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Saturday,
July 26, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Govt asks HPU for financial details Chamera project
oustees seek compensation Rescue operations at Bahang continue
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Villagers block NH, cause traffic jam MLA demands
transfer of SP Three quit young legislators’ body Rights forum issues
notice to ABVP Police battalion at Junga may be revived One gets life term
for murder Nathpa Jhakri to start in Sept
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Govt asks HPU for financial details Shimla, July 25 The finance committee of the university has approved a budget of Rs 40.99 crore for the year 2003-04 with a grant-in-aid component of Rs 28.47 crore. However, the government has pegged the grant at Rs 19.17 crore as last year, which means the university will have to raise Rs 9.30 crore from its own resources and by curtailing expenditure. The government has taken a serious notice of the financial irregularities and lopsided expansion of the university and has sought a detailed report. A vigilance inquiry is already underway into the question paper scam and alleged bunglings in purchases and recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff. The Principal Secretary, Finance, has sent a letter to the university seeking details not only of the income and expenditure over the past few years but also the expansion of the institution. The information sought includes increase in the staff strength, the number of new departments opened and the additional financial liabilities the growth of income and steps taken by the university to raise its own resources and curtail expenditure. The unprecedented withdrawal of secrecy funds, hiring of the building owned by a son of Dr Suraj Bhan, a former Governor, at Panchkula without justification and various irregularities in purchases as pointed out in audit has not pleased the government. It has made very clear to the university authorities that it should not expect any additional assistance until financial discipline is enforced strictly. The university requires about Rs 2.5 crore every month to pay salaries. Its own income is expected to be only Rs 12.52 crore during the year and with government grants frozen at Rs 19.17 crore. As such the university will find it difficult to meet its commitments during the last quarter of the year. |
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Chamera project
oustees seek compensation Chamba, July 25 The meeting was presided over by its chairperson, Ms Asha Kumari, Education Minister, at Chamba last week. The oustees were of the opinion that those who had already been identified should immediately be disbursed compensation for their land and houses submerged in the dam waters in the catchments of Chamera Stage-I. Surprisingly, only Thakur Singh, MLA from Bharmour, attended the meeting of the Chamera Welfare Oustees Committee. Meanwhile, the chain fast by members of the ousted families entered its 11th day today in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner, Chamba. |
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Rescue operations at Bahang continue Manali July 25 The rescue teams, comprising workers from the Border Roads, Organisation, the PWD, and residents from the adjoining villages, continued the rescue operations at the site. Mr Raj Krishan Gaur, Minister for Agriculture, visited the spot and took stock of the relief and rescue operations. He was accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, and the local SDM. The relief material was distributed amongst 13 floods affected families. The affected families are camping at Government Senior Secondary School, here. |
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Villagers block NH, cause traffic jam Bilaspur, July 25 The villagers were protesting against the failure of the government to provide doctors, staff and other facilities at the Community Health Centre, Markand. The villagers claimed that Health Minister Chanderesh Kumari was also held up in the traffic-jam. Realising that the villagers were protesting against the failure of her own department, she diverted her vehicle to Brahampukhar and “fled” from the scene instead of facing the people and hearing their grievances, the villagers alleged. Addressing a rally, leaders said they would intensify the agitation if their demands, submitted to the government through the Deputy Commissioner a few weeks ago, were not met. They said specialist doctors from the Regional Hospital at Bilaspur had also been transferred. |
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MLA demands
transfer of SP Solan, July 25 He said the police was groping in the dark and had not been able to achieve any breakthrough in the case. Innocent people were being victimised by the police and an atmosphere of terror prevailed in the town, he added. As many as 35 representatives of the Beopar
Mandal, including relatives of the victim, today went to the Sadar police station and protested against the alleged harassment of the victim’s family. They said the police had made no arrests in the case and was instead harassing the family members. Dr Bindal also said in another case of rape and murder of a women, the police had not been able to arrest the culprits despite establishing their identity. In a daylight incidence, vehicles were looted at gunpoint on the Nahan road some time back, but the police could not arrest the culprit, he added. |
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Three quit young legislators’ body Shimla, July 25 Mr Rohit Thakur, Mr Sudhir Sharma and Mr Tilak Raj, the three legislators, who had signed the declaration stating the objectives of the forum, today said they had nothing to with new outfit. Mr Tilak Raj said being a Congress legislator he would not like to be a part of any organisation which had BJP legislators as members. The decision of the legislators has much to do with the factional tussle in the Congress, which is divided into Virbhadra Singh and Vidya Stokes camp. Mr Sukhwinder Singh, the
convener of the forum, maintained that it was a non-party affair set up with the purpose of bringing in transparency. The people had high hopes from young legislators and they should not hesitate in taking such initiatives, rising above party lines. |
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Rights forum issues
notice to ABVP Shimla, July 25 The order was passed by the consumer forum on a complaint filed by the ABVP in which it was alleged that the hike in bus fares was not in consonance with the policy of the state and that it was against the student community. On July 11, the Dharamsala Consumer Forum passed the impugned order and restrained the HRTC from effecting the revised bus fares. Now the HRTC has filed a revision petition on the ground that the consumer forum has no jurisdiction to entertain such petitions because it is a policy matter. The bus fares have been hiked in view of fact that the HRTC is already facing a loss of Rs 300 crore. The HRTC has no other option except to increase the bus fares, it said. The state Consumer Commission, headed by Justice Surinder Sarup, after hearing the arguments put forth by the counsel of the HRTC, issued notice to the ABVP for July 29. |
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Police battalion at Junga may be revived Shimla, July 25 Stating this while addressing senior officers of the police here yesterday, the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said that crores had been spent on the construction of the battalion complex at Junga which was underutilised. He said the forensic laboratory would also be shifted to the original place where adequate space was available. The state government was also considering the expansion of the police training centre at Daroh to create facilities for advanced training of police personnel. He said the available land at the centre had been utilised to the optimum and, if need be, more land would be acquired. |
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Breakthrough in
material science Shimla, July 25 The scientist, Mr Atul Thakur, who has been pursuing research in the Physics Department of Himachal Pradesh University, has synthesised nanosize ferrite particles by a new wet chemical process which vastly improves the electrical and magnetic properties as compared to the ferrite prepared by the conventional ceramic technique. He has succeeded in achieving a particle size of 10-9m (ten raise to power minus nine meter) as against 10-5m (ten raise to power minus five meter) possible by the ceramic technique. His work has been published in the latest issue of Ceramics International, a reputed research journal of material sciences brought out from Italy. The citrate precursor method used by him to prepare manganese zinc ferrite has many other advantages over the conventional technique because of uniformity and homogeneity in grains, besides the smaller size. Ferrites are used as coating material for floppy discs compact disc and have various other high-frequency applications. The smaller grain size will ensure a high particle density coating which, in turn, will help increase the storage capacity of such devices. For instance, the capacity of the floppy disc could be increased from 1.44 MB (megabytes) up to 140 MB and that of compact disc from 720 MB to 70 GB. It will bring about a revolution in the portable storage devices. His work has attracted the attention of scientists all over the world over and he has been receiving numerous e-mails. He plans to synthesise some more ferrites using other elements in place of manganese and zinc to obtain even better quality.  |
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One gets life term
for murder Sundernagar, July 25 According to the case of the prosecution, the convict was nephew of the deceased. On July 19, 2002, the husband of the deceased Balak Ram, was present in the house of Joginder Singh when he heard the cries of Devku Devi. They saw that the convict had a dagger in his hand and his mother had a stick. Balak Ram tried to save Devku Devi but was given a blow along with Rimpi Devi. Seema Devi witnessed the whole incident and saw that the convict gave five dagger blows to Devku Devi. Afterwards, Devku Devi was taken to hospital where she was declared brought dead. |
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Nathpa Jhakri to start in Sept Shimla, July 25 The consortium will resume the work and make the first unit of 250 MW operational in September. The second unit will start commercial generation by November and the project will be fully commissioned by June 2004. Water into the fourth desilting chamber for running the first unit will be released from August 1. The trial run for the first two units was carried out in February and March but commercial generation could not start because the work on desilting chambers could not be completed. |
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Himachalis to get preference in appointments Shimla, July 25 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, when a deputation of resident doctors from Indira Gandhi Medical College met him here today. |
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