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HP equity participation in hydro projects soon: CM
Heavy rain in Kangra
Now, apple management through remote sensing
Non-experts running disease programme?
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Raising Day of BSL project celebrated
Batch-wise selection of JEs sought
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HP equity participation in hydro projects soon: CM
Rampur Bushahar, July 8 This was revealed by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while addressing a public gathering at Bahali village in Rampur Bushahar area last evening. The Chief Minister said that his government was keen to get maximum benefits for the state and its people from the hydel power projects being executed by public sector undertakings of the Union Government and joint ventures in lieu of the long-term use of the natural wealth available in the state. He said that both Parbati and Koldam projects were allotted by the previous government to the Union Government undertakings wherein no equity participation and other rehabilitation packages were ensured for the state. He said that 1500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project was executed during his regime wherein 25 per cent of equity participation had been obtained while the Parbati and Koldam projects were allotted much later and no condition of equity participation had been imposed. This was likely to deprive financial benefits accruing to about Rs 40,000 crore to the state in the coming years. He claimed that his government had been raising the issue at various platforms to obtain the state’s legitimate right in these hydro power projects. He said that during his recent visit to New Delhi, he had reiterated the equity participation in both the projects to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde who had assured correction in the agreements and a positive outcome was expected in the coming days. He said that his government was committed to exploit the entire identified hydel potential in the state so that power could be supplied to the neighbouring states while safeguarding the interests of the state and its people. He said that effective steps were already underway to check price rise in essential commodities and the same were being imported and made available to the consumers through the public distribution system outlets all over the state at much cheaper rates. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Singhi Ram, local MP Pratibha Singh and Chairperson of Shimla Zila Parishad Chander Prabha Negi were among the others present on the occasion.
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Heavy rain in Kangra
Kangra, July 8 ‘Khuds’ and irrigation channels started overflowing. With the drains being choked, rain water pooled in the lanes and bylanes here. One-and-a-half feet water stood on the Kangra-Shimla highway, disrupting traffic. Rainwater entered shops on the Dharamsala road. Shopkeepers were seen saving their belongings from damage since morning. The situation was worse in the Vivekananda Vihar, Adarsh colony, Ujain near new bus stand and Jayanti Vihar where virtually rivers were flowing along the roads and entering houses and courtyards. In Vivekananda Vihar, a 16-metre long and six-feet high concrete wall of a house fell down. Adarsh colony and Professors’ colony too was water logged. The fire brigade pumped out flood water from the low-lying area near a local petrol pump. Mr D.S. Balouria, in charge, local fire station, said water was pumped out of the head post office building too. Reports of waterlogging were received from the industrial area, Jayanti Vihar, Zamanabad road, Bahari Mohala and Jogipur road and new and old bus stand areas. Water also entered some houses behind the new bus stand. The road in front of the DAV Public school and DAV College was damaged. Traffic on the Kangra-Tanda road was disrupted as a retaining wall of the road near the flour mill gave way.
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Now, apple management through remote sensing
Shimla, July 8 The State Council for Science, Technology and Environment has undertaken a project using remote sensing and GI system so that there can be a ready database of the entire area under apple cultivation, its varieties and the potential areas where the fruit can grow under ideal conditions. The council in collaboration with the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, has undertaken the project, “Integrated development of horticulture with inputs from remote sensing and GI system”. The project will cover the area in the six apple-growing districts of Shimla, Mandi, Kulu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Sirmour. The Union Ministry of Agriculture under the Horticulture Technology Mission (HTM) is funding the project. In fact, it is for the first time that such an extensive study is being undertaken in the country to assess the present scenario and future prospects of the apple fruit. Even though Himachal is vying to become the “fruit bowl” of India but poor crop due to vagaries of weather and other factors on a number of occasions affects the production. “In the first phase of the project, we have prepared complete database along with maps of three districts of Shimla, Mandi and Kulu,” informed Ms Alka Sharma, Scientific Officer in the council.
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Non-experts running disease programme?
Mandi, July 8 According to informed sources, the state Health and Family Welfare Department has appointed IDSP’s state surveillance officers not from the Public Health Department, but from the other specialties. “Even the staff of 13 people, both clerical and data operators have not been appointed freshly on a contract basis as the IDSP prescribes, but deployed from the parent department,” revealed the sources. In March 2005, when Himachal Pradesh was selected as one of nine states in the country for the IDSP, the state surveillance officers were the non-public health experts, disclosed sources. The first state surveillance officer, Neena Shandil, who retired on June 30 last, was an “anaesthetist, not a public health expert,” revealed insiders. “Even her successor Gian Chand, is a child health specialist,” they revealed. The Health Department has also not appointed a full-time finance consultant, while a non-qualified untrained doctor has been shown as a training consultant for the programme, sources disclosed. As per the IDSP’s guidelines, the training consultant should be a field epidemiologist. “But the present consultant, who is not qualified enough, has been on leave for the past three months”. “The IDSP training work has suffered on account of this, even as the water-borne have diseases season has already begun in several districts in the state,” sources disclosed. As a result, the Central Government has stopped the funds meant for payment the salaries for the staff to the tune of Rs 1 lakh or more per month, sources disclosed. “The IDSP staff salaries are being paid not from the IDSP, but from the other heads since December last”. To present a rosy picture of the IDSP in state, the health authorities had allegedly misrepresented the facts at the meeting held on June 14-15 to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi, which is the nodal agency for the programme, sources disclosed. However, the IDSP’s state surveillance officer, Dr Neena Shandil, who led the programe till June 30 last, claimed that they had already deployed the staff for the programme and had put in place the Rapid Response Team (RRT) in each district to meet the disease outbreak in the state. Dr Shandil said the district surveillance officers had been trained to monitor the disease outbreak, but the lab technicians were yet to be appointed so far. “The public health labs are being put in place,” she added. The NGOs, deputed by the Centre, would visit —two focal areas- the Tanda Medical College, near Dharamshala, and Indira Gandhi Medical College(IGMC), Shimla, to identify the high-risk areas for the IDSP surveys, to be conducted from the second week of July in the state, she informed. The Director, Health Services, M.L. Mahajan, claimed that the state surveillance officers were public health experts. “The staff
have been recruited as per the norms,” he claimed, but put the buck on the state surveillance officer for further inquires on the IDSP.
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Raising Day of BSL project celebrated
Sundernagar, July 8 Mr D.P Goel, Chief Engineer of BBMB, Sundernagar, along with other senior officers paid homage to the 212 workers who laid down their lives when this 990-MW hydel project was in construction stage. From Pandoh, the Beas has been diverted, the water of which ultimately falls in to the Sutlej at Slapper after producing electricity. As the name suggests, the Beas and Sutlej were linked through this project. In 1977 on July 7, the generation of electricity was started at Dehar Power House at Slapper. The workers and officers and a contingent of the police assembled at Pandoh dam to pay homage at Sheed Smarak, a monument which was constructed at Pandoh dam. The staff of BBMB
also planted a sapling on this occasion.
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Batch-wise selection of JEs sought
Kangra, July 8 Mr Sanjeev Rattra, senior vice-president of the HP Unemployed Engineers Association in a statement here welcomed the direction of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to the board to appoint junior engineers and assistant engineers. He demanded that these posts be filled batch-wise amongst the unemployed junior engineers waiting for jobs for 20 to 25 years.
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