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Five stone crushers sealed in Damtal on HC orders
Survey ordered to assess loss to apple crop
12 Jaisinghpur villages suffer water shortage
Rs 900-cr Loan |
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Inclusion of Shimla in JNNURM
Sex ratio skewed in Solan
Wildlife sanctuaries surveyed
Punjab youth found hanging
Heli-taxi service
Congress, BJP looking for best nominees
Mentally disturbed youth kills old man
News Effect
Hearing in Amarinder case adjourned
CPM to back like-minded parties
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Five stone crushers sealed in Damtal on HC orders
Indora (Nurpur), May 5 The High Court had earlier directed the collector, Nurpur, to eject over 30 stone crushers being operated from the land owned by Shri Ram Gopal Temple Trust for not making payments fixed by the trust. The collector directed the tehsildar of Indora for evicting the stone-crushing units under Section 3 of the HP Land Premises Act, 1971. Tehsildar Rakesh Thakur and his team reached Damtal and sealed five units-Captain Stone Crusher, Luxmi Stone Crusher, Deotsiddh Stone Crusher, Shivam Stone Crusher and Chetan Stone Crusher- for not making payments to the trust for the past over 15 years. Sources in the trust disclosed that the temple trust had leased out its land to M/S Himachal Bajri Company and M/S Gagan Singh of Indpur village for Rs 6,000 annually in 1970. The lessee later sub-leased the land to over 30 persons for setting up stone crushers for crores of rupees per annum. The trust then approached the high court seeking ejectment of the stone crushers after the lease expired in 2005. The court passed orders of ejectment for the units following which the affected stone crushers filed an appeal claiming that they were not served notices well in time. The court again asked the collector for serving them notices and evict the units as per the law. In the mean time the trust moved another application before the court seeking that the lessee should not get stay orders in this case. The court's order, however went in favour of the trust. The stone crusher owners were served notices and subsequently certain units were on Friday afternoon. In an effort to enforce the court orders, the local administration sealed only five stone crushers wile the rest are still operating. Almost 16 stone crushers located in the vicinity of the temple were exempted as they agreed to abide by the terms and conditions of the trust. Indora tehsildar Rakesh Thakur said the stone crushers had been sealed as per the directions of the collector. |
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Survey ordered to assess loss to apple crop
Shimla, May 5 All deputy commissioners have been directed to assess the loss and submit reports within a week, chief secretary S.S. Parmar said today. The DCs had been ordered to send teams to the orchards in the remote areas to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage. After getting the reports, the government would decide on compensation for the farmers, Parmar said. According to reports, the recent spell of hail had damaged the apple crop substantially which, according to a conservative estimate, was estimated at over Rs 90 crore. The crop loss in the higher reaches of Shimla and Kinnaur districts was expected to be over 30 per cent. The chief secretary said the Centre had agreed to provide an additional 6,500 metric tonnes of wheat to the state for April and May for distribution among APL (above poverty line) people. This quantity would be in addition to the original allotment of 6748 metric tones. The Centre had given assured additional allotment of wheat to the state regularly.
— PTI |
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12 Jaisinghpur villages suffer water shortage
Palampur, May 5 Over 12 villages in Jaisinghpur area are facing acute shortage of drinking water and residents are being left with no alternative except to consume contaminated water from nearby streams and ponds. Enquiries made by The Tribune today revealed that the Bijapur Drinking Water Supply Scheme feeding over 12 villages in Jaisinghpur sub-division had failed to meet the water requirements of the people. Six villages around Jaisinghpur, including Kutahan, which fall under this scheme were the worst affected. A group of villagers told visiting newsmen near Jaisinghpur that they were receiving drinking water once a day and that too for half an hour. They said the state government had already announced to augment the water scheme two years ago, but no steps had been initiated so far causing inconvenience to the residents of the area. They added that this was only the beginning of summers and what would happen in May and June. Long queues of men, women and children could been seen daily in front of public taps and other natural water sources. It was also learnt that the IPH department had failed to maintain the drinking water scheme in Jaisinghpur, Thural and Lambagaon areas. Many villagers alleged that since the area falls in the constituency of Ravinder Thakur, opposition MLA, therefore no attention was being paid by the officers of IPH department. They said despite the fact that the Chief Minister had allocated funds for the augmentation of drinking water supply schemes in the area, its execution was deliberately delayed as the officers were busy to complete projects falling under the ruling party MLAs, because the elections for the state Assembly were near. P.V. Vaidya, executive engineer, and assistant engineer IPH Lambagaon, who were responsible for ensuring drinking water to people of this area, were not available for comments.
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Rs 900-cr Loan
Shimla, May 5 Only a fortnight back a team of senior state officials visited America to finalise the grant of the WB loan. Since 90 per cent of this loan will be in the form of a grant, the state government will have to repay only 10 per cent of Rs 900 crore. Besides spending this money on various developmental works, the government is likely to use it for repayment of loans on a higher interest raised from other quarters. The state government has raised loans worth Rs 20,000 crore and it is keen that some money from the Rs 900-crore loan is utilised for its repayment. If the WB is satisfied with the performance of the government in spending and repayment of this amount, it could grant more loans to Himachal. The loan could help the state undertake several developmental projects like road construction, harnessing power potential and other big projects.
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Inclusion of Shimla in JNNURM
Shimla, May 5 In a statement issued here today he said the Congress was trying to mislead the people by claiming that Rs 600 crore would be received for undertaking various development works in the town. "The fact is that during seven years, about Rs 300 crore would be received but the Congress is once again trying to mislead the people," he alleged. Dhumal said it was on the basis of a document 'Vision document 2020' prepared by the BJP government on 2002 that Shimla had been included in the mission. He added that the state government had at that given this document to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a result of which the city had been included in the JNNURM. In the past two years no work had been done during Congress rule. He said that the Congress was misleading the people by stating that Rs 600 received under the JNNURM would be spent on drinking water schemes, roads, parking, flyovers, tunnels and other beautification works as only Rs 300 would be received. He claimed a sum of Rs 6,250 crore was to be distributed amongst 28 towns all over India in the next seven years under the JNNURM. "As such the share of each town during the seven years of the mission works out to be between Rs 225 crore and Rs 300 crore," he explained. He sought a clarification from the government on this account and said that false claims were being made to gain political benefit in the MC elections, as has been the past practice of the Congress. Congress violating code
Accusing the ruling Congress of violating the code of conduct , the BJP has complained to the Election Commission that the offices of the mayor and the deputy mayor were still being used to hold Congress meetings. Addressing a press conference here today, MLA and state party spokesman Rajiv Bindal party leader H.N. Kashyap has lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission, seeking its intervention in the matter. Bindal said that despite being in power for the past 21 years, the Congress had not even been able to provide safe drinking water to the people of the state capital. He claimed that even now water supply pipes and sewerage lines ran parallel in the state capital, leading to the contamination of drinking water. The contaminated water led to several water- borne diseases. After jaundice, residents of the capital were now facing an acute
shortage of water. |
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Sex ratio skewed in Solan
Solan, May 5 These facts have been revealed in the latest report of the state's economic survey. Compiled by the Department of Economics and Statistics, the survey has pegged the state's sex ratio at 968 with Hamirpur having the highest sex ratio of 1,099 in the state. Further the survey points out that there has been a sharp decline in the female population in urban areas. The difference between the male and female population is quite high in the urban areas, thereby meaning that the trend of female feticide is more prevalent among the urban dwellers. In Solan district, the number of females in the rural areas was 1,95,212 as against 2,14,150 males, while the number of females in the urban areas was as low as 35,054 as against 56,141 males. These figures point to the adverse trend of female feticide. Since there were no female health workers who could keep a check in the urban areas the trend of medical termination of pregnancies appeared to be common. Conversely the district town of Solan has recorded the highest population growth of 57.26 per cent in the state, while its sex ratio has shown the worst. The chief medical officer Dr S.N. Sharma while expressing surprise at the latest findings said they would conduct block specific surveys to find out which part of the district suffered the maximum decline. He said despite regular monitoring of all ultrasound machines in the district and especially in Solan little could be achieved in nabbing any culprit. Earlier the health authorities asserted that all bordering districts suffered an adverse sex ratio due to their proximity to the neighbouring states. But the latest survey has reversed that assertion with only Solan district registering a low sex ratio. The other border districts like Sirmaur, Bilaspur and Una managed to improve the ratio to 901, 990 and 997 respectively. Surprisingly the other tribal district of Kinnaur also registered a low sex ratio of 857, while in Shimla it stood at 896. The three districts of Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra had registered sex ratio of 1,013, 1,099 and 1,025 respectively as per the survey. Though NGOs were awarded projects worth lakhs to contain female feticide but they appeared to have had done little work. The CMO said more was to be done to control this menace, as the decline in the sex ratio in the age group of 0 to 6 years would have an adverse bearing on the society in the next 10-15 years. He said the problem was multifarious. It was important to keep an eye on such clinics that conducted these tests and also those which abort them. |
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Wildlife sanctuaries surveyed
Bharmour, May 5 The team touring the sanctuaries took stock of the situation while identifying the areas to be detached from the wildlife habitats in consultation with the local representatives of the panchayati raj institutions. The report world be submitted to the government for final clearance after analysing all the conditions. The residents living on the environs of the wildlife habitats have been representing to the government for the last several years to exclude the populated areas from the territory of wildlife sanctuaries so that they could protect themselves, their livestock and their crops from the day-today threat of wild beasts. The frequent reports about damage to crops, livestock and even to human life due to the assault of wild animals were usually emanating from the areas along the sanctuaries. Even the construction of houses, roads, bridges and other developmental activities were impeded in their areas owing to the stringent provisions of Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act in force on the fringe of sanctuaries. The Kugti wildlife sanctuary has an area of 379 square km which is the second largest sanctuary after Sangla in Kinnaur district having 650 sq. km. of area. Tundah is another sanctuary in Bharmour having an area of 64 sq. km. Similarly, Khajjiar sanctuary has an area of 20 sq. km. All these sanctuaries are covered under thick forests at an altitude ranging above 1950 metres. The wild animals like
thar, ibex, musk deer, barking deer, black bear, leopard, goral, serow and the pheasants such as snowcock
monal, koklas, kaleej and chukor can be seen in these sanctuaries. |
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Punjab youth found hanging
McLeodganj, May 5 The local police took the dead body into custody and initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC into the incident. The body was sent for a postmortem examination to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital here. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the youth had committed suicide after running away from home. Kangra district SP Ajay Yadav said the body was recovered by the police from the reserve forest area near Bhagsunag temple. He said the youth wearing under garments was found hanging from a tree with a belt tightly gripped around his neck. His pant, shirt, purse, a mobile phone and a bottle of liquor was found from near the tree on which he was hanging. The SP said with the help of the mobile phone the police was able to identify the youth. When inquired about the youth found dead, it was revealed that the deceased was Sumit Kumar (22), a resident of Banga, Nawanshahar, in Punjab. Parents/guardians of the youth were called to identify the dead body, the SP said. In a statement recorded before the police, they stated that the deceased was mentally depressed for the past few months and was missing from home for the past few days.
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Heli-taxi service
Kullu, May 5 Captain Vijay Prakash said though the operational cost of the helicopter flight was high but it would provide services even during bad-weather conditions. He told that the minimum visibility required for its operation was 1 km whereas an aircraft needed minimum visibility of 5 km at an airfield like Bhuntar. Bob Farrell and Johns Farrell who took the flight today said the flight was ‘good’. The hoteliers association here has welcomed the new introduction the service. president of the association Jagan Nath Sharma, said the more capacity on air routes would definitely help increase tourism prospects in the state. |
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Congress, BJP looking for best nominees
Hamirpur, May 5 Keeping in view the importance of the byelections, no party wants to take any chances by making reluctant candidates contest it. “The BJP high command is likely to name the candidate by May 13 when the nominees for the Goa assembly elections will also be decided,” former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said. It is learnt that the BJP is trying to convince its top leaders, including Dhumal, to consider contesting the election since the outcome will have a bearing on the assembly elections due next year. Since Dhumal has refused to contest these elections, the choice may fall on former health minister J.P. Nadda, Anurag Thakur (Dhumal’s son’s) or other BJP leaders. The Congress, on the other hand, seems to be adopting a wait-and-watch policy in announcing its candidate. It is waiting for the BJP to nominate its candidate. While forest minister Ram Lal Thakur, who has contested this seat earlier, is considered a likely candidate. |
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Mentally disturbed youth kills old man
Dharamsala, May 5 He also injured two other persons of the same village before running away from the spot. SP Ajay Yadav said the alleged accused, identified as Tarsem Singh of Saroli village, had first injured one Rakesh Kumar of Dhameta village, last night. The injured was immediately rushed to the community health centre in Fatehpur where he was given medical aid. In the morning, when the old man, identified as Kali Charan, was on his way to attend a religious ceremony in the same village, Tarsem Singh allegedly hit him hard on his chest, which led to the old man’s death, he said. When another villager, Dev Raj, tried to catch him, he allegedly hit him with the screw diver. He too was given medical aid in Fatehpur hospital. A criminal case has registered. The screw diver allegedly used in the murder and the slippers of the mentally disturbed youth have been recovered from a boat floating in the Pong dam by the police. Eyewitnesses told the police that Tarsem Singh had committed suicide after committing the crime. |
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News Effect Baddi, May 5 Ironically, all projects of the authority hit roadblock for the want of funds. Formed in October last year, the authority was not given even a single penny for development projects. The matter was highlighted in these columns under the heading “Development authority penniless” on April 22. Confirming the development, Dr Amandeep Garg, CEO of the BBNDA, said the budget had been approved. The funds were expected to be released shortly, he asserted. The budget was purely meant for development works, he added. Various development projects involving Rs 5 crore have already been sanctioned, Dr Garg pointed out. “We would be executing these projects involving the work related to improve basic amenities in industrial belt.” However, the prime target would be to improve the condition of roads, he said. There was an urgent need for repairing and recarpeting the road. The work on master plan was on and it was expected to be completed by September end.
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Hearing in Amarinder case adjourned
Shimla, May 5 The matter was posted for hearing on May 10 since Chief Judicial Magistrate Yashwant Singh Chogal was on leave. Amrinder and Vohra had filed applications to exempt them from personal appearance in the
court. — PTI |
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CPM to back like-minded parties
Shimla, May 5 Secretary of the district committee of the CPM Sanjay Chauhan said the party would oppose both Congress and the BJP as both parties had failed to fulfil their promises. “The CPM is the only party which can help forge a third front to provide an alternative to the people,” he said.
— TNS |
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A Tribune Debate
Dead phones, live bills. That’s what is happening in many areas of Himachal Pradesh, a state once known for its good communication network. Readers are invited to offer solutions for this
problem.
Send your views — in not more than 300 words — to: Phone Woes,
A Tribune Debate, c/o The Tribune, Sector 29, or email at himachal@tribunemail.com
by May 15, 2007
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The local administration has sealed five stone crushers operating from the Damtal and Majra areas following directions of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The power supply to these units has also been disconnected.
A Tribune Debate
