 |
|
Police prepares list of Nepalis for extradition
PDS kerosene being sold in black market
Project commissioned in record time
Power generation at Nathpa unit up
Rs 600 cr for drinking water schemes
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fitness camp targets potbellied cops
Fleecing on pretext of VAT
Panel seeks details of MMS clips
New software needed for land records’ computerisation
Lawyers observe ‘black day’
|
|
Police prepares list of Nepalis for extradition
Shimla, May 4 With a sizeable chunk of Nepali population residing in the state permanently, there have been several cases of their involvement in crime, including murder, rape and looting. “In most of the cases there could be no headway in investigations as the accused fled to Nepal after committing crime,” informed a senior police official. All the district police chiefs had been asked to prepare a list of cases where there was suspected Nepali involvement. “After collecting information from all over the state we have prepared a list of 265 cases in which Nepalis are wanted in connection with cases of murder, looting, theft, illicit distillation of liquor and other crimes,” informed a senior official. After the signing of the extradition treaty with Nepal, the police was hopeful that it might be able to push the investigations in some of the crucial cases. “With emergency being clamped in Nepal there has been delay in pursuing the matter with the Himalayan kingdom but as and when democracy is restored, India will take up the matter at the highest level,” informed a senior official. Even though extraditing a suspect is a very cumbersome and lengthy procedure, but at least with the signing of the treaty there is some hope of getting to the accused, say police officials. The number of cases involving Nepalis is the highest in Shimla district at 248. This includes the accused wanted in the Chabeel Das triple-murder case on The Mall. The largest number of Nepalis are residing in Shimla district and has been employed as farm and orchard labour in the Jubbal, Rohru, Kotgarh and Kotkhai area. Their number is pretty high even in the districts of Solan and Sirmaur where they are into cultivation of vegetables and fruits. Some of the Nepalis, including women, are working as labourers engaged in road and house construction. With reports of suspected Maoists sympathisers making entry into the state due to the presence of a sizeable number of Nepalis, the state police is keeping watch on their activities. The police has made it mandatory for all Nepalis to get themselves registered in the local police station and provide their personal information so that it can be verified from the place they belong to back home. |
|
|
PDS kerosene being sold in black market
Dalhousie, May 4 According to sources, kerosene is sold through fair price shops of the public distribution system (PDS) of the government at the rate of Rs 9.50 per litre. But it is reportedly being sold in the black market at a rate more than Rs 15 per litre, which has created an acute shortage of kerosene in the fair price shops, thereby leading the poor rural masses to suffer. The woes of rural masses do not end with this; even the LPG cylinders are being clandestinely sold at exorbitant prices in these areas to the owners who run their vehicles on LPG. |
|
|
Project commissioned in record time
Ching (Rohru), May 4 The 1MW Ching project, which started generation from March 9, has been commissioned in a record 18 months at a cost of Rs 5.6 crore. It will generate 5.10 million units of electricity annually. The formal inauguration will take place soon. Built in a rocky terrain, the projects involved the construction of a 1.2-km power channel, a desilting chamber and a 405 m penstock. Power will be generated by two turbines of 500 kw each which could be overloaded up to 1200 kw. It is a profitable venture as the cost of generation, without the Central subsidy of Rs 2.25 crore, comes to just Rs 1.70 paise per unit over 20 years and Rs 2.20 paise per unit over a 10-year period, Mr T.G.Natrajan, the Chief Financial Officer of the company, said during a visit to the project site. The entire power was being sold to the state electricity board at the rate of Rs 2.52 per unit The cost will be recovered in just over three years after availing the subsidy which will be released only after the necessary certification from the Hydro Energy Centre , Roorkee. The project has to be run for six months before it applies for certification. Mr V.K.Garg, Director of the subsidiary Hateshwri Om Power Enterprises through which the project was executed, said it was basically a capacity-building venture and the company was now in a position to implement big projects. While the 2 MW Jakhi project had already been allotted, the company planned to take up projects with aggregate 20 MW capacity over the next two years in Himachal Pradesh. It was also looking for bigger projects in Uttaranchal and the target was to have 100 MW of hydropower by 2011. The other area of focus was wind energy and the plan was to generate an additional 82.50 MW of power through wind farm projects with an investment of Rs 450 crore in the western and southern regions of the country. |
|
Power generation at Nathpa unit up
Shimla, May 4 Until the third week of April the project had been operating below capacity and only three of the six units were functional. The first fortnight of last month saw a shortfall of 30 million units in generation as the discharge hovered around 90 cumecs — almost 50 per cent of the normal. The low discharge was attributed prolonged winter as a result of which the temperature remained below normal affecting the melting of snow. However, the situation has improved over the past one week with the mercury shooting up. The discharge has increased to 308 cumecs enabling the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam to run five units. A minimum discharge of 425 cumecs is required to operate the project at full capacity. The engineers of the nigam hope to make the sixth unit functional by the end of this week. Last year the project generated 5108.77 million units and there was a shortfall of about 1300 million units. 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 turbines. The generation target for the current financial year is fixed at 6940 million units. There has been sufficient snow during the winter and as such the nigam should be able to achieve the target. |
|
Rs 600 cr for drinking water schemes
Kulu, May 4 Mr Kaul Singh said that the fairs and festivals exhibited the cultural richness of the nation and were also models of unity in diversity. The minister expressed his concern over the miserable condition of roads in the Sainj valley and directed the departments concerned for immediate action. He said that Rs 25 lakh had been allocated for the metalling and repair of the roads. Mr Thakur said that the condition of the roads went worst because of the heavy movement of the NHPC vehicles which were deployed at the Parbati hydro electricity project. |
|
Fitness camp targets potbellied cops
Daroh (Palampur), May 4 The participants, who started off on a rather dismissive note, said they had eventually started enjoying the course and looked forward to step out on May 6 looking much more healthy. A total of 15 Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and Assistant Sub-Inspectors, besides 55 other ranks have been on the campus for more than two weeks now. Three women candidates are also participating. Dr Sanjay Bhardwaj, Senior Medical Officer, said the training started at 6:30 am with all participants attending a yoga class which was resumed in the evening. Spicy and oily dishes were avoided and the menu consisted of soups and salads. “We are also keeping a track of the weight and blood pressure variations of the cops to monitor their progress over the days. Most of them have come pretty close to the right fitness levels by losing nearly 10 kg each,” he said. “The experts are also teaching them to deal with minor ailments, including arthritis. But it is not about physical fitness alone and their psychological and social behaviour is also being worked on,” he said. Meena Chauhan, a participant, said considering that yoga was such an effective stress-buster, more such camps should be organised for the police force to keep them focussed. Another participant said their irregular duty hours were a major hurdle when it came to fitness. “We have no option but to have oily and spicy meals at odd hours which definitely takes a toll on fitness. Though the schedule here is hectic but wearing a light track-suit instead of the heavy uniform for some days and
working on yourself is a welcome respite,” he said. An SP said it was because of the high stress levels that policemen were sometimes rude. “The pressure of performance and hectic schedule is not easy to tackle on a daily basis. The course is a good way to rejuvenate the force so that they come out with a new zeal,” he said. |
|
Fleecing on pretext of VAT
Chamba, May 4 Although under Schedule B, Section 9 of the Himachal Pradesh VAT Act, these items are exempted from the VAT, the local administration seems to be unaware of the fact. Even the departments concerned have failed to check whether the traders have displayed their new pricelists or not? The authorities have also failed to deal with the traders stringently and exercising “inspector raj” in league with traders and the administration. As a consequence, the shopkeepers are fleecing the customers with impunity. |
|
Panel seeks details of MMS clips
Shimla, May 4 The Director-General of Police (DGP), Mr Ajit Narayan, met the Chairperson of the SCW, Ms Viplove Thakur, here today and apprised her of the facts of the case. “The DGP informed us that the police did not have any solid proof about the case, but the CID was trying to get to the bottom of the issue,” she said. She is also learnt to have brought to the notice of the DGP media reports quoting police sources about the investigations in the case. “If the police is still trying to get to the origin of the MMS and the people circulating the MSS, then there should be no police statement about the case as it is only causing sensationalism,” she opined. Though so far no case has been registered by the police, nor any complaint received in this regard, the police is learnt to have identified the girls and boys in the MMS clips. Obscene MMS clips, featuring some local girls and boys are still in circulation in the town. “In case we receive a complaint from the aggrieved persons or from some other quarter, we will ensure that a strong action is taken,” she said. On the other hand the police has also not registered any case in the absence of a formal complaint. Parents of some of the girls involved in the case have refused to lodge a complaint with the police or the SCW. The police is avoiding taking a suo motu action considering the fate of the Anara Gupta case in Jammu. They are waiting for somebody to lodge a complaint. |
|
New software needed for land records’ computerisation
Solan, May 4 Experts are now on the lookout for a software that will enable the revenue records depicting the location of land and its various dimensions to be accurately computerised. Officials said though some software was available to copy land revenue maps but when magnified these maps projected several errors. The Director, Land Revenue, Mr Chamel Singh, opined the basic data would be computerised by March 2007. He said they were aware of the fact that unless the maps too were computerised the very purpose would not be achieved. He said the National Informatics Centre had been asked to look for a specific software. The earlier procedure of microfilming of revenue maps, which was undertaken 10-15 years ago, was fraught with errors like accuracy when enlarged, differences in the shape of the land etc. The exercise of date entry, once completed, would make available computerised records right till the tehsil level. The task being undertaken for the first time in Himachal is being executed by a Shogi-based Maheshwari Data Matrix Private Ltd. The land revenue records are usually updated every five years. |
|
Lawyers observe ‘black day’
Kulu, May 4 Mr Rajinder Thakur, president of the association, said that the imposition of profession tax on advocates was irrational, and the government should rethink on the issue. He said that the hike in the court fee from Rs 1.25 to Rs 16 was unjustified. |
| 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 | |
