SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI



THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
H I M A C H A L    P R A D E S H    E D I T I O N

2 more bodies of students found from Pandoh dam
Pandoh (Mandi), June 12
Rescue and search teams looking for the bodies of students of the VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, took out two more bodies from the Pandoh dam today.


Divers from the Navy join the search operation in the Pandoh dam on Thursday. Photo: Jai Kumar
Divers from the Navy join the search operation in the Pandoh dam on Thursday

Locals sounded alarm, but students couldn’t follow it
Thalot (Mandi), June 12
The language barrier between locals and students from the VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, also became a reason for the mishap and the role of the tour operator is also being questioned.
BSF jawans during a search operation in the Beas near Pandoh in Mandi on Thursday BSF jawans during a search operation in the Beas near Pandoh in Mandi on Thursday. Photo: Jai Kumar



YOUR TOWN
Dharamsala
Shimla


EARLIER STORIES

Video clip of Beas tragedy shot by Thalot resident goes viral
June 12, 2014
Fence 3-km stretch along dams: CM
June 11, 2014
CM orders inquiry, suspends 2 engineers
June 10, 2014
Lower hills reel under heat wave
June 9, 2014
Anurag gets bail in VB office protest case
June 8, 2014
CM seeks ITBP force for Chamba
June 7, 2014
Govt polytechnic students prohibited from taking exam
June 6, 2014
HPCA’s plea dismissed
June 5, 2014
Govt considers road repair charges on cement firms
June 4, 2014
Govt to meet realtors, land owners soon
June 3, 2014



NHPC officials cautioned over water release
Chamba, June 12
Bachan Singh, SDM, Chamba, has sounded NHPC officials to be vigilant while discharging waters for generating power.

mandi mishap
Dy Mayor writes to HC
Shimla, June 12
Tikender Panwar, CPM state secretariat member and Deputy Mayor, Shimla, today wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court requesting him to take cognizance of newspaper reports that independent power producers were not asked to shed overloading of the grid, leading the Larji Dam to discharge water into the river causing the tragedy.

Virbhadra orders demolition of link roads to Beas river
Shimla, June 12
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today ordered demolition and blocking of all roads created by the mining mafia to reach riverbeds to check illegal lifting of sand and gravel.

 

A link road to riverbed developed by the land mafia.

A link road to riverbed developed by the land mafia

State to launch telemedicine project for far-flung areas
Shimla, June 12
To overcome the constraint of inaccessibility and shortage of specialists in remote areas, the state government has tied up with Apollo Hospitals to provide healthcare to people through ‘telemedicine services’.

Consumers await refund from HIMUDA
Dharamsala, June 12
Thousands of consumers who had applied for HIMUDA plots during the stint of the previous BJP government are awaiting refund of their amount. KN Sharma had applied for plots in Mehatpur, a township on the border of Punjab and Himachal.

Traffic comes to a halt, courtesy congested roads in Palampur
Palampur, June 12
With the tourist season in full swing in the Kangra valley, the traffic situation in Palampur, Baijnath and Paprola towns has gone from bad to worse, as long queues of vehicles can be seen in these areas daily.

A view of a traffic jam at Palampur. Photo by writer

A view of a traffic jam at Palampur


Nahan MLA begins 3-day fast
Nahan, June 12
Dr Rajiv Bindal, MLA, Nahan, today initiated a three-day fast at the Bara Chowk here in protest against the state government’s apathy towards developmental works in his constituency.

 

Dr Rajiv Bindal, MLA, begins hunger strike at Nahan on Thursday.


Dr Rajiv Bindal, MLA, begins hunger strike at Nahan on Thursday

Himachal Public Service Commission
SC stays HC order on disclosure of marks
New Delhi, June 12
The Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s March 28, 2014, judgment directing the Himachal Public Service Commission (HPPSC) to display on its official website the marks of every candidate in the preliminary and main examinations even before calling them for interview.

Weavers to get 15% increment: Bhuttico chairman
Kullu, June 12
At the annual general house meeting of the Bhutti Weavers Co-operative Society (Bhuttico), Satya Prakash Thakur, chairman of the society, stated that the panel had decided that 25 per cent dividend would be given to the promoters of Bhuttico and 15 per cent increment to the weavers.

Services at Ripon Hospital cries for attention
Shimla, June 12
Patients at Deen Dayal Hospital, known as Ripon Hospital here, are facing a harrowing time. They are not getting proper and timely services of specialists, who are mostly put on night duty.

Patients wait outside at Ripon Hospital, known as Deen Dayal Hospital, in Shimla.

Patients wait outside at Ripon Hospital, known as Deen Dayal Hospital, in Shimla

11 IAS officers shifted
Shimla, June 12
In the first major administrative shake-up after the Lok Sabha polls, the government today ordered the transfer of 11 IAS and 38 Himachal Administrative Service (HAS) officers.

Schoolchildren to participate in mass sapling plantation drive
Solan, June 12
With a view to spread awareness among schoolchildren about the significance of forests, the state government will now educate them to plant a sapling each and help in spreading greenery across the state.

Chamba in need of 'master plan'
Chamba, June 12
Endowed with vast tourism potential, Chamba district is set in high alpine meadows and snow-clad peaks. But the district needs a tangible "master plan" for the development of tourism.

The Akhandchandi Palace in Chamba town
The Akhandchandi Palace in Chamba town

The Khajjiar lake and its glade
The Khajjiar lake and its glade

More workers to enjoy health benefits
Shimla, June 12
Labour and Employment Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has reduced the limit from 20 to 10 workers in shops, commercial establishments and factories for benefits under various health schemes of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

Car driver dies in road mishap
Dalhousie, June 12
One person was killed on the spot while two others were seriously injured when a Maruti car veered off the road and fell into a gorge near Narohi village in Chamba district today.

Residents oppose power cuts
Palampur, June 12
Residents of Baijnath and Paprola have lodged a strong protest against the unannounced power cuts throughout the day in the area. Power failures have forced the residents to come out in the streets.

Up in blazes: A forest fire in the hills near Shimla on Wednesday night
Up in blazes: A forest fire in the hills near Shimla on Wednesday night. A sudden rise in the mercury in the state for the past few days has triggered off forest fires. Most of the fires have been reported from the pine forests as shedding of pine needles is on and these are highly inflammable. Tribune photo: Amit Kanwar

2 get 15-year RI under POCSO Act
Una, June 12
Special Judge-cum-District and Sessions Judge CL Kochar today convicted two youths from Sanghnai village of Amb block under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced them to 15 years rigorous imprisonment (RI), besides paying a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

Man booked for abetment to suicide
Chamba, June 12
Following the death of Leelo Devi at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, on Tuesday, the police have registered a case of abetment to suicide, against her husband, under Section 306 of the India Penal Code.

Una reach cricket semis
Una, June 12
Una district beat Solan on the basis of the first innings lead to reach the semifinals of the Inter-District Senior Men Cricket Championship. The two-day match concluded at the Indira Stadium here today.

Rs 10,000 for road mishap victims
Chamba, June 12
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has expressed grief over the accident at Shakti Nala near Bhanjraru in the far-flung Churah sub-division of Chamba district last evening.

Anganwari workers await two months honorarium
Chamba, June 12
About 450 anganwari workers of the Mehla, Choori and Kilod areas have been waiting for their honorarium for the past about two months.

NHPC hands over Rs 29.4-cr cheque to DC

Kullu, June 12
A cheque of Rs 29.41 crore was handed over to Kullu Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar by NHPC’s Parbati Hydro Electric Project Stage-2 (PHEP-II) General Manager AK Singh for the Local Area Development Fund (LADF). The DC said a total of Rs 58.79 crore had been received from the project authorities so far. — OC
NHPC’s Parbati-II Project General Manager AK Singh hands a cheque to the Deputy Commissioner in Kullu on Wednesday.

NHPC’s Parbati-II Project General Manager AK Singh hands a cheque to the Deputy Commissioner in Kullu on Wednesday





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2 more bodies of students found from Pandoh dam
Nine divers from Navy join search operation, UAV also deployed
Dharam Prakash Gupta
Tribune News Service

Pandoh (Mandi), June 12
Rescue and search teams looking for the bodies of students of the VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, took out two more bodies from the Pandoh dam today.

The victims have been identified as T Upender and Gonoor Arvind Kumar and been sent to Hyderabad by an SSB chopper.

Eight bodies have been found and the search teams are trying to locate the remaining 16 victims of the mishap.

Vice-Chairman of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) M Shashidhar Reddy visited the dam site to take stock of the ongoing rescue and search operations in the Pandoh dam.

After talking to relatives of the victims, Reddy said the NDRF was seeking services of 15 more divers, besides nine deep divers from the Navy who joined the operation.

He said the NDRF had also brought an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle fitted with a camera to locate the bodies at the places where it was not possible for the divers to reach.

The Larji dam authorities put up danger signals at five places on the banks of the Beas along the National Highway-21.

Two high resonance warning sirens are also being installed - one at a barrage site and another at tail race tunnel near power house of the Larji project.

A committee constituted by the HP State Electricity Board for an internal inquiry also held its meeting.

Two MPs from Telangana Vinod Kumar and Jitendera Reddy, besides Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhay, also met relatives of the victims camping here to search for the missing students.

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Locals sounded alarm, but students couldn’t follow it
Dharam Prakash Gupta
Tribune News Service

Thalot (Mandi), June 12
The language barrier between locals and students from the VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, also became a reason for the mishap and the role of the tour operator is also being questioned.

Several locals and students from the college have confirmed that language was a barrier between them, which could have been crucial for warning about the impending danger.

Bhim Singh Thakur, a local resident, said, "When we came to know that some students had ventured into the river on Sunday, we tried to convey to them about the danger, but they could not follow us."

Another resident Praveen Kumar said, "Locals even raised the alarm on seeing water being released in the river from the Larji Dam and some of them blew whistles, but the students were unable to follow what people were trying to convey."

Two students Chetan and Raghu, part of the excursion team, said, "We could not understand what the locals were saying and could not follow the meaning of the whistle since they were doing so from a high mountain before 24 students were swept into the river."

Both locals and students feel that tour operator Murli Krishna of HV Tours should have hired a professional guide well conversant with the dangerous points along the Beas and local language.

Talking to The Tribune from Hyderabad, Raghvender, a student, who was part of the ordeal, said, "The tour co-coordinator, also washed away into the river, did not know about the looming danger and there was a mixed response from locals about venturing into the Beas."

Students and their parents are also critical about the non-professional approach of the tour operator.

Since several accidents take place at different places visited by tourists, advisory directions have also been issued by the HP Tourism Department.

Director, Tourism, Mohan Chauhan, said, "We have been issuing advisory for tour operators and will elaborate these in future."

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NHPC officials cautioned over water release

Chamba, June 12
Bachan Singh, SDM, Chamba, has sounded NHPC officials to be vigilant while discharging waters for generating power.

The SDM said NHPC officials should continuously monitor the working of sirens, hooters and other signboards set up along the Ravi as precautionary measures for the safety of tourists and the locals.

“NHPC officials have also been asked to repair the ropeway at Targran village. The ropeway is crossed over by a number of commuters”, the SDM informed. — OC

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mandi mishap
Dy Mayor writes to HC
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
Tikender Panwar, CPM state secretariat member and Deputy Mayor, Shimla, today wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court requesting him to take cognizance of newspaper reports that independent power producers were not asked to shed overloading of the grid, leading the Larji Dam to discharge water into the river causing the tragedy.

In a letter, Panwar said the party appreciated the suo motu cognizance taken by the High Court in the washing away of 24 Hyderabad students in the Beas. The negligence of the officials concerned had been taken note of, but the foremost question arose why was the water released when there was no flash flood or cloud burst upstream, he added.

On the fateful day, there was over production of electricity and the frequency of the national grid had reached nearly 51, which would have collapsed the grid. Hence, the state was asked to reduce the production.

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Virbhadra orders demolition of link roads to Beas river
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today ordered demolition and blocking of all roads created by the mining mafia to reach riverbeds to check illegal lifting of sand and gravel.

"I have issued directions to the Public Works and Forest Departments to obstruct all such roads which have been developed by the mining mafia to make way for tractors and trolleys to the riverbed," he said. He added that the government was committed to putting a check on illegal mining.

A report about such roads being created by the mining mafia appeared in The Tribune today. "I have directed the Forest Department to undertake plantation on all these roads linking the highway to the riverbed so that the mining mafia cannot lift sand illegally from riverbeds," he said.

"The road leading to the mishap spot at Thalot would be closed by barbed wire and plantation would be done on that site," said Virbhadra. The mining mafia comes into action after water is released by hydro power projects, bringing in a lot of sand and silt on the river banks. After the mishap at Thalot, which claimed 24 lives, the sand brought in by the water is still there as the mafia has not been able to operate.

The Chief Minister said the state government was making all out efforts to recover the bodies of victims and one tour operator and about 500 personnel, including the police, Home Guards, SSB, ITBP, NDRF, BBMB along with local divers, had been pressed into action. He added that experts of the Navy had also joined this operation.

The Chief Minister said Himachal being a hilly state having rough topography, the government was coming up with a comprehensive plan to avert such incidents. Besides putting up warning boards, the sensitive areas were being covered with barbed wire.

He said directions had been given to managements of all dam projects to follow necessary steps before releasing the water which included use of hooters and announcements through vehicles.

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State to launch telemedicine project for far-flung areas
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
To overcome the constraint of inaccessibility and shortage of specialists in remote areas, the state government has tied up with Apollo Hospitals to provide healthcare to people through ‘telemedicine services’.

Though the state had signed an agreement for the project with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in 2007, it never started due to several constraints.

Last month the government got in touch with the Apollo Hospitals Group to explore the possibility of reviving the project. Based on the experience of their Telemedicine Networking Foundation, it was decided to seek their assistance and expertise.

The project had initially been launched at Aragonda village in Andhra Pradesh, the village of Dr Reddy.

Officials from the foundation visited Reckong Peo in Kinnuar and Kaza in Lahaul-Spiti to see how the services could be provided to people who could not approach timely and proper treatment.

“We sought complete patient data from all the Chief Medical Officers in the districts to get an idea as to how many patients had to be referred out to get specialised medical services,” revealed Vineet Chawdhry, Additional Chief Secretary (Health). He said based on this data and locational disadvantage that these tribal areas had, it was decided to revive the telemedicine project from the districts of Kinnuar, Lahaul-Spiti and Killar in Chamba.

He said the only problem was reliable connectivity, which too was being taken care of. “Some agencies providing advanced computing facilities are being contacted and the facility is likely to start shortly,” said Chawdhry.

He said there was no connectivity constraint at Reckong Peo and the facility could be started anytime.

Though there had been a lot of talk of telemedicine providing specialised services in the state in 2007, the project never took off. The equipment purchased then remained unused and the CDMAC reassessing the equipment last year declared it redundant.

Before making the telemedicine project functional, doctors, nurses and paramedical staff in the hospitals will be trained. The project, to be launched initially in the tribal and far-flung hospitals, will gradually cover all hospitals where there is shortage of specialists.

The project

  • HP to tie up with Apollo Hospital Group for telemedicine services
  • Will provide services to people in need of medical attention in far-flung places
  • To be initially launched in Reckong Peo, Kaza and Killar.

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Consumers await refund from HIMUDA
More than 30,000 had applied for plots about five years ago
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 12
Thousands of consumers who had applied for HIMUDA plots during the stint of the previous BJP government are awaiting refund of their amount. KN Sharma had applied for plots in Mehatpur, a township on the border of Punjab and Himachal. He said, "I had applied for two plots at Mehatpur and deposited Rs 10,000 with HIMUDA.

However, besides the receipt of the amount, I have not received any communication from the authorities. I have also written to the authorities for the refund. However, there has been no response."

Naresh Kumar, another resident of Una, had applied for a plot in Manali and Baddi and deposited Rs 5000 each with HIMUDA. He is also resenting that HIMUDA is yet to refund his amount. Some of the affected people are contemplating moving consumer court against HIMUDA.

HIMUDA had issued advertisements seeking response from people for developing colonies in various parts of the state. The idea was that if there was adequate response from people, colonies would be developed. Sources said over 30,000 people applied for plots in proposed colonies in various parts of the state. All of them paid Rs 5,000 as application fee per plot.

As per the terms and conditions of the scheme, HIMUDA could have retained the amount for one year without interest. After that it was to pay an interest to the people in case of refund of their amount.

Sources said though HIMUDA had planned to develop colonies in many areas, it failed to acquire land for the purpose anywhere. However, it has also not started the process of returning the money deposited by the people about 5 years ago.

Minister for Housing and Urban Development Sudhir Sharma was not available for comments on the issue despite repeated attempts to contact him on the phone.

The government has also been talking to develop satellite townships. However, HIMUDA is finding it hard to identify land for developing the satellite townships.

There was demand in Himachal for planned and developed colonies. Due to lack of colonies, most of the urban areas in the state are witnessing haphazard growth. Illegal colonisers are making hay in many towns. As per the information obtained under RTI, no colony in Una district has been authorised by the Town and Country Planning Department. All colonies coming up in the district are illegal. In Kangra district also, most of the colonies are illegal.

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Traffic comes to a halt, courtesy congested roads in Palampur
Ravinder Sood

Palampur, June 12
With the tourist season in full swing in the Kangra valley, the traffic situation in Palampur, Baijnath and Paprola towns has gone from bad to worse, as long queues of vehicles can be seen in these areas daily. Tourists visiting the Shiva Temple at Baijnath and the Sanidev Mandir at Mahakal are the main victims as they get stuck in these traffic jams for hours on end.

The narrow Mandi-Pathankot national highway passing through these towns further complicates the traffic situation. In the absence of any bypass in these towns, the narrow national highway has become a major traffic hazard as all heavy vehicles, including trucks and buses, enter these towns, causing frequent traffic jams.

Even though there has been a manifold increase in the number of vehicles in these towns, the width of most roads has remain unchanged in the last 20 years.

During peak hours, passing through Baijnath and Paprola towns is a nightmare, courtesy the long traffic jams that have now become a regular feature.

However, the situation at Palampur is a little better as a dozen traffic constables have been deputed by the Kangra SSP to streamline traffic.

The flyover on the national highway at Palampur is under construction for the last seven years. Despite public pressure, the Public Works Department has failed to complete it.

No serious efforts have been made by the authorities for the construction of parking areas, rather old parking places have been converted into new markets.

A senior officer at the PWD, requesting anonymity, said, “The construction of the flyover has been delayed as a part of the flyover collapsed twice, killing three persons. Thereafter, the contractor refused to resume the construction blaming the department for defective designing of the flyover.”

He added, “The widening of the road has been delayed as the government is still to acquire land in congested part of the towns to widen the narrow and heavily congested roads.”

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Nahan MLA begins 3-day fast
Is protesting govt’s ‘apathy’ towards his constituency
Tribune News Service

Nahan, June 12
Dr Rajiv Bindal, MLA, Nahan, today initiated a three-day fast at the Bara Chowk here in protest against the state government’s apathy towards developmental works in his constituency.

Bindal, who had earlier informed the Chief Secretary, Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and Chief Medical Officer about this move, said it was surprising that the Congress leaders were terming it a political stunt.

He said it was disturbing that people were facing scarcity of drinking water and despite residing amidst rivers and water bodies, people faced problems in getting adequate water even for irrigating their fields.

He said despite tall promises of development being made by the state government, people were compelled to carry sick people on their backs in the absence of roads in the rural areas in his constituency and whenever he raised these issues he was confronted with the standard reply that there were problems like unavailability of adequate funds, presence of private land or forest land to pursue such projects. This was adversely hitting developmental works and despite 65 years of independence people were bereft of basic facilities.

While blaming the irrational distribution of development funds in the state, Bindal said there were areas where all facilities existed, yet they were allocated more funds under NABARD, while in Nahan, despite a dire requirement of 13 bridges, a detailed project report had yet to be made.

He said at least 100 villages did not have roads and at least 80 per cent area of the area was bereft of annual irrigation and potable water schemes.

Manmohan Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, said they were sending a report to the government on this issue. However, he added that development works were in various stages of execution.

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Himachal Public Service Commission
SC stays HC order on disclosure of marks
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, June 12
The Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s March 28, 2014, judgment directing the Himachal Public Service Commission (HPPSC) to display on its official website the marks of every candidate in the preliminary and main examinations even before calling them for interview.

A summer vacation Bench comprising Justices JS Khehar and C Nagappan passed the stay order on an appeal filed by the HPPSC through its counsel Pragati Neekhra.

Arguing for the commission, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Suryananarayana Singh said the HC had issued the directive which was not even sought by an unsuccessful candidate, Poonam Kumari Thakur, in her petition.

The AAG said the HC should not have even entertained the petition, which had mainly challenged the refusal by the commission’s Information Officer (IO) to disclose Poonam’s marks in the main examination until the interview process was over. Poonam had sought to know her marks under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Upon the IO’s refusal, she should have challenged it in the Information Commission, instead of going to the HC, he said.

The HPPSC had taken a unanimous decision on January 17, 2006, not to disclose the candidate's marks in the preliminary and main examinations until the viva voce was over to protect the sanctity of the selection process from external influence. The commission had decided to retain this decision on March 24, 2012, to prevent influential candidates, who scored low qualifying marks in the main examination, from trying to tamper with the interview process to get employment.

In June 2013, the HC had directed the commission to let Poonam inspect her answer scripts. Despite this, the petitioner made further prayers seeking re-evaluation of four-six answer scripts in each subject by a person not associated with the PSC to check the fairness of the evaluation process.

The HC, however, directed the PSC to get the answer scripts evaluated on the spot by a team of three experts. Each expert would give his own marks and the average of marks given by them would be treated as the mark secured by each candidate.

Staying all the directives issued by the HC, the SC also issued notice to Poonam seeking her response to the commission’s contentions in the appeal. Poonam had cleared the preliminary exams conducted following the January 1, 2012 advertisement for the HP administrative service, but did not qualify in the main exam.

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Weavers to get 15% increment: Bhuttico chairman
Our Correspondent

Kullu, June 12
At the annual general house meeting of the Bhutti Weavers Co-operative Society (Bhuttico), Satya Prakash Thakur, chairman of the society, stated that the panel had decided that 25 per cent dividend would be given to the promoters of Bhuttico and 15 per cent increment to the weavers.

Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, he said, “The target for the annual sale during the last financial year was set at Rs 11.5 crore, sales worth Rs 12.16 crore were achieved, and a profit of Rs 86 lakh was realised.”

He said, “A museum and a documentary film, providing a glance into the eventful life and works of Thakur Ved Ram, the soul of Bhuttico, and inventor of Kullu shawls, will be prepared.”

He added that the operations of Bhuttico would be computerised and the Indian institute would be engaged to innovate the existing eco-friendly packaging to depict the culture of Kullu.

He said Bhuttico had strived to get benefits for the weavers, members and consumers. He added that different types of training were imparted to the employees and members in the best of the institutes, besides provision of best pay-scales in the industry and measures of social security such as provident fund, gratuity and welfare fund.

He said the origin of handloom mark to assure the originality of Kullu shawls, was a result of persistent efforts of Bhuttico and misuse of the same could be reported with the general manager, District Industries Centre or the Textiles Committee, at its regional office in Ludhiana.

However, he stated that there was no regulatory mechanism by the government to conduct periodical inspections to penalise impostors, duping innocent consumers by affixing fake handloom mark on powerloom (machine-made) products.

Meanwhile, the Thakur Ved Ram National Award celebrations would be organised in the third week of July, in which awards in various categories would be conferred to the nominated achievers. Vice-Chairman Rohit Thakur, GM Ramesh Thakur and other members of Bhuttico were present at the meeting.

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Services at Ripon Hospital cries for attention
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
Patients at Deen Dayal Hospital, known as Ripon Hospital here, are facing a harrowing time. They are not getting proper and timely services of specialists, who are mostly put on night duty.

Not only this, the X-ray machine is out of order for the last one month, the hospital has no benches for those awaiting their turns and the causality services are in a disarray for want of equipments.

The hospital administration remains insensitive to the needs of patients who seek care from specialist doctors during the OPD hours.

Rajinder Singh, a patient from Chopal, said, “I have come from the interiors and am seeking treatment for leg pain; but there is no orthopaedic doctor available in the OPD here”.

Sumita Devi from Rohru had to leave the hospital and seek treatment at the IGMC as there was no doctor available.

The patients in the city are forced to go to the IGMC, even for minor ailments, as the X-ray machine is out of order for the last one month.

Roop Lal, a patient from Ghanati, Shimla rural, said, “We have to pay Rs 150-250 per X-ray in private labs, while the hospital charges only Rs 50”.

The patients resented that the causality services were a mess as the lab equipments were outdated and did not function.

The doctors at the OPD admitted that the equipments were old and the X-ray machine was out of order.

Besides, more than 1,000 patients who seek OPD services daily have to bear the weather in the open in front of the OPD as there no benches. There have been cases when patients collapsed as there was no waiting hall or benches, informed the hospital staff, expressing their helplessness.

The Ripon is a 150-bed hospital, but as many as 101 patients were admitted this week alone. The road to the hospital is a traffic bottleneck as patients have no parking facilities and traffic cops challan the vehicles.

The government changed the name of the hospital to Deen Dyal Hospital, but facilities remain non-existent and miseries have multiplied due to the problems, rued Piyush Sood and Payal Thakur, attendants at the hospital.

Dr Ravinder Mokta, president, HP Medical Officer Association, Shimla, said they would take up the matter with the hospital administration.

Dr Raungta, Medical Superintendent, Ripon Hospital, said, “They depute specialists on night duty when they have only two specialists available”.

“The X-ray machine parts have been imported from Germany and the services will be restored soon. We cannot add waiting halls as Ripon Hospital is a heritage building. The casualty services are being improved,” he claimed.

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11 IAS officers shifted
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
In the first major administrative shake-up after the Lok Sabha polls, the government today ordered the transfer of 11 IAS and 38 Himachal Administrative Service (HAS) officers. Ritesh Chauhan has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, in place of Vikas Labroo who has been posted as Managing Director (MD) of HP Backward Classes, Finance and Development Corporation, Kangra, in place of Hans Raj Chauhan.

Chauhan has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul Spiti, in place of Beer Singh Thakur who has been posted as Settlement Officer, Shimla.

Bharat Khera, Secretary, General Administration department (GAD), has been given additional charge of Divisional Commissioner, Shimla. R N Batta, MD, HRTC, will also be Director, Transport, now.

Sunil Kumar Chaudhary, Settlement Officer, Shimla, has been made Chief Executive Officer, HP Urban Development Authority. J R Katwal, MD, HP Backward Classes Corporation, Kangra, has been posted as Special Secretary, Revenue Disaster Management Cell.

Rajeev Sharma, Special Secretary, Public Works and Revenue Disaster Management Cell, has been posted as Director (Personnel) in the HP Power Transmission Corporation. S S Guleria, Special Secretary, Training and Foreign Assignment, has been made MD, State Industrial Development Corporation. Vivek Bhatia, SDM, Nichar, has been posted as SDM Mandi.

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Schoolchildren to participate in mass sapling plantation drive
Tribune News Service

Solan, June 12
With a view to spread awareness among schoolchildren about the significance of forests, the state government will now educate them to plant a sapling each and help in spreading greenery across the state.

Help from the Education and Forest Departments has been sought to implement this marathon sapling plantation programme across the state. The state Legal Services Authority has already adopted a project for sensitising the schoolchildren on the importance of afforestation and plastic and garbage disposal-related issues.

DFO, Solan Forest Division, Prem Mahajan, said to achieve this objective a series of meetings were already held between the Deputy Director of Education, the Deputy Commissioner and Range Forest Officers to finalise the strategy.

It has been decided that schools where land is available will undertake plantation in their premises, while schools that do not have adequate vacant spaces will be provided land by the Forest Department. The Forest Department has already identified chunks of land in the periphery of schools that do not have land for the sapling plantation drive.

As per the schedule chalked out, the mass sapling plantation will be undertaken from August 23 in all schools falling under Solan Forest Division.

The exercise is supposed to inculcate a sense of environment conservation among the children and ensure protection of the forest cover in the state.

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Chamba in need of 'master plan'
Balkrishan Prashar

Chamba, June 12
Endowed with vast tourism potential, Chamba district is set in high alpine meadows and snow-clad peaks. But the district needs a tangible "master plan" for the development of tourism.

The Chamera reservoir here has become a centre of water sports such as canoeing and sailing. The Chamba valley is also endowed with a rich variety of tourist attractions in the form of trekking, mountaineering, art and culture, fairs and festivals.

Apart from the adventure sports, most tourists are drawn towards Chamba’s scenic beauty. High passes at Kalichho, Chobia, Kugti, Jalsu and Quarsi are particularly attractive.

Its ancient temples and places of pilgrimage such as Chowrasi (deities of 84 sidhas), Banni Devi temple (Sarot), Kailing (Kugti), Kartik temple (Kuleth) and Manimahesh are thronged by pilgrims from different parts of the country every year. Over one lakh pilgrims visit Manimahesh annually.

“Chamba is equally popular for its art. Artists from different fields like painting, embroidery, wood-carving and sculpture have brought laurels to this historic town. One of the famous art works is the Chamba rumaal,” said Padma Shri Vijay Sharma, a distinguished artist of Pahari paintings.

But there are no hoardings of a tourist guide map on the threshold of Katori Bungalow, Sanjhi Nala and Draman on the main highways linking the neighbouring states and the rest of Himachal Pradesh with the district.

Parveen, a tourist from Kapurthala in Punjab, said the valley should be linked by the Railways for the convenience of tourists.

“There should be some excitement in visiting Dalhousie. There are a plenty of sites for a cable car ride or for a toy-train ride through the forests. Even bears or panthers might be spotted as Dalhousie hills are replete with a hill environment, showing tourists the wealth of flora and fauna and the geology of the surrounding area,” suggested Rajinder Gupta, a local hotelier.

RS Rana, manager of the Dalhousie Youth Hostel, emphasised the need of cleanliness for which dustbins should be installed en route sightseeing spots.

With a view to promoting tourism in the region, Kadam Sandeep Vasant, Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, has issued directives to the district officials of the Tourism Department to install guide maps and other guidelines for the tourists visiting the district and give fillip to other tourism activities.

He has also asked the officials to carry out renovation work of public toilets at the lay-bys on the highways at Jot, Nainikhad, Chowari, Lahru, Kharamukh, Janghi and Pukhri.

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More workers to enjoy health benefits
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12
Labour and Employment Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has reduced the limit from 20 to 10 workers in shops, commercial establishments and factories for benefits under various health schemes of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

Agnihotri said this while presiding over a regional board meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Employees State Insurance Corporation here on Wednesday.

The Rs 800 crore ESIC Medical College and Hospital at Ner Chowk in Mandi would function from this academic session and 100 MBBS students would be admitted to the college that would benefit the workers who would be registered online. Five kits had been allotted to Himachal for the off-line camps capture the bio-metric data, he added.

Agnihotri said the limit of payment of medical reimbursement claims had been enhanced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000. ESI dispensaries would provide medicines to workers and the payment of medical reimbursement claims of multi-specialty hospitals would be deposited in the office of the State Medical Commissioner so as to ensure their timely clearance, he added The minister said the ESI dispensary at the industrial area, Tahliwal, would be upgraded to model dispensary-cum-diagnostic centre to cope with the workers.

He said a monthly speedy grievance redressal programme was being held on 10th of every month at the ESIC’s regional office and branch offices.

He said doctors and the paramedical staff posted in ESIC dispensaries and ESIC Hospital would not be shifted to the dispensaries and hospitals of the state government. Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Vineet Chawdhry said the government would ensure that workers were provided best healthcare facilities at their work places.

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Car driver dies in road mishap
Our Correspondent

Dalhousie, June 12
One person was killed on the spot while two others were seriously injured when a Maruti car veered off the road and fell into a gorge near Narohi village in Chamba district today.

The deceased has been identified as driver Ramesh Kumar and the injured as Des Raj and Karan. They were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Superintendent of Police DK Chaudhary confirmed the news and said a case had been registered.

One killed as jeep falls into gorge

Mandi: A jeep driver Ghanshyam died last night near the Basnati Nullah that falls under the jurisdiction of the Balh police station. The jeep fell into a gorge as the driver lost control over the vehicle. — TNS

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Residents oppose power cuts
Our Correspondent

Palampur, June 12
Residents of Baijnath and Paprola have lodged a strong protest against the unannounced power cuts throughout the day in the area. Power failures have forced the residents to come out in the streets.

In the scorching heat, most parts of Baijnath remained without power for five to six hours on Monday, causing inconvenience.

Besides, schoolchildren were the worst-hit as their studies were adversely affected.

Meanwhile, a senior officer of the HPSEBL said the power supply was interrupted because of a fault in the national grid on Monday. Later, a tree fell on the 33-KV power lines near Palampur, which also resulted in a snag. However, later power supply was restored in all parts of the region.

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2 get 15-year RI under POCSO Act
Our Correspondent

Una, June 12
Special Judge-cum-District and Sessions Judge CL Kochar today convicted two youths from Sanghnai village of Amb block under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced them to 15 years rigorous imprisonment (RI), besides paying a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

According to District Attorney NC Ghai, in May 2013, Sushil Kumar, alias Pappi, and Anil Kumar, alias Girish, had raped a 12-year-old girl. The accused reportedly offered sweets and cold drinks to the victim to lure her. The victim’s mother had lodged a complaint with the police in June 2013.

Ghai said as many as 18 witnesses had deposed during the trial. He said the accused had been further sentenced to undergo two-year RI under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act besides paying a fine of Rs 5,000 each and one year RI under Section 506, IPC, besides paying a fine of Rs 2,000 each.

On the realisation of the fine, a sum of Rs 25,000 will be paid as compensation to the victim, read the orders.

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Man booked for abetment to suicide
Our Correspondent

Chamba, June 12
Following the death of Leelo Devi at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, on Tuesday, the police have registered a case of abetment to suicide, against her husband, under Section 306 of the India Penal Code.

Father of the victim, Ram Dyal filed a complaint against his son-in-law Chand at Tissa police station.

In his complaint, Ram Dyal, a resident of Chandoga village, alleged that his son-in-law Chand used to beat and torture his daughter Leelo Devi for the last five years.

In the complaint, Ram Dyal stated that his daughter suffered burns on June 9 and later, was referred to the Tanda Medical College, where she succumbed to her injuries caused due to the burns.

Investigations in the case are underway.

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Una reach cricket semis

Una, June 12
Una district beat Solan on the basis of the first innings lead to reach the semifinals of the Inter-District Senior Men Cricket Championship. The two-day match concluded at the Indira Stadium here today.

Bating first, Una scored 386 runs in 83.2 overs and in reply, Solan batsmen were all out for 215 in 55.5 overs.

In the second innings, Una piled up a massive 575 runs that included a double century by Amit Kumar and a century by Jarnail Singh. Solan were 44 without any loss when the play ended.

Joginder Sharma of Solan took a haul of seven wickets, while Shivam Puri, Una, picked 4 wickets during the match. The first semifinal will be played at the Bilaspur Stadium between Hamirpur and Una on 14 June. — OC

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Rs 10,000 for road mishap victims

Chamba, June 12
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has expressed grief over the accident at Shakti Nala near Bhanjraru in the far-flung Churah sub-division of Chamba district last evening.

Three persons were killed and nine others were seriously wounded in the mishap.

ADM of Chamba Ashwani Raj Shah said Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of the deceased had been disbursed while the injured were given Rs 5,000. — OC

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Anganwari workers await two months honorarium

Chamba, June 12
About 450 anganwari workers of the Mehla, Choori and Kilod areas have been waiting for their honorarium for the past about two months.

The sources today said since the workers belonged to poor families and were facing pecuniary difficulties to manage the livelihood of their families.

Meanwhile, officials said they had received the budget recently and would disburse the payments of the workers soon. — OC

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