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Dhumal alleges phone tapping
Reservation for OBC students to be enforced
Snowfall brings cheers to Kinnaur farmers
Hike in prices of foodgrains flayed
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Kulu shawl, Kangra tea get GI registration
Monkey sterilisation centre for Shimla Inquiry sought into insurance commission scam Selection process reduced to farce
Compensation enhanced
Kokje, CM felicitate
people on Eid
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Dhumal alleges phone tapping
Hamirpur, January 11 Observing that it was a serious issue, Mr Dhumal said he would take up the issue with the Vidhan Sabha Speaker G.R. Musafir, while demanding a high-level inquiry into the alleged phone-tapping episode. He said an inquiry was essential to unravel the whole truth of the alleged phone tapping of leaders of various parties, adding that it had shaken the very foundations of the democracy. Referring to the inquiry into the jobs-on-chit scam, he said it was still not known whether names of people who had recommended people on chits for recruitment figured in the FIR or not. Mr Dhumal, however, said since the state High Court was inquiring into the matter, he was sure the guilty would be punished. The former Chief Minister favoured direct elections to all posts of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, nagar parishads, nagar panchayats and even nagar nigams. — UNI |
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Reservation for OBC students to be enforced
Dharamsala, January 11 The Chief Minister said the state government would follow the provisions of the Constitutional Amendment and follow the prescribed roster while admissions were made to various educational institutions operated by the private parties. He said the benefit of the reservation was being extended to all reserved categories in government educational institutions so that students of these categories were provided ample opportunities. Mr Virbhadra Singh said the departments concerned would come up with a proposal to identify suitable sites on the national, state and other highways where shopping complexes could be constructed which on completion, would be allotted to unemployed people of the area. He said a large number of encroachments had taken place on either side of the national and state highways which needed to be removed and suitable shopping arcades constructed at appropriate locations. The Chief Minister said a total of 47 castes had been enlisted as OBCs, which comprised 16 per cent of the population of the state and numbered around 9.50 lakh. He said the OBC Commission constituted by the state government had been given the responsibility to suggest various modes to facilitate welfare of the OBCs and the OBC Finance and Development Corporation had been constituted to help OBCs avail loan and subsidy facilities at minimum rate of interest. He said the corporation had helped 2347 eligible OBC families who were given Rs 21.93 crore loan through banks. He said the state government had increased the creamy layer criteria from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh so that more people were benefited by central and state sponsored schemes. He said 18 percent reservation in Class III and IV posts in government departments was being enforced which was much higher to the population of OBCs.
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Snowfall brings cheers to Kinnaur farmers
Reckong Peo, January 11 Just after celebrating a bumper apple crop of over 20 lakh boxes in the district, the recent snowfall for the apple growers has raised hopes for yet another bumper harvest next year. The record production of apple crop in Kinnaur acquires great significance, especially after the havoc played by the floods in the Sutlej. The farmers are offering prayers in temples across the district for another such spell of snowfall in the next couple of weeks, which they feel will ensure abundant production besides helping the newly planted trees survive. It may be mentioned that the apple trees are deciduous trees, which shed their leaves during winters. During this period, freezing temperature is of great importance for them. With temperature below zero degree centigrade, the moisture has to seep in properly. Such atmospheric conditions nourish the apple trees, explains Mr B.S. Negi, a local farmer. Snowfall in this belt also proves beneficial for the forest-based products like walnuts, almonds and pine nuts (chilgoza), says an official of the horticulture department. Another positive aspect to the snow and rain is that it helps watersheds to store water for the coming months, besides recharging the ground water tables in the plain areas. The snow, as it melts, increases the level of water in the rain-fed rivers. Since, a sizable part of Kinnaur district, particularly the Pooh subdivision comes under the cold desert belt of the Himalayas, agriculture or horticulture without watersheds is almost impossible. Capt J.M. Pathania (retd), officiating District Magistrate of Kinnaur who has pioneered efforts for the desert development programme by establishing hundreds of watersheds in Pooh subdivision, says that the snowfall and rain will help store water in the region. Adding that the state government is spending Rs 45 crore on developing watersheds in the region during the current plan, he says that efforts will be initiated to utilise the maximum capacity of watersheds to store water from the melting snow and rain. |
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Hike in prices of foodgrains flayed
Palampur, January 11 In a statement issued here, Mr Shanta Kumar said over 30 crore people were living below the poverty line and the Vajpayee government had launched this programme with the intention to help them and to stop the deaths being caused by hunger in the country. He said when this scheme was launched over five crore families were identified in the country who were living below the poverty line. They were unable to have two square meals a day, but after this scheme they were getting cheaper wheat and ration at the rate of Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg and were able to have two meals a day. But the recent decision of the Union Government would adversely affect them, he said. He regretted that Union Government had “failed to check corruption in the country, there was no check on unwanted expenditure of ministers”. He said the Government should review its decision without any delay. |
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Kulu shawl, Kangra tea get GI registration
Shimla, January 11 Stating this here yesterday, Mr Shrikant Baldi, Secretary, Science and Technology, said Himachal Pradesh Patent Information Centre (HPPIC) was the first centre in the country to take such an initiative. "The initiative taken by the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment would help in boosting the state's economy during the present day WTO regime, along with protecting the products of Himachal," he said. Mr Baldi said that it was a matter of great pride for the state that Kulu shawl and Kangra tea had been registered by the Registrar of Geographical Indications under the Geographical Indications (GIs) of Goods Act, 1999.The Registrar had issued certificate for Kulu shawl and Kangra tea from December, 2005, he added. He said that the registration of Kulu shawl and Kangra tea would prevent unauthorized production as well as use of the names of these products originating from a place outside their origin. "The Kulu Shawl Weavers' Association and the Kangra Small Tea Planters' Association and the HP Patent Information Centre will deal with GI-related issues," he said. Dr Baldi said some other possible Geographical Indications had been identified, which include Kinnauri shawl, Chamba rumal, Chamba chappal, Angoori (traditional wine), red rice and traditional foods of Himachal. |
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Monkey sterilisation centre for Shimla Shimla, January 11 The ministry has agreed in principle to allow the department to sterilise monkeys to control their population. The Centre will provide an initial grant of Rs 1.2 crore to the state to start the sterilisation project. The Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre of the Wildlife Department at Tutikandi will be the sterilisation centre after making certain alterations and additions. The Forest Department will acquire two sterilisation machines with laser technology. Each machine is expected to cost about Rs 6 lakh. The state government had, for the past few years, been seeking permission from the Centre to go ahead with the sterilisation project. With Ms Maneka Gandhi and the Animal Welfare Board having certain reservations, a Central team had visited the state about a month back. “They interacted with local residents and officials to understand the gravity of the situation and gave a favourable report, clearing the sterilisation project,” said a senior official. The Principal Chief Conservator Wildlife, Mr K.K. Gupta, said the Centre had agreed to clear the project and only formal approval and funding were awaited. Wildlife officials said about 5,000 alpha monkeys would be sterilised in the first phase. They said each alpha monkey had a harem of about eight monkey queens. To begin with, Shimla, Rampur, Solan and Kangra, along with towns on the Kalka-Shimla highway, where the problem was acute, would be covered. The sterilisation centre at Tutikandi would also deal with the problem of stray dogs. A memorandum of understanding had been signed between the municipal corporation and the Wildlife Department as per a directive of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, which felt that the same infrastructure could be put to use to tackle the problem of stray dogs. Most towns in the state had been facing the problem of monkey menace as their number had increased rapidly. Not only did monkeys create havoc in towns, but caused damage to crops in villages. The earlier strategy of the authorities to catch monkeys from one area and transfer to others had aggravated the situation and the people had protested against this method.
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Inquiry sought into insurance commission scam
Shimla, January 11 Addressing a joint press conference, Mr V.K. Kaul and Mr Vinod Sharma, working president and general secretary of the confederation, respectively, accused the government of shielding the leader at whose instance a large number of employees had been transferred. They demanded that a criminal case be registered and the end beneficiaries of the illegal commission paid by the insurance company identified. Worse, instead of taking action the government had obliged the employee leader by granting him a higher pay scale without any justification. The two employee leaders also demanded a probe into the purchase of over-aged and diseased fruit saplings from a private nursery for distribution among farmers at subsidised rates. They pointed out that a non-government organisation of Dodra Kawar had sent a complaint to the Chief Minister but no action had been taken. The confederation would launch a statewide campaign to expose the government if it failed to accept its demand.
— TNS
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Selection process reduced to farce Shimla, January 11 As per the Electricity Act 2003 the process to fill a vacancy arising due to superannuation or completion of the term of a member has to be started six months in advance. In a recent case the government constituted a selection committee on December 21, 2005 and the Department of Personnel issued a circular inviting applications from candidates the same day. It was quite unusual as the applications are invited by the committee after finalising the modalities, criteria and procedure for selection on the basis of which the candidates are shortlisted. Intriguingly, the notice inviting applications was not widely circulated and hardly any time was given for submitting applications. The circular was issued on December 21, 2005 and the last date for the submission of applications mentioned was December 28, 2005. The circular reached even the departments located within the city after three to four days and as such there was little time of sending applications. It is hardly surprising that only 32 applications from within the state were received. Normally one month is given at first which is further extended on most occasions. Further, the circular says that the terms and condition for the post will be as per rules but the rules have not been framed over the past five years. When the outgoing chairperson, Mr S.S.Gupta, was appointed, the government order stated that terms and conditions of appointment will be issued separately but that was not done.
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Compensation enhanced
Dharamsala, January 11 The demand of the Gaddi Welfare Board seeking grant of authority to gram panchayat pradhans and veterinary assistants to issue death certificates in case of sheep and goats dying in natural calamities has also been accepted, stated Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in his address to the members of the board here today. He said as per the 2001 census, the state had a Scheduled Tribe population of 2,44,587, which was 4.02 per cent of the total population. But after the addition of Gaddis from the hilly areas of Punjab merged with Himachal, more people were granted the ST status in 2003 and the number increased to 3,38,834. The Deputy Commissioner, he said, had been directed through the Revenue Department to enumerate all Scheduled Tribes living in the non-tribal areas so that factual figures could be calculated and benefits be given to the deserving. |
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Kokje, CM felicitate
people on Eid Shimla, January 11 Mr Virbhadra Singh, while felicitating the people of the state, especially Muslim brethren, said that Eid would bring prosperity and happiness in the lives of
the people and help in strengthening the bond of brotherhood and
universal peace. — TNS
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Baddi, January 11 The mishap occurred on the intervening night of January 10-11 when the duo were working with a JCB on a road near Haripur Baba. The police officials said some digging operation was underway from a overhead site and the JCB driver, Sarbjeet Singh, directed Balwant to clean the glasses of the machine. — OC
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