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Video clip of Beas tragedy shot by Thalot resident goes
viral
Illegal link road proved fatal for students
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NHRC notice to Chief Secy, Mandi DC in drowning case
Govt urged to take stricter steps for tourist safety
Ban on 14 river sport operators
3 killed, 9 hurt in Chamba road mishap
HP gets Rs 550-cr World Bank loan
Government orders probe into shutdown of power projects
Protest against eve-teasing foreigners in McLeodganj
Parents write to SP for detailed probe into boy’s death
Nahan MLA threatens to go on three-day hunger strike
Workers being denied benefits in Kangra
Government loses revenue as hotels go unregistered
Kangra town craves for a cleanup
Panchayat seeking funds to maintain ‘sanitation record’
2 suicides reported in Dharamsala
Rs 88.44 lakh okayed for Nurpur Civil Hospital
One held with 4.6 kg cannabis
Youth killed in road accident
NCC cadets learn weapon skills at training camp in Una
Rain lashes Kangra valley Farmers demand repair of water channel Man gets 1-year jail in cheque bounce case Chintpurni to have automatic water dispenser
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Video clip of Beas tragedy shot by Thalot resident goes
viral
Shimla, June 11
The video clip has gone viral and is likely to remain the most reliable documentary proof of all the inquiries that are conducted to pinpoint the reasons for the tragic mishap. In fact, Bihari Lal has even handed over a copy of this four and a half minute video clip to the Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, so that it can be made a part of the inquiry report. "It was on hearing the cries of the drowning students and the alarm raised by the villagers that I noticed the commotion at around 6.15 pm on that Sunday evening," he says while recalling those tragic moments. Bihari Lal, who works at Chaman Studio in village Takoli, shot the last moments of the students with a 3CCD Panasonic camera. He said the clip was shot from a distance of 500 metres. "The sight of the sudden rise in the water level and the desperate attempts by the students to save themselves by climbing on to a high rock horrified the villagers attending the marriage," he says. In fact, the video has the sounds of villagers speaking in a local dialect about the ordeal of the students. Bihari Lal says the video clearly shows how the students slipped into the water one by one and also how some tried to brave the strong currents unsuccessfully. He says the water rose by almost seven to eight feet within minutes and the students, who had formed a chain to save themselves from drowning, were virtually swallowed by the waters of the Beas. He was so numbed by the tragedy that he did not watch the video and it was only when he mentioned it to Chaman that they ended up watching it. He mentioned the video to a local reporter by chance and that resulted in it going viral across the world. |
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Illegal link road proved fatal for students
Thalot (Mandi), June 11 The sand mafia has dug up a number of link roads to the riverbed to extract sand from the river and the victims also took one such road to venture into the river which proved fatal for them. Sand dumped everywhere on the spot makes it clear that this path has been built by the sand mafia of the area. The issue of illegal mining from Thalot to Jalogi along the Beas was raised in these columns on March 20 and the district administration had assured to take action, but illicit mining was continuing. The sand mafia has been using these paths and link roads to extract sand from the river which falls in the forest area where mining is strictly banned. As per norms, sand mining in riverbeds falling under forest is banned, but people here have constructed roads at many places from the national highway to the riverbed for extracting sand. The Supreme Court has issued directions to the state government to check illicit mining on riverbeds. Many such spots are being used by adventurous tourists to reach the river for photography, making them vulnerable as no warning signals have been put up on the banks. And one such spot proved disastrous for the engineering students from Hyderabad. Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has also blamed the sand mafia for building link roads for their greed to the riverbed, endangering the lives of tourists and demanded strict action. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has also directed to cover this aspect in the inquiry being conducted by Divisional Commissioner in the mishap held on Sunday in the river. |
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NHRC notice to Chief Secy, Mandi DC in drowning case
New Delhi, June 11 Taking suo motu cognizance of reports of drowning of the students due to “unannounced” release of water from a dam, the commission has observed that if the reports are true, it raises a serious issue of violation of right to the life and safety of the victims. The commission underlined that 24 BTech students of Vignan Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bachuapalli, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), who were on a trip to Himachal Pradesh, were drowned in a flash flood in the Beas in Mandi. The cause of the flash flood was stated to be the opening of the flood gates of the Larji dam without warning. The students also included six girls. In a communiqué, the commission said the state government had admitted that the authorities did not follow the right protocol on the use of hooters and other warning signals on the release of water from the hydel project.
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Govt urged to take stricter steps for tourist safety
Palampur, June 11 The general house of People’s Voice urged the state government, particularly the Tourism Department, that every day tourists were losing lives in the state in river-rafting mishaps, road accidents and drowning cases, which was a matter of serious concern. In a resolution passed, the social body demanded the deployment of tourist police and a network of tourists guides at the major tourist centre of the state, at par with those in states like Kerala, Goa and Karnataka so that such tragedies could be averted. In another resolution, People’s Voice said there should be sign boards at the entry points of the state, directing the tourists not to enter rivers, lakes and canals as these could prove fatal. Referring to the Mandi tragedy, the organisation demanded the registration of criminal cases against the erring officers of the Larji Dam who released water without issuing any warning. KB Ralhan, Daleep Sharma and Neelam Sood, members of the NGO, said the state government must learn lessons from the tragedy and initiate immediate remedial steps in this regard. They also asked the state government to appoint a senior principal secretary-level IAS officer as director and managing director of Tourism, with adequate power to run the department, and make him answerable to the government. They regretted that despite the fact that the tourism industry of the state played a significant role in its economy, the state had kept the department at low priority. They appealed to the state hoteliers association to come forward if they wanted to see the state’s tourism industry flourishing. |
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Ban on 14 river sport operators
Kullu, June 11 Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Rakesh Kanwar said due to the melting of snow on the peaks, the level of water in the Beas increased. He added that the move was intended for the security of visitors, who were lured by the scenic view of the river and were unaware about the danger. Kanwar said, “No operator will be allowed to carry out any adventurous activities for the tourists, without having licence from the Tourism Department and the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali.” He stated that strict action would be taken against the defaulters. |
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HP gets Rs 550-cr World Bank loan
Shimla, June 11 Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to get this ambitious World Bank project. The project will be financed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) of the World Bank to the Centre and the loan proceeds will be transferred to the Himachal Government as per the guidelines for transfer of external assistance to special category on the 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan basis. Ruhl said the main objective was to support Himachal in its initiatives of paradigm shift towards an environmentally sustainable model of economic growth by promoting the improved management of its natural resources and inclusive green growth. He said the Clean Technology Fund was a soft loan that had a 40-year maturity period, including a 10-year grace period. He also praised the efforts of the Himachal Government for effectively implementing various World Bank projects. Usha Titus said the concept of inclusive green growth was one of the key agendas and needed greater focus in the changed scenario of global warming. She appreciated the efforts of Himachal Pradesh for successfully implementing the first Development Policy Loan project of equal amount approved in September 2012 for reconstruction and development resources. She hoped that this second operation project would certainly help Himachal to bring in better policies and practices to guide the development of sustainable hydropower, adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, empower local communities to conserve their watersheds better and promote environmentally sustainable tourism activities in the state. Baldi said the state was providing economically valuable environmental services for the country and it had already initiated various innovative projects by involving local communities and other stakeholders. He assured the World Bank team that people of Himachal Pradesh would make concerted efforts to implement this project in a successful manner. Pyush Dogra, senior environmental specialist and World Bank’s task team leader for this programme, said the project would go a long way in helping Himachal Pradesh to demonstrate a more sustainable path to economic development. The success of the project would set an example not only for other Himalayan states but also for other countries in the South Asian region. |
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Government orders probe into shutdown of power projects
Shimla, June 11 Taking cognizance of a report published in these columns today, the state government has ordered a fresh probe and deputed BS Negi, managing director, HP State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL), to probe as to why the SLDC and the RLDC targeted state-run power projects, including 126-MW Larji project, on Sunday, almost shutting down its three units between 5.30 pm and 7 pm. But the irony is that the Central Government has yet to awaken as to why big private projects connected to RLDC were always exempted from the shutdown to save the grid from collapse and blackout as it happened two years ago, asked the project engineers. It was because of the SLDC's and NLDC's forced shutdown on the Larji project that the operating staff released the extra 250 cumecs of water from the Larji barrage between 5.50 pm and 7 pm on Sunday, which in turn led to the washing away of 24 engineering students, including a tour operator from Hyderabad, who had gone to take picture at the Shala Nullah in the river bed of the diverted stretch of the Beas near Thalot, about 2.5 km downstream from the barrage. As per the guidelines of the Central Electricity Authority and Electricity Act, a power producer is allowed overloading of about 10 per cent of the installed capacity. But 1,000 MW Karcham Wangtoo, 1,187.95 MW and 192 MW AD Hydro Projects (219.69 MW) and 1,500 MW SJVNLs (1602.13 MW) were allowed to out step the limit on Sunday, revealed the data on power generation accessed by The Tribune. These violations have not only established the power controller -SLDC-RLDC-NRLDC nexus with companies, but also set the stage for the mishap claiming lives of the Hyderabad students. An enquiry has been ordered as to why only the state-run power houses, mainly Larji, were targeted for the scale down, said Kalta, director electrical. He refused to comment further. As per the grid standard and codes for power producers, the producers give demand to national grid centre 24 hours in advance. If there is more supply or more withdrawal of power by various consumers and frequency reaches 50.5 level, the share in supply of power generation is distributed equally among all power producers and no single project is targeted as it happened on Sunday, said the engineers. What gives credence to the suspicion is the fact that the message, which the SLDC and NRLDC claimed was flashed by NRLDC to cut power generation to save the northern grid from collapse, has few takers. BS Negi, MD HPSEBL, said they always maintained the grid disciplines and were forced to scale down production after the orders of the RLDC and NLDC. SKBS Negi, Principal Secretary, Power, said government had ordered a probe as to why certain IPPs were exempted from the warning. |
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Protest against eve-teasing foreigners in McLeodganj
Dharamsala, June 11 The event was held by the NGO in association with a group of models, artists and anchors from Indian Institute of New Media based in Delhi. Social workers, Tibetan groups and local newspapers also participated in the event. "We have noticed that foreign tourists are being harassed by revellers, but they can't complain this to the authorities as they do not want to indulge in legal proceedings. We should wake up for the security of the guests," said Gaurav Gupta, member of the campaign. The activists raised slogans with foreign tourists accompanying them. "You think we will melt like ice creams of cones, but you dare to touch us and we will break your bones," they said, raising placards. Director of the Asia for Students for Free Tibet-India (SFT) and the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest freedom fighting groups of exiled Tibetans, also participated in the campaign. "Eve-teasing and environmental hazard are the two major issues of this area which should be considered and participation of the society is a must, so we appreciate these kind of activities," said Dorjee Tseten, Director, Asia for SFT. Girl activists marched with "sandals" in their hands, while boys held placards with messages written on these. "There are many such incidents which go unheard in this town as foreigner girls avoid going to the police as they are here to seek mental peace, but these types of acts are giving negative publicity to this place," said Kuroan Bragwith from Brazil. |
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Parents write to SP for detailed probe into boy’s death
Solan, June 11 In his letter, Narinder has alleged that Shubham (20) had left home on Sunday without informing the family. They were informed at 6 pm that he had died while taking a bath at the Giri river. Two other boys, who were accompanying him, Arnav Chadha and Dheeraj, alias Bali, were also in the hospital. Narinder said his son’s lips and feet had turned blue and there were injuries on his forehead, nose, chest and stomach and according to the doctors his neck was also broken. He alleged that there was no water inside his body. Bhupinder Bragta, DSP, Rajgarh, said the boy’s body was referred to the IGMCH, Shimla, for a postmortem as there were injury marks and the detailed report was yet to come, though the initial report suggested death due to suffocation. Narinder said despite making several calls to Shubham after he left home, the phone went unattended. He later informed them at 3:30 pm that he was in Solan. There was no response to their subsequent calls also and this had cast suspicion in their minds. Narinder further said the investigating officer did not collect a knife, bottles, glasses and socks present at the spot. A girl, whose presence was being alleged at the spot, was also not questioned despite the presence of a dupatta along with the clothes of Shubham. He further alleged that several other facts pertaining to his mobile phone, withdrawal of money from his ATM etc needed an indepth probe as the investigation underway by the police was yet to take note of such crucial issues. Bragta, however, said there was no laxity in the probe and in case foul play was detected, action as per law would be taken. The inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC were underway right now, he added. |
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Nahan MLA threatens to go on three-day hunger strike
Nahan, June 11 Dr Bindal wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary communicating about this decision and said despite pursuing various developmental works regularly for the last one-and-a-half years ever since the Congress government had taken over, little progress was visible. He said this indifferent attitude of the state government was affecting people who were suffering due to poor roads, lack of drinking water and non-repair of bridges. He said issues like the availability of adequate drinking water in Nahan town and various rural areas, construction and repair of roads and bridges and building of a government degree college had failed to be addressed. Despite discussing these issues in the Vidhan Sabha and before the Planning Committee little had been done to speed up such works. Dr Bindal said it was lamentable that even losses suffered by people due to heavy rains last year had remained unaddressed till now. He said this hunger strike would begin tomorrow and last till June 14 afternoon. He also informed the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and Chief Medical Officer about his proposed hunger strike. Meanwhile, Deen Dayal
Verma, president, BJP’s Nahan Mandal, while flaying the Congress government for failing to provide adequate funds for the Giri Lift Water Scheme said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal had laid the foundation stone of this scheme after allocating Rs 11 crore for it during his tenure. He said boring work had already begun, but the Congress government after coming to power had not allocated more budget for completing this scheme which was estimated to cost Rs 52 crore as per the detailed project report. He said this cost had now been revised to Rs 76 crore. |
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Workers being denied benefits in Kangra
Dharamsala, June 11 The Bhawan Awam Annya Sannirman Kamgar
Sangh, an NGO working for the welfare of construction workers in the area, has said 400 applications of construction workers have been pending in Kangra district since January this year. About 25 per cent population of the state is concentrated in the district. However, still the district contributes just 6 per cent to the total number of construction workers. About 55,000 workers have been registered in the
state. Ravinder Singh, an activist, said many smaller districts such as Una and Hamirpur had higher number of registered construction workers as compared to Kangra. He said in Kangra just 4,300 workers had registered, in Una 7,500 and Hamirpur 4,500. Due to non-registration, workers are being denied the benefits that will be extended to them. Workers will get health insurance cover of Rs 30,000, accidental death insurance of Rs 70,000, maternity benefit to female workers worth Rs 10,000 and pension of Rs 500 per month for three years after the age of 60 years. Besides, they can also get interest free loan of Rs 50,000 for the construction of a house. Sources said in the last three years, the government had collected cess on construction worth Rs 190 crore. However, due to the non-registration of workers, the state had disbursed just a few
lakhs. Ravinder Singh said even the District Rural Development Agency had failed to deposit construction cess of 1 per cent on all building built by it. The sources said the state government had formed a board for implementing the Buildings and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996. However, the board had not opened up its offices at district levels. This had rendered to board non-functional at the ground level. |
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Government loses revenue as hotels go unregistered
Solan, June 11 Such cases have also come to light where small resorts making bookings online have also failed to register themselves. One such case came to the fore near Kasauli where a resort was found unregistered. When quizzed, the resort management said the place was still under construction, but a subsequent visit to the place by officials revealed that they had been operating in isolation. A visit to the resort’s website also revealed that it was offering luxury and super-luxury rooms. This is causing a huge revenue loss to the Excise and Taxation Department which collects the luxury tax on the basis of occupancy registered by each hotel. Interestingly, while the number of hotels and resorts has been witnessing a surge in the area, the tax collected under the ‘Other Taxes’ by the department has failed to register an appreciable increase. While hoteliers claim there has been a dip of about 30 per cent in the occupancy due to lack of taxes in other states such as Jammu and Kashmir and
Rajasthan, hardly any hotel has closed down due to losses. In fact, at least two dozen new resorts are
in various stages of construction between Dharampur and Kasauli and are likely to be operational in the near
future. KK Sharma, Joint Commissioner, Excise and Taxation Department, said all assistant excise and taxation officials had been directed to ensure that hotels and resorts operating in their respective jurisdiction were registered and inspected from time to time so that no tax evasion was possible. He said strict action, including monetary penalty, would be imposed on those who evaded taxes. While agreeing that tax collected in lieu of hotels like VAT and luxury tax was low, he added that a decline in tourism due to the Uttarakhand tragedy last year had affected the arrival of tourists. |
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Kangra town craves for a cleanup
Kangra, June 11 The road which leads to famous shrines is in shambles and pilgrims need to cover their nose to cross the road near Khurushetra spring. Garbage is dumped in the open along the road, attracting stray cattle and polluting the entire atmosphere. Residents responsible for dumping garbage here are neither penalised nor are the authorities cleaning up the location. The Khurushetra Spring is full of dirt and no one
is making the effort to clean it up. Ram Prasad Sharma, one of the trustees of the Brajeshwari Temple, said the spring was cleaned by local residents regularly in the past and the pilgrims had been taking a dip in it on the occasion of solar and lunar eclipse, but now neither the residents cleaned it up nor the authorities took any interest in maintaining the sanctity of the holy spring. Local residents also alleged that the natural water source was now
losing sanctity. The pilgrims who visit Haridwar, Bhaan Ganga and Acchra Kund have to pass through the Gupt Ganga road, a traditional route to these shrines. They have been complaining of the pitiable sanitary conditions of this
road. Parikshit Raj, a local resident, said the state government should pull up the authorities concerned to provide congenial and better environment to the residents and pilgrims both. He said if the situation continued to be the same, it would crumble down the tourist industry and prove a major health hazard for the residents. |
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Panchayat seeking funds to maintain ‘sanitation record’
Kangra, June
11 Anil
Dhamir, pradhan, Gurkhari Panchayat, today said the panchayat was adjudged the best in the state for maintaining cleanliness and sanitation in 2011 and presented a citation and cash award of Rs 2 lakh. He said it was surprising that more than three years had passed, but only Rs 1 lakh was given to the
panchayat. He had been running from pillar to post to get the remaining amount, he alleged. He said the Gurkhari Chowk was a junction point of the Pathankot-Mandi and
Dharamsala-Hoshiarpur national highways, from where thousands of people passed daily, but the chowk had no toilet block for their convenience. He said the panchayat had decided to construct a five-point toilet and a five-point male urinal, but faced lack of
funds. Dhamir said dejected by the attitude of the government, ministers and administration, the panchayat had decided to get the block constructed by people’s money. He said he had utilised Rs 1 lakh of the award money, besides raising nearly Rs 5 lakh from people for the construction of a
three-storey toilet block. It would be completed by the end of this month. The block would be inaugurated next month, not by any politician or a bureaucrat, but by 106-year-old freedom fighter Tharu Chand
Bhatia, a resident of Gurkhari Panchayat, he added. |
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2 suicides reported in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, June 11 The police said the jawan was on a two-month leave and supposed to return to duty today. “He shot himself with his father's single-barrel licensed gun. The victim was rushed to the Zonal Hospital, Dharamsala, by family members but he succumbed to his injuries two hours later,” said Dr Shiv Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP). In another incident, the Dharamsala police found the body of a 17-year-old boy in a 300-ft-deep gorge near the Dharamsala Cricket Stadium in the evening. The deceased was a Class XII student in a reputed school of the town. The police said prima facie it seemed to be a case of suicide. However, they refused to divulge the details as the deceased was a minor. Sources said the boy had reportedly jumped into the gorge. “We are investigating into the case from every angle and it is difficult to ascertain whether it was a suicide or murder,” said police officials. |
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Rs 88.44 lakh okayed for Nurpur Civil Hospital
Nurpur, June 11 Neerja Gupta, member secretary of the committee-cum-hospital in charge, presented a detailed report of the proposed income and expenditure. She said the committee had not enhanced user charges and decided to provide more facilities to patients. To ensure patients’ safety, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and intercom facility were being provided in the hospital. Private wards would get television and private room charges were being revised from Rs 100 to Rs 200 per day, she said. The issue of supplying food to patients at low rates through a contractor was also discussed.
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One held with 4.6 kg cannabis
Solan, June 11 The SIU had laid a naka at Basadhar near Nauni and searched the bus this morning. They found the contraband from a bag which belonged to Dinesh, Additional Superintendent of Police Padam Chand said. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against Dinesh who
has been arrested. He hails from Jind district of Haryana. Sources said cannabis was available at Rs 1,500 per gram in this area while it was sold at a much higher rate in Haryana. This route was routinely used by miscreants to smuggle the contraband to Haryana and other states. The lure of easy money make people indulge in this trade and at times people act as mere suppliers of the contraband to other states. |
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Youth killed in road accident
Kangra, June 11 The ASI said Ankush, who was injured in the accident, went to the Community Health Centre, Shahpur, for treatment. The doctors there informed the police and he was booked under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC. The police handed over Sandeep's body to the relatives after postmortem. The police said Ankush had hired the Scooty from Parveen for picking up Sandeep from Draman. |
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NCC cadets learn weapon skills at training camp in Una
Una, June
11 Lt Col Mangat Saini, Commanding Officer (CO) of the 6 Independent NCC Company, said the cadets were divided into two companies. Inter-company competitions were organised during the training period. He said the Bravo Company defeated the Alpha Company in the tug-of-war contest. The CO said in the junior wing, cadet Amandeep Kaur won the 100-metre race, while Ajay Kumar won the 100-metre race in the senior wing. He said the cadets also organised awareness drives in the village on environment and social issues as part of their curriculum.
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The World
Bank has approved Rs 550-crore Development Policy Loan for Himachal Pradesh for
promoting inclusive green growth and sustainable development. The credit
agreement for this project was signed between the Centre, the World Bank and the
state government today in New Delhi.
Activists
of Tulsi, an NGO, today held a protest march against eve-teasing foreign
tourists at McLeodganj and its surrounding areas. The protest was against Indian
tourists, especially Punjabi tourists, whom the protesters were accusing of
harassing foreign tourists. The protest was named as "sandal" march to
intimidate eve teasers.
The temple
town of Kangra, one of the 52 shakti peeths, a pilgrimage attracting thousands
of pilgrims from all over the country and abroad, is stinking. Official apathy
and socially irresponsible attitude of local residents are putting off pilgrims.
The town, seat of Goddess Brajeshwari, is surrounded by different pilgrimages
such as Chakar Kund, Khurushetra Spring, Virbhadra Temple, Gupta Ganga, Bhaan
Ganga, Haridwar, Acchara Kund and attracts lakhs of pilgrims annually.
The day was sunny, hot and humid. At 5 pm, the sky was overcast with dark clouds followed by high-velocity winds. At 6.30 pm, it rained providing relief from humidity and the sweltering heat. People enjoyed the showers.
Power supply in the town was disrupted and shops were closed well before the scheduled time. There was no power supply in the town till filing of this report.
Reports of rain were also received from Dharamsala,
Gaggal, Palampur, Maranda, Nagrota Bagwan, Shahpur, Dehra and
Jawalamukhi. OC
