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120-mw Miyar hydropower project
10th MTB Himalaya race begins
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Ban on animal sacrifice will be enforced: CM
International tourism conclave begins
Students to intensify stir, burn effigies of CM, VC
CPM, AAP slam govt for fee hike
Bali pays surprise visit to Tanda college
Chelsea school celebrates 150 years
Govt committed to strengthen health services in state: CM
Headmaster booked One falls into gorge, dies
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120-mw Miyar hydropower project
Shimla, September 27 But the company is yet to get the final clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). It has not paid Rs 25.69 crore for the diversion of the 63.0596 hectare forestland to the Forest Department even two years after it got the MoEF stage-I clearance. Sources said the joint inspection was carried out at the site on September 22-24 as the “company made some minor changes in the design parameters” and the teams sought to verify it at ground zero as provided under the Treaty. The Pakistan commissioner expressed satisfaction over the site, but the commissioners would exchange observations, if any, on the Miyar project as provided under the Treaty, sources added. The three-member Pakistan team was headed by Indus Water Treaty Pakistan Commissioner Mirza Asif Beg and the three-member Indian team was led by K Vohra, India’s Commissioner for the Indus Water Treaty. Other team members included Joint Commissioner PK Saxena and Director, Central Water Commission (CWC) D Dorje Gyamba. The design of the power house and the head-race tunnel from the Miyar river to the power house located at Udaipur township have been approved. It is at Udaipur that the Miyar rivulet joins
the Chandra Bhagha river and becomes the Chenab before it rushes its way through the Kishtwar region of Jammu
and Kashmir to enter Pakistan. “Other design parameters have minor changes and the overall design of the project remains the same,” said an official, who accompanied the team. Sources said the detailed project report of each power project located in the Indus river basin was submitted to both countries as per the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 for sharing data and Pakistan had sought physical verification of the design parameters. Though the private land acquisition process is over, local NGOs have expressed apprehensions over the project, as it would uproot as many as 6,658 trees to make way for the project. Even after two years, the company has not paid Rs 25.69 crore, including Rs 15.87 crore for the compensation of 6,658 trees, which would be destroyed by the project, officials said. The company, which has been renamed as Hindustan Power Ltd, has been pleading that it would plant trees under the compensatory afforestation scheme in the valley. CWC Director Dorje Gyamba said the inspection of the Miyar project was satisfactory as there was no major change in the design parameters of the project. |
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10th MTB Himalaya race begins
Shimla, September 27 As many as 68 riders, including five women and 11 master riders, set off on the 550-km journey. The journey will take riders through breathtaking terrains, jungle tracks, stream crossings and back-breaking slopes. The riders will compete in six stages and four categories for a prize money of more than Rs 10 lakh, which is the highest ever.
Cory Wallace, the current Canadian champion, has won titles all across the world and is also the official ambassador (male) for the race. The participants of the 75-km route for Day One after starting from Woodville touched villages of Bakelthi, Sarog, Kiyartu, Dharampur and finally ended at campsite in Gadakuffer. The total competitive section for Day One 1 was 66 km.
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Ban on animal sacrifice will be enforced: CM
Shimla, September 27 “I personally feel that there was no need for the judgment as the tradition of animal sacrifice is on the decline and probably was being practised barely by 5 per cent of what it was earlier,” he said. While the High Court in its order yesterday ordered a complete ban on animal and bird sacrifice at religious places, the congregation of deities in Kullu said it was an age-old tradition which was difficult for them to give up. In fact, they were contemplating challenging the High Court order in the Supreme Court. The CM said with the passage of time, it was becoming increasingly difficult for people to afford making an animal sacrifice due to economic reasons. “It is not a new tradition as people in Himachal, which if known as the Land of Gods have been practising it for centuries,” he said. ”Moreover, the practice of animal sacrifice is not just prevalent in Himachal, but in several other parts of the country and is still on. Animal sacrifice is not just made in temples, but on Eid as well by Muslims, so it is a question of faith and belief,” he said. He added: “In fact, there is online auction of animals around Eid, which is a well-known fact.” He, however, assured the mediapersons that there would be strict compliance of the court order. |
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International tourism conclave begins
Shimla, September 27 He was presiding over the 3rd International Tourism conclave and Travel Events Awards ceremony on the occasion of World Tourism Day. He said tourism was poised to become a principal industry and the state government had put in place a framework to ensure that all tourism-related activities were tourist centric with visitors’ interest of paramount importance. He also released a website of the Tourism Department on the occasion. Celebrations end with red carpet for tourists
Kangra: The World Tourism Week 2014, organised by the Tourism Society of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), ended today. As the last event of the celebration, a red carpet welcome was accorded to tourists arriving at the Kangra airport near Gaggal. The tourists were welcomed with the traditional tilak, garlands and sweets. A tree plantation activity was also organised to spread awareness about the preservation of environment. HP gets Best Adventure Tourism Destination Award
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh distributed prizes to stakeholders who excelled in promoting and popularising tourism during the 3rd International Tourism conclave organised here today. HP bagged the Best Adventure Tourism Destination Award and East Bourne Resorts and Spa was awarded the Best Destination for weddings in state. Best religious destination award was given to Tamil Nadu, Best Tourism Destination of India to Gujarat, best RuralTourism Initiative award to Punjab, best Wedding Destination Award to Rajasthan and Best Fairs and Festival Destination award to Andhra Pradesh. Chandigarh was given an award for being Best Travel City. |
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Students to intensify stir, burn effigies of CM, VC
Shimla, September 27 The attempt to “intercept and stop” students coming to Shimla for the “massive rally” at the state Secretariat yesterday has enraged students and the JAC has decided to give a befitting reply to the government and HPU. The JAC has given a call for burning the effigies of Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai throughout the state on September 29. They have decided to take out rallies on all campuses on September 30, burn Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s effigy on October 1 and be a part of the Jail Bharo Andolan on October 17. They will take out rallies at the district headquarters on October 10 and hold a chakka jam on October 14. The JAC has rejected the appeal of the CM to wait for the report of the three-member committee headed by former High Court Judge VK Sharma on fee hike and clearly stated that the constitution of the committee would be a farce in case the decision was not put on hold. SFI activists held a rally near CTO in Shimla today and distributed pamphlets comparing the old and revised fee. They alleged that the CM and the VC were misinforming and misleading people by claiming that there had not been any significant hike in fee. Lambasting the university administration for charging Rs 1,000 extra for allowing them to sit in the examination without roll numbers, they said it was the duty of the university to make roll numbers available to students and asked why were students being compelled to pay for university’s incompetence. |
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CPM, AAP slam govt for fee hike
Shimla, September 27 They sought stern action against the erring policemen who had resorted to lathicharge on students in the recent past and asked for an immediate solution to the impasse to restore peace on the campuses in the state. The CPM lodged a protest in front of the DC office and demanded the roll back of the fee hike and restoration of students central council elections in the colleges and university. Addressing a gathering, CPM state secretary Rakesh Singha and SFI leader Jatinder Mehra charged that the state government had adopted dictatorial attitude on the issue. The fee hike and ban on the SCA elections were not justified and the government was spreading students’ unrest. In a statement here today, AAP leaders Chaman Rakesh Azta, Neeraj Justa and DR Kashyap blamed the government for hiking the fees and supported the protests. They sought the roll back of the hike so that students could resume their studies. |
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Bali pays surprise visit to Tanda college
Kangra, September 27 Bali directed Vineet Choudary, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, to take a personal interest in getting the shortcomings rectified. He told Choudary when the employees got better residential facilities, only then they could provide better services during working hours. Bali visited the hospital and called on HRTC driver Tarun of Sarkaghat depot who was seriously injured in a road accident this morning at Badsar. Bali said all the expenses on his treatment would be borne by the state government. Tarun, on his way to Delhi from Sarkaghat, was inspecting the bus from outside when he was hit by a truck. He belongs to the Sunni area of Nagrota Bagwan constituency, represented by Bali. |
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Chelsea school celebrates 150 years
Shimla, September 27 Started as an orphanage for children of British soldiers in 1864, known as St Francis School, the institution today boasts of more than 1,900 girls from across India with actress Preity Zinta and former Union minister Preneet Kaur as its alumni. The cultural programme started with the lighting of the lamp by Principal Sister Shyma and a welcome dance. The students sang the jubilee song, and a dance drama “Prem Sarita” directed by Dr Charles Vas and his team from Mumbai was performed. |
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Govt committed to strengthen health services in state: CM
Shimla, September 27 “Our government is committed to provide cheap generic drugs at health institutions,” he said, adding that a sum of nearly ~30 crore has been sanctioned for it. He said to streamline governance in all departments, a collegium system has been introduced to make internal governance more participatory. “I will ensure that appropriate steps are taken to de-congest the IGMC complex. Alternate sites have been identified to relocate some facilities in the suburbs of the town,” he said. He said IGMC’s second campus was being set up at Chamyana for which 164 bighas had been transferred. He distributed prizes to meritorious students as well. — TNS |
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Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the state government was playing a multi-faceted role of promoter, regulator and facilitator for all tourism-related activities with efforts focused on harnessing the true tourism potential in a planned and sustainable manner.
Till the filing of this report, 16 riders had completed the race. Cory Wallace of Canada was leading, closely followed by Andreas Heartman of Germany, Manuel Wessenbcher (Austria), WolfGang Krenn (Austria) and Roan Tamang (Nepal).