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Jakhu gets 35 cm; traffic hit as roads blocked
LPG Scarcity
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Environmental Projects
Budget session from March 4
Hamirpur BDC chief voted out
Govt seeks NABARD reform package
Notice served on Omaxe
Plan to make CRI a testing lab
Lenovo workers go on strike after 25 sacked
Body of missing BSF ex-serviceman found
Tribune staffer bereaved
Scribe’s family given Rs 25,000
Liquor seized
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Jakhu gets 35 cm; traffic hit as roads blocked
Shimla, February 8
Unlike the storm early this week, the blizzard today was a localised affair and its impact was largely confined to parts of Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. Besides Shimla, Kufri, Fagu, Chail and Matiana also experienced a moderate-to-heavy snowfall. Barog and Kasauli also had intermittent snow. Kalpa in Kinnaur also had 14 cm of snowfall. The snow which started in the wee hours of the day was continuing till the filing of this report. Mount Jakhu, the highest peak of the city, had recorded 35 cm of snowfall by the evening. The lower areas had 10 cm to 25 cm of snowfall. The heavy snowfall brought life to a standstill in the city. Movement of vehicles came to a halt and even the Circular Road was blocked at many places. All roads, except the Shimla-Kalka highway, were blocked due to slippery road conditions. The city shivered under intense cold with the minimum temperature plunging to -0.6°C and the maximum as low as 0.6°C. The tourists were, however, delighted by the nature’s magic. Undeterred by the extreme cold they thronged The Ridge in large numbers to experience the thrill of falling snow. They were seen exchanging snowballs or having photo sessions to capture the nature at its best.
The nearby Kufri and Fagu had 40 cm of fresh snowfall. Reports of a moderate snowfall were also received from Narkanda, Kinnaur, Solang Nullah, Kharapathar and other areas. It started snowing in fall since last night. The upper Shimla areas remained cut off and the traffic bound for Rampur and Kinnaur plied vie Dhami and Basantpur. Kalpa was the coldest with a minimum of -5.6°C, followed by Manali (°C) and Dharamsala (0.8°C). In lower hills Una recorded the minimum temperature of 3.8°C, followed by Sundernagar (5.1°C) and Bhuntar (5.6°C). These towns also had a mild rainfall. According to the local Met office the weather was likely to clear by tomorrow. Bus services to various parts of the state have been affected due to the heavy snowfall. The HRTC is suffering a loss of Rs 3 lakh daily with over 100 of its buses stranded at various locations in the state due to snow. KUMARHATTI: Dagshai, Barog and its surrounding areas experienced the season’s second snowfall in the morning hours and took the residents by surprise. The widespread valley between Barog and Dagshai hills has worn a white mantle thus turning landscapes into a fairytale land. Dagshai and Barog witnessed 2 to 3 cm snow. The snow accompanied by sleet and rain continued throughout the day. Mandi: The district administration of Kulu and Mandi had sounded the alert about avalanches in the snowbound areas of Chauhar valley, Kandi, Thathchi, Karsog in Mandi district and villages uphill from Manali and higher areas of Banjar-Ani in Kulu district. These areas remain cut off from the district headquaters. The Karsog-Chailchowk road has been lying closed for traffic for the past four days beyond Rowanda, putting passengers to hardships. Two HRTC buses were stranded at Kulhani and on the Pandoh- Bara Parvesh road in Mandi district. The Katola-Ropa road was blocked at Kandi by snow. CHAMBA: The town today recorded 10cm of snow. The villages located on the highlands in the district have been trapped in the blizzard, but there is no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the district so far, an official spokesman confirmed. The town continues to be cut off from the rest of the country due to the blockade of Chamba-Pathankot highway at Banikhet.
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Dhumal’s SOS to Centre
Tribune News Service
Shimla, February 8 Expressing concern over the erratic and inadequate supply in a letter to the minister he has pointed out that the storage of LPG refill stock was not enough in view of the fact that the consumption had increased manifold during the winter due to the extreme cold conditions. The people face problems as frequent spells of snow block roads as a result of which large areas are cut off. He said the state was in grip of a severe cold spell and it was likely to last longer this time. He said a majority of the consumers had shifted from traditional fuelwood to cooking gas to help save the precious forest wealth and preserve the fragile hill environment. LPG was also being used for space heating to beat the cold in houses and offices as the use of coal-fired stoves had been banned to curtail air pollution. The consumption of LPG had thus gone up manifold, making it imperative to increase the supply. Reports of erratic supply were being received from various parts of the state where the winter was much harsher and the entire region had been under snow. In such a situation there was urgent need for rushing in supply of LPG refills to all distributors so that people did not face hardships on this account.
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State to look for funds from international agencies
Tribune News Service
Shimla, February 8 Speaking at a meeting of senior officials of the department here today, J. P. Nadda, minister for environment and forests, expressed concern over the haphazard disposal of construction debris, especially in Shimla. He said the departments concerned must make concerted and coordinated efforts to prevent the degradation of forests and environment. Nadda said every possible effort would be made to establish a biotechnology industrial cluster, including BT Park and BT units, at various locations in the state. He added that the biotechnology initiatives of the government also envisaged extending forays into application of futuristic nano-biotechnology in healthcare and medical diagnostics by private entrepreneurs. Himachal Pradesh, the fruit bowl of India, also offered immense scope for development of high-value cash crops, including medicinal and aromatic plants. He said that the development of technologies to conserve resources and put them to proper use through biotechnological innovations would take Himachal to new heights. Harinder Hira, principal secretary, environment and scientific technologies, emphasised the need for striking a balance between economic development and environment protection by the effective implementation of numerous legislations. She stressed the need for exchange of information and data-base sharing by the inter-departmental as well as intra-departmental user agencies for betterment and enhancement of environmental quality of Himachal Pradesh.
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Budget session from March 4
Shimla, February 8 There will be 23 sittings during the session. The standing committee of the House will scrutinise the budget proposals during the eight-day recess from March 15. The decision to hold the session was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet this evening. The Cabinet also approved the proposal to set up two primate protection parks to check monkey menace. One of the parks will be set up at Tuti Kandi here, the other will be located in Jihan forests near Nadaun in Hamirpur district. The parks will be set up at a cost of Rs 3 crore. The Cabinet also gave its nod for setting up monkey catching and sterilisation centres at Gopalpur in Palampur subdivision and Tal in Hamirpur. The two centres will cost the Forest Department Rs 2.6 crore. It also extended government guarantee to the tune of Rs 8 crore towards the National Scheduled Castes Development Corporation.
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Hamirpur BDC chief voted out
Hamirpur, February 8 Eight of the 15 BDC members voted in favour of the motion while seven voted against it. The BDC members affiliated to the BJP had moved this motion against Suresh Kumar. Meanwhile, former Hamirpur MLA Anita Verma has claimed the no-confidence motion was not carried in the meeting as seven members each voted for and against it. She said “the motion received equal votes as according to norms the presiding member cannot vote on any confidence motion.” However, district panchayat officer, Hamirpur, said that under “PIR rules there is a provision in section 80 subsection (7) that the presiding member can vote if an equal number of votes were cast on any motion and thus the present BDC president has been voted out.” |
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Govt seeks NABARD reform package
Shimla, February 8 Presiding over a meeting to review the functioning of the state Cooperative Department here today Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal said that a special-category state like Himachal which did not have its own resources needed such a package for strengthening the cooperative movement. The NABARD funding had been of immense use to the state in carrying out developmental activities. Its involvement with the women self-help groups (SHGs) was proving a boon for members of the fair sex and so far 43,000 women had come into the SHG fold. There were 4,404 cooperative societies in the state with a membership of 13.66 lakh. He directed the authorities to strengthen cooperative banking to help provide efficient services to the people. Banking services required modernisation to mobilise more deposits and deliver prompt service. |
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Notice served on Omaxe
Solan, February 8 Sources in the department said as per the Environment Protection Act, the housing groups, which are housed in an area of more than 50-hectare land are supposed to take prior clearance of environment. Even such projects fall under the purview of environment clearance, where the built up area is more than 20,000 sq m. This procedure is supposed to be adopted after the identification of proposed site and before commencement of any construction activity. A copy of the conceptual plan is supposed to be prepared for the purpose. The department, however, found that in this case the mega housing group, which was constructing as many as 1,669 houses of one, two and three bedrooms, had failed to get this clearance. It had not only begun the construction but had also completed their sample flat for alluring buyers. This was considered a major violation of the laid acts. This housing project is coming up at Chakka village near Baddi and comprises five-storeyed structures.
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Plan to make CRI a testing lab
Solan, February 8 A senior official confirmed the development. Institute director Mani was not available for comments while the employees were silent on the issue. It may be mentioned here that the CRI’s manufacturing licence was suspended a fortnight ago due to non-compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP) norms. The change would mean closure of a treatment centre on the CRI premises where patients from the neighbouring states as well as Himachal were given free treatment for dog and snake bites. On an average, 3,000 patients visited this treatment centre, officials said. As the existing stock of vaccines and serums would last barely a few months, it would ultimately lead to the closure of this treatment centre. The patients were given free anti-rabies injections here, each one of which cost around Rs 1,200 in the market. The closure of the centre would hit the poor hard, they claimed. Employees said the ministry was following a planned move to curtail vaccine manufacturing at the CRI.
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Lenovo workers go on strike after 25 sacked
Kumarhatti, February 8 Led by INTUC, the plant workers abandoned the work and staged their protest over the dismissal of workers. The trouble started after 25 workers were asked to leave the plant premises in the morning. This sudden development has led to resentment among other Himachali staff of the plant that gathered and began shouting slogans against the management of the company. Sensing trouble, the plant management called up the police that forced the staff out of the plant. However, things turned in favour of the agitated workers as soon as the locally based G.K. Mehta, state spokesman of INTUC, arrived on the scene. Led by Mehta, the workers raised slogan against the highhandedness of the company management to curb workers welfare. Mehta alleged that the company management had fired workers without giving any prior notice to this effect. No reason had been given behind the decision, he alleged. Before shunting out the 25 workers today, earlier, the company had fired other Himachali workers in a phased manner, he accused. It was a preplanned plot of the company management to throw all Himachalis out of the plant mainly to employ manpower from other states, blamed Mehta. In the evening, the plant management has assured the agitated workers to discuss the matter on Monday in the presence of the top management officials. Meanwhile efforts to contact the plant GM and the plant production manager went in vain. No other senior official was available in the plant.
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Gifted athlete rues stagnation
Hamirpur, February 8 Despite winning medals consistently there has been no reward for her. She now repents not joining a job in the CRPF offered to her in 1995. Pushpa Thakur, from Nonghi village near Hamirpur has not only equalled her records in 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters race in the state and HP University athletic competitions but has also improved her record in the inter-university meets 24 times in 800 meters race. Despite getting seriously injured in a road accident in 1998, she has been winning medals in the national, state and other athletic competitions and is preparing for the nationals and trials of the Olympic games. Appointed as a clerk in the DC office under the sports quota, she has not got any promotion till now and even the special increment given to her was stopped in 2007 and was revived after long persuasion. After winning a medal at Jaipur in 1995 in the inter-university athletic championships, she was offered a job of Naik in the CRPF alongwith six other girls,but she declined the offer since she wanted to serve and play for the state. All the others, who had joined the CRPF then, have risen to the rank of deputy commandant now while Pushpa, who opted for a state job, is working as a clerk for the past 11 years. Her coach Bhupinder Singh said “It is very discouraging for new comers in athletics since apathy of the government does not provide them any encouragement.” Joint director of sports Suman Rawat said “In fact under the sports recruitment rules there is no provision for out-of-turn promotions but the government can consider any such case.”
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Body of missing BSF ex-serviceman found
Nurpur, February 8 Dharam Chand, a local villager, who first noticed the body hiding in the forest bushes informed the police through local gram panchayat. The police recovered the body hiding in the bushes in mysterious circumstances as it was covered with leaves. The body has been sent for postmortem examination. Two gunshots were also found on the chest of the deceased. The police has suspected that Baljeet must have died as a hunter presuming him to be his target might have shot at him. Two shots have pierced into the chest of the deceased. A case has been registered. The deceased had been missing from his house since February 4 and his family had lodged a missing report with the police on Thursday. According to the police, the deceased was in depression when he left the house four days back. He had been retired from the BSF as a sub-inspector on medical grounds in 1992.
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Tribune staffer bereaved
Chandigarh, February 8 His cremation will take place in his native village tomorrow. |
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Scribe’s family given Rs 25,000
Bilaspur, February 8 A cheque of Rs 25,000 was handed over to Tara Devi, mother of Rajesh Sharma, at her residence in Nadaun. |
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