|
|
|
|
|
Regulatory panel reins in pvt varsities
Expulsion of Muslim youth leader revoked
Govt announcements a panic reaction: Virbhadra
Shanta against ticket to Ravi, Pathania
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Plea to save school building
Tibetans launch signature campaign
State Volvo bus operators alleges discrimination
Youth Congress to expose corruption in HPU
207 kardars stay away from meeting over Dev Sanskriti Trust
BJP seeks rollback in diesel, gas price hike
Cong flays BJP for ‘failing’ to order probe
No ‘adhaar’ cards issued a year after registration
Dhumal flayed for inaugurating ‘incomplete’ projects
Scrub typhus cases on the rise
HC tells Chief Secy to provide details
Shanta loyalists come to his rescue
‘IT education priority for state government’
Husband, 5 others booked in dowry case
|
|
Regulatory panel reins in pvt varsities
Shimla, September 14 The commission has made it clear that no admission will be allowed to any course after September 10, the last date. It has also directed all private universities to upload details of students admitted for the 2012-13 academic session on their websites by September 15 and submit intimation in writing in the format prescribed by September 20. The details to be provided for each course include sanctioned intake, number of students enrolled, mode of admission, names of students, university registration numbers and percentage of marks or rank in the entry level examination or common entrance test. In case it is found that a university has carried out admission in violation of norms, penal action will be taken. Alarmed at irregularities in admissions in 2011-12, which came to light during inspections, the commission took measures in advance and not only prescribed norms for admission, but also the academic calendar to ensure that the requirement of minimum teaching days as per UGC norms were fulfilled. Private universities had made a mockery of UGC norms and the university Act through which they were established by admitting matriculates in the garb of integrated BTech courses, which could not be recognised. Some universities had started polytechnic courses and other diploma courses with matriculation as the qualification for admission. Manav Bharati University, on which a fine of Rs 1 crore was imposed for a number of irregularities, had admitted 115 students in violation of norms and had charged a total of Rs 41.92 lakh from them as fee. As per UGC norms and the universities Act, class XII is the entry level qualification. CRACKING THE WHIP * No admission will be allowed to any course after Sept 10 |
|
Expulsion of Muslim youth leader revoked
Bilaspur, September 14 Congressmen have hailed the orders signed by state general secretary MLA Sudhir Sharma, which were received yesterday. Ali was first placed under temporary suspension from the party by local Bilaspur Sadar president and later expelled from the party by the state president, though he was not served any show-cause notice prior to his suspension or expulsion from the party. |
|
Govt announcements a panic reaction: Virbhadra
Shimla, September 14 He said the Congress government had always honoured its commitments to the employees in releasing pay scales and all benefits on Punjab pattern for the past 40 years. These benefits would have been given in any case once the party was voted back to power after the Assembly elections, he added. “The popularity and trust that I have enjoyed with the employees left the Dhumal government with no other option but to release the benefits,” he said. The BJP government had much to explain why it delayed the benefits till the eve of poll, he said. The employees could never forget the repression let loose by the BJP government on them in the past when they were lathicharged and curfew was imposed for the first time in a peaceful state like Himachal Pradesh, he said. “Hundreds of employees were arrested, thousands were transferred and 200 employees dismissed and all this without declaring the strike illegal,” he said. The BJP had a track record of being unsympathetic to the needs and rights of the employees, otherwise, there was no reason for persistent delay in accepting their demands, Virbhadra alleged. The Congress had laid down the principle of parity with Punjab in 1970 in the matters of pay scales which included grade pay and had always honoured it. Dhumal owed an explanation to the employees and the people for having withheld pay scales and benefits, he said.
|
|
|
Shanta against ticket to Ravi, Pathania
Palampur, September 14 Shanta Kumar had told the party high command that if it wanted to accommodate Ravi, he could contest against GS Bali from Nagrota Bagwan. Shanta Kumar had already blocked the entry of Nurpur MLA Pathania to the party last week. MLAs Rakesh Verma and Hira Lal were allowed to join the party. A PK Dhumal loyalist, Ravi’s constituency Thural was abolished in delimitation. He was keen to contest from his hometown Palampur. Shanta Kumar had opposed the ticket to him as he favoured sitting MLA Parveen Sharma. The second option for Ravi was Jwalamukhi. Shanta Kumar had opposed the ticket to him from there as well. Shanta Kumar had clearly stated that Pathania’s name could not be considered for the moment as he was not a member of the BJP yet. Shanta Kumar had not finalised the candidate from Jaisinghpur so far. The Dhumal faction favoured Ravi Dhiman, who had resigned recently. Sitting MLA Atma Ram was being advised to shift to Baijnath.
|
|
|
Plea to save school building
Nurpur, September 14 They said the school administration had repeatedly raised the issue with the authorities, but to no avail. They urged the Education Department to make alternative arrangements. — OC |
|
|
Tibetans launch signature campaign
Dalhousie, September 14 The RTYC said the main objective of the fast was to raise their demands of sending an international fact-finding delegation to Tibet and granting access to the media to travel in Tibet to know the present situation of Tibetans by appealing to the United Nations. They also demanded the release of Tibetan prisoners, including the Panchen Lama and Tulku Tenzin Delek, and to stop “witch-hunts” in Tibet that had been targeting intellectuals, religious leaders, poets, musician, singers and artists.
|
|
|
State Volvo bus operators alleges discrimination
Kullu, September 14 Talking to The Tribune here, state bus operators said the outside Volvo bus operators were plying over 32 volvo buses with Delhi numbers between Manali and Delhi. “We are paying Rs 14,000 per round trip between Manali and Delhi and those bus operators are paying just Rs 4,000 for the same round trip,” they charged. Anila Singh, a retired public servant, who runs two Volvo buses from Manali, said: “I have been in the administration in the Northeast, but here RTOs and the state transport authorities are indifferent to grievances of people. We have taken up the matter at different levels, but nobody is bothered about the highly discriminatory state transport policy.” She said they have 39-seater buses and pay Rs 14,000 per round trip whereas the outside 53-seater and 43-seater Volvo buses are paying Rs 4,000 per round trip. “Outside buses have captured 90 per cent of the tourism transport business as we have gone bankrupt,” resented Anil Sud, another bus operator from Kullu. They alleged that the state transport policy had not changed since the time of the former transport minister of the then Congress regime. “The then minister had vested interest in the business and the present BJP regime has not changed much of the policy,” they alleged. They further charged that the state was losing revenue as regional transport offices (RTOs) were not checking the illegal plying of Volvo buses round the clock between Manali and Delhi. When the bus operators who have national permits ply in Himachal, the state government gets its share of taxes from the Centre, transport officials added. Besides, RTO officials check and challan buses for violations. However, they could not stop outside operators from plying in the state, they added. Director, Transport, Sherab Negi, said they had received a representation from state operators but termed their charges as baseless, claiming that the outside bus operators were charged Rs 10,000 as composite fee for three trips in a month. “If they make any additional trip then they have to pay Rs 4,000 per trip in addition to the same,” he added.
|
|
Youth Congress to expose corruption in HPU
Shimla, September 14 Addressing a press conference here recently, she alleged that favouritism was in play in the functioning of the university, which was an autonomous institution. Many employees associated with the BJP and the Youth Congress would expose the irregularities in their recruitment, she said. The condition of private universities was worse and they did not fulfil UGC norms. The state regulatory commission had imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on a private university, but that had not made any difference, she claimed. While the oldest state university here was established on 50 bigha land, private universities had been allowed to acquire more than 600 bigha land, she said. She alleged there had been instances where students were admitted even before the universities came into being. — TNS
|
|
207 kardars stay away from meeting over Dev Sanskriti Trust
Kullu, September 14 The move has been upstaged at the behest of Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Banjar BJP MLA and Forest minister Khimi Ram to browbeat Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) chief Maheshwar Singh, the main representative of Lord Raghunath, the presiding deity of Kullu Dasehra. The Chief Minister in 2010 Kullu Dasehra’s closing ceremony had supported the move for the formation of the trust to sideline his opponent Maheshwar Singh, who holds sway over devta politics in the district. The faction led by DR Thakur, president of the Kullu Kardar Sangh and a supporter of Maheshwar Singh, stayed away from the meeting. The meeting was a show of strength by the district administration which is feeling a real heat of the political bigwigs, who are out to capitalise on the devta politics ahead of the Assembly polls. The kardars pressed for the trust under which debvis and devtas will get four bighas of land in Dhalpur Madain and Rs 1 lakh each from the funds from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Tourism and the state government. OP Sharma, who led the faction supporting the trust, said all kardars, gurs, pujaris and bajnetra, which formed Dev Sanskriti, favoured the formation of the trust. He said devis and devtas had lost 84,000 bighas of land under the Muzara Act, 1972, to the government and they did not get a penny as compensation. “It is difficult to run the devta system without government support,” he added. Deputy Commissioner (DC)-cum-president of Dusehra Committee, Kullu, Amitabh Awasthi said no formal decision was taken whether to go ahead with the trust or not. The ADM, Kullu, and the district language officer attended the meeting of kardars to get the feedback on the issue, he added.
|
|
BJP seeks rollback in diesel, gas price hike
Shimla, September 14 State BJP spokesperson Ashok Kapatia said today that the low-income groups were already finding the going tough, but with the latest hike even the middle class would feel the pinch in running the house. “During the past eight years of the UPA regime, prices of all major grocery item and daily consumption needs has gone up from 70 to 120 per cent, making it unbearable for the common man,” he said. He said the UPA regime had come to the power on the promise that it would check price rise within 100 days of being voted to power, but it had let down the faith reposed by the people in their government. “The massive hike of Rs 5 in the price of diesel is bound to lead to a huge increase in the prices of all commodities,” he said.
Dhumal condemns move
Shimla, September 14 He said the people of the country had been reeling under the rising prices due to ‘wrong’ policies of the UPA government and they were now finding it difficult to make their both ends meet. Dhumal said the increase of Rs 5 per litre in the rates of diesel was too high and unjustified and bound to have a cascading effect on the prices of all other commodities and severely impact agriculture, manufacturing and transport sectors. He said a single family would get only six cooking gas cylinders on subsidised rates a year and they would have to pay almost double the cost to obtain additional cylinders. The Chief Minister said as road was the only mode of transport in the state, the hike would affect both passenger transport and freight services. The prices of essential items like vegetables, milk, curd, cheese, bread and bakery products were also bound to increase as most of these items were procured from the neighbouring states. He said prices of fruits and vegetables were also likely to increase. As per the policy, the people would get only three cylinders up to March 2013 on subsidised rates, he said. Dhumal said it would also have a negative impact on the environment as people in villages may prefer to use fuel-wood for cooking now onwards. |
|
Death of Coach Our Correspondent
Bilaspur, September 14 Talking to mediapersons at Circuit House here today, Thakur alleged that the worst part was that neither the police nor the district administration or the Sports and Youth Services Department came to her rescue and helped her in getting justice. He said on the contrary, her department, ‘misguided’ by one of its high officials, tormented her further by transferring her to a school in Una. He alleged that though she met the Chief Minister at Jukhala and he assured her of a high-level probe into the incident, nothing was done to help her.
|
|
New MD for HPPCL
Shimla, September 14 A civil engineering graduate from the University of Indore, he has more than 30 years of experience in hydropower sector. He had served in the State Electricity Board in various capacities for about 24 years. He had worked in Bhutan on Tala Hydroelectric Project, where he was given the Man of the Year-1999 Award for excellence in performance of duties. He had presented 26 technical papers and reports in international conferences and seminars in India and abroad. He is a member of the Governing Council of International Society for Rock Mechanics since 2008 and vice-president of the Indian Society of Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling Technology.
|
|
No ‘adhaar’ cards issued a year after registration
Chamba, September 14 They got their credentials of identification registered at the local head post office last year in October, but are yet to receive ‘adhaar’ cards even after the passage of one year. Officials of the Department of Posts say the data about the credentials of identification of residents had been stored in the computer network of the company which had been assigned the task. The work to prepare the ‘adhaar’ cards was in process, he said.
|
|
|
Dhumal flayed for inaugurating ‘incomplete’ projects
Mandi, September 14 They urged the Election Commission to impose the code of conduct in the state as the BJP government was ‘misusing’ government machineries to influence voters. CPM district general-secretary Bhupender Singh said the Chief Minister and Transport Minister Mohinder Singh ‘hurriedly’ inaugurated the bus stand in Mandi yesterday which was not complete. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Left Bank Irrigation Scheme, which was also not complete. Sundernagar: Puran Chand Thakur, president of the District Congress Committee, Mandi, has criticised the Chief Minister Dhumal for inaugurating the ‘incomplete’ bus stand. He alleged that even the ground floor of the building was incomplete and without any basic facilities, therefore, there was no need to inaugurate such a building. He said it was done in order to get ‘cheap’ publicity. President of the Ghran gram panchayat Late Ram, ward member of the panchayat Mast Ram, member of the Panchayat Samiti Lila Mani, and others criticised the Chief Minister for inaugurating the ‘incomplete’ bus stand.
|
|
Scrub typhus cases on the rise
Shimla, September 14 The disease has so far claimed four lives and over 70 persons from various parts of the state have tested positive. Though its since the early nineties that the disease has been afflicting people, even not too many, especially in the rural areas, are aware of its symptoms so as to enable early diagnosis. With monsoons likely to get prolonged it is expected that the number of cases of scrub typhus too will see an upward trend. Those who have lost their lives due to scrub typhus are Rekha Kumari (19) from Bhoranj in Hamirpur, Kala Mani (50) from Rampur in Shimla, Dimple (19) from Chopal and Champa (19) from Nehri area of Mandi. Had there been a timely detection of the disease in these cases, the lives of the deceased could have been saved. Majority of the cases coming to the IGMC and the local Deen Dayal Upadhyaya hospital are referral cases sent from other district hospitals. “In case the treatment for the disease is started at the initial stage, it can be controlled but in case there is delay, it could prove fatal,” warn specialists at the IGMC. They said the Weil-Felix test facility had been provided at all district hospitals but with the disease reaching an advanced stage, managing it become difficult. The Eliza test facility is available only at the IGMC, which is done on all referred cases to confirm the disease. The outbreak of the disease is mostly during the monsoon season, especially in areas with lot of greenery in the form of grass and wild growth. The symptoms of the disease include high fever, cough, muscular pain, body rashes and severe headache. watch out * High fever
|
|
cases against govt officials Vijay Arora
Shimla, September 14 Expressing dissatisfaction over the working of the Home Department, the Bench observed that since November last, the court had been directing the Principal Secretary (Home) to furnish this information. It further noted that the period from November last till May should have been sufficient. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice DC Chaudhary passed the order during the hearing of a petition filed by Sher Singh to set aside departmental proceedings against him, ordered during the pendency of trial in a criminal case. The court directed the Chief Secretary to furnish the information within six weeks. The matter would now be taken up for hearing on October 31.
|
|
Shanta loyalists come to his rescue
Nurpur, September 14 Political activities have gathered pace in the biggest and most politically significant Kangra district after the functioning of the trust was allegedly exposed. His loyalists have come to his rescue. Rajeev Bhardwaj, state BJP secretary and Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation (HRTC) vice-chairman, at a press conference here recently termed it a sinister campaign to tarnish the image of a leader known for his honesty, commitment to people and a clean image. He alleged that the campaign had been launched by a handful of people for their vested interests. Bhardwaj, who is also a member of the advisory board of the trust, said as per an MoU of the Kaya Kalp, the treatment of patients would be done on a no-profit-no- loss basis and patients being treated there were being charged only to meet the salaries of the staff and other establishment expenses. “Even trust members have to pay for their treatment and not a single penny is being charged by them to attend trust meetings as TA or DA,” he claimed. He alleged that some politicians were misleading those who had launched this campaign to settle scores. |
|
‘IT education priority for state government’
Hamirpur, September 14 He said this while addressing a meeting after inaugurating a Patwar Bhawan at Tarkwari and school rooms at Dheervein under his Bhoranj Assembly constituency recently. He said, “IT Education is one of the three priority areas of the state government and 19 per cent of the state budget is being spent on this sector whereas the state is also being developed into an education hub so that the students can get education and jobs here.” |
|
|
Husband, 5 others booked in dowry case
Nurpur, September 14 The complainant had filed a petition in the court under Section 156 (C), CrPC. She had married to Kalyan Singh in 2004. DSP Rajinder Jaswal said following a court order, a case under Sections 498 (A), 406,147 and 148 had been registered against Kalyan, husband, Satish, Kewal, Diwan and Bihari (brothers-in-law) and Urmilla Devi, mother-in-law of the complainant. The complainant had alleged that the accused had harassed her and thrashed her several times demanding dowry. She had even fulfilled their desire twice, even then she was ousted from the house. |
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Terming the announcements regarding release of grade pay and other benefits to employees a panic reaction, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Virbhadra Singh said today that having delayed legitimate benefits for so long, the Dhumal government was under the wrong impression that the BJP could win by such ‘gimmicks’.
Dalhousie, September 14
A majority of the members of the Kardar Sangh of Kullu have demanded the formation of the Dev Sanskriti Charitable Trust
(DSCT), Kullu, of more than 447 registered devis and devtas. The meeting called by the district administration recently saw the participation of 240 kardars whereas the absence of 207 of them brought the rift between them over the issue of the formation of the trust
