Baddi, August 15
A 10-year-old bridge at Baddi has started sinking as its sixth pier has developed deep cracks. The bridge was closed for vehicular traffic soon after the incident around 12.15 am last night.

People said the sixth pier of the bridge started sinking as soon as a tanker crossed over it. The traffic has been diverted to the Marrawala-Barotiwala side.

This bridge is a major link between the industrial area of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh and Pinjore-Chandigarh. Around 6,000 vehicles, including trucks carrying heavy machinery, raw material and finished goods, cross it everyday.

SDO (National Highway) Sandeep Sobti said the bridge was meant to be used for heavy loads as it was an RCC structure. He said there was no sign of any loss in its super structure as the rest of the bridge was intact. He said senior officials would reach the spot from Shimla and Chandigarh to take stock of the situation. The repair work could take around three months as they would have to wait for the water to recede before initiating any repair work, he added.

With heavy rain lashing the area since Sunday, the river was in spate. Interestingly, the Balad river rarely received adequate water so much so that jhuggis dwellers had put up their dwellings right below it. However, now they had shifted to other places following heavy rain.

As the bridge is only 10-year-old, engineers say it is the substandard work that has led to this situation.

SOLAN: Rain continued to wreak havoc in the district with fresh landslides blocking the Kalka-Shimla highway at Sanwara for 30 minutes here today. There were also reports of two more cases of house collapse and damage to another six at Patta (Mehlog) in Kasauli tehsil.

Though the PWD workers endeavoured to clear all major and minor landslides from the national highway, their efforts to make the highway’s double lane functional met with road blocks due to fresh landslides at several places. Heavy rain continued throughout the district last night. This affected lift irrigation schemes, cable connections and power supply.

Around 1,500 residents of Patta Nali, Patta Baria, Baghuri and Patta panchayat tehsil were the worst hit. All roads leading to these places remained blocked due to landslides for the third day.

Repeated requests by the panchayat representatives to press JCBs into service failed to move PWD authorities. It was only after a visit by SDM K.C. Chaman today that a JCB was pressed into action.

Chaman had to walk around 8 km to take stock of the situation. He estimated the loss to be around Rs 10 lakh and said the work had been started to clear the roads leading to Patta.

Lift irrigation schemes of Kaintha-Chadiyaar, Beja, Tujhar, Parol had suffered damage due to the falling debris. Telephone exchanges of Patta, Kotbeja, Jorji and Kathlog also suffered damage leading to breakdown of telephone services in the area.

NAHAN: Landslides following a cloudburst blocked the Chandigarh-Nahan-Dehra Dun highway at more than 20 places between Kala Amb and Sainwala area of Nahan tehsil. The traffic on the road could be completely restored only after 16 hours this afternoon.

Residents said the rain that had been continuing for a few hours suddenly turned heavy around 9 pm yesterday. They came out of their houses when they heard unusual noise of heavy rain around 10 pm. “The force and quantum of the downpour was terrible. Had it continued for some more time, the whole valley would have been washed away,” said Ramesh Thakur, an eyewitness of Moginand area.

A police party that rushed from the Kala-Amb police post to supervise the rescue work confirmed that deep and wide trenches had developed at more than 20 places on the sloppy hills between Moginand and Sainwala and heavy landslides were visible in 5-km stretch. There was no habitation in the area, otherwise the loss would have been very heavy, sources said.

Four JCBs and a large number of workers were pressed into action by the PWD to clear the road. Newspaper and other supplies to Renuka, Nahan, Shilai and Nalagarh areas were affected due to landslides.

Shimla, August 15
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the government would ensure that the houses washed away in Ghanvi village due to a cloudburst were reconstructed before the onset of the winter.

The Chief Minister today undertook an aerial survey of Ghanvi village in Rampur sub-division today.

He said relief and rehabilitation of the affected families would be done on priority.

He said the SDM had rushed to the spot immediately on receiving information about the mishap.

“Rescue and medical teams had been rushed to the village so that tarpaulin, utensils, food stuff and clothes can be provided to the families whose houses had been washed away,” he said.

He said relief would be provided to the affected families as per the relief manual so that the affected families are rehabilitated suitably.

“Close monitoring of the relief operations would be carried out by senior officers,” he said. Virbhadra Singh also visited Chitkul village which had been hit by a cloudburst today.

“We will soon formulate a plan for the rehabilitation of the affected families, besides providing necessary relief as per the relief manual,” he said.

He said that the cloudburst-hit area would be reclaimed and the possibility explored for making it fit for tree plantation. “Channelisation of the nullah would be undertaken to avert such a mishap in the future,” he assured.

Shimla, August 15
The government today announced an enhancement in minimum daily wage of workers from Rs 75 to Rs 80 and of home guards from Rs 130 to Rs 150 per day from December, 2007.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at the state-level Independence Day function at Rekong Peo in Kinnaur today. “The government has decided to enhance the wages of daily-wage workers and home guard personnel,” he said.

Himachal was the first state in the country which was providing essential commodities at subsidised rates. “In order to give some relief to people in view of the price hike, we have earmarked Rs 100 crore to provided subsidised essential commodities to the people,” he said.

He said a total of 30,000 daily wagers who had completed eight years of service up to March 31, 2006, had been regularised. A provision for subsidy had also been made for domestic power and a subsidy component of Rs 130 crore had been earmarked for the purpose.

“People who were playing with the sentiments of the people by using the cards of regionalism, casteism, and old and new Himachal were not well-wishers of the state,” he remarked. The government will not allow such elements to mislead the people.

He said the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was being implemented in Sirmaur, Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts and efforts were being made to extend it all over the state.

He paid rich tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi for their valuable contribution in giving Himachal a separate political identity and providing it with liberal financial assistance for its all-round development. The government had created the tribal sub-plan and the SC component plan for villages having Scheduled Castes concentration.

Power minister Vidya Stokes said small hydroelectric projects up to 2 MW would be given to Himachalis while preference would be given to them in projects up to 5 MW.

She unfurled the national flag and took the salute at an impressive march past presented by contingents of the police, home guards and the NCC.

She said the state had a power potential of 20,386 MW and efforts were being made to harness 10,000 MW at various projects. “A subsidy of Rs 130 crore was being provided so that people could get electricity at cheap rates,” she said.

Reports of Independence Day celebrations were also received from Una, Bilaspur, Mandi, Hamirpur and Lahaul-Spiti districts.

Nahan: Independence Day was celebrated at the historic Chougan here which was presided over by deputy speaker Dharampal Thakur.

Thakur unfurled the National Flag and took the salute. In his address he paid tributes to the freedom fighters, martyrs and all those who had contributed in the freedom movement of India. He also paid tributes to Himachal nirmata Y. S. Parmar, who designed the development map of the state. Thakur described progress achieved by the state during the past 60 years on different fronts. A colourful cultural programme was presented by schoolchildren and other folk artists. Similar programmes were organised at the tehsil and subdivisional levels. SDM Vivek Chandel unfurled the National Flag at Rajgarh while SDM Sandeep Kumar did so at Paonta.

Kullu: Ram Lal Thakur, forest, youth services and sports minister, inspected the Independence Day parade here. Greeting the people on the occasion, Ram Lal said that promoting the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among the younger generation would be a real tribute to the heroes who had sacrificed their lives to gain freedom from the clutches of British rule.

Various schools and the Yuvak Mandal a presented cultural programme.

Independence Day was also celebrated at the Parbati hydroelectricity project at Nagwain and all subdivisional headquarters of this district.

Chamba: “It is a matter of great pride for us that we are celebrating Independence Day to mark the freedom which India attained 60 years ago following sacrifices by the brave heroes of Indian soil, whom we today pay rich tributes. Our country is extremely indebted to these great revolutionaries who breathed a new life and freshness paving the way for the progress and prosperity of India”, stated industries minister Kuldeep Kumar while addressing gathering on the Independence Day celebrations here.

The minister said under the new industrialisation policy about 145 industrial units were proposed for Chamba at an outlay of Rs 19 crore.

The minister said Rs 112.10 crore had been spent in the district on the construction of roads and bridges in the past four years.

Students of various schools presented a cultural programme on the occasion.

The minister also presented bravery certificates to officers and employees of the district fire brigade

DHARAMSALA: Although Independence Day was celebrated with much fanfare at Dharamsala, cultural and patriotic presentations by schoolchildren remained missing during the celebrations. Tibetan artists dominated the show by performing three out of the total of five items pushing aside the local culture, thanks to the organisers.

Irrigation and public health minister Kaul Singh Thakur unfurled the Tricolour, inspected the parade and took salute from police jawans, home guards and NCC cadets.

The artistes of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) presented three folk items of Tibet. The performance was professionally excellent, but the local people seemed to be mute spectators as nobody could understand the language and meaning of the items presented by them. Two cultural items of Kangra were also presented by the local artistes, but it did not match the professional skills of the Tibetan artistes.

Ten girls of Bhanala (Shahpur) central school, who were invited to present a patriotic group song said they were not given time to perform.

Chairman of the state education board B.R. Rahi, MLAs Chandresh Kumari, Surender Kaku, Jagjivan Pal, Kangra DC B.K. Aggarwal, DIG P.L. Thakur, district magistrate Bharat Khera, SP Gyaneshwar Singh and a large number of foreigners were also present on the occasion.

Shimla, August 15
The Tricolour fluttered proudly at a dizzying height — 14,500 feet above sea level — with a motorcycle expedition team hoisting it at the world’s highest inhabited village in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district today.

A team of four youths from Delhi, Chandigarh and Shimla set off from Shimla on August 13 on three motorbikes and unfurled the national flag at Kibber village on the 60th Independence Day.

The expedition passed through Narkanda, Rampur, Recong Peo, Ki and Kaza.

The team was led by 58-year-old Bijai Singh Rawat, who has the distinction of conducting 18 such expeditions, before this. The three other participants included Sandeep Rawat, Mohit Verma and Rahul Verma. — PTI

Shimla, August 15
The MLA fund created to enable the elected representatives to implement various developmental schemes in their respective constituencies is proving a boon for the rural people.

Every MLA is provided Rs 25 lakh annually for carrying out developmental works on the demand of local people to supplement the government's efforts. For instance, 1270 development works involving an expenditure of Rs 6.90 crore have been sanctioned under the scheme for five Assembly constituencies in Una district since 2003-04. Out of these, 790 development works have since been completed at an expenditure of Rs 5 crore and the remaining ones are in various stages of implementation.

Last year 216 development works were sanctioned out of which 39 have been completed and work on 177 is in progress. During the current financial year, Rs 70.60 lakh has been for 126 development works. Last year Rs 16 lakh was provided for construction of 16 community centres and Rs. 5.75 lakh for seven link paths in the Santokhgarh constituency. Similarly, 15 link paths, 11 serais and community centres and two rooms were constructed in the Gagret constituency.

In the Chintpurni constituency 31 jeepable roads are being constructed at a cost of Rs 14.95 lakh while Rs 3.98 lakh is being spent on the construction of community centres, serais and small irrigation scheme in Gujjar Basti. Many paths and link roads are also being constructed for villages in the constituency.

The scheme has indeed played a role in accelerating the pace of development in the district over the past four-and-a-half years. The fund has indeed helped in meeting the long-standing demands of the people. It had also to an extent decentralised the process of decision making in respect of development activities and enabled the implementation of development works that are low on priority of the government.

Shimla, August 15
Water supply in various parts of the capital, which had been badly hit for the past four days, was restored partially as the silt in the pumping stations subsided.

The water supply is far from normal as pumping at the Ashwani khad was stared only late in the afternoon today. However, the municipal corporation (MC) gave supply in areas fed by the Ashwani khad, which had not been receiving water for the past four days after diverting water from other sources.

Water was being provided through the MC tankers as people lined up at hand pumps and bowris to meet their water requirements. The water level in the reservoir at The Ridge was about four feet while that at the Sanjauli tank was over five feet.

Mayor Narender Kataria said four of the five pumps at the Gumma pumping station were functioning. “Pumping at three of the six units at the Ashwani khad was started late in the afternoon and if all goes well the supply should be restored with a day or two,” he said.

The areas which had been hit the most by the water crisis due to silt deposition at the pumping stations included New Shimla, Vikasnagar, Kasumpti, Khalini, Bemloe, Chotta Shimla and Raj Bhawan.

Chamba, August 15
The government has prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) worth Rs 31 crore for 11 towns of the state under the newly set up programme called the Rajiv Gandhi Urban Renewal Facility for Infrastructure and Sanitation Improvement.

According to animal husbandry and urban development minister Harsh Mahajan, these towns were Chamba, Dharamsala, Una, Hamirpur, Palampur, Kotkhai, Kullu, Nahan, Poanta Sahib, Kangra and Solan.

He said the state government had released Rs 1.6 crore for the ‘solid-waste management schemes’ in Chamba, Palampur and Nalagarh to be undertaken during the current fiscal year.

It was for the first time that a sum of Rs 5 crore had been provided for the maintenance of 1,000 km of roads, paths and alleyways maintained by the urban local bodies in the state, he asserted.

“Urbanisation is a worldwide phenomenon and urban population is growing at a faster rate than the average growth rate of the country. The urban population in the state increased by 31.31 per cent during the last decade. According to 2001 census, the population of state is 60.77 lakh, out of which 90.66 per cent are living in villages and remaining 9.34 per cent in the urban areas,” he said.

He said the government had implemented various schemes and programmes for providing basic amenities and ensuring planned and systematic development of the existing and upcoming towns through one municipal corporation, 20 municipal councils and 28 nagar panchayats with a special focus on improving the living standard of the urban poor.

Nurpur, August 15
The Himachal Pradesh Unemployed Trained Teachers Association has taken strong exception to the government's recent notification under which the condition of B.Ed qualification has been abolished for appointing teachers under the PTA policy.

Sushil Kaushal, president of the association, alleged in a statement here today that the condition had been removed only to appoint political favourites through the back door in the tribal district. Kaushal said the association had been making a hue and cry over the PTA and para teachers policy. He claim that the advocate-general had recently written a letter to the government, terming the policy as unconstitutional and recommending its revocation.

He lamented that even after the advice of the advocate-general the Chief Minister was talking of formulating a firm and effective policy for PTA teachers.

"Notwithstanding the government's reply in a writ petition that the appointment of para teachers is a stop-gap arrangement, the Chief Minister has promised to increase the period of para teachers for another three years," he rued. 

Shimla, August 15
Despite heavy rain, that caused large-scale devastation, the overall precipitation in the state continues to be deficient. The cloudbursts and a downpour over the past few days has only helped in reducing the deficiency in average rainfall because of a weak monsoon which brought little rain during July.

Till August 11, there was a deficiency of 39 per cent with most districts barring Kangra, Mandi, Una and Sirmaur, recording below normal rainfall. However, with two days of a downpour, Nadaun received 511 mm of rainfall the deficiency has come down to 24 per cent. The highest 1,682 mm of rainfall during the current monsoon since June 1 has been recorded at Tissa but surprisingly Chamba still has the highest deficiency of 72 per cent in the state

Dharamsala in Kangra which is known as Cheerapunji of the north had 1466 mm of rainfall over the period, followed by Gohar in Mandi (1088.4 mm), Jogindernagar (1084.1 mm), Nahan(1081.4 mm) and Kasol (1012.3 mm).

As expected the cold desert of Lahaul and Spiti had the minimum precipitation with Keylong recording 102 mm and Udaipur 120.9 mm. Kalpa in adjoining Kinnaur had 137.9 mm while Banjar (270.4 mm) in Kullu Rampur (172.3 mm) in Shimla also recorded below normal precipitation.

According to Manmohan Singh, in charge of the local MET office, if the monsoon remains active over the next fortnight, the deficiency could be further made up. Meteorologically variation of 19 per cent on the positive or negative side was considered normal, he said. The heavy rain over the past few days had brought the overall precipitation quite close to normal.