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Action against staff of three govt schools
4 dead, 30 hurt in bus accident
Role of 2 HAS officers comes under scanner
Wakf Board properties to be retrieved: CM
Manali-Leh highway awaits repair
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Central team on drought visits district
Baddi does well in industrial growth
Army to take up non-allotment of land to ex-servicemen
Nathpa-Jhakri project closed for 10th day
Construction ban along rivers
30 devotees arrested for violence
Pallavi tops BBA exam
Shepherds stranded on mountain top
BJP workers block traffic
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Action against staff of three govt schools
Dharamsala, August 2 Talking to The Tribune, Mr B.R. Rahi, Chairman of the board, said glaring anomalies had come out in the award lists forwarded to the board by certain examiners, putting the students concerned through inconvenience. For instance, in one case, the marks of a student had been reduced from 73 to 13 in class XI Mathematics paper, he said. “Acting promptly on the representations received from the students, the board decided to take a serious view of the gross negligence and carelessness of the sub-examiners, head examiners and checking assistants. The mistakes came out during the rechecking process,” he said. The list of those debarred from the examination work for five years includes Nand Lal posted in a school in Butti (Kullu), who allegedly gave 71 marks to a class XI student for Mathematics paper on the answer sheet but forwarded only 10 marks to the board. Shashi Kant Sharma of Jol Sapar (Hamirpur) awarded 40 marks to an Accountancy student of class XI, but reduced the count to 12 in the award list. Similarly, Mangal Singh of Bahadpur (Kangra), reduced the marks of a class XI student from 73 to 13 in the award lists sent to the board and Prabhat of Kalor forwarded only five marks of a class XII student in Physics to the board, even though the score on the answer book was 25. Jarnail Singh of Dussara (Una) awarded 38 marks to an English student but forwarded only 15 marks. Neelam Kumari of Diara (Una) reduced the marks from 38 to 18 in the list submitted to the board. Similarly, Rajiv Kumar reduced the marks of a Mathematics student from 33 to 4 in the award list. These names have also been forward to the Department of Education for necessary departmental action against them. Mr Rahi further informed that the entire supervisory staff of Government Senior Secondary School, Baruna (Nalagarh), Government Senior Secondary School, Saroh (Una) and Government Senior Secondary School, Basehra (Una) had been debarred from any examination duty for issuing wrong roll numbers to the students, which resulted in anomalies in the final result declared by the board.
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4 dead, 30 hurt in bus accident
Shimla, August 2 The accident occurred at 5.10 p.m. when the private bus was on its way to Berthin from Shimla. The sources said 15 of the seriously injured have been referred to Bilaspur Zonal Hospital, while 16 injured being provided first aid at Namhol primary health centre. Senior district officials have rushed to the accident site to help in rescue and relief operations, which were being hampered due to rains in the area. The sources said the toll was likely to rise further as there was a likelihood of people still being trapped under the body of the bus. The cause of the accident was not known, the sources added.
— UNI
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Role of 2 HAS officers comes under scanner
Reckong Peo, August 2 With this, the role of two officers of the Himachal Administrative Services (HAS), earlier posted at Reckong Peo, has come under scanner. One employee of the local administration has been charge-sheeted in this regard and further investigations against him were in progress. Sources in the office of the District Magistrate of Kinnaur revealed that the cash related entries regarding the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) of Reckong Peo were not entered in the cash book from time to time regularly during the past two years. It is the duty of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Kalpa based at Reckong Peo, to complete the cash book regularly. The SDM, by virtue of his post also holds the dual charge of the secretary of the SADA, the chairman of which is the local MLA. However, the two HAS officers, Mr K.K. Saroch and Mr Sumit Khimta, during their tenure as SDM here in the past two years allegedly did not handle the cash matters seriously. No entry was made in the cash book for that period even after their transfer from here. The irregularity was detected by the new SDM, who replaced Mr Khimta, who had been transferred as SDM to Nahan, a few weeks back. When the matter came to the notice of the local DM, the cash book was completed in haste and the responsibility was fixed on a clerk posted at the SDM’s office. The clerk had already been charge-sheeted in the case of fake work permits issued to the Nepalese migrants in Kinnaur. Investigations made by The Tribune revealed that the fake work permits case had come to light during the tenure of Mr Saroch as the Assistant Commissioner. He had also worked as SDM of Kalpa at Reckong Peo for short durations during which the cash book of the SADA was also allegedly not signed by him. The district administration of Kinnaur, after issuing the charge-sheet to the clerk on charges of not producing the cash book from time to time before his bosses for their initials appears to be trying to protect the two HAS officers in this case.
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Wakf Board properties to be retrieved: CM
Shimla, August 2 This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, while presiding over the sixth meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Wakf Board here yesterday. “The government will carry out a survey and identify the properties of the Wakf Board and help in getting it vacated from encroachers,” he said. He said the government had appointed the Divisional Commissioners of Mandi, Shimla and Kangra as Wakf Survey Commissioners who will identify and get the encroachments removed from the Wakf Board properties. He said the revenue staff would be deputed to identify the land and to prepare revenue papers so that the eviction process could be expedited. “We will take up the issue of grant of our share from the Punjab Wakf Board with the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,” he said. The Punjab Wakf Board consisted of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh and after the division of states, HP did not get its due like other states. The Chief Minister said the government would consider exempting Wakf properties from the HP Urban Rent Control Act and the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act for three years to help the board generate resources to meet its expenses.
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Manali-Leh highway awaits repair
Manali, August 2 This National Highway is not only vital for the Army but is also important from the tourists point of view as numerous tourists visit the valley to drive up to the 13,050ft Rohtang Pass. Moreover, during the peak tourist season hundreds of vehicles carrying tourists use this road. Last July, a small stretch of this vital road, a kilometer north of Manali, was again washed away by flood waters now leaving only a narrow stretch for vehicles and pedestrians to cross. This stretch is bordered by a vertical hillside on one side and the River Beas on the other. Till now, this stretch still awaits repair by the GREF, a wing of the Border Roads Organization. On one side of this road the vertical hillside is a zone of shooting stones and mudslides especially during the rainy season and winters. This stretch was temporarily repaired in 1995 and 1997 by dumping huge amounts of mud and silt to widen the road. However later rains and the rising river Beas washed away this stretch again leaving it poised for another disaster. The hillside immediately above this stretch of road is a constant threat to vehicular traffic, tourists and the residents inhabiting about 15 villages north of Manali who constantly use this road. A major part of this pedestrian traffic consists of school children studying in Manali. The threat of falling stones and rocks also are posing a threat particularly during the rainy season. During winters also, when snow melts there are constant landslips and rock falls. The Manali-Leh highway which opens only for a few months in a year is a vital strategic road for military convoys heading with supplies to the border areas of Leh-Ladakh. Besides, it is also a lifeline for farmers of Lahaul Spiti and Pangi regions who transport their seasonal vegetables of peas and potatoes to Manali via this road. The villagers residing in the upper Manali region are also inconvenienced during the apple season in August and September. After the Manali-Leh highway was thrown open to foreign visitors, it has seen an increasing amount of domestic and overseas tourists using this highway to visit the Leh-Ladakh region. It is unfortunate that a small stretch of this 475 km long Manali- Leh highway which first saw the devastating floods in September 1995 and again in 1997 continues to be in a state of neglect.
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Central team on drought visits district
Kulu, August 2 The Chairman of the committee, Mr Satish Chander, Joint Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Government of India, told that the committee would recommend additional amount of relief as the damage to the crops appeared to be much more. The committee had visited many apple orchards and other fields in the state and would try to convince the Central government to provide more funds to the state, he added. The other members of the committee, Mr Dinesh Chand and Mr Shivarama Reddy, suggested the district administration that they should immediately report the drought damage to the Union Government so that assessment could be made well on time and factual data could be collected. Mr Chamel Singh, Deputy Commissioner, here said that the district administration had requested the committee to sanction additional Rs 1.20 crore to Kulu district as the damage to the fruit crop only in the district was estimated to be more than 90 crore. The committee had also visited the tribal belt of the Lahaul and Spiti district. The committee had interaction with the district administration at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here yesterday. Mr K. J. B. B. Subramanium, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, was also present at the meeting.
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Baddi does well in industrial growth
Baddi, August 2 According to the data collected from the GM office of the District Industries Centre, the district attracted 2344 units for provisional registration from 2003-04 to 2005-06. Also, the state’s industrial policy-2004 had focussed on ensuring inter-sector coordination and planned industrial development throughout the state. It had stressed upon planned development in areas of the state with potential for industrial growth and on uniform dispersal and promotion of industry. The incentives available in the form of subsides, concessional rate of power and deferment of VAT have virtually set the ball rolling for the industry. According to the figures available, 724, 793 and 827 units were registered in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively involving an investment of Rs 1,65,894.38 lakh. These units were expected to generate employment for 69292 persons. Out of 2344 provisionally registered units, 469 units have been registered permanently. While 85 units had sought permanent registration in 2003-04, 192 units each were registered in 2004-05 and 2005-06, respectively. These 469 units involved a total investment of Rs 13285.91 lakh. These units have provided jobs to 7352 Himachalis. Between 2003-04 to 2005-06, under the PM Employment Scheme, Rs 863.10 lakh was sanctioned as loans from different banks to 998 unemployed youth. From it, Rs 701.47 lakh was disbursed to 870 unemployed youth for self-employment. In fact, the Baddi -Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt has emerged as a front runner in industrial growth. The units being set up in this area of the district have been categorised as ‘A’ block.
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Army to take up non-allotment of
Powari, (Kinnaur), August 2 These announcements were made at the ‘Gaurav Rally’ rally for ex-servicemen held here on Sunday. The matter would also be discussed at the higher level with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, it was announced. The state government was yet to allot the grant of 20 bighas of land to the ex-servicemen meant for their livelihood in the district. The Forest Conservation Act-1980, which was said to be coming in the way of the allotment of land to the ex-servicemen in the tribal belt was also discussed on the
occasion. A cheque of Rs. 3 lakh as ex-gratia grant was given to Ms Raj Bhakti, of Barang village, whose husband, Naik Subedar, Raj Bahadur, laid down his life on May 16 in Jammu & Kashmir fighting the
militants. Seven other ‘veer naris’ widows or mothers of martyrs were also honoured on the occasion. The Army authorities also announced that 100 vacancies had been reserved for ex-servicemen in eco-battalion. Further a grant of Rs. 2,500 will be given for arranging funeral ceremony of an ex-servicemen. A poly-clinic and a rail reservation
counter will be established at Reckong Peo. Also war widows of the district will be entitled to get liquor from Army canteens. A grant was also announced for the renovation of District Sainik Welfare Board office in Reckong Peo. The pension and canteen facility problems of the ex-servicemen were redressed on the spot.
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Nathpa-Jhakri project closed for 10th day
Shimla, August 2 Project sources said the silt level rose to 25,000 PPM at Khab and the discharge of water in the Sutlej also rose to 440 cusecs against the normal level of 250 to 300 cusecs. The discharge of the Sutlej also rose to 1,200 cusecs at Nathpa, against the normal discharge of 550 to 600 cusecs. The project had so far generated 3,055 million units of energy since April this year and the power generated over and above the target during June had been offset by the closure of the project and there was a net shortfall of 75 million units of power till date.
— PTI
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Construction ban along rivers
Shimla, August 2 Though such directions have been issued even in the past but it has been seen that despite warnings and strict regulation, constructions have come up very close to the rivers and streams all over the state. The officials, in the latest directive issued last week, have been asked to take utmost care while granting clearance to maps of sites which are in the vicinity of natural drainage. "Stringent action should be taken against all violators who undertake unauthorised construction," the directive reads. Even the high court had issued directives that no constructions should be allowed close to the rivers or streams and in case of the Beas, a minimum of 25 mts distance had been laid down.
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30 devotees arrested for violence
Una, August 2 The SP, Una, Mr Atul Phuljhele, said the situation was now under control here and the police had arrested the devotees who were involved in the violence. Six devotees were remanded to police custody this afternoon. The situation aggravated here yesterday following two incident of fighting involving devotees from Punjab with a local shopkeepers and also with police personnel deployed here to maintain law order during the fair. The situated deteriorated to the extent that the police had resorted to lathicharge to disperse the devotees.
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Pallavi tops BBA exam
Dharamsala, August 2 Dr Narendra Awasthi, Principal said Pallavi got 2227 out of 3100 marks in the annual examination. Doing MBA in international business from the Noida Campus of Amity University, Pallavi has been a good student since her childhood. She scored 83 per cent in matriculation and 84 per cent in plus two examinations. She has won many prizes in declamation contests in school and college level.
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Shepherds stranded on mountain top
Reckong Peo, August 2 The glacier suddenly started melting due to change in weather conditions, raising the water level in the Bichina and Vishag nullahs and blocking the path leading to the pasture. District Magistrate, Kinnaur, Amandeep Garg , said he had received information and had asked the tehsildar of Nichar for a report. The tehsildar said he had sent a kanungo and a Junior Engineer to visit the spot two days ago. “The team arrived this evening and is preparing a report which will be forwarded to the District Magistrate,” he said. It takes at least two days to reach the pasture on foot from the nearest Rupi village that falls in Nichar subdivision of Kinnaur district. The village is situated in the remotest area of the district.
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BJP workers block traffic
Nahan, August 2 All the dharnas went off peacefully and no untoward incident was reported.
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