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Low discharge hits Nathpa Jhakri generation
Parallel elections lead to dispute in Cong
Floriculture industry picks up
Shimla airport to get a facelift
Himachal Day celebrated with gaiety
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Mandi hospital needs more docs
Lahaul valley reels under power crisis
52 injured as buses collide
Solan police arrests two youths from Mani Majra
Develop area into park, says council
BJP announces Rs 2 lakh for community hall
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Low discharge hits Nathpa Jhakri generation
Shimla, April 15 With adequate snowfall during winter, the prestigious project, which last year generated 5108.77 million units, about 1,300 million units less than designed, was expected to meet the targets if not exceed them during the current year. The discharge at Nathpa between 77 and 89 cumecs from April 1 to 12. The generation has been in the same proportions ranging between seven and eight million units over the period. The average daily shortfall comes to about two million units per day. The engineers of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), however, maintain that the situation will improve over the next one month. The discharge in the river will shoot up with the rise in mercury. Already the discharge had started increasing and if the trend continues, the projected level of generating 22 million units daily will be achieved by April 21. The low discharge, they maintain, was on account of an extended winter. Once the temperature rises, the snow will melt faster. The SJVN has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Union Ministry of Power for generating 6,940 million units of electricity during the year. Last year there was a shortfall of 1,300 million units in generation. While the 10-day shutdown forced by the Parechu flood threat cost the nigam 500 million units, the frequent closure to protect the generating machinery from damage due to excessive silt and low discharge accounted for the remaining shortfall of 800 million units. The project operated below capacity for days together as silt damaged the turbines. On many occasions, three and at times even four of the six generating units had been out of order. |
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Parallel elections lead to dispute in Cong
Shimla, April 15 Addressing mediapersons here today, he said since the Block Returning Officer (BRO), Mr Sanjay Rana, appointed by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) could not be contacted they went ahead with the election on the scheduled date ie on April 12. He said the elections held by the faction led by Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, MLA were illegal as they were held at his residence and not in the party office and that too on April, 13. “We had already expressed apprehension about the conduct of the Observer, Mr Kailash Prasher, as his role during the 2000 party elections had remained partisan and biased,” said Mr Sood. He informed that they had given a representation to the chairman of the State Election Authority, Mr K.C. Lenka, about holding of parallel election by the Bhajji group and the conduct of the BRO. “There is still a scope to settle the dispute and have consensus but then a balance has to be struck in giving representation to all groups within the party,” he remarked. Meanwhile, Mr Lenka today said that results of organisational elections of all blocks must reach the PCC office here for the approval of the Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO) by April 17. “Those who fail to submit the report will be deprived from participating in the election of the DCC and the PCC,” he said. He further said that in some cases where complaints had been received about declaration of the result by the BROs without the approval of the PRO, the party was inquiring into it. |
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Floriculture industry picks up
Shimla, April 15 The total area under floriculture has gone up to 325 hectares as flowers of different varieties like marigold, carnations, tulips, lilium, gladiolus and chrysanthemum are being grown. A majority of these flowers except marigold and gladiolus have to be grown under controlled conditions in a polyhouse. The Horticulture Department under the horticulture mission project is providing a number of incentives to the growers where they can avail finances even up to Rs 50 lakh. Depending on the kind of polyhouse a grower wants to set up, the government is providing finances up to Rs 1.50 lakh. There is separate provision for having additional facilities like drip, foggers, cooling and heating facility in a polyhouse, informed horticulture officials. A big investment in the floriculture industry by private entrepreneurs, who have taken up land on lease, has given an impetus to floriculture. Some of these projects have come up at Mohal, near Kulu and the adjoining areas where hundreds of hectares of land is under flower cultivation. “Bigger projects are far more viable as there is provision for modern production and protection technology and seeing the positive results the locals too are encouraged to take to floriculture,” point out officials of the Horticulture Department. The Horticulture Department is providing better quality plant material to the growers. The biggest problem that the growers point out is that of marketing as their production is not so huge that it can cater to the requirement of big florists and demand sectors like hotels. Most of the flowers from Himachal Pradesh are being sent to Delhi and Chandigarh. Problems like lack of elite planting material, absence of modern production and protection technology, inadequate irrigation and lack of post-harvest management along with poor marketing need to be overcome before the government can hope to make floriculture a big industry in the state.
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Shimla airport to get a facelift
Chandigarh, April 15 According to AAI sources, about Rs 55 lakh will be spent over the next few months on re-furbishing the airport building. The work is expected to start in about a month’s time. This would include repair and renovation of the terminal building, better insulation and heating of the building and provision of better passenger amenities. A senior AAI official told The Tribune that an AAI team is expected to survey the area afresh and work out the techno-economic feasibility to expand the airport. Given the airport’s location and the terrain, the cost of the expansion works is prohibitive. Expansion would involve dumping a collosal amount of earth to extend the length of the ridge and then stabilising it. A recent estimate by the state’s Tourism Minister placed before the legislature put the cost at Rs 100 crore. The Shimla airport is located atop a ridge at Jubbar Hatti, about 12 km from the city. The airstrip is also clearly visible across the valley from the Chandigarh-Shimla highway when approaching the state capital. A few flights or charters are operated to Shimla by private operators, mostly those from Delhi. Shimla is an important tourist destination in summer as well as winter. The airport, situated at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, occupies 140 acres of land and has a runway just 3,800 feet long. This is just sufficient to allow operations by aircraft of the size of the 18-seater Dornier. Larger aircraft like the 60-seater ATR-72 twin-engined turbo-prop, presently being operated by a couple of scheduled commercial operators, require a length of about 5,000 feet at high altitude. Jet aircraft like the Boeing 737 or the Airbus 320 are out of question as they would be requiring a 7,000 feet runway length. Even the IAF’s AN-32 aircraft, which require relatively short runways, cannot operate from Shimla. |
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Himachal Day celebrated with gaiety
Shimla, April 15 Mr V.S. Kokje, Governor, presided over the state function held at the historic Ridge here. Addressing the gathering he said the hill state had made tremendous progress since it came into being on this day in 1948 with the merger of 31 small states. Today it had emerged as a model of hill development in the country and was considered as one of the better states of the country. Mr Kokje said the per capita income of the state in 1948 was just Rs 240 and today it was Rs 24,903. Literacy rare had reached 77.7 per cent as from 7.1 per cent and the state had done well in the field of health, agriculture and horticulture which had brought about a sea change in the socio-economic life of the people. He expressed satisfaction over the achievements made by the state in the social sector on which 48 per cent of the plan outlay was being spent. He said social security pension of Rs 200 was being given to over two lakh people at a cost of Rs 50 crore annually, besides schemes for scheduled casts, scheduled tribes and minorities for whom schemes were being implemented. Earlier, the Governor inspected the guard of honour and took salute from the contingents of police at an impressive march past. A colourful cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. The Tibetan troupe from Meclodganj was the main attraction. Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Singhi Ram, Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, MLA, Mr Sohan Lal, Mayor, were among those present on the occasion.
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Mandi hospital needs more docs
MANDI: The number of doctors at the Mandi Zonal Hospital here in inadequate, adversely affecting healthcare.
The Department of Gynaecology has just one gynaecologist for more than 150 patients who come for treatment from across the region every day. Even surgeries are being conducted at the hospital without an anaesthetist, endangering the lives of patients, say hospital sources. More than 25 beds have been placed in the corridor of the gynaecology ward to meet the rush of patients. “Despite our arranging extra beds, patients are asked to bring beds with them in view of the rush”, say the sources. The sole gynaecologist is always on call from the hospital to perform emergency operations on patients referred to the hospital from Sarkaghat, Sundernagar, Jogindernagar and even Bilaspur hospitals every day. The problems in the gynaecology ward increased last year when Dr Meena Sharma, another gynaecologist, left government service and joined a private hospital here. “The entire patient load has now fallen on one gynaecologist”, say the sources. “We need two more gynaecologists”, says Dr Anjali Soni, gynaecologist. “One helper is attached to the ward, but it is too tall an order to handle such a large number of patients”. Although the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, who also looks after the Health portfolio, and the Health Secretary, Mr P.C. Kapur, visited the hospital in the recent past, the plight of patients and the overburdened doctors in the Departments of Gynaecology, Medicine, Surgery and Orthopaedics remains the same. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr P.S. Dogra, admits that there is a shortage of doctors. “We are trying our best to provide the necessary services at the hospital.” There are more than 28 posts of doctor vacant, he adds. |
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Lahaul valley reels under power crisis
Mandi, April 15 The reports from Lahaul revealed that the HPSEB has failed to supply the power through an alternative transmission line from Manali across the snow-bound Rohtang Pass, where seven electricity poles have fallen on the ground. Though the HPSEB has started the work to erect the poles, the underground electric cable of the transmission line between the 7 km-long Koksar-Sissu stretch has developed a breach. “This breach can be detected only by the fault-detecting machine, which is stationed at Manali”, the sources disclosed. The Chief Engineer, HPSEB, Mr H.C. Malhotra, said that they were trying to restore the alternative transmission line. “We are requesting the state government to transport the fault-detecting machine through chopper to the valley”, he added. |
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52 injured as buses collide
Chandigarh, April 15 The driver of the Shimla-bound mini bus (HP-03-0321) Gopal, its cleaner Desraj, Durganand of Shimla, Chetram of Solan, Rajesh of Rohru and a 45-year-old unknown person, are still serious. Nine out of the 52 injured received fractures in their limbs while others have been discharged from different city hospitals. Except for the unknown person, families of the injured have been informed but those from Sirmaur have not yet reached the city. Eyewitnesses told the police that a Chandigarh-bound Himachal Roadways bus (HP-07-4910) was virtually in the middle of the Transport Light Point crossing when a “speeding” Shimla-bound mini bus coming from Sector 28 allegedly hit it on the front portion of the left side of the bus. The small bus passengers, including its driver and cleaner, bore the brunt. As the driver of the mini-bus is still unconscious, the exact cause of the accident is not yet known. |
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Solan police arrests two youths from Mani Majra
Solan, April15 The SHO, Ms Babita Pal said the interrogation of the youths revealed that the gang, including two youths who had allegedly fired at the policeman, had planned to loot a liquor vend located near the Congress
Bhavan. Since it was located on the national highway, it meant an easy escape route. The police had dispatched separate police parties to the nearby areas to arrest the two youths who were reportedly members of an inter-district gang involved in various criminal activities. |
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Develop area into park, says council
Mandi, April 15 In a memorandum submitted to Mr Thakur Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, and Mr Ali Raza Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Mr P.C. Bisht, president of the council, said the PWD (B and R) was allotting the area to somebody for commercial purposes. “The open space is being used for parking, but efforts are afoot to allot the space for commercial purposes that would impede the movement of traffic in the town”, he said. Urging the district administration to intervene in the issue, the council said they would oppose the move. |
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BJP announces Rs 2 lakh for community hall
Shimla, April 15 The BJP chief visited the area and met the fire victims who had suffered huge losses. He requested the government to provide immediate relief to the fire victims many of whom had lost everything in the fire. |
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