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Govt committed to welfare of Gujjars: CM
Complaint against Maheshwar
Tribune Impact |
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Panel’s no to scrapping of sanctuaries
Work on Bhanupali rail line to begin soon
Plea to clear stand on transfers
HPCC seeks white paper on employment
Farmers facing problems in marketing trout
Plan to tackle disasters chalked out
Shopkeeper rapes 6-year-old
Congress brought outsiders for Mandi rally: Jai Ram
This time, UMC will fail BJP’s ‘Pappu’: Cong
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Govt committed to welfare of Gujjars: CM
Dalhousie, April 26 He alleged that the Congress had always deprived the ‘Gujjars’ and ‘Gaddis’ of their riparian rights of pasturelands for grazing their livestock. Slashing the ‘vote politics’ of the Congress, the CM disclosed that the state BJP government during its short stint of 15-month tenure had provided jobs to 26,000 people in the state while the Congress could hardly provide 3,500 jobs during its five-year term. “The state has taken the lead in the country with regard to giving priority to the development of women as the state BJP government declared three holidays for women employees on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Karvachauth and Bhaiya Dooj. The women have also been provided free travel facility in the HRTC buses on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Bhaiya Dooj”, he said. Moreover, the state BJP government had decided to give 50 per cent reservation of seats to women in the ensuing elections of the PRIs scheduled for 2010. Mentioning about the development of farmers in the state, Dhumal said ‘Pandit Din Dyal Upadhaya Kishan-Bagwaan Smridhi Yojna’ had been launched for the prosperity of the farmers in the state. Referring to the apathy of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre towards Himachal, the CM revealed that when the state was under the threat of natural calamities which killed about 50 persons in the last year’s unprecedented rains and cloudbursts in different parts of the state and caused huge damages, the BJP government demanded Rs 2,000 crore as financial assistance, but not even a single penny had so far been received. Welcoming the Chief Minister, Dalhousie BJP MLA Renu Chadha said after 60 years of Independence, the Gujjar-inhabited areas of Singadhar had been provided with over Rs 1 crore water supply scheme by the state BJP government recently.
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Complaint against Maheshwar
Mandi, April 26 Khatchi said, “They have sought legal opinion on the matter but they cannot take cognisance of such matter as they fall in the jurisdiction of court. “We have received the complaint and we are examining it whether we can take any action in this matter,” he clarified. Though the last date of scrutiny has ended, the election office has cleared Maheshwar Singh’s nomination for the 15th Lok Sabha as the BJP candidate from Mandi. On the other hand, Maheshwar who was campaigning in Kinnaur said his name had been entered as Raja Maheshwar Singh in the “voters list”. Under the law I have to write Raja Maheshwar Singh so that my name is legally entered as is mentioned in the voters’ list. “But I have entered my name as Maheshwar Singh in the ballot papers”, he clarified, pointing out that the mistake is not on his part, but on the part of those who prepared the voters’ list. As per documents which are in possession of The Tribune, his affidavit and nomination papers, which he has filed and which has been signed as received by the Mandi returning officer, Masheshwar Singh has entered his name as “Raja Maheshwar Singh aged 61 years, son of late Raja Mohinder Singh, resident of Rupi palace Raghunathpur, Kullu”. RTI bureau president Lawan Thakur claimed that Maheshwar Singh had used the title of Raja before his name this time and his college and school certificates do not testify to this title, which is forbidden by the Constitution of India. Tehsildar elections DS Thakur said they have received the complaint but they did not find anything unconstitutional by adding a title of Raja before his name. “It is like a degree or honorary title that anyone can add before or after ones name,” he claimed. The Mandi DC said his name in voters list is entered as Raja Maheshwar Singh and they have to accept that and his name had been clarified. |
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Tribune Impact
Kangra, April 26 Kangra SDM Pardeep Kumar Thakur said the temple town attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year from all over the country and so it also witnesses traffic jams due to traffic violations. He said the town had once a population of nearly 10,000 and now it had multiplied nearly three fold but the roads remain almost the same overcrowded by vehicles. He said being the centrally-located town more than 1,600 private and government buses enter the town daily and equal number of trucks and more than 3,000 cars and jeeps too ply on the road. He said wrong parking of the vehicles on the NH passing through the town resulted in frequent traffic jams. He said taking a clue from the story that appeared in The Tribune last month, the civil and police administration decided to introduce traffic divider cones to avoid frequent traffic jams in the town. He said the dividers on the NH have improved the traffic movement without jams and the traffic police personnel have been deployed to challan those who violate the norms. He, however, added that during this process the pedestrians were facing inconvenience due to the illegal encroachments on both sides of the highway.
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Panel’s no to scrapping of sanctuaries
Shimla, April 26 During its week-long visit to the state, the two-member committee comprising director of the Wild Life Institute of India PR Sinha and well-known expert in the field Dr NK Ranjit Singh inspected all sanctuaries proposed to be scrapped. According to sources, the committee disapproved of the plan to de-notify the Silli and Daralghat sanctuaries on the ground that these included good forest reserves supporting a wide range of wild animals. Appreciating the state’s argument that taking out populated areas was essential for proper management, the committee observed that the purpose would be better served by establishing conservation reserves in such protected wildlife areas. The panel did not give its final view on the proposal to scrap the Naina Devi sanctuary. However, it approved the move to de-notify the Gobind Sagar sanctuary, endorsing the view that the wetland created by impounding the water of the Sutlej in a gorge did not support any important wildlife. In case of the Noargu sanctuary in Mandi, it gave its nod for taking out the thickly populated villages subject to the condition that the forest area of adjoining Kullu was included in it to make it a viable wildlife protected area. Besides, the boundaries of 20 other sanctuaries would be redrawn to exclude human habitations. |
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Work on Bhanupali rail line to begin soon
Shimla, April 26 As per the approval granted by the Centre, 25 per cent cost of the new line will be shared by the state government, including cost of land acquisition. The additional cost of land will also be borne by the state. The Railways will also contribute 25 per cent. The state has been asked to provide Rs 16.59 crore for land acquisition and another Rs 10 crore for executing works during 2009-10. The Northern Railway has already floated tenders for the award of various works. Meanwhile, a feasibility report for the 498-km Bilaspur-Leh rail line has also been prepared. As per the report, the cost of the project has been tentatively put at Rs 22,000 crore. |
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Plea to clear stand on transfers
Shimla, April 26 President of the confederation Vinod Kumar said in the absence of rules, successive governments had been ordering large-scale vindictive transfers to harass employees. He said the high court was a better option than tribunal, the functioning of which was influenced due to political interference. Not only that, it mostly took cognisance of transfer cases and provided little relief in more serious matters like dismissal and suspension of employee leaders. In contrast, the verdict was given on merit in the high court. He said there was no reason for making a hue and cry over PTA appointments as teachers were appointed in schools and colleges without framing any policy.
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HPCC seeks white paper on employment
Chamba, April 26 At a joint press conference convened here this evening, HPCC general secretary Asha Kumari, district Congress president Surinder Bhardwaj, state Youth Congress leader Kewal Singh Pathania said a lot of discrimination had been meted out to Chamba district with regard to development. They alleged misuse of government machinery for elections. They said they had complained to the election commission about the government employees who were taking part in the election campaign in favour of the BJP. They asked the District Electoral Officer of Chamba to tell why the footage of the Congress was being prohibited on the cable network and why permission was being denied to the Congress for venues of public meetings. They said BJP candidate for the Kangra Lok Sabha constituency Rajan Sushant should clarify whether he had withdrawn allegations levelled against Chief Minister PK Dhumal during the previous BJP regime or not?
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Farmers facing problems in marketing trout
Shimla, April 26 The trout production in private sector touched the 67 tonne mark last year and another 18 tonne was produced in the government farms. There is a proposal to set up 100 new run-of-the-river farms for the production of cold water fish. However, the high rate of trout-feed and lack of proper marketing infrastructure is already starting affecting returns. Most of the farmers have no option but to sell their produce locally. They get only Rs 200 to Rs 250 per kg whereas the rates in Chandigarh, Delhi and other cities in the northern region range from Rs 400 to Rs 450 per kg. The farmers also suffer as the government farms at times reduce the rates down to uneconomical levels. “It creates problems when the government farms start selling fish at rates as low as Rs 160 per kg as the cost of production comes to around Rs 200 per kg. Further the prices of the feed made available by the department keep fluctuating and are on the higher side,” points out Khushal, who has a medium-sized farm at Haripur, near Manali. He produces up to five tonne of trout all of which is sold to local hoteliers. If the government is keen to encourage trout farming as a self-employment venture it should ensure that its own farms maintained the sale rate around Rs 250 per kg. The problem of marketing is aggravated due to the fact that unlike the reservoir fisheries there are no cooperative societies for cold water fisheries. The farmers have to market the produce individually. The farmers find is difficult to sell off the produce when the demand goes down during the lean season.
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Plan to tackle disasters chalked out
Kullu, April 26 She said the district had been prone to disasters like cloudbursts, flash floods etc. She directed authorities of various hydropower projects to make arrangements of residential colonies for labourers working at various sites. She said huts for labourers should not be on the banks of nullahas or rivers so that loss of life during flash floods could be minimised. She advised project officers install sirens to alert labourers and villagers at the time of any such incident. The project authorities should also ensure registration of labourers with their full details, she said. She also directed all SDMs of the district to visit all schools, hotels, theatres and public places and ensure that the required fire safety measures had been adopted. |
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Shopkeeper rapes 6-year-old
Kangra, April 26 Kangra SHO Partap Singh said the girl had gone to the shop to purchase ice-cream where the shopkeeper, Guljeet Singh, alias Neetu, took her inside his PCO and raped her. When the child did not return home even after a long time, her family members set out in her search. Her mother found her weeping. The girl told her mother about the incident, the SHO said. The father of the girl, Kamlesh Chander, informed the village pradhan about the incident and subsequently the matter was reported to the police in the evening. A case has been registered under Section 376 of the IPC and the girl sent for a medical examination. The accused has been arrested. |
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School to be listed under Cambridge curriculum
Kullu, April 26 This was stated by regional representative of University of Cambridge International Examinations Rakesh Konjengbam while addressing the gathering on the occasion of first annual concert and prize distribution day of the school at Mohal, near here, today. He said according to the CIC we do not want a student to learn from books and take that down to the examinations rather we try to make them an individual who understands themselves and fit into the world. Students also presented a cultural programme blended with classical Indian music and Western music.
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Congress brought outsiders for Mandi rally: Jai Ram
Mandi, April 26 The party has launched an intensive “damage control” exercise not only in Mandi, but also in other parts of the state to dilute its impact on voters. State BJP president Jai Ram Thakur claimed here today that the Congress had brought “outsiders” for the rally. It was a state-level rally and not only confined to 17 assembly segments under the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. “We have enough inputs that a lot of people were brought from other parts of the state by Virbhadra Singh for the rally,” he claimed at press conference here. Thakur also alleged that those participating in the rally resorted to hooliganism on the national highway near Pandoh, where they had langar. They also blocked the highway for hours putting commuters on hardship. Congress workers also created a scene at a gurdwara on the highway and the serai of the Bhutnath temple from where “liquor bottles were recovered”. These acts had hurt the religious sentiments of devotees, he alleged. On the other hand, Congress spokespersons Chander Sekhar and Vikas Kapur maintained that the BJP charges were made out of frustration. “There was no complaint got registered by the temple and the gurdwara committees regarding the charges that the BJP chief had levelled against the party,” they said.
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This time, UMC will fail BJP’s ‘Pappu’: Cong
Shimla, April 26 The BJP’s candidate has an unflattering record of losing all 10 elections, six to the Lok Sabha and four to the Vidhan Sabha, he contested during his political career. However, the BJP leaders have been claiming that being in power the odds were in favour of the party and its “Pappu” will pass this time. Out of the total 17 Assembly segments under the parliamentary constituency eight were represented by the BJP MLAs and an Independent was also supporting it. The party never had it so good in this traditional Congress stronghold, says Shimla district president Ganesh Dut. But the Congress is after the scalp of Kashyap and exploiting the rather unusual “currency wad” episode to undermine his prospects. Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh while addressing a series of election meetings in the Solan district yesterday devoted much time to the issue of corruption, mainly focusing on the “currency wad” episode. Having a dig at Kashyap he said the “BJP’s Pappu” had failed the electoral test by losing all elections during his career but this time he had been involved in an “unfair means case” (UMC) during the examination and he would be punished by the electorate. He said the conduct of police had been questionable in the entire episode and there had been intervention from the top to hush up the matter. The police remained silent for three days and after cash was claimed by a BJP supporter the superintendent of police came out with a statement. He said since the state police was itself involved in the “operation clean up” only a CBI probe could bring out the truth. The party would also lodge a complaint to the Election Commission of India in this regard. Kaul Singh asserted that corruption was the main issue and it was for the first time that a senior police officer of the rank of additional director general of police had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta against the Chief Minister, who also holds charge of the Home Department. It would come into sharp focus after the release of the Congress charge sheet against the Dhumal government. The party plans to submit a well-documented charge sheet to the Governor over the next couple of days.
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