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Saturday,
August 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Governor
asks varsity council to set things right HP to have
teachers on contract basis Teachers
on warpath Enforcement
Dept examines selection board’s records HP orders
probe into purchase of farm inputs |
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Programmes
on cultivation of herbs organised Untreated
water supplied to six villages Nathpa
Jhakri project to employ HP youth No
screening body to select Chief Secy Gazta is
Vidhan Sabha Secy
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Governor asks varsity council to set things right Shimla, August 29 The university, he said had been suffering from system failure. The statutes were not being observed and the council had failed to set the things right. The emergency powers were being used frequently as the meeting of the council were not being held regularly. The members should have requisitioned the meeting of the council to prevent the use of emergency power. The council should have taken action and not sat as spectator as the image of the institution was being sullied with reports of irregularities. He further said the accounts be thoroughly probed to ascertain if some loss had been incurred by the university. He also pointed out that the posts of the Registrar, the Controller of Examination and finance officers had been filled on ad hoc basis. If the incumbents to these posts don’t have the required minimum qualification than appropriate action should be taken against them. He said after an inquiry by the council suitable action should be taken against those guilty. |
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HP to have teachers on contract basis Dalhousie, August 29 The Education Minister reproached the previous BJP-led government for its hollow promises of upgrading and opening various educational institutions in the state during the Assembly elections. Reacting to the step-motherly treatment meted out to the remote and tribal areas of Chamba district, the Education Minister blamed the BJP leaders for failing to generate direct or indirect employment opportunities. The Education Minister lamented that it was a matter of concern that almost all vacancies of teachers in schools had been lying vacant due to the apathy of the previous BJP regime. She said she would take up the case of opening a degree college at Bhanjradu in Churah subdivision of the district with the state Chief Minister. |
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Teachers
on warpath Hamirpur, August 29 They submitted a memorandum to the Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner today demanding immediate jobs to them as per the recommendations made by the HPSSS board. Members of the sangh also urged the state government not to make any appointments in the Department of Education on ad hoc basis till a decision was taken in their case. It is worth mentioning here that the HP State Subordinate Selection Board had selected 524 candidates for TGT medical and non-medical posts. However, the Education Department had refused to give them jobs once the new state Assembly elections were held in the state. |
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Enforcement
Dept examines selection board’s records Hamirpur, August 29 Sources in the state government said here today that the team was asked by its senior officers to complete the inquiry into the working of the board and its former Chairman Surendra Mohan Katwal so that a final challan could be put up in the court for a decision. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had already registered two cases against the former Chairman and was in the process of initiating more cases against the board and its former chairman for the recruitments made by them since the formation of the board in 1998. The team was examining the records with regard to the selection made by the board for the posts of the trained graduate teachers in science just before the last Assembly elections in the state. This record is likely to be placed before the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The state government had already decided to cancel all appointments and the affected persons had also approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court in this regard. |
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HP orders probe into purchase of farm inputs Shimla, August 29 Stating this here today, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, said the inquiry would also cover cases of nepotism and favouritism during the BJP rule in the state. There were complaints that growers were supplied sub-standard fungicides and insecticides. A departmental inquiry would be conducted, and if required, the matter would be referred to the Vigilance Department. He said after initial problems, the transportation and marketing of the bumper apple crop was proceeding smoothly. There was no shortage of cartons, trays or trucks and over 78 lakh boxes of apples had been exported so far, he said. There was shortage of packaging material in some pockets because of panic buying by the growers. The two main tray manufacturing companies had assured that the demand would be met and if required the government would import trays, he insisted. The Chief Minister said Dr P.K. Dhumal was making statements in sheer frustration after losing the elections. He said the BJP had left a liability of over Rs 13 crore on account of procurement of fruit made under the market intervention scheme (MIS) last year. Mr Virbhadra Singh revealed that the Centre had rejected the MIS for apples last year on the plea that the market price was higher than the support price. He said he had taken up the matter with Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, and urged him to continue the scheme. |
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Programmes
on cultivation of herbs organised Kulu, August 29 Dr Sandeep Sharma, Jagdish Singh and Pitamber Singh Negi of HFRI told the participants that Himachal Pradesh was rich in wild medicinal plants because of the climatic, topographic and geographic conditions. They lamented that most of the herbs were on the verge of extinct because of the biotic pressure and indiscriminate extraction/harvesting. Farmers, women and youth from
Hallan, Chachogi, Pulag, Rumsu and Naggar villages participated in these training programmes. Dr Sandeep said they demonstrated various improved techniques for the commercial cultivation of picrorhizna kurro (locally known
karu) and valerianajatamansi (locally called mushkbala) at the institute’s medicinal plant nursery at village Jagatsukh near Manali. He said field visits were also undertaken to the Rohtang area to get the trainees acquainted with the high altitude medicinal plants in their natural habitat. Ben Heron, Project coordinator, Ananda Society at the concluding session yesterday thanked the Director,
HFRI, and the visiting scientists for successfully conducting the programmes. |
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Untreated
water supplied to six villages Sundernagar, August 29 The filters in the treatment plant haven’t been functioning properly for the past many years. During rain, the muddy water flows into taps. In such times the Irrigation and Public Health officials stop the supply to these six thickly populated villages and the supply is restored only after a few days. Whenever there is a long spell of rain, the residents either get muddy water or no water is supplied to them for days. The pipes are also broken at many places. The Behli-Mahadev drinking water supply scheme is for more than 10,000 residents of these villages. Last year after the residents had raised a hue any cry about the muddy water, the officials said the filter assemblies and filter bed had been changed. This year it was detected that these filters were still not functioning and the work which was done last year was mere eyewash. |
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Nathpa Jhakri project to employ HP youth
Shimla, August 29 An official note of the SJVN here today said candidates registered with the Himachal Pradesh State Employment Exchanges would now get employment in certain categories, including clerical, technician, driver and class-IV categories. Mr Tarun Kappor, Director (personnel), of the project, said the decision was taken in the company’s meeting held at New Delhi on Wednesday. The SJVN, whose flagship project Nathpa Jhakri Power Project was now ready for commissioning, has also decided to impart training to youth of Rampur tehsil in Shimla district and Nichar tehsil in Kinnaur district. Under this scheme, eligible diploma and ITI holders would be given apprenticeship in the project for one year. The note said during the training period they would be paid a stipend of Rs 2,500 per month
(ITI diploma holders) and engineering diploma holders will get Rs 3,000 per month.
— UNI |
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No screening body to select Chief Secy Shimla, August 29 Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, today said the committee was not required as there were only two candidates for the post and both were excellent officers. Mrs Rajender Bhattacharya, the Chief Secretary, is due to retire on September 30. The next officer in line is Mr Arvind Kaul, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, followed by Mr Shamsher Singh, Chairman of the state electricity board. Mr Virbhadra Singh also said there was no move to privatise power distribution in the state. He said the committee to review the memoranda of understanding (MoU’s) signed by the previous government for the executions of hydel power projects had been given 15 days to submit the report. |
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Gazta is Vidhan Sabha Secy Shimla, August 29 Earlier, Mr
B.M. Nanta, Director, Primary Education, was posted as the Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. However, the order was amended after it was noticed that the rules had been amended and only an IAS officer could hold the post. A government spokesman said the appointment of Mr Nanta was made in consultation with the Speaker. He said such postings were a routine matter. |
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Shimla
to have met centre Shimla, August 29 The centre will be headed by the Meteorologist in charge of the Central Potato Research Institute. |
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