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Mankotia not keen for ministry
Govt politicising education, says BJP
Release DA, pensioners ask Chief Minister
Ex-servicemen demand separate pay commission
Shah Nehar project faces fund crunch, way behind schedule
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Power subsidy issue goes unresolved
HPTDC staff seek CM’s intervention
Nagar kirtan, langar mark Gurpurb celebrations
Renuka Fair concludes
Hail lashes Shimla
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Mankotia not keen for ministry
Hamirpur, November 26 He said he would leave the active politics provided other senior party leaders were also ready to follow him and the party would give tickets to only deserving and honest persons. Talking to mediapersons here, he said he would work for the well-being of the people of Kangra district, who had reposed faith in him five times. Major Mankotia said there was nothing wrong in commenting regarding the problems and difficulties of the people of the area and such things never fell within the preview of party indiscipline. He said he had never disobeyed the party and its leaders and as such, he had created any dissidence in the party. The Congress leader was of the view that while naming the new Himachal Pradesh Congress chief, there must be balance between old and new areas of the state. He said when the post of Chief Minister was with be upper area, the post of state Congress chief was bound to be with the lower hill areas of the state. He, however, clarified that he was not in a race for the post. |
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Govt politicising education, says BJP
Shimla, November 26 Addressing a prèss conference here today, he said due to the failure of the government in taking a final decision on granting permanent affiliation to individuals keen to start industrial training institutes, future of thousands of students was at stake. “Over 36,000 students had applied for getting admission to the ITIs but the government is yet to finalise the list out of the 142 persons who have been given the letters of intent for starting private ITIs” he said. Mr Sharma said Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) wasted no time in allowing a private trust, owned by a Haryana-based businessman to start a Law College at Solan but when it came to the future of students and the 142 persons belonging to the state there was inordinate delay. He added that these 142 persons had spent about Rs 12 lakh each on raising infrastructure as they were told that they could start training in three courses. “The interference of the government in the Education Department has vitiated the academic atmosphere in the educational institutes and owing to the pick-and-choose policy in appointing teachers, the students were suffering,” he alleged. He added that the entrance examinations to the JBT course was cancelled twice and the matter was now pending in court. |
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Release DA, pensioners ask Chief Minister
Chamba, November 26 In a joint statement issued here today, Mr P.C. Oberoy, president and Mr C.S. Bijalwan, general secretary of the district unit of the Sangh said senior citizens and pensioners were the most affected as they only depend on pension and hike in prices of essential commodities had direct effect on them. They criticised the Himachal government for not releasing dearness allowance (DA), which had been promised by the government to the pensioners on the pattern of Punjab. They said the Centre as well as the Punjab government had already granted 4 per cent dearness allowance from July, 2003, to its employees and retirees but the Himachal government was not fulfilling its commitment. They urged the government to follow the old practice to allow DA of July, 2004, from due date and also merge 50 per cent DA into basic pension of retiree from April, 2004, as already announced by the Chief Minister in March 2004. |
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Ex-servicemen demand separate pay commission
Hamirpur, November 26 They made this demand at a rally held at the Town Hall today. The function was organised by the Hamirpur district unit of the HP Ex-servicemen League. Addressing the rally, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia MLA said the ex-servicemen were not getting their share as they were not united. He said once they were united under the banner of the league, they would be able to get whatever, they wanted from the Central and state governments. The ex-servicemen leader said he would take up their case with the Central Government and all those points discussed in the rally would be discussed in details with the leaders concerned. He said if need be, the ex-servicemen would launch a stir and would go to New Delhi in support of their demands. He said the time had come when persons from among the ex-servicemen were sent to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He came down heavily on former Defence Minister George Fernandes and BJP leader, Madan Lal Khurana for misleading the ex-servicemen regarding their main demand of one rank and one pension. He questioned these people to clarify why this demand had not yet been implemented despite the repeated assurances given by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Sq Leader, Brij Lal Dhiman, the main organiser of the function, listed various demands of the ex-servicemen and demanded their immediate acceptance. Later on, the ex-servicemen and their family members marched in a procession that went around various parts of the town. Carrying placards and banners in their hands, they also raised slogans in favour of their demands. They also handed over three memorandums to the ADM, Hamirpur. |
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Shah Nehar project faces fund crunch, way behind schedule
Nurpur, November 26 The paucity of funds has also escalated the construction cost to over Rs 250 crore. The project would benefit 93 villages by providing irrigation to 37,000 hectares of land. It was launched following a prolonged agitation by residents in 1982 when the Punjab Government had built the Mukerian barrage by diverting the waters of the Beas passing through Himachal. The Punjab Government, in an agreement with the Himachal Government in 1983, had agreed to bear the cost of the construction of the project and to release 228 cusecs regularly. Before the construction of the Mukerian channel, farmers of Sthana, Rey, Badukhar, Mand, Bhogrwan and other adjoining areas of Nurpur and Jawali subdivisions of Kangra district irrigated the fields through small “Kuhals” emanating from the Beas. After the construction of the barrage, the system to irrigate over 15,000 hactares was thrown out of gear. Punjab has so far released Rs 29.50 crore and has spent Rs 10 crore on the construction of the portion of the canal which passes the jurisdiction of Punjab. The Himachal Government has allocated over Rs 50 crore until the current fiscal year. A sum of Rs 87.62 crore has been spent on the project so far. According to Mr L.K. Vaidya, Superintendent Engineer, Shah Nehar Circle, so far only 11 km out of the 48.85 km on the right bank canal and 5 km on the other canal had been constructed. He said in order to expedite the execution of the project, the government had submitted a proposal under the Centrally-sponsored Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme to the Government of India for approval of a special fund to the tune of Rs 120 crore. |
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Power subsidy issue goes unresolved
Shimla, November 26 The State Electricity Regulatory Commission had directed the board to approach the government and have its final word in this regard by November 25. Earlier, it had directed the board to bill the domestic consumers at the tariff (unsubsidised rates) approved by it if the government failed to open a letter of credit in its favour to facilitate the payment Rs 3.26 crore as subsidy every month. The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has been maintaining that the government will give subsidy and ensure that the electricity tariff for domestic consumers was not increased. However, the Finance Department had been refusing to open the letter of credit on the plea that the board had not paid back the electricity duty collected by it and it also owed a hefty amount on account of free power supplied to it. The commission asked the board to sort out the issue with the government and inform it by November 25 whether or not the government was willing to release the subsidy. According to official sources, the government wants a number of issues thrashed out with the board concerning the power sector. It is of the view that the board must pay for the free power which the state gets from various inter-state and central sector projects. Besides, it must give 12 per cent free power to the government from its own projects. In all the board gets 160 crore units of free power worth about Rs 450 crore but pays only Rs 110 crore to the government. The entire issue was quite complicated and could not be settled instantly. It will require detailed discussions and a final decision may have to be taken by the Cabinet. With the government expressing its inability to give a final view on the matter, the board had been left with no alternative but to seek more time from the commission to file its reply. |
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HPTDC staff seek CM’s intervention Shimla, November 26 In a statement issued here, the general secretary of the association, Mr O.P. Goel, said there was resentment among the employees over Tourism Minister, G.S. Bali’s statement that the suspension orders would be implemented. “When it is the Managing Director of the HPTDC and not the minister who has the powers to order suspension, how can Mr Bali make such statements,” he said. He requested the Chief Minister to stop the suspension of the two officials — a Deputy General Manager (Transport) and a Senior Area Manager — and change the portfolio of the minister as his actions were demoralising the tourism staff. He welcomed the holding of an inquiry into the suspension issued by a senior IAS officer and said that the inquiry should be completed in two months so that the harassed employees could get justice.
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Nagar kirtan, langar mark Gurpurb celebrations
Ponta Sahib, November 26 A large number of devotees joined the nagar kirtan which moved through various parts of the city before concluding at the gurdwara. The entire route of the procession was decorated. Special display of fireworks was also organised. Eminent ragi jathas, including Dr Charanjit Singh of Dehra Dun, Dr Gurinder Singh of Batala, Bhai Amar Singh and others, enthralled the audience with recitation from Gurbani. Discourses on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev were delivered by Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar, Mr Rattan Singh, Mr Bhupinder Singh, Mr Harbhajan Singh and Mr Kulwant Singh. Jathedar Kartar Singh Takkar thanked Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala for abolishing the toll tax levied from motor vehicle owners participating in the historic Kapal Mochan mela. Jathedar Takkar expressed the hope that both Himachal and Uttaranchal Governments would introduce teaching of Punjabi in all schools. Appeal was also made to the people of Himachal, Haryana and Uttaranchal to join the procession to be taken out from Gurdwara Paonta Sahib to Chamkaur Sahib on December 17 to mark the 300th anniversary of the martyrdom of Sahibzadaas of Guru Gobind Singh. SHIMLA:
Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, said preparations were being made to introduce Punjabi as an optional subject in the middle standard in the areas having concentration of Punjabi-speaking population from the next academic session. The Chief Minister today joined Sikh devotees at Gurdwara Singh Sabha here on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. “The schools where Punjabi has to be introduced are being identified and the necessary codal formalities will be completed before the start of the next academic session,” he said. He lauded the significant role of the Sikh in the development of the state and said they were an integral and important part of the state’s population. Jammu: The 535th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev was celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm here on Friday. Celebrations were held at many places but the main function was organised at Gurdwara Digiana Ashram where thousands of devotees participated. The function was organised under the supervision of Mahant Manjeet Singh of Dera Nangali Sahib, Poonch. People belonging to all religions participated in the celebrations. The Mahant urged people to follow the teachings of Guru Nanak who preached love and equality. He said a medical college would be opened here soon. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were Mr Babu Singh, Minister of State for Finance, Mr Rangil Singh, PDP leader, and Mr Sudershan Singh Wazir, former president of the J&K Gurdwara Prabandhak Board. |
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Renuka Fair concludes
Nahan, November 26 Thousands of pilgrims took a holy dip in the Renuka Lake on the occasion of Kartik Purnima and paid obeisance to Lord Parshuram and Bhagwati Renuka. Though the number of pilgrims in the fair remained very less as compared to previous years, thousands of people worshipped the idol of Lord Parshuram and other deities brought from different parts of the district and put for “darshan pooja” at the Purani Deothi Temple of Lord Parshuram on the banks of the Renuka Lake. Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha, presided over the concluding function of the fair held at Renu Manch. He asked the people to come forward to protect their cultural heritage. He gave away prizes and mementoes to those who did exemplary work in the fair.
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Shimla, November 26 The hill resorts of Kufri and Narkanda in Shimla district, too, were hit by hail while Manali in Kulu district experienced overcast sky for the second consecutive day. Hail and rain further brought down the minimum temperature to 6.4° C from 7.5°C in Shimla which recorded 3.6 mm of rainfall. In Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmour in Chamba district weather remained cloudy. The weather office has forecast rain and snow in the state in the next 24 hours. The minimum temperature in Sundernagar in Mandi district fell to 5.1°C today from 6.1°C recorded yesterday. The temperature at Bhuntar in Kullu district also dropped to 4.3°C today from 5°C yesterday. — UNI
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2 kg of charas seized
Chamba, November 26 According to information received here yesterday, a police party while on patrol in the Laddu area, near Chamba township, nabbed the accused and seized 2 kg of charas from him. A case has been registered under sections 20 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. |
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Dewan made standing counsel
Dharamsala, November 26
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