|
|
|
|
Central team to visit state today
Nurpur MC to implement HC order
Gagret SEZ opposed
Poor BSNL services
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mandi Medical College
Quota Blues
Tibetans hold candlelight march
Tibetans take out a candlelight procession in Paonta on Saturday night. Photo: S.R. Pundir
Waiting for wages for 3 years
70 pc quota for Himachalis
46 tourists evacuated from Kaza
1,612 appointed during job fair
Insurance for BPL families
Protest against illegal mining
Union minister compliments SJVN
MMS Case
Resentment among LPG consumers
Award for teacher
Himachal set to be Asia’s first carbon-neutral state
NGO raises voice against animal sacrifice
|
|
Central team to visit state today
Shimla, September 28 As per the memorandum to be presented by the government to the team, the total loss reported from various parts of the state was around Rs 2,076 crore. The figure was likely to go up as reports were still being received from field. Exactly 100 persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents besides 3,625 animals. During its three-day sojourn in the state, the team will visit various rain-ravaged areas in Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Bialspur, besides Shimla district that has suffered the maximum loss. The team will hold a meeting with the secretaries of various departments concerned before returning to New Delhi on October 1. The loss on account of damage to pubic property has been estimated at Rs 1,245 crore and the rest pertains to crops and private property. A loss of Rs 591.29 crore has been caused on account of damage to kharif crops while private property wroth Rs 240 crore has been damaged. The damage to roads, bridges and other public property maintained by the Public Works Department has been put at Rs 348.35 crore. The loss as regards water supply and irrigation schemes has been put at Rs 57.06 crore. The total loss in Shimla district has been estimated at Rs 510 crore, followed by Kangra (Rs 277.45 crore) and Mandi (Rs 242.25 crore). Maximum number of deaths (43) were reported from Shimla district. The maximum devastation was caused during 72 hours of incessant downpour from September 19 to 21. Shimla recorded 177.1 mm rainfall in a single day, the highest in 46 years. The government had to take the help of the Air Force to airlift tourists stranded at various places in tribal areas. |
||
|
Nurpur MC to implement HC order
Nurpur, September 28 MC executive officer Lalit Kumar said the civic body had received copies of the HC order from the state urban development department and he had written to the local BSNL authorities, the state electricity board and cable operators to remove cables and hoardings from trees within a week. “Local traders have also been asked to remove their hoardings from trees,” he added. |
||
|
Gagret SEZ opposed
Shimla, September 28 It drew attention to the discrepancies in the survey conducted by the Revenue Department as highlighted by the Matrubhoomi Sangarsh Samiti, an organisation of local farmers spearheading the agitation. The state government had not been transparent about the project, it said. It had been repeatedly saying that it would not acquire 8,000 acres required for the project forcefully, however the Industries Department, while responding to an application filed under the RTI Act by some activists, had indicated that it was the state government’s responsibility to transfer land to the company. Earlier, the samiti had sent a memorandum to the Ministry of Commerce demanding that the project be scrapped because it would hit the farm-based livelihood-earning activities of the residents of more than 14 villages. The SKIL Infrastructure intends to acquire around 32 sq km stretch in Una district, which cannot be done without displacing people from the most productive agricultural land in the state. The people who would be displaced should be informed about the benefits of the project so that they could make an informed choice. The absence of such information in the public domain has created a situation of suspicion regarding the impacts of the project and the intentions of the government, the memorandum points out. The board of approvals (BoA) under the union ministry of commerce had provided in-principle approval, which was the first step towards the establishment of an SEZ. It had to be followed by a formal approval that was granted only when the entire or at least most of the land required for the project was available with the company. An earlier application made by the company lost its validity as no movement was made towards a formal approval within the given time frame of two years. |
||
|
Poor BSNL services
Kullu, September 28 Khushal Singh, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, said he had lodged a complaint on September 22 and made frequent requests at the complaint office of the BSNL for the restoration of the services of his phone, but to no avail. He added that the attendant at the complaint office told that “the lineman of your area was on leave” and his telephone could be repaired after his arrival. Another customer of Gandhi Nagar said, “Our phone always goes dead often during the rainy days and at times is not restored for weeks.” The cell phone services remained affected during the past one week. The BSNL broadband users were also facing poor connectivity during the past one week. |
||
|
Mandi Medical College
Mandi, September 28
Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur asserted that the BJP had been exposed on the issue and the Congress would take this issue to its logical conclusion. While BJP leaders have accused the Congress of preaching baseless propaganda exposing the “mental bankruptcy of Congress leadership”. Defending the Chief Minster’s statement and government’s stand on medical college, PWD minister Gulab Singh Thakur and district BJP president Inder Singh dismissed Kaul Singh’s charges. They said the charges were baseless. They added that the government had given priority to the health sector and Mandi would get the best health services in the state. They claimed that five medical colleges in the state would provide 50 per cent seats to Himachali students and 500-bed hospital would be opened in each college. They claimed that Kaul Singh’s statement is “misleading, as it is the time for the public-private partnership to give the best health care to the poor patients”. BJP president Jai Ram Thakur said, “The Congress government’s notification was an election stunt and was issued without making a provision of any budget for the college.” But Kaul Singh Thakur asserted that the Congress would take the issue to its logical conclusion. “We would organise rallies in support of the government medical college,” he said.
|
||
|
Quota Blues
Shimla, September 28 Ashwani Kumar, who has secured 619 marks, and Jeevan Singh, who scored 615 marks in the HAS examinations conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) this year, have not been selected as two other ST candidates having higher merit than them have got the two posts reserved for the tribes. However, five general category candidates, with marks as low as 600, have been selected but the two were not considered because there was provision for reservation of only two seats in the HAS examinations for the ST category. Since two other ST candidates secured 642 Questions are now being raised on the decision of the HPPSC to not consider the two ST candidates despite the fact that their merit is higher than 15 other candidates out of a total of 32 candidates who have been selected by the HPPSC for various HAS posts. A candidate from the general category with 600 marks has been selected for the post of tehsildar, while a candidate from the SC category with 529 marks has been selected for the post of Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO). Interestingly, even the office of the Chief Minister has taken serious note of the decision of the HPPSC and has written to the secretary, Personnel, to look into the matter. The two candidates had represented their case and given an application to the Chief Minister about the injustice being meted out to them. As such hailing from the ST category has been a disadvantage for the two when provision for reservation has been made to give benefit to various sections of society. Even a Supreme Court judgment says that candidates appearing from reserved category can opt for general category seat in case they have the merit in the general category.
|
||
|
Tibetans hold candlelight march
Nahan, September 28 It began from Bhoop Pur and passed through the Badripur Paonta main market before ending on the municipal ground. Taking lighted candles in their hands, the protesters marched through the area raising slogans against the Chinese suppression and abuse to human rights in Tibet. Tibetan leader Sherab Gyatso said China was bent upon destroying Tibetan culture. More than 6,000 Tibetan monasteries and a large number of irreplaceable jewels of Tibetan culture had been destroyed by the Chinese Government, Gyatso said. They appealed to the UN and the international community to come forward to pressurise China to respect human rights in Tibet and stop atrocities on innocent monks, nuns and Tibetans in Tibet. They demanded world leaders to convince the Chinese government to accept the middle-way approach of the Dalai Lama and resolve the Tibet issue through dialogue.
|
||
|
Waiting for wages for 3 years
Chamba, September 28 These poor labourers have been moving from pillar to post for getting their wages, but to no avail. The lackadaisical attitude of the Forest Department has deprived them of their right. Bhag Chand, Hoshiar Singh, Bhikh Chand, Karam Chand, Kirpa Ram, Lakhu Ram, Dum Ram, Bodh Raj and Diwan Chand said being poor, they could not even take up their case effectively at various levels. Meanwhile, officials of the Forest Department said the construction of the forest road from Devikothi to Tepa was executed under the MLA fund scheme, but the sanction for the funds had not so far been accorded. As soon as the budget for the work was received, the wages of these labourers would be paid, officials added.
|
||
|
70 pc quota for Himachalis
Solan, September 28 The visit that caught the officials unawares helped confirm the state government’s seriousness towards implementing the mandate. Facing flak from the opposition for having done little for the unemployed, the minister managed to give a clear message to the investors to comply with the norms or face action. He said only around 36 to 40 per cent Himachalis had been employed in the industries. He said though it was compulsory to issue identity cards to all workers within three months of their joining, many units were yet to comply with the order. What was even more worrisome was the adverse trend of contractual employment that was as high as 40 per cent. Such employees were being exploited by labour contractors, majority of whom hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Assam. While the contractors received huge amounts every month from the investors, the labourers failed to get their due. The minister warned all such units to put an end to such exploitative methods. He said most of the units failed to compensate workers for working over time. Even against a work of eight to 12 hours, the labourers got only around Rs 3,000 pm. Villagers later met the minister and apprised him of the lack of ration availability at many depots. Taking strict note of it, he directed around 10 depot holders, who had failed to lift ration due to financial constrains, to lift food grains at the earliest. He directed the field staff of Food and Civil Supplies Department to ensure compliance so that the poor did not suffer. He said kerosene was being sold on the black market and it was being used as an adulterant for diesel and petrol. Even the use of domestic LPG for commercial use was rampant and flying squads would be used to check the trend. The minister visited various industrial units and inspected their records pertaining to wages and employment of labourers. He said though the overall working of the units was satisfactory, the exploitation of the labourers at the hands of the contractors was a serious issue. He warned investors to desist from employing labourers through contractors as it was an unhealthy trend.
|
||
|
46 tourists evacuated from Kaza
Mandi, September 28 Of these, seventeen evacuations took place today. Three foreigners, two Americans and an Italian, and five employees of the Eastern Railways remained stranded at Tabo as the 4-km stretch of the Spiti-Kaza road remained breached at Sitching, about 25 km from Kaza, headquarters of the Spiti subdivision. Over 100 tourists were evacuated from Spiti over the last 24 hours via the Kaza-Reckong Peo highway. Coordinator Avinash Shukla said five foreigners opted to stay back for a few days at Kaza. Those stranded at Tabo would be evacuated in the evening, he added. He said the reports that 300 tourists were stranded at Kaza were wrong. Two Americans and an Italian had intentionally stayed at the Tabo monastery, known as Ajanta of Himalayas, as they wanted to take the Kaza-Manali route instead of the Kinnaur route, he added. He said the team sent 31 tourists via Kunzum Pass till Bada Dhara where 2-km stretch of the road between that point and Chota Dhara was yet to be cleared. They would cross the stretch with the rescue team and then board the taxis arranged by the district administration from Chota Dhara to Manali, he added. Shukla said three bulldozers and a JCV were working round the clock to clear the debris on the 4-km road stretch at Sitching. The work would be over in two days, he added. DC, Lahaul-Spiti, C.P. Rasu said they were in touch with the embassies of the tourists concerned and all tourists would be evacuated from the district by evening today. “The PWD will reopen the blocked stretches today evening, he claimed. |
||
|
1,612 appointed during job fair
Kangra, September 28 Charu Mathur, regional director of the CII (northern region) said 1,200 unskilled and 412 were technically trained persons got job during the fair. She said around 2,500 vacancies were available in 39 companies. She said the thrust should be on creating awareness among students at the high school level so that they could make better choices while opting for professional courses. |
||
|
Insurance for BPL families
Kangra, September 28 Disclosing this here today, Ramesh Chand Dhawala, minister for consumers affairs and public distribution system, said these families would be provided medical cover to the tune of Rs 30,000 through Rogi Kalayan Samities. He said there were 66,030 BPL families and 43,545 Antodiyia families in Kangra district. As many as 1,65,919 families were being covered under this programme. He said insurance cards of Rs 30 would be distributed among these families under this scheme. He said the process of card distribution would be completed by the end of this year. He said this scheme was initiated in these two districts with an aim to provide better medical facilities to the poor. The minister said following the directions of Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, this programme would be implemented in the 12 districts of the state so that 5.63 lakh people living below the poverty line would come under the purview of this
programme. |
||
|
Protest against illegal mining
Nurpur, September 28 They demanded an immediate check on the menace. Over 100 villagers had complained about illegal mining to the State Mining Department, Shimla, in August. But no action was not taken. Now, these residents have submitted a memorandum to the state government. They alleged that the persons who had been issued valid permit by the State Mining Department to extract sand, grit and hard stones from the Maira and Batrah area of the rivulet were illegally quarrying in Tika Pail, where the state high court had strictly banned any type of mining. They also feared soil erosion and environment degradation in that area. Local SDM Inder Bhardwaj said he had forwarded villagers’ complaint to the Kangra district mining authorities.
|
||
|
Union minister compliments SJVN
Shimla, September 28 He advised the company to go in for more such tie-ups so that it could generate power at reasonable cost. He also appreciated the efforts of the company in securing the 402-MW Arun-3 hydroelectric project in Nepal through competitive bidding. He also took notice of the fact that it had been assigned the task of preparing detailed project reports for the 900-MW Wangchu project and the 486-MW Kholangchu project in Bhutan. Chairman-cum-managing director of the company H.K. Sharma said generation from the 1,500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project would surpass 28,000 million units by September, 2008. The period was less than five years since it came into operation, he said. During 2007-08, the total generation was 6,449 million units, which exceeded the MoU target. The corporation earned a profit of Rs 764.51 crore during 2007-08 against the first-year profit of Rs 298.43 crore. The present authorised capital of the nigam was Rs 4,500 crore, which was likely to be revised to Rs 7,000 crore. The capacity addition under execution by the corporation was of 2,962 MW. Besides the Rampur project, it was executing the 252-MW Devsari project, the 45-MW Jakhol-Sankri project and the 56-MW Naitwar Mori project in Uttarakhand. |
||
|
MMS Case
Sundernagar, September 28 This time he was nabbed in connection with a case under Section 376 of the IPC read with Section 3 of The Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. For the first time, the Mandi police had arrested him on June 3, 2008, as he was noticed in an obscene MMS, along with a lady from Balh valley. However, the accused was bailed. But the police added provisions of Information Technology Act and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. As the provisions were non-bailable, the teacher was again arrested this time. He remained in police custody for six days and was bailed out as per the orders of the court. The Department of Education had also taken strict action against the teacher and placed him under suspension and further ordered an enquiry into the matter. But the lady, who was seen in the MMS, filed a complaint before the court of Judicial Magistrate alleging that she was a Schedule Caste and was blackmailed and raped by the accused. She prayed before the court to issue directions to the police to register a case against the accused. The court directed the police to register the case and the police registered an FIR under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused moved an application for anticipatory bail before the court of Sessions Judge, which was rejected by the court on September 19 and the police once again arrested the accused. He has been remanded to judicial custody till October 4.
|
||
|
Resentment among LPG consumers
Hamirpur, September 28 Hari Chand, a trader from Nadaun, says, “We have to spend a day to get our LPG connection registered on our ration cards. There are long queues on the premises of every LPG dealer,” he said. Rajinder Singh, a government employee, said, “I am the head of my family and a permanent resident of a village in Shimla, where my family resides. My ration card and LPG connection both are registered there, but as I am employed at Hamirpur and need LPG connection here, too, from where would I get my ration card for registration?” Adviser of the LPG dealers association Ramesh Kumar said, “The drive is being carried on the direction of the Civil Supplies Department and no LPG connection will be withdrawn even if some people do not posses ration cards. They can produce alternative proofs.” District food and consumer affairs controller A.S. Rana, said. “This drive has been started to stop misuse of domestic LPG cylinders.” |
||
|
Award for teacher
Kangra, September 28 Sukhvinder Singh was communicated about his achievement by the office of Secretary, IIFS, New Delhi. Singh would be awarded at a function in New Delhi in November 2008. He received international and national awards in excellence in education in 2006 and 2004. |
||
|
Himachal set to be Asia’s first carbon-neutral state
Shimla, September 28 The moratorium on green fellings, focus on environment friendly hydroelectric power and renewable energy sources will help the state to reduce greenhouse gases
and protect the fragile hill environment. Himurja, the nodal agency for renewable energy, is aiming at a saving of at least 50 million unit of electricity and 1,80,000 LPG cylinders per year by providing solar water heating systems and solar cookers. Till date, 30,573 solar cookers, 1,85,757 solar domestic lights, 6,325 solar speed lights, 22,394 solar lanterns and 3,573 solar geysers have been distributed, besides energy-efficient devices such as pressures cookers, compact fluorescent
lamps and improved chullahs (stoves). At present, the total installed capacity of solar water heating system is 12,22,700 litres per day and 30,573 solar cookers have been distributed to save 27,26,6210 units of electricity and 91,719 LPG cylinders per year. Himurja plans to install two solar units of 500 KW by 2013. Some remote villages have been electrified by the agency by installing portable hydro generators. The total installed capacity of Himurja-owned-and-operated projects is 1,255 KW which is generating a revenue of Rs 54 lakh annually. Himurja plans to add 25 MW of installed capacity by 2013. The agency also proposes to set up four wind energy generating units of 10 KW each in Spiti area on experimental basis. |
||
|
NGO raises voice against animal sacrifice
Solan, September 28 Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said Maneka Gandhi spoke to the Chief Minister and expressed her concern over the issue. The Chief Minister’s office later issued directions to the secretary of animal husbandry to look into the matter and do the needful as per the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The issue came to the notice after a
Kasauli-based NGO, People for Animals, raised voice against this proposed sacrifice. NGO’s secretary Sonali
Purewal, who ardently works for the cause of animals, told The Tribune, “It had recently come to our notice that the cruel practise of animal sacrifice will be observed in the twin cantonments of Dagshai and Subathu and two bulls had been procured for the purpose.” While opposing it tooth and nail she said, “Fact of the matter is that this is an extremely cruel practise which can not be condoned by us. Furthermore, it certainly cannot be condoned and supported by the Army or the state government. Our NGO has taken up the issue with various officials, including Maneka Gandhi, the Chief Minister, the district administration etc., to stop this cruel sacrifice.” The NGO pleaded the government to support them in banning animal sacrifices and to prevent such sacrifices in the future too. |
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Nahan, September 28
