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Wednesday,
August 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Dhumal supports Advani’s stand Rain death toll climbs to 68 CM for strengthening
anti-defection laws Work apace on Koldam
project
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Chief Engineer’s son, two others held Vidyarthi Parishad blamed for
campus clash Hamirpur tops HIV list Himachal bans polythene bags
Barog faces
water shortage Exhibition of Roerich paintings
opened Leopards’ death not due to negligence, says official No house tax for Bhakra Dam oustees New NIT Director takes over PAN facility for Palampur residents RSS wants site of martyr’s statue changed
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Dhumal supports Advani’s stand Shimla, August 5 Addressing a press conference here today, he said holding simultaneous elections would not only save funds but also enable the government to take policy decisions in the best interests of the country. He said at present elections were being held in one state or the other every few months due to which the parties in power were not able to take decisions on merit and political expediency outweighed all other considerations. He said quality governance suffered because of frequent elections and schoolteachers and other officials remained occupied with election duties due to which their work suffered. Mr Dhumal also called for a debate on the presidential form of government so that the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers could be elected directly by the people. Accusing the Virbhadra Singh regime of ordering large-scale transfers of employees, he underlined the need for a comprehensive transfer policy. Regarding the decision of the government to order a vigilance probe into a Congress chargesheet against the previous BJP regime, he said the charges were worth an inquiry. He opposed the decision of the government to review MoUs signed during the BJP regime for the execution of hydro-electric projects and said it was an unhealthy precedent which could discourage entrepreneurs from investing in the state. He alleged foul play in the award of contracts for the collection of entry tax at inter-state barriers and demanded an inquiry. He also demanded an inquiry into the abandoning of cattle by the Chandigarh Administration at Paonta and said a case should be registered against officials concerned. |
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Rain death toll climbs to 68 Shimla, August 5 A police report here said the body was taken out of the Sunni-Sarotri khud near Nagrota tehsil by locals of the area. The body was later handed over to the police. Meanwhile, rain continued to play havoc in the state, causing landslides and cutting off several villages in the interiors of the state. Reports at the state headquarters here said that four bridges over the Beas were washed away at Bahang, 4 km from Manali, on Sunday night. Due to the sudden rise in the water level of the Beas, three temporary bridges and a foot bridge was washed away, cutting off Goshal village from Bahang on the Manali-Leh border road. Several families of low-lying areas in Kulu district have moved to safer places. Meanwhile, efforts are on to clear the Hindustan-Tibet National Highway 22, which was blocked due to a landslide at Jhakri near Rampur on Sunday, because of which Kinnaur district has been cut off from Shimla. Reports said several villages in Rampur, Chamba and Kulu districts remained cut off due to landslides and caving in of link roads, as rains lashed several parts of the state last night. According to the Met office, Shimla received 9.6 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, while Sundernagar in Mandi district had a maximum of 49.6 mm of rainfall and Bhuntar in Kulu received 27.8 mm of rainfall. The weather office has predicted more rain in the next 24 hours in the state. PALAMPUR: The district administration on Tuesday got vacated nine more houses at Jalgran village in Baijnath subdivision as a hillock around these houses has developed cracks, posing a serious threat of landslides in the area. Mr P.D. Chaudhry, ADM, and Sandip Kumar, SDM, Baijnath, visited the village and shifted all 43 members of the nine families to the community centre of the village.
— UNI & OC |
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CM for strengthening
anti-defection laws Shimla, August 5 Talking to newsmen here today he said there was nothing wrong with present parliamentary system of government, the fault lay with those running the system. He said the final decision on simultaneous election was to be taken by the Congress high command but it was not a practical proposition in view of the fact that Assembly elections had been held only recently in states like Himachal. He also opposed the idea of direct election of Prime Minister and Chief Minister and said it would result in the concentration of political power in a single person. He said the roots of democracy were quite deep in the country and there was no danger of the present system leading to political instability. He said the anti-defection law should be provided with more teeth as at present the political parties were at the mercy of the Speaker. Ideally, in case of defection the legislator concerned should cease to be a member of the Vidhan Sabha. He said the BSP-BJP combine was running the show in Uttar Pradesh because of the loopholes in the anti-defection law. He said even if the elections were held simultaneously, there was no guarantee that the government would last full term. Regarding the transfer policy for employees he said the government proposed to make amendments in the policy finalised by the Narain Swamy Committee and a panel would be constituted soon for the purpose. Replying to question he said the government would set up the human rights commission, which was scrapped by the Dhumal government, afresh instead of reviving it. Regarding the decision to make the registration of migrant workers compulsory, he said the Law Department had been asked to study the provisions of existing labour laws and take the necessary steps. |
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Work apace on Koldam
project MANDI: Round-the-clock work is in progress on the 800-MW Koldam Hydroelectric project on the Sutlej about 9 km upstream of the 990 MW Dehar power plant of the Bhakra and Beas Management Board on the border of Mandi and Bilaspur districts. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 5, 2000. The cost of the project according to the December, 2000, price index has been estimated at Rs 4493 crore. The Koldam project had been conceived way back in the mid-sixties as a major hydro-electric venture. The first report was submitted to the Central Electricity Authority in 1976 for a 600-MW project which was later revised as a 800-MW run-of-the-river scheme in May, 1987. The techno-economic clearance for the project was granted to the HPSEB in August, 1988. This project is being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). A visit to the dam site revealed that despite odds work was in full swing. The project site was humming with activity. Work on the two 1 km-long parallel horseshoe-shaped tunnels with 16.4 metre diameter, one of the largest in Asia, is going ahead of schedule. These tunnels will divert the Sutlej water to facilitate the construction of 163-metre high rock-cum-gravel fill dam with impervious central clay core. The tunnels are likely to be ready by early next year. Work on other components and packages is also in progress. The other components are crest spillway, coffer dams, de-silting chambers, power intake and penstock tunnels. A sprawling 40-km-long reservoir will emerge upstream of the dam axis submerging over 1500 hectares of land in Bilaspur, Mandi, Solan and Shimla districts. This lake will extend up to Tatapani. Another place of great tourists attraction will come up linking four districts with immense potential for the development of fisheries in Himachal. The lake will prove a boon for the state as it will also charge water sources unlike other projects which had dried them up. Another important feature of the Koldam is that it will enhance the life of the Bhakra reservoir by another 18 years. It will also serve as a mega watershed for the state. At the toe of the dam a surface power house will be constructed. Four vertical Francis turbines of 200 MW each will be installed. The project is basically a run-of-the-river scheme. A direct drop of 140-metre from the 163-metre-high dam itself would be utilised for generating power. The project, which will generate 3054 million units of power, would be a big boon for the northern states currently reeling under an acute power crisis. Of the total power generation Himachal Pradesh would get 27 per cent, including 12 per cent free of cost. The remaining power will be sold to the state electricity boards of the Northern states as per power purchase agreements. The power will be evacuated through a 400 KV integrated transmission system. Mr
T.K. Chatterjee, Additional General Manager looking after the execution of the project, says although this is the first hydroelectric project being executed by the NTPC as its diversification plan, it is a pioneer in power generation and produces 26 per cent of the country’s total generation. The NTPC plans to achieve its goal of over 40,000 MW by 2012. |
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Chief Engineer’s son, two others held Dharamsala , August 5 According to police sources, Ajay Kumar, son of Mr Kaundal, and his two friends were drunk when they were arrested and the car in which they were travelling belonged to the Chief Engineer and had an unauthorised red light on top of it and they were moving about with a hooter. When the police tried to stop them, the youths fled in their car towards Palampur. After giving a chase, the police was able to stop the car near the Chamunda temple . The youths were arrested and identified as Ajay Kumar son of Mr Kaundal, Harish Verma, son of the Hamirpur tehsildar, Mr R.S. Verma, and Vikas Thakur, son of Mr Banshi Pal, junior engineer at Hamirpur. A case has been registered. |
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Vidyarthi Parishad blamed for
campus clash Shimla, August 5 Meanwhile, the ABVP alleged that SFI activists had made a murderous assault on their campus President, Sanjay Sharma. The Parishad sought the arrest of Mr Parvesh Chandel and Mr Neeraj Basu. |
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Hamirpur tops HIV list Shimla, August 5 Mandi district has 71 HIV-infected and 17 full-blown AIDS cases; Shimla district has 52 HIV-infected and 12 full-blown AIDS cases; Bilaspur district has 94 HIV-infected and 25 full-blown AIDS cases; Kangra district has 106 HIV-infected and 37 full-blown AIDS cases; Solan district has 32 HIV-infected and seven full-blown AIDS cases; Una district has 16 HIV-infected and three full-blown AIDS cases; Kullu district has 10 HIV-infected and three full-blown AIDS cases; Chamba district has nine HIV-infected cases and no case of full-blown AIDS; Sirmour district has 12 HIV-infected cases and no case of full-blown AIDS; Lahaul and Spiti district has no HIV-infected or full-blown AIDS case; and Kinnaur district has six HIV-infected cases and one case of full-blown AIDS. The National AIDS Control Policy is planning to bring HIV-infected cases to zero by 2007. Voluntary counselling and testing centres have been set up. Tele-counselling centres have also been set up at Mandi and Dharamshala. |
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Himachal bans polythene bags Shimla, August 5 The notification issued under the recycled manufacture and usage rules in this regard said that no person shall manufacture stock, distribute or sell carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic bags made of virgin or recycled plastic bags which are less than 8x12 inches in size and do not conform to the minimum thickness of 20 microns. No vendor shall use carry bags made of recycle plastic and containers made of recycled plastic for storing, carrying, dispensing or packaging or foodstuffs. The minimum weight of 50 carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastics shall be 105 gm with 5 per cent variation. The state Pollution Control board will ensure enforcement of the provision relating to manufacture and recycling, while Deputy Commissioners will ensure the enforcement of provisions related to the use, collection, segregation, transportation and disposal in their respective jurisdiction. Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both. In case of repeated contravention additional fine which may extend to Rs 5000 per could be imposed If the contravention continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to seven years. |
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Himachal emerging as Kerala of
North Chandigarh, August 5 “In
Rajasthan, where girls are usually discouraged from attending school, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the total number of school students. In other states, too, the scheme has brought more children to school according to a survey we carried out last year,” he informs. “There has been a sea change in the perception of people, especially the poor, in terms of educating their children though the system is such that they are discouraged. The disappointment sets in when, after spending five years in school, add to that the expenditure on books and fee, a child is unable to write even his name,” adds the co-author of a number of books on issues of education, poverty, development, freedom of information among others, in town for a seminar on “Right To Food” organised by Critique, a students’ discussion forum of Panjab University. Having worked with Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen, Prof Dreze was also actively involved in a research publication on the state of education in several Hindi-speaking states of northern India. Stating that though the findings of this survey published in the Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE) established the oft-repeated dismal state of affairs, he said the silver lining was that Himachal Pradesh was going the Kerala way in terms of educating its children. “As many as 98 per cent children in the age group of six to 17 years are in schools. Not only are parents enthusiastic about sending their sons to school but an increasing number of girls have made their way to the classes. HP is fast emerging as the Kerala of the north,” he claimed. Bihar, however, is in a category of its own with absolutely nothing, not even classrooms, in the name of education to its credit. Prof Dreze said that half of the children in the age group of 6-17 years were out of schools and very few girls were familiar with schools. Speaking on another subject close to his heart, Prof Dreze said economists were busy with making a case of social security with special measures for children. Lamenting the fact that “anganwaris” were not performing up to the mark, he said that malnourished children were the bane of Indian society. “We are next only to Bangladesh with 50 per cent of the children under-fed despite the fact that there is enough agricultural production. This is a permanent emergency which needs to be addressed urgently,” he explained. A native of Belgium, Prof Dreze has adopted India as his homeland and is particularly concerned about the direction the country is taking.”
The fault lies with the democratic system to which common man is indifferent and basic needs get very little priority,” he opined. He rued the fact that this indifference was to blame for all that ails the education system and the country at large. Focussing on promoting Information Technology and the corporate sector, he said, was taking a toll on social development and quality of life. |
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Barog faces
water shortage Kumarhatti, August 5 Mr Sanjay Kumar, vice-president of the Barog panchayat, has alleged that the private water tap connections that were disconnected in summer by the IPH for want of water, have not yet been restored despite the passing of June 30, the date fixed as deadline to restore the water supply on all such connections. The IPH has not paid any heed to improve the infrastructure as in a considerable number of cases the pipes are of plastic. In some cases the residents have arranged the pipes from their own pockets, he pointed. On being asked to improve the water supply the IPH officials would often indulge in verbal duels with the panchayat representatives, he alleged. However, the IPH staff maintained that the water supply in Barog was up to the mark. |
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Exhibition of Roerich paintings
opened Dharamsala, August 5 The minister said efforts should be made to protect and exhibit old paintings and other objects which depict our heritage and rich culture. He said museums served as a link between the old and new generations and we had a great responsibility to protect our heritage. Mr Chander Kumar lauded the role of the HP Languages and Culture Department in providing an opportunity to the people of the country to have a view of Himachal’s traditional Kangra, Basholi and Guler style of paintings which have their unique style and colours. He said the Kangra style was now internationally recognised and even the London Museum had a gallery for Kangra paintings. Welcoming the minister, the Director of Languages and Culture Department, Mr Prem Sharma, said the 11th Finance Commission had provided Rs 2 crore for the improvement of three museums in the state at Shimla, Chamba and Kangra. |
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Leopards’ death not due to negligence, says official Dharamsala, August 5 Mr Anil Joshi said every effort was made to ensure that animals in the zoo were provided medical care. He said CSKHP Agriculture University, Palampur, as well as scientists of the Indian Veterinary Institute, Palampur, were contacted as and when needed. He clarified that one of the animals died due to old age, while the one captured near Nurpur was severely injured while trying to free itself from the trap. |
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No house tax for Bhakra Dam oustees Bilaspur, August 5 This was stated by the Chief Minister when a delegation of the Congress and the BJP Nagar Parishad members, led by the local Bilaspur Sadar Congress MLA, Tilakraj Sharma, met him at Shimla this evening. The delegation presented him a memorandum, urging him to exempt the township from house tax due to the special situation prevailing there. |
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New NIT Director takes over Hamirpur, August 5 Prof S.K. Bhowmick was earlier holding the charge of the Director, NIT, Hamirpur. Sources in the NIT said Professor Shekhar would reach Hamirpur tomorrow. |
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PAN facility for Palampur residents Chandigarh, August 5 The office of Mr Kakkar was located near the Income Tax Office
(CITAppeals), Palampur. |
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RSS wants site of martyr’s statue changed Palampur, August 5 Mr Kapila Jasra, Mr Ravi Bhardwaj and Mr Sanjay Mahajan, all RSS leaders, met the SDM and threatened to sit on dharna if the saplings planted by them were uprooted. They said the government should select another venue. Later, Mr K.C. Chaman, SDM, directed the PWD authorities not to uproot the trees. |
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Shimla, August 5
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