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Militants’ movement noticed, security stepped up Bill to limit government loans likely Proposed cement plant to hit Chamba ecology Rs 300-cr plan for drinking water Renuka Dam project to be finalised soon |
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CM should consult Oppn on economy measures Minister promises water to 7800 more villages Himachal Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Thakur Kaul Singh, has announced that 7800 more villages will be provided potable water in the current financial year by spending over Rs 600 crore. Student leader Munish Thakur arrested The local police arrested Munish Thakur, former president of the Students Central Association last evening. The measure was termed as a preventive arrest after the university feared unrest in the university with Dr K.K. Jindal Committee’s report getting notified tomorrow. Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Trivedi, confirming the arrest said since his entry had been banned on the campus the police had to arrest him to ensure peace in the campus. Hamirpur, May 30 The issue of reinstatement of Bikram Singh, a former employee of the Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust, Deotsidh, dealing with the goat distribution work of the temple, has come to the fore again. Irregularities in Public Health Dept alleged The Himachal Pradesh Government and semigovernment Drivers, Cleaners Federation, Kangra district unit has alleged misappropriation of government funds by the Irrigation cum Public Health (IPH) Department officials. POTA in interest of
country: BJP A BJP leader, Mr Ganesh Dutt, today criticised the proposed move by the Manmohan Singh government to scrap POTA, which he said was in the interest of the nation. Rs 50,000 recovered from job racketeer The local police, which had nabbed an alleged job racketeer, Kasturi Lal, at his native Chakmalal village a few days ago, has recovered Rs 50,000 from him which he had taken from Gurdai Devi of Dadoh village, near here. Housing allowance for poor raised The Himachal Pradesh government has increased the house construction expenditure allowance from Rs 22,000 to Rs 27,000 to be given to people living below poverty line in the state. Mandi, May 30 Three persons were killed and 18 injured, three of them seriously, in different accidents in the district on Friday. Cause of monkeys’ death being probed Three-day summer festival begins The three-day Kangra Valley Summer Festival began here last evening. Chander Kumar quits as minister Motor cycle expedition flagged off Aman Verma’s show today Bakhsheesh Kaur
appointed
tribunal chief
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Militants’ movement noticed, security stepped up Shimla, May 30 It was a week back that the Himachal Pradesh Armed Police (HPAP) patrol party noticed movement in the J and K Territory , close to the Padri Gulli and Sappa Cholu area of Kehar sector. It is learnt that on noticing the patrol party these eight persons fled. “The information about movement close to the border was reported to the higher-ups but since the patrol party was not carrying binoculars they could not have a close look to see if they were carrying arms,” informed intelligence agencies. In fact, Superintendent of Police, Chamba has been asked to inquire into the matter and fix responsibility as to why the patrol party was not carrying binoculars. In the first week of May similar movement on the J and K side had been noticed close to the Baju Ka Bag and Padri Gulli area in Kehar, leading to beefing up of security on the border. The Additional Director General of Police, Armed Police and Training, Mr D.S. Minhas, who is also looking after Operations, said the patrol party did notice movement but it was in Doda area and not Himachal side. He said vigil was being maintained along the border and the forces had been equipped with standard equipment required for manning the border. Militant movement and detection of their hideouts in J and K area, close to the Kehar sector in Chamba has always been a cause of worry for the Himachal police and intelligence agencies who are keeping a vigil along the border that the state shares with the insurgency hit state of J and K. With the melting of snow the nine police posts which shift down during the harsh winter months have moved back to their summer location. Six companies of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and five of the Himachal Police are keeping a vigil in the Kehar, Tissa and Khairi Sectors of Chamba. In the past there have been several instances when militants’ movement was noticed in the Doda area close to Padri Gulli and Baju Ka Bag area in Kehar and on one occasion the army raided a militant hideout in Doda area which was very close to the Chamba border. In fact in August 1998, terrorists killed three shepherds in the Sappa Cholu area in Chamba and the police had found a big cache of arms and ammunition hidden close to this point. |
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Bill to limit government loans likely Shimla, May 30 Sources revealed that the fiscal responsibility Bill to limit the government loans and the amount of guarantees it could provide for loans to be raised by the public sector undertakings was likely to be introduced during the Budget session commencing from June 7. A legislation providing for criminal action against officers making recruitments in violation of the ban would also be enacted during the session. These two important measures are part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which the state proposes to sign with the Centre to carry out reforms in a time-bound manner. The state had been left with no option as signing of the MoU was a pre-condition for the release of the withheld revenue deficit grant amounting to over Rs 460 crore. Not only that the Centre also made it clear that it will not approve any externally aided-project for states which failed to carry out reforms. However, the government while agreeing to downsize the administrative set up urged the Centre to allow it to functional posts in health, education and some other departments. It maintains that regularisation of ad hoc employees will have to be carried out in accordance with the court order but agreed not to engage any fresh ad hoc workers. As per conditions of the MoU, even recruitment on compassionate grounds could not be carried out but the government has sought relaxation in this regard and instead agreed to cap such appointments at a reasonable level. The government has also accepted the condition that it will not provide any financial support to public sector undertakings and the grant-in -aid to various institutions will be either scaled down or frozen at the existing level. The government needs funds to meet its immediate commitments. The merger of 50 per cent dearness allowance into the basic salary will put an additional burden of Rs 119 crore per annum. This is besides Rs 45 crore, which will be required by the public sector undertakings to fulfil the commitment. Further, the instalment of 2 per cent additional dearness allowance to employees will entail an annual burden of Rs 35 crore, while the revision of daily wage from Rs 65 to Rs 70 will cost Rs 13 crore annually. With repayments of more loans becoming due, the state will require Rs 2,778 crore, including interest liability of Rs 1,875 crore, for debt servicing. The financial position has been grim with the state’s total income, including Central grants and share in taxes, is about Rs 3,900 crore, whereas the expenditure is about Rs 7,200 crore. It has not been able to bridge the revenue gap even after raising loans to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore as a result of which the revenue deficit and the fiscal deficit have been increasing. |
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Proposed cement plant to hit Chamba ecology CHAMBA: The proposed cement plant and mining in the otherwise fragile slopes of the alpine Chamba region in Himachal Pradesh is going to eat into the magnificent old charm of Chamba-Nestled in the northern aspect of the Dhauladhars, the Chamba valley in fact is replete with perennial wealth of tourism potential. Local environmentalists, while taking strong exception to the proposed cement plant to be set up in Chamba district, a depository of ancient cultural heritage, beautiful landscapes and traditional lifestyle, have invited the attention of government towards the threat being faced by this scenic region from the reckless quarrying, clearing of forests, unruly and unwarranted construction, drainage systems, etc. A large segment of the population live in villages and lead comfortable and contented life, but there are apprehensions that the very fabric of their life would be disturbed by the proposed cement plant. Already irreparable damage has been caused by over-exploitation of state quarries by unscrupulous agencies whose aim had been to mint money by plundering the beauty of the hills. Sand and gravel are being lifted from the riverbed in huge quantities. The proposed cement plant would bring misfortune for the local populace and would hit ecology of the area. The benefits from the project would not be proportionate to the hardships. The cement factory is proposed at Kalhel below the fabled Sikridhar in the remote north-western corner of Chamba. The local people have many a time apprised the Central and the state governments of the aftermaths of this plant. The location of the proposed project is adjacent to the district Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, which is a disturbed area. The whole area where the cement factory is going to be located may remain under constant threat of militancy. Colossal quarrying of raw material will have a direct impact in degrading the ecology and lives of people and as our past experience goes, locals may not be benefited from this project by way of getting jobs and other advantages. The proposed site of the factory lies in the catchment area of rivers on which the two major hydroelectric projects are located. There are suggestions that thinking should be evolved to replace these cement plants by village-level micro-hydroelectric projects, which will benefit the local economy and give them employment. Besides, there will not be hostile to the environment. Environmentalists of this region have advised that the departments and agencies engaged in raising and conserving the forestry should revert to mixed forestry which is congenial for country life and would yield them fruit, fodder, firewood, manure and medicines. The assistance of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) should be taken to undertake an extensive research in such smaller fields as scented oils from local resources and medicinal herbs. |
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Rs 300-cr plan for drinking water Shimla, May 30 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, after dedicating to people two ambulances donated by the Sanatan Dharam Sabha here at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital here today. He said under the plan water would be lifted from river Sutlej, Pabbar and its nearby sources and brought to the town by gravity scheme. He said investigations were on to prepare a report. He said the scheme would suffice at least for next 25 years. In addition a Rs 48 crore augmentation scheme to lift water from river Giri for which funds would be provided by the HUDCO was also being implemented. Expressing concern over environmental degradation caused by polythene bags, he appealed to the traders and non-government organisations to come forward and discourage the use of carry bags made of such non-biodegradable material. He said on its part the government had already banned the use of recycled, coloured and plastic bags of specific sizes to check pollution. He said the government was committed to restore the glory of the “queen of hills” and it would enforce the building laws and ensure that unauthorised structures did not come up. He said water harvesting structures would be compulsory for all and building plans would not be approved without it. He lauded the effort of the Sabha in maintaining the Sanjauli crematorium and said that it should be further beautified and the possibility of providing an alternative approach road to it explored. Mr Harbhajan Singh, the MLA, underlined the need to construct more parking lots and developing new suburban localities to ease pressure on the town. Mr Kulbhshan Sood, president of the Sabha, urged the Chief Minister to provide fire wood for the crematorium at subsidised rates. |
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Renuka Dam project to be finalised soon Nahan, May 30 Addressing a meeting the Chief Minister lambasted the BJP government for putting financial burden on the state by taking loan of Rs 15000 crore. On these loans state was paying interest of Rs 1800 crore. He referred development projects started by the Congress government in the state in past one and half year and have provided jobs to over 18000 youths. He said that in coming months over one lakh persons would get employment in industrial sector with an investment of Rs 4200 crore. He made it clear that legal action would be initiated against those industrialists refusing jobs to Himachalis. He announced that every eligible person would get social security pension. He said Renuka Dam project would get through within two-three days as he was visiting Delhi. He announced that efforts at the government level would be initiated to get Scheduled Tribe status for the residents of Trans-Giri area of the Sirmaur district. He criticised the NDA for spending over Rs 1000 crore on ‘India Shining Campaign’, which was rejected by the people of India. On this occasion Mr Vijay Singh Mankotia, Minister for Tourism, Dr Prem Singh and Harsh Verdhan Chauhan, MLA’s and Zila Parishad Chairman, Rajender Singh Thakur addressed people. |
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CM should consult Oppn on economy measures Shimla, May 30 Mr Nadda asked who would be entrusted the responsibility of implementing the ban. “When there is already a monthly limit on the quota of petrol/diesel of government vehicles, which restricts their excessive plying, what more is the government expecting,” he quipped. Mr Nadda said if the Chief Minister was so serious in enforcing economy measures, he should surrender the helicopter hired by the government and district officers. He also said the ministers should use only one vehicle instead of two and the state adopt a five-day week like the Central Government to reduce other office expenses. |
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Minister promises water to 7800 more villages Mandi, May 30 Speaking at the closing function of the seven-day Kutha fair in the remote Janjehli valley, 90 km from here on Friday, the minister stressed that conservation of water sources was essential for water in springs and streams. He said a medium irrigation scheme costing Rs 22.50 lakh had been sanctioned for Janjehli and surrounding areas. A provision of Rs 18 lakh had been made in the budget for the year. Work on it had been taken up. Referring to the rural development he said the priority was being accorded to link the left-over villages with roads for which a Rs 400-crore plan had been drawn up. He said the government had decided to harness the tourism potential of Janjehli valley which would generate employment for local people. He said henceforth inaccessible to tourists, Shikari Devi temple, at 1100 feet above sea level, would be linked with road and potable water provided there. He said the government crack down against corruption would continue and those who sold jobs would be brought to book. |
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Student leader Munish Thakur arrested Solan, May 30 Munish was produced in a court today and was remanded in two-days judicial custody. The district administration held a meeting with the SCA today to defuse the situation. The police was deployed in strength on the campus and also in the town after Munish was arrested and lodged in the local sub-Jail here. A delegation of the SCA which had gone to meet him was refused permission on the plea of being a Sunday. The district unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) while coming out the support of the SCA convened a meeting and alleged that the district administration was trying to suppress the voice of the students who were fighting for a just cause. They alleged that Munish Thakur who is also the secretary of the state unit of Youth Congress tried to intimate AICC president Ms Sonia Gandhi about his arrest through the PCC chief Ms Vidya Stokes but the district administration aborted the attempt. The NSUI alleged that the Vice-Chancellor who was appointed during the regime of the previous BJP government was adopting vindictive attitude towards student leaders following the Congress ideology.
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Temple employee reinstated Hamirpur, May 30 Bikram Singh was dismissed from service after he was reportedly caught bungling with the temple goat income worth Rs 96,000. An inquiry was conducted by the then ADM Nirmal Singh Suman, and Bikram Singh was first placed under suspension and later dismissed from service. However, when the Congress government came to power, the issue was reopened and Naib Tehsildar, Barsar, was appointed the inquiry officer, who gave verdict in favour of Bikram Singh and he was reinstated. There are reports that the temple trust has started preparing salary bills amounting to Rs 7 lakh in respect of Bikram Singh. When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar said the state government had declared the inquiry report of the ADM, Hamirpur, as null and void as per the application of Bikram Singh submitted to the new state government which in turn, quashed the previous inquiry. He, however, said the state government once again ordered the chairman of the temple trust to hold a fresh inquiry into the matter. The temple officer appointed Naib Tehsildar, Barsar, as the inquiry officer who, in turn, submitted his report to the chairman of the temple and accordingly Bikram Singh was reinstated. Chairman of the temple B.S.Dehal also justified the inquiry by the Naib Tehsildar. He, however, failed to tell why a junior person was appointed to hold the inquiry. Baldev Sharma, BJP MLA, Nadaunta, denounced the action of the state government and demanded a high-level enquiry into the matter. |
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Irregularities in Public Health Dept alleged Nurpur, May 30 Mr Kuljeet Rana, president of federation yesterday alleged corruption in the IPH Department offices and demanded independent probe into office’s functioning. He alleged that Rs one crore was embezzled in the department in March this year in inviting tenders. There is a nexus between officials and contractors of the IPH Department, he added. Mr Rana alleged that department officials had been flouting rules while regularising services of daily-wage employees in the office. He said one woman employee had been regularised and appointed to class III post. He also criticised department officials for delaying regularisation of the service of daily wage earners in Fatehpur and Kotla division of the IPH. He said the federation would meet Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for an impartial probe into the alleged irregularities and funds misappropriation in the IPH Department offices. Mr Satish Vatas, Superintending Engineer, IPH Circle Nurpur denied all allegations of the employees leader. He alleged that the federation president himself had been facing inquiries. |
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POTA in interest of
country: BJP Shimla, May 30 In a statement issued here today, Mr Dutt
said that the BJP was opposed to scrapping POTA as it would encourage
militant groups and others involved in anti-national activities. “The
only reason we see behind this decision to is with an eye on the
Assembly election in Maharashtra and to appease Laloo Prasad Yadav and
the Communist parties,” he said. Mr Dutt, said till date POTA had been used only to curb terrorist, It was for this very reason that even the Supreme Court had observed that POTA was in the interest of the nation, he said. He
demanded that the Central Government must reconsider the move to end
POTA as this would be a setback to the initiatives made by the
Vajpayee regime to curb terrorism. |
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Rs 50,000 recovered from job racketeer Nurpur, May 30 The police had registered a forgery case against the accused on June 23, 2003 for allegedly duping Gurdai Devi by taking Rs 50,000 from her with a promise of a job in the CRPF for her son Parshotam Lal (22). According to Mr Suresh Thakur, DSP, the accused had taken Parshotam Lal to Pinjore. Parshotam died in a road accident near Nangal in Punjab. Since then the accused was missing. Mr Thakur informed that the police, which had taken a five-day remand of Kasturi Lal, produced him in the local court yesterday and took remand for one more day. During interrogation the accused confessed to having cheated a number of jobless youths with promises of jobs at Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Terrace but no complaint had been lodged by the victims in this connection, he added. |
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Housing allowance for poor raised Bilaspur, May 30 Informing this while addressing representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions here today, Industries Minister Ram Lal Thakur said this step would enable poor section of the society to have better shelter. He said under this programme as many as 140 houses would be constructed at Kotkelhoor at a cost of Rs 14 lakh. He said under “Sampooran Gramin Rojgar Yojna” each panchayat would be allotted Rs 26,000 to launch community development scheme generating employment in rural areas of the state. The minister reiterated that the government was committed to tackle the current water crisis in the state supplying drinking water through tankers and tractors to scarcity-hit areas of the district and elsewhere. He said, if needed, new hand pumps would also be installed.
— UNI |
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Three die, 18 hurt in mishaps Mandi, May 30 Two persons were killed and another was injured seriously when a tractor fell into Suketi khud on Friday night. The injured was admitted to the local Regional Hospital. Those killed, have been identified as Mr Dhangu, (28) of Nerchowk village and Mr Netar Singh (35), of Syanji village. The injured Mr Inder Singh is also of Syanji village. In another accident Mr Bipan of Ranital village, district Kangra, was killed, when his scooter fell into a gorge 4 km from Jogindernagar. He was going towards Mandi. His body was spotted in the morning. Sixteen persons were injured, three of them seriously when a bus and truck collided near Sundernagar at Harabagh on Friday. Two seriously injured persons were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, while one was admitted to local Zonal Hospital. A woman was injured seriously when she was boarding a bus at Ner Chowk bus-stand. She had been admitted to the Zonal Hospital where her condition is stated to be critical. |
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Cause of monkeys’ death being probed Shimla, May 30 The Commissioner of the corporation, Mr Mohan Chauhan, said the two teams, comprising six members and three members, respectively, visited Shimla on Friday and took samples from one of the dead monkeys. The teams also took three monkeys, suspected to be suffering from some disease for examination. The detailed investigation reports were expected to be available within in a week. He said the team members included physicians, pathologists, micro biologist, toxicologist and neurologist.
— PTI |
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Three-day summer festival begins Dharamsala, May 30 Playback singer Vandana Vajpayee started the festival by paying tributes to the martyrs of the Kargil war with “Ae mere vatan ke logo”. Artistes presented local folk songs. Rafiq Mohammed played shehnai. Phula Chandel left the audience spellbound by dancing with as many as eight pots balanced on her head. Health Minister Chandresh Kumari and Transport Minister G.S. Bali were the chief guests at the festival. On the second day of the festival, 80 children participated in a baby show organised by the District Red Cross Society. The winners were awarded prizes. |
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Chander Kumar quits as minister Shimla, May 30 The Chief Minister, Mr V.B. Singh, is sending resignation to the Governor for acceptance. The Chief Minister is likely to retain the portfolio of Forest with him for the time being, according to official sources.
— PTI |
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Motor cycle expedition flagged off Solan, May 30 Covering 900 kilometres the journey covers hilly terrain. |
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Aman Verma’s show today Shimla, May 30 The game show is part of his campaign for raising funds for the literacy India, a non-government organisation working for underprivileged children. It is open to students, parents and guests from any school in Shimla. The five-round show will be interspersed with performances by students of various schools. It will provide an opportunity to the local people to participate in a live game show and win prizes worth thousands of rupees. |
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Bakhsheesh Kaur
appointed
tribunal chief
Shimla, May 30 Justice Bakhsheesh Kaur would take over as chairman of the tribunal at a simple function to be held in the premises of the tribunal tomorrow. According to the sources the name of Justice Bakhsheesh Kaur was recommended by a committee and the state government had approved her name and sent it to the Government of India. Her name was also approved by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. — PTI |
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Move on vehicles hailed Dharamsala, May 30 |
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2 held for rape Dharamsala, May 30 |
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