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Lahaul potato society gets Rs 1.45 cr
MC move to construct more shops in mandi flayed
Corruption all-time high in state: Dhumal
FHI threatens strike
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Scared students vacate hostel
Scholarships a boon for students
Cyclist injured
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Lahaul potato society gets Rs 1.45 cr
Mandi, September 25 The ICDC assistance comes as a breather for the society, which has been facing financial crunch as it was yet to recover Rs 2.28 crore from potato traders in Gujarat. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Norbu Barongpa, Chairman of the society, which has over 2117 members and is second only to Anand Cooperative Society in Gujarat, said the society would strengthen its marketing strategy and identify fresh markets for Lahaul’s disease-free certified seed potatoes across the country. “We will modernise the godowns and marketing yard in Manali and other facilities as well”, he added. Mr Norbu said the society was trying hard to recover money from the traders in Gujarat for the past three years. “The society has sold seed potatoes to the traders, its traditional market but the traders withheld the payment due to the Gujarat riots. Till last month we recovered Rs 23 lakh from them”, he added. With this the society suffered a loss of Rs 36 lakh. The society marketed potatoes to Pakistan three years ago, and got a good response, but it was stopped there after due to bad relations between the two countries, the members said. The society is facing a challenge from the private traders since 1998. The traders used to be on the society’s management. But they used its membership to further their own private trade, misguiding the growers to sell the potatoes to them and not to the society. As a result, India’s largest primary society was on the verge of collapse, revealed the members. Till the mid-1990s the growers used to sell most of the potatoes to the society. But last year it got just 40,000 bags as the private traders tried their best to eliminate the society”, the members revealed. The society delivers ration and other household items to its members at their doorstep at reasonable prices, the only society to do so in the country, said Mr Norbu. “We have started joint venture with the NAFED. We also produce special “lingar” pickles, juice and jellies at processing unit at Katrain in Kulu. We will shut down the loss-making outlets and units”, he added Under the ICDC project the Hop Growers’ Society of Lahaul will get Rs 11 lakh. “The project aims at strengthening the cooperative sector in the tribal district, where the cooperative society has charted a success story of seed potatoes in the valley, said Mr Kuldeep Kumar. |
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MC move to construct more shops in mandi flayed
Palampur, September 25 The association has threatened to launch an agitation and to move court to seek stay orders against the order of the council. In a press note issued here today Mr Sudesh Kumar and Mr Rajiv Mahajan, president and general secretary of the association said he construction of more shops in the sabzi mandi
complex would result in large scale congestion as the mandi was already situated in the most congested area of the town. Besides, it would also cause frequent traffic jams on Palampur- Dharamsala state highway resulting in a lot of inconvenience to the office goers and school going children, they added. Both the leaders said the decision of the local MC to add more shops in sabzi mandi complex was uncalled for. They said at present the traders were paying rent even for the vacant land being used by them. On the other hand council had not been providing any facility to them. It had even stopped the removal of garbage from the mandi for the past two years and the association had employed its own staff to keep the mandi neat and clean. They said within a year the mandi was likely to be shifted to a new site on Mandi-Pathankot, highway where government had already acquired land and funds had also been allocated for the construction of a new mandi. Therefore, the MC should not take any decision in a hurry and ignore public interest. They urged the Deputy Commissioner Kangra, Mr Bharat Khera to intervene and stop the MC from making haphazard and unplanned construction in the mandi. |
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Corruption all-time high in state: Dhumal
Dharamsala, September 25 Addressing a press conference, he said it seemed that the Congress Government had become immune to corruption. The list of selected candidates of the JBT test was not out yet and a retired official of the Education Board had been re-employed as he was instrumental in changing the categories of 292 candidates, which led to the cancellation of the test. The test for patwaris was also cancelled after the question paper was got leaked and the TGT (non-medical) test had not been conducted for along time. There were also reports of mass copying in the TGT (medical) test, he alleged. He condemned the ‘anti-people’ policies of the present government. “Bus fares have been hiked by 50 per cent, the Pollution Control Board has hiked its fee from Rs 7,000 to Rs 1,10,000, a minimum water supply bill of Rs 100 has been fixed. To add to it, professional tax and VAT have been imposed. The government has not spared any segment of the general public,” he said. |
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FHI threatens strike
Shimla, September 25 Mr M.P. Mittal, chairman of the federation, said that truck unions could not be allowed to hold the industry to ransom. A delegation of the industrialists led by Mr Mittal met the Chief Minister here today and urged him to intervene in the matter. The Chief Minister assured that transport services would be resumed shortly. The threat of lay-off was looming on both the cement plants with continued stoppage of work by transporters of Barmana and Darlaghat which would seriously affect the economy of the state and more significantly, the industrial image of Himachal Pradesh, he said. |
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Scared students vacate hostel
Solan, September 25 The girl, whose identity was not disclosed, was said to have come under the spell of an evil spirit of a young man who had committed suicide in the same building a few years ago, sources said. The girl had allegedly become violent on the night of September 21, while she and her roommates were performing some ‘’tantrik tricks’’ from a book they had bought from the market earlier in the day. Panic gripped the hostellers and they started fleeing the building after she threatened to devour all of them one by one. Mr S.C. Matta, Principal of the college, said the girl was perhaps suffering from some psychiatric disorder and had reacted in the same manner on September 20. The parents of the girl have admitted her to Indira Gandhi Medical Hospital (IGMC) at Shimla, where she was undergoing treatment now, he added.
— UNI |
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Scholarships a boon for students
Shimla, September 25 Deepa, a meritorious students from Chambi village in Chopal tehsil, is dreaming to become a space scientist one day after securing 82 per cent marks in plus two examination. With her family’s limited income she could not have dreamt of even studying up to this level had the annual scholarship of Rs 10,000 not been available to her under the Ambedkar Medhavi Chattarvriti Yojna. She is not the only one to benefit, there are thousands of students who are taking advantage of the merit scholarship to pursue higher studies. Under the yojna, a scholarship for Rs 10,000 per annum at plus one stage is being awarded to 1,000 students belonging to the Scheduled Caste. Besides, 1,000 students from other backward classes, who secure 72 per cent and above marks in Class X examination, are also being given similar benefit. Under the Swami Vivekanand Uttkrisht Chattarvriti Yojna, 2,000 students of general category, who secure 77 per cent and above marks in their Class X examination, are given Rs 10,000 annually. Tribal students are provided a scholarships for Rs 11,000 under the Thakur Sen Negi Uttkrisht Chattarvriti
Yojna. |
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Cyclist injured
Baddi, September 25 Meanwhile, jewellery worth Rs 40,000 was stolen from a ward sister’s house in Hardinge TB Sanatorium, Dharampur on Saturday. Whitewash work was going on in the house. She had left for duty handing over keys to a worker of a private contractor for whitewash. When she returned in the evening, she found home ransacked. A case has been registered. |
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