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Pawar, Mamata to pep up political flavour of HP
Party interest above personal rivalry, says Virbhadra
Suspended Cong men back Kaul Singh
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BJP swings into action to woo rebels
Shanta tells BJP rebels to withdraw
Dhumal’s assets total to over Rs 13 lakh
Virbhadra must quit politics till he comes clean: BJP
Virbhadra’s family assets over Rs 30 crore
More candidates file nominations on last day
Executive magistrates for Navratras
Cremation
Facilities in Shimla
Pranab’s daughter to visit Shimla
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Pawar, Mamata to pep up political flavour of HP
Shimla, October 17 The election campaign in the state will for the first time have prominent participation by other parties like the Nationalistic Congress Party (NCP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), that are trying hard to gain a foothold in the North by making a start from Himachal. The NCP today issued a list of its star campaigners, including Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, and party MPs Supriya Shule and Tariq Anwar. Even though the party has fielded candidates from only 12 Assembly segments, senior leaders will visit the state. Pawar is likely to make a brief visit to campaign only in Shimla (Urban) from where former Speaker and BJP leader Radha Rama Shastri is contesting. Shastri said the NCP was unable to field candidates from all the seats as the whole process got delayed. “We will try to build our base for the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 by extending our network to every part of the state,” he said. TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also likely to undertake a whirlwind tour of the state. In fact, of all the parties other than the Congress and BJP, it is the TMC which has virtually invaded the hill state with Mamata’s huge hoardings placed at every vantage location. The electorate of HP, especially the urban voter, is keen to hear and see Mamata and Pawar as it would be for the first time that the senior leadership of the party would campaign extensively in the state.
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Party interest above personal rivalry, says Virbhadra
Shimla, October 17 “If I can campaign for Vijai Mankotia with whom I have had serious differences, there is no reason to believe that I will not work for others. He was inducted in the party at my initiative and it was purely a political decision to boost the electoral prospects. I have been assigned the task of bringing back the party to power and I will do whatever it takes,” he told The Tribune after filing the nomination papers from the Shimla (Rural) constituency here today. He said: “There was a strong resentment among people against the Dhumal government and it would manifest into a pro-Congress wave as the electioneering gains momentum. Going by the kind of response I am getting from people, I can say with confidence that the Congress will romp home with a comfortable majority.” Even during his previous term as the Chief Minister, Dhumal had framed him in the Sagar Katha case and he was acquitted by the trial court as the appeals filed in the high court and the Supreme Court were rejected. The CD case was also the part of the plan but he would not succeed in his nefarious designs. He had full faith in the judiciary. The Congress would ensure justice to employees, particularly the categories like the PTA and para teachers, who had been treated shabbily by the Dhumal government.
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Suspended Cong men back Kaul Singh
Mandi, October 17 Suspended Congress men from Rohru Rakesh Nittu and Hirender Rawat and Pawan Thakur from Sarkaghat, Lal Singh from Balh, Inder Singh from Solan, OP Verma, Ram Singh, Laxmi Thakur (Kinnaur), Rakesh Chauhan, all ticket-seekers, who were denied the ticket came in support of Kaul today. Though former controversial Telecom Minister Sukh Ram was invited by Kaul for the rally, he failed to turn up. He instead went to support Tara Thakur, Congress candidate from Seraj, as her father late Moti Ram Thakur, former Congress MLA, was the supporter of the former.
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Shimla, October 17 Horticulture Minister Narinder Bragta and his main Congress rival from Jubbal-Kotkhai Rohit Thakur also filed nominations today. She had contested the last two elections from Kumarsain, but the constituency was scrapped after delimitation. Her CPM rival Rakesh Singha and NCP candidate Pramod Sharma also filed nominations. Sitting Congress MLA Nand Lal filed nomination from Rampur. — TNS
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GOVERNANCE 2007-2012: A PERFORMANCE CHECK-III Reforms have checked loan and deficit rise, but that has also left little funds to spare with a govt that can barely pay its employees Rakesh Lohumi
Elected governments are not known for prudent fiscal management and the flip-flop of the BJP government on this front is not unexpected. After exercising a degree of fiscal discipline for a while, it predictably reverted back to its populist ways, putting more stress on the already strained state exchequer.
However, the figure shot up to 5.42 per cent in 2009-10, which was unsustainable for a state with a small tax base. To be fair to the government, economic slowdown and pay revision also contributed to it, yet the increase of almost 2 per cent was too high. The enforcement of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, along with the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission (FC), had put some restraint on the government and the parameters started improving. The fiscal deficit came down from the projected 5.08 per cent to 3.47 per cent of the GSDP last year. With the 13th FC capping the loans at 3 per cent of the GSDP, the debt burden grew at a slower pace to reach Rs 26,600 crore as on March 31, 2012. It will touch Rs 29,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal. The outstanding debt as percentage of the GSDP, at 43.74, is still alarming and exceeds the norms. Wage bill doubles The sops announced, however, for various sections, particularly the employees, on the eve of Assembly polls will have long-term implications, and the next government will have a daunting task to manage the likely “empty coffers”. Since most of the benefits have been announced recently, their impact will be felt towards the end of the current financial year. The total annual impact on account of increase in salary and pension will be around Rs 1,000 crore. The expenditure on salaries and pension will overshoot the projections in the current year and the full impact will be felt next year. Thus, the fiscal deficit will shoot up, and instead of the projected 2.7 per cent, it could be around 4.5 per cent of the GSDP. The situation will be manageable if the state receives the first instalment of Rs 500 crore of the development policy loan. A matter of concern is that the pension liability is growing much faster than the salaries. Over the past five years, the wage bill has doubled to reach Rs 7,500 crore but the expenditure on pension has trebled to Rs 2,784 crore. Next year the figure is going to take a further leap and cross Rs 3,000 crore. Slow on reform The state is paying for its failure to carry out fiscal reforms. The government is overstaffed and its employees are the highest paid in the country. At the national level, only 1 per cent of the population is in the government’s employ, but in Himachal more than 3 per cent people are employed by the state government. An MoU signed with the Centre on fiscal reforms, as per which the number of employees was to be reduced by 2 per cent every year, was not implemented. With no serious effort to mobilise additional resources, the sharp increase in committed liability has hardly left any funds for development. Populism and inability to raise resources is undermining fiscal stability of the state and hurting the pace of development. The tax revenue as percentage of the GSDP increased only marginally from 7.98 (2008-09) to 9.67 (2011-12), which was still quite low and only indicates that there is potential for revenue generation. At present the committed expenditure, if one also takes into account the loan repayments, grants, subsidies and allocation for maintenance works, works out to 89 per cent of the budget. The Plan expenditure as percentage of the GSDP declined from 7.47 to 4.90 and capital expenditure from 7.92 to 4.23. The non-Plan expenditure increased from Rs 9,609 crore to Rs 13,614 crore over the period. Harsh measures need to be taken sooner than later to accelerate the pace of development. GSDP grows
Right now, the government is banking on the arrears from the BBMB projects on account of the Supreme Court verdict which upheld the state’s claim to 7.19 per cent under the Punjab State Reorganisation Act. The state government has — after carrying out a detailed exercise — worked out an amount Rs 3,996 crore, due from 1966 to October 2011, and put the claim before the committee set up by the Centre for the purpose. As per indications, the committee may reduce it by Rs 850 crore, but it will still be a substantial amount. The government’s inability to provide requisite support to public sector undertakings (PSUs) has already started affecting the functioning of some important organisations serving farmers. While Agro-Packaging India has been wound up, the employees of the Agro-Industries Corporation, HPMC and some other corporations are not being paid their salary regularly. The 25 state PSUs with a total investment of Rs 1,878 crore till March 31, 2011, have accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 1,666 crore. The HP State Electricity Board tops the list of companies in the red with a loss of Rs 894.15 crore, followed by the State Road Transport Corporation with Rs 576 crore.
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REVENUE DEPT Lalit Mohan Dharamsala: Land settlement work in the state started in 1952 from Chamba district. It has been six decades since, but the work is yet to be completed for the entire state. Among the districts pending are Hamirpur, Kulu and Una.
The process essentially establishes the revenue boundaries of villages and towns, which in turn becomes a reference for private individuals to settle the exact demarcation of their properties. A proposal was mooted to use modern technology to expedite the process, and the settlement office at Dharamsala, which handles the northern region of the state, procured the machines for the purpose. However, the initiative has failed to speed up the work. The absurdity in revenue records that results from the lack of settlement is best seen in a village in Una district of Himachal that is still shown as part of Punjab. Lal Singhi village is located on the outskirts of Una district, bordering Punjab, and as per copies of the revenue record issued even today it is part of Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The Revenue Department has not been able to complete the settlement of the village spread over a mere 4,000 kanals of land. This poses a problem for people of the village wanting to divide their ancestral properties. The infrared way Earlier, the department used calibrated iron chains or ropes for carrying out the measurements in field. The system was time consuming and prone to errors. The process also involved labour to lug the chains across rough terrains. The new technology uses infrared light to carry out the measurements. The machine is installed at one point, and the measurement to all points visible from there can be done by just carrying a prism to the other end. This system is also very accurate. What earlier took two months can now be done in two days, say officials. At present, the north zone settlement office at Dharamsala has just two such machines, to be used in Dharamsala and Kullu districts. The department has requested the government for two more machines to speed up the work. However, the request is pending despite the fact it involves a cost of just Rs 10 lakh. Officials say they also need more computers in the Dharamsala settlement office, which has just four machines whereas it requires at least 20 more to digitise the entire record. Inconvenience People have to travel from Kulu, Una and Hamirpur districts to Dharamsala to get copies of ‘musavis’ (basic survey reports of the settlement department). In Madhya Pradesh, the government has created copies of musavis, and given them to booksellers for sale in the respective areas. With that people don’t have to waste time and money on travelling to settlement offices. A similar proposal has been sent to the state government by the Dharamsala office too, but action is awaited. The pending settlement work is also a cause for increase in litigation in revenue cases in lower Himachal. There are about 5,000 pending revenue cases in the court of the Dharamsala Divisional Commissioner. Many have been pending since more than a decade. Owners of land are unable to partition it, as it cannot be demarcated due to lack of proper records and shortage of staff at the ground level. Such requirements stay pending for years too.
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LAW & ORDER Pratibha Chauhan
The advent of industry, hydro-power projects and cement units may have increased job avenues to an extent in the hill state, but it has also added to the crime graph, which has shown a steady increase over the past few years.
The increasing number of rapes and cases of abduction and kidnapping is a pointer to the worsening crime situation. Compared to 131 rapes in 2011, a total of 146 cases of rape had been registered in the state till September 30 this year, Mandi topping the list with 26 cases, followed by 20 in Kangra and 18 in Shimla district. It is the industrial belts of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagrh, Kala Amb and Mehatpur, mostly in border areas, which have witnessed a spurt in crimes such as theft and burglaries. This has even led to the creation of a separate police district in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt. Unrest among the public and clashes with the administration have also started happening more frequently at various hydro-power projects in the remote areas of Kinnuar, Chamba, Shimla and Kulu. Tense situations have also led to violence, shootouts and even murders. The police has directed the various power producers to ensure proper security arrangements, considering the tension that grips these sites at times of confrontation. Drug trade refuses to die There has been little success with regard to drug trafficking, which is essentially the only organised crime that exists in the state. The problem, which was earlier confined only to Kulu-Manali, Mandi and Chamba, has spread. Efforts to wean away those engaged in this illegal business by way of alternative employment have met with little success. There have been drives to destroy fields of cannabis and poppy, spread over acres in the inaccessible tracts of Kulu-Manali, but with the involvement of international drug traffickers, the area continues to be notorious for the illegal cultivation and trade. A total of 381 cases had been registered till September 30 this year under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, as compared to 570 registered in 2011 and 596 in 2010. Increase in the number of road accidents over the past few years is also an area of concern. Steps have been taken to arrest this problem by improving road conditions, especially at the identified ‘black spots’, but the figures still remain high. There were 3,073 accidents in 2010, 3,099 in 2011, and 2,171 till September 30 this year.
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Jobs hard to find
Pratibha Chauhan With limited avenues and absence of job-oriented education, the youth — a major deciding factor in the Assembly polls — are disillusioned with the grim employment scenario. The number of educated jobless has touched almost 10 lakh, according to experts, though the official figure still stands at 8.39 lakh. The gap between educated youth and jobs has increased particularly because of the policy to encourage setting up of private universities, while there is little effort to create jobs. With limited scope of government employment, and industry being confined to fringe border areas of the state, the government has imposed the condition on industrial units that 70 per cent of the jobs will be offered to Himachalis. Rakesh Kumar, an ITI pass-out unable to find a job, alleged many companies used false addresses for their employees to fulfil this condition while hiring outsiders. The “commercialisation” of education with private players too has led to criticism. The youth rue that only a small percentage in Himachal can afford education at the private universities. The announcement in the 2012-13 budget that computer notebooks would be given to the top 4,000 students in HP Board of School Education matriculation exam was well received, as was the announcement for setting up a gymnasium in every panchayat, but these have yet to be implemented.
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BJP swings into action to woo rebels
Shimla, October 17 Even though Chief Minister PK Dhumal has achieved partial success in this mission, the presence of rebels in the fray can make a major dent in the BJP vote bank. The BJP has decided to put in all its might to woo rebels during the next three days as the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 20. State BJP chief Ganesh Dutt said efforts would be made to convince rebels to withdraw their candidature by October 20, failing which disciplinary action would be taken against them. He, however, ruled out the possibility of holding talks with those who had joined other parties like the HLP. Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar too has urged the rebels to withdraw from the contest in favour of party candidates. Roop Singh, BJP MLA from Sundernagar, has jumped into the fray in protest against denial of ticket to him. The party has given the ticket to Rakesh Jamwal. KK Thakur is another BJP rebel is now contesting as an independent. Sudha Sushant, wife of BJP MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant, today filed her nomination against official nominee Arjun Singh from the Fatehpur constituency. Similarly, Kamla Patyal, a BJP rebel and president of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, is contesting as an Independent candidate against Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor. Pawan Kajal, BJP leader and strong contender for party ticket from Kangra, also decided to contest as an Independent. The party gave preference to Sanjay Chadhary, BJP associate MLA. Manohar Dhiman, whose ticket was cancelled in 2007 polls from Indora (SC) to accommodate Des Raj, is now contesting as an Independent. Dhumal managed to convince former Rajya Sabha MP Kripal Parmar not to contest against IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi from Dehra. Similarly, he convinced Ravi Dhiman, who could have been a rebel from Jaisinghpur against sitting MLA, Capt Atma Ram. Rajinder Rana too is contesting as an Independent from Sujanpur in the home district of the Chief Minister, making the going tough for sitting MLA Urmil Thakur who has had to shift from Hamirpur.
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Shanta tells BJP rebels to withdraw
Palampur, October 17 Addressing a news conference at his residence today, Shanta Kumar said the party was supreme and all party workers should honour the decision of the party high command. He said he was deeply hurt over the decision of a senior party leader and former minister Roop Singh, three times MLA Des Raj and former MLA Harbans Rana, who had filed their nominations to contest the elections as Independent candidates. He appealed to these leaders that the party had given them status, honour and high respect in the past and they should not forget it and retire from the contest. He said the party leaders should give chance to youths to come forward and lead the party in the Assembly. Old leaders must realise that if the youths were not allowed to come, the party could not prepare the second line of leaders. Shanta Kumar also appealed to workers to teach a lesson to rebels if they did not withdraw their nominations before October 20. He said the main contest was between the Congress and the BJP, people of the state should not waste their votes by casting the same to other than these two parties.
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Dhumal’s assets total to over Rs 13 lakh
Hamirpur, October 17 Dhumal has shown his income as Rs 7,49,773 and his wife’s income is Rs 12,33,048. Dhumal owns Rs 45,000 in cash and his wife has Rs 18,000. Dhumal’s total bank deposits and gold have been valued Rs 51,26,081 and that of his wife are Rs 30,78,611. His ancestral property has been valued at Rs 82,66,800 and value of self acquired property is Rs 6 lakh. His wife Sheila has Rs 30,78,611 in bank deposits including gold and value of her ancestral property is Rs 24,35,000 and purchased property of Rs 13,83,000. |
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Virbhadra must quit politics till he comes clean: BJP
Shimla, October 17 Addressing a press conference here today, state BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said today that Virbhadra should emulate BJP leader LK Advani, who had resigned from the Lok Sabha till his name was cleared in the Jain Hawala case. “If the Congress leader is innocent and has nothing to fear, then why is he not willing to step back and retire from politics till investigations are completed?” asked Dutt. The BJP leader said though there was no similarity between the Jain Hawala case and the Steel Ministry kickbacks’ issue, he should exhibit this kind of exemplary moral conduct. “The former Chief Minister who has been surrounded by one or the other controversy has today become synonymous with corruption,” he said. Dutt said what was most unfortunate was the fact that within one week after charges were framed against Virbhadra by a local court in the CD case, the Congress high command made him the state party chief. |
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Virbhadra’s family assets over Rs 30 crore
Shimla, October 17 The affidavit filed by him today revealed that the value of immovable properties in his name is Rs 18.78 crore and that of his wife Pratibha Singh, a former MP, Rs 30 lakh. The assets include a flat in the MPs Housing Society in Delhi purchased in 2002. His other assets include Rs 8.26 crore in the shape of bank deposits, two vehicles, an Innova (2012) and a Toyota (2009), jewellery (Rs 50 lakh) life insurance and other financial instruments. He has also raised a loan of Rs 4.02 lakh from the Vidhan Sabha. Pratibha Singh has other assets valued at Rs 4.87 crore, including bank deposits, jewellery and other valuables. Virbhadra has insurance policies worth Rs.1.5 crore and his wife has insurance policies of over Rs 2 crore. |
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More candidates file nominations on last day
Dharamsala, October 17 She is the former BJP leader and was considered close to Chief Minister PK Dhumal. She also deposited Rs 6 lakh today with the local municipal council to clear her dues for getting an NOC for filing the papers. Earlier, in the Dharamsala Assembly constituency there was a direct contest between Kishan Kapoor of the BJP and Sudhir Sharma of the Congress. MandI: As many as 79 candidates have filed their nomination papers from Mandi and 24 candidates from Kullu district and seven candidates from Lahaul-Spiti district today. Eight candidates from Darang, Sundernagar (6), Jogindernagar (8), Mandi Sadar (8), Sarkaghat (9), Dharampur (7), Karsog (6), Nachen (7), Seraj (5) and Balh(10) filed papers. In Kullu district, eight candidates from Kullu Sadar, Banjar (7), Manali (6) and Ani (5) and Lahaul-Spiti (7) filed nominations. Three women have filed their nominations from Kullu Sadar. Hamirpur: As many as 19 candidates filed their nomination papers from Hamirpur district on the last day of filing nomination papers today. Total 44 candidates have filed their nominations from the five Assembly constituencies of Hamirpur district. Three candidates, Ramesh Chand (Congress), Promila Kumari and Dhani Ram Shukla (both Independents), filed nomination papers from the Bhoranj Assembly constituency. In Nadaun, Vijay Agnihotri (BJP), his covering candidate, Bhawani Singh and Pawan Kumar Sharma (BSP) filed nominations. From the Badsar constituency, Baldev Sharma (BJP), his covering candidate, Maya Sharma, Prakash Chand (TMC), his covering candidate, Anita, and Watan Singh (Independent) filed nomination papers. From the Hamirpur constituency, Narender Thakur (Congress), Avnish Kumar (Himachal Swabhiman Party), Naveen Singh (Smajwadi Party) and Ashish Kumar (Independent) also filed nomination papers. From the Sujanpur constituency, Anita Verma (Congress), Praveen Kumar (BSP) his covering candidate, Anita Devi, and Praveen Kumar (Independent) filed their papers. Chamba: As many as 69 candidates of different political parties, including Independent candidates, have filed their nomination papers from the five Assembly constituencies of Chamba district, according to tentative official reports received at the district headquarters. Kangra: Five nominations were filed from Kangra Assembly segment, three from Pragpur, six from Jwalamukhi, 11 from Dehra Assembly segment and four from Nagrota Bagwan today. Ram Swroop Verma (Himachal Swabhiman Party), Devi Lal (Lok Janshakti Party), Ram Niwas Yadev (SP), Raj Kumar (Independent) and Bohd Raj (TMC) filed their nominations from the Kangra Assembly constituency. The total number of candidates who filed for contesting in the Kangra Assembly segment has gone up to 11. Vikram Thakur (BJP), Rajinder Kumar (TMC) and Rakesh Kumar Dhiman (LJP) filed their nomination papers from the Pragpur Assembly segment. Total number has gone to seven. Rattan Chand (BSP), Prakash Chand (BSP), Mohinder Singh (Independent), Dr Madu Gupta (TMC), Sanjay Rattan (Congress) and Vimal Choudary (BJP) filed their nomination papers from Jwalamukhi Assembly segment today taking the number of the nominations filed to seven. Sushma Devi (NCP), Nasirdin, Rajinder Singh Chawla, Vijay Kumar, Vijay Singh, Omkar Chand Thakur and Ashwani Kumar (all Independents), Raj Kumar (TMC), Durgesh (HLP), Sulekha Devi (SP) and Sampat Kumar (LJP) taking the number of the nominations to 22 filed till date for Dehra Assembly segment. Mulak Raj Sharma of (Himachal Swabhiman Party), Col Shakti Chand (TMC), Satish Kumar (LJP) and Babli Devi (BSP) filed their nomination papers from Nagrota Bagwan Assembly segment taking the number of the nominations filed so far to nine. Solan: Nominations came to end today with 46 candidates having filed their nomination papers in the district from the five constituencies which included 11 from Arki, seven from Nalagarh, 12 from Doon, seven from Kasauli and nine from Solan. As many as 28 nominations were filed today. Among those who filed their nominations today included Gurdas Ram (BSP), Vijay Singh (Independent), Rajinder (SP) and Raj Sharma (SP) for the Arki seat. A maximum of 11 nominations were filed in Doon, which included the BJP’s sitting MLA Vinod Chandel, Darshan Saini (Independent), Roop Singh (BSP), Amar Singh, Paramjeet Singh (all Independents) and Ram Kumar (Congress). In Kasauli, five candidates field their nominations, which included Vinod Sultanpuri (Congress), Karam Dass (CPI), Ram Swaroop (TMC), Shakun Chauhan (SP) and Janki Ram Chauhan (NCP). In Nalagarh, BJP’s KL Thakur filed his nomination along with Gurbaksh Singh of (LJP) and Pola Ram (HLP). In Solan, Mohan Lal Chauhan (Independent), OP Kant (HLP), Rabneet Singh Kashyap, HN Kashyap (both Independents) and Rajesh Kumar (TMC) filed their nominations. Nurpur: Eight candidates today filed papers from the Nurpur Assembly constituency. Though Congress nominee Ajay Mahajan filed his nomination yesterday, he submitted his authorisation letter today. After the denial of the BJP ticket, MLA Rakesh Pathania filed his nomination as Independent. Ranbir Nikka (BJP) and Salli Ram (BSP) were among the eight candidates who filed their papers. In the Indora (reserve) constituency, Rita Devi (BJP), Kamal Kishore (Congress) and Tiara Singh (BSP) filed nominations. In Jawali, Sanjay Guleria (BJP rebel), Ravinder Singh (HLP) and Aman Kumar (NCP) filed their papers. In Fatehpur, Sujan Singh (Congress), Ashok Tomal (TMC) and Rupal Singh (HLP) filed their nomination papers. Kullu: Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) chief Maheshwar Singh, who filed his nomination from Kullu Sadar, said it was a lull before the storm similar to that in the 1977 elections and chance of the third front was bright this time. The HLP has fielded candidates from all four seats in Kullu and 40 candidates in others and in 28 others they were supporting the CPI and the CPM, he added. Bilaspur: With four Congress rebels as Independents, total 11 candidates have filed their nomination papers today from the Bilaspur Sadar constituency. There are total 29 candidates, with only one woman as Independent, who have filed their nomination papers.
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Durga Puja in full swing in Kangra
Kangra, October 17 The famous Survojonin Durga Puja of this district, which is entering the 45th year of its inception, began at the Tara Devi Temple, Ghurkari, on the outskirts of Kangra on Monday. The festival will conclude on October 24. Kamal Paul, a renowned artist from West Bengal, and his artist son Subhankar Chitrkar, have completed making the idols of Goddess Mahishasur Mardini, her two daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati and two sons Kartik and Ganesh. Swami AS Bramchari, popularly known as Lal Baba, who is organiser of the celebrations in the Tara Devi Temple here this year, said, "Durga, symbol of strength, will be worshipped in the temple till October 24." LK Ghosh, a devotee, said Mahishasur Mardini and others divinities would be invited on October 20 on the sixth day of the Navratri Parva. The idols would be immersed in the Banner Khad on October 24 on Mahadashami. A community feast would be organised on October 29, Ghosh added. This was the second oldest Durga Puja in the state after the famous 101-year-old Kalibari Puja at Shimla. The puja in Kangra district began in 1967 at Yol before it was shifted to the Tara temple here at Ghurkari. Army jawans and officers from the Rising Star at Yol were also expected to join the festivities at this temple, Swami added. Temple officer Pawan Patial said sanitation, health and security arrangements had been made to carry on the festival smoothly. He said additional 35 sweepers had been put on the job. He said two power lights, costing Rs 8 lakh, have started functioning at the Tehsil Chowk and the bypass road. Kangra district police chief DS Thakur said the police and Home Gaurds had been put on duty to maintain the pilgrim traffic and keep the security tight. He said dog squads and bomb disposal squads too were kept in readiness in all the three temple towns Jawalamukhi, Kangra and Chamundaji.
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Executive magistrates for Navratras
Bilaspur, October 17 A notification issued here said, the District Magistrate had appointed Ajit Kumar, tehsildar, National Highway, Prem Singh, naib tehsildar, Kol Dam Project, Prakash Chand, naib tehsildar, PWD, Land Acquisition, and Shiv Kumar, naib tehsildar, Conservator of Forests, at Bilaspur as Executive Magistrates for the fair. — OC |
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Cremation
Facilities in Shimla Vijay Arora
Shimla, October 17 It further asked whether such sites needed to be protected or cordoned off and were accessible by motorable road and, if not, whether it was possible to have the same constructed. If not, whether it was possible to shift the sites to a more convenient and easily accessible places. It directed the authorities to file their affidavit by November 16. While passing this order, a Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Rajiv Sharma observed: “Right of decent burial and cremation is an important facet of life, as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.” It further observed: “The problem of performing last rites for the lonely and poor is increasing with each passing day. Also with the changing trend of over-urbanisation, population of the town has increased manifold. In Shimla, there are two major cremation grounds, at Sanjauli and Kanlog.” The court directed the state government to constitute a committee, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary and some senior-level officers, to sort out the technical feasibility of development of the site at Kanlog within a limited time frame. The Bench passed these orders during the hearing of a PIL registered suo moto by the court on a letter written to the Chief Justice by Ved Prakash Kalta, former president, Shimla Rotary Club. The petitioner has highlighted the problems faced by citizens in performing of the last rites in Shimla. The matter will be listed before the court on November 16 for further hearing.
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Pranab’s daughter to visit Shimla
Shimla, October 17 She will arrive here on October 19 and stay at the Retreat, which is the official residence of the President. During her four-day visit she will visit places of tourist interest in and around Shimla. — TNS
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Mandi, October 17
Palampur, October 17
Consequently, the financial health has been deteriorating despite the intervention of the World Bank, which provided a development policy loan of Rs 900 crore to pull the state out of the debt trap. The loan was linked to an approved “policy matrix” to be implemented to put the state on the fiscal correction path to help bring down the ratio of fiscal deficit to the GSDP from 3.4 per cent in 2007-08 to 2.2 per cent in 2011-12.
The only redeeming feature is that the GSDP has been growing at a relatively healthy rate, higher than the national average. It increased to Rs 54,695 crore in 2010-11 from Rs 41,483 crore in 2008-09, and is likely reach Rs 61,000 crore in 2010. The per capita income increased to Rs 65,535 in 2010-11, up from Rs 56,706 in 2009-10.
