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CM’s wife gets screening panel nod
Fire safety norms in heritage buildings only on paper
Changing weather pattern takes away snow from Shimla
Central University offers modular
courses
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Annandale Ground
Chintpurni trust to spend
Rs 31.75 crore on temple
Sixth Pay Commission
Roorkee team to inspect Gorton Castle
Employees stand in front of Gorton Castle a day after the fire in Shimla on Wednesday.
e-receipts at Shimla MC parking lots soon
Week-long Shivratri festival from Feb 28
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur at a meeting of the Shivratri Committee in Mandi on Tuesday. Photo: Jai Kumar
2 held for stealing ATM card, withdrawing cash
Sainik Board gets new members
Mid-day meal staff to work for 6 hours
2 hunters remanded in police custody for firing at girl
Two held for catching 90 kg fish illegally
Villagers end dharna Man arrested for thrashing wife in
Jawali ‘Abolish Articles 25 to 30 of Constitution’
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CM’s wife gets screening panel nod
New Delhi, January 29 But in case of Mandi, single name of Pratibha Singh is said to have been sent, sources indicated. The Tribune has further learnt that around 10 names have been forwarded by the screening
committee for consideration of the CEC headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Among the names that are learnt to be part of the panel are former MP Dhani Ram Shandil from Shimla, senior leader Chander Kumar from Kangra, state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Himachal Congress general secretary Sunil Sharma from
Hamirpur. Shandil represented the Shimla segment in the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha. An ex-serviceman, Shandil is a senior state leader and currently MLA from Solan. Chander Kumar represented Kangra in 2004 when he was elected from the segment. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Assam Congress chief Bhubaneshwar Kalita and was attended by AICC general secretary in charge of Himachal Ambika Soni and CM Virbhadra Singh. The Himachal Screening Committee is the first to hold its meeting and make recommendations to the CEC before the January 31 deadline which Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had set for the preliminary screening of Lok Sabha candidates. Rahul Gandhi wants the process to be over by
mid-February. In the race
Among the names that are learnt to be part of the panel are former MP Dhani Ram Shandil from Shimla, senior leader Chander Kumar from Kangra, state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Himachal Congress general secretary Sunil Sharma from Hamirpur. |
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Fire safety norms in heritage buildings only on paper
Shimla, January 29 There are no fire alarms and fire-detecting sensors in most of the heritage buildings in the core heritage zone. Even if some of these such as CTO building have installed the fire alarms, these are not tested for months. Fire extinguishers have not been refilled since October last, revealed insiders. The Department of Town and Country Planning and the Directorate of Art, Language and Culture are responsible for the conservation of the buildings in the state. But department officials rarely review their functioning, revealed insiders. The occupants of the buildings ignore the fire-safety norms. Security guards express their ignorance on the operation of fire extinguishers. The central water heating system that runs along false wooden ceiling on the top floor got overheated in the wee hours the incident took place yesterday, but the fire alarm system did not work, revealed insiders. The offices are adding more wooden renovation in interiors of the heritage buildings to create more space for the staff without keeping an eye on fire safety, said members of the heritage committee. Even Town Hall, Gorton Castle, CTO building, DC office, Railways board, state library, GPO building, Secretariat, Rashtrapati Niwas, Snowdon and Ripon hospitals did their fire-safety audit, but not so regularly, commented a senior official. Similarly, the HCAC had no mention of fire-safety measures to be adopted in each building located in the core heritage zone, said a former member of the heritage committee. Raaja Bhasin from Intach said, "The fire hydrants should be periodically checked and the staff trained to save the heritage of the city from recurring incidents of fire. Intach will assist in the restoration of the Gorton Castle if they ask us to do so." Director, Art Language and Culture, Arun Sharma expressed ignorance whether or not the committee had fire safety measures in place for heritage buildings. State Town Planner AN Gautam, who is a member secretary, HCAC, said they reviewed the safety of the buildings whenever a case came to them. ADM to probe
Shimla DC Dinesh Malhotra says that ADM (Law and Order) DK Rattan will conduct the inquiry into the Gorten Castle fire incident and submit a report within 15 days. |
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Changing weather pattern takes away snow from Shimla
Shimla, January 29 The frequency of snowfall has become lesser in December barring 1990-91 when the town received 203.9 cm snow. Frequent heavy snowfall was witnessed in January for many years, but heavy snowfall in February and March is a rising trend. Shimla recorded a maximum 262.2 cm snow in 1989-90 and 239.6 cm in 1990-91. Since then, the hill town has received just 1.8 cm snow in 2009-10, 9.9 cm in 2000-01, 34.2 cm in 2007-08 and 43.5 cm in 2008-09. More than 100 cm snow was recorded in 1995-96 (199.1 cm), 2001-02 (186.7 cm), 1997-98 (151 cm), 1992-93(145.8 cm), 1999-2000 (132.6 cm), 2004-05(124.6 cm), 2011-12(119.4 cm) and 1993-94 (110.2 cm). However, only 7.2 cm and 12 cm of snow have been recorded in December and January (till date) during 2013-14. However, rainfall has become more frequent in Shimla and the town recorded moderate to heavy rain during the winters. While the town recorded zero snowfall in 2005-06, the rainfall was 199.6 mm and in 2009-10, the snowfall was just 1.8 cm, but rainfall was 127.5 mm. The total precipitation in winters was highest at 556.7 mm in 1989-90, followed by 502.6 mm in 1997-98, 412.9 mm in 1992-93, 399.0 cm in 1992-93, 391.8 mm in 1995-96, 379.2 mm in 2006-07, 376.8 in 2004-05, 350.3 cm in 2001-02 and 341.1 mm in 1994-95. The ski slopes of Kufri and Narkanda, which used to be covered under six to eight feet snow during January and February, are devoid of snow. The ski festival was last held at Kufri in 1967 and barring 1990-91 when the town received about six feet of snow, skiing at Kufri has become a thing of the past. Skiers shifted to Narkanda to enjoy winter sports, but now Narkanda is also not receiving enough snowfall. |
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Central University offers modular
courses
Dharamsala, January 29 Vice-Chancellor Furqan Qumar, talking to The Tribune, said the CUHP had become a pioneering institute to offer such modulated courses. "We observed that many students taking admissions in postgraduate courses in the Central University had to leave these after being selected for various jobs. Since students were leaving their courses in-between, they did not get any credit for the one year spent doing the course," he said. The executive council of the CUHP then decided to offer advanced diploma to the students who had completed one year of their two-year postgraduate course. The students who left the courses were also given the option of coming back within two years and completing their remaining study towards getting the postgraduate degree. Till date, five students had opted for the modular course being offered by the university. It was observed that all these students had been selected for government jobs, said the VC. He further said there had been a demand from students that the limit for coming back and completing their course be increased to five years. "We are thinking of accepting the demand of the students," said Qumar. The VC further said the CUHP had also pioneered in offering inter-disciplinary courses to students taking admission here. The students who take admissions in the CUHP had to attain 30 per cent credits in another related subject in addition to the regular courses being undertaken by them. The additional credits gained by the students were reflected in their marksheets. This led to better exposure of students and widened their horizon. Lack of infrastructure was a bottleneck in expediting the development of the prestigious institute. The Central University was functioning from a temporary campus located in the building of Government College, Shahpur, 20 km from Dharamsala. Sources here said due to fewer rooms being available in the temporary campus, the university authorities were being forced to hold classes in shifts. The VC said the classes were being held from 8 am to 5 pm. He admitted that there was shortage of classrooms. The case for allotment of land for the CUHP has been pending for more than three years now. While the previous government wanted to have a majority campus of Central University at Dehra, the present government wants it at Dharamsala. |
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Correct revenue entries in land records, Army told
Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shimla, January 29 The Army, which still controls Annandale and runs a golf course, has sought its fresh lease, but the state government is yet to take the final call. The government has considered the Ministry of Defence's plea that the ground is used for defence exercise, parades, logistics, training and disaster-related exercises. The Collector issued notices to the Army, asking it to correct entries in the land where the Gymkhana Club was located in Annandale. The ground came back to the state government in 1962 when the Gymkhana Club was dissolved, said officials. "The revenue inquiry conducted last year by the state government found that certain ambitious signatories of the defunct Gymkhana Club eyed a windfall after the HPCA mulled a cricket stadium at Annandale and made wrong entries in the revenue record," said official sources. These entries violate Section 118 as well, added officials. "We have asked the Army to correct the revenue entries in the Annandale ground where the Gymkhana Club was located," said the official. "Once the entries are corrected, the Annandale land lease, which expired in 1982, will be granted afresh by the state Cabinet," said the officials. On the other hand, the District Collector has also served notices to three benami land dealers-cum-buyers - JS Rana, Ravi Mehta and Pawan Kumar of the MSS, which runs its private college located on the western margins of the ground on private land. The court has asked them as to why the land they had bought in violation of Section 118 of the HP Land Reforms and Tenancy Act should not be vested back with the state government, revealed official sources. Besides, the benami structures stand in the western margins of Annandale pose obstruction to the air exercise in case of war-time activities and hence, these are under investigation as well, said sources. The inquiry report submitted to the government on August 24, 2013 for action, found that the MSS land deals violated Section 118 that forbids non-agriculturalist Himachali from buying land in the state, said officials. Similar is the case in the entry of the defunct Gymkhana, they added. The Annandale ground was in the eye of a storm during the last BJP regime, when the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, son of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, launched a signature campaign; he had mulled a cricket stadium there. The arbitration case started over the possession of the land was withdrawn by the state government. Now, a fresh case to extend the lease of the Annandale ground to the Army has been started and awaits Cabinet nod, said officials. The previous BJP government had cancelled the Army's lease application. Residents under the Nagrik Sabha mobilised the mass movement, while the opposition Congress and Army also opposed the move and foiled an alleged bid to hand over the Annandale ground to the HPCA stadium.
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Chintpurni trust to spend
Rs 31.75 crore on temple
Una, January 29 A sum of Rs 8.9 crore will be spent on construction of dormitories for devotees near the multi-purpose parking-cum-commercial centre being constructed with a grant received from Asian Development Bank. An amount of Rs 2.5 crore will be set aside
for the multi-storeyed parking complex and Rs 1.21 crore for construction of toilet blocks near the approach road to the temple. Sulabh International has agreed to
offer its services for the proper functioning of the amenities. The trust has decided to provide Rs 5 lakh to the Public Works Department for sprucing up the 2-km section of the approach road to the temple and
Rs 21 lakh for construction of a gate en route the temple. A sum of Rs 8.7 lakh will be spent on development work in Chaproh and Nari
panchayats bordering the shrine. Besides, there are plans for installing two solar
public lights at dark spots in the adjoining Duhal Bhatwala panchayat. Funds have been earmarked to provide furniture and bedding at the Yatri Bhawan
Bharwain, while it had been decided to donate 30 blankets for jailed inmates at the Chintpurni police station. The Deputy Commissioner later said it had
been decided to outsource the preparation of community meals (langar) at the shrine. He said this had been done to ensure distribution of better quality meals to the devotees. In the offing
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Discrimination against armed forces alleged
Dharam Prakash Gupta Tribune News Service
Mandi, January 29 Army personnel and ex-servicemen have reportedly been peeved at the alleged discrimination meted out to armed forces in the Sixth Pay Commission set up in 2006, in which the armed forces were excluded from the NFU, whereas all Central services, including allied and paramilitary forces like the BSF, CRPF and ITBP, had been given the benefit of the NFU since 2006. Chairman of the Ex-servicemen Movement, Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), who has been taking up this issue at various levels, said, "Under the non-functional upgrade, an Indian Administrative Service officer with 17 years of service becomes a joint secretary and all the Central services officers with 19 years of service automatically get pay and other benefits of the rank of a joint secretary. Officers of nearly 50 categories of Class A Central services are getting this benefit except the armed forces." "In the case of Army officers, they attain this status after putting in 31 years of service and the Ministry of Defence does not consider them in Class A service and have designated them separately as in military service," he added. Thakur said, "Now, Army officers have taken up this issue once again to demand parity with other Central Government services for NFU, demanding removal of this anomaly in the 7th Pay Commission. The chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force have recently met Defence Minister AK Antony in this regard."
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Roorkee team to inspect Gorton Castle
Shimla, January 29 “The top two floors are ransacked as mangled remains of metal and steel almirahs and burnt wooden planks are splattered all over,” said Principal Accountant General Satish Loomba. He said the ground and first floor of the building had been saved, but these would be put to use only after the structural stability had been ascertained. “The safety of my staff is of paramount importance and it is only after the CBRI gives the go-ahead that the two lower floors will be put to use,” said Loomba. DK Rattan, Additional District Magistrate (Law and Order), will look into the reasons for the cause of the fire. “He has been asked to submit the report within 15 days,” said Dinesh Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla. Another major task is to cover the top of the building which is now exposed to the sky. “It has been decided to start work on a war-footing to put up a temporary GI sheet roof so that no further damage is caused due to rain,” he said. A massive cleanliness drive was under way throughout the day. Most of the staff of the AG (Audit) and AG (Accounts and Entitlement) office, except those involved in the clearing of the building, were asked to stay on leave. The main audit branch of the office of the Accountant General (AG) began functioning from the nearby Railway Board building. Efforts are on to create space for the staff at various complexes which are with the CPWD in the capital. |
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e-receipts at Shimla MC parking lots soon
Shimla, January 29 The House decided to solicit tenders for the repair of roads damaged by digging for the laying of communication cables so that the work woul;d start by March-April, Panwar said after the meeting. While certain councillors expressed their reservation over the MC proposal for not going for auction of the parking lots this year, the majority opined that private contractors had brought the
corporation a bad name as they had resorted to fleecing and overcharging tourists. Panwar said once the computerised barriers took care of fleecing, the corporation needed not go for the contract system. "We will hire Home Guards for running the barriers," he added. MC Commissioner Amarjeet Singh said they had sent a request to the DG, Home Guards, for hiring Home Guards. “Every parking lot needs six Home Guards for day and night shifts and will need 36 Home Guards for the six parking lots which will start functioning from March,” he added. |
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Week-long Shivratri festival from Feb 28
Mandi, January 29 He said the administration had identified land here for constructing a Dev Sadan for accommodating the people accompanying the deities. The minister said cultural programmes would also be organised during the festival and local and Bollywood artistes would be invited to perform. He said a committee had been formed to decide the venue for holding the cultural programmes either at Seri Manch or the Paddal ground. Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar said many other activities like sports competitions and exhibitions would also be organised during the festival.
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2 held for stealing ATM card, withdrawing cash
Una, January 29 According to Superintendent of Police Anupam Sharma, they received a complaint today from Rajinder Pal Singh, posted as Principal at Government Senior Secondary School, Kuthera
Jaswalan, that his handbag, containing an ATM card, was stolen on January 24 from his car parked outside the school complex. The complainant alleged that Rs 39,000 had subsequently been withdrawn from his bank account. The SP said the bank transaction was tracked and the CCTV footage of the Gagret branch of the State Bank of India revealed the video clippings of the withdrawal. On the basis of the footage, Puneet Kumar of Badoh village and Paramjeet Singh of Chalet village had been arrested under Sections 379, 427 and 34,
IPC, he said. |
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Sainik Board gets new members
Kullu, January 29 He said the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and the Deputy Director of the SWB would act as secretary of the Board. Other government officials of this district included as members were the Superintendent of the Police (SP), Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Superintendent Engineer of PWD-I, Superintendent Engineer of the HPSEB, District Forest Officer (DFO), Deputy Director Education, Commandant, Home Guards, PRO, Employment Officer, president, Municipal Committee. The Commanding Officer of the Station Headquarters at Palchan, the Army Enrolment Officer, Mandi, and the Army Pension Distribution Officer, Mandi, were also included. Brig Tek Singh Thakur (retd) has been nominated as vice-president of the Board. Others were JC Kaistha, Amarnath Thakur, Mohar Singh Rathore, Narotam Singh, Sheetal Singh and Bala Ram. |
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Mid-day meal staff to work for 6 hours
Bilaspur, January 29 A meeting of the union under the chairmanship of district president Inder Pal Thakur adopted a unanimous resolution to work for six hours every day. With the present honorarium fixed at Rs 1,000, they were finding it difficult to meet their daily needs, they said. The meeting said a deputation of their state union had met the Chief Minister a few days back where the Chief Minister assured them of fulfilling their genuine demands. Present on the occasion were Ram Pyari, Phoolan Devi, Kishori Lal, Chaman Lal, Beena Devi, Chuni Lal, Bangalu Ram, Reeta, Sheela Devi, Sharmila, Rameshwari Devi, Satya Devi, Nirmala Devi, Kaushalya Devi, Ishwar Dass, Dhani Ram, Pawana, Sita Devi, Lata and Vidya Devi among others. |
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2 hunters remanded in police custody for firing at girl
urpur, January 29 She was seriously injured as the gunpowder had hit her face and neck. The hunters fled from the scene after the incident and the victim was rushed to the Civil Hospital here by local villagers. She was referred to the Tanda Medical College, Kangra. DSP Rajiv Atre said the police had registered a case under Sections 286, 336 and 337, IPC, after preliminary investigations. After the arrest of the culprits, two more sections of 308 and 34, IPC, had been added in the case. He said the single-barrel licence gun of one of the accused hunter Balwant Singh had been seized. The accused would be produced in the court again on Friday.
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Two held for catching 90 kg fish illegally
Bilaspur, January 29 Reports said the culprits caught the fish without any permit or licence. The fish was of the Gid variety and undersized. They had been challaned under the HP Fisheries Act, 1979, and would be fined. The fish had been confiscated. They would face a jail term if the department decided to try the case in a court under the Act. |
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The Central Screening Committee of the Congress is learnt to have forwarded the name of Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's wife and sitting MP Pratibha Singh from the Mandi Lok Sabha segment.
For other three parliamentary segments (Shimla, Kangra and Hamirpur), a panel of names has been forwarded for the consideration of the Central Election Committee (CEC) which is expected to meet in the first week of February.
A team from the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, will soon visit the severely damaged Gorton Castle building to assess its structural stability for the use of its two lower floors.
A 90-member committee comprising police, Army, Home Guards and Central Public Works Department
personnel has been constituted to oversee the cleaning of the interiors of the four-storey heritage structure that suffered massive damage in the fire yesterday.
The week-long international Shivratri festival will be held from February 28 this year.
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur announced this after holding a meeting of the Shivratri Committee here yesterday.
Kaul Singh said 215 deities would be invited
to the festival and the district administration would make all arrangements, including boarding and lodging for
the people accompanying the deities.
