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Bhagsu land to outsider
Search on for BJP nominee for Mandi
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Caste plays role in post-poll scenario
VIGNETTES
Flights between Kullu, Chd from April 1
GND varsity tops sailing event
Study disputes Census data on disability
Rs 620-crore Clean Tech Fund loan for state
Voluntary body takes up teaching in understaffed govt schools
Vacate premises within 30 days, temple authorities told
Eco Dept takes note of MMU’s violations
Rebel BJP leader returns
Villagers lay siege
to work at hydro project in Kangra
AAP faces tough task in Shimla, Mandi
Panel formed to monitor paid news
Cong a spent force: Kishan
BJYM ends relay fast
Rain lashes Kangra valley as snowfall
greets Dhauladhars New medical colleges hailed AAP welcomes HLP’s support Heavy snowfall in Chamba hills Field Brig Thakur from Mandi, say ex-servicemen
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BJP
plans attack on Congress
Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service
Dharamsala,
March 9 Ravinder Ravi, BJP MLA from Dehra, said the previous government had made a rule that government lands could be given on lease only at 18 per cent of the market price. However, the government had lowered the lease amount rate to 10 per cent. Ten kanals in Bhagsu should have been given at a lease amount of Rs 4-5 lakh per month, however, the district administration of Kangra had given it on just Rs 60,000. He alleged that for the allotment of land to power project also, the government had fixed a price of 5 per cent of the market price of the land. However, the government had reduced it to 3 per cent. Sanjay Sharma, spokesperson of the HPCA, said the Congress had been accusing the previous government of allotting of land on lease to Pavillion Hotel. The land was allotted as it was mandatory to have a five-star hotel in the region for hosting international cricket matches. Still the HPCA was paying lease money of about Rs 24 lakh per annum to the state government. However, the Congress government had now allotted a prime property in Bhagsunag for just Rs 60,000 per month. The Chief Minister should give an explanation to the people, he said. Already the people of Bhagsu had threatened agitation. They were alleging that the temple trust was taken into confidence in the allotment of land. Omkar Nehria, a resident of Bhagsunag, temple trustee and vice-president of the Dharamsala Municipal Council, had alleged that the district administration had also violated Section 118 of the Land Tenancy Act. Since the land would be transferred to a firm or company, the permission under Section 118 was necessary before allotment. Kangra DC Paul Rasu has, however, maintained that the land has been allotted in a transparent manner after advertisements in newspapers. He has maintained that earlier the land was given on lease at Rs 15,000 per month. The DC has also maintained that since the land is given on lease and ownership rests with the temple, there is no need for permission under Section 118 of the Act.
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Search on for BJP nominee for Mandi
Mandi, March 9 The BJP’s search for its candidate had begun sometime back when Jai Ram Thakur, the party candidate in the last byelection, had shown his disinclination to contest the seat again in the coming election. The party had been weighing different options regarding the selection of the candidate and the state election committee of the BJP had sent a panel of three names to the BJP parliamentary board for the final selection of the party candidate. The Mandi seat is a prestigious seat, which was snatched from the BJP by the Congress in 2004 election when Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, had defeated Maheshwar Singh. In the 2009 Parliament election, Congress candidate Virbhadra Singh became victorious from Mandi while the BJP got three seats from the state. Pratibha Singh had again won the seat in the byelection held in June 2013 after her husband Virbhadra Singh quit the seat to take over as the Chief Minister. Mandi is considered a pocket borough of
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh having Assembly segments of Rampur fetching huge leads for Congress candidates. With the Congress government in power and Virbhadra Singh as Chief Minister it will be a tough for the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to put a formidable challenge before Pratibha Singh in the election. Keeping this in mind, the BJP leadership is considering three names from a panel of new candidates, Ram Swaroop Sharma, Ajay Rana and Brig Khushal Thakur (retd). There are reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary board has still not ruled out the candidature of Jai Ram Thakur and might ask him to enter the fray in the last minute. Tough task: Mandi is a prestigious seat, which was snatched from the BJP by the Congress in 2004 election when Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, had defeated Maheshwar
Singh.
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Caste plays role in post-poll scenario
Dharamsala, March 9 In 1966, Saligram, a Brahmin MLA from Kangra, challenged YS Parmar, a Rajput, for the post of Chief Minister. Voting of MLAs was held and Saligram lost the post of the CM to Parmar by one vote. Thereafter, in the Congress, Sukh Ram, another Brahmin leader from Mandi, tried to stake claim over the post of the CM in 1992. He failed after the majority Rajput MLAs aligned themselves with Virbhadra Singh. In the BJP, Shanta Kumar is considered a Brahmin leader and Prem Kumar Dhumal, his rival within the party, is a Rajput. An analysis of the results of various Assembly and parliamentary elections reveals that caste plays a more effective role in the post-election scenario for grabbing coveted posts. But people of the state are not that inclined to vote on caste lines. In Kangra district, the most populous district of the state that accounts for about 25 per cent of the state's population, people have seldom voted on caste lines. Congress leader and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies GS Bali, a Brahmin by caste, has won four times in a row from the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly constituency where OBCs are in a majority. He has been defeated BJP candidates who belongs to OBC community. In Dharamsala, during the last Assembly elections, Sudhir Sharma, another Brahmin, won from Dharamsala, despite the fact that his caste has a meagre presence in the area. The Dharamsala constituency has a majority of OBC and Gaddi community voters. In Nurpur, where about 40 per cent of the population belongs to the Rajput community, Ajay Mahajan defeated a prominent Rajput leader Rakesh Pathania. Earlier, prominent Congress leader Sat Mahajan used to hold sway over the area. In the Jwalamukhi Assembly constituency, Sanjay Rattan, a Brahmin, defeated a prominent OBC leader of BJP Ramesh Dhawala, despite the fact that OBCs were in a majority in the constituency. In the Kangra parliamentary constituency too that has about 20 per cent OBC population in the last election, another prominent OBC leader of the Congress Chander Kumar was defeated by BJP's Rajan Sushant, a Brahmin. Schedule Castes form 25 per cent of the total population of Himachal. As per the last Census report, their population is growing at a faster rate than other castes in Himachal. They still have an insignificant role in state politics. If polling trends are any indication, one can conclude that voters are not influenced by caste factor. In the post-election scenario, MLAs tend to align on caste lines to ensure that those perceived as representatives of certain castes remain in top posts.
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Talented woman from Hamirpur
Shriniwas Joshi
She is gifted with a mellifluous voice and is a deft artist. In fact, she is trained in fine arts. Parental influence has had a hand in shaping up her artistic proclivity. Her father was friends with Sobha Singh. She got to spend time at Andretta with the legendary artist, that helped in honing her art. No wonder, 118 paintings are part of the book she is presently working on. It is an anthology of poems for children. She is a poet of repute and her meaningful poetry in Urdu has given her a distinct niche. Dr Nalini Vibha Naazli (see photo) is today a known name among the state's litterateurs. When I could not find the word 'Naazli' in the dictionary, she explained that the word was feminine of 'Naazil' that meant "one who descended from heaven". Dr Wahid Faraaz writes: “There is warmth of thought, softness of sympathy, sun of sorrow, shade of pleasure, depth of verbalisation and truthfulness of a mirror in Naazli’s poetry.”
Poets often have a penchant for ghazals. A ghazal is a collection of couplets (shers or ashaar) which follow the rules of 'matla', 'maqta', 'bahar', 'qafiya' and 'radeef'. The couplets are complete in themselves. All the couplets of a ghazal must be of the same bahar, end in the same words (radeef) and have the same rhyming pattern (qaafiyaa). Every ghazal must have a matla. A ghazal may or may not have a maqta, but if it does, it has to be the last sher of the ghazal. Like most of the poets, Naazli is also fond of ghazal and defines it in her own way: "Harf harf ek aaaina hai ghazal/Jazbaaye dil ka tarjuma hai ghazal/Do hi misron mein zindagi ki katha/Ibtida taa ba intiha hai ghazal.” Our sorrows are often drowned in the melodious voices of Jagjit Singh or Mehdi Hasan. Here, the writer says: "Dard jab had se badhe aur na jhela jaaye/Tab ghazal keh ke woh kagaz pe undela jaye." Naazli fully understands that mixing of religion and politics is a dangerous concoction because religious attitude, it so happens, is diametrically opposed to democratic feelings. Democracy demands open-mindedness, universal brotherhood and thinking based on reason. One way to do that is to do away with herd tendency and be liberal in outlook. Naazli says it: “Mazhab se rakho apni siyasat ko tum azaad/Quame watan ke dil se wafadar ho jaao/Gita ka phalsapha ho ke Quran ki taalim/Apnaao use Sahiba-Kirdaar ho jaao.” Political corruption and bribery have turned all-pervasive and inescapable truths of our lives. Non-deserving are sitting on high pedestals. Naazli puts it succintly in two lines: “Woh jo hai aaj is bulandi par/Hai karaamaat ek zeene ki.” And again, “Siyaasi chamchon ko milte hain maalo-zar-samman/magar taraste hi sachche adeeb rehte hain.” Many households in Himachal are ruined because the bread-earner is a drunkard. The habit is increasing day by day and the brunt is borne by the families. Naazli has observed all this and satires: "Iske haq mein bayaan dega kaun/Cheethre tan pe, boo pasine ki/Ghar mein bachchon ke faake lagte hain/Lat hai Abbu Miyaan ko peene ki.” TAILPIECE “Nothing keeps a poet in his high singing mood as he always carries unappeasable hunger for unattainable food.” — Joyce Kilmer
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PM, Sonia pics on ration card riles BJP
Shimla, March 9 In a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer, Dhumal demanded that ration cards with photographs of the Congress leaders should be cancelled immediately. Dhumal said the government had been violating the code of conduct ever since the Lok Sabha elections were announced and the BJP had made several complaints of the violations. "We have confidence that the Chief Electoral Officer will take cognisance of these violations and initiate action," he added. BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said the government was forced to increase the subsidised LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 and delink it with Aadhaar card under pressure of the BJP. He said the new policy of the government to deposit subsidy directly in the bank accounts had caused hardship among consumers who were supposed to pay Rs 1,300 for the cylinder. The BJP also flagged off a consignment of iron and soil collected by party workers from various parts for the construction of the statue of Sardar Patel on the bank of the Narmada in Gujarat. The BJP had launched a programme to collect iron and sand for the "Statue of Unity" and decided to despatch it from every district and hold a function to motivate people.
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Flights between Kullu, Chd from April 1
Shimla, March 9 Private chartered flights have come to Kullu close on the heels of Air India flights. Air India had resumed Kullu-Delhi flights last year, but had stopped these last month due to the non-availability of passengers. Air India is resuming its 42-seater flights from mid-April, confirmed YK Sharma, Manager, Airport Authority of India, Kullu airport. “We have signed an agreement with Deccan Charter to start an air service between Chandigarh and Kullu-Manali airports from April 1,” says BP Thakur, Director, Himalayan Bulls Private Ltd, Manali. “These will be non-scheduled flights depending on the availability of passengers. Initially, we will charge Rs 9,195 per seat inclusive of all taxes,” he added. The airliner was considering starting air flights between Shimla-Chandigarh and Shimla-Kullu and Chandigarh and Gaggal-Dharamsala if they got clients, said BP Thakur. The flight charges would be in the range of Rs 6,500 per seat excluding taxes, he added. The company was negotiating with the government to reduce taxes on turbine fuel which would reduce the flight charges, he said. “We could not take it up with the government due to the model code of conduct coming into force," he said. Hoteliers and travel agents have hailed the starting of the second private air flights to Kullu from Chandigarh. If more and more airliners operate, the flight charges will come down. They will get more passengers and that will in turn promote high-end tourism in the state, said AR Thakur, president, Manali Hoteliers Association. "Air India stopped the flights last month on the ground that they were not getting enough clients for the flights," said Thakur. The flights to Srinagar and North-East were never stopped even if they got few passengers, said hoteliers. They said Himachal was a special category state and deserved subsidised flights along the lines of Srinagar. |
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GND varsity tops sailing event
Nurpur, March 9 The competition was organised by GND University with the technical support of
RWSC. Sixteen men's and four women's teams from six universities took part in the competition. Mohan Dutt Sharma, Sub-Divisional Magistrate,
Jawali, gave away prizes to the championship winners. MS Randhwa, Sports Director, GND University, was also present on the occasion. According to Rakesh
Walia, in-charge, RWSC, at present, this sports centre is imparting water sports coaching to students of GND University, Amritsar, Kurukshetra University,
Kurukshetra, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Punjabi University, Patiala. "Next year, students of other universities will be imparted this training," he said. The following are the results of this championship: In 1,800 metre (men), Kurukshetra University, GND University and Punjabi University were declared first, second and third. In 600 metre (men), GND University, Kurukshetra University and Panjab University, Chandigarh, were adjudged first, second and third. In 1,200 metre (women), GND University, Punjabi University and Kurukshetra University secured first, second and third positions. In 600 metre (women), Punjabi University, GND University and Panjab University were declared first, second and third. |
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Study disputes Census data on disability
Shimla, March 9 Dr BS Negi, Dr Randhir Sharma, Dr Pankaj Gupta and Vijay Kumar conducted the study in Shimla, Solan, Kangra, Kinnaur and Hamirpur districts, in which 200 disabled children and their families were covered. It questioned the 2001 and 2011 Census data of the disabled persons and observed that the decline in the number of disabled persons was contrary to the general trend, which had increased at the national level and other states. As per the 2001 data, the number of disabled persons was 2.56 per cent of the total population (60.67 lakh), while it declined to 2.26 per cent of 68.64 lakh in the 2011 Census, a drop of 0.30 per cent, which was not possible. The number of disabled in the state was 1,55,950 in 2001, 90,444 males and 65, 506 females, while the total number in 2011 was 1,55,316, 86,321 males and 68,995 females, despite an increase in the total population. The study said this could be because the enumerators were not given proper training to conduct the Census and as such a special Census of the disabled was required to get an authentic data. In 31.5 per cent cases, the disability was noticed after 15 months, in 26.5 per cent cases between 13 and 15 months, while in 15 per cent the disability was detected within three months. The study revealed that the mother’s age at the time of pregnancy was 20 to 25 years in 69.5 per cent cases, while the age of 11.5 per cent mothers was above 32 years at the time of the birth of a disabled child. Mothers were also questioned about birth asphyxia and delayed crying of the newborn, for which the data revealed that in 63.5 per cent cases, children cried immediately, while in 13 per cent cases, they cried within five minutes, 10 per cent within 10 minutes and 13.5 per cent within an hour. The survey revealed that 45.5 per cent deliveries were conducted at home, where birth asphyxia could not be managed. As a result, the child did not cry after birth thereby causing cerebral palsy of neuropsychiatric disorders. Out of the total 82 cases of mental retardation, the delivery of 47 disabled children was conducted at home. |
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Rs 620-crore Clean Tech Fund loan for state
Shimla, March 9 While the first loan of Rs 600 crore was a World Bank loan, the second policy development loan is not a World Bank loan, but a loan under the CTF managed by the World Bank. Principal Secretary, Environment, Tarun Sridhar, Principal Secretary, Finance, SK Baldi and Director, Environment, SS Negi will meet World Bank officials in Delhi this week to hold discussions and complete the formalities for the second loan. The loan which comprises a 90 per cent grant will be given at a highly subsidised rate of 0.45 per cent. It will be utilised for promoting inclusive green growth for sustainable development and for major environment protection measures, including cumulative environment impact assessment report of hydropower projects. A high-level team of the World Bank visited Shimla from January 21 to 24 for the final appraisal of environment protection steps taken by the state government for availing the Rs 620-crore development policy loan. It also reviewed the measures initiated by key departments such as power, tourism, industry, environment and forests, pollution control board and watershed in consonance with fiscal policy loan advanced for various sectors in 2007. The World Bank Board will meet on March 21 and the loan is likely to be sanctioned by end of the current financial year, Dr Negi said. Dr Negi said while advancing the fiscal policy loan of Rs 540 crore in 2007, the World Bank had put certain conditions. The government had already set up a separate department of environment, made changes in tourism policy, made pollution data about pharma units online and taken some other steps. The World Bank team had agreed in principle for another loan of Rs 620 crore under the CTF and asked the state to send detailed proposals. Climate Investment
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Voluntary body takes up teaching in understaffed govt schools
Una, March 9 The idea was mooted in 2006 by a handful of retired government
teachers, who, initially, with the financial assistance of a non-resident Indian OP
Dogra, hailing from Bhadsali village of the district, hired the services of unemployed trained teachers to render their services
in a few government primary schools. The idea received public support and today, the organisation has 26
teachers in different government schools in Una district. Organisation president Chitt Vilas Pathak said all the teachers voluntarily take a meagre honorarium of Rs 3,000 per month, which amounts to about Rs 90,000 per month in all. The samiti office-bearers contribute this amount by way of public donations. He said while the government boasts of a strong state-owned education system, the fact is that there are at least 600 schools in the state having a single teacher for
five classes in a primary school. Samiti advisor Prem Rajput, a retired government school Principal, said their teachers were appointed on request by parents and school management committees. Besides, the consent of the local gram panchayat and the school Principal is taken. The samiti office-bearers not only check the progress of their teachers, but also provide them refresher training. He said more and
more schools were approaching them to provide volunteer teachers. Samiti secretary Sucha Singh Kang said the organisation provides scholarships, shoes, sports kits and stationery items to children coming from very poor families. He said some of the government schools where the samiti had appointed one or more teachers included
Thanakalan, Ispur, Pandoga, Panjawar, Saghnai, Tatehra, Pawnda, Pandoga,
Saloh, Loharli, Mubarikpur, Badoh, Kutheda, Nangal Salangri, Labana
Majra, Dohak, Bhadsali, Deoli, Barehra and Paroian. The samiti members said while the senior district Education Department officials had
hailed the working of the samiti, the teachers were being denied teaching experience certificate from the department for the work they were putting in at the government institution. They have appealed to the department officials to consider the teachers' request sympathetically so that they get the benefit of their work in securing better jobs. Shiksha Sudhar Samiti
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Vacate premises within 30 days, temple authorities told
Kullu, March 9 The order stated that the temple in question did not fulfil the criterion required for regularisation of encroachment, as applicable to such religious institutions, he added. He said 30 days had been granted to the temple authorities to vacate the premises. A saint had made the place his abode in 1962 and since then it was managed by his followers. It is said the temple is being currently managed by the Shardamaa Sewa Sangh. A local resident said the area had, however, increased manifold over the years. RTI activist Abhishek said the temple had been built along the national highway on the Kullu-Manali road violating the Town and Country Planning rules.
He said a committee formed under the National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructions inspected the temple premises to check the dumping of waste in the Beas. The temple has a small cave, just like the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu. An idol of Goddess Durga had been installed here and had become one of the major tourist attractions. Kamal Dass, secretary of the temple committee, denied a receipt of the orders. He said: “There are various idols on the premises and prayers are carried out three times a day. It is not possible to vacate the temple in such a short notice.” He rued: “The temple land is public property. The orders are not in the public interest, as cited.” Without naming anyone, he termed it a conspiracy of some hotel owners in the town, who have misinformed higher authorities. He said: “Temples and other religious institutions are generally built on public land. Targeting Mahadevi Teerth clearly highlights the hidden motive of a few people, who had been able to delude the authorities.”
Members of some religious groups have resented the orders of the Forest Department and demanded quashing of these orders.
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Eco Dept takes note of MMU’s violations
Shimla, March 9 After it was noticed that large-scale constructions were being done at the 47-acre site, the MMU authorities were asked to give an explanation. That was after the Pollution Control Board pointed out the violation and reported it to the Director of Environment. The matter came up before the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority and the promoters admitted having carried out constructions without obtaining environment clearance, but pleaded that they were not aware of it, Dr SS Negi, Director Environment, said. Under Section 19 of the Environment Protection Act, prior environment clearance in respect of water and air pollution is mandatory for carrying out constructions over 20,000 square metre area. In case of MMU, the construction already carried out was on more than 1 lakh sq m. The Act clearly states that “prosecution” of the defaulters is a must. The department would first prosecute the violators and the case of Environment clearance would be taken up afterwards. Till such time, no construction activity would be carried out, said Dr Negi. MMU was given the water and power connections without any Environment clearance and the defaulters could be prosecuted and sentenced to five-year imprisonment. The government had so far not initiated the process for prosecution, but it was inevitable under the law, said an official. |
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Rebel BJP leader returns
Shimla, March 9 Kashyap returned with former BJP district general secretary BN Verma, former president of district Kisan Morcha Aman Singh and other prominent leaders, including Madan Verma, Inder Singh Rohal, Jai Ram Thakur and Gyan Verma in the presence of party president Satpal Singh Satti and Shimla MLA Suresh Bhardwaj. Speaking on the occasion, Kashyap said he was happy over his homecoming and would work wholeheartedly to ensure the victory of the BJP candidate from Shimla. Satti also urged the members of the legal cell to help BJP candidates and workers in understanding the legal issues pertaining to election, election laws and violations of the model code of conduct. Addressing a meeting of the legal cell of the party, he said the Modi wave was sweeping across the country and the BJP would win all four seats in Himachal. |
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Remote villages cry for amenities
Chamba, March 9 Health and educational institutions are facing a dearth of staff. Moreover, people living there are not imparted training in the self-employment generation schemes of the government which are imperative for their livelihood. The training programmes of nationalised banks and rural development are confined merely to towns only. The awareness camps with regard to animal husbandry, agriculture and horticulture and other training programmes need to be conducted in remote areas such as Sunara, Lilh , Vales and Chhatrari so that residents can derive benefit of such camps and training progammes. With a view to generating self-employment among the landless and poor families in the district, the government has launched 14 projects under the District Watershed Development Agency with an outlay of Rs.24.5 crore. Problems Galore
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Villagers lay siege
to work at hydro project in Kangra
Palampur, March 9 Reports reaching here said residents assembled at the project site in the morning and forced the labour to suspend the construction activities. Women activists belonging to local Mahila Mandals also sat on a dharna. A spokesman of the Sangharsh Samiti formed by a few villages told mediapersons that with the construction of the tunnel, a number of water resources such as small rivulets and water channels had gone dry resulting in acute shortage of water in the area. Besides, project authorities were not following norms laid down by the government for dumping the debris. He said the authorities had not created a dumping site so far. The debris, including mud, stones and other material, was being dumped in the fields damaging crops, he said. Besides, most of the debris had also been thrown in the Lamba Dug river, he added. The protesting villagers said the project had posed a serious threat to the existence of Termahar village, as the tunnel was being constructed in such a manner that it had resulted in large-scale land erosion. They further alleged that despite state government orders, the project authorities had failed to provide employment to local residents. Meanwhile, M Reddy, General Manger of the project, said the project management was following all
norms. |
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AAP faces tough task in Shimla, Mandi
Shimla, March 9 "We have given our consent to AAP to contest from Hamirpur as we think we can serve the state better," said Girdhari Lal and Kamal Kanta Batra. Dulo Ram of the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) and HN Kashyap from Solan have rejoined the BJP as PK Dhumal and BJP Kangra candidate Shanta Kumar asked them to rejoin the party. Though AAP had shortlisted Hirdya Ram, a former Himachal administrative officer and former legislator from Renuka, and HN Kashyap, also a former HAS officer, as party candidate from Shimla, BJP bigwigs swung into action and managed to get Kashyap back into the party fold considering that BJP candidate Virender Kashyap had been booked by the Vigilance, revealed sources. |
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Panel formed to monitor paid news
Chamba, March 9 The committee has been formed on the directives of the Election Commission of India. The MCMC has started scrutinising paid news and monitoring advertisements in Chamba district. “Examining complaints or issues pertaining to paid news in newspapers, television channels, Internet etc in connection with the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in the district has come within the purview of the committee,” the DC said. He said, he being the DEO, would be the chairperson of the committee, while HAS officer Bhuveshwari Vohra, Assistant Superintendent of Post Offices Tilak Raj and a senior journalist of the district would be its members and District Public Relations Officer Ravi Verma would be its member secretary. The MCMC office had been set up on the premises of the office of the Deputy Commissioner. |
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Cong a spent force: Kishan
Una, March 9 He said this was the reason why the party was taking so long in fielding a candidate against BJP stalwart Shanta Kumar. Kapoor said it was Shanta Kumar who was the architect of the Antyodaya scheme under the national Public Distribution System, which provided 35 kg foodgrains at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg to the poorest of the poor. In contrast, he said, while the country had its coffers full, the people in Himachal were not getting the due quantity of foodgrains, pulses and edible oil, questioning why the quota of sugar for Himachal was reduced by the Centre. The BJP leader said there was a clear Modi wave in the country and the writing was clear on the wall for the Congress party since its allies too had started parting ways.
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BJYM ends relay fast
Kullu, March 9 He said permission to conduct trial flights to the Gondhla helipad had been forwarded to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The snow-bound areas of Lahaul were connected by state-run and Army helicopters. The Liaison Officer at Kullu confirmed that 239 passengers crossed the Rohtang Pass on Saturday, while two flights were conducted to Sissu and one each to Warring, Daiet and Satingri from the Bhuntar airport in Kullu. Former state minister Ram Lal Markanday said the BJP would continue its struggle for the welfare of people in tribal areas. |
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over
the allotment of prime land in Bhagsunag to an outsider. BJP leaders
are alleging that the Congress has relaxed the conditions of giving
lands on lease whereas it has been accusing the previous government of
selling lands to outsiders.
Shimla, March 9
mountainous ranges, have been experiencing fresh heavy snowfall since this morning.
As a sequel to this, chilly winds continued sweeping low-lying areas of the district. Residents in the higher reaches remained confined to their houses, reports said. The weather reportedly went dry in
lower areas. Since the Ravi is a snow-fed river, the water volume had substantially receded due to huge snow deposit during the winter, thereby affecting power production of hydropower projects on the river downstream, reports
said. OC
I heard her singing a ghazal at a kavi goshthi at Hamirpur and I liked it. Nalini Vibha was born to parents Chand and Sheela Dharmani at Nangal on December 5, 1954. She got married and settled at Hamirpur. She did PhD in vocal music and worked at the Hamirpur Government College for more than 33 years as lecturer.
She recently sent me four of her books - "Rezaa Rezaa Aainaa", "Dastakhat Reh Jaayenge", "Harf Harf Aainaa" and "Ghazal ke Parde Mein" (see photo).
