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Holiday horror in Mandi
3 more bodies of students recovered
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HC directions to Chief Secy
Govt likely to ease land reforms Act
CJ Mir launches digital display system
Chief Justice accorded warm welcome
Power projects resume production after silt flushed out
Rs 28.29 crore being spent under
MGNREGS: DC
ASI ban on construction near fort irks residents
Dumping of muck in
villages
Mankotia for modernisation of runways, airports
Transfers of 4 IAS officers cancelled
Rohtang Pass opened for tourists In-laws of suicide victim arrested ‘No move to close any timber sale
depot’ Action against drug, mining mafia sought Book released Man held with 105 g charas Man gets 15-yr RI for rape CM flays Governors’ removal
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Govt’s updated report blames ‘carelessness’
It says the project authorities were callous, students didn’t heed warning Pratibha Chauhan and Vijay Arora Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 19 The report was submitted by Onkar Sharma, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, to the High Court here today. It did not put blame on anyone, but said that the project authorities were callous and had the students heeded the warning given by local residents, the mishap could have been averted. The 109-page report stated that as there was no Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the release of water from the barrage, the incident took place apparently because of a systematic failure and as such the blame cannot be pin-pointed. “Those handling the barrage are not working in tandem and are taking decisions independently and in isolation of each other,” the report read. It mentions that the present staff at Larji should not be blamed for the lapse alone as earlier incumbents, too, are responsible for the lapses for not having the SOP in place. The report also pointed out carelessness, lack of coordination and improper understanding of the situation by project staff which led to release of 430 cumecs in one hour which could have been averted. The report also came out strongly against the functioning of the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) and the Northern Region Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC) by stating that load-shedding should be done from projects having a large storage capacity and not run of the river projects like Larji. The inquiry officer, in fact, requested the court to direct the SLDC and the NLRDC to evolve a mechanism to address the problem. Officials of Larji, including the Deputy Chief Engineer, stated that had water not been discharged, the dam structure could have collapsed causing huge devastation right from Thalout to Mandi. The Larji officials mentioned that they had received calls from local residents to water had entered some of the houses in the Aut market. The report said there were three hooters whose sound was very feeble and could not be heard nor blown in case of power failure. Out of the 12 warning hoardings that had been put up, only four remained and the Larji authorities did not bother to replace them. Though Fitter Harbans Singh, in his statement, stated that the hooter was blared each time the water was released, but tea stall owner Puran Chand at Tahlout, his wife Puni Devi, four employees of an electricity sub-station and presidents of the Beopar Mandals of Thalout and Aut, respectively, said that they did not hear any hooters that day. As for the rescue and response by the administration, the report said the students and the tour manager died due to asphyxia, hypothermia and head injuries within five to 10 minutes of drowning and as such the rescue operation turned into search and salvage operation. It added that the students did not probably survive for over two minutes due to the strong current of water, boulders and multiple injuries. What report says
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3 more bodies of students recovered
Pandoh (Mandi), June 19 Two bodies were recovered this morning and the body of M Siva Parkash Verma was recovered last night. Mandi DC Devesh Kumar has confirmed the recovery of three bodies from the water. The bodies have been sent to Andhra Bhawan, New Delhi, after the postmortem and from there these would be sent to Hyderabad. The parents of Macharala Akhil had also returned on June 17. Though the authorities are continuing the search operation, the bodies have started coming up in a natural course. Local experts are saying, “Since the temperature of the water has increased with the flow of rain water in the dam, the frozen bodies have started coming up and there are chances of recovery of more bodies in the next few days.” |
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HC directions to Chief Secy
Shimla, June 19 A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan further directed the Hyderabad engineering college to file an affidavit explaining the purpose for conducting the tour and whether the consent of the parents or guardians of the students had been obtained. The court observed that it would examine the report submitted by Onkar Sharma, Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, in detail and listed the case for June 24. Those present in the court included Chief Managing Director of the HP State Electricity Board and the Divisional Commissioner, Mandi. |
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Govt likely to ease land reforms Act
Solan, June 19 The minister, who is on a two-day visit to the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area, said an Industrial Advisory Council involving key investors would be set up soon and this would help promote industrial growth. Apart from this, a single-window clearance agency would be made more effective for speedy clearances of new projects, he said. While reviewing the progress of various projects being conceived under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode, he directed the investors to ensure timely deposition of their equity share as delay affected the progress of such projects. He was critical of the
Rs 10.81 crore Baddi Trade Centre-cum Cub House project, where against the equity share of
Rs 2.21 crore, barely Rs 10 lakh had been deposited by investors. A Rs
35 bigha land had been set aside by the investors at Bhatoli Kalan for this purpose and the project was yet to be completed despite the lapse of several years. The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries’ Association is implementing the project. He also took investors to task for failing to avail the facilities of women’s hostel, where 464 dwelling units had been made and each unit was priced at Rs 1 lakh. In the absence of adequate equity contribution facilities such as electricity could also not be provided. Investors need to pool an equity of
Rs 2.75 crore for this project. The minister directed investors to report cases of malpractices directly to him to ensure transparency in industrial clearances. Chairman, HP Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Hardeep Bawa; principal secretary, industries, PC Dhiman; director, industries Rajender Singh, were also present on the occasion. Vinod Khurana, president, Nalagarh Industries Association, said issues such as police patrolling from 8pm to 6am, quality power, common effluent treatment plant for Nalagarh, reduction in central sales tax, among other things were taken up with the minister and he assured to consider the demands. Representatives of BBNIA, Nalagarh Industries Association, CII, were also present on the occasion. |
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CJ Mir launches digital display system
Shimla, June 19 Inaugurating the system, Chief Justice Mir applauded Bar members for their co-operation and their contribution in rendering assistance to the court in dispensation of justice. He also highly appreciated the role played by the Bar. This digital system has many advanced features. It will not only display the case status in every court, but also generate a call to Bar members whenever any case is kept back in any court for hearing and any advocate in that particular case is unable to appear before the court. Apart from this, the case status will be accessible to advocates as well as litigating public through internet via website of the HP High Court. Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice Rajiv Sharma, Justice V K Sharma, Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary, Justice Tarlok Singh
Chauhan, Justice PS Rana and Justice Sureshwar Thakur, Advocate General Sharwan
Dogra, Assistant Solicitor General Sandeep Sharma, Registrar General CB Barowalia and other Registrars were also present. Features
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Chief Justice accorded warm welcome
Shimla, June 19 Justice Mir said the strength of Judiciary lied in public confidence, which in turn depended upon good relationship between the Bar and the Bench. Honest, sincere, and diligent discharge of duties by each of them was important. Any wrong conduct or act on anyone’s part would adversely affect public confidence. It would be detrimental to the justice delivery system, he added. The CJ also thanked the Bar and the Bench for the affection and cooperation extended to him during his tenure as Acting
Chief Justice. Justice Sanjay Karol welcomed Justice Mir and complimented him on being an efficient, honest and deeply religious person, committed to the cause of justice. Shravan Dogra, the Advocate General and Chairman of the Bar Council, Ashwani Pathak, president of Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association, and Sandeep Sharma, Assistant Solicitor General of India, also spoke on the occasion. High Court Judges Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice Rajiv Sharma, Justice VK Sharma, Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary, Justice Tarlok Chauhan, Justice PS Rana and Justice Sureshwar Thakur and judges of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court were also in attendance. Registrars of the High Court, Chirag Bhanu Singh, Principal Secretary, Law, along with a large number of dignitaries, Bar and staff members were also present. |
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Power projects resume production after silt flushed out
Shimla, June 19 Also, 1,000 MW Karcham-Wangtoo project of JP Company resumed generation after the silt was flushed out, revealed officials. All other power projects had normal to peak generation today as the inflow in the Ravi, Beas and Satluj reported an increase, but less than last year’s. The silt discharge in the Satluj river shot up to 5,000 particles per minute (PPM) today, but it was less than last year’s 6,000 PPM. The inflow into the river was 1,200 cumecs as recorded at 10 am today. The NJPC project resumed production and operated all of its units with production between 1,315 MW and 1,563 MW, said the project sources. “It is routine exercise to flush out silt and power was closed for a few hours when the silt content increased to 5,000 PPM”, Sanjay Sood, general manager of the project, said. All the six units of the projects were operating today, he added. Similarly, 274 MW Rampur power project of the SJVNL also resumed production and so was the case with Karcham-Wangtoo power project, said officials here. Rampur operated its four units with production peaking at 275 MW, informed the managers. The 126 MW Larji power project peaked its capacity at 126 MW while the inflow in the Beas was about 400 cumecs. It was about 250 cumecs in May and silt content remained up to permissible limit, said HPSEB officials. The 540 MW Chamera-I, 300 MW Chamera-II and 231 MW Chamera-III in the Ravi Basin generated power at peak of the their installed capacity. The NHPC-run 520 MW Parbati –III operated at 120 MW out of the 260 MW commissioned by the corporation. The BBMB-run Dehra power house was generating power at 480 MW, while the Bhakhara was peaking at 874 MW and generation of electricity at Pong Dam was between 120 MW and 360 MW, sources said. |
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Rs 28.29 crore being spent under
MGNREGS: DC
Una, June 19 He was presiding over a district-level review meeting of the rural development projects underway in the district. The DC said 288 low-cost houses, under the Centrally-sponsored Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana, would be constructed for the Below Poverty Level (BPL) families. He directed all Block Development Officers (BDOs) to prepare monthly targets for progress of works in each panchayat and inspect the ongoing works to ensure quality. While reviewing the progress under the Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana, wherein selected revenue villages are given a grant of Rs 10 lakh each to undertake integrated developmental activities, Jain said Rs 1 crore was provided to 10 panchayats this year. He directed the officials concerned to complete the pending works under the scheme by August 31. Jain called for greater coordination between the members of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and officials at the Block Development Offices for implementing the works. He also directed the panchayat secretaries to ensure that important information regarding all ongoing works is displayed at the panchayat office or at some prominent place to maintain transparency. Chetna Khadwal, project officer, District Rural Development Agency, and all the five BDOs of the district attended the meeting.
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ASI ban on construction near fort irks residents
Nurpur, June 19 Now, after bearing with these restrictions for the past four years, the demand to relax these restrictions under the amended Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, has started gaining momentum. Residents said almost all development activities had come to a halt with the enforcement of this act, but some government agencies had succeeded in procuring the permission from the National Monuments Authority (NMA), government of India, to complete the mini-secretariat building and additional building of Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School here. But still a number of proposed development works such as the expansion of building of sub-jail, police station, judicial court complex and Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School are still hanging in fire due to the ASI’s restrictions. Apart from this, residents living within 300-metre radius of Nurpur Fort are the worst sufferers, as they cannot even repair, alter their existing buildings. The local town welfare committee has underlined the need to relax the ASI restrictions. Committee general secretary PD Sahotra urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to take up the issue so that those residing in the regulated areas near protected monuments in the towns across the state could at least repair or alter their existing house premises. “If these stringent restrictions are relaxed, development activities of the government can be expedited in the town,” he asserted. |
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JP Cements told to pay
compensation
Tribune News Service
Solan, June 19 The plant management would also bear the cost of damages suffered by the eight trucks, a tractor and a private car, which had been buried in the muck disposed unscientifically by the company plants at Bagha and Bhalag villages in Arki subdivision. An automobile engineer will assess the damage caused to each vehicle. Verma said the revenue staff was also assessing the damage caused to the fields, houses and shops and they would be suitably compensated at the earliest. Meanwhile, Vineet Kumar, member secretary of the State Pollution Control Board, said he had also sought a report from the regional officer about this incident. Earlier, reckless and unscientific dumping of muck by the JP Cement plants at Bagha and Bhalag in Arki tehsil had damaged eight parked trucks, a car and a tractor here on Tuesday. The vehicles were submerged in the muck and flowed down onto the road below where they were parked following heavy rain. SDM, Arki, LR Verma took stock of the situation yesterday. The accident occurred when water flowed down from the cement plant at Bagha and the muck dumped on the other side of the plant flowed down into the Bhalag nullah following heavy rain which lasted for nearly one and a half hours. Local residents said at least two cowsheds and houses were damaged in the accident. The crucial Bagha-Kander road has been closed following the accident, thus cutting a crucial part of the remote Mangal panchayat from rest of the area.
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Mankotia for modernisation of runways, airports
Shimla, June 19 He raised various issues related to the exploitation of tourism potential available in the state with Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati in a meeting at Delhi today. Mankotia said there was a need to take up the matter of modernisation of existing runways for which special intervention and support of the Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India was required. He also raised the matter of expansion of existing aviation facilities in the state so that proper air connectivity could be provided to the tourists. He said at present, there were inadequate runways and limited flights being operated in the state which needed urgent intervention of the Union Ministry. The Union Civil Aviation Minister asked for submission of a comprehensive plan for tourism potential available in the state so that the ministry could extend support to the state government. He said the Centre was keen to initiate various tourism projects aimed at employment generation for rural youth and also economic activities at grassroot level.
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No hike in prices of ration items, says minister
Shimla, June 19 Talking to mediapersons after a meeting of board of directors of the Food and Civil Corporation, Bali added that so far there was no move to revise the prices of the commodities distributed through the PDS depots. The Board also decided to spend the corporate responsibility fund on improving the PDS system in the state, he said. The matter regarding revising the price list for extra card holders would go to the Cabinet for final decision. The state government is following the guidelines of the Food Security Act in the state, he added On Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s direction on hoardings, Bali said they had issued directions to the department and asked the shopkeepers to display the price list in each shop. |
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Transfers of 4 IAS officers cancelled
Shimla, June 19 The government cancelled the transfer of Dr RN Batta, Managing Director, Himachal Road Transport Corporation, Shimla, as Director, Transport, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla; Jeet Ram Katwal, Managing Director, HP Backward Classes, Finance and Development Corporation, Kangra, as Special Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management Cell) at Shimla; Vikas Labroo, DC, Sirmaur at Nahan, as Managing Director, HP Backward Classes, Finance and Development Corporation, Kangra; and Ritesh Chauhan, Director of Transport, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, as DC, Sirmaur at Nahan. The government also posted M Sudha Devi as Special Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management Cell) to the government on return from central deputation, with immediate effect, in the public interest.
— TNS |
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Industries and Information and Public Relations Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today said the state government was exploring the possibility of relaxing Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, for industrial plots in the industrial areas to promote speedy industrial growth.
Shimla, June 19
