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Punjab CM’s farm has ‘only Mongolian pheasants’
Govt blamed for stalling Rs 55 cr education programme
Agonising wait for body’s arrival from Saudi Arabia
Sanawar hires langoors to chase away monkeys
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Govt considering holiday
on Feb 2 next year
Threat to retaining wall of bridge persists
Tout held in CPMT scam
CM lays stone for hostels
No controversy on
Vande Mataram in HP
Cong, BJP celebrate Vande Mataram centenary
Tourism police in Kinnaur
Award for HPMC MD
Pharma units resent forming of panel for licence
Bridge damaged; residents suffer
Financial Commissioner Saxena dead
Clubs to be set up for creating AIDS awareness
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Punjab CM’s farm has ‘only Mongolian pheasants’
Shimla, September 7 Thought the staff of the Wildlife Department were not allowed inside the private property of the Punjab Chief Minister to see or count the number and species, but the caretaker has informed that there are only three varieties of Mongolian pheasants, golden, silver and ring necked. According to Forest officials none of these species as reported by the caretaker at the farm fall in the category of Himachal pheasants. It is learnt that the caretaker at the farm informed the staff that there were only a handful of silver pheasants but the number of golden and ring necked pheasants was over 100. There are seven species of pheasants found in Himachal with four of them falling in schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act and the rest in the second and third schedule. The seven species of pheasants found in Himachal includes, western tragopan, monal, kalij, koklas, pea fowl, red jungle and cheer pheasant. The staff from the Range office, Chail had visited the farm to seek details about the rare species of birds bred there after the controversy erupted. “We are awaiting a reply from the chief minister, for which they have 15 days time from the day the notice was issued on September 5,” informed officials, who are being extracautious in dealing with the case. The wildlife officials, who were wanting to be doubly sure whether the species mentioned by the caretaker at the Punjab chief minister’s farm were out of the purview of the Wildlife Protection Act said that the kind of exotic varieties at the Dochi farm were being bred by private breeders at some places like Nainital and could be easily obtained. The officials, who are treading carefully on the issue, which has assumed political overtones in Punjab, say they are waiting for the reply of the Chief Minister. “Permission can be obtained from the Chief Wildlife Warden under Section 41 and 42 of the Wildlife Act for breeding certain species of exotic birds,” said a senior official. The officials said that as far as the issue of reintroduction of these birds back into nature was concerned the guidelines laid down by IUCN, an international body have to be followed regarding immunity from diseases and their survival chances in the open. |
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Govt blamed for stalling Rs 55 cr education programme
Shimla, September 7 Addressing a press conference on the eve of World Literacy Day he said the state was required to contribute only Rs 8.40 crore over a period of five years, which was a small amount considering the fact that the annual budget for education was Rs 1204 crore. As such financial consideration could not be the reason for state’s reluctance to implement the programme. Further, it was not willing to even issue a no-objection certificate for the implementation with the samiti raising its own funds for the purpose. This clearly indicated that the government had some other reasons for not implementing the programme. He alleged that the party in power felt threatened due to the awareness being created by the over 37,000 volunteers of the samiti in the state among the masses about their rights. The villagers were well informed and playing an effective role in matters like the identification of below poverty line families much to the discomfiture of the politicians. The CEP was being run in 314 districts of 24 states but in Himachal pradesh it was launched only in the Mandi district but could not be implemented properly due to refusal of the state to contribute its share. He claimed that the hill state was not second after
Kerala in literacy as was being claimed. It was way behind as per the 2001 census and stood at 11th place. As such it could not afford to neglect the literacy programme. The Samiti now has decided to use pressure tactics and it would not only seek the intervention of the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development but also launch statewide campaign to build public opinion on the issue. The campaign would include rallies and dharnas and other methods to compel the government to implement the programme. |
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Agonising wait for body’s arrival from Saudi Arabia
Dharamsala, September 7 According to the family, the employer for whom Bachitar Singh worked as a generator operator, is demanding a sum of Rs 1.60 lakh to release his body as charges for preserving it and for transportation. The family got to know about his death in the first week of July and local villagers even tried to pool in the amount and managed a sum of around Rs 20,000. Moved by this, the state government has now declared that any amount needed to get the body back would be borne by it. “It was only on September 25 that the family approached us to intervene in getting the body back to India. The family says that the employer, Masoom Ali Namran, has been changing his statement on taking the money for handing over the body. Sometimes he says he doesn’t need it at all. The main hurdle seems to be the legalities and other formalities of the foreign country in handing over the body in such cases,” said Mr C.P. Verma, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Palampur. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Ishwar Das, brother of the deceased, said Bachitar Singh had been working in That Leeth in Saudi Arabia for the past 13 years. It was in the first week of July that they got a phone call from a fellow Indian, Abdul Kadoor, hailing from Meerut, working with him that Bachitar had died of heart attack and the family would have to arrange Rs 1.60 lakh to take the possession of the body. He said Bachitar’s three children, the youngest being a 10-month-old girl, and his wife were staying with them in Palampur. “It has been an agonising wait for all of us. The body is lying in a foreign land and the last rites are pending. There is no clear indication on when the body would be brought back.” “He had come to India on a vacation last year and had gone back only early this year. We had never expected what fate had in store for us,” he said. Assistant Commissioner A.L. Sharma said the district administration was in touch with the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. “The Embassy people went to the postal address of Bachitar Singh, which was of some dispensary, given by the family, but did not find anything there. Today the telephone number of Bachitar’s Indian friend, working for the same employer, has been sent and we hope to complete the formalities soon,” he said.
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Sanawar hires langoors to chase away monkeys
Sanawar, September 7 “The monkey menace has been bothering us, especially in the mornings when the students come for breakfast. The monkeys get infuriated on seeing the packets of food in the hands of the children and end up attacking them, grabbing at the food,” explains the sports teacher and House Master of Shivalik House, Mr Daljinder Singh. This is their way of getting rid of this nuisance. “Instead of shooting them with a gun or with a ‘gulel’ this is perhaps better,” avers Mr Singh. As the monkeys and langoors are known not to share a friendly rapport, it is hoped that the monkeys on seeing their arch enemies ensconced in the school, will stay away. The school management has given a three-month contract to the owners of the langoors—Sameer, Aslam and Ali Baba, all residents of Colony No 4 at Phase 1, Ram Durbar, Chandigarh—to house them on campus. The three men in their mid-thirties have hardly gone to school themselves but have a hard task ahead of them. “At the moment, we are living at 10 minutes’ walking distance from the school. The accommodation is provided by the school. Our day starts early in the morning at around 5 am and till six in the evening we are on our toes, taking rounds of the school, driving the monkeys away,” says Aslam. Sharing their experiences, they tell us that these langoors have a strong sense of smell. They are kept tied to a long string, the end of which is in the hands of these three men. The moment they smell the monkeys approaching, they start dragging them to where the monkeys are. “One langoor is enough to chase away 40 to 50 monkeys,” smiles Sameer. But should a dog come on the scene, the langoors get frightened and that poses a problem for the owners. “The dogs bite them and chase them. That is sometimes difficult to control. But now we keep a hockey stick to chase the dogs away,” says Sameer. In fact, they are professional monkey menace combaters. The langoors are captured and then undergo special training in Delhi when they are a year or two old. The older members of their family run this business in Delhi in areas around Connaught Place, the Lal Kila, Moti
Bagh etc. Sameer has earlier worked in Chandigarh, where he provided services at the PGI, Panjab University, Punjab Engineering College and Controller of Defence Accounts Office. The owners of these langoors get approximately Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per animal for their services and they have been in this profession for a long time. “I was nine years old when I got Udham. That way, Udham is now 26 years old,” smiles Sameer proudly. However, it is not easy to feed and look after these animals. “Their diet is almost equivalent of an adult person but they are strict vegetarians.” Just feeding the langoor costs an average of Rs 100 to 150 per day so it is essentially a hand-to-mouth existence for the owners since two people live off one langoor,” explains Ali Baba, the owner of Chunia langoor. Having the langoors on the campus seems to have worked, agree the students at Lawrence School as the number of monkeys roaming the campus has drastically reduced.
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Govt considering holiday
on Feb 2 next year
Shimla, September 7 This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while presiding over the fifth meeting of the Kabir Panthi Welfare Board here today. He said the government was committed to the welfare of the people of different communities and minorities, and it was the first state in the country to make a legal provision for the maintenance amount to parents from their earning wards. He said the necessity for such an enactment had emerged in view a number of complaints from the aged parents who were neglected by their wards. He further said that all eligible old aged, widows and handicapped persons would be provided the social security cover under the social security pension scheme. The Chief Minister said Rs 3.63 crore would be spent on the revival of traditional water bodies and creation of rainwater harvesting structures in the Lohgarh area of Paonta Sahib to provide irrigation facilities to the farmers of the area. He also sanctioned a tubewell for Scheduled Caste village, Kolar, in Paonta Sahib to provide villagers adequate water supply facilities. He said 56 castes had been enlisted and approved by the Government of India in the Scheduled Castes, and Julah Keer, Megh and Chanal castes of the Kabir Panthi were included in the list. |
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Threat to retaining wall of bridge persists
Kandror (Bilaspur), September 7 The crate wall that supports the foundation of the wall stands on the shallow riverside of the Sutlej, which has been silted by backwaters of the Bhakra Dam over the years. The National Highway 88 authorities today restored the retaining wall, which was damaged last week by rain water from the hillside. Commuters complained that the retaining wall had been crumbling time and again, causing inconvenience to them, as the wall was on a shallow and silted riverside. SDO N.K. Sharma, monitoring the work on the wall, said there was no damage to the bridge and work on the retaining wall was completed at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakh today. “We have stabilised the shallow foundation through the crate work and the retaining wall is safe now”, he said. “We have submitted a Rs 10-lakh proposal to the government to take care of the problem of pounding of water from the hillside, threatening the retaining wall”, he added.
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Tout held in CPMT scam
Shimla, September 7 According to police sources, a tout, Netra Singh Thakur, who was arrested from Kullu two days back, has confirmed the involvement of parents of two candidate, who have come under police scanner in the HP-CPMT question paper leak case. The police was able to ascertain the involvement of about five persons from a tout arrested from Mandi. The police, which has been questioning the parents of candidates who could have benefited from the question paper leak, has been able to arrest two touts, one from Mandi and another from Kullu so far. The main persons who are reportedly behind the leak from a printing press in Lucknow are either from Uttar Pradesh or Punjab. Himachali youths were roped in only to look for candidates keen to get admission in a medical college through payment of about Rs 10 to 14 lakh. |
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CM lays stone for hostels
Rohru, September 7 The Chief Minister directed the authorities concerned to construct the “grameen bhandar” with strict quality control and in shortest possible time. Earlier, he laid the foundation stones for two hostels, one each for girls and boys to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1.65 crore and Rs 1.95 crore, respectively, in Government Degree College, Seema, near Rohru. He said the state government had made a provision of Rs 50 crore for the construction of 10 new college buildings during the current financial year. On this occasion, Mr Virbhadra Singh announced a grant of Rs 10,000 for the promotion of cultural activities in the college. He also laid the foundation stone for a B-pharma college at Rohru and inaugurated a government senior secondary school at Samoli. He also presided over the concluding function of Government Senior Secondary Schools Zonal tournament held at Kui near Rohru. Mr Swami Prakash Negi, Engineer-in-Chief of the State Public Works Department, Mr Tarun Kapoor, District Magistrate of Shimla, Mr A.P. Singh Superintendent of Police of Shimla, Mr Vineet Kumar Conservator of Forests also accompanied the Chief Minister during his two-day tour of Rohru. |
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No controversy on
Vande Mataram in HP
Shimla, September 7 There was no opposition to the singing of the song from any quarter. While Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, led the ministers, officers and officials at the state-level function held at the Secretariat for the commemorative singing of the National Song. Similar functions were held at district Subdivisional and tehsil levels to mark the centenary of the theme song of the freedom movement. People from all walks of life joined in singing the song. The BJP organised its own programme on the occasion. Dr Radha Raman Shastri, a former minister, led the party men who assembled near the Naaz restaurant to sing the National Song. The spokesman said similar functions were also organised at district headquarters under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners and at subdivision level under the chairmanship of SDMs. Educational institutions also held similar functions, without any organisation and or group refusing to sing the song, he said. |
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Cong, BJP celebrate Vande Mataram centenary
Mandi, September 7 The CPM ignored the call of commemorating the Vande Mataram and instead the party organised a rally of the “poor villagers”, who had faced axe of the government in June last removing encroachments on government land in Nirmand block in Kulu district, today. After receiving a written direction from the Chief Secretary of the Himachal government all officials in the DC’s offices in the state sang two stanzas of the Vande Mataram to mark its 100 years in the state and the country. The CPM and Leftist organisations chose to take up what CPM leaders call real issues of people to show patriotism.
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Tourism police in Kinnaur
Reckong Peo, September 7 The initiative has been taken by the district police to ensure the safety and security of the visiting tourists. Mr Arvind Sharda, Superintendent of Police of district said here today that the new initiative would help in making the tribal belt a better destination for tourists. Initially 20 police personnel have been trained in this regard. They have been deployed at various locations in the district. The places where these trained police personnel have been deployed on the roadsides are Chaura, Bhavanagar, Kafnu, Sangla, Ralli, Powari, Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Pooh, Yangthang, Chango, Shalkhar. The SP said a special tourism guidance board prepared by the police had also been displayed on the National Highway 22 at
Chaura. |
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Award for HPMC MD
Shimla, September 7 The HPMC, which was a sick company, achieved a turn around in 2004 after Mr Lalit took over as Managing Director. It cleared liabilities of Rs 519 lakh, paid SBI loan of Rs 2.77 crore and reduced the liability by Rs 63.00 lakh installed slim pack tetrapack machine at its Parwanoo plant, equipped its plants at Jarol and Jabli with effluent treatment plant and settled old liabilities of the state and growers. |
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Pharma units resent forming of panel for licence
Baddi, September 7 The licences to pharmaceutical units were given according to the Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940 which were being followed by the Department of Drug Licensing Authority of HP. However, some vested interest were misleading the state government, the association remarked. It feared that the wrong policies could cause major exodus of pharma industries to other states like Uttranchal, J&K and Sikkim. The association has approached the Chief Minister twice over the matter. The association has also made a representation to the Industry Minister in this regard.
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Bridge damaged; residents suffer
Sundernagar, September 7 About a week back, three iron ropes of this 80-mt long suspension bridge were damaged. About 300 students coming to G.S.S. School, Dhwal, are facing trouble as they have to pay an exorbitant fare to a boat owner twice a day. This bridge was constructed by the Forest Department in 1977 and was renovated in 1992. Mr Sohan Lal Thakur, MLA, Sundernagar, visited the spot along with officials. According to local residents, the officials of Forest Department informed the MLA that no funds were available for its repair. |
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Financial Commissioner Saxena dead
Chandigarh, September 7 He is survived by his wife, one daughter and one son. Haryana Governor Dr A.R. Kidwai, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and
Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan have expressed grief over his death. The Haryana
IAS Officers’ Association has also expressed grief at his demise. |
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Clubs to be set up for creating AIDS awareness
Chandigarh, September 7 While stating this here yesterday, the Health Minister, Ms Kartar Devi, said the clubs would comprise eight to 16 students each and be headed by the person in charge of the National Service Scheme in the college. |
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