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BJP eyeing MC mayor’s post
Expose corrupt politicians, says Mankotia
Ministry invites bids for bypass project
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Rohtang Pass closed
Climate Change
Polio case punctures eradication claim
Newly born girl child thrown in forest, dies of cold
Experts express concern over illegal drug trade
Villagers express grouse over crop experiment
Old age homes for townships
Gang of robbers loots temple
‘Carry OBC certificate’
Holiday package for disabled
Mid-day meal workers rue govt apathy
Land to be acquired for colony
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BJP eyeing MC mayor’s post
Shimla, November 21 Even though the Congress has a complete majority with 15 councillors in the 25-member MC, the BJP is hopeful that some of the members would help them in gaining control of the post of Mayor. The BJP has eight councilors and the CPM two in the present House, which will have a woman mayor for the second two and a half year tenure. The post of Mayor this time is reserved for a woman candidate from the general category under the rotation system. The Shimla MC, one of the oldest in the country, has till date only had one woman Mayor, Jaini Prem from the Congress almost a decade back, when the post had to go to a woman councillor from the reserved category. There are a total of six woman councillors in the Congress out of its 15 members in the House. Madhu Sood, the councillor from Kanlog ward, has emerged as the front- runner for the post with names of Seema Chauha (Kaithu) and Usha Lakhanpal (Boileauganj) also doing the rounds. Incidentally, all three are first-time councillors. As far as the post of Deputy Mayor for which election will be held on the same day, there seems to be consensus among the Congress councillors over the name of Harish Janartha. “All Congress councillors are united and the names will be decided through consensus, so there is no question of any other party succeeding in their designs of wooing our members,” said Janartha. Even as hectic lobbying is on in the Congress camp for the important post of Mayor, a lot will depend on the senior party leaders, including Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur and CLP leader Vidya Stokes. “We will abide by the dictates of the party leadership as there is no question of anyone going against the decision of the party high-ups,” said a councillor. The BJP is once again trying to play its game so as to somehow get its councillor elected for the post of Mayor. The ruling party is banking heavily on the resentment that could emerge in the Congress after the party decides on the name of the candidate for the Mayor. For the Congress, retaining hold over the 150-year-old municipality is of great significance and the party is not willing to take any chances. |
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Expose corrupt politicians, says Mankotia
Kangra, November 21 The firebrand leader and arch rival of Virbhadra, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on behalf of the “Adalat -E-Awaam” (court of people), said the country was passing through turbulent and testing times and it needed moral and spiritual forces, besides economic and military might, to combat it. Releasing the copy of the letter, which was also sent to UPA chairperson and AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, at a press conference at Dharamsala today, Mankotia said, “Corruption has become India’s biggest weakness today and along with terrorism, it threatens to destroy and nullify all our efforts to establish ourselves as global super power.” He demanded that the Prime Minister should ensure trial of such corrupt political leaders by special courts to ensure justice. He lambasted the Congress party in the state which had allegedly failed to play a role of proper Opposition within and outside the Assembly. He said Opposition Congress and the BJP in power were hand in glove and residents of the state had to pay the price. He said in view of the forthcoming winter session of the Assembly at Dharamsala, he would gather opinions of people regarding skyrocketing prices, failure to tackle the unemployment problem and also the failure of the government to bring to a logical conclusion investigations of all scandals related to Barkel power projects, ski village projects and other cases of corruption in the state. |
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Ministry invites bids for bypass project
Hamirpur, November 21 It is notable that the bypass project was proposed by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal during his previous term of CM to find an alternate route for the traffic passing through here on the National Highway-88 to ease traffic pressure in the town and he had been taking personal interest in completion of this project. During his address after inaugurating Hamir Utsav recently, Dhumal had announced that work on this project would commence soon and bids for completing the work would be invited by November 13. Though efforts were made to start work on the project by the year 2002 and a detailed project report (DPR) was submitted by the NH divisions, the project remained stuck up during the Congress regime. When the present government assumed reigns of power in the state, the project gained momentum and the NH had submitted a revised DPR to the Ministry concerned for constructing the bypass at a revised cost. The Ministry had cleared the project with an estimated cost of about Rs 27 crore. The bypass is proposed to be constructed from
NH-88 near Mattan Sidh to Krishna Nagar in Pakka Bharo. After construction of this bypass, the traffic congestion would ease in Hamirpur to a great extent since vehicles coming from Bhota and Nadaun side would have the option of avoiding to enter the town. The Ministry had already invited technical and financial bids and would award the work after evaluation
of the bids. Confirming this, Satish Nag, executive engineer, NH division, Hamirpur, said, “Bids have already been invited and being evaluated and the work would be awarded to the bidder who qualifies for completing the project. The work is likely to start by the beginning of next year.” |
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Landslide damages Chamera dam
Chamba, November 21 According to reports pouring into the district headquarters town of Chamba, heavy machinery of the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) such as Boomer L2D (Atlas Copco), Poclain-L&T 90 CK excavator, shuttering plates and reinforcement steel structure on right piers had been damaged and the concrete dam pit had also been destroyed by the heavy fall of rocks from
the mountain. The entire workforce, which was at work at the dam site at the time of landslide, had a narrow escape as they were swiftly removed from the site, the reports revealed; adding that all engineers, employees and workers were safe. The district authorities, including the police, had also been informed forthwith about the calamity, the reports divulged. When contacted, a spokesman of the HCC said the losses had been computed at approximately Rs 2 crore which was caused due to landslide. The 231-MW Chamera hydroelectric project-III, which is owned by the National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), is being executed by the HCC, a private hydropower enterprise, on the banks of the Ravi in Chamba district, about 45 km
from the district headquarters town of Chamba. |
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Rohtang Pass closed
Kullu, November 21 The rescue team also rescued 15 labourers suffering from frostbite injuries while 60 persons were evacuated from Lahaul in three helicopter sorties, according to sources. The dead included seven labourers from Jharkhand, two from Mandi while one body retrieved from a spot near Rahla Fall, 7 km from Marhi remained unidentified. The rescue team from the Manali Mountaineering Institute retrieved nine bodies from Rani nullah today and brought them down to the rest house at Marhi. Manali SDM Rajeshwar Goel, who monitored the rescue operation, said 15 injured labourers--- 12 from Jharkhand, four from Himachal, one each from Jammu and Punjab and two Nepalese--- were out of danger. They have been given free treatment and ration, he added. BRO Commander SK Doon claimed that he had not received any confirmation as to whether the injured and dead labourers were working with GREF or not. The restoration work is on, he added. Meanwhile, the district administration of Lahaul-Spiti and Kullu closed down the Rohtang Pass for movement of people from both sides till further orders. |
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Climate Change
Shimla, November 21 Eminent scientists, environmentalists and planners said the Centre must go beyond the token Green Bonus and provide adequate compensation to the states of Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand for protecting their forest. “Impress upon the Centre to move beyond Green Bonus to compensate the three states for ecosystem service flows,” read one of the important agenda arrived at the three-day conference on Forestry Solutions, which concluded here today. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh had recently talked about providing “Green Bonus” to the hill states for protecting the forests, a long-pending demand of all hill states. Participants at the conference felt that hill states deserved concrete compensation rather than just a green bonus. Renowned names working in the field of forestry and environment, who were here to attend the conference on “Forestry Solutions: Strategies for Mitigation and Adaptation of the Impacts of Climate Change in Western Himalayan Mountain States”, prepared a 16-point agenda as its solution to combat the adverse impact of climate change, which would be far more severe in the fragile Himalayan ecology. Damage resulting due to power projects, cement industry and other projects, drew the attention of all as they suggested ways and means to minimise the harm. “The forest department will have to reorient itself towards new challenges with climate and sustainable development as major focus areas,” said Forest Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda. He also said implementation of various forestry schemes and projects, without involvement of major local communities, would not bring about the desired results. A major agenda highlighted was the need for the forest department to play a more proactive role in influencing policies of other sectors such as road construction, power projects, transport and industries which impinged on conservation issue. With over 6.50 lakh trees having been felled in Himachal alone over the past 20 years for various development projects, besides diverting 8,000 hectares of land for various projects, the issue assumes great significance. The participants also stressed the need for community development in some of the mainstream forest functioning like protection, afforestation and fire fighting. It was also included in the agenda that there should be deployment of new and advanced technology such as the GIS, and remote sensing climate modelling. It was also stressed that afforestation programmes must be reoriented to focus on species that help mitigate man-animal conflict. |
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Polio case punctures eradication claim
Solan, November 21 He was detected with P 3 polio strain at Badaun and the state polio surveillance unit today received a communication in this regard from the health authorities. The child had failed to be immunised against polio as the health workers had not bothered to bring children residing in the jhuggis under the national polio immunisation campaign fold. Shanker, the child’s father, has been residing here for the past two and a half years and is working as a labourer. The child had developed paralysis on November 17 after which his parents took him to a clinic at the nearby Panjhera village. He, however, failed to recover and his parents took him to their native place Badaun after a week where subsequent tests confirmed the disease yesterday. Alarmed at the emergence of a case, BMO Nalagarh rushed a team of doctors to the jhuggis near Chikni khud where immunisation of children below the age of five years was undertaken. It was also being investigated as to why the Panjhera-based doctor had failed to inform the health authorities about this case. Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Rajiv Bindal said since another case had also been detected in Punjab, a special immunisation campaign would be undertaken in the border districts of Una, Bilaspur and Solan where the number of migrant labourers residing in the jhuggis was appreciable. He added that they were
coordinating with the central health authorities to initiate this campaign on December 6. State polio surveillance official, while admitting immunisation campaign being poor, said it would be ensured that no such place was missed in the future and supplementary immunisation programme would help bridge the gap in the border districts. This would be in addition to the national immunisation programme which is held every year in January and February. Earlier, it was in November, 2006, that a polio case was detected in Nirmand area of Kullu district. The emergence of this case has sharply hit the polio eradication campaign as it appears little effort had been made to immunise the poor
who did not even have a decent dwelling to live. Notwithstanding scores of health workers employed to keep track of all children in the vulnerable age
group, the campaign appears to have missed this crucial section of jhuggi dwellers.
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Newly born girl child thrown in forest, dies of cold
Kangra, November 21 District police chief Atul Fulzele told The Tribune this evening that a girl child was seen in the Devay forest yesterday by a passer-by who informed a woman Radha Rani working in her fields. Radha called her husband Kuldeep Kumar and found the child wrapped in a piece of cloth. The girl was fortunately saved from the wild animals due to motherly affection of Radha Rani. The couple took the child home, gave her feeding and then informed the local village pradhan who, in turn, informed the Bavarna police. A case was registered against unknown persons who had thrown the child in the forest. At the same time the girl child was left under the care of Radha and her husband under the supervision of the village pradhan, the SSP said. However, the condition of the child, because of severe winter cold and for lack of woollen clothing, deteriorated last evening. She was rushed to hospital where doctors and the couple did their best to save her but the unfortunate child died. The body of the child was sent for a post-mortem examination today.
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Experts express concern over illegal drug trade
Kullu, November 21 The experts went on to caution that no “alternative development experiment for illegal cultivators” would succeed if the cooperatives’ initiatives were supplemented by the government’s assistance, police, enforcement agencies and other stakeholders. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the seminar on alternative development for illegal cultivators from Malana in Kullu and Chauhar in Mandi, organised by the Malana Vikalp and the DRDA, here, Christina Albertin, South Asia representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said pharmaceutical abuse called for a serious concern as government regulations on Indian pharmacy were weak or ineffective in this regard. She said India, however, did not figure globally
as serious concern as far as drugs and crimes were concerned. Christina said illegal detection of poppy and cannabis remained in many cases unreported to the UNODC. Satellite imagery and videography of illegal poppy and cannabis crop should be followed by spot-checking and analysis that can reduce margin of error to 10 per cent, she added. She said India had a spill-over effect of illegal cultivation of heroine from Afghanistan, which today produced 95 per cent of the contraband in the world. Aerial surveys and satellite imagery can improve detection and reporting, she added. Christina said the UNODC had sponsored intervention projects for control of HIV/AIDS in the north east and alternative development projects in Peru and Latin America. She admitted that the UNODC had inputs that money raised from illegal drugs found its way into hands who funded terrorism. She said the UNODC mandate tried to study as to what extent illegal drug money was being used to fund terrorism in Afghanistan and insurgency in South Asia, including India. Former Narcotics Commissioner of India Romesh Bhattacharya said India was downplaying both production of illegal cannabis and poppy in the country. “But it deliberately remains unreported in the country as the role of enforcement and other controlling agencies remains under cloud,” he charged. Author of many books, Bhattacharya observed that drug abuse, drug-related crimes and production were increasing in the country. |
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Villagers express grouse over crop experiment
Malana (Kullu), November 21 Two persons, in the guise of “sadhus” sitting in the old village sarai and facing the venue of the meeting, today tried to sabotage the session when Christina Albertin, South Asia representative, United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime, was addressing the session. There was no policeman around to arrest the intruders. “The sadhus were camping in the village for months,” said Deli Ram, pradhan, Malana panchayat. Christina continued and cited examples how farmers in Peru, Bolivia and Latin America shunned illegal cultivation and adopted other cash crops. “This is the only way to ensure a better and more secure future for their children,” she said. Budh Ram, former panchayat pradhan, Shukru, raised villagers’ grouse saying that the Malana Vikalp society sold peas for Rs 6 per kg in the first go, whereas it had promised that it would give them Rs 25 a kg. Villagers, who have been making easy money from Malana hash, appeared to be evasive saying that the police destroyed the cannabis and who grew peas got little in return. “We will not cultivate cannabis, but want immediate relief,” they said. Malana Vikalp adviser OP Sharma said, “The peas experiment is a modest start and we will plug all loopholes and learn from the past mistakes. We will hold a 15-day workshop here in March before sowing,.” |
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Old age homes for townships
Chamba, November 21 A unique proposal drawn in this regard by the district wing of the forum early this month revealed that old age care homes would be built at accessible locations best-suited to each senior citizen where they could pass six to eight hours in a day. An initiative to form the first-ever old age care society in the district has been taken and the process is in the pipeline so that society could be got registered under the Co-operative Societies Act. The care homes would be constructed with the assistance of this society so that its functioning could be looked after. These homes envisage providing day time food, evening time tea, indoor games, television and newspaper facility and free medical check-up by an experienced doctor to be hired by the society. To begin with, private buildings would be rented out to run such homes till some land for the construction is not identified. By this way, each society would be able to generate employment for at least two unemployed youths who could be appointed by the society for getting services of a cook and a sweeper. In accordance to the proposal of the forum, the formal functioning of the ‘old age care society’ would be commenced as early as possible after its registration. |
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Gang of robbers loots temple
Solan, November 21 The robbers, who had covered their faces, entered the temple around 12.30 am last night and urged the priest to take them to the room where temple cash was
stacked. DSP Bhagmal Thakur said the couple, who resided in the temple to help the priest, was tied in the adjoining room while the robbers took away the keys and managed to flee with the cash. Being located in a far-flung area with little habitation around the temple, inhabitants failed to raise an alarm for help. The exact number of miscreants was also not known. It is worth mentioning that the same temple was looted in July, 2008, in a similar manner when cash worth Rs 2.5 lakh had been taken away. The case had remained untraced and the police feared that it could be the handiwork of the same gang as the modus operandi appeared to be similar. Interestingly, the police had merely registered a case for theft under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC and, when quizzed, the officials had little to say in
defence. While such steps weakened the police cases, it helped embolden the criminals. An illustration of this fact was the earlier theft case which had occurred in this very temple and had remained untraced for over one-and-a-half-year now. Such tactics might help the police in keeping the official crime figures low but they adversely helped the criminals who dared to indulge in heinous crimes. This tendency appeared to have gained ground in
Baddi.
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‘Carry OBC certificate’
Shimla, November 21 A spokesperson of the board said it had been observed during the documentation for the interview, being conducted for the post of TGT (Arts), that many candidates failed to produce the OBC certificates valid on the last date of receipt of application, September 30, 2008, despite clear instructions given in the call letter. The failure on the part of such candidates not only rendered them ineligible for the interview, but also disturbed the process of interview. He said candidates claiming any such reservation should go through the instructions in the call letter carefully and produce relevant certificates as required. |
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Holiday package for disabled
Shimla, November 21 Disclosing this here today, Subhasish Panda, Managing Director (HPTDC) said the package would be offered to guests having more than 40 per cent disability or any disabled person accompanied by a family member. The special package offer would be available from December 3 to 20. He said there would be a discount of 30 per cent on the room rent or stay for three nights. “The guest will have to pay for only two days’ rent and taxes as the third day will be treated as one-night free gift from the HPTDC,” he said. He added that the package would not include food and beverages for which normal rates will apply.
— TNS |
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Mid-day meal workers rue govt apathy
Chamba, November 21 Sudesh Thakur, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued here on Thursday, said the price index had increased manifold, especially this year, and the sky-rocketing prices of common man’s commodities had badly affected the day-to-day life of all. “It is sad that the mid-day meal workers in the state have been getting a salary of Rs 200 to Rs 400 per month while water carriers are getting a salary of a meagre Rs 100 per month,” Thakur rued.
— OC |
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Land to be acquired for colony
Shimla, November 21 The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the HIMUDA chaired by Housing and HIMUDA Minister, Mahender Singh, here today. The board also approved a proposal to acquire land for setting up a housing colony at Hamirpur. It also approved the construction of a commercial complex with parking in Parwanoo at a cost of Rs 1.05
crore. — TNS |
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Former Tourism Minister Vijay Singh Mankotia today demanded that investigation in alleged corruption case lodged against Union Minister Virbhadra Singh should be carried out on the same pattern as that of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda in order to unmask corrupt politicians of the country.
