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Govt merges 50 pc DA into basic pay
Zonal hospital sans doctor, equipment
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Environment issue halts work on hydel projects
Industrialisation boosts growth of mobile telephones
Snow harvesting project to check deglacialisation
HP plan to set up public tariff commission
31 lakh donated for relief fund
Red Cross Mela on June 7
Exploited by boy, girl commits suicide
Man arrested for stocking liquor
Sharma SJVN Director (Finance)
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Govt merges 50 pc DA into basic pay
Shimla, May 9 The decision was announced by Mr S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, while presiding over the meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee, at which the representative of the State Non-Gazetted Services Federation were present. He said a notification in this regard would be issued within this month and the employees would get the benefit in the next month’s salary. The annual burden on the state exchequer on this account would be over Rs 200 crore. He also assured that the notification regarding increase of promotion quota of Class IV employees from 10 to 15 per cent would also be issued within this month. He said that the genuine demands of the employees were being met by the government from time to time besides solving their other problems on a priority basis. He said that Recruitment and Promotion Rules of 229 categories had been finalised during the last two years and 1,244 persons had been provided employment on compassionate grounds under kith and kin policy, in various departments. Services of 628 contract teachers had been regularised along with services of Junior Engineers of PWD and the IPH departments. Emphasising the importance of technical education, the Chief Secretary said that vocational courses to meet the man power demand of the industrial units would be introduced in the Industry Training Institutes and other technical institutes so that maximum youth could get employment in this sector. The Chief Secretary suggested that a sub-committee or representatives of the federation be set up to discuss and pursue the cases pertaining to the agenda of the federation with the government by holding meetings with the officers frequently. He also said that the joint consultative committee meeting should also be held more frequently so that the problems of the employees could be solved. |
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Zonal hospital sans doctor, equipment
Mandi, May 9 Many patients remain unattended in the first few critical hours as the hospital has no trauma unit and only one specialist to take care of many accident victims rushed here almost daily, complained attendants of various patients. “It was on our personal request that Dr Marwah, a specialist from a private Harihar hospital, stepped in and started treatment at zonal hospital,” rued the victims’ attendants. “I arrived at the hospital around 6.20 pm or so, but when we asked for the X-ray we were told that it was a Sunday. But finally X-ray was done at 9 pm, while the patient was almost half unconscious,” added Mr Anil Kumar, an attendant. “There was no one to attend to emergency patients. X-ray room was locked and there was only one surgeon who was on leave. The patient suffered in pain in the zonal hospital for three hours before she was shifted to the private Mandav hospital in distress,” he complained. In fact, Mr Shashi, sustained liver damage, while five members of his family were injured in the accident when the car they were traveling in had a headlong collision with another car at Pandoh, last evening. When the patient was shifted to the private hospital here, the driver of ambulance was not available on duty, said Mr Vijay Gupta, another attendant. A doctor on emergency duty in the zonal hospital was not trained to manage the critically injured accident cases. The hospital had no trauma unit to take care the accident victims being rushed in daily from spots on the National highway-21, said the patients. This was not an isolated case. The patients complained that they had to suffer like this most of the time as zonal hospital had just one surgeon to take care of all patients. When he was on leave as it happened on Sunday there was no other doctor to attend to the accident cases, said senior doctors. Despite the fact that the accident cases were rushed here almost daily, the state government had not bothered to fill the vacant 28 posts of doctors nor had it has started a trauma unit in the hospital, alleged patients. The Mandi citizens’ council had pleaded for a trauma unit and filling of vacant posts, especially in surgery, medicine, gynaecology and orthopedics, but the request had fallen on deaf ears of the state government. The Medical Superintendent, zonal hospital Dr (Ms) H.P. Malhotra, who joined recently, said that they faced a shortage of doctors. “But the hospital tries its best to attend every patient despite its shortcomings,” she added, expressing her helplessness. |
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Reckless mining in Chamba hills
CHAMBA: Notwithstanding formulation of the “River and Stream Bed Mining Policy for Himachal Pradesh-2004”, reckless mining and quarrying for slate in the fragile geological formations of the green Chamba hills have continued unabated, thus flouting the policy of the government. Geologists view it as a serious hazard to ecology, irrigation and hydroelectric projects.
Despite the massive exploitation of hills in the catchment areas of the river Ravi and other rivulets by reckless extraction, one cannot deny the fact that the slate is required by the local people for constructing roofs of houses. But the ecology of Chamba is threatened. However, environmentalists think that on ordinary tin roof can easily serve the purpose, thereby protecting the ecology of the area. The destruction wrought by the slate quarrying is visible to all. Yet no attempt has been made by the government and the voluntary organisations to stop the trend. According to officials of the Mining Department, there are slate quarries at Gehra, Trilocken Mahadev, Kupwara, Chura Ghrat, Tur, Piura, Kandla, Sukrahal and Sajot in Chamba tehsil; Kunna Behani, Suhagulu, Khera Khumb, Gular in Bhattiyat tehsil and Kunna Nala in Churah tehsil of Chamba district. The slate quarry at Banbas has been closed for auction by the government for the past few years. Good quality of slate is being extracted from the Sajot quarry. Forest officials claim that slate quarries are not being allowed to expand nor is the state government allowing any new quarry under the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which prohibits the creation of new quarries. In the region, the hills are being dug to a greater depth to extract the slates. It is mainly for this reason that the debris in the quarries at different points of the Ravi catchment area and the other streams has covered the entire slopes, sliding down with every spell of rain. Even the local inhabitants of Gehra belts in Chamba district have said that ‘illegal mining’ is going on clandestinely at the behest of slate smugglers. But the locals whose compulsion is livelihood are being exploited by the slate smugglers. Recently, on a complaint filed by the Mining Officer, Chamba, regarding ‘illegal mining’ in the Gehra area, the DSP, Chamba, Dr D.K. Choudhary, conducted an inquiry, which quoted people, claiming that the officials of the Mining Department were not discharging their duties effectively and the Himachal Pradesh Minor Mineral (Concession) Rules, 1971 and the Himachal Pradesh Mineral Vesting of Rights Act, 1983 were being overlooked. The inquiry report also revealed that till date no police help had been sought by the Mining Department to check illegal mining. |
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Environment issue halts work on hydel projects
Chamba, May 9 The Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board has asked the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) authorities to stop the construction activities on these projects in the light of the state government’s directions. The state government had expressed surprise over how the Union Minister of Environment and Forests had granted environment clearance to these projects without the knowledge of the state government. For the past three years, work on these projects had been going at a snail’s pace and every year the NHPC had been incurring heavy losses. The Himachal Pradesh Government had decided to generate additional power capacity of 12,300 MW by executing various hydroelectric projects by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan. Out of the 21,000 MW identified power potential, only 6058 MW had been harnessed so far. Eleven projects having installed capacity of about 2860 MW were being taken up for detailed survey, investigation and preparation of draft project reports. The state government would make its own power policy soon, which would envisage at least 30 per cent equity participation of the state and 70 per cent employment to the local people. The state’s identified power potential of 21,000 MW was about one-fourth of the total potential of the country. |
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Industrialisation boosts growth of mobile telephones
Chandigarh, May 9 A look at the figures given by the Cellular Operators Association of India
(COAI) shows the rapid growth in mobile telephony. According to COAI, as on March 31, 2005, Airtel had 1,95,649 customers, BSNL 1,02,800 customers and Reliance 34,743. In the period April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005, an aggregate of 1,60,284 customers were added on by the various service providers with Airtel adding 1,12,318 customers, BSNL 26,175 customers and Reliance 21,791 customers. What is remarkable about this growth is that a company like Airtel took nearly seven years to reach the one lakh customer mark, but was able to nearly double that customer base in just one year. According to Mr Vinod Sud, COO, Airtel HP, “the tax holiday and excise concessions announced by the Central Government have led to a lot of major industries from the neighbouring states shift base here. Big Industrial houses which come into the state want a world-class network, and we are able to provide this to them, thanks to our investments in state-of-the-art technology,” he added. Cellular connectivity has come as a big boon for large companies setting up projects in far-flung areas. Till now, large projects in far-flung and difficult to access areas had mostly been relying on point-to-point wireless sets. This had its inherent disadvantages as not many people could communicate at any given time. Communicating nationally and internationally was not possible, nor was it possible to connect to the Internet. The Koldam project is the first ever dam project of the NTPC with cellular coverage from day one, resulting in far reaching benefits for NTPC. In keeping with the industrialisation, companies are expanding their networks to grow the market further.
Airtel, for example, has increased its cell sites by more than 100 per cent in the last one year and now has 143 cell sites as compared to 68 earlier. Some of these cell sites are in the most inhospitable and rough terrain, where fuel for the generators has to be transported on horses as there is no road available. |
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Snow harvesting project to check deglacialisation
Shimla, May 9 As various studies indicate that the glaciers were melting very fast which could have far reaching implications for the people living in the various river basins, the state government has decided to undertake a survey the moment these areas become accessible. “We will build checkdams at various points so as to prevent the water from the melting glaciers to drain into Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and go waste,” informed Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) minister. A detailed report would be prepared by the department so as to assess the amount required for undertaking the project for which the Centre would be approached, he added. As per the plans the water from the glaciers and huge chunks of snow would be prevented from going waste into the sea as it would be used to feed the aquifers and flow gradually into the rivers and streams for use of the people as per requirement. The state government is keen on initiating the snow-harvesting project as it will also help check the damage caused by avalanches which bring along with it huge amounts of debris. The officials have already been asked to identify the points from where the movement of glacier begins and points where the checkdams can be put. Mr Thakur said that the experiment of putting two checkdams in the Spiti valley of the tribal district had proved to be very successful as it had helped in halting the downward movement of glaciers. This had resulted in far less avalanches and the department was already contemplating putting more checkdams in the area. The checkdams will not just stop the downward movement of the glacier but will also block the breaking snow and ensure that it melts gradually and feeds the streams and other water bodies. At present the water from the retreating glaciers just flows down and keeping in mind the fact that deglacialisation is taking place at a very rapid pace, the water requirement of the people living in the basins could be threatened in times to come. As per the data collected by the department the Sutlej basin alone has 334 glaciers, spread over an area of about 1515 sq km. The number of permanent snow fields is 1987, having a total area of 1182 sq km. |
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HP plan to set up public tariff commission
Shimla, May 9 The draft bill for the constitution of the public utility board has been finalised and it will be put up before the Cabinet after clearance from the Law Department. The board will evaluate the cost of services, rationalise tariff and ensure the accountability of the service providers. There is a provision for imposing penalty on the service providers for deficiency in service. The service providers will be required to file an application for the determination of tariff annually. The Board will fix tariff after hearing the viewpoint of the government and the consumers and holding public hearing. The order of the board will be a binding only after two years. This provision has been made to allow smooth transition to the new tariff system. The state Cabinet could overrule its decision for the first two years. To begin with, the board will take care of the public transport services and water supply. Its scope will be extended subsequently to cover education, health and other sectors. In case of transport services besides the state road transport corporation, the Private Bus Operator’s Union will also file application for the determination of tariff. All urban local bodies will file separate applications for the determination of water charges. In the case of rural water supply the Irrigation and Public Health Department will file the application. The board will comprise an economist, an administrator and a subject matter specialist, preferably one specialising in water supply. Himachal will be the first state in the country to set up a regulatory body for various services. |
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31 lakh donated for relief fund
Kangra, May 9 A musical evening ‘Mumbai Musical Blast’ was organised by the Department of Tourism at the local Municipal Stadium to raise funds for the relief fund. The cheque was presented for the healthcare of people living below the poverty line. The evening, first of its kind in the state, was attended by a galaxy of the Bollywood singers and famous music director duo Jatin Lalit. Thousands of the music lovers thronged the stadium which was decorated tastefully for the purpose. Paritha, the voice behind the famous songs from
‘Mohabattein’ enthralled the audience. TV anchor Archana Puran Singh conducted the program. Mr Babul
Supriyo, Poornima, Vinod Rathore, Alesia Raout of ‘Kanta Laga’ fame performed on the occasion. The Chief Minister was accompanied by the Revenue Minister, Mr Sat Mahajan and other ministers. The CM honored all artistes on the occasion. |
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Red Cross Mela on June 7
Shimla, May 9 The decision was taken at the meeting of the Red Cross Hospital branch here today. Presiding over the meeting, Mrs Leena Kokje, the Lady Governor, said that welfare activities of the Red Cross should not be restricted to urban areas, and the poor and needy people should get the maximum benefits of these activities. She also appealed to the members of the Red Cross to come forward to raise maximum resources for the purpose. The secretary, Red Cross Society, Mr U.S. Thakur, gave details of the activities of the Red Cross and informed that about Rs 3 lakh was collected from the Red Cross fair last year. |
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Exploited by boy, girl commits suicide
Dharamsala, May 9 According to the police, the girl had alleged that she had met the accused on Friday and he had molested her despite her resistance. He also refused to marry her. In her complaint, she had said that Naresh, who is a driver with a private transport company, had been sexually exploiting her for a long time. The father of the girl told the police that soon after the arrest of the accused, his daughter had started getting threatening telephone calls, which added to her plight and she committed suicide by consuming poison. DSP R.S.Jamwal said two separate cases had been registered against the accused. While the Palampur police arrested him on the rape charge, he had been booked for abatement to suicide at Baijnath police station. In another incident in the Paprola area of Baijnath subdivision, a nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed on May 5. According to the police, the accused hit her with an exercise weight and then put her body in a sack and threw it in a drain behind Paprola High School. As per the complaint lodged by the father of the girl, she had gone out to buy something with her friends on the evening of May 4 but did not return home. The victim was a student of class III and the family had migrated here from Rajasthan some years ago. |
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Man arrested for stocking liquor
Baddi, May 9 Hailing from Haripur Sandholi, the shopkeeper had been selling these bottles illegally. A case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered |
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Sharma SJVN Director (Finance)
Shimla, May 9 He has been working as General Manager (Finance) in the company since June, 2003, and as head of the entire finance functions since March, 2004, after the post of Director (Finance) fell vacant. |
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