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Govt orders probe into police firing on tribals
CM wants job scheme for all districts
Himalayan winter trekking expedition flagged off
Sahitya samman for six writers
1 sentenced to 10-yr RI under NDPS Act
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Acid case accused re-arrested
Govt rejects move to
construct hydel project
Another youth held for Blakey’s murder
2 killed as jeep falls into gorge
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Govt orders probe into police firing on tribals
Shimla, December 21 This decision was taken by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, following talks with the representative of the Karcham-Wangtoo Sangharsh Samiti led by its president, Mr Shyam Sunder Negi, here today. The inquiry will be conducted by the Divisional Commissioner of Shimla. He has been asked to submit the report at the earliest so that steps could be taken to provide relief to the affected people. The Chief Minister has assured them that action would be taken against those responsible for any lapse. He said the government would be sympathetic while withdrawing the cases registered against the locals. It would also withdraw the Section 144 imposed under the high court’s directives in the project area. He said the government would safeguard the interests of the locals while providing compensation, besides relief and rehabilitation package, which included employment and self-employment avenues in the project. The project authorities would be required to restore the water supply if any scheme got defunct and water sources dries up, besides full compensation those whose houses were damaged due to the blast. The Chief Minister said the authorities had been directed to spend 1.5 per cent of the total project cost over the local development programmes which amounted to Rs 78 crore. In addition Rs 45 crore was required to be spent on the construction and improvement of roads manned by the state and the Border Roads Organisation in the area. He said the catchment area treatment plan would also be implemented in the right perspective so that the fragile ecology of the area was not disturbed and soul erosion was checked. He said the government would also consider re-evaluation of the compensation provided to the people affected by the 300 MW Baspa hydro-electric project being executed by the same company. Mr Sat Mahajan, Revenue Minister, Mr S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, Mr Parminder Mathur, Additional Chief Secretary, and Mr J.P. Negi, Principal Secretary, Power, were present in the occasion. |
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CM wants job scheme for all districts
Shimla, December 21 Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, while presiding over the first meeting of the State Employment Guarantee Council here today, said the scheme was under implementation only in Chamba and Sirmour districts and three more districts - Shimla, Kanga and Mandi- were likely to be included in the ensuing year by the government. There were 12 districts in the state which should be covered at the earliest, he said. The Chief Minister said the state government was considering empowering the panchayat sahayaks in Chamba and Sirmaur, where panchayat secretaries had not been posted, with the powers of signing the documents relating to the implementation of the provisions of the Employment Guarantee Scheme after imparting them necessary training at the block level. He said his government would also consider extending the touring period of the junior engineers assigned the responsibility of evaluation of the construction projects in both the districts to give momentum to development works in those areas. He said efforts were afoot to post computer literate personnels at the block level for maintaining relevant data. Mr Virbhadra Singh appreciated the vision of Ms Sonia Gandi and Dr Manmohan Singh for coming out with the scheme for the benefit of the poor who could avail of employment opportunities while doing their own work and get wages for it from the government. So far Rs 19.21 crore had been spent in Sirmour and Chamba districts over the last one year and 91,507 persons had been issued job cards. The Chief Minister advised local MLAs and public representatives to extend their support to the scheme and monitor its progress for ensuring top quality construction. He said the funds of the scheme were being utilised for creation of permanent infrastructure in the villages. Mr Sat Mahajan, Revenue Minister, said the outcome was encouraging as people were getting benefited under the programme. |
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Himalayan winter trekking expedition flagged off
Dalhousie, December 21 Speaking on this occasion, the ADM suggested the YHAI should think of starting herb-treks so that youths could understand the importance of herbs to our health. Giving details about the expedition, Mr Sudhir Joshi, Field Director of the expedition, informed the number of participants registered for this year’s expedition was 802 from 16 states. The participants from Maharashtra topped the list, with Karnataka getting 2nd position, Gujarat third, Andhra Pradesh fourth and Tamil Nadu fifth. The participants from southern states, which are stated to be India’s hubs of IT industry, were participating in larger numbers and the YHAI had thus been helping in the promotion of tourism towards Dalhousie from southern states, Mr Joshi said, adding the expedition would conclude on January 5. Mr Joshi stated since private airlines, due to competition, were offering air travel at cheaper rates, this had made it easy for the youth to reach the hill station of Dalhousie from the far-off states by air. “Set in serene environment, Dalhousie is an apt place for relaxing the minds of IT professionals. Moreover, people in South who have seen ice only in the refrigerators would feel thrilled to see deposits of snow in the stretches of Dalhousie, Kalatop and Khajjiar besides glittering snow-clad Pir Panjal ranges of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr Joshi observed. |
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Sahitya samman for six writers
Shimla, December 21 Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, presented the award to Sudarshan Dogra, for "Suraje Ri Pehali Kiran", Om Prakash Sarswat for "Din Gulab Hone Do", Sansar Chand Prabhakar for "Pralaya Khand", Sushil Kumar Phull for "Yu Singh Lapata Hai", Raj Kumar Rakesh for "Haveli Se Bahar" and Kunwar Dinesh Singh for "House Arrest". Besides, Het Ram Tanwar was awarded for Lok Sangeet, Prakash Chand Anand for traditional sculpture, Ela Pande for classical dance and Sukh Dass for painting. Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister appreciated their contribution towards preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the state. He said that the state government had framed policies and programmes for the development of the "Pahari" dialect and promote Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit. He said the government had provided an additional budget of Rs 21 lakh for implementation of the programme initiated in association with the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language and the National Manuscript Mission to identify the valuable manuscripts in the state. Mr Virbhadra Singh emphasised the need for inculcating the library culture among the new generation and make available good literature to the youth. He said the libraries were required to be equipped with the latest books so that the young generation developed reading habits. Dr Prem Sharma, Director of Languages and Culture, spoke about various art and culture promotion activities being undertaken by the department. |
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1 sentenced to 10-yr RI under NDPS Act
Chamba, December 21 In default of payment of fine, the convict shall further undergo simple imprisonment for three years. In a judgement passed by the Additional Sessions Judge yesterday, it was stated that on the evening of November 13, 2004, when the police party of Dalhousie was on patrol duty on the Chamba-Pathankot highway, accused Mohd Rafique came from Choura side. On seeing the police party he turned back and tried to slip away. On the basis of suspicion, he was chased and empowered by the police. A “pitthu” which he was having was searched by the police and charas weighing 2.5 kg seized from his possession. After completion of investigation, Mr Rajesh Chhabra, Station House Officer (SHO), filed a charge sheet against Rafique under Section 20 of the NDPS Act in the Fast-Track Court which after hearing the case convicted the accused and awarded the sentence.
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Acid case accused re-arrested
Mandi, December 21 In the evening the accused was remanded in judicial custody by a court. Mandi Superintendent of Police M. Chander Shekhar said the police raided the Zakir colony in Meerut and arrested Murgoof last night and brought him here today. Mr Shekhar said the police had raided several places in Muzaffarnagar, Uttaranchal and other places. The police on a tip-off that he was living in Zakir colony in Meerut raided the place to arrest him, he added. Murgoof allegedly had thrown acid on college girl Mamta in a running local bus in the town here on May 27, 2005. Murgoof had got bail from the district judge but his bail was rejected by the High Court on July 31. He was being brought to Mandi jail on August 6 by two cops, but he escaped from their custody at Chamakri bridge. The Mandi SP had conducted an inquiry into his escape and found the two cops guilty and ordered their dismissal from service early this month. The accused faces charges under Sections 307, 324, 326 of the Indian Penal Code. |
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Govt rejects move to
construct hydel project
Chamba, December 21 The Animal Husbandry and Urban Development Minister, Mr Harsh Mahajan, who represents this Assembly constituency said the government took decision in this regard today. He said it was essential to abandon the ill-conceived hydel scheme with a view to save this historic town from devastation. In lieu of this project, the state government had allotted 17 MW Sai Kothi hydroelectric project to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). It would help in generating more employment opportunities for the locals, Mr Mahajan added. The proposed Chamba hydroelectric project would led to the diversion of the Ravi which passes through Karian village of this town. A 10-km long tunnel would have been constructed through the Shah Madaar hill, on the slope of which this town is located, he added. This town which is situated on the slope of the Shah Madaar hill falls under the seismic zone-V and is earthquake
prone area. |
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Another youth held for Blakey’s murder
Kangra, December 21 The court remanded the youth in police custody till Saturday, district Additional Police Chief Santosh Patial said yesterday.
He said Rajesh Kumar (22), a resident of Janakpur, runs a small business in Ludhiana. Some more persons were likely to be arrested in the near future.
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2 killed as jeep falls into gorge
Mandi, December 21 |
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