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Kullu Dasehra: Deities to take final call on sacrifice
Early snowfall brings chill
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Raid De Himalaya: 4th leg abandoned due to snowfall
CM lays stones of vegetable market, bridge
World’s highest power project gets nod
Khushwant Singh lit fest in Kasauli
Film unit turns no-vehicle Ridge into parking lot
No SC relief on animal killing
Panchayat poll votes re-counted
‘Rural women to be trained in tourism’
Officers seek execution of SC order
Husband held for murdering wife
Man booked for wife’s suicide
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Kullu Dasehra: Deities to take final call on sacrifice
Shimla, October 8 Ensuring that there is no animal sacrifice on the last day of Dasehra tomorrow at the designated place of “Lanka Baker” near Dhalpur Ground in Kullu will be an acid test for the administration and the police as there will be a congregation of over 250 deities and over 15,000 devotees. The administration has installed closed-circuit cameras at the site where the sacrifice is offered every year to Goddess Hadimba and hundreds of police personnel will be deputed in uniform as well as plain clothes. With the Supreme Court today not granting an interim relief in the form of stay on the High Court’s order to the Kardar Sangh’s petition, representatives of the deities will hold a meeting tonight to take the final stand. The Kardar Sangh was hopeful that it would get a stay and go ahead with the sacrifices tomorrow. Even as the Kardar Sangh said it would not indulge in any unlawful activity which was in violation of the High Court order, yet the police and the district administration were making all arrangements to ensure that no animal sacrifice was made. “We are responsible people and will certainly not create any law and order problem but will go by the dictate of Goddess Hadimba to whom the offerings are made,” said Dot Ram Thakur, president of the Kardar Sangh. Thakur said five sacrifices of a goat, buffalo, crab, fish and coconut were made on the last day after Lanka Dehan. “The wish of the deities and Goddess Hadimba has to be respected and we are sure they will show the way out,” said Thakur. He added that their lawyers in the Supreme Court were also examining the issue to find a way out so that there was no violation of court order and the ritual too was performed. Maheshwar Singh, Kullu MLA and chief guardian of Lord Raghunath, could not be contacted as he remained busy with the religious ceremonies associated with Dasehra. He has been spearheading the campaign to allow animal sacrifice as it has been an old tradition. “We will ensure that there is compliance of the September 1 order of the High Court, banning animal and bird sacrifice,” said DC Rakesh Kanwar. The Supreintendent of Police (SP), Kullu, said there would be sufficient deployment of personnel to ensure no sacrifice was made. |
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Early snowfall brings chill
Shimla, October 8 The snowfall and rain caused a sharp fall in the mercury which dropped by 3 to 6 degrees and Keylong recorded the minimum temperature at 5°C while Kalpa and Manali shivered at 6.4°C and 6.6° C, followed by Shimla 10.4°C, 4 degrees below normal. Shimla and its surrounding areas were lashed by intermittent rain followed by sleet this evening, making people rush indoors. The maximum temperature dropped from 32.4°C to 29.6°C at Una after heavy rain while Kalpa and Manali recorded a high of 19°C and 17.6°C. The freak snowfall in higher hills and tribal areas during this season is not unusual and it will have no effect on crops, said Director, Met Office, Manmohan Singh. Dhauladhars get first snow Kangra: The Kangra valley was lashed by heavy rain today accompanied by high velocity winds, leaving trees and poles uprooted. The higher reaches of the Dhauladhar range received the first snowfall of this season, dropping the temperatures considerably. It started raining heavily in the valley at 11.30 pm accompanied by high velocity winds. The power supply was disrupted. The rain continued till this morning. The higher reaches of Dhauladhars range received the first snowfall of the season. The power supply was restored this morning, however, it remained disrupted in rural areas. Snow on Chamba peaks
Chamba: The high peaks of Chamba district had a light spell of snowfall of the season last night with the temperatures plummeting a bit lower than the normal in the high altitudes, reports reaching here today said.The lower areas had rain accompanied by thunderstorm, the reports said. The reports said a few elderly citizens had started wearing pullovers to protect their body from the untimely chill. Rain lashes Una
UNA: Strong winds, followed by thundershowers, lashed most parts of Una district late Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. Consequently, there had been no electricity at many places since last night. The continued wet weather for the last 10 days is unprecedented and agriculturists fear reversal to the potato crop. Storm damages crops
Mandi: High-velocity winds and rain damaged standing crops in several areas of the district last night. An official said the winds flattened maize, peas, kidney beans and tomato crops on several acres of land in the district. He said the maximum damage to maize and kidney bean crops were noticed in Nachen and Seraj areas. Dozens of trees were uprooted and roofs of many cowsheds were also damaged in the storm. Worried farmers started cutting their flattened maize crops to avoid further damage. |
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Raid De Himalaya: 4th leg abandoned due to snowfall
Shimla, October 8 The drivers were at ease while crossing the snow-covered Kunzam Pass (4,500 m), but the inexperienced drivers from the plains had a tough time and a number of vehicles were stuck and driven across the pass with chains tied to the tyres. As speed running was not possible over steep, rocky stretches and even black ice, the 77.13-km competitive stretch from Losar to Gramphoo and the 51.11-km racing stretch from Patseo to Sarchu were cancelled. Manjeev Bhalla, who pulled out vehicles from snow with the help of local drivers, said all the vehicles in Xtreme and Adventure category and the bikers have been brought to Sarchoo as bringing the motorists safe to the halting point was the main task for the day. “The snowfall was not altogether unexpected as we were apprehensive about the weather, which is dicey during this time. In 2007 also, the Raid was brought to a premature end due to heavy snowfall at Patseo,” Bhalla added. Heading Raid Xtreme, Bhalla said the competitive stretches had to be completely abandoned today. The 11-km uphill stretch from Losar to Kunzum, and the 17-km downhill run from Kunzum to Batal had become difficult to negotiate, especially around the hairpin bends, he added. The rally will start from Sarchu tomorrow and there would be five legs instead of six and the rally would conclude at Manali on October 10 as scheduled, said Manohar Bhat, vice-president (marketing), Maruti Suzuki. From Batal, the competitors in Raid Xtreme moved on to Gramfu, Chhatru, and further towards Sarchu camp for the night halt. Jagmeet Gill, defending champion for Raid Adventure, said, “I hope the Raid is able to resume tomorrow.” |
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CM lays stones of vegetable market, bridge
Kullu, October 8 Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for a sabzi mandi at Bandrol to be constructed at a cost of Rs 7.17 crore. He said the yard would facilitate agriculturists and horticulturists, besides farmers of Lahaul-Spiti district. More such marketing yards would be constructed at Tapri, Jhukhala, Charankhud in Kangra and Rohru, he added. The Chief Minister also announced a motorable road to connect Kais village on the left bank of the river opposite Bandrol. He said the online rates of fruits and vegetables were available on various websites to facilitate farmers. Earlier, the Chief Minister launched the online setup of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti at Akhara Bazar, which was the first of its kind. He added that other offices of the marketing committee would be computerised in a phased manner. Later, the CM performed the stone-laying ceremony for a bridge to be constructed at a cost of Rs 65 lakh on the Sarwari Nullah in Kullu. He inaugurated the office of the Deputy Director, Elementary Education, constructed at a cost of Rs 78 lakh and inaugurated the science lab of Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) at Dhalpur at Rs 80 lakh. He also laid the foundation stone of the Community Health Centre at Tegu Behar to be constructed at cost of Rs 4.63 crore. The CM visited the exhibitions set up by various departments and NGOs at the Dasehra ground. He also visited the Raghunath camp temple. He was honoured by Kullu DC Rakesh Kanwar at Kala Kendra. Sujan Singh Pathania, Agriculture and Power Minister, Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Forest Minister, Prakash Chaudhary, Excise and Taxation Minister, Anil Sharma, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Maheshwar Singh, Karan Singh and Khub Ram, MLAs, Atul Sharma, Chairman, HPSIDC, Mahendar Stan, Chairman APMC (Shimla & Kinnaur), Surinder Verma, SP, Kullu, and various other dignitaries were present. |
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World’s highest power project gets nod
Shimla/Keylong, October 8 The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the ministry at its 77th meeting held on September 17, 2014, in New Delhi, accepted the company’s proposal and recommended the environment clearance to the project with a condition that the river flow should be at least 20 per cent during summer. According to sources, experts at the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) observe that the “climatic conditions during winter months in the project site is likely to freeze the river flow that could pose a major hurdle in the sustained operation of the project. As a result, both CEA and CWC have agreed to the company’s plea that the project be developed without any storage in peak weather,” revealed sources. The diverted river flow will be back into the river downstream through the 10.44-km-long tail race tunnel. This will be the case because one machine will continuously be in operation during the winter without any storage
for the peak season, experts say. Besides, it was accepted that the project capacity should be allowed to be increased from the 120 mw to 126 mw. This is so because there is less variation in water levels as the project has no storage dam, they add. The company has proposed to the ministry pleading that the environment clearance for the project should be given as it is a pure run-of-the-river project. As the project is located in the no man’s ice land of the upper Chandra valley, tribals in Koksar and Sissu panchayats have sought that the project should take care of the river flow and glaciers located upstream and should execute works under corporate social responsibility and local area development authority(LADA) . The public hearing for the project was held in
October 2011. The project is being developed by DCM Shriram Infrastructure. The project will generate 521 million units of electricity in a year and Himachal will get 12 per cent free power. About the project
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Khushwant Singh lit fest in Kasauli
Solan, October 8 His son, journalist Rahul Singh, is the main organiser of the event, which will see noted writers like Shobhaa Dee, Fakir Aijasuddin, Syeda Hameed, Amrinder Bajaj, Arshia Sattar, Githa Hariharan, Suhel Seth, Koel Purie, Asif Noorani among others, grace the occasion. The fest will have several sessions, including a special one to mark the achievements of Khushwant Singh, which has been named “The legend lives on”, followed by a book release. An interesting session, on the art of Urdu story-telling, highlighting its various aspects, including its disappearance and revival, will also be held. Sardesai will throw light on Khushwant Singh’s role as a bridge between India and Pakistan and also on the Indian electioneering in a special session named “The Great Indian Election Tamasha.” Former Chief Minister of Punjab Capt Amarinder Singh will also grace the occasion and participate in a session on “The People’s Maharaja.” Shobhaa De’s short stories “Small Betrayals” and Manju Kapur’s commercial fiction, “Shaping the World”, will also be released on the occasion. |
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Film unit turns no-vehicle Ridge into parking lot
Shimla, October 8 The vehicles of the Cine Grip unit and local taxis hired by them are blatantly being plied and parked on The Ridge. This has made a mockery of the High Court order and district collector notification banning the entry of any vehicle other than the ambulance on the “no-vehicle and sealed heritage zone”. The shooting has been going on for the last few days, creating hassles for the pedestrians, tourists and locals, a resident said. The unit should not be allowed to park vehicles on The Ridge and it is the duty of the administration to provide them parking space outside the heritage zone, said Capt Ved Sud, who represents the Shimla chapter of INTACH. The district administration and the Shimla Municipal Corporation are blaming each other for the “shooting mess”, saying that the corporation takes charges from the film units, while permission is granted by the district administration. On the other hand, the unit claimed that they were paying money to the corporation as per rules and had got permission for the same. Residents operating businesses or residing on The Ridge said they had to hire porters to carry luggage and materials from the unloading point on the cart road, but the film unit was getting a free run on The Mall and The Ridge as the “law is different for different people”. “We are charging Rs 50,000 per day from the unit, but they are given permission by the district administration. They are never allowed to park the vehicles on The Ridge as it is a heritage zone,” said Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan. On the other hand, District Collector Dinesh Malhotra said no vehicles could be parked on The Ridge and he would look into the case and take action. |
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No SC relief on animal killing
New Delhi, October 8 A Bench, headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu, sought the state’s response to the appeal filed by MLA Maheshwar Singh from Kullu. He is also the chief representative of Lord Raghunath, the Kullu Valley’s chief deity. The apex court, however, rejected his plea for an immediate interim relief in the form of a stay on the HC verdict, Additional Advocate General Suryanarayana Singh said. The HC had clamped the ban on petitions filed by animal rights activists. The court had said animals could not be killed in a barbaric manner to appease the gods. “No person throughout the state shall sacrifice any animal or bird in any place of religious worship, adoration or precincts or any congregation or procession connected with religious worship, on any public street, way or place,” the HC had ruled. |
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Retrenched BBMB workers hold protest
Mandi, October 8 He said the Supreme Court had recently vacated a stay on various cases going on in the labour court. He said instead of resuming a hearing in the labour court, the BBMB management should come forward and provide relief to the sacked workers. He said their main demands included taking back the sacked staff and giving financial assistance, pension and free medical benefits to those who had crossed 60 years of age. He said on August 27, they had sent a charter of demands to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, the Power Minister and the Director of the BBMB and today again, they sent a reminder to all these dignitaries. He said if their demands were not accepted by November 19, they would intensify their agitation. |
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Panchayat poll votes re-counted
Nurpur, October 8 As per official information, after recounting, the vote count of sitting pradhan Mahinder Pal stood at 823 votes and his rival Joginder Singh’s at 778. After re-counting, the polled votes of the duo recorded an increase of one vote. The other contestants Dev Raj and Jagdish got 90 and 78 votes, respectively. The sitting pradhan was declared winner in the gram panchayat elections held in 2010, but his rival and defeated contestant Joginder Singh had challenged the election and filed a petition before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Nurpur, which had been dismissed. After that he had filed an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, who had ordered re-counting of votes. |
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‘Rural women to be trained in tourism’
Una, October 8 Talking to mediapersons at Haroli here, he said as tourists preferred local traditional food items, the government had planned to promote such employment- generating micro enterprises for women. Agnihotri said in the first phase, about 60 women from Haroli segment would be taken on an exposure visit to the Tourism Department hotels and given training in preparing and serving food items hygienically. Besides, he said tips on hospitality, sharing local culture and traditions with visitors would also form a part of the training. The minister said post-training, women groups would be motivated to set up their own food joints, while some would be motivated to run and manage the existing Tourism Department infrastructure in the district. He said a tourist complex was coming up at Kangar village in Haroli segment near a recently rejuvenated pond. He said funds for the complex, to be built at an estimated at Rs 7 crore, had been granted by the Asian Development Bank. |
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Officers seek execution of SC order
Nurpur, October 8 Ghian Thakur, state vice-president of the federation, in a statement here today said the court had directed the Central as well as state governments to grant reservation to physically challenged persons in government jobs and further ensure the same reservation in their promotions.
— OC |
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Husband held for murdering wife
Nurpur, October 8 Rajesh Kumar, brother of Santosh, in his complaint to the police, alleged that the accused had been torturing his sister and had now murdered her. DSP Manoj Joshi registered a murder case against Surjeet and later arrested him. The body had injury marks on the eyes and the head. — OC
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Kangra, October 8 The victim was rushed to the DRPGMC at Tanda, where she died. The police said Santosh, who was married in March. Her parents lodged a complaint with the police against her husband Satish Kumar that she was tortured for dowry by him. — OC
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