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Delay in setting up new plants
Man-eater leopard shot dead at Mandi village
Minister allots govt houses to displaced families of Terra Lines
Sports infrastructure lies unused
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Commercial vehicles’ panel seeks scrapping of guarantee scheme
Five get one-year RI for assault
Banks to restructure debt under Central scheme
Farmers demand ban on apple import
261 run for marathon, one of the highest in the world
BJP appoints Kisan Morcha spokesman
Stern action against those involved in illegal mining: CM
CM stresses on crop diversification
Rain damages ancient temple at Baijnath
Appoint administrator in HPCA: CPM
Man drowns in Seer Khad
Develop Gobind Sagar ghat as tourism spot, govt urged
College staff resent minister’s remarks
MC chiefs to meet CM today for restoration of financial powers
Proclaimed offender arrested
Forest staff give Rs 1.6 lakh to CM’s relief fund
New HP Ayurveda, Unani Act on the cards to check quackery
Man seeks probe into sister’s death
HLP objects to extension, re-employment of
chosen few
Rs 60,000 stolen from ATM
PO nabbed after 3 years
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Delay in setting up new plants Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 11
All the five companies have sent their replies to the Industries Department in response to the show-cause notice that had been issued to them recently for the delay in setting up their plants despite the permission granted to them long time ago. “The matter will be placed before the Cabinet to assess the reasons cited by them for the delay,” said Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. He added that all options were open and the government could also consider imposing penalty on the companies before allowing them to go ahead with their projects. A sub-committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to look into the matter. It is on the basis of the recommendations made by this sub-committee that the Cabinet is expected to take a final call on the issue. The companies have sought some more time to complete and operationalise the cement plants. “We cannot overlook the fact that the delay has resulted in loss of crores of rupees to the government so the companies might have to pay a penalty,” remarked Agnihotri. He added that a similar policy had been adopted in case of power projects that were in the slow lane. A cement plant was to set up by Lafarge at Alsindi in Karsog. JP Cements had to establish a unit in Chamba and extend their existing unit at Bagha. Similarly, a unit each had to be set up by India Cement Plant at Gumma and Harish Cement Plant at Sundernagar. Some of these companies have already invested a lot of money, but could not start operation due to various factors, including clearances from different agencies like the Ministry of Forest and Environment. In some cases, locals have moved court against the projects, citing loss of their agricultural land and adverse impact on the health of people. The Congress, soon after assuming the power, had made it clear that it would cancel the cement as well as hydro-power projects that had failed to see the light of the day. The issue was deliberated upon at length even in the Assembly with majority of the members expressing concern over the adverse environmental impact of cement plants, despite the fact that it provides direct and indirect unemployment to many youth.
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Man-eater leopard shot dead at Mandi village
Thunag (Mandi), August 11 Panic had gripped Shikawari, Lambatch and Thunag villages soon after the “man-eater” had killed Kashmir Singh (29) at Leh village on Saturday around 8 pm. Kashmir was headed for his village, located about 400 m on the jungle route, on foot when the leopard pounced on him and killed him. “We searched for him in the morning and found his body, which was half eaten,” said his father Tek Singh. There were two teams chasing the beast last night around Lehgala, but they did not get any hint of the killing of Kashmir Singh. “We spotted the leopard crossing the road and jumping into a bush about 5 km from the spot where Kashmir was killed,” said Khan, who has killed nine man-eaters and had been hired by the state to kill the animal. “We focused the searchlight on it. As it tried to move, I fired a shot from my rifle that hit its lower neck and it fell dead there,” he said. The Nawab and his team had been chasing the man-eater since August 8. “It was attacking humans as there was no wild animal or prey for the leopard in the jungle,” he said. The team of veterinarians was conducting the postmortem examination on the leopard to confirm whether it was the mean-eater that had killed Mani Devi, Radha Devi and Kashmir Singh or not, said PD Dogra, District Forest Officer, Nachan, “We have taken its pug marks from the spot and are sending its viscera for DNA testing and examination to the laboratory at the Wildlife Institute Dehradun for forensic examination,” added BS Rana, conservator of Mandi. |
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Minister allots govt houses to displaced families of Terra Lines
Dharamsala, August 11 The minister, who visited the area, handed over the keys of some of the government houses to the displaced families. He said all the 23 families would be housed in government houses in Dharamsala till they constructed new houses. The displaced families were allotted government houses in the Power Colony at Darnu village and reserve pool houses of the district administration. Presently the displaced families were being put up in quarters provided to them by the Army. Their belongings were lying in open sheds of the Army. The minister also said the displaced families would be allotted land at Khaniara village. The district administration had identified land at Khaniara village and the case for allotment would be sent to the state government very soon. The displaced families had expressed the desire to settle together, and so ample land was available only at Khaniara village for the purpose, the minister said. He also said the state government had decided to give a financial grant of Rs 3 lakh to each displaced family of the Terra Lines area. The minister might manage this amount from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund because as per the disaster management rules of the state each family can be provided just Rs 75,000. The Gorkha community of Dharamsala thanked the minister for the help provided by the state government for the displaced families. They donated Rs 1.20 lakh collected for Uttarakhand disaster victims to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund of Himachal. Later in the evening the minister presided over the final matches of the state-level badminton tournament being held at the indoor stadium of Dharamsala.
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Sports infrastructure lies unused
Dharamsala/Una, August 11 Sources here said the District Sports and Youth Welfare Department tried to outsource the management of swimming pool to a private party, but it could not operate the pool due to a fault in its construction. The swimming pool, sources said, lost water very quickly after filling; as a result, the private firm had to give up the operation. Department officials on the condition of anonymity said they did not have funds to operate the swimming pool. Sportsmen in Una have demanded an inquiry into the construction of the swimming pool. Recently, the Director, Sports, had visited the area and asked the officials to prepare a proposal for making the swimming pool operational, sources added. Una also recently got the second astroturf hockey stadium. The stadium has the facilities to hold international matches. However, the authorities did not construct any visitors' gallery in the stadium. The sources said the Director, Sports, had asked officials to break the visitors' gallery of the swimming pool and face it towards the hockey stadium to create seating space for spectators during the matches. In Dharamsala, the state’s first synthetic athletic track was constructed about two years ago. However, the track, which comes under the Sports Authority of India (SAI), hasn’t been utilised yet. Ironically, till recently, the synthetic track worth crores of rupees was being used by evening and morning walkers of Dharamsala when it should have been used to train players for international events. The SAI authorities have restricted the entry of the walkers, who were allegedly damaging the track. Most machines in the indoor gymnasium of Dharamsala are broken and the Sports and Youth Welfare Department does not have funds for maintaining them. The indoor stadium is the only facility that is being put to use by badminton and table tennis players.
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Commercial vehicles’ panel seeks scrapping of guarantee scheme
Hamirpur, August 11 A decision in this regard was taken at a state-level meeting of the action committee held here today.
The AHCVJAC, which is the representative body of private bus operators, taxi operators and truck operators unions, has urged the state government to redress their grievances raised in a 23-point demand charter submitted to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the Central government through the Governor of the state. The AHCVJAC is demanding an increase in fares in view of stupendous increase in diesel price and operation cost of all the vehicles, increase in the period of taxi permit from 12 to 15 years, scrapping of guarantee scheme started by the Excise and Taxation Department with an immediate effect, starting a single window system for the collection of all taxes, charging of fee for taxi permit on seating capacity and not on the basis of space and an immediate check on illegal ferrying of passengers by private vehicles. The action committee has also urged the state government to develop tourist’s spots in all the districts, not to charge toll tax from the taxi operators of the state, provide rest rooms for private bus operators at all bus stands and form state-level grievance redress committee to find solution to the problems. The meet was chaired by Jeet Ram and attended by general secretary Rakesh Thakur and other office-bearers of the committee. |
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Five get one-year RI for assault
Bilaspur, August 11 The convicts had attacked and injured the complainants at Behal village on January 23, 2008, night after a fair. The five had had a quarrel with the victims and fled from the scene after injuring them and threatening to do away with them. They were also sentenced to one-month simple imprisonment under Section 341, IPC, and one-year RI under Section 323, IPC, with an additional fine of Rs 1,000. They would have to undergo further jail for three months in default of the payment of the fine. The five were also sentenced to six-month jail with an additional fine of Rs 2,000. |
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Banks to restructure debt under Central scheme
Shimla, August 11 Under the scheme, 50 per cent of the total financial liability of the company on account of short-term loans amounting to Rs 1,398.12 crore has been taken over by the government by floating bonds. The lending banks have agreed in principle to convert the remaining 50 per cent credit into long-term loans for which the nodal bank, the State Bank of India, is preparing the debt restructuring plan. Sushil Negi, Principal Secretary, Power, said the banks had already asked the board not to make any further payments providing much respite to the company that had slipped into a debt trap. It was caught in a vicious cycle of raising fresh short-term loans to repay old loans. It will be a big relief for the company with an outstanding debt of over Rs 4,400 crore, as after converting the short-term advances into long-term loans extending to 15 years, there will be a three-year moratorium on repayment. On an average, it had been raising loans to the tune of Rs 700 crore and it owed about Rs 352 crore on account of purchase of power to various generating companies. It also owes Rs 317 crore to the state government collected from consumers as electricity duty, but evens out with Rs 320 crore to be paid by the government to the company as subsidy. The net impact will be that the board will not have to raise short-term loans and it will able to clear the arrears on account of power purchase. The much-needed relief will end the perennial financial crisis plaguing the board for the past one decade. Once a profit-making public sector undertaking, the board has been suffering losses year after year and its accumulated loss had crossed the Rs 2,100-crore mark. Its financial position worsened at an accelerated pace as interest on such short-term loans is not admissible for tariff determination and accordingly the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has been disallowing Rs 200 crore to Rs 220 crore every year, which further increased the revenue gap progressively. The bailout scheme also provides incentives to reward efficiency and the state power utilities that exceed the targets set for a reduction in aggregate commercial and technical losses will be provided an amount equal to the revenue earned due to the additional reduction in losses as an incentive. Technical and commercial losses of the state electricity board are around 18 per cent. If it exceeds the target set for reduction by 1 per cent, it will result in a saving of Rs 20 crore. It will then be entitled to an incentive of Rs 20 crore from the Centre. The loan restructuring will be accompanied by measurable action by the board and the government to improve operational efficiency and performance.
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Farmers demand ban on apple import
Mandi/Kullu, August 11 They further demanded that the Agricultural Produce Marking Cooperative (APMC), National Horticulture Board (NHB) and the Directors of Horticulture Union should sit together with the farmers’ unions of apple-producing states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand and allocate adequate space at Azadpur during the peak season. Farmers fear the worst as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will open domestic markets for the import of fruit. The import of apple will exceed 2.02 crore boxes that can spell doom for farmers as they are not prepared to meet the challenge from the USA and China. The average market price has crashed from Rs 1,500 per box to Rs 1,000 or less in the last fortnight. The farmers alleged that they were being fleeced to the tune of Rs 1,000 for allowing their trucks to cross the Kundli border to reach Azadpur. “Various government agencies have never bothered to create enough market space in Delhi to sell the produce, considering the area under apple and its production has increased in the country since 1960,” said Laxman Thakur, Ecohorts, Nandpur. In 1960, the area under apple was 3,025 hectares in the country. The three apple-producing states now produces about 10 crore apple boxes every year that comes to about 2.83 kg per capita availability of apple as table fresh fruit. Out of this, about 25 per cent goes for processing in the country, added Thakur. It takes three to four days to unload 20 to 30 trucks at Azadpur market as there is no storage space, resented Mahender Upadhayay, president, Upper Kullu Valley Growers Association. The season will pick up in Kullu district after August 15 and the situation will worsen in days to come, he cautioned. The APMC should allot a temporary space at Kundli border and Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes should take up the matter with the Delhi government as 80 per cent fruit land there, he demanded. The Central government should restrict the import of apples during the season and continue to impose 50 per cent import duty on apples, asserts Rakesh Singha, president, State Apple Growers Association. The glut situation has worsened as the import of apples from Iran has increased from 930 boxes in 2010 to 2,70,730 boxes in 2012-13 and the worst will happen in 2014 when the markets will open under the WTO regime, he warned.
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261 run for marathon, one of the highest in the world
Mandi/Keylong, August 11 The district administration organised the marathon to harness the inherent local talent of Lahaul-Spiti. There was little participation from tourists, including foreigners. Prashant Sirckek, SDM, Keylong, the brain behind the marathon, told The Tribune that they had invited professionals to promote long-distance races among budding youngsters of the cold desert. Locals had inherent “lung power” to run long races as they had been living in the oxygen-deficient region for long, he added. He said 52 professionals from across the region participated in the marathon. “We have invited them to tap local talent,” he said. Addressing the gathering after the prize distribution ceremony, Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur said the marathon would be promoted in the near future. He also honoured Narpu Pans (63), an ex-serviceman who participated in the marathon for 10 km. BS Thakur, Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti and Sunil Kumar, Superintendent of Police, were also present on the occasion. Winners: Men (21-km open): Baljinder (Gurdaspur); Women (21 km): Rita Kumari (Hamirpur); Local (21 km): Des Raj, Army transit camp, Tandi. Boys (10 km): Jujjar Singh (Gurdaspur); Girls (10 km open): Kanta Devi, Jogindernagar. Local girls (6 km): Manisha (Tindi), Boys (6 km): Suraj (Keylong). — TNS
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BJP appoints Kisan Morcha spokesman
Bilaspur, August 11 This was stated in a notification by the state BJP Kisan Morcha here today. Roshan has worked on various posts of Yuva and Kisan Morchas at the state and district levels. Roshan thanked the BJP and Kisan Morcha high command for his new assignment. He said he would try to come up to their expectations.
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Stern action against those involved in illegal mining: CM
Shimla, August 11 He said the government was making all efforts to curb illegal mining and appreciated the officers who were doing commendable work in checking these activities despite threats. Replying to another query, he said the goal of the Congress party was winning all the four Lok Sabha seats. He said it was just a co-incidence that the Hamirpur constituency general meeting was held here yesterday as meetings of other constituencies were also to be convened. |
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CM stresses on crop diversification
Shimla, August 11 He was speaking at the first state-level Horticulture Officers Conference-2013 organised by the Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Services Association (HPHSA) here today. "Himachal has diverse agro-climatic zones which facilitate the cultivation of almost all temperate and subtropical fruits like apple, pear, cherry and peach, plum, kiwi, mango, citrus fruits and strawberry," he said. He said scientists at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, along with Horticulture Department, should import new varieties of fruits to compete with global markets. "Most of the apple plantation in Himachal are now old which need to be replaced with new high-yielding varieties," he stressed. He suggested that the department should prepare a new progeny of various varieties of fruits to provide a fillip to horticulture which plays an important role in improving the economic condition of people.
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Rain damages ancient temple at Baijnath
Palampur, August 11 The roof and walls of the ancient Shiva temple, besides the entrance to the temple, are damp and leaking. The adjoining Radha Krishan temple has also been hit by heavy rain. The Shiva temple is situated on the left bank of the Binwa river. The damage caused to the temple roof and walls have posed a threat to the historical monument, which has the essential features of the Nagara temples. The Archaeological Survey of India, which looks after the maintenance of the temple, has taken steps for the repair of leaking walls and the roof. Pardeep Dogra, an officer in the Archaeological Department, while talking to mediapersons on the temple campus, said the higher authorities had already been apprised of the situation and the necessary repair of Built by two local merchant brothers Ahuka and Manyuka, the temple is situated on the main road to Kull u and Lahual-Spiti. The temple comprises an 8-ft-sq room inside, where a stone Shivling is kept. It is surrounded by a spire of the usual conical shape and 20-ft-sq mandapa (front hall), which is covered with a low pyramid-shaped roof. The roof of the mandapa is supported by four massive pillars. The porch rests on four columns. Raja Sansar Chand, a Katoch ruler of Kangra, renovated this temple in the 19th century, but Aurel Steil, who studied the monument, said it had not undergone much alteration except for the room. Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists visit the temple every year. Besides, the state government has constituted a trust to manage the affairs of the temple.
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Appoint administrator in HPCA: CPM
Shimla, August 11 Addressing a press conference here today, Tikender Panwar, member of the state Secretariat of the CPM, said these two steps were a must to ensure that people of the state were no longer hoodwinked by those with vested interests and who had commercialised sports. “The government should not just expedite the Vigilance inquiry, but also bring under its ambit the whole issue of the construction of the stadium in Dharamsala as some of the awardees of the contract happen to be the lifetime members of the HPCA,” he alleged. “The HPCA, registered under the societies Act, could not have been dissolved arbitrarily as the Act forbids this. As per the HP Societies Act, 2006, Chapter 8 and Rules 43-44, the amalgamation, division and dissolution of the society could not be done without the consent of the government, if it is a contributor," he said. Panwar said in July 2005 a company was floated under the name of the Himalayan Players Cricket Association, which was changed to HPCA with the board of directors remaining the same. “When the HPCA realised that the BJP was sure to lose power, a resolution was adopted merging the society and company and the Registrar Societies was informed about it. The CPM leader said interestingly the HPCA had not even bothered to respond to the three letters written by the Registrar, Societies, on May 13, July 1 and 23. “It is in this background that we are demanding that an administrator be appointed so that the reins of the HPCA are in government control and it does not become a haven for those interested in money laundering,” he said. Panwar sought a probe by the Vigilance into the nexus between BJP leaders, lifetime members of the HPCA and those who constructed the stadium. “Those who have no interest in it have been made HPCA lifetime members as the only qualification probably they have is that they earned money through this route,” he alleged.
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Man drowns in Seer Khad
Bilaspur, August 11 Prem’s family claimed that he was under depression for the past few days. They said he must have been washed away while crossing the swollen Kulwadi Khad, a tributary of the Seer Khad, and then carried away to a larger Seer Khad. These khads have swollen due to heavy rains. The police is investigating the matter. |
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Develop Gobind Sagar ghat as tourism spot, govt urged
Bilaspur, August 11 Talking to mediapersons after a meeting of the sabha here yesterday, president Ram Singh and general secretary Vijender Chandel said it was very unfortunate that the government had not even thought of developing the lake as a picnic spot for tourists. Presently, tourists were disappointed to see poor or virtually no facilities even for boating at the Gobind Sagar ghat, they added. The sabha said the Tourism Department and the Tourism Corporation had both been taking cover under a false notion that water stayed there only for six months and no permanent tourism could be developed here. The sabha urged the government to exploit full tourism potential of the Gobind Sagar ghat by appointing a high-powered committee to look into the opportunities. |
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College staff resent minister’s remarks
Kangra, August 11 Naveen Sood and Aman Walia, spokespersons of the protesting staff, in a statement here today, termed Bali’s utterances as unfortunate as these did not go down well with the staff, adding that these remarks had created an unpleasant atmosphere in the college. They said the minister was a member of Baroh College and the staff had decided not to get involved in any kind of dharna and demonstration till August 18, in protest against the minister's derogatory remarks. Professor Walia said the college staff was dedicated to poor and needy students of the remote Changer area. He said the minister’s remarks had not only lowered the prestige of the teaching community, but also hurt their sentiments. Walia demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to sort out the issue and take over the college.
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MC chiefs to meet CM today for restoration of financial powers
Hamirpur, August 11 After the withdrawal of the financial powers a few months back, the councillors, under the banner of the Himachal Pradesh Elected Representatives Association (HPERA), Urban Local Bodies, met the Chief Minister twice and were reportedly assured of the restoration of their powers by him. The Urban Development Department, through a notification in May, had restricted their powers to sign cheques of above Rs 10 lakh. Cheques of salary bills had also been kept out of their financial powers. The Municipal Council chiefs had said, “Snatching our financial powers of signing the cheques is not a good sign as this is the first time that MC chiefs have been elected directly and the powers to sign cheques were given to them to maintain checks and balances.” The HPERA president, Kul Rakesh Pant, who is Solan Municipal Councils chief, said, “This decision goes against the spirit of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, carried out by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to give more powers to urban local bodies. We have met the CM twice and decided to meet him again to take up the issue of restoration of our financial powers on August 12 in Shimla.”
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Proclaimed offender arrested
Bilaspur, August 11 Chatkar did not present himself for a hearing in the court and had absconded after a case was registered against him. Later, he was declared a PO by the court. |
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Forest staff give Rs 1.6 lakh to CM’s relief fund
Chamba, August 11 With this amount, the total contribution of the forest staff of the district has gone up to Rs 1.6 lakh, the official added.
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New HP Ayurveda, Unani Act on the cards to check quackery
Nurpur, August 11 He said the draft of the proposed Act would be ready before the monsoon session of the Assembly and all flaws in the existing Act would be removed as these had been promoting quackery. “The new Act will have provision of imprisonment to quacks so that they do not play with the lives and health of innocent patients. Apart from this, it will incorporate additional medical systems like Tibetan, naturopathy and sidha,” he asserted. He said all 12 district ayurveda medical officers had been directed to identify and prepare a detailed report of private practitioners in the state, and the government after reviewing the report would curb the menace of quackery with the assistance of the drug authorities and local police. He called upon the ayurvedic medical officers to strictly adhere to professional ethics and prescribe allopathic medicines only in emergency. He claimed that the Ayurveda Department would strengthen the ayurveda system of medicines. “Ayurveda medical officers are being deputed in primary, community health centres and civil hospitals across the state and plans are on to provide even emergency medical services to patients. The ayurvedic health centres will be allocated medicines in accordance with the number of patients visiting their OPDs and local medical officers will be responsible for any shortage of medicines,” he said.
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Man seeks probe into sister’s death
Nurpur, August 11 In his memorandum, Prem said he suspected a foul play in his sister’s death, who reportedly sustained 60 per cent burn injuries while trying to light firewood in a chulah for cooking food on July 20. She succumbed to her injuries at Tanda Medical College, Kangra, on August 2. He alleged that the police without conducting a fair probe reported the incident as a case of accidental death. He said it was not possible to sustain 60 per cent burns while lighting firewood. He said his sister’s hands and arms had no burn injuries. He alleged that her husband and other members of his sister’s in-laws were involved in her unexplainable death. Prem alleged that his sister’s in-laws had cremated her in haste late evening without intimating her parents, other brothers and relatives. |
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HLP objects to extension, re-employment of
chosen few
Bilaspur, August 11 But, it alleged, even this government continued to follow it with a view to favour a few chosen ones, giving a sense of injustice and pick and choose among the general public. Addressing mediapersons here recently, Hamirpur Parliamentary constituency party spokesman Kesh Pathania, accompanied other leaders, said this created suspicion that such obliged officers might have committed some irregularities or unlawful activities to help those now in power and, thus, they had now been rewarded. Pathania said this system not only deprived a number of senior and waiting officers and employees from their overdue promotions, resulting in frustration among them, but also of any extension in service for them. The HLP demanded that the government should frame policies and rules and stick to these while considering requests for extension or re-employment as the present pick-and-choose system was anachronous in democracy. Pathania said if the government did not form a policy on this system soon, the HLP would go to the High Court against it. |
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Rs 60,000 stolen from ATM
Bilaspur, August 11 Thieves reportedly decamped with Rs 60,000. The theft was discovered this morning when the bank staff arrived and found the ATM broken. An engineer was summoned who assessed the loss. The police was informed and the matter is under investigation.
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Nurpur, August 11 A case under Sections 363 and 366, IPC, had been registered by the Jawali police for allegedly abducting a local girl in 2009. — OC |
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A 7-foot-long adult male leopard, which had killed its third victim, a man, on Saturday, was shot dead at 4 am today in the Lambha Thatch-Janjheli jungle at Lehgala village.
The sports infrastructure being created in various districts is not being utilised fully. The infrastructure that is in a state of neglect at Una and Dharamsala is a clear indication of the fact. 
Heavy rain in the Palampur region for the past one week has caused damage to the ancient Shiva temple at
Baijnath, 15 km from here. The historic Shiva temple was built in 1204 AD.
