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Thursday,
September 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Settlement of BBMB issue on
cards Panel recommends 15 pc hike in bus
fare Dalai Lama writes to
Bush BSNL to give 23,000 phones in three
districts Creator of Mohan veena enthrals |
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Unplanned structures mar town’s
charm Kulu DC directed to disburse relief ‘Lift’ ban on private trading of resin Letter treated as writ petition, notices
issued ‘Adopt’ Indian model of economy Sharda may become officiating VC of HPU Dharna by REC students Attempt to break into shop, 2 held
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Settlement of BBMB issue on
cards Shimla, September 12 The recent meeting of Chief Secretaries of the partner states of the BBMB, including Punjab and Haryana, were held with their counterpart here to discuss various issues in which the matter pertaining to the states share also came up. Himachal Pradesh was being given an ad hoc share of 2.5 per cent from the Bhakra project, while the state government was demanding that it should be increased to 7.19 per cent with retrospectory effect on the anology of transfer of Punjab Population with merger of the Kangra areas with the hill state. The experience of Himachal Pradesh with Punjab and other BBMB partner states over the construction of big dams for electricity generation has not been a happy one and it is striving for settlement of its grievances even after commissioning of these projects. Many Pong Dam oustees in Kangra district have not been resettled by the Rajasthan Government which was reaping the harvest from the waters of Himachal rivers which were being carried to that state from the Pong reservoir through irrigation channels for the past several years. A dispute is going on between Himachal and Punjab over the former’s share from the recently constructed Ranjit Sagar hydroelectric project near Pathankot. While the partner states of the BBMB were enjoying the double benefit of power and irrigation from these dams, Himachal Pradesh has suffered as it was not only being denied its due share, but a good number of its population was displaced with the construction of these gigantic projects. The Himachal Pradesh Government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court a few years ago for redressal of its long-standing grievance on the issue and realising the arrears. When contacted, the Chief Secretary and Chairman of the HPSEB, Mr Harsh Gupta, said Himachal Pradesh was principally not against the idea of constructing more power houses in collaboration with Punjab. However, the previous experience of joint sector has not been a good one. Meanwhile, the HPSEB has received response from about 30 private parties which have sought the documents for nine hydroelectric projects which it had offered to the private sector. The date for collection of documents has been extended till October 5 from September 15, earlier. |
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Panel recommends 15 pc hike in bus
fare Shimla, September 12 The committee headed by Mr Krishan
Kapoor, Transport Minister, which submitted its report to the government recently, recommended that a nominal fare, up to 10 to 20 per cent of the actual fare should charged from all those categories which were currently enjoying the free travel facility. Exceptions could be made out in case of the patients of
thalssimia, gallantry award winners and other such categories. It also recommended reasonable hike in concessional travel facility provided to employees, students and other such categories. The quantum of increase in all the cases had been left to the government. The committee recommended a 15 per cent hike in the bus fare which had not been revised even after the 20 per cent increase in prices of diesel effected from September 2000. This partially offset the impact of the increase in diesel price and other costs. While the bus fare hike will increase income of the fund-starved state road transport corporation by Rs 20 crore annually, the rationalisation of concessional travel facility will fetch Rs 7
crore. At present the concessional travel facility is costing the corporation Rs 40
crore. Besides, it is also losing Rs 35 crore on uneconomical routes, on which it had to ply buses to fulfil social obligation. The government is however, giving it only Rs 27 crore as grant, besides Rs 11 crore for the replacement of old buses. It has been demanding a grant of Rs 40 crore to offset the losses on account of concessional travel. If the recommendations of the committee are accepted, the corporation will need an additional grant from the government and there will be no cash losses. It is also of the view that the burden of uneconomical routes and concessional travel should be equally shared by the private and
public sector. Senior officials in the government point out that the problem of uneconomical routes could be solved if routes were auctioned instead of making allotments on political considerations. At present route permits for five years are being granted for a paltry fee of Rs 122. If the routes are auctioned the government will get huge amounts from transporters for profitable routes which could be utilised for compensating those lying buses on uneconomical routes. These routes should also be auctioned and allotted to transporters who agree to ply buses at minimum loss. |
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Dalai Lama writes to
Bush Dharamsala, September 12 In a message to the American President, the George W. Bush, the Tibetan spiritual leader said such acts of violence would only increase the cycle of violence. “We have very fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks, an outburst of hatred and anger, but I am confident that you will make the right decision,” he said. “On behalf of the Tibetan people, I would like to convey our deepest condolences and solidarity with the people of America, as our prayers go out to the many who have lost their lives, those who have been injured and many more who have been traumatised by this senseless act of violence,” he said. The Dalai Lama, today attended a special prayer for the USA and its people, at the main temple outside his palace in McLeodganj. He said he was confident that the USA as a great and powerful nation would be able to overcome this tragedy.” The Americans have shown their resilience, courage and determination when faced with such difficulties and sad situations,” he said. He, however, added that there was need to think seriously whether a violent reaction was the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation. |
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BSNL to give 23,000 phones in three
districts Hamirpur, September 12 Addressing press conference at a hotel here he said 4,000 telephones had already been installed and the capacity had been increased by 3,000 lines. He said at present the Hamirpur SSA had the capacity of 95,848 lines and the number of working connections was 73,624. The waiting list stood at
15,490. Mr Ravi Kant said the BSNL would also provide 652 village panchayat phones during the current fiscal year in the Hamirpur
SSA. He said the BSNL was also going to increase the capacity of Hamirpur telephone exchange by 500 lines. There was no shortage of phones at the Hamirpur exchange and phones on demand were being given to the subscribers of the town, he added. The GMT said it was proposed to open six more telephone exchanges at Barota and Mori Singee in Bilaspur district, Kot and Gahlian in Hamirpur district and Joh and Polian Parota in Una district. Similarly, OFC media would also be provided to more places falling under the
SSA. He said the BSNL would release 2,000 mobile connections in the SSA before March 31,2002. While 1,000 such connections would be released in Hamirpur district, 500 each would be given in Bilaspur and Una
districts. Mr Ravi Kant said work on the said project was almost complete and once repeaters were installed in various places selected jointly by the BSNL and the private parties, the work of releasing the connections would start. He denied any discrepancy in making payments to a contractor for digging work in Tounidevi subdivision. He said the entire work had been done under proper specifications. Talking about the shortage of accommodation for the staff, he said a committee had been constituted by him to hold negotiations with the local civic body for purchase of accommodation. |
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Creator of Mohan veena enthrals Kasauli, September 12 Apart from being a star performer, he is a master collaborator who became the first Indian to perform a historic ‘jugalbindi’ with an erhu player, Jei Bing Chin, a Chinese artiste. His album “Music for Relaxation” created waves in the world of music. He shared a few moments with The Tribune yesterday evening in an exclusive interaction. An artist acclaimed worldwide for his innovative creations, Mohan veena and Vishwa veena, he asserted, “I was never satisfied with myself and always had the penchant to create a more expressive and vibrant mode of expression.” Two crucial aspects of music namely sustainability of sound and plucking were low in the existing instruments which provided only limited strokes to develop music. Creation of Mohan veena was an attempt to overcome this limitation, he explains. The composer in him, however, was not satisfied yet. He believes research is an essential part of learning and can open vaster vistas for the future generations. He added another feather to his cap by creating the Vishwa veena. It is a deft combination of the traditional veena and the western harp. Being an improvement over the Mohan veena, which is a combination of sitar, sarod, and veena, it enchants the listener with a mesmerising flow of notes. In addition to being a soulful performer, his adroitness at creating something novel led him to compose innovative fusion music along with Ry Cooder for a music album “A meeting by the River” for a world audience. The creative effort established him as a star performer in the world of music besides winning him the Grammy Award in 1994. He has also attracted the attention of music aficionados by Indianising the western Hawaiian guitar with a perfect assimilation of sitar, sarod and veena techniques by giving it an innovative design and shape and adding 14 more strings to it. Music is food for the soul he avers but is disappointed that the youngsters today identify music as something they can dance on. The commercialisation of music has taken away its meditative essence. Classical music, he believes, possesses the virtue of providing ‘moksha’ as sanctified in our religious texts. The unique tradition of Guru-Shishya parampara’ still holds the basis of learning music, which requires complete surrender by the pupil, he says. This concept is unique to our country and still bewilderes the foreigners. Classical music should be made a compulsory subject in the schools and talent should be tapped at an early age. Citing the example of his two-and-a-half-years-old grandson, Satvik, he proudly says that the young prodigy can recognise as many as 12 taals and 50 ragas. Later in the evening Pt. Bhatt, accompanied by his son Salil, gave a performance at Lawrence School, Sanawar, near here, which left the students and staff spellbound. |
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Unplanned structures mar town’s
charm Bharmour (Chamba) But, it is due to the laxity of the local administration that the hill town in growing wildly even though it has been designated “a special area” by the state government under the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) constituted for Bharmour. The alleys are narrow and access to the main bazaar is blocked by encroachments. Indiscriminate and thoughtless constructions which leave no space around buildings, is the biggest drawback. Such structures become a safety hazard during a natural calamity. Many hotels and lodges built without approval are fast coming up right under the administration’s nose. Nothing has been planned in this township, famous for its 7th century temples. Bharmour township, a tribal sub-divisional headquarters, nestles on the lap of Dhauladhar’s northern range. The tribal township is nowadays being cluttered not only by private constructions but also by government housing projects. Officials of SADA are difficult to contact. However, it is known that SADA has taken stringent steps to deal with defaulters, thereby curbing unruly and unwarranted constructions. |
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Kulu DC directed to disburse relief Shimla, September 12 Mr Sushant was presiding over a meeting of the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee of the Parbati project here today. He said the interests of the oustees and the affected families would be protected by the state government. Employment would be provided by the project authorities to the affected families in the skilled and unskilled sectors. Adequate compensation would be given to those whose land had been acquired for the project. Mr Sushant also held a meeting of the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee of the Karcham-Wangtoo hydroelectric project and said a meeting with the affected families of the area would be held at Rekong-Peo on September 23. |
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‘Lift’ ban on private trading of resin Shimla, September 12 Those engaged in resin extraction are concerned over the “monopoly” of government-owned Forest Corporation which has been trading even in the product tapped from private trees since 1980. They said while the Forest Corporation was lifting resin from them at a price of Rs 1,725 per quintal, the price fixed for the current year, it was being sold in the Hoshiarpur market between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,200 per quintal. This was resulting in the smuggling of the product to Punjab. Mr Ram Prakash, a member of the Resin Advisory Board, and Mr Ram Rakha Mal, a resin producer, said here today that the difference of price fixed by the Forest Corporation and that prevailing in the Hoshiarpur market was big even though it was situated about 40 km from Una which was one of the biggest producers of resin. They said all 32 private resin factories had closed down in the state because of “faulty” policy. The two government-owned factories at Nahan and Bilaspur were also starved of raw material, they alleged. They said the ban should be lifted and the market forces should be allowed to fix the rates of the product. At least eight districts — Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Sirmour, Solan and Mandi — are the biggest producers of resin. They said in the past, about 63,000 quintals of resin was extracted from private trees but the quantity had now come down to 23,000 quintals. The resin producers were sore as they were getting the lowest price for their produce as compared to the neighbouring states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. They said the labour component on tapping resin was increasing whereas the Forest Corporation was decreasing the procurement rate. |
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Letter treated as writ petition, notices
issued Shimla, September 12 The matter was brought to the notice to the court by the deceased’s brother, Col R.D. Dhiman, through a letter written to the Chief Justice of the high court. Treating the letter as a criminal writ petition, the high court yesterday issued notices to the Secretary (Home), the DGP, the Deputy Commissioner, the Superintendent of Police, Kangra and two others. In the letter, Colonel Dhiman alleged that his brother, Ajit Kumar Dhiman, died an unnatural death under mysterious circumstances. He further stated that on November 11, 1999, Ajit Kumar along with his wife and child went to Dadura village to attend the marriage of his relative and to visit his in-laws. When the whereabouts of Ajit Kumar could not be known till November 16, his family members got an FIR registered at the Khundian police post. |
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‘Adopt’ Indian model of economy Shimla, September 12 Addressing a press conference here today, he said the globalisation of economy had not spared even the big countries like the USA owing to steep fall in the purchasing power of the people. The purchasing power of common Americans had come down by 15 per cent, he said. The things were much worse in developing countries like India where consumer goods were available at reasonable rates but the people did not have money to buy these, he observed. He said that the country had failed to make the desired progress on the development front even after independence as it adopted political and economic models, which were not based on the Indian ethos of spiritualism and decentralisation. No stress was laid on character building, which had led to the erosion of morality in the society, Acharya Prasad said. |
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Sharda may become officiating VC of HPU Shimla, September
12 Sources said it was a stop-gap arrangement until a permanent Vice-Chancellor was appointed on the recommendation of a committee which would be appointed by the Chancellor, Mr Suraj
Bhan. There was a speculation that Mr M.K. Kaw, Secretary of Education at the
Centre, might be appointed as the Vice-Chancellor. He is due to retire from the Centre in
November. Mr Kaw is an IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre and his bio-data had already been sought by the high ups even before the death of
S.K. Gupta, whose term as VC was to expire in February, sources said. |
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Dharna by REC students Hamirpur, September 12 These students are upset over the death of one of their colleagues for want of timely medical help and vehicle to them to carry the boy to the hospital on Saturday last. Their demands include the immediate suspension of first gate guards, who were on duty on September 8, the stepping down of the Chief Warden and Proctor of the college, the availability of ambulance facility in the college, the introduction of re-evaluation and facility etc. They said if their demands were not met with in a week, they would resume their agitation. |
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Attempt to break into shop, 2 held Solan, September 12 Mr S.Z.H. Zaidi, SP, told mediapersons here today that the arrested persons had given their names as Vasu Raj and Yasin Raza, both residents of Hubli in Karnataka. They had confessed to having burgled 27 shops in all, 21 of these in a span of less than 10 days in Solan town alone last month and decamped with Rs 62,000 in cash. They also revealed names of two of their accomplices as Arjun and Ravi of Bombay. The SP said the two had been spotted, while trying to break into an automobile spare parts shop after having burgled four others in the Parao area of Dharampur on Monday night. A shopkeeper, Vijay Kumar, had raised an alarm, on seeing them. The police had chased the thieves and arrested them, he added. |
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