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FM launches Bima Yojna
BJP workers clash at Shanta’s meeting
Water scheme plaque goes missing
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Raid-De-Himalaya
International cricket stadium near Shimla
Gandhi
Jayanti
Virbhadra launches urban poor housing scheme
Sanawar school founder’s day celebrations begin
Ankit, Sunita declared best athletes
Allain-Duhangan
hydro project
Woman burnt to death
Two buried alive in landslide
Student drowns in Yamuna
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FM launches Bima Yojna
Shimla, October 2 With an eye on the comong Assembly poll he announced a central university and an IIT for the state along with time-bound implementation of the Bhanupali- Beri broad gauge rail track in partnership with the state government. He also announced that the national rural employment guarantee scheme would be extended to all districts of the state. He said the group insurance scheme was a tribute to the Father of the Nation and the government had purposely chosen October 2, his birth anniversary, for its launch. It reaffirmed the UPA government’s commitment to the ideals of Gandhi and the resolve to fulfil his dream for the economic uplift of the poorest of the poor. The national launch of the scheme was being performed from Himachal Pradesh as it was one of the best governed states and the Centre was confident that it would be implemented efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the targeted people. The premium under the scheme being implemented through the LIC would be shared equally by the Centre and the state concerned. The finance minister said that the scheme was a part of the larger social security programme for the deprived and the unorganised sector. The UPA regime had been able to reach out to the poor in such a big way only because of its well-thoughtout economic policy which assured an average growth rate of 8.6 per cent over the past three years, touching 9.47 per cent last year. The phenomenal growth, which made the country a trillion economy, had made available abundant resources for social security programmes. Having a dig at the Left parties and the BJP he said certain parties did not consider an accelerated growth rate as an indication of the strengthening economy. They were also averse to the concept of social justice. They must realise that the UPA government would not have been able to provide Rs 28,600 crore for education in this year’s Budget as against Rs 7,000 crore allocated in the last year of the NDA regime without achieving such unprecedented economic growth. Union labour minister Oscar Fernandes said the UPA government had paid maximum attention to the welfare of the unorganised sector as it accounted for almost 90 per cent of employment. The raising of ceiling for the payment of bonus would benefit employees of the organised sector. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said that the Bhanupali-Beri rail project would be an important milestone in the development of the state which would contribute only 25 per cent towards its cost, including the cost of land. The project would be completed within two years and any escalation in the cost would be borne only by the Centre. In the next stage it would be extended to Mandi and, finally, linked to the Pathankot-Jogindernager track. Earlier, Chidambaram gave “aam aadmi bima yojna” cards to members of the scheme, while LIC chairman T.S.Vijayan handed over the master policy to the Chief Minister.
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BJP workers clash at Shanta’s meeting
Rehan (Nurpur), October 2 Party workers from Nurpur, Jawali, Gangath and Guler Assembly segments had assembled here to celebrate Antodaya Parv. The function was presided over by former minister Shanta Kumar. The trouble started when former president of Jawali mandal Arjun Singh Thakur, who had been raising slogans in favour of Thakur and Shanta Kumar along with his supporters, came to the public meeting. District BJP Kisan Morcha president Narinder Sharma, who was holding the stage in the public meeting, invited Thakur on the dais, who, after garlanding chief guest Shanta Kumar, occupied a seat on the dais. This infuriated supporters of former MLA of Jawali and former minister Rajan Sushant. One of the supporters of Sushant allegedly roughed up Thakur. This led to a clash between supporters of Sushant and Thakur. Thakur is known as political detractor of Sushant and his membership in the BJP is in controversy. Former general secretary of the Nurpur unit of the party Chaman Lal Sharma was injured in the scuffle. Chief guest Shanta Kumar and former MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania tried to pacify the party workers, but to no avail. Unable to control the situation, Shanta Kumar came down from the dais and sat in the audience. He kept sitting there waiting for the situation to become normal so that he could address the public meeting. Later, addressing the meeting, he lamented over the happenings. Sushant refused to comment on the issue saying he would speak tomorrow. Thakur alleged he had become a victim of a pre-planned conspiracy to prove political supremacy. He said his 10 supporters had received injuries and his clothes were also torn in the scuffle. State president of the BJP Jairam Thakur said he had sought details of the happenings and could comment on the issue only after going through the details. Meanwhile, state youth Congress general secretaries Yogesh Sundri and Manoj Pathania have said that the incident exposed the type of discipline in the state unit of the BJP. |
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Water scheme plaque goes missing
Nurpur, October 2 The scheme was approved by the Union Urban Development Ministry on January 8, 2001, and the stone was laid by Prem Kumar Dhumal on June 16, 2002. Ex-MLA and former HPTDC chairman Rakesh Pathania has lodged an FIR (No. 299) in this connection. The then state government had given administrative and financial approval for the scheme on March 3, 2002. Union and state governments were to share the cost of construction of the project. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh had inaugurated the scheme on February 8, 2006, and with its commissioning 120 lt water is being supplied per capita per day. Interestingly, the foundation and inauguration stones have been laid near the residence of the local
SDM. Meanwhile, executive engineer of the IPH division, Nurpur, L.S. Thakur expressed ignorance about the incident. However, he said the department would investigate into the matter. |
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12 go out of race on day 1
Tribune News Service
Shimla, October 2 The rally that was flagged off by senior Maruti Udyog officials, Mayank Pareek and Hitehiro Hirano, from Peterhoff today morning saw the maximum number of 10 participants pulling out during the stage two of the rally from Khadrala to Umladpur. It was the potent mix of terrain, speed and competitiveness that put an end to the aspirations of 10 competitors during the arduous stretch. In a major setback to the pre-event seeding, Khushwant Randhawa was forced to pull out following problem in the head gasket of his vehicle. A potential serious accident was averted when car number seven, driven by Major Rajesh Pawar from the Army, rolled down. The stringent safety factors insisted upon by the Himalayan Motor Sports saved the day as major Pawar and his co-driver came out unscathed. The ignominy of being the first entrant to be out of the rally went to Vikram Rao riding bike number 117. He had to pull out from the rally due to a mechanical failure. Similarly, German entry Joachm Von Loeben got hopelessly lost forcing him to pull out. Kurien Phillip riding a Yamaha RX 135 also bowed out during the first leg itself. Car number 15 driven by Maan Chambyal went off the road and took a roll on a particularly difficult stretch. However, he and his co-driver were immediately attended to by the rally life saving ambulance (LSA). Another competitor, Rajan Sidhu also had some problems but was helped by the organisers to get his bike back on the road. Jasbir Singh Randhawa, driving car number 30, broke the differential of his car, forcing the organisers to rule him out from the competition. Gurpinder Singh Sarao from Houston, Texas, riding bike number 124, lost his time card and was thus barred from further participation in the contest.
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International cricket stadium near Shimla
Bilaspur, October 2 Presiding over the concluding function of first ever state-level three-day indoor cricket championship here at Luhanu sports complex, Himachal youth services and sports minister Ramlal Thakur said the government was spending Rs 7 crore for developing a befitting sports complex here and an additional amount of Rs 1 crore was being spent on building wooden ceiling and flooring in the Indoor gymnasium here. Shimla reds lifted the championship trophy by defeating Bilaspur reds by 2 runs among boys, while Bilaspur won the championship as the team defeated Aukland-Shimla by 64 runs among girls in the final matches. Sachin and Neha both of Bilaspur were declared the best batsman, while Akshay Chauhan and Leela Garg of Shimla were declared the best bowlers and Aditya and Bharti were declared the players of the tournament. Anuj of Una and Sapna of Shimla were declared the best wicket keepers and Dev Datt of Shimla and Nitika of Aukland were declared the best fielders in the championship. Sports minister distributed trophies and prizes to the winners, while association state president Ravinder Sharma and general secretary Rajinder Singh were also present. |
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‘Officergiri’ irks DC
Our Correspondent
Chamba, October 2 The DC warned that disciplinary action would be taken against the absentee government officials and compliance to this effect would be forwarded to the state government for further action. Only civil officers, including school students, staff of DC office and a few residents of the town were present on the occasion. But none of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the region, such as the Chamba Welfare Association, the Chamba Citizens Progressive Council, the Pensioners Welfare Association, the Himotkarsh Organization etc took part in the commemoration of the annual event. The Centre had decided to observe Gandhi Jayanti as the “National Day of Dedication” in a big way this year. It was also being observed as “Cleanliness Day” to give boost to the ongoing total sanitation campaign (TSC) launched across the country. Anyway, October 2nd was observed here as “International Day of Non-Violence” in recognition of Gandhiji’s role in promoting the message of peace around the world. Early this morning, after assembling at the premises of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, a ‘prabhat pheri’ was taken out in the main bazaars of Chamba town led by DC Pushpendra Rajput, including schoolchildren and other notables. Later, the DC administered an oath to the gathering reaffirming universal relevance of non-violence, tolerance, full respect for human rights and fundamental freedom for all; democracy, development, mutual understanding and respect for diversity which were interlinked and reinforcing. Kullu: Gandhi Jayanti functions were held at three places here on Tuesday. Deputy commissioner Abhishek Jain and many other officials assembled at Bachat Bhavan and took an oath to work for a bright and prosperous India. The Nehru Yuva Kendra organised a function at Mahila Bhavan, Sarwari. The Authors Guild of Himachal organised a ‘sahitya sammelan’ on non-violence at the Lal Chand Prarthi Kala Kendra. Hamirpur: A district-level programme was organised to celebrate the 139th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as Non-Violence Day at a local school here today. DC Nandita Gupta spoke on the ideals and philosophy of the Father of the Nation. She administered an oath to the students and all those present there to follow these ideals.
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Virbhadra launches urban poor housing scheme
Shimla, October 2 The Chief Minister said the scheme aimed at providing houses to the urban houseless poor was a step towards realisation of the poverty eradication dream of the Father of The National Mahatma Gandhi. He said 252 houses would be constructed in the first phase and Rs 10 crore were proposed to be spent on it. He said modern amenities would be made available in the congenial environment in the tenement proposed under the first phase housing programme. He said the project was aimed at social engineering of the society and provide better living conditions to the urban poor and the downtrodden. Virbhadra said on completion the first phase, need-based phases would be added to the scheme so that all eligible urban houseless were provided the best modern living conditions.
— PTI |
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Sanawar school founder’s day celebrations begin
Chandigarh, October 2 Praveen Vasisht exhorted the students to draw inspiration from the Mahatma's thoughts, ideals and the way he lived for personal, professional and spiritual growth. In the evening, a special assembly was held in the school chapel for the Old Sanawarians of the batches of 1957 and 1982 celebrating their golden and silver jubilees, respectively. It was time for the old Sanawarians to relive their golden times in the school. They shared with the students the values the school instilled in them like punctuality, persistence and discipline. The old Sanawarians hailed the school's recent achievements and laurels in academic as well as extra-curricular activities. The batch of 1957 announced that it was starting a contributory fund for class-IV employees of the school to be given at the time of retirement.
Prominent among those present were model and socialite Feroze Gujral, Talwandi Sabo MLA Jeet Mahinder Singh Sidhu and former Sanawar headmaster H.S. Dhillon. The evening was rounded off with a get-together at the headmaster's residence. The founder’s day is a three-day festival of events from October 2 every year. |
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Ankit, Sunita declared best athletes
Bilaspur, October 2 Presiding over the 13th annual district-level primary schools sports tournament at Bassi 90 km from here yesterday, Himachal forests, youth services and sports minister Ramlal Thakur said the government was considering appointment of physical education teachers even in primary schools so that this campaign to give a boost to sports in the state gained further momentum. The sports minister declared that a three-day coaching camp would be organized for the selected players of this tournament at Ghumarwin, where expert coaches would train them. Ramlal Thakur expressed satisfaction that one student of government Senior Secondary School, Bassi, Kumari Aishwarya had been selected for participation in the National School Games this year. He declared that a Rs 24 lakh multipurpose sports stadium would be soon constructed at Bassi. Student Ankit of Bilaspur Sadar and Sunita Kumari of Ghumarwin were declared the best athletes of the tournament, while all round best shield was won by the Swaharghat block and the Ghumarwin block was judged the best in discipline. Around 250 students from five education blocks of the district competed in the four-day tournament.
— OC |
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Labourers ruining forest wealth
Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shage Ki Shari (Kullu), October 2 A visit to the labourers’ tents pitched at Khanol, the project site and on the roadside between Khanol and RD 11,000 revealed that the labourers were using local fuel woods as they were not getting it from the depots as the company had been claiming because the project work was stopped by the high court from September 11 onwards. The labourers had also not been issued job cards, which was a must under labour laws, labourers said. Dry fuel wood is used by migratory shepherds coming here from Kullu and Mandi districts to graze their herds here in the summer season. “It is very difficult to get fuel wood now as most of it had been used by the labourers,” rued Bhupinder Singh, who was on his way back from the Chandertal area to his home place at Kotli, Mandi. The company has put up tents and eight toilets for labourers at the project site. “But instead of making use of these arrangements, labourers prefer to defecate in the open around the riverside that ends up in the scared river,” they said. The five-member committee appointed by the state government had also found on March 28 that fuel wood was being used by the labourers and over 109 illegal tents were pitched in over 4,512 sq ft area in the forest land. Several other violations were also noticed. Following this, the government issued a show-cause notice to the company slapping a fine of Rs 5.9 crore on it, sources said. Even the tents have been raised by making uses of wood allegedly cut from the nearby forests. “We have to use wood as it is difficult to sleep on the icy cold ground here,” labourers said. The company had not taken any corrective steps so far, sources added. The government and company officials are tightlipped as the PIL filed by the Domya Ganga Sangharsh Samiti in the high court would come up for hearing on October 8.
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Woman burnt to death
Dharamsala, October 2 Rashma Devi was brought to Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital at here where she succumbed to the burns in the afternoon. Before her death, she gave a statement to the police that her husband Sunil Kumar and mother-in-law used to harass her for dowry. “My mother-in-law poured kerosene before burning me”, she said.
— TNS |
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Two buried alive in landslide
Dharamsala, October 2 Kangra district ASP Prem Lal said that those labourers who died in the incident were identified as Sardar Singh (24), resident of Sapera village and Sunka Ram (27), resident of Rulerh village of Kangra district. The bodies of both deceased labourers were handed over to their family members in the afternoon after the post-mortem examination was conducted, added the ASP. Meanwhile, dharamsala SDM D.C. Rana, who visited the spot said he had given an immediate relief of Rs. 5,000 cash to the kin of the deceased labourers. |
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Student drowns in Yamuna
Nahan, October 2 The Paonta police said, Ishan had come here on a picnic tour along with nearly 40 other college mates. He and one of his friend, Lakhbir Singh, went deep in the water while taking a dip in the river at Govind Ghat near Yamuna temple at Paonta. When students noticed that both were being washed away in the forceful flow of the river they tried to save them but could save only Lakhbir Singh. Ishan Sharma was reportedly washed away. The Paonta SHO said around 45 girls and boys of the engineering college had gone to Massorie and Nainital on a picnic tour. On their return they visited the gurdwara at Paonta. He said search operations were still going on. |
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