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Shimla hot at 24.8°C Cases of copying have decreased, claims school board chief HVC to support party forming govt at Centre BJP alleges violation of
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ADC urges officials to utilise funds Scientists cautioned against forced use of
bio-fertilisers As none came to bid for three major liquor sale outlets in the district, the Excise and Taxation Department today postponed the auction of the shops. There were no takers for the Solan, Dharampur and Arki sale outlets as the department had fixed the reserve price at Rs 6.71 crore, Rs 6.39 crore and Rs 5.41 crore, respectively. DC gets Rs 22 lakh for development works The General Manager of the National Thermal Power Corporation for Kol Dam Construction, Mr T.K. Chatterji, today handed over cheque for Rs 22 lakh to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Shubhasheesh Panda, for community development works in presence of Senior Manager of the Rehabilitation Department, Mr Anil Verma, and the Manager, Mr Parteek Tiwari. Dharamsala, March 21 Large crowds of pilgrims have congregated at the famous Bajreshwari Temple, Kangra, Jawalaji Temple at Jawalamukhi and Chamunda Temple at Chamunda as Chaitra navratra started today. Shimla, March 21 Two persons were killed on the spot and five injured when the jeep in which they were travelling rolled down into a khud near Dhochi village in Jubbal tehsil of this district today. Nahan, March 21 CRPF Head Constable Pritam Singh, who attained martyrdom while fighting militants in the Kashmir valley a few days back, was cremated with full honours at his native village Kolar, near here, today. 
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Shimla, March 21 The weather office here, recorded a maximum of 24.8°C on March 19, which was seven to eight degrees well above the normal temperature that the capital hill town witnesses during this time of the year. This has forced locals and tourists to dump their winter clothes and put on summer outfits and instead of sitting in the sun on the historic Ridge Maidan, as has been the normal practice in the month of March, people are eager to find a spot to shield them from the sun’s rays. Temperatures crossed the 20°C here around mid-March and have continued to move up. Minimum temperatures have also registered a sharp increase going up to 13°C yesterday, again a record high in the past 13 years. Though strong winds have been blowing across the capital hill resort, this has not lowered the maximum or minimum temperatures. According to Dr S.P. Bhardwaj, Associate Director, Regional Horticulture Research Centre at Mashobra, near here, the last time that the town recorded a maximum temperature of 20°C plus in March was in 1991 when the maximum recorded was 20.8°C. The maximum temperature recorded today was 24.1°C. Statistic records provided by Dr Bhardwaj suggest the maximum temperatures in this month have normally hovered around 15°C from 1992 to the last year. Records of the past 13 years point out that the average maximum last year was 16.2°C while in 2002 it was 17.9°C. The lowest average maximum temperature recorded in the past 13 years was in 1993 at 11.6°C. The average minimum temperature last March was 5.5°C and in 1993 it touched a low of 1.5°C making it the coldest month of March since 1991. Minimum temperatures in March have normally been around four to seven degrees, but this year has been an exception. Records show even the month of February was hottest in the past 13 years with maximum temperatures touching 19°C as against the previous high of 16.6°C in 1991.The minimum temperature recorded last month averaged 4.3°C as against the previous high of 3.3°C in 1991. Even the rain gods have not been too kind to the month of March recording nil rainfall so far while February recorded only 4 mm of rain. Weather reports suggest that the weather is likely to remain dry for the next week or so. Dr Bhardwaj said temperatures may go up in the next few days. He, however, maintained that there was no threat to the apple crop despite the dry spell.
— UNI |
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Cases of copying have decreased, claims school board chief Hamirpur, March 21 He said that five lakh students were taking part in the annual examinations at 1,403 examinations centres, located at different parts of the state. He said that there was need to check copying. Mr Rahi said that the board had already published books in English for the class one which would be introduced from the coming academic session. He said that all private schools would have to teach the English books prescribed by the board. Private books would not be allowed and defaulters punished. He said that the board had also revised the curriculum for the students of plus one and two classes and from coming session students would have to study as per new syllabus. He said that this step of the board was to compete the students of state to compete in the examinations with those who studied NCERT syllabus earlier. The board chairman came down heavily on the Deputy Director of education (Hamirpur) for appointing flying squad on his own during the ongoing examinations. He said that the persons holding this office always ignored the directions of the board and case had been referred to the Department of Education for action. Mr Rahi announced that the JBT entrance test would be held as per scheduled on April 18. Roll numbers would be despatched next week and for this purpose, the work was going on. |
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HVC to support party forming govt at Centre Solan, March 21 Addressing mediapersons, he said the fact that the official candidate of a national party like the Congress had backed out from contesting in Mandi proved the stronghold of the HVC in the constituency. Asserting the keenness of the party to contest three seats in the state, he said Mr Amar Nath Kaushal, who had secured around 42,000 votes in the last election, would be the party’s choice for the Shimla seat. While the names of Mr K.K. Kaushal and Mr Vijay Joshi were emerging from the Hamirpur seat, the final decision would be taken shortly, he said. He said it was unfortunate that the party which had produced winning candidates like Mr Dani Ram Shandil, Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Mahinder Singh was deserted once their motive had been achieved. This had adversely effected their following and they would stand to gain little in the future, he added. |
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HVC leader joins Cong Sundernagar, March 21 MsVidya Stokes, Energy Minister and president of the HPCC was also present. Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, Mr Rangila Rao, Excise Minister, and Mr Kaul Singh, I and PH Minister, also spoke on the occasion. |
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BJP alleges violation of code of conduct
Shimla, March 21 In a statement issued here today, BJP spokesman Randhir Sharma alleged that the government, headed by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, was indulging in the misuse of official machinery to further the ruling party’s electoral prospects in the state. He claimed all ministers, including the Chief Minister, were still moving about in government vehicles, holding meetings with government officials, and at the same time attending political meetings and conferences. The tour programmes were being issued from the Secretariat, he further alleged. The BJP spokesman reiterated the party’s complaint addressed to the Election Commission and the HP Chief Electoral Officer alleging that on March 4, after the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, during her road show, the Chief Minister and other Congress ministers held a meeting on the premises of office of the SDM Badsar (Hamirpur). No action had so far been taken against officials responsible for the violation and the Chief Minister himself, he added. Mr Sharma alleged that transfers were still being ordered in back date and implemented using the word “deployed” to hoodwink the Election Commission.
— UNI |
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ADC urges officials to utilise funds within time Dharamsala, March 21 He said Rs 15.40 crore had been allocated to various departments under the state plan, Rs 25 lakh under the Central assistance and Rs 98 lakh under various schemes sponsored by the Union Government for this period. He said though the target of spending 75 per cent of funds was fixed up to the third quarter, only 52 per cent money was spent. He named Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, IPH, Public Works, Health, Secondary Education, Forests and Cooperative Departments for having failed to meet the targets. |
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Scientists cautioned against forced use of Dharamsala, March 21 Addressing a two-day workshop, organised by the Agriculture Department on bio-fertilisers and vermi- composting in the university, Dr Tej Partap said such a move would prove counter productive as all areas were not suitable for adopting these techniques. He also advised extension specialists and agriculture officers to ensure that farmers who adopt vermi-composting do not add pesticides and chemical fertilizers to their fields, otherwise the worms would perish. He said use of bio-fertilisers and vermi-composting cannot be seen in isolation and an holistic approach suitable to the needs of local farmers was necessary. Dr Tej Partap said there was need to identify areas suitable for this technology and also such worms should be identified which were ideal according to the local conditions. He regretted that farm scientists were still dependent on strains brought from plains which were not suitable to conditions in hills while no research was being conducted on local worms. He advocated the need to identify local strains and introduce them. In his speech, director of agriculture, Dr J.C. Rana said vermi-composting was a low cost technology and can be adopted even by those farmers who did not own animals. He said the state government had launched a programme to train farmers in the making of vermi-compost and 10,000 farmers were imparted training during the current year. Dr Rana said 20,000 farmers would be trained next year. He said special emphasis was being given to involve women in vermin-composting and 550 women groups have been constituted in the state. |
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Excise auction put off Solan, March 21 To facilitate auction the three units was then clubbed and reserve price of Rs 17.30 crore fixed. This too failed to elicit the desired result and the auction touched Rs 16 crore. The six bidders, including the present licensee Rana and Company as well as one bidder from Punjab made little efforts to bid. Addition Taxation and Excise Commissioner Amit Kashyap postponed the auctions. Meanwhile Nalagarh unit was auctioned at Rs 9.61 crore to Rana and Company fetching 18 per cent more revenue than fixed of Rs 8.53 crore. It was learnt that the same company tried to bid for the remaining units at rates lower than the reserve price to compensate for the higher bid made in Nalagarh unit. Lack of response from the bidders forced the officials to put off the auction. The fate of the remaining three units would now be decided by the Commissioner. Excise and Taxation Commissioner D.K. Gupta, Mr P.D. Pathak, Assistant Commissioner, Mr Sanjay Bharwdaj and other officials, including SDM Lokender Chauhan, Assistant Commissioner Abhishek Jain conducted the proceedings. |
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DC gets Rs 22 lakh for development works Bilaspur, March 21 |
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Pilgrims throng temples Dharamsala, March 21 The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims. Special police and traffic posts have been set up at Jawalamukhi, Kangra and Chamunda. The administration has also banned the carrying of firearms during the fairs. |
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Shimla, March 21 A police report here said the jeep was on its way to Rohru from here. The driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn which resulted in the jeep going off the road. Those killed were identified as Jeeva Ram and Jagdish Thakur. The injured were identified as Lokinder Kumar and his wife Prakasi Devi, who were admitted to a hospital at Rohru, and Munish, Reena Devi and Raj Kumari, who were admitted to a hospital at Jubbal.
— UNI |
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Nahan, March 21 The vehicle, in which he was travelling along with his colleagues, was ambushed by the militants near Srinagar and in the exchange of fire Pritam Singh attained martyrdom. The body of Pritam Singh, wrapped in the National Flag, was taken to the cremation ground in a procession. A guard of honour was presented on the occasion by a contingent of the CRPF. Present on the occasion were senior civil and police officials of Sirmour district and CRPF officials, who laid a wreath each on the body of the martyr before it was consigned to the flames. Pritam Singh was 38 and is survived by his wife and three minor children. He had completed 18 years of service in the CRPF and had come to meet his family last month.
— UNI |
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