H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

HP may retain 25 pc share in hydel project
Shimla, February 14
The perennial financial crisis plaguing the hill state notwithstanding, the Himachal Pradesh Government is seriously considering not only to retain its 25 per cent share in the prestigious Nathpa Jhakri Power Project but also to have equity participation in the Rs 2,700 crore Rampur project.

Vital bridge nears completion
Chamba
With work on the Seelta bridge on the Ravi on the Chamba-Pathankot highway in Chamba nearing completion, it is likely to be dedicated to people by the Chief Minister in the near future.

Subscribers decry poor cable service
Kumarhatti, February 14
The condition of cable TV network has deteriorated. In the past one week the subscribers of the town as well as those of the surrounding areas of Barog, Anheeh, Haripur and Dagshai have not been able to watch their favourite channels.

Shimla has sunny day A car stands covered with snow as Manali is covered with 3 ft of snow, which is the highest since 1992.  — PTI photo

Probe into cops’ rowdiness ordered
Shimla, February 14
Mr Pradeep Kumar, Superintendent of Police, has ordered an inquiry into the incident in which some constables of the traffic police indulged in rowdyism allegedly under the influence of liquor at the main bus stand yesterday.

Civilians block traffic
Kasauli, February 14
Civilians in the cantonment area today blocked traffic for some time and also took out a march against the erratic water supply in the town. Water, which was earlier supplied twice a day, is now not even available after two days.

Cong-led relay fast continues

HP may retain 25 pc share in hydel project
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 14
The perennial financial crisis plaguing the hill state notwithstanding, the Himachal Pradesh Government is seriously considering not only to retain its 25 per cent share in the prestigious Nathpa Jhakri Power Project but also to have equity participation in the Rs 2,700 crore Rampur project.

The fund-starved government has been finding it difficult to contribute its equity share in the project. It has been looking for various options including selling out its equity share to the NJPC or the NTPC, besides reducing its equity to the level to around 12 per cent on the basis of amount already contributed for the project. It has even decided not to have any equity participation in the downstream Rampur project, which is also to be executed by the NJPC.

The Opposition Congress has been critical of the move and wants the state to retain its share in the project. With the Assembly election just a year away, the government is reconsidering the whole issue before taking a final decision.

The latest thinking is that the state should maintain its equity by raising loans from financial institutions like commercial banks, Power Finance Corporation and Life Insurance Corporation. The state has so far contributed only Rs 528 crore towards equity and the arrears on this account stand at Rs 204 crore. With the cost of the project rising to Rs 9,120 crore from Rs 7,666 crore, the state equity share has also increased to Rs 1,150 crore. Thus, it will have to raise another Rs 650 crore to retain its share.

The government now plans to have equity participation in the Rampur project on the pattern of the Nathpa Jhakri Power Project. It will be required to contribute about Rs 350 crore at the current cost of the project.

With the completion of the Nathpa Jhakri Power Project over the next 18 months it will start getting revenue which will be enough to contribute its equity in the Rampur project.

The government may come out with a model agreement for executing all projects in the upper Sutlej valley, said Mr Harsh Gupta, the Chief Secretary. Since the Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation was specifically set up to harness the hydel power potential of the Sutlej basin, it would be ideal to have a long-term arrangement so that precious time was not wasted in finalising agreements.

Of course case would be taken of the disputes concerning service conditions and equivalence of the NJPC staff and the employees of the state electricity board.

Henceforth, the employees of the board would be sent on deputation to the corporation and not on secondment, as was the case in Nathpa Jhakri Project. The service condition would be defined unambiguously, he added.

If all goes well, the government would even rename the Nathpa Jhakri power corporation and take care of the projects upstream the Kol Dam, which has already been assigned to the NTPC.

Vital bridge nears completion
Balkrishan Prashar

Chamba
With work on the Seelta bridge on the Ravi on the Chamba-Pathankot highway in Chamba nearing completion, it is likely to be dedicated to people by the Chief Minister in the near future.

However, authorities concerned have so far failed to provide access to the bridge from the main road leading to great resentment among the people.

The existing bridge connecting the town with the rest of the country is unsafe and is likely to be dismantled soon after the commissioning of the new one.

According to official sources, the new bridge having a 122-metre span with 10.5 metre width is being constructed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at an estimated cost of about Rs 6 crore.

The work on the bridge is scheduled to be completed within the stipulated time of 18 months. As per the agreement after completion it will be handed over to the state government by the NHPC. The charcoal and timber depot of the state Forest Department and a shed of the PWD workshop are obstructing the approach to be provided to this bridge from the main road. And it is for the authorities concerned to sort the problem.

Despite repeated reminders by the state government, the district administration and other authorities concerned have failed to take steps in this regard.

The residents allege that the commissioning is being delayed due to the half-hearted approach of the district authorities.

When contacted, a spokesman of the district administration, however, maintained that land had been provided to the Forest Department for shifting the charcoal and timber depot and the shed. He said that the money for these structures and land had been deposited by the NHPC.

All other formalities regarding the transfer of land and shifting of these establishments were being completed according to the prescribed norms, he said.

Subscribers decry poor cable service
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, February 14
The condition of cable TV network has deteriorated. In the past one week the subscribers of the town as well as those of the surrounding areas of Barog, Anheeh, Haripur and Dagshai have not been able to watch their favourite channels. Though the standard of cable TV was not up to mark so far as the channels frequently disappeared but the recent rain in the region has deprived the subscribers of the facilities of cable connections.

The condition of cable has improved in the Dagshai area but the subscribers of other areas have been yet waiting to get the faults rectified by a Dharampur-based cable operator.

The seepage of rainwater in the cable wires has reportedly created the current situation. The subscribers have been sore over the lethargic attitude of cable operators to rectify the faults.

According to the subscribers, the poor quality of cable, long time to grieve the complaints of subscribers, non-availability of cable operators high monthly rent as compare to the services provided, sub-standard quality of cable wires and inadequate infrastructure to handle the increasing demand of connections has led to a large number of snags in the signal.

The situation has been worst at Himmatpur Dawli near this town and Barog where the breakdowns in cable connections are a routine affairs. Several complaints about the sub-standard quality of cable have been received by the panchayat in the past, said Mr Sanjay Kumar, vice-president of Barog panchayat. The cable operators had allegedly taken a six-month advance of Rs 3000 from different subscribers for providing more than 30 channels. However, the facility has not been provided.

Meanwhile, the sub-operators, who have been sublet certain areas to provide cable services on contract basis, have also blamed the operators for the bad condition of cable network. One such sub-operator has expressed inability to provide the standard facilities to his subscribers due to lack of poor signal from the main control room.

Shimla has sunny day
Tribune News Service and PTI

Shimla, February 14
The weather further improved in the Shimla region today with bright sunshine for the second day today. The mercury showed further upward trend, though the nights are still cold.

The people in the tribal areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti district also got relief when the bright sunshine also appeared their for the second day. However the threat of avalanches still persisted in the area.

The Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, Mr Onkar Sharma, told PTI on phone that avalanches caused several landslides in the area which resulted in the death of a person near the Nathpa dam site on January 10. He said power had been restored in the district today after three days.

Meanwhile, all major roads in the state which were blocked due to heavy snow last week have been reopened for vehicular traffic.

The engineer-in-chief of the PWD here today said several roads, including the Shimla-Rampur road via Narkanda, Shimla-Rohru road, Solan-Meenus road, Karsog to Rampur road via Kelodhar, Karsog-Mandi road via Ruhanda, Kala Amb-Nahan-Dadahu-Chopal road, Chamba-Bharmaur road and the Chamba-Bairaghad road had been reopened.

The Hindustan Tibet road was open up to Kasthal, near Wangtoo, but beyond that there were a large number of landslips and avalanches, he said. The Border Roads Organisation was making all-out efforts to clear the road. The road up to Rekong-Peo is likely to be opened by tomorrow.

The work to clear the blockades between Rekong-Peo and Pooh was under way, he said.

Probe into cops’ rowdiness ordered
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 14
Mr Pradeep Kumar, Superintendent of Police, has ordered an inquiry into the incident in which some constables of the traffic police indulged in rowdyism allegedly under the influence of liquor at the main bus stand yesterday.

Mr Yash Pal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Traffic Police, has been asked to complete the inquiry within two days. Meanwhile, the policemen allegedlly involved in the incident have been sent to police lines. According to eyewitnesses as many as three policemen created a scene in the bus stand. They were all in uniform. One of them even fell down in an inebriated state and was taken to a hospital by fellow policemen.

Civilians block traffic
Our Correspondent

Kasauli, February 14
Civilians in the cantonment area today blocked traffic for some time and also took out a march against the erratic water supply in the town.

Water, which was earlier supplied twice a day, is now not even available after two days. The locals also marched to the office of the executive officer of the cantonment board and voiced their resentment.

The cantonment board, which is responsible for water supply, has been increasing water tariff regularly whereas water resources have not increased. The board has been supplying 50,000 gallons since 1924. The tariff has increased from 24 paise to Rs 17.25. Even billing is not regular. An elected civilian member, Mr R.C. Attri, had moved a proposal to issue on the spot bills, but it didn’t go through.

Electricity supply also remained snapped in the town for good part of the day. The officials stated that it was on account of maintenance.

Cong-led relay fast continues
Our Correspondent

Mandi, February 14
The relay fast by Congress-led opposition parties at Dharampur in protest against the “brazen neglect” of the constituency in general and the town in particular entered the fifth day today. This was stated by Dr J.K. Azad, action committee chairman and Congress leader.