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Virbhadra lays stone for hydel project
Party gone wild, alleges BJP
Panchayati Raj bodies to help in water management
Shobha, Wadalis perform
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Kirsty Jeffrey
Housing problem in Baddi, Barotiwala
Govt retail petrol outlets to remain open
Bali should quit: Nadda
Patients suffer as NHPC fails to release Rs 2 cr for hospital
Villagers take out dead fish from sacred pond at Gang Barav village on Sunday.
Panel to review anti-encroachment drive
Free legal aid camp organised
Freedom fighter dies at 88
One killed as car falls into khud
Man held for stealing wire
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Virbhadra lays stone for hydel project
Shimla, June 19 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, at Hatkoti in Rohru today after laying foundation stone of the 110 MW Sawra-Kuddu hydro-electric project. He said the estimated cost of project was Rs 648 crore and it would be completed in five years. Besides the Sawra-Kuddu, 46 MW Chirgaon-Majhgon and 70 MW Dhamwari-Sunda projects were under active consideration for allocating to the corporation to ensure optimum utilisation of the engineering staff, he added. Mr Virbhadra Singh said with a view to expediting the construction work of the Sawra-Kuddu project all required staff would be stationed at the project site. He said the state electricity board had engineers who were competent to undertake any challenge of hydel power generation. He said latest machinery would be acquired and put to use to complete the project at the earliest. The Chief Minister said the state government would ensure maximum equity participation in all hydro power projects. He said the previous BJP government had failed to protect the interests of the state in the 2051 MW Parbati project being executed by the National Hydro Power Project and 800 MW Kol Dam project in which the equity participation of the state was not ensured thereby causing immense loss to the state exchequer. He said the government had taken up the matter with the Centre to review the decision and allow equity participation of the state in both projects. He said unemployment problem was being taken up on priority and vast avenues were being created in private and public sectors. Over 25,000 employment opportunities were created in the government sector during the past two years while 1,71,000 avenues in the industrial sector. He said more such employment and self-employment avenues were also being explored in hydel power and tourism sector. He said the Theog-Hatkoti road was being widened on the National Highway pattern and the Chhalla-Yeshwant Nagar road was also improved to facilitate transportation of the farm produce. Ms Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, said the Sawra-Kuddu project was one of the major projects being executed by the state electricity board. She said the government had decided to allocate mini and micro hydel projects from 1 to 5 MW capacity to the local people, adding that it had also been made mandatory to the independent power producers to provide at least 70 percent employment to the local people. |
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Party gone wild, alleges BJP
Dharamsala, June 19 The BJP leader and former-MLA Kishan Kapoor said here today that Indian gods and goddesses were “brought down” at the party and blamed the administration for not taking any action. He said since police personnel were present at the party, the allegations of drugs freely doing the rounds there should have prompted them to take action. Deputy Commissioner, Bharat Khera said the organisers had approached them only for taking permission to use loudspeakers. “It was a private function and there were little grounds to deny permission,” he said. Since the event was publicised as a band performance, it was supposed to be a decent affair and those who attended it were in for a surprise, he said. Mr Kapoor, however, said the administration couldn’t wriggle out of the issue like this. “Serious allegations like availability of intoxicants at the party should have been looked into and it was for the administration to ensure that the sentiments of locals were not hurt,” he said. Mr Kapil Sharma, ASP, said action could have been possible only when the party was on and the issue was not being looked into anymore. Meanwhile, Mr Kapoor has demanded an inquiry by an independent agency into the money raised through a musical show recently organised in Kangra where Bollywood singers and dancers from Mumbai had performed. “Only Rs 21 lakh was contributed to the CM’s Relief Fund and the rest of the money is still unaccounted for. Moreover, people want to know if this is the way the government wants to promote tourism,” he said. He further alleged that tender forms were being secretly given to some favoured ones. “On June 10, the office of the PWD opened in the night and three persons were given tender forms even though many people were interested in the deal. Many other projects in Dharamsala, like the sewerage work, are being carried out without floating proper tenders by the departments concerned,” he alleged. |
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Panchayati Raj bodies to help in water management
Shimla, June 19 Objective of the project is to involve Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in the management of drinking water and minor irrigation schemes in a sustainable manner. This project is being implemented by the Irrigation and Public Health Department and GTZ (German Agency for Technical Co-operation) jointly. It has been observed that community managed initiatives lead to ore sustainable outcomes and as such strengthening of local level institutions is essential. WASH project is a major initiative towards the water sector reforms. It will also evolve a strategy for handing over the operation and maintenance of existing schemes to the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in a time-bound manner. The department carried out the study to find ways to reform the water sanitation sector in order to improve performance, besides providing adequate water to the people. The study revealed that operation and maintenance of rural water supply was a major issue, which required immediate attention. Besides, greater involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions and appropriate staff allocation with community participation was required to stop leakages and
wastage of water. Moreover in some cases sources were used for both drinking and irrigation, which required an affective mechanism for protection, control and management of water. The study also underlined the need to carry out awareness to drive home the importance of proper maintenance of water supply schemes and establish affordable tariff level for various categories of water users. It recommended that guidelines for the involvement of panchayats at the village level and also Gram Sabha and Ward Sabha level within village should be formulated. In Himachal Pradesh 90 per cent of the total population lives in rural areas spread over in 16807 villages and over 45,367 habitations. Of these 39,520 habitations have been provided with drinking water. The rest of the habitations will be covered over the next two years. Drinking water supply schemes for small towns like Theog, Poanta and Nagrota-Bhagwan have been taken up. The government of India has also approved 471 schemes involving an expenditure Rs 7.33 crore under Swajal Dhara
programme. Besides six schemes worth Rs 19.28 crore have been sanctioned under command development. Under the WASH project the water supply schemes at village-level will be handed over to Gram Panchayats in a phased manner on self-selection basis after evaluating the feasibility of the schemes. Water user groups will also be formed to provide a formal link between the people, the PRIs and the department. The PRIs would also take up some of the functions like source protection, system protection and regulation of water use. These steps would be taken up by adopting single village schemes at the first instance. |
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Shobha, Wadalis perform
Shimla, June 19 Shobha Koser started off with Ganesh vandana and then demonstrated her dancing skills with an inspiring performance of pure Kathak. With her intricate footwork and rhythmic patterns coupled with superb “abhinaya” she created a visual charm which held the audience spellbound. She quickly established a rapport with the audience and was able to communicate the “rasa” imbued in each movement. She drew repeated applause from the audience during her two-hour performance. She displayed her capacity to emote while dancing to a “thumari” and concluded her performance with “Jatayu moksh”,
asking a leaf from the Ramayana. It was then the turn of the Wadali Brothers, Puran Chand and Pyare Lal, who gave a lively recital of “sufiana kalam” in the “qawwali” style. They interspersed the Bulle Shah’s folk compositions with their own creations to cast a spell on the audience. They confined to the Sufi tradition but not without innovations which left a lasting impression on the audience. Their rich voice with a rustic flavour and subtle variations lent a distinct charm to their singing. It was by all accounts a top-grade performance by the duo which left the audience yearning for more. |
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A musical evening to remember
Kasauli, June 19 The mood of the evening was set with spirit of bonhomie and togetherness by the singing of Auld lang Syne in the soulful voice of 27-year Laura Santana of Delhi. Baljit clarified, "We always begin with this song and not end with it as is the usual custom. Daughter of the late saxophonist Joe Santana, Laura has been singing with the band since she was 10 and she set the feet dancing with the singing old jazz classics and Bollywood perennial_ Ajeeb Daastan Hai Yeh_ in her rich and sonorous voice. The zing and the swing to the evening of music was brought by comely Kirsty Jeffrey from Queensland and Sydney in Australia. Currently based in Delhi, for six months she is performing at the Orient Express in the Taj Palace Hotel. She enchanted the people on the pleasant moonlit night with evergreens, including John Lennon's- Imagine a world without countries where all live together… Sunny Sungry played the trumpet and Leslie Faleiro the keyboards and Laura's uncle Babu Santana worked magic with the drums as he sang the Israeli harvest song_ Hava Nagila… Earlier, the evening had begun indoors with a small baithak of Hindustani classical music with Gursharan Singh, head of the music department at Doon School playing the sitar. Ajit Singh, an exponent of the Vichitra Veena, who had earlier taught music at Doon and Woodstock, unfolded mellifluously on the Veena notes of Raga Hemant. The torhi he played in Raga Peelu was also appreciable. All wonderful things must end, so 15 minutes to 12, unlike Cinderella, we made our way out only to find some music lovers still coming in dancing for Laura was singing_ Chhota sa dil hai, Chhoti si aasha… |
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Housing problem in Baddi, Barotiwala
Baddi, June 19 New industries are coming up at a brisk pace but hardly any houses are available for the workers and other staff. So far proposals for setting up over 5,000 units, including about 600 large and medium-scale industries, have been approved. While 1,200 units have come into production, the rest were at various stages of construction. The rent has already sky-rocketed, making whatever little accommodation is available out of the reach of the workers and other staff. The house owners are demanding a rent of Rs 5,000 per month for a single-room set. Consequently, most of the workers prefer to stay in the neighbouring towns of Haryana and Punjab. The problem is aggravating as more units are coming up with each passing day. The 5,000 units sanctioned so far will create employment for 1.72 lakh persons. According to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), accommodation will be required for about one lakh persons over the next two years. Only a crash housing programme could help meet the demand. The CII has drawn up a proposal under which the local land owners will be provided loans by the banks for construction of houses which would be hired by the industries. A tripartite agreement involving the CII, the land-owner and the bank will be signed for the purpose. This will help create additional accommodation across the entire industrial belt. Simultaneously, the government has enacted legislation to enable private colonisers build housing colonies in the area. It will, however, take some time for the housing projects in the private sector to take off. Housing is not the only problem, the civic infrastructure like roads, water supply and sewerage is also woefully inadequate. The government has already decided to set up a Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh development authority. It plans to spend about Rs 40 crore on upgradation and expansion of roads, sewerage and other infrastructure facilities. |
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Rewalsar wetlands dying
CHANDIGARH: The Rewalsar wetlands in Mandi district are facing an ecological crisis. These are suffering from man-made problems.
The Himachal Pradesh Government, despite being aware of the threats, has failed to formulate any plan to protect the natural water body that has religious and ecological importance. Located on a mountain spur, the Rewalsar wetlands are 24 km from Mandi. These were included in the list of wetlands of national importance by the Ministry of Environment and Forests this year. This is the third site in the state, after the Renuka and Chander Tal wetlands, that has been given the status. The feedback from environmentalists and naturalists reveals that pollution, encroachments, overgrowth of weeds and siltation are pushing the Rewalsar wetlands towards certain death. Over the years the depth of the wetlands has reduced from 10m to 6.5m. It is just 2.5m along the banks. Similarly, the length and breadth have shrunk to 225m and 160m, respectively. “Rapid urbanisation and development activities, especially by the managements of places of worship, have put a tremendous pressure on the water body,” says Prof B.K. Das, Research Scientist, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and former Professor of Panjab University, Chandigarh. He says the water is getting toxic due to nutrients and pesticides that run off from agricultural fields during the rainy season. Studies show that the pH level of the water ranges between 6.97 and 7.27 milligram per litre, which means more carbondioxide in the water. He says religious festivities involving myriad rituals are a significant contributor to its pollution. During annual fairs, the dissolved oxygen level of the wetlands becomes very low. A few years ago during a Buddhist fair, he noticed a thin layer of cooking oil on the surface of the water. Used oil was being flushed into the water body by halwais. Since the oil has a low density, it forms a thin layer on the surface of the water, which obstructs the dissolution of the atmospheric oxygen in the water. Dr Kuldip Kumar, Adviser, Fisheries, Himachal Pradesh Government, says the Rewalsar wetlands are full of organic contents. Devotees offer too much of wheat flour, biscuits and other such foodstuff to fish which not only pollutes the water but also threatens the existence of aquatic fauna. He says the government should stop the devotees from feeding fish and allow selective fish harvesting. “It is an assault on the wetlands,” says Mr Deepak Sethi, Project Associate (Wetlands), Himachal State Council for Science and Technology, Shimla. He says drains constructed around the wetlands are leaking at many points, resulting in the flow of toxic substances into the water body. “Seven water bodies exist in the upper part of Rewalsar and these are recharging the aquifer of the area. With the increase in construction activities in the catchment area, the hydrological system of the area could be disturbed,” warns Mr Sethi. |
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Govt retail petrol outlets to remain open
Shimla, June 19 Mr A.K. Singh, state-level coordinator for the three public sector oil companies, said the retail outlets run by the companies or government agencies like HIMFED, Himachal Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation and the Lahaul Potato Growers Society would be kept open to ensure that the vehicle owners did not go without fuel. |
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Bali should quit: Nadda
Shimla, June 19 Addressing a press conference here, he said the Congress had come to power on the issue of corruption but after taking reins it had set new records in corruption. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, was shielding corrupt ministers like Mr Bali for reasons best known to him. The extent to which Mr Bali had been calling shots in the government could be judged from the fact that as many as six posts of Associate Professor were created to facilitate promotion of a candidate in whom the minister was interested. It was the most blatant case of nepotism, which had a demoralising effect on the teaching faculty in the two government medical colleges. Mr Nadda alleged that the State Road Transport Corporation had purchased mini buses, which were earlier rejected during the BJP regime as they were not up to the requirements of the state. In fact, the company had itself discarded the buses. He wanted to know from the minister what compelled the corporation to acquire the rejected buses. Not only that, private bus had been taken on contract throwing all norms to winds and economical routes had been allotted to the private operators. |
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Patients suffer as NHPC fails to release Rs 2 cr for hospital
Kulu, June 19 In this tussle of the state government and the NHPC, patients are suffering and not getting proper medicare as the phase II of the hospital, to be funded by the NHPC, has not received the funds, said insiders. The NHPC, which is executing the 2051 MW Parbati valley project in the Kulu valley, has to build a 150-bed hospital, revealed the sources. During the BJP-HVC regime in the state, when the project was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NHPC had agreed to fund the phase II of the Kulu zonal hospital, the sources informed. The patient load has multiplied in the hospital as labourers working in the NHPC and other smaller projects come for treatment here, said Dr B.C. Kapur, Chief Medical Officer, Kulu zonal hospital. “The NHPC has not released funds for the construction of the phase II so far, hitting patient care in the hospital,” he informed. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had said the NHPC was not obeying the environmental clearance norms, and other conditions in the MoU. As a result, the NHPC was not releasing funds for the phase II of the hospital, informed the sources. The Director, Health and Family Welfare, Dr R.N. Mohanta, said under the MoU the NHPC had to construct the 150-bed hospital in Kulu district or fund the phase II of the zonal hospital. “But the matter is hanging fire,” he said. NHPC’s Parbati project, stage III, General Manager Mr V.K. Sharma said the company had agreed to give an assistance of Rs 2 crore for the construction of the hospital, but the company could not release funds as the stage III had not been cleared by the government. The funds would be released when they get the approval, he said. |
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Death of temple pond fish
Kangra, June 19 Mr Ram Swroop Sharma, a villager told The Tribune that the sacred pond was part of ancient Shiva and Kali temple. It was desecrated by some miscreants last night blocking the inflow channel to the pond and then poisoning fish. He said when residents of the village visited the shrine at 4 a.m. they found a large number of fish dead and some were struggling for life. He said as they raised an alarm, residents of nearby villages of Bagli, Purana Matour, Ansoli and Chetru reached the shrine and started removing dead fish and removed the blockade of the channel and tried to shift the fish struggling for life to nearby rivulets, “bawries” and small ponds. Residents continued for hours to shift fish to safer places. Sudarshan Devi, 75, a local resident, said, “I was married in the village 50 years back and never before such an unfortunate incident was seen or heard.” She said such a religious spot had been desecrated which had pained all and this would certainly have some ramifications from nature in future. Shocked Baba Ram Giri, “poojari” of the shrine, demanded a probe into the incident. He said fish of the pond were worshipped and fed on Tuesdays and Saturday. Shocked residents protested against the Fisheries Department authorities who did not reach the spot to protect those fish which were struggling for life. Mr Virender Thakur, Kangra DSP, who reached the spot, said the police had registered a case under Section 277 IPC and the fisheries Act. He said the inflow channel to the pond was blocked by some miscreants and poisoned fish. He said water samples were collected for chemical examinations and fish were sent for the postmortem. He said quintals of fish died and some of them weighing more than 10 to 15 kg. Mr Thakur said that the culprit would be arrested shortly as the investigation was in full swing. |
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Panel to review anti-encroachment drive
Dharamsala, June 19 Since some of the affected shopkeepers have claimed that they had been there for the past 40 years and were very economically weak, the committee would identify alternative sites for the rehabilitation of the affected shopkeepers. At a meeting of the Subdivisional Magistrate and officials of the Revenue Department, Mr Bali asked the administration to keep a human face while carrying out such drives. |
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Free legal aid camp organised
Solan, June 19 He said that 24 such camps were being organised throughout the state to educate the people about this authority. A needy could approach the authority through a simple application at the state, district or subdivision level. The authority, which had a panel of lawyers, then recommend a lawyer for each case and bore all the expenses. Some cases were also reffered to the district consumer court. He, however, lamented that due to lack of awareness about 90 per cent of the budget lapsed each year. The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr D.K. Sharma, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Solan, Mr D.S. Khenal, and the Sub-Judge, Kasauli, Mr Rajeev Sood, threw light on various issues, including rights of women, children and revenue-related matters. |
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Freedom fighter dies at 88
Kangra, June 19 According to his family sources he was 88. He breathed his last at 10.15 a.m. today. He was ailing with chest and other problems for the past more than a month. Mr Sansar Chand, his nephew lit his pyre in the local cremation ground of the village this afternoon amid the police and state honour. |
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One killed as car falls into khud
Shimla, June 19 The Indigo car (HP-11-1192) by which he was travelling fell into a khud on the bypass road, near Phagli. His wife was seriously injured in the mishap. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, has expressed grief over the death of Pramod and conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved family. |
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Man held for stealing wire
Baddi, June 19 On seeing the police naka near the factory, Ram Chander tried to speed away his car, but at some distance the car turned turtle. Ram Chander who tried to flee was caught by the police. Three bundles of wire weighing around 3 quintals were recovered from the car. A case under Sections 379 and 279 of IPC has been registered. |
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