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Flash floods force families to shift
Low-lying areas at risk
Heavy rain washes away check dam
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Vijay’s ancestral village wears festive look
Tributes paid to Parmar
‘Poll will be battle of wits’
Assembly Elections
CPM to contest 22 seats
Cong aspirants can apply directly to PCC
CM inaugurates complex of wool federation
purchase of vehicles
BJP to meet CM over power board offices
Two die of poisoning
No need for working president: Kaul
Pending Development Grants
Two die in separate incidents in Bharmour
MC proposal to hire legal aid rejected
Probe sought into death of athletics coach
Solar City Project
Tourism dept decides on helipads near all shrines
Nagni fair celebrated
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Flash floods force families to shift
Manali, August 4 The river changed course at many places between Kanchnikoot and Nehru Kund and water entered many temporary hutments of labourers. Many were seen trying to save their clothes and household goods today. Manali SDM Balbir Thakur said the local administration was providing relief to the flood-hit. He further said the administration sounded an alert, cautioning people living in the vicinity of the Beas. The police patrolled river banks and directed people to move to safer places. Mule Parbhah Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj secretary Pishal BT said about 30 families of Nepalese labourers were affected. He said all people were shifted to safer places today, with most of the families affected shifted to the Government Senior Secondary School at Bahang, about 4 km from here.
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Low-lying areas at risk
Manali, August 4 A timely alert by Colonel Shukla, working at the 8.82-km Rohtang tunnel project from Dhundi, saved many lives. He sounded Manali SDM Balbir Thakur and the local administration evacuated people. This was the second time within a year that a cloudburst and resultant flash floods devastated the area. On July 21 last year, eight labourers working at Rohtang tunnel project were washed away. Flash floods had been striking the Solang valley over the years. Though a flood control diversion wall had been raised by the BRO to protect the SASE and the highway between Bahang and Nehru Kund, danger still loomed as the Beas got diverted from the Palchan bridge, damaged the highway and flooded the areas last night. “The flash floods last year were triggered by 72 mm of rain that night. We do not have data of the rain recorded at Seri Nullah and Dhundi last night,” said Dr Manmohan Singh, in charge of the meteorological office at Shimla. “Kullu and Bhuntar did not record not more than 10 mm of rain yesterday,” he added. Dr JC Kuniyal, senior scientist, GP Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, said the region had become prone to landslides and cloudbursts due to uncontrolled construction in the ecologically higher area. A cloudburst was concentration of rain in one area, caused by a peculiar rise in temperature from a low valley to a higher valley, and lasts for a short period, he explained.
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Heavy rain washes away check dam
Palampur, August 4 Talking to mediapersons at Baijnath, village residents said the department had failed to construct retaining walls, necessary on both sides of the check dam, despite repeated requests. In the absence of retaining walls, it collapsed in the first showers last night, they added. With this, half a dozen houses and over a hundred acres of land were in danger. The occupants of the houses spent a sleepless night. Residents demanded that immediate steps to save the houses and land. Sarpanch Rekha Devi urged the Kangra Deputy Commissioner and the Baijnath SDM to provide assistance to villages affected immediately. Normal life hit
Normal life was paralysed in the Palampur valley following continuous rain for the last four days. All rivers and streams were in spate at present. There was extensive damage to water supply and irrigation schemes, electricity supply lines, roads and government buildings. Official sources said the public works department had suffered a loss of Rs 5 crore due to the road damage. Several culverts had developed cracks and many internal roads were washed away. Students had to cross flooded streams to reach school. Some parents demanded that lower classes be closed if the rain continued. Talking to mediapersons, Palampur SDM Bhupinder Attari said no loss of life had been reported so far. He added that he had constituted four crisis management teams and put those on standby to handle the situation if any mishap was reported. The SDM visited rain-hit areas and reviewed the situation. |
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Vijay’s ancestral village wears festive look
Harsour (Hamirpur), August 4 His joyous parents and relatives were busy offering sweets to everyone. Students of the Kinnar Garden School, where Vijay had studied, were the first to reach the house. Vijay’s overjoyed teacher Seema Devi said, “He was always a quiet student. He has done wonders. We never imagined that he would rise to such heights.” Vijay’s mother Roshni Devi, shy of talking to mediapersons, remained busy in household chores. All she said was, “His hard work and God’s grace have brought him victory.” Vijay’s father Subedar (retd) Banku Ram Sharma said, “The Army played a significant role in his training. He always worked hard to achieve his target. The state government should set up a shooting range to promote the game.” Vijay’s grandmother Brahmi Devi could not stop her tears of joy. She said, “I have seen hell and heaven in this life itself. Early days of extreme poverty were like hell. This wonderful victory has given me a feeling of heaven.”
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Tributes paid to Parmar
Shimla, August 4 “He always thought for the overall development of the state and uplift of the poor, farmers and horticulturists. The common man was on his priority agenda,” said Dhumal. Earlier, the Chief Minister paid floral tributes to Dr Parmar at the Ridge Maidan. He said Himachal was indebted to him since it was under his leadership that it got a separate identity amongst hill states. He said Dr Parmar was of the firm belief that people should render concerted efforts for the development of the state and understand its social system, politics and literature and the agony of the weaker sections of society. Dhumal added that today there was need to work whole-heartedly for the cause of people irrespective of any consideration of caste, creed, region and above party lines. He said the state had today emerged as a role model and steadily forging on the path of progress. Speaking on the occasion, Tulsi Ram Sharma, Speaker, said Dr Parmar was a futurist and visualised that fruit crop, roads and education could help Himachal leap forward in its journey of development, adding that today horticulture and agriculture had strengthened the economy of people. State Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur, legislators Kush Parmar, Gangu Ram Musafir, Suresh, Bhardwaj, Urmil Thakur, Surender Bhardwaj, Roop Singh, Hira Lal, and Rakesh Verma and MC Mayor Sanjay Chauhan were among those present. |
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‘Poll will be battle of wits’
New Delhi, August 4 Besieged by a series of corruption scandals and panned for its governance deficit, the UPA government’s credibility has taken a hit over the past two years. Congress strategists admitted that this is the real challenge they face in the coming elections. “It’s going to be a battle of wits...it will have to be seen which party is able to grab the imagination of the electorate,” remarked a senior AICC functionary. The Congress will also be pushed on the defensive as the BJP is planning an aggressive against former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who resigned from the Cabinet recently after a trial court in Shimla framed corruption charges against him in an old case. Since the issue of corruption is currently centrestage, the ruling BJP proposes to highlight that the Congress poll campaign committee is headed by a tainted leader. The Congress can ill afford to marginalise Virbhadra as he is the party’s only mass leader in poll-bound Himachal. While the Congress is hoping the BJP’s attack against Virbhadra, it could backfire by generating a sympathy wave in his favour. Party strategists are working on a campaign which will tap into the people’s disillusionment with the Dhumal government. For instance, the Congress will focus on the resentment among farmers whose land has been acquired for the establishment of private universities in the state. “As many as 13 such universities have mushroomed across the state,” remarked Birender Singh, AICC general secretary in charge, Himachal. The Congress is also banking on the building anger among people and the BJP rank and file over the growing clout of Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur. “The BJP government here is perceived as a “baap-beta sarkar,” said a senior Congress leader, adding that this was the main reason for the string of recent desertions from the party. In its ongoing attempt to corner the Dhumal government, the Congress has drawn inspiration from the Quit India Movement. It will launch a “Himachal chodo” campaign on August 9 and has plans to gherao the state Assembly when it opens for the last session later this month. Above all, the Congress will have to go in for micro-management in selecting candidates and planning its campaign. It is acknowledged that the prevailing anti-incumbency is as much against the BJP as it is against individual MLAs who fail to live up to the expectations of the electorate. “The Congress should target BJP’s unpopular MLAs and should not hesitate to drop its own non-performing legislators,” said an AICC office-bearer.
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Assembly Elections
Palampur, August 4 Hundreds of party workers headed by Congress leaders thronged the venue of the meeting and staked their claims for party tickets in the Assembly elections. Brij Butail, former Congress MLA and senior party leader, reached the venue and submitted his bio-data before the observer. He said he had served as MLA for four times from Palampur and a chance should be given to him as he could easily win the seat. Congress leader Beni Parshad, who had recently left his government job to contest the Assembly elections, also staked his claim for the party ticket. He said he should be allowed to contest as he belonged to the Gaddi community, which constituted a large number of voters. Two more applications were received by the observer from Palampur. However, Baijnath MLA Sudheer Sharma did not stake his claim for the party ticket. He had announced to contest from Baijnath. Later addressing a news conference, Gogi said he had assessed the political situation in the area. He said he would soon submit his report to the AICC. He said the final round of assessment would be completed by the end of this month. |
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CPM to contest 22 seats
Chamba, August 4 He said the CPM would contest the Assembly elections in close coordination with the CPI. The CPM state secretary announced that in Chamba district, the CPM would contest elections from the Bhattiyat Assembly constituency from where the party had decided to field district secretary of the party Sudesh Thakur. The CPM had also resolved to join the newly formed Himachal Lok Morcha in the state, which would be projected as the “third alternative” for people, he said. |
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10 seek Cong ticket from Kangra
Kangra, August 4 Singla said former MLAs Surender Kaku and Daulat Choudhary, municipal councillor Rajesh Sharma, Kangra BCC president Raj Kumar Jaswal, HPCC member BD Choudhary, state Congress media committee member Kuldeep Choudhary, DCC secretary Nishu Mongra, block Youth Congress president Munish Sharma, Ajay Choudhary and Sandeep Dogra applied from Kangra. Singla earlier visited Nagrota Bagwan, where the BCC held a meeting. BCC general secretary Man Singh proposed the name of sitting MLA GS Bali, which was seconded by other units and frontal organisation units. Singla said fissures in the party were apparent at Kangra and warned that action would be taken against any rebel who contested the elections. |
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Cong aspirants can apply directly to PCC
Shimla, August 4 Now the candidates can send applications to the PCC and the DCC. The decision will take care of the concern raised by former union minister Virbhadra Singh that nominated organisational bodies could not be expected to do a fair job in recommending party candidates for the polls. Since the application can be sent directly to the PCC, the organisational set up at the block and district level will not have much role. A fee of Rs 5,000 (general category) and Rs 2500 (SC and ST categories) will be had to be submitted along with applications before August 10. The strategy committee of the party headed by Birender Singh Chaudhary had decided that the BCCs would hold meetings and send a list of five candidates from each constituency to the DCCs by August 10. The DCCs, after due deliberations, would forward the names of most suitable candidates to the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) by August 24. The PEC would consider all the applications and submit these further to Chaudhary, who would send these further to the AICC for final decision. |
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CM inaugurates complex of wool federation
Palampur, August 4 He said the BJP was a disciplined party in the state devoted for the welfare of people. Addressing a press conference at the guest house of HP Agriculture University here today, the Chief Minister said the BJP had performed well in the past over four years in the state. Dhumal said the BJP was fully prepared for the Assembly elections in the state due by the end of this year and it was waiting for declaration of the poll schedule by the Election Commission. He said most of the senior leaders of the Congress were in the race for the post of Chief Minister and they had no interest in the development of the state. Dhumal said Virbhadra Singh, who had already been facing criminal cases, was making all efforts to become the Chief Minister of the state. He appealed to voters to reject corrupt leaders. Referring to the future of the third front in the state, the Chief Minister said if one would see the past history of the state, voters had never favoured the third front. In the past also, a number of regional and national parties tried to create a third front in the state, but were rejected by people. He categorically stated that there would be direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in the elections. Earlier, while inaugurating a complex of the HP State Wool Federation at Banuri, Dhumal said sheep breeders across the state would be provided with solar lights. They would have to pay only Rs 150 for the purchase of these lights and Rs 2,550 would be given by the state government. Sheep breeders have been given the toll-free telephone facility on 800, 180 and 8006 numbers to register their grievances. |
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Sofat seeks explanation from Bindal
Our Correspondent
Bilaspur, August 4 Talking to mediapersons here today, Sofat said nobody had criticised the efficacy of the ambulance service. But the government must explain “reasons and compulsions” regarding its decision to first purchase a Traveler vehicle for this purpose and then give the vehicle to some other agency for its conversion into an ambulance under heavy cost, particularly when an ambulance vehicle was available in the market at a lesser price. Sofat, who was the Transport Minister during the former BJP regime of the then Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, supported his version by documents supplied by the government under RTI and distributed the copies of the same to the media here. He added that the state government was misleading the masses as if this was a BJP scheme, while it was a provision of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of the Central Government and it was being run with the entire funding from the NRHM.
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BJP to meet CM over power board offices
Chamba, August 4 The district BJP president, Group Capt (retd) Bhupinder Singh Chauhan said he was hopeful of the Chief Minister acceding to the demands. He said the board circle and its other offices had land and buildings at Chamba since 1964 and had been engaged in exploiting the hydel potential of the state. “The district has a hydel potential of about 2,325 MW. About 20 mini-hydel schemes of up to 70 MW are ready to be harnessed,” he added. He further said meeting the demands would go a long way in harnessing hydel potential, opening avenues of employment, development of the area and earning revenue for the state exchequer. He said a delegation of the district BJP unit would meet the Chief Minister and present the demands so that work on proposed hydel schemes could be undertaken without delay for the enhancement of the power generation capacity of the state.
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Two die of poisoning
Kangra, August 4 Asha Devi (18) of Sapnoo village falling under Joginder Nagar of Mandi district had consumed some poison on August 2 and died at the Tanda medical college. Mamta (25) of Mushirabad, Hyderabad, presently residing at Rajol, 12 km from here, consumed phenyl by mistake and was rushed to Tanda hospital, where she is struggling for life. Mamta's husband Sheshi Kumar is working as an engineer with a private company at Rajol. |
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No need for working president: Kaul
Shimla, August 4 “There is no past precedence to appoint a working president and as you all can see I am working for the party,” he remarked. In reply to a query whether Virbhadra Singh would be allowed to contest elections or not, Kaul Singh said it was for the high command to take a final view on that and he was nobody to comment on it. He also refuted charges levelled by Virbhadra that he, along with some other Congress leaders, was weakening the party. “We are only working against the BJP and the Dhumal regime, as it is our sole objective to ensure the return of the Congress in the state,” he said. Kaul Singh also refuted the charges levelled by the former Chief Minister that majority of the people in block units and district units were nominated and not elected. “The Block and District Congress Committees are duly elected and it is only some people who have been nominated on the basis of powers vested in the party chief,” he said. The PCC chief said Block committees and district bodies would send their recommendations about ticket allotments to the party and hopefully by the end of this month this exercise would be over.
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Kinnaur DC told to furnish details
Vijay Arora
Shimla, August 4 A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary passed the order on a petition filed by Sapni gram panchayat against the state and M/s Jai Parkash Company for the inaction on their part for the development of the area by improving and widening the Kharcham-Spiti link road. The road falls in the most affected area under the 1000-MW Kharcham Wangtu Hydro Electric Project. During the hearing it was also brought to the notice of the court that M/s JP Company had to contribute Rs 83.47 crore to the Local Area Development Committee through an affidavit filed by the member secretary, Local Area Development Committee, Kinnaur. It was also pointed out that any expenditure out of the amount thus deposited could be incurred only as per the approval of the Local Area Development Committee. It was also stated in the affidavit that only Rs 33.8 crore had been deposited by the company so far. However, it was contended on behalf of the JP Company that they had spent much more than the amount to be deposited. But, according to the state, the expenditure thus incurred to facilitate the project, could not be adjusted against the 1.5 per cent cost of the project to be used for the development of the area only as per the approval of the Local Area Development Committee. The JP Company has sought time to file its reply in this matter and the court has listed the matter for further hearing on August 16.
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Two die in separate incidents in Bharmour
Chamba, August 4 One person was killed when a boulder hit his head near Dhanchho en route Manimahesh. The deceased had been identified as Narayan Singh. In another incident, a woman identified as Thamo Devi of a village near Bharmour township died yesterday. She was stated to have been bitten by a snake two days ago. Officials had rushed to the incidents sites to provide relief to the next of kin of the deceased, the reports added.
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MC proposal to hire legal aid rejected
Mandi, August 4 Though the MMC rubbished the RTI Bureau allegations, the Director rejected the council’s fresh proposal on its poor fiscal health. Purnima conveyed the order to the MMC president and vice-president. The RTI Bureau said though the council did not have funds to pay pending electricity bills, how could it afford a legal consultant. He was to be paid Rs 200 per notice and Rs 5,500 per case. The MMC had no lawyer to slap notices on over 2,000 house tax defaulters, from whom Rs 45 lakh has to be recovered as shop rent. |
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Probe sought into death of athletics coach
Bilaspur, August 4 Taking note of the two-month-long harassment and torture of this sportsperson from Bilaspur district, state president of the federation Ram Singh, accompanied by state leaders, held state sports department officers responsible for her ordeal. Ram Singh said Kamlesh was not only earlier charged with certain imaginary and baseless charges, but was repeatedly punished without any impartial probe, first by removing her unceremoniously from her post of in charge of Government Sports Hostel and then transferring her to a far-off school in Una district, without questioning those officers who were after her due to jealousy. Ram Singh said not only employees, but also Bilaspur was under shock after hearing the news of her sudden death and a large number of people here had reasons to believe there was “something fishy” in her death. Ram Singh said she was victimised by some orthodox persons for her “supernatural powers” which they alleged were responsible for a psychological disease locally called “khel” of a girl trainee of her hostel here. The president of the federation urged the Chief Minister to order a probe and give justice to the deceased as she could not get justice from the government when alive, despite repeated representations and memorandums.
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MC seeks Centre’s help
Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 4 He urged the minister to approve the master plan, prepared by Deoitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon. “I also urged him to provide us expert who could provide guidelines for the implementation of the project,” he said. Panwar said there was an urgent need to approve the project as it would not only help in tapping solar energy, but would also give respite from hefty electricity bills. “We have the advantage of ample solar energy during winter months when there is maximum demand for power,” he pointed out. The switchover to solar energy would not only limit the usage of wood as fuel, but also save the town from exorbitant electricity bills, he added.
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Tourism dept decides on helipads near all shrines
Shimla, August 4 This has made the tourism department decide on setting up helipads near all shrines in the state and constitute a helipad maintenance authority. The department has directed all district tourism officers to undertake a survey and send a report of all places where a helipad is needed. It has decided to link the popular shrines at Jwalamukhi, Kangra, Chamunda, Chintpurni, Manimahesh and Bharmour through a heli-taxi service. Several lakh pilgrims visit the shrines every year, especially during Navratras. The process of land acquisition for setting up a helipad near the old Chamunda temple has been initiated. “The pilgrim circuit can be easily linked through this service. Proceedings to set up a helipad near Adi Himani Chamunda have been initiated,” officials say. The state has a network of 60 helipads. It plans to link various tourist places through a heli-taxi service, which has not found many takers since its launch with four operators almost two years back. In contrast, the service is popular at Vaishno Devi, Badrinath and Kedarnath and other shrines where the trek is arduous. In case more helipads are added to the existing list of 60 linking pilgrim centres in the state, there are plans to constitute a helipad maintenance authority to ensure that those are maintained and kept in working condition the year round. At present, operators are allowed to run the service after seeking permission from the Director-General, Civil Aviation, for airworthiness and engaging trained pilots. The largest number of pilgrims who visit the shrines are from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. If heli-taxi operators get permission, they will fly the pilgrims from Chandigarh.
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Nagni fair celebrated Nurpur, August 4 Pathania underlined the need to bring the Nagni Mata temple on the religious map in the state. He said Nagni fair being celebrated on every Saturday in the months of Sawan and Bhadon reflected the rich cultural heritage. “Thousands of pilgrims from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir thronging this deity during fairs indicate their faith in Nagni Mata. This deity has a three-century-old history,” he stated. |
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Manali, August 4
Shimla, August 4
Palampur, August 4
