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CM announces colleges for
Diggal, Dharampur
Govt to reserve mining leases for Himachalis
Restriction on construction in forest areas
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nth ban on rafting in Beas lifted
Around 50% posts vacant in HP technical varsity
Recover power arrears from Punjab, Haryana, says Dhumal
Farm varsity holds workshop on vegetable crops
Vice-Chancellors and other scientists during a workshop on vegetable crops at CSK HP Agriculture University in Palampur on Sunday. Photo: Ravinder Sood
Website to create awareness on dental healthcare
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur launches the HP State Dental Council website and online registration system in Shimla on Monday. Photo: Amit Kanwar
Storm, rain damage maize crop in Solan
Movie on Pong Dam oustees to be screened in Mumbai
AI resumes Delhi-Kullu flight after 3 months
Air India’s small aircraft lands at the Kullu airport on Monday.
Cong Central observer meets party leaders
HPSEB staff demand promotions, filling
of vacant posts
State will support Himachalis across country, says Kaul
Ex-HAS officer to give free legal services to needy
Governor visits Kee monastery in Spiti
Increase in minimum wages sought 2 killed as car rolls into gorge One burnt to death in fire
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CM announces colleges for
Diggal, Dharampur
Arki, September 16 The Chief Minister said the opening of the college at Diggal would benefit students who would not have to trudge long distances to get higher education. He also announced to provide Rs 5 crore for the construction of the building of Dharampur Government College. He said Dharampur college was one of them, which was started in the office of the Block Primary Education Officer. He said a new college building would be constructed now and adequate educational infrastructure would be provided for the college. He visited the First Referral Unit Civil at Arki and announced that a new hospital block having a capacity of 50 beds would be constructed adjacent to the present hospital thereby increasing the bed capacity to 75. He directed the officials to revise the estimate and start the construction work. The Chief Minister said education and health were the top priorities and paucity of funds would not come in the way of these vital sectors. Similarly, construction of roads was another priority for the government as roads were the lifeline of development of the state. He said strong winds had caused heavy losses to maize crops in the state yesterday. He directed the revenue authorities to make assessment of the losses so that the affected farmers could be compensated suitably. He said the state had suffered excessive damages during this monsoon season and despite constrains they had maintained roads, power and water supply from their own resources in order to bring back normalcy. He urged the youth to avail benefits of the Skill Development Allowance Scheme initiated by the government and said in order to facilitate the youth, the government had changed the age limit and educational eligibility criteria. The Chief Minister also laid foundation stones of
ITI, Arki, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 8.63 crore and an ayurvedic dispensary to be constructed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. He also inaugurated the Examination Hall of
GSSS, Arki, constructed at a cost of Rs 95 lakh. Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil was also present on the occasion. Local MLA Govind Ram, District Solan Congress Committee president Rahul
Thakur, and Sanjay Awasthi, president, Block Congress Committee, Arki, also spoke on the occasion. |
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Govt to reserve mining leases for Himachalis
Shimla, September 16 With the crackdown on the illegal river-bed mining in the state following the directives of the court, the government is formulating a policy, which will be placed before the Cabinet for reserving the leases for Himachalis only. Majority of the river-bed mining leases in the border areas are of people from Punjab, Haryana and other states. “In order to curb illegal mining and provide more employment avenues to our own people, we are in the process of preparing a policy where river-bed mining leases will be reserved for Himachalis,” confirmed Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. He admitted that majority of the leases in the border areas were being run by people from outside the state and since the lease money for sand and gravel mining was not very high, Himachali youth could take the lease. At present, there are 282 stone crushers in the state and 143 mining leases have been issued by the mining wing of the Industries Department. The blanket ban on the river-bed mining has led to an acute shortage of sand and gravel in the state, which has started affecting the developmental work being undertaken under the MNREGS and the state government projects of the Public Works department. The slow process of clearance of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the various mining leases had aggravated the problem
even more and led to illegal mining. A sum of Rs 2.38 crore has been collected as penalty for illegal mining activity in September only, which indicates the scale to which the illegal activity is being undertaken. “During the last three months, only one clearance has been granted by the state EIA clearance agency and six by the Centre since January,” revealed an official. The clearance of the EIA report of 110 mining leases is pending before the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment. He added that empowering the state to clear the EIA for leases below five hectares could simplify matters and help tide over the shortage of sand and gravel. To check illegal mining, the Industries Department has imposed a ban on sending sand and gravel outside the state, there is a ban on mining between 8 pm to 6 am and dumping is not allowed by tractors. Following the complete ban on river-bed mining, the tractor owners have approached the government to find a way out
as there were about 25,000 tractors. They pointed out that many unemployed youth have taken loan and with there being a complete ban, they have lost their only source of livelihood. Keeping a check
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Restriction on construction in forest areas
Shimla, September 16 While holding a circuit court sitting at Shimla, the Bench headed by Justice Swatantar Kumar restrained anyone from defacing large rocks in these areas for advertisement or any other purpose. The NGT directed the Deputy Commissioner and SP of the respective districts to ensure that the defaced rocks were cleaned and restored to their original position. The tribunal passed the order on a petition filed by Pawan Kumar alleging that Tibetan refugees had encroached upon thousands bighas of forest land in
Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and other parts of the state and the state functionaries had allowed them to make the use of the forest for some other purpose without getting the prior permission from the
Centre. During the course of hearing, the tribunal observed, “As far as the report filed by the state is concerned, it is totally silent as to what steps have been taken for afforestation and what is the status of the Rivalsar lake”. It is stated in the report filed by the state government that admittedly various unauthorised structures have been raised in the forest area and are being used for non-forest activity. It was pointed out that some orders for eviction had been passed and the affected parties had taken up the matter in appeal to the Divisional Commissioner of the area concerned and the said appeals were pending, while interim reliefs had been granted. However, the petitioner in his report alleged that there were not only encroachments and illegal constructions in the forest area but also big rocks had been defaced, trees had been removed and a large number of flags were put up which had an adverse impact on the ecology and environment of the area in question. After perusing the same, the NGT comprising its chairman Justice Swatantar Kumar and four members, Justice UD
Salvi, Dr DK Agrawal, Ranjan Chatterjee and Dr RC Trivedi, further directed the state to file an affidavit explaining what action had been taken against unauthorised construction raised in the forest area and to stop such activity and what steps were taken to restore the water body (lake) at Rivalsar to its original position. |
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Two-month ban on rafting in Beas lifted
Kullu, September 16 The district administration has also taken cognisance of rafting mishaps and violations by unauthorised operators. Violators will attract a fine of Rs 50,000 if they are caught operating rafts from points and stretches other than the one identified and notified by the administration for rafting. Not only this, second-time violators would attract a fine of Rs 1 lakh for violation and their licence would be cancelled, said Rakesh
Kanwar, DC, Kullu. “We have also put in place a committee comprising the Deputy Superintendent of Police, tehsildar and district tourism officer to monitor rafting and check violations of the rafting rules,” he added. There are over 350 rafts being operated in the Beas and many of them are not registered with the Tourism Department. As many as three rafting stretches have been notified for commercial rafting in the
Beas, Raison-Subzi Mandi, Baveli-Devdham and Pirdi-Jhiri, near Bajaura. The technical committee under the Director, Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, has been entrusted the task of inspecting the equipment for safety before they are certified for operation. “We are also educating tourists on safety standards and precautions while riding rafts,” said tourism officials. “We welcome the decision of the district administration to form a district-level body of raft operators for better regulation,” said
Gogi, president, Raft Operators, Raison to Subzi Mandi stretch. However, they claim they have a proper protocol in place for rafting. “Each raft will load seven clients and a river guide and run a rescue raft during each ride down the river,” the operators said. As many as five FIRs have been lodged in various rafting mishaps in the river that had killed five persons over the last two years. “We have called a meeting of operators and asked them to form a district-level association for better coordination and regulation of rafting. Only those raft operators will be registered, who fulfil safety standards,” the DC said. |
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Around 50% posts vacant in HP technical varsity
Hamirpur, September 16 The state government has not appointed the Vice-Chancellor (VC) after the earlier incumbent resigned in May. The affairs of the university are being handled by the Registrar with the Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner holding the temporary charge of VC. The Controller of Examination has not been appointed since the inception of HPTU. Three posts of Dean (academic) have been lying vacant since January. Several others important posts like that of project officer, estate officer, assistant coordinator, law officer, finance officer (local audit), system analyst, programmer, assistant registrar and section officer are also lying vacant. Sources said these posts hadn’t been filled as the state government was showing little interest in HPTU and appointments were being made by brining officers on deputations, who were showing little interest. HPTU Registrar Manoj Kumar said: “This matter is under the consideration of the state government and the posts would be filled soon.” HPTU was established in Hamirpur by the state government in 2011. Private engineering colleges and institutes running pharmacy and MBA courses are affiliated to the university to ensure academic standards. At present, 25 private engineering colleges and 18 institutes are affiliated to HPTU. Admissions, academic courses and results of the students in these colleges and institutes are handled by the HPTU administration. |
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Recover power arrears from Punjab, Haryana, says Dhumal
Shimla, September 16 In a statement issued here today, he accused the Congress regime of only rendering lip service to get the state its due from the Centre. “It has been nine months since the Congress regime was formed, but till date none of the election promises has been fulfilled by the state government,” he said. He said if the Congress regime was serious in pleading the state’s case, the BJP would extend full support and join them in seeking the state’s share from the Centre. He lamented that even the industrial package had not been extended despite repeated request from Himachal. He said the silence of the government following Haryana’s refusal to give Himachal its Rs 4,250 crore and its contrary claim of Rs 650 from the hill state was surprising. “The Himachal government has not reacted to such claims by Haryana that the hill state owes it Rs 650 crore for power projects, which is very surprising and unfortunate,” Dhumal said. He added that the state must take up the matter with Haryana, where the Congress was in power. He said the Chief Minister and the entire Cabinet had presented its case before the Prime Minister, but till date not a single penny as financial assistance had been extended to the state. “Their Delhi trips are a mere formality, limited to presenting bouquets and getting photographs clicked, with Himachal not getting any help from the Centre,” the BJP leader said. |
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Farm varsity holds workshop on vegetable crops
Palampur, September 16 He said intra-state transportation of vegetable crops was not proper as despite high production, some of the areas were still importing vegetables from the neighbouring states. He said vegetables played an important role in food, nutrition and economic security, helped in improving environment and saving natural resources. Due to climate change, apple growing areas were coming under vegetable production in the state and new varieties and technologies were required to sustain this high economic activity, he said. Dr JC Rana, Director, Agriculture, said the mechanisation of farming was the need of the hour. Dr SP Sharma, Director of Research, said his university was about to achieve a breakthrough in controlling bacterial wilt in capsicum, a first in the country. Dr YS Paul, Director of Extension Education, while elaborating about various extension programmes, said around 75,000 hectare area in the state was under vegetable production and farmers were also growing vegetables in around 17,000 poly-houses. |
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Website to create awareness on dental healthcare
Shimla, September 16 He said the web-based application had been prepared in collaboration with the Indian Dental Association and it would also provide online registration facility for dental mechanics, dental hygienists and other technical staff. The software had been accepted at a model by the Union Ministry of Health to ensure uniform pattern of registration across the country. He said the IEC material would enhance the competence of medical officers (dental) and paramedical staff and they would be able to raise the level of awareness among the people. Oral health also needed attention and more and more people were realising this as evident from the growing number of patients visiting dental clinics. The number of patients increased from 4.45 lakh in 2011-12 to 5.85 lakh in 2012-13. Senior citizens were being provided dentures free of cost under the “Muskan” project and during the current year, 10,625 dentures had been provided against the target of 10,000 dentures. |
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Storm, rain damage maize crop in Solan
Solan, September 16 A number of trees were uprooted at several places and power supply remained disrupted for more than 15 hours in various parts of the district, including Kasauli, Dagshai, Baddi, Solan and Chail. Reports of roofs been blown off in the storm were also received from Kasauli tehsil, while telephone services were also disrupted at some places. Strong winds
lash Hamirpur
Hamirpur: Strong winds which lashed the region last night have caused damage at a few places in Hamirpur district. One person Anil Kumar was electrocuted at Panjot village when he came in contact with a live wire. Several electricity polls, tin roofs of some houses and a number of trees were uprooted affecting normal life. Traffic on the Deoth-Sidh-Saloni road was also disrupted as a result of the fallen trees on the road. Bijahad block under Badsar sub-division was the worst affected. Man killed in storm Shimla: A 35-year-old man Suresh Kumar was killed after he got crushed under a tree due to the storm last evening. Suresh, who was working as a painter, got caught in the storm and received severe injuries when a tree fell on him near Kennedy Chowk near the Vidhan Sabha. The high-intensity of the storm uprooted several trees and electricity poles in various parts of the town. The power supply to many parts of the town also remained disrupted for some time. |
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Movie on Pong Dam oustees to be screened in Mumbai
Shimla, September 16 Rajendra Rajan, who is the producer and director of the film, said the 22-minute-long documentary showcased the plight of 175 persons from 28 families of Pong Dam oustees living at Kuthera Island for the last 42 years. They were not allotted land in Rajasthan and preferred to stay at Kuthera since 1971. The island was encircled by 50-60-ft-deep water and people were living in most miserable and inhuman conditions. The documentary was an attempt to highlight the miseries and painful journey of the oustees and expose the “insensitive, indifferent and apathetic attitude” of all the successive state governments, he stated. The island was bereft of electricity, school, dispensary and other basic amenities and there were no signs of any development there. Schoolchildren there were forced to pursue studies at Dhameta village after covering a distance of 6 km in deep waters by locally made wooden boats. The film was a humble beginning to raise the issue of Kuthera oustees at the national level and seek justice for them, he added. He said “The Lost Roots” had also been sent as an entry to the Mumbai International Film Festival-2014 in the national competition category. The festival would be held in the first week of February. The film was today screened at Shimla for the staff of Information and Public Relations Department as a premiere show.
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AI resumes Delhi-Kullu flight after 3 months
Kullu, September 16 The air connectivity would bring in high-end tourists, who otherwise avoided travelling by road to the valley due to the time-consuming journey on the Chandigarh-Manali highway, said hoteliers. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president AR Thakur said: “The government should rope in private airliners for competition and increase the airstrip at Kullu airport.” Air India had suspended its operation here on July1 after the constant rain and fog impeded the safe landing of its aircraft for 15 days in June. The bad weather prevailed over the Larji hill that overlooks the airport on its right side. Earlier, Air India had resumed flights here after seven months on May 15. The decision to resume the flight was taken after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the hotel industry mounted pressure on the Union Ministry for Civil Aviation. Airport Authority India in charge at Kullu airport YK Sharma said the air flights had been resumed today. The aircraft landed with 31 passengers on board and flew back to Delhi with 22 passengers, he added. The airliner would operate six days a week. There would be no flight on Tuesday, he added. |
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Cong Central observer meets party leaders
Bilaspur, September 16 Though all proceedings of the meeting were kept confidential as Chaturvedi met each leader separately, it is speculated that most of the leaders have favoured former minister and state general secretary Ram Lal Thakur as the “most suitable and winning candidate” from the seat. There were some reports that suggested a few dissenting voices hinting that some prominent leaders had reservations about Thakur and they were either pleading for themselves or were canvassing for someone else from the other districts in the constituency . Earlier, the District Congress Committee (DCC) had unanimously adopted a resolution recommending Ram Lal Thakur’s name for the ticket. The resolution was presented by district president Santosh Dhiman and was supported by about 200 leaders present from all parts of the district at the District Congress Office, Indira Bhawan. Those who were present on the occasion included local MLA Bambar Thakur, former MLAs Tilak Raj Sharma, Dr Babu Ram Gauttam and Dr Biru Ram Kishore. |
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HPSEB staff demand promotions, filling
of vacant posts
Nurpur, September 16 In a joint press conference held here today, union president Dev Raj and general secretary Sunil Sharma rued the reduced strength of technical employees, which were 10,000 in strength and had been entrusted the job of maintaining the power supply to around 20 lakh consumers, 24,000 transformers, power sub-stations and high-tension power lines in the state. “One technical employee is shouldering the burden of at least five employees in the state,” he lamented. The union leaders also demanded the release of the DA installment due to the employees by September 30. They also demanded to stop unnecessary purchase by the board management and a probe into the purchase of electric poles worth crores of rupees which had been stacked unused on roadsides in Shimla, Mandi and
Sirmaur. |
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State will support Himachalis across country, says Kaul
Shimla, September 16 He said the government would prepare a data bank of Himachalis settled in various parts of the country so that they could be connected with the development in the state. He said all Himachali organisations in metropolitan cities should establish Himachal bhawans so that they could get an appropriate place for celebrating various state functions and festivals for better emotional integration. He suggested them to print detailed directories and go in for social media sites for fast and easy communication. He added that the government had adopted the election manifesto of the Congress party as its policy document and all commitments made in the manifesto would be fulfilled at the earliest. |
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Ex-HAS officer to give free legal services to needy
Mandi, September 16 Opening his office on the Raj Mahal premises today, Kaundal said he would help the poor sort out cases through mutual consent and mediation and avoid unnecessary litigation, which would save theirs and court’s time. “My both sons are judges and I want to do my bit to serve the poor people,” he added. He said he would be in touch with the Vigilance, CBI and other investigating agencies to expose the corrupt with the help of people. |
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Governor visits Kee monastery in Spiti
Shimla, September 16 Addressing the gathering, Urmila Singh said the culture of Lahaul and Spiti was unique that had been preserved by locals over the years. She said every effort should be made to preserve rich culture and traditions, as these were our identity. She gave a patient hearing to the demands raised by local representatives and assured them that their issues would be taken up on priority for redressal. Local MLA Ravi Thakur honoured the Governor with a traditional shawl and cap on the occasion. |
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officials from the State Department of Agriculture, scientists of the host university and the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry
(UHF), Dr KK Katoch, Vice-Chancellor of the university, underlined the need to produce hybrid seeds of vegetable crops in public-private mode.
Shimla, September 16
Kullu, September 16
