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Luhri power project runs into rough weather
Annandale Row
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CM announces perks for sportspersons
Cong rues proposed location of college in remote area
IAS officers transferred
4,000 got jobs in 4 yrs, courtesy khadi board
Medicinal plants on ayurvedic hospital premises
Kabaddi player’s achievements remain unrecognised
517 examined at health camp
9,610 poly houses constructed in state: Minister
Dy Forest Range officer caught taking bribe
4 bikes burnt, search on to nab culprits
Soldier cremated with military honours
government Cement Supply Case
Insurance firm told to pay complainants Rs 25,000
Karamchari mahasangh holds protest
Villager dies after falling from hillside
Schedule for colleges released
Man held with 61 cement bags of govt supply
Girl falls from tree, dies
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Luhri power project runs into rough weather
Shimla, May 2 It has advised the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) to consider options like reducing the length of the tunnel, decreasing the height of the dam and allowing larger increase environmental flows as mitigating measures. The 38.14-km twin HRT through which water will be diverted to powerhouse for power generation will effectively render dry about 50-km stretch of the Sutlej. “The terms of reference of the project were decided in May 2007 when the water environment and issues were not as conspicuous or serious as they are in current times. Otherwise, such a long diversion of river water through the HRT would have been objected to at that time,” the committee observed. Consultants to the project, who have been interacting with the Ministry, and the committee should have advised the project proponents and alerted them regarding the recent criteria of the EAC and they should have been more cautious. The only remedy now available was to consider mitigating measures. It noted that most of the dumping sites were at less than 30 m from the HFL (highest flood level) at which 88.73 lakh cubic metre of the total 126.75 lakh cubic metre of muck will be dumped over 64.71 hectares. Most of the muck-dumping sites lack prevailing norm of the EAC and they need to be relocated. Total land requirement of land for the project is 380 hectare, including 271 hectares of forest land and 109 hectares of private land and a population of 68,463 persons of 14,574 households in 168 villages, which was quite large, will be affected. If all the mitigation measures are taken, the generation capacity will be reduced considerably and the project may be rendered unviable. However, General Manager of the project Satish Sharma said the SJVN would respond to the objections raised by the EAC with full justifications. Residents have been opposing the tunnel-based project and agitating under the banner of the Sutlej Bachao Jan Sangharsh Samiti. Residents of some gram sabhas have already passed resolutions for stopping the testing work in the area. As per the provisions of the Forest Right Act, no activity that impacted the forest rights of the community can be carried out without the consent of the gram sabha concerned. |
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Annandale Row
Addressing a press conference here today, state secretary, CPM, Rakesh Singha said Annandale was a sensitive issue which should have been dealt with much more care and concern. “The stand taken by Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar, who is also the BJP national president, on the Annandale issue is very legitimate and valid as in a democracy the Army as well as civilians have their own significance which must not be underestimated,” he remarked. Singha said it was really shocking that the land mafia had purchased 5 bighas, which was very much part of the ground and under Army possession. “The manner in which almost 28 bighas have been bought in and around Annandale clearly points towards an evil design that is being pursued so that the ground can be taken back from the Army in the name of creating a cricket stadium,” he alleged. Singha said the state must adopt a balanced and pragmatic approach to the issue as the issue involved the question of national security. The CPM leader also hinted at the formation of an alternative third front to keep the two main political players, the BJP and the Congress, out of power. “Under no circumstances will the CPM have any kind of understanding with the BJP or the Congress, as these two are responsible for lack of facilities in the capital city,” he said. Singha said candidates put up by the CPM for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor were completely into social service, unlike BJP and Congress candidates for MC polls, who devote more time to business than serving the public. “The CPM has so far finalised 16 candidates and in the remaining nine wards too we will support like-minded candidates who believe in our ideology,” he said. Singha further said the CPM would release its election manifesto here on May 13. The Shimla Municipal Corporation was an MC only in name as the real power was in the hands of the Commissioner and not the Mayor or councillors. “If voted to power the CPM will ensure that the Mayor and elected councillors have all the powers and not the bureaucrats as is the case now,” he added. |
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CM announces perks for sportspersons
Shimla, May 2 Speaking at the opening ceremony of the three-day 15th All-India Dr YS Parmar Memorial Volley Ball Tournament organised by the Sports Department here, Dhumal said, “Any Himachali, who will win a gold medal in the forthcoming Olympics, will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 crore. Those who will win silver and bronze medals will be given Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively.” Besides cash rewards to outstanding sportspersons, the Parshuram Award, highest honour in the state for sportspersons, had also been instituted, Dhumal said. Nine sportspersons were conferred the Parshuram Award on Himachal Day last month, while 83 others were honoured for their achievements in different sports events, he added. Dhumal said the government had provided 3 per cent reservation in government jobs for outstanding sportspersons. The diet money of the players within and outside the state had also been increased substantially, he said. He said synthetic athletic tracks were being constructed at Dharamsala and Hamirpur at a cost of Rs 8 crore each to provide
world-class facilities to budding athletes. He said Rs 7 crore astro-turf hockey ground was also being constructed at Una. JR Katwal, Director of the Youth Services and Sports, said 10 national-level volleyball teams were participating in the tournament. He said as many as 30,000 youths participated in various sports activities during 2011-12. He said the
Panchayat Yuva Krida Khel Abhiyan was also being implemented to tap rural sports talent. |
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Kinnaur residents pledge support to Karmapa
Dharamsala, May 2 Home minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Dolma Gyari and Indresh Kumar, RSS leader and president of the Himachal chapter of the Himalayan Parivar, were among those present. Though the programme was organised to discuss the threat posed by China to India, its real motive was to support the Karmapa. A large number of residents of Kinnaur district, led by their MLA, participated in the programme. Later, while addressing a press conference, Indresh said the Central Government should take a firm decision regarding the Karmapa. The Karmapa was revered as a religious leader of Tibetans and the Centre should take a decision regarding providing him land for setting up his monastery. The 17th Karmapa came to India after fleeing from China in 2001, under mysterious circumstances. Since then he has been staying here under the strict surveillance of Indian security agency at the Gyato Tantric Monastery, an establishment of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Though officially Karmapa or his organisation does not own any land or establishment in India, many illegal monasteries are being controlled by his aides and followers. One such monastery in the Trilokpur area of Kangra district, the land of which was in the name of Sewa Devi Negi, a Kinnaur resident, was vested in the name of the government by Kangra District Magistrate RS Gupta. The Centre is also yet to allow the Karmapa to visit the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim that is considered the seat of Karmapas or black hat Lamas in India. Indresh, when asked if Karmapa should be allowed to buy land in Himachal for setting up a monastery, said the decision on the matter had to be taken by the Centre. In case the Centre gives permission, the state would be pleased to provide land to Karmapa for setting up a monastery in Himachal, he said. When asked about the dispute regarding the real Karmapa, Indresh said there always had been disputes regarding heirs of religious institutions. However, since the Dalai Lama had recognised Ogyen Trinley Dorjee as the real Karmapa, the dispute was almost settled, he said. Participants in the programme also urged the Centre to consider the proposal of the state to build railway link between Manali and Leh in view of threat from China that has built infrastructure till the Himachal border also. Residents of Kinnaur most of whom are Buddhists are staunch followers of Karmapa. |
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Cong rues proposed location of college in remote area
Bilaspur, May 2 Led by Bilaspur Sadar Congress constituency president Col AP Gauttam (retd), all members of the committees have demanded that the location of this college should be shifted either to Bilaspur town
or near it so that the youth of the district can fully utilise it. The committees said Kalol was almost 70 km to 90 km far from most of areas of Bilaspur district and lacked basic infrastructure. The area has a village market, a primary health centre and a senior secondary school. It lacks communication facilities and has one single-lane road. The party asked whether the government opened such polytechnic colleges in other districts in backward and unconnected places with little facilities or this dirty game was being played with Bilaspur district only. The Congress said the government was playing politics even in matters of development and this strategy had been adopted with an intention to belittle the credit, which it would have to give to the Congress. Leaders, including general secretary Sushil Kumar, secretary Ajay Chandel, spokesmen Rakesh Soni and Balbir Pande, city Congress president Raj Kumar Tadu, Kisan Congress president Kuldip Chandel, Minority Cell leader Sabardeen, nagar parishad members -- Bir Deen, Sonia, Soma Devi, Sonika, Shashi Bala, Nirmala Rana, former nagar parishad member Dipak Patil and prominent leaders Aman Thakur and Ajay Rahi, have warned of an agitation if the government did not shift the location of the college to a well-connected area. |
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IAS officers transferred
Shimla, May 2 Prem Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and Cooperation, has been given the additional charge of Tribal Development, while Dr PC Kapoor, Principal Secretary, Tribal Development, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Industries and Labour, relieving Bharathi S Sihag of the additional charge. VC Pharka, Principal Secretary, Youth Services and Sports, will hold the additional charge of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, while Maneesh Garg, Secretary, Finance, will also hold the additional charge of Director, Treasuries, Accounts and Lotteries. RS Negi, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, will hold the additional charge of Managing Director of State General Industries Corporation. Mohan Chauhan, Labour Commissioner-cum-Director, Employment, has been posted as Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, he will continue to hold the additional charge of the post of Labour Commissioner-cum-Director, Employment. Dhruv Vashisht, Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, takes over as Managing Director, HRTC, and Sharab Choppal Negi, Additional Director of Industries and Additional Controller of Stores, goes as Director of Transport, with additional charge of the current assignment. C Paulrasu, Special Secretary, Home, has been posted as Special Secretary, Administrative Reforms, with an additional charge of Director, Small Savings. |
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4,000 got jobs in 4 yrs, courtesy khadi board
Shimla, May 2 Stating this while presiding over a review meeting of the board here today, Chief Minister PK Dhumal said the government was implementing a number of schemes to assist economically backward sections of society to undertake self-employment ventures. He said the endeavour of the board had been to bring together widely dispersed traditional artisans in rural and urban areas and provide unemployed youth with self-employment opportunities. The board had been carrying wool carding, oil extraction and facilitated finishing of woollen goods to the tribal and non-tribal population and so far 14 wool carding, oil extraction centres and finishing plants had been established in the state. Dhumal said the board had been providing margin money to the extent of 25 per cent of the sanctioned cost to beneficiaries of the general category and 35 per cent in case of special categories. He said based upon this formula, the board had provided 636 beneficiaries during the past four years with loans of Rs 35 crore and a subsidy of Rs 9.5 crore. There had been 65 per cent increase in the sale of khadi products compared to the preceding year and the board registered a sale turnover of Rs 291 lakh during 2011-12, up from Rs 176 lakh in the preceding year. Production had also been increased by 86 per cent and besides the increased income through service centres, recovery had also been improved by 26 per cent. Chief executive officer of the board Dr Lalit Mohan gave details of the activities and schemes implemented. He said efforts were afoot to motivate traditional artisans in rural areas to find self-employment for themselves in their traditional avocations. |
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Celebration of life: Anupam Kher’s tribute to father
Shimla, May 2 Such was 84-year-old Pushkar Nath Kher, father of actor Anupam Kher, who made the Queen of Hills his home way back in 1949 and continued living here till he was taken to Mumbai when he suddenly fell ill and died on February 10. His star son today organised a function in the memory of his father, who was a familiar face on the Mall for residents of the town. His ashes will be sprinkled everywhere on the Mall, his office in Talland, Nabha House, where he lived and finally immersed in the waters of Tattapanni, tomorrow. “I could not have bid adieu to my father, a remarkable man on his final journey without bringing his ashes to Shimla, the place where he lived, worked and enjoyed every moment of his life,” said Anupam, accompanied by his mother. The last words uttered by him before his death was “live life”, which he exemplified so well and as such today’s function in his memory was “celebration of life” and not mourning of death, he added. The atmosphere at the function held at the Gaiety Theatre as wanted by Anupam was not somber, but cheerful and light as he shared moments spent with his father. Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Director General of Police DS Manhas and several other friends and locals joined the family in paying tributes to Pushkar Nath Kher. “He was an ordinary man, but an extraordinary person who touched the lives of people with his innocence, cheerful disposition and communicative ways,” Anupam said. He remembered with fondness the first lesson he received from his father about celebrating failure so that it could not touch or affect one. “Without giving me an inkling about my failure in Class X exam, he took me to Alfa restaurant and treated me to mutton samosa, Espresso coffee and pineapple pastry which was a family outing only once in six months,” he said. “He was not a politician or a VIP, but a simple clerk in the Forest Department. Still everyone loved him in the town as he had touched everyone’s heart in some or the other way with his simple and endearing mannerisms,” he said. International award in memory
Anupam announced the institution of an international award in the memory of his father, which would be given to a person from a creative field. “It can be a person from Himachal living anywhere in the world, but having earned a name in the creative field,” he said. The award would include a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation, which would be given at a function in Shimla every year, he added. Dhumal pays respects
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today paid floral tributes to Pushkar Nath Kher, father of renowned cine artiste and resident of Shimla Anupam Kher, at a Shradhanjli Samaroh organised at the Gaiety Theatre here today. Dhumal said Pushkar Nath was a simple and social person who enjoyed the small pleasures of life, thus leading a fulfilling life. “He would not miss out an opportunity to appreciate any good steps like ban on polythene imposed by our government which showed his positive frame of mind,” he said. He said Pushkar Nath had been instrumental in spreading the message of love and harmony amongst people. |
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Medicinal plants on ayurvedic hospital premises
Hamirpur, May 2 From the herbs grown there several concoctions used as medicines will be given to indoor and outdoor patients of the hospital. Ayurvedic treatment is mainly based on herbs, which are currently procured from the herbal garden based at Neri or Ayurvedic Research Centre, Joginder Nagar in Mandi district. Many herbs are also procured from the market in the dried form. The department plans to cultivate many herbs in the next six months and fresh green herbs obtained from the hospital garden will improve the efficacy of the concoctions prepared in hospitals. The green herbs will also improve the quality of kawath (a concoction) given to patients for the treatment of various diseases and improvement of general health of people. With the popularisation of our ancient ayurvedic medicine system, thousands of patients have been coming for treatment to District Ayurvedic Hospital. During 2010, more than 27,000 patients came for treatment to the ayurvedic hospital. Doctors also
treat patients with the panchkarma system. District Ayurveda Officer IP Gupta said the department was soon going to start the cultivation of medicinal plants in a small garden being established on the premises of the hospital here. He said this would help them in getting fresh herbs used for preparing many concoctions used in the treatment. cloud.com |
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Kabaddi player’s achievements remain unrecognised
Hailing from Sharog village, falling under the Bandli gram panchayat of Shillai block in Sirmaur district, Ritu has not only captained India’s victory against Thailand in the third Asian Junior Kabaddi Championship held recently in Malaysia, but has several other honours to her credit. Her innings in kabaddi, a game played in her village school, began when she represented Himachal in the Junior National Kabaddi Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007, which fetched her a gold medal. She went on to win silver at the 2008 Rural National Kabaddi Championship held in Jaipur. She also won gold medals in 2009 in the Junior Nationals and the Rural National School Championships held in Dharamsala. Ritu, a student of BA-II in Bilaspur Sports College, represented the Senior National Women Kabaddi Championship in 2008 and bagged bronze and gold medals in the rural category. She also bagged a bronze in the inter-university championship held at Ujjain and senior nationals held in Mumbai. Her efforts, however, remained unrewarded as she was given only Rs 10,000 by the Chief Minister on April 15. People of her community are sore over the step-motherly treatment meted to her, especially when other sportspersons have been handed Rs 2.5 lakh each. |
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517 examined at health camp
Bilaspur, May 2 The camp was inaugurated by Dr KL Gupta who gave details of the activities of the sangathan at the national, state and district levels. Most of the patients at this camp were suffering from arthritis, eyes ailments, heart condition, teeth troubles, hyper tension and skin problems. Doctors who were present included Dr Sandip, Dr Tarun, Dr Sushma, Dr Dhiraj Sharma, Dr Vandana, Dr TD Tandon, Dr KH Minhas, Dr Abhishek Thakur, Dr Chitranjn Anand etc. The samiti volunteers included Umesh Gauttam, BR Varma, Dina Nath Sharma, Devki Nandan, Prof Ashwini Chandel, VR Varma, RL Sankhyan, BS Thakur, Jai Singh, KK Suman, Tulsi Ram and panchayat president Swadesh Kumari, accompanied by other members and village leaders. |
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9,610 poly houses constructed in state: Minister
Hamirpur, May 2 The minister gave this information after listening to grievances of farmers at Panjot and Bagwara, under the Bamsan block of the district. He said 4,171 micro irrigation schemes had also been constructed to irrigate fruits and vegetables, which had improved the economy of farmers in the state. Dhiman said under the scheme 1,605 poly houses had been constructed in Hamirpur district and Rs 11.36 crore had been spent on irrigation and poly houses in the district. He said the state had laid emphasis on building roads in the district and all the 229 panchayats of the district had been linked with roads. |
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Trekking expedition held at Dalhousie
Dalhousie, May 2 The YHAI, affiliated to the International Youth Hostels Federation, has been organising trekking programmes at various trekking routes of the Himachal Pradesh, thereby promoting adventure tourism in the picturesque hilly state. A batch comprising 93 participants hailing from Maharashtra and Gujarat, including 35 girls, is participating in the expedition. They will take part in various activities like rock-climbing, river-crossing, bird-watching, drawing competition and trekking in Dainkund, Jot, Lakharmandi, Kalatop and Dalhousie. Through such treks, the YHAI aims at promoting environmental consciousness among the youth and instilling traits of integration, co-operation, courage and confidence in them. |
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Dy Forest Range officer caught taking bribe
Solan, May 2 The bureau team was led by DSP Ramesh Sharma. He said the unit employees complained that the officer had been troubling them and demanding money on the pretext of posing problems in their work. They said they had already paid Rs 5,000 to him about a fortnight ago. The officer, however, was not satisfied with this payment as he again started pestering the employees this morning and demanded another instalment of Rs 5,000. Though the employees pleaded that their owner was not in town, the officer told them to deliver the money this evening, failing which their work would suffer as the plot involved clearing of some vegetation. The bureau officials after receiving a complaint from the unit employees laid a trap and nabbed Chauhan red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 near the rest house here this evening. While further investigations were underway into the case, an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against
Chauhan.
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4 bikes burnt, search on to nab culprits
Solan, May 2 The police later found three more bikes burning near the gate of the Government Degree College at Kotla Nullah. SP, Solan, Hridesh Bisht said timely police action helped save two bikes while the other two had been damaged. He said a search was on to nab the culprits as it seemed to be the work of miscreants with no definite motive. It is worth mentioning that four bikes were found burnt in the Saproon area about two months ago and prior to that too another such incident had taken place in the town. Though some miscreants had been nabbed in the case and a dispute relating to parking had been found to be the underlying reason, the other case had remained untraced. Bisht said he had directed his team to educate vehicle owners to abstain from parking their vehicles in the open. Insurance companies in the town also are worried at the emerging trend of vehicles being burnt as it adds considerably to giving compensation.
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Soldier cremated with military honours
Solan, May 2 He leaves behind his wife Rakhi, two infant children Lakshay and Tamanna and brothers Sanjay and Vipin. The body of the deceased soldier had arrived at Nahan last night and was taken to his native place this morning. SDM, Paonta Sahib, Vijay Kumar and DSP Nishchint Negi laid wreaths on behalf of the state government, while officials of the Rashtriya Rifles also laid wreaths. Recipient of Shourya Chakra in 2002, Naik Rajesh Kumar of the Rashtriya Rifles had died after slipping into a deep gorge in the Kishtwar area. An ambush was being laid by a joint column of the Rashtriya Rifles and the police after receiving information about the presence of militants in the Cherji jungle.
— OC
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government Cement Supply Case
Nurpur, May 2 He was produced in the local court on Tuesday and remanded to three-day police custody until May 3. BS Negi, DSP, Jawali, said following a tip-off, the police had raided a house at Chalwara village and confiscated a number of cement bags marked for government supply and arrested Kuldev Singh, house owner. He said a case under Sections 409 and 120-B had been registered in this connection and during investigations the accused Kuldev said he had purchased those cement bags from panchayat pradhan Khushal Singh. “The police had also impounded a tractor trolley in which cement bags were transported. Kuldev Singh had been bailed out during judicial custody,” he said. During investigations, Khushal Singh had moved an anticipatory bail application before the District and Session Court, Dharamsala. He was granted an interim anticipatory bail and finally that too was rejected by the court. After that he had applied for an anticipatory bail in the state high court, but was not granted the same and finally he surrendered himself before the police.
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Insurance firm told to pay complainants Rs 25,000
Sundernagar, May 2 They had filed an appeal against the order of the Consumer Forum, Mandi, through their father Paras Ram. Hima Devi, mother of the appellants, had gone to collect fuel wood in a forest where she consumed some wild fruits. She was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Sundernagar, and then shifted to the Zonal Hospital, Mandi, where she died on April 3, ’07. As the deceased belonged to the Below Poverty Line family and was insured under the Matri Shakti Bima Yojna, the application for giving the insured amount of Rs 25,000 was filed with the insurance company through the Block Development Officer, Sundernagar. When it was rejected by the insurance company, a consumer complaint was filed. It too was rejected on the ground that as the cause of the death stated in the postmortem report was cardiac respiratory arrest, so the death was not accidental. The state commission however held that the finding of the Consumer Forum that the death was natural was wrong, as the deceased was given strong medicines during her treatment, which affected the cardiac respiratory system. It directed the insurance company to pay the amount.
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Karamchari mahasangh holds protest
Shimla, May 2 President of the mahasangh Govind Chathranta said the employees were not being given benefits on par with Punjab following the pay revision, though the state was committed to following the pay scales of the neighbouring state. It was surprising that the government was feigning ignorance about the allowances and other benefits released to the employees in Punjab. Besides various financial and other benefits, the mahasangh is also demanding the regularisation of the services of various categories of employees recruited on a contract basis under different schemes. It was pointed out that Punjab had not only granted time-bound scale with jumps after four, nine and 14 years of service but also increased the grade pay of various categories. It also demanded the regularisation of the services of daily wage, contract and tenure employees, primary assistant teachers, along with those appointed through the Parent-Teacher Associations and computer teachers engaged through private company. It also demanded that vacant posts in all departments be filled only through regular recruitment.
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Villager dies after falling from hillside
Chamba, May 2 The report said the deceased had been identified as Hans Raj who belonged to a nearby area. At the time of mishap, the deceased was on his way to his relatives. The deceased on falling from the hillside was grievously hurt and succumbed to his injuries, the report added.
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Schedule for colleges released
Shimla, May 2 He said for summer closing colleges, supplementary break from the first day of the commencement of examination to 10 days would also be given. Admissions would be carried out from June 11 to June 20 without late fee and a late fee of Rs 10 per day would be charged from June 21 to 30. He said practical examination would be held from March 1 to 15 and theory papers of all faculties would begin from March 15.
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Man held with 61 cement bags of govt supply
Nurpur, May 2 This government supply cement meant for government construction was being utilised in laying the house slab by the accused. The police said the accused had been arrested and a case under Sections 379 and 411, IPC, was registered against him in conducting preliminary investigations. The local DSP said the police would detect the source of pilferage of government supply cement and from where the accused had arranged or purchased it.
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Girl falls from tree, dies
Nurpur, May 2 The police handed over the body to the family after conducting a postmortem examination today.
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Shimla, May 2
Solan, May 2