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Virbhadra dares Dhumal over steel scam
UPA biased against state: CM
Chief Minister inaugurates ICU, faculty quarters
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Govt facilitating sale of seats in pvt varsities: CPM
Kangra has 9 mini-secretariats now
Himachal Cong chief owes explanation to people: Satti
Cong ticket for lawyer sought
Mountain biking rally from Sept 29
Nahan may prove tough for Bindal
All-India public relations conference from Sept 29
Recruitment of Police Constables
Cop faces action over guard of honour
Cancel transfers of lecturers, EC urged
Man dies of poisoning
Woman succumbs to burns
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Virbhadra dares Dhumal over steel scam
Bilaspur, September 23 Virbhadra Singh firmly denied that any steel scam took place during his tenure as Minister of Steel at the Centre and asked Dhumal to check facts before making baseless allegations. Virbhadra Singh lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for spreading canards regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail and said all states were free not to bring FDI in. He said the decision on FDI would only apply to cities with a population of 10 lakhs or more and there was no scope for it in Himachal Pradesh. He said he had written to the Prime Minister and the Congress president that a special concession of 12 subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders be given to Himachal Pradesh to avoid the destruction of forests. He said the Congress, if voted to power, would give three more subsidised LPG cylinders per household. He assured employees that the Congress would give Punjab pay scales and allowances in Himachal Pradesh. He said Dhumal had announced concessions worth Rs 1,500 crore in the last 15 days in desperation. He appealed to voters to ensure a massive election victory for Ram Lal Thakur, virtually declaring Thakur the candidate from Naina Devi. Party’s national general secretary and state affairs in charge Virender Chaudhary said the Congress would return to power in the elections. He claimed that the BJP had virtually sold the state to outsiders and flouted rules and regulations to oblige big industrialists and land sharks. Chaudhary alleged that the BJP had no policy regarding the youth. He said the Congress would not only frame a working policy for them, but provide unemployment allowance as well. Lashing out at the BJP, he said it had raised a hue and cry over the ‘coal scam’, but did not face Parliament for even one day as a discussion there would have exposed the BJP. He pointed out that three Chief Ministers of the BJP and two of non-Congress governments had opposed the auction of coal blocks and the Centre had nothing to do with the system of allotment. He said the BJP could win only five of the 700 seats during elections in five states last year. He added that the BJP had collected thousands of crores for a Rama temple, but did not construct it. Chaudhary claimed that the BJP was now seeking the support of Anna Hazare and Ramdev to come to power at the Centre and in various states. State unit general secretary Ram Lal Thakur said the BJP government had not only ignored Bilaspur district in matters of development, but had stopped all major benefit schemes and projects started during the previous Congress regime. He said the BJP could not solve the problems of lakhs of Bhakra Dam oustees even though it had assured them that it would solve the problems within six months of coming to power. He said Virbhadra Singh had performed ‘bhoomi poojan’ for two sectors behind the transport workshop here for the allotment of 354 plots to the oustees left out, but the BJP had abandoned the project. He added that the government had stopped work on the Rs 32-crore Bhagh-Chhal and the Rs 52-crore Bilaspur-Beri Dadollan bridge projects. He claimed that the BJP had allotted thousands of acres to big industrialists from outside. He added that Saraswati Vidya Mandir schools were allotted land in every sector of the town. He said all schemes which were being inaugurated by the Chief Minister and other BJP leaders had been initiated before the party came to power or were halfway through by then. |
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UPA biased against state: CM
Kangra, September 23 He said damage was caused to infrastructure and crops every monsoon. He alleged that the UPA government had not been compensating the state for the damage and the state government had been managing it from its resources. Dhumal stated this while addressing a public meeting here after dedicating a Mini-Secretariat building to the people. He appealed to the people to stand by the state government in getting legitimate rights restored. He said Himachal Pradesh had topped the country in the implementation of the 20-Point Programme for the third consecutive year and bagged the second position in the increase in per capita income. He said the social security pension had been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 450, which benefited about 3 lakh beneficiaries, and the daily wage doubled from Rs 75 to Rs 150. He claimed that the state government had kept all its promises. He said nine mini-secretariat buildings were dedicated to the people during his tenure at a cost of Rs 37 crore. He added that the mini-secretariat building in Dharamsala, being built at a cost of Rs 12 crore, was near completion. Local legislator Sanjay Chaudhary thanked the Chief Minister. Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary, former minister Vidya Sagar Chaudhary, former legislator Ram Chand Bhatia, Employees and Pensioners Welfare Board vice-chairman Ghanshyam Sharma, Kangra BJP mandal president Gujjar Mal, Deputy Commissioner KR Bharti and Superintendent of Police Daljeet Thakur were present. |
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Chief Minister inaugurates ICU, faculty quarters
Kangra, September 23 Chief Minister PK Dhumal stated this at a cultural function of the
DRPGMC, Tanda, today, after he dedicated 12 out of 18 type-V residential quarters to the medical fraternity of the college, constructed at a cost of Rs 5.12
crore. He also dedicated an intensive care unit (ICU), equipped at a cost of Rs 1.64
crore. The Chief Minister said the state government was giving an added priority to quality medical education and with consistent efforts the seats for MBBS had been increased from 115 to 200. PG seats had also been increased in different departments. He said the bed capacity in the medical college had also been increased to 569 which would further be increased to 778 soon. He said the state government had also been making efforts to strengthen the medical fraternity in medical colleges and provide them all facilities. He said the Tanda college was emerging fast as a centre of par excellence in medical education. He said ESI Medical College and Hospital would start its normal functioning very shortly. He said efforts were afoot to motivate competent private players to open more medical colleges so that the state was known as a nursery of best medical professionals in the medical world. Principal Anil Chauhan welcomed the Chief Minister and said the college had grown into a
super-speciality hospital by spending Rs 150 crore more on developing quality infrastructural facilities in the institution.
Akshay Sharma, president of the college CSA, also welcomed the Chief Minister. |
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Govt facilitating sale of seats in pvt varsities: CPM
Shimla, September 23 Party’s state secretariat member Tikender Panwar expressed surprise that increase in seats was being allowed even though there were only a few takers for existing seats. He added that it was intriguing that the increase in the number of seats was being sought by the authorities of some universities when a majority of seats were vacant. He said the state government had facilitated the sale of thousands of bighas of fertile land to the authorities of these universities at throw away prices earlier. He said the government had always been claiming that there was a regulator to check irregularities at these institutions, but it had reduced the regulatory authority to a toothless tiger, which had been forced to toe its line. He said the BJP government was only concerned about the maximisation of profit for the private players involved in these universities. He added that the exercise smacked of a deep link with black money. He further said the money generated from students was being siphoned off by promoters through sponsoring trusts to politicians. He cited the example of Gopal Kanda, who had acquired a major stake at a private university. The party alleged that the government was deliberately undermining the regulatory authority and its appointment was made just to hoodwink the people as some politicians had a deep nexus with promoters of these universities. The CPM pointed out that the ICFAI University had not enrolled a single student in the last two years, but no action had been taken. It added that about 80 per cent of the seats were vacant in most of these universities. The CPM said the government was not concerned about the land and property developed in case any university was closed. |
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Kangra has 9 mini-secretariats now
Dharamsala, September 23 Chief Minister PK Dhumal today inaugurated a mini-secretariat in the Kangra subdivision. Seven of the mini-secretariats have been constructed during the current regime and in the tenure of former Kangra Deputy Commissioner RS Gupta. Official sources said here that an amount of Rs 32 crore had been spent on the construction of seven mini-secretariats in the district in the last four years. BJP leaders claimed that the other two mini-secretariats, in Dharamsala and Jawali, were constructed during Dhumal’s previous stint as Chief Minister from 1998 to 2003. The mini-secretariats constructed in the last four years include a new one in Dharamsala, the district headquarters, built at a cost of Rs 8 crore. The district administration and offices associated with it will now shift to the new mini-secretariat. The old building will be used to house the offices of ministers and their staff. Ministers will generally use the offices during the winter session of the Assembly, which is held in Dharamsala. With the mini-secretariat now available, a demand is being made that ministers stay here during winter so that the Kangra region gets the true status of being the second capital. The mini secretariat in Baijnath had been constructed at cost of Rs 3 crore, in Jaisinghpur at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore, in Palampur at a cost of Rs 4 crore, in Dehra at a cost of Rs 4 crore and in Kangra at a cost of Rs 6 crore. The mini-secretariat in Nurpur is almost ready. The state government has spent about Rs 3 crore on it. It is facing problems from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The mini-secretariat has been brought up within the prohibited zone of the old Nurpur fort, which is under the protection of the ASI. It has issued a notice to the state government to stop construction of the mini-secretariat even though the ASI has allowed a private museum right along the wall of the Kangra fort, which is also a protected monument. The construction of new mini-secretariats has fuelled the demand for new districts to be carved out of Kangra. Leaders have been demanding that Nurpur, Dehra and Palampur be made districts since there is enough infrastructure there at the subdivision level. |
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Himachal Cong chief owes explanation to people: Satti
Shimla, September 23 “The only qualification the Congress high command seems to have discovered in nominating Virbhadra Singh as state Congress party’s new president is his rare quality of telling lies. The party needs such a person to dupe voters with false claims and tall promises. It has been confirmed that no other person can accomplish this job with distinction,” he said in a statement here today. Satti alleged that successive Congress governments at the Centre only discriminated against the state and denied justice to it. The state was deprived of its legal share in the assets of the composite state of Punjab under the Punjab State Reorganisation Act, 1966, although it was made to pay through its nose its share of liabilities under the same Act. The recommendations and terms of reference of the Shah Commission constituted to determine areas to be merged with the then union territory of Himachal were violated to deny Himachal of vast areas. Satti chided Virbhadra for taking credit for the 7.19 per cent share in the BBMB projects. The Manmohan government, in which Virbhadra was a minister, had opposed the claim of the state before the Supreme Court. He owed an explanation to people of the state as to why he had failed to put pressure on the UPA regime to get the amount decreed by the Supreme Court released from the Centre while he was a Union minister. |
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Cong ticket for lawyer sought
Shimla, September 23 They urged the HPCC chief to consider the candidature of Dhaulta from Shimla (urban) considering his commitment and dedication towards social service and the party. They also pointed out that since he was the only lawyer who was seeking a ticket, the Congress must consider his
candidature. Dhaulta on his part urged the former Chief Minister to contest from Shimla (urban) as he had been a resident of the town for over 50 years. |
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10,000 take dip in Manimahesh Lake
Chamba, September 23 So far during the past 45 days of Manimahesh pilgrimage, which was started on August 10 on Sri Krishna Janamashtami, approximately five lakh pilgrims, including today’s number of 10,000 pilgrims, thronged Manimahesh. Pilgrims also watched Mount Kailash (abode of Lord Shiva) situated at an altitude of 5,656 metre on the occasion of Radhashtami today. Giving this information to this reporter over the phone today, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Bharmour subdivision BR Kamal, who is also the mela officer for the Manimahesh pilgrimage, said the pilgrims had a satisfying journey. The ADM further said the pilgrims hailing from the Bhaderwah region of Jammu and Kashmir also visited the pilgrimage centre under security cover. During the pilgrimage, the death toll of pilgrims in sporadic incidents en route Manimahesh sacred shrine was six which could be attributed to old-age factor, cardiac arrest etc, the ADM said. |
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Mountain biking rally from Sept 29
Shimla, September 23 About 100 participants from eight countries will take part in the 500-km adventure event being organised by the Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association (HASTPA). During the nine-day rally, participants will pass through natural forest trails, village backtracks and unmetalled and metalled single-lane rural roads, winding through deep forests, which will test the endurance of both riders and bikes. HASTPA president Mohit Sood said this would be the eighth edition and the event had been gaining popularity each year as it offered the excitement and adventure a mountain biker looked for. The beauty of varied and picturesque trans-Himalayan terrain was an added bonus, he said. The highest point would be 3,250 metres and it would mainly traverse Shimla and Kullu districts, he added. The MTB had also tried to engage local communities and used the event to create awareness among them about environment-related issues, he said. He also said there were some additions to the race structure this year and new categories of riders and new routes, mostly single-track, were included. The rally update would be provided on Facebook and Twitter, he added. |
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Unscientific cutting of hills cause of building collapses
Solan, September 23 The area comprises fragile strata and steep slopes. Builders have failed to abide by the norms, thus cutting these in a most unscientific manner at times exceeding the earmarked 45-degree norm. Not only multistoreyed buildings exceeding the stipulated three-plus-one norm have come up all along the Barog hill, but the excessive straightening of the hill is also leading to massive landslides every now and then. In a recent case, two buildings - a private four-storeyed structure and an office of the Special Area Development Authority - suffered immense damage when huge debris from the hill above fell on the buildings claiming one life. This is not an isolated incident as a massive landslide had blocked the national highway a few years ago when debris flowed down from a hill above. The fragile hill is vulnerable to more damage and landslides are occurring on the road every year during the rains when the loose strata fall apart. With buyers from the plains desperate to own a summer house at Barog, builders have been erecting high-rise structures, often violating various building norms. The area has also been exposed to unscientific mining some years ago that has added to the instability of the hill due to the use of high-intensity machinery. Sandeep Sharma, Town Planner, Solan, while terming such constructions as totally unscientific, said builders not only indulged in steep cutting of the hill slopes far exceeding the 45-degree norm, but also raised excess storeys, which failed to get an NoC from the Town and Country Planning Department. He added that desperate builders not only raised buildings on sites where muck had accumulated but also did not spare nullahs, which were considered most unsafe for erecting any building. With little safe land having been left in the Barog area, buildings were coming up on the unsafe sites and these also lack a proper water disposal system. He said another three-storey building had collapsed recently on the Kumarhatti-Nahan road after it developed cracks and had to be vacated. Builders are even failing to get soil testing done on such sites, which adds to the risk factor. Though electricity and water connections are released after the Town and Country Planning Department issues NoC, it was observed that influential builders often gave the norms a go-by and managed to raise unsafe structures to earn profits. |
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Innovative school on Mahabharata held at IIAS
Shimla, September 23 While scholars explored the conceptual conundrum of ‘karma’ enunciated in the revered text, artists used their imagination and creative skills to give a visual expression to the most complex philosophy. The intriguing medium of charcoal drawing was deliberately chosen as the play of black and white helps create the kind of dramatic effect required to capture its spirit on canvas. The 20 charcoal drawings produced during the exercise brought out both the drama and the philosophy of the Mahabharata. The most important frame was the drawing of the ‘mythological horse’ depicting the unstoppable passage of ‘mighty time’, the destroyer of worlds. Artist and coordinator Him Chatterji put much thought to create the visual metaphor to represent ‘eternal time’ which cannot be controlled by anyone. The drawing was displayed in the seminar hall and scholars had an endless discussion on it. “A horse has been chosen as it is associated with speed and dynamism. The hair on the body of the speeding horse represents minutes, its muscles symbolise months and hoofs have been given the shape of an hourglass. The black eye represents the dark waning moon fortnight and the white eye the moonlit waxing moon fortnight. Everyone is trying to ride it, but without success,” explained Arindam Chakrabarti, professor of philosophy at the University of Hawaii and main resource person. Other artists, Baldev Gambhir from Amritsar, Ram Viranjan from Kurukshetra and Tirthankar Biswas from Delhi captured various dramatic moments of the epic. Harish Trivedi from the Delhi University said, “It is a strange paradox that the Mahabharata, particularly the Bhagavad Gita, is so integral to life that everyone in the country knows about it and its verses are quoted on every occasion, but none has actually read it. There is much more to it than a few verses and if people care to study the holy book, just 700 ‘shlokas’ spanning 1,400 lines, they will have a much better and deeper understanding of Lord Krishna’s philosophy.” |
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Nahan may prove tough for Bindal
Nahan, September 23 The BJP’s splinter group Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) led by Shyama Sharma in Nahan, who enjoys substantial support, is sure to add to the woes of the BJP as she could act as a spoilsport for Bindal. The HLP will not only focus its campaign in Nahan, as Bindal has been in their firing line ever since its inception, but the party will also raise issues like dubious sale and purchase of land in nearby Renuka and Pacchad constituencies that have remained key issues. Shyama has won the seat earlier on the Janata Party ticket and she can not win the seat while contesting as the BJP official nominee. Since she had lost by a slender margin in the last Assembly elections, her entry into the poll fray could divide BJP votes in the constituency. While it remains to be seen whom the Congress fields and whether sitting MLA Kush Parmar will get the ticket or luck will shine on former MLA Ajay Bahadur, who too is vying for the ticket. The Congress cadre too is geared up to retain this seat as it has a sitting MLA. Another crucial factor is the presence of a large chunk of Muslim votes who have shown alienation towards the BJP in the last elections. It remains to be seen if the BJP can manage to win their support this time. With Bindal having to relinquish his post after charges of corruption levelled against him, his rivals will cash in on the issue. The presence of Lok Janshakti Party’s Sadanand Chauhan, who had won the seat in 2003 and has already begun his poll campaign, is also capable of capturing a fair share of votes, especially since his daughter is Chairperson of the local municipal committee. A significant chunk of nearby Paonta Sahib has been added to the Nahan constituency after the delimitation exercise, which is considered the stronghold of Paonta Sahib MLA Sukh Ram. While Bindal’s entry into Nahan has caused some stir in the local district BJP, it remains to be seen whether he will be acceptable to the masses. Dr Bindal has been nurturing this constituency for the past quite sometime now and he hopes to repeat what the BJP did in Renuka in the byelections held last year, though it appears to be a tough nut to crack. |
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All-India public relations conference from Sept 29
Shimla, September 23 Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will be the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the conference, the theme for which is “Communication Strategies for Travel and Tourism”. There will be six brain-storming sessions during the three-day-long conference on various aspects of communication and tourism. Experts from various parts of the country have been invited to express their views on these vital aspects in view of the vast scope for the development of tourism in Himachal Pradesh. About 200 delegates from various parts of the country and also abroad are likely to participate in this conference. The Public Relations Society of India is an apex body of public relations professionals, practioners and communicators of government and public sector undertakings. It organises its national conference every year. This is for the first time that the national conference is being held in Himachal Pradesh. |
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Recruitment of Police Constables
Bilaspur, September 23 Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here on Friday, Ram Lal said in the police recruitment, ground test or field test had been made a “fruitless exercise” as it would fetch no marks for the final selection unless they were above 5 foot tall, which would give them only five marks. He said it was strange that in a profession like the police services where the best able-bodied youth should be given top priority, this very aspect was being ignored and the final selection was being made on the basis of a written test and an interview. The Congress leader also objected to the fact that the district election office had come out with an advertisement pasted on the notice board requiring an election kanungo for six months and informing only six “chosen” retired persons for interview, instead of adopting normal selection procedure. He said this election kanungo was to be appointed for the Naina Devi constituency. This clearly proved that free and fair election would be a far cry here. Ram Lala urged the Election Commission to enforce the model code of conduct for poll immediately and also dismiss the BJP government to ensure free and fair elections. |
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Cop faces action over guard of honour
Hamirpur, September 23 The minister had come on a private visit to attend the annual function of the Sarva Kalyankari Sabha headed by Rajinder Rana, who is set to contest the next Assembly elections from Sujanpur. Sources in the government said: “Since the minister was not declared a state guest by the state government and was on a private visit, he could not be accorded a guard of honour as per protocol.” The police has also withdrawn personal security officer (PSO) attached with Rajinder Rana for the past four years and posted him to the local police station. The PSO was attached with Rana by the police during his tenure as chairman of the media advisory committee and remained posted with him even after his resignation from the post about three years ago. ASP KG Kapoor confirmed both the decisions.
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Samiti rues govt apathy towards Manimahesh Trust
Bharmour, September 23 In a statement here today, president of the samitti Virendrananda Giri stated that the non-implementation of the provisions of the trust had disappointed his spiritual organisation as well as pilgrims who could not avail better facilities since the formation of the trust. Swami Giri said the implementation of the trust would go a long way in bringing about radical reforms in shrines of Manimahesh and Bharmour and managing the annual Manimahesh pilgrimage. |
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Cancel transfers of lecturers, EC urged
Shimla, September 23 In a request to the Election Commission, Tikender Panwar, member, state secretariat, CPM, urged that these transfers be cancelled immediately. “The government action is prompted by the fact that the ruling BJP regime apprehends that students studying in the local Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya and Government College, Bilapsur, might not vote in its favour,” he said. He said this had been done to ensure that students studying in these colleges could be intimidated and threatened to vote in favour of the BJP. Panwar added that some of the teachers had been transferred to far-flung areas as they did not campaign in favour of the ABVP.
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Man dies of poisoning
Kangra, September 23 Kuldeep Sharma, SHO, Nagrota Bagwan, said here today that victim Kuldeep Kumar had consumed excessive liquor and a high dose of poisonous tabacoo. He was rushed by his family members to the Tanda hospital where he died.
— OC
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Woman succumbs to burns
Kangra, September 23 The police said here today that Monika was preparing food in her kitchen when the stove burst and she received 80 to 90 per cent burn injuries. She was rushed to nearby hospital from where doctors referred her to the Tanda hospital where she died.
— OC
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