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Nod to Waknaghat township
Mankotia plans to release another video CD
Beas watershed society constituted
Residents oppose abattoir in capital
Tibet saps tourist flow to Himachal
Manimahesh yatra begins
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Youth dies in house collapse
Dhumal asks govt to seek Rs 2,000 cr for rain losses
Delay in Promotions
Gahan village to be tourist spot
Woman’s death: In-laws held
Fire staff flay decision
HPU EC Meeting
Dhillon receives CBSE award
Leave an uphill task for HRTC staff
Prashant wins under-13 event
Baddi real estate boom peters out
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Nod to Waknaghat township
Shimla, September 4 As per the document finalised for inviting RfP (request for proposal) the mega project will involve an expenditure of Rs 340 crore over an area of 65 acre, half of which will be utilised for the park and the rest for setting up a township for a population of 6,000. Though the state already enjoys various tax concessions and incentives under the industrial package granted by the Centre, the developer will have the right to take SEZ approval. The document has been prepared after carrying out a comprehensive study to ascertain the technical, commercial and administrative feasibility of the project. The IT park will be spread over 12.72 lakh sq ft, including 7.50 lakh sq ft of built-up area and 5.22 lakh sq ft of built-to-suit plots, out of which 70 per cent will be utilised for information technology. The total covered area of the linked township will be over 12 lakh sq ft. The promoter will have 100 per cent equity and the government will only provide external infrastructure. Besides common recreation facilities, the park will have a parking facility for 1,400 cars. The park, to be developed in three phases of two years each, will provide employment to 13,421 persons out of which 11,855 will be in the information technology sector and the rest in non-IT jobs. In the first phase 3,50,000 sq ft of built-up area will be developed, followed by 2,00,000 sq ft each in the next two phases. The requirement of water will be 2.76 million litres per day which will be provided through a lift water supply scheme from the Ashwini khad. As the IT industry is not power-intensive the requirement of power will be only 12 MW for which the state electricity board will make the necessary arrangements. Information and technology secretary Sanjeev Gupta said the project had been designed keeping in view the demand of IT industry for ready-to-move infrastructure and the rental for built-up area had been kept at a nominal Rs 20 per sq ft, which was less than 50 per cent in other states to make it an attractive proposition. Instead of following the MoU route the project was being assigned through a competitive bidding to ensure transparency. Major players in the infrastructure sector like DLF, SKILL Infrastructure, Parsavnath, Omaxe, CDIL, Uppal Housing and Negolice India Limted have shown interest in the project. |
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Mankotia plans to release another video CD
Hamirpur, September 4 Mankotia, who was here to attend a workers meeting said this while addressing a press conference today. He said “the person who passed him the audio CD had told him the same was given to few leaders but instead of making it public they negotiated with the Chief Minister”. “Why action has not been taken against the two IAS officers who were reportedly present at the birthday bash of former transport and tourism minister G.S. Bali, while the said minister had to resign?”, he asked Making an attack on the present government Mankotia said “Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has become a politician of the past and modern politics have no place for a person like him.” He said “while the Chief Minister has failed to check the problem of price rise and employment, the state has been left with a debt of Rs 22,000 crore.” Mankotia said “due to signing of MoU, 70,000 post are lying vacant in the state and the government cannot fill these; the Chief Minister has become helpless and heading a lame-duck government ” he added. BSP national general secretary Man Singh Manehra said “The BSP is committed to provide reservations to weaker sections among the upper caste on economic basis and has already implemented it in UP.” He said “The BSP would not have any alliance with any party in the state and 60 per cent candidates for the next Assembly elections would be decided by October.” Later, BSP leaders Mankotia, Manehra, BSP state president Balwant Singh and others addressing the workers meeting criticised both the BJP and the Congress for not working for the weaker sections and exhorted the workers to prepare themselves for the next Assembly elections. |
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Beas watershed society constituted
Dharamsala, September 4 Revealing this to The Tribune, a senior official of the government said the entire catchment of the Beas and its tributaries in Kullu district falling in Kullu, Parbati and Seraj forest divisions and Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, would be the area of operation of the society. The society would be an autonomous and independent body with its main aim of watershed protection and development. The main objectives of the society would be to implement the CAT plans of the hydroelectric power projects being executed in the entire catchment of Beas and its tributaries in Kullu, afforestation scheme, penal catchment area scheme, reclamation plans for muck dumping sites, schemes under net present value, strategies for natural resource conservation, watershed management and catchment treatment in the Beas and to coordinate these programmes. Further it aims to undertake watershed development programmes such as irrigation, soil conservation, forestry, horticulture for the treatment of watersheds, research and development works in the field of watershed development, assistance and support to village institutions, development of forests and agriculture etc. The state forest minister would be the president of the society, principal secretary forests as the vice-president and principal advisor planning, principal chief conservator of forests as the project director and BWDS-cum-CF Kullu as the member secretary. The project director would be the principal executive officer of the society. He would be responsible for proper administration of the affairs of the society and ensure efficient implementation of various activities. |
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Residents oppose abattoir in capital
Shimla, September 4 The manch said though the MC was claming that the site was almost 2 km away from Totu the fact was that houses had now come up in the area while the site was chosen almost 20 years ago. "Even though modern machinery will be used in the slaughterhouse even then a lot of foul smell and dirty water will flow out and pollute the water sources," said residents. They said that houses were located very near the proposed site and the Kamna Devi temple was barely 300 metres above it. They said the site was along the road and thousands of vehicles crossing from here would have to bear the foul smell. The manch even questioned the need for such a huge project when the daily meat requirement of the capital was low. They also resented the fact that no notification was issued by the government before finalising the site and the locals were not consulted. They said they had brought all these facts to the notice of the government in the past also but the MC was still going ahead with the project. They demanded that either the plan should be abandoned or a new site be selected. |
Tibet saps tourist flow to Himachal
Manali, September 4 “Foreigners are making forays into Tibet through Nepal, hitting tourist inflow here this season,” said Sanjay Sud, a tour operator-cum-hotelier. “Moreover, peace has returned to Nepal and foreigners who had postponed their trips earlier, are going to Nepal and from there to Tibet,” tour operators said. “Many airline are operating “cheap flights” from Delhi to Kathmandu to Lahasa, taking the high-end tourists to Tibet,” they added. “If Himachal gets nod for operating the Bhuntar-Leh flights from the civil aviation ministry, the state will see a boom in high-end tourist inflow,” they added. “Even high-altitude trekking has witnessed a drop of 25 per cent this year. The main reason being foreigners preference for Tibet and Nepal,” said Khem Raj, who runs a mountain expeditions trekking company here. Only Germans and French came for high-altitude trekking this year, Japanese Americans and others made beeline for Tibet. High-altitude trekking is not much popular among domestic trekkers. They constitute not more than 5 per cent of the total inflow,” he added. However, joint secretary of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Ravi Kalra said: “The flow of foreign tourists has seen an increase of 30 per cent in India this year. Despite most of the foreigners preferring Tibet and Nepal, the flow into Himachal and Leh-Ladakh has not dropped much as the state government has adopted a proactive approach.” |
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Manimahesh yatra begins
Chamba, September 4 |
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Youth dies in house collapse
Solan, September 4 Sanjiv, who was sleeping on the ground floor, was buried under debris when the incident occurred around 5 a.m.. By the time villagers could reach for his rescue he was dead. Asha, who was sleeping on the first floor was, however, rescued and rushed to the public health centre, Chandi, where her condition was stated to be stable. |
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Dhumal asks govt to seek Rs 2,000 cr for rain losses
Dharamsala, September 4 "The Congress government has failed to put the right claim for relief ... Rs 1,000 crore demanded by the state government is inadequate," the MP told reporters after visiting Mandir Road, where two persons were killed last month in landslides. Dhumal, a former Chief Minister, asked the Virbhadra government to send a revised claim of Rs 2,000 crore to the Centre to meet losses due to the natural calamity. He also urged the Centre to release the amount at the earliest so that displaced people could be rehabilitated soon. Dhumal criticised the Congress government for "unleashing violence" on BJP workers during the August 29 rally. Charging the ruling party with trying to "sabotage" the protest programme of the BJP, he alleged it deliberately chose to hold its rally on August 29 to thwart the BJP protest at Shimla. — PTI |
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Delay in Promotions
Shimla, September 4 In a statement issued here today, president of the union Waryam Singh Bains said the matter regarding promotions had been pending despite the approval of the Chief Minister and the vice-chancellor. “We want that the action taken report with regard to implementation of the recommendations made by the Employees Grievances Redressal Committee (EGRC) at its meeting on June 5 under the chairmanship of vice-chancellor Anil Wilson should be sought,” he said. He said the lukewarm attitude of the authorities towards the ‘charter of demands’ submitted to the vice-chancellor long back is causing resentment among staff members. “In case the long-awaited promotions are not ordered the union will be forced to launch an agitation,” he said. |
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Gahan village to be tourist spot
Shimla, September 4 Over two hectares of land amidst pristine surroundings will be developed in to a tourist attraction which would have a meditation centre, an amusement park and a herbal garden. The village will be developed on the lines of Chokhidhani, a typical Rajasthani village on the outskirts of Jaipur, which has emerged as one of the biggest attraction for tourists. The Forest Department will be the main agency which would develop the spot and a proposal has already been chalked out. The village was earlier an orchard with apricots, peaches, pears and other fruits for the British population in the pre-independence days. A kiosk displaying various handicrafts, including Chamba rumal, Kullu shawl, Kinnauri shawl, Kangra miniature paintings, local jewellery and other handicrafts from the state will be displayed here for the interest of the tourists. A food joint will also be opened to serve Himachali dishes so that visitors as well as locals can get a taste of the special cuisine. “With a natural spring flowing through the land we will create a pond so that tourists can come here for boating,” said DFO (Shimla) R.K. Raj. He said a meditation centre will also be set up along with a herbal garden and a nursery. The forest authorities are also keen on setting up a a pheasant breeding centre here as many pheasants can be spotted in the area. With very limited sight seeing spots in and around Shimla, this site would attract a number of tourists. |
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Woman’s death: In-laws held
Nurpur, September 4 The father of the victim has alleged that the accused had been harassing his daughter who was married to Parshotam, waiter in a hotel. He alleged that Parshotam had been demanding Rs 50,000 for buying a motor cycle for the past three months. Parshotam had also allegedly gambled away her jewellery. According to the police, the FIR could be altered after receiving the post-mortem report. Meanwhile, former MLA Rakesh Pathania has alleged that the Indora police was shielding the culprits. Demanding a fair inquiry into the case, he demanded immediate arrest of the husband of the deceased. The body was handed over to the family for cremation after a post-mortem. |
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Fire staff flay decision
Bilaspur, September 4 The district-level annual general house yesterday adopted a resolution urging the government to provide promotion channels to all categories of employees in the department as all employees were retiring at the same posts they had assumed 30-35 years ago. Other resolutions demanded immediate decision on all pending cases of pay anomalies. The general house unanimously elected Bhupendra Pal Dogra and Rajender Kumar Gautam as president and general secretary, respectively, of the union. The other office-bearers are Binder Singh Patiyal and Prem Dutt Sharma (vice-president); Hem Raj Gautam (organising secretary); Devender Singh Bhatia (finance secretary) and Prem Lal Thakur (chief adviser). |
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Steps to remove stagnation taken
Tribune News Service
Shimla, September 4 He further said all those who stood for transparency and fair play had appreciated the recruitment policy approved by the EC earlier. “The useful procedural readjustment in the marking scheme would certainly make the policy more serviceable and productive,” he said. The EC took up the issue of regularisation of 14 posts of work-charged employees, while one post of senior private secretary which had been upgraded was restored. The authorities said this had been done to give adequate promotional avenues to their cadre. Readjustment was also done in the posts of librarians and assistant librarians to ensure proper promotional avenues. Steps have also been taken to remove stagnation among the staff of the HPU health centre, on the analogy of the state health department. The EC also approved the recommendations made by the recruitment and promotion committee for technical posts in the construction division. It was also decided that PTA teachers teaching in various schools be considered as in-service candidates for doing B.Ed through correspondence.
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Dhillon receives CBSE award
Dalhousie, September 4 According to an official communiqué, the award was presented to the chosen teachers at a function held at the India International Centre, in New Delhi today. The award comprises a certificate of commendation, a cash award of Rs 25,000 and a shawl. |
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Chaos rules Kangra roads
Kangra: Traffic jams and violation of traffic rules have become a common feature in Kangra.
The Bajjreshwari Devi temple, which is one of the 52 shakti peeths, the famous Kangra Fort and the Jain temple located here attract lakhs of tourists every year from all over the country. The population of the town has doubled over the years and the number of vehicles has also increased manifold. The result - traffic congestion on the roads. More than 1,500 private and government buses come to this town daily from Dharamsala, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hoshiarpur, Shimla, Kullu, Manali and Mandi carrying passengers, tourists and pilgrims. An equal number of trucks and more than 3,000 cars and jeeps also ply on the roads of this town daily. Traffic jams are frequent on the Dharamsala road, outside the general bus stand and on the Gupt Ganga road with the traffic regulating authorities behaving like mute spectators to the whole situation. Wrong parking along the roads goes unchecked leading to traffic jams here and there. Encroachments by shopkeepers and motor repair workshops on the Dharamsala road also add to the traffic trauma. The Gupt Ganga road connecting Dr R.P. Government Medical College with the town at tehsil chowk remains chocked with vehicles most of the time during the day, causing inconvenience to residents, pilgrims and patients. Traffic jams are also common near the Zamanabad road junction on the national highway. No traffic police personnel is generally present here to control traffic. Three-wheelers, rash driving and triple riding by youths add to the traffic mess in the town. The need is to put in place a good traffic-control mechanism in the town to make life easy for residents and tourists. |
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Leave an uphill task for HRTC staff
Hamirpur, September 4 Around 5,400 drivers, conductors and transport multipurpose assistants (TMPA) are working at 23 HRTC depots. All these are faced with staff shortage. The conditions at some of the depots like Nalagarh and Solan is terrible. Many drivers have accumulated more than 400 weekly offs. Hundreds of their leaves have either lapsed or are lying un-availed. President of the Himachal Pradesh Parivahan Majdoor Sangh Jasmer Singh said: “While getting leave is difficult, the employees do not even have time to wash their dresses. Moreover, if found on duty without dress, they have to pay a fine of Rs 500.” “They are under mental stress and unable to attend to their social obligations. Getting leave is difficult even in case of ailment. We have now decided to file a public interest litigation (PIL) in the high court,” he added. Chief general manager of the HRTC Rajiv Gupta said, “Workload is definitely more on the staff. There can be a few cases where weekly offs have not been taken by some employees. We have recruited 300 drivers. They are undergoing training. Around 350 conductors are also to be recruited after which the workload would come down to a great extent.” |
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Prashant wins under-13 event
Nahan, September 4 The under-16 trophy was picked up by Raghav who defeated Gaurav 21-11, 21-12 in an almost one-sided match. Ashish lifted the under-19 trophy by defeating Anuj 22-20, 21-12. These matches were played in veteran, mens single and double categories. The final and semi-final matches in these categories would be played tomorrow. |
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Baddi real estate boom peters out
Baddi, September 4 The land in and around Baddi was sold like hot cakes between 2003 and 2005. Government and private land had then reportedly fetched Rs 3.31 crore and Rs 1.19 crore, respectively. With land becoming scarce in Baddi, it was only available in and around villages like Mandhala, Kalu Janda, Boranwalan, Sattiwala and Jharmajri. But now there are no buyers. The government’s decision to ban sale of land towards 2006-end hit the real estate boom. The ban was imposed to facilitate the preparation of a master plan. Though the ban was relaxed in January, 2007, it had little positive impact as the prospective investors remained confused about the exact situation. Local realtors revealed the long delay in preparation of the master plan had adversely hit business. However, CEO of BBNDA Amandeep Garg said: “We have already framed regulations that will oversee development till the master plan is prepared. We have been regularly getting proposals for setting up industries”. |
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