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Cong rebels get the boot
Winter Carnival fails to attract tourists
Local artistes perform on stage at the Mall Road in Manali on Monday.
Photo: MC Thakur
Fund-starved MILKFED yet to pay farmers
HP gears up to ban sale of junk food in plastic
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HIMUDA land purchase deals to be probed
Losar celebrations remain low
key
Tibetan Buddhist monks usher in the new year with prayers in McLeodganj on Monday. Photo: Kamaljeet
LPG agencies can’t issue new connections
Finally, stone of IPH rest house laid
Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma lays the foundation stone of IPH
rest house at Sidhbari in Dharamsala on Monday. Photo: Kamaljeet
Early Detection of Cancer
CUHP signs MoU with Chandigarh lab
MC against property tax on unit area method
Cong leaders warn NTPC, ACC of stir
Probe into purchase of blackboards sought
‘Dubious’ equipment a weather device
Haj-2013 applications invited
Rs 1 crore for mule paths, renovation of cottages
JNV staff strike enters 6th day
Gehra school faces soil erosion threat
Tribune Impact
400 examined at eye camp
Re-opening of 149 schools hailed
Woman killed in road mishap
Man dies playing cricket match
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Cong rebels get the boot
Shimla, February 11 The block units of Una, Kutlehar, Seraj and Paonta Sahib, where most cadres had revolted, were dissolved and 15 low-rung leaders in Karsog, Mandi, Sarkaghat, Manali, Nadaun, Nalagarh, Pachhad and Arki blocks were suspended. Rebel Kirnesh Jung had won as an independent candidate from Paonta Sahib and was now supporting the government. Former minister Ishwar Dass from Anni and former legislators Yog Raj from Dehra, Kashmir Singh from Ghumarwin and Mast Ram from Karsog were among the expelled. The action was taken on the basis of feedback from candidates and district and block units. Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Sukhvinder Singh indicated that more heads would roll as feedback from some blocks was yet to be received. The block units had been told to send their feedback latest by March 15. The issue was discussed at the first meeting of the HPCC chaired by him after taking over as the HPCC president earlier this month. It was a part of his action plan as per guidelines given by All-India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had underlined the need to enforce discipline during the chintan shivir in Jaipur last month. Sukhvinder Singh said the action was taken after receiving approval from the AICC. He said the party had adopted a policy of zero tolerance to crime and corruption and he had directed all district and block units to send lists of leaders involved in criminal cases, particularly against women, along with details of cases so that action could be taken against those holding organisational responsibility. He said those convicted or facing serious charges would be removed from party posts after considering each case on merit as leaders were falsely implicated by the opponents many times. He said a distinction had to be made between crime cases and politically motivated cases. The other 20 leaders expelled are Raj Singh Thakur (Chamba), Surender Thakur (Dalhousie), Malender Rajan (Indora), Pankaj (Fatehpur), Baldev Jolig (Lahaul-Spiti), Dharamvir Dhami (Manali), Premlata (Kullu), Kehar Singh (Anni), Kapil Dev (Darang), Jagdish (Jogindernagar), Shakuntla Kashyap (Balh), Parshotam (Balh), Ram Jaswal (Gagret), Mahender (Kutlehar), Vijay Kaushal (Jhanduta), Nand Lal (Ghumarwin), KD Lakhanpal (Bilaspur), Amar Chand Pal (Arki), Paramjeet (Doon) and Badri Parshad (Rohru). The low-rung leaders suspended are Rameshwar Ram, Sheela and Krishan Kumar (Karsog), Devinder Sharma and Tosh Kumar (Mandi), Vijay Chauhan and Sandeep Sharma (Sarkaghat), Davinder Negi, Prem Sharma, Naveen Tanwar and Anurag Prarthi (Manali), Shammi Soni (Nadaun), Bagga Ram (Nalagarh), Nitya Nand Sewal (Pachhad) and Sanjay Thakur (Arki).
CRACKING WHIP |
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Winter Carnival fails to attract tourists
Manali, February 11 Successive governments placed petty politics before the spirit of the carnival, claimed hoteliers and travel agents. The institute was renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by the previous government. There were no snow sports events, no proper infrastructure and no fixed date for organising the event, rued hoteliers, travel agents and skiers. It made no impact on tourist arrival as it was not timed well, said Ambassador Resort Manager Narender
Rana. Hardly any tourist came here as arrival was hit by lack of air connectivity and bad roads, said Holiday Inn Manager Sunil Kumar. The carnival spirit was not only to keep the life and culture alive and kicking in winter, but also to attract tourists in winter, when hoteliers found it difficult to meet
expenses. Manali Hoteliers Association president AR Thakur said they had suggested that the carnival be held at a fixed date and be advertised on the travel media to attract
tourists. Jayant and his newlywed wife from New Delhi said, “We came on our honeymoon amid the snow and heard loudspeaker noise. We know nothing about the carnival.” As many as 150 vehicles a day were being driven across the green tax barrier for the last one week. It spoke volumes about tourist arrival, said travel agents. Tourists said winter carnivals in the United States and Canada had become big draws, but there was no effort to depict Himachal Pradesh in winter at the carnival. Tourism Commissioner Subhashish Panda said they lacked space and were making efforts to make the winter carnival attractive for tourists. He said they would try to link it to snow sports, enlarge its scope and get the date fixed. He added that they would look for a time after it snowed, but would consider inputs to make the carnival
attractive. Manali Winter Carnival sees huge response from locals and tourists. MC Thakur adds: Events on the third day of the five-day Winter Carnival on Monday included a singing competition, a folk dance and fancy and traditional dress competitions. People enjoy a variety of entertaining programmes till late in the evening. Despite a thick sheet of snow, there was enthusiasm among them. Tourists went on sight-seeing tours. People went to enjoy the programmes even though dark clouds were hovering over the town and the day temperature decreased by many notches. |
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Fund-starved MILKFED yet to pay farmers
Mandi/Kullu, February 11 The farmers are now gathering under the banner of the CPM-led Himachal Kisan Sabha that has decided to launch an agitation in front of all procurement centres and chilling plants across the state. The farmers and members of the self-help groups said they had not received the payment for the milk procured by MILKFED since November when the model code of conduct came into force following the last Assembly elections. “We have not received payment for the milk from the federation so far since November,” rues Kaushlya Devi and Kamla Devi, members of the dairy milk self-help groups from Nagawani, Mandi. “It is difficult to meet the expenses of cattle feed in lean winter months,” they resent. General Secretary of the Himachal Kisan Sabha Dr Onkar Shad said they would launch a stir in front of the chilling centres and the milk plants of MILKFED, if the payments were not disbursed to the producers in time. MILKFED is facing fund crisis as the previous government had increased the milk procurement price twice by Rs 7 per litre for the past five years, but did not allocate compensatory grants-in-aid to the federation. It increased its grant-in-aid from Rs 10 crore to Rs 11 crore last year, whereas the federation needs Rs 18 crore to meet the demands of dairy farmers and the salary of the staff. MILKFED is yet to get its grant from the government, said managers. The farmers procure over 260 lakh litres of milk to MILKFED every month worth Rs 2.50 crore. There is surplus milk and milk products in the country as a whole. MILKFED sells 65,000 litres of milk per day and 25,000 litres as “loose and in packets and powder”. The prices of ghee have decreased to Rs 250 per kg and lifting of stocks is slow and Himachal has a surplus butter oil, ghee and milk power, the managers said. MILKFED Managing Director AR Thakur said we had brought the problem to the notice of the government. “We have an annual burden of Rs 5.20 crore and the federation faces a deficit of Rs 4.20 crore”, he said. He said they were meeting the monthly expenses from selling butter oil, powder and ghee. “We will make the payment when we will receive the grant-in-aid from the government,” he added. We have to pay Rs 65 lakh per month as salary to the staff. The grant has been increased by just Rs 1 crore for the past five years,
he said. |
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HP gears up to ban sale of junk food in plastic
Shimla, February 11 It was on January 16 this year that the High Court had set a deadline of April 1 for banning the sale of junk food like chips, kurkure, biscuit, chocolates and other such items in non-biodegradable packaging. However, the sale of essential items like milk has not been banned in a state which was amongst the first in the country to ban polythene to protect its environment. Directions have been issued to the Finance and the Excise and Taxation Departments to work out the revenue loss that
would result from the sale of these products. Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy confirmed that the government was gearing up to implement the High Court order. “Besides ensuring that the High Court order is implemented, we also need to gear up to ensure that these items packed in non-biodegradable plastic are not smuggled back into the state after April 1, when the ban comes into effect,” he said. He admitted that a delegation of industrialists had met him, seeking a rethink on the part of the government on the issue, considering the difficulties they would face. “We have made it amply clear to them that we will honour the court order so there is no question of rethink on it,” he said. Many of the products, the sale of which will be banned in Himachal, are presently being produced in factories within Himachal. As such the government authorities will have to put in place paraphernalia to ensure that these are not clandestinely smuggled back and sold in Himachal in violation of the law. The court has observed that since the use of paper for packaging might not be suitable, the use of other options such as tetra packs, tin packing or biodegradable plastic of 20-micro-metre thickness can be explored. A High Court committee has identified chips, wafers, biscuits, namkeen, candy, chewing gum, cookies, ice-cream, chocolates, noodles, sugary cereals, cornflakes, pizzas, burgers, patties, French fries, carbonated drinks, fruit beverages and cakes as junk food and are sold in non-biodegradable packing. |
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HIMUDA land purchase deals to be probed
Solan, February 11 Apart from this, another stretch of 45.1 bigha land was also purchased at an exorbitant cost of Rs 11 lakh per bigha in January 2012, but its sale deed was later returned to HIMUDA by revenue officials following directions of the Deputy Commissioner and the authority had also stopped payment to the land owner after the issue was highlighted by the media. HIMUDA had, however, paid stamp duty on this sale deed at the rate of 5 per cent and this had incurred an undue loss of lakhs to the authority. Interestingly, the authority had been purchasing land on the basis of requests made by land owners for its various commercial ventures. This was not an isolated case of land purchased by the authority and an RTI reply had also revealed that land at the nine sites, Jurja, Moginand I, II and III, Trilokpur I and II, Sheel, Raho and Beartti, was purchased on a similar basis in the last few years. Though HIMUDA claims that the land selection committee had recommended the purchase of land, no record of the visit of the CEO-cum-secretary to the site for negotiation or finalisation was made available to the applicant, thus, putting a question mark on the purchase of 323.12 bighas. No inspection note of the officer has been made available to the applicant. Sudhir Sharma, Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Town and Country Planning, said they would enquire into all such cases executed in the last five years where land had been purchased at costs higher than the market value and also who were sellers on whose request the authority had acceded to purchase their land without ascertaining basic facts like feasibility of such purchases. The over enthusiasm of HIMUDA in purchasing 62.11 bighas at Jurja at a cost of Rs 5.31 crore led to a purchase where the land was found to be a few bighas less. Though the matter was taken up with revenue officials, this purchase had put a question mark over the land purchase procedure where the exact land size had not been ascertained while shelling out Rs 5.31 crore for the deal. The authority on the one hand is availing loans worth crores to fulfil its requirements, on the other it failed to procure the total land for which it had paid money. In yet another case of land purchased at Trilokpur, the authority had to toil hard to find an approach road after buying the land. |
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Losar celebrations remain low
key
Dharamsala, February 11 The Dalai Lama and other Tibetans offered prayers at the main temple in McLeodganj today. The official celebrations of Losar were missing as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) had issued an appeal against these due to the continuing spate of self-immolations in Tibet. Losar marks the end of winter and initiation of the spring season. As per tradition, Tibetan exiles living here paid obeisance to their spiritual guru, the Dalai Lama. Sources here said on the first day of the new year Tibetans avoid buying or spending money. The behaviour is guided by the belief that if they spend on the first day, they will be under debt for the entire year. Besides, today every Tibetan grew older by one year. In Tibetan tradition the first day of the new year is considered a measure of increase in age rather than the birthday as per tradition among other communities. Losar is the biggest festival of Tibetans. Celebrations during the festival can extend up to 15 days. As per tradition, preparations of Losar start on the 29th day of the last month of Tibetan year. It is called Nyi-shu-gu in Tibetan language. On this day all the members of the family come together. They clean up the house, especially the kitchen. Thupa, traditional Tibetan food, is prepared for dinner. The food is cooked in a single utensil and served to all collectively. Since most of the Tibetans were nomads living in cold desert areas of Tibet, as per tradition on the 29th day of the last month, men took bath and cleaned themselves up after extreme winter. Women members of the family took bath on the 30th day of the last month. A game is played by members of the family on the 30th of last month. In the game things are distributed among members according to which their behaviour in the last year is evaluated. The major festivities and public celebrations for the festival will take place on the third day on Losar. On this day, a circular dance is performed by Tibetans. Visitors are allowed to participate in the dance. Today most of the Tibetans here celebrated Losar staying with their families or visiting the Dalai Lama temple. Some of the Tibetans, however, admitted that nowadays the festival is not celebrated with fervour. Losar is also supposed to be a good time for tourism in Dharamsala as many foreigners come to see the festivities of Losar. However, a visit of McLeodganj revealed that very few foreign tourists have arrived.
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LPG agencies can’t issue new connections
Hamirpur, February 11 All requests for new connections received by dealers will be forwarded online to the head offices of LPG supplier companies in Mumbai, which will decide on approval. The purpose of this procedure is to stop the practice of taking benefit of subsidised LPG refills through multiple connections in the same town or any other area. Since the Centre is bearing the cost of subsidy for LPG refills, as a result of which supplier companies operating as government-supported public undertakings are accumulating huge losses, both have taken measures to cut the misuse. The Centre has started the process of depositing subsidy directly in bank accounts of consumers and LPG dealers have started the know-your customer exercise to verify connections. The Indian Oil Corporation has provided software to its dealers to maintain an online record of applications for new connections and the information will automatically be sent to the National Informatics Centre. The Centre will maintain a check on consumers drawing subsidy for LPG refills through multiple connections on the basis of approval given by supplier companies for new
connections. |
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Finally, stone of IPH rest house laid
Dharamsala, February 11 Though funds for the rest house were sanctioned during the stint of previous government, the foundation stone could not be laid due to rivalry between then Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor and then IPH Minister Ravinder Singh Ravi. Sources said Kapoor wanted the rest house to come up at Dharnu near Dharamsala and had got land identified for it. Ravi wanted land in the heart of the town and within municipal limits. The municipal council, dominated by Kapoor loyalists, did not allow the IPH Department to get land for the purpose in the town and the project lingered due to the rivalry. The sources said the rest house was sanctioned in 2006 and the government approved Rs 59 lakh for it. The project lingered for over six years due to non-availability of land. After Sudhir’s efforts, the Congress government sanctioned a revised budget of Rs 90.4 lakh for the rest house. The sources said the rest house would be double storeyed and have two VIP suites, three other suites, a dining hall and a conference hall. The rest house is a long-standing demand of the area as the IPH Department does not have a rest house at the district headquarters. It is working on the Shah, Sidhata and Phina Singh canal projects in the district. The sources said the department was directed to prepare a project worth about Rs 12 crore for augmentation of water supply in Dharamsala. The water system of the town is old and caters to one-hour supply per day. When water sources dry up in summer, residents get the supply once every two or three days. After the proposed augmentation project, residents will get adequate supply of water throughout the year.
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Early Detection of Cancer
Hamirpur, February 11 The Health Department has already started a training programme for health workers at the district-level in which officials will motivate people for undergoing medical tests by visiting their homes. The screening and medical tests will be undertaken at 153 sub-health centres, 28 primary health centres and six civil hospitals in the district. At present, people will be medically examined for mouth, breast and cervix cancer and persons over 30 years of age will be covered for identifying cancer patients. While preliminary investigation will be made in all sub-centres through FNC tests and biopsy, pep smear tests will also be undertaken. Blood slides will also be sent for further examination to the IGMC, Shimla, and DRPGMC, Tanda, for advanced tests. The testing facility under the project will be provided free of cost to people and in some cases free treatment will also be given. Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Hamirpur, SK Soni said: “Since early detection is important for treating cancer patients, emphasis is being laid over creating awareness among people as this helps in treatment and prolonging and improving quality of life of patients.”
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CUHP signs MoU with Chandigarh lab
Kangra, February 11 A CUHP spokesperson today said the MoU was signed by CUHP Registrar BR Dhiman and TBRL Director Manjit Singh in the presence of CUHP Vice-Chancellor Furqan Qamar in Chandigarh on Saturday. CUHP Pro-Vice-Chancellor Yoginder Verma, Dean Arvind Agarwal, Associate Director Amarjit Singh and TBRL Scientist AC Sharma were present. The MoU would be in effect for five years and could be extended, the spokesperson said. He said CUHP had set up schools and started study programmes. He said the CUHP was negotiating with premier higher education and research institutions and government and state authorities on MoUs. Qamar thanked the TBRL for signing the MoU. Manjit assured him of full implementation of the MoU. Research and project work facilities and library and laboratory resources of the TBRL would now be available to CUHP faculty and students. The TBRL would be recognised as a work centre for CUHP degrees. The two institutions could also jointly organise workshops, symposiums and conferences on topics of mutual interest. |
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MC against property tax on unit area method
Shimla, February 11 The decision was taken at a special house of the MC convened here today under the chairmanship of Mayor Sanjay Chauhan to discuss the issue. The Mayor, along with other
councillors, is expected to personally meet the Chief Minister in this regard shortly. A committee headed by Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar had been asked to submit its report on the issue of charging property tax. The committee had observed that after taking into consideration the socio-economic condition of people, it would be inappropriate to switch over to the new system. The members unanimously adopted a resolution urging the government to bring about an amendment so that the old system, based on annual rate value
(ARV) for working out property tax, can be followed. The MC gets a revenue of about Rs 12 crore from property tax from house owners within the municipal limits. It was in February 2012 that the government had issued a notification to impose property tax on the new unit area method, but the MC while expressing reservations about the system had kept it on hold. Owing to the reservations on the issue, the MC did not charge property tax from people last year, which resulted in a loss of Rs 12 crore to it and further worsened its financial health. |
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Cong leaders warn NTPC, ACC of stir
Bilaspur, February 11 Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit house here yesterday, Bambar Thakur said he and Ram Lal Thakur had held a high-level meeting with the NTPC management and told them to implement this agreement, failing which they would lead an agitation as people had served an ultimatum the stir would be imminent after February 13. Bambar said people were not given employment, the Bohat Kasol road was not relaid and a school ground not provided at Sedpa. He said he and Ram Lal Thakur also held a meeting with the ACC management and told them to either reduce the cement bag price for oustees and the other affected or face an agitation. He said both of them stressed that the factory management should make cement available to the people at Rs 161 per bag, the rate at which it was giving cement to the state government. He said both of them made it clear that the demands were a part of the election manifesto and they were determined to get those acceded to. |
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Probe into purchase of blackboards sought
Bilaspur, February 11 Calling this purchase totally unjustified and also at an inflated price of Rs 8,500 each blackboard, Ram Lal said this was most unfortunate for the Education Department that such an incident should not have happened in this department, as these blackboards were purchased for all schools of the state. Ram Lal stated this after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 1.08-crore science block building at Government Girls Senior Secondary School here today where he found one such blackboard fixed over another blackboard in a classroom. He said everybody knew that all classrooms in schools had blackboards constructed on the wall of the dais where a teacher had to stand and teach, but it was surprising that the BJP government found it necessary to fix another blue-coloured board on the blackboard fixed earlier. |
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‘Dubious’ equipment a weather device
Mandi/Kullu, February 11 Assistant Directors BR Rawat and Rajesh Kumar of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, Mandi, said: “The forensic examination has found that the device found at Gohar is used for measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and its direction.” An insurance company had installed weather stations in Kullu and Mandi to get data on weather for crop insurance purposes, the police said. But no company had come forward to claim the device so far, it added. The police had also recovered another similar device in the Anni area. “We will also examine it at the laboratory”, the scientists said. |
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Haj-2013 applications invited
Shimla, February 11 He said application forms were available with Deputy Commissioners and the State Haj Committee office. He said the last date for submission of forms to the committee was March 20. He said the form should have particulars and the passport in original. He said the form should include a bank receipt for Rs 300 as payment of processing fee to be deposited in the account of the committee. |
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Rs 1 crore for mule paths, renovation of cottages
Shimla, February 11 Stating this in New Delhi today, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said with the renovation of the inspection cottages, forest officers would have a convenient place for stay, while touring interior areas. Local people would also benefit from the facility. He directed the officers to properly utilise the sanctioned funds and carry out the renovation work in a time-bound manner. He told officers to make proper arrangements to handle fire incidents, besides removing pine needles from pine forest areas before summer set in. He also sanctioned Rs 1 lakh each to fire-sensitive forest divisions to make preliminary arrangements. |
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JNV staff strike enters 6th day
Kangra, February 11 Navin Kumar Dhar, spokesman of the Joint Action Committee of JNV associations, said the staff were on an indefinite strike in support of 20 long-pending demands. He claimed that the JNV did not have sufficient staff. He said the strike was prolonged for want of a response from the authorities. He said students had left for their homes and would have to come for appearing in the examinations next month. He said the strike had created uncertainty. JNV Association secretary MC Sayal said the striking employees submitted a memorandum to former Union minister Shanta Kumar, seeking his intervention, to which he assured them of raising the issue. |
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Gehra school faces soil erosion threat
Chamba, February 11 The reports revealed that the soil erosion down the hillside had posed an imminent threat of triggering further soil erosion beneath the school building and playground. Officials of the school had apprised the higher authorities about the prevailing situation, requesting them to take preventive measures to check soil erosion so that the school premises could be saved from collapse. Around 300 students from adjoining areas are studying in the school. |
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Owners of 17 vehicles challaned
Tribune News Service
Una, February 11 The action was taken following a report in these columns about illegal parking despite the Deputy Commissioner’s order banning parking on the road stretch. The traffic police swung into action after getting orders from the higher authorities. People drove away their vehicles quickly after the police action and traffic flow became smooth.
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400 examined at eye camp
Bilaspur, February 11 As many as 400 patients from Bilaspur and adjoining districts of
Mandi, Hamirpur, Una and Kangra were examined at the Ghumarwin Civil
Hospital. Samiti spokesman Vipul Gupta said 211 patients were operated upon and all patients were given free medicines during the camp. Dr Chaman Lal
Chauhan, who supervised the operations, said he had conducted about 50,000 free operations till now.
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Re-opening of 149 schools hailed
Shimla, February 11 Appreciating the efforts initiated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to strengthen the education sector at the basic, he said poor students who could not afford to travel by bus to attend their school would benefit the most from this decision. The decision to frame a policy for the regularisation of PTA teachers would also help settle a long-pending issue. He also praised efforts in getting approval from the Centre for the 12th Five-Year Plan of Rs 22,800 crore for the state, which was 65 per cent higher than the previous Five-Year Plan of Rs 14,000 crore.
— TNS |
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Woman killed in road mishap
Kangra, February 11 The police has arrested car driver Vijay Kumar and impounded the vehicle. |
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The Winter Carnival has failed to attract tourists as it continues to be organised like a local fair.
Dharamsala, February 11
Dharamsala, February 11
