 |
|
CM ups the ante on reviving Mandi’s ecology
HP power board in a spot
Political Adviser’s post not an office of profit
Move to reclaim land for parking in Manali
Govt to open retail medicine outlets
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HP to have film studio: CM
13 copying cases detected
Tibetans committed to middle path, says Dalai Lama
Shimla hit by severe hailstorm
Jaundice under control: admn
20 taken ill after drinking contaminated water
Vehicle thieves’ gang busted
Set up hill state council, says MP
|
|
CM ups the ante on reviving Mandi’s ecology
Mandi, March 10 He assured that the step would be taken regardless of whether it affected the power generation in the project. Mr Virbhadra Singh, who inaugurated the Shivratri fair here yesterday and addressed a civic reception hosted by the Mandi's Citizens' Council here last night, assured the residents that his government would never allow the project authorities, BSL and BBMB to play havoc with the fragile ecology of the Mandi town. "The Pandoh water has starved to death downstream river life affecting the ecology of the town. We will ensure that a minimum of 15 per cent of Beas water is released downstream in the river, the life blood of the Mandi and other villages every day," he asserted. Taking a note of the report published in The Tribune on July 6, 2004, which had highlighted the ecological miseries that residents had been experiencing since 1977 when the BSL project was commissioned, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the projects served no purpose if they destroyed local ecology. Mr Virbhadra Singh said that he proposed to build up the weir somewhere on the Beas river downstream near the town to revive the ecology of the town, assuring all assistance to members of the Citizen Council, Mandi. "We were not aware either about residents rights or ecological consequences when the project wascommissioned in 1977," said Mr P.C. Bisht, president, Citizens' Council. "Moreover, Mandi has got nothing from the project except mounds of silt as Himachal was in an infant stage then and has no share in the project, which now gives 1900 crore revenue to the BBMB every year," he added. As a matter of fact, the Citizens' Council had already filed a writ petition in the High Court, demanding the release of 20 per cent water downstream from the BSL's Pandoh dam throughout the year, 12 per cent free power and construction of the weir on the Beas to revive the ecology of the town. Superintending Engineer, BBMB, M.L. Gupta claimed they had released over 5 per cent of the water inflow from the Beas river downstream everyday. |
|
Arts college for HP: Virbhadra
Mandi, March 10 He was talking to mediapersons after releasing the biography of oil painter Gahiya Narotam written by Hemkant Katyayan, a Mandi-based journalist, at a simple ceremony here last evening. Mr Virbhadra Singh said the government was looking for land in the state for the college and would allocate funds for the project in the next financial year. He directed the Department of Arts, Language and Culture to preserve all paintings and artefacts lying in museums across the state and said that all paintings, including those of Gahiya Narotam, would be preserved in the museum for posterity. Mr Katyayan said the biography of Gahiya Narotam was the first book on any painter that traces the history of painting back to over 150 years. "His oil paintings still adore the museums in Chamba, Rampur Bushahr, Mandi, Nepal and many households in Mandi as well. His son Jwala Prasad continued with the tradition of his father. But today his wife Ms Vidya Devi (85) is the last pillar of the painter's family", he said. Mr Dinu Kashayap, president, Progressive Writers' Association, Himachal told The Tribune that even painter Sobha Singh, who stayed at Andretta village in Kangra valley, used to visit Jwala
Prasad. |
|
|
HP power board in a spot
Shimla, March 10 The order was passed on a complaint filed by Emmtex Synthetics Limited, which was asked to pay arrears amounting to Rs 12,91,800 for the power supplied during November 2001 and January, February and March 2002. The board had taken the stand that it could recover the amount even if it was not shown as arrear under Section 24 of the Indian Electricity Act (1910). Its plea was that though the Act had been repealed but Section 185(5) of the Electricity Act 2003 brought into operation the General Clauses Act which protects the right of the licencee to recover outstanding dues before the new Act came into force. The new legislation intended to introduce commercial accountability, besides avoiding any arbitrary shock to the consumers of being slammed with unexpected demand.
|
|
Political Adviser’s post not an office of profit
Shimla, March 10 Initiating the debate on the Bill, Mr Ishwar Das Dhiman (BJP) said it was a crude ploy to circumvent the law limiting the number of ministers. The appointment of political advisors with Cabinet rank amounted to conferment of a ministerial position through the backdoor, he alleged. Mr P.K.Dhumal, leader of the BJP group, wanted to know what was the urgency for promulgating an ordinance on January 22 when the Budget session, commencing on February 21, was round the corner. He said the Bill was defective as it did not indicate the financial implications and also failed to clear as to which institution— the government Treasury , the Vidhan Sabha or the state Secretariat — would foot the expenses of the Political Advisor. In his reply, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said the Cabinet rank was conferred on the post of Political Advisor as an honour and it was not equivalent to the post of Minister. It was like the position of the chairpersons of various boards and corporations and the expenses would be met by the General Administration Department. He maintained that it was the prerogative of the Chief Minister to appoint advisors. The House unanimously the passed the Himachal Pradesh Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill allowing the post of the Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission and the Lok Ayukta to be held by the one and the same person. The Chief Minister asserted that the amendment was necessitated as the two posts could be held only by a retired Judge of the Supreme court or Chief Justice of a High Court which were not available. |
|
Move to reclaim land for parking in Manali
Shimla, March 10 While the 'Development Plan' for the hill station awaits government approval, efforts are on to check further unwanted construction as the town has already exceeded its carrying capacity. Keeping in view the huge tourist inflow and the resultant traffic and parking problems, some of the flood-ravaged land will be reclaimed for creating more facilities. "To begin with, about three hectares of land, right at the entrance to the town from the Kullu side, will be reclaimed to create a huge parking slot as during the peak tourist season the town has an average arrival of 18,000 visitors per day," inform officials. Besides the parking space on this reclaimed land, there is a proposal to have four big parking areas all around the town. The proposed 'Development Plan' for Manali includes 166 hectares falling within the municipal limits and an additional 1152 hectares under the planning area. Manali is a major tourist destination which attracts the maximum number of foreigners in the state. The settlements of Vashisht, Chadiari, Chachoga, Aleo, Prini, Shuru, Bahanh, Suinsa, Ranghri, Sial, Chhila, Old Manali and Nasogi have a large number of guest houses and many foreigners stay here for months together. With a population of over 17,000, the 'Development Plan' for Manali is supposed to cater to the needs and requirements of the town till 2021, when the population will touch the figure of 50,000. The town has been divided into seven zones viz residential, commercial, tourism and industry, public service, parking and open space, traffic and transport and agriculture. The 'Development Plan' also demarcates four special areas — Core, Restricted, Forest and River Front area. "Most of the thick-wooded deodar forests in and around Manali are reserved and are intact but steps will have to be taken to ensure that they remain protected," stress officials. Manali town has witnessed unprecedented construction activity, most of them hotels and guest houses, especially after the neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir was hit by insurgency. "The town has over 400 hotels, turning the place into a virtual concrete jungle, which today most of tourists wish to avoid preferring virgin and less commercialised areas on the outskirts," points out a travel agent. The state government, including the tourism department is of the firm opinion that there is an urgent need to reduce the burden on congested places like Manali by developing small satellite townships in a planned and systematic manner. |
|
Govt to open retail medicine outlets
Shimla, March 10 Replying to a debate on a private member resolution moved by Mr Ishwar Das Dhiman of BJP in this regard, he said the government was apprised of the fact that some doctors were prescribing multiple drugs for the disease and instead of referring patients to the nearest government hospital for various tests, they are sending them to private laboratories for obvious reasons. He said this practice amounted to professional misconduct and effective steps would be taken to check it. Referring to the complaints of substandard medicines, Mr Kaul Singh said that a mechanism had been put in place to ensure supply of quality medicines in government institutions. While 70 per cent of the total requirement of medicines was being procured by the corporation, the remaining 30 per cent was purchased by the department to meet emergencies. A state-level committee had been set up under the Principal Secretary, Health, which selected the medicines and suppliers for the procurement. The corporation has 27 medicines shops at present and it is conducting a survey to identify places for opening more shops. He said since it was a commercial organisation, it would open outlets subject to commercial viability and feasibility. He said the medicines, bandage, surgical cotton and IV fluids were being sold by the corporation at prices cheaper by 7 to 30 per cent compared to market rates.
|
|
HP to have film studio: CM
Shimla, March 10 Stating this after the “muhurat” shot of Hindi feature film “Chanchal” here on Tuesday, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said the state had been blessed with immense natural beauty which provided ideal locales for film shooting. He said film units from Bollywood had been shooting in the state since long and his government wanted to establish a self-contained studio for their convenience. The availability of state-of-art facilities within the state would attract film units in larger numbers and in the process employment opportunities would be created. The units would not have to carry heavy equipment all the way from Mumbai. Arman Shababi, a local writer, has scripted the film and it will be shot in and around the “queen of hills”. |
|
13 copying cases detected
Hamirpur, March 10 While talking to The Tribune today, the SDM, Mr B.S. Dehal, said that while seven cases were detected at the Jhiralri centre, four and two cases were found at the centres of Karer and Bhota, respectively, when he raided the centres. He said that the entire staff of the Jhiralri centre, including the centre superintendent, has been removed and new persons would take up assignments to conduct the examinations there. He, however, said that no case of cheating was found at the Sohari School, where the examination was going on peacefully. |
|
Tibetans committed to middle path, says Dalai Lama
Dharamsala, March 10 He was speaking on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the Tibetan People’s Uprising. He further said that he was happy about the renewed contacts with the Chinese leadership and that the third round of meetings in last September had shown that gradually the interactions were improving. “Now that our elected political leadership was shouldering more responsibility in the Tibetan affairs, I have advised them to look into the issues raised by the Chinese side and take steps to give clarifications. We are hopeful that eventually we will be able to resolve the long-standing issue to our mutual benefit,” he said. During these more than four decades, he said, there has been a great deal of economic progress, along with development of infrastructure in Tibet. However, independent journalists have shown the real situation in Tibet as well, contrary to the Chinese claims. There is lack of human rights, religious freedom and self-rule in Tibet. |
|
|
Shimla hit by severe hailstorm
Shimla, March 10 The capital town of Shimla received 17.4 mm rainfall, while the minimum temperature here dipped to 4.7 degree Celsius from yesterday’s 6.9 C. The minimum temperature in Kalpa, the headquarters of Kinnaur, recorded the minimum of minus 0.5 C with .6 mm rainfall along with snow flakes. Dundi in Kullu district recorded 31 cm snowfall till this morning, while Solang Nallah received 2 cm snow and 11 mm rain, according to met office here. The rainfall also occurred at Manali (8.4 mm), Dharamshala (26 mm), Bhuntar in Kullu district (8.2 mm), Sunder Nagar (19.4 mm) and Bhang (22 mm). Kufri, Narkanda, Fagu, Khadapather and some other places of Shimla district experienced snow flakes and rain. The Dhauladhar ranges overlooking Kangra valley experienced fresh snowfall today. Khadrala and Dodra Kawar in Shimla district also experienced light snow, while the entire tribal belt in Himachal again reeled under cold wave conditions. Reports of rainfall were also received from parts of Solan and Sirmour districts.
— UNI |
|
Jaundice under control: admn
Hamirpur, March 10 Dr Lakhanpal told The Tribune today that out of eight patients getting treatment at Hamirpur, six had been discharged after recovery and two others were still getting treatment in the hospital. He said that a meeting held here last evening decided to continue the steps to prevent further outbreak of this disease in any other part of these gram panchayats. Dr Priya Malhotra, CMO, Dr P.R. Katwal, District Health Officer, and officers of the Department of Irrigation-cum-Public Health also took part in the meeting. |
|
20 taken ill after drinking contaminated water
Hamirpur, March 10 This village is a part of Sarehri-Larha water supply scheme, from where water is supplied to nineteen villages of the district. However, these type of complaints are coming from Kardoh village only. The villagers said after they complained of getting contaminated water, the Irrigation and Public Health Department had chlorinated the water by putting bleaching power. The ADM, Hamirpur, Dr K.D.Lakhanapal, said that he had ordered the authorities of the Department of Health and Family Planning and Irrigation-cum-Public Health to visit the village and report. |
|
|
Vehicle thieves’ gang busted
Solan, March 10 The SP, Mr Gianeshwar Singh, told mediapersons that the initial interrogation of Babu Ram revealed that the gang had stolen 16 vehicles from Solan, Sirmaur and Shimla districts since September last. He was arrested by the Barotiwala police. |
|
Set up hill state council, says MP
Nurpur, March 10 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In video (
