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60 still stranded in Sangla valley
Landslide halts apple transportation
Examination Scam
Supply drugs in bulk to government, traders told
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Govt plans to set up ayurveda varsity
Radio collars for leopards
Anti-polythene drive launched
Gondhla project to make way for storage dam
Make trifurcation model a success: CM to power board
‘Lok Mitra Kendras’ for gram panchayats
Army recruitment rally from Oct 5
BSP protests removal of kiosks in Bilaspur
Undertrial gives cops the slip
Two killed, 6 hurt in Mandi
Five of family held for murder
Three kiosks gutted
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60 still stranded in Sangla valley
Shimla, September 25 With the road likely to be cleared either late tonight or tomorrow morning, the Kinnaur district administration has arranged buses that will help them reach Shimla, SDM Naresh Thakur said. About 150 tourists had been stranded in the area following landslides triggered by incessant rains. Even though weather was clear throughout the day, the helicopter of the state government was not available for airlifting the stranded tourists. During the past two days, the helicopter had made five sorties and evacuated about 60 tourists, including foreigners, who were
airlifted to Rekong Peo and Shimla. People across the state heaved a sigh of relief as there was respite from incessant rains. The local Meteorological Centre also indicated that the weather might remain clear and monsoon was practically on its way out. |
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Landslide halts apple transportation
Shimla, September 25 Even though movement of trucks carrying apple boxes was going on at a snail’s pace, a major landslide at Kuku nullah once again led to complete blockade of the road. Efforts are being made to clear the road as it would affect transportation of apples from the main fruit belt in Upper Shimla. Locals in the Machoti area, near Summerkot in Rohru, blocked traffic for almost four hours today. They wanted to vent out their grievances before Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta who was visiting the area. Since he did not spare any time for them, they reacted by resorting to blocking the road. |
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Examination Scam
Shimla, September 25 Addressing a press conference here today, the Congress chief said the chairman could not shirk from his responsibility as he was directly and morally responsible for the irregularities regarding sale of certificates without appearing for examinations. “The government should not just remove Gupta but at the same time he should be named an accused in the case which has put a question mark on the credibility of the board,” he remarked. The Congress chief also cast aspersions on the fairness of the probe by a committee headed by an IAS officer when Gupta was still holding office. “It is very clear that while Gupta continues to be the chairman, a free probe is just not possible as he will try to remove evidence which goes against him or others in the board to get a clean chit,” Thakur said. The Congress chief accused the BJP regime of adopting double standards and said BR Rahi who was the chairman of the board during the Congress regime had to face four cases. “They should adopt the same parameters for the same offence whether it applies to those who are pro-BJP or pro-Congress,” he quipped. He also came down heavily on the government for granting approval for setting up of private universities in the state. “When the Education Regulatory Commission Bill has been referred to a select committee of the Vidhan Sabha then why is the government showing so much of haste by issuing an ordinance to grant permission to another private university,” he remarked. He also sought the status of the DLF project where he said now Rayat Bahara University was coming up. “The government must come out clear on the status of the site which had been given to the DLF but now a university was coming up in its place,” he said. He demanded that no builders should be given land in and around Shimla as the town was already overcrowded. Thakur also accused the government of failing to make adequate arrangements for the apple season. “The roads are in a pathetic condition resulting in the fruit rotting by roadsides while the Chief Minister himself travels in a chopper,” he remarked. He said the growers were facing shortage of trucks and packaging material. |
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Supply drugs in bulk to government, traders told
Shimla, September 25 Inaugurating the 14th annual function of the All-India Drug Control Officers’ Confederation here yesterday, he said drug control officers should ensure that pharmaceutical companies manufactured medicines under strict quality control measures at affordable prices. He also underlined the need to evolve a strategy to reduce the production cost of the medicines without compromising on the quality to ensure that a common man can afford the treatment. Dhumal said drug manufacturing had emerged as the most profitable industrial activity but life-saving drugs were being sold in open at high rates which a common man could not afford. The number of pharmaceutical companies (with manufacturing facility) increased from 50 to 650 after the Centre sanctioned an industrial package to the state. Almost all multi-national companies had established their units and the pharmaceutical industry, alone, was contributing over Rs 18,000 crore annually to the State Gross Domestic Product. Dhumal underlined the need for giving a boost to research and development activities in the pharmaceutical sector to produce the best-quality drugs. He said drug control officers must maintain a strict vigil over the trials and experimentation with drugs. Such activities should not be permitted at any cost and no human being be subjected to any type of risk by administering uncertified drugs. He also cautioned the authorities against the repeated practice of collecting samples of various medicines produced in a particular region to discourage the pharmaceutical companies in the area. Dhumal also conferred the Best Drug Inspector Award upon B Suresh Babu of Andhra Pradesh, Ashok Kumar Mittal of Rajasthan, NV Bhattacharya of Delhi, Karan Singh Godra of Haryana, Surjit Kumar of Jharkhand, Sukumar C Dass of West Bengal, Garima Sharma of Himachal Pradesh, NV Raghuram and M Suresh of Karnataka, RP Choudhary of Maharashtra, Arvind Kumar of Gujrat, Kulwinder Singh of Punjab and S Verghese of Kerala. The All-India Drug Control Officers’ Confederation donated Rs 2.51 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. |
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Govt plans to set up ayurveda varsity
Dharamsala, September 25 This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in his inaugural address after inaugurating the three-day “Aarogya Mela” at Una today. The mela is being organised by the Aayush Department and the state Ayurveda Department. He said the state government would spend Rs 48 crore for upgrading the infrastructure and providing of ayurvedic medicine in 300 ayurvedic health centres across the state. He said the numbers of panchkarma centres in the state have been enhanced from six to 16 and 27 ayurveda hospitals had been brought under the National Health Mission. The MD and MS seats in ayurveda have also been enhanced from 24 to 39. The state government had enhanced the recruitment age from 45 to 52 of the 155 ayurveda doctors to be recruited in the near future. Ten-bedded ayurveda hospitals had also been opened at Una where the OPD and the panchkarma facilities were made available to the people. The Chief Minister released the “Swasth Sharir Avam Manav,” a publication of the Ayurveda Department, on the occasion. Rajeev Bindal, Health and Ayurveda Minister, welcomed the Chief Minister and participating pharmaceutical companies in the mela. D-pharmacy in ayurveda would also be started in the state besides, nursing in ayurveda at Paprola Ayurveda College. Paprola would be developed as the National Centre of Ayurveda for which necessary infrastructure was being created, he added. |
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Radio collars for leopards
Shimla, September 25 With the assistance of a
Pune-based wildlife NGO, a radio collar has been put around the neck of a female leopard caught from the Bharari area here last month. Wildlife officials were closely monitoring its movement ever since the collar was put, almost a week ago, to obtain information about its whereabouts and the area it
covers in a day. The radio collar can prove to be very useful to check poaching of not only leopards but also other animals. Only one radio collar has been put around a leopard so far on an experimental basis and if it succeeds, the same will be used to study behavioural patterns of other animals as well. The cost of one collar works out to be almost Rs 2 lakh as the images are transmitted through Google Earth on a screen that also shows the kind of feed the animal consumes and its interaction with the wildlife at large. Not just in the state capital but all over Himachal, there has been a spurt in the incidents of leopards straying into schools, villages and other places. It was some time back that a leopard entered a classroom at St Bede’s College here and later appeared in the kitchen of a government primary school near Mahunag temple in the Shoghi area. “It is with the help of a
Pune-based organisation that we have put a radio collar around the neck of a leopard caught from the Baharari area last month,” confirmed Divisional Forest Officer RK
Raj. He said depending on the feedback received via satellite, steps could be initiated to help in reducing the increasing animal-human conflict. He said the use of radio collars to track panthers in Maharashtra had indicated that they were entering towns and villages as they had developed a liking for dogs. In Himachal also, the system could help in understanding the food habits
of leopards. Occasionally, several areas of Himachal like the Jogindernagar area of
Mandi, parts of Hamirpur and Kangra have had to face leopard menace. Though in some cases they turned man-eaters, they strayed into villages to feed on cattle and dogs in
most cases. |
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Anti-polythene drive launched
Shimla, September 25 The third phase of the campaign would be completed on October 2. “Initially efforts will be made to persuade people against open disposal of plastic waste, failing which legal action would be taken by way of challan,” he said. He said, henceforth, responsibility would be fixed on the concerned traders and house owners who would be guilty of littering the place. He said protection of environment was the joint responsibility of every citizen to avoid ecological degradation. “Even though Himachal has made rapid strides on the environment front, a lot still needs to be done to achieve the objective,” he said. Dhumal said the state was motivating consumers to store the waste plastic, which could be sold to the Public Works Department at the rate of Rs 3 per kg for use in road construction. He said the eco-monitoring and environment auditing schemes would supplement the campaign through educational institutions. This he added would help in creating mass awareness through the students and check use of polythene with the help of 75 eco-clubs under in 12 local urban bodies. He said the students would be responsible to undertake moral policing assignment and fulfil their responsibility towards environment protection. He said best school would get a Green Trophy and cash prize of Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 would be given to school being adjudged as second and third best, respectively. |
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Gondhla project to make way for storage dam
Shimla, September 25 The project was offered to Moser Baer Projects for execution three years ago but the company backed out. In the meantime, the Central Water Commission, which was asked to identify sites for storage projects in the Chenab basin, found the site suitable for the purpose. The storage capacity of the dam will be limited to 0.5 MAF (million acre feet) as its height could not be raised beyond 200 m because of the road bridge on the Leh-Manali highway upstream. The country is entitled to have a storage capacity of 1.9 MAF (million acre feet) under the Indus Water Treaty. Another 200-m high dam has been proposed at Gyspa on the Bhaga river to create the storage capacity of 1 MAF. The biggest advantage of a storage project, which will also help generate 240 MW to 300 MW power, is that all projects downstream will benefit. The release of waters from the dam will enable these projects to generate more power during the lean winter months. They include Reoli Dugli (268 MW), Dugar (236 MW), Sachkhas (149 MW), Tandi (104 MW), Rashil (102 MW), Seli (454 MW ) and Bardang (126 MW). Sources in CWC said another storage project, if required, will be constructed upstream Chhatru project to help harness the full storage capacity of 1.9 MAF in the Chenab basin to which the country was entitled. The Centre has declared the 300-MW Gyspa a national project and it will bear 90 per cent of the expenditure on it. The HP Power Corporation that has been assigned the project has engaged Scott Wilkins as the consultant for preparation of the report. |
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Make trifurcation model a success: CM to power board
Hamirpur, September 25 Addressing the conference of the HPSEB Employees’ Union here today, Dhumal said: “The model adopted for the trifurcation of the HPSEB has been considered the best and the state has adopted this model on the proposals put forth by the employees of the electricity board.” He said: “Our government has never treated the employees and the government separate since we know that employees are the backbone of the government; our job keeps changing but your services stay permanent.” Dhumal said: “We have always looked after the welfare of the board employees and even in 2003 when the idea of trifurcating the electricity board throughout the country was mooted, our government made best efforts to put a break to this process by convincing then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.” Talking about various benefits provided by the government to HPSEB employees, Dhumal said: “We had reinstated all board employees dismissed by the previous government immediately after coming to power. We have never victimised any employee for political reasons, regularised services of 931 work charge employees and made 41 part-time workers daily wagers. We gave Rs 204 crore to provide funds for giving revised salaries to the employees and gave 296 jobs on compassionate ground.” “We are committed to looking after the welfare of all pension holders of the board and provided Rs 280 crore for the same,” he said. |
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‘Lok Mitra Kendras’ for gram panchayats
Bilaspur, September 25 He said 141 kendras had started functioning, of which 61 had been approved by the district administration. These kendras would provide door-step facility to villagers and would perform functions like collection of power and water bills, e-samadhan, special advice to farmers and orchardists on their routine problems, provision and submission of application forms of the government departments regarding various schemes and projects, tickets and passes of HRTC bus services and routes, voters lists- name entry and deletion, cards of senior citizens and differently abled etc. The organisers were also imparted training in insurance, agriculture and computer education during the workshop. |
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Army recruitment rally from Oct 5
Hamirpur, September 25 Talking to mediapersons here recently, he appealed to candidates and their parents not to fall prey to touts since no tout or other persons could help in getting entry into the Army through any manipulation. Malik said the Army recruitment rally in Hamirpur would be held after 10 years at Polytechnic College, Badu, from October 5 to 12 for candidates from Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur districts to recruit soldier (GD), soldier clerks, soldier technical and nursing assistants. The written test for soldier GD and technical would be held on November 28 and for nursing assistants on January 30 at Hamirpur, Malik said. He added that on October 5, selection of candidates from Una district for soldier GD would take place. On October 6 candidates from Bilaspur and on October 7 candidates from Hamirpur would be selected. Candidates from all three districts for soldier clerks would be selected on October 8, soldier technical on October 9, nursing assistants on October 10 and documentation and medical check-up would be held on October 11 and 12. |
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BSP protests removal of kiosks in Bilaspur
Bilaspur, September 25 They presented a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Nandita Gupta and said that this action of the district administration had deprived the poor families from their daily bread and now, the government should take immediate steps to rehabilitate them. They demanded that a separate market and a new sector should be set up to rehabilitate them. The DC said the government was taking this action on the orders of the Himachal High Court and there was no alternative, except to obey the orders. However, she assured that steps were already afoot to rehabilitate them at other places. Meanwhile, accompanied by a posse of the police, staff of the PWD equipped with JCB machines and a large number of labourers, removed and demolished over 48 roadside encroachments on government lands. Khokhas and kiosks from roadsides at DC Office road, upper main market, College Chowk, Gurdwara Chowk and Raura Sector removed during the “operation clean up” in the past three days. Some shopkeepers and kiosk owners themselves removed their encroachments to avoid losses. |
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Undertrial gives cops the slip
Shimla, September 25 Dil Bahadur had been arrested on charges of murdering a fellow Nepalese in New Shimla this March. Infact, his wife who was arrested with him is still at Kaithu jail, where both had been kept. The incident happened this morning, barely 50 m from the jail, when he, along with two policemen, was returning back from the court. Since the accused was not handcuffed, he managed to give a slip to the cops and fled. The two cops who accompanied him, Madan Singh and Kesav Ram, have been placed under suspension on charges of negligence. An alert has been sounded and a vigil stepped up along the state borders to ensure that he doesn’t go out of the state. |
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Two killed, 6 hurt in Mandi
Mandi, September 25 Tek Chand, a resident of Masoan, and Dharu Ram, a resident of Khalwan, died on the spot while those injured were taken to Mandi Zonal Hospital where they were reported to be stable but serious. They have been identified as Surajmani, Chobu, Yadu, Man Chand, Kamla Devi, and Khim Singh, all residents of the Sudhrani area.Naib Tehsildar, Bali Chowki, Mohar Singh announced a relief of Rs 10,000 to the next of kin and Rs 5,000 to those injured. A case has been registered against the driver under Sections 279, 337, 304-A of the IPC at Aut Police Station. |
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Five of family held for murder
Kangra, September 25 Kangra Additional Police Chief Sanjeev Gandhi said Preetam Chand (40) had been missing since September 21. The police was today informed about foul smell being experienced in the village following which the body was exhumed, he said. SDPO Sanjeev Chouhan said the deceased was last seen with a resident of the same village, Vinod Kumar. Vinod Kumar, his mother Gaytri Devi, wife Sapna, brother Hem Raj and his wife Saneha have been arrested in this regard. They were neighbours of the deceased.
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