 |
|
|
7 killed, 14 hurt as HRTC bus
falls into gorge
Registration of migrants, foreigners mandatory
Vivekanand institute, JP group to sign MoU
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Shimla SP to join night patrolling
Nod to 2 private universities
Poppy growers outsmart law enforcers
Medical representatives hold a protest march in Kangra on Thursday.
Photo by Ashok Raina
Dhumal defends son’s candidature
Tibetans’ body refutes terror charge
Idol Theft
Only 4 apply for Cong ticket
Sopori to perform in Shimla
Woman commits suicide
BJP-backed man elected bank director
Fire-hit get relief
More portfolios for Kapoor, Bindal
|
|
7 killed, 14 hurt as HRTC bus
falls into gorge
Chamba, April 24 Deputy Commissioner Munish Garg and other district officers, alongwith a team of doctors, rushed to the accident site. The police, home guards and local people joined the relief and rescue operations, Garg said. According to Chamba ASP D.K. Choudhary, the seven persons who died on the spot were Suneel driver, Bhagwan Dass, a special police officer, Mazleel Ali, an ITBP Jawan, Ravinder Pathania, a teacher, Ashraf, Nar Singh and Lali. The injured who had been admitted to the civil hospitals of Jhajakothi and Tissa included Ravinder Kumar (conductor), Pritam, Des Raj, Mehmood Khan, Sher Mohd., Shiv Dyal, Rohit, Paras Ram, Sher Singh, Budhia, Hari Lal, Pinku, Suvidha and Yog Raj. Three of the seriously injured passengers have been referred to the regional hospital, Chamba. A case had been registered. The deputy commissioner announced that relief would be provided to next of kin of the deceased and the injured persons as per the relief manual. Meanwhile, Governor V.S. Kokje and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have sent condolences to the bereaved families. |
||
|
Registration of migrants, foreigners mandatory
Shimla, April 24 This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal here today. “Directions have been issued to all three departments to make it mandatory for migrant labourers and foreign nationals to get themselves registered in Himachal,” he said. He said guidelines would be formed at the state level and the Home and Labour Departments would start the exercise immediately. The three departments would work in close coordination to ensure that the guidelines were formed at the earliest. This decision has been taken by the government following tension in the Nadaun area in Hamirpur after a local boy was killed allegedly by migrant workers. The Chief Minister said foreigners were welcome in the state which was particular about their safety. “However, there have been instances when foreigners overstay even after the expiry of their visa, especially in the Kullu-Manali and Dharamsala areas,” he said. Talking about the problem of price rise, he said it was the responsibility of the Centre to check it. “Since Himachal is a consumer state, checking price rise is more the responsibility of the Centre than the state,” he remarked. Dhumal said the state government had sought more foodgrains from the Centre. “The previous Congress government had started the subsidised ration scheme but did not make any budgetary provision and our regime made two allocations of Rs 70 crore and Rs 90 crore in the budget,” he said. Instead of refined oil the consumers would now be given palmolin oil while chana would replace malka dal. |
||
|
Vivekanand institute, JP group to sign MoU
Palampur, April 23 Official sources said here today that the Jai Parkash group would sign an MoU with the VMRT within a month and take over its control to gear up the construction of incomplete buildings. The medical college and nursing school was likely to start from April 1 next year. The VMRT has 60 acres of land on the Pathankot-Mandi highway just 3 km from the town. Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar had earlier requested the state government to transfer 15 acres of more land to the VMRT. The government is likely to transfer this land also to the JP group so that a good campus could be developed here. The proposal to set up this super specialty institution here was mooted by Shanta Kumar in 1992, when he was Chief Minister. This medical institute was meant to provide quality medical care to the people of the lower region where there was lack of good medical facilities. Unfortunately, this project remained a victim of dirty politics for 15 years as the governments that ruled the state did not work sincerely for its early completion The construction of the Rs 80-crore Vivekanand Medical College and Research Institute was left half way in 2003 after the the BJP was vote out of power. The trust had spent over Rs 20 crore on this project till date. The main buildings, hospital block, nursing hostel, residential blocks, guest house have been left incomplete as all donations received by the trust have been exhausted. During the December, 2007, assembly elections the VMRT remained a major election issue. The Congress, which was accused of neglecting this project, was defeated in lower areas, particularly Kangra, Una, Chamba and Hamirpur. The VMRT has made a specific provision in its bylaws to keep 20 per cent beds reserved for poor patients who will get free medical aid. The trust is also committed to providing good medical facilities at affordable rates to other patients. The estimated cost of this project, which was approximately Rs 80 crore in 2003, was likely to touch Rs 200 crore now.
|
||
|
Shimla SP to join night patrolling
Shimla, April 24 All senior district police officers have been assigned a day as night patrolling will be done throughout the week to prevent crimes, most of which take place during the night. The night patrolling by officers has been started so that small crimes and hooliganism in the capital can be checked, especially during the peak tourist season when it is flooded with people. The district police chief R.M. Sharma will also undertake night patrolling to ensure that police personnel are doing their job well. “Days have been fixed and two additional SPs, two DSPs and two district inspectors have already been entrusted the task of night patrolling,” he said. During night patrolling these officers would make surprise checks at the police stations since at times even cops are found lacking in duty. “Another area where we have encountered a problem is the murders and other crimes taking place in hotels which will also have surprise checks,” he said. The police has from time to time been holding talks with the hoteliers’ associations so that they can be encouraged to be vigilant while registering tourists. Practically, every year one or more murders take place in hotels and in the absence of accurate information in the hotel registers it gets very difficult for the police to solve the cases. “We have been requesting the hoteliers to be more careful and surprise checking by our officers will act as a deterrent so that they are more cautious while booking tourists,” he said. Another benefit of night patrolling by officers will ensure that police personnel are on duty and behave properly with people. It is common knowledge that cops on duty are often found in a drunken state and at times misbehave with people. “The night patrolling is not just for prevention of crime but also to ensure police efficiency,” the SP admitted. The involvement of the officers in night patrolling is likely to make a lot of difference. During the busy tourist season there are a lot of brawls and most crimes take place during the night.
|
||
|
Shimla, April 24 “The Chandigarh-based Chitkara Education Trust and the Himachal-based Kalgidhar Society have been issued letters, allowing them to open universities at Baddi in Solan district and Baru Sahib in Sirmaur district, respectively,” said P.C. Dhiman, principal secretary, education. Both institutions would lay stress on professional courses and start their sessions in July. There would be a provision for reserving 15 per cent seats for students from Himachal. The Chitkara Education Trust campus would come up on the outskirts of the industrial town of Baddi. Emphasis would be on engineering, architecture, pharmacy and information technology courses here. The Kalgidhar Trust campus at Baru Sahib would have courses in engineering, public health, naturopathy, business administration, nursing and teacher education. At least 12 other private parties had applied for opening universities in the state, but the government had so far given permission to only these two trusts. — IANS
|
||
|
Poppy growers outsmart law enforcers
Mandi, April 24 The joint team of over 40 men could not spot any standing opium or poppy crop during the last three days of the drive. The target was the Chohar valley in the Drang constituency. However, remains of the destroyed poppy plants were found dumped in nullahs in the Ropa area. There were reports that around 30 bighas were under poppy cultivation and the crop was ready for harvesting. The valley has become notorious for opium and poppy cultivation. The reason: Lack of connectivity keeps these crops away from the public eye. The NCB had destroyed standing poppy crop in over 3,092 bighas under 10 panchayats in Chohar valley in 2003. However, certain smugglers were still directly or indirectly encouraging farmers to grow poppy in remote pockets of the valley. Many farmers find poppy cultivation an easier way of making a quick buck. Mandi SP M. Chandra Sekhar said, “The team has not detected any standing poppy crop in the valley so far. It appears that cultivators have destroyed the plants before the team reached the area. Recce of the area is still on and the operation will continue for a day or two.” |
||
|
Medical representatives hold protest
Kangra, April 24 The protesting medical representatives took out a protest march in the town and raised slogans against the government and in favour of their demands. They held a demonstration in the SDM's office complex before handing over a handing over a memorandum to the SDM for onward submission to the Maharashtra government, demanding that sales promotion employees should not be removed from MRTU and PULP Act. Another memorandum was submitted to the state government demanding amendment to section 2 (s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, to include sales promotion jobs under this section. Dinesh Sharma, secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Medical Representatives Association, Kangra, said the UPA government should review the decision in respect of the tax free states for pharma industry as it was not only leading to the rapid dismantling of pharma production units in other states but also encouraging large-scale corruption, tax evasion and revenue loss. The protestors condemned the UPA government for contributing in the high prices of medicines by imposing a heavy excise duty and making it MRP-based instead of that on cost.
|
||
|
Dhumal defends son’s candidature Tribune News Service
Shimla, April 24 Talking to mediapersons here today, he said he was indebted to the party for reposing faith in Anurag and this had increased his responsibility all the more. “Though in a democratic set-up everyone is free to have his opinion, the fact is that neither Anurag nor any of my family member sought the ticket for him,” he said. Dhumal said, “One cannot deny the ticket to a capable person simply because he happens to be member of my family. “Parivarvaad” issue can only be raised when the individual concerned has not made any contribution to the party.” The Chief Minister said Anurag had fought for five years against the previous Congress regime in the public and in courts. “His contribution to promotion of cricket and sports in his capacity as the state president of the Cricket Association and his loyalty to the party is what made the members of the State Election Committee decide unanimously in favour of Anurag,” he said. Coming up of the cricket stadium at Dharamsala was the personal contribution of his son that had helped bring Himachal on the international cricket map, despite hurdles by the Congress government, he said.
|
||
|
Tibetans’ body refutes terror charge
Dharamsala, April 24 Members of congress said they had been struggling for the independence of Tibet for the past 38 years. “Nobody can quote even a single instance when our organisation resorted to violent methods of struggle. The Chinese Communist Party was making baseless allegation to defame our peaceful struggle which is receiving support from the international community,” they said. Meanwhile, despite request from the Kashag (Tibetan government-in-exile) and the Dalai Lama’s appeal, the Tibetan Youth Congress has resumed its march from Delhi to Tibet. The Kashag and the Dalai Lama had requested it to finish the march at Delhi. Press secretary of the organisation Tenzing Yangdon admitted that their march was still on. When asked if it amounted to defying the Dalai Lama, she said only their senior officials could comment on the issue. None of the other senior officials of the organisation was available for comments. Most of them had their mobile phones switched off, while others did not answer the call. The Tibetan Youth Congress is an NGO which is spearheading the campaign against the Olympic torch. While the Dalai Lama is seeking autonomous status for Tibet, most of members of Tibetan Youth congress want complete freedom from China.
|
||
|
Rs 1.5-lakh reward announced
Our Correspondent
Solan, April 24 SP S.P.S.Verma said that the name and identity of anyone providing leads in the case would be kept secret. People can supply information on phone numbers 01792-220567, 94180-92522, 223927, 94180-83065, 223836 and 223840. Meanwhile the IG (law and order) S.R.Marhi, who took stock of the investigations, said that directions had been given to the police to organise nakas and register all migrant labourers in the area. The activities of migrant labourers was also under the scanner. Since the crowns stolen from the temple were found to be made of brass having gold plating, it is being assumed that the crime was executed for money and the chances of any mischief in the theft were almost negligible.
|
||
|
Only 4 apply for Cong ticket
Shimla, April 24 Those who have applied include three leaders from Hamirpur and one from Una district. The applicants include O.P. Rattan from Una, Ranjit Singh Verma, M.P.S. Rana and an OBC Tara Chand Chaudhary from Hamirpur district. All four names will be forwarded to R.K. Dhawan, in charge of Congress affairs in Himachal. Senior party leaders, including Viplove Thakur, CLP leader Vidya Stokes and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will meet Dhawan in Delhi on April 26 to finalise the name. AICC chief Sonia Gandhi will put the final stamp of approval on the name decided by senior Congress leaders from the state. |
||
|
Sopori to perform in Shimla
Shimla, April 24 Sopori, son of legendary musician Pandit Bhajan Sopori, is one of the youngest santoor players in the country. He is an established name in the music industry and is known for his classical style of playing santoor like his father. Sopori will give the first performance at Pinegrove School, Sabathu, on April 27. During the next four days he will give a performance each at Auckland House School, St Thomas School, Shaurya ARTRAC Primary School and Portmore School. Purnima Chauhan, Himachal convener of SPICMACAY, said the aim was to introduce Indian culture to the youth. |
||
|
Woman commits suicide
Kangra, April 24 Dehra DSP Sita Ram today said Sunita, mother of a two-month-old child, consumed poison last evening. She was rushed to Dehra hospital where she was declared brought dead. The hospital authorities informed the police. Later, a complaint was lodged by the father of the deceased against the in-laws of Sunita that she was tortured for dowry by her in-laws. A case was registered. Sunita’s husband Ashok Kumar, father-in-law Krishen Chand and mother-in-law Iccha Devi have been arrested. The body was cremated today.
|
||
|
BJP-backed man elected bank director
Nahan, March 24 A senior BJP leader of Paonta, Naresh Khapra was polled 40 votes while his nearest rival, sitting director Manjinder Singh Vikka, got 26 votes. Congress leader Prem Chand Chauhan received only five votes. Twelve votes were cast in favour of the fourth candidate, Pradeep Kumar. Contestants had been making all political efforts to garner support of cooperative delegates for the past one month. |
||
|
Fire-hit get relief
Mandi, April 24 According to an official press note, the DC visited the spot and gave relief to the fire victims. Seven houses were completely destroyed while three were partially damaged in a fire on April 20. Eight cowsheds and five domestic animals were also burnt alive in the fire. The government would rebuild the destroyed houses under the Indira Gandhi Awas Yojna.
|
||
|
More portfolios for Kapoor, Bindal
Shimla, April 24 On the recommendation of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the Governor today allocated the Urban Development Department to Kapoor. Health minister Rajiv Bindal has been given the Medical Education Department. |
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has fulfilled his poll prom- ise by going in for collaboration with the Jai Parkash group of industries for completion of Vivekanand Medical College
& Research Institute here.
