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2.10 lakh job avenues explored: CM
Mankotia meets CM, seeks varsity at Dharamsala
Fire victims get relief of Rs 41,000
10 houses burnt near Bharmour
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HP Govt, NHPC row subsides
Media asked to observe ethics
Khab bridge on NH-22 reopens
Thousands visit Jayanti Mata Temple
Thakur is HPPSC member
Renuka fair concludes
Army jeep expedition flagged off
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2.10 lakh job avenues explored: CM
Dharamsala, November 16 This was announced by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while speaking at a state-level function on the occasion of the 52nd All-India Cooperative Week at
Mataur, near here, today. He laid the foundation stone of the Rs 82.26 lakh Nandchar-Kothwala augmentation lift water supply scheme, which would benefit the
Bharwal, Mataur, Balla, Bhaniyarkar, Nandchar and Kotkwala areas for the next 25 years. The Chief Minister said the state government had constituted the OBC Commission to safeguard the interests of the OBCs and bodies like the OBC Finance and Development Corporation had been set up to help them progress by providing liberal loans and subsidies. He said Himachal Pradesh was the frontrunner state when it came to implement the Land Reform Act promptly. He said 13.20 lakh stakeholders were manning the network of 4,332 cooperative societies in the state and every fifth person was a member of some cooperative society. He said Rs 156.09 crore had been invested in the cooperative as share capital, while the deposit had crossed Rs 5,060 crore. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Zila Parishad building built at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. The Chief Minister later presided over the closing ceremony of the four-day HP State Police Meet at the police grounds. He also inaugurated the painting exhibition of Ms Madhu Vats at Dharamsala museum and appreciated the creativity of the artist. Meanwhile, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, said the medical college in Tanda was nearing completion and it would become a milestone in the health services in the region. |
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Mankotia meets CM, seeks varsity at Dharamsala
Dharamsala, November 16 This apparently scuttled the plan of Major Mankotia, MLA from Shahpur, who had announced that he would march to the Circuit House, along with his supporters, to submit a memorandum highlighting the discrimination against lower Himachal areas and corruption in a section of bureaucracy. According to sources, Transport Minister
G.S. Bali called up Major Mankotia this morning and told him that he had arranged a breakfast meeting with the Chief Minister, where he could discuss the two issues at Jia, near here. When the Chief Minister at the meeting reportedly asked for the memorandum, Major Mankotia said he would like to submit it to him at the Circuit House, as planned. The morning meeting left supporters of Major Mankotia in an awkward situation. Talking to The Tribune, Major Mankotia said the Chief Minister denied that there was any regional imbalance due to discrimination against Kangra region. He sought setting up of a commission to look into the issue, as had earlier been promised by the Chief Minister. On the corruption issue, the Chief Minister asked for the names of the accused and said he would inquire into the allegations and take action against any bureaucrat found guilty. “I told him that I am already in the process of preparing such a list to be submitted to the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi and would give a copy of the same to him,” said Major Mankotia. The Chief Minister reportedly did not insist on settling the issue at his level only so that the matter was not taken up with the Congress high command. The memorandum sought the creation of a circuit bench of the High Court in Dharamsala, in view of the geographic and climatic conditions and the setting up of a full-fledged university at Dharamsala or some other place in Kangra region to bring higher education within the reach of the youth of the area. The creation of a special economic zone in Kangra district to ensure large-scale public and private sector investment for the creation of a massive industrial infrastructure and promotion of tourism in the area with steps like broad gauging of the Pathankot-Jogindernagar Railway line had also been sought. It added that a rapid development authority be set up for the lower Himachal region, along with a special package of Rs 310 crore to cater to the needs of basic amenities in the 31 constituencies. Pointing out growing unemployment in the region, the memorandum sought inclusion of Kangra district in the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. |
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Fire victims get relief of Rs 41,000
Mandi, November 16 Villagers said it was quite difficult to stay in the patwarkhana, provided to them as a temporary stay by the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Mr Subhasish Panda, because of intense cold. The DC visited the spot and monitored the relief work in the village. The villagers said they needed material to rebuild their houses, destroyed in the fire. Mr Panda said four houses burnt in the fire would be rebuilt under the Indira Gandhi Awas Yojna and the victims would get assistance worth Rs 27,500 per family. “The six fire affected families were given an immediate relief of Rs 41,000 today. They would get TD for the building purpose and will stay in the patwarkhana till they rebuild their houses”, he added. Mr Panda said the fire victims would be given employment in the two schemes sanctioned to the village. “They would work in the flood-protection scheme to tame the nearby nallah. The primary school is opened there in which the victims would get employment”, he informed. The Mandi Red Cross Society distributed 50 kg of rice, 50 kg of atta, quilts, blankets and clothes to the fire victims. |
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10 houses burnt near Bharmour
Chamba, November 16 Giving this information over the phone today, Mr H.S. Negi, Subdivisional Magistrate, Bharmour, said that 23 families had been rendered homeless due to the fire. On receiving information about the fire, revenue officials of Bharmour rushed to the incident site and carried out a rescue and relief operation, the SDM claimed, adding that the loss caused due to fire had been put at more than Rs 65 lakh. The SDM said that the fire victims had been accommodated in the nearby houses and a government rest house. He said an immediate relief of Rs 5,000 each to the affected families had been sanctioned, besides ration for 15 days. The SDM said a case had been registered and an inquiry ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire so that action could be initiated accordingly. 150 jhuggis gutted Shimla, November 16 According to official sources, the fire started from one corner and immediately engulfed the entire row of jhuggis, reducing them to ashes. The total loss could not be ascertained, but there was no loss of life. Fire engines reached the spot immediately but nothing could be salvaged. — UNI |
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HP Govt, NHPC row subsides
Shimla, November 16 The General Manager of the project, Mr V.K. Sharma, has given an assurance that protection works would be provided at all the 15 sites pointed out by the state where muck had been dumped on hill slopes and nullahs in the Garsa and Manikaran valleys by February. He informed that tenders for protection works amounting to over Rs 4 crore had already been invited. He also assured that the corporation would abide by the recommendations of the state-level environment clearance committee in respect of the Parbati-III project for which the Centre had granted clearance ignoring the state. The government has in view of the undertaking allowed time up to February to enable the corporation to carry out the protection works and take other required steps. Mr S.K. Baldi, Secretary (Environment) said the situation would be reviewed in February and decision on whether to go ahead with prosecution would be taken on the basis of the progress of protection works. The state government adopted a tough posture on the issue as the corporation not only failed to take care of its environmental concerns but also secured unilateral environmental clearance for the Parbati-III and Chamera-III projects from the Centre. It served a notice on the General Manager to ensure compliance of its directions issued in May last within a month or face prosecution. It also made it clear to the corporation that it would not be allowed to start work on the two projects unless environmental issues were settled to its satisfaction. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, lodged a strong protest with the Centre about the issue and asserted that it had erred in granting clearance without taking the recommendations of the state into consideration. The state Pollution Control Board had last month stopped the work on Chamera-III project as soon as it was started. |
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Media asked to observe ethics
Shimla, November 16 Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Secretary, Information and Public Relations, Mr T.G. Negi, said ethics had a very important role in journalism. “It is essential that the media acts freely and responsibly as it is an opinion builder,” remarked Mr Negi. He said it was essential that the media adhered to professional ethics. “It is important that the media focuses on developmental journalism as people get to know about the various government schemes and policies and can benefit from it,” he stressed. The Director, Public Relations, Mr Dinesh Malhotra, said it were social values that guided the administrative and professional behaviour of a person, ultimately determining the quality and standard of the system. The Resident Editor, Indian Express, Mr Vipin Pubby, stressed the need for maintaining credibility. “The guidelines and principles laid by the Press Council of India need to be adhered to in the right perspective,” he emphasised. He said in an era of globalisation and liberalisation, the media was facing many challenges and there was need for adopting healthy traditions in journalism. Mr Udey Kumar, Editor, Amar Ujala, said with the enactment of the Information Act the media should be more responsible. “The reporting should be positive and accurate so that people are not misled by biased and wrong facts,” he stated. A large number of mediapersons, officials of the Information and Public Relation Department and students from the Department of journalism and mass communication attended the seminar. KULU: The National Press Day was celebrated here with great enthusiasm. Mr S.J.V. Subramaniam, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, was the chief guest while Mr Chamel Singh, Deputy Commissioner, presided over the function organised by the Public Relation Department at HPTDC hotel Sarwari here on Wednesday. Mr Subramaniam said that the day had come while a regulatory body had to be appointed for the media community. He said in the modern era there were two sectors that did not have a regulatory body — judiciary and media. He said that the ethics in reporting and credibility of the media institutions would get more polished if accountability was fixed. Mr Chamel Singh said that the administration would provide all possible security to mediapersons while reporting the happenings having mob mentality. Mr Jai Dev Vidrohi, a senior journalist, expressed concern over the declining standards of reporting. He stressed upon maintaining ethics in journalism. Ms. Manjula Murid, DPRO, here thanked the Divisional Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the journalists for participating in the celebrations. CHAMBA: To mark National Press Day a symposium was organised under the aegis of the state Department of Information and Public Relations. Journalists from various newspapers, news agencies, All India Radio and Television attended the symposium. A healthy interaction was conducted by journalists on the issues of ethics in journalism, their duties and responsibilities towards public as the ‘media’ is the fourth estate of democracy. During the discussion, almost all journalists were of the opinion that the thrust should be on quality and not quantity of news. Presiding over the symposium, Mr Mahesh Pathania, District Public Relations Officer, said that the Information and Public Relations Department had decided to send an advisory note to all departments making it mandatory to exchange information thereby maintaining a constant coordination between the government and the media. |
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Khab bridge on NH-22 reopens
Khab (Kinnaur), November 16 With the reopening of the bridge, the road link to Army’s biggest cantonment of the area in Kaurik on the Indo-Tibet border has been restored, besides enabling the flow of normal traffic to Lahaul-Spiti and Manali in the upper areas of Himachal Pradesh and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir through this bridge. After inaugurating the 200-feet long Bailey bridge, Brig K.P. Singh, Chief Engineer of the BRO (Project Deepak), while addressing a gathering of Army officials/personnel and the civilians said the establishment of this bridge was a thorny task due to the harsh weather conditions and the difficulty in transporting the building material. He said the building material of this bridge was transported in small quantities through spans (small trolleys) across Sutlej. Had the Kharo bridge been reopened earlier, it would have been easier to transport the building material, he added. Brig K.S. Kumber, Sector Commander of the Army, appreciated the officers and men of 68 RCC and said they have risen to the occasion and put up the tireless efforts to restore the line of communication in Kinnaur valley. The Superintending Engineer of the BRO, Commander Naresh Mittal, while talking to The Tribune revealed that in a 165 km stretch of the NH-22 the road was damaged at 122 points. With the inauguration of Khab bridge, we have now restored traffic through the damage points and there is no blockade left as on date, he said. In reply to a question, he said the total cost incurred on building the damaged bridges and restoring the road links was approximately Rs 20.22 crore. He further said that the BRO would spend another Rs 17 crore for further strengthening and metalling of the national highway. |
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Thousands visit Jayanti Mata Temple
Kangra, November 16 More than one lakh pilgrims visited Jayanti Mata Temple during the festival. On the last day today, devotees made a beeline for the more than 3 km uphill track, reciting Vedic hymns and Bajans. The pilgrims started pouring in from 5 a.m. and devotees had to stand in queues for hours before paying obeisance. — OC
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Thakur is HPPSC member
Shimla, November 16 The Chairman of the commission, Mr Arvind Kaul, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Brig L.S. Thakur. Brig Thakur was born on April 1, 1949, and retired as Brigade Commander from Kasauli after rendering 34 years of service. Order withdrawn Bilaspur, November 16 |
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Renuka fair concludes
Nahan, November 16 Mr Kokje stressed on development of religious places as tourist sites and promised to protect the sanctity of these places. He said apart from
protection of cultural heritage, it was time that we protected environment too at any cost. The Governor praised the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, for making efforts for the beautification of Renuka Tirtha. He gave away prizes to participants of exhibitions held during the fair. |
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Army jeep expedition flagged off
Shimla, November 16 The jeep expedition will link the Army headquarters and all the command headquarters with the artillery centres. It will traverse a distance of 5,000 km through 11 states and will terminate at the School of Artillery at Deolali on December 6, coinciding with the Artillery Reunion. Lieut-Gen K.S. Jamwal, GOC-in-C of the Army Training Command, flagged off the expedition. The expedition is being led by Col K.D.S. Sahney, while two Junior Commissioned Officers and eight other ranks of the Artillery Brigade of the Tiger Division are part of the team. The expedition is being undertaken in three Tata Sumo vehicles, provided by the J and K Sumo Association and Tata Steel. The expedition is aimed at travelling across the length and breadth of the country and meeting the serving and retired gunners who may not be fortunate enough to join the celebrations, informed an Army spokesperson. |
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Rs 4,000 stolen
Dharamsala, November 16 |
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