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Concrete fencing to boost forests
Coronation of Sirmaur heir held
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Govt for 70 pc employment to state domicile
Farmers told to make optimum use of Shah Canal water
Excise Minister, BJP MLA engage in war of words
Hydro project on left of Ravi opposed
Shopkeepers fined for selling tobacco products
Hunger strike by cement factory oustees enters 2nd day
Women hold protest against liquor vend
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Concrete fencing to boost forests
Shimla, May 15 Taking notice of the prolific germination of deodar and other species due to favourable weather conditions, the Forest Department has decided to focus on the natural regeneration to improve the degraded forests. “Biotic interference and forest fires have been the two major factors hampering the natural regeneration and these have to be handled effectively,” said RK Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. “Fires are a part of the forest eco system and in a state like Himachal there are no crown fires and the blazes are largely confined to the forest floor, which causes immense damage to new saplings,” he said. “Dry pine needles on the floor and 'ghasnis' (grasslands) virtually turn the forests into a tinderbox during summers. The spread of forest fires can be checked by creating a buffer of suitable species to insulate inflammable 'ghasnis' and pine forests,” he said. Tree species like peepal, fig, oak, rhododendron, ramban and some bushes and xerophytic plants would be planted to achieve this, he added. He said the department had been using wooden poles for fencing, but during his recent visit to Gujarat he found that concrete posts were more effective and could be reused. The department would phase out the wooden poles by more durable concrete posts, Gupta added. The department would make efforts to ensure the survival of maximum saplings of deodar and other species during the current season and issue instruction to the field staff of the department to activate village forest development committees to take care of the saplings, he said. Efforts would also be made to involve non-government organisations and panchayat functionaries, he said. Further, regeneration was not possible if the soil lacked adequate moisture, which was essential for germination. With protracted dry spells becoming a common feature, steps would be taken to improve the moisture regime, Gupta said. The department would resort to water harvesting by raising suitable structure in forest areas. These water bodies would not only improve the moisture regime but also help provide life-sustaining irrigation to saplings during summer, he added. green initiative
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Coronation of Sirmaur heir held
Shimla, May 15 Maharani Padmini Devi of Jaipur performed the “tilak” and installation ceremony of her grandson, Lakshya, as the successor to her late father, Maharaja Rajendra Prakash, the last ruler of the Sirmaur state. It was perhaps for the first time after the death of the Maharaja in 1964 that the doors of the royal palace were thrown open for the public during the last two days preceding today’s ceremony. With only royal guests being allowed inside the palace, the ceremony started with 75-year-old Padmini Devi leading the royal procession along with her grandson Lakshya. It was amidst chanting of mantras by royal priests that she performed the ceremonies. Diya Kumari and Narender Singh, Padmini’s daughter and son-in-law, followed suit as their younger son assumed the title of the Maharaja of Sirmaur. The silver throne of the late Maharaja, which had been taken away to Jaipur by Padmini Devi after his death, was specially brought here for the ceremony. The young Maharaja, whose paternal “gotra” had already been changed from “manav” to “attri” of the Sirmaur clan on April 13 in Jaipur was presented with a double-edged sword by Ajay Bahadur Singh, a member of the royal family of Nahan, who till now was its custodian and used it for ceremonial functions. “I am married in Jaipur, but Nahan still remains close to my heart as it is here inside this palace that I spent my childhood days,” she said. She will be hosting a “bhandara” at the local Kalisthan temple for the people of the town tomorrow. Not wanting to touch a discordant note on the auspicious occasion, she made no mention of the unsavoury controversy created by her cousin, Udai Prakash, by claiming to be the adopted son of her late father and objecting to today’s ceremony. However, Ajay Bahadur Singh did not miss out on the opportunity to make it amply clear that the Maharaja had not adopted anyone as his successor. Besides the royalty, those who were present on the occasion included Bollywood actor Dimple Kapadia and Sunanda
Tharoor. |
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Air India starts Delhi to Kullu-Manali flights
Kullu, May 15 As many as 33 passengers today landed at the Kullu-Manali airport at Bhuntar and 20 passengers flew to Delhi from the airport. The Air India flight landed at Bhuntar at 7.20 am and left for Delhi at 7.50 am, YK Sharma, air traffic control officer, Kullu-Manali airport, said. The aircraft had to gain a greater height in a hilly terrain while taking off and only 20 passengers could fly at a time, officials said. The airline is charging Rs 11,000 one way per head for passengers travelling from Delhi to Kullu. AR Thakur, president, Manali Hoteliers Association, said it was due to the efforts of the tourism industry, media and the Chief Minister that finally bore fruit. Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of the District Tourism Council, Kullu, Sharab Negi, and district tourism officer and SDM, Manali, Vinay Dhiman, said air-connectivity to the valley would boost tourism in the state. |
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Two more trades at Kangra
Polytechnic in next session: Bali
Kangra, May 15 GS Bali, Minister for Technical Education, Transport and Civil Supplies, stated this here today while inaugurating the 19th Himachal Pradesh Inter-Polytechnic Athletic and Cultural Meet.
The event was hosted at the local polytechnic and 404 students, including 140 girls from 10 polytechnics of the state, participated. He took salute from the marchpast and declared the meet open. Speaking on the occasion, Bali said producing quality engineers was the priority of the government and polytechnic in the state, particularly in the private sector. He said faculty members doing their best to impart quality technical education to the students would not be transferred, but others would face the music. He said from now on, admissions to the polytechnics would be possible after undergoing entrance tests in these institutes. He said five more polytechnics would be opened at different places, including Kullu, Sirmaur, Bilaspur and Lahul and Spiti. He said Rs 12.50 crore would be spent on the second phase construction of the Sundernagar Polytechnic. Bali said Rs 18 crore would be spent to uplift different polytechnics in the state, and Rs 9 crore would be made available to nine polytechnics for the construction of girls’ hostels at the rate of Rs 1 crore each. He said 20,309 youth would be trained through Kaushal developmental courses for which Rs 5 crore would be spent. Bali said in six HRTC depots, driving schools would be established to impart training to youth. He added that Rs 113 crore was being spent on 49 ITIs in the state, being run in public-private partnership. Bali announced that Rs 6 crore would be spent on the construction of a multi-storey academic block in the polytechnic at Kangra. Besides, Rs 42 lakh had been announced for water harvesting and road improvement of Kangra Polytechnic, he added. Earlier, Bali inaugurated 20 residential quarters Type III and IV, constructed at a cost of Rs 4 crore by the BSNL. Earlier, local MLA Pawan Kajal addressed the gathering and Principal of polytechnic RK Sharma welcomed Bali. The function was presided over by Kangra District Congress chief Suman Verma. Those present on the occasion were HPCC member Ajay Verma, DCC Secretary Manoj Mehta, Director, Technical Education, Vijay Chandan, Kangra SDM Ajit Bhardwaj and other
officers. |
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Govt for 70 pc employment to state domicile
Shimla, May 15 Presiding over the music festival, 'Sangeet Hamari Virasat', organised by the Himachal Pradesh Music Students Welfare Association here today, he said action would be taken against those violating the condition. He said the government would provide appropriate facilities for education and skill development. It had decided to give skill development allowance of Rs 1,000 per month to those who had passed Class XII or obtained a higher qualification. The amount was Rs 1,500 per month for persons with disabilities and an interest subvention of 4 per cent would be given on project cost up to Rs 1.50 lakh for setting up own ventures, he said. A state skill development council would also be established to enhance professional skills of the youth. The government had enhanced the minimum period of private universities from 25 years to 50 years to safeguard the interests of the youth, he said. The Chief Minister said it had been decided to impart training to 1,000 youth as tourist guides to associate them with tourism promotion activities. He said 3,900 youth would also be imparted training in driving to ensure self-employment opportunities to them. He said music was food for the soul and the state was universally acclaimed for its diverse folk songs and versatile music. Music knew no barriers and apart from human beings, it had an equally soothing effect on plants and animals. He said efforts would be made to impart training in music in schools of the state. President of the association Rajesh Chauhan raised the demand to include music in schools from Class VI onwards. A play “Save Music” written and directed by Munish Sharma, a kathak dance and other cultural performances based on folk and classical music were presented during the function. |
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Farmers told to make optimum use of Shah Canal water
Dharamsala, May 15 The department led by Parvez Akhtar, Chief Engineer, IPH, Dharamsala, today organised a seminar at Rehan village to educate farmers regarding the utilisation of the canal water. While talking to The Tribune, the Chief Engineer said, “Though we have constructed the canal, its utilisation is not possible without the active support of the beneficiary farmers”. He said, “Today we have urged the farmers to form groups and give ideas to the department to construct ‘kucha khulls’ (small irrigation canals) to carry out water to their fields. In case the ‘kucha khulls’ are not constructed, the water cannot reach the farmers”. He said the department had adequate funds for the purpose, but it could not carry out the entire exercise without the support of the farmers. Farmers would have to give consent to construct “kucha khull” to their fields. The canal will bring the state’s share of irrigation water from Pong Dam after a wait of about 50 years to the farmers of Kangra district Sources said before this, canal irrigation projects were developed just in plain areas of the country. The government has approved an additional Rs 68 crore for developing drains command area of the canal, the sources said. An agreement for the construction of the canal was reached between Punjab and Himachal in 1983. The initial cost of the project was Rs 143 crore. While Himachal was to contribute 40 per cent cost of the project, Punjab had to contribute 60 per cent. However, the Punjab Government contributed just 66 crore for the project. Due to the delay, the cost in constructing the canal increased to Rs 392.85 crore. The Union Government has now contributed 90 per cent cost of the project under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme while the remaining 10 per cent has been contributed in 60:40 ratio by Punjab and Himachal. |
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Excise Minister, BJP MLA engage in war of words
Solan, May 15 Thakur, the first-time BJP MLA who had been raising his voice against the abysmally slow progress of various works like construction of bridges, poor condition of roads and lack of upkeep of irrigation schemes, took the opportunity to air his grievances while addressing the gathering. He said all developmental works had come to a standstill under the ruling Congress government. Chawdhary said the Congress government had barely completed four and half months in the government and the previous BJP government was responsible for the lack of development in the industrial belt. Chawdhary said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal had discriminated against Nalagarh and the issue was raised by their MLA. He said Dhumal had remained indifferent to the poor condition of roads in the industrial belt and all developmental works suffered. He said he had met Dhumal to give the unemployed youth some allowance during his regime, but he had refused it on the grounds that they had no such provision. He said their government, on the contrary, was now giving unemployment allowance to youth. He urged Thakur to cooperate with the state government and said the present government, under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh, always worked for the welfare of people without any prejudice. Chawdhary assured Thakur that former Congress MLA Lakhwinder Rana and Chairman, Construction and Other Workers Welfare Board, Hardeep Bawa would support him in carrying out the development of his constituency. |
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Hydro project on left of Ravi opposed
Chamba, May 15 The deputation demanded that the project be constructed on the right side of the river so that the green cover and natural water sources could be conserved. The deputation said the execution of the project at its current position would affect their agriculture and horticulture cultivation, including apple crops and the water level of the hill slopes. At the same time, the deputation assured the Chief Minister to extend their cooperation to the hydropower enterprise if the construction of the project was undertaken on the right side of the river. |
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Shopkeepers fined for selling tobacco products
Bilaspur, May 15 They caught seven shopkeepers possessing and selling prohibited tobacco goods like cigarettes, bidis, khaini and gutkha etc. The team charged Rs 1,400 as fine from them on the spot. The team also raided vegetable shops and kiosks in the Ghumarwin bazaar and found unhealthy and rotten vegetables and fruits kept there. They destroyed two quintals of these commodities on the spot. The shopkeepers were also given a stern warning. |
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Hunger strike by cement factory oustees enters 2nd day
Bilaspur, May 15 Reports said earlier the samiti had decided unanimously to intensify their peaceful agitation and terminate its seven-day-old 24-hour fast and start an indefinite hunger strike to impress upon the factory management and the government to look into their demands and solve them at the earliest. The samiti held a demonstration at Barmana and warned that their agitation and hunger strike would continue till their 21-point demand charter was not accepted and the ACC management did not sign an agreement with the Samiti. They condemned the "lukewarm attitude" of the factory management and the district administration regarding their difficulties and problems, created by the factory.
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Women hold protest against liquor vend
Hamirpur, May 15 The women had started their protest before the liquor vend on Monday morning and were on dharna since then, even during the night, as they feared the vend might be opened during the night. Galoda said, “We have been demanding the shifting of the vend, as our menfolk and youngsters are being ruined after drinking liquor. Moreover, it has been opened in the vicinity of a temple and a school, violating High Court directions.” “The women have come out to protest as government agencies are not heeding to our demand and even the panchayat president is shirking away from supporting the shifting of the vend,” she added. The women also threatened to block National Highway-88 to emphasise their demand. Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Ashish Singhmar said, “This issue was raised before us about a month back and we are trying to find an amicable solution to the problem. The wine contractor has sought 10 days’ time to shift the liquor vend,” he added.
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