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Plea to save hot spring baths
Forest Dept to launch plantation drive
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Game not over for Mankotia
Hoteliers urge CM to restore air connectivity
ESIC medical college may be functional from Aug-Sept
Major reshuffle in Police Dept
HIMFED staff seek aid from NCDC
Guv, CM to attend R-Day in Shimla
Ex-serviceman invited to R-Day parade
Anomalies found in selection process of BPL families
Chopper services for Lahaul-Spiti sought
Tourism Ministry grants Rs 2.43 cr
Dalhousie adjudged best hill station
Rs 2.53 crore power project for Bilaspur
Balloons with Pak tag create panic
Govt PG College gets basic infrastructure
Cong promises will be fulfilled: Ram Lal
Butail vows to make Palampur a model constituency
Project for preservation of heritage soon
Book on Land Reforms Act released
284 booths set up to administer polio drops
Rape, kidnapping case registered against three
Woman dies of burns
Man-eater leopard killed
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Plea to save hot spring baths
Tattapani (Mandi), January 16 The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has asked the local administration to vacate the bathing sites by February 22 to make way for the filling of the dam for the project. This notification has spelt doom for local small-time vendors and pandas, who make a living from managing the bathing ghats for pilgrims performing rituals of “tula daan” and bathing along the bank of the Sutlej round the year. Managing Director, Hot Springs Therapy and Spa, Prem Raina, who has pioneered India’s first health spa using healing sulphur here, says, “We are losing the century-old religious healing spas in the dam forever. It is a pity the Tourism Department has no crash programme for its revival or relocation so far. Ours is a solitary effort and we expect the department to step in and save and promote this God’s bounty for posterity.” Raina offers a host of facilities for his guests ranging from natural sulphur healing pools, shiropa destressing therapy and meditation and gym, apart from a 15-km-long rafting detour from Chaba to Tattapani. “Tattapani needs public toilets, proper drains and garbage collection. The HPTDC should set up its unit and extend its tourism bus from the Naldehra golf course till here for which we have already signed an MoU,” he adds. There is no substitute for nature’s hot bathing ghats in the entire Mandi-Shimla-Kinnaur tourist circuit. Pilgrims come here for holy healing and pay tributes to Jamadagni Rishi, the ancient sage who is believed to have brought the sulphur baths from Manikaran by bleaching his loincloth along the Sutlej and meditating here for long, says Bhupender Kumar Sharma, a traditional purohit, whose family has been performing rituals here down the century. “We took up the matter with the government officials, the NTPC and the like to relocate the bathing ghats or lower the level of the dam to save this pilgrimage from submergence, but to no avail,” he rues. The government should save this century-old pilgrimage, which is a source of health healing for lakhs of pilgrims and tourists, and bread and butter for locals, say residents. The hydrologists have offered hope as they have spotted hot springs on the higher side of the Sutlej. The NTPC has relocated the source along the road here and drilled out the water. Tourism Commissioner and Managing Director, HPTDC, Subhashis Panda says they are shortly taking up the matter with the NTPC and other experts to relocate hot springs on the higher side. They have released Rs 15 lakh to the PWD to construct four public toilets and will improve garbage collection with the help of the local panchayat, says SDM, Karsog, KK Sharma. “We are improving hot baths for pilgrims and trying to find suitable land along the dam site for relocating the baths by using CAT plan and LADA funds,” he adds. |
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Forest Dept to launch plantation drive
Shimla, January 16 The department would also work on war-footing to remove lantana and other obnoxious weeds and plant fodder species for the benefit of sheep breeders and farming community. Addressing senior officers of the 133rd Infantry Battalion, Ecological Dogra, here, today he said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was committed to increasing the green cover, besides preservation and conservation of the ecologically fragile hill environment. He said the Ecological Dogra had been doing a laudable work in afforestation, soil conservation and construction of check dams. He said the regiment was already carrying plantation work on the Sutlej basin near Tattapani which would be extended to Rampur and Chamba Forest Circles. The plantation would be done as per the climatic and geographical conditions to ensure survival of the planted saplings. Bharmauri said the lantana weed was rapidly spreading, especially in lower areas of the state, which was extremely harmful for the fertile land. A special drive would be started to remove the lantana weed and useful bushes like garna, mendru, basoori, bana and kakoha and various fodder species would be planted in the cleared area. The weed eradication drive would commence from Nurpur division and be extended to other areas later. An amount of Rs 25 lakh had already been sanctioned to the department. Col G Narsimhan, Commanding Officer, Ecological Dogra, thanked the minister for the support being provided by the state government. Chamba: Following fresh directions of state Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, the Forest Department as a beginning has undertaken the treatment of about 500 hectare areas for lantana rehabilitation in Chamba district. Disclosing this here on Monday, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Chamba, ARM Reddy said the department would also take up the task of planting medicinal saplings in forests to green the Chamba region, as by planting fast-growing and broad-leaf tree species like robinia would be an added advantage the local populace. Moreover, the species of high-quality grasses, which would not only check soil-erosion, but also prove beneficial to the livestock, needed to be sown in place of lantana, the CCF further said. |
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Game not over for Mankotia
Shimla, January 16 Mankotia has been having a love-hate relationship with Virbhadra Singh and he had created major problems for the Chief Minister by releasing a controversial audio CD. However, the two decided to bury the hatchet on the eve of the Assembly poll and Mankotia was not only re-inducted in the party, but also given a ticket from the Shahpur constituency. “Losing elections did not mean end of the road as leaders with a popular base can contribute towards strengthening the party in various other ways,” Virbhadra Singh said. The Chief Minister was not pleased with his detractors who, he said, were indulging in rumour mongering in an attempt to destabilise the government. He said the government was on a solid ground and such “crude” efforts would not pose any threat to it, adding that such “misconceived” campaigns did cause distraction in the governance. He said now that the party was in power, they should desist from such endeavours so that the government could focus on implementing its mandates. He said he had nothing to fear from such efforts of a few “disgruntled” leaders with “vested” interests as he enjoyed the confidence of the high command and the support of the masses. When asked about the statement of AICC general secretary and in charge of party affairs in the state Birender Singh Chaudhary that portfolios of some ministers could be reshuffled, he said he had only seen the news report and did not know what Chaudhary had actually stated. “If true, it is very unfortunate as such statements in the media send wrong signals and have a destabilising impact on the government. The entire issue of induction of ministers and portfolios has been decided after discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that is it,” he added. |
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Hoteliers urge CM to restore air connectivity
Mandi, January 16 They also urged him to improve the Raison-Manali stretch, set up public toilets on the Manali-Rohtang route and double lane the Manali bridge on the Beas. The delegation met the Chief Minister at Dharamsala under the leadership its president AR Thakur and submitted a charter of demands to him. Talking to The Tribune, the MHA president said the Chief Minister assured them that he had directed the departments concerned to take action in this regard. The tourism industry in the state is reeling under a severe crisis as high-end tourist arrivals have dropped drastically for the past six months as both the Air India and private airlines have stopped flights to the state. They said though a detailed project report for the Manali bypass and a double lane bridge on the Beas in Manali had been prepared, the PWD had not started the work to decongest the town. “The Raison-Manali stretch on the NH-21 is full of potholes,” the members of the association said. The MHA also demanded mobile medical aid facility for tourists who needed emergency medical assistance in case of any mishap. |
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ESIC medical college may be functional from Aug-Sept
Mandi, January 16 The Centre and state governments have shown the political will to attach the 300-bedded Mandi Zonal Hospital to the ESIC medical college as the Medical Council of India (MCI) has already recognised it for internship. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is expected to take up the matter with the Union Labour and Health Ministries to start the medical college from this session by attaching the zonal hospital to it till its own hospital is ready next year. State Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur recently met the ESIC officials on the upcoming medical college campus and apprised them of the intention of the state government. “We have already taken up the matter at a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister and hope that it will be started this year itself,” he added. The ESIC could not apply to the MCI for starting the academic session last year as the then state government did not issue the essentiality certificate and the Centre did not show much interest, sources said. After the change of guard, the state Health Minister took up the matter with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently, saying the state was ready to attach the zonal hospital to the ESIC medical college. What made the case of the state government stronger was that the Centre had given its nod to the ESIC medical college at Gulbarga in Karnataka by attaching the local hospital to its medical college last year. The ESIC Medical Commissioner had conveyed his willingness to start the medical college here from this session by filling the allotted 100 seats through the all-Indian combined pre-medical entrance test, said the ESIC officials here. The Rs 700-crore ESIC medical college project was already running two years behind schedule. The medical college would have 40 seats from the state quota, 40 from the central quota and 20 for the ESIC beneficiaries. ESIC medical college Dean DS Dhiman said the process had been expedited and they were awaiting the response of the state government and and the Centre. “The MCI can always treat it as a special case as the zonal hospital fulfils all criteria for internship,” he added. |
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Major reshuffle in Police Dept
Shimla, January 16 Balbir Thakur, posted as Commandant, Home Guards, Nahan, has been made the new police chief of Kangra district in place of Daljeet Thakur. Thakur has been posted as SP, CID (Security), in Shimla. Jagat Ram, SP, Leave Reserve, here in the police headquarters, has been made SP, Hamirpur, in place of Madhu Sudan. Sudan has been posted as the Commandant of the 4th India Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Jungleberi in Hamirpur. Chander Shekhar, who was SP, Shimla, and had been awaiting his posting, has been posted as Commandant, Home Guards, Nahan. Veena Bharti, SP, Kinnaur, has been posted as SP, Narcotics Control Bureau, CID at Shimla. G Siva Kumar, Additional SP, Kangra, has been posted as Commandant of the HP Armed Police, Junga. RS Bhatia, SP, CID (Security), has been posted as SP, Vigilance, Shimla. Virender Singh Tomar, Commandant, 4th IRB, Jungleberi, has been posted as SP, Leave Reserve, PHQ, here. Ajay Singh Bodh, Commandant, Home Guards, Kullu, has been posted as SP, Kinnaur. |
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HIMFED staff seek aid from NCDC
Solan, January 16 The NCDC has, however, referred the case back to the state government on the pretext that since HIMFED has a working capital of mere Rs 100 crore annually, it is not eligible for such assistance and it will have to enhance its trading to Rs 143 crore to be eligible. Moreover, with HIMFED having already availed a working capital of about Rs 20 crore from the NCDC in the financial year 2010-2011, its case has been refused on the plea that such assistance will not be available for another three years. The employees have now requested the state government to take up its case with the NCDC considering it as a special case to provide the margin money which comprises a soft loan and some financial assistance. With a lean apple season, the federation had been unable to accrue adequate financial gains from the apple season in 2011-2012. In the absence of adequate funds, the federation had availed loans worth Rs 8 crore at a monthly interest of Rs 22 lakh, besides other loans to make available adequate funds for the purchase of fertilisers after exceeding its credit limits. This had added to the financial woes of the federation with interest far exceeding the profitability in fertiliser distribution. It was now reeling under cumulative losses of nearly Rs 14 crore and an annual interest worth Rs 2.10 crore was due barely on account of loans availed to purchase fertilisers. Though the federation has been demanding Rs 10 crore as working capital for the purchase of fertilisers, the proposal was not considered by the earlier BJP government and it had to avail loans worth crores every year. The state government has even failed to provide guarantee to HIMFED for availing a loan of Rs 25 crore till now. |
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Guv, CM to attend R-Day in Shimla
Shimla, January 16 Speaker BBL Butail will preside over district-level function in Hamirpur, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes in Solan, Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur in Bilaspur, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister GS Bali in Una, Power Minister Sujan Singh Pathania in Chamba, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri in Sirmaur, Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri in Kangra district, Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma in Mandi, Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary in Kullu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Neeraj Bharti in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti DC in
Keylong. |
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Ex-serviceman invited to R-Day parade
Nurpur, January 16 He will take part in the parade by a contingent of retired Army men. As per the schedule, the retired Army men will meet the Chief of Army Staff on January 27. “I have prepared a three-point demands charter for submission to the Army Chief which includes increase in recruitment quota for Himachal
Pradesh, a permanent mobile CSD and an Army health institution in the Nurpur area,” he says. The invitation has brought cheer among local villagers. Residents of the area have planned to accord him a rousing reception at Sadwan on January 29 on his way home.
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Anomalies found in selection process of BPL families
Hamirpur, January 16 This time, a family, whose antecedents were not recorded in the revenue record, had been selected under the BPL list. On the other hand, the name of Bimla Devi, a widow, had been deleted from the list and replaced by a person reportedly undeserving. Similarly, the name of Sarvan, husband of the panchayat president, has been included in the list. The deletion of Bimla Devi’s name after her selection six months ago and inclusion of the name of the panchayat president’s husband has raised suspicion. “The issue of deletion of Bimla Devi’s name and inclusion of the other name was not discussed in the general body meeting of the panchayat and has been deliberately done to give benefit to a particular family,” a few locals said. However, the panchayat president denied the allegation and said the name of the widow was deleted from the list inadvertently due to a clerical mistake, which now had been rectified. |
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Chopper services for Lahaul-Spiti sought
Shimla, January 16 Thakur stressed that flights should be provided, especially for patients and old people, on all the 14 helipads during winters. The deputation also requested the Chief Minister that the Tribal Bhawan in Dhalli near Shimla should be operated by the Tribal Development Department, instead of a contractor or society. The deputation thanked the Chief Minister for appointing CD Thakur, who hailed from Lahaul and Spiti district, as the Director of Information and Public Relations. |
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Tourism Ministry grants Rs 2.43 cr
Shimla, January 16 The state government would soon submit various proposals to the Union Ministry of Tourism for sanctioning funds under various schemes for development of tourist circuits and destinations. |
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Dalhousie adjudged best hill station
Shimla, January 16 Director, Tourism, Subhashish Panda said, “About 1.61 crore tourists visited the state in 2012 which was about 7 per cent higher than the previous year. Of the total, five lakh tourists were foreigners and the remaining 1.56 crore domestic.” He said concerted efforts were being made for developing tourist infrastructure in the state. Wayside amenities were being developed along highways and new civic amenities provided at tourist places. |
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Rs 2.53 crore power project for Bilaspur
Bilaspur, January 16 Bambar said 10 new transformers would be installed and three transformers would be updated from 25 KV to 65 KV. He said 600m of new broader conductor would replace old conductors to reduce power losses. He said this would be an attempt to reduce power losses from 22 per cent to 15 per cent. He said an automatic bill collecting machine would be installed soon. Bambar said he was aware of all the problems being faced by Bhakra Dam oustees and would try his best to solve the problems. He said he would ensure the finalisation of policy of rehabilitation of oustees at the earliest, which was “ignored” by the former government for more than two years despite directions of the high court. |
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Balloons with Pak tag create panic
Hamirpur, January 16 With the growing skirmishes between the Indian and Pakistani armies after the recent killing of two Indian soldiers, the balloons bearing the Pakistani marking made people living in the area apprehensive. The matter was later reported to the police who said there was nothing to worry about. Hamirpur Superintendent of Police Madhusudan said the police team found that the balloons had a “150 years of Standard Charted Bank of Pakistan” mark on them. He said, “The bunch of balloons was perhaps released to celebrate 150 years of the bank and reached here flying in the sky. This incident should not be a cause of worry for the residents of the area.”
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Govt PG College gets basic infrastructure
Bilaspur, January 16 This was said by Principal RP Chopra while talking to mediapersons here today. He said the building would have two conference halls, two computer laboratories and one library. Chopra said the college had been graded A++ and a team of the NAAC experts would soon visit the college for fresh assessment.
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Cong promises will be fulfilled: Ram Lal
Bilaspur, January 16 This was stated by Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman, State Planning Development and 20-Point Programme Committee (with Cabinet rank), at a samman rally organised by leaders of gram panchayats of the Naina Devi constituency at Suharghat , 42 km from here, on Friday. Ram Lal said Congress party workers should forget the past mistakes and try to endear themselves and their party to the masses. He said officers and employees should follow instructions and directions of the government and do their best to fulfill the points of the Congress manifesto which had been adopted as a Government Policy Document to be implemented in the state as a must. He said as Chairman of the state planning it would be his endeavour to provide relief and solutions to problems of people.
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Butail vows to make Palampur a model constituency
Palampur, January 16 Later, addressing party workers and locals here, Butail said he was committed to the overall development of the town and would try to make Palampur a model constituency of the state. He said his first priority would be to start all the development activities which had come to a “standstill” during the five-year regime of the BJP. Keeping in view the rising traffic in the town, widening of roads and setting up new parking lots had become necessary. Therefore, two new parking on the Baijnath road and near the old Sabzi Mandi would start functioning soon, he added. He said he had initiated steps to improve health services in local civil hospitals, which were “neglected” by the previous government. “Vacant posts of postgraduate doctors will be filled up at the earliest. Referring of simple ailment cases from here to other hospitals will also be checked to save patients from harassment,” Butail said. The Speaker said he was not in favour of disturbing any government employee unless he failed to perform his duty honestly. He said there would be zero tolerance towards corruption. He asked all the public servants to work hard for implementing policies and programmes of the new government. He also thanked AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for reposing faith in him.
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Project for preservation of heritage soon
Bilaspur, January 16 This was said by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rajesh Dharmani, while addressing a gathering at Khabdi Devi Mata temple, near Gandhir, about 70 km from here, on Monday. Dharmani said though the state had a rich cultural and religious heritage, there had been no consistent exhaustive and research- oriented attempts to preserve it. Referring to pre-historic fossils of various massive wild animals and humans, which were found at the Dangaar and Hari Talyangar areas, he said the department concerned should construct a fossil park there so that it should develop into a tourist spot. He expressed concern over the increasing crime against women and said it was the duty of society to look into this matter and ensure their safety and security. He said a cow protection home would be started on the premises of the Khabdi Devi Mata temple with a view to protect stray cows and bulls.
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Workshop on burn injuries
Hamirpur, January 16 Addressing participants, Sinhmar said saving people from burn injuries was more important then its treatment and little precautions and awareness was important in such cases. He said panchayat representatives, anganwadi and health workers had been playing an important role in taking government policies and schemes to the people at the grass-roots level and their role in creating awareness and popularising safety measures against burn injuries was very useful. Expressing concern on female foeticide, the Deputy Commissioner asked the participants to educate people on the subject and create awareness about the perils of the practice. Dr RK Agnihotri, BMO, Tauni Devi, said the workshop was organised to make people aware of the precautions to be taken and treatment for burn injuries. He said a burn injuries department had been already functioning at the regional hospital,
Hamirpur.
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Book on Land Reforms Act released
Shimla, January 16 Virbhadra Singh complimented the author for bringing out a book on a crucial subject of public importance and hoped that the material incorporated in it would not only prove useful for judges, advocates and students of law, but also for the general public. The foreword of the book has been written by Chief Justice of the State High Court Justice Kurian Joseph. He lauded the effort of Barowalia, who had rendered a great service to the legal fraternity, by making an attempt to analyse various provisions of the Act in lucid language. Barowalia, an advocate in the High Court, has earlier authored books on the Himachal Pradesh Police Act, State Urban Rent Control Act and co-authored similar books on the
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the State Land Revenue Act.
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Two Executive Engineers in one office against single post
Kangra, January 16 When this reporter visited the office of the Executive Engineer, PWD, Kangra Division, today, he found two officials working from the same office holding two chairs against a single post. It was revealed that the Secretary, PWD, issued an order of transfer of Vijay Kumar, Executive Engineer, PWD, Kangra, to the Roads and Buildings Division, Dharamsala, on January 5 last, when Vijay Kumar was under training at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. GK Jhamb was transferred in his place to Kangra from the office of the Engineer-in-Chief, Shimla. Jhamb said he joined the office as an Executive Engineer on January 8 in Kangra and the Secretary, PWD, stayed these orders the same day and there was no further direction. Therefore, he continued to remain in the chair. Vijay Kumar said he came back from Coimbatore on January 14 and joined the office the next day, where GK Jhamb was already in the chair. Both the officials are waiting for further directions from the Secretary, PWD. When contacted, Narinder Chauhan, Secretary, PWD, said when orders were cancelled by him on January 5, how were two officials functioning from one office. He said he would take up the matter with the Engineer-in-Chief,
PWD.
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284 booths set up to administer polio drops
Nurpur, January 16 Official sources said the department would set up 160 booths in the Gangath medical block where 640 health workers and 31 supervisors had been entrusted the task. Around 19,000 children were likely to be given polio drops in this block. The department had also set up
transit polio camps in the block. In the Indora medical block, 124 polio booths are being set up to administer polio drops to around 16,000 children. About 486 health workers and 25 supervisors have been deputed for this purpose. Special arrangements have been made at stone-crushing units, brick-kilns, Kandwal barrier, Nurpur railway station and slum areas for administering polio drops. The second round has been scheduled on February 24. Meanwhile, the local SDM convened a meeting of school heads, police, health and HRTC officials and women-cum-child development programme officers for gearing up the official machinery and covering maximum kids under the polio eradication campaign.
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Rape, kidnapping case registered against three
Nurpur, January 16 The DSP said the victim went to see him on the Talwara-Una highway from where she was allegedly kidnapped by him and his two accomplices. He said the victim was kept in confinement for over three months and repeatedly raped by him. The DSP said a police team had been dispatched to arrest the accused.
— OC
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Woman dies of burns
Kangra, January 16 She was rushed to a Hamirpur hospital, but as she had received 60 per cent burn injuries, she was referred to the Tanda hospital. The body was handed over to her relatives after the post-mortem examination today. The police has started investigation under Section 174, CrPC.
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Man-eater leopard killed
Bilaspur, January 16 He said the Forest Department had given permission to 17 hunters to kill the animal. The news has provided relief to thousands of villagers of four gram panchayats of Bharaadi under Ghumarwin sub-division here.
— OC
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