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Death toll in Palampur accident rises to 34
Bodies consigned to flames at Ashapuri village
TERI to showcase HP as model state on world map
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Dhumal bags Agriculture Leadership Award
Promotion test: Barred candidates were ineligible, says HPSSSB chief
Death of kiosk owner leads to protest
MC begins holding ward sabhas
State tops in MNREGA implementation
‘Swami Vivekananda's teachings more relevant today’
Recruitment of attorneys on contract basis opposed
Recruitment of drivers: Prepare merit list, HRTC told
Four shops buried as wall collapses
Driver nabbed with stolen steel, iron
‘Cave woman’ dies at 100
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Death toll in Palampur accident rises to 34
Dharamsala, September 11 They had a tough time tracing and bringing back the bodies out of the deep gorge. Ashapuri village was the last halt of the bus. Local sources said a majority of the deceased were from Ashapuri. Some of the families in the village had lost up to three members in the accident. At the time of the accident there were 39 passengers in the bus out of whom just five survived. Three of them were admitted to the Palampur Civil Hospital and two to the Tanda medical college. Their condition was stated to be out of danger. The passengers who survived said the accident took place due to manual error. They said after leaving Makol bus station, the bus driver stopped the engine of the vehicle on a steep slope. The driver was not feeling comfortable in his seat. After stopping the bus he tried to adjust his seat. However, as soon as he restarted the bus, he lost control and the vehicle rolled back on the steep road and then into the deep gorge. They said the bus was overcrowded. However, many passengers had earlier disembarked from the bus at Makol station. The entire body of the bus was reduced to rubble as it took several overturns before reaching the base of the hill. The engine and other parts of the bus were ripped from the body due to the severe impact of the fall. HRTC officials did not rule out technical flaws in the bus. They alleged that drivers operating the bus on the route in rotation had the habit of taking the bus back from Panchrukhi rather than bringing it to the bus stand at Palampur. It is possible that certain technical flaws were there in the vehicle as it was
not checked at the HRTC workshop. Deputy Commissioner KR Bharti ordered the SDM, Jaisinghpur, to conduct a magisterial probe into the accident. He said an ex-gratia grant of Rs 20,000 to the kin of the deceased and Rs 5,000 to the injured had been released. The remaining grant would be released as per rules. |
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Bodies consigned to flames at Ashapuri village
Palampur, September 11 Women and children were blaming the state government for the tragedy as it had deputed an old and outdated bus on the Palampur-Ashapuri route. Most of the victims were government employees who were returning home after their duties at Palampur and HP Agriculture University. Besides, a number of men, women and children killed in the accident had come to the local civil hospital for treatment. Hundreds of villagers thronged the cremation ground from adjoining villages to pay homage to the deceased. Earlier, in the afternoon Transport Minister Mohinder Singh visited the accident site. Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar, who was in the town, released a press statement this evening expressing shock over the incident. |
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TERI to showcase HP as model state on world map
Shimla, September 11 Director-General of TERI Dr RK Pachauri said here today that the hill state had truly positioned itself in a place of leadership with respect to sustainable development. “It is HP’s story of green growth which we would like to flaunt before the outside world in international projects and researches that we are undertaking abroad,” he said. While talking about the challenges that climate change and global warming had posed, he warned that the consequences could be disastrous if we did not wake up to these alarm signals. “By the end of this century, average temperature will register an increase of about 1.1°C to 6.4°C,” he said. This, he added, could pose a threat to most of the coastal and low-lying areas. “Though there is a huge data deficiency in the study of glaciers, there is sufficient scientific data to establish that glaciers are melting at a rapid pace and most Himalayan glaciers are losing mass barring a few,” he warned. Dr Pachauri said the frequency and intensity of heat waves would also increase tremendously, along with decline in precipitation that would occur in the form of damaging heavy falls. He said the country could also face a major problem of energy security. “By 2050, our energy needs of the world will be tripled and this can be met only by importing huge quantities of oil and coal, thereby raising the vital question of supplies,” he opined. He said, “The solutions that we take for protecting environment for tomorrow must be rooted locally but with a strong global character.” He lamented that “today we are deviating from our moral values of protecting environment when there are several ways of protecting it while moving on the path of development.” “TERI will be more than happy to collaborate with the state and work in areas like organic farming, setting up cold storages with renewable energy, building green buildings and green transport as I strongly feel that we need to respect nature,” he said. On the issue of exercising nuclear energy options, Pachauri said though 17 per cent of the global needs were met by this form of energy, many countries, including France, had shut most of its plants, adding that “perhaps the level of acceptance in the coming years could be higher as safer plants are being designed though some issue still remain.” |
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Cong vows to oust ‘corrupt’ Dhumal govt
Shimla, September 11 In a strongly worded political resolution adopted at the first meeting of the state Congress held here after the appointment of Virbhadra Singh as party chief, the party accused the Dhumal-led regime of conspiring to sell the state’s valuable land and other precious resources and virtually reducing its role to that of a property dealer. The landmark laws like the Land Reforms and Tenancy Act, framed by the founder of Himachal, Dr YS Parmar, was transformed into a convenient instrument to allow its sale to outsiders. If Parmar is known as “Himachal Nirmata” (builder of Himachal), Dhumal will go down as “Himachal Vikreta” (man who sold Himachal). All his policies were designed to facilitate the transfer of land to outsiders, be it private universities or eco-tourism projects and there was hardly any Cabinet meeting in which permission was not granted for the opening of a private educational institution. Besides, the BJP government had been allotting huge chunks of land to the state cricket association headed by Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur. A conspiracy was also hatched to facilitate the sale of the Annandale ground and the historic Bantony building. The manner in which permissions were granted within a day to Bemloe Builders to raise apartments in the thickly forested area reflected the functioning of the government. It had been showering benefits on Jaypee Grpup and had regularised its illegal plant for a paltry Rs 4.5 crore for which the high court imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore. It charged the Chief Minister with using police agencies to victimise those who tried to expose the misdeeds of the government. It gave the slogan “Sarkar Badlo, Haalat Badlo” to throw out the Dhumal regime. Senior leaders
skip meeting
The first meeting of the HPCC after Virbhadra Singh took over the reins of the party brought factionalism to the fore with leaders of the rival Kaul Singh camp staying away. Besides Kaul, senior party leaders from Kangra Viplove Thakur and GS Bali and general secretary Kuldeep Rathore also skipped the meeting. While Kaul could not be contacted, Bali said he could not make it because the meeting was originally scheduled for September 10. He had about 12 public functions in his constituency today which he could not afford to miss. Rathore also could not attend the meeting as the Armed Forces Tribunal was camping in the city and as the standing counsel he had many cases in the cause list. He said he had informed the party abiout the same through a letter. |
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List of BJP candidates to be out this month: Mishra
Nurpur, September 11 He was here to preside over a meeting of party workers of the Fatehpur BJP Mandal. He claimed that only the BJP governments in this hill state had prepared the basic infrastructure to undertake development, whereas the Congress government had remained indifferent towards the development of the state. Mishra claimed that the BJP governments led by Shanta Kumar and PK Dhumal in the state had undertaken basic development in rural areas by expanding the facility of road, health, education and potable water. “The Dhumal government has launched such policies and programmes which have benefited every section of the society,” he said. Addressing party workers, he asked them to work in unison to strengthen
the party. About the party ticket from Fatehpur Assembly segment, Mishra said the party high command would decide on the same. |
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Dhumal bags Agriculture Leadership Award
Shimla, September 11 The decision was taken by the organising committee for Agriculture Leadership Awards-2012, which met in Delhi under the chairmanship of Prof MS Swaminathan, father of the Green Revolution. The award will be presented to him on September 19 in Delhi. The award has been conferred taking into consideration the performance on policy initiatives leading to better management of farm resources, crop diversification under the Horticulture Technology Mission (HTM), revival of apple economy through policy interventions, marketing support programmes, promotion of organic agriculture and launch of soil health card scheme. |
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Bus stand project hits another road bump
Mandi, September 11 The High Court has directed the HRTC bus stand authorities, HIMUDA and the Department of Transport to file a reply within four weeks from September 4, Guleria said. The Chief Minister’s Office is yet to confirm whether the Chief Minister will inaugurate the bus stand on September 13 as aimed by Minister for Transport Mohinder Singh Thakur. But the Transport Minister inspected the bus stand today and directed the HRTC and HIMUDA, the executing agency to make the bus stand ready for its inauguration. He declined to comment on the High Court order. The project once completed promises to bring commuters relief from traffic jams due to the buses parked outside the bus stand. Guleria said public had been put to inconvenience as HIMUDA and the HRTC had changed the design twice delaying the work by by six months. The half-complete bus stand was being inaugurated to get political mileage,” Guleria alleged. Mandi Sadar MLA Anil Sharma said, “The Congress was opposed to the manner the Transport Minister was going ahead with the project to get political mileage. The bus stand has the facility to park only 18 buses whereas it should be increased to park 54 buses, he added. Chief Executive Officer, HIMUDA, BB Kalra said the parking bays for 13 buses and other basic facilities for public, staff and shops, was ready for the September 13 inauguration as there was no stay order from the court in the case. The second phase for five more buses would be completed in due time and they had spent Rs 14 crore on the project so far,” he added. |
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Chamba suffers Rs 24-cr loss due to rain
Chamba, September 11 Stating this here today, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Chamba, Sunil Choudhary said the loss occurred due to rains and flash floods had been compiled from various government departments in the district, which had been put at nearly Rs 24 crore. The DC said the flash floods claimed two lives, adding that 56 cattle heads had been perished in flood water. As many as 92 houses and 52 cowsheds in the district had been collapsed, the DC said. He said the loss of Rs 24 crore also included loss of Rs 13 crore caused to roads and bridges. The damages caused had been brought to the notice of the state government, the DC said, adding that an immediate relief of around Rs 2 crore had been disbursed among affected families. |
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BSP to contest from all Assembly seats
Shimla, September 11 He said ID Bali would be the party candidate from the Kusumpti constituency. He claimed that the party had strengthened its base over the past five years and it would fare better than the last polls. The people of the state had been disillusioned with both the BJP and the Congress and they were looking for an alternative. He alleged that the state government had been adopting dilatory tactics to stall the implementation of the 85 constitutional amendment and the provision of reservations of the scheduled castes was not being enforced in letter and spirit. The BSP would provide a third alternative to the people as the position of the scam-hit Congress was much worse than the
BJP. |
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Promotion test: Barred candidates were ineligible, says HPSSSB chief
Hamirpur, September 11 Board Chairman JK Chauhan has clarified that these candidates were not eligible as per the recruitment and promotion rules prescribed by the state government for promotion to Class III posts. He said, “These candidates were allowed to appear in the written test on August 17 on the directions of the High Court and later the state government had obtained a stay of the order from the Supreme Court of India”.
— TNS |
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Death of kiosk owner leads to protest
Solan, September 11 Jitender Kumar, native of Marowa village in Chapra district of Bihar, who had succumbed to his injuries at the PGI Chandigarh, after being beaten up led to the protest. He ran a vegetable kiosk near the Vardhman Textile unit. The police resorted to a mild lathicharge and also fired in the air to control the protesters comprising labourers and shopkeepers who were trying to stop the police from taking possession of the body. The shopkeepers also lowered their shutters as a mark of protest. Baddi SP Gurdev Chand Sharma said police was deployed to control the mob. He said the actual cause of the death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem examination. The protesters said the police had arrested the deceased on August 30 with some boxes of liquor and the salesman of a liquor contractor had beaten him up leading to his death last night. They also demanded compensation from the contractor and action against the accused. The SP said a case had been registered against the protesters for obstructing government servants from discharging their duty, rioting and causing injury to policemen. |
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MC begins holding ward sabhas
Shimla, September 11 The first meeting was held at Ward number one at Bharari. The meetings will be held in all the 25 wards. The next ward sabha will be held in Ruldu Bhattawa on September 13. The first ward sabha was held in the absence of the BJP councillor Kala Sharma, which also hampered the constitution of the
ward committee. Deputy Mayor, Tikender Panwar said despite heavy rain more than 70 people were present. Nearly 33 complaints were received of which 15 were redressed on the spot, he added. He said the process to hold the ward sabhas in all the 25 wards was aimed to redress the grievances of the people. |
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State tops in MNREGA implementation
Sundernagar, September 11 Launching the three-day Public Information Campaign organised by the Press Information Bureau, Shimla, Minister for Rural Development, Jai Ram Thakur said under the scheme Rs 1,913 crore over the past four years and Rs 510 crore during the last fiscal year were spent in the state. Thakur lauded the participation of women in the implementation of the MNREGA scheme. Stating that Mandi district was ahead of other districts of the state in the implementation of MNREGA, Thakur said out of a total Rs 1,913 crore outlay, Rs 30 crore was spent in the district alone. He said among the 77 development blocks in state, the highest amount of Rs 2 crore was spent on Siraj block of Mandi district under this programme. He said under the sanitation programme, Himachal Pradesh was the second state after Sikkim to be declared ‘Nirmal Pradesh’ in the country. Referring to the large participation of women in the campaign, Thakur said there were only 500 open defecation-free (ODF) gram panchayats in 2007 and the number had gone up to 2,743 in 2012. Thakur also stressed on the need for a better coordination between the state and the Centre in taking the benefits of these programmes to the grassroots level. |
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‘Swami Vivekananda's teachings more relevant today’
Kangra, September 11 Rekha Davey, national joint general secretary, Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, said this while addressing a well-attended gathering of youth and intellectuals in the auditorium of the local polytechnic on the occasion of Universal Brotherhood Day today. The function was organised by the local branch of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, to commemorate the historical speech delivered by
Swami Vivekananda. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Ashish Singhmar, chief guest on the occasion, said youth should be given opportunities to move in the world independently with checks and balances imbibed from the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Principal, DRPGMC, Tanda, Anil Chauhan, guest of honour, urged the youth to follow Swami Vivekananda’s teachings which would keep them close to their cultural roots. Ashok Kumar of Vivekananda Kendra, Kangra, in his welcome address stressed on adopting the path of righteousness. A declamation contest was organised in which 10 colleges participated and Priya Sharma of the Dronacharya College of Education was adjudged the best speaker. Varun Malhotra of DRPGMC, Tanda, bagged the second prize and Preeti of the Gian Joyti College of Education the third prize.
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Recruitment of attorneys on contract basis opposed
Shimla, September 11 Sunil Dut Vasudeva, press secretary of the association, said it would neither be in the interest of people nor the prosecution agency as its functioning would be adversely affected. It was a retrograde step. Such appointees would not be accountable in any manner for the failure of state cases and the service rules would not be applicable to them. The association urged the government to reconsider the decision and take positive steps to strengthen the existing cadre. The association also demanded non-practising allowance for them on the pattern of doctors and other professionals. It hailed the decision to appoint the senior-most Joint Director Bhim Singh as the director of prosecution.
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Recruitment of drivers: Prepare merit list, HRTC told
Shimla, September 11 It further directed that the prepared merit list should be placed before the court. This order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice DC Chaudhary on a petition filed by Chain Singh Negi against the process of recruitment of drivers on a contract basis initiated by the HRTC. It was alleged in the petition that conducting the interview test for the post of driver on a contract basis was nothing but a fake process in which favouritism and regionalism were being played upon candidates.
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Four shops buried as wall collapses
Shimla, September 11 The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor visited the spot along with engineers and other technical staff. “The retaining wall had been bulging out due to improper drainage which led to the collpase,” Deputy Mayor Tiknder Panwar said. He said directions had been issued to get the drainage outlets cleared to stop further damage. The Tibetan market remained closed throughout the day and pedestrian movement on the road was also affected as the debris was being cleared.
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Driver nabbed with stolen steel, iron
Bilaspur, September 11 Reports said CISF security personnel of Kol Dam had put up a naka for routine checking at Harnoda and when this vehicle arrived there, they signalled it to stop. But it fled from the spot. The CISF jawans chased it and caught it at some distance. They searched the vehicle and found the stolen iron and steel. They handed the driver over to the police with the vehicle. The police has registered a case and is investigating the matter.
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‘Cave woman’ dies at 100
Bilaspur, September 11 Her body was seen by a woman who had gone to cut grass near the cave yesterday and she informed others. Village leaders collected funds and firewood to perform her last rites and cremated her at the village cremation ghat. Her son also arrived in time to pay his last respects to his mother. — OC
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