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Monday,
August
27,
2001, Chandigarh, India  
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NEWS ANALYSIS MCI gives approval to Tanda
college Toxic effluents kill
fish 21 burglaries in 5 days, police
clueless Steel dealers evade
tax |
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Central School reopens today 3 die of enteritis, 15 taken ill Insurance company asked to pay
claim
SDM’s action draws flak 1 lakh take dip in Manimahesh lake
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NEWS ANALYSIS Shimla, August 26 This is being seen as motive behind the government exercise. Of the 68 Assembly segments, Sirmaur was the only one where the BJP failed to pocket any of the five seats in the last election. Moreover, the district always has been considered a stronghold of the Congress and the BJP activists consider it their weak point and now were concentrating there. Incidentally Sirmaur has the largest number of persons deprieved of their “shamlat” allotments when the government took over these lands in 1974. The Dhumal government now has got a Bill passed to enable it to restore these lands to the original owners. However, doubts are being expressed whether the Bill will get the assent or not. The Centre was already withholding for the past two years, the earlier Bill of the Dhumal government to grant ownership of trees to the land owners who had no right over them under the age old “khudro drakhtan” law. While the latter Bill aimed at benefiting a large number of farmers of the lower areas including Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Mandi, the latest Bill was mainly to help the bulk of people of Sirmaur. It is being said that with most of the areas of Sirmaur, Shimla, Mandi, Kulu and Chamba districts having come under the category of forest in the past few years when the Forest Conservation Act came into force, it would not be an easy task for Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, to get assent for the Bill. Many areas of Sirmaur have been classified as a class three forest. Although the Opposition Congress was keeping quiet on the issue probably for the fear of getting discredited and losing politically, but some ministers of the Dhumal government were discussing privately the fate of the move. They quote the example of the “khudro drakhtan” Bill, even as the Revenue Minister, Mr Rajan Sushant, has been claiming that the entries in the revenue records have already been amended to make the farmers owners of the trees standing on their lands. However, certain Congress leaders have complained that the people were not being given permission to fell these trees. Meanwhile, BJP activists from Sirmaur have started organising processions to congratulate Mr Dhumal for having taken steps for restoring the “shamlat” lands to them. |
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MCI gives approval to Tanda
college Shimla, August 26 Dedicated to the memory of the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, the medical college was lacking various facilities. The government made efforts to give it a facelift and resolved the controversy regarding the recognition of the first batch of 50 students admitted in 1998. Work on various buildings is being carried out on a war-footing. A paraclinical block (Phase I) has been built at a cost of Rs 8.6 crore and two hostels, each with a capacity to lodge 120 students, had been completed at a cost of around Rs 3.25 crore. Construction work on the paraclinical (phase-II) is in progress and will incur an expenditure of around of Rs 10 crore. A scheme for the augmentation of water from the Baner khud is also under way. To be executed at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore, the scheme will provide drinking water not only to the medical college but also to over 20,000 persons of surrounding villages. The zonal hospital at Dharamsala has been attached with Tanda Medical College. As many as eight new operation theatres have been set up at the zonal hospital. |
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Toxic effluents kill
fish Kasauli Three incidents of fish death have been reported in a span of less than a year with the toll running into thousands. Most of the industries are located in the catchment areas of water bodies. Around 600 units, including those manufacturing insecticides, pesticides, leather, paper, textiles and pharmaceuticals, are located in the region. Despite having installed effluent treatment plants (ETPs), quite a few of these are known to discharge toxic effluents into the water bodies on the sly from time to time. Each time officials of the Pollution Control Board at Baddi are informed about such a discharge by local residents, they get into action. However, the residents claim that nothing substantial is achieved. After the first incident last year, it was made mandatory by the board to install energy meters in ETPs and also enforce interlocking of the plants. This measure was aimed at ensuring that the ETPs worked for the entire duration of production. In case the ETPs were shut down, production would also stop. However,units continued to discharge untreated effluents into water bodies. This is seen as the main factor leading to the death of fish, according to a highly placed official of the board. An assistant engineer of the board at Baddi stated that routine and surprise checks were carried out to ensure that ETPs remained functional in industrial units. But it was not possible to cover around 600 units all the time as there were only two staff members entrusted with the job. Besides finding the ETPs of at least a dozen units unsatisfactory, the ETP of a beverage manufacturing unit was found be non-functional during a surprise raid conducted recently by an HP minister. Following this, the production of the beverage unit was stopped immediately and show-cause notices were served on seven others. At least four of the seven units had violated the rules for the second time. Officials of the board, when asked if stringent action was envisaged against units which flouted the rules, stated that stopping the production of any unit would harm the interests of the workers employed there. Suitable action, however, could be taken against offenders as per the findings of the department A survey carried out by the Pollution Control Department with the help of an Australia-based company had suggested the setting up of a common ETP. A suitable site had also been earmarked for this purpose. The setting up of this plant at the earliest will solve the problem, feel residents. |
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21 burglaries in 5 days, police
clueless Solan, August 26 Burglars first struck in the Saproon area and broke open locks of five shops on Tuesday night. This was followed by theft at the Jaunji road locality where miscreants broke into six shops. Shutters of nine shops in the automobile market in Chambaghat were lifted on Friday night. Modus operandi in all cases was similar suggesting a gang was behind the burglaries. Burglars used same kind of portable pocket jacks to lift the locks and shutters by using iron rod as a lever. Probably a child less than 10 years was used by the gang to squeeze into the shop through the about six to eight inches gap between the lifted portion of the shutter and the floor. Burglars chose only those nights when the local police force was known to have been deployed in strength on emergency or routine duties on public functions, affecting deployment at regular night patrols. On the night of burglaries at Saproon, the police had to be deployed at a fashion show organised by a clothier. A fire that gutted a furniture shop-cum-factory here provided opportunity to burglars and they struck at Jaunji road. The police had to be extra vigilant at the Nauni complex of Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry where students’ body elections were slated for Saturday. This was done to avert the violence that may happen. Burglars struck at Chambaghat on Friday night. SP S.Z.H. Zaidi said that he had intensified night patrolling and had served notice on his staff that the policeman in whose beat area a burglary was reported in future, would be suspended immediately. “What puzzles me really,” says Mr Zaidi, “was the fact that burglars made away with as little as Rs 1.50 in one case and amount ranging between Rs five to Rs 15 in some others. They did not touch merchandise in shops — not even costly ones in automobile spares shops. They were just content with stealing only cash no matter however small.” The finger prints, lifted from the shops had been sent to the finger prints bureau at Phillaur, in Punjab. It takes weeks to get the report from that establishment. Till then the investigation teams had to keep their fingers crossed and wait . |
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Steel dealers evade
tax Shimla, August 26 While the trucks normally carry 18 tonnes of steel, the quantity as per the declaration made at the tax barriers at the entry points seldom exceeds nine tonnes. The practice deprives the state of sales tax (three per cent) and additional goods tax (Rs 5 per quintal) to the tune of Rs 5000 per truck. On an average 70 to 80 truck-loads of steel is imported daily and a good number sneak into the state bypassing the barriers. The total loss to the exchequer is about Rs 10 crore per annum. Last week, the Excise and Taxation Department on a tip-off stopped a few trucks at the Marwari barrier in Una district. The declaration form submitted to the tax officials stated that it was carrying 9 tonnes of iron rods whereas the actual weight was found to be 18 tonnes. Yesterday the department got information that a number of trucks were carrying steel but only one had turned up at the barrier and others halted about a km away from the barrier in the Punjab territory. However, the excise officials contacted their Punjab counterparts and forced the trucks to line up at the barrier. The quantity of steel loaded in the four trucks was found to be understated. The dealers refused to pay penalty and started raising slogans. They even resorted to blocking of the traffic. Mr K.K. Pant, Deputy Commissioner, said the dealers were demanding release of trucks, which were detained by the excise officials. Besides steel, other construction material was also being brought into the state without payment of taxes. A recent survey of the Parwanoo barrier conducted by the government revealed the extent to which the price and quantity of goods were being understated. Mr Sanjeev Gupta, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said the department was seized of the matter and had already issued instructions for proper checking at barriers. The minimum weight had been fixed at 12 to 18 tonnes depending on the gradient of the route taken by the truck. |
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Central School reopens today Shimla, August 26 The Principal, Ms Narendera Mohini, said today that all classes will reopen tomorrow. The school had been closed as the retaining wall constructed by the CPWD collapsed in a landslide damaging the primary section. Hamirpur, August 26 He said, he had instructed the Health Department authorities to take all precautionary measures against the outbreak. Preliminary reports said that contaminated water was the cause of the deaths, he added |
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Insurance company asked to pay
claim Nurpur, August 26 Ms Surekha had filed a complaint before the forum in March alleging that the company had not released the insurance claim, in spite of her submitting the requisite documents. In another complaint, the forum asked Bharat Sanchar Nigam to pay Rs 500 to Mr Surinder Pal Sharma for not issuing a telephone connection to him. The complainant had alleged that his name had figured in the waiting list of applicants but was ignored while issuing the new telephone connections. Una, August 26 The SDM said the septic tank was not properly covered and was dangerous as someone could fall into it. |
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1 lakh take dip in Manimahesh lake Chamba, August 26 Giving this information here today, Mr S.C. Mehta, Deputy Commissioner said during the 15-day long Manimahesh pilgrimage, which started on Krishna Janmashtmi and concluded today on the occasion of Radha Ashtmi, at least 1.15 lakh devotees visited the holy shrine. He said the pilgrims hailing from the Bhaderwah region of Jammu and Kashmir also visited the holy shrine under a tight security cover. |
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