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Heavy snow, rain cripple life
Pulses scam |
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Health Dept officials filing ‘manipulated’ report: Residents
Recover Rs 5.64 crore from IPL organisers: Social activist
BJP divided house again
Village Development Plan launched
Residents demand doctor at PHC
Widow seeks CM’s help
Exam Time
Youth nabbed for kidnapping minor
‘Kidnapping’ turns out a hoax
Youth Cong lauds larger role for Rahul
Helpline for food supply grievances
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Heavy snow, rain cripple life
Shimla, January 19 The situation in the higher reaches of Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba, Kullu and Shimla districts was the worst. Most areas were plunged in darkness, with power supply snapped since last evening. Vehicular movement to all parts of upper Shimla, Rampur and Kinnaur was disrupted, with no plying of vehicles beyond Dhalli. Most areas of the state capital remained without electricity for the last 24 hours. Power supply was restored to some parts this evening, but that was erratic. With the Shimla-Kalka highway blocked between Tara Devi and Shoghi since yesterday, the supply of essential commodities was affected. The supply could be restored in the evening, but only to some parts. Shimla Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Malhotra said efforts were on to open the road to upper parts of Shimla district and normalise water and power supply. With tourists making a beeline to Shimla to enjoy the snow, vehicular movement was almost at a snail’s pace between Kandaghat and Shimla. Trees were uprooted in more than 40 places in the town due to heavy snow. Many vehicles and some houses were damaged at a few places. Water supply to Jakhu, which had over two feet of snow, was affected due to the freezing of water. Vehicular movement in the town came to a halt yesterday. The Cart Road was cleared of the snow this afternoon with the help of two excavators engaged by the local municipal corporation (MC). “We have cleared roads to hospitals, main markets and the Cart Road and efforts are on to clear the remaining roads as well,” said Amarjeet Singh, MC Commissioner. He said besides the 150 MC workers, an additional 100 Kashmiri labourers were engaged to clear the roads in Jakhu and other difficult areas manually. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh directed the official machinery in the entire state to ensure that the public did not face any inconvenience. He said all-out efforts were being made to ensure the availability of essential supplies and services to the people. He directed the authorities concerned to ensure that drinking water, electricity and foodgrain and essential services were made available. He directed them to clear snow from roads to facilitate the smooth movement of vehicular traffic and make efforts to clear link roads in snow-bound areas. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes directed the district administration to restore vehicular traffic. She also directed the authorities to restore the supply of electricity and repair damaged water supply schemes on a war footing. “Machinery and labourers have been deployed on the Theog-Hatkoti and Theog-Narkanda roads at various places for clearing snow,” she said. She said the district administration was directed to clear link roads on a priority. Temperatures in most parts of the state took a further plunge with more rain and snow during the last 24 hours. Shimla recorded -1.5 degree Celsius and between one and two feet of snow, depending on the height of the area. The temperatures in other parts of the state were Bhuntar -1.1 degree Celsius, Kalpa -7.8 degree Celsius, Sundernagar 3.5 degree Celsius, Dharamsala 4.2 degree Celsius, Una 7.8 degree Celsius, Saluni -0.5 degree Celsius, Nahan 2.3 degree Celsius, Keylong -6.7 degree Celsius, Palampur 0.4 degree Celsius, Solan 0.6 degree Celsius and Manali -1.6 degree Celsius. Kalpa had about two feet of fresh snow, besides the three feet received earlier. There were reports of fresh snowfall from the higher reaches. The lower parts of the state were lashed by heavy rain and hailstorms. According to the forecast by the local Meteorological Centre, the weather would be dry in the mid-hills and low-hill areas of the state, but there could be more snow and rain in the higher hills during the next 24 hours. With the western disturbance moving eastwards, the weather was likely to be clear, but with another feeble western disturbance emerging, weather could be inclement again in the western Himalayan region from January 23. Manali: After two days of moderate-to-heavy snowfall in the upper Kullu valley, the sun appeared on Saturday morning. Local residents and tourists got some respite, but dark clouds were back in the sky in the afternoon. For the second consecutive day, all long-route buses to Manali had to be halted at Patlikulh, 19 km from here. Only light vehicles could be plied thereon. The Public Works Department pressed snow-clearing machines and labourers into service to clear snow on roads. Power supply to the upper Manali region was disrupted for the second consecutive day. Snowfall in the upper Kullu valley brought cheer to apple growers as it was considered as white manure for apple orchards. Solan: Kasauli and surroundings areas received the season’s first snowfall on Friday night. It snowed in the town after several years. With heavy rain lashing various parts of the district since Friday evening, the Dharampur feeder developed a snag, which affected power supply to Dharampur, Garkhal, Kasauli, Dagshai throughout Saturday. Four trees fell in Barog and the Dharampur feeder developed another snag. There was a rush of tourists to Kasauli. Barog, Chail, Dagshai and Solan received a good amount of snowfall. The Chail-Kandaghat road was blocked due to fallen trees. Tourists had a harrowing time in Chail as a fallen electricity pole led to disruption of power since Friday. Water supply was adversely affected. Buses from Shimla were delayed by two hours due to the blocking of the road at various places. At least five buses from various destinations in Sirmaur district were stuck in the upper reaches there due to heavy snow. Haripurdhar, Nohradhar, Shillai and Gattadhar in Sirmaur district received heavy snowfall since Friday evening. About 5 feet of snow was recorded in the Churdhar area. Chamba: The Chamba-Shimla highway via Jot was blocked on Saturday due to heavy snowfall, which was continuing for the last 24 hours. Transport services were being provided via Tunnuhatti. The Chamba-Hadsar and Chamba-Nayagran highways connecting the tribal terrain of Bharmour subdivision were blocked. Electricity and water supply were disrupted. Dalhousie recorded more than 10 centimetres of snow. Kalatop and Khajjiar were covered under a thick white mantle. There was no let-up in snowfall in the higher reaches. Kangra: Heavy rain lashed the Kangra valley till Saturday morning. McLeodganj, Dharamsala, Bagsunag and Naddi received the first spell of snowfall this season. A large number of local residents and tourists thronged McLeodganj to enjoy the snow. The inclement weather continued on Friday night. The sky was overcast on Saturday morning and vehicles had to be driven with headlights on. As the day proceeded, it became sunny. It was overcast again in the evening. Reports of rain on Friday night were also received from Jwalamukhi, Haripur, Shahpur, Dhraman, Nagrota Bagwan, Icchhi, Gaggal, Mallan, Palampur and Ranital.
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Vigilance seeks nod to book 2 govt officers
Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shimla, January 19 The Vigilance Bureau has sought permission from the Principal Secretary for Home and the Vigilance Department to allow it to register an FIR against IAS officer Padam Singh Chauhan and Ashok Chauhan, Deputy Controller, Himachal Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Corporation. Padam Singh Chauhan was the Managing Director of the corporation and the scam had figured prominently in the Congress charge sheet. The two officers were accused of favouring AR Traders in the re-tendering process with regard to delayed online transfer of Rs 30 lakh earnest money which was to be paid in the form of a draft along with tender documents. It was also alleged that the pulses supply was made from Delhi instead of Bathinda. A separate case was registered in the pulses scam on February 4 last against other officials with the corporation. Permission to prosecute two officials, Kashmir Singh Rana, Assistant Procurement Officer, and Ashok Kumar Kaushal, General Manager (Administration), was given by the government on December 12 last. The case, registered under Sections 13-1(D) and 15 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the IPC, was put up in court on January 3. The pulses were meant for sale under the public distribution system at the fair price shops all over the state. The alleged irregularities in the tendering process would have resulted in a loss of crores per month if the irregularities had not been detected. The Vigilance Bureau also probed other aspects of the scam regarding transportation, the alleged sale of imported pulses and the supply of substandard material bought locally. Vigilance Bureau sources said the two officials were allegedly involved in manipulation of the tendering document, which would have resulted in undue benefit to the Delhi-based company. “The two officials allegedly added ‘required pulses’ at their own level without the consent of their bosses with the alleged motive of giving benefit to the firm concerned and this automatically rendered many other firms ineligible,” revealed an official. Another fact which could go against the two officials was that the record of their mobile phone calls revealed that they were in constant touch with the firm during the crucial period when the tendering process was on. The proprietor of the firm which was awarded the contract for supply of pulses, Mohinder Mittal, was made an accused in the case. After the cancellation of the initial tender, fresh bids were invited. The re-tendering was done and the contract awarded to another firm at Rs 495 per quintal for ‘urad’, Rs 501 per quintal for gram whole and Rs 321 for dal gram.
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Health Dept officials filing ‘manipulated’ report: Residents
Hamirpur, January 19 The filing of the “wrong” survey report has deprived locals from getting a health centre in the area forcing them to travel a distance of 25 km to reach hospitals at Nadaun and Hamirpur. Residents of Rangas, Dangadi, Booni, Kandrola Plasi, Nohangi and Rail had been taking up a demand of opening a health centre in the area for quite some time, after which the Health Department directed its officials to conduct a survey, a few days ago. The people had also suggested a 100-kanal land near the ITI, Rail, under Kandrola Plasi for the purpose. But to the surprise of the locals, after the survey, the health officials suggested to open a health centre at some other place by excluding the above panchayats. Resenting the survey report, the residents of these panchayats again raised the demand of opening a hospital in the area. “It is very difficult to take critical patients to Nadaun or Hamirpur,” they said. President, Subhash Chander Bose Mission Society, Suresh Chand and several other presidents of the panchayats of the area urged the state government to conduct a fresh survey and open a health centre in the area. Dr SK Soni, Chief Medical Officer, Hamirpur, said, “The survey was not conducted during my tenure. However, I will look into the matter.” |
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Recover Rs 5.64 crore from IPL organisers: Social activist
Kangra, January 19 Sharma, talking to mediapersons here, said he had approached the HP High Court on May 5, 2011, through a PIL that the Police Department be paid for providing duty during the IPL matches held at Dharamsala and the High Court had forwarded the petition to the state Chief Secretary for action. The Principal Secretary, Home, informed Vinay Sharma on April 21, 2012: “Tourism is one of the major industries in HP and the hosting of IPL matches at Dharamsala has undoubtedly given a boost to tourism in the state and also helped the economy of the state. Moreover, since ensuring law and order is one of the primary functions of the state, the police bandobast was accordingly made during this public event as is being done at various other tourist attractions in the state.” Sharma said when temple trusts in the state were paying for the security being provided by the state government to the shrines, which actually boosted temple tourism and could be described as public events, then why were the IPL organisers not charged. Sharma said more than Rs 1 crore was being charged from these temple trusts for police security annually. He said the state governments of Maharashtra, Punjab and MP provided security during IPL matches against payment, then why was there relaxation by the previous HP Government. He said it was due to the family drama that the state government was put to a loss of Rs 5.64 crore. |
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BJP divided house again
Bilaspur, January 19 Mandal President Krishan Singh Thakur, accompanied by some mandal office bearers, warned that the “Mandal BJP would split”, if election in charge Brij Lal Thakur was not changed immediately. Brij Lal is the president of Bilaspur Sadar BJP Mandal and is said to be the right-hand man of BJP national general secretary and MP JP Nadda. Talking to mediapersons at Ghumarwin, near here, yesterday, Krishan said the election in charge should have taken him into confidence while making appointments of assistant election in charges, who would conduct party elections at various booth levels, but the concerned functionary did not consult him at all and deputed these persons without his consent. He said the action would only divide the party further and would not help bring unity in any way. Ghumarwin town President Prakash Pajiyala, Yuva Morcha President Satish Thakur, Vice-President Manoj Patial, General Secretary Ajay Sharma, Kisan Morcha General Secretary Surender, Secretary Ram Pal, Industrial BJP Wing President Lalit Chauhan and Ramzan Khan were also present. |
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Village Development Plan launched
Bilaspur, January 19 He said NABARD would build four check dams for irrigation, 30 more check dams for checking soil erosion two tubewells for drinking water, 15 retaining walls and five small bridges. He said five bio-fertiliser units would be set up, fodder grown and fruit trees planted in large numbers during three years as part of this project. He said the foundation stone of the Matyal bridge over the Seer khud was laid 15 years ago, but the bridge was never constructed despite repeated representations. He said he would take up the matter and the bridge would be a part of the budget for priority schemes so that it took shape at the earliest. He said Matyal would be connected by road, the Bhatoli road metalled and two handpumps set up. He said he would pay special attention to development in eight panchayat areas which were merged in his constituency recently. |
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Residents demand doctor at PHC
Bilaspur, January 19 Villagers, including Jaswant Singh Chandel, Usha Devi, Madhu Chandel, Subedar Balwant Singh, Shankar Singh Chandel, Surender Kumar, Kala Devi, Om Dev Sharma, Pushpa Chandel, Jawala Prasad, Bishan Singh, Dalip Singh and Ashwini Kumar said six months ago the doctor of the PHC was transferred to some other place, but no doctor joined in his place. Since then the post was lying vacant and villagers were suffering. All repeated requests to the concerned authorities had fallen on deaf ears, they added. The villagers said they had to go to private clinics and spend huge amounts for their treatment or had to rush to Bilaspur town or Ghumarwin for getting treatment while during emergencies, several patients have died in the process of being carried to these far off places. They urged Health Minister Kaul Sing Thakur to intervene in this situation and order immediate posting of a doctor at the Gehadwin PHC and provide necessary relief to the villagers of this area.
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Widow seeks CM’s help
Bilaspur, January 19 Talking to mediapersons here today, Devi said her husband Nand Lal was the only bread winner of the family and had died several years ago. After his death, Devi’s only son was taken ill due to failure of both his kidneys. She said several philanthropic organisations came to her help and provided her some money for his monthly dialysis, but all her attempts were in vain.
Devi said, on her petition, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal ordered her appointment as a class four employee in a nearby school, but due to some official mistake, these orders were issued on the name of a school where no post was vacant. She said now the department here had sent revised orders for the approval of the Education Director, but the orders had not arrived till now. |
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No functions in govt schools
Our Correspondent
Palampur, January 19 Pal told mediapersons here yesterday that the state government had decided to keep schools away from all non-educational activities. Now, premises of schools would not be used for organising functions by ministers, MLAs and other government officials, he said. He said he was the first MLA to implement this decision. He told teachers to devote maximum time to improve the standard of education in government schools. Earlier, inaugurating an agriculture camp, Pal said Rs 426 lakh would be spent in the Sulaha area to boost agriculture production in the current financial year. Under this programme, new land would be brought under agriculture, additional irrigation facilities would be made available to farmers and a special package would be granted to them. He said honest and hardworking officials would be rewarded by the government.
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Youth nabbed for kidnapping minor
Nurpur, January 19 Her parents heard her cries and with the assistance of villagers they nabbed the accused and intimated the police. The police rushed to the spot and arrested him. DSP Rajinder Jaswal said a case under Sections 363 and 366-A of the IPC had been registered against the culprit and an assistant sub-inspector deputed to investigate the case.
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‘Kidnapping’ turns out a hoax
Hamirpur, January 19 The report of kidnapping of a girl from a busy locality during broad daylight had created a sensation in the area yesterday morning as some people of the area reported that a girl was forcibly picked up by a person in a vehicle. “The girl has said she was being taken to a hospital
by a family friend,” the police said. |
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Youth Cong lauds larger role for Rahul
Kangra, January 19 They burnt firecrackers and distributed sweets among people. The workers, led by state Youth Congress vice-president RS Bali, gathered at the Tehsil chowk of the town and raised slogans in favour of Rahul Gandhi to express their jubilation. HP Congress Committee member Ajay Verma, city Congress chief Sanjeev Gupta and Youth Congress president Ajay Choudary were among those present. |
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Helpline for food supply grievances
Shimla, January 19 |
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