Shimla, August 17
With top guns of the BJP, including LK Advani, Rajnath Singh and chief ministers of five states, scheduled to arrive here tomorrow for the significant Chintan Baithak, the state police is having a tough time in making security arrangements as 12 of the 25 top-notch leaders enjoy Z-plus and Z security cover.

While some leaders, including Advani and Rajnath Singh, will arrive here tomorrow by road from Chandigarh, some others would be reaching here only on 19th morning for the three-day meet. Barring one or two leaders including Jaswant Singh, who would be putting up at a private hotel, rest will stay at the state guest house.

More than 200 police personnel will be deployed at the guest house to provide security.

“To ensure proper security cover to these leaders, police personnel will be deployed on the route from the Jubbarhatti airport to the guest house and also along the route from Parwanoo to Shimla,” said RM Sharma, SP, Shimla.

Leaders who will be arriving here and enjoy Z plus security cover include Advani, Rajnath, Joshi, Katiar, Raman Singh, Narender Modi and Yeddurapa. Six other leaders have been placed in the Z category.

The other leaders who will attend the all-important meet include Advani, Rajnath, Bal Apte, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh, Arun Jaitley, Ananat Kumar, Ram Lal, Vinay Katiar, Vijay Goel, B. Satish, Shyodan Singh, Sushil Kumar Modi (deputy chief minister, Bihar), TC Gehlot, Ramesh Pukhrial, Sushma Swaraj, Gopinath Munde, Venkiah Naidu, SS Ahluwalia and Shanta Kumar.

The Chief Ministers who will be present include Narender Modi (Gujarat), Shivraj Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), VS Yeddurapa (Karnataka) and Himachal Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

The meeting will look into factors which led to the debacle of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. Issues raised by senior leaders like Yashwant Sinha about internal democracy in the party and the recent defiance shown by Vasundhra Raje, could also echo at the meet.

Jaswant Singh’s latest book on Jinnah and Partition could also be a point of discussion.

Earlier, Advani had to face the wrath of the RSS and party bigwigs over his remarks on Jinnah. Singh will be arriving here tomorrow.

Even though he has maintained that he penned the book as an ordinary Indian citizen and not in his capacity as a BJP MP, it is felt that ripples created by the book dealing with a controversial topic for the party toeing the Hindutva line, could show its effect at the meeting.

Shimla, August 17
Tariff hike will have immediate and more severe impact on power consumers henceforth with the government deciding to replace the specific duty on electricity for various categories of consumers by ad valorem duty.

The change in duty structure will be effected through the Himachal Pradesh Electricity (Duty) Bill introduced in the Vidhan Sabha by Chief Minister PK Dhumal today.

At present, the electricity duty is not linked to the tariff and imposed at specific rates for different categories of consumers. The domestic consumers are charged six paise per unit, small industries 24 paise per unit and big industries 33 paise per unit.

Under the altered structure, the duty will be imposed as a percentage of electricity tariffs for various categories of consumers.

The bill provides for levying electricity duty for domestic and non-domestic, non-commercial consumers at the rate of 3 per cent, agriculture, irrigation and allied activity supply (10 per cent), commercial consumers (8 per cent), small industrial consumers (9 per cent), medium and large industrial consumers (13 per cent), water pumping supply and bulk power consumers (10 per cent), street lighting supply (10 per cent), temporary metered supply (4 per cent) all other categories (10 per cent).

In case of energy generated by diesel sets for use of construction of power projects, captive use or standby for own consumption, the duty will be charged at the rate of 30 paise per unit.

Thus, the quantum of duty will increase proportionately with the annual tariff revision. At the present tariff, the ad valorem duty will yield Rs 28 crore to the state exchequer per annum.

The bill also has some penal provisions for taking stringent action in case of evasion of duty. If a board, licensee, electricity trader, generating company or consumer evades or attempts to evade or wilfully omits payment of duty or manipulates records, will be liable to pay a penalty not exceeding four times the amount of electricity duty. If a consumer fails to pay duty due for electricity supplied, the distribution licensee may disconnect the power supply after giving 15 days’ notice.

Shimla, August 17
With swine flu already having knocked at the door of the hill state, a team of doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) today identified all those persons who possibly came in contact with the 50-year-old woman of Lower Bazaar area who had tested positive.

So far, only one woman has tested positive as even in the two reports received from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi, today, swine flu has been ruled out.

“Report of one patient sent from the IGMC and three sent by Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda, to the NICD are still awaited,” said Dr Vinod Mehta, state surveillance officer of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. He said no reports had been sent for testing to the NICD today from anywhere in the state.

“A team of doctors from the IGMC visited the patient’s house in Lower Bazaar area to identify all those who could have contacted the infection from her, so that they too could be put on medication,” he added.

He said her condition was stable while her family members were keeping fine. The health authorities said the patient, her husband and son, had already been put on medication while she had been home quarantined.

As part of the preparedness of the state towards swine flu, a three-day training workshop was started for doctors from all over the state here today.

More than 50 doctors was imparted information about the disease and its components. Three state trainers, who recently returned after undergoing a special training after the outbreak of siwne flu, gave information about the disease to the doctors.

Shimla, August 17
The Shimla district unit of the BJP today staged a demonstration against unprecedented price rise outside the Telegraph Office here today. District BJP chief Ganseh Dutt along with state BJP secretary H.N. Kashyap and state BJP Mahila Morcha chief Rupa Sharma addressed the party workers.

Dutt said the Congress-led UPA regime, which had come to power on the promise of providing subsidised ration to the common man, had forgotten about the poor. “In case the government does not take some effective measures to check price rise, the days of the UPA regime would be numbered,” he warned.

Speaking on the occasion, Kashyap said despite the Prime Minister being a renowned economist, he had proved to be a utter failure when it came to controlling prices. “The UPA regime is more concerned about giving maximum profit to traders rather than sparing a thought for the poor who are finding it impossible to make ends meet,” he said.

Hamirpur: The district unit of the BJP held a protest demonstration here on
Monday against rising prices of essential commodities and the CD episode.

The BJP workers marched from the Bhota Chowk to DC office raising slogans against the central government and later submitted a memorandum to Governor of the state through the Hamirpur DC.

Through this memorandum the BJP has criticised the Congress-led central government for failing to check the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. It said the prices of sugar, pulses, vegetables and other items have risen so steep making these beyond the reach of common man and demanded immediate check on price rise.

The BJP district unit also demanded resignation of Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh after registration of a case in the CD episode.

Several district-level BJP leaders and activists participated in the protest.

Shimla, August 17
The Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) plans to invest Rs 23,000 crore during the next 10 years to have an installed generation of 5,000-MW by 2020.

Stating this after handing over the cheque of interim dividend of Rs 20 crore to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal here today chairman-cum-managing director HK Sharma said projects of about 4,000-MW capacity were lined up for commissioning over the next decade in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and neighbouring countries Nepal and Bhutan.

The continued exemplary performance of the country’s largest 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station has led to new records of power generation. During July the power station had generated 1,144 million units of electricity, which was the highest ever monthly generation achieved by the project. 

Sharma informed that the generation during the month was not only the highest so far but it had also been 118 million units more than the MoU (excellent) target.

He said during June also the power station had generated 1,069 million units of electricity, which was 82 million units more than the MoU target. Cumulatively from April 1 to August 12, 2009, the power station had achieved the highest ever generation of 3,732 million units. For the financial year 2008-09, the corporation had earned total income of Rs 2,029.24 crore against Rs 1,582.21 crore in the preceding year.

The net profit of Rs 1,015.32 crore for 2008-09 was 33 per cent more than the previous year. The project had generated 6,609 million units of electricity against 6,449 million units generated during the previous year. The MoU targets for 2009-10 are 6,600 million units.

Hamirpur, August 17
Major surgical operations at the regional hospital here have been resumed after one-and-a-half-year, much to the relief of local patients. Operations at the local hospital were not being performed since the post of surgeon was lying vacant for more than a year.

Though government regional hospital caters to health needs of thousands of patients of Hamirpur district and neighbouring areas, a large number of them requiring major surgical operations were forced to go to Rajinder Prasad Medical College, Tanda, and Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, in the absence of surgeon.

Many of the emergency cases were also taken to private medical institutes. Below Poverty Line (BPL category) patients were the worst hit because of this since they were exempted from paying charges for operations and medicines in government hospitals while they had to bear expenses in private hospitals.

With the joining of surgeon in the hospital, operations would be performed on almost all days of the week.

Dr DS Chandel, chief medical officer (CMO), Hamirpur, while talking to The Tribune, said, “After joining of Dr Suresh Gupta as a surgeon in the hospital, patients can get operated here. Our staff strength of medical officers is almost complete and we only need one more specialist in gynaecology department to meet the huge rush of patients.”

Meanwhile, a team of doctors has been sent to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, to get trained in the treatment of swine flu patients.

Dr PR Katwal, Dr Sachin and one paramedical staff member Suresh Kumar, have been sent to Shimla to get acquainted with latest measures to check and treat swine flu patients.

It is notable that a large number of people travel from the district to other parts of the country and district health authorities are keeping a close vigil on any report of swine flu infection in any such traveller. 

Dharamsala, August 17
The forest rest house at Indora has been awaiting inauguration for the past more than four years now. Sources available here said construction of the rest house was started in the year 1995 by the forest department. The building was completed in a time period of 10 years in 2005 with a total cost of about Rs 13 lakh.

However, after construction of the building, the department did not make any provision for furniture. Lower-rung officials had been demanding finance for purchase of furniture to make the rest house functional.

However, the sanction has failed to come due to which the building has not been inaugurated till date.

The result is that since the building was not made functional, there was no budget provision for its upkeep. Since it has been lying closed without any maintenance for the past four years now, decaying process has started. A visit to the rest house revealed that windows and other wooden parts in the building had already been destroyed and might need replacement if it was to be made functional.

Indora is one of the remotest areas of the district bordering Punjab. There is hardly any facility for stay of officers visiting the area. Despite the stone building constructed at public cost in the area, it is waiting to be made functional for the past more than four years now.

Dharamsala forest conservator, when contacted, admitted that construction of the building was completed in 2005. He said three sets had been constructed in the building with an idea to provide resting place for forest officers visiting the area for official purpose.

Since 2005 the forest division officials from the Nurpur forest division have been writing to the head office, seeking about Rs 4 lakh for furnishing the building. However, the sanction is yet to come due to which the building has not been made functional, he said.

Meanwhile, the sources said judicial authorities of Indora had written to forest officials, demanding transfer of building to the judicial department. Since the judicial complex was located near the forest rest house, they had proposed that it might be handed over to them.

The conservator admitted that the request had been received from the judicial department and was being forwarded to the state head office for consideration.

Chamba, August 17
Over 1 lakh pilgrims and devotees of Lord Shiva had a holy dip at the sacrosanct shrine of Manimahesh lake till date in the Bharmour region of Chamba district. This was disclosed by Chamba DC Devesh Kumar here today.

The Manimahesh pilgrimage had commenced on August 13 and would conclude on August 27.

The DC said a workforce of 100 labourers had been engaged to put a 14-km steep path in order to facilitate the journey of pilgrims adding that 150 toilets had also been constructed enroute Manimahesh to Bharmour for the convenience of pilgrims. As many as 105 tents had been installed for pilgrims at Hadsar, Dhanchho, Gauri Kund and the Manimahesh lake for convenient stay of pilgrims, the DC added.

The pilgrimage zone from Durgathi to Manimahesh had been divided into seven sectors where eight medical camps had been installed, the DC said; adding that at Dhanchho, Gauri Kund and Manimahesh lake camp sites generators had been installed for lighting purpose, besides 70 water taps installed enroute.

Five rescue squads had been set up with each team having eight members, the DC said; adding that 325 security personnel had been deployed to look after the regulation of traffic.

Solan, August 17
Non-availability of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the 30-MW thermal plant of the JP Associates on the official website of the state pollution control board has put a question mark over its working.

This information was supposed to be made available to the public in view of the September 7 public hearing at Bagheri near Nalagarh. Though the board has placed some copies of the EIA report in various public places like SDM’s office at Nalagarh, it was only after applying through the Right to  Information Act that one could get a copy, informed the general secretary of the Him Parivesh (NGO), which is eliciting public opinion in opposing the plant.

The general secretary added that according to officials since the RTI Act gave them a month’s time to provide requisite information, their request would not be complied with immediately.

Villagers also failed to procure copies of the EIA from the board’s office.

He said what was made available to the villagers was a concise account of the report which lacked major details while the main copies had become out of the reach of the effected panchayat representatives.

Officials of the board were not available for comments. However, it was interesting to note that all other copies of various EIAs were displayed on the board’s official website.

Meanwhile, in another development, the Panchayat Pradhans Nalagarh Vikas Khand Association today held a meeting at Nalagarh where 42 pradhans pledged support in opposing the thermal plant.

Association president Balbir Singh Thakur said the government should only promote environment-friendly industries as the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt was already saturated with pollution.

He said all pradhans present at today’s meeting have decided to register their objections at the September 7 public hearing by marking their presence along with other representatives.

The pradhans also emphasised that the burning of coal in the plant would cause irreparable loss to their health and no amount of compensation would prove good.

The villagers also questioned the wisdom of the government in announcing promotion of captive thermal plants in the state as they caused high-level of pollution. They added that all such attempts would be opposed in the BBN.

Chamba, August 17
The district administration has provided an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 to the next of kin of Anjali (1), who was hit by a landslide, near Dunali on the Chamba-Bharmour highway, but succumbed to her injuries on way to a hospital while seven persons were seriously injured when the Bharmour-Dharamsala bound bus was hit by a huge boulder yesterday, according to a report received here today.

However, all 50 persons travelling in the bus coming from Manimahesh had a narrow escape, the report revealed.

The injured included four members from the deceased’s family father Pardeep Kumar, mother Swarna Devi, brother Nitin (4) and grandmother Suto Devi, besides Dittu Ram, Machho Devi and Geeta Devi belonging to Kandwari, near Palampur, who are undergoing treatment at the regional hospital Chamba, the report added.

Bilaspur, August 17
Led by the Naina Devi Assembly constituency block Congress president Sarpal Singh Thakur Advocate, a large number of gram panchayat leaders have criticised and condemned the ‘sudden and secret shifting’ of the office of the Rs 365 crore World Bank financed Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project from the central place to the Jamla link road.

Thus causing great inconvenience to villagers of the area who have to visit this office every second day.

The leaders said this place of the office is far-off from the main road and it was very difficult to get a bus and villagers have to hire a private vehicle to reach the place, which was costly.

They have urged the Chief Minister to intervene and do justice and to order that this office must be shifted to its earlier place on the National Highway-88 at Dagsetch, near Namhole.

They alleged that the villagers have been put into this day-to-day inconvenience only because a prominent BJP leader had been obliged.