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RS ticket to Viplove,
setback to Virbhadra
Power board to honour HPERC order
Cold conditions continue in HP
BJP opposes inclusion of Jogindernagar |
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Industrialists yet to get land for plant
Tenements for labourers
Tibetans vow not to use animal skins
Resentment among people of Anuj’s village
One killed in mishap
Cancellation of maths paper recommended
Two killed in road accident
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RS ticket to Viplove,
setback to Virbhadra
Shimla, March 16 The Chief Minister had put his weight behind Mr Natha Singh and a signature campaign had also been launched in his favour to put pressure on the high command. However, the tactics did not work and the party gave the seat to Mrs Thakur. According to party sources, the signature campaign did not go down well with the high command. Attempts to bring in Mr Anil Sharma, a son of veteran Congress leader Sukh Ram, as a neutral candidate also failed. It is not for the first time that Mr Virbhadra Singh has been let down by the high command. In fact, he has been at the receiving end for the past some time. Only last month his arch rival, Mr Anand Sharma, was inducted into the Union Cabinet. Mrs Thakur was made the PCC chief despite stiff opposition from Mr Virbhadra Singh who wanted Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Industry Ministers, at the top party post. Undeterred by the attitude of the high command, Mr Virbhadra Singh has been taking on Ms Thakur publicly on various issues. He minced no words in criticising the composition of the PCC and maintained that his supporters had been kept out. Only recently he was engaged in a war of words with Mrs Thakur on the issue of declaration of assets by prominent party leaders. Meanwhile, Mrs Thakur, PCC chief, today resigned as Chairperson of the State Commission for Women to contest the Rajya Sabha seat. Her name for the lone Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant from Himachal Pradesh was cleared by the party high command last night. |
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Power board to honour HPERC order
Kumarhatti, March 16 The matter had been highlighted in these column under heading Power Board 'violates' HPERC order on February 18. In accordance with the HPERC order, the board has deferred the recovery of any expenditure till further instructions. Taking into consideration, the facts and circumstance and the documents place on record, the Commission has held the board was contravening the provisions of the HPERC (Recovery of Expenditure for Supply of Electricity) Regulations, 2005 in its order in December last year. The industrialists of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh-Parwanoo belt in a complaint to commission have charged the board with causing unwarranted burden of the careless attitude of the Board. The consumers were being made to pay charges according to whims and fancies of the Board rather than the regulations which were at present in force, the industrialist alleged. In its order, the Commission has observed that in respect of the HPERC (Recovery of Expenditure for Supply of Electricity) Regulations, 2005, the Regulations were unambiguous, unmistaken and too clear to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. There was no question of recovery of expenditure on blanket and ad hoc rates per
kva. It was inconceivable that the expenditure for providing supply to all the consumers in future would be the same regardless of the location and loading and staging. The Commission further observed that the cost data had yet to be submitted by the Board and yet to be approved by the Commission. Recovery of expenditure of Rs.95.97 crores, only through the industrial consumers regardless of the staging of the connections was without any basis, rationale and justification and was tantamount to recovering far less amount on NPV basis. The Board has further decided to refund the amount of Rs.31, 21,400, deposited by 72 consumers of Parwanoo as augmentation charges. The amount would be refunded by credit to consumers electricity bills in respect of those already connected and in cash to those who have not yet connected after deducting the actual expenditure incurred in connecting them to supply. This was to be done without taking into consideration the cost of augmentation of the line and the sub station. |
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Cold conditions continue in HP
Shimla, March 16 The high-altitude areas of Kinnaur, Kulu, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba districts experienced another spell of snowfall, while the lower areas of the districts were lashed by light rain, plummeting the minimum and maximum temperatures in the state. Rekong Peo, the district headquarters of Kinnaur, was lashed by rain last night, while Kalpa was under 5 cm of snow. Sources said the higher reaches had received another spell of heavy snowfall during the past 24 hrs. The higher reaches of Lahaul-Spiti district had received snow last night and Keylong, the district headquarters, was under 1 foot of snow. Sources said Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses had suspended their operations to the district. An official spokesman said only light vehicles were plying on the main and link roads of the district. Yesterday, the famous tourist resorts of Kufri, Narkanda and Mashobra in Shimla district had received three, four and two inches of snowfall, respectively, while Manali in Kulu district received four inches of snow. The Pangi and Bharmaur areas of Chamba district and other high mountain passes like Rohtang had another spell of moderate to heavy snowfall, causing a sharp fall in the mercury. Shimla’s minimum temperature dropped by two degrees to stand at two, while Sundernagar and Bhuntar recorded a low of 5.6 and three degrees. Shimla received 16.9 mm of rainfall, while Sundernagar and Bhuntar had 20.1 and 19.9 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hrs, the Met Office said.
— UNI |
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BJP opposes inclusion of Jogindernagar in Kangra
Mandi, March 16 Raising the issue at the BJP district executive meeting here today, presided over by the state president, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, former Vidhan Sabha Speaker and former BJP MLA from Jogindernagar, said people of Mandi opposed such a move as the commission should take into the account the cultural and geographical contiguity of the segment which had been part of Mandi district over the decades. The BJP leaders later adopted the resolution to oppose the move to exclude the segment from Mandi district. “Rampur Bushahr, which is closure to Shimla district, should be excluded from Mandi and merged with Shimla district,” claimed Mr Rup Singh Thakur, former BJP MLA from Sundernagar and former Forest Minister. Mr Bhardwaj told The Tribune that the district executive had passed the resolution and submitted to the Delimitation Commission, demanding exclusion of Jogindernagar from the Kangra constituency. The BJP district president, Mr Dile Ram, Mr Dulo Dam, district BJP in charge for Mandi affairs, Mr Ram Swarup, general secretary, Mr Jai Ram Thakur, Chachiot MLA, Mr Damodar Das, Balh MLA, state BJP Yuya Morcha leader, Mr Ajay Rana, Col Inder Singh, BJP leader from Gopalpur, and Mr Ramesh Sharma, a Drang BJP leader attended the meeting today. Former PWD Minister and Dharampur MLA Mohinder Singh, however, was conspicuous by his absence. |
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Industrialists yet to get land for plant
Solan, March 16 Though two sites of 191.8 and 71 bighas have been selected at Majra and Dhabota in Nalagarh, respectively, the Revenue Department is not keen to part with this land. The land, priced in crores, is to be granted to the industry at a nominal lease. The matter is, however, pending before the Revenue Department. The industrialists have requested the grant of this land on lease as buying it would exhaust a major part of their investment. With a binding of the apex court’s monitoring committee, the State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (SEPPCB) has fixed March 29 for public hearing on this issue. The member secretary of the board, Mr
S.P. Vasudeva, said the date of hearing had been fixed after receiving a written communique from the Department of Industries about the finalisation of the site. The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gujarat-based United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) to set up a hazardous waste disposal plant in the region. An operative society by the name of Shiwalik Solid Waste Management Limited (SSWML) has been formed, which will contribute Rs 240 lakh towards equity share while the remaining Rs 260 lakh would be pooled in by the
UPL. |
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Tenements for labourers
Baddi, March 16 The provision of quality and economical accommodation to over one lakh workers has become a cause of major concern for both to the state government and the investors. The fact that the labourers earn monthly salaries ranging between Rs 2,100 to 2,500 they can little afford to shell out thousands on housing alone. These tenements have been priced at Rs 2. 35 lakh and a monthly installment of Rs 1,000 would be paid by each labourer. The executive engineer of the HIMUDA ,Mr Umesh Sharma ,said more such tenements were being constructed in the industrial area. Justifying the exorbitant monthly installment he said a labourer at present paid much more for a single room. This provision would at least make available a decent room amidst hygienic
conditions, he added. With a view to roping in private participation the HIMUDA has made it mandatory for the colonisers constructing on over 40 bighas to construct at least 10 per cent flats for the economically weaker sections. Investors however rue that not much was being done to provide housing to the labourers. An ambitious housing scheme submitted by the CII had failed to get the requisite stamp duty exemption from the Revenue Department. This has acted as an impediment towards implementation of this ambitious scheme. They added that the labourers were being fleeced by the house owners and a single room was available for as much as Rs 2,500. A labourer who earned barely Rs 2,100-2,500 could not afford to pay such an exorbitant rent. They urged the government to encourage cooperative housing societies for which land transfer should be made cheaper and non-Himachalis should be allowed to buy such flats. |
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Tibetans vow not to use animal skins
Dharamsala, March 16 This follows an appeal by the Dalai Lama. All donated illegal pelts and other endangered animal products will be placed inside a special stupa, a Buddhist religious monument, in McLeodganj. Led by Buddhist nuns from Shugseb Nunnery, a special prayer was held in McLeodganj on Tuesday for all deceased animals whose lives were sacrificed to ‘satisfy the Tibetan demand for their skin and other body parts’. The initiative has been taken by an NGO, Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement (TEAM). Ms Tsering Yangkey, TEAM executive director, told The Tribune that Tibetans had been traditionally using tiger and snow leopard skin on their clothing but it was now the need of the hour to save these endangered species from extinction. The campaign was scheduled during the preaching session of the Dalai Lama and on the first day on Tuesday. Over 1000 Tibetans signed the vow not to use such products in future and donated their outfits made of pelts, she said. There has been a sudden eruption of environmental activism ever since the Dalai Lama made a strong appeal to Tibetans during the Kalachakra 2006 in January in Amravati not to use products made of endangered species. There have been many instances of voluntary burning of thousands of animal pelts inside and outside
Tibet. She added that the prayer vigil drew most of its inspiration from the recent environmental campaigns inside Tibet. |
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Resentment among people of Anuj’s village
Kangra March 16 Mr Vivek Kaushal, president of the Adarsh Yuva Club, Rehan, today said that as per the format of the Indian Idol programme, organised by Sony Television, Anuj came among the three candidates but the behaviour of the judges, who under protest left their chairs, provoked the protest. He said: “It is an insult to an artist and his art by senior singers of the country”. |
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One killed in mishap
Parwanoo, March 16 The police has registered a case of rash and negligent driving leading to the death of a person against driver Sarbjeet Singh under Sections 279, 337 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code in this regard. |
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Cancellation of maths paper recommended
Nurpur, March 16 When contacted, the SDM, Mr N.K. Lath, admitted that he had seized a large amount of copying material from the examination centre. He said he had recommended cancellation of the mathematics paper of this centre to the HP Board of School Education on the grounds of mass copying. |
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Two killed in road accident
Nurpur, March 16 According to the police, the deceased have been identified as Aman (23) of Kuther village, near Pathankot, and Ajay (25) of Bholla Tyala, near Indora, in this subdivision. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304(A) of the IPC against bus driver Sikandar Lal who was arrested and bailed out today. In another accident, a scooterist, Vikas, was injured when his scooter hit a roadside tree on the highway, near Jassur, last
night. — OC |
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Manipuri youth killed
Parwanoo, March 16 Premkant who had gone to Montu Kumar’s place in Sector 3 on last Sunday picked up a fight with him over the money. The police officers said though Montu returned the money, but he attacked Premkant with a brick which proved fatal.
Prem Kumar was rushed to Kalka from where he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. He however succumbed to his injuries on the way. The police has registered a case.
— TNS |
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