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Thursday,
October
16, 2003,
Chandigarh, India
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Probe into
construction of stadium Cong to sail on
development plank Encroachments on
forest land to be removed Mann for Tibetan
varsity at Dalhousie ASI takes over
Champavati temple |
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Dev Bhoomi saving
scheme launched Court restrains
Machhan group Review plea filed in
‘sagar katha’ case 2 engineers
suspended MC notice to
beauty contest organisers
Free travel
facility for cancer patients Forgery case
solved after two years
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Probe into construction of stadium Kangra, October 15 Stating this here at a press conference today, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Minister for Sports, Information and Technology and Industries, said there was a violation in the lease deed of the land, besides a life time member of the HP Cricket Association had been favoured to construct the stadium. He said the association had also violated norms and made 25 members from outside the state and charged them Rs 21,000 each as fee and were given voting right. Mr Thakur said the Chief Minister who was patron in chief of the association had been given the voting right which was violative of the norms. He said the association had sponsored one person from Jammu and two from Punjab for training of umpires ignoring local aspirants. He said an indoor stadium would be completed in over a year at Dharamsala, besides a Sport Authority of India hostel for girls would also be improvised. He said Rs 20 lakh had already been released for the construction of the stadium by the state government. He said a stadium costing Rs 35 lakh would be constructed in Una and Kulu. He said from next year only those who had represented sub junior tournaments would represent the state. He said sports at the under 14 and under 18 levels would be a priority of the Government. |
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Cong to sail on development plank Shimla, October 15 Talking to newsmen here, he said as people had become aware that the BJP was exploiting the temple issue merely for political gains. He said the communal policies of the BJP were affecting development of the country, particularly in Gujarat where economy was going from bad to worse. He said as many as 52,000 small-scale industrial units had closed down in Gujarat and the efforts of Mr Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister, to woo the NRI’s had not yielded results. The much publicised invitation to NRIs during Navaratra Utsav had not attracted worthwhile investment proposals. The government had signed some MoUs with existing companies like the Reliance. The government exploited the Godhra incident politically but failed to even keep the promise made to the dependants of victims. The government had announced that the next of kin of the deceased would be paid Rs 2 lakh each, but the amount was not paid. Further, the decisions on power tariff for farmers and increase in fees from schools to the university had made the Modi government more unpopular. |
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Encroachments on forest
land to be removed Kangra, October 15 Stating this here yesterday at a press conference, the Forest Minister, Mr Chander Kumar, said the wrong policy of the previous Dhumal government encouraged the encroachers to grab forest land. He said the encroachments would be removed within this week. He said the forest cover had increased by 1859 sq.km, thus covering 37 per cent of the state. Under the national aforestation programme’ degraded forests and waste land would be considered for the development of mixed, naturally grown forests so that the target of bringing 66 per cent of the state under the forest cover was achieved. Mr Chander Kumar announced that 500 posts of forest guards would be filled, which had fallen vacant due to promotions and retirements. He said for improving educational standards in tribal and remote areas, the state government had decided to appoint 1,200 teachers in these areas and aspirants from other districts would also be considered for the posts. He said those teachers who were posted in these areas during the previous BJP rule but got themselves transferred immediately would be sent back to these areas. Transparency in the appointments in the state was of prime consideration for the state government, he added. He said the BJP was facing a vertical split in the state. In reply to a question regarding the conflict within the Congress, Mr Chander Kumar said no minister should hold programmes in any constituency without informing the MLA of the constituency concerned. Mr Surender Kaku, Chairman, Other Backward Classes Financial Corporation, accompanied him at the press conference. He said the work on the Rs 14 crore sewerage project for this temple town would start soon as Rs 1,10 crore had been earmarked in the Budget for this purpose. He said a tubewell would be drilled in the municipal ground and a ground water drilling unit would be set up in the town. |
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Mann for Tibetan varsity at Dalhousie Dalhousie, October 15 In a statement here last evening during his short stay at
Dalhousie, Mr Mann said that he would take up the issue of a Tibetan University with the Union Government. Mr Mann said that he wanted to bring the
Dalhousie-Chamba Tourism circuit on World Tourist Map along with Amritsar becoming a world’s destination centre and opening the Indo-Pakistan border at Wagah for trade, commerce, pilgrimage and tourism. Mr Mann expressed concern over infected trout fish by a viral disease in Himachal rivers. He said that he would ask the Central Government and the Norwegian Government to send a team of experts to Himachal to save trout fish introduced in 1899 when this area was part of Punjab. Mr Mann regretted that that ‘Mahseer’ stock of the best fish was also being depleted in Himachal. The mahseer fish was the scavenger of our river system and if this species was endangered then Punjab where the waters of these rivers flow would receive polluted waters. Both of these issues of trout and mahseer depleting would be raised in the winter session of Parliament, Mr Mann asserted. Mr Mann announced to turn his five-acre land located at Upper Bakrota in Dalhousie hill town into a ‘botanical garden’ where pine varieties like
pinus, sylvestris, sequoia sempervirens, tax odium visit chum, tsuga Maten Siena, sequoia
dendror, cedrus him bani and pinus mugo pumilio had already been raised. In addition to it, he has a orchard of Dutch walnuts imported from Holland in 1973, Mr Mann added. |
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ASI takes over Champavati temple CHAMBA: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken over the 1,000-year-old temple of Bhagwati Campavati located in Chamba town for the purpose of preservation. With this, the number of ASI-protected monuments in Chamba district has gone up to 13. The other ancient temples of archaeological, historical and sculptural importance taken over by the ASI are Shri Laxmi Narayan group, Shri Hari Rai (Chowgan), Sita Ram (Bangotu), Banshi Gopal (Jansali), Bajreshwari Devi (Ramgarh), Rock Sculpture of Shri Ram, Hanuman (Sarotha), Chamunda Devi (all in Chamba town), Shakti Devi (Chhatradhi) Mani Mahesh, Ganesh, Lakhna Devi and Nar Singh (Bharmour). According to a legend, the town of Chamba was named by its founder Raja Sahil Verma (920 AD) after his daughter, Princess Champavati. It is said that the princess used to visit a small shrine of a sadhu for religious conversation. The suspicious father, Raja Sahil Verma, as the legend goes, followed her one day with a sword in his hand. What he actually found was just an empty shrine, As he entered in, a voice arose from the empty and silent place upbraiding him for his suspicion and informing him that his daughter had been taken away from him as a punishment. Moreover, he was commanded to build a temple in her memory. A finely carved stone sculpture of Goddess Mahish Mardini is enshrined in the temple built in the Shikhra style of architecture. Goddess Champavati is the “KulDevi” (family goddess) of the rulers of erstwhile Chamba state, besides many other families of the town. According to Mr Harish Chandra Sharma, convener of the Chamba Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the trust had been requesting since the eighties the Art and Cultural Department of the state and the Centre for saving this monument from decay and destruction. The Languages, Art an Cultural Department of Himachal Pradesh posted two monument attendants in the temple who could not do much to protect the monument from acts of vandalism and decay. A “peepul” tree has grown over top of the temple. The INTACH Chamba chapter has demanded the necessary renovation and repair of the temple and its vast “mandapam” immediately. |
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Dev Bhoomi saving scheme launched Shimla, October 15 Speaking on the occasion, he said that the department had exceeded the target of Rs 360 crore fixed for the year 2002-03 by attracting an investment of Rs 441.67 crore and would also be continuing with investments in excess to the target of Rs 395.90 crore fixed for current financial year successfully, against which Rs 226 crore had already been deposited up to August this year. He said the money deposited under small saving schemes was utilised for carrying various developmental activities in the state. Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the new scheme was eligible for exemption in income tax to investors and the period of the scheme would be from October 15, 2003 to June 30, 2004. |
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Court restrains
Machhan group Shimla, October 15 The order was passed on a suit filed by Mr Ganga Singh, who was elected president in June 2001 for a two-year term, and other office bearers of the federation. The next hearing of the case has been fixed for October 30, 2003. The Machhan faction had unilaterally conducted election of the federation on June 28 at Kulu on the plea that the term of the existing office bearers had expired and the present team was deliberately avoiding election. Mr Ganga Singh, however, maintained that the federal committee had taken a decision in May that election would be held only after victimisation of the employees' leaders was ended. Subsequently, he announced that elections would be held on November 20, 2003. |
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Review plea filed in
‘sagar katha’ case
Shimla, October 15 The special court had in its earlier order rejected the application of the prosecution (state) for re-investigations into the case. The special court has fixed October 18 as the next hearing of the case for framing charges against the accused, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and former Chief Secretary O.P. Yadav. The allegations in the case pertain to the allotment of khair trees to a private ‘katha’ extraction company of Sirmour district by Mr Virbhadra Singh during his previous tenure as Chief Minister. The case was investigated by the Vigilance Bureau during the period of the previous BJP government and subsequently a chargesheet was filed in the court of the Special Judge (Forests). The review petition in the high court would come up for hearing tomorrow.
— UNI |
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2 engineers suspended Shimla, October 15 While Mr P.C.
Daroch, Executive Engineer, and Mr Jitender Sharma, Assistant Engineer, have been suspended, all other officers associated with the work, including the Junior Engineer concerned, work inspector and supervisor, were being
chargesheeted. A complaint was received from the Chewa gram panchayat regarding poor quality of road construction and on inquiry it was found that the alignment as well gradient were faulty and inferior quality material was used. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who also holds the charge of
PWD, took cognisance of the matter and deputed senior officers to inquire into the complaint. The allegations were prima facie found true. The Engineer-in-Chief has directed the officers concerned to take action against the contractor for the poor quality of work. The Superintending Engineer, Solan, is being directed to prepare a plan for repairing of the road and implement it. The cost of the plan will be recovered from the guilty officers. Further, a post of Chief Engineer (Quality) has been created to monitor works and quality control laboratories have also been strengthened. |
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MC notice to beauty contest organisers Chamba, October 15 The Executive Officer of the municipal council, Mr Kartar Singh Jaswal, has sought reply from the organisers within two days. Meanwhile, Mr Jagdish Handa, general secretary, DCC, said that Chowgan was not meant for ‘commercial use’ and if required prior permission of the council had to be sought. |
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Turkey apples have 8-month shelf life Barog (Solan), October 15 In comparison, even the best of apples produced in Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir have an average shelf life of up to two months and plums about a week. These facts came to light during an informal interaction between local reporters and Ms Ayzin B. Kuden, chairperson of the Temperate Zone Fruit in Tropics and Sub-Tropics (TZFTS) Group of the International Society of Horticulture Sciences, which is currently holding an international workshop on temperate zone fruits here, today. Ms Kuden, who is also a professor in horticulture at the University of Cukuruva, Turkey, had successfully conducted extensive trials in
adapting temperate fruits like apple and peach to tropical and sub-tropical zones. Her efforts had led to the growing of temperate fruits even in the desert areas of Cyprus, a country characterised by scant water
recourses. Referring to her work as the chairperson of the TZFTS Group, she said the group was specially created to
promote cooperation between horticulture scientists of the member countries. |
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Free travel
facility for cancer patients Kangra, October 15 He said the corporation had registered a revenue growth of Rs 8.30 crore. Earlier, he chaired a meeting of regional managers of the HRTC at
Dharamsala. |
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Forgery case solved
after two years Nurpur, October 15 The police had registered the case following the direction of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nurpur. The medical treatment record of the deceased revealed that she was in coma when the bank authority letter was prepared. The police examined the handwriting specimen and it was verified that the authority letter had been prepared by the accused. A chargesheet has been filed against the accused who has got anticipatory bail. The next date for hearing has been fixed for October 21. |
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