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Tree Felling
EXAM SCAM |
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Workshop on beekeeping training begins
Roerich trust working under a cloud
40 injured in road mishaps
Embryo transfer to boost dairy farming
Navratra fair at Naina Devi from October 8
Promote tourism in eco-friendly way: CM
Alka Kumari wins declamation contest
Free potato seeds for Ladakh farmers
Cong Seva Dal training camp from tomorrow
Baddi unit awarded
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Officials told to go on spot inspection
Pratibha Chauhan/TNS
Shimla, September 28 Even though the Tree Authority Committee (TAC) had granted approval for removal or lopping of these 152 trees more than two years back, a final decision had been put on hold by the state. The government had constituted a sub-committee. It is only a week back that the government had asked the Forest Department to undertake a fresh spot inspection so that a fresh report in each case could be prepared. “We have started the task of undertaking spot inspection and will refer the matter to the government as the TAC had already cleared the cases,” said Nagesh Guleria, DFO, Shimla. A single tree, even if it is dry, cannot be cut without the prior permission of the TAC, which forwards the report to the Cabinet which gives the final nod. Besides pending cases, the department has received 60 fresh applications during the current monsoon. “We will get these inspected and get approval from the TAC at the earliest,” said Guleria. He, however, added that if there was immediate threat to life and property, the trees had already been removed after getting a temporary approval while the formal sanction of the TAC would be taken later. The government has made laws for felling of trees and made it a serious offence. There have been instances where people had injected chemicals in the roots of the trees to ensure that it dried up and in some cases construction had been undertaken close to a tree in violation of the norms. The TAC is led by the Mayor, a councillor, MC Commissioner and the DFO.
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Stokes seeks judicial probe
Tribune News Service
Shimla, September 28 Expressing concern over the scam which had shaken the confidence of the people on the board, she said only a thorough inquiry by a sitting or retired judge of the high court could find out the culprits. She said the chairperson of the board should be removed forthwith and the probe should find out his role in the scandal. She said the inquiry by an IAS officer, ordered by the BJP government, was nothing but a cover-up exercise and its only aim was to give a clean chit to the board and the government. It was obvious that employees of the board were involved in the scam and the government must sack them without delay and give them exemplary punishment after conducting inquiry. Rogue academies and schools were selling certificates freely to the students in connivance with board employees but the chairperson had not resigned and the government had also not sacked him which was quite shocking, she said. The Dhumal government had by reinstating corrupt officers sent the wrong signals and such action would only encourage corruption which had become the biggest hurdle in way of speedy development, she added.
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Workshop on beekeeping training begins
Solan, September 28 Dr Harish Kumar Sharma, scientist and national coordinator, laid stress on its significance to the end-users. Dr Uma Pratap from ICIMOD said this workshop was a part of a series of such workshops in six countries of the Hindukush Himalayan region, namely, India, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The main objective of such workshops, as apprised by Dr. Pratap, was to develop curriculum involving all stakeholders from different parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and ICIMOD, Kathmandu. Dr. Prem Raj Gupta, Professor & Head, Department of Entomology and Apiculture of the university, while welcoming the participants, said in India this project was being implemented at Dr Y S Parmar university, Nauni, in collaboration with the Society for Technology and Development, Nagwain, Mandi, and the Central Himalayan Environment Association, Uttarakhand. Min Gurung from ICIMOD gave a detailed account of various processes of this programme. He said earlier the contents of various training programmes in the Hindukush Himalayan region were expert-driven and less weightage was given to the stakeholders and most of the training programmes were still oriented towards the European bee species. The scientists will make efforts to analyse the shortcomings in the existing curricula and refined curriculum will be developed by incorporating the suggestions of the participants in the workshop from the recommendations. Dr. K R Dhiman, Vice-Chancellor and chief guest in his address stressed the role of pollinators in the increasing productivity, specially in horticulture crops in the Hindukush Himalayan region. He was of the view that earlier in such programmes there was top to bottom approach which should now be reversed which would be developed by getting exclusive feedback from the end-users. He further stressed that since beekeeping was a profession which did not require any land, hence it should be encouraged among the landless farmers for improving their socio-economic status and maintenance of fragile eco-system of the Hindukush Himalayan region. He advised the organisers to ensure more participation of farmers in such workshops.
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Roerich trust working under a cloud
Shimla, September 28 Russian Ambassador Alexander M. Kadakin, who is also an ex-officio member of the trust, has taken a serious view of the dissolution of the trust and recently written to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to get the trust restored to its original status. It was registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, on April 16, 1993, but under some misconception, the trustees dissolved the original trust founded by Devika Rani and was re-registered under the Societies Registration Act on October 7, 2005. Now, the issue has been taken up by one of its life trustees Shakti Singh Chandel. He has shot a letter to the Chief Minister drawing his attention to the dismal state of affairs. “The trust, at present, is suffering from serious mismanagement and financial irregularities are not being set right. There is no rule of law in its working and misconduct, arbitrariness and defiance of the laid down instructions by some of its employees has become the order of the day” he lamented. Meetings of the board of trustees and executive committee were not being held regularly, resulting in a chaos. The failure was nothing short of a “breach of trust” by the trustees who had not been able to perform their duty as assigned by the law, he further pointed out. Despite huge financial grant of Rs 2 crore provided by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the trustees had betrayed the founder of the trust. It was under these circumstances that he had to write to him to seek his intervention in the matter, he said. The five-year term of the Board of Trustees was expiring on October 7 and the government should either extend it or appoint new members. The last meeting of the board was held on July 6, 2006, four years ago whereas under the provisions, it should meet at least once in a year. Likewise, the meetings of the executive committee have also become a rare phenomenon with only two in 2008 and not a single meeting in 2009. The minutes of the only meeting held this year on June 3, 2010, have not been issued so far. As per regulations, at least four meetings of the executive committee should be held in a year.
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40 injured in road mishaps
Kangra, September 28 Dehra SDPO Paras Ram said a school bus (HP-19A-2926) rammed into a tree at Pakka Paroo, near Chalali, in Dehra subdivision today leaving 21 persons, including 19 children, injured. Three of the injured were taken to Dr RP Govt. Medical College, Tanda, for treatment. The DSP said a case of rash and negligent driving was registered against the bus driver, Gurdev Singh. In yet another accident, near the SDM’s office in Kangra subdivision today, two buses collided head on the NH-88 leaving 18 bus passengers and a motorcyclist injured. The police said a HRTC Bus (HP-68-2157) was on its way from Dharamsala to Shimla while as a Haryana roadways bus (HR-38Q-2983) coming to Dharamsala from Delhi collided head on leaving 18 persons injured, including both drivers. A motorcycle (HP-36-2503) was also hit that left the motorcyclist injured. The injured were taken to local hospitals for treatment. A case has been registered against Haryana roadways bus driver Ashok Kumar, a resident of Juian village of Sonepat.
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Embryo transfer to boost dairy farming
Shimla, September 28 A beginning in propagation of the ETT technique in the hill state has already been made by the Animal Husbandry Department by procuring embryos from Ludhiana, which were further implanted in cows at its own cattle breeding farm in Bagthan. Success has been obtained in one case and now to deploy the technique on a mass scale Rs 2.9-crore project has been sanctioned for establishment of an ETT Laboratory, import of embryos and training. The objective is to find a permanent solution to the low milk yield of hill cattle, ranging between 3 to 4 litre, which is far below their potential to more than double the production over the next 10 years. The scheme includes production of embryos from genetically superior animals and their transfer into low producing recipients, to be used as surrogate mothers. It encompasses selection of donors and recipients, super ovulation, synchronisation, artificial insemination of donors with the semen of proven sire, embryo collection from donor’s reproductive tract, evaluation of embryos, their transfer into synchronised recipient females and preservation of surplus embryos in liquid nitrogen for future use. All this will enable to produce 80 to 100 calves from a single proven animal as against five to 10 calves in whole life under normal breeding. The new technique will provide further impetus to the Rs 300-crore Doodh Ganga Yojna and help make state self-reliant in milk, says Chief Minister PK Dhumal. The ETT can also be applied for enhancing reproductive rate in superior animals by production of twins. In the next stage, the sperm sexing technique will be introduced to ensure birth of female calves, reveals secretary, agriculture, Ram Subhag Singh. The department has sent two veterinary doctors to the ETT laboratory at Kalsi in Uttarakhand to acquire further expertise in the technique. If needed, veterinarians will be sent abroad for training, he adds. Application of the ETT in open nucleus breeding system by multiple ovulation and embryos transfer can further increase the rate of genetic improvement through identification of genetically valuable animals more accurately with high selection intensity, minimising generation interval.
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Navratra fair at Naina Devi from October 8
Bilaspur, September 28 Deputy Commissioner-cum-Temple Trust Commissioner Nandita Gupta said this while presiding over a review meeting of district officers here today. Lakhs of devotees from all over the country visit the fair. Gupta said nothing should be left to chance and all essential supplies like clean drinking water, electricity, traffic management and health facilities must be ensured round the clock. She said 24 CCTV cameras have been installed to track the activities of anti-social elements while “crowd control watch” would also be maintained under the ultra modern computer-operated “Global Surveillance System”. The DC said the devotees must pass through the metal detector at the temple’s main gate and trucks, tempos and trolleys would be stopped at Kainchi ka Mor, Toba and Bhakra and would not be allowed to enter the town. She said six health centres would work day and night, four ambulances would be on duty and large number of oxygen cylinders would be available. Five barriers will be fixed to manage traffic and an information centre will be set up at the main bus stop to help devotees, she added. Nothing should be left to chance and all essential supplies like clean drinking water, electricity, traffic management and health facilities must be ensured round the clock — Nandita Gupta, DC, Bilaspur |
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Promote tourism in eco-friendly way: CM
Shimla, September 28 He was addressing a valedictory function of the World Tourism Week celebrations, jointly organised by the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism Administration,
HPU, here last evening. Dhumal said the state was emerging as a favourite destination for tourists from the world over and a record number of 1.4 crore people had visited the state during the previous financial year. “Tourism is one of the major income generating sectors for the people and a sizeable portion of the population is dependent for livelihood on tourism-related activities,” he stated. The Chief Minister said the government was upgrading infrastructural facilities to meet the increasing demand of the visitors and targeting the high-end tourists by motivating them to holiday in the hill
state. Dhumal said the “Home Stay” scheme had been launched by the government to provide a peep into the lifestyle, culture, traditions and customs of the hill people. He said a large section of society had come forward for registering their houses under the scheme in the rural, tribal and border areas of the state to give a feel of the local customs and traditions to the tourists. |
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Alka Kumari wins declamation contest
Bilaspur, September 28 He said, “We have to remain vigilant about habits and day-to- day activities of our children and wards and also channelise their energy towards constructive pursuits.” District Public Relations Officer Amar Singh Thakur said the department had started a campaign throughout the state. Alka Kumari of Government Senior Secondary School, Jhandutta, was declared first and awarded Rs 500. Pushp Lata of Government Senior Secondary School, Nalti, stood second with cash prize of Rs 300 while Rishabh Soni of Government Senior Secondary School, Daslehada, bagged third prize of Rs 200. Students from 14
senior secondary schools participated in the declamation contest. |
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Free potato seeds for Ladakh farmers
Shimla, September 28 Stating this here yesterday, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the varieties that were cultivated in the Lahaul valley were being supplied to the farmers of the Ladakh region where the crops had been washed away in floods, on the request of Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The government had already provided financial assistance to the flood victims to express solidarity with the affected people. He said potato seed of best variety would be delivered at Leh headquarters for which the transportation costs would also be borne by the state, the total burden of which come to about Rs 50 lakh. He said collection of the potato seed in Lahaul valley was already underway and the same would be handed over to Ladakh authorities for onward distribution shortly.
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Cong Seva Dal training camp from tomorrow
Bilaspur, September 28 He said state party president Kaul Singh Thakur would inaugurate the camp on September 30 while Union Steel Minister
Virbhadra Singh would be the chief guest on the concluding day. Lakhanpal said the workers would be imparted training and be equipped with facts and figures to counter act the false and fabricated propaganda of the BJP government, apart from giving them tips
on popularisation of pro-people schemes and projects of the Congress-led central government. |
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Baddi unit awarded
Solan, September 28 Selected from among 287 public and private sector organisations, the unit has won the top gold award in both categories. The award was presented recently in Goa by Bhaskar Chatterjee, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Buoyed by the achievement, the unit manager JS Kang said, “Dwelling on our strength of providing excellent training infrastructure since inception, we have strived to improve the facilities, systems and resources in a planned
manner.” — OC
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Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes has demanded a judicial probe into the worst-ever scandal in the State Board of School Education in which certificates were awarded to those candidates who had not even appeared in the examination.
