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GMR energy bags Holi Bajoli power project
Post of chief secy
One IAS, 26 admn officers shifted
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Snag hits BSNL services
Cong to reflect on Hamirpur debacle on July 2
Drinking water crisis continues in Palampur
Cong regime a den of corruption: Dhumal
265 street children enrolled in schools
BJP mourns Sahib’s death
Party’s apathy worries Dhumal
Foreign national raped
5-year RI for bid to murder
Their tiny world sees nothing, but sorrow
Legal-aid clinic inaugurated
Asphyxia claims life
‘Govt concealing info on Ski Village’
‘Politics ruining sports’
HPMC to supply 20 lakh cartons
Apple disease
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Taxi owners call off strike
Shimla, June 30 The tourists as well as locals heaved a sigh of relief as taxi owners all over the state called off their strike in the evening after their representatives had a meeting with the Chief Minister. President of the joint action committee, Manoj Bansal, said the CM had agreed that a separate T-series would be issued for taxis which would ply locally. Taxi owners all over the state had been observing an indefinite strike for the past two days, while cab owners in Shimla and Dharamshala had been agitating for the past one week in protest against the metered taxi scheme being implemented by the government. Besides, a new T-series, the taxis plying locally would be painted in two colours, distinguishing them from other long-route cabs. Those taxi owners who wish to ply locally can seek T-series, while others can continue with their present permits. Bansal said the other demand put forward by taxi owners about the steep hike in token tax ordered by the Transport Department be reduced, had also been accepted by the CM. “He has assured us that the government will look into the matter and after consultations with officials, they will do something about it,” said Bansal. The government had increased the token tax of bigger maxi cabs from Rs 500 to Rs 750 and of smaller motor cabs from Rs 200 to Rs 350. The taxi owners had been demanding reduction in this as they termed the hike in token tax as very high. Bansal said a meeting would be held with the CM and senior officials on July 4 to decide the colour which the local plying taxis with meters would have to get painted. This would be on the pattern of the metropolitan cities where metered taxis are painted in two colours.
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GMR energy bags Holi Bajoli power project
Dharamsala, June 30 This company is already working on one hydel project each in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. Sources in the state government revealed that the company got the project against stiff competition from qualified bidders, including Reliance Energy, Jaiprakash Hydropower Limited, Lanco, Moser-Baer India, Torrent-Gammon Consortium and Larsen and Toubro Limited. As many as 18 bidders had pitched for the project for the tender floated by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. However, only 13 bidders were technically qualified for this proposal. Once the construction work begins smoothly, the project is expected to go into commercial operations in 2014, sources said. The tentative project cost is estimated at Rs 1,050 crore, however, a final estimate would be made only after finalisation of the detailed project report. Sources said based on the current flow pattern of the river, the power generation from the project would be at least 664 million units per year. As per the agreement likely to be signed between the company and the electricity board, the GMR group would have a concession period of 40 years from the date of commercial operations. The company has proposed to give 12 per cent free power to the state for the first 15 years of operation, 18 per cent in the next 15 years, and 30 per cent in the subsequent 10 years. According to the funding norms prescribed by the Union Ministry of Power, the funding for the project is likely to be done on a debt equity ratio of 80:20. This would mean that GMR would have to bring in at least Rs 210 crore as equity. The remaining Rs 840 crore would comprise the debt component of the project finance. |
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Not by seniority, always
Rakesh Lohumi Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 30 Seniority and merit no longer matter in the selection of the incumbent. It all started in the mid-1990s when the then chief secretary S.K. Chauhan was eased out to make way for R.K. Anand, who also met the same fate. The government curtailed his term and installed A.N. Vidyarthi midway through his tenure. Vidyarthi, who later joined the Congress, was granted an extension in service but had to quit with the change of government in March, 1998. The next incumbent O.P. Yadav also could not complete his term as the government opted for A.K. Goswami. In the process, another senior officer C.P. Sujaya was overlooked. The next three incumbents --Harsh Gupta, Rajender Bhattcharya and Arvind Kaul --were all appointed by seniority. However, Kaul had a brief tenure as he was replaced by Shamsher Singh after a few months. Thereafter, Parmar was appointed, ignoring three officers senior to him. Mankotia has raised the issue of regional bias too late in the day. Sood was ignored by the Virbhadra Singh regime even earlier when S.S. Parmar was made the chief secretary two years ago. Neither Mankotia nor any other leader termed it as an act of regional bias at that time. Further, the previous Dhumal government had ignored C.P. Sujaya who was also from Kangra and appointed A.K. Goswami to the top post. In fact, during the BJP regime seniority was a casualty not only in the appointment of chief secretary but also other top posts, including the DGP, the principal conservator of forests and the engineer-in-chief of the PWD Having taken over the reins of administration on the eve of the Assembly poll it will be a tightrope walk for new incumbent Ravi Dhingra, who is due for superannuation in March, 2009. It is a time when the top bureaucrat has to cope with all sorts of pressures from the ruling outfit. At the same time, his conduct is under scanner of the opposition.
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Governor lauds CSK varsity
Palampur, June
30 Kokje said a
vice-chancellor in present times had to have multifarious roles in
addition to an academician and administrator par excellence, and to
perform the role of an expert public relations professional, to satiate
the information needs of the farming community and an expert in human
resource development. He said all efforts should be made to increase
the income of small and marginal farmers settled in far-flung areas. In
a farewell function, the Governor appreciated the efforts of the
outgoing vice-chancellor Dr D.S. Rathore for generating funds and
building quality infrastructure at the campus. The outgoing
vice-chancellor Rathore underlined the importance of higher education in
development. He said he tried to give reorientation in all academic,
research and extension programmes to make the university a specialist in
hill and mountain agriculture. He said this was the first university in
the country to get an ISO certification and now many collaborative
programmes had been implemented to broaden the sphere of the
university. The Governor presented mementoes on behalf of the
university to the vice-chancellor. Lady Governor Leena Kokje also
accompanied the Governor. The deputy commissioner, the SP and other
senior officers also attended the function. |
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One IAS, 26 admn officers shifted
Shimla, June 30 J.S. Rana, settlement officer, Shimla, has been posted as director, Land Records. He will also hold an additional charge of director, Urban Development. Sunil Chaudhary, additional director, Ayurveda, has been posted as controller, Printing and Stationery, while Vikas Labroo, district tourism development officer, Dharamsala, becomes additional secretary, Animal Husbandry. Balbir Chand, additional deputy commissioner, Una, takes over as additional Excise and Taxation commissioner, South zone, Shimla, vice Amit Kashyap who takes over as general manager, HPMC, Shimla. Nand Lal Sharma takes over as LAO, PD, Shimla, vice K.D. Rana who has been posted as joint director, Industries. Rakesh Kanwar on return from training posted as additional district magistrate, Law and Order, Shimla, H.S. Thakur, general manager ,DIC, Solan, goes as additional excise and taxation commissioner, headquarters, Shimla. Sanjeev Bhatnagar, joint secretary, Urban Development has been shifted as joint secretary, Education, Ranbir Rana, ASO, Dharamsala, takes over as Additional District Magistrate, Una, Vijay Chandan, additional director Social Welfare, goes as additional District Magistrate ,Kullu, Subhash Nanda, who was under transfer as assistant commissioner to divisional commissioner, Kangra, has been posted as ASO, Dharamsala. B.R. Kaundal takes over as regional transport officer, Kullu, vice Ashwini Kumar who goes as assistant commissioner to divisional commissioner, Kangra. Amitabh Awasthi takes over as additional director, Food and Civil Supplies, Shimla.
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Snag hits BSNL services
Mandi, June 30 While Internet dial-up service was restored late in evening in Mandi, the subscribers and customers waited helplessly in front of cyber cafes and office rooms for hours in Kullu and other districts in the state. Subscribers complained that the BSNL and private service providers remained clueless for hours as they did not know why the network had collapsed. Important business could not be transacted as network remained suspended throughout the day, rued a medical representative, who had to send a daily report to Chandigarh. Subscribers of mobile phones remained a harried lot in Kullu. “Neither telephones nor fax nor mobile phones were functioning properly”, rued S.C. Sharma, a resident of Kullu. General manager BSNL, Mandi, Julka said the problem arose due to a breakdown in the transmission room in Chandigarh. “We were trying to ascertain the problem as lines remained down for hours.” General manager BSNL, Kullu, Gurbax Singh said “Why you are bothering me. You better contact Chandigarh I do not know why the network is down”. Nahan: Despite the availability of more than 10 towers in and around Nahan town, the services of BSNL remained disruptive throughout the day today. The subscribers of landline telephones, mobile and GPRS could not use the services as promised by the BSNL, even after making timely payment of the hefty bills.
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Cong to reflect on Hamirpur debacle on July 2
Shimla, June 30 The meeting assumes significance in view of the fact that this is the first meeting after the Shimla municipal corporation elections and the party’s debacle in the Hamirpur byelection. All senior leaders, including Virbhadra Singh, HPCC chief Viplove Thakur and other office-bearers, would be present in the meeting where stress would be on better coordination between the party and the government. Party sources said though the main reason for convening the meeting was to look into the reasons behind party’s defeat in the Hamirpur Lok Sabha byelection and plan for the Assembly elections, it was likely that Virbhadra supporters raised the issue of expulsion of Mankotia from the party. Though Mankotia was suspended immediately after he released the CD containing the alleged conversation of the Chief Minister and his wife with a senior official with regard to exchange of money, nothing has been done thereafter. “Since the main reason for the Hamirpur defeat was the release of the CD, how can Mr Mankotia’s conduct be ignored when we are looking into the reasons for the party’s poor performance,” quips a senior leader. With the rebel Congress leader criticising even party’s state unit chief Viplove Thakur for not being able to ensure victory in the Hamirpur elections, there is a possibility that she, along with her supporters, too, would be keen that the issue of action against Mankotia cropped up in the meeting. The state leadership is keen that the reasons for the party’s defeat be closely examined so that the shortcoming can be removed before the forthcoming Assembly elections. The leaders are of the opinion that thought the party lost the Hamirpur byelection, the scenario is not all that bad as the Congress was able to retain the prestigious Shimla municipal corporation for the fifth consecutive time. The issue of Cabinet reshuffle to give better representation to Kangra and Hamirpur could also be discussed in the meeting.
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Drinking water crisis continues in Palampur
Palampur, June 30 Aima, Guggar and Sughar areas of the town were the worst affected and going without water for the past four days. IPH executive engineer Naresh Sharma said the inclement weather and dumping of debris by a power company in the Neugal river which was feeding 12 drinking water supply schemes in the region were the main hurdles in the restoration of drinking water supply to the town and adjoining 10 panchayats. He said the main water sources of Sidhpur-Khalet, Mehanja-Bindravan, Palampur town, Ghuggar - Aima and Daroh Garh water-supply schemes had been damaged by mud and stones thrown by the power company into the water sources. The IPH Department was making all efforts to restore the water supply to the affected areas but if rain continued, the supply of drinking water would also be affected, he added. Meanwhile, Palampur SDM C.P. Verma, said he had issued directions to Om Power Corporation to suspend entire construction activities and stop dumping debris in Neugal khud which was a major source of drinking water supply in the region. He said the company could not be allowed to damage the drinking water sources as they would bring great inconvenience to thousands of residents. Verma said if the company failed to follow directions issued by him, action would be initiated against the management of the company. Meanwhile, Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum president R. K. Sood today appealed to the SDM to requisite water tanks for the supply of drinking water in the town.
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Cong regime a den of corruption: Dhumal
Mandi, June 30 “Congress ministers and power brokers have only one thing in their minds : grab as much as long as they are in power”, he charged and accused the Congress high command of brushing aside all allegations, including regional discrimination against Kangra region levelled by none other than a Congress MLA V.S. Mankotia. He alleged that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was mum on the CD episode, as he had neither rejected it nor had he ordered a probe in the case. He blamed the government for making the plight of taxi-operators worse by installing meters in some districts without taking them into confidence. He alleged that the government had altered the land usage in allotment of industrial plots to benefit certain industrialists and demanded a probe in the whole affair. He said the BJP government had made a policy to appoint 50 per cent teachers batch-wise and 50 per cent through merit/written test. But the Congress had appointed its “own people through PTA and para teachers”. Dhumal asserted that “the BJP would restore its old policy and scrap all such appointments when it comes to power in the state”. But Dhumal appeared mercurial when reporters put queries to him. About the Chief Minister’s charge that Mankotia was Dhumal’s agent, Dhumal retorted, saying that “let him reply whether four of his ministers were Congress agents". Replying to another query that the BJP wanted him to work as an MP and not be a part of politics in the state Dhumal said he was not aware of such a development.
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265 street children enrolled in schools
Shimla, June 30 There are hundreds of other such deprived children belonging to the weaker sections of society who would benefit from the scheme of educating street children under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan. With the objective of ensuring elementary education to every child, 265 street children working at dhabas, begging or collecting junk in Shimla would be enrolled in schools. A beginning in this direction was made today as about 25 street children were enrolled in Government Primary School, Engine Ghar, Sanjauli. Similarly, 35 children have been enrolled in the Government Primary School, Tutu. Hailing from poor families, these children will be provided mid-day meal along with the entire expenditure on books and education. A survey had been conducted by the officials of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan to identify children in the age group of six to 14 years who were not going to school. "We identified 265 such children who were supplementing the family income by working at dhabas, collecting junk or simply begging, " informed P.L. Negi, state project director, (SSA). A separate class having a maximum of 40 children with one teacher has been started for these children who have never been to school earlier under alternative innovative education in the government educational institutions. In places where the schools are located at a distance, the concept of education guarantee centres (EGC) has been introduced. A number of agencies, including the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, police, Gyan Vigyan Samiti, anganwari workers and some NGO's were involved in the task of convincing the parents to send their children to school. |
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BJP mourns Sahib’s death
Shimla, June 30 Verma who till a month back had been in charge of the BJP affairs in Himachal had been closely associated with the party workers in Himachal. Verma had close interactions with the party workers due to the Hamirpur Lok Sabha and local municipal corporation elections held barely a month back. It is only a few days back that Sat Pal Jain was made in charge of the BJP affairs in the state. Expressing grief at the death of Verma, state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur said he had won the hearts of the workers as he had close interactions with them during the municipal corporation elections. “It is an irreparable loss to the party as he was a man with strong organisational capacity and held important positions like the chief ministership of Delhi and union labour minister,” he said. Former union minister Shanta Kumar, Lok Sabha member P.K. Dhumal, Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Bhardwaj, state general secretary Khushi Ram Balnatah, state secretary H.N. Kashyap, former Speaker Radha Raman Shastri, former minister Mr Narinder Bragta and other leaders expressed grief at the sudden death of Verma.
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Party’s apathy worries Dhumal
Mandi, June 30 |
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Foreign national raped
Mandi, June 30 Police sources told The Tribune that the woman wanted to board a bus to Delhi but missed it. A youth riding a motorbike spotted the desperate woman and volunteered to help her catch the bus. He, however, drove her to a secluded place and allegedly raped her. Though the police has registered a case under Section 376 of the IPC, the accused is still at large. The ASP said the South Korean Embassy had been informed of the incident but he refused to disclose the identity of the tourist. |
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5-year RI for bid to murder
Dharamsala, June 30 District and Sessions Judge B.R. Chandel found the accused, Raghu Nath, guilty of causing fatal injuries to one Ravinder Kumar, a resident of Ishi village of the district, on the night of July 2, 2006, and sentenced him to jail. He also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the accused and in case of failure to pay the fine, he would have to undergo further imprisonment for 6 months. |
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Their tiny world sees nothing, but sorrow Nalagarh, June 30 For Altaab Raja (2) and his six-month-old sister, the cruel joke played by destiny has deprived them of their childhood. A Nalagarh depot bus (HP-12-4067) crushed their parents, Hassan Muhammed and Praveen Begum, near the local bus stand on June 24. The family had come to the market to buy medicines for their ailing daughter and was standing behind a traffic post on Ropar Chowk when the bus, whose brakes had failed, ran over them. In the accident, Praveen had ensured Altaab was safe as she held him tight, despite being trapped under the bus. She then threw Altaab to the side, thus saving his life, but losing hers. Hassan had no serious injury marks on his body although he was dragged by the bus. Both Hassan and Praveen were taken to the local hospital, from where they were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh. They succumbed to their injuries near Mani Majra. Hassan, who originally hailed from Chamba district, had come here three years ago. After settling in his profession as a truck driver, Hassan brought his wife to stay with him. Altaab and his sister have left to their native place with their uncle Fateh Muhhammed. Fateh, who runs a dhaba at Kharouni near Barotiwala, has taken the responsibility of taking care of the kids. Meanwhile, the bus driver, Chet Ram, said he had informed bus stand in-charge Ram Lok about a technical fault in his bus. However, as per Ram, it was the duty of another bus stand in-charge, Janak, to check the technical flaw. Avtaar Singh, regional manager, HRTC, Nalagarh, said the bus had no fault and the accident occurred as the bus driver was in an inebriated condition.
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Legal-aid clinic inaugurated
Shimla, June 30 The clinic was inaugurated by acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Deepak Gupta. Speaking on the occasion, Justice Gupta said the legal-aid clinic would provide assistance to the poor and down trodden, who were unable to exercise their legal rights for lack of financial resources, knowledge and social backwardness. The clinic was a dynamic concept of distributive justice and rule of law as the object of legal aid to bring the poor at par with the rich in litigation, he added. To start with, two senior lawyers and two-three law students will sit for two days in a week in this clinic and later it will be made more functional, Justice Gupta, who is also the executive chairman of the HP State Legal Service Authority, said. Many judges of the high court and district courts were present on the occasion.
— PTI |
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Asphyxia claims life
Kangra, June 30 Ranjeet Singh, was working as a domestic help in the house of Jatinder Singh. Sources said Ranjeet yesterday took lunch andwent to sleep and did not come out of his room till late in the after noon. He was found lying on the floor of his room with foam coming out of his mouth. He was shifted to Shri Bala Ji Hospital here where he was declared brought dead, the police said. The police said the preliminary autopsy report indicated asphyxia due to blockage of the windpipe.
— OC |
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‘Govt concealing info on Ski Village’
Kullu, June 30 He said the company in its posters said it did not have any relation with the Ford company of America, but the MoU for the proposed project clearly mentioned that Alfred Ford was the chairman of the company. He asked the government to clarify about the shareholders of the company and its relation with the Ford. He ridiculed the statement by the management of the Ski Village company that they would construct five temples in the area while they had rejected the supreme verdict of “jagati”. |
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‘Politics ruining sports’
Mandi, June 30 He said the HP cricket association had achieved milestones in sports in the state despite the fact the Congress regime had tried its level best to put hurdles in way of the association due of political vendetta. |
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HPMC to supply 20 lakh cartons
Shimla, June 30 A spokesperson of the corporation said that the 20 kg telescopic carton made of semi-craft paper would be supplied at the rate of Rs 28 per carton while a craft paper carton of similar capacity would be made available at Rs 29. An automatic apple tray would cost the growers Rs 3.60 and the semi-automatic one Rs 2.80.
— TNS |
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Apple disease
Chamba, June 30 |
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