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Govt gets into poll mode Raid de Himalaya takes off today
Shimla, October 1
Country heads for mid-term poll: Dhumal
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BSNL to facilitate telemedicine
Workshop on nutritional security organised
Tibetan Kids
Blood donors honoured
Sexual Harassment Case
NGOs asked to help people
Noise Pollution
Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna to be launched today
Lawrence School founder’s day this week
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Govt gets into poll mode
Shimla, October 1 Addressing a press conference here today food and supplies minister Singhi Ram said that the decision had been taken in view of the additional stocks. “Though review of the quota will be done every month the facility will be continued in all probability,” he said. Against a monthly quota of 15 kg of wheat, 20 kg of rice and 700 gm of sugar, the 14.33 lakh ration card holders having five family members will now get 30 kg of wheat, 40 kg of rice and 1 kg of sugar for October. In the case of more than five family members, the quotas of 3 kg of wheat and 4 kg of rice per member will also be doubled. Singhi Ram said since the launch of the subsidized ration scheme in April, 1.62 quintal of pulses, 48,000 quintals of salt, 54 lakh litres of mustard oil and 20 lakh litres of refined oil had been provided to the ration card holders. Three pulses, including malka at Rs 20 per kg, dal chana and urd at Rs 25 per kg, refined oil at Rs 40 per kg, mustard oil at Rs 45 per kg and iodised salt at Rs 4 per kg was being provided to all ration card holders. “Wheat flour will be provided to the above poverty line (APL) card holders between Rs 7.65 to Rs 8, rice at Rs 9 per kg. For those covered under the Antyodaya aan yojna (AAY) wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg will be supplied and for those living below poverty line (BPL) wheat and rice will be supplied at Rs 5.25 and Rs 6.85 per kg, respectively” he informed. The minister said there were 14.33 lakh card holders in the state, including 1.97 lakh AAY, 3.16 lakh BPL and 8.89 lakh APL card holders. “We have also decided to change the colour of the ration cards of those covered under the AAY from green to multi coloured and this task would be completed by the end of October,” he stated. Singhi Ram said the Civil Supplies Corporation had already stored in its godowns 90 per cent of the supplies meant for the tribal areas for the winter season. This included kerosene, LPG cylinders and all other ration items. |
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Raid de Himalaya takes off today
Shimla, October 1 Passing through the most inhospitable terrain in the Western Himalayas as many as 145 teams, including six international ones, will negotiate 11 of the highest motorable mountain passes of the world and cold desert areas where the mercury dips to minus -20 degree C. Apart from the world highest 18,380 ft Khardung La and second highest 17,880 ft Tanglang La, the rally will also cross over Kumzum La, Baralacha La,Naki La and Rohtang La, all over 13,000 ft high. The rally will venture into the Nubra valley for the first time and touch the last permissible point near the Giligit border. It will pass through Drass, the second coldest place in the world, before concluding at Srinagar on October 8. There are five all-woman teams out of which two were in the adventure trial category and a foreigner in the two-wheeler section. The Indian Army has six entries and the IAF one. The 9th edition of the event will see the rallyists cover 1715 km in seven legs in as many days while the competitive sections will add up to 607 km. This year the “Reliability Trial” category has been replaced with “Adventure Trial” to enable the first-timers to have a feel of the competitive event and gain requisite experience to participate in the main event next year, explains Manjiv Bhalla, vice-president of the Himalayan Motorsport Association, which is organising the event. An observer of the FIM (Federation Internationale Motorcyclisme) Simo Lampinen has already arrived to have an assessment of the capabilities of the organisers and the status of the event to ascertain if it could join the
big league. |
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Country heads for mid-term poll: Dhumal
Hamirpur, October 1 Talking to mediapersons here Dhumal said “the announcements being made by the UPA-led government at the Centre and state governments now confirm that mid-term elections are on the cards any time now.” He said “the BJP is well prepared for the mid-term poll and would fight the elections on the issues of corruption, price rise, 123 nuclear agreement and Ram Setu.” He said “Though Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh had cancelled the tour of Himachal and two other important Cabinet meetings, he convened a special Cabinet meeting to clear the Rural Employment guarantee Scheme after meeting Rahul Gandhi”. Dhumal said “Launching of the scheme which would be applicable from April 1, 2008, is a joke with the youths since financial provisions for the scheme have not been fully taken care of.” He said “the BJP is opposing the Indo- US nuclear deal in the interest of the country since this deal will curb our right to conduct nuclear explosion and the deal has many flaws which are weighed heavily in favour of the USA, technically, they also do not serve the purpose
of India.” He said the Ram Setu is an emotional issue for the BJP since the UPA government was bent upon playing with the sentiments of the majority of population, the BJP would highlight the issue in the coming time and would hold a nationwide dharna on October 2. |
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Mohanty is ARTRAC GOC-in-C
Shimla, October 1 Lt Gen Mohanty, an infantry officer, who was commissioned in the Dogra regiment on June 15, 1969, said in the Army there was no individual planning and his endeavour would be to ensure that the training of the forces was as per the needs of the Army. He added that efforts would be to train the forces adequately so that they could make use of latest weaponry. The ARTRAC, with its headquarters here was responsible for the coordination of various facets of professional and technical training in 27 training establishments of the Army. He took over from Lt Gen M.L. Naidu, who had moved to Delhi as the Vice-Chief of Army Staff. “There is need for transformation both in thought and deed so that the future generation of officers and men were prepared to take on the challenge of defending the nation,” he remarked. Prior to this, Lt Gen Mohanty was commandant of the Indian Army’s premiere officers training establishment for combat training, the Army War College, Mhow, in Madhya Pradesh. He was awarded the VSM in 2003 and UYSM in 2004 for his outstanding services. In his almost four decade long career, he has held several important positions, including command of a high altitude and CI operations in Jammu and Kashmir. During his tenure as a commanding officer, the unit was awarded three highest peace time gallantry awards in a single operation, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra. He has been decorated with the Sena Medal and has commanded an infantry division at the Line of Control (LOC). He also commanded a corps. |
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BSNL to facilitate telemedicine
Shimla, October 1 Telemedicine facility will help patients from remote corners of the state in getting medical advice from doctors in Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) and PGI Chandigarh in the near future, its state chief general manager CGM Anil Kaushal said at a press conference here today. He said the BSNL had successfully connected 17 hospitals with the IGMC through optical fibre cables out of a total of 20 for which the state government had asked. “The remaining three hospitals will be connected shortly,” he said The CGM on the completion of 7 years of BSNL here said the profit was not the objective and the main concern was to provide telecom connectivity to the remote corners of the state. However, the circle had been doing well financially. The nigam had plans not only to expand the network but also to improve the quality mobile and wireless connectivity by increasing the number of base transmitting stations (BTS) and cell towers. The number of mobile phones will be doubled from the existing 5.15 lakh to 9 lakh for which 400 new towers will be erected taking the total number of towers to over 900. Besides, 190 new BTS will be set up to improve wireless connectivity. The number of broadband connection will be increased from the present 4000 to 20,000 by the end of the current year. In fact, 7,000 new broadband connections will be added in October itself out of which 4,000 will be given during this week. BSNL was the leading telecom service provider in the state with over 10.5 lakh connections, including mobile, landlines and wireless connections. Hamirpur: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) today celebrated its 7th year of formation in the BSNL office. Talking to mediapersons here BSNL general manager S.L Singh said BSNL had not only travelled a long way in its journey of 7 years since its inception, but had achieved new heights during this period. He said Himachal is far ahead in national percentage of customer base and BSNL today has 32.5 customer share and Hamirpur town has a tele-density of 17.6 per cent. S.L. Singh said several plans launched by BSNL like plan 200 and 375 for the landline users had been very popular with the customers and three plans started for government employees had attracted a large number of customers. Telling about the expansion plans of BSNL he said 18 towers had been erected in Hamirpur for the WLL facility and 58 towers had been set up for the mobile service. He said 24 machines for broadband internet service would be made operational and broadband would be available on demand in Hamirpur soon. A new Net -One dial up internet service was launched today through which customers will get facility to use the internet connection at his basic number at 10 paisa per minute and bill of which will be charge along with the telephone bill he said. |
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Workshop on nutritional security organised
Dharamsala, October 1 Addressing the gathering vice-chancellor Tej Partap said that food habits of the tribal population had undergone a sea change. “This may be the reason for the decrease in the area under traditional crops like buckwheat, wild apricot etc. in these areas”, he said. He said the less intake of traditional foods had exposed the tribal population to many diseases. He announced that the university would take up a massive research and extension work on traditional crops of the state. Senior scientific adviser to the government L.R.Verma said that the FAO had promised to sanction a project on nutritional security through traditional crops to the state. FAO consultant Santosh Jain Passi said that no development plan could succeed unless nutritional security of the masses was taken care of. She highlighted various issues concerning nutritional security. While giving the details of micro-nutrient deficiency of infants in various parts of the country, she highlighted the role of traditional foods to eradicate malnutrition-related problems. Farm and nutrition experts, farmers and NGO representatives also expressed their views in the workshop. |
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NHRC seeks explanation
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, October 1 The notice period will expiring on Wednesday. The SP, exercising his powers under Section 3(2) of the Foreign Registration Act, had on September 27 issued notices to these children to leave the state in one week apprehending that their presence here could lead to a law and order problem. Samphel further said the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had already registered a case (No. 58/8/0/07-8/UC) in this regard on the complaint of Jampal Yeshi, president of the Dorje Shugden Devotees Charitable and Religious Society, and issued a notice to the director of the Tibetan Refugees Reception Centre, Dharamsala, seeking reply by October 14. In the petition filed before the NHRC, it was demanded by the Dorje Shugden Devotees Charitable and Religious Society to restore the ‘religious freedom and right to education’ as enshrined in the Constitution of India. Meanwhile, K. Dorje, PRO of the Pomra Khangtsen Cultural Institute Association, said they were ready to take away the children with them provided the Tibetan administration issued a recommendation letter to these children for their study in some monasteries of South India. The district police was still adamant on the notices issued to these kids and said if they did not leave the state on the expiry of the notice period, they might be arrested .
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Blood donors honoured
Nahan, October 1 Addressing an awareness camp organised to mark the National Voluntary Blood donation Day at ITI Complex here, he said 678 persons had donated blood in blood donation camps organised by the District Blood Bank during the current year. Dr Sanjay Sharma, who heads the District Blood Bank, called upon youths to donate blood three to four times a year. Amil Aggarwal, who has donated blood 84 times; and Sanjiv Kashyap, Dharamvir Verma and Ram Nath Saini, who have donated blood for more than 22 times, were honoured on the occasion. Dharamsala: The ICFAI National College, Dharamsala, today organised a blood donation camp with the help of the Red Cross Society and the local Zonal Hospital to mark the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations on the college campus. As many as 20 persons donated blood. Col. (Dr.) P S Rana, who heads the college, emphasised the need for inculcating such social activities among the students. |
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Inquiry ordered against police inspector
Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, October 1 R.P. Jaswal was the SHO of the Dharamsala police station at that time when the girl had made the complaint but was later transferred to Jawalaji. The girl was a victim of rape, who was allegedly forced into prostitution in December last year and was later rescued from the clutches of two women pimps by the Palampur police. In July, this year, the girl in a written complaint to the police and a statement issued to a news channel had accused the police officer of luring her with a sum of Rs 1 lakh to change her statement in the court. He and his wife had asked her not to identify some of the culprits who had allegedly sexually exploited her, she alleged. Palampur DSP Khushal Sharma was asked to inquire into the allegations of the girl. In the preliminary inquiry, it was established that the said police officer kept the girl at his residence for about two months before she leveled allegations against him and his wife. Confirming this, Kangra district ASP Prem Lal told The Tribune that the Police Department had now ordered a formal departmental inquiry against him. “I have been asked to conduct the departmental inquiry against him”, the ASP said. The girl was abandoned by her mother after the death of her husband a few years ago. She was brought up by her grandmother in a small village near Jogindernagar in Mandi district. Her mother had married some other man and had settled with him. A middle-aged woman of her grandmother’s village, who was married at Palampur, forced her into flesh trade. The police had already arrested the two women pimps who had allegedly forced the girl into prostitution, besides a few other persons, who had allegedly assaulted the girl sexually.
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NGOs asked to help people
Nahan, October 1 Kokje appreciated the efforts made by the organisation and the doctors, who had voluntarily come here from the USA and other parts of the country for providing medical services. |
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SJVN fined Rs 50,000
Legal Correspondent
Shimla, October 1 It may be recalled here that the SJVN celebrated its raising day at Hotel Petterhoff on May 26 when it used loudspeakers without permission of the district administration. The high court took it very seriously and came down heavily on the SJVN for this act. While issuing this direction the court observed that the SJVN not only indulged in activities which violated the directions of this court but also organised the function in the absence of any permission by the SDM, Shimla.
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Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna to be launched today
Shimla, October 1 Chidambaram will hand over Aam Aadmi Bima Yozna cards to members of the scheme at a public function. Before that, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will give the premium cheque for the scheme to the chairperson of the Life Insurance Corporation T.S. Vijayan, who will hand over the master policy to him. Besides Chidambaram and Virbhadra Singh, union minister of state for labour and employment Oscar Fernandes will also address the gathering. Virbhadra Singh reviewed the arrangements for the function at a meeting of the state government officials and the LIC of India. He said Gandhi Jayanti was the most appropriate day to launch the scheme to be implemented by the Life Insurance Corporation of India in association with respective state governments. He said it would be a step in the direction of poverty alleviation. He said the state government would make its due contribution towards the common man insurance programme to help bring maximum number of eligible persons under the scheme. He directed the authorities to make proper arrangements for the people attending the ceremony. He said efforts would be made to create awareness among the masses about the benefits of the scheme so that the targeted group could benefit. He said the departments concerned should work in close coordination to make the programme a grand success. |
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Lawrence School founder’s day this week
Chandigarh, October 1 A number of events will be organised from October 2 to 4 to commemorate the occasion. These include Gandhi Jayanti flag hoisting on October 2, followed by chapel services for the 1957 (golden jubilee) and 1982 (silver jubilee) batches. A hockey match between old and present male students and a basketball match between old and present girl students and the annual athletics meet will be held on October 3. Prize distribution and the chief guest’s speech will be the highlights of the celebrations on October 4. Old students’ meet, tattoo performance, exhibitions, concerts and the headmasters’ lunch for invited guests are other scheduled events. According to headmaster Praveen Vasisht, the school is gearing up to receive the visitors, parents and the old Sanawarians. |
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