Shimla, July 25
The owners of over 25,000 unauthorised structures raised in violation of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) norms can hope to get some relief as they can be given some relaxation in the compounding rates and also in terms of an additional parking floor.

It is almost 10,000 house owners in the three merges areas of Dhalli, New Shimla and Tutu who stand to benefit the most as their structures will be regularised at the Special Area Development Authority rates and not the Municipal Corporation rates which are higher. For other owners, whose structures are unauthorised, there is little possibility of reduction in the compounding rates which can turn out to be very huge in cases where the deviation is very huge.

Sources said the recommendations of the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha, which met here today, would be placed before the House during the monsoon session.The Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha is headed by TCP Minister Sudhir Sharma while other members include Asha Kumari, Sanjay Rattan and Anirudh Singh (Congress) and Suresh Bhardwaj, Maheshwar Singh and BK Chauhan (BJP). The three BJP MLAs could not attend the meeting due to the state-level meeting at Solan.

The Select Committee could hold another meeting before the start of the monsoon session. The government had proposed to bring in some amendments to the TCP Act during the Budget session held in February earlier this year but finally the matter was referred to the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha.

Another benefit which all house owners could get was allowing construction of a parking floor in the basement if the house is located on a motorable road. In case of those who have already constructed an additional floor, one floor will be allowed for parking. This relaxation is expected not only to help regularise many structures, but also to solve the roadside parking problem in Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala and other towns facing traffic congestion.

The permissible deviation will be worked out on the basis of the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in case of every house whose status as of now is unauthorised. Though in the last retention policy, the extent of deviation allowed was 40 per cent but majority of these houses did not qualify for regularisation as the deviation was much higher and in some cases even 100 per cent.

The issue of regularising these 25,000 structures has been hanging fire since long. Though the TCP Department had brought in five retention policies, with the government itself filing an affidavit that it would not bring in any new retention policy, the only way out to regularise these structures is by way of bringing in an amendment to the TCP Act. 

Shimla, July 25
The cash-strapped Himachal Government is toying with the idea of introducing online lottery even as ticket lottery had been banned by the BJP regime led by PK Dhumal in his first tenure as Chief Minister.

“The government is planning to introduce online lottery,” said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here today. There are conflicting views on the issue as people feel that it might rake in a lot of revenue for the fund-starved government, but is not in the interest of the common man.

On the other hand, those opposed to online lottery, point out that lottery adversely hits the poor. It was the previous BJP regime which had banned ticket lottery in the state in 1998.

At that time, Himachal was getting almost Rs 12 crore per annum from the sale of lottery.

Virbhadra also said the government was still contemplating on the issue of giving relaxation to admission norms to private technical institutes in the state. “There is no dispute as far as the government seats are concerned, but the problem is in case of students who do not qualify norms and eligibility criteria,” he said.

He said private technical institutes had approached the government to relax the norms and the Cabinet at its meeting yesterday deliberated upon the issue. “No decision has been taken but let them approach us with clean hands,” he said when asked if the institutes would be asked to withdraw various petitions filed by these in court.

He also said his government was keen to strengthen the HP Private Educational Institutes Regulatory Commission. “We want to give the commission more teeth so that there was check on academic standards in all private educational institutes,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said efforts would be made to make better arrangements for the Shrikhand pilgrimage. “At present, it is being conducted haphazardly with no proper arrangements especially in case of any natural calamity,” he said.

He said efforts would be made to make proper stages and halt stations to ensure safety of the pilgrims.

Virbhadra said the setting up of the Jogindernagar-Manali-Leh rail line would not only provide a strategic link for carrying defence supplies to the border areas, but also give a major boost to tourism and industry in Himachal. 

Solan, July 25
Riding high on the victory of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP core and extended core committee today decided to focus on the next Vidhan Sabha polls where it was decided to win 60 seats. Terming it Mission 60, the committee decided to step up its preparedness for this mission.

The state BJP will also review the booth-wise performance of its MPs and MLAs while taking into account the poll results of the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha polls as well.

The core committee was attended by state in-charge and national vice-president Balbir Punj, state BJP president Satpal Satti, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, general secretary Dr Rajiv Bindal and others. It also decided to look into the comparative figures of the poll results of 2009, 2012 and 2014 and assess the performance of each leader.

While this analysis will help the party identify how senior leader had performed in his own booth, it will also help figure out how their performance had taken a dip or shown an improvement in the polls.

Attributing the success of the Lok Sabha poll to the senior leaders of the state, the committee thanked the leaders for their guidance. The committee also thanked the people for extending their overwhelming support to the party in the poll.

The committee also decided to take into account suggestions given by the members to strengthen the party at the booth level and chalk out a strategy for the it.

The meeting of the office-bearers of the state BJP, which took place in the evening, unanimously concluded that the Congress-led state government had failed to live up to the expectations of the people and it had lost the right to remain in power barely within one-and-a-half year. Not only was the government and the party at draggers drawn with each other, but their rivalry was also adversely affecting the pace of development. Issues likely to be taken up during the coming monsoon session also found a mention at the meeting.

The meeting of the state executive committee will take place tomorrow where senior leaders, including the national organisation secretary Ram Lal, RSS’s senior leader Indresh, MP JP Nadda, national vice-president Suresh Kumar, are slated to come. Though the four MPs are suppose to attend today’s meeting, they had to stay back for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s breakfast.

Shimla, July 25
The country’s soldiers and ex-servicemen are set to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Divas tomorrow that marks the decisive victory of the Indian Army over the intruding Pakistanis in the Drass-Kargil sector, one of the highest war zones in the cold desert of Leh-Ladakh.

Though the Indian Army has planned the main celebration in Drass this time, the state soldiers and ex-servicemen will celebrate the day at different places at their own level in the state.

Soldiers will celebrate the Vijay Divas at Darcha where the summer Army contingent is camped, short of the 15,000 ft high Bara Lacha pass in the Lahaul valley.

The Kargil War victory was achieved because of the valiant efforts of our soldiers and young officers, said Brigadier Kushal Thakur, state convener of the Indian Army League, who led the decisive final big assault on the intruders recapturing the strategic Tiger and Tololing hills in Kargil war zone.

There were countless acts of gallantry made by a slew of officers, JCOs and soldiers during the Kargil war, Thakur recalled.

The Vijay Divas is observed to pay tribute to 527 soldiers killed in the battle and 1,363 who were wounded. As many as 26 officers were killed and 66 others wounded. Paramvir Chakra winner Capt Vikram Batra, whose war cry “yeh dil maange more” became an inspirational mantra for soldiers and the officers in the war, recalled Kargil heroes.

“We moved to Drass on May 18, 1999, from the Kashmir valley ordered to capture Tololing Peak,” Thakur said. “The operation started on May 22, 1999, and we were clueless about enemy and terrain and then came an emotional letter from the wife of the officer who was newly married, but we fought on braving stinger missiles at Tololing”.

The enemy shot down an Indian gunship helicopter on May 28, killing all members of the crew and the IAF called off the gunship attacks, making the situation more difficult for 18 Grenadiers. No food, no water and ammunition was carried on the back, he recalled.

“We made the final assault on June 2, 1999, led by Lt. Col. R. Vishawanathan followed by me”, he remembered. We destroyed two bunkers of the enemy and made advance, he crawled up to the machine gun bunker and lobbed a hand grenade and killed three Pakistani soldiers, but in the fire fight sustained a bullet injury in the groin, but he refused to budge. Sachin Nimbalkar and Lt. Balwan Singh pulled him back, gave him first medical aid, but bled to death, Thakur said.

“We along with the 2 Rajputana Rifles captured Tololing on June 14, which was the first major victory in Kargil war,” he added. Then came Tiger Hill on July 4. Capt. Sachin Nimbalkar and Lt. Balwan Singh, part of Ghatak Platoon, turned tables that led to the final victory over the intruders, he added. 

Una, July 25
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Vijay Diwas, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, in his message to the people of the state, paid rich tributes to the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation.

In a press note here today, he said the country would remain indebted to them.

The Chief Minister said 52 brave sons of Himachal had laid down their lives, while thousands of others fought valiantly to protect the country.

He said he was proud that Himachal Pradesh had produced brave soldiers.

Virbhadra, who reached the district this evening from Shimla, listened to public grievances at the Circuit House. He will lay the foundation stone of a multi-purpose tourist complex at Chintpurni tomorrow, which will come up at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

The CM was accompanied by Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Chairman of the State Finance Commission and Chintpurni MLA Kuldip Kumar, besides Gagret MLA Rakesh Kalia and District Congress President Varinder Dharmani.

Solan, July 25
With the stiff financial crisis plaguing the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, the 600 retired employees have not been paid pension for the month of June and the payment of salary to the 1,375 employees would also become difficult if the state government did not dole out liberal financial grant to the university soon.

The university, which has been facing cumulative losses amounting to Rs 36 crore for the last five years, has failed to find adequate financial aid, rued Vice-Chancellor Vijay Singh Thakur while talking to mediapersons on the university campus today after completing his one-year term in office.

Thakur said despite making efforts to get the requisite financial help, the availability of funds had failed to match the requirements. He said the salary and pension component consumed as much as Rs 72 crore annually while funds to the tune of Rs 48 crore only had been made available and this had made it difficult for the university management to even meet their salary liabilities. He said the university had no source of income and hence it could do little to generate income on its own.

The employees had not only been denied their due allowances since 2010, but those who had retired were yet to be paid the enhanced pensions, leave encashment, gratuity and this had created a piquant situation for the management.

With nearly 50 per cent scientists superannuating in 2015 and their declining number was a cause for concern as it adversely affected the working of the university’s Neri college, five regional research stations and an equal number of krishi vigyan kendras which were already grappling with the shortage of staff.

Thakur said the university management had now enhanced the number of seats which would help generate additional revenue and out of the 507 seats, 308 would be filled on the basis of self-financing. This would make available Rs 15 crore and these funds could be utilised to put in place better facilities for students, he said.

Thakur also listed his achievements during his one-year tenure which included adding infrastructure and setting up a state-level energy park.

The VC also raised the issue of Chinmaya Vidyalaya which was operating on a land belonging to the university and said he would take it up at an appropriate level.

Meanwhile, the Pensioners Association, led by Mani Ram Thakur, threatened to sit on a fast unto death if their pending dues were not paid within one month. He said it was lamentable that they had not been paid pension for the month of June 
and this was causing them hardships.

Registrar Rupali Thakur and other statutory officials were also present on the occasion. 

Una, July 25
Thousands of youth thronged the district headquarters to participate in an open recruitment rally (for general duty soldiers) that began at the Indira stadium 
this morning.

 Police and military personnel had to channelise the road traffic on the other side of the dividers to avoid any untoward incident.

Almost 5,000 youth stood outside the gates in the morning and only those youth who passed the height and qualification conditions were allowed entry.

Col SV Mathur(retd), Director of the Army Recruitment Office, Hamirpur, said a total of 5,704 youth had reported for recruitment as general duty soldier. He said the candidature of 1,259 youth was rejected due to short height or incomplete educational qualifications.

Colonel Mathur said of the 4,445 youth who underwent the physical tests and document screening, 376 were finally shortlisted for medical examination, which would be conducted at the same venue on Sunday. He said the shortlisted candidates would be called for a written test at a later date and that in order to avoid impersonation, bio-metrics such as digital fingerprints of the shortlisted candidates had been taken.

Brigadier JK Shukla, Deputy Director General at the Headquarter Recruitment Centre, Ambala, who was here to oversee the process, said he was happy to see that youth were enthusiastic about joining the Army and there was an overwhelming response despite rain.

He said the Army had been getting good soldiers from this area. The screening test for soldier clerk would be held tomorrow at the same venue. 

Shimla, July 25
Even as his friends refused to carry the body of pilgrim Saurabh Kapoor, a resident of Dev Nagar in Shimla, who died hundred metres short of the holy Shivling atop the 18,000-foot Shrikhand peak, Sunil, vice-president of gram panchayat, Nagan, in Kotkhai, brought the body of Saurabh down to Nan Saravor.

Sunil, along with his friends, spotted Saurabh lying on the steep hill, one kilometre short of the peak, says, “After having the first touch of his body in sub-zero temperatures, I was not able to make out whether he was dead or alive, but decided to take him down”.

My friends were apprehensive as if he was dead, they would invite trouble from the police and continued their journey. However, Sunil decided to carry him as it would have been inhuman to leave someone in such a state.

“I carried him four kilometres down to Nain Sarovar which was a Herculean task, but Lord Shiva gave me the strength to do it and on reaching Nain Sarovar, I found another body of Asha Devi from Keo village in Rampur which was being carried by an eight-member rescue team of local residents who refused to help me,” he lamented.

Later two persons from a rescue team, Manali, came for help and took the body down the hill and I returned for my pilgrimage, said Sunil, adding that small initiatives on the part of government could reduce such casualties as there was no mobile network.

“I saw a large number of pilgrims travelling in shorts, T-shirts and chappal at a height of 16,000 feet and felt that educating the pilgrims about the climatic conditions and prescribing proper dress – umbrella, jackets, sticks, boots, gloves — can reduce the number of death due to cold and breathlessness,” he added.

The most treacherous stretch of the journey, posing a grave risk to pilgrims, starts ahead of Parvati Bagh when pilgrims have to cross glaciers but the administration has not taken any precautionary measures to ensure erecting railings and parapets at all high risk points, he observed.

He further said the medical check-up was just eyewash as doctors only ask the devotees a set of routine question like “Are you fine, do you have breathing problems, do you take drugs? The pilgrims who have come so far will never say that they are ill”. However, the best part of the journey was subsidised food and beds. We got food and bed for Rs 300-400 per person, Sunil said.

Nurpur, July 25
Aakriti Heer (20) from nearby Suliali village has climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia. Three female members’ troupe led by Arunima Sinha, the first woman amputee of the world to conquer Mount Everest successfully, scaled Mt Elbrus at 1.30 pm on Thursday. She will be one of the youngest girls in the country who has scaled the highest peak in Russia.

Prateek Gupta from the Mission Outdoor, an adventure organisation from Delhi, told The Tribune this evening that the organisation had facilitated the women eco-expedition challenge.

He said other two girls, Sachi Soni from Rajasthan and Arunima Sinha from Lucknow, had undertaken this adventure.

He revealed that this organisation had been promoting adventure sports and functioning as facilitator for such expeditions. He said Home Minister Rajnath Singh had handed over the Indian flag to the expedition troupe on July 19 in Delhi.

“The troupe started its expedition to climb Mt Elbrus the next day in the morning and the flag had been hoisted by members of this troupe on the peak of Mt.Elbrus on Thursday morning,” he said.

Krishan Heer, father of Aakriti, said she would be received at 11 am on July 29 at the Kandwal barrier on the Himachal Pradesh-Punjab border and people of the area had decided to accord her a reception at her native place. 

Nurpur, July 25
The boating in the Pong dam lake, known as Maharana Pratap Sagar, planned by the state Tourism Department, has failed to get approval from the state government. It had been proposed by the department to boost tourism activities in the lower areas of the Kangra district and submitted to the state government for its nod last year.

Sources said the state government had rejected this proposal due to safety reasons. However, a regional water sports centre had been set up in the lake for promoting adventurous water sports.

The centre, a wing of the Mountaineering Institute, Manali, has been imparting water sports’ training to students, tourists, military and paramilitary forces.

According to information, now this centre is all set to launch commercial boating in the reservoir. It has procured boats for this purpose and boating will be launched the next month.

Prabhat Chowdhary, Deputy Director, Tourism, Dharamsala, admitted that the commercial boating had been shelved as approval was not granted by the state government.

Shimla, July 25
Former Horticulture Minister and BJP vice-president Narendra Bragta today batted for an AIIMS-like health institution on the outskirts of Shimla and dared Congressmen to come out and clear their stand on the issue.

Bragta said he along with Shimla BJP MP Virender Kashyap and Rajya Sabha MP Vimla Kashyap met Union Heath Minister Dr Harsh Vardan and urged him to open an AIIMS like institute in Shimla district, which has no major national institutions so far. The land for the same was available and Shimla being the summer capital of the former British Raj deserved this institute as people from all over the state were settled in Shimla, he added. Bragta dared Congress leaders to clear their stand on the issue. 

Shimla, July 25
In its bid to make a paperless office, the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) has sought Rs 6.48 crore for the e-Governance project.

The project was sought in order to computerise the current system of the commission and provide prompt service to the aspirants competing for different examinations.

HPSC chairman KS Tomar today said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared by the National institute of Electronics and Information Technology, Chandigarh.

“A paperless system is being visualised for the Himachal Administrative Services (HAS) combined examinations. Once the system is approved, the exams will be conducted online,” said Tomar.

He said he had sent the project to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice and Communications and IT, Government of India, and IT Secretary RS Sharma.

“The project is to be completed within a span of 3 years. We are expecting positive response from the IT Ministry,” he added. 

Mandi, July 25
The state Revenue Officers and Kanungo and Patwari Sangh have decided to launch a statewide protest in a phased manner to oppose the lowering of their promotion quota in the Himachal Administrative Services (HAS).

The government had recently lowered their promotion quota to HAS from 27 per cent to 25 per cent, while quota of promotion of block development officers (BDOs) was raised.

Their quota for promotion to HAS used to be 30 per cent a few years ago.

The revenue officers and many such other categories get promoted to HAS after certain years of services and the government has fixed a promotion quota.

The officers had given a 15-day notice to the state to increase the quota to 35 per cent. As their demands were not met, they have now chalked out a protest schedule.

From July 26, the officers have decided to start “work to rule”, during which they will not perform some of the duties they are executing at present.

After this, they will start a pen-down strike, when they will attend offices, but not work.

Similarly, the Kanungo and Patwari Sangh has also decided to wear black badges, start “work to rule” and observe a pen-down strike in a phased manner.

The sangh has already met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the Revenue Officers Association will also meet him.

The main argument of the revenue staff is that they have only one promotion channel for their promotion, while other categories have many promotion channels in their respective departments.

Moreover, the number of tehsildars, naib tehsildars, kanungos and patwaris is about 5,000 and they get very few seats in HAS due to the high proportion in number of seats and their number.

While in other categories this proportion is quite high due to their low number.

Ajay Prashar, chief media coordinator, Revenue Officers Association, said, “The revenue officers and staff is performing various functions like registration work, important revenue work, besides rescue and law and order duties and we have been demanding 35 per cent quota for promotion to HAS and would oppose the decision to lower our promotion quota.” 

Shimla, July 25
Narender Bragta, former Horticultural Minister and BJP vice-president, today accused the Congress Government of misleading apple growers on the issues of 50 per cent import duty on foreign apple and stalling the Rs 100 crore modern Parla sabji mandi and the 65-km-long Sainj-Kumarhati horticultural project, started during the Dhumal government.

During a press conference, Bragta cited a letter written by the then Commerce and Industries Minister Anand Sharma in September 2011, in a reply on increasing the limit of the 50 per cent import duty on apples, being imported illegally through Afghanistan by the SAPTA countries, including Iran, and from the USA, China and other countries. “Sharma has categorically stated that the government cannot raise the import duty from 50 per cent as India has signed the GATT agreement under the World Trade organization (WTO)”, he said, citing the letter.

On the other hand, the Congress manifesto committee, which included Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Anand Sharma, Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes, Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, had promised to increase the import duty to 150 per cent to save the Rs 4,000 crore apple industry as the import of the apple was hitting the domestic markets. “Where is the 150 per cent hike in apple import duty?” Bragta questioned.

He also accused the Congress of doubles standards on the construction of the modern sabji mandi at Parla, in Theog. Its construction was started by the BJP Government and was to be built at the cost of Rs 100 crore. “There is a conspiracy to curtail the ambitious project to mere Rs 12.5 crore, whereas we had planned to build the CAS, processing unit and cold stores for electronic trade of the fruit”, he claimed, seeking Congress stand on the issue.

He said the Congress did nothing for the apple industry while the BJP Government started the Bhatta Kufar mandi and Dhalli sabji mandi. The Congress had scuttled the Sainj-Kumarhati Horticulture Highway, which was planned during the Atal Bihari regime, aiming to facilitate the transportation of fruit to Parla and decongest the main Theog-Shimla highway during the apple season, he alleged.

The condition of the Rohru-Hatkoti-Theog Highway had turned worse, even as the season has already started, Bragta claimed.

“The Congress had made it a major poll plank, but even after two years, it allotted the project to a dubious company in a single go whereas the BJP Government had proposed to build it in two phases to speed up work. The work is going on at snail’s pace and the apple farmers are a worried lot,” he alleged.

The Congress government has failed to stop the six per cent commission being charged from the growers in Delhi markets despite the court’s order against it, he added. 

Palampur, July 25
Shanta Kumar, MP and senior BJP leader, today hailed the initiative of the Ministry of Defence and Finance to clear four strategic rail links along the border of India and China.

In a press statement, Shanta Kumar said he had repeatedly pleaded before the UPA Government at the Centre in the past 10 years to strengthen rail and road network along the border with China, “but the successive railway ministers turned a deaf ear to the dire necessity of matching our road and rail infrastructure with China”.

Shanta Kumar said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Arun Jaitely and Railway Minister Sadanand Gaura recently and impressed upon them the need to strengthen rail network along the strategic Indo-China border as it was directly concerned with India’s integrity and security. He also pleaded to declare these rail projects as “national projects” so that there is no shortage of funds.

He said Modi had assured him that NDA Government would consider his proposals seriously and initiate necessary steps in this direction. Later the parliamentary committees on defence and finance cleared the proposals for setting up the four rail links along the China boarder in north east and Himachal Pradesh. These committees also approved the Pathankot- Joginder Nagar-Leh rail project. The matter would now be placed before the Union Cabinet for final approval.

Shanta Kumar said former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken steps in this direction 15 years ago when he cleared the 14-km Rohtang Tunnel, which would be operational in the next two years.

Shanta said during his four rallies in the state for parliamentary elections, Modi had assured people of expansion of the rail network up to the China border.

He said in the wake of repeated border violations by the Chinese, it was paramount to expedite the work of a rail network on Indo-China border.

He said Pathankot -Joginder Nagar-Leh route was the safest for deployment of forces and carrying defence material to boarder areas beyond the firing range of Pakistan.

Kangra, July 25
The Kangra police today registered a case against the in-laws of Seema Devi (32) of Samirpur village under the Dowry Act, the police said here.

SHO MS Manhas said Seema, wife of Sanjay Kumar, had consumed poison and was admitted to the Tanda medical college.

In her statement, she alleged that she was tortured and harassed by her in-laws, which forced her to consume poison.

The SHO said the police have registered a case under Sections 498-A and 34 of the IPC. No arrests had been made as yet, the police said.

Kangra, July 25
Kangra police today solved a murder case of a 28-year-old woman, mother of a seven-month-old daughter, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Thursday morning.

The woman was a resident of Sammela village and was found dead in her room.

Ashok Kumar, DSP Kangra, addressed a press conference this evening. He said Reenuka Devi was married to Mohan in 2013, who is working as an operator at a private company in Baddi.

An investigating team comprising DSP Ashok Kumar and SHO Kangra MS Manhas, under the close supervision of Kangra District Police Chief Kapil Sharma investigated the matter. A team of forensic experts collected samples from the site.

DSP Ashok Kumar said the preliminary autopsy report indicated asphyxia (a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death) due to strangulation.

He said the team nabbed Mohan (33) under suspicion and following a sustained interrogation he confessed to the crime.

Mohan confessed that family feud was the cause of committing the crime.

The police said the accused left for Baddi on July 23 at 5.30 pm on his motorcycle. He reached home at 10.30 pm. The duo indulged in an altercation and Mohan strangulated his wife.

Mohan kept the cupboard and trunks opened to mislead the police, said the DSP.

He told the police that his wife wanted to live with him in Pinjore. But, he refused as he could not take her along without the consent of his parents.

Kangra District Police Chief Kapil Sharma said it appeared to be a well planed murder and investigation was in progress. Mohan has been arrested. 

Kangra, July 25
A 34-year-old person of Balota village, who had consumed poison yesterday, died at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, early this morning, the police said.

Bhawarna Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kumar said the victim, identified as Sanjay Kumar, had consumed poison when he was in a drunken state, as per the statement of his father Payar Chand. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Palampur, from where he was referred to the Tanda medical college.

The body was handed over to the relatives after a postmortem. Further investigation was on under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Shimla, July 25
Of the 50 power projects shortlisted by the Directorate of the Energy (DoE) for allotment, the 
state government has cleared 37 power projects worth 932.6 mw capacity, out of which 171 mw capacity projects are self-identified.

According to sources in the power department, the Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh yesterday, cleared 37 power projects to be allotted on a BOOT basis. The DoE has made ready shelve of 50 power projects in the five river basins of the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Yamuna, seeking fresh bids from the companies.

Out of these 37 power projects, projects worth 171 mw are under the self-identified category and hence could be allotted to the identifiers as per the Hydropower Policy of the government, sources said.

Most of these projects are concentrated in the Satluj and Ravi basins. The DoE will seek the bids for the power projects and the highest bidder wouldhave to deposit the upfront premium money of ~35 lakh per megawatt after the project is allotted to them, said officials.

As many as 11 power projects cleared by the Cabinet for the BOOT bids are located in the Chenab basin. These include the 65 mw Pattan, 98 mw Stingri, 8 mw Lower Mahal, 9 mw Uppar Mahal, 7.5 mw Me, 8.9 Bheda 9.4 mw Bheda I, 24.5 mw Jankar, 65.2 Kutoi 12.8 mw Kalvat and 5.8 mw Ur-I.

Out of the cleared projects, seven are located in the Ravi basin in Chamba district. These include the 6.5 mw Sal-1, 11 mw Sunderli, 18 mw Tundeh II, 15 mw Chubia I, 10 mw Kalihan, 10 mw Dunali Darkund, and 13 mw Balsio, sources revealed,

The Cabinet cleared additional 11 projects for allotment in the flood-ravaged tribal Kinnaur district where the tribals are already up in arms against the power projects. These include 36 mw Wangar, 8 mw Duling, 63 mw Dagla Nisang, 104 mw Ropa top, 101 mw Ropa III, 24 mw Hozis, 20 mw Bujling, 12 mw Ropa II, 10 mw Wangar, 24 mw Hozis and 56 mw Gyap, sources said .

The Cabinet also okayed the allotment of the 25 mw Nogi Top, 19 mw Laluni, 18 mw Janglik Rohru, , 15 mw Rupin, all in the Yamuna basin in Shimla district.

It also cleared the 6 mw Khauli-II in Kangra on the Beas, 20 mw Lamba Dug and 20 mw Makori in Mandi district and two projects, 20 mw Manalsu Manali and 13 mw Seri Rawla in Kullu district.

Una, July 25
The district lead office of Punjab National Bank (PNB) today distributed sanction letters of agriculture loans amounting to ~7 crore to 300 farmers of the district at a function organised at Bachat Bhawan.

Vinay Kumar, bank general manager, who presided over the function, said farmers were being given loans at reduced interest rates in order to boost agriculture and to uplift the economy of the rural folk.

Vishesh Srivastav, Hamirpur Divisional Manager, Punjab National Bank, gave information about the banking procedures, credit facilities, kisan cards, welfare cards and kisan Gold scheme, urging farmers to save more.

Kullu, July 25
Kullu SP Surender Verma said the Kullu police had seized around 4.1 kg charas in two separate incidents yesterday.

Sukh Bahadur of Nepal was nabbed with 2.4 kg charas at Cheel Mour, near Sarsadi on Bhuntar-Manikaran road, last evening. The accused was coming towards Bhuntar on foot, the SP added.

In another incident, Talab Bahadur (50), also from Nepal, was nabbed with 1.71 kg charas near Talogi on Ramshila-Jia road.

Surender Verma said cases under Section 20 of the NDPS Act had been registered and further interrogations were being carried out.

He said the district police had seized more than 60.5 kg charas from January to July this year. Besides, 20 gm smack, 9 gm cocaine, 4 gm brown sugar, 675 gm poppy straw and 18 gm MDM had also been seized during this period, he added. A total of 43 cases were registered while 53 persons, including foreign nationals and Nepalese, were arrested. 

Palampur, July 25
Residents of Thural area of Palampur subdivision today protested against the decision of Ajay Sood, executive engineer of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL), Lambagoan.

Sood has decided not to depute field staff in the rural areas after 5 pm for maintenance of power supply lines which cater to over 30 panchayats.

Residents said since the orders were made applicable, there was no one to check faults in the power supply lines in the area after 5 pm.

“The complaint room of HPSEBL remains locked after 5 pm daily and there is no one to register public complaints,” the residents said.

With the decision of HPSEBL, villages in Thural, Sai, Bair Ghatta areas remain without electricity as no one repair faults in the power supply lines and all the complaints are attended the next day.

Ajay Sood said the decision had been taken following an acute shortage of staff in the Palampur division.

He said the state government had imposed a ban on the recruitment of new staff, therefore, in the absence of manpower he was unable to extend services in rural areas.

He said he had also apprised his seniors of the decision.

“If additional manpower is provided to me by HPSEBL, I will restore late hour services in the rural areas,” he added. 

Solan, July 25
The Solan police have booked an emergency medical officer, Sahil Sehgal, employed with the Sultanpur-based MM University and his brother Robin Sehgal for creating a ruckus in a state of inebriation on the Mall Road here on Wednesday night.

SHO Anil Dhaulta said the duo, along with some other female staff, got into an altercation with some youth over an issue. They shouted abuses at each other.

They were finally taken away to the police station after local residents informed the police about this incident. They were fined ~1,000 each and then let off. 

Chamba, July 25
Acting on a tip-off, a police party raided a place near the town hall and caught five persons while they were gambling here on Wednesday, the SP said.

The SP said playing cards and Rs 520 were seized from them, adding that a case under the relevant sections of the Gambling Act had been registered at the Chamba police station.

The five booked persons had been identified as Yash Pal, Raj Kumar, Tarun, Subhas and Ved Prakash, the SP said, adding that further investigation was on.