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Virbhadra-Dhumal fight gets personal
Dhumal dares CM to hold fresh elections
20,000 Tibetans stand to lose ration cards
Turbines of Nathpa-Jhakri project face corrosion
Himachal second most literate state
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Mahabharata epic in Kuluvi language
Kulu, October 25 Amidst Dasehra festivities, Kulu people will now have the Mahabharata epic in the Kuluvi language written by a local octogenarian writer Lal Das Pankaj, which will be released by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, during the closing day of Dasehra.
Youth wanted in Anoo incident arrested
One killed as truck falls into khud
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Virbhadra-Dhumal fight gets personal
Shimla, October 25 With the name of a son of former Chief Minister Dhumal figuring in the list of petrol pump allottees, it seems the political waters will turn murky. Reacting sharply to the personal allegations levelled against him by the Chief Minister, Mr Dhumal today said he had not wanted to indulge in politics of personal allegations, but now his patience had given way. “My son did get a petrol pump allotment in open competition from Punjab, but I have specific information that children of some ministers in the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh have got similar allotments during the past three months,” he remarked. Coming out in defence of his son, Mr Dhumal said Mr Virbhadra Singh had his facts incorrect as his son, Anurag, was a bona fide resident of the state but had business in Punjab; he was eligible to apply for a petrol pump in that state, which had also been upheld by the Supreme Court, he declared. He said he was in favour of a public debate to decide if family members and relatives of people in public life were entitled to apply for a petrol pump or a gas agency. Lashing out at the Chief Minister, Mr Dhumal said, “Those who lived in glasshouses should not throw stones at others”. “Was no other advocate in Himachal more competent than the daughter of Mr Virbhadra Singh for the post of Additional Advocate-General?” he questioned. He went on to say that a Chief Minister who accepted only Re 1 as salary should tell the public how he was meeting the expenditure of running his household. Hurt by Mr Virbhadra Singh’s statement that misusing the office of Chief Minister for a small favour like a petrol pump reflected “petty mentality,” Mr Dhumal said he did not have a royal lineage to have land worth crores transferred in his name, nor had he sold government land to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. Without naming anyone, Mr Dhumal said he would come out with details about the property and income of certain Congress leaders who had repaid their loans to the tune of Rs 15 lakh within a short period and were paying for the education of their three children in public schools. “We will shortly expose all these Congress leaders who claim to be the most honest, and point fingers at others,” he said. |
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Dhumal dares CM to hold fresh elections
Shimla, October 25 Addressing a press conference here today, he said if the chief minister had so much faith in the performance of his government and his own credibility and honesty, he should hold fresh elections. “I am surprised how Mr Virbhadra Singh can term the BJP’s victory in Guler solely due to sympathy factor, when it failed to work in case of Baijnath byelection after the demise of the Congress leader, Mr Sant Ram,” he quipped. He added holding of fresh elections will prove how satisfied people were with the performance of the Congress government. “The kind of statements Mr Virbhadra Singh is making these days is a clear reflection of the state of mind he is in due to the political crisis he is facing and the severe financial crunch being faced by the government,” said Mr Dhumal. The former chief minister, demanded that there should be a CBI inquiry into the distribution of industrial plots and industrial furnace licenses given by the government after the announcement of the new industrial package. “If Mr Virbhadra Singh is so confident of the honesty and integrity of his government he should immediately hand over the inquiry to the CBI so that the truth comes out,” he remarked. Mr Dhumal said the electorate of Guler had voted against the inefficient, corrupt Congress regime where nepotism, exploitation and failure to protect the interest of the state was rampant. “Even Mr Chander Kumar, whose son lost the Guler byelection had said that it was not the defeat of Neeraj but of the state government,” said Mr Dhumal. He said Mr Virbhadra Singh had gone to the extent of terming former Union Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar, as a spent force, but now it is for one and all to see that his presence in Guler did help the BJP win the election. “Though it is the internal matter of the Congress but it is very natural for every political party to do introspection and find out reasons for defeat,” said Mr Dhumal. |
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20,000 Tibetans stand to lose ration cards
Dharamsala, October 25 Even though the order specifies that refugees cannot be issued ration cards, considering that Tibetans have been enjoying this status for nearly three decades now, the Food and Supplies Department has taken up the issue with the Centre for clarification. “It is a piquent situation,” said Mr Balbir Sinha, Joint Director, Food and Supplies Department, Shimla. “While issuing the PDS Control Order, the Government of India had said further modalities about the issuance of ration cards would be specified by the state government. Consequently, the Specified Articles Regulation of Distribution Order was notified last year. This is for the first time that new ration cards are being issued after the notification was issued,” he added. The order, says Mr Sinha, states that the ration card is a legal document and should therefore be issued to only specified people. “Now we have taken up the issue with the Government of India and things like whether or not refugees can be included in this would be clear only after getting the clarification,” he said. When contacted, Mr Sonam, in charge, Tibetan Welfare Office, said they were yet to receive any such written order. “Most of the members of the Tibetan community use the cards and we will definitely request the government to reconsider any decision to leave us out. We have been getting the facility for several years,” he added. “Till now, ration cards with validity period of one year were being issued to nearly 10,000 Tibetans within Dharamsala itself. Although some Tibetans have talked about they being refused ration, there has been no formal complaint to us so far on this issue,” he added. According to an official of the Food and Supplies Department, even though many Tibetans are still using their expired ration cards to get ration and gas cylinders at subsidised rates, the department is waiting for a go-ahead from the Centre to implement the new orders. “The department does not want to enter into any trouble on the issue. A reply to the letter sent to the Government of India is expected next week. No decision would be taken till then,” he added. |
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Turbines of Nathpa-Jhakri project face corrosion
Shimla, October 25 The very first monsoon after the commissioning of the country’s largest hydroelectric project saw the breaking down of four of the six units and while others suffered extensive damage. The fact that is bothering the engineers is that certain parts like runners, guide vanes, labyrinth seat and cheek plates are getting damaged. In such a situation it may not be possible to utilise the full generation capacity during the rainy season, when sufficient discharge is available to run all six units. There has been a shortage in generation of about 100 crore units , including about 30 crore units due to shut down in the wake of the Parchu blockade, from April to October 15 this year. The engineers are now busy finding ways and means to enhance the life of such parts so that the project could be operated at full capacity during the peak season from May 15 to September 15. The experts of the Norway-based General Electric Hydro company which supplied the turbines have suggested that the parts prone to damage by silt be coated with tougher materials. Initially parts of two turbines were coated with plasma nitride but it proved counterproductive and the corrosion was even faster. Subsequently, a cobalt based tungsten carbide compound coating was used. While the parts manually coated by the compound did not last more than two months, those coated mechanically suffered minimal damage. The engineers now plan to coat the damage-prone parts of all the generating units but it will take time. Besides, importing the equipment from the company for carrying out the coating in-house, the damaged part will have to be first repaired. The deep cavities caused due to persistent bombardment of high velocity fine silt particles on various parts are filled up by welding additional metal. It is a specialised job carried out only by one industrial unit in the country. Further, the high precision work to give proper shape to the parts has to be performed using robotic arm, a facility available only with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BEHL). According to the engineers it may take up to three months to import the coating equipment and the repair of the damaged part could also take up to two months. A lot of spadework will have to be done for the arrangement of repair work. It may not be possible to carry out repair and coating of parts of more than two units. However, one of the damaged turbines has been repaired by replacing the damaged parts with the spares supplied by the company along with the turbines. Replacement of such expensive parts was not an economically viable solution. Engineers agree that even the tungsten carbide coating may not solve the problem and they may have to try some other coating to enhance the life of such part atleast upto two years. Continuous trial and evaluation will have to be carried out to find a lasting solution. |
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Himachal second most literate state
Chamba, October 25 The information said Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country to make primary education “compulsory”. Having achieved the target of universalisation of primary education, efforts were being made to achieve the target of universalisation of elementary education by implementing ‘sarv shiksha abhiyan’ vigorously. Rs 532 crore were being spent under this abhiyan. Creation of infrastructure and other facilities at elementary-education level, over 10,500 rooms were proposed to be constructed for about 2,000 new and existing middle schools under this programme, out of which 4,000 would be constructed during the current financial year, the information said. It stated that under the programme, Rs 10.6 crore were being utilised for the construction and renovation of school buildings and other allied activities to raise the standard of education in Chamba district. A special programme of universalisation of girls’ elementary education had been started in the seven most educationally backward blocks of the state. Emphasis was being laid on qualitative improvement of education for which training to teachers was being imparted. As many as 713 senior secondary, high and middle schools had been opened in this state so far, the information further said. |
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Mahabharata epic in Kuluvi language
Kulu, October 25 Priced at Rs 550, the epic, “Mahabharat Kulvi Boli Na”, was a marathon work that took the writer over seven years to complete the book in 1996. But it was published by Rupi Siraj Kala Manch (RSKM), which published a local art and literature magazine, Srikhand in the Hindi language this year for the first time. Talking to The Tribune Mr Pankaj said that he retired in 1989 and then began writing. “I started this work in 1989 and completed in it 1996. Dr Gautam came in touch with me and published its episodes in his magazine. It took me seven years to complete the book”, he added. Apart from Mr Pankaj, the Chief Minister will also honour other two outstanding artists, Mr S.T. Kashyap, who has pioneered cassettes on pahari music and folk songs and Mr Chande Ram, a local sculpture who has pioneered in wooden pahari arts, which adorn the doors and gates of some temples in the valley. The Kulvi Mahabharata is a creative work and is written in doha, chaupai, sayayu and is in Adi chand and slokas, said Dr D. N. Gautam, editor, of the epic. “The book is creative genius of Mr Pankaj as he has applied his creativity to write this first epic in the local language in the state. The 752-paged book runs into 2,342 chapters, 100 khands, and 29,744 padyas”, he informed. Mr Kashyap’s contribution to promote Himachal’s folk arts and songs are immense. After releasing the first disco natti cassette in pahari songs in 1982, Mr Kashyap had released over 200 cassettes and had launched over 100 new folk singers from all 12 districts of the state, Dr Gautam said. Mr Kashyap had also worked in a Hindi film, Cobra. Representing the rare wooden carvings work which is depleting in the state Mr Ram has created a rare wooden sculpture of Nav Durgas, Dus Avatars of the Lord Vishnu in a single frame. He has created door carvings and doorframes that adorn many temples. President of the RSKM Inder Dutt Sharma said the Manch honoured the ‘hidden talent’ in the state, for their contribution in the field of local arts, and literature. “Mr Pankaj, Mr Kashyap and Mr Ram contributed to the promotion of the art in the state. In all we have honoured over eight such artists and writers in the state so far”. |
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Digging leads to traffic jam
Hamirpur, October 25 Worst affected were office-goers and students of various institutions who failed to reach their destinations in time. They had to reach their respective institutions on foot. The traffic police and other staff found it difficult to control the traffic as at least three vehicles had been trapped in the pits dug up for the sewerage work. It took a long time to move the vehicles out of the pits. It was difficult for pedestrians to pass through a congested main bazar road. An official spokesman told The Tribune that the situation would become normal in a day or two. He said the digging would be completed by tomorrow. Meanwhile, there was a lot of resentment among the local people over the unplanned digging and that too during day time. Hundreds of people were trapped in the traffic jam at the time of filing of the report in the evening. |
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Youth wanted in Anoo incident arrested
Hamirpur, October 25 Pavan Kumar runs a cable network in Hamirpur town along with his friends. The DSP said here this evening that following a tip-off, the police raided the house of Pavan Kumar and took him into custody. He was wanted by the police in an incident in which two groups of youths had clashed in the Anoo area of the town last month. — OC |
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One killed as truck falls into khud
Shimla, October 25 The truck was on its way from Rekong Peo to Rampur, police sources said. The deceased had been identified as Naresh Kumar, while the injured persons had been rushed to the Civil Hospital, Rampur.
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Apparao gets Eminent Engineer award
Shimla, October 25 Mr Apparao established a new benchmark in hydropower development by commissioning all the six units of the 1500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project within a period of six months. A civil engineer, Mr Apparao has 35 years of experience in the hydel sector and he remained associated with 15 hydroelectric projects within and outside the country.
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Sirmaur Utsav from Oct 28
Nahan, October 25 He said famous playback singer Vipin Sachdeva would entertain the gathering on October 28, while Vandna Vajpayee would be the main attraction at the concluding function.
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