Shimla, September 12
With the fresh spell of rain wreaking havoc, vehicular traffic to several parts of upper Shimla and Kinnaur has been disrupted with massive landslides and uprooted trees blocking roads.

The incessant rains have caused damage to private and public property worth crores as the NH-22 to Kinnaur is blocked at several points beyond Jhakri.

The district administration has asked a group of 12 foreigners headed for the Baralacha Pass to return to the Spillo rest house, as it was unsafe to move beyond.

In Shimla, vehicular movement was affected in many parts as landslides have caused uprooting of trees.

A massive deodar tree severely damaged a moving car on the bypass near Khalini, injuring the driver. Traffic remained suspended in Lakkar Bazaar due to a landslide.

An under construction multi-storeyed building collapsed in the Kasumpti area, posing a threat to the adjoining buildings.

Water supply in the town remained partially affected, as normal pumping at the Gumma and Ashwani khud schemes had not been restored due to high level of silt.

Most parts of Shimla, Solan and Kinnuar had rainfall while there was snowfall in the higher reaches. Roads in Kinnaur district have suffered maximum damage, as Kalpa and Keylong remained cut off.

While the overall rains in the state are still 33 per cent deficient, Kinnaur has had an excess of 98 per cent rains, causing heavy damage.

Traffic on the Shimla-Rohru road is also getting disrupted time and again due to landslides while the road to Chirgaon is still blocked.

The Meteorological Centre here has forecast rain in the lower and middle hills and snow in the higher reaches during the next 24 hours.

However, the rains stopped and weather became pleasant this afternoon, much to the relief of local residents and tourists.

Hanogi (Mandi), September 12
All nine occupants of a private Scorpio (HP-22-2907) were feared dead when the driver allegedly lost control over it while overtaking another Scropio (HP-33T-9308) near Dawada curve and plunged straight into the Beas at around 2.30 am today.

The police and search parties could not find any trace of the victims or the vehicle and were yet to locate the exact spot of the accident in the surging muddy Beas.

The passengers have been identified as Kuldip, Bihari Lal, Vinod, Bablu, Raghubir Singh, Madan Lal, Twinkle and Sonu.

They were on their way from Hamirpur to Manikaran. The accident was reported to have taken place around 2.30 am today according to passengers travelling in the other vehicle that the ill-fated Scorpio overtook.

Even divers will not be able to help much as nobody knows the exact spot as it was raining heavily and the visibility was poor, according to the police.

Mandi SP Sonal Agnihotri, who along with Mandi DC Onkar Sharma monitored the rescue operation after the rains stopped, ruled out a foul play.

“We have booked a case of negligent driving under Sections 279 and 379 A of the IPC and are trying to retrieve the bodies from the Beas,” the SP said.

Hamirpur, September 12
A pall of gloom descended on the district and the surrounding areas today after the news of the death of nine persons from the Dhaned area at Dawada in Mandi district reached here.

They were feared dead when a Scorpio, in which they were travelling, was washed away in the Beas today early morning on Chandigarh-Manali National Highway while going to Manikaran.

While a wave of shock was visible in the area, a complete bandh was observed at Dhaned to mourn the deaths.

Local residents and their relatives rushed to the villages to console members of the bereaved families.

A large number of people also rushed to Dawada in the hope of locating the ill-fated vehicle or the bodies of the deceased in the water.

About 20 persons from the area had left for Manikaran at about 8 pm last night from Dhaned in two different Scorpios.

Raj Kumar, travelling in the other vehicle, confirmed the incident on a mobile phone from Dawada. Among the killed were a few youths in their twenties.

Hamirpur MLA Urmil Thakur and Congress leader Narinder Thakur have expressed shock and grief over the incident.

Shimla, September 12
With her son going missing almost two months back, 80-year-old Santosh, frail and sick from starvation and isolation, has been locked up in a house near DAV school in New Shimla, as she has no clue about her surroundings or the people who peep in to see her plight.

With her 40-year-old son Raju going missing almost two months back without informing anybody, the old woman has been left to fend for herself. She has no clue about her own identity, the place she belongs to or any relatives she has.

“Please call Raju, he has gone somewhere leaving me alone,” is all that she keeps repeating from the bolted window of her house while wailing.

It is out of sheer compassion that the maid, who worked in her house earlier, comes in the morning to feed Santosh as the keys to the house have been left with her.

However, with no ration, gas cylinder or other supplies in the house, she is barely able to feed the woman.

Failing to trace Raju, the landlord, Vivek Gupta, reported the matter to the police
on September 10.

“I had informed her relatives about the plight of the old woman but they seemed reluctant to help her, so finally I informed the police,” he said.

“We are unable to give her food or take care as the door is locked and opened only when the maid comes,” said Asha, a neighbour.

She said it was only recently that she had come to know of her confinement when she wept aloud.

When contacted, Naval Arora, one of her relatives whose name is mentioned in the police complaint, said he too had tried to contact Raju on his mobile in vain.

“We are related to them but ever since he set up his own business, we did not have much contact with them. However, we give money to the maid to buy food for my paternal aunt, who is very old,” said Arora.

He said he got a call from Raju about 10 days back who said he was in Mandi but not in a position to return to his mother.

Raju had moved into the house with his mother about four months back. Having worked initially at Arora’s shop in New Shimla, he had set up his own business.

Shimla, September 12
The newly reconstituted State Heritage Advisory Committee will review all 25 cases of construction that have been granted approval by the previous body at its first meeting to be held here on September 14.

It was last week that the government reconstituted the committee following doubts over the expertise and competence of non-official members who had been included in the all-important body which deals with cases pertaining to important heritage zone in the state capital.

The committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary, will review cases approved by the old body and ratify it only if those are in accordance with the laid-down norms. Out of the three old non-official members, only one has been retained.

One representative each from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) and
the Housing and Urban Development Corporation of India (HUDCO), have been
included in the committee.

The issue had assumed importance after the matter was taken to the Supreme Court by a hotel owner as he had raised doubts about the competence of the members on the old committee.

The manner in which the norms laid down for reconstruction in the Heritage Zone are being violated, especially by those having political clout, fingers are being pointed at the local Muncipal Council (MC) for failing to check illegal constructions.

According to rules, construction activity in the heritage zone is strictly regulated and permission for reconstruction or fresh work is given only after if it is approved by the state heritage advisory committee.

In order to preserve the heritage of the erstwhile summer capital of the British before independence, reconstruction of such structures has to be done strictly in accordance with the old lines.

As far as construction on vacant plots in heritage zone is concerned, two storeys can be constructed after obtaining permission from heritage advisory committee.

However, there is a lot of resentment among people who allege that those with influence are able to get away with any kind of violation while the common man is made to follow all rules.

However, it remains to be seen if the new committee will strictly monitor and direct the MC to be very particular about violations in the heritage zone, extending from the state Secretariat till the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS).

Shimla, September 12
Anti-Ragging committee of the local St Bede’s College today held its meeting with active participation from parents to ensure that stringent steps were taken to avoid any mental or physical torture of students.

Sister Molly Abraham, principal, St Bede’s College, interacted with parents of the students who had specially been invited to seek their cooperation in tackling the menace of ragging and to elicit their suggestions.

“Students have been informed of the Anti-Ragging Act and the serious repercussions in case they resort to ragging,” she said.

The committees to check ragging are already in place and telephone numbers of important administration and police officials have been displayed in case students wants to seek help, she added.

“Cooperation of the parents in this regard is necessary as children must be made aware of the sensitivity of the matter, which unfortunately has claimed several lives,” she said.

Representatives from the district administration and voluntary organisation participated in the interaction.

Teachers of the college made students aware of negative connotations of ragging and need for maintaining friendly and cordial relations between juniors and seniors.

Mandi, September 12
After lying low in the aftermath of the prolonged drought since March followed by “lean monsoons”, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has reasons to cheer.

The three-day-long spell of incessant rain in the state has surged the water inflow in the Sutlej and the Beas to 73,000 cusecs and 48,000 cusecs, respectively, as recorded yesterday.

As a result, the water level in Bhakra increased by 3.25 ft to 1,623 ft and that of Pong Dam stood at 1,333 ft.

According to sources in the BBMB, inflow of the Sutlej into the Bhakra was recorded 60,000 cusecs of water on Thursday, which is three times more than 20,000 cusecs recorded on September 8.

“It surged to 73,000 cusecs of water taking the Bhakra Dam level from 1,621 ft to 1,623 ft. The Bhakra is also taking 8,000 cusecs of water from the Beas through the Beas-Sutlej link project”, the BBMB sources added.

Though the surge came as the much-needed respite for the BBMB and farmers in Punjab, who depend on the Bhakra for irrigation and power generation, dam’s level remains 52 ft below (1,675 ft) than what was recorded last year on the same day.

Similarly, the BBMB recorded eight-time surge in the Beas from 6,000 cusecs of water on September 8 to 48,000 cusecs yesterday, BBMB engineers revealed.

As a result, the Pong reservoir level increased to 1,333 ft yesterday. It remains 53 ft below from last year’s level of 1,386 ft recorded on the same day, they revealed.

But last year the rains continued throughout the year that filled Bhakra and Pong to their capacity. Even the BBMB has sounded a flood alert in the downstream areas of the Sutlej, the BBMB sources added.

Bilaspur, September 12
The 10-day boating and sailing expedition of the 1 Chandigarh NCC Naval Unit at Gobindsagar concluded at the Luhnu ghat here last evening as Comdt TR Vashishtha of the 1 HP NCC Naval Unit flagged in the boats in the presence of other guests.

The expedition was commanded by Commander Lekh Raj of the Chandigarh unit and it covered about 426 km boating and sailing distance in the Gobindsagar.

It travelled from various stations and learnt sea-faring art from Navy trainers MS Grover, Anil Kumar, Har Bhagwan, Anoop Kutlehadia and Shakti Barwal.

Commander Lekh Raj said 25 senior NCC cadets, including 10 girls, were given training in boating, sailing, drill etc, and were also given lessons in discipline, cooperation and hard work to face any kind of adverse situation.

Nurpur, September 12
Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh gave a clarion call to electorate of the Jawali Assembly constituency, where by-election is round the corner, to cast their votes in favour of the Congress candidate.

Addressing a public meeting at Fatehpur in this Assembly segment today, he said local former Congress MLA Sujan Singh Pathania was a honest party leader who had nursed the constituency for a long time.

He alleged that the BJP government in the state had failed to solve long-standing demand of re-habilitation of the Pong Dam oustees even when the same party’s government was ruling in Rajasthan. He assured to take up this issue with the Union Government and try to settle it.

Virbhadra claimed that during his tenure as the Chief Minister he had undertaken overall development of the state without any prejudice and appointed doctors in rural areas under the centrally sponsored National Rural Health Mission programme.

Earlier, while addressing a press conference at Hotel Mau Fort in Raja ka Bagh near here, he said the Congress was a disciplined party and the party high command should take serious note against those Congress men who were not only sharing BJP stages but addressing its rallies to laud the performance of the Dhumal government.

He claimed that it was sheer party indiscipline. Without naming anybody, he came down heavily on political detractors within the Congress who were demanding his resignation in the backdrop of the vigilance case in the CD episode and said such leaders would be thrown into dustbins of history in the next elections.

He flayed the Dhumal government for taking credit of NREGA and all other UPA government’s schemes in the state and added that all development in the state had come to standstill ever since the Dhumal government had come to power.

Virbhadra said he was not against the privatisation of professional education but the government should ensure quality education by the private universities being set up in the state and warned that these institutions should not become teaching shops.

Former minister Sat Mahajan, state Congress general secretary Ajay Mahajan and spokesperson Kewal Pathania were also present on the occasion.

Others elected included vice-president Kamlesh, joint secretary CL Verma and treasurer D Dhadwal. Meanwhile, 50 new parents attended the first meeting.