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Hamirpur Byelection
TCP norms to be relaxed: CM
No formal Chinese invitation for talks: Rinpoche
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Bilaspur boy tops class XII (science) exam
Himachal Pradesh University
Nod to 4 more pvt varsities
Administrative reshuffle
No-confidence motion ‘unconstitutional’
5 killed in road mishap
Missing girl found dead
Kerosene Case
Sabji mandi awaits completion
HC orders demolition of hotel floor
State seeks 4,000 cr from Centre
Book fair concludes
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Hamirpur Byelection
Shimla, April 26 In charge of the party affairs in Himachal R.K. Dhawan, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Viplove Thkaur, CLP leader Vidya Stokes and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh held a meeting in New Delhi to decide the party candidate for the byelection. “As per the Congress tradition we have left the matter to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, who will take the final decision,” said Viplove Thakur. Within a day or two, the name would be announced by Oscar Fernandes after the AICC took a final decision, she said. The names of all four persons who had applied for the ticket, including O.P. Rattan, Ranjit Singh Verma, Tara Chand Chaudhray and M.P.S. Rana, would be forwarded to the AICC. The leaders also discussed the party strategy for he elections and the logistics of the campaigner along with entrusting of duties to senior leaders and MLAs. After much deliberation, these leaders came to the conclusion that no sitting party MLA would be fielded. At present, the Congress has only four MLAs in Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur districts. The names of state Youth Congress chief Sukhwinder Sukhu from Hamirpur, Mukesh Agnihotri and Rakesh Kalia from Una and Rajesh Dharmani from Bilaspur were discussed. With the BJP almost certain to win the seat in its traditional stronghold, none of the Congress legislators is keen to contest from here. The BJP is almost certain to field Anurag Thakur, son of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. |
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Carrying of arms banned
Hamirpur, April 26 She said the ban would remain in force till a week after the declaration of the result and strict legal action would be taken against persons violating the order. |
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TCP norms to be relaxed: CM
Khera (Nalagarh), April 26 Dhumal said as per the recommendation all constructions executed 50 to 100 metre of the roads in the rural areas would be provided relaxation from the TCP norms. He was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a Government High School building at Khera village near Nalagarh today. The building, which is being constructed by a national English daily, has been dedicated to a Kargil martyr, Subedaar Tarachand, who lost his life while fighting for the nation nine years ago. Dhumal lauded the efforts of the newspaper in undertaking this novel work and said it was a matter of happiness that newspapers come forward to share the responsibilities of the society. Such efforts should be lauded and imitated by others in society. It was a matter of pride that the Himachali youth had always extended liberal contribution to the society and it was a matter of pride that as many as 52 soldiers had laid down their lives during the Kargil War while out of the four PVCs two had been won by the state’s soldiers. He lauded the sacrifices made by the farmers in surrendering their fertile land for construction of various hydroelectric dams even though they failed to get their dues. He said the state had a culture of sacrifice though after commissioning of various projects its farmers have been waiting endlessly for adequate compensation. Also present on the occasion were Resident Editor of Chandigarh edition of The Indian Express Vipan Pubby, Chief of Bureau Shisir Gupta, regional photo editor Swadesh Talwar, Jansatta Editor Mukesh Bhardwaj, health minister Dr Rajiv Bindal and other MLAs. |
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No formal Chinese invitation for talks: Rinpoche
Dharamsala, April 26 According to Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche, normalcy in affected areas of Tibet was a prerequisite for formal resumption of talks between the Chinese government and envoys of the Dalai Lama. Sonam N. Dagpo, secretary of the department of information and international relations in central Tibetan administration (CTA), said the Dalai Lama had always advocated resumption of talks with the Chinese government. The two special envoys appointed by the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyary and Kelsang Gyaltsen, had visited China six times since 2002 for holding talks with representatives of the Chinese government. “Both the envoys are based in the USA these days. These envoys will once again go to China if talks resume,” Dagpo said. To his knowledge, no formal invitation had been received from the Chinese government for resumption of talks till date, he added. “We have come to know about the offer from a Chinese media site,” he said. The first formal contact between the Chinese government and envoys of the Dalai Lama started in 1979 when Gaylo Thondup, elder brother of the Dalai Lama, visited China. Since then, offers were made by China and representative of the Dalai Lama at various platforms. The Dalai Lama even suggested a five-point approach to resolve the Tibetan issue. The basic constituent of that approach was seeking autonomous region status under the sovereignty of China. However, formal meetings started only on September 9, 2002, when Lodi G. Gyary, special envoy the Dalai Lama and representative of the Chinese government held talks. Six meeting have taken place since then, but nothing concrete has
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The Dalai Lama returned to Dharamsala today after completing his visit to the USA. He attended a series of conferences and delivered lectures on “Seeds of Compassion” including discussions on scientific research into compassion, business philanthropy, inter-faith dialogue and nurturing kindness in children in the USA. He discussed spirituality and compassion with fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and leaders of different religious faiths. He was also conferred with an honorary degree by the University of Washington. He expressed his commitment to adopt a middle path for resolving the Tibet issue. He met Chinese reporters and expressed support for Beijing Olympics. During his meeting with Chinese students in Rochester, he said there was a wrong impression that Tibetans are anti-Chinese. He underlined the need for more face-to-face meetings between Tibetans and Chinese, rather than staying distant with unnecessary suspicion.
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Narrow escape for 8 as plane tyres burst
Kullu, April 26 The director-general of civil aviation (DGCA) team was on board to approve the proposed operations of the MDLR from April 28 on Delhi-Kullu-Delhi sectors. The mishap forced the MDLR management to cancel their operations on Delhi-Kullu-Delhi sectors. The passengers booked on the flight have been informed about the cancellation of flights on April 28 and 29, the MDLR authorities said. Koustav M. Dhar, executive director, MDLR, said on telephone from Delhi that the normal operations would start from April 30 now. A.K. Ghosh, in-charge at the Kullu-Manali airport, said the incident was normal and regular and did not amount for stopping of permission to fly. Ghosh said the inquiry would be “as per format” by the DGCA. The MDLR pilots and DGCA team was sitting inside the VIP lounge and mediapersons were not permitted to go inside the Terminal Building. Sreejith, assistant manager, Air Traffic Control, Kullu-Manali airport refused to give permission to mediapersons to enter the 'terminal building'. S.S. Aggarwal, manager Communication, Kullu-Manali airport said they would have to seek permission from the director general of civil aviation to permit the media to enter the 'terminal building' and "that could not be done as today was Saturday and offices were closed". |
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Bilaspur boy tops class XII (science) exam
Dharamsala, April 26 Apurav Chandel from Him Sarvodya Senior Secondary School, Ghumarwin, Bilaspur, secured the first position securing 472 marks, while Jyotsana Sharma of Vision Convent School Ghumarwin and Damini Thakur from MCM College, Kangra, stood second by securing 468 marks.
Other toppers in included Akanksha Gupta of Blue Star Senior Secondary Public School, Hamirpur, third (463); Rahul Sharma of Government Senior Secondary School, Thathal (Una), fourth (460); Ashish Gupta of Government Senior Secondary School, Nahan, fifth (459); Meenakshi Sharma of New Era Senior Secondary School, Parol (Hamirpur) and Yashwant Singh Thakur of Him Academy Public School, Hamirpur, sixth (458); Ruchi Saka of DAV Senior Secondary School, Una, and Nidhi Sharma of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bilaspur, seventh (457); Anshul Thakur of New Era Senior Secondary School, Parol, eighth (456); Roopa Sharma of Government Senior Secondary School, Chamba, ninth (454); and Shuchi Singh of CRC Government Senior Secondary School, Rehan, and Sachin Mankotia of Him Academy Public School, Hamirpur, 10th (453). Interestingly, boys have fared better than girls. Out of total candidate who passed the examination, 6,858 are boys and 4,815 girls. Among the top 10 toppers, seven are from private schools. Meanwhile, secretary of the board Rajesh Sharma said at a press conference that 15,500 students, including 9,309 boys and 6,191 girls, had appeared in the examination this year. “Out of these, 11,539 students have passed, while 1,816 students got compartment in one subject. The total pass percentage is 74.59 per cent. The pass percentage this year is much better than 57.47 per cent recorded last year,” the secretary claimed. |
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Himachal Pradesh University
Shimla, April 26 The executive council (EC) met under the chairmanship of vice-chancellor Sunil Kumar Gupta. New members of the council, Suresh Bhardwaj (MLA), Dhani Ram Sharma and Amar Nath Sharma, attended the meeting. The council decided that a special committee be constituted to examine the cases in which services of three teachers, Kuldeep Agnihotri, Mamta Sharma, Ajay Srivastava, and a security officer were terminated. Other members of the committee included Amar Dev, principal, and dean of studies V.P. Sharma, who also happens to be the chairman of the screening committee. “The report of the committee will be placed before the council and a decision will be taken accordingly,” said the VC. The council also constituted another committee headed by Kripal Parmar to look into the grievances of over 100 employees of the university working at various projects. Amar Dev would be the other member of the committee. A decision was also taken to withdraw the case pending in the high court regarding rustication of 19 students. “After seeking legal opinion, we have decided to withdraw the case. Moreover, the one-year period of rustication of these students is already over,” said Parmar. He added that the VC was empowered to withdraw the case. The issue of delay in completion of the girls’ hostel was also discussed. The SCA also gave a memorandum to Kripal Parmar and requested that the work be expedited so that the problem of accommodation could be dealt with. “Since the delay is because of non-receipt of permission for felling a green tree, the EC has decided that the HPU should move the high court,” said Parmar. The EC also nominated Suresh Bhardwaj as a member of the finance committee of the HPU. The EC also approved the filling of the vacant posts of teaching and non-teaching employees. Pending cases of pay fixation were decided and annual increments released. The EC also approved grant of ex-cadre superintendent to 29 employees. |
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Nod to 4 more pvt varsities
Shimla, April 26 “Letters of intent have been issued to the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysis of India, Hyderabad, Reetanand Balvaid Education Foundation, New Delhi, Centre for Advanced Study in Engineering Baddi, Solan and K.D. Educational Trust for opening four private universities,” said P.C. Dhiman, principal secretary (education). These universities, which will be set up at various places across the state, will focus on quality professional courses. The state government had earlier this week given its nod for setting up two other private universities - one by Chandigarh-based Chitkara Education Trust and the second by the Kalgidhar Trust. All these institutes will have 15 per cent reserved seats for Himachal Pradesh domicile students. The government is examining several other proposals for setting up more private universities in the state, officials said.
— IANS |
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Administrative reshuffle
Shimla, April 26 B.R. Jamwal, special secretary, information and public relations, excise and taxation, shall also hold the charge of the secretary, State Election Commission. Sunil Kumar Chaudhary, controller, printing and stationary, shall hold the additional charge of project director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. Dev Dutt Sharma, project director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, has been posted as the additional director, higher education, relieving Hukam Singh Thakur, additional director, elementary education, of the additional charge. |
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No-confidence motion ‘unconstitutional’
Kullu, April 26 He said the resolution was passed in the meeting with five members voting in favour of the motion and one member was abstained from casting vote. Though the majority comprising vice-president Khimi Devi, members Anil Sood, Dinesh Sood, Neerat Ram and Rakesh Bodh had favoured the no-confidence motion but legal procedures were allegedly not followed. Anil Sood, who initiated the no-confidence motion, claimed that the move was constitutional as per the amendments made in 2003 in the Municipal Act. The deputy commissioner here confirmed that the motion was moved and she would take action according to the Act. She said that Subdivisional Magistrate, Kullu, would look into the matter and conduct the re-polling on the motion. Present president Meena Thakur refuted the charge and said that she had initiated developmental works in the whole Nagar Panchayat jurisdictions. |
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5 killed in road mishap
Shimla, April 26 While three persons died on the spot, two succumbed to their injuries on the way to a government hospital at Reckong Peo. The accident occurred near Sapni, around 225 km from here, on the Karcham-Sapni link road around 7.45 pm. One of the seriously injured, identified as Vijender, 25, has been referred to the IGMC, Shimla. The cause of the accident was not immediately known. SDM Raman Sharma reached the site to supervise the rescue operations. Those killed in the accident were driver Kewal Ram (35), Nand Kumar (40), Ami Chand (45), Sher Singh (55), and Surat Lal (48). A case has been registered.
— UNI |
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Missing girl found dead
Kangra, April 26 P.S. Thakur, additional district police chief, said Akrati, a resident of Kadiyara Rajol village, had gone along with her deaf and dumb uncle Harnam (32) on April 23, to Dola Goan village to attend a religious ceremony. Since then the duo was missing. Harnam was recovered in an injured condition near Machiyal on April 24. Being deaf and dumb he could not express himself before the police, Thakur disclosed. He said additional police force was deployed in the area to search for Akrati. The body of the girl child was recovered this evening from Machayal Khad. The police was keeping its fingers crossed regarding the cause of the death of the child in view of the injuries her uncle had received. Thakur said the things would get clarified only after the post- mortem report was received. |
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Kerosene Case
Solan, April 26 The police is conducting further investigations into the matter. Meanwhile, Solan SP
S.P.S. Verma clarified that the petrol pump owned by Mela Ram Chandel had no connection with the kerosene racket and only the transaction of oil from one tanker to another took near his petrol pump. |
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Sabji mandi awaits completion
Palampur, April 26 Later, the Congress government came into power in the state and then revenue minister B.B.L. Butail again laid the foundation stone for this project in February 2004. He also announced that the sabji mandi project was a time bound project of the Congress government and it would be ready in a year. His announcement also remained confined to files of the state marketing board. |
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HC orders demolition of hotel floor
Shimla, April 26 The owner of the hotel had challenged the decision of the municipal council, whereby it had rejected the plan of the petitioner to allow him to construct the fifth floor. Petitioner had constructed four floors in 1978 and sought permission to construct another floor but the same was rejected by the MC authorities. The court granted three weeks to the owner of the hotel to demolish the construction or the MC would demolish it. |
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State seeks 4,000 cr from Centre
Shimla, April 26 |
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Book fair concludes
Hamirpur, April 26 More than 500 books on child psychology, social awareness and general knowledge etc were on display at the fair which was inaugurated by DC Nandita Gupta. District secretary of the samiti Satish Shukla said thousands of students and other people visited the fair. |
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