|
|
|
|
|
Scholarship scheme for young children launched
Expert pitches for artificial breeding of exotic birds
Dr Romesh Kumar Shukla
Doctors’ body blames state govt for Health Dept mess
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Army to record biometric details of candidates
HRTC employees raise
slogans
Bilaspur Zila Parishad seeks tunnel to Jukhala
11 injured in road accidents
Plea to upgrade Panchrukhi police post to police station
Tibetan woman commits
self-immolation, dies
One-third road accident victims aged 20-29 years: Data
38 students donate blood at camp
Minor girl beaten up, persons booked
‘Bal Thackeray helped Kashmiri Pandit migrants’
|
|
Scholarship scheme for young children launched
Shimla, November 18 About 500 students will be given three-year scholarship from class VI, for which the competitive test will be conducted for students of class V at the block level. The test will be conducted from November 30 in each of the 124 education blocks and scholarships will be granted to the top four students, two boys and two girls, in each block. The objective is to recognise merit at an early stage, instil the competitive spirit among children and motivate them to excel in academics by recognising their merit at an early stage, points out Education Secretary Sanjay Murthy. The scholarship will be available for a period of three years, during which the academic performance of the students will be monitored. The scholarship will be discontinued in case beneficiary students fail in the annual examination. The department will have to to conduct the test as there is no board examination at the class V level to ascertain merit. Scholarships for various categories of students at the senior secondary level are awarded on the basis of the merit in the matriculation examination. In another initiative, the department has decided introduce an online system for processing and disbursing all scholarships in a phased manner. This will not only ensure the timely release of scholarships to meritorious students, but eliminate the paperwork involved in forwarding and processing cases through field offices as well. All applications will be received online from schools from the next financial year. The students selected will be required to open no-frill bank accounts. After processing cases, the scholarship amount will be deposited in the accounts. The decision to disburse the scholarship through core banking will benefit over 20,000 students in the first phase. The state has procured special software for e-disbursement from the Centre of Excellence in Good Governance, set up by the Andhra Pradesh Government, which provides scholarships worth Rs 2,500 crore a year. Catching them Young
|
|
Expert pitches for artificial breeding of exotic birds
Dharamsala, November 18 An expert in artificial breeding of animals from Himachal Pradesh, Dr Romesh Kumar Shukla, said this in an interview to The Tribune. He is managing the Abu Dhabi Emirates wildlife sanctuary at present. Dr Shukla, a former employee with the Himachal Pradesh Government, has been working with the Abu Dhabi government and Sheikh Muhammad Bin Butti Alhamid as an animal expert for the last two decades. During this period, he has helped in reviving many wildlife animal species that are facing extinction through breeding under controlled conditions. Dr Shukla said he had achieved success in the recent past in breeding falcons, rare predator birds, under controlled conditions. He said an artificial environment was created for seven pairs of falcon in Abu Dhabi. He said after experimentation for about three years, three falcon eggs hatched with success at the artificial breeding centre. He added that breeding falcons under controlled conditions could help save the species. He said falconry was a business in West Asia as people there bought these birds for sport. Falconry was an ancient sport and had references in age-old epics. He said modern falconry used three main species of falcon. These were the gyr falcon, found in the Arctic circle, Alaska and Siberia; the saker falcon in Central Asia, China, the subcontinent and parts of Europe; and the peregrine falcon in Africa, Asia and Europe. Dr Shukla said it was illegal in modern times to source these birds from the wild and hence, these were bred in captivity, mainly in Germany, Spain, the UK, the USA and Canada. He said in hatch year, the birds were so much in demand that these were booked in advance and immediately purchased. He said their training started at an early age of three months. He said by six months they were fully mature and taken to exotic locations, mainly Central Asia, where falconers from West Asia were paid well. Dr Shukla said breeding exotic species that were not found in India could prove an alternative and lucrative business for farmers in the region. He said farmers in Himachal Pradesh who owned private forest land could do this business and make the optimum use of their land. Artificial breeding had helped revive the Arabian oryx, mountain goats, reem deer and saluki dogs, he said. |
|
Doctors’ body blames state govt for Health Dept mess
Palampur, November 18 Addressing mediapersons here today, he said the situation in the Health Department had gone from bad to worse in the last five years as most of the hospitals in the state had become referral hospitals in the absence of specialists and general practitioners. He regretted that over 500 posts of postgraduate and MBBS doctors in the state were lying vacant because of the reportedly unhelpful and non-cooperative attitude of senior officers with the department. He said things had come to such a pass that no doctor was willing to join state services and those who joined had quit within a year of joining. He alleged that the state government was meting out step-motherly treatment to them. He pointed out that Himachal Pradesh was the first state to appoint doctors on contract. He said postgraduate doctors were being paid a meagre salary of Rs 40,000 and and MBBS doctors only Rs 26,000, without any allowance. He said the state government had appointed doctors on contract in the last five years even though the Centre had, in its memorandum of understanding signed with the state government, exempted the health and education department from contractual appointments. He claimed that the state government had failed to utilise FRU and NRHM funds last year because of vacant posts of doctor and other paramedical staff. He predicted that the situation would be the same this year. Dr Chauhan said several meetings were held on these issues and the matter was taken up with Chief Minister PK Dhumal and senior officers of the state government time and again, but nothing was done. He said rural health services in the state were the worst hit as 28 posts of Block Medical Officer, two posts of Chief Medical Officer and one post of Joint Director had been lying vacant, affecting day-to-day working. He regretted that the rural allowance being paid in the state was not on a par with that paid in Punjab. He said doctors in Punjab were getting 5 per cent of basic pay as rural allowance while it was only Rs 150 in Himachal Pradesh. He pointed out the anomaly in house rent allowance as well. He said doctors in Punjab were getting between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent of basic pay as house rent allowance while it was only Rs 500 in Himachal Pradesh. |
|
|
Army to record biometric details of candidates
Hamirpur, November 18 Since cases of impersonation and fraud by candidates have been detected at many places, the authorities have decided to include biometric details to make the recruitment process foolproof. The authorities will record biometric details like thumb impression, fingerprints and physical marks at the time of starting the recruitment process. These biometric details will subsequently be verified at every stage, be it the ground clearance test, the medical examination or the written test. There have been reports of impersonation by a few candidates during the recruitment process. The Army recruitment authorities have started the process of recording biometric details. Candidates from Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts who will appear in the recruitment rally at Una from December 4 to 12 will be directed to submit biometric details. Several steps have already been taken to make the recruitment process foolproof and transparent and to check any malpractice. Awareness campaigns are also being held from time to time. Hamirpur’s Army Recruiting Office Director Col SB Mathur says they are putting in every effort to make the recruitment process foolproof. He adds, “Recording biometric details will definitely check the chances of impersonation by candidates during the recruitment process. We are introducing it from the next open recruitment rally in Una, beginning on December 4.” |
|
|
HRTC employees raise
slogans
Bilaspur, November 18 Addressing the gathering, Shankar Singh said all their demands were still pending despite repeated assurances even though the committee had held a number of meetings with the Transport Minister, the HRTC Managing Director and the Transport Secretary. He said they would resort to work-to-rule from the morning of November 20 as the management was sleeping over their genuine demands. He explained that all HRTC employees would perform duty only for eight hours a day and take their weekly off after duty for six days. He warned that this would seriously hamper HRTC services and the management would be responsible for it. He said the work-to-rule would also include the refusal to use substandard spare parts, to perform the work of loading and unloading and to do cleanliness and store work. He said they would use substandard spare parts only on written orders from the management and issue travel fitness certificates only after complete and satisfactory repair of vehicles. He said the management was cutting down service benefits, ignoring labour laws and making changes in allowances. He demanded that employees be appointed under a policy, employees be given weekly offs, night allowance of Rs 130 be given, the services of all contractual employees and woman water carriers be regularised, standard tools and spare part kits be provided in all stores, all employees be covered under the increased pay grade scheme and the uniform allowance be increased to Rs 3,000. HRTC leaders Dharam Singh Guleria, Dilwar Singh Thakur, Pawan Kumar, Mahender Thakur, Jagat Paul, Sanjiv Gupta, Khemender Gupta and Ranvir Singh were present.
|
|
|
Bilaspur Zila Parishad seeks tunnel to Jukhala
Bilaspur, November 18 The Zila Parishad met under its chairman Kuldip Thakur here yesterday. It expressed displeasure that some district officers had stopped routine work on the pretext of the enforcement of the model code of conduct. It demanded that normal development work should not suffer and officers should ensure that the immediate permission of the Election Commission was obtained, if need be. It was critical of the failure of the state health authorities in providing specialists, machinery and equipment at the Trauma Centre, which was inaugurated with fanfare months ago. It pointed out that none of the desired functions was being performed, resulting in the death of accident victims. The Zila Parishad demanded that immediate steps be taken to ensure that the large chunks of government forest land forcibly occupied by cement factories and other big industries were vacated. It demanded the opening of a bank branch at Saai Kharsi and immediate steps for repairs of National Highway 21. Additional Deputy Commissioner Darshan Kalia, Zila Parishad Vice-Chairman Anup Mahajan and members Hoshiar Singh Thakur, Babu Ram Thakur, Basant Ram Sandhu, Reeta Devi, Anjana Sharma, Promila Devi, Ganga Devi, Vijay Kaushal, Anita Devi, Manmohan Singh, Poonam and Indu Sharma were present. |
|
11 injured in road accidents
Kangra, November 18 Stating this here today, Kangra district police chief DS Thakur said eight persons were injured when a Punjab Roadways bus (PB-06F-2818), in which they were travelling, rolled down into a gorge near the Ranchi mode, Damtal, on Saturday. He said in this connection Param Jeet Singh, driver of the bus, was arrested for rash and negligent driving and a case under Sections 279 and 337, IPC, and 184, MV Act, was registered. He said in another accident three persons travelling on a motorcycle (HP-53-2386) were injured when their vehicle rolled down at Lahar village near Mahakal on Saturday. SSP Thakur said the injured were identified as Sarwan Singh of Kusmol, Uttar Pradesh, driver, Pankaj Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, pillion riders. All the three were admitted to DRPGMC Hospital, Tanda, near here, for treatment. He said a case under Sections 279 and 337, Indian Penal Code (IPC), was registered against the driver of the motorcycle. |
|
Plea to upgrade Panchrukhi police post to police station
Kangra, November 18 Hari Ram, pradhan of Ladoh gram panchayat, said the Panchrukhi area was away from Palampur and surrounded by more than two dozen villages being looked after by just one police post. He said there was a huge population in these villages. Besides, crimes too had increased. These included murders, thefts, robberies, road accidents and other law and order issues. Moreover, the topography of the area was such that the upgradation of the Panchrukhi police post to a police station was absolutely necessary. The pradhan cited some broad daylight murders in the area recently and the road accident at Asha Puri which left 34 passengers dead. He said there was also a liquor mafia active in the area. Hari Ram said in order to provide safe and sound atmosphere to residents, the area needed to be upgraded to a police station. He said the Bazaar Committee of Panchrukhi and Ladoh panchayat had already passed resolutions proposing the upgradation of this police post and submitted memorandums to the state government in this regard. He expressed dismay that there was no response from the state government till now.
|
|
|
Tibetan woman commits
self-immolation, dies
Kangra, November 18 Spokesman, TCHRD, Tsering Tsomo said here today that Chakmo Kyi, whose age was yet to be ascertained, died after she set herself on fire at Dolma Square in front of the Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong County, Qinghai Province. He said Kyi, a mother of two, set herself on fire yesterday at around 4 pm (local time) and died on the spot. Her body was taken to Rongwo Monastery where thousands of Tibetans gathered to offer prayers, Tsomo said. Tsomo said at 7 pm (local time), Kyi’s body was cremated at a hill behind Rongwo Monastery. Tibetans loudly recited Mani mantras and special prayers associated with the Dalai Lama. He said sources also revealed that Rongwo town was full of armed security forces, including People’s Armed Police, patrolling the area day and night. Restrictions had increased with the latest self-immolation and local Tibetans said they expected the situation to worsen in the coming days, Tsomo added. He said Chakmo Kyi was the daughter of Dugjam and Dotso of Mepa Khagya village in Rebkong County. |
|
One-third road accident victims aged 20-29 years: Data
Shimla, November 18 An analysis of accident emergency data by the GVKEMRI Company, which operates the 108 free emergency service in the state, has revealed that Kangradistrict accounts for 22 per cent of RTA emergencies. Of the 11,949 RTA emergencies attended since the inception of the service in December 2010, as many as 2668 were reported from Kangra. A total of 4,102 victims (35 per cent) were in the age group of 20 to 29 years. The data was released by Mehul Sukumaran, Head of Operations, GVKEMRI 108, to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, observed on the third Sunday of November in memory of those killed or injured in road mishaps. The other districts with high rate of RTA emergencies are Una (1,552), Solan (1,327), Mandi (1,303), Shimla (1,274), Bilaspur (1,070), Hamirpur (942) and Sirmaur (875). The tribal districts of Lahaul-Spiti (58) and Kinnaur (56) had the least RTA emergencies. Among non-tribal districts, Kullu (393) and Chamba (401) accounted for the minimum emergencies. The survey report pointed to overspeeding, drunk driving and less use of helmet, seatbelt and child restraint in vehicles as the main factors. It quoted World Health Organisation statistics, according to which reduction in speed curtailed RTA emergencies by 5 per cent and, more importantly, could bring down fatal accidents by almost 30 per cent. |
|
38 students donate blood at camp
Bilaspur, November 18 Earlier, addressing a meeting, unit president Aditya Thakur said the camp was being organised in the memory of ABVP activist Sunil Upadhayaya on his death anniversary as he had devoted all his life for the welfare of college students. ABVP spokesman Kamal Thakur said a total of 38 girls and boys donated blood at the camp. Present on the occasion were Dr Indu Chauhan, Dr Shyam Bansal, Dr Archana Thakur, blood specialist Krishan Shukla and a large number of prominent ABVP leaders, including Manjit Nadda, Sandip Chandel, Mukesh, Vinod, Ajay Chandel, Sitender Thakur, Arvind, Vikrant, Archana, Ankita, Sangita, Pallavi and Nancy. |
|
Minor girl beaten up, persons booked
Chamba, November 18 The report revealed that
Manisha, who was working along with her father Nar Singh at a Naga temple near their house at Tepa village of Churah subdivision of Chamba district, was beaten up by some persons. The report said the police got her medical examination carried out in which it was found that the girl had received grievous injuries. On a complaint of her father Nar Singh, a case had been registered under Sections 325, 323 and 34, Indian Penal Code
(IPC), against these persons at Tissa police station, the report said, adding that further investigation was under way. |
|
|
‘Bal Thackeray helped Kashmiri Pandit migrants’
Kangra, November 18 For Kashmiri Pandits Bal Thackeray was a living god who had helped them after their migration out of Kashmir. They held a condolence meeting to pay tributes to him. Addressing the meeting, Ashok Kumar said Thackeray was one of the most outspoken figures of India's Hindu nationalist movement who took a lead in providing succour to the dejected Kashmiri Pandit community. |
|
|
|
| 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 | |
Artificial breeding centres of exotic birds and animals can provide an alternative and lucrative source of income for farmers in Himachal Pradesh. These can also help save rare species of birds and animals facing extinction in the wild.
