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July 31, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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CM lobbies for HP
regiment Plans to regularise
encroachments Abolition of tribunal
opposed All villages to get water by
2004: minister PARWANOO DIARY |
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Pilgrimage to Manimahesh
from Aug 11 Vacation schedule
for schools Passenger killed in accident
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CM lobbies for HP
regiment Shimla, July 30 The Chief Minister met Mr Jaswant Singh, Minister for External Affairs, who also holds the defence portfolio, in New Delhi yesterday, and stressed that setting up of such a regiment was essential to provide proper representation to the state in the Indian Army. The state deserved a better deal in view of the contributions and excellent record of its brave sons in the battle field. He said the youth of the state were acclimatised to the tough mountain conditions and as such could serve better on the country’s frontiers. They also exhibited exemplary courage during the Kargil war and on various other occasions. Mr Dhumal informed the union minister that 52 jawans from Himachal Pradesh had made supreme sacrifices during Operation Vijay and 73 during Operation Rakshak. Out of the four Paramvir Chakras conferred during this period, two had gone to the brave sons of Himachal Pradesh. A number of other gallantry awards has also been given to the brave soldiers of the state The Chief Minister further informed the union minister that Himachal Pradesh had over 1 lakh serving soldiers and an equal number of ex-servicemen. Mr Dhumal also urged the union minister to hand over the Annandale ground in Shimla to the state government for developing a cricket stadium of international standards. Mr Dhumal has also urged the Centre to give special preference to Himachal Pradesh in allocation of funds under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojna keeping in view the difficult topography of the state and high construction costs in hill areas. Mr Dhumal, who also called on Mr Vankiah Naidu, Union Rural Development Minister in New Delhi yesterday, informed him that his government had decided to link every village in the state by road with in the next three years and that liberal assistance of the Union Government would
supplement his government’s efforts in this respect to a great extent. On his request, Mr Naidu agreed to visit Himachal Pradesh in the second week of August along with a team of officers and have detailed discussions with the officers of the state government regarding this and issuing of Kisan Credit Cards. The Chief Minister also called on Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, and urged her to make the Shimla Doordarshan Kendra fully functional by posting the required staff. He also urged Mrs Swaraj to provide up-linking facility at the kendra so that people of the state living in the far-flung areas could benefit from it. Mr Dhumal also held discussions with the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Major-Gen B.C. Khandoori (retd) for providing funds for construction of inter-state roads and bridges. |
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Plans to regularise
encroachments Shimla, July 30 This will create slums around the city whose beauty has already been ruined because of haphazard and illegal constructions. There are more than 5,000 encroachments in the city and the announcement for taking steps to regularise them has come shortly before the election of the Shimla Municipal Corporation which has always been won by the Congress ever since the civic body was formed in 1986. The move is being seen as an effort by Mr Dhumal to lead the BJP to victory in the forthcoming elections. His two ministerial colleagues, Mr Narendera Bragta and Mr R.D. Kashyap, who represent the Shimla and neighbouring Kasumpti Assembly constituencies, have been pleading the case of regularising these encroachments with Mr Dhumal. The ministers were demanding that encroachments by people who have done it out of necessity and not greed should be regularised, whereas action should be taken against others. However, neither Mr Dhumal nor these ministers have spelled out any formula to differentiate between the two categories. A large number of encroachments on the forest land in the US Club, forest road, Jakhu and Sanjauli areas have been done and the authorities are reluctant to take any action because of political pressure. Shimla has the distinction of having a natural forest within the town, but the way encroachments are being allowed to be made in the area is spoiling the beauty of the forest. The municipal corporation and the PWD are shifting the responsibility of these encroachments on each other. Many encroachments have been made in Krishna Nagar and the outskirts of the town on the bypass and Tutu. While on one hand, the government has recently prepared various beautification plans and framed building laws, but on the other hand the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues are planning to legitimise the encroachments to win forthcoming municipal corporation elections. The government had come under severe criticism some time ago for announcing a policy to regularise all illegal constructions in the state by paying a nominal penalty. |
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Abolition of tribunal
opposed Shimla, July 30 In a statement here today, he said the tribunal helped in delivering speedy justice in service matters and the federation chief, Mr Ganga Singh, had turned against the tribunal for his own reasons. He said the Dhumal government was planning to set up its own pay commission with a view to delinking the pay scales with Punjab. The government had already deprived the employees of allowances on the Punjab pattern and frozen an instalment of additional dearness which had became due from January last. The previous Virbhadra Singh government had not only released the instalments in time, but also granted five per cent house rent and Rs 40 as medical allowance to employees on the Punjab pattern. Mr Verma alleged that the demands of employees were not being
implemented due to the “soft approach” of Mr Ganga Singh who, instead of fighting for the workers’ cause, was devoting his time and energy in getting his rivals transferred. He urged the government not to hold meetings of the joint consultative committee with the Ganga Singh faction as it did not enjoy the confidence of employees. |
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All villages to get water by
2004: minister Nurpur, July 30 The kisan passbooks would solve various hurdles faced by a farmer in connection with revenue records. Mr Dhawala distributed 600 passbooks to farmers of 45 patwar circles of Nurpur. The minister said the state government had envisaged to provide drinking water to all villages by the end of 2004. He said 1,502 villages were still not covered under the drinking water supply schemes of the IPH Department. He said during the current year Rs 55.52 crore under the central sector and Rs 8.5 crore under the state sector had been earmarked for the IPH schemes in the state. A sum of Rs 14.44 crore would be spent in Kangra district this year on various schemes. Mr Rakesh Pathania, MLA and Chairman of the State Tourism Development Corporation, said the government had sanctioned 15 tubewells under Nabard scheme for the Nurpur Assembly segment. |
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PARWANOO DIARY Parwanoo * * * The local Housing Board which supplies water to the town, has enhanced water tax from Rs 1.80 per 1000 litres to Rs 5 per 1000 litres for domestic use and Rs 20 per 1000 litres for industrial and commercial use. Domestic users will pay Rs 10 per 1000 litres if they consume more than 30,000 litres. This has evoked a sharp reaction from the residents as well as the industrialists of the town. The residents feel that the enhancement goes against the government’s recent announcement that water will be supplied at a flat rate of Rs 20 for domestic use and Rs 40 for commercial use. The government had also said that no meters would be required for domestic users. It is surprising that the board has decided to enhance the water charges despite the government’s announcement. These rates are perhaps the highest in the country. * * * The apple season generally sees traffic jams in this town but haphazard parking of trucks on both sides of the National Highway near the Parwanoo barrier has been causing traffic jams even now. According to a commuter from Chandigarh, traffic conditions near the Parwanoo barrier have been bad for the past four days with idle trucks parked on both sides of the road. It takes very long to reach Kalka which is hardly two kilometres from here. A meeting was held in the office of the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Sanjeev Lakhanpal, to identify a place for a bus stand and parking places for trucks and private vehicles and to devise measures to regulate traffic in the town. It was decided that truck parking should be allowed on the road near Sector 6 and parking areas for private vehicles may be laid out in front of Shitla Mata Mandir. Mr Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Commissioner of Parwanoo, said that a no objection certificate for a bus stand near Saini Dhaba had been delivered to the Bus Stand Development Authority of the state. It was also suggested that the Nagar Parishad should issue licences for rehris and khokas to outsiders only after verification by the local police. |
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Pilgrimage to Manimahesh
from Aug 11 Chamba, July 30 Pilgrims and devotees of Lord Shiva will take holy dip in the Manimahesh lake situated at an altitude of 4,170 metres on Radha Ashtami. The Kailash mountain is visible from Manimahesh. The district administration has not yet been able to announce the dates of the commencement of the pilgrimage but it is making arrangements providing adequate security cover to the pilgrims, especially those coming from the Bhadarwah area of Jammu and Kashmir. The use of intoxicants has been prohibited in the pilgrimage. Set in the Bharmour valley of the district, Manimahesh is about 214 km away from Pathankot railhead, via Chamba. Pilgrims have started making a beeline for Manimahesh due to increased risk in the Amarnath pilgrimage. So, a vast concourse of pilgrim is expected this year. |
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Vacation schedule
for schools Shimla, July 30 According to the Director of Education, the 15-day spring break will be observed from April 1. Summer break will be observed between the first Monday of August to Saturday for six days. The 31-day winter break, except Lahaul-Spiti district, will be observed from January 1. |
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Passenger killed in accident Kumarhatti, July 30 Mr Ramesh Chauhan, SHO, Dharampur police station, said the truck was plying on the wrong side. A case has been registered against the truck driver. In another accident Piara Lal, driver, was killed and Mohammed, cleaner, was injured when their truck rolled into 200 feet gorge on the Subathu-Kunibar road, about 23 km from here, on Saturday night. |
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Body recovered Nahan, July 30 |
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