H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

PM to commission Nathpa Jhakri project on May 28
Shimla, May 24
Completed at a cost of Rs 82,500 crore, the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project stands out for its amazing features which have no parallel in the history of hydropower development.

Bihar Assembly dissolved under pressure, says BJP
Shimla, May 24
Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP chief, has alleged that the UPA regime at the Centre had dissolved the Bihar Vidhan Sabha under pressure from the tainted ministers who did not want the NDA to form government in the state at any cost.

Six primary schools go without teachers
Mandi, May 24
As many as six government primary schools in the Bamsan, Drang and Jogindernagar constituencies have no teachers. Ironically these schools fall in the constituencies represented by top BJP leaders and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and IPH Minister Thakur Kaul Singh.

Tourists enjoy the swing ride at Fun Village, near Kufri, 25 km from Shimla, on Tuesday. — Photo by Anil Dayal

Orphan becomes a point of contention
Nurpur, May 24
A six-day-old baby has become a bone of contention between two families who are keen to adopt him. An orphan who was left in the fields in Rehan town near here on May 19 by an unidentified mother has become a ray of hope for Bimla Devi and Balwant Singh of Ban Kadolli village.

Art students hold protest march
Mandi, May 24
Art and crafts students today hold a protest march in the town, raising anit-government slogans following the failure of the government to resolve their long-pending demand.

PM to commission Nathpa Jhakri project on May 28
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 24
Completed at a cost of Rs 82,500 crore, the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project stands out for its amazing features which have no parallel in the history of hydropower development.

The country’s largest hydro-electric venture, which is being dedicated to the nation on May 28 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is an engineering marvel with the world’s biggest underground desilting complex, Asia’s largest underground power house and one of the longest power tunnels in the world.

The engineers of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam have reasons to be elated over their achievement as with almost 90 per cent of works underground, the execution of the mega project posed a big challenge. In fact, barring the diversion dam located at Nathpa no other component of the project is visible over ground. There was no option as the stretch of the Sutlej on which the project has been constructed is almost bankless.

The desilting arrangement comprises four huge underground chambers, each of which is about half-a-kilometre (525 m) long, 16.31 m wide and has a depth of a nine-storeyed high building (27.5 m). Similarly, the underground power house complex is located in a cavern measuring 220m x 22m x 49m , big enough to house a 17-storeyed structure. A 27.4 km long head-race tunnel and a 301 m deep surge shaft are the other salient features of the project.

There are some interesting facts, which give a fair idea of the enormity of the task and the effort required to accomplish it. As many as 58 lakh cubic metres of earth was excavated during the construction of project which was equivalent to drilling a hole of 75 cm diameter across the globe. The excavated material could be spread into a 8 m wide and 12.5 cm thick carpet on the Great Wall of China.

Further, the 3.20 lakh tonnes of steel used was enough to lay a rail line along the quadrilateral connecting the four metropolis of the country and the 14 million bags of cement used in construction would be sufficient to provide a 75 cm-wide pavement around the earth. Besides 250-MW capacity generating units have been installed for the first time in any project in the country.

Quite a few lessons have emerged from the project which has been marred by a bitter tussle between the state and the Centre, endless disputes between the direct recruits of the Nigam and the deputationists from the state power board and unrest among workers of the private companies assigned various works. The project had more than its share of natural calamities with landslides, cloudbursts and flash floods devastating the projects on three occasions. As a result of all this, the project was commissioned about six years behind schedule and almost at double the estimated cost. The huge cost and time overruns could have been prevented to a large extent by proper planning and resolving all contentious issues before signing the agreement for the execution of the project.

The first unit started generation in October 2003 and the project was fully commissioned in May 2004. Till date it has generated 7,340 million units of power. The project has not as yet overcome its teething troubles and it has been operating below capacity due to excessive silt content and low discharge in the river. There have been numerous breakdowns because of the damage caused by silt to the turbines. The Nigam is trying to find a solution by coating the parts prone to damage with erosion resistant tugsten-based materials.

The project was conceived in the late 1960s when Mr K.L. Rao, the then Union Minister for Irrigation and Power, visited the site and found the project an attractive proposition. The late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, launched the construction work with the inaugural blast on April 13, 1989, but the project got going on the ground only after 1993.

Bihar Assembly dissolved under pressure, says BJP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 24
Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP chief, has alleged that the UPA regime at the Centre had dissolved the Bihar Vidhan Sabha under pressure from the tainted ministers who did not want the NDA to form government in the state at any cost.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said it was for the first time in the history of independent India that a duly elected Vidhan Sabha had been dissolved without exploring all the possibilities of forming a popular government.

The Governor, instead of discharging his duty as the constitutional head, chose to play a partisan role and took the unprecedented step of dissolving the assembly without letting the 243 legislators even enter the Vidhan Sabha premises.

Obviously, the UPA government had succumbed to the blackmailing tactics of Mr Lalu Prasad, who along with the Left parties, had succeeded in extracting more than their pound of flesh during the one-year rule. It was an act extreme political morality and an affront to democracy.

The track record of the UPA had been dismal with prices soaring, unemployment problem getting worse and foreign policy in the reverse gear. The rate of inflation, which hovered around 4 per cent during the NDA regime, had touched 7 per cent and the promise of providing job to every one had been all but completely forgotten.

The government had failed to muster enough support of various countries to back its claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. It was, thus, hardly surprising that even the Left parties, which were supporting the UPA government, had refused to join the celebrations to mark the completion of its one year in office.

Referring to the situation in the state, he said unlike the BJP regime, the Virbhadra Singh government had failed to secure any special financial assistance form the Centre. The state was reeling under a financial crunch as a result of which development activity in the state had come to a halt.

Instead of giving an economic package to the state, the UPA government had diluted the industrial package sanctioned by the Vajpayee regime. The Prime Ministers Rural Road Programme started by the NDA regime had also taken a back seat.

Six primary schools go without teachers
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 24
As many as six government primary schools in the Bamsan, Drang and Jogindernagar constituencies have no teachers. Ironically these schools fall in the constituencies represented by top BJP leaders and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and IPH Minister Thakur Kaul Singh.

Not only this, as many as over 220 primary schools in Mandi district have a single teacher each, while 25 institutions in Hamirpur district are functioning as a single-teacher schools, officials revealed.

In the Drang constituency, represented by Thakur Kaul Singh, the government primary school, Bardhan, has no teacher. “We have brought this to the notice of the minister but the request has fallen on deaf ears. We are being victimised as we have no voice to bring this to the notice of the state government,” rued villagers, fearing political vendetta.

Ironically Thakur Kaul Singh, whenever he comes to his constituency, has been boasting that the state government is spending crores of rupees on education and will never allow the shortage of teachers in the schools.

The rural children in the two primary schools — Sungri in Gopalpur block, and Mantah in Mandi Sadar block — are without a teacher, sources disclosed. These constituencies are represented by Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao and Mr Sukh Ram, Congress Sadar MLA.

In Chauntra block in the Jogindernagar constituency, three government primary schools are without teachers. These are Poplotu, Kutheri and Bihali, sources say. “We have brought this to the notice of the Education Department, but no one has bothered to appoint a teacher so far,” they added.

Currently the Jogindernagar constituency is represented by the Congress MLA. Earlier it was the bastion of the BJP leader and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Thakur Gulab Singh.

The government primary school, Utpar in the Bamsan constituency in Hamirpur district has no teacher for the past few months, revealed the sources in the district Education Department. This constituency is represented by the Leader of the Opposition, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The district Education Department is seized of the issue, but it expresses their inability to send teachers there. “As soon as we appoint a teacher, they manage to get their transfer cancelled. It is a vicious circle here,” commented district education officials, requesting anonymity.

The Director, Primary Education, Mr B.M. Nanta, said that the department was appointing para-teachers in the staff-deficient schools soon.

Orphan becomes a point of contention
Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, May 24
A six-day-old baby has become a bone of contention between two families who are keen to adopt him. An orphan who was left in the fields in Rehan town near here on May 19 by an unidentified mother has become a ray of hope for Bimla Devi and Balwant Singh of Ban Kadolli village. But their hopes were dashed as a legal complication has come in their way.

According to the information Hukam Singh of Rehan village spotted the newly born child in the field on May 19 who intimated the local police chowki. The police registered an FIR number 158/2005 same day under Section 317 of the IPC.

Meanwhile, Surjit Singh and his wife Bimla Devi offered themselves to adopt the orphan baby boy as they were having three daughters and by adopting the child they intended to complete their family. They urged the local police to hand over the child to them and the latter had reportedly given the baby to them as caretaker. The jubiliant parents after taking the baby in their custody celebrated this and distributed sweets in the village. They also moved an application in the local judicial court for the legal release of the child to them but it was dismissed. Next day another couple who also intended to adopt the baby moved an application in the court which too, was dismissed.

Meanwhile the local administration intervenned following the information given by the Nurpur police and the child was taken back by the police from the custody of the Surjeet Singh and his wife Bimla Devi on May 21. The administration admitted the child to the local civil Hospital under the police custody. The hospital sources reveal that the child is hale and hearty. However Bimla Devi is still nursing the child in the hospital. Bimla Devi alleged that she had initiated the process of adopting the orphan baby boy but the local administration had been favouring other.

Denying the allegation of favourtism, Mr N.K. Lath SDM, said he followed the rules while admitting the child to the Civil Hospital . He clarified that he had received four applications for the adoption of the baby but it was in the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. The matter has been forwarded to the DC Kangra, for requisite action, he said.

Art students hold protest march
Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 24
Art and crafts students today hold a protest march in the town, raising anit-government slogans following the failure of the government to resolve their long-pending demand.

Led by the SFI, the students demanded that the future of over 1,500 students, who have done the art and crafts diplomas, hanged in the balance as the diplomas were not being recognised by the government.

The SFI leaders said that it was the government which had allowed these institutes to function in the state. The students had spent money and time getting the art and craft and other diplomas from these institutes, but the government had refused to recognise the diplomas, the leaders said.

The diplomas should be recognised as the students had been suffering for over six months, rued Mr Chandermani, convener of the art and crafts students.