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Holiday horror in Mandi
Government draws up GHNP plan to attract tourists
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Month-old Dharamsala bypass cries for repairs
1 dies, 24 hurt as vehicle ferrying schoolchildren skids off road
HPTDC hotel comes up in Bharmour
Resentment over filing VAT returns online
Link roads damaged due to heavy rain
HPU VC releases book
Three flying squads to check illegal mining
CM urges Centre to boost road infrastructure
Social bodies for check on over-medication
SFI organises rangoli, mehndi competition
BJP ready to corner Cong in Assembly session: Dhumal
Now, govt to ensure MNC participation in CSR activities
DC inspects LPG bottling plant in Una
School students plant 450 saplings in Nurpur
Pathankot-Mandi highway
ABVP activists protest fee hike in Dharamsala
State gets nod for Rs
316-cr eco-project
Labour Dept, workers at loggerheads
Revenue staff’s protest enters 8th day
Shopkeepers told to remove encroachments by August 5
SDM office opened
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Investigation over, police to file challan soon
Dharam Prakash Gupta Tribune News Service
Mandi, August 1 The police registered an FIR against Larji dam officials on June 16 because the tragedy occurred following sudden release of water from the dam. The students, who were on an excursion to the state, were returning from Manali when they ventured into the Beas to click photographs and were washed away. The bodies of the students were recovered from the Pandoh dam and the Beas in the last month-and-a-half after a massive search operation. Initially, three employees of the Larji dam were booked. They are Mandeep Singh, Resident Engineer at the dam, MS Dhadhwalia, Executive Engineer for Civil Maintenance, and Harbans, the fitter who opened the spill gates of the barrage on the day the incident took place. Later, the names of three officials of the Larji power project were included in the FIR. They are Prem Sukh and Ved Prakash, both Assistant Engineers, and Birbal. All of them were arrested and released on bail the same day. The district administration had issued deemed death certificates for all 24 students even before the recovery of all dead bodies. The bodies of all 24 students were subsequently recovered and identified. A body recovered from the dam, believed to be of the tour co-coordinator, had been sent to Hyderabad for identification. Mandi Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said, “The police have completed the investigation and are waiting for the identification report of the victims from Hyderabad. A challan will be filed in court shortly.”
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Government draws up GHNP plan to attract tourists
Shimla, August 1 The state government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for promotion of eco-tourism activities to attract tourists to the GHNP. The decision to throw the area open for eco-tourism activities was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary P Mitra on Thursday. Principal Secretary (Forests) Tarun Sridhar and Principal Chief Wildlife Warden Lalit Mohan attended the meeting. A decision was taken to promote eco-tourism activities by involving residents of Shugar, Shatki and Maror villages in the Sainj area of Kullu district, falling within the GHNP. They would continue to enjoy their traditional rights. The three villages have a combined population of 128. It was decided during the meeting that all tourism activities would be undertaken by inhabitants of the area and they would be provided training to undertake various tasks, if needed. “All eco-tourism activities will be undertaken through the Biodiversity Society of the GHNP. The Wildlife Department will provide all possible help to the people so that they derive economic benefits from promotion of the place,” Mohan said. He said a 20-kilometre trek from Sai Ropa and a dozen camping sites had been identified. He said the government would purchase 10 tents for the society to provide night stay facilities. It was decided that the work of guides, porters and cooks and that of marketing would be entrusted to locals after training them. Visitors would be offered local cuisine and given exposure to local culture and traditions. It was decided that the number of tourists visiting the GHNP would be restricted to ensure that it did not exceed the carrying capacity. The endeavour would be to conserve the pristine beauty of the area and offer visitors an insight into the rich flora and fauna of the area. The GHNP is one of the most picturesque areas in the western Himalayas. It is known for its exquisite floral and fauna. The are animals species which can be spotted in the GHNP include snow leopard, musk deer and pheasants like monal and western tragopan. The boundaries of the GHNP are contiguous with the Pin Valley National Park (675 sq km) in the trans-Himalayas, the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary (503 sq km) in the Sutlej watershed and the Kanawar Wildlife Sanctuary (61 sq km), covering a range of wildlife habitats. Welcome, tourists
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Month-old Dharamsala bypass cries for repairs
The bypass was inaugurated by Sudhir Sharma, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, one month ago. The two-km road was constructed to reduce traffic movement in Kotwali market in Dharamsala. The condition of the road has shocked residents. Narinder Rana, a local resident, said poor construction was the reason behind damage and the contractors should be booked for wasting public money. Vijay Chaudhary, executive engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), Dharamsala, said the area on which the road was constructed is an active sliding zone because of which the road was damaged. “The retaining walls constructed along the road in some places are also damaged,” he said. He said the contractor would bear the burden of damage and repair the road. The sources here said the local contractors do not allow contractors from outside to take construction works in Dharamsala region. They said a few contractors from outside also came for bidding for the contract of the bypass road, but the PWD authorities changed the dates of the meeting. Consistent cancellation of meeting by the PWD authorities has discouraged big companies from taking contracts here. The monopoly of local contractors is leading to poor quality of construction works.
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1 dies, 24 hurt as vehicle ferrying schoolchildren skids off road
Shimla, August 1 As many as 16 children were being treated at Kumarsain Hospital, while eight were at Badagaon Health Centre as they sustained minor injuries, the police said. Mahima of Kacheen, however, died on the spot, the police added. According to the police, four seriously injured children — Shreta, Suresh, Chitra, Rama — were rushed to the IGMC for further treatment where doctors declared them out of danger. The driver and the owner of the vehicle also got injured and were receiving treatment at the IGMC. The vehicle was ferrying schoolchildren back from DAV School, Kacheen, when the accident took place. The police have started investigations. Seven schoolchildren sustain burn injuries
Shimla: A gas cylinder caught fire because of leakage at a primary school at Kachaun in Rampur
Bushair. As many as seven schoolchildren sustained burn injuries. The children have been identified as Sanjana (6), Cherag (10), Karan (4), Subhash (9), Praveen (9), Aattish (7) and Sachin (10). All the children belong to the local
villages. According to the police, the children were brought to Indira Gandhi Medical College
(IGMC), Shimla, for treatment. The accident revealed that schoolchildren were made to work while preparing mid-day meals in government schools. Parents demanded action against the teachers. 2 hurt in factory blast at Paonta village
Paonta Sahib: Two industry workers were injured after the dryer machine they were working with exploded due to a technical defect on Friday. DSP Paonta Sahib Yogesh Rolta said the mishap occurred at Tirupati Life Sciences Pharmaceutical Unit in Surajpur area. He said the workers got injured after excess gas generated inside the dryer causing its door to burst open under pressure thus injuring the two workers present around. The injured have been identified as Manoj and Munafid Khan. Munafid's condition was critical as he had gone into coma. Both were referred to Dehradun in a serious condition after receiving preliminary treatment at a local hospital. The police have registered a case of negligence against unit management and further investigations were underway.— TNS |
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HPTDC hotel comes up in Bharmour
Bharmour, August 1 Located near the Bharmour helipad, the Hotel Chaurasi was constructed at a cost of Rs 1.14 crore. The newly constructed hotel was named after the Chaurasi temples of the tribal township. The hotel has five double-bedded suites, three dormitories having 17 beds and restaurant facility. He said the inauguration of the hotel at a time when the Manimahesh pilgrimage was scheduled to be commenced on August 15 would provide accommodation to devotees and tourists. The hotel would go a long way in giving a much-needed fillip to the tourism industry, the minister further added.
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Resentment over filing VAT returns online
Nurpur, August 1 Traders with small annual trading turnover said some of them were new to technology and that they were facing difficulty in submitting their returns. Not only this, they said the internet facility was not available easily and the Excise and Taxation Department had declined to accept the hard copies of the returns. Local shopkeepers Kishor Puri, Pradeep Sharma, Gopal Mahajan, Subash Singh and Krishan Chand said the department concerned ordered them to file online returns all of a sudden without educating them about the new process. They said most of the small traders did not have the know-how on how to go about it. Meanwhile, Ashwani Suri, president, local Beopar Mandal, urged the state government to exempt small and marginal traders from filing their VAT returns online, as they did not had the means to upload them. “The Excise and Taxation Department should accept online returns of traders having annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh or above,” he demanded. Ravinder Kapila, president, Jawali Beopar Mandal, said: “If the department is so much interested in accepting online returns of all traders irrespective of their annual turnovers, it should make necessary arrangements to accept online returns at its offices by charging nominal fee from traders.” He said: “Small shopkeepers or registered traders are unaware of the process of filing online returns and are not having desktops or laptops with internet connection. They are being exploited by private accountants, who are charging exorbitant fee from them for their online returns. The state government or the I-T Department should provide a convenient way to file online returns.”
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Link roads damaged due to heavy rain
Chamba, August 1 A link road near Sherpur area has also been damaged by landslides.
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Shimla, August 1 The book is about the changing values of today’s children and how they seem to be moving away from their roots. The author has tried to portray through the characters the simplicity and rich values of a life spent with grandparents, far away from the glitz of high-profile jobs and materialistic pursuits. The stories about his childhood, when he visited the fields with his grandfather to understand the importance of strong roots, his first visit to Shimla to meet his grandparents and the significance and meaning of independence through an incident at the Jakhoo hills are all depicted beautifully in the book. “The book is a collection of 18 incidents about the formative life of Rahdey spent with his grandfather and I am sure that readers will associate with these incidents,” said the author.— TNS
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Three flying squads to check illegal mining
Nurpur, August 1 Briefing mediapersons about the newly constituted flying squads, he said in the first zone, covering Kandwal, Lodwan, Raja Ka Talab, Rehan, Chhatar and Khanni areas, the flying squad would be led by Nurpur tehsildar. He said Damtal and Mazra areas would be covered in the second zone in which Naib tehsildar of Indora would lead the squad. In the third zone, Mand and Bhayiana Atarian areas would be covered and Indora teshildar would lead the squad. “The squads have been directed to conduct raids to check illegal mining activities in local rivulets and khuds,” he added. He said he along with a team comprising Nurpur DSP and Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) would keep a strict vigil on illegal mining in the areas.
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CM urges Centre to boost road infrastructure
New Delhi, August 1 He requested the ministry to accept the pending demand of the state to accord national highway status to nine roads which were state highways. He told Gadkari that the Centre had earlier agreed in principle to upgrade five roads to national highways, but this had not been carried out. These are the 60-km Hamirpur-Sujanpur-Palampur road, the 112-km Brahmpukhar-Ghumarwin-Baijnath road, the 106-km Bharmour-Chamba-Dalhousie-Pathankot road, the 106-km Taradevi-Ramshehar-Kasauli road and the 83-km Chandigarh-Baddi-Nalagarh-Arki-Shalaghat road. The other roads identified are the 250-km Kiratpur-Nangal-Nadaun-Dharampur-Nerchowk road, the 115-km Narkanda-Bagh-Sungri-Rohru-Hatkoti road, the 180-km Dhanotu-Churag-Tatapani-Dhalli road and the 196-km Pathankot-Banikhet-Chamba-Killar road. Virbhadra informed Gadkari that the Union Ministry of Surface Transport was concerned with 1,553 km of roads, which were national highways, of the cumulative 33,000-km road network in the state. Virbhadra sought four-laning of the Shimla-Mataur National Highway 88, which passed through Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Kangra districts. He sought expediting of the tendering process for four-laning of the 85-km Parwanoo-Shimla stretch. He raised the issue of the Ambala-Shimla-Kinnaur national highway, saying it was blocked at Tapri-Urni in Kinnaur district. He suggested restoration of the old Hindustan-Tibet Road and its alignment with the highway on account of its strategic importance. He urged the Centre to relax norms concerning advance allocation of funds for urgent road repairs and maintenance. He bolstered his argument by pointing out that road links were the lifeline of the state. He said the cost of maintaining roads in the state was extremely high due to tough topographical conditions and frequent damage caused by snow and rain.
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Social bodies for check on over-medication
Palampur, August 1 In a press statement issued here today, Daleep Sharma and Kulbhushan Rahlan, members of People’s Voice, said over-medication had posed serious threat to human health not only in Kangra district but all over the state. They said the state government should set up teams of medical experts to keep a check on medical prescriptions of doctors. “A number of social bodies have conducted a detailed study in this regard. They have found that medical officers posted in various government hospitals have been prescribing medicines that are not required to patients,” they added. They said medicines including painkillers, antibiotics, steroids and sleeping pills prescribed by doctors had resulted in diseases such as renal failure, liver ailments, hearing problem, diabetes and skin diseases. “Doctors at PGI, Chandigarh, and other hospitals in Punjab and Haryana have confirmed harmful effects of over-medication particularly painkillers and antibiotics,” they said.
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SFI organises rangoli, mehndi competition
Kangra, August 1 He said a large number of girls participated in the competitions. He further added that more programmes would be organised in the college in the near future. In mehndi competition, Anjali Chambiyal of B Sc first year bagged the first position, whereas Manu of BA second year came second and Nikita of B Sc first year bagged the third position. In rangoli competition, Shagun’s group came first, while Nikita’s group came second and Antra Sood’s group bagged the third position. The Principal of the college distributed prizes among winners.
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BJP ready to corner Cong in Assembly session: Dhumal
Una, August 1 Addressing mediapersons here today, he said various issues would be prioritised in the meeting of party MLAs scheduled for August 5. Dhumal said political vendetta by the ruling Congress leaders against BJP leaders and sympathisers, including state government employees, was one of the main issues that would come up during the session. He said hundreds of employees had been transferred to far-flung areas, just because they were BJP sympathisers. He said illegal mining, which was flourishing in the state, especially in border districts, was another issue which would be taken up strongly. He said while the people in the state and government works were facing shortage of sand and gravel, the material was being illegally mined and smuggled to neighbouring states under political and administrative patronage. Dhumal said drug mafia was rampant and the government was strangely silent over the issue. Two youths had died due to drug overdose in Una district and the police from a neighbouring state had exposed the manufacturing of illegal drugs by an industrial unit in the same district. The former CM alleged that the Congress party had cheated the state’s youth on the issue of employment allowance, as promised in their election manifesto. He said even the skill development allowance, being given to the youth, had serious flaws and would be thoroughly probed when the BJP returns to power. State BJP president and Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti, zila parishad chairperson Rani Ranaut, district BJP president Balbir Bagga and party contestant from Haroli segent Ram Kumar were also present.
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Now, govt to ensure MNC participation in CSR activities
Solan, August 1 The Union government had made it mandatory for larger units to spend 2 per cent of their profitability under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by suitably amending the Companies Act last year. But MNCs in the state failed to initiate adequate social works to uplift their local communities and they often enlisted the works executed by their sister concerns in others states as their CSR achievements. Villagers in the state’s industrial belt of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) said they were not only facing the brunt of industrial pollution, but their water resources too were being contaminated. Little had, however, been done by the managements of industrial units to deal with such problems. Industries Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, while spelling out his strategy to ensure participation of the industry in the CSR, said: “The MNCs are being directed to ensure compliance of the 2 per cent spending norm by investing this amount in Himachal itself and not showcase activities undertaken in other states.” He said the industry had shown positive inclination to invest for CSR activities and this would make available funds for transforming the BBN belt into an ideal industrial destination. Agnihotri said: “Since the government is taking various measures to facilitate the industry, it is expected to do its bit by helping local communities through its CSR activities.” Interestingly, though some industries do undertake routine activities such as blood donation and health check-up camps among other things, but they were focused on bagging media coverage by hiring public relations firms than in working for communities. Even the funds spent on hiring PR firms were included in CSR activities thereby reducing it to a mere formality. Elin Appliances, a small-scale electronic goods manufacturing unit, had, however, set an example by spending as much as Rs 50 lakh in setting up an eco-park in Jhiri in Mandi district, while MNCs dithered in spending under the CSR. Elin Appliances also brought laurels to the state by bagging several prestigious national awards for its CSR endeavours thus setting an example in the BBN belt.
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DC inspects LPG bottling plant in Una
Una, August 1 Acting on complaints by LPG distributors and consumers, Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Jain inspected the LPG bottling plant at Basdehra village here today. He also interacted with the management of the Indane plant. Most complaints pertained to underweight cylinders being supplied to consumers. Plant manager Naro Tundup said every care was being taken to ensure that no underweight LPG cylinder was supplied, adding that all cylinders which were under or overweight by 100 gm were automatically set aside by the machines. Tundup said, “The distributors should weigh at least 10 per cent of the cylinders delivered in each consignment and if even a single cylinder is found underweight, they should return it.” He appealed to consumers to check the weight of cylinders, if possible, at the time of delivery. Later, the DC told mediapersons that LPG to the Basdehra plant was being brought in tankers from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot in Jalandhar. However, he said the state’s first IOC depot had been sanctioned at Pekhubela village in Una district. Once the depot was set up, LPG would be supplied from Jalandhar through a pipeline to Pekhubela, he said. The bottling plant management expressed security concerns due to the overgrowth of trees around the peripheral walls. Kulwant Singh, Chief LPG Manager of the Chandigarh Zone, was also present.
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School students plant 450 saplings in Nurpur
Nurpur, August 1 The drive has been launched by the state Forest Department in collaboration with the Education Department and the state legal services authority. Nurpur Divisional Forest Officer Sanjay Sen said the drive had been launched in the forest division from the Ladori GSSS. All government schools with the participation of students from Classes VI to XII would be covered in this monsoon season. He said the students who planted saplings had been exhorted to take care of the saplings planted. He said the department had set a target of planting 35,000 saplings under this programme, which was launched to make schoolchildren aware of the environment conservation through afforestation.
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Trees put lives at risk
Ravinder Sood
Palampur, August 1 Three occupants of a car on their way to Palampur had a narrow escape last night, when a tree fell on their car resulting in injuries. In another accident, a youth travelling on a bike died, when a tree fell on him on the highway last month. A number of accidents have taken place on the highway because of trees falling on the road hitting vehicles, but the HP Public Works Department, who maintains the highway, seems indifferent. A senior officer of HP Public Works (NH wing) blamed the Forest Department and said the proposal for the removal of such trees from the highway was already pending with the state Forest Department for the past many years. He said without the permission of Forest Department such trees could not be axed or removed. Illegal hoardings put up on the highway are also the cause of several accidents. Despite repeated pressure no action had been taken to remove hoardings installed on both sides of the highway in gross violation of rules. People’s Voice, a social organisation expressed concern over the rising accident cases because of trees on the highway. KB Ralhan and Neelam Sood, members of People’s Voice appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who also holds the portfolio of PWD, to direct the department to remove such trees which endangered human lives. A threat
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ABVP activists protest fee hike in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, August 1 They alleged that the state government was behaving like a buffalo as it was not paying attention to their demands. The act of the ABVP activists attracted the attention of students. Though, the students are protesting against fee hike, but most of them believe that the hike in fee was justified as it had not been revised for a long time.
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State gets nod for Rs
316-cr eco-project
Nurpur, August
1 This was disclosed by Kewal Pathania, vice-chairman State Forest Corporation at a press conference here today before launching the plantation drive of the corporation at Nurpur.
He said the project would be launched for Kangra and Chamba districts, where Germany Bank’s team had visited and assessed the possibilities of environment conservation before giving its final nod to the
project. “To expand commercial activities after setting up wooden furniture manufacturing units at Baijnath and Shamshi, the corporation is exploring possibilities to set up Rs 90 lakh wooden tiles manufacturing unit in lower Kangra area. The corporation has proposed to manufacture these tiles from lantana weed,” he said. |
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Labour Dept, workers at loggerheads
Dharamsala, August 1
General secretary of the union Ravinder Singh alleged that they had given applications of 411 workers to the department in Kangra before June this
year. The department had registered 211 workers, but later de-registered
them. He alleged that the department was seeking employer’s certificates from the workers. It was an illegal move. The Building and Other Construction Workers Regulation of Employment Act (BOCW) was formed under the directions of the Supreme Court for the welfare of construction workers. No employer gives certificate of employment to construction workers as it will make him liable under other acts as the EPF. Besides Himachal, no other state was seeking employer’s certificate, Ravinder alleged. |
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Revenue staff’s protest enters 8th day
Dalhousie, August 1 The association has been demanding the withdrawal of the recent notification regarding a cut in the promotion quota of revenue offices and abolishing several posts in the Revenue
Department. Association president Kailash Chand and general secretary Ramesh Sharma said their protest would continue till their demands were
fulfilled. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner’s Office Employees Association president Brij Mohan Bedi supported the ongoing agitation of the revenue staff.
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Shopkeepers told to remove encroachments by August 5
Kangra, August 1 The shopkeepers will also be charged for the removal of
encroachments. Ajit Bhardwaj, SDM, Kangra, said the anti-encroachment drive which was launched in Mandir Bazar and near the Civil Hospital had evoked a positive response among the local residents.
He said the decision was taken following the request of the shopkeepers that they should be given time to remove encroachments on their own.
He also chaired a meeting with the shopkeepers. “The municipal authorities have served notices to the shopkeepers to remove encroachments till August 5,” he
said. The SDM said the authorities were left with no option but to take action against the shopkeepers in different localities of the
town. He said after the clearance of footpaths, railing would be put up from Tehsil Chowk to bus stand and from bus stand to Fortis Hospital. |
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Armed with the UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the Forest Department has chalked out a plan to promote eco-tourism activities in the Great Himalayan National Park
(GHNP) with the involvement of residents of three villages within the
protected area.
Dharamsala, August 1
Shimla, August 1
Bharmour, August 1
Chamba, August 1
New Delhi, August 1
Una, August 1
Una, August 1
Palampur, August 1
Dharamsala, August 1
Dharamsala, August 1