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HPU fails to utilise fund
Goods worth crores destroyed in fire incidents
BBMB told to build bridge on Beas
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CM to be probed if BJP comes to power: Parveen
BJP state spokesman Parveen Sharma addresses mediapersons in Una on Tuesday. Photo: Rajesh Sharma
Health plan for people to continue
HP not in haste over red beacons
Govt committed to growth: CM
Rs 4 crore earmarked for self-help groups: MP
Inflated bills have consumers fuming
Exempt us from registration, licensing fee: Milk producers
Shimla Film Festival on April 12, 13
Saakshar Mission trainers await honorarium
Four days on, cops fail to nab Nurpur escapees
Proposal to expand Kullu-Manali airport on cards
‘To promote sports culture in state’
Vikramaditya serves notice on BJP leader
Tanda student excels in quiz
Dr Gayatri Khatri being presented a certificate at Dr DY Patil Hospital and Research Centre in Navi Mumbai. 22 injured as bus falls off road in Una AAP files FIR against Kangra MP
BA-I exam results declared
First unit of Parbati project commissioned
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HPU fails to utilise fund
Shimla, February 25 The university received total funds amounting to Rs 106.55 crore, Rs 100.55 crore and Rs 154.53 crore during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 while the expenditure was Rs 101.66 crore, Rs 116.02 crore and 156.04 crore even though 219 posts of teacher were lying vacant in March 2013. Between January 2006 and April 2007, the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India (GOI) and the state government sanctioned Rs 6.82 crore for the construction of two buildings at Dharamsala and Shimla. The buildings were to be completed between May 2008 and July 2012, but the works were lagging behind by nine to 59 months even after spending Rs 4.65 crore. The CAG observed that university hostels were running uneconomically and against the hostel charges of Rs 61 lakh recovered from the students, the university paid the electricity bill amounting to Rs 2.44 crore and water charges amounting to Rs 1.83 crore. Further, the selection of non-suitable site for the construction of multipurpose hall resulted in wasteful expenditure of Rs 64 lakh and blocking of Rs 1.70 crore for more than two years. Referring to the staff position, the CAG said the percentage of vacancies ranged from 40 to 85 per cent. As per the UGC norms, a faculty-student ratio of 1:10 and 1:15 should be maintained for Science and Humanities, but the CAG audit noticed that the ratio was in the range of 1:11 and 1:37 for 2,204 students of Science and between 1:16 and 1:60 for 7,097 students of Humanities, which was far less than the prescribed norms. The CAG pointed out that the overall increase in receipts was 45 per cent during 2012-13 while the expenditure rose by 55 per cent and the expenditure on salaries alone went up from Rs 81.61 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 125 crore in 2012-13, but sufficient grants were not released by the government to meet the expenditure. What CAG report says
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Goods worth crores destroyed in fire incidents
Solan, February 25 Though the exact cause of the fire was not ascertained, a short circuit appeared to be the probable cause. The fire was first noticed by security guards around 9 pm last evening, who informed the unit management as well as the fire station at Baddi. Since inflammable chemicals used in manufacturing process were stacked in the unit, the fire soon spread to the entire plant and engulfed various sections, including finished goods and raw materials of the plant. Smoke was seen billowing out from the unit building. The fire-fighting operations continued the whole night and by evening today the fire could be finally controlled. As many as 15 fire tenders from Nalagarh, Baddi and Parwanoo were pressed into service to douse the fire. Superintendent of Police S Arul Kumar said they were conducting a preliminary inquiry into the incident. Another case of the fire was reported from AK Industries in the Khadeen area of Parwanoo where an industrial unit caught fire in the wee hours today. The fire started from the first floor of the building. The fire station at Parwanoo was intimated around 5:30 am about the incident. Four fire tenders from Parwanoo and Kalka were pressed into service to douse the fire. The fire was yet to be fully controlled. No loss of life was reported. In yet another case, a short circuit which occurred at the Zonal Hospital here exposed the lack of fire-fighting preparedness. A Home Guard who tried to douse the fire suffered electric shocks. No major loss was, however, reported. |
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BBMB told to build bridge on Beas
Mandi, February 25 The link to this panchayats was snapped after the BBMB authorities had closed the Dehar-Dhawal road for security reasons a few years back. It had rendered several villages without a link and they were forced to use a long route for reaching the main road, covering nearly 15 km more. A large number of people living along the Dhawal road in Slappar, Batwara, Jaral, Seri Kothi, Balag, Dhaniara, and Hadaboi were facing problem. On behalf of the villagers, a local resident Desh Raj had filed a writ petition in the High Court, seeking direction to BBMB officials as they had not provided a shorter link to the village’s despite their repeated pleas. Though the BBMB had sanctioned about Rs 17 crore for constructing a bridge, the people of the area were not provided the link. The High Court has directed the BBMB authorities through their Deputy Chief Engineer and the PWD to immediately construct a bridge on the Beas for providing a link to the villages. |
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CM to be probed if BJP comes to power: Parveen
Una, February 25 Ridiculing Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s statement that only a Congress man would be given the party ticket from the Hamirpur segment, Sharma questioned whether a BJP worker was in line for the Congress ticket. He said it appeared that Sukhu had lost faith in his party, which was the reason for such statements. He further questioned the Congress president to respond whether he would resign if the Hamirpur ticket was given to a non-Congress man. The BJP spokesman dared the Congress to hold Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Sujanpur instead of the proposed venue at Police grounds in Dharamsala. He said the Congress knew it would fail to get public support in Hamirpur for the rally. |
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Health plan for people to continue
Shimla, February 25 Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Vineet Chaudhary signed the agreement on behalf of the government while the company was represented by Chief Regional Manager Darshan Lal. Chaudhary said more than 3.83 lakh people had been issued smart cards and about 19 lakh persons covered under the RSBY. Besides, more than 1.50 lakh smart card holders had availed the cashless treatment of about Rs 58 crore in case of hospitalisation through empaneled hospitals. He said the RSBY was being implemented to provide health insurance BPL families, MNGREGA workers, building and other construction workers, street vendors and persons with more than 70 per cent disability had been covered under
the scheme. In addition, the state government was also providing an additional benefit of critical care to the tune of Rs 1.75 lakh in case of hospitalisation. |
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HP not in haste over red beacons
The issue was deliberated upon at the last Cabinet meeting held on February 19. With the Central Government having moved the Supreme Court, it was decided that Himachal should wait and watch rather than hastily enforcing the guidelines on the removal of red beacons. Acting Chief Secretary P Mitra today confirmed that it would not be possible to meet the deadline as Himachal had decided to go by the decision taken by other states. Since the Centre has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking clarification on the constitutional posts, most of the states are likely to wait for the clarification. Barring the Governor, the Chief Minister, ministers, the Chief Justice, judges and the Chief Secretary, others will have to shed red beacon, which has become a status symbol. Himachal is one of the few states where MLAs have been allowed red beacons atop their vehicles. Following the Supreme Court directives, all of them are bound to be deprived of this status symbol. The others who are likely to feel the pinch is the chairmen and vice-chairmen of boards and corporations who can be seen flashing the red beacons blatantly. Wait and watch
With the Central Government having moved the Supreme Court, it is decided that Himachal should wait and watch rather than hastily enforcing the guidelines on the removal of red
beacons. |
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Govt committed to growth: CM
Dalhousie, February 25 Addressing a public meeting at Salooni in Chamba district today, he said despite financial constraints, his government was committed to development of the state. He said the matter regarding the enhancement of remuneration being given to special police officers (SPOs) deployed in Salooni would be taken up with the Union Government. He said the state government would provide Rs 1,000 to each officer per month till then. Earlier, he laid the foundation stone of primary health centres (PHCs) at Brangal, and Sundla. He also laid the foundation stone of the Government Senior Secondary School building, Salooni, which would be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.94 crore. He announced the upgrade of government high schools at Mangali, Ligga, Bhunad and Lahara and middle schools at Granger, Garohan and Bajwad. Paja high school and Dekhari middle school would also be upgraded. He also announced primary schools at Lodli and Sagwadi. The CM said Punjabi and Urdu would be introduced in 100 schools for which regular teachers would be appointed. He said yatri niwas would be constructed at the Bhalai Mata temple complex and veterinary dispensary would also be upgraded. Hehonoured Ashwani Kumar of Bhandal who scaled the Mount Everest. He also released two books of a local writer Gian Chand. Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari and former MP Chander Kumar also spoke. |
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Rs 4 crore earmarked for self-help groups: MP
Kullu, February 25 She lauded the developmental schemes initiated by the Congress. She said women of rural areas had become self-dependent and were benefited by the MGNREGA. She said a budget of Rs 4 crore had been earmarked for the welfare of self-help groups of the district. She said another sum of Rs 4 crore had been allocated for the district under the Kaushal Vikas Bhatta (skill development allowance) scheme of the state government covering more than 3,100 youth. Block Development Officer (BDO) Bhanu Gupta welcomed the chief guest and presented a brief outline of the conference. Dr Sushil Chander, medical health officer, apprised the women folk of various schemes initiated by the government. Officials from departments of Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Welfare and various other departments apprised the women of various development schemes. Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, mahila mandal, women self-help groups and members of other women associations participated in the conference. Panchayat Parishad president and zila parishad member Prem Lata Thakur, Zila Parishad chairman Hari Chand Sharma, DRDA project officer Dr Sanjib Dhiman, chief medical officer Dr Baldev Thakur, Kullu District Welfare Officer Pratap Negi and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
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Inflated bills have consumers fuming
Shimla, February 25 The hefty bills are understandable as the HPSEB had hired contractors to install new meters without testing these in the national accredited testing labs. The HPSEB has just one meter-testing lab in Solan, which is defunct. It is seeking the service of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI). Though the board has stalled the meter installation in Shimla, Mandi, Solan, Dharamsala, Kullu and other towns,
consumers continue to get inflated bills with complaints flooding HPSEB offices. The consumers questioned the authenticity of new electro-mechanical meters. As many as 14 lakh meters have been installed and 31,000 more would be installed in the city soon, said board officials. “We were shocked to see the bill of Rs 27,000 last month”, said Manender Jishtu, a bank manager, who lives near IGMC Hospital in the city. “I took the matter with junior engineer telling him that new meter is faulty. But his answer was that my wire must be faulty or leaking”, he said. “We were away for 15 days. But the HPSEB sent a bill of Rs 2,800,” rued Shreya Mokta of New Shimla. Managing Director, HPSEBL, BC Negi said they were getting these meters tested from the CPRI to rule out any fault in these. “We test the new meters at the Solan lab. The faulty meters will be replaced and the bill amount will be reduced after comparing it with old bills,” he added. |
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Exempt us from registration, licensing fee: Milk producers
Shimla, February 25 Addressing a conference of milk producers here today, Himachal Kisan Sabha state president Kuldip Tanvar claimed that the state government’s move to register small-scale producers would hit them adversely. He added that the farmers were already facing crisis due to the menace of wild animals and were on the verge of deserting agriculture as their main occupation. “The licensing and registration will make the dairy profession difficult for the farmers. It has only created fear among the small-scale farmers,” Tanvar said. He said the farmers were neither getting the right price for the milk produced nor getting any incentives. Sirmaur district president Ramesh Verma said the present budget had no incentives for the farmers pursuing animal husbandry as compared to their counterparts in Punjab and Haryana, who pursued agriculture. The farmers demanded a quality feed bank and disbursal of the produce through ration depots. “The government should set up more cow sheds to take care of stray cattle,” they said. |
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Shimla Film Festival on April 12, 13
Shimla, February 25 The announcement on the Shimla Film Festival 2014 was made at a press conference today by Vivek Mohan, national award winning director and script writer. "Though Shimla has had a long association with theatre, the craft of filmmaking or appreciating the finer points of presenting a story on celluloid has not come to stay," said Mohan whose documentary film, "In Search of Malana", went on to win the President's national award. He along with Sanjay Austa, another award winning photo journalist, decided to hold the festival which will give an opportunity to amateur filmmakers from Himachal to compete in six categories - feature film, short film, documentary, music video, spots and corporate or promotional film. The competitive section is only open for Himachali filmmakers. Mohan said the awards, two per category will be selected by an independent jury comprising him, Austa and senior journalist Rakesh Lohumi. Himachal Governor Urmila Singh will be the chief guest at the award ceremony on April 13. In the open section category, filmmakers will not compete for any awards but the best films entered will be screened. "The response so far from filmmakers has been encouraging," he said. |
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Saakshar Mission trainers await honorarium
Chamba, February 25 They were given an honorarium of Rs 2,000 per month and now constrained to relinquish their assignment. As per information, these trainers have been teaching illiterates at the centres set up under the Saakshar Bharat Mission in far-flung areas of the district. In the first phase of the mission, around 40,000 out of the 63,000 neo-literates appeared in the examination taught by these preraks. But the teaching work of the remaining new-literates was in the doldrums owing to the inordinate delay in the payment of honorarium to the preraks. Sources at the mission said the budget for the payment of the honorarium of these preraks was being awaited and as soon as the funds were received, the payments of their honorarium would be made forthwith. Chamba is one of those districts of the country which have been selected under the Saakshar Bharat Mission. |
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Four days on, cops fail to nab Nurpur escapees
Nurpur, February 25 The absconding culprits who had been arrested by the Jammu police in an ATM theft case were in transit remand as the local police had taken them into custody by moving a petition at the Jammu court and they (culprits) had been sent to five-day police remand here. During interrogation, the group revealed that they had also looted a Mahindra Jeep loaded with containers of edible oil and ghee on December 23, last year, at Ganoh near here. They had been kept in a single lock-up room at Nurpur police station with no additional security. On Friday night, one of the culprits reportedly asked the home guard on night duty to open the door as he wanted to use the toilet. As the guard opened the door, all the culprits overpowered him, and escaped using the front gate of the police station. The district police have suspended the SHO and a constable and registered a case against the home guard for laxity in services. |
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Proposal to expand Kullu-Manali airport on cards
Kullu: Pratibha Singh today said facts and figures related to the losses during floods and cloudbursts in June last year were apprised to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
The Speaker had mentioned about the disaster to the House and it was after that the Budget had been allocated for relief and development of the flood-hit areas of the state.
The MP said she had requested Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to restore air operations to Kullu, which had been terminated since February 20. The MP said the proposal of expansion of the Kullu-Manali airport was underway. She stressed besides natural beauty, basic infrastructure had to be developed to promote tourism. She said the Congress had done major developments in the Kullu valley. The MP denied any factionalism in the party. Pratibha said the victory of the Congress in the Assembly elections in December 2012 had proved that masses of the hill state were with the Congress and admired the able leadership of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. |
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‘To promote sports culture in state’
Chamba, February 25 The CM also said the government would ensure the proper conservation of all heritage buildings of Chamba, including the Royal Palace. He announced Rs 1 lakh to the Rajkumar Brijendra Singh Memorial Cricket Club and Rs 10,000 each to students of DAV and St Stephen schools here for presenting a colourful cultural programme. Asha Kumari, MLA and president of the club, requested him to provide financial assistance to open a cricket coaching academy at Chamba. Club organising secretary Rajiv Sehgal presented a report of the club and said as many as 70 teams of the district participated in the tournament. He said the championship was being organised in the memory of late Rajkumar Brijendra Singh for the last eight years. |
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Vikramaditya serves notice on BJP leader
Shimla, February 25 As the ongoing probe on the basis of chargesheet submitted by the Congress against the misdeeds of the previous BJP government were gaining momentum, Vikramaditya said the BJP leader was making “personal attack” in frustration. He said feeling the heat of the investigations, they were indulging in mud-slinging against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his family but Virbhadra would not be cowed by such threats.
— TNS
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Tanda student excels in quiz
Kangra, February 25 The six finalist colleges selected from this preliminary round participated in the finals comprising six rounds of quiz on all aspects of urticaria, contact dermatitis and other allergic skin disorders. Khatri was honored at the Annual Skin Allergy Research Meet held at Dr DY Patil Hospital and Research Centre, Navi Mumbai. The award comprised cash and citation. |
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today said after their party came to power at the Centre, probe into allegations of corruption against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and members of his family would be initiated.
Addressing mediapersons here, he said the exchange of money between Vakamulla Chandershekhar and Virbhadra’s family members and purchase of farm house by Vikramaditya Singh would be probed by investigating agencies.
Dalhousie, February 25
Dr Gayatri Khatri, a third-year postgraduate student from the Skin Department of the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College
(DRPGMC), Tanda, has won the first prize in the All-India Quiz Contest held by the Skin Allergy Research Society of India.
Dr Munish Saroch, spokesman, DRPGMC, said Dr Khatri qualified the preliminary round held online on December 15, 2013, where postgraduate students from all over the country participated.
Shimla, February 25
