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Cong proposes, BJP disposes
Winter carnival begins with fanfare
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Overloading weighing heavy on highways’ health
Bright sunshine brings relief, at last
Chamba-Pathankot highway reopened
Three-wheeler operators’ strike creates inconvenience
Govt to spend Rs 1.4 cr on improving power supply
Restore ration quota, pleads sabha
Don’t review appointments, say PTA teachers
Ex-serviceman’s death: 3 held
Disabled raped
HRTC inspector’s body airlifted
Anganwari recruitments: Complaints heard
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Cong proposes, BJP disposes
Shimla, February 9 Interestingly, the move to open a medical college at Mandi was one of the last decisions taken by the Virbhadra regime. In fact, the BJP had even complained to the Election Commission that the notification in that regard had been issued in the back date, after the code of conduct had already come into effect. “The decision taken by the Virbhadra regime was merely a piece of paper saying that a medical college would be opened in Mandi, with no budgetary provision or land selection for the project,” said health and family welfare minister Rajiv Bindal. He confirmed that the medical college in Mandi would now be a private sector venture. The minister said the seriousness of the decision of the Virbhadra regime of opening a medical college could be gauged from the fact that it was done at the fag end of the Assembly term. “I view it as a cruel joke of the Congress with the people of Mandi. If the government was really keen to give them the facility, it should have announced it when the party came to power and completed it within its tenure,” he said. The decision to shelve the project seems along the expected lines as chief minister P.K. Dhumal had, before assuming power, said all last-minute decisions taken by the Virbhadra regime would be reviewed on merit. The Virbhadra regime had issued the notification for opening of a medical college at Mandi on October 8, just before the elections were announced. The BJP had been highly critical of the decision and had complained to the Election Commission. Bindal said the BJP regime was serious about the announcements made by it and the medical college would come up at Mandi unlike the ‘hypocrisy’ of the Congress government. The opening of Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College at Tanda in Kangra had also snowballed into a major controversy as it was opened just before the 1998 Assembly elections. Since it was started in haste, there was problem with the Medical College of India that refused to give recognition to the classes started without its prior approval. The BJP regime was of the opinion that opening the college announced by the Congress government was meaningless as besides the notification no other spadework had been done and no budgetary provision made. |
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Winter carnival begins with fanfare
Manali, February 9 The carnival began from Hadimba Devi Temple At Dhungri with worshipping Goddess Hadimba. A large procession was taken out from the temple to Manu Rangshala in the heart of Manali town in with hundreds of artistes and villagers dressed in local costumes. Earlier,
the Chief Ministerinaugurated the Bahanu bridge about 4 km from here on the
Manali-Kullu road. He also inaugurated the skiing championship at Solang Nallah
a part of the winter carnival - 2008. Tourism Bonanza for
Manali Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today announced a ‘tourism bonanza’ for Manali stating that the government would develop The Mall Manali as a ‘pedestrian paradise of international standards’ and construct the two aerial ropeways - Bijli Mahadev-Kullu and Palchan-Rohtang soon. These new projects alongwith the ski ropeway at Solang Nallah are to be completed by June this year would go a long way in making Manali a tourist destination of international standards, he added. The state government will be making efforts and coordinate with the Union Government to get the Rohtang Tunnel completed at the earliest possible. the Chief Minister said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the open skiing championship at Solang Nallah, 13 km from here. He said former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had envisaged the project and granted sanction for the construction of the same to connect the land-locked Lahaul valley with motorable road the year around. He said tourism would get a boost with the connectivity of Lahaul, besides reducing the road distance by about 70 km between Manali and Keylong. He said Solang Valley had the world’s best ski-slopes, which had trained large number of youths in various snow sports. He said that the sports would get further strengthened with the completion of ropeway connecting higher reaches of the slopes. He said the ropeway was likely to be completed by the middle of the current calendar year. He said Himachal Pradesh was much more beautiful compared to most of the developed countries, where tourism had been the major industry. Dhumal said Anjali Mahadev cave would be connected with road under the Mukhya Mantri Gram Path Yojna to help devotees visit the shrine to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva. He said Solang village would also be connected by motorable road and bridge constructed over Solang Nallah. He said all related aspects would be examined and cooperation of the local administration, and the people would be sought to develop the area for quality tourism. He added that the state had banned the use of recycled plastic bags and offence made punishable by enactment of the law. He urged cooperation of visitors and local people in keeping all tourist destinations in particular and the state as a whole free from the pollution to maintain the natural beauty of all places of tourist interest. He said the people visiting the state must enjoy the grandeur of Himachal Pradesh for which the environment needed to be kept green and scenic. He said the state would be developed for quality tourism and necessary infrastructure would be created to cater to high paying tourists. He added that the natural potential of the state would be exploited for tourism promotion with ecological safeguards. Dhumal said the state government would explore all possibilities of including ski sports in the 3 per cent sports quota reserved for sportspersons in all government jobs. Duni Chand Thakur, proposed vote of thanks. Dr Rajeev Bindal, health minister. Sarveen Chaudhary, social justice empowerment minister, Khami Ram, deputy speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha, Kishori Lal, MLA, Ani, Mahender Pandey, organising secretary, state BJP, many other prominent people of the area were present. |
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Overloading weighing heavy on highways’ health
Palampur, February 9 As per the party manifesto, repair and improvement of the roads is one of the main priorities of the BJP government. He has asked the officers concerned to take necessary steps to save roads from further deterioration by ensuring strict implementation of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. The Kalka-Shimla (Hindustan-Tibet road), Kiratpur-Manali, Shimla-Kangra and Pathankot-Mandi national highways are the worst affected. There is hardly any check on overloading. The weighing machines installed at entry points to the state are out of order for many years and wherever these are in working conditions, these are not put to use by the officers posted there. The cement plants set up in Bilaspur and Solan districts have further aggravated the situation. Official sources said over 10,000 trucks and dumpers ferry construction and other material to and from the Gujarat Ambuja Cement plant, Darlaghat, ACC cement plant, Barmana, and various power project companies. Most of these carry load between 10 to 14 tonnes in violation of the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act. The Kiratpur-Manali highway between Bilaspur and Kiratpur has become prone to landslides and soil erosion. It is on record that over 24 small and big culverts have been badly damaged due to plying of overloaded trucks. The total loss caused to the highways in the state is estimated to be over Rs 250 crore. The State Transport Authority and the traffic police have failed to discharge their duties properly. Inaction on the part of these authorities has worsened the situation. Official figures reveal that out of every 100 traffic challans issued by these authorities, only 3 pertain to the offence of overloading. Maharashtra and Karnataka are the only states in the country where there is a blanket ban on the entry of overloaded trucks. A fine of at least Rs 5,000 is imposed if any vehicle is found overloaded. All interstate barriers are equipped with the latest weighing machines and it is mandatory for every vehicle to pass through these. The situation in Himachal can improve only if similar laws are also enacted here. |
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Bright sunshine brings relief, at last
Shimla, February 9 Bright sunshine and clear sky enabled evacuation of seven persons stranded at Gulbgarh in Jammu and Kashmir, who were flown to Udhampur from where they reached Jogindernagar in Mandi district. Four patients were also airlifted from Jaspa Singla village in the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti and brought to Bhuntar in Kullu. It was after a week-long spell that bright sun greeted the people of the tribal areas, including Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba. The sky remained clear throughout the state, except the state capital where it became cloudy in the afternoon. Work was started by the PWD workers to restore traffic to parts of upper Shimla beyond Dhalli that had been disrupted due to heavy snowfall. Work on road clearance in other snowbound areas was also expedited to enable restoration of traffic. However, Kalpa recorded 12 cm of snowfall, Manali 10 cm, Keylong 5 cm. Sundernagar has had 10.6 mm rain since yesterday. The minimum temperature in Shimla was 1.2°C against -0.6°C yesterday. The minimum temperature at Sundernagar was 1.6°C, 3.6°C at Bhuntar, -7.2°C at Kalpa, and -11.3°C at Keylong. The Met office has forecast that the weather will remain clear during the next 24 hours. |
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Chamba-Pathankot highway reopened
Chamba, February 9 M.S. Thakur, executive engineer, Dalhousie Division, of the state PWD informed over the phone today that the priority had been given to this highway being the only lifeline linking Chamba town and several other parts of the district with the rest of the country. “It was azure sky today and the sunshine helped the workforce of the PWD and the NHPC all day to act swiftly using JCBs and snow-cutters in the restoration work, while clearing the snow from the highway”, Thakur stated. He said the work to remove the snow from Banikhet to Dalhousie was in progress and it was expected that the road would be opened for light vehicles by this evening. On the other hand, the HRTC had not yet started plying its long-route buses on the highway, officials of the HRTC confirmed; stating that it was still hazardous to ply buses in the wake of some slippery points on the highway as the buses could skid anywhere. A number of buses were still trapped in the snow at different stations, they added. Normal life was restored in the towns today. There was electricity supply throughout the day. The water supply and milk supply to the town was resumed today. Almost all roads except the Chamba-Pathankot highway remained blocked due to snowfall and the buses could not ply on the fourth day today thereby crippling normal life. Meeanwhile, revenue officials have swung into action to assess the losses caused to the public and private property due to heavy snowfall. |
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Three-wheeler operators’ strike creates inconvenience
Solan, February 9 Since three-wheelers are used for movement within the town, people were seen walking down to their destinations carrying heavy luggage. Specially inconvenienced were the outstation patients who had to walk to the hospital. Just a fortnight ago, three-wheeler operators were on strike demanding enhancement in fares. The enhancement was effected in consultation with their union and the administration. However, now instead of adhering to the negotiation terms, they could be seen violating norms by carrying four passengers as against the capacity of three. When the police tried to check such overloading that put the life of passengers at risk, their union has struck work again. A section of the people said more local buses should be introduced for transportation within the town so as to check these tactics of three-wheeler operators. This would also help ease traffic movement as three-wheelers stop and park at every nook and corner thus impeding the smooth flow of traffic. It being a holiday on account of second Saturday, officials were unavailable for comments. The union continued with strike and there was little hope of any letdown even tomorrow as it was a Sunday. |
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Govt to spend Rs 1.4 cr on improving power supply
Bilaspur, February 9 Kondal said the power lines from Kangu to Kandraur would be repaired and 1 MVA 33 KV substation at Jhandutta would be upgraded to 2.5 MVA and another feeder would be added between Barthin and Jhandutta. He said 12-km long new power lines would be spread between Badsar to Talai and all these steps would remove all complaints of lakhs of people regarding the power supply in these areas. Kondal also ordered the IPH Department to construct water tanks at Sangaswin and complete the project before April this year. He also announced grant of Rs 1 lakh for construction of a Janj Ghar at Sangaswin-2. Kondal also heard complaints of the people after these public meetings and ordered officers to solve them at the earliest. |
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Restore ration quota, pleads sabha
Bilaspur, February 9 Mahasabha press secretary Lekh Ram Verma said here that this quota was totally insufficient to meet the monthly requirements of atta, rice and kerosene. He appealed to the BJP government to restore the quotas of these essential commodities for benefit of the poor. The government should ensure the lifting of entire allotted quota from the Centre so that a sufficient quantity of these commodities is available at ration depots. Pointing towards the acute scarcity of charcoal and firewood in most parts of the state, the mahasabha urged the government to order proper arrangements for these items. |
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Don’t review appointments, say PTA teachers
Shimla, February 9 The state body of the PTA Association, which met here today, said it was a question of their livelihood and removing them now would not be appropriate. State president of the association Vivek Mehta said the government had appointed a committee that would look into their appointments on basically five criteria, which had not been laid down when they were appointed. The office-bearers of the association said the BJP had always tried to provide employment to the people and not remove them. They said scrutinising their appointments now would complicate the matters for so many people. The association decided to hold a peaceful rally in Shimla shortly. |
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Ex-serviceman’s death: 3 held
Nurpur, February 9
He had been missing since February 4, and was suspected to have been killed by gunshots of a hunter in the nearby forest.
The police has arrested Surjeet, Bahadur Singh and Beas Dev, all residents of nearby villages, last night, under Sections 304, 201 and 34 of the IPC
The police recovered the decomposed body of the ex-serviceman from bushes on Friday evening. The police has also recovered two single barrel guns from their custody. A separate case under Section 25 of the Arms Act has also been lodged against the accused. A local court today has remanded the accused in police custody for further investigations. Meanwhile, the post-mortem of the decomposed body was conducted at R.P. medical college, Tanda, today. According to the police, more suspected persons could be arrested after thorough investigations of the case. |
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Disabled raped
Kumarhatti, February 9
The rapist, whose identity has not yet been ascertained, is absconding. The victim lodged a complaint with the police last evening.
The woman, a polio patient, was alone at home at that time. The medical examination of the woman has confirmed rape. A case has been registered. |
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HRTC inspector’s body airlifted
Shimla, February 9 Ghan Shyam, who was posted at Keylong, had died in the Tiuni area of Chamba on February 5. His body could not be moved from there due to heavy snowfall. The deceased belonged to the Jogindernagar area of Mandi. |
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Anganwari recruitments: Complaints heard
Nurpur, February 9 He said he had heard 172 complaints so far. In the first phase, both parties were heard and the eligible woman candidates would get justice after completion of the inquiry, he said. He said action would be taken against those who had issued false low-income certificates to the candidates. |
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