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Centre, state lock horns over projects
Dhumal expresses concern over census report
Mid-day meal scheme comes to a halt
Settlement of all Gujjar families by 2005
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More areas to be brought under heritage zone
Villagers sore over cement plant site
No-trust motion against Mandi MC chief
Shopkeepers observe bandh
Three-wheeler operators
protest against permit fee
Lawyers’ strike in Hamirpur
10-year term for rape accused
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Centre, state lock horns over projects
Shimla, September 8 The orders were issued on the directions of Mr Y.N.Apparao, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Nigam, that all but 189 employees on deputation from the Board be sent back to the parent organisation with effect from August 1. There were as many as 1065 employees and officers from the board whose deputation period expired on March 31 last. Out of these over 650 were rendered surplus following the completion of the 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project. The Nigam had been spending about Rs 13 crore, annually, on the salaries of the surplus staff. It had also informed the government that the salaries of the repatriated staff be borne by the Board and it would raise a bill in this regard. The Nigam had been pressing the state government to assign it the projects for execution so that the available manpower could be gainfully utilised. It had also informed the government that it can not retain idle manpower indefinitely and it would have no option but to start repatriation of the staff if new projects were not allotted for execution. In fact, only last month the orders to repatriate 64 workmen were issued. However, these were held in abeyance after the government informed that agreement for the Rampur project had almost been finalised. The action came as a surprise as talks were already on to finalise the agreement for the execution of the Rampur project. The first round of talks was held on September 1 at Delhi but the accord could not be finalised due to serious differences between the state and the Centre over contentious issues like terms and conditions of the employees to be taken from the state electricity board and the award of more projects to the Nigam. Mr R.V.Sahi, the Union Power Secretary, had made it clear that to retain all the 1065 employees of the Board, the state should assign at least half-a-dozen more projects to the Nigam, besides the Rampur project. He also stressed that the employees from the Board would not be taken on deputation and, instead, permanently absorbed in the Nigam. It was decided to hold another meeting on September 17 to work out a mutually acceptable solution so that the agreement could be finalised. There were indications that the meeting might be postponed. The inordinate delay in assigning of the Rampur project, which was hanging fire since 1998, to the Nigam had hardened the attitude of the Union Power Ministry. It was now insisting that besides Rampur other projects like Karcham-Shong Tong, Khab, Thopan Powari and Jhangi Thopan, Luri project be also allotted to it. It was also not willing to concede the state’s demand that the recruitment of Class III and Class II staff be carried from within the state and wants it to be done on an all-India basis. |
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Dhumal expresses concern over census report
Hamirpur, September 8 In a statement issued here today, Mr Dhumal said after the decline in the sex ratio, this new report was highly shocking and was bound to harm the Indian culture. The BJP leader said while a country like China had taken full control over the growing population, it was shocking that at the present rate India would surpass China in two decades. Talking about an increase in the population of Muslims and Christians, he said people used to say that the rise in their population was due to lack of education. However, the latest report says that the literacy percentage of Muslims was almost equal to that of all-India average of 64.8 per cent. He blamed the Congress for the entire mess as it had ruled the nation for more than 47 years since independence. Mr Dhumal said that efforts should be made to tackle this national issue which was bound to have its repercussions in the coming years. He made eight suggestions which included enforcement of two-child norms to all irrespective of caste and religion. He said incentives should be given to those who adopt this norm. He said priority in promotions and jobs should be given to those having only one or two children. |
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Mid-day meal scheme comes to a halt
Solan, September 8 The teachers in the local primary school found it difficult to cater to the strength of around 400 students and continued cooking rice in the absence of funds. While this left the students hungry, the children rued that had they known that no meal would be cooked in the school today they would have at least carried their usual lunch with them. The teachers on the condition of anonymity said there were no ingredients to cook the meal. The Deputy Director Education (Primary) said the teachers had been instructed to bring to her notice the problems they encountered so that they could be worked out. She said the schools had been advised to arrange funds in their respective schools till the actual budget for this scheme was provided. On the complaints of meals being cooked by women belonging to the lower castes she pointed out and the senior officials would be apprised of such problems. With strict instructions from the apex court to implement the mid-day meal scheme, the primary teachers were seen investing their precious school hours in making the necessary preparations. |
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Settlement of all Gujjar families by 2005
Shimla, September 8 This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, while presiding over the 12th meeting of the Gujjar Welfare Board, here today. The identification of suitable land in all districts will be carried by the authorities in a time-bound manner,” he informed. He said on account of the shrinking land holdings and pastures, it had become increasingly difficult for the Gujjars to carry on their traditional profession of rearing milch animals. “Efforts would be made to develop clustered permanent habitations in every district where there is concentration of Gujjars and create all facilities for them,” he said. Mr Virbhadra Singh, said officials had been directed to prepare a master plan for creating facilities like road, education and health so that the long-pending demand of the Gujjar community for their socio-economic development could be met. Emphasising the need for education, he said it had been decided to open more mobile schools for the Gujjars and 13 such schools were already functioning. He said places where the criteria of opening schools was not met, alternative schools was being provided so that Gujjar children could study up to class III and could thereafter be shifted to regular schools. He added that six ashrams and hostels had been opened to facilitate the education of children from the scheduled tribe community. The Chief Minister assured the Gujjar community, that their request of providing them burial grounds would be met by giving them suitable land. He said besides providing free books to tribal students upto class X, they were being provided free education up to the university level and a number of scholarships were being provided to them. |
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More areas to be brought under heritage zone
Shimla, September 8 The field staff of the Town and Country Planning Department is engaged in the process of preparing lists of structures of heritage importance be it old churches constructed during the British rule or the ancient palaces, forts and temples which were made under the rule of the erstwhile rulers of various states. “In fact we have already sent a proposal to the government to declare Naggar town in Kulu district as a Special Area, so that all development activity can be regulated and the heritage character of the place can be retained and preserved,” informed sources in the Town and Country Planning Department. Naggar, has already been declared a heritage village by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. The structures to be included in the heritage list which were constructed by the British includes buildings, both private and government at Kasauli, Dalhousie and Dharamsala. “The other category of structures and memorials which would be included in the heritage list is the forts, palaces, bowris, temples and memorials constructed by ‘rajas’ of various states in Himachal,” said officials. Apart from the palaces in Mandi, Nahan, Rampur, Sujanpur Tira, the old bowris and temples in Mandi, the Litton Memorial, popularly called Delhi Darwaza of Nahan, St Andrew’s Church in Mcleodganj will find place in the list of heritage structures. It is finally the state-level heritage committee, which will decide as to which structures can be included in the heritage list. Representatives from the Language, Art and Culture department, INTACH, Town and Country Planning and other agencies are members of the heritage committee. At present only the area from Chotta Shimla to the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, here has been declared as Heritage Zone. Some structures in Chamba, too have been included in the list of heritage buildings. “Though about 100 structures identified in Shimla are more than a century old but so far only 45 of these have been declared as heritage buildings,” informed Mr H.S. Kaushal, Town Planner, Shimla. To preserve the heritage of these old buildings, only reconstruction, strictly on the old lines is permitted and no major changes are allowed by the Town and Country Planning department. “The only drawback is that in the absence of effective heritage laws, we are unable to make certain decisions mandatory for the owners of these heritage buildings,” said an official. He pointed out that it is for this very reason that the proposal of the Shimla Municipal Corporation to get the roofs of all the buildings in the Heritage Zone, on the Mall Road, painted red could not come through. |
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Villagers sore over cement plant site
Solan, September 8 The villagers of the Mangal area are sore over the fact that while the crusher to extract minerals was located in the Mangal area in Arki tehsil, the cement plant was proposed to be located in the Malokhar area of Bilaspur district. This would, besides depriving the locals of employment opportunities, hold back the much-needed development in the area. The farmers who have surrendered their land for mining are sore that even the transportation business would benefit the Bilaspur truckers if the plant was set up at Malokhar. With no cash crops in the region, the villagers, comprising farmers, in a unanimous resolution have decided to oppose the proposal. The general secretary of the Mangal Vikas Parishad, Mr N.L. Chauhan, said J.P. industries did not even bother to survey the site suggested by the villagers of the Mangal area for setting up the factory and had instead opted for a site in Bilaspur district. The parishad alleged that no credence was paid to the directions of the Chief Minister who had recently directed the industrial house to consider setting up the factory at an appropriate site in the area. With villagers opposing the proposal, J.P industries may have to face serious opposition in setting up the plant in Bilaspur. The villagers are adamant to disallow mining operations from the Mangal area in case the proposal to set up the plant was not reconsidered. The officials of J.P. industries opined that they would compensate the villagers by providing ample employment opportunities to them. |
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No-trust motion against Mandi MC chief
Mandi, September 8 The sources revealed that the group was led by the self-seeking councillors, who toe the party line, which was in power and the move was a hint to MMC’s President, Ms Sushila Sonkhla, a supporter of Mr Sukh Ram and was a member of the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), before it merged with the Congress. Another reason that the insiders cite for this sudden move is that some of councillors could not get the shops in the town and now they are pulling the strings, posing as the ‘true and loyal workers of both Congress and BJP ministers. Interestingly, some of the councillors are meeting both BJP leaders like Mr Maheswar Singh, who was also the Mandi MP and Mr Mohinder Singh Thakur, the BJP MLA from Dharampur and the Congress leaders like the IPH minister, Thakur Kaul Singh, and the former MLA, Mr D.D. Thakur, an opponent of Mr Sukh Ram and his son Mr Anil Sharma, the former Rajya Sabha MP from Mandi. The councillors who have signed the no-confidence resolution under the Section 25 of the Municipal Act, demanding the removal of MMC’s vice-president include Mr Pushap Raj, Mr Balak Ram, Mr Virander Bhat, Ms Indira Devi, Mr Anil Kapur, Mr Abhininder Singh and Shano Sharma. The sources in the MMC revealed that the group was led by Mr Pushap Raj, former MMC president, claiming to be loyal to the pro-Virbhadra Congress ministers from Mandi district. The sources disclosed that some of the councillors who had forwarded the benami applications for shops and other business in the town were believed to lead by the former MMC president, Mr Pushap Raj, a self-styled leader, who has no mass base and allegedly speaks the language of the party in power. The move is aimed at Ms Sonkhla, supporter of Mr Sukh Ram, warning her either to fall in the line with the ‘Congress lobby’ in the MMC, or face removal from the post, which is reserved for a female candidate. The councillors loyal to the pro-Virbhadra Singh group in the town are being tipped for the top posts. Another group considered pro-Mr Hemant Raj and Ms Sonkhla include Mr Gagan Kashyap, Ms Anjana, Mr Hemant Kapur. Some of them are pro-BJP. Ms Sonkhla said she was not aware of the development as it had happened behind the scene and the resolution had to be passed on the floor of the House where the members were present and voting. The move is aimed at forging the Congress-dominated lobby in the MMC. Though the Mr Vaidya is labelled as pro-BJP group led by Mr Roop Singh Thakur, former Sundernagar MLA and Mr Jai Ram Thakur, a BJP MLA from Chachiyot. It was during their heydays that the MMC was constituted on January 20, 2001, and it is the first no-confidence motion moved against the vice-president, revealed the MMC members. |
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Guga Naumi celebrated
Hamirpur, September 8 Thousands of devotees thronged the Guga temple of
Larha, located on the Galore-Nadaun road. Apart from prashad, they also offered rakhis in the temple and sought blessings from Guga to protect them from snakes. People in the state have the faith that snakebites can be cured with the help of Guga water and soil. They receive water and soil from the temple pujari for use in case of a snakebite. Followers of the Guga Jahar Peer, a warrior of Rajasthan, sing songs in his praise, beginning with Raksha Bandhan and continuing till Guga
Naumi. A bhandara was also organised on this occasion. |
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Shopkeepers observe bandh
Palampur, September 8 Police sources said last week a case was registered against two local businessmen on the complaint of two persons of Rajpur village that their brother, who was working with local businessmen, was being harassed by his employers. He was allegedly forced to commit suicide. Briefing newsmen Mr Sanjiv Gandhi, DSP, said the police was investigating the case and FIR was registered against two local businessmen on September 5. He said today an angry mob number over 100 persons reached the town and started raising slogans against local businessmen. This irked the local business community. The Palampur Beopar Mandal gave a call for a complete bandh. All shops including dhabas, tea stalls, fruit venders went on strike. A deputation of the beopar mandal called on the SDM, Ms K.C. Chaman, and sought adequate security. |
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Three-wheeler operators
protest against permit fee
Kulu, September 8 The president of the Three-Wheelers Association said the policies of the present government were anti-poor. He said the government was supposed to generate employment, whereas these type of policies were forcing the self employed youths to become unemployed again. He said the operators would go on indefinite strike if their demands were not accepted. Another representative of the union said they had purchased their vehicles by taking loans and the prevailing permit fee would force them to dispose off their vehicles. They raised slogans against the Transport Minister and the government. Meanwhile, the commuters had to face a lot of difficulty due to the strike. |
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Lawyers’ strike in Hamirpur
Hamirpur, September 8 They also staged a dharna outside the court complex and held a meeting extending full support to the lawyers of Lucknow. The District Bar Association said that if no action was taken to solve the demands of lawyers of Lucknow, the agitation would be intensified. Court work came to a near stand still due to the agitation in all parts of the district. Reports of lawyers strike have also been received from Nadaun, Bhoranj and Mahre. |
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10-year term for rape accused
Solan, September 8 The duo committed the crime when the victim had gone to answer the call of nature near her house. A case under Sections 376, 506 and 34 of the IPC was registered by the Arki police in November, 2003. The judge also announced an additional sentence for a year in case the duo failed to pay the fine. |
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