|
|
|
|
Rajwant Sandhu tipped to be chief secy
Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
Virbhadra flays govt for using state money
State on world cricket map now:
BJP
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Preity all praise for Dharamsala stadium
Drizzle brings respite from heat
Second phase of anti-polythene campaign soon
NGO seeks another kind of package
Burning of garbage irks residents
Docs rue govt apathy
NIFT student drowned
Pradhan booked for thrashing Dalit
6 held for axing trees
Minister lays stone of science lab
|
|
Rajwant Sandhu tipped to be chief secy
Shimla, April 18 According to well-placed sources, the 1975-batch IAS officer of the state cadre has already given her consent for the top post and the process for her repatriation to the state has also been initiated. Present incumbent Asha Swaroop, who took over in June 2008, is a 1973 batch officer and due to retire in July. She is followed by 1974-secretary batch officer, C Balakrishnan, currently on deputation as Secretary, Union Ministry of Coal. Another officer of the same batch, Parminder Mathur, has already retired. Balakrishnan, who underwent a bypass surgery, is not keen to return to the state and his wife is also working in Delhi. Next in line is 1975-batch officer Avay Shukla, currently Additional Chief Secretary, forests, who is also due for superannuation in December. As such, he would have a very short tenure of five months. Thus, his batch mate Rajwant Sandhu becomes the automatic choice. Age is on her side as she will retire only in March 2012, and will have a decent tenure of 20 months. If and when she takes over, she will be the third woman officer to hold the coveted post. It is a positive trend as normally officers who get empanelled as secretary in the Centre are reluctant to return to the state even at the top position. The present incumbent Asha Swaroop was also posted as secretary, Information and Broadcasting, but opted to return to the state. The first woman to become the top bureaucrat was Rajendra Bhattacharya who remained in office for about a year before attaining the age of superannuation in September 2003. The elevation of Rajwant Sandhu means that some 1976 officers like Harinder Hira, Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, and S Vijay Kumar, who is on central deputation, may not get an opportunity for elevation to the top position. Even 1977 batch officer Additional Chief Secretary Sarojini Ganju Thakur will retire in the intervening period.
|
|
Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
Dharamsala, April 18 The main gates of the stadium were closed at 3.45 pm, 15 minutes before start of the match. At the said gates, fans, some of them from adjoining state of Punjab and far-flung areas of Himachal, were stranded in long queue stretching up to BEd college. At gate number 8 and 9, the queue extended up to the government college. Meanwhile, the disappointed fans managed to air their grievances by raising slogans against the local police and administration. A few of them even threatened to move the consumer court against the management of Kings XI for the harassment caused to them. Interestingly, despite the fact that a large number of people with valid tickets were stranded outside, the entire stands in the stadium were full to its capacity. Sources alleged that the Kings XI team management allegedly oversold the tickets. The total seating capacity of the Dharamsala cricket stadium is about 20,000. However, the Kings XI had allegedly sold more than 25,000 tickets. Many who had booked their tickets online also did not manage to gain entry. A few youths, who had tickets but were denied entry, tried to sneak into the stadium by climbing more than 10-ft-high barbed wire. In fact, one of them sustained injuries while climbing. In the last match too, many were denied entry inside the stadium despite having valid tickets. However, the team management again failed to take steps to improve the situation this time. Kangra SP Atul Fulzele confirmed that a large number of fans with tickets were stranded outside the stadium. Meanwhile, president of the HPCA Anurag Thakur said he had urged the Kings XI management to refund the money to those who failed to enter the stadium despite having valid tickets. |
|
Virbhadra flays govt for using state money
Shimla, April 18 Presiding over the concluding function of a local cricket tournament at Nankheri in Rampur subdivision, last evening, he said the government had been harping on shortage of funds but it had no qualms in state’s meagre resources on such extravagant event in which hundreds of crores of rupees were being spend by franchises on purchase of players alone. It was less of sports and more of a business venture and there was no reason for the fund-starved government, which was expressing its helplessness in releasing arrears of pay revision to employees, to extend such generosity. He came down heavily on the government on its move to amend the Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Act to open floodgates for outsiders. Asserting that the vital interests of the state were being sold out, he urged the government to make public the details of posts filled through the state public service commission along with the break up of candidates selected from within the state and outside. Virbhadra alleged that the Dhumal government was mired in corruption from head to toe and instead of speeding up development activities, it was pursuing a single-point agenda to harass and victimise Congress leaders and workers. He called upon the people to fight against the wrong policies of the government unitedly to safeguard their long-term interests. The BJP came to power because of the weaknesses of the Congress and not on its strength and this would not be allowed to happen again, he said.
|
|
State on world cricket map now:
BJP
Shimla, April 18 Party spokesperson Ganesh Dut said here today that the two matches, in which a number of international cricket players participated, had put the state on the world cricket map. It was a matter of pride for the state that it was now in a position to host international cricket matches, he added. He contested the Congress’ claim that the UPA regime was giving special assistance to the state and urged Congress leaders to refrain from making such misleading statements. If the Centre had given any additional assistance, the party should come out with full details and not indulge in such gimmicks, he added. Dut said Congress leaders should raise the issue of industrial package extension with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and help the state get its due. He said if the package was not extended, unemployed youth of the state would be denied job opportunities. It was time to cut across party lines and jointly take up the cause of the state, |
|
Preity all praise for Dharamsala stadium
In an interview with The Tribune at hotel Grand Raj here late last night, Preity was all praise for the stadium. She said the magnificent Dhauladhar mountain ranges, overlooking the stadium, had mesmerised both domestic and international cricket players. She also lauded the efforts of HPCA president Anurag Thakur in bringing up a stadium in this hill town. She said last year too she had voiced her wish to get IPL to Dharamsala. However, the venue was shifted to South Africa. “I hope in near future, we will get to see many more matches here,” she asserted. Preity, visibly dejected with the performance of her team in IPL 3, said the show must go on.
|
|
Drizzle brings respite from heat
Shimla, April 18 The city also became slightly cooler with mercury falling from 29.6°C to 24.7°C Similarly, Dharamsala recorded a maximum of 31.2°C, down from 35.6°C, and Kalpa 18.1°C as against 23.7°C yesterday. However, people were desperately hoping that the weather gods will oblige with a good spell of rain which will ensure availability of drinking water during the long summer ahead and help douse forest fires raging across the state. |
|
Second phase of anti-polythene campaign soon
Shimla, April 18 The week-long campaign will be a collective effort involving various departments, cutting across different tiers of administration, and people from all spheres of life. The Forest Department, PWD, IPH Department, urban local bodies, panchayats, educational institutions, beopar mandals, mahila mandals, yuva mandals and other NGOs will be the major contributors to the campaign, the first phase of which was carried out in December last. The focus will be on cleaning the “hot spots” in and around major tourist destinations which are littered with non-biodegradable waste. They stand out like eyesores causing both environmental and aesthetic degradation in picturesque hills. Centres will be set up across the state for collection of the waste removed during the campaign so that it can be recycled or put to use like tarring of roads in mix with bitumen. As an incentive for making the campaign effective prizes will be awarded to the best district, three best panchayats at district-level and three best urban local bodies at the state-level. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will inaugurate road-metalling work using polythene and other plastic waste in Shimla on the same day. Polythene will be first shred and than mixed with bitumen. Trail tarring of road conducted by the PWD Department last year indicated that up to 15 per cent waste could be mixed which will mean substantial reduction in cost of road metalling. |
|
NGO seeks another kind of package
Shimla, April 18 Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Guman Singh, coordinator, HNA, said they would oppose continuation of the special industrial package to Himachal as it was not in the interests of the state. He said the HNA had approached the Centre for giving concessions for setting up small cottage and rural industries based on local produce, including horticulture and agricultural produce, under the package. “Industrialists definitely benefited by availing concessions under the industrial package and also shared a part of it with politicians and bureaucrats. However, the common man lost his precious land, water sources and livelihood not to mention irreparable damage to the environment,” he said. Accusing politicians of having vested interests in continuation of the package, he said they were advocating continuation of a package which was anti-Himachal. “The government is claiming that the Baddi-Barotiwala area has emerged as a major pharmaceutical hub. However, the fact is that only wrapping and packaging is being done here and if the package is not extended, most of the units will wind up operations,” he said. He said the HNA would oppose any amendment in Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Act as it would open floodgates for outsiders to acquire land in Himachal. “The amendment will render the Act infructuous which was aimed at protecting the land of Himachalis as envisioned by Dr YS Parmar, the first chief minister,” he opined. Singh said the Apartment Act too was against the interests of the state. “The government wants to pave way for selling those plots on which industrial units have become sick by bringing about an amendment in the Act which has always protected the interests of Himachalis,” he alleged. He warned that they would not allow the government to go ahead with such amendments.
|
|
Burning of garbage irks residents
Hamirpur, April 18 A number of such dumpers, placed in several parts of the town, have been put on fire and are discharging obnoxious smoke continuously for days together. The garbage collected in these dumpers is ignited at many places of the town which goes on billowing poisonous smoke for many days. To make things worse, the NP employees keep adding more garbage in these dumpers. According to local resident Kishan Chand Katoch, “These dumpers have become a great cause of irritation as it emits poisonous smoke of burning of waste material of all sorts for days together.” OP Gupta, a senior resident, said, “Continuous flow of smoke from the dumpers has become common in Hamirpur. To add to the woes, juice sellers burn sugar cane residue in the open which emits stench.” Residents blame NP workers for putting the garbage on fire so that they do not have to carry them. Meanwhile, Deep Kumar, president, Hamirpur Nagar Parishad, said, “We have been getting such complaints and will look into the matter. We will also issue strict instructions to our workers not to burn garbage in the dumpers.”
|
|
Docs rue govt apathy
Mandi, April 18 The doctors they had no option other than wearing black badges in protest as the state government had been beating about the bush over their demands. “We are wearing black badges since Saturday under the banner of the HP Medical College Officers’ Association (HPMOA). However, if the state government fails to pay heed, we will be forced to launch a statewide protest,” they threatened. The HPMOA had extended its support to the protesting doctors stating that the RKS and contract doctors were providing services at the rural areas in the state. “We have been asking the government to recruit doctors on regular basis and improve infrastructure in rural PHCs and CHCs in vain,” the doctors said. HPMOA general secretary Dr JN Chauhan said certain heath secretaries were responsible for the poor condition of hospitals in the rural areas, as they had been misrepresenting the facts before the Chief Minister. “They have been appointing doctors who perform essential health services through the RKS or contract basis but there are no nurses, technicians or proper health infrastructure,” he said. He added that the association had sought time to meet the Chief Minister to apprise him of the working of the Heath Department but they had not been given the appointment so far. On the other hand, health officials said the government was appointing doctors through the RKS to meet the immediate demands of patients in the rural areas. |
|
NIFT student drowned
Kangra, April 18 Kangra Sub-Divisional Police Officer Jeet Singh Thakur said Paarth Jowhari (18), a resident of Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), along with five other students --- Vikram Sharma, Kartik, Rahul Deep, Kanth and Nitin --- had gone to Manooni khud to take bath. Director of the NIFT Dinesh Kumar Rangra said the six students had left the NIFT campus without seeking permission from the NIFT and hostel authorities. Media in-charge Rastogi said immediately after the incident the students, who tried to save him, informed hostel warden Rajeev Tiwari on phone about it. He said Tiwari, along with some security guards, rushed to the spot and fished out the body from the river. Paarth was rushed to Shri Bala Jee Hospital here, where he was declared brought dead. The SDPO said a case was registered and body was sent for a post-mortem examination to Dharamsala Zonal Hospital. He said parents of the victim arrived here today. Statements of the five students have been taken and investigation is in progress, he added. However, during investigation it was revealed that Paarth did not know swimming.
|
|
Pradhan booked for thrashing Dalit
Nurpur, April 18 According to information, Sant Ram, in his complaint, stated that he had signed a memorandum submitted by villagers to the Kangra Deputy Commissioner recently demanding demarcation of shamlat land on which the accused persons had encroached upon. He alleged that yesterday, when field staff of the Revenue and Forest Department was demarcating the said land, the accused not only thrashed him but also used abusive language for signing the memorandum. The police has registered a case under Sections 323 and 34 of the IPC and the Scheduled Caste Atrocity Act against the pradhan, who is also general secretary of the local unit of the BJP, his two brothers Pravesh and Shiv Kumar, his sister-in-law Shelly and Mani Ram, a villager. |
|
6 held for axing trees
Mandi, April 18 Range officer Tejsvi Ram said he detected the illicit felling in which 12 tress of deodars were cut in the Gharyanadhar forest during a routine check on April 15. He found that the trees were felled illegally by the six accused. The accused included Sohan Singh, Prem Singh, Gianu, Chandru, all from Madah village, and Surat Ram from Luhardi. They, however, pleaded that they had not felled the trees for smuggling but for house construction as they had no other option as there was a ban on timber distribution. Meanwhile, the Mandi SP stated that the police had begun investigation after the complaint from the range officer today. |
|
Minister lays stone of science lab
Sundernagar, April 18 While addressing the gathering during the annual prize distribution function of the school, he said the government had allotted Rs 2,567 crore for different components of education. He said the government had initiated the process to fill 18,000 posts in the Education Department out of which around 9,000 posts had been filled.
|
|
|
|
| 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 | |
fans, who had bought tickets ranging from Rs 650 to Rs 800, were duped as they were not allowed entry into the stadium to watch the match between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab here today.
Kangra, April 18