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Students defy prohibitory orders, arrested
Govt refutes charge on shift in industry
Secys now eye posts in PSUs
Widows benefiting from remarriage scheme
Rs 20 cr earmarked for Chakki bridge
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Rs 1.32 cr to sterilise 5,000 monkeys
BJP a frustrated lot: CM
Retired cop held for cheating
2 villages to be made tourism destinations
B.Ed counselling venue changed
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Students defy prohibitory orders, arrested
Shimla, August 19 In all, 83 students, 75 (SFI) and 8 (ABVP), were arrested. They included Hem Singh Thakur, president of the campus of the SFI and Sudershan Sankhyan, in charge of the ABVP. They were protesting against the police lathicharge on peacefully agitating students. While the students have been demanding declaration of dates for holding elections to the students’ central association, a majority of the principals of colleges are against holding elections which vitiated the academic atmosphere. According to sources, 36 out of 40 principals who attended a meeting convened by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr L.R. Verma, in this connection yesterday, were against the elections. The report of the meeting will now be put before the executive council of the university for final decision. The students have threatened to start a statewide stir if the elections were not declared. Bihari Lal, organising secretary of the ABVP, said instead of taking a decision at the meeting, the university authorities had decided to take the matter to the executive council which indicated their intention to curb the rights of the students. He said the parishad would launch a stir if the authorities failed to give up their “negative” attitude by August 22. The activists of the parishad would gherao the Chief Minister and Ministers during the stir. Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh University Teachers Welfare Association, the state unit of the BJP, the state committee of the CPM and the local unit of the bank employees’ federation of India have condemned the lathicharge. The CPM alleged that girls were manhandled during police action. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, said that a magisterial inquiry would be ordered into the police alleged lathi charge on students on the Himachal Pradesh University campus yesterday in which some press photographers were injured. He said it was a professional hazard and there was no intention to target media persons. Regarding the demand of students for holding elections, he said it was up to the university authorities to take a decision but the government would ensure that law and order on the campus was maintained at all costs. Students violence would not be tolerated and, if required, the government would not hesitate to close down the university. |
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Govt refutes charge on shift in industry
Shimla, August 19 An official spokesman yesterday said that the reports were misconceived, mischievous, misplaced and false and were devoid of any truth. He said that as a result of the new industrial policy of the state government which offered attractive incentives coupled with the special package given by the Government of India, as many as 5589 projects involving an investment of Rs 13,737 crore and potential to employ 192,717 persons had been approved over the last two years. Baddi and Barotiwala had emerged the most preferred destination in view of the availability of good infrastructural facilities like roads, power and sewerage. He said that during the last two years about Rs 15.5 crore had already been spent in these areas alone on infrastructural development and Rs 5.50 crore had been made available this year. The survey for construction of railway line between Chandigarh and Baddi was expected to be completed by December 2005 and the Government of India had already sanctioned funds for the Baddi-Chandigarh road, he added. He further said that in respect of providing houses for labour, the state had designated Himachal Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) as the nodal agency for regulating private housing facilities in industrial area. Additional special incentives had been provided for the construction of a minimum of 20 dwelling units in a radius of 10 kms of an industrial area under the new industrial policy. The HIMUDA was also going ahead with the construction of about 800 dwelling units in Baddi. It was as a result of good industrial environment and industrial friendly administration that big companies like M/s Hindustan Lever, Colgate Palmolive Ltd., Wipro, Godrej, Web Peripherals, Bajaj Consumer Care, TVS Motors, Nicolas Piramal, Cipla, Torrent, Cadila, Panacea Bio-Tech and Alembio had come to establish their units in Himachal Pradesh. The spokesman said that the assertion that Dr Reddy’s Lab had shifted its manufacturing facilities from Baddi to Uttranchal was false. It was an attempt to mislead the prospective entrepreneurs whose influx to the state continues unabated. |
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Secys now eye posts in PSUs
Mandi, August 19 Mandi and Kulu have a CPS each. The decision is bound to create political ripples in Kangra, which had lost three ministers in the downsizing exercise last year. It would be difficult for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to check dissent as many of his “loyalists” would remain un-adjusted in the new set-up, said certain MLAs here. Punjab, which has over 20 PSs, would witness ramifications of the decision revealed party leaders. Political observers here feel the decision would intensify power tussle in both factions of the Congress — one led by the Chief Minister and another by Power Minister Vidya Stokes. The decision would save crores of rupees to the state exchequer every month, said officials, adding that over 20 personnel were attached to a CPS on an average, enjoying phones, perks, vehicles and other facilities. Talking to The Tribune, the CPS attached to the Chief Minister with the PWD portfolio, Tek Chand Dogra, an MLA from the reserved Nachan constituency in Mandi, said he respected the court’s verdict and resigned from the post. “But I am a public servant and will continue to serve the people”, he added. With the court’s ruling, ambitious MLAs will now eye the public sector undertakings, board of directors of the cooperative bank and gramin banks to get posts of chairman and the vice-chairman, opined the MLAs. |
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Widows benefiting from remarriage scheme
Mandi, August 19 In as many as eight cases, the widows have already tied the nuptial knot and await the sanction for the monetary benefit of Rs 25,000 under the WRS from the District Social Welfare Department, revealed the officials here. In another 15 to 20 cases, the couples are in the process of furnishing the documents in support of their remarriage, claiming the
monetary benefit of WRS,” they added. The success story being charted under the WRS is understandable. In most cases the husbands have taken the initiative to marry the widows. “The husbands are taking initiative as the schemes promises a benefit Rs 25,000 for him if he marries a widow. Even the widows are also assisted by their parents to remarry, said Mr Khem Chand, District Welfare Officer, Mandi. Except for one case, in rest of the seven cases the widows have no children. “I have adopted the two children of my wife under compassion and will educate them like my own ones”, claimed Mr Madan Lal (32) from a village in Jogindernagar. Rekha (32) had two children when her first husband died three years ago, he added. Even age is no barrier as far the remarriage of widows is concerned. Ms Santoshi (27) from Samleh village in Sundernagar remarried Mr Rup Lal (42) but she had no children. In contrast, Mr Rakesh (24) from a Sarkaghat village married a widow, Leela Devi (30) stating that age did not matter when it comes to tying the nuptial knot, he quipped. Most the widows fall in the 20 to 33 age group who have remarried, informed the officials. Ms Ramesh Kumari (24) from Kothi in Mandi Sadar remarried 15 years her senior Yudhishthar. The other cases have been reported from Balh, Paddar in Mandi district, the officials said. |
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Rs 20 cr earmarked for Chakki bridge
Nurpur, August 19 “The Chief Ministers of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will lay the foundation stone of the bridge in the month of December this year,” he added. Mr Mahajan informed that the government had sanctioned Rs 7 crore in the current budget for
irrigation. “The Chief Ministers of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will lay the foundation stone of the bridge in the month of December this year,” he added. Mr Mahajan informed that the mini secretariat approved by the HUDCO would be built in the old civil hospital premises on which and renovation of Bachat Bhavan was in progress. The bhavan
on the panchayat samiti land would soon come up at Jassur, he added. Mr Mahajan informed that the mini secretariat approved by the HUDCO would be built in the old civil hospital premises on which and renovation of Bachat Bhavan was in progress. The bhavan would be converted into a hub of cultural activities. He informed that five new gram panchayats of Baral, Khazan, Aghar, Golwan and Kulahan had been carved out in Nurpur development block. |
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Rs 1.32 cr to sterilise 5,000 monkeys
Shimla, August 19 The success achieved by the Forest Department in sterilising simians using carbon dioxide laser technique in the country for the first time convinced the ministry that it could help solve the problem of monkey nuisance. In all five male monkeys and three dogs were sterilised on a trial basis last month. Operations were successful. All animals have recovered and leading normal life. Encouraged by the success the Department submitted Rs 1.32 crore scheme for the purpose. While agreeing to fund the scheme the ministry advised it to restructure the scheme and formulate three separate projects so that it could fit into its various schemes. Mr K.K. Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wild life), who held a series of meetings with the officials of the ministry to finalise the project at Delhi on Wednesday, said that separate schemes would be formulated for ambulatory services, rescue centre and other infrastructure facilities and sterilisation of monkeys. |
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BJP a frustrated lot: CM
Shimla, August 19 Talking to newspersons here today, he said Mr Dhumal had accommodated as many as 32 of the BJP legislators as ministers, parliamentary secretaries of chairpersons of various board and corporations. A party with such a track record should not find faults with others. He said the BJP had no real issues to highlight and it had become a habit with its leaders to seek his resignation every now and then which only reflected their frustration. Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, and Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Industry Minister, ridiculed the demand for resignation of Mr Virbhadra Singh and asserted that the people had elected the Congress government for a period of five years and it was time that the BJP leaders reconcile to this fact. Moreover, the verdict of the High Court had been implemented. All the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliamentary Secretaries had resigned and the question of the Chief Minister’s resignation did not arise. |
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Retired cop held for cheating
Solan, August 19 A team of the police led by the SHO, Ms Babita Pal, arrested Rajinder Pal while he was demanding the money from the bank manager. Rajinder Pal had retired from the Economic Offence Wing of the Uttar Pradesh Police on July 31, 2004, but had not surrendered his identity card. He was using this to grab money from people on the pretext of settling old cases. The bank manager near Chail complained to the police that a draft book valued at Rs 10 lakh had mysteriously gone missing from the bank’s Kanpur office when he was posted there a few years ago. A case was later registered and all banks had been cautioned not to encash the drafts bearing the numbers concerned. Two employees had been suspended after the inquiry. A draft amounting to Rs 8 lakh had been consequently encashed from the bank’s Samrala branch sometime later. Further investigations had been conducted and some employees of the bank had also been suspended after responsibility was fixed on them. The case was now nearing settlement. The bank manager said it was yesterday that Rajinder called him at his Solan residence to settle the case amicably. A sum of Rs 5,000 was demanded from the manager to settle the case amicably. The manager informed the police today. The police arrested him in a local hotel. A case under Sections 170, 171 and 419 of the IPC was registered against Rajinder. The SHO said it was being investigated why his identity card had not been surrendered and how many people had been cheated. |
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2 villages to be made tourism destinations
Shimla, August 19 The Union Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh each for the creation of infrastructure in the villages — Nagar in Kulu and Pragpur in Kangra district.
— PTI |
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B.Ed counselling venue changed
Shimla, August 19 A spokesman of the university said that the counselling, scheduled to be held on the university campus, would now take place on the premises of Evening College, near Scandal Point. |
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