H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Chief Minister announces price of table varieties of apple
Shimla, June 18
Table varieties of apple will be procured under the Market Intervention Scheme at a rate of Rs 4.25 per kg during this season. This was announced by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, after laying the foundation stone of a bus stand at Rampur to be constructed at a cost of Rs 7 crore.

Rohtang tunnel may take years to complete
Prini (Manali), June 18
The 8.8 km long Rohtang tunnel that will link this tourist hub to Lahaul valley permanently has yet start its base camp at Solang nallah, about 24 km from Manali, here as the central government has yet to give its nod to the Border Roads Organisation, which would executive the project.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee receives his 40-year-old photograph presented to him by photographer Rajan Rai, in Kulu on Friday. — PTI

New transport policy soon
Shimla, June 18
Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, has said that the new transport policy, which is likely to be approved by the Cabinet shortly, will put an end to the fleecing of people by effectively regulating the functioning of various transport unions.

Tibetan govt-in-exile to check hacking of documents
Dharamsala, June 18
To guard against frequent hacking of its documents, the Tibetan government-in-exile has decided to make increasing use of other means of communication, like fax, and also to delink its key computer terminals from the Internet.

Work on Kol Dam project in progress
Bilaspur, June 18
Work on the Diversion Tunnel, which is one of the Asia’s largest tunnels, is going on at full swing at the 800-mw NTPC’s Kol Dam Project at Harnora, near here. Two horseshoe-shaped tunnels are being constructed to divert waters of the Sutlej.

Hamirpur girl gets Jeevan Raksha Medal Hamirpur, June 18 Alka Sharma, a plus two science student of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhaneta, in the district has been awarded the Jeevan Raksha Medal for saving the life of her classmate on September 7, 2002. This was stated by the Union Home Secretary in a letter received by her last evening.

Rafting expedition flagged off
Chandigarh, June 18
A white water river rafting expedition in Sutlej, being organised by the Second Battalion of the Mechanised Regiment (1 JAT LI), was flagged off from Puh in Himachal Pradesh by Commander Sugar Sector, Brig S.K. Vijeshwar, today.

Chamera oustees seek release of relief
Chamba, June 18
As many as 192 families ousted by the Chamera hydroelectric project (stage I) in the district have sought the release of their compensation package, as decided upon by the state government in November, 2002, and in view of the verdict given by the Himachal Pradesh High Court recently in their favour.

• Programme to monitor diseases launched

• Applications invited for Haj

Tourists enjoying at the famous Ridge in Shimla on Friday. — PTI

Chief Minister announces price of table
varieties of apple
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 18
Table varieties of apple will be procured under the Market Intervention Scheme at a rate of Rs 4.25 per kg during this season. This was announced by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, after laying the foundation stone of a bus stand at Rampur to be constructed at a cost of Rs 7 crore.

The modern bus stand will have parking space for 100 buses and a provision to accommodate another hundred buses.

He said the government had already taken effective steps to ensure proper arrangements for transporting and marketing of apples and had also cleared the outstanding payments of Rs 19 crore to growers for the fruit procured during the previous BJP regime.

Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, said the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, which was executing the Rampur hydel power project, had agreed to provide funds for the proposed bus stand.

The government planned to construct bus stands at Jawali, Rajgarh, Santokhgarh, Chamba, Bhttakuffer, Theog, Chamunda and Banjar. Besides, offers has been invited for the construction of bus stands on build-operate-transfer basis at Kangra and McLeodganj.

Rohtang tunnel may take years to complete
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Prini (Manali), June 18
The 8.8 km long Rohtang tunnel that will link this tourist hub to Lahaul valley permanently has yet start its base camp at Solang nallah, about 24 km from Manali, here as the central government has yet to give its nod to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which would executive the project.

Even former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, took up the matter with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, when the latter met him here at his Prini residence.

“Atalji told me that the work was going on a snail’s pace”, said Mr Virbhadra Singh, while responding to a query from The Tribune after he met the former PM. “I would take up the matter with the central government to expedite the work on the tunnel ”, he added.

The BRO sources told The Tribune that the paper works on the Rohtang tunnel was complete and the government has to sanction the construction of the tunnel. “The tunnel’s technical feasibility report has been cleared and there is no hitch as such ”.

“The BRO will complete the 14 km long Palchan-Solang approach road by the end of 2005, says the BRO superintendent, Mr KB Raju. “The cutting of the 1 km long approach road from the Lahaul side is nearing completion. The bailey bridge to Sissu from the Lahaul side is being taken up soon”, he added.

The sources revealed that the Rohtang tunnel (also called the Solang-Sissu tunnel) targeted to be completed in five years’ time, may take another decade as the priority in the new government changes.

The multi-crore Rohtang tunnel was expedited during Mr Vajpayee’s tenure, following the Kargil war. “The need was felt to link the valley through the tunnel throughout the year as the 13,500 ft high Rohtang Pass remains closed for six months due to snow, cutting the valley from the rest of the world.

New transport policy soon
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 18
Mr G.S. Bali, Transport Minister, has said that the new transport policy, which is likely to be approved by the Cabinet shortly, will put an end to the fleecing of people by effectively regulating the functioning of various transport unions.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said the policy had already been placed before the Cabinet and it would be taken up at the next meeting. It would take care of all issues concerning the transport sector with stress on regulating the private transport services. The hill state so far did not have metered taxis but a provision would be made in the new policy.

Passenger fare and freight charges would be fixed. If a transporter refused to provide services at the fixed rate, the customer would be free to make alternative arrangements. At present people were at the mercy of truck and taxi operators’ unions.

Referring to the efforts being made to check accidents he said the government had decided to make the renewal of driving licences for all commercial vehicles mandatory after three years. The onus for renewal would be on the person concerned. He would have to undergo a medical checkup and a refresher course in driving for renewal.

Mr Bali revealed that the previous BJP government illegally transferred Rs 70 crore collected by the state road transport corporation under the passenger insurance scheme to the state kitty. In its place the Finance Department made a provision of Rs 2 crore for ex gratia payments. The amount was transferred from the personal ledger account to the government receipts head in violation of the rules.

He said during 2003-04 the overall loss of the corporation had been reduced by Rs 17.33 crore. While steps taken to effect economy and improve efficiency resulted in savings amounting to Rs 6.79 crore, the increase in bus fares yielded an additional income of Rs 21.63 crore.

He made it clear that despite the recent increase in the price of diesel there was no immediate proposal to revise the bus fares. He said the three super luxury bus services introduced by the corporation to connect Delhi with Shimla, Manali and Kangra were a success. Each of them was earning a daily profit of about Rs 15,000. More such buses would be introduced to connect other important towns of the state.

Tibetan govt-in-exile to check hacking of documents
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 18
To guard against frequent hacking of its documents, the Tibetan government-in-exile has decided to make increasing use of other means of communication, like fax, and also to delink its key computer terminals from the Internet.

According to sources, the steps have been taken following instances where some confidential information was hacked from the Tibetan government offices located in McLeodganj. The “stolen” information was then passed on to the Tibetan Support Groups (TGSs) after attaching virus to it, which stuck up their computer set-ups. There are nearly 300 such support groups across various countries, of which nearly 100 are based in India itself.

“Since the information was circulated by masquerading it as an official communication released by the Tibetan government-in-exile, in most cases the support groups were easily deceived into receiving the virus-laced mails as a genuine document,’’ said Masood Butt, press coordinator of the Tibetan government-in-exile. We now prefer to fax confidential information or send it through other means, he added.

Work on Kol Dam project in progress
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, June 18
Work on the Diversion Tunnel, which is one of the Asia’s largest tunnels, is going on at full swing at the 800-mw NTPC’s Kol Dam Project at Harnora, near here. Two horseshoe-shaped tunnels are being constructed to divert waters of the Sutlej.

These tunnels have a length of 900 metre and 934 metre, respectively, and the discharge carrying capacity is 65 cusecs.

The Public Relations Officer of the project said today that work on other major projects like Main Dam, Power Intake, Spillway, Power House and Penstocks had also commenced.

Hamirpur girl gets Jeevan Raksha Medal
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, June 18
Alka Sharma, a plus two science student of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhaneta, in the district has been awarded the Jeevan Raksha Medal for saving the life of her classmate on September 7, 2002. This was stated by the Union Home Secretary in a letter received by her last evening.

Alka’s parents teach at Jansooh School in the district.

Alka and her friend Monika were returning home from school by crossing the Maan khud when the latter slipped and fell into the water. Alka immediately jumped into the khud and saved her friend from drowning.

This incident was highlighted by the local media, following which the district administration recommended her for the bravery award.

Talking to reporters who met her at her school, she said she had not saved the life of her friend to get any award.

Rafting expedition flagged off
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 18
A white water river rafting expedition in Sutlej, being organised by the Second Battalion of the Mechanised Regiment (1 JAT LI), was flagged off from Puh in Himachal Pradesh by Commander Sugar Sector, Brig S.K. Vijeshwar, today.

The 20-member team, led by Capt S.S. Tanwar, will cover a distance of 275 kms from Puh to Tattapani in four days. It will be flagged in by the Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lieut-Gen P.K. Grover on June 21.

The expedition is being organised to inculcate the spirit of adventure and to test human endurance in the face of adverse circumstances. The team members will also study the terrain, flora and fauna as well as culture of the region.

Chamera oustees seek release of relief
Our Correspondent

Chamba, June 18
As many as 192 families ousted by the Chamera hydroelectric project (stage I) in the district have sought the release of their compensation package, as decided upon by the state government in November, 2002, and in view of the verdict given by the Himachal Pradesh High Court recently in their favour.

A deputation of the ousted families yesterday met the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Chamba, Dr Sunil Choudhary, and presented a memorandum to the state government in this regard.

Meanwhile, the ADC said the decision of the state government and the verdict of the High Court regarding compensation for left-out ousted families of the project would be strictly adhered to.

The state-level high-powered Rehabilitation Committee of the state government had decided to provide compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to 192 families ousted by the project (stage I) and Rs 2.5 lakh each to 120 families ousted by the project (stage II). Compensation was paid to all 120 ousted families of the project (stage II) but it could not be released to 192 other families.

Programme to monitor diseases launched
Our Correspondent

Nahan, June 18
The integrated disease surveillance programme has been launched in Simaur district under which Rs 9.5 crore will be spent during the next five years. The aim of the programme is to detect early warning signs of outbreak of diseases and help take preventire measures.

Mr M.L. Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, and chairman of the programme in the district, said laboratory infrastructure would be strengthened to help in diagnosis and investigation of epidemics.

Applications invited for Haj
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 18
The state Haj committee has invited applications from the members of Muslim community in the state for the 2005 Haj pilgrimage.

A spokesman for the government said applications accompanied with a bank draft for Rs 10,550 drawn in favour of the Haj committee should reach the executive officer, state Haj committee, and the Additional Secretary, Home, by July 10, 2004.

The pilgrims should also attach the character certificate from the district police chief concerned.