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CM misled Cong high command: Dhumal
Virbhadra dares Dhumal to move Lokayukta
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HPCA case: IAS officer to be quizzed today
Skill allowance scheme fails to achieve target
Single window for power producers
Maharashtra shines in ice-skating championship
Longer session must to hone ice-skaters’ skills: Secy
BSNL lines in Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar go amiss
Siddu draws tourists to carnival
Local women at ‘siddu’ stalls during the National Winter Carnival in Manali on Sunday. Photo by writer
Mankotia, Sushant in touch with AAP
Leaking pipes inconvenience people
Leakage from a pipe reduces a road to a picture of misery; (right) water gushes out of a leaking pipe near Sughar village in Palampur. photos by writer
BJP leaders’ effigies burnt again
State has 1.5 lakh TB patients: WHO
Workshop held under Beti Hai Anmol programme
AAP, HLP take on CM, Dhumal
Forum orders replacement of defective shoes
Former minister for starting work on Pini-Talpini road
State to spend Rs 3,836 crore on education
Hamirpur will have defence academy, says Anurag
Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur and others wave at ex-servicemen at Sujanpur on Saturday.
Tehsil for Balh area inaugurated
Health Dept raids highway dhabas, takes food samples
Man held for wife’s murder
Auhar govt school holds annual function
CM, Governor urged to fill vacancies in HPU
Five Independent MLAs support Virbhadra Cabinet behind CM
Patwari arrested
Man dies as car rolls off road Woman dies in road mishap Snowfall in Chamba
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CM misled Cong high command: Dhumal
Shimla, January 5 Addressing the media for the first time here today ever since senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley levelled serious corruption charges against the Chief Minister, Dhumal said it was high time that he should resign. "He should have resigned or proved his innocence. The BJP will take the fight to its logical end as all options are open before us," he replied when asked if the BJP would move court on the issue. He added that the Income Tax Department and the CBI must expedite investigations as there were reports that some documents in the case had gone missing. "If they had done no wrong, why did they conceal the details of shares held by the children in the company in their election affidavits when they were shown as dependents," he said. "Conflicting versions for taking loan are being made such as the repair of the palace and then to pay his lawyers but what is the worst is that he has tried to mislead the Congress high command by creating an impression that it was BJP who granted the project and his regime cancelled it now on November 21, 2012," he remarked. He added that the only version of the Chief Minister was the one which had been posted on the official website of the AICC and he wanted to set the record right. "The Sai Koti project was allotted to Venture Energy and Technology on June 14, 2002, by the BJP regime along with eight other projects with a capacity of 400 mw," he said. He added that within six months of the allotment, a notice for cancellation was issued for violations and the process initiated in June 2003. With the change of government in Himachal, the Congress regime too upheld the decision and cancelled the project on November 2, 2003, but then the firm moved the High Court, which upheld the decision of the state. "Though the Supreme Court directed the state government to reconsider the allotment, the Virbhadra regime reallotted the project without going into the merits of the case," he alleged. The MoU was terminated but the case for re-allotment was placed before the Cabinet thrice which turned it down. "Despite the reluctance of the Cabinet, the project was given to the company and during our tenure, we gave them extension along with other projects based on the policy and an imposition of Rs 10,000 per mw per month delay fee," he said. He said the last extension given by his regime was to expire on March 31, 2013, after which the project should have been deemed to be cancelled but on September 4, 2013, another extension for 10 months was given by the
present regime. Apple Scam?
PK Dhumal demanded that an FIR should be registered against all those who had given false numbers of vehicles in which apples worth crores from the orchards of Virbhadra were transported. First, there was a phenomenal rise in his income from apples and now the
revelations that they had been transported on scooters and tankers are shocking," he said. “Whenever there is mention of the Bihar fodder scam, the apple scam of Himachal too will be remembered and Himachal will be shamed each time," he
lamented. |
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Virbhadra dares Dhumal to move Lokayukta
Shimla, January 5 He questioned why Arun Jaitley was showing so much interest in Dhumal and his family. “Has he been paid as a lawyer or was it a cricketeering company gesture or there was something deeper behind it,” he quipped. “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride them” was his short and crisp reply to Dhumal’s demand for his resignation. He said the BJP feared of his popularity. They wanted him out of their way to be able to win the Lok Sabha elections. “The unprecedented gathering at the rally in Hamirpur has rattled Dhumal and his supporters and with Vigilance inquiries too being at an advanced stage, the BJP is scared,” he remarked. He accused the BJP leaders of making personal attacks on him in frustration as the probe into the Congress chargesheet against the BJP regime was gaining momentum. He said the allegations against him were false. He said the chargesheet contained serious charges of corruption and land scams against Dhumal, his family members, ministers and others. The cases are land deals and change of land use involving Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth, Prashant Bhushan's trust at Palampur, HP Cricket Association hotel, Bemloe construction and Annandale. “There is imminent involvement of Dhumal and his family in large number of cases, including Bemloe construction in Shimla for which Rs 32 lakh was sanctioned overnight for constructing a road and that too on an application filed in the name of dead people,” he alleged. He dismissed allegations of favouring promoters of Sai Koti Project and said it was restored to Venture Energy &Technology in June 2007 on the Supreme Court orders and intervention. He said it was a matter of record that the project was given extension on four occasions by the BJP government during 2009 to 2012. The fourth extension given by the BJP in October 2012 extended up to March 2013. He said his government gave extension to Sai Koti Project once and that too by levying an extension fee of Rs 20,000 per mw per month. He said there was nothing illegal in taking a loan from Vakamulla Chandershekhar who was a family friend. “I have taken a loan of Rs 3.90 crore but no favour has been given to the power firm and all payments are being made through cheques,” he said. His family members had purchased shares in Tarini Infrastructure which were fully paid and purchased as primary shares in 2009 and approved in 2010-11. |
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‘Me without you’ is incomplete
Shriniwas Joshi
Anybody in Mandi would probably know Sukh Ramji’s house, but for me, locating it was slightly difficult. My only visit there was at dusk. Sukh Ram, as Telecom Minister of India, is credited with bringing about a telecom revolution in Himachal Pradesh, nay, India. Remember July 1995; the first call on a mobile phone in India was between Jyoti Basu and Sukh Ram when Writer’s Building in Kolkata and Sanchar Bhawan in Delhi were connected through that call. And today, just 18 years hence, India claims to have about 870 million mobile phones for a population of 1,220 million. It shows that 70.72 persons out of every 100 use mobile phones in our country. I got interested in knowing which countries had the highest and the lowest percentage of mobile-phone users. Panama heads with a percentage of 202.5, which means in that country, on an average, everybody has two mobile phones and North Korea has the lowest percentage of 8.3. Anyhow, I reached the Ardhnarishwar temple and was mesmerised by its relief work and the beauty of stone-carving (see photo). No wonder the Gazetteers of Mandi (1920) reads: “It consists of a cella, porch and sabha mandap and the carving throughout is rich and of considerable beauty.” Ganapati carved on stone just above the Mukhya Dwar (main gate) of the temple (see photo) challenges those who believe that Himachal woodcraft has a standing but not its stone-carving. The four hands of Ganapati have trident, rosary, kamandal and modak (laddu). It appears that Ganapati is about to lift the modak through His trunk. He is seated on a lotus platform and His vaahan (vehicle) - a mouse, is sitting by his side. Do you know that Ganapati with his trunk turned right is very difficult to please? His worship needs to be performed exactly as prescribed in the scriptures and that too daily. Traditionally, an icon whose trunk is to the right is named “Siddhi-Vinayak”, the giver of siddhi (accomplishment and success). The Ganapati with his trunk on the left side is easier to please and bestows boons freely. Here, the Ganapati has His trunk turned to the left so He is easier to please and is Ganapati of ‘Aam Aadmi’. A board fixed within the complex informs a visitor that the temple was raised in the 16th-17th century and it stood aloof among all the temples of Mandi because of its exceptional archaeology and superb beauty. District Gazetteers confirms it: "Of the more modern temples, the finest from an artistic standpoint is the sanctuary of Ardhnarishwar, the stone image of which represents Shiva and his consort Parvati, the right half being devoted to the former and the left to the latter. Shiva is portrayed with knotted hair, a necklace of human skulls, a serpent, a musical instrument in one hand and a damru in the other. Parvati is shown wearing a diadem, an ear-ring and a nose-ring. To the main image is joined a slab on which the vehicles of the deities - the bull and the lion - are carved.” Its mandapa is open to the skies. Many researchers ascribe the building to Mian Kaleswar of Mandi. Raja Sidh Sen of Mandi lived for 100 years from 1627 to 1727 and his fourth son was Kaleswar. If he is the same Kaleswar who raised the structure of the temple, it is certain that this temple a creation of the17th century. Ardhnarishwar represents a synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti), symbolising that one of them cannot be without the other - one is imperfect in the absence of the other. The emotions of Purusha and Prakriti cannot survive in singularity; also the emotions of both are not competing with each other. So, they merge. It is the truth of life that “Me without You” is incomplete. One requires the other for survival and that is represented in Ardhnarishwar - an all-encompassing God. TAILPIECE “The great God, Maheshwara, never delights with a wife distinct from His own self…the joy within him is called the Goddess.” — Kurma Purana
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HPCA case: IAS officer to be quizzed today
Dharamsala, January 5 Pant has been summoned as he was the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, in 2008 when a residential facility of Government College, Dharamsala, was demolished as it was allegedly posing a threat to the structure of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA). The Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against the HPCA and various government officials for allegedly demolishing the residential facility illegally and allowing the HPCA encroach on its land. It has been alleged that a meeting was held in Pant's office that was also attended by HPCA officials and a decision to demolish the college building without taking any technical clearance was taken. Earlier, the Vigilance had arrested a former SDO and Executive Engineer of the PWD who were posted here when the decision was taken. Then Principal of Government College, Dharamsala, NK Awasthi had also been made a party in the case. He has secured bail from the High Court. Pant was summoned earlier also by the Vigilance Bureau, but he did not appear. Sources said Pant did not appear as he was apprehending arrest in the case. The sources also told The Tribune that IAS Officers' Association had expressed displeasure. Association members also met the Acting Chief Secretary to register their protest. The officers said senior officers such as Pant should not be prosecuted for chairing a meeting as administrative head of the district. Already two senior IAS officers, Additional Chief Secretary Deepak Shanan and RS Gupta, have been issued chargesheet by the government in cases concerning the HPCA. However, since the BJP has launched a campaign against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Vigilance is also trying to expedite its inquiry into the HPCA case and filed a chargesheet against all concerned. The sources also said a Cabinet minister was also against Pant being involved in the case and had voiced concern on the matter. Charge against him: Kamlesh Kumar Pant, Joint Secretary, Defence Production, has been summoned as he was the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, in 2008 when a residential facility of Government College, Dharamsala, was demolished. It has been alleged that the decision to demolish the college building without taking any technical clearance was taken at a meeting that was held in Pant's office
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Skill allowance scheme fails to achieve target
Dharamsala, January 5 However, the regional employment officer, Kangra, who is the nodal officer for the scheme, said till date the government had been able to give skill development allowance to only 4,451 candidates. The cases of another 665 youth were still under process, he said. The data of Kangra district, which is most populous district of the state, reveals that a target of less than 25 per cent has been achieved under the scheme. The implementation in other districts is even poorer. Inquiries by The Tribune revealed that the target set by the state government for providing skill development allowance was unlikely to be met due to various conditions laid by the Union government for the scheme and lack of recognised skill development centres in the state. The allowance is given under the scheme floated by the Union Ministry for Human Resources. Under the scheme, an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month can be given to youth whose families have an income of less than Rs 2 lakh per annum. The skill development allowance is also given to youth, who are enrolled in
ITIs, diploma colleges and skill development centres recognised by the All-India Council of Technical Education
(AICTE). In Himachal, there are limited skill development centres where under matriculate youth can be given skill development training. Kangra district hardly has any skill development centre for under matriculates, who can be real beneficiaries under the scheme. Here only students from poor families, who have an income of less than 2 lakh per annum and have taken admissions in ITIs or diploma colleges, are being given the allowance of Rs 1,000 per month under the Kaushal Vikas Bhatta scheme of the state government. Officials said they had earlier proposed to send students to recognised centres in other states for skill development. However, many issues cropped up over the proposal. A few officials were of the view that youth from poor families would not be able to bear the expenses of staying in other states for such courses with just Rs 1,000 given to them by the state government. Some officials also objected to sending students outside the state. The state government had projected the Kaushal Vikas Bhatta as a scheme in analogy with unemployment allowance promised by the Congress in its election manifesto. The scheme was practically good as proposed to provide skills to youth to increase employability. However, till necessary infrastructure is developed for providing skills to youth through recognised
centres, its dream of decreasing unemployment through the scheme cannot be
realised. |
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Single window for power producers
Shimla, January 5 “Once the pre-implementation agreement is signed with the company, the promoters need to take rounds of each department for getting NOC, as we will do it in three months' time,” said Principal Secretary, Power, SKBS Negi. He added that they would hold the joint inspection of all departments at one go and if the department concerned did not respond in three months' time, the project would be deemed sanctioned. The IPPs welcome the government’s new initiatives aimed at expediting the pending power projects, mainly in the Chenab, Sutlej and Ravi basins in the state, but they are taking the move with a pinch of salt. They cite two major factors that delay project clearances. First, the clause of obtaining the no-objection certificate (NOC) from gram sabha of the project-affected site with 50 per cent quorum under the Forest Rights Act. A second factor relates to public hearing for environment clearance in which local public and NGOs object to the project and this goes on and on for years, they added. The main issue is how the state government addresses these issues in single window and MoEF’s guidelines as it is incumbent on the ministry concerned to put brakes or clear the project as there is no strict time frame for project clearance as they demand an NOC from the gram sabha and the public hearing, said a general manager of a private company executing a project in Lahaul-Spiti. There are projects not getting the MOEF’s and the state’s nod even after five years have elapsed, sending the companies into a tailspin. Officials also blamed the companies for delay, saying they did not submit the detailed project reports (DPRs) in time. On the other hand, the MoEF has come out with the policy guidelines to expedite pending projects being delayed on account of environment and forest clearance. “If the MoEF does not respond to the power producers in six months time, the project would be deemed sanctioned," said Negi. |
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Maharashtra shines in ice-skating championship
Shimla, January 5 Nearly 200 skaters from 11 states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Naidu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Himachal and Delhi and four foreigners (all girls) competed in the event. The solo breathtaking performance by Shreya Dalal from the United States, who was representing Maharashtra (her birth place) and Anup Yama of Andhra Pradesh was the major attraction at the closing function. However, Mohammad representing the Snovit Club rued that while all categories could participate in the relay race, seniors girls were not allowed in the relay race. Anup is the only skater in India to participate in 10 world championships and has a distinction of being ranked No. 1 in India, 1st in Asia and 3rd in the world.
“I was just three-year-old when I first saw roller skating in an exhibition in Hyderabad and within minutes I could skate on the wooden floor of the rink and since then there has been no looking back,” says World Roller Skating Champion Anup Yama of Andhra Pradesh who also bagged the bronze medal in Asian Ice-Skating Championship held in 2010 in China. Results: Pair Skating (Seniors): Anup Yama and Monnal-I, Yogesh and Deepika-II, Divyank and Ridhima-III. Pair Skating (Juniors): Ashwin and Kairvi-I, Nischay and Suhair-II, Drashta and Aldrin-III. Pair Skating (Sub Jrs): Hitesh and Sanhita-I, Abhijhit Amalraj and Janki -II, Pratham and Reshmi-III. Novice Girls Figure Skating: Sai Samitha (Andhra Pradesh)-I, Janki Nair (Kerala)-II, Ananya and Wamika (Delhi)-III Novice Boys Figure Skating: Anandhu (Kerala)-I, Rushail Harjai (Delhi)-II, Kartik and Manit (Delhi)-III. Sub Jr Girls (500 m): Rea Elizabeth (Karnataka)-I, Janvi Chordia (M’rashtra)-II, Nupur Verma (M’rashtra)-III. Sub Jr Girls (Figure Skating): Ishita Kapoor (Delhi)-I, Ananya (AP)-II, Reshmi Bhava (Karnataka)-III. Senior Boys (1,000 m): GV Ragjhavendra (Karnataka)-I, Akashya Aradhya (Karnataka)-II, Gitish Vaiadya (M’rashtra) -III. Jr Boys (1,000 m): Onkar Yograj (Karnataka)-I, Sohan Tarkar (M’rashtra)-II, Suyog Tapkir (M’rashtra)-III. Sub Jr Boys (1,000 m):Kaviraj Prithvi (Karnataka)-I, Hritik Karadi (Gujarat)-II, Ashwin Dsilva (Karnataka)-III. Sr Girls (1,000 m): Shruti Kotwal (M’rashtra), Varsha Kukereja (M’rashtra) -II, Radha Gokhle - M’rashtra. Jr Girls (1,000 m): Seeliya Simmith (Karnataka) -I, Sahitya Iyer (M’rashtra) -II, Avani S Kumar (Karnataka) -III. Sub Jr Girls (1,000 m): Rea Elizabeth (Karnataka), Noopur Verma (Maharashtra)-II, Janvi Chordia (M’rashtra) -III. Sr Boys (500 m): GV Raghavendra (Karnataka)- I, Subodh Patil (M’rashtra)-II, Akash Aradhya (Karnataka)-III. Jr Boys (500 m): Sohan Tarkar (M’rashtra)-I, Onkar Yograj (Karnataka)-II, Sonu Ganesh M (Karnataka)-III. Sub Jr Boys (500 m): Hrithik Karadi (Gujarat)-I, Kavi Raj Prithvi (Karnataka), Abhishek Bhandari (Uttrakhand) -III. Sr Boys (Relay race): Kerala-I, Karnataka-II and M’rashtra-III. Jr Boys below 14 yrs (Relay race): Karnataka-I, M’rashtra-II, M’rashtra-III Jr Girls above 14 yrs (Relay race): M’rashtra-I, Jr Girls below 14 (Relay race): Karnataka-I, M’rashtra-II, M’rashtra-III. |
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Longer session must to hone ice-skaters’ skills: Secy
Shimla, January 5 “For the longer season, we require a refrigeration plant and extension of ice-skating rink to meet the international norms and we have already prepared a proposal to install the refrigeration plant while Rs 40 lakh has been sanctioned by the government for increasing the width by about 3 m to acquire the required dimensions of 56 m x 29 m and make it spacious enough for laying out the ice hockey field” he disclosed. The number of members which was about 200 till two decades ago has swelled to 700 and the rink becomes crowded when tourists also join the locals. In the past one decade, there has been an increase of 5 per cent in tourist coming for skating as the number of snowy days has come down drastically. Ice-skating has remained a major attraction during winters since the British days and skaters enjoy the warmth of sliding on the ice while people shiver even sitting near the fire place. Rajan Bhardwaj, executive member, said skating was considered a leisure activity by a majority of the skaters and there was a craze among kids to enjoy the sport. Contrary to the general perception that snowy season is conducive for ice-skating, it is the clear sky at night that makes ice more solid. Organisers were apprehensive of holding the event due to cloudy weather and rain for the past three days. The local MeT office has predicted that the weather would remain dry for the next four days. |
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BSNL lines in Gandhi Nagar, Shastri Nagar go amiss
Kullu, January 5 Further on, a small part of the line was missing and the possibility of sabotage by private telecom operators to hamper the BSNL services cannot be ruled out, he added. Even earlier, during work on the culvert, BSNL landline services remained crippled for around a month in these localities. BSNL authorities have been able to restore certain lines by this
afternoon. Vinod Anand, Executive Engineer, PWD, said the culverts at Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar were not present in the initial plan and were added later, to facilitate the public. He said that repair, maintenance and improvement of the road had to be carried out periodically and the damage to the water lines, sewerage lines or phone lines was to be taken care of by the respective departments, as they shared the same turf. He advised that BSNL could use alternate route for the telephone lines through private lands to avoid frequent damage to the lines due to improvement work on the road. He added that there was no urgency to complete the improvement work on the culvert in Gandhi Nagar at a rapid pace as it did not cause any hindrance and was carried out with the funds for repairs, though the time for completion of the job was present in the contract document and would be adhered to. He said the work on the culvert in Shastri Nagar was also being carried out without diverting or halting the traffic and its completion would take more time. Residents
Girish, Gaurav and Parag rue that the road condition had worsened on the Gandhi Nagar culvert and the curve of the culvert was not uniform. But in absence of glow signs or proper diversion marks, there is a threat to commuters. Lucky from Mohal village said he met with an accident on the culvert while overtaking a bus on the curve, deeming it to be one-way, but another vehicle entered from the wrong side as there was no glow sign and further on, many vehicles remained parked on the outer bent of the curve. Now, the residents are irked with PWD taking up a similar kind of culvert in Shastri
Nagar, work on which is in progress for the last three months and dust from the same has become a health hazard. |
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Siddu draws tourists to carnival
Manali, January 5 About two dozen mahila mandals from Kullu district have set up their stalls on the Mall Road where they have been given a special space by the carnival committee. Tourists who are relaxing on the Mall Road are visiting the stalls and
tasting siddu. Women from mahila mandals who are in the town to take part in cultural activities are also contributing to the siddu stalls. Women say the only motive in serving 'siddus' at the carnival is to have some merry time, show their cooking skills and also to relax after never-ending household work. They are serving fresh 'siddus' with ghee and salty tea. Snow fails to deter visitors
Fresh spell of snowfall in the entire upper Manali region last night, along with biting cold, could not deter people from thronging Manali on the fourth day of the National Winter Carnival today. Even as the Manu Rang Shala, venue of cultural events, is jampacked with spectators, those who are not getting the chance to enter the Rang Shala are enjoying various cultural programmes on the Mall Road. Folk dance, traditional music competition and other programmes are attracting attention of tourists too. The fourth day of the carnival included cultural competitions, solo singing, fashion show, Himachali traditional dress competition and other cultural programmes as also national and international cultural troupes. It being a Sunday, the carnival drew a huge response from people. |
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Mankotia, Sushant in touch with AAP
Dharamsala, January 5 Sources here said prominent leaders, who were in touch with AAP leaders, were Vijay Singh
Mankotia, a senior Congress leader who lost the last Assembly election from the Shahpur constituency, and Rajan
Sushant, BJP MP from Kangra. Mankotia said he did get feelers from AAP leaders, but there had not been any formal talks with them regarding joining the new outfit. He further added that he would remain with the
Congress. Sushant has been ousted by the BJP from parliamentary board and is unlikely to get the party ticket in the coming Lok Sabha poll. Sources here said Sushant might get in touch with AAP if he was denied party ticket by the
BJP. Sushant was not available for comment. Many leaders of the Himachal Lokhit Party are also shifting to
AAP. Yesterday many residents of Dharamsala, including a large number of ex-servicemen, who have recently taken up the membership of
AAP, carried out a procession in the town wearing trademark caps of new political
outfit. Aman Guleria, an advocate from Kangra, has been appointed district convener of
AAP. He said they had formed the district body of the party. AAP has also planned to start its membership campaign in rural areas to challenge the BJP and the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha poll. In Una district also, many former leaders are claiming to have joined
AAP. However, a Congress leader said the kind of people who were planning to join AAP would put the credibility of new political outfit at stake. |
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Leaking pipes inconvenience people
Palampur, January 5 The leakage in pipes of the department is causing losses worth lakhs of rupees to the Public Works Department
(PWD) in the town and the adjoining panchayat areas every year as most of the roads metalled by the PWD have developed big potholes at many points. Leakage in pipes near the fire station has become a death-trap as many two-wheelers have met with accident at this point in the past. However, the IPH authorities are unconcerned about the situation. Official sources said the IPH Department had failed to follow norms fixed by the government while laying water pipes as most of the pipes were open. The leakage was affecting the roads causing loss not only to the state exchequer, but also a lot of inconvenience to the public. As per norms notified by the state government, the minimum depth of pipes should have been 1 ft, but these norms have openly been flouted by the IPH Department. Roads leading to Hotel Tea Bud,
Bundla, Neugal Park, Sugar, Aima and Lohana are the worst affected areas where water flows on roads. Near Neugal
Chowk, the road has developed big holes due to leakages in six water pipes. A road leading to Lohana and Sai Garden is the worst affected as the road has turned into a drain. Because of the leakages, residents of
Aima, Bundla, Ghuggar and SSB Chowk are forced to use contaminated water resulting in various water-borne diseases. If no step is initiated, it can turn into an epidemic. Meanwhile, a senior officer of the Public Works Department said since water was flowing on roads, the department was unable to repair or carpet it. |
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BJP leaders’ effigies burnt again
Bilaspur, January 5 They also raised slogans against top BJP leaders Dhumal and Anurag Thakur. Local MLA Bambar Thakur said: “They will not be allowed to enter Bilaspur in future.” Bambar said the BJP leaders had set a record of sorts in corrupt practices when they were in power and now, when several inquiries were being held against them, they were completely baffled. Due to this, he said, they were levelling baseless charges against the CM without any letup. Youth Congress activists, led by District Mandi Committee president Vivek Kumar, also staged a similar effigy-burning programme at Jhandutta”. Cong hits back at BJP’s tirade against CM CHAMBA: Hitting at the BJP leaders for their false propaganda against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Chairman of the Chamba Market Committee Neeraj Nayar, along with eight other Congress leaders, said the charges levelled at Virbhadra were beyond facts and that there was no truth in these. In a statement here today, the leaders described the propaganda of the BJP as baseless and false, alleging that the BJP was diverting the attention of the public by launching a false campaign against Virbhadra to put curtains on the ongoing Vigilance inquiry against the party in the land mafia, phone tapping and other cases. |
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State has 1.5 lakh TB patients: WHO
Kangra, January 5 Dr KC Kaushal, WHO TB Consultant, stated this here yesterday. He said 14,000 TB cases were notified in the hill state every year pushing the number of such patients to 1.5 lakh, which included 65 per cent men, 30 per cent women. He said these patients were getting treatment under the RNTCP and the cure rate was 88 per cent. Only 80 per cent TB patients were detected and notified. Earlier, the death rate was 29 per cent, which had come down to 4 per cent due to better diagnostic facilities and better treatment, he said. Kaushal, accompanied by a team of experts, including Dr S Anand, Senior Microbiologist, Central TB Division, GoI, and Dr Shiv Prakash, State Tuberculosis Programme Officer, visited the DRPGMC, Tanda, to start a culture and drug sensitivity laboratory, which would be used for the follow-up culture of multi-drug Resistant TB. Dr Prakash said earlier these case samples were processed at the IRL, Dharampur, and the IGMC, Shimla. He said samples of TB patients from six districts adjoining Kangra would be processed in the laboratory, which had come up at a cost of Rs 2 crore and equipped with imported machinery. Dr Anand said TB was a worldwide public health problem despite effective drugs and vaccines available. Technologically advanced countries had achieved spectacular results in the control of tuberculosis. However, India remained the country with the highest burden, accounting for one-fifth of the global burden of tuberculosis. He said people should not ignore TB symptoms as 5,000 persons were afflicted with it every day. |
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Workshop held under Beti Hai Anmol programme
Nurpur, January 5 Presiding over the workshop, Block Medical Officer Neerja Gupta said under the PCPNDT Act, no sex determination test could be performed by any ultrasound centre as female foeticide had been banned in the country. “Under this Act, the guilty is punished with one to three year’s imprisonment and fined to the tune of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000. Apart from this, the informer who gives information of sex determination test is awarded with Rs 10,000 and his name is kept confidential,” she said. Expressing concern over the falling gender ratio in Kangra district, especially in bordering Nurpur
sub-division, she said in this sub-division, the gender ratio was 883:1,000, while it was 925:1,000 in Kangra district. On this occasion, she briefed people’s welfare programmes and schemes of the Health Department and exhorted people not to grant second class status to girls and create social awareness against sex determination tests and female foeticide. PCPNDT Act-2003
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AAP, HLP take on CM, Dhumal
Shimla, January 5 They demanded a investigation into the allegations levelled against Dhumal and son Anurag Thakur and Virbhadra Singh. AAP national member Des Raj said: “We had raised the issue of strengthening Lokayukta when PK Dhumal was the CM. But he did nothing and gave people a weak institution without power and staff.” Kullu MLA and HLP president Maheshwar Singh
said they deserted BJP because it was a party with double standards. He said top BJP leaders, including Narendra Modi, protected corrupt leaders. “We are not defending corruption charges against the Congress leaders. If there
are proofs against them they should move the court or a probe should be ordered,” he said. Rakesh Singha, general secretary, CPM, said: “The assets of the state are being taken by the private profit-making bodies as was done by the HPCA in the state.” |
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Forum orders replacement of defective shoes
Sundernagar, January 5 The forum directed them to pay Rs 2,000 for causing harassment and Rs 1,000 as the cost of the complaint to Lavinder Singh (minor), who had filed a complaint through his father Jai Inder Pal, a resident of Ram Nagar, Mandi. The complainant had purchased the shoes on October 24, 2012, from Harish Traders with a six-month warranty. The shoes were worn only thrice and tore off. It was alleged that the physical appearance of the shoes was dull. The shopkeeper did not replace these. The complaint was contested by the seller and the manufacturer, alleging that the shoes might have been exposed to heat by the complainant. Holding the opposite parties responsible for deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, the forum ordered them to replace the shoes or refund
the price.
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Former minister for starting work on Pini-Talpini road
Kullu, January 5 He said despite the orders of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and MP Pratibha Singh, the department had not started the work of building the road. A letter would be sent to the Chief Minister prior to the gherao to inform him about the inaction of the department, he said. He added that during the previous BJP regime, the overall development was halted and hence the samiti was established and now its name had been changed to “Vikas Samiti”. He said Virbhadra had a spotlessly clean political career and anybody who tried to defame him would not only be exposed, but also dealt with strictly by the
samiti.
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State to spend Rs 3,836 crore on education
Nurpur, January 5 He said the government was launching vocational education in 100 GSSSs across the state and there would be vocational courses in auto, mobile, retail and security for students of classes IX to 10+II. The CPS directed the department officers to ensure uninterrupted water and power supply in the science block of the GSSS, Nagrota Surian. He gave away prizes to meritorious students. The students presented a colourful cultural programme. School principal Sher Singh read the school's annual report.
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Hamirpur will have defence academy, says Anurag
Sujanpur, January 5 He said, "A war memorial will be built in Hamirpur, besides a museum where the records of all ex-servicemen from the area would be kept." Commenting on the success of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi elections, he said, "Voting for AAP in the next elections will result in destabilisation of the country and people should vote for the BJP to make Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister." He said, "Once Modi becomes the PM, one-rank, one-pension demand will be fulfilled." Addressing the rally, former Lt-Gen HS Kanwar (retd) said, "The one-rank, one-pension issue is still unresolved and the Congress government has failed to fulfil this demand." Major-Gen GD Bakshi (retd) and former Hamirpur MLA Urmil Thakur also addressed the rally. |
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Tehsil for Balh area inaugurated
Mandi, January 5 He said the state government was making efforts to provide better revenue services to people. Recently, the government filled hundreds of vacant posts of patwaris and 154 such posts were being filled in Mandi district, he said. To make patwaris and other revenue staff remain at their stations, the government was constructing staff quarters for them so that people could approach them easily for revenue-related works. The minister said several schemes were being implemented there and the Rs 339-crore Suketi channelisation project had been started to check floods during the rainy season in this area. |
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Health Dept raids highway dhabas, takes food samples
Bilaspur, January 5 Reports said the authorities got into action after receiving repeated complaints from passengers and tourists
that food served at these eateries was not only substandard and stale, but the rates charged
were also higher than those fixed by the District Magistrate. It was for the first time that the department took stock of food served at these dhabas, though commuters had been complaining of poor quality of eatables for long. The samples have
been sent to the laboratory for testing. The team told all dhaba owners to maintain cleanliness in and around their shops and kitchens and use clean water for preparing food. Raids would be conducted on this and other routes in future to ensure that all rules were strictly obeyed to by dhaba owners, it added. |
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Man held for wife’s murder
Kangra, January 5 The DSP said all the three children were with their maternal grandparents on the night the murder was committed. The couple were living separately. The police took the body into their possession and sent it for postmortem. DSP Verma said the postmortem report indicated that the death was caused by asphyxiation due to strangulation and throttling. The police have registered a case under Section 302, IPC, and arrested Ramesh.
— OC |
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Auhar govt school holds annual function
Bilaspur, January 5 Param Vir Chakra awardee Havildar Sanjay Kumar said this while addressing students during the annual prize distribution function at Government Senior Secondary School, Auhar, 30 km from here, yesterday. Kumar, who was the chief guest, shared his Kargil war experiences. He said: “I was also someone like you here and there was nothing so unusual about me. But my training and my dedication towards my goal, gave me the strength and persistence to conquer the hill-top post.” Earlier, Principal Madan Chandel read the school’s annual report. The chief guest distributed prizes to students who excelled in various activities. |
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CM, Governor urged to fill vacancies in HPU
Shimla, January 5 In a letter addressed to the CM and HPU Chancellor, the government has asked the university Registrar to examine the issues raised earlier. Bains has asked the CM to expedite the acquisition of land for new campus as envisaged by the University’s Golden Jubilee Document (Vision-2020) and to enhance the grant-in-aid to a minimum of Rs 95 crore. The further demands included strengthening of Pension Corpus Fund, scrapping the outsourcing system and forming a uniform transfer policy for its employees.
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Former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today accused Virbhadra Singh of misleading the Congress high command by misrepresenting the facts on the allotment of 17-MW Sai Koti hydro-power project and his financial transactions.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today dared PK Dhumal to approach the Lokayukta against him.
“If Dhumal and the BJP are so sure about the corruption charges against me, then why they hesitate to approach the Lokayukta,” he said, talking to mediapersons at his residence “Holly Lodge” here today. He said Dhumal would never move the Lokayukta because he would have to furnish an affidavit, which he would avoid as there was no truth in the allegations.
The longer ice-skating session spanning four to five months is a must to hone the skills of skaters to prepare them for international events and make skating a mainstream sport, says secretary of the Shimla Ice-Skating Club and president of the Ice-Skating Association of India Bhuvanesh Banga.
Stalls of the traditional dish “siddu” are attracting
the attention of both tourists and local residents towards the National Winter Carnival.
"Siddu" is a unique dish for tourists, who cannot find it elsewhere in the country, but local residents are also thronging the stalls to taste its variety of flavours.
Palampur, January 5
Sujanpur, January 5
I wanted to go to the Ardhnarishwar Temple in Mandi. I found no indicator-board anywhere so I had to ask a shopkeeper its whereabouts. He guided me but also added that it was adjacent to Sukh Ramji’s house.