Shimla, July 25
Taking a serious notice of the tardy implementation of the World Bank-funded state road project, the board of directors of the State Road and Other Infrastructure Development Corporation (RIDC) has refused extension of time and asked the engineering wing to come out with a comprehensive analysis to ascertain the reasons for delay in the execution of various packages.

The board, which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary recently, also noted that work on most of the packages awarded under the Rs 1,365-crore project have fallen behind schedule by over 18 months that would lead to huge cost overruns. It disapproved of the manner in which an independent consultant appointed by the World Bank and the engineering wing of the corporation were pushing bills of contractors for payment without verifying the actual progress of the work.

The engineering wing has been maintaining that under the terms and conditions of the agreement, interim payments have to be made on the recommendation of the independent consultant from the Louis Berger Group.

However, members of the board asserted that it was the duty of the supervising agency to ensure proper verification of the progress before making payments. They also stressed that the agency should also watch the interest of the government and ensure timely execution of works rather than pushing the case of contractors. In fact, it should have initiated action for imposing liquidated damages on the faltering companies, they added.

Out of the 10 packages, maximum delay had been in the Mehatpur-Una-Amb and Theog-Kotkhai-Hatkoti-Rohru upgrade packages involving an expenditure of Rs 354 crore. Theses are being executed by a Chinese company Longjian Road and Bridge Limited, which had erred by deploying manpower without obtaining work visa and the consultant and the engineering wings were also found to be at fault as they had awarded the contract overlooking this fact. The company had to sent back its personnel when the Government of India enforced visa restrictions.

Similarly, work on Jahu-Kalkhar package of the Una-Ner Chowk road awarded to ANS Construction is also behind schedule.

The purpose of international bidding was to bring in latest construction technology, but companies like Longjian had given subcontracts to local contractors for almost all types of works. Under the agreement only 25 per cent of work pertaining to earthwork and retaining structures could be assigned to the subcontractors.

RIDC authorities have also awarded contracts before obtaining various clearances in some cases and as a result work was delayed. Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive analysis to ascertain the reasons for delay so that responsibility for lapses could be fixed.

Mandi, July 25
Bouyed by the success of Tattapani eco task force, additional DG (Territorial Army) Major-General ADS Grewal will launch the eco task force of the 133 Infantry Battalion (Ecological Dogra) at Jalogi tomorrow. The task force has set up a target of planting trees in 250 hectares in catchments of the Larji project along the Beas along the Mandi-Kullu national highway.

Mandi and Kullu Deputy Commissioners along with conservators will participate the tree plantation drive initiated by the eco task force here that would, for the first time, cover both Mandi and Kullu CAT plans. The task force has charted a success story of planting 2.83 lakh saplings in the Tatapani barren catchments of the Satluj. Talking to The Tribune, Col DS Chauhan, in charge Ecological Dogra said: “This year we have a target of planting saplings in over 150 hectare area in the Larji CAT plan.”

Col Chauhan said it wasa team effort and they had involved conservators of both Mandi and Kullu to work along with the Department of Forests. The conservator of Kullu is the nodal officer for the task force as most of the CAT plans fall under the Kullu district, he stated.

The Territorial Army would also take suggestions from the residents and plant indigenous species that would benefit them, Col Chauhan stated. “The norm is that we plant around 1,100 trees in a hectare. The task force in Tatapani planted 200 saplings in 75 hectares and project under the Tattapani CAT plan will be completed by next year,” he added. The Forest Department had assigned the project under CAT plans to the Territorial Army. “The success rate of the eco task force is over 70 per cent and the funds will be used only for the treatment of the catchments under the projects,” the officials said.

Bilaspur, July 25
MP Anurag Thakur has lauded District Rural Development Agency, IPH and PWD Departments for achieving the development targets fixed for them during the past two-and-a-half years.

He also reviewed the progress and achievements of various schemes in the district review committee meeting held yesterday that was attended by prominent leaders, including HP Vidhan Sabha deputy Speaker Rikhi Ram Kaundal, MLA Randhir Sharma, DCNandita Gupta and Zila Parishad chairperson Anjana Dhiman.

Thakur said the targets were met under MNREGA and Rs 22 crore was spent in providing employment to the people of the area while cheaper loans worth Rs 5.2 crore were provided to 995 self-help groups formed under the Swaran Gram Swarojgar Yojna.

The MP also stated that achievements under the Indira Awas Yojna were also praiseworthy as as many as 567 houses had been constructed till now.

He said under the Hariyali Yojna, 302 rain water collection structures were constructed with an expenditure of Rs 1.05 crore and 309 water check dams were built costing Rs 1.68 crore. As many as 438 earthen dams and tanks were constructed with expenditure of Rs 1.43 crore while Rs 48 lakh were spent on the construction of 115 wells and bowalies, Thakur added.

The MP also stated that the district had also won laurels in total sanitation programme as its Ghumarwin development block was declared defecation free last year and 129 out of total 151 gram panchayats in the district had been declared defecation free till now.

Kangra, July 25
Kargil Vijay Diwas will be celebrated tomorrow to remember the sacrifice of 527 Army personnel, including 52 from the hill state. On this day in 1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts that had been lost to Pakistani intruders and after this Kargil War was fought for more than 60 days. During the war there was human loss on both sides but Pakistan had to retreat after international diplomatic pressure.

Out of the 52 war heroes from the state, who sacrificed themselves on the altar of the nation, two of them were honoured with Param Vir Chakra and five with Vir Chakra.

As many as 15 war heroes 15 belonged to Kangra district while 10 were from Mandi, nine from Hamirpur, seven from Bilaspur, four from Shimla, two each from Una and Sirmaur and one from Chamba.

Functions would be organised all over the state to commemorate the contribution of the Armed forces and the war heroes of the state.

However, anguished parents of Kargil martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, demanding punishment for Pakistani officers guilty of torture to their son, are still moving pillar to post even after 11 years of the war.

Dr NK Kalia, father of Captain Saurabh Kalia, said the government had failed to take up the matter to get justice for the martyr so far. He said the body of his son was handed over to the Indian Army by the Pakistan army on June 9, 1999, in a mutilated condition. But the Indian Government failed to raise the issue in the international forum against the Pakistani army.

However, they were supported by the masses in this regard. They had received more than 3 lakh e-mails, thousands of letters and telephone calls in support of their demand of an international action against Pakistan for torturing and murdering their son.

Captain Saurabh, who had not even received his first salary, was the first Army officer to communicate about the intrusion of Pakistan army into Kargil Sector of the Indian territory, Dr Kalia said.

He fought along with five other Army jawans till their ammunition was exhausted and they were captured by the Pakistani army on May 15, 1999. Dr Kalia said his son and five jawans were kept in captivity for 22 days and were murdered on June 6, 1999.

He said his repeated requests to the Government of India to take up the issue had been ignored so far.

Kangra, July 25
The Rogyi Kalayan Samiti (RKS) today allocated Rs 18.84 crore for Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, for 2010-11. However, the major share of the budget will be borne by the state government.

Stating this here today Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said the amount was sanctioned during a meeting today. He said five super-speciality departments would start functioning in the college and the Centre would fund Rs 150 crore for the same. The minister added that the super-speciality departments of neurology, neurosurgery, cardio-thorax surgery, cardiology, nephrology and oncology would be set up in the first phase.

He said the infrastructure of the college had been enhanced and the Centre and the MCI had been approached to increase MBBS seats from 50 to 100.

Bindal said the college already had five postgraduate seats and 32 more were expected to be sanctioned in the second phase.

He added that the samiti had decided that besides round-the-clock emergency in the college, a day-and-night laboratory and ambulance service would also be provided. The RKS has also decided to depute five specialists of gynaecology, medicines, anaesthesia, radiology and surgery from the TMC to the civil hospitals of Dehra and Baijnath every Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

The minister has ordered shifting of two liquor shops near the college. An anti-ragging committee has also been recommended.

Meanwhile, staff nurses of the college have demanded that their consolidated salary be increased to Rs 13,500 per month from Rs 7500 to make it at par with the nurses working on contract.

Shimla, July 25
Two labourers were buried alive and two others injured in a landslide triggered by a downpour in the wee hours today in Kanhlog locality near here. The dhara (temporary shelter), in which the victims lived, got buried under debris brought down by the landslide. While Chet Ram (22) and Ravi Kumar (20), both from Bhawai Bhalech in Sirmour district were buried alive, Daluat Ram and Surat Ram escaped with injuries. Later, they were admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital with multiple fractures.

The district administration gave Rs 10,000 as immediate relief to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 2,000 each to those injured.

In another rain-related incident, a huge tree came down on a dhara in the Idgah area, affecting seven families. However, no one was injured and the affected families were shifted and provided tarpaulins and blankets.

Over the past 24 hours, Shimla recorded 72.3 mm of rainfall, while Dharamsala had the maximum 86.4 mm precipitation. Other areas that experienced heavy rains were Kasuali (79 mm), Solan (68.6 mm), Dharmapur (66 mm) and Nahan (60 mm).

The weather office has forecast more rain and thundershowers across the state over the next four days.