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Atal takes up Rohtang tunnel issue with CM
Mahajan: voice of reason
will not be heard in BJP Encroachments increased during BJP rule: Butail |
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Favourite haunt of Israeli tourists Experts show concern at environmental degradation Northern Railway plans eviction proceedings Unable to marry beloved, youth commits suicide Rain damages re-surfaced road 
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Atal takes up Rohtang tunnel issue with CM Prini, June 15 Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is here on a week-long holiday, took up the matter with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today when the latter met him at his residence here this morning. “Atalji told me that the work was going on at a snail’s pace,” said Mr Virbhadra Singh responding to a query from the The Tribune after he met the former Prime Minister. “I would take up the matter with the Central government to expedite the work”, he added. According to BRO sources, the paper work for the project is complete and the government has only to sanction the construction work. The tunnel’s technical feasibility report has been cleared. “The BRO will complete the 14-km long Palchan-Solang approach road by 2005-end,” said the BRO Superintendent, Mr K.B. Raju. “The cutting for the 1 km approach road from the Lahaul side is nearing completion”, he added. The multi-crore Rohtang tunnel project had received an impetus during Mr Vajpayee’s tenure following the Kargil war. The need was felt to link the valley through the tunnel to have round-the-year connection as the 13,500 ft-high Rohtang pass remains closed for six months due to snow off. |
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Mahajan: voice of reason
will not be heard in BJP Shimla, June 15 Intervening in the debate on the Budget proposals in the state assembly for the year 2004-05 he said that he was surprised by the sudden change in the attitude of the party which went to the polls under the leadership of Mr Vajpayee and never got tired of singing his praises. Worse, a leader like Mr Venkaiah Naidu ,who was a pygmy in politics in comparison to Mr Vajpayee, had the cheek to rebuff the former Prime Minster. He said by speaking the truth Mr Vajpayee had added to his stature. The whole episode had also made it clear that the voice of reason would not be heard in the BJP. He said when Mr Shanta Kumar, former Union Minister, had said that he would have resigned had he been in place of Mr Modi, he was made to apologise by the party. Mr Mahajan alleged that the Dhumal government wanted to destroy Kangra politically and the move to create new districts was part of the plan. The government had no funds but it came out with a plan to create as many as seven new districts. The people of Kangra saw through the political game and punished the BJP by first voting it out of power in the state and now ensuring the defeat of Mr Shanta Kumar. He said the Dhumal government took the people for a ride by implementing the memorandum of understanding on fiscal reforms clandestinely. The Congress government had only completed the unfinished task of the previous regime by signing it. Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, said that the government was committed to fulfilling its promises and it would not allow the paucity of funds to come in the way of development activities. He said the government had already announced austerity measures to cut down unproductive expenditure. The plying of government vehicles had been banned on Monday. It would help save about Rs 3.5 crore annually. Efforts were being made to get the maximum number of schemes and projects sanctioned from the Centre. It had already succeeded in securing a Rs 49.50 crore hydrology project which would enable the state to deal effectively with natural calamities like cloudbursts and flash floods. Mr Mohinder Singh said the BJP, which had only 17 members in the House, managed to secure a lead in 23 assembly constituencies in the recent Lok Sabha poll, which was quite an achievement. It had also sounded the warning bell for some of the ruling party leaders. He said the campaign of the Congress government against corruption was targeted to harm Opposition leaders. The fact was that corruption was rampant under its own rule. Mr Ram Lal Thakur, Industry Minister, said the government had decided not to sanction any more induction furnace-based steel units in the Baddi and Barotiwala areas. Such units would be allowed to come up only in areas like Kangra and Una which were industrially still backward in comparison. |
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Vajpayee relishes trout delicacy Prini, June 15 Chefs of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation are busy dishing out fresh Himalayan delicacy to valley’s VVIP resident, who has made Prini village his home, for summers. According to the sources, Mr Vajpayee met some family friends today and few other guest apart from the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who accompanied by Mr Rajkishan Gaur, the Revenue Minister, airdashed here this morning from Shimla to meet the former Prime Minister. Responding to the media queries, Mr Virbhadra Singh, said Mr Vajpayee is ‘citizen of Himachal and as an MP also he would serve the state as well. Meanwhile, as a part of state’s hospitality, trouts are being procured from the Patlikuhal trout breeding farm run by the State Fisheries Department. “There is no problem of fish this time and trout are a healthy delicacy, informed the sources, attending on the state guest. Last year, Mr Vajpayee could not relish the trout as a disease struck the state-run fishery tanks. “The trout were procured from a private farm from Patlikuhal, but he did not enjoy much”, disclosed a local resident. |
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Encroachments increased during BJP rule: Butail Shimla, June 15 Stating this during the question hour, Mr B.B. Butail, Revenue Minister, informed the House that the number of encroachments shot up from 1.3 lakh to over 1.67 lakh as soon the Dhumal government announced the scheme for regularisation of illegal occupation. Even forestland was encroached upon as an impression was created that all kinds of encroachments would be covered under the scheme. Villagers were not aware of the fact that the forestland could not be regularised as per the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act and the orders of the Supreme Court in this regard. He said the government had set up a high-level committee to examine the entire issue and further action in the matter would be taken on the basis of its recommendations. He also informed the House that directions had been issued to Deputy Commissioners to carry out a fresh survey to identify landless persons. An earlier survey conducted more than two decades ago had identified 21,670 landless and 5,918 houseless persons. Out of these, 358 landless and 25 houseless could not be covered under any scheme for providing land or assistance for building house. Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, informed the House that out of the 7,435 drinking water schemes, 1,811 had been affected due to drought during the current summer. However, only 144 schemes were severely affected with discharge in the water sources declining by more than 75 per cent. Besides, availability of water came down by up to 25 per cent in 641 schemes; between 25 and 50 per cent in 540 schemes; and between 50 and 75 per cent in 429 schemes. The department installed 68 hand pumps in severely-affected areas and deployed 350 tankers to supply water. He said the government had drawn up a plan to make available 70 litre of water per capita per day by augmenting the existing schemes and implementing new ones. Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, informed Mr Atma Ram that the state roadways transport corporation purchased 150 new buses at a cost of Rs 10.18 crore, while the auction and auctioned 136 old buses fetched Rs 1.40 crore. Ms Asha Kumari, Education Minister, informed the House that 445 post of water carriers were vacant in various schools. She said local bodies made the appointment of water carriers and the reservation roaster was followed only at the time when they were prompted and regularised as full-time employees. |
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Favourite haunt of Israeli tourists Manali, June 15 If you take a stroll in the village you will find hordes of low-budget foreigners, mostly Israeli tourists, smoking ‘charas’, surfing internet, lying in varandas, streets, lodges and ‘joints’ which have sprouted everywhere. The villagers rue the impression that ‘Manali is now being known as a place for acquiring charas which comes from outside places like Malana and other remote villages in the valley. “Tourist trade is seasonal here so the owners of hotels and lodges try to earn as much as they can”. The colourful banners and billboards, bakery shops, music parlours, internet cafes and joints have changed the face of the village beyond recognition. The Manali village known as old Manali, about 2 km from the Manali town, is home to over 100 guest houses, where you find low-budget foreigners doing the rounds of the village’s narrow lanes, smoking, surfing the internet, checking in and out in the quieter corners of the village. Though the gram panchayat has made arrangements to dump the waste in the Manali nagar panchayat bins, but most of the rubbish ends up in the Manalsu khud, a tributary of the Beas that flows past the village. “We dump the waste in the bins. But there is no sewerage system and guest houses have their own sewerage tanks”, says a guest house owner. “It is a green, beautiful and quiet place within the mountains”, says Mozad, an Israeli tourist, who spent a week in the village, before leaving for Spiti.”
Maybe, it is a convenient place for some to get charas”. It is true that foreigners, mainly Israelis, come here because they look for cheaper and quiet guest houses, which they don't get in Manali town, says village nambardar Mehar Chand Thakur, who also runs a guest-house. “It may be true in cases, but old Manali is infamous for charas. The villagers also sell milk and other products they grow here as tourism has given boost to the economic activity here”. The villagers said that the places like Vashish and old Manali on the periphery had become popular among the low-budge tourists for getting charas and bhang. “Israeli tourists prefer old Manali where they have easy access to charas and bhang. Other foreigners also come here, but most are Israelis, who share accommodation and stay for a month or so. On an average over 5000 tourists visit old Manali in May-June. |
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Experts show concern at environmental degradation Palampur, June 15 In his concluding remarks, Dr Madhav Mehra who presided over the valedictory function, stated that the issue was not environment or development but environment and development. Our generation has a great challenge. While we owe it to our children to hand them back the earth as we inherited it, we also have a duty to feed the underfed, clothe the under-clad, look after their health, education and well-being, for which development of infrastructure is essential”, he added. The conference felt that environment improvement needed a comprehensive, cohesive and transformational approach involving all stakeholders, government and business sector. The conference came out with a ‘blueprint for action’ called “Palampur Declaration — 2004”. It was recommended that WEF would establish local fora on the model of the Palampur Environment Forum in each district as part of the Partnership in Action for Sustainability (PIAS), which will coordinate with local businesses, government agencies and NGOs for environmental action. The congress was particularly concerned about the environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity in the Dhauladhar range of Himachal Pradesh. The WEF will endeavour to scout for funding for environment protection and development of eco-tourism in Himachal Pradesh. The congress felt that an overriding reason why sustainable development has not captured the imagination of people and business is that there is little action on pricing the natural capital. Claims of saving environment sound hollow, if no economic value is accorded to natural capital. |
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Northern Railway plans eviction proceedings Solan, June 14 Confirming the development, officials in the Railways said the appeal filed by Mr Anil Sood, owner of Himachal Furniture, had been dismissed and the earlier judgment of the Estate Officer had been upheld. The judgment, a copy of which was in possession with The Tribune, revealed that Anil Sood was found to be in illegal occupation of the 450 sqm of land from May 1975, and was also liable to pay damages of Rs 6,47,961 as assessed by the Estate Officer. While asserting that the said land fell under the purview of the Public Premises Eviction Act, the judgment held that the Estate Officer was the rightful authority to take cognizance under the Act, contrary to what was challenged by Mr Anil Sood who was established as an encroacher. The dismissal of the appeal has strengthened the claim of the Northern Railway. |
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Unable to marry beloved, youth commits suicide Mandi, June 15 The body of Jodh Singh was found on the temple premises of Balkameshwar yesterday. A suicide note and tablets of insecticide were lying by his side. A case has been registered and two relatives of the girl. A sobbing Tej Ram, father of the deceased, said his son wanted to marry the girl of a different caste. She had been visited their house from time to time. “My son had gone to the maternal uncle of the girl to seek their permission for the marriage but they refused. He was also harassed, threatened and mentally tortured by some relations of the girl as a result of which he committed suicide,” he alleged. |
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Rain damages re-surfaced road Nurpur, June 15 However, about 200 metres of this was badly damaged with the first heavy premonsoon shower on Monday. Commuters allege that the government’s technical specifications were flouted in the repair of the highway. Residents of the area have demanded an inquiry into the matter. Mr S.P. Sharma, SDO, National Highway, Nurpur Sub-division, when contacted, said the damaged part of the road was being repaired by the contractor concerned today at his own cost. |
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New ration cards from July 1 Shimla, June 15 A spokesperson of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department said all previously issued cards would be treated as cancelled from July 1. Temporary blue ration cards and blue ration cards would be issued for kerosene only. |
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Control room to be set up at Fagu Shimla, June 15 |
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