme is being run in all blocks of the state and the Civil Supplies Corporation has been providing 76,353 quintals of rice per month for schoolchildren under this scheme. Under the food-for-work scheme, rice is being provided as part of wages earned by labourer engaged in various departments at the rate of Rs 6.90 per kg. The corporation had distributed 63,770 quintals of rice up to October last. The corporation is also providing medicines round the clock at district and subdivisional headquarters through 21 retail shops in the state. During the current financial year, it has sold medicines to the tune of Rs 6.15 crore. |
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Telephone density up in Himachal Shimla, January 28 Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, while presiding over a function to mark the occasion said that the achievement was remarkable in view of the fact that the telephone density in the country was only three. He said at present 13,760 villages had the telephone facility, the remaining 3165 would get it soon. Besides, over 5000 km of optical fibre cable had been laid in the state and work to lay another 2000 km was underway. The Videsh Sanchar Nigam, he said, had assured to start mobile phone services in the state by the end of this financial year. He said the facility should be provided in villages too. Mr N.S. Gill, Chief General Manager, Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam, Himachal circle, said the target to provide 90,000 new telephone connection had been fixed. He said as many as 104 villages would be provided telephone facility through satellite. |
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Permit 3-storeyed houses in Shimla, demand residents Shimla, January 28 They emphasised that by restricting the number of storeys to two, building a house had become a costly proposition due to high price of land and construction. They said the government should instead ensure that the buildings were designed properly by incorporating earthquake resistant features. |
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Youth Congress holds protest rally Chamba, January 28 Addressing the rally, Mr Harah Mahajan, local MLA and general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), charged the BJP-led government in the state with corruption, nepotism and regionalism. He also accused the BJP government of putting unnecessary burden on poor people of the state implementing increased rates of water, electricity and user charges. Mr Nardev Kanwar, general secretary of the state unit of the HPYC, lambasted the BJP-led government for its failure in wiping out unemployment. Other leaders of the District Youth Congress also addressed the rally and pledged to rout the BJP in the ensuing Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. |
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