Shimla, September 10
A sudden decline in the hydropower generation in the region has lifted the power market, with rates zooming up by 70 to 80 per cent over the past two weeks.

The average sale rate of power at the Energy Exchange of India, which hovered between Rs 1.75 and Rs 2 per unit through the summer, has shot up to Rs 3.27 per unit in September. The decline in hydropower generation has led to reduction in overall availability in the open market from 6,700 MW to 5,664 MW. With the sale of 5,842 MW, the demand has exceeded the availability for the first time after several months.

The state will not gain much from the belated upswing in the power market, as the quantum of surplus power being sold through the exchange has also declined from 315 MW to 190 MW.

This may hit the finances of the fund-starved state. The revenue from the power sector has come down from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 760 crore.

An abrupt drop in temperature in the mid and high hills has slowed down the melting of snow. Further, there has not been much rain this monsoon and the flow in all rivers has declined to varying extents.

While the power generation in the Ravi basin has recorded the maximum decline of about 40 per cent, in the Sutlej basin, it has come down by about 20 to 25 per cent.

The daily generation in the country’s largest 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project ,which was producing around 39 million units during summer, has come down to 32 million units, as the flow in the Sutlej has come down from 500 cusecs to 356 cusecs.

Last year, it was daily generating 36 million units in the same period. Similarly, in the Karcham Wangtu project located upstream, the generation has declined from 26.5 million units to 20 million units.

In case of the 540 MW Chamera-I project on the Ravi, the generation has dwindled from 12.5 million units to seven million units and in Chamera-II project, it has come down from 72 lakh units to 46 lakh units. Normally, the hydropower generation starts declining towards the third week of September but this year the process had started in August-end.

The region has been experiencing freak weather conditions and the tribal areas of the state had snow during peak summer in June.

New Delhi, September 10
The Himachal Pradesh Government today sought a special assistance from the Centre for development projects underway in the state and requested Rs 500 crore to strengthen infrastructure network.

In his meeting with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram here, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also requested that the Chandigarh-Baddi railway line be declared as a project of national importance, considering the geographical and strategic importance.

Virbhadra urged the Union Minister to speed up the work on the pending Bhanupalli-Bilaspur railway line and provide funds for the rail project at the earliest. He reminded Chidambaram that it was decided by the Prime Minister’s Office in August 2007 that the state government would provide 25 per cent of the funds and the rest by the Railways for the project.

Since Independence, the state has seen the construction of just 44-km rail line. Referring to the report submitted by the Central team on the loss caused by floods in the state, Virbhadra asked the Centre to expedite early release of funds so that development work in the flood-affected areas could be undertaken.

To take the industrialisation process in the state forward, he requested that the industrial package be extended till 2020. He clarified that providing incentive to the state would not affect investment in neighbouring states and as against the proposal of Rs 48,000-crore investment, only Rs 14,000-crore investment by industrial houses had materialised.

The state also requested the release of Rs 2,100 crore for the annual plan of 2013-14 in view of the financial constraints and the Planning Commission’s nod to enhanced funds for the plan period.

State Revenue Minister Kaul Singh and Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri accompanied the Chief Minister in the meeting.

Shimla, September 10
The state government today requested the Union Ministry for Civil Aviations to ensure reliable and affordable air connectivity to the state.

Speaking at the Civil Aviation Minister’s conference in New Delhi today, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said at present there were no regular and reliable flights at all three major airports of the state. He said flights at the Shimla airport had been suspended due to erosion in the air strip while flights at Bhuntar and Kangra airports were not operating due to other reasons.

He requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to take effective steps to restore air connectivity to the state at the earliest. He said VAT on air fuel had been reduced from 5 per cent to 1 per cent from April to provide cheap fuel to aircraft flying in the state. He requested the Union Ministry to subsidise heli-taxi flights in the state on the pattern of north-eastern states.

Agnihotri said Himachal planned to construct green field airports at Kandaghat, Jawalamukhi and Ranital, as the air connectivity was a pre-requisite to promote tourism. He added that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had been requested to prepare a pre-feasibility report on all these airports as suitable land for construction of these airports had already been selected. He further said the government also proposed to extend the airstrips at Kullu for which technical assistance from IIT, Roorkee, had been taken.

The Industries Minister said at present there were 63 operational helipads at various places in the state and the state government had identified some new locations also. He requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to include the state in the development of 50 new low-cost airports and 20 new bigger airports in the country so as to strengthen the air services in the state.

Mandi, September 10
About 50 families of oustees of the Shanan and Bassi power project living in the Kundni Ward-1 of the Ner Gharwasra Panchayat in Jogindernagar today demanded proper rehabilitation under the provisions of the new Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

They said their colony faced danger from landslides as the area had been turned into a sliding zone this monsoon.

The oustees under the banner of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) submitted a memorandum of demands to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh through Devesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, here today.

They demanded rehabilitation at a safe place and allotment of fertile land as per the newly passed Land Acquisition Act.

They said they had been suffering for over a decade due to the “apathetic” attitude of the Punjab government, which still runs the Shanan and Bassi power project. They said their colony had become unsafe as the monsoon had rendered them homeless. They said they were given an immediate relief ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 40,000, which was negligible.

The construction of the Bassi powerhouse had upset the ecological balance of the area, they said. Des Raj Sharma, who led the oustees’ delegation, said the compensation paid by the Punjab government was "negligible".

“Farmers have lost hundreds of bighas of fertile land for the project and now their colony has become unsafe. They should be compensated and rehabilitated as per the provision of the new Land Acquisition Act,” he demanded. The oustees and project-affected people would launch a satyagrah at Jogindernagar if their demands were not met with, Des Raj said.

However, district officials said the matter lied with the state and the Punjab government as the project was being run by the Punjab State Electricity Board.

Chamba, September 10
A newly-married woman strangled herself with her ‘dupatta’ and died on the spot at her Uparli Gwad village in Bharmour tribal sub-division of the district on Sunday, a report received here today stated.

On a complaint of Chuni Lal, father of deceased Sapna Kumari, the Bharmour police had registered a case against Sapna's husband, the report said, adding that the postmortem of the body of the deceased had also been carried out.

The report further stated that as per the complaint, the husband of the deceased Sapna Kumari used to harass her and stop her from going to her parental house.

Consequently, she strangled herself. The deceased was married last year.

Further investigation in the case was underway, the report added.

Dharamsala, September 10
Former Ranji player from the state Rajeev Nayyar today came out in support of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) President Anurag Thakur. While addressing a press conference here, Nayyar said Thakur had done a lot for promotion of cricket and protecting interests of players from the state. But he stopped short of supporting the HPCA.

Nayyar is the first player from the state to have played 97 first-class cricket matches and scored 7,000 runs.

When asked by mediapersons to specifically state his position regarding the HPCA’s working, Nayyar found himself on a sticky wicket. He said the association was doing a good work, but he could not say anything regarding its functioning.

However, he criticised the successive governments for not recognising his contribution to sports and giving him any government job.

Nayyar said once a senior government official, whom he did not name, offered him a job of district sports officer. However, it later turned out to be a hoax.

He further said at that time it was difficult for him to sustain his family. However, the HPCA President provided him an opportunity to work as match referee and later gave him the coaching assignments.

During our playing days, players from the state could not imagine that an international cricket match could be held at Dharamsala. Had this infrastructure been available to me, I could have represented India, Nayyar said.

“I scored 21 centuries and 35 fifties at an average of 48.23. I played first class cricket almost for 20 years and captained the state team for nine years,” he added.

“I have broken the world record of Hanif Mohammad of Pakistan after 40 years for staying on the wicket for 1,017 minutes and scoring 271 runs in Ranji Trophy match in 1999 against J&K. For this my name figures in the Guinness Book of World Records. I was also the first player who was selected for India-A team that played against South Africa at Nagpur in 1996,” Nayyar said.

Bilaspur, September 10
Deputy Commissioner Ajay Sharma paid a surprise visit to various ghats of the Gobind Sagar for looking into complaints of violation of rules by motorboat operators here recently.

Sharma, accompanied by Additional District Magistrate Pradeep Thakur and SDMs ML Mehta and Rajiv Kumar, visited Luhnu, Rishikesh, Jagatkhana, Jeori Pattan and Nakrana ghats of Gobind Sagar and inspected all motorboats and issued strict instructions to operators to ensure that they stick to rules and regulations.

He instructed the motorboat operators not to charge more fare than what was already fixed. He also instructed them to keep motorboats technically approved and checked for water worthiness. All safety gadgets and arrangements for any emergency should be kept ready, he said.

The Deputy Commissioner said there should be no overloading and boats must be kept clean. He instructed the motorboat owners to stick to their timings and said complaints would be dealt with strictly, including scrapping of licence and impounding of the motorboat.

Sharma warned that such inspections would now be held on a regular basis and any breach of rules or whimsical charging of fare would attract exemplary punishment.

The officials had been receiving complaints that motorboat operators were behaving whimsically and taking full advantage of there being no checking by the district authorities. Some of them had been extorting more than the fixed fare during evening hours. They had also been keeping passengers waiting for boats for hours despite fixed timings of arrival and departure from these ghats.

Bilaspur, September 10
The district is progressing well in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MNREGA). As much as Rs 23 crore was spent under the scheme in the district last year, while Rs 8 crore has been spent this year. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ajay Sharma while presiding over a meet-the-press programme for the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) here today.

The DC said till now 87 per cent of accounts for payments under the funds transfer order (FTO) had been linked in the district under MNREGA. All the wages were being deposited directly in bank accounts of those employed under this scheme. More than 10,000 people were benefiting under this scheme, which was a record in the entire state till now, he added.

Sharma said under this scheme, even 40 per cent payments of materials would also be transferred directly through the bank FTO to suppliers of materials.

He said a total of 266 houses were constructed at a cost of Rs 1.29 crore and allotted to poor families under the Indira Awas Yojna in the district last year. As many as 384 houses were being constructed for allotment this year. Grant for each such dwelling had been increased from Rs 48,500 to Rs 75,000 with additional subsidy of Rs 9,100 for the construction of lavatories.

The DC said another housing scheme for the poor - Rajiv Awas Yojna -also had a similar grant from the government for each dwelling. A sum of Rs 70.50 lakh was allocated for the yojna this year. A total of 144 poor families were provided these dwellings in the district last year.

Additional District Magistrate Pradeep Thakur and Project Officer RS Chandel also gave details of development works being executed. They said the DRDA was now launching its dream project - Terra fill water filter - from next month in which it would come out with a very cheap water filter.

This filter is being manufactured in the DRDA’s Lakhanpur plant here under a government licence.

They said normal family filter would not cost more than Rs 650. The cartridge of the filter would work for full one year. A replacement of the cartridge with a new one would cost between Rs 20 to Rs 60 according to the size of the filter, they added.

Solan, September 10
With the new Companies Act, 2013, making it mandatory for all the companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more to earmark 2 per cent of their net profit for the preceding three years on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the state may finally find big companies and multi-national companies (MNCs) to invest in socially useful activities.

Though the grant of the 2003 Central industrial package had seen the advent of various MNCs and big firms like Colgate Palmolive, Mankind, Torque, Cipla, Torrent, Indo Farm, Indorama, etc, in the state, their spending on the CSR appeared to be much less than the desired level.

However, apart from holding small health check-ups and undertaking cursory sapling plantation in the vicinity, the bigger firms failed to invest much in CSR activities in the state. It was also observed that the bigger companies which had units in several states often showed their CSR activities in other states to claim credit.

The bigger companies not only desisted from making public what activities were undertaken by them in their Himachal units, but also their corporate offices deployed public relation agencies to show bigger claims than the actual work undertaken by the units in Himachal. The new Act will now make it mandatory for these big units to not only establish a CSR fund but also undertake activities which will make them spend 2 per cent of their profits.

There were some smaller units which were undertaking exemplary work as CSR on voluntarily basis. This fact was illustrated by a Baddi-based electronics manufacturing unit, Elin Appliances, which had set up a nature park at Jhiri in Mandi district by spending Rs 50 lakh and had also bagged various awards at the national level for their outstanding work.

An example has also been set up by Ambuja Cements Limited, which has been undertaking variety of activities under the CSR.

Elaborating on various activities, Dinesh Sharma, vice-president, Corporate Affairs, said 48 government schools had been adopted where students were being provided various aids. Apart from conducting health check-ups of the villagers routinely, the unit management was also running an NGO which was actively working to control AIDS.

Mandi, September 10
The police suspects that the main accused in the case of rape and abduction of a Dalit minor girl in Sarkaghat was allegedly running a “sex racket” with the help of his two family members.

The police is yet to nab the main accused, Sonu, a truck driver, and his sister and brother-in-law, both co-accused in the case. They were booked yesterday at the Sarkaghat police station.

The minor girl was medically examined at the Sarkaghat hospital where it was confirmed that she was raped, police sources said.

The victim, in her statement, alleged that she was abducted by Sonu and his sister and brother-in-law in a car from the Nabahi area in Sarkaghat on September 4 on the pretext of giving her a job in Chandigarh. Sonu allegedly raped her for four days and then dropped her back in Sarkaghat.

The police suspects that Sonu and his accomplice allegedly ran a sex racket and provided girls to pimps in Manali to cater to tourists.

Besides Sonu’s wife has filed a case of maintenance in the court as he was not giving her money to take care of her two children, the police sources said.

Sarkaghat DSP Sanjiv Bhatia said a manhunt had been launched to nab the accused as the case had been registered under Section 376 of the IPC, Prevention of Sexual Crime and Offences against the Minor Act and the SC/ST Act. Investigation was on and soon the accused would be nabbed, he added.

Bharmour, September 10
Two motorcycles parked in a rain-shelter at Gehra on the Chamba-Bharmour highway were damaged in a fire on Sunday night.

A report received here today said some unidentified persons had set the motorbikes on fire as per a complaint lodged by Suresh, a resident of Lech village under the Bharmour police station. The police has registered a case and launched a search to nab the culprits.