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Shimla all decked up for Sonia’s visit
BJP urges Kokje to sack VC
Review site for Cong HQ, says BJP
Himachal doctors panel flay MCI decision
Chirgaon-Majgaon project may be delayed
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Bhuntar airport to be expanded
Separate ad policy for electronic media likely
2 paragliders hurt while landing
Woman seeks probe into son’s death
Couple held for strangulation bid
HPU Executive Council to meet on Nov 18
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Shimla all decked up for Sonia’s visit
Shimla, November 9 Welcome arches and party flags will greet Mrs Gandhi all along the route from Annadale helipad, where she will land, to The Ridge, the venue of the public meeting tomorrow. On the way, she will lay the foundation stone for the Congress Bhavan near the lift, the main purpose of her visit. The entire road from Annadale to Oakover, the official residence of the Chief Minister, where she will have lunch, and up to The Ridge has been repaired and some bad patches have been metalled afresh. The roadside railing has been painted afresh and the entire Ridge area has been given a face-lift. The party has opted for paper flags instead of the usual plastic ones, which have been banned. Mrs Gandhi will be accorded guard of honour on her arrival at the helipad by volunteers of the Congress Seva Dal. She would drive straight to the site of the Congress Bhavan to lay the foundation stone. Besides Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, and Mrs Vidya Stokes, PCC Chief, only about 10 senior leaders would be allowed at the site due to lack of space. She will have some rest at the Oakover before proceeding to The Ridge to address a public meeting. She will have lunch at Oakover and fly back to Delhi from Annadale. She will be accompanied by Mrs Ambika Soni, general secretary of the AICC and in charge of Himachal Pradesh affairs, and Mr Anand Sharma, spokesperson for the party. The rival Congress factions headed by Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mrs Stokes are vying with each other to take credit for the potential success of the rally and impress Mrs Gandhi. Mr Kuldeep Rathore, general secretary of the PCC, said the party and the government were working in close coordination to make the rally a memorable one and there were no differences among the top leaders of the party. The administration has made elaborate arrangements for the visit. Security barriers manned by policemen equipped with metal detectors have come up at various places, while intelligence men in plain clothes are keeping a watch on passersby. The police has set up control rooms on the Tutkandi bypass, Tavi Maur and Dhalli tunnel to regulate traffic. All incoming rally buses would be provided with numbered stickers and drivers will be informed about parking places. |
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BJP urges Kokje to sack VC
Shimla, November 9 In a memorandum to Mr Kokje, BJP leaders said as per Section 3.2 of the university ordinance, admissions to all courses had to be on the basis of merit to be determined by a competitive examination or a qualifying examination in accordance with the rules framed by the executive council. Further, the council on July 8, had approved the recommendations of the academic council that admissions would be carried out on the basis of an entrance test. It had been earlier approved by the Board of Studies. However, the Vice-Chancellor issued a notification on August 16, allowing admissions to the five-year integrated course at the L.R. Institute of Legal Studies, Solan, on the basis of academic merit. He over-ruled the decision of the executive council. Only the Governor in his capacity as the Chancellor had the power to reverse the decisions of the council, they said. The memorandum also drew the attention of Mr Kokje to the failure of the university to make regular appointments to statutory positions like the Registrar, the Controller of Examination, Finance Officer and Planning and Development Officer as directed by him. The fact that Mr Verma had not been complying with even the directions of the Chancellor, reflected his “callous attitude” and he deserved to be sacked, they said.
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Review site for Cong HQ, says BJP
Shimla, November 9 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Randhir Sharma, spokesperson for the party, said the Virbhadra Singh regime had set an unhealthy precedent by allotting land to the ruling party. It was all the more shocking as the Congress had opposed the policy of the BJP government to regularise encroachments by the poor and needy people and even started removing the encroachments. It had morally no right to do so. He said if the decision had been taken under some policy, the government should also allot land to other political parties. He said the local people, as also the tourists, would be put to great inconvenience as traffic would be blocked, as security barriers would be put up on the Circular Road every time a VVIP visited the office. Moreover, the previous BJP regime had earmarked the place for the construction of a marketing board complex to which the existing Sabzi Mandi was to be shifted. He asked the Congress to clarify in what capacity Ms Sonia Gandhi was addressing the rally on the Ridge. |
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Himachal doctors panel flay MCI decision
Kangra, November 9 In a statement here today Dr Ajay Dutta, general secretary of the association, said that all doctors working in Himachal Pradesh were already registered with medical councils of the other states which were a part of the MCI. He said that H.P.Medical Council was also a part of the MCI so there was no need for the doctors, who were already registered here, to get themselves registered afresh with the MCI. He described the decision of MCI as unwanted. He also protested that the doctors already registered would be forced to pay a fresh registration fee when they had already deposited their lifetime registration fee. He said that if MCI was eager for the fresh registration with Medical Council of H.P there should be no registration fee for it. Dr Dutta said that the association had no objection for the registration of the new doctors with MCI with the depositing of registration fee. Dr Dutta demanded that MCI should review its notification. Meanwhile, Dr Chander Deep, a spokesman of the doctors who passed out of the Dr. R.P. Government Medical College Tanda near here, today said that the decision of the MCI to get fresh registration was making the future of the passout doctors of Dr R.P. Government Medical College bleak. |
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Chirgaon-Majgaon project may be delayed
Shimla, November 9 While the government is yet to cancel the agreement with a private company for the execution of the 70 MW Dhamwari Sundah project, execution of the 46 MW Chirgaon-Majgaon project cannot be taken up straight away as it will utilise the tailrace water of the upstream Dhamwari-Sundah and the Andhra projects. Thus, the 110 MW Sawra-Kuddu is the only project on which the new corporation could start work. The Yamuna basin, which has an identified hydropower potential of 485 MW in the state, remained neglected all these years. Over the past four decades only 80 MW of its potential had been harnessed by execution of the Giri, Andhra and Gumma-I projects. The Pabbar River, main tributary of the Yamuna , alone accounts for 375 MW out of which only 20 MW has been exploited so far. A master plan for the hydro development of the Pabbar basin was prepared by the Swede Power, a company of Sweden, more than a decade ago but no effort was made to implement it. Mr R.L. Justa, Convenor of the Himachal Professionals Forum who was involved in the preparation of the detailed project report of the Sawra-Kuddu project, maintains that the belated effort of the government to exploit the hydropower potential of the Yamuna basin will yield the desired result only if the newly set up corporation is provided necessary functional autonomy. “The government must appoint a hydropower expert as its wholetime Managing Director and shift the office of the Chief Engineer to the project area immediately. Further, the engineers and other staff should be taken from the state electricity board on the pattern of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Vikas Nigam and they should be repatriated only on completion of the project,” he said. Mr Justa, who also visited Sweden under the transfer of technology programme of the company, asserts that projects in the Yamuna basin were more economical and free from problems of excessive silt plaguing the projects located in the Sutlej basin. He said the 7 MW Shalvi project should also be assigned to the PVPC as it would help solve the problem of low voltage in the backward Chopal area. He said the detailed project report of the project was ready and it could be taken up simultaneously along with the Sawra-Kuddu project. To avoid cost and time over-runs like the Larji project, a high-level monitoring committee be set up by the government which should include engineers from outside the board. The setting up of new corporation specifically for the execution of projects in the Pabbar basin will usher in an era of economic prosperity in the neglected interior pockets of the Shimla district. |
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Bhuntar airport to be expanded
Kulu, November 9 The study team comprising Prof Nayan Sharma from Water Resources Development Training Centre, Prof Krishen Kumar, Civil Engineering Department and Prof
S.K. Agarwal, Civil Engineering department, IIT, Roorkee, in the report said the extension of the runway at the airport by a length of 1010 meters and a width of 200 meters was feasible. A sum of Rs 100 crore had been sanctioned by the then Prime minister Mr AB Vajpayee for the extension of the airport in 2002 besides Rs 30 crore for other airports in the state. Mr RD
Nazim, Deputy Commissioner confirmed that the IIT Roorkee, had submitted its report approving the extension of the runway. Meanwhile, Senior Aerodrome officer at Kulu-Manali airport said that the work on the apron, taxi trek and parking tarmac was on a war footing. The tenders for the new terminal building, security lounge and fire station had been opened and the work allocated. He said that the land required for the extension of the runway had to be allocated to the AAI by the Himachal Pradesh government. |
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Separate ad policy for electronic media likely
Shimla, November 9 This was stated by Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, while speaking at launching of SITI cable by the Zee TV network. He said that media played a pivotal role in creating a responsive and civilized society. With the fast-changing social scenario and
shrinking geographical barriers, the role of media had become important. Mr Agnihotri urged the electronic and print media people to work in close coordination due to peculiar topography conditions of the state and to ensure wider coverage. He urged the media to give more coverage to the developmental news. He said the rich cultural heritage of the state should also be highlighted. |
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2 paragliders hurt while landing
Billing (Palampur), In another incident, a
paraglider, Fernado, received serious injuries last evening and was referred to RP Medical College. An Indian
paraglider, Gurprit from Punjab, sustained minor injuries and was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Palampur. Eyewitnesses said Fernado failed to land at the spot fixed by the organisers. The glider dragged him to some distance, resulting in injuries to his arms, leg and head. A medical team present at Bir rushed to the spot and provided him medical aid. Later, an ambulance took him to hospital. An English
paraglider, Mirdia, was also injured while landing near Bir. Her glider got caught in a tree at the landing point. A spokesman for the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department said various teams of doctors, along with ambulances, were available at landing points. Besides, helicopters were available to deal with any emergency, he added. |
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Woman seeks probe into son’s death
Nurpur, November 9 In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister Mr Virbhadra Singh, yesterday, copies of which were distributed among mediapersons, the victim’s mother suspected that he was murdered as he had been missing from the house since September 10. In her plea to the CM, the mother rejected the investigations of the police which had projected it a case of suicide. She stated that his son was taken by Tarsem Paul and Munna of Baduee village on the pretext of getting him married. She suspected a foul play in her son’s death. About a week of her son’s missing, she received a telephonic message from Jawali police that a body was found hanging on a tree, likely to be her son because her name and address had been found inscribed over a big stone lying near the body. Urging a high-level probe, the widow lamented that she had been denied justice by not holding an inquiry by the local police into the death of her son. |
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Couple held for strangulation bid
Kulu, November 9 The accused, Balbinder, son of Santokh of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, allegedly then tied a nylon rope around Sonu’s neck and asked the accompanying girl to hit him with a brick. Sonu, somehow manage to free himself and jumped down. The couple drove away the vehicle. But they lost the way and were nabbed by the villagers later at Para. The SP further said that a case of abduction had already been registered at Fatehgarh Sahib by the parents of the accompanying girl Lavpreet Kaur (16), daughter of Manjeet Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib. The initial inquiries revealed that the minor girl seemed to be a victim and her statement before the judicial magistrate would be recorded tomorrow. A case under 392 IPC has been registered.
— OC |
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HPU Executive Council to meet on Nov 18
Shimla, November 9 Dr Verma has denied all allegations regarding the grant of favour to a private law college and apprised Mr Kokje about the special meeting being convened by him.
— TNS |
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