H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Cold wave conditions revive in state
Shimla, February 15
The hill state came in the grip of severe cold with temperatures falling 3°C to 4°C below normal as the state experienced isolated snow during the past 24 hours. The weather cleared during the night and the sun came out brightly in the morning but clouds gathered as the day progressed.



A shopkeeper removes snow from outside his shop before starting the daily business in Shimla on Thursday. — Tribune photo by S. Chandan

Efforts on to appoint ineligible doctor to DME’s post
Shimla, February 15
After having delayed the appointment of a new Director Medical Education for the past one and a half months, efforts are on to appoint a person who is yet to gain eligibility for the post thanks to the political clout he influences.

Minor raped, accused held
Dharamsala, February 15
A 15-year-old minor of Tilmili village in Tisa subdivision of Chamba district was allegedly raped by a man of the same village following which she became pregnant.

Heavy rain: House damaged due to soil erosion
Chamba, February 15
At least six residential houses along the heliport at Sultanpur in the outskirts of the town are facing imminent threat of boulders falling from a hillock due to soil erosion following heavy rain early this week.

700 get jobs at CII fair
Baddi, February 15
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Himachal Council-sponsored two-day job fair at Solan proved a big draw among youth. The fair that fetched jobs to 700 was attended by around 4000 youth from all parts of the state.

Cold wave conditions revive in state
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 15
The hill state came in the grip of severe cold with temperatures falling 3°C to 4°C below normal as the state experienced isolated snow during the past 24 hours.

The weather cleared during the night and the sun came out brightly in the morning but clouds gathered as the day progressed.

By the afternoon Shimla and its surrounding areas were enveloped in thick fog. It again started snowing towards the evening. The sky remained cloudy in most of the places and some isolated pockets experienced light snow accompanied with sleet.

Life started returning to normal in the snow-affected upper Shimla areas with the opening of roads.

While the Hindustan-Tibet road had been opened to heavy vehicles, only light traffic was being allowed through the Kharapathar road. Only the road to Chopal was still under snow at Khidki as a result of which the region was still not accessible from the Shimla side. Electricity has also been restored in all the affected areas.

The minimum temperature plunged sharply as the sky remained clear during night.

The sky remained overcast during day as a result the mercury did not rise appreciably and in the evening some areas had snow flakes.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a minimum of -6.2°C, while the city had a low of -0.6°C. The lower hill areas also shivered in extreme cold with Sundernagar recording a minimum of 3.4°C, Bhuntar 3.4 degrees, Dharamsala 2.4 degrees, Solan 1.4 degrees and Una 3.6°C.

According to the local Met Office, a weak western disturbance was approaching the state but it was not likely to bring much snow or rain.

There could be scattered snow and rain but the weather will improve over the next couple of days.

Efforts on to appoint ineligible doctor to DME’s post
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 15
After having delayed the appointment of a new Director Medical Education (DME) for the past one and a half months, efforts are on to appoint a person who is yet to gain eligibility for the post thanks to the political clout he influences.

Even though the Director Medical Education, Dr Ritu Sarin, retired on December 31,2006, the government is yet to appoint a new person against this post. Though the Departmental Promotion Committee had fixed the interview for February 13 but it was postponed without giving any specific reason.

Interestingly, the delaying tactics is basically meant for benefiting a doctor presently working in Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), who is yet to qualify the departmental examination, mandatory for being promoted. Official sources said the three IGMC doctors whose name figured in the list of those eligible for being promoted as the Director Medical Education include Dr Jaishree, Department of Pathology, Dr S.S. Kaushal, Department of Medicine, and Dr Chander Mohan, ENT Department.

While, Dr Jaishree and Dr Kaushal have qualified the departmental examinations, Dr Mohan stands exempted as he is due to retire in three months. As per the government rules, employee who have crossed the age of 55 years are not required to clear the departmental examination.

The sources said the doctor concerned who was pulling the right political strings to pursue his case appeared in the departmental examination on February 10, results of which would be declared on February 17. "It is being expected that after the committee’s result is declared on February 17, it will also be held so that he can be elevated to the post of the Director Medical Education," a senior official said.

Normally, appointments to such important posts as the Director Medical Education are made before the person holding the post retires. "In this case the appointment has been delayed for over a month-and-a-half only give undue benefit to the doctor who is yet to even gain eligibility for the post," a senior official informed.

The fact that there has been undue delay in the appointment of the Director Medical Education clearly indicates that efforts are on to delay the committee so that the said doctor can in the meantime gain eligibility.

This delay in the appointment of the Director Medical Education has led to resentment among the doctor's fraternity who feel that undue favour was being extended to the said doctor, despite the fact that he was still not eligible. Moreover, with the additional charge of the Director Medical Education being with the Director, Health Services, important decisions and functioning of the medical education is also being affected.

Minor raped, accused held
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 15
A 15-year-old minor of Tilmili village in Tisa subdivision of Chamba district was allegedly raped by a man of the same village following which she became pregnant.

The police has registered a criminal case on a complaint of the girl and has arrested the accused, Lekh Raj.

Police sources in Chamba said the girl had stated that she was five-month pregnant.

The girl had been referred to the Regional Government Hospital in Chamba for medical examination. Doctors who attended on her reportedly confirmed that she was raped and pregnant.

In her statement recorded before the police, the girl said Lekh Raj had promised to marry her, but after she got pregnant, he backtracked on the promise. He was allegedly raping the girl for the past eight months.

Investigations made by the police revealed that Lekh Raj was already married and had deceived the girl stating that he was still single.

Heavy rain: House damaged due to soil erosion
Our Correspondent

Chamba, February 15
At least six residential houses along the heliport at Sultanpur in the outskirts of the town are facing imminent threat of boulders falling from a hillock due to soil erosion following heavy rain early this week.

Yesterday, one house was badly damaged when a big boulder, on the top of which a helipad is located, hit the roof of a house and extensively damaged its slab. Consequently, the cracks developed all over the house. But, fortunately no one living it was injured.

Residents living in the locality reported the matter to the local administration, which swung into action and took preventive steps to check soil erosion in the area.

Meanwhile, according to weather reports, the high hills of Chamba and the Pir Panjal ranges of Jammu and Kashmir experienced heavy snowfall today. The weather in the low-lying areas remained dry but the icy winds were sweeping the entire region.

Experts working on the hydropower project said the snowfall was beneficial, as it would help in generating optimal electricity.

700 get jobs at CII fair
Our Correspondent

Baddi, February 15
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Himachal Council-sponsored two-day job fair at Solan proved a big draw among youth. The fair that fetched jobs to 700 was attended by around 4000 youth from all parts of the state.

Most of the employed force was high school passed out. The average monthly package offered to them was Rs 2300. Over 45 companies have so far taken part in the fair. The prominent were TVS, Johnson and Johnson, Vardhman, Winsos Textiles, Cellebrum and Indo Farma Tractor. The number of openings available, in fair was 1100. However, the companies managed to get only 700 candidates for jobs. Most of the recruitments was done on minimum wages. A few well-qualified and experience-holders got handsome salary packages.

The fair the first of its kind in state was organised with support of Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh Industries Association and Dynamic Indian Yuva Mandal, Solan. The fair was organised to facilitate the employment of Himachalis in various units.

To make fair a success, the CII had already written to all district employment offices to arrange candidates for vacancies in pharma, forging, electronic, finance, marketing, electronic, spinning and hospitality. Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker of HP Vidhan Sabha had inaugurated the fair.