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Solan varsity lacks qualified staff: Report
Baddi fire causes Rs 1.5 crore loss
Prof Furqan Qamar
Chandresh raises forest diversion issue
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Constant Criticism
PG college to offer 3 new courses
Docs to boycott emergency services
Seminar on HR held
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Solan varsity lacks qualified staff: Report
Shimla, June 17 The five-member committee has, in a report submitted to the government early this week, found that the university was not having faculty with requisite higher qualification for a large number of courses. For instance, the university was running B Pharmacy (ayurveda) LE (lateral entry) and Diploma in Pharmacy (ayurveda) with just three teachers with B Pharma degree. It was charging a fee of Rs 35,000 per semester. Similarly, M Pharma courses were being taught by persons of same qualifications and for the MCA course, there were two teachers, one having an MPhil degree and the other a BTech degree. The sole teacher for BSc (naturopathy and yoga) course had a BEd (yoga) degree. The faculty for MBA comprised a PhD and two MBAs. As per records, enrolment for 2009-10 was MCA-7, BCA-3, PGDCA-1, MPharma-40 and M-Physiotherapy-2. In all, 83 students were enrolled for various courses. The university has, so far, not enrolled any student for the PhD programme. However, it proposed to conduct an entrance test for the same for the ensuing session. It has already issued appointment letters to 12 guides and shortlisted another 27 in case some of the appointees fail to join. The Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and other statutory officials are to be appointed after the first statutes are approved by the government. Examination work has been assigned to an official, Ashok Babu Ram, till the appointment of a regular controller of examination. The salaries of faculty ranged from Rs 6,000 to
Rs 14,000. Director of the university SP Bhardwaj said initial appointments had been made on contact basis and in case their performance was found to be satisfactory, they were given regular appointment with salaries as per the UGC norms. |
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Baddi fire causes Rs 1.5 crore loss
Solan, June 17 About four tenders were pressed into service and the fire could be controlled only by 4 pm. The fire officer rued that absence of fire hydrants in the shed located in the plant’s exterior rendered the in-house fire fighting ineffective. Though the plant management was directed to bring changes in its fire fighting system after a fire incident a few months back, the directions had remained unheeded. Singh added that many textile units failed to procure a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department as they asserted that they were well-equipped. On the contrary, repeated fire incidents occurring in various textile mills of this industrial belt exposed their lack of fire-preparedness. In fact, as many as six fire incidents had taken place in various textile units in the past nine months. Though directions were issued to industrial units after a fatal fire incident last year where nine lives had been lost in an air conditioning manufacturing unit, there appeared to be little adherence. Since there had been several cases where short circuit had caused fires, the units were directed to carry their electricity lines in mild steel pipes. Further, ensuring adequate hydrants for plant’s exteriors, besides the interiors, was also laid down as an important condition. The units were also directed to maintain well-trained staff who could handle fire fighting operations in such exigencies. “We can only create awareness. Until the units come forward for getting an NOC, there is no mechanism to check their lack of fire preparedness,” observed Singh. He added that though units should ideally invest 20 per cent in fire fighting systems, abject neglect of this aspect led to loss worth crores year after year. Since procuring an NOC from the fire department was not enshrined in the list of prerequisites, units evaded this crucial responsibility, thus putting to risk lives of its employees. |
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Central varsity awaits UGC nod
Dharamsala, June 17 Classes, he informed, would be held on the Shahpur College campus that the state government was handing over to the university. Admission to the courses would be subject to an entrance test conducted nationally. The VC hoped to start doctoral programmes in the subjects “soon”. Although the central university planned to start courses in basic sciences, he said, the infrastructure at Shahpur College was not found to be suitable. The university will have two campuses, one at Dehra and the other at Dharamsala. The headquarters of the university will also be at Dharamsala, he said. The state government would be providing land for the two campuses. At Dharamsala, land near Indru Nag temple has been suggested for the university campus. However, both the plots have a large number of trees and hence permission would have to be sought from the central empowered committee of the Supreme Court before the land can be diverted for building the campus of the university. “Schools requiring larger infrastructure would be based at Dehra and schools that require comparatively lighter infrastructure would be based at Dharamsala. I intend to start the construction work for the campus simultaneously with the start of the academic session. However, since the transfer of land requires more time, we have decided to go ahead with the academic session first,” said the VC. Meanwhile, two officers on special duty (OSD) have been appointed to assist the VC. The OSDs are Prof Arvind Aggarwal from the Rajasthan University and Prof Yoginder Verma from Himachal Pradesh University. According to sources instructions have been issued for the transfer of 900 kanal land in Dehra that is free from the provision of the Forest Act. However, according to the central government notification, land at both Dehra and Dharamsala will have to be transferred to the university simultaneously.
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Chandresh raises forest diversion issue
Shimla, June 17 Not willing to let go a prestigious project like the central university out of the Dharamsala assembly segment, which she has earlier represented, she has written to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest to look into the proposal for diversion of forest land for the central university at Dehra. Even though her action clearly reeks of political motive, the fact that she has written to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest can prove to be a spanner in the coming up of the project, which has already been delayed due to the tug of war between the BJP and the Congress over the site. “I have written to the Ministry of Environment and Forest pointing out if they are aware of the status of the selected site at Dehra,” she said. Vivek Sood, Liaison Officer to Vice-Chancellor of the central university Furqan Qamar, said a requisition for providing 500 acres at Dehra and about 250 acres at Dharamsala had been made to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. The VC is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Kangra DC in this regard tomorrow, he added. Chandresh, who hails from Jodhpur and is married in the Kangra royal family, won the last Lok Sabha election from her home turf in Rajasthan. Though after her marriage she had made her political debut from Kangra and had remained an MP and MLA, following her defeat from Dharamsala she moved to Jodhpur. She was candid enough to admit that she was still continuing her crusade to see the ambitious project come up at Dharamsala and not Dehra. “I am still continuing the battle to see the project at Dharamsala where it has been proposed in the first place,” she added. Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) Avay Shukla said they had so far not received any letter from the Centre with regard to diversion of forest land.
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Dhumal takes on Virbhadra
Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 17 Talking to mediapersons here today, Dhumal said rather than concentrating on his ministry, the Congress leader was levelling baseless allegations against the BJP regime in Himachal. “While the state government extends all courtesies and declares him a state guest, it is unfortunate that he chooses to level baseless allegation arising out of the political insecurity he is facing,” he remarked. Dhumal said the government was more than willing to provide land and extend any other help for setting up of steel plants in Himachal but barring announcements by Virbhadra, nothing concrete had emerged. He added that land had already been provided by the state government at Indora for setting up a steel pant where foundation stone had already been laid by the then minister Ram Vilas Paswan. “Even people are fed up with his rhetoric and do not take him seriously,” he said. This kind of behaviour on part of the Union Minister is only a sign of his frustration as he has not been able to do anything concrete for the state during his one year as member of Union Cabinet, he added. The Chief Minister said when the performance of the Steel Ministry headed by him had been ranked among the lowest, he had no right to level baseless charged against the BJP regime in Himachal.
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PG college to offer 3 new courses
Bilaspur, June 17 He said BBA and BSc (biotechnology) Honours would be three-year degree courses while Floriculture would be a one-year course. All these courses would be under the “self-financing scheme” for which the state government had given permission and Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) had given affiliation. The college would fill 30 seats (10 non-subsidised) in BBA, 15 seats in BSc (biotechnology) Honours (seven non-subsidised) and 20 seats in Floriculture (five non-subsidised). Admission to the BBA course would be based on merit calculated from entrance test (50 marks), academic record (30 marks), group discussion (10 marks) and personal interview (10 marks) and all these formalities would be completed here at the college. Course coordinator PL Bhatia said admission to BSc (biotechnology) Honours would be conducted by the HPU. The candidates who had already applied for the course as per schedule of the HPU could opt for Government Postgraduate College as one of the colleges.
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Docs to boycott emergency services
Shimla, June 17 The joint action committee (JAC) of the Himachal Contractual Doctors has decided to abstain from emergency services. “We will only perform duties from 9 am to 4 pm and abstain from the emergency services,” said Dr Dilbagh Singh, president JAC. He said they would wait for the government’s reply for a week after which they would proceed on an indefinite strike from June 29. The doctors are demanding regularisation of their services and restoration of the old policy for postgraduation of doctors.
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Seminar on HR held
Dharamsala, June 17 The event, that was held at the seminar hall of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE), was inaugurated by Professor Furqan Qamar, Vice-Chancellor, Central University. While speaking on the occasion, the VC emphasised the need for better human resource management in view of globalisation. Participants from various African countries, Mongolia, Laos, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan, on their three-day trip, would also be apprised of culture of the state.
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