Mandi, April 15
Villagers in lower Nachen panchayats are up in arms against illegal boring of over a dozen tubewells by the Harish Chander cement company under the nose of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department in violations of the Underground Water (UW) Act in the Gangyal area. The rampant tube well boring is set to trigger drinking water crisis in the area.

The company has no final approval for the plant site and mining site from the high-powered committee constituted by the Supreme Court.

The rampant digging of tube wells in the area is bound to starve dozens of villages in lower Nachen of drinking water. The drought and digging of over 12 tubewells for the cement plant will trigger water crisis in the area as company was taping water sources for the villagers, they resented.

The most hit panchayats are Mahadev, Upper Valley, Dinak, Dugrain and Kanaid in lower Nachen. Even local politicians are hand in glove with the cement company, the residents alleged.

Apart from violating the UW Act, the company was illegally digging up 12 tube wells in 1,500 m area, which further violates IPH specifications that disallow two tubewells within an area of 500 m.

“The IPH is under pressure from politicians who are out to oblige the cement company,” charged residents. “This would wipe out the water sources of villages,” they feared.

It is illegal and the company should be booked and MoU be cancelled for the plant as majority of residents are opposing the plant, the villagers asserted.

Conservator of Mandi BD Suyal said the high-powered committee had yet to give its final approval for the plant. Even the MoEF had not approved the new plant site at Chambi-Khatarvari.

Mandi IPH chief engineer SK Vats said the company had no permission under the UW Act from the IPH to dig up tubewells. “I have asked the field staff to stop the digging work as it is illegal,” he added.

Shimla, April 15
Adverse hydrology apart, generation from projects of the State Electricity Board has been declining due to indifferent management and unplanned and poor maintenance, resulting in loss of revenue amounting to more than Rs 150 crore over the past five years.

Barring a few exceptions, all 20 projects, with aggregate installed capacity of 466.95 MW, have been operating much below their designed potential, which has attracted adverse notice of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The comptroller and auditor general has also pointed out several instances of mismanagement and erratic maintenance in its latest report. As against the designed potential of 10,244.41 million units (MU) of 18 projects for the 2004-09 period, the actual generation was only 7,998.10 MU, which was less than even the much lower target of 8,331.86 MU set by the board itself. The total generation loss came to 2,246.31 MU, including 1,828.30 MU due to fixing of targets on the lower side and 418.01 MU on account of non-achievement of targets. The shortfall was met through purchase of power from outside agencies at rates 30 to 52 per cent higher than its average generation cost.

The year 2009-10 has been much worse, partly due to lack of rains as evident from the revised projections as per which the net power available has been pegged at 1,692 MU as against the actual generation of 1,967 MU during the previous year. The board had not taken any action on the directions of the commission for reducing outages and optimising generation by identifying reasons for declining trend and carrying out efficiency tests. As a result, forced outages led to loss of 217.12 MU during the 2005-08 period.

Further, the generation loss of 615.92 MU was due to under utilisation of capacity and the remaining 1,301.26 MU on account of natural calamities, low discharge and planned shutdowns.

Installation of ineffective trash-cleaning machine forced repeated shutdowns at the Larji project, leading to loss of generation valued at Rs 4.76 crore from September 2007 to August 2009. Instead of taking up the annual maintenance during lean season, the board has been doing it at peak of the season when discharge is available to run projects at full capacity. Generation was stopped at the Gaj project for 867 hours due to excessive tripping, ranging from 71 to 120 in a year on the feeders to evacuate power. The Ghanvi and Gumma projects remained off bar for 123 and 199 hours, respectively, due to non-availability of auxiliary power.

Shimla, April 15
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today reiterated his government’s resolve for accelerating the pace of development in the state so as to ensure socio-economic uplift of all sections of society and to make Himachal a model state.

Speaking at the state-level Himachal Day function at Rohru today, Dhumal said his government’s endeavour was to provide best healthcare facilities to the people on their doorstep. He unfurled the Tricolour and took salute of an impressive march past presented by contingents of the police, Home Guards and NCC.

He said “Centre of Excellence” for geriatric health was being started at Government Ayurvedic Postgraduate College, Paprola, near Baijnath at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

He also announced the launching of “Happy Smile Denture for All” scheme under which all senior citizens, above the age of 65 years, would be provided dentures free of cost. This service would be made available in 76 health centres in the state and about 10,000 senior citizens would be benefited by it in the next three years.

He said the National Health Insurance Scheme had been started in all districts of the state under which insurance cover of Rs 30,000 had been given to all BPL families.

Dhumal said to provide best health facilities to the people, more than 400 doctors, 605 nurses and a number of para-medical staff had been appointed, especially in the far-flung areas in the past two years.

Reiterating his government’s resolve for speedy development in rural areas, he said Rs 353 crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojna, under which 80 per cent subsidy was being given for construction of poly houses and minor irrigation schemes to farmers, had been started. He added from this year, subsidy on poly houses had been enhanced to 90 per cent for BPL families for constructing poly houses based on bamboo.

The Chief Minister said Rs 85 crore apple rejuvenation project would be started from this year so as to replace age old plantation with new root stocks. An agreement had been signed with the Patanjali Yog Peeth to sell apple concentrate and other products, he added.

Announcing a hike of Re 1 in the procurment of milk by MILKFED, he said Rs 300 crore Doodh Ganga Yojna had been launched under which 50,000 people would be provided loans upto Rs 3 lakh on subsidised rate of interest for undertaking milk production-related activities.

HAMIRPUR: Social Justice and Women Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary presided over the 63rd Himachal Day function here on Thursday which was held at Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Hamirpur. She unfurled the National Flag and took salute at an impressive parade. Addressing the gathering on this occasion, Chaudhary detailed progress made in various fields in the state. Speaking about the history of the state, the minister said Himachal Pradesh came into existence in 1948 after merger of 30 hill states and with the hard work and constructive cooperation of the people, the state had emerged as one of the most progressive states of the country. She said swarojgar, swavalamban and swabhiman were the three objectives on which the state government was working. Talking about the progress in Hamirpur, she said the district had been adjudged first in implementation of 20-point programme and other developmental works, national health insurance, information technology and e-governance services. She also congratulated the people of the district for leading in the field of MNREGA, disposal of revenue cases, Right To Information Act and watershed projects. A colourful cultural programme was also presented on the occasion.

BILASPUR: Himachal has made tremendous progress since it was formed as a state on April 15, 1948, and it is on way to phenomenal achievements under the guidance of Chief Minister PK Dhumal for the past more than two years, which has marked it as one of the fastest growing state of the country. Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said this while addressing district-level Himachal Day function here on Thursday.. He said the BJP government had fixed roads, education, health, self-reliance and self-employment as its top priorities. Bindal said a record 1,654 km of new roads had been constructed, Rs 2,562 crore were spent on education, making all out efforts not only to strengthen its infrastructure and improve quality but also to expand its base to provide specialised and employment-based technical education. He said the first IT university of the country had been set up at Waknaghat in Solan district and another country’s first hydro-engineering college would be started in Bilaspur district. 

Dharamsala, April 15
The local Gorkha community today held an exhibition to revisit its over 200-year-old history in the state. It was organised by Jyoti Thapa, a journalist, who recently authored a book on Gorkha regiments in the Army.

The exhibition was inaugurated today by Hamirpur BJP MP and HPCA president Anurag Thakur and was attended by many prominent Gorkha families of the area.

It depicted Gorkha history that took roots in Himachal in the early 1800 AD, when troops, under the command of Bada Kazi Amar Singh Thapa and his deputy Sardar Bhakte Thapa were invited to the region. They were called by a confederate of kings led by king of Kot Kehlur (now known as Bilaspur) for protection and military assistance against ambitious and powerful king of Kangra, Sansar Chand-II.

Though much is known about the military exploits of Amar Singh Thapa, people know very little about his contribution towards restoring many temples in the region.

The exhibition also displayed role of Gorkhas in the Army. The mother of all 11 Gorkha regiments in India, the 1st Gorkha Rifles (Malaun regiment) was raised in the Malaun area in Solan hills. The 4th Gorkha Rifles Regiment was also raised at Bakloh. The 1st and 4th Gorkha Rifles are the only two regiments of the Army that are still staying in their mother state at Subhathu.

It also has on display photos of music maestro of the Indian National Army (INA) Capt Ram Singh Thakur who belonged to Khaniara village near Dharamsala. He composed the famous patriotic song “Kadam kadam badaye ja” and also the tune for “Sare jahan se accha” written by Mohammed Iqbal.

Jyoti Thapa, while talking to The Tribune, said the photos had been contributed by 17 Gorkha villages of Dharamsala, Palampur and the Pathankot area. The exhibition will be on till April 25.

Shimla, April 15
Notwithstanding efforts by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) to appease Lord Indra to ward off rain during the two IPL matches on April 16 and 18, there is bad news from the Meteorological Centre which has warned that rain could play spoilsport, at least in the second match.

The temperatures in most parts of the state have shot up with the mercury touching the highest of the season at 28.9 degrees Celsius today in the state capital and 33.6 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala, the venue for the IPL matches. According to a weather forecast a western disturbance is positioned over North Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, which is likely to give people relief from the scorching heat but anxious moments to the organisers of the mega event.

Interestingly, the organisers of the match gave top most priority to keeping the local weather God “Indru Naag” happy. Special prayers were held some time back at the Indru Naag temple, perched atop a hillock facing the stadium to shower his blessings in preventing rains from spoiling the games.

Considering the importance of the two matches, which will focus international attention on Dharamsala, the local meteorological centre has issued a special forecast for the town hosting two IPL matches. “The temperature will further increase with the prediction of a bright sunny day tomorrow but on the following days there are chances of rain in Dharamsala,” said Manmohan Singh, director, Meteorological Centre.

The special forecast for Dharamsala released today indicates April 15 as sunny day with partly cloudy towards afternoon. There is forecast of one or two spells of light rain or thundershowers on April 17 and light-to-moderate rain or thundershowers on April 18.

Hamirpur, April 15
While thousands of villagers have been deprived of the health facilities in remote area falling under the assembly constituency of Chief Minister PK Dhumal as no doctor has been posted in Primary Health Centre (PHC), Jangalberi, for over last two months, infrastructure worth crores is also lying unutilised.

PHC Jangalberi, where two posts of doctor exist, is without any doctor at present and is being looked after by a pharmacist, a staff nurse and a technician. In the absence of doctors, the PHC, catering to the health facilities of over 20,000 persons in eight panchayats, has been rendered useless. In fact, even patients have stopped visiting the PHC now.

This area, which is considered quite remote, falls under the Bamsan assembly constituency. During the previous term of the BJP, a PHC was opened in 2002 and a building with the cost of Rs 38 lakh had been built. Though this PHC has six beds for indoor patients and an operation theatre, all these facilities have become “useless” for the local people.

“The Chief Minister, at a public meeting here, had announced to post a doctor during night hours also, but the fact remains that the PHC functions without a doctor even during day hours,” they added. Even a water cooler purchased for the health centre a few months back is still lying packed and has not been put to use.

Hamirpur CMO Dr DS Chandel said, “The doctor posted at PHC, Jangalberi, has gone for higher studies and due to work load, it is not possible to shift doctors from Hamirpur regional hospital.” “We have taken up the issue of posting of doctor at the PHC with the health directorate and he would be appointed soon as process is on to recruit more doctors,” he added.

Shimla, April 15
The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) today warned that it would launch a statewide agitation in case there was any attempt by Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) authorities to impose a ban on student elections.

Condemning the resolution moved by various Deans in the HPU seeking a ban on the elections, ABVP state secretary Naveen Sharma said they would not allow such dictatorial attitude of the authorities. “The move is aimed at reducing the students’ role in decision making which we will not allow at any cost,” he said.

He said the move by the HPU authorities to impose such a ban only reflected their narrow vision and thinking. “How can the university authorities keep students away from elections when they have been given the right to vote in our democracy,” he questioned.

Sharma warned that the ABVP would launch an aggressive statewide agitation in case the authorities even remotely thought of putting a ban on the elections.

Bilaspur, April 15
Health Minister Rajiv Bindal distributed prizes to the heads of 14 government primary and middle schools at the district-level Himachal Day function here toady. These schools have attained first and second positions among those which claimed themselves to be totally clean under the total sanitation campaign (TSC) here in district

Government Middle School at Luharda and Government Primary School at Nand Nagraon were declared first in the TSC in the entire district amongst primary and middle schools, respectively, and were given Rs 50,000 each.

Three middle schools which got first positions and Rs 20,000 each were Nog, Jol and Jyora, while three primary schools which got this first prize were Raura Sector, Gaahar and Raili. Middle and primary schools that received second prize of Rs 10,000 each in each block were Reeh Dadwal, Reeh Khas, Kotla, Lehadi Sarel, Behran and Barthin. — OC

Shimla, April 15
State committee of the CPM today demanded that a white paper be issued on non-utilisation of funds received under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a fact hidden from the public till now.

In a statement issued here today, member of the State Secretariat of the CPM, Tikender Singh Panwar said it was report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which had brought this fact to the fore. Both the BJP as well as the Congress regime, that remained in power since 2006, owed an explanation to the people of the state for not utilising the money meant to improve health facilities, especially in the rural areas, he added.

He regretted that instead of taking steps to improve health infrastructure, the government was levying charges on each and every sector under the public health domain. “The government is culpable of conniving with private health service providers in dismantling of public health services,” he alleged.

He said the CPM would take the issue to the people and expose the government sitting over public money meant for providing better healthcare facilities to the people.

Shimla, April 15
Thousands of devotees lined up along the roadside to have a glimpse of the spiritual guru, Sathya Sai Baba, who arrived here today on a three-day visit.

A large number of devotees had assembled at the airport where he was received by president of the State Sathya Sai Organisation Shyam Sunder, principal secretary (Tourism) Manisha Nanda and other prominent persons. Most of the devotees had assembled at the airport hours before his arrival.

He drove in car specially brought from Andhra Pradesh straight to the Sathya Sai School at Pujarli on the outskirts of the city passing through the main roads. The devotees, including a large number of tourists, craned their necks to catch a glimpse of their guru. Hundreds of devotees came from all over the region specially to have his darshan.

He was welcomed by Governor Urmila Singh at the school and late in the afternoon Chief Minister PK Dhumal also paid a visit. He also sat through the bhajan session during the evening.

The entire 40 km route from the airport to Pujarli was colourfully decorated and community feast and special prayer sessions were organised at many places.

The spiritual guru will stay at Pujarli where special arrangements have been made to accommodate more than 1 lakh devotees. He would make appearance for the devotees every morning and evening. It is his third visit to the city. He earlier graced the city in 1973 and 1975.