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HP targets 4500 MW
State providing free, quality drugs to TB
patients: CM
Improve
quality of farm produce: Governor CAG
report |
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Sale
of minor girl ‘Extramarital
affairs hit marital harmony’
March in support of watch unit workers
Power policy favours Himachalis
Licensing authority constituted
New ITI
at Batail Job
generation Migratory
birds leave Pong wetland early Four
Uhal workers hurt
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HP targets 4500 MW
New Delhi, March 24 The State Energy Minister Vidya Stokes told mediapersons here, that companies setting up power units have to give 70 per cent employment to people from the state and put 1.5 per cent of their investment in local area development. She said the state will supply 450 million units of electricity this summer to the national grid. Pointing out that the state was providing cheapest electricity to domestic consumers in the country, she added that the state electricity board had shown a net surplus of Rs 8 crore in the current financial year. She said, of the estimated 6000 MW additional energy to be generated in the state during the 11th five year plan, around 975 MW will be harnessed in the state sector, 2800 MW in the central and joint sector and around 1700 MW in the private sector.
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State providing free, quality drugs to TB
patients: CM
Shimla, March 24 This was revealed by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh after he flagged off an awareness rally of medical and schoolchildren from the historic Ridge Maidan at the state-level function to mark the World Tuberculosis Day here today. The Chief Minister said Himachal had the best health indicators and the government was committed to controlling fatal diseases like HIV, AIDS, polio and tuberculosis. He said both medical colleges were also being involved in the implementation of the awareness programme so that the message was delivered to the target groups from every possible channel. He said to prevent multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) an intermediary reference laboratory had been established at Dharampur which had helped in saving time, money and inconvenience to the patients as the facility was available in Delhi only. He said out of the 115 identified patients of MDR TB, 32 had completely been treated while others were under treatment. Virbhadra Singh said TB was a preventable and curable disease which had been declared as global emergency. He said among the most effective steps in the prevention of TB was to cure infectious cases in order to break the chain of transmission. He said to overcome all such hurdles, a revised strategy had been evolved and the National TB Control Programme launched in the state from 1993. He said 2,645 directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS) centres had been established in the state where the medicine was being administered to patients in the presence of medical functionaries. He said 88,906 TB patients had so far been treated in the state while the latest detected cases were under treatment. He expressed satisfaction for achieving the 88 per cent cure rate in the state and 81 per cent detection rate against the global objective of 85 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively. The Chief Minister said intensive education campaigns like patient-provider meetings, community meetings, school activities, sensitisation of Panchayati Raj institutions, mahila mandals and opinion leaders were being carried out in every nook and corner of the state.
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Improve quality of farm produce: Governor Palampur, March 24 He said Himachal Pradesh was an agrarian state where around 80 per cent of the population was dependent on agriculture and the farmers needed specific technologies to enhance their income. Such technologies could be adopted through research and without putting burden on the economy of a common farmer, he said. He said as most of the farming in the state was rain-fed, acceleration of research efforts in this direction could really make a difference in enhancing the income of the farmers. Efforts should be made to bring more area under irrigation so that more and more farmers were advised to grow high-value cash crops under irrigated conditions, he added. The Governor revealed that more than 31,000 farmers had participated in 726 training camps and another 32,000 farmers had participated in Kisan Melas and Kisan Goshthees organised by the university during the past year. He said efforts should be made to get feedback from trainees and participants whether they really benefited from such trainings. He further said transfer of relevant technology to the fields was a very important aspect and the state had 12 Krishi Vigyan Kendras catering to the needs of all districts. These kendras should be more vibrant so that farm-based problems were solved at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra levels, he said. The Governor also emphasised the need for taking all possible steps to increase the income of the university. He directed the authorities concerned to prepare and submit the annual reports, audited annual accounts and annual audit reports in time. Proper account should be maintained so that there were minimum audit objections and proper attention should also be paid to settle audit objections, he added. Earlier, Dr D.S. Rathore, vice-chancellor of the university, welcomed the Governor and briefed him about the activities of the university that were conducted during the past
year. Registrar Narender Sharma proposed a vote of thanks. Local MLA Surender Pal
Thakur, the principal secretary of agriculture department, Dr P.C. Kapoor, the director of agriculture department, Dr J.C. Rana, and other members of the Senate were present in the meeting. Before the meeting, the Governor laid the foundation stone of the extension of the boys hostel of the Dr G.C. Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences on the university campus, which is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 77 lakh. Later, he also inaugurated the examination hall in the University Students Placement Cell of the College of Agriculture in the campus to be constructed at a cost of Rs 30 lakh.
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CAG report Shimla, March 24 In accordance with Article 151 of the Constitution, the report had been submitted to the government so that it could be laid on the table in the Assembly, she
said. — TNS
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Sale of minor girl Nahan, March 24 Sources said medical examination of the victim was conducted at Rajgarh Hospital today.The police has taken the opinion of the medical officer. One of the main accused, Rakesh Kumar, resident of Chad village of Hamirpur district, who allegedly purchased the girl by paying Rs 45,000, worked somewhere in the Chandigarh area and was untraceable till now, although police parties had already left to different destinations to trace him. Sirmour district SP Dinesh Yadav said “By tomorrow morning, the police will arrest the main accused in the case”. He further added that two persons wanted in this case had already been detained by the Rajgarh police and interrogation was going. He said the police had registered statements of the victim and her family members also. Yadav said on the evidences available it seemed that allegations made by the girl and her family members were correct and the family was quite unaware about the kidnapping of the girl by Subhash Thapa, resident of village Kheri, and Ganesh Dutt of Bhiyana Ghat village with their two other accomplices Suresh Kumar and Sanju of Hamirpur, who had already taken Rs 45,000 from Rakesh Kumar for this purpose, on March 1. He said the police was verifying the marriage record of the victim as Rakesh Kumar had forcibly married her in Toni Devi temple on March 4. As per the statement of the victim on March 1, when she had come out to sell milk from her village, she was forcibly kidnapped by Ganesh Dutt and Subash Thapa with the help of Suresh Kumar and Sanju. They took her to Hamirpur where she was forcibly married to Rakesh Kumar. She told the police that she was terrorised and threatened of dire consequences if she revealed any thing or complaint anywhere, by her kidnappers. Rattan Singh, a resident of Chad village, came to know about the girl and informed her family members. On Thursday last, on a friendly call given by the family members of the victim after visiting Char village, Rakesh Kumar along with his father and another person visited Badgala village, but before the police could nab them they fled from the village.
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‘Extramarital affairs hit marital harmony’ Mandi, March 24 The Woman Commission held a two-day long camp here and disposed of over 52
complaints. State commission chairperson Krishna Tandon said in most cases it was observed that women suffered due to extramarital affairs and alcoholic habits of their husbands. Even distrust among husband and wife was another reason for many marital disputes, she added. A new dimension of marital disputes is that mothers of married daughters tend to interfere in the family affairs of disputed couples. “Mothers should not interfere in the family affairs of their daughters, as that can lead to disharmony", she said. The commission observed that many marital disputes arose due to "bad neighbourhood". Tandon
said, "We have convinced both parties in 17 cases that the best way out is to patch-up".
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March in support of watch unit workers
Solan, March 24 Though all seven women arrested yesterday were released on bail today, the workers continued to strike work in protest against their transfer. A police posse remained stationed in and around the unit premises as the agitating workers continued their agitation. Work remained suspended in the unit for the second day. A section of workers alleged the management had been systematically working to lay off these workers. At first, their contract that ended on August 31, 2006, was not renewed despite several requests to the labour officer. Later, when these workers seized to be the staff governed by rules due to non-renewal of their contract, the management started making deductions ranging from Rs 399 to Rs 750 from their monthly payments. Not only this, the management transferred certain workers to the spare parts unit over the past few months. These workers have now been served notices to either join at Nalagarh or to face action, workers alleged. The workers alleged that ample space was available to run the spare parts unit in other parts of the town, but the management was keen to see their ouster and hence made no effort to do so. The workers today decided to continue their strike even as two women workers, Sudesh and Nina, continued their fast for the second day. A section of the workers, however, felt various political persons were trying to draw mileage from the issue. The situation remained tense with workers trying to disrupt traffic on the NH-22. KUMARHATTI: A high drama was witnessed outside the main gate of the watch unit when chairman of the Solan Panchayat Samiti Ramesh Chauhan was manhandled by agitating workers. The Congress leader had come to the unit with released seven leaders of committee. As soon as he reached there, unit workers and representatives of various panchayats and mahila mandals gheroed him. They accused him of hobnobbing with the unit management. Sensing trouble, Chauhan left the spot. Meanwhile, the workers’ committee, led by the AITUC, has accused the Congress of adopting dual measures on the issue. On the one side, it was giving support to the management and on other side, shedding crocodile’s tears for the workers, workers alleged. The Congress role was doubtful in the case, alleged Jagdish Bhardwaj, president of the state unit of the AITUC. He also questioned the role of the police and the administration in arresting the workers.
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Power policy favours Himachalis
Chandigarh, March 24 In a communication to The Tribune, he has added that the policy gives preference to the Himachalis in the allotment of small hydel projects. “If outside companies are allowed to interfere in the projects allotted to the Himachalis, the very purpose of the policy will be defeated,” he has stated. Giving details, he has further stated that once a project has been allocated to a Himachali, it can only be sold to other bonafide Himachalis living in the state from “generation to generation”. As such, there is no scope of interference by outside companies. He also clarified that any Himachali with movable and immovable assets of just Rs 10 lakh fulfills the financial capability condition under the Hydro Power Policy. Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to have come up with such a policy.
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Licensing authority constituted
Shimla, March 24 A spokesperson said the authority would comprise the Dharamsala and Shimla zonal licensing authorities. The drug inspector of the district concerned would be the third member. The authority would hold meetings on the 7th and 8th of every month at Shimla to process the cases for the grant of drug manufacturing
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New ITI at Batail Mandi, March 24 According to the official statement, a notification in this regard has already been issued by the government. The classes will start functioning from the academic session 2007. ITI will come as a boon for students in the area as Bhambla has been declared an industrial area in Sarkaghat subdivision in the district.
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Job generation Nahan, March 24 Talking on telephone yesterday, Kaushal said the awareness programme launched by the Himalayan Mountaineer Forum, a rath
yatra, entered Sirmour district in the day to disseminate benefits of the scheme begun by the Union Government.
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Migratory birds leave Pong wetland early Kangra, March 24 Wildlife (north zone) conservator of forest V.K.Singh said today that this year 1,11,721 migratory birds had arrived in the wetland in the fag end of September last year and would stay here till March this year. He said now the birds had left the trans-Himalayan region in the middle of the month. Some birds which included coots, cormorants and some spot-bill ducks had adapted to nature and had stayed back at the dam. Some birds which were not fit for long flights too had stayed back. He said largest influx of bar-headed geese (22,628), coots (22,234), common pochard (8,687), pintails (24,188), little cormorants (7,817), great cormorants ( 6,486) and spot-bill ducks (10,101) had spent nearly five months in this wetland. Rare species of migratory birds were also spotted which included artic tern, yellow-wattled late wing and red-neck grede. They had arrived here in small numbers for the first time. The wildlife staff recorded three new species in the wetland, which included eurasian thick and woodcock. This year grey-leg duck (228), little geese (378) and ruddy-shell ducks (1,068) (Surkhab), too were recorded, Singh disclosed. These species had come from Afghanistan, Mongolia China, Sybaria, Central Aisa, Pakistan and Ladkh. Nestled in the surroundings of the Kangra valley, the sprawling Pong Dam Wetland which had emerged as a major habitat for migratory was build in 1960 on River Beas. The 432 sq km water body, is the only place in the country, after the Bhartpur Sanctuary, where red-necked grebe descends every year. The swamps in the area are the reasons as to why the species stay here. The water body occupies an area of at least 18,000 hectare and extends up to 30,000 hectare in the monsoon. However, when the water level is low, there is enough aquatic vegetation to provide food and shelter for the birds. Under the social forestry programme, a large number of eucalyptus trees have been raised in the area to enable migratory birds to seek shelter on these trees. Pong Dam wetland is one of the largest man-made wetland in Northern India.
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Four Uhal workers hurt Mandi, March 24 Those injured were Jagat Ram, Mukdev Paswan, Subodh Kumar and Sunil Bharti. The condition of Jagat, Mukdev and Sunil was stated to be serious. They have been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Jogindernagar. The labourers belonged to Stayam Company, the contractor-firm of the Nairi water channel of the 100 MW Uhal III project being executed by the Jal Vidyuat Nigam, a subsidiary of the HP State Electricity Board.
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3 injured in mishap
Parwanoo, March 24 Near Dharampur, the driver lost control of the vehicle which was being driven rashly. The incident took place at around 11.30 pm when occupants of the house woke up to a loud noise. We thought an earthquake has occurred, said a visibly-upset Paramveer Singh, the owner of the house. The vehicle badly damaged the roof and stairs of the house. A case has been registered. All the occupants escaped with minor injuries. |
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