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Water crisis worsens in Shimla
Gaiety again buzzes with cultural feast
Man who brought Gaiety
to Theatre
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HRTC not to take over Sundernagar bus stand
Dalai Lama’s docs
treat ailing George
Big units directed to use DG sets
Milkfed to expedite processing units
Murder case registered
Schools to remain closed till June 30
Bindal launches dental health programme
Centre inaugurated
Fire destroys apple orchards
Forest fires cause widespread damage
3 Israelis rescued
Corpn expected to earn profit
Plantation drive
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Water crisis worsens in Shimla
Shimla, June 25 As a result, residents of Tuti Kandi, Ram Nagar, Nabha, Phagli, Summer Hill, US Club, Lakkar Bazar, Chakkar and Boieleauganj areas will have to go without water tomorrow. Water supply to other areas will also be affected. As against a demand of 42 mld (million litre per day), only about 29 mld water was being received from various sources for the past one week. Only 3 mld was being pumped from Ashwini khad against the normal 9 mld and similar was the situation at the Churat and Chehar pumping stations from where supply had come down to 3 mld due to reduction in discharge. The demand was being met mainly through Gummah (15 mld) and Giri (8 mld). With the Gummah pipeline closed for repair, the availability has plunged to 15 mld, creating further problems for the local municipal corporation (MC). Municipal engineer Mukesh Hira said the pipeline was being repaired on a war footing and it would take a day to resume the supply. The MC has already resorted to rationing since the past three days and water is being supplied on alternate days. The latest crisis will throw the schedule of supply out gear and some areas may have to go without water for two to three days at a stretch. Mayor Narinder Kataria said the corporation would restore normal water supply within the next 48 hours to ensure that residents got water on alternate day. |
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Gaiety again buzzes with cultural feast
Shimla, June 25 Chief Minister PK Dhumal today formally dedicated the structure, which has been restored at a cost of Rs 11.50 crore. “It is not only a historic day but a matter of great pride that the world-class theatre has been thrown open for cultural activities,” he remarked. He added that there was only one other similar theatre in France like Gaiety. The restoration has been done to restore the original structure besides creating more amenities like an art gallery, a museum, a multipurpose hall and an amphitheatre. While lauding the efforts of the previous state government he said the task would not have been possible had it not been for the help and support of former union minister Jagmohan. “Ved Segan helped and guided us in translating Jagmohan’s dream into a reality,” he remarked. The Chief Minister said the six-year long wait for all art lovers had been worth it as the restored structure would help holding of not just national and international events but promote Himachali art and culture. Chairman of the Lalit Kala Academy, Ashok Vajpayee while appreciating restoration of the structure stressed the need for making it a hub of national and international events where artistes from foreign shores could come, perform and hold exhibitions. Secretary, Art, Language and Culture, B.K. Aggarwal said Rs 5.50 crore had been provided by the union tourism ministry. Noted Kathak artist Prerna Shrimali performed on the opening day.
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Man who brought Gaiety to Theatre
Shimla, June 25 The restored structure of the Gaiety Theatre which was thrown open today is the result of the six-year labour put in by consultant-architect Ved Segan to see that everything is done to perfection. “I am extremely happy with the effort put in by everyone but I would appreciate if the main entrance used by the Viceroy, on the police reporting room side, is restored,” he says. Mumbai-based Segan who designed the Prithvi Theatre says the main entrance to the Gaiety used by the Viceroy was included in his original proposal but that could not be taken up because of certain constraints. “This way we can have the main entrance from the west side and shift the police reporting room to the original place where it was during the British time,” says Segan when asked if he would like something more to be done. He feels cultural spillover of Gaiety Theatre should be used to create an exclusive art zone by shifting the non-compatible offices adjoining it to some other place. Even though the first report for the restoration project was prepared by Segan in 1985 on the behest of Prithvi Theatre and INTACH, it was only in 2003 that actual work could start. The original structure completed on May 30, 1887, had been constructed at a cost of Rs 3.23 lakh.
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HRTC not to take over Sundernagar bus stand
Dharamsala, June 25 Minister for Transport Kishan Kapoor recently visited the newly constructed bus stand and noticed the poor construction quality. The transport department had deposited Rs 1.5 crore with the PWD for the construction of the bus stand. Fans put up in the bus stand building were fake, said the sources. They had the stickers of Bajaj company but were allegedly local made. In the estimates, electricity fittings of Havell’s company had been approved. However, when investigated, fittings of some other company was in place. The construction of parking places in the bus stand was also allegedly very poor. False ceilings in certain rooms of the bus stand could be seen coming out at many places. Kishan Kapoor, when contacted, admitted that the poor quality work in the newly constructed bus stand was noticed. He said the HRTC would not take over the bus stand due to poor quality of construction work carried out by the PWD. The minister also said poor quality of construction would not be tolerated at any cost. “I will also recommend action against the PWD officials who were supervising the construction work at the bus stand,” the minister added. The minister also said to improve public transport in rural areas, the government had waived off taxes for private operators plying vehicles on rural and district roads. Despite that, people were facing difficulties in certain areas, he said.
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British teacher gives tips on English
Dharamsala, June 25 DAV Public School at Dharamsala has hired the services of William Edward Birtle, a former teacher from Saint James Junior School in Derbyshire, England. AK Sharma, principal of the school, while talking to The Tribune, said Birtle was here on a tourist visa. He contacted the school chairman P Sofat in Shimla. Thereafter, the chairman persuaded him to teach English to students. Both teachers and students of the school had been very receptive to improvement measures suggested by the teacher, the principal added. When asked, Birtle said he found written English of students in various DAV schools in the state impressive. However, spoken English needed improvement, he added. While responding to a query, Birtle said basic weakness in spoken English of students here was that they lacked rhythm. They stressed while dropping articles, he said. “I have suggested teachers to speak slowly while teaching so that students can absorb the maximum content being delivered to them,” Birtle said.
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Dalai Lama’s docs treat ailing George
Dharamsala, June 25 Ajay Singh, former MP, who is also accompanying Fernandes, told The Tribune that the former Union Minister was undergoing treatment from personal physicians of the Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader, who is a close friend of Fernandes, invited him to Dharamsala to undergo treatment by Tibetan physicians. The former Union minister, who is reported to be ill due to a clot in the brain, will stay here for another two weeks. According to sources, the former minister goes to Mcleodganj daily for undergoing treatment. He also met the Dalai Lama at his residence and visited the Tibetan parliament-in-exile. Ajay Singh said Fernandes had been a vocal supporter of the Tibetan cause. He had strongly supported the Dalai Lama and his struggle for independence of Tibet. Age and ill-health has caught up with the former firebrand leader who was finding it hard to converse due to his ailment. Kishan Kapoor, state Minister for Transport and Urban Development, today called upon George Fernandes at the Circuit House.
Interestingly, Kapoor was the first leader to call on the former chairperson of the NDA.
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Big units directed to use DG sets
Solan, June 25 The units have also been directed to install frequency meters so that as soon as the grid frequency falls below the requisite 49-hertz they could use DG sets. While this direction is bound to increase the production cost of the units it would also lead to pollution. Board officials had mooted this suggestion before the investors and it was now calculating the power availability after excluding the bigger units. The officials, however, added that the situation had improved marginally and some relief had been given to the BBN area. Unable to provide the requisite power to the units even in the peak summer, when the state claims to be power surplus, the tall claims of the state electricity board have been exposed now. The investors rued that they were forced to cut down their production by almost 50 per cent and this would also affect their supply orders. Work had to be halted with power supply being low by almost 30 to 40 per cent. President of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) Rajinder Guleria said, “It was an extreme situation and the board can no longer claim to be power surplus as far as power supply is concerned. It was unfortunate that there was little preparedness to deal with this adverse situation. Although we understand that it was a national calamity owing to the adverse climate, but some alternative should be in place for such adversities.” Likewise, in the Parwanoo industrial area investors had rescheduled their production activity keeping in mind power availability. The industries having continuous process had been made to bear the maximum impact as they failed to continue their production activities in the uncertain power scenario. Though the board had being asserting that no power cuts were being imposed on the residential areas, low voltage was being experienced in these areas, especially those lying amidst the industrial belt.
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Milkfed to expedite processing units
Mandi, June 25 Unveiling this here today, chairman, Milkfed, Mohan Joshi said the Rs 3.5 crore Rampur milk plant proposed in 2005 would be set up soon as the federation finalises the codal formalities. The cost of the plant has increased from Rs 2.55 crore to Rs 3.5 crore, he added. He added that the federation had speed up the process to set up Rs 1 crore milk plant at Nahan and another at Una. The building at Una is ready, he said. Joshi said to ensure quality and prompt services to milk producers federation had allocated Rs 5 lakh each to set up five “automatic milk collection units” in Mandi, Sirmaur and Kullu and would set up 15 more in few months time. “We are setting up two chilling units at Karsog and Dharampur and a milk bar at Chhakkar and will ensure selling of Milkfed products at tourists places like Shimla, Manali, etc, he added. He said milk procurement had increased to over 1-lakh litres per day for which they are setting up 500-litre capacity boilers to speed up processing. “Milk procurement has increased as the present government increased the price by Rs 4 per litre. The government has allotted Rs 17 crore for setting up of a bhawan for over 100 milk cooperatives in the state,” he added. He admitted that Milkfed had failed to create and exploit local markets in the state as most of the milk is being sold outside the state. “Ninety per cent of the milk is cow’s milk, maybe consumers prefer buffalo’s milk, but we are trying to increase our market presence in the state with help of the state government,” he said. On the rotting land and other property of Milkfed, Joshi said the federation had requested for demarcation to remove encroachers on the land. “More than 20 per cent of its land is encroached upon in the state,” he informed.
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Murder case registered
Mandi, June 25 According to the police, four labourers--- Deepak, Joginder, Asha Ram and Jusaf--- working with a contractor, Raj Kumar, went to the Kuklah to take bath. On their way back, they consumed alcohol at Bandli and a fight ensued between Deepak and Joginder in which the former sustained injuries after he was allegedly pushed. The others fled from the scene. While Deepak sustained injuries and was recovering at the zonal hospital, Gurang said he found the body of Joginder Singh near
Bandli. An FIR has been registered by the police. Meanwhile, Mandi SP Sonal Agnihori said the dead body recovered from the spot was that of Joginder. |
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Schools to remain closed till June 30
Hamirpur, June 25 The indication about such a decision was given by Education Minister ID Dhiman here with the reports of students fainting in many schools pouring in, after which the Education Department had sought reports from the district education officers. It is pertinent to mention here that with steep rise in temperature in the state, touching 42°C and even higher, the school students were feeling the brunt of the hot weather. A large number of students were finding it quite difficult to reach and leave the school in sweltering heat. Since many of the schools are not having fans and are facing scarcity of drinking water so staying in schools for long hours was becoming quite difficult, especially for students of lower classes, parents are apprehensive of sending their wards to schools. The state government had changed the timing of all schools from 9 am to 3 pm even during summer months some time back, which earlier used to be from 7 am to 2 pm. Confirming this decision, principal secretary, Education, PC Dhiman said, “The state government has decided to close all summer-closing schools, except Lahaul-Spiti, till June 30 and all primary, middle and middle sections of higher and senior secondary schools will remain closed during this period in view of the hot weather.”
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Bindal launches dental health programme
Hamirpur, June 25 He also inaugurated the Anti-Retro Viral Test (ART) centre set up at the cost of Rs 15 lakh at the Regional Hospital,
Hamirpur. He said the centre is important for the treatment of AIDS patients and is the second centre in the state after
Shimla. This centre has special significance for Hamirpur district as till March 2009, 3,504 He said at present 935 AIDS patients are getting treated through the ART centres Talking about the ongoing anaemia free programme in the state, the minister said the programme is the first such programme launched in Asia and more than 2 lakh patients have been treated for deficiency of blood in the state till now. In another
programme, Bindal dedicated to people a dialysis machine set up at Parvatti Hospital,
Dashmal, by the Rotary Club at the cost of Rs 12 lakh. He lauded the role of Padam Shri Dr DS Rana in providing
modern health facilities at a remote place like Dashmal.
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Centre inaugurated
Hamirpur, June 25 Managing Director of the INFID centre, Hamirpur, Sat Pal Sharma has been appointed as the regional director of this regional
centre. Shrivastava said INIFD is setting up a design council with leading designers of the country as its members to give fashion and design inputs to students. She said fashion weekends would also be organised at different places all across the country. The students of the INFID
centre, Hamirpur, also presented a cultural show on the occasion.
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Fire destroys apple orchards
Dalhousie, June 25 According to sources, revenue officials of the area have rushed to the incident site to take stock of the situation and assess the loss.
The orchards belonged to three persons — Duni Chand, Devi Singh and Usha — of the area. In another incident, the forest on the “garam sarak” in the environs of
Dalhousie had been reported to have been reduced to ashes in a roaring
fire last evening. Branches of numerous trees were burnt, besides loss to fauna in the forest area in this breeding season.
However, there was no report of loss of life and no damage to private or government property. The flames were doused with the constant operation of the fire brigade of the Indian Air Force and Chamba’s fire brigade, an official report stated. |
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Forest fires cause widespread damage
Palampur, June 25 ARM Reddy, Conservator of Forest, while talking to The Tribune, said, “Before the onset of summers, the forest department had taken various preventive measures like creation of fire lines, removing of pine needles from roadside, restoration of old paths and controlled burning of frosts, but these too have proved ineffective because of sudden rise in the temperature which has broken the record of past 20 years.” He said the entire field staff of the forest department was working round the clock to control the forest fires. However, he regretted that the department was not getting due cooperation from local residents. He said most of the fires had been reported from the pine forests as shedding of pine needles, which were highly flammable, was in full swing these days, . He urged villagers and panchayats to extend their cooperation in checking forest fires and asked them not to allow anybody venture in the forests. He said no one should be allowed to smoke inside the forest, another major factor resulting in forest fires. Meanwhile, according to sources, forest fires had destroyed thousand of trees in Kandi, Alampur, Rantital, Baijnath, Kangra and Nurpur areas.
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3 Israelis rescued
Kullu, June 25 Chief executive of the company Chhape Ram Negi said on Wednesday evening they were requested by the Embassy of Israel on telephone that their three men- Yoren, Omry and Jonathan — had informed the embassy about their being displaced from the main trek route and they be rescued at the earliest. They had left for Pandu Ropa trek on Wednesday morning. An eight-member team left at 10.30 pm last night which located them in the jungle. They were brought to Manali today, he added. Negi further said their rescue experts had saved lives of eight Israelis earlier this year in Jari-Chowki in the Parbati valley. He said that the government should put hoardings on the trekking routes advising tourists not to go on trekking without trained guides. |
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Corpn expected to earn profit
Shimla, June 25 Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh
Dhwala, while reviewing the availability of essential commodities at a meeting here today, said food items worth Rs 366.12 crore were supplied to consumers through public distribution centres of the corporation, besides making available subsidised food items amounting to Rs 606.6
crore, which was 40 per cent more as compared to last year. He said the corporation was expected to earn a profit of Rs 1.67 crore during the current year. In all, 15,677,32 ration-card holders were being provided subsidised food items through 4,408 fair price shops. He said all sale depots had been directed to provide cash memos to consumers on every purchase they made. Special emphasis was being laid on ensuring the quality purchase of foodgrains |
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Plantation drive
Shimla, June 25 This was stated by Forest Minister JP Nadda while presiding over a meeting of senior officials to review preparations for the plantation programme for monsoon season. He said the department had undertaken a survey of 9,000 villages in the state and it was found that these plants already existed in 6,000 villages. These species would be planted in the remaining 3,000 villages for which 16,500 saplings were available with the department, he added. Nadda stressed upon the need to involve local people in the plantation programme and added that a core group, under the chairmanship of principal Chief Conservator of Forests, would chalk out the plantation programme for the current monsoon season. The group would submit its report by July 7. |
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project for six long years that the historic Gaiety Theatre was thrown open today amidst public euphoria as the imposing Gothic style architectural masterpiece buzzed with cultural activity.
Shimla,
June 25
Dharamsala,
June 25
