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Monday,
January 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Rare black stork seen at Pong sanctuary HVC to contest
all 68 seats Move on maintenance budget a failure Sensitisation drive in
Chamba villages Foul play ruled out in club fire Co-op bank staff to get bonus |
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YC activists burn govt effigy Tibetans stage
dharna Woman raped, killed Two houses gutted
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Rare black stork seen at Pong sanctuary Dharamsala, January 13 Declared a national wetland by the Ministry of Environment in 1994, the Pong dam provides an ideal and attractive habitat for thousands of migratory birds from the North and Central Asia during the winter months. Unaffected by the war in Afghanistan, the number of birds this year has crossed 80,000, like the previous year. “It is after a long gap of 14 years that we sighted the rare species of the black stork at the Pong dam, where the number of winged guests has gone up from 10,000 in 1985 to about 80,0000,” said Mr R.C. Wargyal, Conservator, Wildlife. The Wildlife wing of the Forest Department conducts a census of the migratory birds here every winter, during which more than 50 species are seen frequenting the wetland. The wetland provides an excellent feeding and breeding ground for various species like the Brahminhy ducks, black-necked grebes, red-necked grebes, large
cormorants, Indian shag, darter, eastern grey heron, pintails, egrets, black stork, bar-headed goose, mallards, gadwalls, wigeons, common pochards, tufted duck, Indian moorhens, coots, black-headed gulls, river terns, osprey and marsh harriers. The Himachal Government had declared the Pong reservoir as a sanctuary for the propagation and protection of wildlife under Section 18 (1) of the wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in 1983 but it was in 1999 that the final notification was issued. Spread over an area of 307 sq km this artificial lake is 41.5 km long and 19 km wide in the rainy season. Mr Wargyal said Rs 16 lakh had been received from the Centre through the Department of Science and Technology for the improvement of habitat and other works at the sanctuary. “Since a large number of birds prefer the grassy swamps near the Shah Nahar, we have decided to create mounds and plant trees which can provide a natural habitat for them,” he said. Apart from this, various soil conservation works and maintenance of old plants and vegetation have been undertaken by the Wildlife Department. Mr Wargyal said seeing the immense scope for wildlife in the patch near the Shah Nahar, the area could be developed from the eco-tourism point of view. The blue bull, fishing cat, wild boar and the leopard can be frequently spotted in this area. The state government is making efforts to develop the Pong dam as a tourist centre where there is scope for water sports and the attraction of migratory birds during the winter months. The Pong dam water body is ideal for mahasheer and other types of fish. About 1500 families of fishermen earn their live lihood from it Fishing hours have been fixed so that no disturbance is caused to the migratory birds who come to these quiet and peaceful environs to escape the harsh winter and frozen waters back home. It is in March, when the temperature begins to rise, that these winter guests embark on their return journey to their abode in the trans-Himalayan zone, only to return the next years. |
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HVC to contest
all 68 seats Nurpur, January 13 He said though the HVC was an alliance partner of the Dhumal government, the BJP had never taken it into confidence while formulating any policy or taking decisions. Referring to speculations about the HVC merging with the Congress, Mr Markandey clarified that the HVC had established its own political entity as a third force in the state. He said the HVC would not merge with the Congress even if CLP leader Virbhadra Singh was sidelined. “The HVC will contest all 68 seats in the Assembly poll and it has the potential to win at least 40 seats in the state”, he claimed. He said the HVC would give 25 per cent seats to youths. Mr Markandey said the HVC was keeping its options open for pre-poll seat adjustments and alliance with any political party. Reacting to the Kainthla Commission report, in which Mr Virbhadra Singh was held guilty of creating a situation of lawlessness in March, 1998, Mr Markandey said the HVC had justified the report and demanded to initiate action against the guilty as per law. |
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Move on maintenance budget a failure Nurpur, January 13 Earlier, the government had been allocating the repair and maintenance budget to the PWD. The maintenance of buildings of all departments was being carried out by the PWD. Electrical repairs were undertaken by the PWD’s electrical wing, created by the state government for the purpose. In Kangra, a division and a subdivision of the PWD electrical wing were opened at Palampur and Dehra, respectively. In view of proper, timely and economical maintenance of buildings of state government departments, the government decided to allocate the maintenance budget to the heads of departments concerned. Inquiries reveal that heads of various departments are not following directions of the state government by getting done the maintenance in general and electrical repairs in particular through the PWD. Interestingly, the Health and Family Welfare Department has not got any budget allocation for electrical repairs for the current year. The Health Department owes over Rs 4.50 lakh to the Palampur division of the PWD electrical wing. Owing to the department’s failure to clear the
outstanding dues, electrical maintenance in all health institutions under Palampur division has been badly affected. |
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Sensitisation drive in
Chamba villages Chamba, January 13 Addressing mediapersons at the local Circuit House, Mr D.S. Minhas, Divisional Organiser of the Himachal and Punjab division of the bureau, said the campaign also aimed at gearing up intelligence network at the grass roots and imparting tactical exercises to village defence committees. Mr Minhas said there was a perceptible change in the attitude of border residents, specially the response of villagers to this campaign, particularly the minority community, was tremendous as they were able to see through the ISI game to create rift in the name of fundamentalism. He said people on the borderland were feeling secure and the security forces were getting full support from the locals. He said 4,165 men and 706 women living in border villages of Chamba district had so far been intensively trained. He said the bureau was getting Rs 4 crore annually under the Centrally-sponsored border area development programme for providing basic amenities to the locals. He said in the first phase of the campaign, 18 villages had been covered. |
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Foul play ruled out in club fire Kasauli, January 13 He said short circuit was the probable cause of fire. The fact that the fire started in the upper rooms where the wiring had worn out pointed towards a short circuit. In addition to this, an AGM would be convened for consensus on the restructuring. Asked about the inadequate fire-fighting equipment in the town, he said the water capacity of the lone fire engine would be enhanced and the restructuring would be done using fire-resistant material. Army personnel from the Military Hospital under the guidance of Colonel Sherotri helped in fighting the fire till firemen arrived. |
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Co-op bank staff to get bonus Hamirpur January 13 Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the bank would open 10 more branches by March 31. Three of them would be opened at Samirpur, Jalari and Piploo in Hamirpur and Una districts, respectively. Mr Mandyal said the bank was helping the state government with its developmental activities by giving loans to the state government organisations. It has given loans worth Rs 8 crore for purchasing 250 buses to the Himachal Road Transport Corporation. Similarly, it was also giving loans to the state government employees for the construction of houses and purchase of vehicles. The Chairman announced that the work on the Daulasidh power project on river Beas in between Hamirpur and Kangra districts would be undertaken shortly as the feasibility report of the project had been received. It would be 50 MW project and a sum of 500 cr would be spent on it. He said with the completion of this project, the area would be developed in the field of pisciculture and tourism for which there was a vast potential in the region. |
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YC activists burn govt effigy Hamirpur, January 13 They were protesting against the failure of the state government on all fronts, especially in providing justice to people in accordance with its election promises. The Youth Congress leaders led by the district president, Mr Sunil Sharma ‘Bittu’, submitted a memorandum to the district administration in which various charges of omission and commission were levelled against the government. They have asked the Himachal Pradesh Governor to sack the present government. Earlier, they organised a rally at Gandhi Chowk where speakers lashed out at the government for ignoring the interests of the common man. Addressing the rally, Mr Sharma came down heavily on the state government for adopting an anti-people stance and for trying to remain in power with the help of the official machinery. |
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Tibetans stage
dharna Shimla, January 13 They added that the Tibetan had no political rights and they were detained while participating in peaceful protest or for possessing picture and audiotapes of the Dalai Lama who was working for international peace and harmony. |
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Woman raped, killed Una, January 13 According to the police, the victim belonged to Bhadsali village in Una district. She was coming from Uttaranchal where her husband is posted with the ITBP. On reaching Una bus stand on the night intervening January 9 and January 10, she was seen off in a taxi bearing registration number DDA 5884 by two of her
acquaintances. Sources said drivers, of the taxi Jasbir Singh, alias Balwinder, and Ravinder Kumar, took her to Badheda village where she was allegedly raped by the two. Later, the vehicle was driven through the Haroli-Santoshgarh route to Ajauli and Nangal where the woman was pushed into the canal. The police said on January 10, when Ashok Kumar telephoned his residence at Bhadsali to inquire about the return of his wife, the family got concerned and contacted the police. Sources at the taxi stand confirmed the hiring of the said taxi the previous night by an elderly woman. Ravinder Kumar who was nabbed admitted that he and Jasbir had raped the woman and had thrown her into the canal. The vehicle used in the crime has been impounded and police teams dispatched to trace Jasbir Singh. A case under Sections 376, 302, 201 and 34-IPC has been registered at Una sadar police station. |
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Two houses gutted Chamba, January 13 On receipt of information, fire engines were rushed to the site of the incident but had the local people not acted in time to douse the flames the fire would have engulfed the entire township and its ancient temples because it took more than two hours for the fire engines to teach
Bharmour. According to Mr S.R. Ojha, SP, Chamba, officials who supervised the rescue and relief operations assessed the loss to be around Rs 5 lakh. Madan Lal and Bhavani Dutt have been identified as fire-affected. The local administration has sanctioned a relief of Rs 15,000 each to the two fire-affected families. A case has been registered. |
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