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Telecom services yet to be restored
India, Russia to hold anti-terror exercises
Boy too succumbs to poison
Himachal to challenge HC order on CPS
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Demand to set up family courts for single women
Chamba in need of women’s hostel
HC order on Rohtang tunnel
Gen Pande takes charge of Command
Justice Verma is Administrative Tribunal chief
Manisha meets Dalai Lama
Navratra fair begins
Nigam sworn in member of Service Commission
2 die in mishaps
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Telecom services yet to be restored in Rekong Peo
Rekong Peo, October 4 Although the telephone
services in the district headquarters here and in the upper Kinnaur
regions of Kalpa, Sangla, Pooh, Choling, Sumdo and other areas were
restored with satellite in an emergency situation, the services remained
very poor. The Internet service suffered a severe setback as the
capacity of satellite transmission is comparatively very less than the
fibre optic cable network system. Moreover, it is on the mercy of
weather conditions, that in most of the times remains bad. As on date,
the Internet service is almost dead with virtually any efforts made by
the BSNL to enhance its speed. The present capacity of satellite
transmission link in Rekong Peo is 2MB that is quite insufficient to
download and transmit data. “We are in the process of increasing the
satellite transmission capacity to 8MB in the next few weeks that will
enable run Internet efficiently,” said Mr C.R. Chauhan, DET (Telecom)
Kinnaur district. On the other hand, some sources in the telecom
office revealed that the required machinery/equipments were here for the
past few weeks to be installed, but the process to initiate work on this
project was being delayed due to some administrative lapses. At least
a 12-km length of fibre optic cable was cut due to the flashfloods
between Tapri and Rekong Peo, the area in which a large portion of the
National Highway-22 was washed away in the flash floods. With regard
to the cellphone services, there is a proposal to set up a few
transmission towers in the upper regions of Kinnaur in the next couple
of months. Locals complain that the network remains busy most of the
time. |
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India, Russia to hold anti-terror exercises
Sanawar, October 4 Disclosing this here today, the Chief
of the Army Staff, Gen J.J. Singh, said the exercises would be
undertaken in Rajasthan later this month. One company (about 150 men)
would be deployed by either Army. The Army Chief said the troops would
be airdropped over a purported terrorist location to neutralise the
terrorist stronghold. “Indian officers would command two of the three
Russian platoons participating in the exercise and the Russian officers
would do likewise,” he said. Il-76 and An-32 aircraft would be used
and heavy equipment, including armoured personnel carriers, would also
be airdropped. “The troops would be training for non-conventional
operations in an low-intensity conflict environment, the type which
forces involved in UN peace-keeping operations may be called upon to
undertake,” the Chief said. The Army would also showcase its hi-tech
fore prowess before an international audience in the deserts near
Pokharan in Rajasthan next month. Gen J. J. Singh said the foreign
military attaches based in New Delhi as well as observers from
neighbouring countries, including China, would be invited to witness the
exercise. This exercise, he said, would display the Army’s entire
gamut of operations, right from observation and surveillance to the
final assault and also involve the Air Force. The brigade-level exercise
is being conducted by the Southern Command. The Army Chief also said
that the Army was imbibing information warfare (IW) capabilities in a
big way. “IW has emerged as the predominant method of fighting a war,
where the enemy’s command and decision-making capabilities are hit,”
he said. “We are investing more time and resources in it,” he
added. He said devising new doctrines, the thrust was now on revising
battle procedures and exploiting force multipliers. “With hi-tech
equipment coming in, the battlefield is becoming more transparent. We
need to continuously change our techniques of assault because as we
modernise and change, so does the enemy,” he remarked. He said
phase-II of the A. V. Singh committee on officer-cadre restructure,
which deals with officers of the rank of Brigadier and above, was
expected to come through in a few months. The Chief also claimed that
more people were now coming forward to take up armed forces as a career
as they were not satisfied with the private sector. “The wheel has
turned a full circle,” he remarked. |
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Boy too succumbs to poison
Kangra, October 4 Ashok and Aneeta had fallen in love six years ago and were eager
to get married. Ashok told The Tribune yesterday that the parents of
Aneeta were against the alliance. Aneeta was engaged and was to be
married in three months which was against Aneeta’s choice and both
decided to commit suicide by consuming poison. Both consumed poison in
local Preet Hotel in the town on Sunday morning with a cold drink and
Aneeta died yesterday in the hospital. Her body was lying in the
corridors of the hospital for hours, waiting for her parents. Ashok,
when he was struggling for life in the hospital yesterday reiterated his
wish to marry Aneeta, not knowing that she was already dead. At 8.30
p.m., the news of her death was broken to Ashok he could not sustain the
shock and breathed his last. The parents of both Aneeta and Ashok did
not come here to collect the bodies of the two despite information
conveyed to them telephonically by the police. At 10.30 this morning
Ashok’s body was taken to Dharamshala for a post mortem as an
unclaimed body. Kangra district police chief S.P. Singh told The Tribune
that a police party had been rushed to Dhariwal in Gurdaspur district to
bring the relatives of Ashok and Aneeta. |
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Himachal to challenge HC order on CPS
Chandigarh, October 4 "The Himachal
Government was in touch with Supreme Court lawyers and the Special Leave
Petition (SLP) will be filed during the ongoing Navratras," the minister, who
also holds the portfolios of Law and Parliamentary Affairs,
announced at a press conference in the Chandigarh Press
Club. Justifying the appointments, the minister claimed that even
during the chief ministership of YS Parmer, Shanta Kumar and PK Dhumal,
these functionaries were appointed and that there was nothing
"illegal" about the appointments. On the issue of Himachal's
7.19 per cent share amounting to about Rs 20,000 crore from Punjab,
Thakur Kaul Singh, however, parried questions whether the state would
raise this issue at the forthcoming conference of the Congress-ruled
Chief Minister at Chandigarh on October 7 and 8. He accused the former
BJP government, led by Mr PK Dhumal, of not pursuing state's case with
the SAD-BJP government in Punjab on this issue. Asserting that the
Virbhadra Singh government was "committed to the overall
development of the state" , the minister claimed that the state had
emerged as number one state in the education field. And as far as
overall development was concerned, it was only behind Punjab. With a
view to tackling the shortage of water, the state government had chalked
out a Rs 40-crore plan for Shimla. Besides, a sewerage scheme costing Rs
74 crore, including a Rs 20 crore sewerage treatment plant for Shimla,
had been initiated, he added. |
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Demand to set up family courts for single women
Shimla, October 4 Over 120 participants from all over
Himachal Pradesh attended the state-level conference of single women,
which concluded here today. The participants highlighted the economic,
social and political problems faced by widows and other single
women. The participants said though panchayats had been entrusted with
the task of ensuring maintenance allowance to single women but in the
absence of a proper legal system these matters often went to courts
where it took several years before the cases were settled. They pointed
out that women also faced great difficulty in getting divorce as the
cases remained pending in courts. Giving data, the Director of SUTRA
(Social Uplift Through Social Action) Mr Subhash Mendhapurkar, said
there were a total of 2.50 lakh single women in Himachal Pradesh, every
seventh one being a widow. He said as compared to 14.38 lakh married
women, there were 2.29 lakh widows while the number of divorcees was
8,336 and single women above the age of 40 were 7,267. “Even though
the law ensured share in property to single women but due to practical
problems they were not being given their share either at their parents
place or at the in-laws house,” he remarked. The other demands raised
by these women included free medical facility and pension as per
economic status and requirement of the individual. Ms Majula Joshi,
from SUTRA, Rajasthan, stressed the need for doing away with the age-old
customs and traditions, which basically hurt the sentiments of single
women. “Though it was only some of the southern states like Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka which had set up family courts, even
though they were a must in every state,” she stressed. Ms Joshi said
at present 20 NGO’s in seven districts of Himachal Pradesh were
actively involved in helping the cause of single women. The NGO wanted
that volunteers should reach every nook and corner of the state so that
not a single women was harassed by her own family or society,” she
said. |
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Chamba in need of women’s hostel
Chamba, October 4 There are demands that the government
should construct another building for the well-being of poor working
women of this district. Since Chamba is devoid of a hostel for working
women, the funds received under various schemes cannot be utilised for
the welfare of women. The hostels for tribesmen, orphans and destitute
are also in need of renovation. The anganwari centres in Mehla, Salooni,
Tissa, Bharmour and Pangi blocks are facing an acute shortage of staff.
About 80 per cent posts have been lying vacant for several years.
Officials in the department say that if the requisite strength of
staff is provided, the centrally sponsored schemes worth crores of
rupees could be implemented in letter and spirit. |
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HC order on Rohtang tunnel
Shimla, October 4 During the hearing of this
matter, a Division Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta
and Mr Justice Deepak Gupta, appreciated the Central Government for
approving to this project. Mr Sandeep Sharma, Assistant
Solicitor-General, apprised the court on behalf of the Central
Government that this project would be executed by the Border Roads
Organisation. This public interest litigation (PIL) came for hearing
before the court and senior counsel Rajiv Sharma informed the court that
due to non-conversion of the land for this project, the work may linger
on unnecessarily. To avoid such a situation, the court directed the
Chief Secretary of the state to ensure that a meeting of all officers
concerned, is held within six weeks to sort out the problems. The court
further directed that at this meeting, apart from others, the
representatives of the Ministries of Defence and Forest of the
Government of India, Director-General, Border Roads Organisation, along
with his representative would participate. The court also directed that
if need be, a team of officers could be asked to visit the site
physically so that it takes stock of the situation obtaining the spot so
that the survey and inspection of the area for identifying the land has
to be carried out well before October 31. |
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Gen Pande takes charge of Command
Shimla,
October 4 An alumnus of the National
Defence Academy, General Pande was commissioned into the Mahar Regiment.
During his illustrious career spanning over nearly four decades he held
varied staff and instructional assignments. Notable among them included
Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division and Brigadier General Staff
(Operations) of central command. He has had instructional tenures at
NDA, Officers Training Academy and Defence Services Staff College,
Wellington. General Pande commanded the Tiger division during
operation Parakram and was awarded Vishist Seva Medal for his
outstanding professional contribution. He was Additional Director
General Operational Logistics at Army Headquarters prior to joining his
new appointment on promotion. |
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Justice Verma is Administrative Tribunal chief
Shimla, October 4 Mr Justice Verma did his graduation from
Panjab University in 1963 and obtained Bachelor’s degree in Law from
Agra University in 1966. He joined the Himachal judicial service in
1970. He was elevated to the bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court in
1999 and retired in June 2005. |
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Manisha meets Dalai Lama
Dharamsala, October 4 Talking to mediapersons, she said she
had read a lot about the Tibetan spiritual and political head and it was
her long-cherished desire to have a one-to-one meeting with him. She
also took a round of the main Tibetan market in McLeodganj. The funds
raised from the events being promoted by her in McLeodganj and
Dharamsala would be used for charitable purposes. — TNS |
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Navratra fair begins
Nahan, October 4 Thousands of
devotees from different northern states today on the occasion of the
first Sharad Navratra paid obeisance at the historic Shri Bala Sundri
Temple in Trilokpur. The fair concludes after 15 days. Other Navratra
fairs concludes after nine days. Such fairs takes place at Tripur Bala
Sundri Temple Jamta, Bhagwati Katasan Temple at Katasan village on
Nahan-Paonta road, Shri Renuka Ji, Maa Bhagani Devi at Haripur Dhar Maa
Lalita Devi temple and Tribhuwani Devi on the Haryana border. |
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Nigam sworn in member of Service Commission
Shimla, October 4 Mr Arvind Kaul, Chairman, of the commission,
administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at a simple
ceremony. Mr S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, Mr P.C. Katoch, a member of
the commission, Mr T.G. Negi, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister
and other senior officers were present on the occasion. |
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2 die in mishaps
Kumarhatti, October 4 Truck driver fled the spot. People gathered at the spot and rushed
Ajai to community health centre, Dharampur. He had received severe head
injuries. He has died on the way to health centre. A case under Sections
279 and 304-A of IPC was registered. Meanwhile a college-going girl was
crashed to death by a truck at Jharmajri bus stop near Baddi yesterday.
Rita Sharma (18) a student of BA Ist year at Government Degree College,
Nalagarh was waiting for a bus when a truck run over her. The truck
driver could not control the vehicle while trying to take turn. Naresh
Kumar truck driver from Ropar district has been arrested. A case under
Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC was registered. |
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Chandigarh, October 4
