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BBMB in dock for dumping silt in khud
BJP project on market complex under CM’s consideration
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Mid-day meals draw children to
schools
Govt to construct housing colonies
Poor facilities bane of
orchardists
Swedish trekker cremated
Charges of bias against Kangra baseless, says CM
Price rise, unemployment BJP poll planks against
Cong
‘Abducted’ girl found at home
Court orders cancellation of college
affiliation
Quacks make hay as Health Dept sleeps
BJP misleading people, says
Agnihotri
New apple markets come as relief to
growers
Conference on Vedic values
Govt to review hike in taxi permit fee
HP to organise pulse polio campaign
Case against Cong leaders
adjourned
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BBMB in dock for dumping silt in khud
Sundernagar, September 26 The Beas Sutlej Link project, at present, managed by the board, was commissioned in 1977. Since then, it had been throwing silt in the khud by conducting a dredging operation at the balancing reservoir at Sundernagar. The silt-free water is used in the Dehar powerhouse. The silt flow into the Beas after covering 24 km area of khud passing through the Balh valley. The residents of the valley complain that the fertile land has been destroyed by the silt. When the project was cleared, the Forest Conservation Act had not been enacted and the dumping of silt was not an offence then. In 1980, the Forest Conservation Act came into force. As per the provisions of the Act, no silt/muck could be dumped in the forest area without the permission of the Central Government. However, the board had been throwing silt in the khud which is a forest area without permission from the Centre. The issue was highlighted by The Tribune in one of its issues. After the publication of the report, the Forest Department asked the BBMB to stop throwing silt in the khud. The Conservator, Mandi asked the DFO Mandi, and the DFO, Sundernagar, to demarcate the area where the silt was being thrown and to take action against the board. Officials of the BBMB, however, claim that the provisions of the Act were not applicable to them as the project was cleared before the Act came into being. The Chief Engineer, BBMB, has in a communication to the Conservator of Forests, Mandi, stated that the BBMB was dumping the silt as per the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and if the silt was not thrown in the khud from the reservoir, it would lower the generation of the 990 MW Dehar Powerhouse. He also said the BBMB had restricted the desilting operation in the monsoon as per a report of the expert committee. Yesterday, the Conservator of Forests, Mandi, Mr C.S. Singh, in a letter to the Chief Engineer, said the Forest Conservation Act had overriding effect on all other. acts where the use of forest land for non-forest purposes was concerned. The khud was a forest area as per the interpretation of the Supreme Court orders and dumping of silt here constituted an offence. The Conservator has directed the DFO, Sundernagar, and DFO, Mandi, to take action against the BBMB officials, failing which they shall be liable for action. According to the BBMB officials, the throwing of silt will start next year. They admitted that it was for the first time that dredging would remain suspended for nine month.
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BJP project on market complex under CM’s consideration
Hamirpur, September 26 A project costing about Rs 2.50 crore to have a modern taxi stand-cum-shopping complex here had reportedly been shelved. The foundation stone of this project had been laid by the former Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, during the last BJP regime. The main aim of the project was to provide basic facilities to the taxi owners and to provide shops on cheaper rates to the kiosk owners at present working in front of the main bus-stand here. A sum of Rs 2.50 crore was to be spent on the project. The kiosk owners had paid between Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh each to the district administration for the project. In all, Rs 20 lakh had been collected from the kiosk owners for this project. A society had also been formed for the execution of the project under the Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner during the BJP regime for the execution of the project. Sources in the state government said today that the Chief Minister had directed the Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner not to refund the money to the kiosk owners and as he would review the project. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Devesh Kumar, said that there was no move to shelve the project at present as the state government was examining another proposal for the market complex. He, however, refused to give more details. There were reports that the Chief Minister took this decision not to give the BJP one more chance to prove that the Congress party was anti Hamirpur and it was shelving/transferring all projects in the district on political considerations. Mr Dhumal had earlier described the shelving of the project as a cruel joke to the people of Hamirpur.
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Mid-day meals draw children to
schools
Mandi, September 26 Though schools are attracting more children, teachers rue that there is a shortage of fuel and utensils to cook the meal. In the primary school, New Colony, schoolchildren say that they like the pulao. One or two of them did not raise their hands, saying that they get food from home. “Sometimes we procure utensils from tentwalas and sometimes agandwadi workers bring them from home along with the stove”, Ms Neelam Sharma and Ms Latesh, primary teachers, say. The agandwadi workers, who have been asked to cook meals at schools across the state, complained that they had nothing but rice at the schools and they had been cooking the meals at their own expenses. “We have rice only and we could not cook the meals twice since the scheme was launched in the school,” says Ms Prem Lata, an aganwadi worker in a complaint to the headmaster, Government High School, Tawarfi, Pandoh (Mandi). Not only do the children like the meals, but also their number is increasing in remote pockets of the state as the meals are attracting them to schools. The problems remain that the schools neither get the vegetables nor fresh fruits. The government should direct its Food and Civil Department to supply vegetables to schools along with rice, the teachers suggest. There are also reports from a couple of schools in the rural areas of Sirmaur and Mandi districts, where due to the caste system, parents ask their children neither to share food nor sit with the children of low castes. “We have sorted the problem and local pardhans are cooperating with the teachers”, officials in the office of the Deputy Director (Primary) Education, say. Some parents have written to headmasters, asking them not to serve meals to their children, as they feel these are not cooked in hygienic conditions and the water is not good. “My son will not eat meal at school,” says Mr Vikranjit Singh and his wife in their complaint to the headmaster, Primary School, Balmandi. “My son and daughter will not eat meal at the school as they are getting sick,” complained Mr Mohesh at the same school. The teachers at the Balmandi, school say that they have one aganwadi worker to cook meals for over 150 children and she does not have utensils and fuel to do the job. “It takes more than two hours to serve food to children”, they said, adding that the quality of food was to be affected. The government says that it will procure cooking gas and utensils for the schools. “The government will give a grant of Rs 15,000 for procuring utensils and the schools will get the gas connection soon,” says Mr R.S. Gupta, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mandi. |
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Govt to construct housing colonies
Chamba, September 26 This was stated by Mr Harsh Mahajan, Animal Husbandry and Housing Minister, here while addressing a deputation of the Chamba Welfare Association, which met under the chairmanship of Mr H.C. Sharma this week. He said the construction and renovation of department rest houses and guest houses at Chamba and Sultanpur were in progress. Mr Mahajan said rest house at Chhatradi village would be completed shortly and made available to tourists and pilgrims coming to visit and worship the ancient Shakti Peeth of Chhatradi. The milk-chilling plant at Parel in the outskirts of the town had since been upgraded with the installation of a new automatic machinery where chilling, pasteurisation and packing of milk would be done automatically to meet the requirement of milk in the district, Mr Mahajan said. Mr Mahajan further said the administration had decided to remove the wooden stalls from Chowgan number-one and all stall-holders would be given concrete shops on the main Chowgan road on the other side below panchayat office and courts buildings. Mr Mahajan said the work on widening the road from bus-stand to Circuit House and the Deputy Commissioner’s office was also in progress, which would partially ease the traffic hazard. The deputation of the association apprised Mr Mahajan that almost all stage government offices were functioning in the old but elegant buildings constructed some 150 years ago and lamented that the state government after the Independence had ignored Chamba district. |
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Poor facilities bane of
orchardists
Solan, September 26 The Himachal Pradesh Marketing Corporation (HPMC), which was set up in 1974 with the latest facilities then, has not been upgraded. Despite three terminal marketing centres in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai there is little these cold storage centres offer to orchardists. The HPMC cold storage facilities are available to growers in major fruit-growing areas like Gumma in Kotkhai, Odi in Kumarsein, Jarol Tikka in Kotgarh, Patlikul in Kulu, Rohru, Parwanoo and Jabli in Solan. These centres have little to boast. The machinery installed in the seventies has not only become obsolete, but also insufficient to meet the growing needs. Apples are grown in 9 of its 12 districts and account for an annual income of Rs 15,00-2,000 crore in Himachal. The area under production has increased from 792 hectares in 1950-51 to 2.23 lakh hectares in 2001-2002. Similarly, its production has increased from 1200 metric tonnes in 1950-51 to 4.36 metric tonnes this year. Despite this, little attention has been given to upgrade facilities for postharvesting by the government. Though more than 90 per cent of small and marginal orchardists with an average land-holding of less than 0.6 hectares are involved in the trade, not much has been done to help this section. With little resources, they end up selling the produce to the nearest markets and in the process being exploited by middlemen. The HPMC plant manager at Parwanoo, Mr T.R. Chauhan, while asserting the need to introduce mechanised grading and picking of apples, said these facilities could enhance the revenue manifold. Even the basic requirement of providing refer bands to transport apples from one cold store to another without break in the cold chain is totally amiss in the state. Transportation in normal conditions leads to deterioration in the fruit quality. The practice of pasting stickers on each fruit, an assurance of quality, has also not caught up in the state. |
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Swedish trekker cremated
Shimla, September 26 The body, which had been kept at Indira Gandhi Medical College for the past 10 days, was handed over to Julius Morgan, a senior official of the Swedish Embassy, this morning.. He arrived here from Delhi for the purpose along with three other officials. Mr Morgan said that the decision to cremate the body was taken as per the wishes of the brother and sister of the deceased who wanted her ashes to be sent back to Sweden for past rites. The ashes would be sent to the relatives over the next one week. |
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Charges of bias against Kangra baseless, says CM
Dharamsala, September 26 Addressing a press conference, he sought to dismiss the discrimination charges as baseless and asserted the government was focussing on the overall development of the state as a whole, without being partisan to any particular area or constituency. Considering the difference in the density of population in Kangra, the figures of its per capita income should not be quoted to prove that the government is not concerned about the economic upliftment of the district, he said. “It’s all nonsense and twisting of figures with nefarious designs. Discrimination word is not there in the dictionary of the Congress government. Equal development of all regions, with special emphasis on the backward areas, has been the policy of the government,” he said. On the issue of dropping of three ministers, belonging to the Kangra region, from the Cabinet during its downsizing, he said, “Even I was not happy with their being dropped but it was a constitutional requirement. But it is not the end of the story, reshuffles in the Cabinet is an ongoing process. Moreover, the downsizing is no reflection on the performance of those removed.” “We have tried to give Kangra the political status it deserves. There is a concentration of government offices here, and even the school board and technical boards, have been based in Kangra. Ambitious projects like the Tanda Medical College are coming up. All this proves that we are working for development of this region,” he said. “During my last winter visit to Kangra, I had sanctioned projects worth Rs 100 crores in a matter of 20 days,” he said. The CM alleged that the BJP is in the habit of making these allegations of regionalism when nothing else works for them. “If there has ever been discrimination, it was during the time of the BJP government itself,” he said. Commenting on the Tiranga yatra of Ms Uma Bharti, he said that the campaign had failed to strike a chord with the general public and only the BJP workers had turned up at her rallies during the yatra.
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Price rise, unemployment BJP poll planks against
Cong
Shimla, September 26 Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr Randhir Sharma, spokesperson of the party, said discrimination against Kangra had already become a major issue with even a former Congress minister, Maj Vijay Mankotia, coming out openly against the government and accusing it of meting out a raw deal to the region. The Congress had also betrayed the employees by not fulfilling its promise to merge 50 per cent dearness allowance with the basic pay. The memorandum of understanding signed by the government on fiscal reforms would also spell doom for the employees, he added. The promises made to workers had also not been implemented and instead of regularising those who had completed five years of service, some of the workers who had put in with more than eight years had been retrenched. Law and order in the state was deteriorating with cases of murder, rape, abduction and bank robberies on the rise. This was happening as the leaders of the ruling party were shielding the criminals, Mr Sharma alleged. The Congress had also betrayed the unemployed youth by not creating new employment avenues as promised. DHARAMSALA: With farmers busy harvesting maize and paddy, the key contenders for the Guler byelections have preferred to focus on door to door campaigning in the run up to the polls scheduled for October 13. A Congress candidate, Mr Neeraj Bharti, is pitted against the BJP’s, Mr Harbans Rana in a direct fight. Four other candidates are also in the fray. While Mr Rana is a two-time legislator, in 1977 and 1990, and has also worked as a minister, Mr Bharti is a new entrant into politics. However, he has a political family background, with his father Mr Chander Kumar being an MP from the Kangra-Chamba constituency. Campaigning in the Guler constituency has picked up in the last couple of days with the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, camping there and addressing rallies to garner support for Mr Bharti. Talking to The Tribune today, Mr Bharti, an engineer in computer science, said, “The focus is more on door-to-door campaigning, unless the CM is here and we have to hold a public rally. But personal contact with individual voter to promise them more development in the area has been our way of campaigning Mr Rana said that the non-performance of the Congress government was a major poll plank for the BJP as it had left the people disappointed. “This is one thing that would go against them. The issue of neglect of Kangra, in contrast to upper Himachal region, the rising prices of essential basic commodities, are also going to prove a major disadvantage for the Congress,” he said. The other four candidates in the race include Sq Ldr Laxman Singh (retd) of Himachal Vikas Congress, Brahmi Devi of Bahujan Samaj Party and two Independents, Bhanu Prakash and Subhash Chand. Gulab Singh, a resident of Kotla, said that there had been a practice of voting for the candidate of the ruling party in byelections and this might go against the BJP candidate. “Otherwise, the developmental activities come to a halt and no voter would want this. However, the BJP candidate is certainly more experienced,” he said. The fact that the constituency has 21,245 OBC voters out of a total of 52,561 and Mr Chander Kumar has good hold on this vote-bank, would also go in favour of Mr Bharti, said a local Congress leader. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said he was confident that they would win the elections and this would be another indicator that people of the Kangra region were happy with the functioning of the government. |
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‘Abducted’ girl found at home
Dharamsala, September 26 District police chief S. Zahur Haider Zaidi said here today that Yusuf, father of the girl, had complained to the police that his daughter had been abducted from the train they were travelling in from Pathankot to Jogindernagar. Even though the case was of the railway police, the district police also constituted a team, headed by the DSP, Baijnath, to trace the girl. Interestingly, the girl was found in her own home and the entire case turned out to be false. When questioned, said Mr Zaidi, the father of the girl admitted that he had cooked up a story that he had seen someone tying the hands and feet of the girl to abduct her out of the train, just to ensure that the police tried its best to trace her. He told the police that the girl had got down the train on her own. |
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Court orders cancellation of college
affiliation
Kala Amb, September 26 A Division Bench of the high court comprising Mr Justice Vinod Gupta and Mr Justice Arun Kumar while reacting to the writ petition filed by a second-year student Dilraj Singh observed that the college had violated admission norms laid down by the Bar Council of India by granting admission to Dilraj who has secured merely 44.4 per cent marks in graduation. The court has also directed the Bar Council of India to withdraw its affiliation to the college observing that this precedence would check such malpractices in future admissions. While a minimum percentage of 45 was required for securing admission, the college had clearly bypassed this norm. Dilraj was granted admission by the college in the 2003-2004 batch. He was duly registered with Himachal Pradesh University and was allowed to appear for the first semester examination. But later his result was not approved by the university and neither was he issued a roll number for the second semester. He then filed a writ in the high court against this decision of the university. The court has further directed the college to compensate Dilraj’s academic loss of one year with Rs 50,000, in addition to reimbursement of his first year’s fee amounting to Rs 39,500. While the order had cast a shadow over the future of students, the college administration maintained it was consulting the legal angles in the case. The possibility of challenging the decision in the apex court was being explored, they said. While agreeing that the college had violated admission norms, they felt the students should not be punished, for it. They contended that the admissions were made as per an admission test conducted by Himachal Pradesh University where eligibility was minimum 40 per cent marks in graduation. The same criterion was used to make admissions for this session also, they added. It was reliably learnt that there were seven candidates who were granted admission in the last session despite having less than 45 per cent marks in graduation. The students on the campus were seen anxiously discussing the fallout of this high court decision. A section of students opined that the court order had not specified about the fate of those students who had fulfilled the laid norms. The administration was trying to satisfy the students by maintaining that Himachal Pradesh University was directed to examine the admission process of the college in order to take a further action. It was intriguing that the university had not bothered to examine the percentage of students admitted by the college and had granted registration to even the ineligible candidates who had secured less than 45 per cent marks in graduation. |
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Quacks make hay as Health Dept sleeps
Nurpur, September 26 As many as 100 quacks have set up their ill-equipped clinics in the border areas of this subdivision. Following the pressure mounted by the neighbouring Punjab Government, which had launched a consistent drive against the unauthorised medical treatment vends, a large number of quacks closed their clinics there and moved to this border subdivision. Inquiries reveal that quacks have opened their vends mostly in the rural areas of the subdivision. They are luring the poor and illiterate patients with the false claims of treatment of deadly ailments. The ill-equipped clinics can be seen making roaring business in villages like Ganoh, Raja Ka Talab, Jassur, Sadwn, Suliali, Mehrka, Ladorri and many others. Interestingly, some quacks are displaying signboards showing fake qualification of MD (doctor of medicine) but the authorities concerned have failed to take any action for the reasons best known to them. Meanwhile, the Free Thinkers Club, a social organisation, is up in arms against such quacks mushrooming unabatedly in the area. According to Mr Vipon Mahajan, president of the club, the club has submitted a complaint to the Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, but no action has been taken so far. |
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BJP misleading people, says
Agnihotri
Shimla, September 26 In a statement issued here, he said the Dhumal regime not only signed the MoU on fiscal reforms in 1999 but also agreed to abolish 2,500 posts in different departments. “The present government has not just succeeded in getting several conditions relaxed but has tried to stop unproductive and wasteful expenditure in order to mobilise resources, which will not affect the common man,” he said. “The Congress government has succeeded in getting relaxation on the ban on functional posts, apart from creating 3,833 posts of teacher,” he said. He added that contrary to facts, the BJP was trying to make an issue out of a non-issue, which indicated the frustration of the party. Mr Agnihotri, said the state government had succeeded in creating employment opportunities for around 1.50 lakh persons in the industrial sector. He said sanction had been given to 2,500 industrial units in various parts of the state and it had been made mandatory for them to give at least 80 per cent employment to local people. He regretted that the BJP was now resorting to cheap tactics to mislead people, whereas the fact remained that it was they who signed the MoU on fiscal reforms with the Centre. |
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New apple markets come as relief to
growers
Shimla, September 26 Until recently, almost 85 per cent of the state’s total produce was disposed of at the Azadpur market in Delhi. The growers were exploited as the “arhtiyas” ruled the roost. All sorts of malpractices were committed, but the growers had no alternative. All efforts of the government to promote markets at Parwanoo, Solan and other peripheral areas failed as buyers showed no interest. However, things have started changing over the past two years. Markets at Chandigarh, Solan, Dhalli and even interior areas like Rohru are attracting buyers and a substantial quantity of fruit is being sold at these markets. This year the truckers’ strike also helped as growers were forced to divert Delhi-bound consignments to various markets in Punjab and Haryana. While a large quantity of fruit was disposed at Chandigarh, which is emerging as an alternative to the Delhi market, even smaller markets like Dhalli flourished. About seven lakh boxes of apple were sold at Dhalli as against four lakh last year. The most remarkable development was that a large number of buyers from Lucknow, Varanasi and other parts of Uttar Pradesh descended on Rohru and virtually purchased fruit direct from the orchards. During the peak harvesting season, up to 8,000 boxes of apple were sold daily, which is significant, given the remoteness of the area. The growers were not only saved the trouble of transporting their produce to Delhi, but also got better net returns. What has pleased the growers is the fact that the buyers were all new and they preferred lower grades for selling fruit in new markets in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. As a result, the prices remained stable at a significantly higher level than last year even at the Delhi market despite a bumper crop. In all, 1.81 crore boxes of apple have been exported so far and about 650 trucks carrying over two lakh boxes are moving out of the state everyday. However, even at the fag-end of the season, the prices have been maintained at Rs 410 per box for Royal Delicious, Rs 405 per box for Rich-a-Red and Rs 280 per box for the golden variety which were Rs 90 to 110 per box higher than last year. Officers of the Horticulture Department feel that market crash at the peak season will become a thing of the past once the percentage of fruit sold at the Delhi market come down to under 70 per cent. This could happen over the next couple of years if the new trend continues. |
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Conference on Vedic values
Kangra, September 26 Padmashree recipient Giyan Prakash Chopra, president of the DAV Colleges Managing Committee, was the chief guest of the function. He said Teaching of Vedic values to children was more relevant in the present scenario when corruption was at peak in all spheres of life. He said electricity worth around 40,000 crore was pilfered in the country annually. In Orissa, a scam to the tune of Rs 130 crore was detected in the flood relief distribution. In such a scenario Vedic values held even more relevance, he said. He said casteism, atrocities on women, dowry deaths and female foeticide had shaken the foundation of the nation. He said inculcating Vedic values in children could help in transforming their personalities. The conference was attended by 450 teachers and principals of 52 DAV public schools of the state, besides dignitaries from outside the state. Dr Shashi Prabaa, Vedantic scholar, said Vedic teachings were helping teachers and students to have self-introspection and bring them close to their roots. Swami Sumaidanand of Dyanand Maath, Chamba, and Justice R.N. Mittal also spoke on the occasion. |
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Govt to review hike in taxi permit fee
Dharamsala, September 26 It has also been decided not to shift the office of the Takniki Shiksha Board and one subdivision of the HPPWD out of Dharamsala. The state government has decided to review the hike in permit fee for taxi operators from Rs 750 to Rs 5,000. Taxi operators from all over the state had turned up here today to raise this demand. Former Health Minister and Congress leader Chandresh Kumari welcomed these decisions, which were announced by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. Addressing a press conference here, she said that she had herself taken up the issue of shifting out one of the subdivisions of the PWD from Dharamsala to Palampur. “This move had created a lot of resentment among the people of Kangra. The moving out the Takniki Shiksha Board was also undesirable as the existing infrastructure would have gone waste,” he said. She further demanded that there was a lot of confusion among farmers as the procurement centres for horticulture had still not been announced. She also sought immediate release of natural calamities relief funds for Kangra district so that those affected by drought and floods could be helped. Mr Prem Sood, president of the Taxi Operators Union, welcomed the decision to review the new charges of permit fee. |
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HP to organise pulse polio campaign
Shimla, September 26 He informed that 658 stationary, 13 transit and 15 mobile booths will be set up in the district, in order to ensure that no child below the age of five is left unimmunised. About 2,760 persons from the health and education department, along with volunteers from various NGO’s would man these booths. All transit points like bus stands, railway station and
other public places in the district would be covered. |
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Case against Cong leaders
adjourned
Shimla, September 26 Mr Dhumal’s counsel prayed that an early date be fixed as the matter had already been delayed due to repeated adjournments. |
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