Due to a delay of three years, the project cost has shot up from Rs 2.34 crore to over Rs 3 crore

HIMUDA had started work on the fish farm in 2007 and was supposed to complete it in 2009

Bilaspur, February 21
Deputy Commissioners should ensure the implementation of all the government programmes and policies within the stipulated time period and also see that all the problems of people are solved at the earliest without any delay. This direction was given by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while presiding over a review meeting of Deputy Commissioners (DCs) RS Gupta from Kangra district, Rajender Singh Thakur from Hamirpur district and Ritesh Chauhan from Bilaspur district and other top officials here recently.

He said effective and quick implementation of development schemes, enforcement of government policies in letter and in spirit and satisfaction of people regarding the solution of their day-to-day problems were some of the criteria which gave the true picture of the proper functioning of an efficient administration.

The Chief Minister said the DCs should be careful while enforcing the time limit fixed by government under the Essential Services Guarantee Act. It would also reduce complaints and grievances by easy and speedy disposals, he added.

Dhumal said during the last four years a total number of 18,927 references of grievances and problems of people were sent to his office by the three DCs of these districts and a total of 17,606 grievances had been settled till now. He said e-samadhan had proved an effective mode in grievance redress and efforts were being made to bring all the administration records on line so that all future correspondence was conducted through e-samadhan.

The Chief Minister took serious note of the inordinate delay in the completion of construction of state’s costliest Bagh Chhal Bridge over the Gobind Sagar here, on which the government had spent Rs 23 crore so far. He ordered the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (HPPWD) to ensure the speedy completion of a safe bridge at the site and asked it to start the work at the earliest there.

He said all the on going constructions and development works should be regularly monitored by the DCs and all revenue cases should be disposed of quickly. He said the government was very serious to ensure justice to the common man, adding that the officials posted in rural areas have a special responsibility to be careful in all the matters concerning the people.

Deputy Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Rikhi Ram Kaundal and the Superintendent of Police, Santosh Patial, were also present at the meeting.

Shimla, February 21
“A number of species of the Himalayan birds are on the verge of extinction and concerted efforts are being made by the state to conserve them,” Chief Minister PK Dhumal said recently.

He said efforts made by the state in undertaking captive breeding of the species, which were on the verge of extinction, were yielding positive results, especially in saving the state bird Western Tragopan and vultures.

Addressing the Conservation Warrior Award ceremony here, he asked nature lovers to conserve and preserve Himalayan fauna and educate the masses on their importance in the maintenance of ecological balance.

Dhumal said the state had a vast variety of bird species which were contributing significantly in maintaining the balance of nature in Himalayan states and the endeavour of the government to develop Pong Dam wetland as a bird sanctuary.

The number of migratory birds visiting the state had doubled, he added.

The Chief Minister gave first prize to Shah Nawaz Khan, second prize to Devinder Dadwal and third award to Prashant Gahale for the best photography of the birds. — PTI 

Solan, February 21
Aimed at generating awareness about science and inspiring students to adopt it as a subject of study, the Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences organised a one-day “Darwin Inspiring Science Camp” at the local Government Degree College. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, the camp was attended by undergraduate and graduate students.

Prof PK Khosla, Vice-Chancellor of Shoolini University, while speaking on the occasion, said: “We want the students to know the importance of evolution in agriculture, medicine, biodiversity conservation and biotechnology and to popularise the theory of evolution and origin of species and their effect on our life”.

Throwing light on the camp, Dr JM Julka, national coordinator of the project, said the camp would help in creating mass awareness among college students and teachers about Charles Darwin and his contributions in tracing the origin of species.

He said: “Science helps inculcate a sense of enquiry and reasoning, which is essential in our daily lives. Moreover, basic sciences provide the seeds of all technologies and development of a nation”.

Speaking on the occasion, the guest of honour, Manju Shah Pathania, principal, Government Degree College, said such camps would help in motivating the students for opting science as a career option. A documentary on the ‘Life of Charles Darwin’ was also shown to the audience during the function.

A paper-reading contest was organised in which Amandeep Singh Sahibi bagged the first position, while Chetna Grover and Monika Bhardwaj were adjudged 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Hamirpur, February 21
NIMBUS 2012, a series of lectures being organised by the students of the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, started with the first guest lecture delivered by Victor Hayes, a world-renowned technologist, from the Delf University of Technology, Netherlands.

Victor Hayes, popularly known as “The father of Wi-Fi”, envisioned the wireless world and also gave a practical shape to this technology used worldwide today.

Beginning his lecture, Hayes outlined the factors and needs, which laid the foundation of Wi-Fi and its global recognition.

He said the establishment of IEEE 802.11 launched a multi-million dollar industry for wireless, which enabled high data transfer rate, fast computer communications and quick access to Internet for the people worldwide through laptops and other wireless devices.

The wireless technology expert also familiarised the students with the world of Wi-Fi technology.

Hayes, a senior research fellow at the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, was conferred the Innovation Award - 2004 by “The Economist”, the Dutch Vosko Trophy and the Wi-Fi Alliance Leadership Award and the IEEE Leadership Award.

He also coauthored “The Genesis of Wi-Fi”, along with Wolter Lemstra and John Groenenegen.

A video dedicated to Wi-Fi technology was also screened on the occasion.

Unlike schools, colleges seldom take initiatives in organising events like science exhibition. However, Government College at Una has made a beginning by organising a broad spectrum exhibition comprising all the three mainstreams of sciences, social sciences and commerce.

Students of various departments displayed their talent through models, projects, collages, posters and other exhibits (see photo). The Department of History displayed an illustrative picture of the armour (cloak) presented by Hazrat Mohammad to Guru Nanak Dev, while the Geography Department made an attractive three-dimensional model of Una district displaying its diverse topography. The Music Department came out with descriptive posters of ‘ragas’ and also displayed musical instruments.

The Department of Economics highlighted the glaring disparity between rural, affluent and industrial scenario of the country at both the state and national level. Other interesting exhibits focused on the pristine glory of the Sanskrit language and projects displaying a research on the Indian English writers. The students from the science stream presented some spectacular working models displaying evolution of living creatures, pearl culture, pumping of human heart, global environmental pollution, automatic railway crossing gate and refrigeration.

District police chief Sumedha Dwivedi inaugurated the exhibition and was enthralled by the quality of exhibits and the in depth study carried out by the students in preparing models, charts and other presentations.

Amarjeet Sharma, principal of the college, said the objective of involving all the streams, including social sciences, was to ensure the participation of maximum number of students so that their creative energies were channelised in the right direction.

Goshal, February 21
People in Goshal village of the state observe self-imposed silence for approximately 45 days in memory of their local deity, Maharishi Gautam, who meditates during this time. The village, which is named after Rishi Gautam, is located four kilometres from Manali. It is believed that Rishi Gautam had his cowshed at Goshal village.

Mehar Chand, a resident, told reporters about the importance of the traditional ritual of remaining silent. “After Makar Sankranti, Maharshi Gautam meditates. During this time, people do not watch television nor listen to radio and observe silence in nearly 11 villages. We dig the soil and when the sage returns after one-and-a-half-months of meditation, people sift through the soil and examine the various particles, which he gets to see and then he tells the world about them,” Chand said.

Sage Gautam, the composer of various hymns, is considered the main deity in many villages of the state. The other prominent sages given similar respect are sage are Vyas (author of Mahabharata) and Kanchan Naag (a Hindu deity). Conventionally, the doors of the temple remain closed from Makar Sankranti till February 25 every year. On the last day, mud is applied to idols of Rishi Gautam, Rishi Vyas and Kanchan Naag. Temple doors reopen on February 26. — ANI

Solan, February 21
Heeding to the generous request from the Shimla-based Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital regarding the dire shortage of blood, which had held up several surgeries, Akal Charitable Hospital, which is being managed by The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, organised a mega blood donation camp on February 16.

The hospital created a record by collecting as many as 475 units in a single day in the state where women far outnumbered men.

The camp was held under the guidance of a special team of doctors from IGMC, Shimla. A huge queue of volunteers waited patiently for their turn and generously donated blood for the needy brethren. The volunteers of the trust motivated one and all to donate blood and the youth exhibited maximum zeal and enthusiasm for this noble cause.

Girl students largely outnumbered their male counterparts and as against the national average of women contribution being a mere 7 per cent, 70 per cent women donated blood.

Manasi Sahay Thakur, IAS, Assistant Commissioner (Development), Rajgarh, who formally inaugurated the blood donation camp, lauded the initiative taken by Akal Charitable Hospital in this remote location where regular international multi-specialty camps are held every alternate month and all minor and major medical surgeries are conducted free of cost with specialists attending the camp from across the globe.

She was overwhelmed by the response of the students and their commitments to such a noble cause.

Students of various professional colleges of Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Akal College of Engineering and Technology, Akal College of Nursing, Akal Institute of Rural Women Empowerment, staff of the Akal Academy, Baru Sahib, and Eternal University, Baru Sahib, and volunteers participated in the camp.

Girl students largely outnumbered their male counterparts and as against the national average of women contribution being a mere 7 per cent, 70 per cent women donated blood

Sundernagar, February 21
The construction of the first hydro power project by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is running several years behind the schedule. The project will be commissioned by the end of 2014 if everything goes well, said a source.

Although the delay in executing the 800-MW Kol Dam hydro power project on the Sutlej, will cause the state revenue a loss of around Rs 108 crore each year on account of its 12 per cent free power share in the project, no provisions of penalty clause have been made in the agreement signed between the government, the HPSEB and the NTPC.

The foundation stone of the Kol Dam, being constructed on the Sutlej on the border of Mandi and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh, was laid by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 5, 2000. At that time, it was declared that the project would be started in 2008.

Afterwards, the NTPC, which is executing the project, revised its schedule from July 2008 to July 2010 and it was declared that the project would be completed by March 2012. Shusheel Kumar Shinde, Union Minister for Power, during his visit to Himachal in October 2012, also made the statement that the project would be completed by March 2012.

A visit to the project site has revealed that the project cannot be completed by the end of March 2012 as many works such as the construction of the dam, spillway, installation of turbine in power house and the construction of plunge pool (flip bucket) are incomplete. The sources claim that it would be a surprise if the project is completed in 2014.

According to V Chandan, PRO of Kol Dam Hydro power Project, most of the works of the project have already been completed and the project will be ready by March 2013 as per the revised schedule.

He said about 80 per cent work on the main dam is complete. Similarly, the work of penstocks and installation was likely to be completed. The work on spillway and flip bucket would be also completed within the time frame.

He said the main reason for the delay in the project was geological surprises and seepage in the main dam. He said there is no penalty clause in the agreement for the delay in the project.

A team from the Union Ministry of Power had earlier inspected the Kol Dam and pulled up the management for not sticking to the schedule. The original cost of the project was Rs 4,527 crore, and now it has gone up to Rs 5,640 crore.

The government has already suffered loss of crores due to the delay in the execution of 10 hydroelectric projects and the Kol Dam project has been delayed by 59 months (around five years).

There is a need to insert penalty clauses in the agreement so that the executing agencies can be made accountable for the delay in projects and the revenue loss can be saved.

Shimla, February 21
The newly-constituted body ‘Defence Honorary Commissioned Officers Association’ of retired honorary commissioned officers belonging to the three defence forces held its second meeting recently.

All the honorary commissioned officers residing in and around Baldwara in Mandi district participated in the meeting. The most prominent among them was Capt Sunka Ram, 82, who shared his experience of pre-independent India. President of the association, Capt Jagdish Chand Verma, informed the gathering that the rank of honorary commissioned officers was instituted in the British era when they were called ‘Viceroy Commission Officers’. After independence, they were named honorary commissioned officers in 1953.

Other vital issues which were discussed include CSD canteen facility, Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), raising of life time fee of ECHS retrospectively, giving reservation to ESM, widows and their dependents in state and central Government jobs, DPDO, 6th pay commission and graduate equivalency certificate issued by Armed forces, etc. They resented the transfer of the post of Asstt Manager of CSD canteen to commissioned officers.

Capt Satya Pal and Capt Gian Chand were elected secretaries (finance) of the association. The association’s next meeting was fixed for April. The meet would be held every three months, the president said.

Kangra, February 21
The Road Safety Club was reconstituted here recently and it decided to challan vehicles found parked in the no-parking zone in different parts of the town.

Disclosing this here, SDPO, Kangra, Dinesh Kumar said in the newly constituted club, senior citizens and journalists, besides members of different transport agencies, were involved.

He said it was decided to challan vehicles parked wrongly or in the no-parking zone on the NH-88 passing through the town and on the Gupt Ganga Road leading to the DRPGMC, Tanda.

The DSP said it was also decided to carry on a week-long programme to create awareness among motorcycle and scooter drivers to not drive rashly and negligently, and erring drivers would be challaned.

It was also decided to challan vehicles found parked on the Civil Hospital premises as these were hampering the movement of ambulances and vehicles carrying patients.

The SMO of the Kangra Civil Hospital had time and again lodged a protest against the parking of vehicles within the hospital premises, but without any result.

Kangra roads had been witnessing chaos and jams as the traffic police was inadequate to meet the requirement. So public support had been sought to redress the public problem.