Manali/Keylong, November 1
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against Brig JK Narang, the then chief engineer, Deepak Project, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Lt Col Chanchal Jhamb, another key official of the BRO, and two managers of Siemens in the Rs 1.25-crore digital telephone exchange scam.

The chargesheet was filed in the special CBI court at Shimla on October 15 following a nod by the Ministry of Defence.

The CBI had charged the officials under Sections 420 and 471 of the IPC and Section 31-D of the Prevention of Corruption Act, said R Upasak, SP, CBI.

Sources said the court has fixed November 7 as the date for verifying the documents before summoning the accused.

The CBI claimed that the BRO officials had caused wrongful loss to the tune of around Rs 60 lakh to the government exchequer while setting up the 14 digital telephone exchanges in offices of the BRO in Manali, Lahaul-Spiti, Shimla, Kinnaur and Uttarakhand in 2007-2009.

Following a complaint, the CBI raided Narang’s house and found that he had made investments worth crores. The CBI revealed that the official had allegedly amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The investigations revealed that Narang and Jhamb had allegedly misused their position and bought equipment at higher rates. They invited tenders to benefit Siemens rather than calling the mandatory open tender in violation of rules.

The BRO has set up 14 digital telephone exchanges in its offices in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla and Uttarakhand.

Shimla, November 1
An Indo-Swiss pilot project to evolve an adaptation strategy to combat the impact of climate change in the Himalayas will be implemented in the environmentally fragile Kullu district.

Besides studying the changes in the status of glaciers, the bilateral project will assess the vulnerability of four selected “hotspots” in different regions of the Beas catchment and devise a strategy to strengthen the resilience of the local community to climate change by imparting knowledge and capacity building.

Besides scientific studies to ascertain the behaviour of glaciers, the status of forest and water resources, growth of tourism and other business and crop pattern, the perception of the local communities about climate change will also be rerecorded to know the impact.

The four selected areas include the upper Beas valley beyond Manali, the lower Beas valley around Kullu, the Parbati valley and the outer Seraj area.

Director of Environment SS Negi said Kullu district was selected as it was environmentally most fragile and with intense human activity due to tourism, power projects and vehicular movement, it had also become extremely vulnerable to climate change.

The methodology for carrying out various studies was discussed at the meeting of the State Advisory Group held here recently in which Swiss experts Andreas Linsbauer, a glaciologist from Fribourg University, and Juan Antonio, Professor from the University of Berne, were also present.

It is the first pilot project for the Indian Himalayas and besides Kullu, Sikkim has been selected for it as the representative of the eastern region. Such studies are being carried out in the Andes in Peru and various mountain ranges in Europe. The project was part of the Indo-Swiss collaboration in glaciology and related areas under the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme.

The Swiss partner will not only provide technical assistance, but also scientific equipment for carrying out glaciological studies. Swiss experts advised that automatic weather data collection devices should be installed at glacier sites and permanent markings on ground be made to monitor the movement of snout.

The vulnerability assessment will also focus on extreme climate events like cloudbursts, flashfloods and avalanches and create awareness among the local people about such events about the risk of such disasters. Training programmes of various durations will be organised for MLAs, bureaucrats, officials of various departments and also the field staff. The climate change vulnerability assessment will be carried out right down to the panchayat level for undertaking adaptation measures at the micro level by involving the local community.

The adaptation measures thus evolved will be implemented in the entire Himalayan ranges in the second phase to help the people effectively combat the impact of climate change.

studying environment The bilateral project will assess the vulnerability of four selected “hotspots” in different regions of the Beas catchment It will evise a strategy to strengthen the resilience of the local community to climate change by imparting knowledge and capacity building

Mandi, November 1
Imagine a Diwali without crackers. When the festival of lights will be celebrated with lighting of earthen lamps and bursting of crackers across the world, some tiny hamlets of the hill state will be full of the joys of spring sticking to their tradition and customs.

Residents of Shantha-Bateuri village in Chopal of Shimla district, Sarkaghat in Mandi and Nirmand in Kullu district will keep their century-old tradition alive and kicking this year too.

In the historic Bateuri-Shantha village, which is also known as Hastinapur, the capital of Pandavas during their exile, the four-day festival is celebrated as ‘Jagra’ of Kulva devta, the local deity. The ‘devta’ comes as the chief guest of ‘devi’ (Kali Thaur) at the village.

The main attraction of the festival is ‘khila-bharaach’, a competition between Badaan (Rajputs) of Shantha and Baats (Brahmins) of Bateuri. The venue is a temple site at Bateuri, where the procession of deity converges.

Legend has it that the deity infuses power into ‘khila’, a stick of a sacred shrub enough to accommodate four grips of a hand. The shoeless rivals pounce on the ‘khila’ as soon as the palanquin of the deity is lifted from the spot.

The contestants go rolling down the hill mindlessly till the champion emerges. The ceremony is followed by a traditional dance — naati — and treat at Shantha.

In Nirmand, villagers celebrate Diwali a month after the festival. They call it call it Buddi (old) Diwali, says Kulwant Sharma, a local resident.

The scene at Buddi Divali is different. Representatives of deities and demons gather around a bonfire at Dashnami Akhara in Nirmand. Artistes perform around the sacrificial fire, consigning the devils to the flames that mark the victory of God over devil.

In Sarkaghat, villagers celebrate Chotti Diwali on the eve of the festival of lights, called as ‘Bari Diwali’. Residents of Saklana, Boor, Dhalra, Thamor, Bari, Dhwali, Dharwar and Sari panchyatas in the Sarkaghat subdivision still stick to their tradition. They make bundle of dry grass (ghirnu), tie each bundle to a Ramban herb stick and torch them. Children carry back Ramban torches to their respective homes and light earthen lamps. Women also make rangoli.

Farmers make designs of yoke with rice flour and turmeric. The celebration ends on Bari Diwali when villagers celebrate the night savouring traditional dishes

Shimla, November 1
Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) has decided to hold fresh interviews for 37 posts of teachers. The interviews for the same were held last year, but results had been withheld due to the enforcement of the election code of conduct before the Assembly elections last year.

The decision was taken by the Executive Committee of the HPU which was held here today under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor Prof ADN Bajpai. Following the High Court orders, it was decided to give an opportunity to all the candidates who had applied for the posts advertised in October last year. The interviews were held before the Assembly elections and in view of the code of conduct, the results were withheld.

The EC also approved the setting up of three Chairs in the name of Babu Jagjivan Ram Chair, Rajeev Gandhi Panchayati Raj Studies Chair and Nirmand Sanskrit Studies Chair at Nirmand in Kullu district.

In another significant decision, the council approved teachers’ evaluation of the Teaching Departments under Ordinance 35.6 of the University Act. The EC also approved the signing of an MoU with the University of the Fraser Valley, Canada, for the purpose of academic exchange.

Other decisions include the approval to the recommendations of the Finance Committee meeting held on October 1, approval to start e-banking in the university and approval for upgrade of syllabus at the Indira Gandhi Medical College. It was also decided to strengthen the pension corpus fund.

Mandi, November 1
The Congress-BJP slugfest over controlling the affairs of the district-level cricket bodies has taken a political turn.

The two have started wooing cricketers. "All eyes are on the role of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the new state body will be seeking affiliation to it," said sources. The state government has taken over the HPCA properties and cancelled its lease deed.

Terming it a midnight coup, the HPCA moved the High Court. The case is pending.

The wooing act began after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh mooted a sports bill aiming at controlling all sports bodies in the state.

Parallel cricket bodies have been formed and registered under the Cooperative Societies Act in Bilaspur and Shimla to make things difficult for the BJP-dominated rival bodies controlled by Anurag Thakur, who is also the president of the Bilaspur Cricket Association.

In Mandi district, two parallel cricket bodies exist, one is headed by Ajay Rana, BJP spokesperson, and a supporter of Anurag Thakur. The second body is taken care of by Anil Sen and Vikas Kapur of the Congress.

"We got the body registered in 2005, but the BJP regime sidelined us as the sports Act was annulled by the BJP government," said Vikas Kapur, secretary, district Mandi Cricket Association.

Anurag's supporters are felicitating Rishi Dhawan, captain of the Ranji team of Himachal, tonight. Our cricket academy in Mandi has 50 players," Rana said.

Danvinder Singh, son of Maheshwar Singh, Kullu legislator, and Vikas Thakur, son of Ram Lal Thakur, chairman of 20 points programme, are all set for a face-off. Vikas Thakur has formed the District Cricket Association, Bilaspur.

It was learnt that Anurag sidelined the body when the BJP assumed power in 2007. Vijay Sen, a Ranji player, will be leading Shimla district body to take on the one led by Surender Thakur, district president of the Shimla Cricket Association, affiliated to Anurag-led HPCA.

Prem Thakur, Hamirpur, Vijay Sharma, Kangra, Jagdeep Singh, Solan, Tejwant Negi former BJP MLA, Kinnaur, DS Mohil, Sirmaur and Gautam Thakur, Lahaul-Spiti, are presidents of the district bodies affiliated to the HPCA.

"All players will exercise their right to vote. There will be no dearth of opportunities," said Vikas.

"The HPCA has promoted cricket in the state and parallel bodies are trying to grab the HPCA," claimed Rana.

Chamba, November 1
Members of the District Bar Association abstained from work today in protest against the proposal of the Himachal Pradesh High Court for creation of ‘circuit courts’ at the sub-divisional level. The protest would continue till tomorrow.

In a release issued here today, Jai Singh, president of the association, said a resolution opposing the move of the HP High Court had been adopted by the association unanimously.

In the resolution, it was stated that despite providing speedy justice at the doorstep, the proposal of creating circuit courts would create problems for the litigants, public and lawyers.

The association also opposed the appointment of judges on contractual basis.

Bilaspur, November 1
The anti-corruption and vigilance wing of the police has nabbed a revenue official while accepting a bribe of Rs 1,000 from a resident of Jukhala.

The complainant Lalit Kumar alleged that the official was not giving a copy of his land document despite his repeated visits to the office. He was demanding Rs 1,000 from him, alleged Lalit.

A trap was laid and the accused, Nasir Khan, was nabbed red-handed A case has been registered against Nasir. — OC

Sainj (Kullu), November 1
Testing of the 8-km-long Siund-Bihali head race tunnel of the 520-MW Parbati-III has run into rough weather for the second time here. The water leaked out at the rate of 800 litre per minute at three different points near Spangni and Bihali as soon as the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) started recharging the tunnel yesterday.

The NHPC, which is executing the project, has yet to fix the problem whether the water ingress has developed inside the tunnel or it is leaking from inside the mountain after the NHPC started recharging the tunnel. As a result, the commissioning of the two units of 130-MW capacity each of the project, which is already running four years behind schedule, has been postponed for November. “Adding to the problem is that water discharge in the Sainj river has receded drastically to 40 cusecs these days, which is just enough to run one unit,” said engineers. Though the NHPC has ruled out any damage to the tunnel due to the recharging and testing, insiders alleged that crores of rupees had been spent on the repair work even as the tunnel was in the contractor's liability period as the NHPC was still testing it. Besides, the water ingress had developed for the second time that in turn could be damaging to the tunnel. The recharging and de-watering of the tunnel created inherent pressure inside the tunnel that could damage it and lead to leakages, revealed the projects engineers.

The repeated leakages after the tunnel was recharged and tested had raised question about the material used in the tunnel and quality of construction, charged insiders, demanding a thorough probe into the water ingress. They said the water ingress was developed in the tunnel at five different points in a span of 500 m between Spangni and Bihali in July last. The NHPC claimed that the leakages were plugged by grouting and fixing valves in the joints, but a small leakage had remained then.

"The major leakages have been plugged as the present leakage can be inside the mountain as tunnel water is not leaking out," said Om Parkash, general manager, Parbati III, NHPC. "We have laid drains along roadsides to drain the water safely and no village is located nearby," he added. He said the contractor, Gammon India Limited, was liable for damage if the tunnel had developed leakages. No money was paid to the contractor for the repairs so far, Om Parkash said. Though the NHPC had targeted to commission the two units in August, the water ingress and non-completion of cable and civil termination works in the power house at Bihali have further delayed the commissioning. Om Parkash claimed that the water ingress would be fixed and the first unit would be commissioned next month.

Shimla, November 1
The CPM on Wednesday drew the attention of the high court to a university which had started admission to LLM course without getting the approval.

Member of the state Secretariat of the party Tikender Panwar has pointed out that the high court had only quashed the State Private Educational Institution Regulatory Commission and not the State Private Universities Act, the Section 32 (5) of which makes it mandatory to seek prior approval of courses.

APG University had issued an advertisement in newspapers for holding entrance test for admission to LLM on November 17 for which the approval had not been obtained.

He said the advertisement violated the Private Universities Act as it had not taken the approval. The government was granting course approval before it handed over the responsibility to the commission in 2012. Now that the commission was no longer in existence, the approval had to be obtained from the government.

Further, the CPM leader said the first semester was already coming to an end and starting a new course during mid-year would make a mockery of the academic calendar. The university was granted approval to start the degree course in law (LLB) by the Bar Council of India from the 2013-14 session. Further, the universities were required to apply for new courses to be started in advance so that the government could carry out inspection.

The application for new courses were received by November and the commission granted the approval by December 31. The government approved the fee structure by March 31 and there was enough time to conduct tests carry out admissions in a transparent manner and the students also knew about approval of courses and the fee structure allowed by the government. The classes were started by July or August. 

Nurpur, November 1
Resentment prevails among unemployed chemistry school lecturers who have been awaiting their appointments for over one year.

According to information, the Himachal Pradesh Service Selection Board (HPSSB), Hamirpur, had conducted written screening tests for the selection of chemistry, biology, English and physics lecturers in August last year during the previous BJP regime. The personal interviews of the chemistry lecturers were conducted from October 16 to 30 last year by the board. The HPSSB selected 23 candidates whose final result was declared on November 20 last year.

The interviews of the biology, English and physics candidates, who had appeared in the screening test of the HPSSB, were conducted in November last year and they were accorded contractual appointments by the state Education Department after a few days of their interviews and final results.

Upender, Anuapma, Dinesh, Rahul, Tilak Raj, Sunil, Parul, Arun and Rakesh Chohan, among the selected candidates of chemistry lecturers, have urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to intervene and direct the Education Department to appoint all 23 selected candidates in government schools as contractual chemistry lecturers forthwith.

Nurpur, November 1
Om Prakash of Chetru, cleaner of a truck, died on the spot and driver Jameer Singh of Sarah (Dharamsala) was injured when the speeding truck fell into a 60-metre-deep gorge and rolled down into the Bharal rivulet near Bhalli on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway yesterday.

According to information, the truck was on its way from Shahpur to Pathankot and its driver failed to negotiate a curve and lost control on it. — OC