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INDIA VOTES — HIMACHAL
HPCA has covered less land than allotted, claims Sanjay
Cases politically motivated: Dhumal
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VB seeks nod to try
Anurag, 5 others AAP activists oppose official nominee in Mandi
Modi’s 3-D speech in Una tomorrow
Modi a dictator, surrounded by butlers, says Virbhadra
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh addresses an election rally at Ambota in Una on Wednesday. Photo: Rajesh Sharma
On Google, Sushant is BJP nominee from Kangra
Scams, price hike gift of UPA govt: Shanta
Public made up mind against UPA
govt: Dhumal
Central varsity’s location a poll issue in
Dharamsala, Dehra
Left an alternative for people: CPM
Bad roads put apple growers on a sticky wicket
Poor roads, lack of checks on violations cause accidents
CM urged to act against road contractor, engineers
Rescue hut turns lifesaver for 2 trapped in snowstorm
Tribal status for
trans-Giri region sought
SCA threatens to agitate if demands not met
Lithotripsy services at Fortis Hospital
Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Transport and Technical Education, GS Bali at the inauguration of Lithotripsy services at Fortis Hospital in Kangra on Wednesday. Photo: Ashok Raina
Water channel cries for govt attention
Connexus 2014 ends on a vibrant note
Fake mobile firms duping people
18 Chamba beats categorised as highly sensitive to fire
Capt Vikram Batra’s parents hurt by Azam Khan’s comments
19 injured as bus rams into hill
Man gets 1-yr jail in road mishap case
Property worth Rs 5 lakh burnt
4 held for betting on India-Sri Lanka match
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HPCA has covered less land than allotted, claims Sanjay Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, April 9
Reacting to the Kangra police move to register a case against the HPCA for allegedly encroaching upon government land, Sanjay Sharma, spokesperson of the organisation, said today that the case had been registered to defame cricket body president Anurag Thakur, who is contesting election from Hamirpur. Sanjay Sharma, addressing a press conference here, claimed that the HPCA was allotted 49,118 sq metre land for the cricket stadium on lease. However, the HPCA had constructed the stadium on 46,000 sq metre land. This meant the HPCA had left 3,018 sq metre land. So there was no case of encroachment on government land, he alleged. He further alleged that if the government wanted to include the land around the stadium that was used for parking during the match days also in the HPCA property, then it would not be surprising that one day the government might accuse the cricket body of encroaching upon the police ground that was used for parking during match days, Sanjay Sharma alleged. He also claimed that the HPCA was allotted 88 kanals for Pavillion hotel. However, the HPCA has constructed the hotel on 51 kanals. It had not utilised 27 kanal land. The HPCA was paying about Rs 24 lakh to the state government for 88 kanals given on lease to the body for the hotel. Instead of accusing the HPCA of encroaching upon government land, the government should reduce the lease money of the HPCA as it had not taken into possession the entire land allotted to it, Sanjay said. He said it seemed that the Congress government was fighting elections against the HPCA and not the BJP. The state government was filing cases indiscriminately against the HPCA and its officials. The cases were being filed despite the fact that the investigating agencies had not got anything substantial against the HPCA or its officials. Sanjay also alleged that the state government's vindictive attitude against the HPCA was illustrated from the fact that it was not hosting IPL matches in Dharamsala. The IPL matches brought Dharamsala on the international map. Besides, during the matches, thousands of tourists visited the place that generated business worth about Rs 500 crore.
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Cases politically motivated: Dhumal
Mandi, April 9 Talking to mediapersons here today, Dhumal said, "The registration of a fresh case against the HPCA is part of vendetta to divert the attention of the people from the real issues as the state government has failed on all fronts." Taking a dig at the Congress government, Dhumal said, "After May 16, neither vendetta, nor the government will survive." Talking about the financial crunch, Dhumal said, "The state is passing through the worst financial crisis since the present government has drawn a loan of about Rs 4,000 crore while our government had drawn Rs 6,672 crore only from 2008 to 2012 despite paying benefits of Rs 8,500 crore to state government employees." Dhumal said, "The Virbhadra government had taken a loan of Rs 8,720 crore during 2003 and 2008 and had put the state under heavy debt." He said, "The Central and the state governments have failed to seek the state's share of Rs 4,250 crore from the BBMB as awarded by the Supreme Court and the state government has failed to secure a single rupee from the Central Government despite seeking a financial package of Rs 7,650 crore." Dhumal also criticised the state government for failing to fulfil any promise made in its election manifesto.
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VB seeks nod to try
Anurag, 5 others Shimla, April 9 The Vigilance Bureau today put in its request before the Home Department so that it could proceed in the case by submitting the charge-sheet in court. A case was registered by the bureau against the HPCA in October 2013
for Panth, a 1993 IAS officer who is currently on Central deputation with the Defence Ministry, had been summoned and questioned by the bureau in November last. He had chaired the meeting on March 14, 2008, when the issue of relocating or declaring the building unsafe was deliberated upon. Panth was Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, during the BJP regime when this decision was taken. Besides Pant, the bureau has sought permission to prosecute Narinder Awasthy, currently COE in HPU, and a retired College Principal Lalit Mohan Sharma as the building and the land now in possession of the HPCA was owned by the Education Department. With the role of the engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) also coming under scanner, Vigilance has sought permission to prosecute Devi Singh Chauhan, presently serving as Executive Engineer, Design, and a retired Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) MC Katoch, both of whom had already been arrested. The two at that point of time were posted in Dharamshala and were associated with the process. Sanjay Sharma, an HPCA spokesperson, and Attar Singh, construction in charge, could also face action as they too had attended the March 14, 2008, meeting where the issue of removing the structure was dealt with. The two are being named in the charge-sheet in the case. The issue of the alleged irregularities by the HPCA had figured prominently in the Congress charge-sheet against the previous BJP regime. The HPCA has been accused of violations of Revenue, Forest and Societies Act and has three cases registered against it in Dharamshala. Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and MP Anurag Thakur have already been named in the charge-sheet prepared in the other cases for converting the sports body from a society to a company and changing use of common village land for commercial purpose. HPCA case *
The Vigilance has approached the Home Department seeking nod to proceed in the case *
A case was registered by the bureau against the HPCA in October 2013 *
The case pertains to dismantling residential quarters of a college after illegally declaring them unsafe and occupying 720 sq mts of land in the name of Education Dept
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AAP activists oppose official nominee in Mandi
Mandi, April 9 Office-bearers and party activists, after holding its meeting here today, reiterated its demand for change of the candidate. A resolution passed by the office-bearers have been sent to the central leadership of AAP and even threatened to field national council member Desh Raj Sharma as Independent. The candidature of retired agriculture officer Jai Chand Thakur had evoked a repulsive response from the local unit of AAP as Thakur was reportedly little known. Talking to The Tribune about the resolutions passed in the meeting, BR
Kaundal, a former HAS officer and state general secretary of AAP, said, “A meeting of the office-bearers and activists was held here today in which a resolution was passed, demanding change of candidate from the Mandi parliament constituency.” “The party had promised to field a strong candidate against Congress candidate Pratibha Singh. We have urged the party leadership to field Desh Raj Sharma, who is the strong candidate and have been active in the Anna Hazare movement,” he added. The AAP candidate was not available for his comments but one of his supporters, said, “Opposing his candidature by the ticket aspirants are natural and we will meet
party leaders and workers to fight the election unitedly.”
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Modi’s 3-D speech in Una tomorrow
Una, April 9 Disclosing this, former minister and in charge of the party’s campaign in Hamirpur Parveen Sharma said the speech would be telecast at 6 pm at an open space near the Una bus stand on the Galua turn. He said the new technique would enable Modi’s speeches accessible live to different parts of the country. He said party office-bearers have been delegated responsibilities for the meeting.
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Modi a dictator, surrounded by butlers, says Virbhadra
Una, April 9 Virbhadra Singh said senior BJP leaders, who had nurtured the party such as LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Murali Manohar Joshi and Arun Jaitley, had been sidelined. "God forbid if the BJP comes to power and Modi becomes the Prime Minister, though it will be a jolt for the Congress, the BJP will also be in a mess," he said. The CM took an exception to the statement by former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, in which the latter had stated that on May 16, the NDA would come to power, which would soon be followed by the exit of the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh. Virbhadra Singh said as per the Constitution, elections for the Lok Sabha to panchayats are held for a five-year term and Dhumal's remarks showed his arrogance. Rajinder Rana said the Congress government was set to rule the state and the people were intelligent enough to vote in favour of the party. He said the state had witnessed unprecedented development and addressed the woes of the people at the grassroot level. Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and local MLA Rakesh Kalia were also present. The CM urged Kalia to ensure that the Congress candidate got a lead of more than 15,000 votes from the Assembly segment. He later addressed a series of meetings in the segment.
IPL match not possible: CM
Virbhadra Singh said BJP candidate and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur was misleading people on the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, which were reportedly to be played in the Dharamsala. Addressing a public meeting at Ambota, he said the venue was one among many on which the fixtures were to be decided by Kings X1 Punjab. Virbhadra Singh said the team had already finalised the venues of all five matches, of which three would be played at Mohali and two at Cuttack. He, however, said, "Yes, we did receive a communication for our consent for a match in Dharamsala on May 7". Since it was the election day, people and the security forces would be busy. Consequently, the CM said the government had suggested any convenient date sometime after the end of the elections. However, there had been no response to their request since the venues had already been decided.
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On Google, Sushant is BJP nominee from Kangra
Shimla, April 9 According to AAP leader from Dehra in Kangra Dr Amit Sharma, someone has put an updated picture of Rajan Suhsant that shows him as the BJP Kangra leader. “It is deliberate and they oppose and request the Election Commission of to take action against the culprit and withdraw it from the website, he demanded, talking to The Tribune. The clipping shows Sushant as BJP nominee with the party symbol from Kangra, complained AAP. It is sending a wrong message among the people as the whole thing appeared to be deliberate, Dr Amit charged. “This picture is on the Google where the BJP is advertising Rajan Sushant as its candidate on the website. It is an updated information on 'Find Your Candidate'," said
Amit. Denying the AAP’s allegations, BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said it could be a technical problem on the part of the website as certain information were not updated and the party had nothing to do with it. “We will promote party candidate Shanta Kumar on the website rather than Rajan Sushant”, he added. AAP candidate from Shimla AAP has declared Subhash Kumar, a retired engineer and former employee leader of the BJP, as its candidate from Shimla, said Ranvir Negi, AAP spokesperson here today.
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Scams, price hike gift of UPA govt: Shanta
Nurpur, April 9 He said the country had lagged in development during the Congress-led UPA government and now the electorate of the country had made up its mind to elect the NDA government. He said the UPA government had no control over price hike, scams, corruption and crime against women. He said the country was passing through a critical period facing external and internal threats and UPA government had failed on all fronts. Shanta alleged that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was misleading people only to defame the BJP. Criticising the Virbhadra government for its denial to provide security for the Indian Premier League
(IPL) matches at the international cricket stadium, he said the stadium had brought the name of Dharamsala on the international map and its generated revenue did not go in the BJP’s exchequer, but in that of the state.
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Public made up mind against UPA govt: Dhumal
Sundernagar, April 9 He said the BJP would form government at the Centre and Narendra Modi be the Prime Minister. He further said the BJP would win all four seats in Himachal Pradesh. He said the main issues were inflation, corruption and unemployment which had affected the life of all sections of societies, but the Congress was not talking on these issues. He said in the past, the public had voted out the Congress government when the Bofors scam worth Rs 64 crore appeared. Now, leaders of the UPA government were involved in the major housing scam, 2G scam and coal scam. Ram Swaroop Sharma, BJP candidate, also addressed the workers, along with former minister Roop Singh Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal, district president of the BJP unit of
Sundernagar.
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Central varsity’s location a poll issue in Dharamsala, Dehra
Dharamsala, April 9 As per the decision of the previous BJP government, most of the science colleges, including medical and engineering colleges of the Central University, were to come up at Dehra while the humanities section and head office of the university had to come up at Dharamsala. However, the present Congress government had put the previous BJP government's decision on hold. It had decided to send a new case for the location of the university to the Union Government. The present government proposed to give additional about 400 hectares for the Central University campus at Dharamsala. This meant about 80 per cent of the Central University campus will be set up at Dharamsala while Dehra area will have about 20 per cent of the campus. The move of the present government to shift majority of the campus to Dharamsala had not gone well with residents of Dehra. Anup, who runs a small roadside eating joint at Dehra, said they were expecting that Central University would provide a boost to the economy of the area. Dehra was one of the most backward area of Kangra district. The land in the subdivision was arid, he said. Gaurav, another resident of Dehra, said many people had brought lands in the area with a view that the Central University of Himachal Pradesh would come up here. However, now most of the projects have come to a halt as the present government had decided to shift most the university campus out of the area. This was a total injustice with the area, he alleged. On the other hand, the Congress was orchestrating shifting of majority of the Central University campus to Dharamsala as its achievement. The credit for the move was being given to the Congress MLA from Dharamsala and Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Sudhir Sharma. As per the present status, the state government is still preparing a fresh case for locating the majority campus of Central University at Dharamsala. The case will be sent to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests for clearance. Though the case has not been sent as yet, the location of Central University is an election issue at Dehra and Dharamsala with both the BJP and the Congress trying to cash on the issue in their respective areas.
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Left an alternative for people: CPM
Mandi, April 9 Talking to mediapersons here today, they said, “Representatives elected from the state for Parliament have failed to protect the interests of the people and there is need to elect an MP who can do so in Parliament.” They said, “Both BJP and Congress have failed to ensure 7.19 per cent as the state’s share after reorganisation of the state.” Blaming the BJP and Congress for watching the interest of corporate houses, the CPM leaders said, “Our party is committed to fighting the problems of common man such as price rise, unemployment, crisis in the agriculture sector, finding solution for checking menace of wild animals, etc.” Bhardwaj said, “The youth is facing the worst unemployment problem.” The Left parties have also decided to launch a joint campaign during the election. CPI leader Desh Raj Sharma, CPM leaders Kashmir Singh Thakur and Bhupinder Singh were also present in the press conference.
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Bad roads put apple growers on a sticky wicket
Shimla, April 9 The Congress, when in the Opposition, had blamed the previous BJP government for the poor condition of roads and had made it an election agenda in the 2012 Assembly elections. But the condition of roads did not improve even after the change of guard, resented farmers. The farmers posed the same question to Congress candidate Mohan Brakta and BJP candidate Virender
Kashyap, sitting MP, who failed to take up the issue. “The BJP did not take any initiative to improve the poor condition of roads during its tenure while the Congress has not taken any step to improve the poor plight of the roads, mainly the Theog-Chaila-Kharapathar-Hatkoti-Rohrro highway, the Chaila-Chopal-Nerwa road and the Chaila-Neripul-Yashwant Nagar-Solan road, the main lifeline of the apple transportation,” say farmers. Though the Public Works Department (PWD) has allotted
Theog-Kharaopather-Hatkoti-Rohru road to the Gurgaon company, the company is yet to begin work on the same. The PWD claimed that the maintenance, repairs and tarring of roads would begin on a war-footing as soon as the weather improves, but things were yet to begin, said farmers. “We have already awarded tenders to contractors in January and December much ahead of the model code of conduct coming into force and face no bar on this as such,” clamied PWD engineers. Though the weather had improved and bloom time already approached, the condition of roads remained the same. “It took 10 hours to reach
Shimla. I had to pay Rs 7,000 for my car's service as the Hatkoti-Theog road is in a dilapidated condition,” said Laxman
Thakur, chairman, Ecohorts, Nandpur, Jubbal. The farmers blamed the former BJP government as well. In 2010, more than 50 per cent of the fruit rotted in orchards as link roads were snapped by rain and the Hatkoti-Theog road was clogged with jams for days together, farmers recalled. The bad road connectivity hits the apple economy. The repair work should have started in March and roads should be in a good condition before the beginning of monsoons, said Pramod Chauhan, a farmer from Kiari, Kotkhai. The links roads are even worse. The Sainj-Pulwahal, Chopal-Bamrahar-Jhiknipul-Bamta, Chopal-Shantha-Dewat, Chopal-Sarahan, Chopal-Nerwa-Tiuni roads are in a shambles. The Narkanda-Ghanasidhar-Tikkar and Rohru-Kutara-Dalgaon and Kharapathar-Tikkar roads are in a bad shape, resented farmers.
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Poor roads, lack of checks on violations cause accidents
Solan, April 9 As many as 18 lives were lost and 45 persons were injured in one such serious accident on Monday in Timbi village on the Paonta Sahib-Millan Road. It has exposed how private bus operators are overloading their buses and risking lives of commuters. Though the district administration has ordered a magisterial probe into this accident, the investigation appears to have been reduced to a cursory exercise repeated after every such fatal accident. The Sangrah SDM, who had conducted one such inquiry, said the report was submitted to the state government and it had delved into various issues such as the cause and preventive measures, though he had no idea if the findings of the report had led to any policy interventions to avert such mishaps in future. Sirmaur district has witnessed several such fatal accidents wherein several lives have been lost in the recent past. These include an accident in September last year wherein all 21 passengers travelling in a private bus were killed at Jabdhog village in the Sangrah tehsil. MLA Baldev Tomar said the ill-maintained roads, especially in the rural areas where the bus service was limited, often witnessed overloading, which was a prime cause of accidents. In another accident, in June last year, as many as 20 persons were killed and 12 injured when a private bus met with an accident at Bharari village in Nohradhar. These are not isolated cases. Virender Sharma, spokesman of the Aam Aadmi Party in Sirmaur, alleged that the worsening condition of roads in rural areas of Sirmaur had, in the last four months, led to 56 accidents, in which, more than 40 persons lost their lives while in 2013, more than 100 precious lives were lost. He demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the kin of those who were killed and Rs 50 lakh to every person crippled in the accidents. He said the AAP Government in Delhi had sanctioned Rs 1 crore to the family of a constable who was killed in an accident and the Himachal Pradesh Government should take a cue from that.
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CM urged to act against road contractor, engineers
Tribune News Service
Shimla, April 9 Though the road was built by Dr YS Parmar, its condition was pathetic. The previous PK Dhumal’s BJP government had declared it a national highway, but did nothing to improve its condition, the CPM added. Tanwar blamed the mishaps on the poor road connectivity, shortage of buses, reckless driving and the corrupt nexus of politicians, bureaucrats, transporters, contractors as the main factors responsible for the rising fatalities on the roads. Dr Tanvar charged that it was a violation of human rights in Himachal Pradesh as policy makers were paying no heed to the rising road mishaps. He further alleged that the leaders asked contractors or private transporters to spend on their election rallies as they laundered money meant for roads repairs. This, in turn, resulted in poor condition of roads, he charged. The CPM has demanded that the Chief Minister, who himself is holding the PWD Ministry, should take action against the guilty. In the past 11 months, 65 lives had been lost in Sirmour in road accidents, he added. The CPM demanded the reports should be made public in all road accidents. “We also demand Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia relief to each family of the accident victim,” he added. CPM also demanded that central parameters should be amended for the hilly areas for road construction. The PM candidates of both Congress and BJP should travel from Paonta to Shillai to know the terrible condition of road as the sitting BJP MLA and PWD Congress Chief Parliamentary Secretary has failed to maintain the road, Tanvar said.
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Emu farm comes up in Shimla
Shimla, April 9 Farmer Kuldeep Singh says the farming is done for eggs, meat, toenails, feathers and skin. Emu pairs normally breed from October to April, usually producing one egg every three days.The incubation time is 48 to 52 days and the percentage of eggs hatched is 70 to 80 per cent, while the chick survival rates are said to be excellent as emus are supposed to be hardy. An average egg which is edible, weighs between 600 grams and 700 grams when laid. The egg is mostly yolk, but has a much milder flavour. These eggs are also used to make jewellery boxes, can be painted or even have decals applied. Singh, who started the farming with two pairs on a trial basis in January this year, is searching for land to expand the business. A pair costs Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 depending on the maturity and the bird takes 18 months to mature. It has a lifespan of 30 to 50 years and weighs between 45 and 60 kg. Dietician Niharika Sharma says emu oil is rich in iron, Omega 3 and 6.
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Rescue hut turns lifesaver for 2 trapped in snowstorm
Kullu, April 9 The duo were able to survive their 15-hour ordeal after being trapped in a snowstorm in freezing temperatures nearing --25°C, while trying to cross the Rohtang Pass on Monday. Both reached the Marhi rescue post yesterday and were moved to Manali in a rescue vehicle from Kothi. Manali SDM Viney Dhiman confirmed that the duo left from Koksar on Monday and were accompanied by a rescue team till Harcha Gadu. Later, while crossing the Rohtang Pass, they were caught in a snowstorm. After wandering for about two hours, they managed to come back to the rescue hut at Harcha Gadu. — OC
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Tribal status for trans-Giri region sought
Shimla, April 9 The demand has gained movement in the ensuing Lok Sabha poll. It was last year that an all-party delegation met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and pleaded their case before him. They had sought a tribal status for the region. “We are still fighting a battle for the
trans-Giri belt with the Centre. The resolution was raised in 1991 and then in 2005 by me when I was a legislator in the Vidhan
Sabha. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had directed the tribal cell for a survey, which is complete. The Director-General, Tribes, is yet to decide on 300 cases pending with it since 1968,” said Harshvardhan
Chauhan, a former Congress legislator from Shillai. The trans-Giri belt comprises Shilai, Kamrau, Sangrah and parts of the adjoining Rajgarh and Paonta Sahib areas. “The problem is that it becomes an issue only at the time of elections and is forgotten soon,” Chauhan added. Residents cited that the Uttarakhand Government had declared the adjoining Jaunsar and Bawar as tribal areas which were separated by the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna from trans-Giri region of Himachal. Jaunsar and Bawar were part of the royals of Sirmaur, but were later given to the British and included as tribal areas of Uttarakhand in 1967. “Still many villagers practice quaint old tradition of polyandry and polygamy, celebrate “Burhi Divali”. They also share social relationships, including poverty, malnutrition and socio-economic backwardness with their counterparts in Jaunsar and
Bawar,” said Ramesh Verma from the Himachal Kisan Sabha, Rambhaj Chauhan and Hariram
Shastri, members of the delegation. Villagers blamed the successive UPA and NDA governments at the Centre for an apathetic attitude towards the
trans-Giri region. “It is also a failure on the part of the state Vidhan Sabha which has not passed any unilateral resolution, thereby putting a political pressure on the
Centre,” said Jagat Ram, a CPM candidate from Shimla Lok Sabha reserved seat. The villagers are up in arms against political parties, including the ruling Congress, BJP, CPM and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asking them to spell a clear-cut agenda for declaring the trans-Giri region a tribal area and speed up its development. Though there is no sociological study of the region, the NGOs working say there are still remote pockets where girls are married before attaining the age of puberty as literacy level is less than 30- 40 per cent. Similarly, “Hattis” say they have no proper links road to sell their agricultural products in
Vikasnagar, Paonta Sahib and Rohru. “Many villages in the trans-Giri region have link roads, many of them are narrow and people are more backward than tribal areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts,” said
Verma, convener, Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti.
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SCA threatens to agitate if demands not met
Shimla, April 9 Talking to mediapersons, SCA president Rajan and general secretary Piyush Sewal said the university had failed to meet the petty demands such as hostel and library facility, filling the vacant posts of teachers and beautification of the campus and failed to utilise the grant of Rs 3.23 crore given by University Grant Commission (UGC). They alleged Rs 62 lakh were sanctioned for Wi-fi, Rs 66 lakh for campus development, Rs 80 lakh for laboratories, Rs 7 lakh for cultural activities, Rs 35 lakh for the repair of the library and Rs 5 lakh each for training if duty officials, amenities for women and publication, but 90 per cent of the works were not even started. The SCA leaders alleged even the CAG report had pointed out that the university had misused the student fund amounting to Rs 12.5 crore and diverted the fund for other activities. Accusing the university authorities of using repressive measures and intimidating students raising their voice against the wrong doings of the university, the SCA leaders said the entry of outsiders had been banned in hostels, but NSUI supporters were not debarred. The students were being framed in false cases in connivance with the police and arrested on filmsy grounds at the behest of the university authorities. The SCA would start a signature campaign in support of their demands and hand it over to the VC in case the authorities did not respond favourably. The last option of launching an agitation would be exercised, they cautioned.
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Lithotripsy services at Fortis Hospital
Kangra, April 9 Bali appreciated the efforts of the Fortis Hospital and said, "The hospital has put in their best efforts to provide the best health services to the people of Kangra and lower Himachal. This would benefit the local people who would not have to travel out of the region for the treatment of kidney stones, he said. Later, Dr Anil Kayastha, Head of the Urology Department, gave a brief description on the treatment. "Lithotripsy is a procedure that uses shock waves to break up stones in the kidney, bladder or ureter and after the procedure, the tiny pieces of stones pass out of the body through urine," he said. He said Himachal was one of the major stone belts of the area. One person among thousand requires hospitalisation and immediate surgical intervention, he added. The problem could affect a child, adult and an elderly of both genders, he said. A fourth generation lithotripter ESWL was installed at the hospital in which stones were crushed without surgery in a day-care procedure, he said.
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Water channel cries for govt attention
Palampur, April 9 Besides dumping garbage, residents also have thrown open its sewerage into it at many points between Bundla and
Bhawarna. Earlier, the water of this “kuhal” was clean and fit for drinking. Now one finds it difficult to even wash clothes in it or feed animals. There are a number of encroachments on the “kuhal” between Aima and
Bhawarna. People have raised structures over it and reduced its diameter to half. Large tracts of land adjoining the “kuhal” have turned slushy. Besides, many houses adjoining it have become unsafe. People complain that in the rainy season, flood waters enter many houses. Inquiries made by this reporter revealed that tonnes of garbage, including polythene bags, animal carcasses, empty gunny bags and other waste material, are thrown into it daily. An IPH Department Junior Engineer, who looks after the water channel, says that over 30 labourers have been deployed between Palampur and Bhawarna to remove garbage and waste material from it. Despite warnings, people are still dumping garbage into it. However, in the absence of any legal powers, the department is helpless in punishing the defaulters, he adds. Various environmentalist groups of the region have expressed concern over the poor condition of the water channel. They say there are sufficient provisions in the existing law to deal with the offenders.
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Connexus 2014 ends on a vibrant note
Kangra, April 9 Students from 20 colleges across the state were invited. The three-day event had myriad events, including sports, dance and singing competitions, exhibition, fun games, band night and fashion show. Munish Saroch, spokes-man, DRPGMC, Tanda, said the Connexus Cricket Cup was bagged by the team of the 2011 MBBS batch of the medical college. The team was from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh. He said among the Badminton Cup winners were Anshul from the Central University in men's singles and Shivrat and Rajesh, MBBS interns from the DRPGMC, Tanda, in men's doubles. He added that the winner in women's singles was Purnima from the 2010 MBBS batch of the Tanda college. In the Table Tennis Cup men's singles, Vivek from the 2011 MBBS batch bagged the prize. In men's doubles, Shivvrat and Satyavrat, interns, won the title. Yugul was adjudged Mr Connexus, Akriti Miss Connexus, Rajat Gupta Mr Perfect, Pallavi Miss Perfect, Amit Ojha Mr Popular and Nidhi Miss Elegant. In the solo dance competition, the first prize was bagged by Anshul Sharma and the second by Shreya. Both are from the 2012 MBBS batch of the Tanda college.
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Fake mobile firms duping people
Shimla, April 9 The advertisements read: “Get 3G and 4G towers installed on your vacant land, field or roof and get Rs 70 lakh-90 lakh as advance and earn Rs 60,000 to Rs 90,000 per month as rent, besides a job of guard for one person”. Some advertisements even caution against fake offers and claim that only a few companies are authorised to install towers and assert that their offers are genuine. There is no mention about the area required for the tower and advertisers claim that the survey of the spot would be done through satellite and further negotiations would be held thereafter. The only stress is on depositing the registration fees. When a Tribune team dialled the contact numbers given in the advertisements, the callers made no secret about the offer and asked to immediately deposit the initial registration amount following which a team of the company would survey the land and decide that whether the land was suitable. The rates quoted by advertisers are exorbitant as the BSNL is paying Rs 2,000 to Rs 25,000 in rural areas and a maximum of Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 in urban prime location with no advance money. SP, Shimla, Abhishek Dullar said a number of complaint had been received. The people should be vigilant against such elements and not fall prey to their designs. In many case, the victims, who had paid some initial amount, are not coming forward to lodge the complaint otherwise the number could be more, police sources said.
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18 Chamba beats categorised as highly sensitive to fire
Chamba, April 9 This was stated by Chamba Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) ARM Reddy while talking to mediapersons here today. He said the department, to combat forest fires in the district, had categorised 18 beats as highly sensitive, 50 as sensitive and 138 as “Our job is to concentrate on the sensitive and highly sensitive beats. We have carried out various prophylactic measures such as controlling fire, cleaning of fire lines and creating new fire lines during winter. To prevent forest fires in the current year, we will deploy fire watchers in all sensitive and highly sensitive beats,” the CCF said. “We have collected mobile numbers of all personnel (119) deployed on fire taskforces and circulated these to all divisions to contact them in case of fire at odd hours. We will approach the Fire Department as and when the need arises,” the CCF said. Similarly, nine gang huts and five fire watchtowers were already existing in the district, which would help check forest fires effectively, he added. Forest Range Officers, to curb forest fires, had been authorised to hire vehicles as and when exigencies arose and all personnel posted on fire duty would be reimbursed mobile bills, the CCF said. Reddy said the department was equipped with firefighting equipment such as 458 fire rakers, 103 fire beaters, 62 portable fire extinguishers, 27 fire helmets, 73 water bottles, 88 sickles, 96 dangri, 30 water can and other equipment. These had been provided to gang huts and Forest Guard huts to combat fires.
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Capt Vikram Batra’s parents hurt by Azam Khan’s comments
Palampur, April 9 Azam Khan, in an election rally held at Ghaziabad today, stated that the Kargil War was won by India only because of the sacrifices of Muslims. Talking to this correspondent here this evening at their residence, Girdhari Lal and Kamal said Azam Khan's statement was unfortunate and uncalled for. Khan had hurt the sentiments of thousands of families of martyrs in the country who had lost their beloved in the Kargil War and other anti-militancy operations. They said they had lost their young son in the Kargil War, therefore, were deeply shocked over the statement of a senior minister in the UP Cabinet. They said the country had acknowledged the sacrifices made by our soldiers in this war. One should not communalise the sacrifices with an intent to derive political benefit. Batra said once a soldier was in the battlefield, he was neither a Muslim nor a Hindu nor a Sikh -- he was an Indian. Therefore, such outbursts from Azam Khan were shameful. Khan should apologise before the nation, he said. They said Azam Khan, by making such statements at the time of elections, was driving a wedge between communities. They appealed to UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to initiate action against Azam Khan without any delay and direct him to refrain from making such statements. They also appealed the Election Commission of India to intervene in this matter immediately.
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19 injured as bus rams into hill
Solan, April 9 SDM Harbans Negi said there were 35 passengers in the bus when the mishap occurred. As per preliminary inquiries, it was found that the steering wheel of the bus had got jammed due to some technical fault and this had led to its ramming into the hill. The exact cause of the accident would be ascertained only after getting the mechanical report, he said. The injured passengers were given treatment at the Civil Hospital, Dadahu, while the three seriously injured patients were referred to the Nahan Civil Hospital. Naib Tehsildar Jasmer Singh visited the spot after receiving the information. He supervised relief and rescue operations. The seriously injured would be given a relief of Rs 5,000, he added.
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Man gets 1-yr jail in road mishap case
Nurpur, April 9 Assistant District Attorney Vijay Rihalia said in October 2008 he was driving his truck on a link road near Raja Khasa and had hit a scooterist, leaving him seriously injured. The victim, Surjeet Singh of Raja Khasa, succumbed to injuries. In another case, the Judicial Magistrate sentenced Raj Kumar of Chhanni village to a six-month imprisonment and fined him Rs 10,000 for possessing 500 gm of poppy husk.
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Property worth Rs 5 lakh burnt
Palampur, April 9 The police said villagers noticed a fire in a shop in the market of the village. The fire immediately spread to two adjoining shops. Villagers tried to douse it, but in the absence of adequate water and manpower, the two shops were devastated. SDM Bhupinder Attari visited the village today and assured the victims of assistance from the government. He asked the local revenue authorities to submit a detailed estimate of the loss. He also distributed an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the affected families.
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4 held for betting on India-Sri Lanka match
Solan, April 9 SHO Anil Dhaulta said the police had received information that some persons, including
Manoj, alias Rajan, and his wife Suman, Sanjeev and Ajit, were alluring people to indulge in betting through
cellphones. A subsequent raid at Manoj’s house led to the recovery of eight cellphones and Rs 90,810 cash, which had been collected for betting. A case under Section 420 of the IPC, Section 67 of the Information Technology Act and Sections 13, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act had been registered against them. Those who were arrested included Ajit Kumar, who hails from Kasauli, and Sanjeev Kumar of the Kotla Nullah area in Solan, while a hunt was on to locate their another accomplice Chottu, the SHO said.
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The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) has termed the government allegations against the body that it has encroached upon its land baseless.
Reacting to the Kangra police move to register a case against the HPCA for allegedly encroaching upon government land, Sanjay Sharma, spokesperson of the
organisation, said today that the case had been registered to defame cricket body president Anurag
Thakur, who is contesting election from Hamirpur.
Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has accused the state government of pursuing a vendetta against the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) as cases registered against it are politically motivated.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was a dictator surrounded by a group of butlers.
Addressing an election meeting at Ambota village in Una district for Rajinder
Rana, he said Modi's image had been projected bigger than life-size.
CPM candidate from Mandi Kushal Bhardwaj and state secretray Rakesh Singha have said Left parties are providing an alternative policies and programme to voters.
Talking to mediapersons here today, they said, “Representatives elected from the state for Parliament have failed to protect the interests of the people and there is need to elect an MP who can do so in Parliament.”
Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Transport and Technical Education, GS Bali today inaugurated a Lithotripsy machine at the Fortis Hospital. The medical procedure will involve the physical destruction of hardened masses like kidney stones or gallstones.
