 |
|
|
Nandigram in the making?
WB watershed project yet to catch villagers’ fancy
Sale of girl: 4 arrested, two at large |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Snow, rain up power generation
Prohibitory orders near Maxima unit
Heritage walk from IIAS to Glen restored
Tackling unemployment
Structures pose threat to wildlife
Bar
Council
False
cases
Travel agent dupes three
NIT annual function
Decomposed body found
|
|
Nandigram in the making?
Sundernagar, March 25
The residents got a shot in the arm as a high-level team led by HP principal chief conservator of forests Pankaj Khullar inspected site and observed that "as the plant will come up right behind the Tramri wildlife nature reserve, it can be disastrous for wild life". The Tramri nature reserve spread over 742 hectares " is home to different species and the water sources feeding the Nachem and Sundernagar watersheds". Pankaj Khular told The Tribune that if the central government asked for fresh recommendation on the site he would not recommend the site as "it lies right behind the Tramari nature reserve". "The approval has been given by the central government for the plant before he took over this year". The company is acquiring private land at Chambi-Khatravari for the plant for which it has got clearance from the Centre. The sangharsh samiti , however, warned the government that it would be another Nandigram here if their land was taken forcibly for the plant. "The cement plant will wreak disaster as the farmers will be dispossessed of their prized 1200 bighas of fertile agricultural land ". President of villagers' environment committee Col B.S. Raghava said:" the cement plant will spell doom for the fertile Sundernagar-Balh belt that has emerged as a "knowledge hub" and a training centre for forest management in the central zone. Limestone mining uphill for the plant will destroy watersheds that feed water sources in the valley". Residents reasoned that hundreds of trucks would pass through the town, carrying cement to markets . "These trucks will trigger health problems like pulmonary and lung diseases", they added, citing the example of ACC cement factory at Barmana, 20 km from here. Meanwhile, the government has suspended the land acquisition process as the residents have come out in open rebellion against the setting up of the plant. On the other hand, the company claimed that the plant would create over 1,000 jobs and provide indirect indirect employment to 10,000 persons.
|
|
WB watershed project yet to catch villagers’ fancy
Mandi, March 25 The project officials claim that they have put in place a network of coordinators and motivators to involve the panchayats, including ‘mahila
mandals’ and the self-help groups in the project by holding 42 camps and 43 exposure visits of the villagers in 226 panchayats in the first year. “Besides, over 2,214 persons have been trained to take project to the grass-root level in the first year”. But the project is yet to be turned into a mass movement to achieve its three-fold objective: to improve degradation of natural resources, improve productive potential of natural resources and improve income of rural households in the project area. Though the World Bank team will do an impact study in April, but project officials claim that the bank has noted that the HPWDP was “going ahead of schedule in targeted areas”. Project director R.K. Gupta claimed that the project was catching the fancy of the villagers in the targeted areas. “The roof rainwater water harvesting structures
(RRWHSs) have emerged as the most popular component of the project for them to meet their water demands in lean periods”, he added. Gupta said project was focusing on regenerating the degraded watersheds and have spent 30 per cent of Rs 39 crore spent this year on watershed treatment. “We have created 1275
RRWHSs, 75 ponds, 42 earthen dams, which have improved watersheds in the area costing Rs 6 crore”. Besides, 24 micro-irrigation systems and 17 Macowal water harvesting structures have become quite successful tools of taking water in 25 canals
(kuhals) to over 3,340 beneficiaries in project areas in targeted panchayats, Gupta added. He said 195 km of pukka foot paths and 60 foot bridges have been constructed in the targeted panchayats improving movement of people and hygiene in the villages. “We are trying to improve the livestock to raise villager’s income under the project”, Mandi divisional watershed development officer Dr H.S. Rana said. He added that the farmers are being encouraged to plant the hybrid seeds those of lady finger, tomatoes and potatoes through the 10 kitchen gardens demonstrations in the district. Over 70 hectare of the area has been brought under the income-generating fruit and plants in the first year, he added. He said 5 village ponds, nine foot bridges and 100 water harvesting structures have been created in 20 panchayats under the project this year. The World Bank (WB) team will evaluate in April every year as the project will continue for seven year till 2013. WB is spending Rs 270 crore, the state government’s share is Rs 67.50 crore and beneficiaries are contributing Rs 27.50 crore in the project. |
|
|
Sale of girl: 4 arrested, two at large
Nahan, March 25 The accused, who have been arrested in connection with the case, included Subhash Thapa (resident of Kheri village), Ganesh Dutt (resident of Bhayana Ghat village of Rajgarh tehsil), both accused of kidnapping and selling the minor girl, Rakesh Kumar (resident of Char village in the Tonidevi area of Hamirpur), who allegedly purchased the girl for Rs 45,000 and forcibly married her and his father, Roshan Lal. The police investigation has revealed that Suresh Kumar, alias Karan, was the mastermind behind the incident. Rajgarh police station SHO L.R. Kaieth said Suresh Kumar received Rs 45,000 from Roshan Lal, father of Rakesh Kumar. He hired Ganesh Dutt and Subhash Thapa and forcibly picked up the girl with their help. They took her away in a Maruti van, which was driven by Sanju of Hamirpur. Sanju and Suresh Kumar were still absconding. The girl was reportedly picked up from the Habban road in Rajgarh where she had come to sell milk. Kaieth said the police had also identified the van used in the crime. It was found parked in a workshop at Hamirpur. He said Ganesh Dutt and Subhash Thapa had admitted that they had received Rs 2,500 each for their role in the crime. The amount was paid to them by Suresh Kumar. Kaieth said the medical report received by the police had confirmed rape. He said Suresh Kumar was also involved in some other cases of cheating. Efforts were on to arrest the two absconding accused, he added. |
|
|
Demolition of old hospital building begins
Nurpur, March 25 The building is being demolished to develop the site for the proposed combined offices building (COB). Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had laid the foundation stone of the project twice within eight years under different names and at different places. On August 13, 1996, he laid the foundation stone of the mini secretariat on the premises of the old Civil Hospital, but the construction of the building did not take off for eight years. Following persistent demands of the people for early construction of the building, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of this project under the name COB near the Nurpur fort, a protected monument, on January 10, 2004. The residents opposed the new site as it was on the outskirts of the town. Following public outcry, the government decided to construct the COB again on the premises of the old Civil Hospital by demolishing its dilapidated building. According to Nurpur division executive engineer of the HPPWD N.K. Kapila, the proposed COB will have four storeys and will house 19 government offices. “The HUDCO has sanctioned Rs 2.67 crore for the construction of the building which will be completed in 18 months,” he said.
|
|
Snow, rain up power generation
Shimla, March 25 The average generation improved to 55 lakh units per day as compared to 30 lakh units last year. The maximum increase has been recorded in the 60-MW Giri project, which is producing 11 lakh units as against 3 lakh units per day last year. The generation in the 126-MW Larji has risen to 19 lakh units from 12 lakh units. The state did not have to procure power from other sources during the month even though the daily domestic consumption shot up from 120 lakh units to 155 lakh units. The increase has been mainly on account of the industrial boom following the grant of a special industrial package by the Centre in 2003. The banking arrangement with Punjab and Haryana , which provided 250 million units during the lean winter months , and the barter system with Delhi ensured that the state did not have to purchase costly power to meet its demand. Under the barter system, the state supplied 3 lakh units to Delhi during peak hours and got back 4.5 lakh units during off-peak hours in return, making it financially an attractive proposition. Last year the state sold 1000 million units to other states during the summer. This year it will not be in a position to supply more than 500 million units due to increased domestic consumption. With the state's own consumption increasing appreciably the per employee cost of the state electricity board, which was the highest in the country, will also come down. |
|
|
Prohibitory orders near Maxima unit
Solan, March 25 Exercising his powers under section 10(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the commissioner has cited maintenance of congenial atmosphere as an essential ingredient and held that peace should not be allowed to be disrupted without a valid cause. These orders have been prompted by the fact that all conciliatory efforts by the district administration as well as labour officials have failed. Earlier a failure report was sent by the labour officer to the labour commissioner after the management as well as the striking workers could not reach a consensus. company chairman G.S. Purewal told The Tribune that the company had granted the final opportunity to the striking workers to join duty by March 28 at Nalagarh or face the axe. He said it was unfortunate that certain people were misleading the workers on issues which could have been sorted out. He said a new agreement had been worked out and employees who had signed it were already drawing benefits valuing Rs 750 per month. Once all employees signed the agreement it could be implemented from a retrospective effect and would in no way hit the workers’ interest. Meanwhile, the management has asserted that they could consider allowing the women workers to stay here while the union could give a list of 70 workers who were willing to go to the Nalagarh unit . The management clarified that they needed trained workforce for the Nalagarh unit and hence it was mandatory to transfer staff from here.
|
|
|
Heritage walk from IIAS to Glen restored
Shimla, March 25 The Forest Department also intends restoring the remaining heritage trails used during the British time. So far an amount of Rs 1.90 lakh has been spent on restoring this trail which passes thorough a thick oak forest with rhododendron trees adding to the splendour of the tranquil environment. “Despite the fact that the entire stretch of the trail is almost 10 to 12-foot
wide, we will not allow any vehicle or even horses on it as we want people to enjoy a quiet walk through the woods,” said R.K. Raj, divisional forest officer of Shimla division. The department intends charging a nominal entrance fee to ensure that this stretch still untouched by the haphazard urbanisation and ugly concrete structures remains
pristine. Forest officials said despite the trail being so old and no maintenance work done on it after the British left, the dry stone-retaining walls and parapets were still intact and in a very good
condition. The department also intends placing some wooden benches at a few places along the route to provide resting place. The second heritage walk that the department will be restoring is the one from Jakhu to the boys’ hostel of Indira Gandhi Medical College. With Shimla coming up as a British settlement between seven hills on a surprisingly compact area, had several of these trails which are now part of the British heritage. These trails connecting the seven hills - Prospect Hill, Summer Hill, Observatory Hill, Mount Pleasant, Jakhu Hill and Elysium and the Bantony Hill -were used as shortcuts during the British time when there were practically no vehicles and carriages and baghies were used to move around.
|
|
|
Tackling unemployment
Shimla, March 25 The state had not been able to take full advantage of the ongoing industrial boom as far as employment opportunities were concerned due a yawning gap between available skilled manpower and the requirements of the industry. The government has made it mandatory for industrial units, hydroelectric projects and other ventures to recruit at least 70 per cent of their total workforce from among Himachalis, but that has not helped much. The industry has been maintaining that technical manpower required by them was not available in the state. There skill-mapping exercise will not only bring out the exact picture, but also enable the government to introduce new technical courses and upgrade and modify the existing ones to suit requirement of the industry. The task has been assigned to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA). It has been asked to complete the job within a year. Experts from the agency will interact with the industry and visit various units to assess the requirement of manpower. Unemployment has been a major problem in the state with around 8 lakh persons on the registers of various employment exchanges. The government maintains that the actual number of unemployed is around 6.5 lakh as many persons have got their names registered at more than one employment exchange. Besides, some of those registered are already employed, but are looking for better opportunities. The industrial projects approved by the government over the past four years will create over 3 lakh jobs, but the local youth will benefit only if it has the right technical skills. The government has already decided to set up a polytechnic college in each district and an industrial training institute in every assembly constituency in a phased manner.
|
|
|
Structures pose threat to wildlife
Dalhousie, March 25 It appears that the people have managed to raise these structures on the private forestland inside the sanctuary area with political help, despite the stringent provisions laid down in the Wildlife Protection Act. It is a sheer violation of the Act. These constructions include hotels, lodges, restaurants and huts. Even the grazing, lopping of trees, clandestine hunting and road widening activities are reportedly spoiling the ecology of the wildlife
habitat. The eco-system of the sanctuary has been endangered by these structures coming up unnoticed. Human interference has disturbed the free movement of wild beasts and the concept of wildlife sanctuary appears to be meaningless and absurd. There are apprehensions that the present situation may result in reducing the species of wild animals. Unfortunately, ecological disturbances in the area have been increasing ever since. This has resulted in a steady decline in the number and variety of wildlife. The causes for this have been attributed to grazing by migratory as well as local, roads, resultant, flow of traffic, exercise of rights of constructions etc, officials sources reveal. The wild animals like musk deer, barking deer, black bear, leopard, goral, serow and the pheasants such as
monal, koklas, kaleej and chukor are found in the sanctuary. Besides, migratory birds of the wetland species also visit Khajjiar Lake situated amidst a bald glade of the sanctuary
every year. |
|
Bar Council Our Correspondent
Bilaspur, March 25 Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, president of the Bilaspur district Bar Association A. L. Nadda said they discussed various issues concerning their profession and hailed the newly launched scheme of the bar council which provides accidental insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh to advocates. They also gave a call to all advocates to join the Advocates Welfare Fund Scheme. Meeting urged the bar council to start a library scheme in which the council would provide matching grant to every bar association for setting up a library. They also decided to take suitable steps for the construction of a Law Bhawan at Shimla for advocates. Present among others were state bar council vice-chairman Narendra Thakur, Bar Council of India member D. R. Sharma and presidents or general secretaries of most of the bar associations of the state.
|
|
False cases Tribune News Service
Shimla, March 25 In a statement issued here yesterday, state president of the BJYM Rakesh Jamwal and vice-president Surat Negi criticised the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police, Una,for registering false cases against BJP legislator Satpal Singh Satti and BJP organisational secretary Mahender Pandey. They said the Congress government was indulging in the politics of vendetta and with the Assembly elections less than a year away efforts were on to implicate BJP leaders and workers in false cases. They cautioned the DC, the SP and other officers not to act at the behest of the Congress leaders failing which legal action would be taken against them. Jamwal said only some time back vice-president of the Mehatpur Nagar Panchayat Balwinder Singh Bains and his wife were arrested after false cases were registered against them. In case the government did not stop such political victimisation, the BJYM would launch a statewide agitation and burn effigies of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, they threatened.
|
|
Travel agent dupes three
Hamirpur, March 25 The youths, Vijay Kumar, Vikram and Vinod, residents of Kohla-Palahi under Nadaun subdivision, said agent Anil from the village took them to Malaysia after taking money. Though he had promised to get them jobs in Malaysia on a monthly salary of around Rs 20,000, he not only cheated them but also forced them to do objectionable work there. He even beat them up after taking their money and passports, they added. They alleged the agent forced them to chop meat and even indulged in sexual abuse. They somehow managed to escape and reached Hamirpur, they said. After reaching their village, they told about it to their parents and village elders, who got a case registered at the Nadaun police station. |
|
|
NIT annual function
Hamirpur, March 25 The event is scheduled to be held from March 29 to April 1, 2007, and is expected to draw large participation and competition from all colleges in the region and outside. The list of events lined up include circuit designing test, programming contests and robot-building workshops. An entrepreneurship workshop, drawing industry leaders is also planned. The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, having earned a reputation for itself on providing quality education, is all set to explore new frontiers. It has been ranked 34th nationally among top engineering colleges in the country in a survey carried out by Dataquest in 2006. Recently, the institute has started several M.Tech and Ph.D programme. The institute is proactive in extension activities such as organising conferences, refresher courses, short- term programmes, community services training programmes etc.
|
|
Decomposed
body found
Mandi, March 25 The police said the deaf and dumb woman had gone missing from Kuthar village in Drang on March 8. The body was spotted last evening around 3 km downstream. It was in a decomposed condition. The woman might have fallen from the steep hillside into the river. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The sangharsh samiti of Chambi-Khatravari residents have warned the government that it would become another Nandigram here if the proposed 1200 bighas of prized land was acquired for the controversial Rs 10 billion cement plant proposed to be set up by the Birla group of company near this town.
