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Cabinet reshuffle soon: Virbhadra
Fire in Old Sabzi
Mandi yard
1,100 monkeys trapped
Man convicted in fraud case
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Two arrested in dowry death case
Land grab case: plea for fresh probe dismissed
Liquor seized
Four killed in accident
Schoolchildren get bags, uniforms
Black bear found dead
Fire destroys five houses
Kuftu ayurveda dispensary operational
HP officers donate for tsunami fund
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Cabinet reshuffle soon: Virbhadra
Shimla, January 1 Interacting with mediapersons here today, he said that the sooner this was done, it would be in the interest of the state. He said that before the reshuffle and the appointment of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliamentary Secretaries, the approval of the high command would be sought. Mr Virbhadra Singh, when asked about the BJP posing a threat to his leadership, said that the Opposition party had never posed a serious challenge to the Congress. “It is as a result of the advent of coalition culture that the BJP was able to form government in 1998 even though the Congress had more MLAs than the BJP,” he remarked. The Chief Minister said that the Congress had poled 43.6 per cent of votes as compared to the BJP’s 37.4 per cent in 1998 elections, which clearly reflected mandate in favour of the Congress. The BJP till now had not been able to pose a threat to the Congress in the state, he added. Commenting on the financial position of the state, the Chief Minister said that the government was awaiting the report of the 12th Finance Commission to see how much was being given to Himachal Pradesh. “This is precisely the reason why we are not asking for a financial package as after the report of the Finance Commission, what we will seek will be over and above this,” he stated. He said that the BJP had unnecessary been crying hoarse on the issue of financial assistance from the Centre as after the formation of the Congress government the state got Rs 553 crore last year and Rs563 crore this year. “We have been able to save an amount of Rs 150 crore alone by raising loans on reduced rates of interest apart from taking a number of steps for improving the financial position of the state,” he said. Outlining the priorities of his government during the new year, he said employment generation would be the top priority of the government. “It is through industrial development in the inner areas, tourism promotion and tapping the hydro power potential in the state that we will try and generate maximum possible employment opportunities,” he said. He disclosed that the government had plans to set up two information technology and an equal number of bio-technology parks in the state. He said with the Tanda Medical College getting recognition, 100 posts of allopathic doctors, 85 of ayurvedic doctors and 944 posts of nurses would be filled shortly. |
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Fire in Old Sabzi
Mandi yard
Shimla, January 1 The fire broke out at about 11.30 p.m last night, in which 31 vegetable stalls owned by 14 proprietors were completely gutted, while six outer stalls and shops suffered partial damage. Majority of the persons owning stalls here were retailers while some shopkeepers had godowns in this yard. It is learnt that the fire broke out due to cartons and wooden boxes stacked in the yard catching fire from an angithi, lit by workers of the sabzi mandi, who used to stay there in the night. A vegetable stall owner, Mr Manoj Arora, said the fire started from the outer’s stalls on the side of the parking ground which quickly spread to the main yard. Though two fire tenders immediately reached the spot, but due to high velocity winds and inadequate water supply, it took much longer to bring the blaze under control. Since a lot of wooden and cardboard fruit boxes had been piled up inside the yard, the fire spread very quickly, engulfing the entire yard. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Sushil Negi, said an immediate relief of Rs 90,000 had already been given to the 20 affected persons. With the yard being home to a large number of workers and porters, including many Kashmiris, repair work of the yard has already been started. Though the thick stone walls and the high roof of the yard is more or less intact, the wooden structures have been completely gutted. Fortunately, with no residential or commercial complex being right next to the Sabzi Mandi, the fire did not spread to the highly congested Lower Bazar area.
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1,100 monkeys trapped
Kumarhatti, January 1 Talking to The Tribune, Mr R.K. Singh said most of the monkeys had been trapped from Dharampur, Jabli, Sanwara and Koti areas of the national highway. As many as 710 monkeys had been trapped in this area while 57 were seized from Shoghi, he said. Around 129 monkeys were trapped during the two-day drive in and around Kandhaghat, he added. Between Salogara and Brewery areas the team had captured 200 monkeys. To trap the monkeys 6 x 8 x 4 feet cages were placed in various identified areas. Fruits were placed inside the cages and groundnuts and roasted black nuts were scattered in and around the cages to lure the monkeys into them. As soon as a monkey was trapped it was shifted to a small transportable cage. Trapping all monkeys during the drive was impossible as after seeing monkeys trapped in the cages others fled. Mr R.K. Singh said the total number of captured monkeys could reach 1,500 by the end of the drive. The captured moneys would be released in the forest. Denying the possibility of other groups of monkeys taking the place of the captured groups, he said a special campaign would be launched to check the feeding of monkeys by motorists. |
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Man convicted in fraud case
Solan, January 1 An additional sentence of six-month simple imprisonment was also pronounced in case of default of fine. He was further convicted under Section 465 of the IPC and was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for six months and a fine of Rs 1,000 was imposed on him. An additional two month simple imprisonment was also announced in case of default of fine. The judge further ruled that both these sentences would run concurrently. The case pertained to an embezzlement to the tune of about Rs 2.88 lakh which Prem Dyal along with two other accountants- Sarveshwar and Harvinder — had committed while being employed with the M/s A.P. Tools in 1989. The two were, however, acquitted as sufficient evidence was not available against them.
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Two arrested in dowry death case
Kangra, January 1 The Kangra district police chief, Mr S. Zahoor H. Zaidi, said today that according to a complaint by Raj Kumar, brother of Asha Kumari, she was married in Alloh Maniyar village, falling under Jawalamukhi police station, 11 years ago. She was allegedly tortured by her husband, her brother-in-law and parents-in-law for dowry. He alleged that the in-laws of his sister had demanded a car from her parents recently, which the latter could not afford to provide. Mr Zaidi said that, according to the complaint, she was forced to commit suicide by consuming poison at her home for want of dowry. She reportedly had two sons and a daughter from the marriage. The police arrested Chambiyal Kamal, husband of Asha Kumari, and Chanchal Kamal, her brother-in-law, under Sections 306 and 498A, IPC, while her father-in-law and mother-in-law were wanted in the case. In another case in the district, one Beeju Ram, a resident of Gunaid village, was allegedly stoned to death by Mungi Ram of the same village over a minor issue last evening. Mr Zaidi said that the duo had a quarrel over some issue resulting in the death of Beeju Ram in stone throwing by Mungi Ram. He said that Beeju Ram succumbed to his head injury on way to hospital. The police arrested Mungi Ram under Section 302, IPC. |
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Land grab case: plea for fresh probe dismissed
Shimla, January 1 In this petition the state had challenged the order passed by the Special Judge, Chamba, vide which the trial court had dismissed the application filed by the state for re-investigation of the alleged land grab case. While dismissing the petition Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta observed that the trail court was justified in declining the prayer for re-investigation. The state government in its revision petition before the high court pleaded that during the pendency of trial, respondents produced certain documents according to which there was a need for further investigation in the case. It was pleaded on behalf of the state that there was suspicion about the success of their case, therefore for making a strong case against the respondent prosecution wanted to further investigate the case. It was further pleaded that stand of the government in civil writ petition before high court and in civil suit before the trial court, Dalhousie, is at variance with the stand taken in the criminal case. The state said it is still not clear who had committed fraud and the investigations are on therefore this petition might kindly be allowed. It may be mentioned here that earlier while rejecting the petition filed by Asha Kumari, the high court had given liberty to her that she can raise all the points, before the trial court, Chamba. |
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Liquor seized
Kumarhatti, January 1
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Four killed in accident
Shimla, January 1 The ill-fated car was on its way from Chopal to Shimla. Three of the dead were identified as Amar Rukta, Bhagmal Rukta and Sarita, wife of Bhagmal, all residents of Chopal in this district, the police said.
— UNI |
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Schoolchildren get bags, uniforms
Chamba, January 1 The association has also distributed sewing machines to poor girls. A function was organised in this connection at Donali. Mr Nain Singh, General Manager of the Chamera project (Stage-II) presided. Mr O.P. Thakur, General Manager, Chamera project (Stage-III) spoke.
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Chamba, January 1 The bear was wailing because of injuries caused to it by an iron wire strapped around its body. The bear was lying on a berm of the Portrayan road. Dr D.K. Choudhary, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Police Headquarters, said the postmortem of the bear had been carried out and a case registered under Section 51 of the wildlife Protection Act, 1972. — OC
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Fire destroys five houses
Kulu, January 1 Six cattle heads — four cows and two bulls — also perished in the fire. Ten families were affected by the fire. The total loss as per the fire brigade was estimated to be Rs 28 lakh. The village is not accessible by road and it took the fire fighters three hours reach the spot. Mr Inder Bhardwaj, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, here said a team headed by the Tehsildar reached the spot and distributed immediate relief to the victims. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. |
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Kuftu ayurveda dispensary operational
Solan, January 1 |
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HP officers donate for tsunami fund
Shimla, January 1 The HASOA in its meeting held on December 31 expressed heartfelt sympathies for the grief stricken families of the victims.
— PTI |
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