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Private power producers getting a free
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37 hydropower projects to come up
HC turns down private technical colleges plea
Mandi to have sainik sadan
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Forest cover grows in state: CM
Stop going to media, Cong to leaders
SDM initiates probe into Durga Club land allotment
GI tag alright, but Kangra paintings dying slow death
Drive to plant saplings today
Western culture plaguing Indian values: NCW chairperson
HPU Foundation Day celebrations end
Teachers resent delay in scale cases
BJP’s core committee meets today
Magic a dying art, says Samrat Shankar
Minister to kick-start van mahotsavas tomorrow
Woman found dead
Panel wants Rs 1,200 crore to boost PRIs
State mulls steps for tobacco control
Satti honours cricketing talent of Una district Masked bikers flee with car in Nurpur
HPU teachers meet Guv 24 deodar slippers seized
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Private power producers getting a free
run
Shimla, July 24 All the power projects in the state and central sectors - 1,500-mw Nathpa
Jhakhri, 520-mw Parbati III, BBMB’s 990-mw Dehar power house, 1,478.73-mw Bhakhra Dam, 396-mw Pong Dam, NHPC’s 540-mw
Chamera-I, 300-mw Chamera-II and 231-mw Chamera III in the Ravi basin, declared their generation capacity daily as mandated by the regional and national grid codes. Violators of the grid codes are the Japee Karcham Hydro Corporation Ltd’s 1,000-mw Karcham Wangtoo project on the Sutlej in
Kinnaur, 192-mw Allian and Duhangan project of the AD Hydro Power Corp Ltd near Manali, 86-mw Malana I of the Malana Power Company, 100-mw Malana II of the Everest Power Pvt Ltd, 70-mw Budhil of Lanco Power Company, 300-mw of Baspa II of Japee Hydro Power Pvt Ltd. The IPPs and
NRLDC- SLDC’s alleged nexus is deep-rooted as none of the IPPs’ projects declare their power generation capacity, revealed the real time data of the power projects over a period a week till today, accessed by The Tribune. The IPPs are also generating more than 10 per cent of their installed capacity, revealed insiders. The holiday horror tragedy in the Beas on June 8 had exposed the SLDC and NRLDC’s alleged nexus with the private power companies as they have been generating power more than 10 per cent of the installed capacity under the very nose of the NRLDC and the
SLDC, which control these projects. The inquiry conducted by state government gave the clean chit to the SLDC staff. But both Central and state governments have yet to break the alleged deep-rooted nexus of the controlling bodies with the private power companies as they get a free run during load shedding, as it had happened between 5 pm and 7.30 pm on June 8 when 24 engineering students were washed away as the Larji barrage released 500 cumec water that day, as a result of selective load shedding, revealed insiders. The report has also pointed out that “the SLDC has not framed detailed internal operating procedures of the state power grid as per the provision of the HP Electricity Grid Code and Indian Electricity grid code”. SKBS
Negi, Principal Secretary (Power), said the Karcham Wangtoo, NJPC, Allain
Duhangan, Parbati, Dehar, Bhakhra and Pong dam are controlled by the NRLDC on which they have no control. But they have asked the
Baspa, Malana, Larji, Bhaba, Bassi and Giri, which come under HP’s SLDC to declare daily schedule. |
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37 hydropower projects to come up
Shimla, July 24 The Cabinet also agreed to amend the Himachal Pradesh Building and Other Construction Welfare Board (regulation and employment and condition of service) Rules 2008, wherein Rs 1 lakh will be provided to the beneficiaries in case of accidental death and Rs 50,000 for natural death between the age group of 18 to 60. Besides, they will be provided bicycle, solar lamp and washing machine for women workers. It also approved the transfer of land in the name of National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, for the construction of a Science Museum at Palampur, on the campus of Krishi Vishwa Vidalaya. It was decided to give to give 50 per cent reduction in stamp duty on registration of sale, conveyance deeds and lease deed in case of new industrial units coming up in the state. Besides, the Cabinet approved e-filing system for collection of on-line court fee. It has also been decided to set up a permanent fruit collection centre, packaging and grading centre, sorting house, pre-cooling and fruit processing unit at Lavan, between Kingal and Sainj, in Kumarsain tehsil of Shimla. Approval was also granted to extend the contract period of tailoring teachers for one year and making further amendment in the existing rules by giving yearly extension in their contract. The Cabinet also gave nod for filling up of 100 posts of panchayat sahayaks. The Cabinet agreed to provide 35 kg food grains to the above poverty line (APL) families in the tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh. Approval was also given to constitute Talhiwal, in Una, as nagar panchayat and to open a tehsil welfare office at Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra. Relief likely for private colleges
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HC turns down private technical colleges plea
Shimla, July 24 Both associations had challenged the decision of HP Technical University that the colleges are required to admit students from the merit list prepared by the university after conducting Common Entrance Tests (CETs). Apart from this, these had also questioned the fee structure fixed by the technical university for various technical courses. Dismissing the petitions, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan observed, “The state has the power to regulate academic excellence, particularly in matters of admissions to the institutions and, therefore, is competent to prescribe merit-based admission processes for creating uniform admission process through CET. Any prayer for seeking dilution or even questioning the authority of the state is ill-founded.” The bench said, “Thus, ensuring that admission policies are based on merit, it is crucial for the state to act as a regulator. In fact, it is in matters of ensuring academic standards that the balance necessarily tilts in favour of the state taking into consideration the public interest and the responsibility of the state to ensure the maintenance of higher standards of education.” The court also rejected the plea of the petitioners with regard to fixing of fee by saying that “the fixation of fee is a policy matter and lies solely within the domain of the state and university. Even otherwise, this court lacks expertise to determine what should be the fee for different kinds of courses. Accordingly, we find no merit in this contention of the petitioners”. The petitioners alleged in their petitions that the criteria of passing the CET for various technical courses was voilative of Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution so far as private self-financed unaided institutions were concerned. These further alleged that the freedom to run an institution was rendered nugatory when members of the institutions were not able to determine their own admission policies and carry out their business in a manner these deem fit. This freedom was violative when the institutions could not frame their admission policies. However, the state defended their decision by contending that there were 16 private universities, one private engineering colleges, 12 bachelor of pharmacy private colleges, nine private management colleges and 25 private polytechnics in the state along with 129 ITIs in private sector. The state government, to ensure that the students are not subjected to multiple entrance tests as well to ensure admissions to these institutions are made in a fair and transparent manner, decided that technical university would admit students to the courses in its constituent colleges and affiliated private engineering colleges through the CET. It was further contended that the main object of prescribing the eligibility criteria was not to ensure that all seats in the colleges were filled, but was to ensure that excellence in standards of higher education was maintained. |
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Mandi to have sainik sadan
Mandi, July 24 The proposal for the sainik sadan was coined by the Ex-Servicemen Movement and Ex-Servicemen Welfare League. The two organisations had requested the Central Government to provide funds for it. Brig Kushal Thakur (retd) said, “In fact, the major reason to push through the proposal was the availability of about seven bighas land in the middle of the town at Palace Colony, which was purchased by the Sainik Welfare Board for Rs 4 lakh long ago from the erstwhile ruler of Mandi.” “And to make the best use of this land, we had suggested to the Central Government to set up a sainik sadan for the state,” he added. The sadan is proposed to have a skill development centre to give training in different fields to the ex-servicemen, war widows, disabled Army personnel and children of serving and ex-servicemen. Since a large number of Army personnel retire at the age of 35, skill development courses proposed here would be quite useful for seeking re-employment and starting their own enterprises. To make the sadan financially self sustaining, there is a proposal to build multi-purpose halls and a shopping complex, besides an Army canteen. Mandi MP Ram Swaroop Sharma said, “The demand to construct a sainik sadan was being raised by ex-servicemen for quite long and I had recently taken up the proposal with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, who has accorded approval for the sainik sadan at Mandi.” |
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Forest cover grows in state: CM
Solan, July 24 He directed forest officials to initiate work on such projects without delay. Addressing a public gathering after planting a sapling of pomegranate on the occasion of the 65th state-level Van Mahotsav at Dumehri Tikkri near Kandaghat, the CM said a growth of 4 sq km had been recorded in the forest cover as per the latest survey conducted by the Indian Forest Survey Institute, Dehradun. He said the German Technical Institute would train officials of the Forest Department, representatives of panchayati raj institutions and NGOs with technical know-how for conserving forests and Rs 25 crore had been set aside for this purpose. Apart from this, a project worth Rs 310 crore would also be initiated in Chamba and Kangra districts in collaboration with Germany to conserve the forest wealth. He said the introduction of corrugated cartons for apples packing had helped save one lakh trees which were earlier felled for packing the fruit. He said van mahotsav helped generate awareness about the importance of forests, global warming and climatic change. Sapling planting would be undertaken in 17,500 hectares in the current financial year and children from around 3,000 schools would be roped in for undertaking afforestation drive. A provision of Rs 3 crore had been made for this purpose and there was a target of planting 45 lakh medicinal plants. With a view to ensuring success of these plantations, Rs 126 crore was being spent in fencing the plantation sites. Earlier, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said to facilitate people, Chail, Katgaon, Bir and Tikkar wildlife ranges had been converted into regional ranges and a new regional wildlife range had been opened in Jaisinghpur. Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Col Dhani Ram Shandil, also spoke on the occasion.
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Stop going to media, Cong to leaders
Shimla, July 24 Speaking at the State Executive meet of the Congress here today, Raja Ram Pal made it clear that it was high time party leaders stop dissecting the Lok Sabha defeat, especially before the media and in public forum. “All party leaders as well as those in the government must raise party matters or any other issues only within the party forum and refrain from making statements before the media,” he remarked. He also directed leaders to desist from criticising the government functioning publicly. State Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu also made it clear that anybody having any issue was welcome to discuss it with him or at proper party forum but not in the media. In an obvious reference to dissidents such as Rajya Sabha MP Viplove Thakur and AICC secretary and MLA Asha Kumari, he said some party leaders and workers could be having grievances but by raising these in public, they were causing more harm than benefit to the organisation. The State Executive also decided to concentrate on 14 Assembly segments where the Congress had suffered successive defeats in the past and the BJP got a lead of more than 10,000 votes in the recent Lok Sabha poll. Sukhu along with senior leaders will tour these constituencies. Party leaders deliberated upon steps to strengthen frontal organisations, the Mahila Congress, the Youth Congress, the Congress Sewa Dal and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), which, they felt, were weak, resulting in the younger age group voters drifting towards the BJP. It was felt that the 12 Congress Cells, the Kisan Cell, the Intellectual Cell, the Legal Cell and the Panchayati Raj Cell, were almost redundant as even party leaders were not aware about their existence. It was also decided to keep the size of the Block Congress Committees small and restrict them to 31 as per the Congress constitution. Everyone was unanimous in their view that all bodies must have limited number of office-bearers so that they are effective and active. Convention soon
The Congress will hold a two-day convention at Dharamsala after the monsoon Assembly session for all party leaders and office-bearers. The dates of the convention will be announced later depending on the availability of Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary and in charge of Himachal Congress, and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
— Naresh Chauhan, HPCC spokesperson. |
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Monsoon to remain active for next five days
Shimla, July 24 Dharamsala in Kangra district was soaked with 117 mm rain, while Kheri and Kangra received 88 mm and 59 mm rain, followed by Sujanpur Tira 56 mm, Gaggal 53 mm, Jogindernagar 52 mm, Palampur 48 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 17 mm, Bilaspur 44 mm, Gohar 41 mm, Baijnath 38 mm, Nadaun 36 mm, Mandi 32 mm, Baldwara 29 mm, Sundernagar 27 mm
.Dalhousie 17 mm, and Shimla 14 mm. The rain affected life in mid hills, but cheered farmers as it is beneficial for maize, paddy, apple and other vegetable crops. However, the rain eluded lower hills which reeled under hot and humid conditions. The day temperature dropped by two to four degrees and Una, which was hottest in the region, recorded a high of 30°C, against 34°C yesterday, while Bhuntar recorded the maximum temperature at 29.2°C, followed by Dharamsala 27.4°C, Sundernagar 26°C, Nahan 25.4°C, Solan 25°C, Shimla and Manali 21.6°C and Kalpa 21°C. Normal
life hit due to heavy rain in Palampur
Palampur: Normal life remained paralysed on the second consecutive day today following heavy rain in different parts of the region. Road transport, power supply and train services on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar railway track were affected. Several trains on this section were either running late or suspended because of land erosion on the track. Passengers or daily commuters remained stranded at different railway stations for hours. Power supply in many parts of the region was also adversely affected. Palampur town and its adjoining villages remained without power for hours last night and this morning. Bus services on kuchcha roads were suspended following heavy rain and landslides. Bus services between Baijnath and Kothi Kohar remained suspended on the second day today. Residents of Deol village in Baijnath subdivision have been forced to spend sleepless nights, as heavy landslides have posed a serious threat to a dozen houses. A government official said muck and debris dumped in the forest had come down damaging houses resulting in large-scale erosion. He said a power company had illegally dumped muck in the forest.
Baijnath MLA Kishori Lal visited the village today and reviewed the situation. Heavy rain triggers landslides in
Chamba
Chamba: The heavy rain that lashed Chamba district last night after a gap of nearly a week has brought the temperature down in the region, according to reports reaching here today. Landslips triggered due to rain had damaged interior link roads in far-flung corners of the region, reports said. Widespread rain at this stage is beneficial for kharif crops, especially for maize and paddy. Monsoon rain soaks Kangra valley
Kangra: Monsoon rain continued to lash the Kangra valley on the third day today leaving the valley drenched. Normal life was disrupted in the morning, but later it was restored to normal. Banner, Manji and Manuni rivers among others remained swollen.
KK Sharma, Director, Kangra airport, said: “The only Spice Jet flight which was scheduled to land here today was cancelled because of bad weather. There was also no Air India flight connecting Delhi and Kangra.” Reports of rain were also received from Nagrota
Bagwan, Jawalamukhi, Mallan, Palampur, Maranda, Dharamsala and
McLeodganj. |
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SDM initiates probe into Durga Club land allotment
Solan, July 24 The complainant, Kushal Jethi, while terming the occupation of 1,643 sq mt of land allotted to this elite club as illegal, had stated that no records pertaining to this land, leased out to the club, were available with the Revenue Department. As per the information procured from the RTI, the ownership of the land lay with the state government and it had been rented out to the Public Works Department (PWD). Jethi said the club had become a place of enjoyment for its members while public money from various sources, including the PWD, MP local area development fund, municipal committee, etc was being spent on it since years. Jethi said though on records the club had occupied barely 1,643 sq m land, it had actually covered 3,000 sq m. He alleged that in 2005-06, the club management had also encroached upon another stretch of 1,451 sq m, comprising a historic tennis ground, where its basic structure was changed and a big hall was constructed. Urging the Chief Minister to take back this land, as was being done in the case of land leased out to other elite bodies like the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in Dharamsala and Baba Ramdev’s Trust at Sadhupul, Jethi said it
should be used for the common man. This land could also be utilised to expand the Regional Hospital to benefit nearly 70,000 people, Jethi added. The land was donated by the erstwhile ruler of Baghat province. Since he had a penchant for sports, he had got a tennis ground constructed here, which was frequented by renowned players and was also used for various public festivities. The club had, however, been confined to the elite now. The SDM yesterday recorded the statements of Jethi and Dheeraj Sood, the club’s joint secretary, who placed on record receipts of Rs 12, which the club had been paying as token lease amount to the PWD. The initiation of an inquiry has become a cause of concern to the officials and elite of the town as being the prime property the lack of lease records could strip the club of this land. Interestingly, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, during a recent visit, had announced lakhs for the club after inaugurating its new tennis ground. |
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GI tag alright, but Kangra paintings dying slow death
OP Tak, a resident of Dharamsala, is among the few painters who practise the Kangra art in its true form. While talking to The Tribune, he rued the lack of government support for its promotion. Kangra paintings have a unique style as everything is drawn from nature. The colours used in the paintings are made from stones and other natural resources available in the valley. Even the paper on which the paintings are done is prepared from pine needles and the brush is made from the hair of turtle dove bird, which migrates into the valley in summers. It is only with the government’s support that the Kangra paintings can be kept alive in its true form, he added. The unique style of Kangra paintings was developed under the aegis of Kangra and Guler states. The paintings are done in 19 natural colours, typically associated with Kangra form of art. They are created from stones and plants found in the Valley. It takes about a year to create the required colours as they can be generated only from natural sources existing at a particular time of the year. Besides the natural colours, gold is also used. It gives the required shine to the paintings. Another unique feature of this art is the use of natural poison, which protects the painting from decay. The poison is prepared from smoke that gathers at the roofs of religious places where holy fire burns continuously. The paper is created from the bio-waste of pine trees. But there are only few private schools teaching the art of Kangra paintings, being run by local art promotion societies and aided by a few NRIs. “However, the students here are not being taught the intricacies. Preparing colours for a typical Kangra painting is a time consuming and tedious job that cannot be taught in a short duration for which children attend the school,” said one of the teachers of the art. “We just tell them the basic style and children paint in Kangra style using water colours. In Kangra style of painting, one side of face is painted. To some extent the Kangra style is close to Rajasthan paintings,” he added. The old-school painters, however, disapprove of the way Kangra paintings are being taught. They are of the view that till the students are taught the basic intricacies, such as using locally available resources for preparing colours and other material used, it cannot be termed as Kangra paintings. Some of the experts are surviving in the rural areas of Kangra but are living a life of penury. The experts added that the Kangra painting should be introduced as a subject in colleges and local artists should be employed to pass over the secrets of the art to the next generations. Only then will this unique art form survive. |
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Drive to plant saplings today
Shimla, July 24 Though the Forest Department is upbeat over the increased green cover in two years, the department is still not sure about the survival rate of the planted trees over the years. Ecologists pointed out that if the survival rate was above 60 per cent, as the department claimed, there would have been trees all around, as the department had claimed to plant trees since the 1950s. By all accounts and inputs from local residents, the survival rate remains not more than 50 per cent, in some cases even below that. “We will increase the survival rate to over 90 per cent under the new plantation drive,” Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri claimed. “We will rope in school students to plant trees during the Vanmahotsav, starting July 25.” The Forest Department cited the Forest Survey of India’s latest report which said the state’s green cover had increased by 4 sq km. Plantation of trees in tribal districts had led to this increase, Bharmouri said. But he failed to cite the data on plantation. He said the previous government had closed 73 nurseries, which had now raised 13 lakh plants, besides 45 lakh medicinal plants, to be planted this year, for which the government had earmarked Rs 120.46 crore. Of these, 25 per cent trees would be fruit bearing, thus helping in retaining the wild life, he added. Not only this, the department was raising plantation on the dumping sites of power projects to make the area green. Those who dumped muck on the non-designated sites would be fined by the department, he warned. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RK Gupta said the survival rate of fresh plantation ranged from 75 per cent in good soil areas to 60 per cent in low soil areas. |
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Western culture plaguing Indian values: NCW chairperson
Shimla, July 24 Sharma, who was speaking at a seminar organised jointly by the National and State Women Commission here yesterday, stressed on the need for technological empowerment of women, besides socio-economic equality in the Himalayan region. “I am happy to learn that women are given 50 per cent reservation in PRIs and Urban Local bodies in Himachal,” she said. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who presided over the seminar, said, “Free education is being provided to girls till the university level.” “The state government is providing higher education to girls at their doorstep and has opened as many as 15 colleges in far-flung areas, besides opening and upgrading nearly 650 schools in the state,” he said. He said under the Mukhyamantri Kanyadaan Yojana, the financial assistance had been enhanced to Rs 25,000, whereas Rs 50,000 had been enhanced for widow remarriage. For women, who wished to start small business, the rate of interest on the loan taken up to Rs 35,000 was only 4 per cent and 6 per cent on the money taken over this amount, he said. To promote inter-caste marriages, the government had enhanced the financial aid to Rs 50,000 and between Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh was being provided to women, who were victims of violence. Moreover, the Mahila Vikas Protsahan Yojana had been started, he said. Citing the example of Pallavi, who performed the last rites of her mother in Mandi district recently, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Col Dhani Ram Shandil said: “The ideology of women in the hills is undergoing a change.” Earlier, Janeb Chandel, Chairperson, Himachal Pradesh State Commission for Women, demanded the inclusion of more women in the Tribal Advisory Council. |
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HPU Foundation Day celebrations end
Shimla, July 24 Giving examples of the ECI, UPSC and CBSE, which are impartial and successful organisations managed by bureaucrats, he emphasised the importance of media and civil society in the process of development. ADGP, CID, SR Mardi talked about China and other countries, which are ahead of India in terms of development, because their bureaucracies have changed with time. Retd IAS officer SN Joshi lauded the role of bureaucracy in making various welfare programmes and said it took different shapes, when it reached the grassroots level. Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Rajinder Singh Chauhan emphasised that the Indian strong governance system was not because of bureaucracy, but because of the cultural heritage and values and stressed on the need for having global public service in India. Public administration professor at HPU, Sanjeev Kumar Mahajan, talked about the relationship between bureaucracy, politics and development. Chairman, Department of Economics HPU, Prof NS Bist said bureaucracy should make people-centric programmes to raise the quality of life of the common man. Earlier, welcoming guests, HPU VC Prof ADN
Bajpai spoke on the positive and negative dimension of bureaucracy. |
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Teachers resent delay in scale cases
Kangra, July 24 Subhash Pathania, secretary general, Himachal Government Teachers’ Union (HGTU) said here today that the cases of 4-9-14-year time-scale teachers, lecturers, headmasters and principals were pending at the offices of directors of Higher and Elementary Education Department for the past two years. He said in spite of the state government taking a decision in favour of teachers well in time, both directors did not take it seriously leaving the teaching community in lurch. Pathania said maximum cases of other departments have been settled, but the members of the teaching community have been put in the dock by keeping 65 per cent cases pending due to the “lackadaisical” attitude of the state Education Department. He said consequently the teachers had been suffering a lot due to pending arrears and increments. He opposed the Education Department’s decision of giving 4-9-14 time scale once in the entire service, whereas it was given for stagnancy in one cadre, when the teacher was not promoted. He demanded that it should be given cadre wise. HGTU leader demanded that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should intervene and direct the authorities in the Education Department to expedite the settling of such cases at the earliest. |
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SFI rallies against RUSA
Kangra, July 24 The activists boycotted their classes and gathered at the college gate, raised slogans against Himachal Pradesh University
(HPU) and the state government for the implementation of RUSA at colleges in the state for their alleged vested interests. The protesting students took out a rally raising slogans in support of their demands from college
road, main market, Tehsil Chowk and SBoP Chowk before culminating it at the College
Chowk. Student leaders, while addressing students at the College Chowk, said RUSA was against the interests of the student
community. SFI campus secretary Akshay Thakur said they were protesting against the delay in the declaration of results of different classes by
HPU, fee hike, refusal of part payment of fee, hostel problems and canteen issue. Meanwhile, ABVP and NSUI activists too held a demonstration at the college gate today. |
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BJP’s core committee meets today
Solan, July 24 The three-day meeting would be attended by senior leaders, including national organisation secretary Ram Lal, RSS senior leader Indresh, state in-charge and national vice-president Balbir Punj, Satpal Satti, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Sharma and JP Nadda. Crucial issues such as preparing a strategy for the panchayati raj and civic body polls due in December next year in the state would be chalked out. The committee would also scrutinise the booth-wise poll results and suggest measures to strengthen weak areas and chalk out future programmes for party’s organisation in the state. |
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Magic a dying art, says Samrat Shankar
Una, July 24 Shankar said the Union Government should give magic the status of a national art and make efforts to rejuvenate it. There were only a handful of full-time magicians in the country, while the total number of magicians in the world, who are members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), was just about two dozen, he said. Shankar said he had set up a magic training academy in Delhi where he not only trained young people in the art, but also tried to remove the myths associated with the art. The magician claimed to have performed over 30,000 shows in different parts of the world. Of these, 25,000 were done for charity, he said. Starting tomorrow, he, along with his troupe, will perform in Una for about a fortnight.
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Minister to kick-start van mahotsavas tomorrow
Chamba, July 24 Official sources said this year one van mahotsav would be celebrated in each forest division. The areas had been identified and fenced and preparations were on to solemnise the function on the designated dates. For this, around 16.82 lakh saplings would planted in an area spreading over 1,532 hectares, the sources informed, adding that in the Chamba forest circle, 86 lakh plants of different species were available in 161 nurseries spread over in the entire forest circle. As per the Forest Minister’s directions, emphasis would be on planting broad-leaf species without causing problems to local livestock grazers in the district. |
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Woman found dead
Kangra, July 24 Kangra Sub Divisional Police Officer Ashok Kumar said Reenuka Devi, who was married one-and-half years back to Mohan Lal, was found dead in her bedroom with a cupboard and a trunk open. The husband of the victim was at work in Baddi. A team of forensic experts Dr SK Paul, Assistant Director, and Dr Ajay Rana visited the site and gathered evidence. The DSP said the body bore no visible injury marks, but the victim was bleeding through the nose. He said Kangra District Police Chief Kapil Sharma also visited the spot. |
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Panel wants Rs 1,200 crore to boost PRIs
New Delhi, July 24 At a conference with chairpersons of state Finance Commissions, Kuldeep Kumar, Head of the Himachal body, requested for Rs 1,205 crore to help boost the institutions of democracy at the grassroots level. The Finance Commission (14th) is ascertaining views of the state Finance Commissions to firm up its recommendations for funds to states to strengthen their PRIs and urban local bodies during 2015-20 The HP Finance Commission’s recommendation for Rs 1,205 crore is a revised figure; its earlier projection and recommendation was for Rs 1,187.03. |
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State mulls steps for tobacco control
Shimla, July 24 He said over 3,000 gram panchayats of the state had passed resolutions to participate in the tobacco control campaign. Himachal was the first state to ensure a ban on advertisements of tobacco products, he said. The Education Department could also play an important role by motivating schoolchildren to make their parents aware of the ill-effects of tobacco use, said Thakur. |
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The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee today came down heavily on leaders taking internal party matters to the media as the senior leadership, including All-India Congress Committee
(AICC) secretary Raja Ram Pal, stressed the need to focus on 12 Assembly segments which have been the traditional BJP strongholds.
Famous magician Samrat Shankar today said magic was a dying art worldwide and needed to be preserved and propagated. Addressing mediapersons here, he said some people were misusing the art to attain the status of a spiritual guru in society.
Shankar said the Union Government should give magic the status of a national art and make efforts to rejuvenate it.
Dharamsala, July 24