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assembly in session
Licence of 18 builders renewed
One killed as bus falls into gorge near Shimla
Jyoti murder case: Four witnesses turn hostile
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Bali urges private bus operators to call off strike
The Pavilion Hotel Case
Husband, father-in-law arrested in dowry case
Govt to form commission to restructure revenue patwar circles
Registration centres for Manimahesh pilgrims
ASI flayed for imposing celebration cess
Students can get copy of answersheets under RTI Act: CIC
50% seats vacant in pvt engg colleges
Man booked for forging demand draft
One held on rape charge
Senior citizens to organise eye camp on Sept 15
Mandi IIT student’s missing laptop still untraced
Aman Kachroo Case
SDM attack case: Murder bid charge removed
Mahila Cong leader is member of welfare board
BJP alleges misuse of trust funds
Three-day Janamashtami programme from Aug 26
Smart classrooms unlikely this academic session
Woman dies of snake bite
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House unites to seek relief for rain-hit areas
Urges Centre to release Rs 1,972 cr to compensate for losses Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 22 The resolution seeking liberal Central assistance was moved by Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur in the Assembly today and 21 legislators participated in the debate. “The loss of life and property in Uttarakhand was no doubt unprecedented, but Himachal, too, had suffered huge losses for which it must be compensated adequately,” he said. He informed the House that so far Himachal had suffered losses of over Rs 2,892 crore and 53 persons had lost their lives, including 23 in Kinnaur. Kaul Singh assured the members that the government would consider the suggestions made by them. “We will constitute a task force of trained volunteers at the panchayat level so that they can swing into action immediately,” he stated. He said strict action would be taken against revenue officials in case they showed callousness in assessing the damage. Giving details of the losses, he said 4,377 roads and 6,559 houses and cowsheds had got damaged in the rains. He said the loss to the roads had been assessed at Rs 1,221.45 crore, Rs 302 crore to horticulture sector, Rs 200 crore to agriculture and Rs 165 crore loss to public property. Agriculture and Power Minister Sujan Singh Pathania said the power sector had suffered a loss of Rs 374 crore, which included Rs 328 crore in the tribal district of Kinnaur alone. “The HP State Electricity Board has been working overtime to restore the power supply and 92 per cent of the restoration work has been carried out. The power supply to the remaining eight villages will be restored by September 15,” he informed the House. Participating in the debate, BJP legislator Mahender Singh said it was very unfortunate that Uttarakhand had been provided liberal funding, but the state was awaiting the central assistance. “The blasting being done to bore tunnels for hydropower projects and unscientific debris dumping was not only causing heavy silting of rivers, but also destabilising the young mountains,” he said. BJP legislator Rajeev Bindal said despite such large-scale damage, HP had not been given any assistance. He said Nahan and Paonta Sahib in Sirmour had suffered damage of almost Rs 2,000 crore to roads and agricultural land. Others who participated in the debate included Asha Kumari, Jai Ram Thakur, ID Dhiman, Ravinder Singh Ravi, Nand Lal, Shraveen Chaudhray, Maheshwar Singh, Jagjivan Pal, Virender Kanwar, Kishori Lal, Sanjay Rattan, Mohan Lal, Suresh Kashyap, Baldev Tomar, Rajinder Rana and Vikram Jaryal.
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Licence of 18 builders renewed
Shimla, August 22 The fact came to light in a written reply during the Question Hour in the Assembly today. In response to the query by Mohinder Singh (BJP), the government said between January and July, the registration of 12 builders and licences of six had been renewed. However, no essentiality certificate had so far been issued by the Congress regime. Some of these builders had been indicted by the DP Sood Commission, which had been constituted to look into the benami land deals and other land violations. The BJP government did not repeal the Act, which authorised the builders to construct and sell flats under various categories, in spite of recommendations of the House committee to repeal the Act. The fact that the Act had not been repealed came to light when the government filed an affidavit in its reply in the writ petition by the builders on December 4, 2012, challenging the freeze order in the High Court. The government admitted in court that the Act has not been repealed till date. |
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One killed as bus falls into gorge near Shimla
Shimla, August 22 The deceased was identified as Shyamanand Negta of Nahol village, near Fagu. The injured were rushed to the Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital here. The casualty would have been much higher, but for the deodar trees, which stopped the sliding vehicle.
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Jyoti murder case: Four witnesses turn hostile
Panchkula, August 22 Seven witnesses, including a policeman, deposed before the court in connection with the SIM cards procured by the accused on fake documents. Accused Chaudhary, his nephews Gurmeet and Dharampal, truck driver Tilak Raj, Paramjit and others were also present. The four witnesses, Yashpal, Praveen, Surjit and Manoj, deposed before the court that the police did not approach them for any statements. They said the statements given by the police by their names in the charge sheet that their IDs were used by the accused were not given by them. The two other witnesses, Saroj Rani and Manoj Kumar, said they did not know Chaudhary and never applied for SIM cards. Meanwhile, the court will take up the bail plea filed by Chaudhary to attend the monsoon session tomorrow. It was in the last hearing when charges on all accused were framed in the murder case. Chaudhary, the main accused has been charged with Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 420 (cheating), 467 (fabrication of documents), 471 (using a forged document as genuine) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the SC/ST Act. The Doon MLA and four others have been accused of killing Jyoti, who hailed from Hoshiarpur. The victim was found murdered on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula. The chargesheet by the Panchkula police stated that since Jyoti was coming in the way of Chaudhary’s political career and wanted him to continue relations with her, he eliminated her with the help of aides.
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Bali urges private bus operators to call off strike
Shimla, August 22 Addressing a press conference here today, Bali said the government would consider the private bus operators' genuine demands, including the one for hike in bus fare. “I request them to call off the proposed strike as everyone is busy with the Assembly session, and after it is over, they could first hold talks with the Transport Secretary and Director and later with me,” he said. The private bus operators are demanding that the minimum fare be fixed at Rs 5 and bus fares be enhanced by almost 40 per cent. They have given an ultimatum to the government to accept their demands or else they will observe strike on August 26, all over the state. He said there were 2,150 state transport-owned buses, while the number of privately owned buses was over 3,000. “I will protect the interest of both the government as well as the private operators, but protecting the interest of the public is my first and foremost responsibility,” he said. He added that as compared to the neighbouring states, the taxes on the state carriers was very low, which in a way compensated the private bus operators. “Though some of their demands are genuine, we cannot overlook the fact that the Special Road Tax in Himachal is the least among all the states,” he said. He also warned the operators against taking less fare by terming it as dual fares. He added that a special force would be set up under the Transport Directorate to check whether proper fares were being charged and tickets being given to passengers. Bali said the performance of the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation had improved from Rs 3.49 to Rs 3.73 per litre. “We have recovered the losses by almost Rs 40 crore, but even now its cash losses stand at a whopping Rs 380 crore,” he said.
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The Pavilion Hotel Case
Dharamsala, August 22 Till date, the bureau hasn’t named anyone in the FIR registered against the HPCA. Bimal Gupta, Superintendent of Police (Vigilance), Kangra, said the three HPCA officials, whose statements were recorded today, had moved court for anticipatory bail. “The court had directed them to join the investigation. We had, therefore, summoned them today,” he said. Sources said these HPCA officials were also on the board of HPCA company, which was earlier registered in Kanpur and then shifted to Chandigarh. The Himalayan Players Cricket Association was first registered as a company in Kanpur in 2005. Its name was later changed to the Himachal Players Cricket Association. The names of the company were identical in abbreviation with HPCA. The Vigilance has been focusing on motives behind the formation of the company and its link to the HPCA society. Today the HPCA officials were asked about the activities of the original Himalayan Players Cricket Association. The officials were asked about the location and affairs of the company, and regarding the payment of electricity bills of its office in Kanpur. The sources said the HPCA officials informed the vigilance officials that the company had a one-room office in Kanpur. The keys of the room used to remain with Anurag Thakur, chairman of the company, and they used to hold meetings there. The Vigilance inquiry focused on whether the company was formed specifically to take over the HPCA, which is a society. The state government had given land on lease for the construction of The Pavilion hotel to the HPCA as a society. However, the HPCA society had allegedly subleased it to HPCA company under the provisions of Section 9 of the new lease rules adopted by the state government in 2011. The sources, however, said no permission was sought from the government on the matter. They added though the hotel was subleased to the HPCA company, the lease money of Rs 27 lakh per annum was deposited by the HPCA society to the government. The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau is looking into the motive behind the subleasing of land for the construction of the hotel from the HPCA society to the HPCA company. While the state can directly interfere in the functioning of the society as it is considered as cooperative institute, it has limited control over private companies.
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Husband, father-in-law arrested in dowry case
Kangra, August 22 Vandana Kumari, pregnant and mother of a child and residing at Zamanabad village in this town, lodged a complaint with the local police that she was allegedly being tortured, humiliated and harassed by her in-laws for dowry soon after she married Ajay Kumar in 2007. Vandana alleged that her husband Ajay Kumar, father-in-law Prakash Chand, mother-in-law Maya Devi and sister-in-law Monu were involved in the crime. The police has registered a case under Section 498-A, IPC, and arrested husband Ajay and father-in-law Prakash
Chand. Maya Devi and Monu were absconding. Investigations in the case were on. |
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Govt to form commission to restructure revenue patwar circles
Shimla, August 22 This was stated by Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur while replying to a query by Asha Kumari (Congress) during Question Hour in the Assembly today. Asha urged the government to consider people's request with regard to changing of their patwar circle to the one which is nearer to their village. Kaul Singh assured the House that the entire task of the reorganisation of administrative boundaries would be dealt by the commission. “In case, we receive a request from a particular panchayat or elected representative for a change of the patwar circle, we will consider it,” he said. He added that there were certain norms like a minimum of 32,300 hectraes land and 4,400 khasra numbers for declaring a patwar circle. Govt for disaster relief battalion
In reply to another query by Inder Singh (BJP) regarding disaster management, the Revenue Minister informed the House that the state government had urged the Centre to set up a battalion for disaster relief in the state, as presently the ITBP personnel had to be summoned from Bathinda in case of a disaster in the hill state. “We have directed the Deputy Commissioners of Shimla, Mandi and Kangra to look for suitable land for setting up the battalion and urged the Centre to grant a battalion and not a company which they have approved,” he stated. Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal said a piece of land had already been identified near Opra village in Nurpur, which was about 15 minutes’ drive from the Pathankot airport, for setting up a base of the disaster relief force. House grant: MLAs to select beneficiaries
In reply to another query raised by Rikhi Ram Kaundal (BJP), Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said all ministers and MLAs would be made members of the district-level committee for the selection of SC and ST persons for getting a grant for house construction. Kaundal pointed out that earlier all MLAs were its members and the senior-most minister from the district was its chairman, but now the elected representatives were excluded from it and the Deputy Commissioner made its head. Replying to another query by Ravinder Singh Ravi (BJP), the Revenue Minister said amendments had been made in Section 118, Tenancy and Land Reform Act, 1972, on five occasions in 1976, 1987, 1994, 1996 and 2005. “This had solely been done keeping in view public interest and allowing the purchase of land by non-agriculturist, who were living within the municipal limits for shops, commercial establishments or for the industry,” he stated. |
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Registration centres for Manimahesh pilgrims
Chamba, August 22 Chamba Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kadam Sandeep Vasant in an official statement here today said the registration forms for the Manimahesh Yatra - 2013 would be available at Holi, Kihar, Bathri and Chowari, which were located on different highways, for the facility of pilgrims hailing from various parts of Himachal Pradesh and the neighbouring states. He said, “The registration forms for the yatra can also be downloaded from the official website of Chamba district: www.hpchamba.nic.in. The downloaded forms |
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ASI flayed for imposing celebration cess
Nurpur, August 22 Chairperson of the local Municipal Council Krishna Mahajan said the ASI had exempted this cess in 2010, but now it had granted permission for the celebrations subject to this huge amount. — OC |
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Students can get copy of answersheets under RTI Act: CIC
Dharamsala, August 22 He said any student, who had doubts about marks in board, competitive or other examinations, could apply for a copy of his answersheet under the RTI Act. The public information officers of the departments concerned would have to supply the answersheets. The names of the evaluators, however, could not be revealed, the Chief Information Commissioner said. He further said concealing any information in the name of secrecy promoted corruption. The RTI Act had empowered people and increased transparency in public departments. Sen said the public information officers of the state government had been directed to prepare records in such a manner that it could be made readily available to the public, whenever sought under the RTI Act. He said since 2006 the percentage of complaints before the state information commission had decreased from 3.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent. This illustrated that the performance of the public information officers in the state was improving, he added.
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50% seats vacant in pvt engg colleges
Hamirpur, August 22 Though Himachal Pradesh Technical University is still compiling data on the total admission made by the private engineering colleges, sources said the position was no better even after waving off the JEE condition. Nearly 50 per cent seats out of around 6,000 BTech seats could not be filled till the last date of admission on August 15. On the plea of private engineering colleges, the state government had permitted the engineering colleges to admit those students who secured 65 per cent marks in Class XII exams in physics, chemistry and mathematics, without even appearing in the JEE. MIT Engineering College Chairman Vinod Thakur said: “The admissions this year are not encouraging as 20 per cent lesser seats have been filled up as compared to the last year.” The owners of private engineering colleges are blaming the state government’s strict norms and private engineering colleges in Punjab, Haryana and several other states that are admitting students without the JEE test. SIRDA Engineering College Chairman Nikka Ram said: “When students having negative ranking in the JEE are being admitted, why students with 50 per cent marks in Class XII are not being permitted to get admissions in the BTech courses.” The managements of private engineering colleges are of the opinion that 65 per cent marks norm is tougher for students of the state and it should by relaxed to 50 per cent as per AICTE norms that are applicable to all colleges. However, education experts believe “poor infrastructure, lack of qualified staff, poor placements” are some of the reasons for low admissions in private engineering colleges. “Instead of seeking relaxation in admission norms, the private engineering colleges should lay stress on providing quality education since students prefer reputed engineering colleges for better placements and career options,” they added.
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Man booked for forging demand draft
Palampur, August 22 The Manager, SBI, Baijnath branch, lodged a complaint with the police that Raju had originally purchased a demand draft for Rs 70 from the Nahan branch of the Himachal Cooperative Bank payable at the Kangra Central Cooperative (KCC) Bank, Baijnath. He said Raju tampered with the figures, thus converting the same into Rs 7 lakh. Since Raju has no bank account in the KCC Bank, the amount of Rs 7 lakh was credited in the SBI account, where the DD was given for collection. Later, Raju also managed to withdraw Rs 40,000 out of his SBI account. He was about to transfer the balance amount of Rs 5,60,000 when the bank came to know about the fraud. The case has been handed over to the police, which has already sent a team to Palwal to arrest Raju.
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One held on rape charge
Nurpur, August 22 Jawali DSP DC Verma said the victim in her complaint, addressed to the Kangra SP, had alleged that the accused raped her on July 5. She alleged that the accused raped her and later threatened to upload her obscene video recording on the Internet. She said the accused had been threatening to kill her. The DSP said the police had registered a case. |
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Senior citizens to organise eye camp on Sept 15
Hamirpur, August 22 The council press statement said cataract operations in this camp would be performed free of cost. The council would also bear expenses for the operation, travel expenses of the patients, one attendant, medicines, spectacles etc. Free boarding and lodging would also be provided for the patients on behalf of the council. The registration for operation at the eye camp can be made on mobile Nos. 94182-57471 and 94182-95966. |
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Mandi IIT student’s missing laptop still untraced
Mandi, August 22 Though the Sector 43 police post in Chandigarh had lodged his complaint that day, the police “I have informed the J and K bank and the passport office in Srinagar, but the culprit can misuse my passport issued in Srinagar on October 4, 2011, and the driving licence,” he said here today. He said he had kept his bag on the seat of an HRTC bus (HP 9956) and got down for a moment. But when he came back he found the bag missing.
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College seeks directions from HPU on readmission
of 4 convicts Ashok Raina
Kangra, August 22 College Principal Anil Chauhan today said he had received a letter from the state government through the Director, Medical Education, for readmitting the four students - Naveen Verma, Ajay Verma, Mukul Sharma and Abhinav Verma - in his medical college subjected to the direction from HPU. He said it was for the university to consider the government decision as per its norms. Dr Chauhan said all the four students had approached his office earlier for readmission. He had forwarded their request to the Director, Medical Education. On March 8, 2009, Aman Kachroo, a first-year medical student, died following ragging. Four medicos Naveen Verma, Ajay Verma, Mukul Sharma and Abhinav Verma were arrested in this connection and sentenced to four-year imprisonment.
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SDM attack case: Murder bid charge removed
Solan, August 22 The accused driver, Makhan Singh, who was produced in a local court today, was given bail following the development. DSP, Nalagarh, Shushil Sharma said no issue pertaining to attempt to murder came forth in the investigations, hence this section was removed. The case was initially registered on August 7 under Sections 279, 336 and 353, IPC, but Section 307, IPC, for attempt to murder was added on August 8. Makhan had hit the SDM's official vehicle thrice. The official had had a narrow escape when the tractor driver overturned the quarry material from his trailer on his vehicle.
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Mahila Cong leader is member of welfare board
Bilaspur, August 22 Anjana vowed to help in women empowerment and assist those women who were victims of domestic violence. She said such women would be provided all assistance through various government schemes started for their upliftment in the society. |
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BJP alleges misuse of trust funds
Hamirpur, August 22 In a press note they alleged, “The trust money is being distributed among Congress workers on the recommendation of the Badsar MLA.” The BJP leaders have also demanded action against Congress leaders for allegedly threatening a few employees of a hotel in Hamirpur. — TNS
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Three-day Janamashtami programme from Aug 26
Nurpur, August 22 A spokesperson of the local ashram said disciples of Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the sansthan, Noormahal (Punjab), would present a spiritual discourse and bhajan sandhya late in the evening on these days.
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Smart classrooms unlikely this academic session
Shimla, August 22 The Rs 150-crore project had to be implemented by February, but the private company, Core Technologies, failed to start the work due to financial problems. The Education Department has now invited fresh tenders for awarding the contract. The entire process will take four to six months. As a result, the students will have to do without smart classrooms and computer laboratories in the current academic session. In the first phase of the project, the department has already established the integrated ICT labs and smart classrooms in 628 government senior secondary schools of the state. In the second phase, all remaining 618 senior secondary schools and 848 high schools will be covered. Each school will have two smart classrooms and an ICT lab. In addition, five smart schools with eight desktop computers each are also planned. The bids have been invited for implementation of the project on build own operate transfer (BOOT) basis. However, with the rupee dipping to a record low, the cost of the project is bound to go up significantly as computers and other hardware are assembled mostly using imported components. In the first phase, digital projectors and computers installed in many schools reported problems of heating up. Thus, it becomes important that the department gets authentic feedback on the functioning of the systems already installed and take care of the problems while assigning the second phase of the project. Also, the Education Department should have an alternative plan in place in case there is a delay in the release of funds by the Government of India. The project involves investment upfront and the sufficient funds should be made available to cover specified number of schools every year.
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Woman dies of snake bite
Bilaspur, August 22 Rattni Devi, wife of late Tulsi Ram of Gandhir village, under Gandhir gram panchayat, near Ghumarwin, was bitten by a poisonous snake, when she was fast asleep on her bed last night. Even the 108 Emergency Vehicle Service, in which she was carried, proved to be of no help to her. Rattni was rushed to the nearby Barthin Community Health Centre from where she was referred to the Regional Hospital, but died on the way.
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One person was killed and 42 injured, five of them seriously, when a private bus (HP 51-4774) fell into a gorge near Chharabra, 12 km from here, today. The bus was on its way from Satog to
Shimla.
Shimla, August 22
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau recorded the statements of three Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
(HPCA) officials here today. The officials, who joined the investigation, HPCA senior vice-president RS
Kapoor, honorary secretary Vishal Marwah and executive member RP Singh.
