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Snow in Shimla, water bodies freeze
Need to check fiscal deficit, says CM
Centre asked to revive road funding project
New power billing norms proposed
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Stones laid twice, work yet to begin
Action panel for judicial complex
BJP flays Cong on development
BJP seeks White Paper on jobs
CPM seeks relief for fire victims
1986 time-scale for retired teachers
sought
Drug addicts held for beating up mother
One gets 10-yr term for murder
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Snow in Shimla, water bodies freeze
Shimla, January 3 The tourist places of Kufri, Naldehra, Wildflower Hall and Narkanda also experienced snow today. The higher areas of Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts and the Pangi areas of Chamba district reported snow for the forth day today. The lower areas were lashed by hail and rain. The Hatu peak overlooking Narkanda had about 30 cm of snowfall, while Kharapathar had received 5 cm by the evening. The Solang Nalah and the Rohtang pass also had a fresh round of snow. Manali had mild snow followed by rain. Shimla had to content with a brief spell of snow. Tourists, were disappointed as the weather cleared after sometime. Sleet accompanied by snowflakes lashed Kumarhatti and its surrounding area of Barog and Dagshai this morning. Heavy rain lashed the area in the afternoon. The high-altitude lake of Kamrunag and Prashar have frozen in the tribal regions. Heavy snow has also been reported from Karsog, Chuhar and Janjehli valleys of Mandi. The minimum temperature recorded in the state capital was 2.6°C. Agriculture experts said the rain was beneficial for wheat and vegetable crops. The minimum temperature in tribal valleys ranged between minus 16 and minus 24°C and all natural lakes and springs and the Chandrabhaga river were frozen, affecting power generation in Nathpa-Jhakri, Baspa and the Rahba hydel projects. Icy cold winds blowing across the Kashmir valley showed little signs of abating. Gulmarg was covered by 8 cm of snowfall while
Sonmarg received 28 cm of snowfall until this morning. Fog resulted in many trains coming from the Delhi and UP side to destinations in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu getting delayed. |
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Need to check fiscal deficit, says CM
Shimla, January 3 Mr Virbhadra Singh today initiated plan discussions with MLAs for formulation of Annual Plan, 2005-06, here today. He said that the government was making all efforts to generate resources along with taking effective steps to discourage unproductive expenditure. He asked the MLAs to give suggestions for raising resources in view of the difficult financial position of the state. “The need of the hour is to speed up development by harnessing the vast hydro-electric resources, tourism and industrial potential, while focusing on raising agricultural and horticultural productivity,” he said. He said though the state had done tremendous work in the social services sector but achievements made in this field needed to be maintained and consolidated for the benefit of the people. The Chief Minister said that though all census villages in the state had been electrified and provided potable drinking water but there was a need to launch a movement for covering the leftout habitation and hamlets with these facilities. He added that the government had decided to include three schemes each in roads, bridges and minor irrigation and water supply sector, prioritised by the MLAs in the Annual Plan and urged them to indicate their priorities as per needs of their areas. He announced that the state had succeeded in getting districts of Sirmaur and Chamba, included in the Rashtriya Sum Vikas Yojna (RSVY) started by the Centre for speedy development of the 132 most backward districts of the country. “Under this programme each district would get an additional central assistance of Rs 45 crore, at the rate of 15 crore per annum for three years. “We have made a request to the Centre to expand this scheme so that more districts of our state can be covered under this scheme,” he remarked. The Chief Minister exhorted secretaries and heads of departments to formulate resource mobilisation strategies for their sectors while cutting down on wasteful expenditure. The legislators from districts of Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan participated in the Plan discussions today. The other districts would be covered in the next two days. |
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Centre asked to revive road funding project
Shimla, January 3 Being the major mode of communication in the hill state, the government has given priority to the construction of roads. As many as 8077 villages, out of the total 16,997 census villages, have been connected with roads and during the current year, Rs 485 crore will be spent on the construction of roads and bridges. During the 10th Five-Year Plan, 2,750 km roads would be constructed. Besides, work on the upgradation and improvement of state highways and link roads is also under way. Last year 105 villages were connected with roads, while during the current financial year, a target of constructing 1,000 km of roads and 60 bridges has been fixed. NABARD has funded 394 projects for the upgradation of roads and bridges and 283 roads have been constructed under the Prime Minister Rural Road Scheme. A number of schemes are also being executed by the state from its own funds. The government has constituted a task force comprising a senior engineer, Forest Officer and Revenue Officer to process and pursue the clearances required under the forest conservation Act to ensure the implementation of the project. The Public Works Department has created a separate set-up for the construction and maintenance of national highways in the state and the quality control mechanism has been strengthened. |
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New power billing norms proposed
Shimla, January 3 The draft regulations formulated by the commission under the Electricity Act 2003 propose staggered billing of energy charges under which the consumers of tribal, remote, difficult and hard areas will be issued electricity bills only after four months and that of rural areas after three months. However, in case of the industries and consumers of various categories with a connected load of more than 20 kw, the existing monthly billing cycle will continue. The security deposits for various categories of consumers and areas have also been fixed accordingly. The new regulations will enable the board to issue bills to various categories of consumers in a cost-effective manner. In the urban areas, municipal corporation, municipal council and nagar panchayat consumers with connected load up to 20 kw will have a bi-monthly billing cycle. The domestic consumers in these areas will be required to pay a security deposit at the rate of Rs 500 per kw, while the commercial, non-domestic, non-commercial categories will pay a security deposit of Rs 1,500 per kw. The consumers with connected load in excess of 20 kw in these areas will be billed every month. The security deposit for such domestic consumers will be Rs 350 per kw and other categories Rs 1,000 per kw. The consumers with connected load up to 20 kw will be required to pay an initial security deposit of Rs 375 per kw in the tribal and hard areas which will have a four-month billing cycle. Those with a connected load of more than 20 kw will pay the same amount as security deposit but will be issued bills bi-monthly. All categories with connected load of over 20 kw in the rural areas will be billed every month and the security deposit will be payable at Rs 250 per kw. In case of industrial consumers and bulk supply, the billing will be monthly. The security deposit for small and medium industries with connected load up to 20 kw will be Rs 1,350 per kw and for 20 kw to 100 kw category Rs 1,700 per kw. The large industries with connected load above 100 kw will be required to pay security deposit at the rate of Rs 2,150 per kw, while for supply it will be Rs 1,700 per kw for all areas. The security deposit for temporary metered supply will be Rs 1,750 per kw and for street lighting above 20 kw, it will be Rs 2,000 per kw. The commission has published the draft regulations for inviting objections and suggestions before the final publication. |
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Stones laid twice, work yet to begin
Nurpur, January 3 Even the inaugural ceremony of a public utility project was held twice with fanfare but nothing came out of it. The constituency is being represented by Revenue and Rural Development Minister Sat Mahajan. Foundation stones that were laid more than once include Brij Raj Swami stadium and the mini secretariat. Mr Virbhadra Singh had first laid the foundation stone of the stadium on January 16, 1990. With the efforts of the local MLA Mr Sat Mahajan, the land was transferred in the name of the Himachal Pradesh Government in 1998. He had released Rs 6.74 lakh against its cost to the Defence Ministry. The Chief Minister who visited the proposed site on August 13,1996, before the Assembly byelections of Nurpur, promised the residents that work on the stadium would begin soon. A new foundation stone was installed on the occasion. However, not a single brick has been laid, so far even as land-grabbers have started encroaching upon the prime land. Similar is the story of the mini secretariat, the foundation stone of which was laid on August 13, 1996, by the then Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh. However, no headway was made for eight years. On January 10 last year, during his winter sojourn, the Chief Minister again laid a foundation stone of the secretariat with a new name “combined office building” at a new place. The 100-bedded Civil Hospital here was first inaugurated by the Chief Minister in 1996. On January 10, 2004, the Chief Minister presided over an impressive inaugural ceremony again and officially declared its commissioning after about eight years of its previous inauguration. Nothing has been done to equip this upgraded hospital even after two inaugurations. In fact, such ceremonies have become a mockery. Mr Sat Majajan said efforts were on to get approval for the stadium from the Sports Ministry, (Government of India) and for the mini secretariat from HUDCO. |
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Action panel for judicial complex
Hamirpur, January 3 The meeting then formed a nine-member’s action committee under the chairmanship of Mr Sushil Kanwar, vice-chairman of HP Bar Council, that would put up its viewpoint to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, at Dharamsala on January 5 and also meet the Chief Justice of HP High Court at Shimla thereafter. Mr Soni told reporters here this afternoon that the lawyers were opposed to the decision taken by three-member committee. He said that he had already given its dissent note in the meeting that was held on Saturday last. He said that the lawyers wanted the new complex near the Mini Secretariat here. The Bar chief said that if their viewpoint was not accepted and the sites proposed by them were not taken into consideration, they would be compelled to launch a stir. |
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BJP flays Cong on development
Hamirpur, January 3 In a statement here today, Rana alleged that, in fact, it was the Congress that was discriminating against the district. Rana said that while the BJP had decided to make Dharamsala as the winter capital of the state, the Congress government reversed that decision. This, he
said The Congress had with the people of Kangra district. The BJP leader asked the Chief Minister and other Congress leaders to tell people what they had done for the district during its last two years rule. |
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BJP seeks White Paper on jobs
Shimla, January 3 Lashing out at the Congress for creating a false impression about employment generation in the state, BJP spokesperson and sitting MLA Dr Rajiv Bindal said even in a reply to a Vidhan Sabha question in this regard the government had responded by saying that details were still being gathered. He said the government must come out clear on the issue as conflicting statements about the exact number of jobs created in the government and private sectors had been made by Congress leaders. “We demand that the government come out with a White Paper, with complete details of the persons who had been provided jobs between March, 2003 to January 2005,” he demanded. He took to task the Chief Parliamentary
Secretary, Mr Mukesh Agnihotri on the issue of granting the winter capital status to Dharamsala. “If the Dhumal regime could get the Secretariat in Dharamsala ready within a short period why is it that the Congress, which has ruled the state for most of the time, could not get the winter capital status for Dharamsala and build the necessary infrastructure,” he quipped. He said the Congress had no intentions of declaring Dharamsala as winter capital and the Chief Minister had categorically said the same in the Assembly. “The intentions of the government are very clear from the fact that only one-fourth the amount spent on roads and other development works in Shimla district is given to Kangra, even though it happens to be the largest district of the state,” he remarked. He said the BJP during its tenure resolved disputes regarding-channelisation of the Swan in Una, Shahnehar project and settling the Pong Dam oustees. |
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CPM seeks relief for fire victims
Shimla, January 3 The state secretary of the CPM, Mr Rakesh Singha, handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, seeking proper compensation for the affected people after an assessment of the individual loss. It was on the night of December 31, that a fire had gutted the Old Sabzi Mandi yard, causing a loss of several lakhs. Mr Singha, also demanded that an interim relief be given to 31 vegetable stall owners, so that they could immediately start their business, their only source of livelihood. He also submitted a memorandum to the Municipal Commissioner, requesting help in the reconstruction of the building, in which 31 persons had their stalls. He said majority of the affected persons were already engaged in reconstructing the building but the MC must extend them some help. He said that the electricity meters of these shops must be installed immediately so that they could resume business. He also drew the attention of the authorities towards the unhygienic and filthy conditions prevailing around the Sabzi Mandi area. He said there was urgent need to keep the place clean and get a toilet constructed. |
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1986 time-scale for retired teachers
sought
Mandi, January 3 “These teachers have to pay recovery worth Rs 2 lakh after retirement. One teacher died at Una as he was left out from the revised time-scale of 1986”. The HPPSS leaders said seniority of teachers should be considered not from the training period but from the date of his/her first appointment. “The teachers should be given increment, like it is done in Punjab, as the revised Rs 4,550 scale has not benefited them in the state”. Mr Sharma said there were over 1,000 posts vacant in the state. In some schools, which had 15-16 students, there were four teachers. But there were other schools where students’ strength was in hundreds but only one or two teachers
taught there. The leaders said the government should stop appointing para-teachers. All those who had been appointed on a contract basis and had completed over five years in service should be regularised. The leaders said teachers would donate a day’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to help tsunami victims. |
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Drug addicts held for beating up mother
Mandi, January 3 The ugly face of drug addiction came to light today when the police arrested the addicts who beat up their mother under the influence of drugs. They had been arrested earlier too and were kept in custody for 14 days, the police said. Citing the examples of Punjab and Chandigarh, which have helpline and counselling centres for drug addicts and parents, health officials here said the drug addicts were either resorting to violence or they were succumbing to drugs without any social help or counselling. Residents cited the example of a Mandi college student who shot down his uncle and aunt at Nichla Lot village, near here last week. They used to rebuke him for taking drugs and spending money. According to police sources, victims of drug abuse have been reported from Manali, Kulu and Shimla as well. “They have no counselling or help line except in Shimla but that is not much help as stigma is attached to drug addiction”, police officials said. “It is a behavioral problem and parents, psychiatrists and the counsellors should solve this as a team, they added. The police arrested the duo after their mother Kamla Devi registered a complaint with the police last night. Mr P.C. Dogra, Chief Medical Officer, Mandi, said. “There is no noticeable increase in the incidence of drug addiction in the district. This may be because there is no study as the illicit drugs are consumed in a clandestine manner. There is no counsellor and only one psychiatrist in the entire state who works at the IGMC, Shimla”. The DIG, (central range), Mr O.C. Thakur, who also holds charge of the Dharamsala-based south range and also had served in Shimla said that the response to the help line in Shimla was not encouraging. |
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One gets 10-yr term for murder
Mandi, January 3 According to prosecution, Raghu Ram had quarrel with Jagdish Chand in drunken state on May 15, 1999, and he hit Jagdish Chand with a rod and seriously injured him. He died the next day and a case under Section 302 of the IPC was registered against the accused. Raghu Ram had tried to flee after the incident but he was nabbed by the police.
— PTI |
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Shimla, January 3
In video: Winter Carnival begins in Manali.
