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5 students held in exam scam
Probe moving at snail’s pace: CPI
Dhumal honours 28 farmers
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BJP seeks Virbhadra’s resignation
Apple growers lost Rs 700 cr due to govt mismanagement: Cong
Municipal Corporation seeks temporary accommodation
HC comes to rescue of ecology of Rohtang Pass
Central varsity under scanner
Regulatory panel issues show-cause notice to electricity board
84 pc rural population gets piped water: Study
Noted scholar passes away
Health camp organised
CM lays stone of parking complex
CM urged to check records of blood banks
Two killed in Chamba
Vigilance Bureau launches
drive against corruption
Student goes missing
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5 students held in exam scam
Dharamsala, October 25 The accused have been booked under Section 420 of the IPC. Sources available here told The Tribune that 50 more students have been found to have passed the examination in similar way. With this the number students who have passed examination through dubious mean has gone up to 258. The 50 students, who did not appear in examination but passed, were found after a scrutiny of 10,000 students. About three lakh students had appeared for various board examinations in the state. If the entire record is screened, the number of students who benefited from the scam might go into thousands, sources told The Tribune. Interestingly, though it has been established that 258 students had benefited from the scam, the police has arrested only eight students so far. In many cases the accused students did not even fill examination forms as the same were filled by the main accused and even the marksheets were received by him. In such cases it would be difficult to implicate the students as they were not directly involved in the scam. Many cases where meritorious students suffered due to the scam have also come to the fore. A student who had secured 90 per cent marks in other subjects was declared as failed in physics. He has applied for re-evaluation of his answer sheets. After re-evaluation his marks in physics were increased to 90 per cent. Officials are apprehending that the student was declared fail in physics to keep him out of the merit list. It was allegedly done at the behest of some private schools, who wanted their students in merit list. The committee headed by Director (Industries) Onkar Sharma is already inquiry into the charges.
Probe moving at snail’s pace: CPI
Mandi, October 25 Addressing a press conference after the party’s state executive meeting here today, Des Raj said the probe was moving at a snail’s pace and those involved in the scam were being shielded. “They should be booked under the law and probe be expedited,” he demanded. He further said the state government was sidelining the provision of the Up-Gram Sabha in the panchayats and MNREGA scheme was not being implemented in letter and spirit. “The three-tier system of the panchayati raj institutions (PRI) has not achieved the desired results as the zila parishads and block panchayat samitis have become meaningless as pradhans are vested with most powers,” he added. He said the party was preparing a “concept paper” with like-minded people as to how to strengthen the PRIs and free them from the pulls and pressures of the babudom and corrupt people. |
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Dhumal honours 28 farmers
Shimla, October 25 Inaugurating the “Agriculture Conference-2010”, organised by the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Services Association, here, he said cultivation of cash crops in protected environment under the poly-house scheme required higher technical inputs which only scientists could provide. He also honoured 28 farmers on the occasion. He exhorted the scientists to visit the fields themselves and, more importantly, ensure that the extension staff at their command established a close rapport with farmers for smooth and regular flow of know-how. They should be at hand to provide immediate solutions to the problems faced by the farmers. The much-needed impetus to the rural economy could be imparted only by boosting agriculture productivity. The contribution of the agriculture to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which had been hovering between 2 and 4 percent, had to be increased for the overall prosperity of the state as 70 per cent of the population was dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The Chief Minister said exhaustive research and development was taking place in all major rural sectors and concerted efforts were needed to motivate farmers to diversify from their traditional crops to high value crops for better returns. He said Rs 440 crore project was in the pipeline for promoting organic farming with the assistance of Japan International Cooperative Agency, while Rs 353 crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojna and Rs 300 crore Doodh Ganga Yojna were under implementation. He honoured the selected 28 farmers with district-level awards carrying a cash reward of Rs 25,000 each and also felicitated agriculture officers who had contributed significantly in implementation of Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Bagwan Yojna. Secretary Agriculture Ram Subhag Singh presented a nine-point plan before the scientists, including soil testing, finding by-products for maize crop, motivating farmers to cultivate off season vegetables, giving boost to organic farming, creating rainwater harvesting structures, utilising MNREGA for land development and water conservation, developing marketing infrastructure and encouraging farmers to take advantage of Kisan Credit Cards and Insurance Schemes.
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BJP seeks Virbhadra’s resignation
Shimla, October 25 In a join statement issued here yesterday, party spokesperson Ganesh Dutt, vice-president Roopa Sharma and secretary Praveen Sharma said he had no moral authority to remain in office as it was a serious case of corruption based on conversations of the two leaders recorded in the audio CD after forensic investigation confirmed that the voices were of Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh. He had initially started that CDs were not in vogue 20 years ago and also asserted that it was not his voice. The former Chief Minister had been alleging that the case was politically motivated, but all his pleas had been rejected by the court after perusal of the evidence presented by the investigating agency. Virbhadra Singh was making ridiculous statements against the government in frustration as his own party leaders were not coming out in his support. Instead of making false charges against the government he should quit office to uphold the moral values.
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Apple growers lost Rs 700 cr due to govt mismanagement: Cong
Shimla, October 25 Secretary of the party and grower Rohit Thakur said there was a virtual collapse of the administration as the Public Works Department failed to keep the roads open, the local authorities could not arrange trucks and nodal agencies like the HPMC and HIMFED failed to supply apple cartons and trays. The main Shimla-Theog-Hatkoti highway and various link roads remained blocked for days together and as a result the fruit which was normally sent to market within 24 hours took 10 to 12 days to reach Delhi, the main market where more than 60 per cent of the produce was disposed of. He claimed that 25 to 30 per cent fruit got spoiled in orchards itself and could not be sent to the market. Besides, over five lakh bags of apple procured under the market intervention scheme was decaying at collection centres. The shortage of trucks forced the growers to pay through their nose for transportation of the produce and they had to shell out Rs 50 to Rs 90 per box more as freight. Similarly, they had to pay Rs 40 more for carton and trays required for packaging as they were exploited to the hilt by private suppliers. The HIMFED and HPMC provided only 2 lakh boxes for an estimated crop of over 3.5 crore boxes. In fact, the crop was much more and already over 3.65 crore boxes had been exported. |
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Restoration of Town Hall Building
Shimla, October 25 The MC office housed in the British-time Town Hall will have to move out to facilitate restoration of the building on the lines of the Gaiety Theatre. With the MC providing several public services, the alternative accommodation provided to them will have to be centrally located so that people do not face inconvenience. “We had earlier written to the government to provide us the US Club accommodation from where the Public Works Department has moved out to its own office, Nirman Bhawan, so that we can start preparing for the restoration project to take off,” said AN Sharma, Commissioner, MC. With the government giving the US Club building to the Tourism Department for setting up of a museum and club for public, it is not certain whether the accommodation can be provided to the MC. He said with the money likely to be released next month, they would have to look for alternative accommodation at the earliest. The MC has also suggested that the building housing the DIG office on the Kali Bari road can also be given temporarily to them, he added. The conservation project of the Gaiety Theatre was completed last year after almost a decade-long work commissioned under the strict supervision of conservation architects and experts who had undertaken conservation of stone structures, especially of the British era. The Town Hall being a landmark of the British era is a heritage structure which has started showing signs of crumbling and is in the need of major restoration and conservation work. The ADB team during its last visit had inspected the Town Hall building as well as the Ridge area which had developed major cracks due to sinking. “We intend to undertake restoration of the Town Hall as well as stabilisation of the Ridge along with beautification works in and around the Mall,” said Sharma. He said the experts from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) were also of the opinion that a lightweight structure would have to be erected to stabilise the sinking portion above the Tibetan market.
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HC comes to rescue of ecology of Rohtang Pass
Shimla, October 25 The order was passed by the green Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol on a public interest litigation where in the main grievance of the petitioner was that everyday on an average 4,000-5,000 private vehicles make a round trip from Manali to Rohtang that causes a lot of pollution in the area. Sometimes it takes 6-7 hours to travel the short distance of about 50 km between Manali and Rohtang. The Bench observed that there the increasing traffic to Rohtang was causing damage to the environment. To reduce the traffic in the area, the Bench suggested that only public buses should be allowed to ferry tourists to Rohtang so that private vehicle did not travel this distance. Another suggestion given was that to restrict the number of tourist vehicles allowed to visit Rohang Pass. The Bench said if necessary, fees could also be levied in this regard. However, the Bench clarified that while considering these proposal the committee shall ensure that the right of the people of Lauhal Spiti were not affected in any manner. This matter was brought to the notice of the court through a letter addressed to the Chief Justice by one Sanjay Kulshethra where he had urged the HC’s intervention for conserving the glacier of the Rohtang Pass, which is being affected by automobile-induced environment pollution. While treating the letter as a petition, the Bench had directed the Chief Secretary to submit a status report in this regard on or before December 16.
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Violation of UGC Norms
Hamirpur, October 25 According to some candidates, “As per the UGC norms for getting appointed as Assistant Professor in the management faculty, the candidate should be having first-class MBA degree or Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, but most of the candidates selected for these posts have Masters in Commerce (MCom) degrees.” Officer on Special duty (Academics) of the Central University Arvind Aggarwal said, “Appointing teachers in any faculty is the discretion of the selection committee and teachers selected in the management faculty must be MBAs.” “However, since teaching in management faculty include several subjects like accountancy, finance, companies laws and legislations, candidates with MCom degrees are better qualified to teach in the management faculty,” he added.
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Non-recovery of Charges
Shimla, October 25 The notice was issued to the company after it informed the commission that departmental proceedings could not be instituted against the four officers who had since retired. Under the Central services rules the officers are not liable to disciplinary action four years after retirement. Thus, the chargesheet served on them for events which took place in 2001 had become infructuous. The commission had issued an advisory in this regard to the board in October 2007 and it took three years to inform the commission even though negligence on the part of its officers who failed to recover Rs 68,21,945 from the Ambuja Cement Company was established. The commission had directed the board to fix responsibility for the non-recovery of dues after the lapse was pointed out in the audit report. The mandate of the commission as an independent regulatory authority was to determine the tariff bearing in mind interests of the consumers. The non-recovery of the amount was attributed to the negligence and inefficiency on the part of the company, besides failure of its employees to exercise reasonable care and diligence. Thus, there was a strong case for disallowing the amount while considering the ARR, it observed while giving four weeks’ time to the board to file reply.
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84 pc rural population gets piped water: Study
Hamirpur, October 25 The average rural population drinking the IPH-supplied water is much higher here against the national average of 62 per cent. The survey was conducted by the National Sample Survey, Government of India. They collected samples from 31,134 households in all 12 districts of the state and the survey report was submitted by the Economic and Statistics Department on behalf of the IPH Department. According to the survey, 16 per cent population in rural Himachal is drinking water drawn from other sources like wells, baouli, streams etc. Thirteen per cent population of the state reported that they are getting adequate drinking water supply, 82 per cent people found the water quality after purification better than average and 8 per cent did not found the quality of water satisfactory. Ten per cent of the population in the rural areas said they were being supplied muddy water. Telling about water distribution, 11 per cent population said it was very good, 42 per cent said it was good, 20 per cent found it average, 19 per cent said it was satisfactory and 8 percent found it unsatisfactory. Commenting about the findings of this survey, IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi said, “The IPH Department has been able to provide piped drinking water in a large area of the state through its various schemes, besides installing 22,207 handpumps for the purpose.” “It is our continuous endeavour to extend this facility further and improve the quality of drinking water,” he added. |
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Noted scholar passes away
Chamba, October 25 Born in 1925, Sharma had studied Sanskrit at Lahore. Being in the teaching profession, he had served on various important posts. Besides a man of letter, he had diverse interests in classical music and folk arts. He himself was a vocalist and a sitar player. Being one of the founder members of the Sanatan Dharma Natak Mandal, Chamba, Sharma also established Chamba Sahitya Parishad. After retirement Sharma served as correspondent for newspapers like The Tribune and Jansatta. Several research articles and features in various magazines and papers go to his credit. The literary circle of the town has expressed grief on the demise of Sharma. |
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Health camp organised
Hamirpur, October 25 A team of doctors headed by Raj Bahadur, director of Chandigarh Medical College, examined the patients. President of the sabha Rajinder Rana said eight OPDs were set up in the health camp and facilities such as X-rays, ECG and ultrasound were also provided at the camp. He said a number of tests were performed in this camp and medicines of worth Rs 108 lakh were provided free of cost to the patients. Specialists in gynaecology, pediatrics, orthopaedics, medicine, skin, eye, ENT and
allergy attended to the patients. |
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CM lays stone of parking complex
Shimla, October 25 The parking lot will accommodate 250 vehicles and cost Rs 11.68 crore. He said the government planned to construct more such multi-storeyed parking lots in the city to ease roadside parking. He said the complex would have six storeys with 30,000 sq ft of commercial area. |
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CM urged to check records of blood banks
Shimla, October 25 Expressing anguish over the incident, chairman of the foundation Ajai Srivastava said in a letter to the Chief Minister that the criminal negligence on the part of the blood bank authorities at Chamaba, Dharmasala and Palampur would undermine voluntary blood donation movement in the state. These blood banks neither utilised the blood collected through voluntary donations nor did they sent it to the Tanda hospital well in time. The blood, which had a life of 35 days, was sent to Tanda only when the expiry date drew close.
— TNS |
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Two killed in Chamba
Chamba, October 25 According to police reports, in one incident Hem Raj of Pandli village in Mandi district was killed and another person received minor injuries when their JCB rolled down the hillock at Saili in Pangi tribal valley. They were coming after clearing snow from the road at Saili. In another incident, one person Vikas Kumar died on the spot while another was injured when their vehicle, which it was on its way from Holi to Nayagran, swerved off the road and fell into the Ravi at Balu Deol, the reports further revealed. The bodies have been handed over to their kin and cases have been registered. |
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Vigilance Bureau launches
drive against corruption
Shimla, October 25 As a part of its strategy to create awareness among the public against corruption, the Vigilance Bureau will create its own network of informers in the police stations. “We are keen to involve the public and will undertake the campaign under our community scheme so that people with clean image can be associated in the fight against corruption,” said RM Sharma, DIG (Vigilance). Sharma said the Vigilance Bureau would also take steps to ensure that the identity of a person giving some information was not revealed. “We have made public the telephone numbers of all senior Vigilance officers and the public is free to approach us with any kind of information,” he added. He said the Vigilance Bureau was currently investigating about 300 cases. “Besides this, we are undertaking preliminary investigation in 650 |complaints and have prepared a list of departments where corruption is rampant,” he added. The department is observing Vigilance Week in which schoolchildren will also be involved.
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Student goes missing
Mandi, October 25 Talking to The Tribune here yesterday Sesh Ram said his son and he had some arguments a day before he went missing. “We made several inquiries from his friends and relatives about his whereabouts, but to no avail,” he rued. He said though an FIR had been lodged, the police does not have a clue about his missing son. “I do not suspect foul play,” he added.
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Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today urged agriculture scientists to discharge their responsibility towards farmers with more dedication as the schemes launched by the government to boost farm production
