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Used syringe found from IGMC, stocks seized
Uncertainty looms large over ESIC medical college’s future
High land-registration rates put McLeodganj residents in a spot
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Five killed in mishap near Sundernagar
Only 1 per cent opt for vocational courses
Reduce tax on petro products, demand dealers
VIGNETTES
Kullu nati set to enter record books during Dasehra celebrations
ban on animal sacrifice
PWD design engineers demand promotion
No supply of fertilisers despite advance payment
No relief for banished Dalit family
Chelsea celebrates 150 years of existence
Nagrota steal show in sports events
DC opens youth fest in Kullu
3G Wi-Fi dongle out
Students awarded
Heavy rain, hailstorm in Dharamsala
Youth held for raping minor
One killed in accident
Two nabbed with charas
Chauhan is observer for Yamunanagar
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Used syringe found from IGMC, stocks seized
It has posed a threat to patients as their attendants suspect that a dealer allegedly is running a racket of recycled or duplicate syringes in the hospital. The blood-clotted syringes risk the lives of patients as these can spread deadly HIV virus, commented doctors at the IGMC. A joint team of the state drug controller and the IGMC under the Medical Superintendent today seized all stock of syringes being sold by the IGMC’s licenced seller. “We have got a written complaint from the microbiology department that a blood-clotted syringe has been detected from a patient”, said Dr Ramesh Chand, Medical Superintendent, IGMC. “The syringe was bought from the seller, who got the contract of supplying sample tubes and syringes about three years ago. The stocks have been seized and the committee has yet to submit the report in the matter,” he added. Dr Chand said the seller had been prohibited from selling the stocks to patients till the committee submitted its report and the Drug Controller gave a clean chit to the remaining the stocks seized from the seller. No other case had come to light so far, but the hospital administration was taking extra precautions, he added. On the other hand, Drug Controller said he had seized the stocks from the IGMC and asked the IGMC to prohibit the sale of the syringes by the private seller till the samples were tested. “We are inspecting each syringe to rule out any foul play. The samples have been taken and a report from the forensic science testing lab will take a fortnight or so,” Marwah added. He said the syringe seized at the hospital was not sealed. “We are examining the entire stocks at the hospital,” Marwah added. |
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Uncertainty looms large over ESIC medical college’s future
Mandi, September 28 Sources said the authorities were now dragging their feet to run the institution. There are nearly 1,200 members of the organisation, but there should be an intake of minimum 400 patients in the OPD daily for 100 MBBS students. The medical college was to start the first batch of the MBBS course initially with 100 seats from 2014-15 academic session, but the Medical Council of India (MCI) did not grant permission due to shortage of faculty members, staff, equipment and other facilities. Sources said after conducting an inspection of the college in May this year, the MCI had figured out nearly 21 shortcomings. College Dean Dr DS Dhiman said: “We have already met most of the conditions laid down by the MCI. We have again submitted a request with the MCI to start the course from the next academic session.” Mandi MP Ramswaroop Sharma said he had met Union Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and requested him to send an adequate number of staff and equipment so that the medical college could start functioning. Sharma said as there was no big hospital in the region, efforts were on, in close coordination with the state government, either to convert the ESIC Hospital into AIIMS or to provide separate 1,000 bigha land for AIIMS in the region so that it could cater to nearly half of the state’s population from Bilaspur to Leh and Ladakh. State Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said: “The ESIC should hand over the buildings free of cost to us, as we gave them land for free. We will start our own medical college if the institute is handed over to us.” On converting the college into an AIIMS-like institution, he said the Union Health Ministry had laid down a condition of 200-acre land for the institute. He met Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in Delhi and took up the issue with him. Despite repeated attempts, ESIC Medical Commissioner Dr SR Chauhan could not be contacted. |
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High land-registration rates put McLeodganj residents in a spot
Dharamsala, September 28 The rate was applicable to all properties that lied within a distance of 50 m from all roads. This included almost all residential areas of villages around the town (McLeodganj). RS Rana, a local resident, said the said rates of land could be applicable to a property that was located at a central place in the town and being used for the construction of hotels. However, there were many villages in surrounding areas of the town. These included Bhagsunag, Forsythganj, Dharamkot and Naddi. The same price was being applied to properties located in these villages. The land in these villages that lay along the road was pricey. However, there was land located far away from the link roads in the area and being used by local residents for the construction of their houses or agriculture, he said. Such land did not have commercial value. These were still being used by local residents to construct their houses. RS Rana alleged that due to the high rates fixed by the government for property in the McLeodganj patwar circle that also included the said villages, no registry of land had been effected for the past over one year. Vivek, a resident of Naddi, said he wanted to buy a piece of land at his village for constructing a new house. The land did not have any road connectivity. Despite that, the tax being charged for the registration of land was more than its market value. “I did not have that much money, so I gave up the idea of buying the land,” he said. The rates for the registration of land were hiked after a policy was adopted by the state government during the reign of the previous BJP government. Under this policy, rates of properties were same across the state. Three types of rates were fixed for properties across the state: land that lay 50 m from the state or national highways, land located between 50 to 100 m from roads and land lying beyond that. The land registration rates were increased after the sale of a few hotels falling in commercial areas. Similar rates were not applicable to the areas falling in the patwar circle. Local residents, who needed land for the construction of their houses or agriculture, were not even in a position to give the tax. In these areas, the cost of land was still between Rs 10 and Rs 20 lakh per kanal. Residents had recently given a petition to Kangra Deputy Commissioner C Paulrasu to lower the registration rates of lands in the interest of the local populace. |
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Five killed in mishap near Sundernagar
Sundernagar , September 28 According to the police, the deceased have been identified as Dharam Singh (30) of Kandar village in Mandi, Nija Devi (26) of Markandey village in Bilaspur district, Ram Lal (55) of Sanihan village in Mandi, Krishni Devi (42) and Lekh Ram (44) from Malokhar village in Bilaspur district. The police said Dharam Singh was going home along with his sister Nija in his Alto car around 10.30 am on the Slapper-Kandar road, when he gave a lift to three persons who were on their way to a temple. But when the car reached Kandar village, it went off the road and fell nearly 40 ft down. They were taken to the Civil Hospital, Sundernagar, when three persons succumbed on the way and the the remaining two died at the hospital. Deputy Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma said the police had registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC, at Sundernagar police station and started the investigation. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. Tiuni (Shimla): Two members of a family, Rita and her nephew, from Shantha village of Chopal subdivision, were killed on the spot while her husband, Satpal Banchta, sustained serious injuries after their Maruti car (HP08 1447) rolled down into the Tons river gorge, near Diudi in Uttarakhand, the killer stretch of the Nerwa-Tiuni-Rohru road last night. Renu and her nephew were declared brought dead at the Tiuni hospital today. Satpal, who works as a driver in the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Rohru, from where he was referred to the Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. Although the Uttarakhand police have yet to submit the report on the cause behind the accident, friends and relatives of the family found that the car driver was taking a pass from a vehicle when it went down from the edge of the road. Satpal and his family were on their way from the Hatkoti temple in Jubbal to Chopal when the accident took place. It was Satpal who informed his cousin about the mishap on mobile phone at 9 pm. Inspector General (Law and Order) SP Singh said the matter was taken up with their counterparts in Uttarakhand to ascertain the cause of the accident. |
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Only 1 per cent opt for vocational courses
Dharamsala, September 28 However, what the state leaders are ignoring in their political rhetoric over reservation for Himachalis is that the state lacks qualified persons to supply to the industry. The present education system of the state is producing maximum unskilled labour. The result is that the industry has to employ technically qualified trained professionals from other states. An analysis of the data collected from the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education reveals that even at the 10+2 level, 15 per cent students are opting for science subjects. This year about 15,000 students out of 1 lakh opted for science subjects. Out of them, just 11,539 passed. Sources said not even half of the passed science students went for further technical qualifications as engineering or diploma courses. This year just 1,500 students applied for engineering colleges against the seat availability of over 7,000. The lesser paying capacity and strict norms adopted by the government for admission to professional institutions are reasons due to which students are not opting for higher qualifications. The data reveal another startling figure. Not even 1 per cent of the students are opting for vocational subject. The school board is offering vocational courses in accounting and auditing, computer technique, electronic technology, maintenance and repair of electrical appliances and food sciences subjects. Less than 1,000 students out of 1 lakh students opted of vocational subjects. Even out of these just 50 per cent managed to pass. The state needs to train its youth for jobs in the industry rather than imparting them with basic education. For this more ITIs and diploma colleges are required to be opened to meet to labour requirement standards of the industry and implement the reservation of jobs policy. The government also needs to attract the upcoming BPO industry that is hiring the youth from Himachal for its operations in Chandigarh and Delhi. Though thousands of Himachal youth are working in BPOs in other states, the Himachal has failed to attract even a single industry here. State lacks skilled staff
The state lacks qualified persons to supply to the industry. The present education system of the state is producing the maximum number of unskilled labour that is not of any use to the industry. The result is that the industry has to employ technically qualified trained professionals from other states |
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Reduce tax on petro products, demand dealers
Dharamsala, September 28 President of the association Sukumar said it should adopt the Goa model for pricing of petroleum products. In Goa, the state government had drastically reduced tax on petroleum products that had led in increase in sales, he said. He further said the government was charging 25 per cent tax on petroleum that comes to about Rs 15 per litre. However, if the tax was reduced to Rs 13 per litre for petroleum and Rs 4 per litre on diesel, it would lead to increase in sale at gas stations and tax collection would go up. The association said the state government should accept their proposal for three months. It would lead to 30 per cent increase in tax collection. The dealers having their gas stations on the border of Punjab are fearing loss of sale due to the proposed decision to increase VAT on petroleum. Petrol is about Rs 5 cheaper in Himachal than Punjab. However, if proposed VAT increase is effected, it would be dearer by Rs 1.15 per litre in Himachal and reduce the difference of price between Punjab and Himachal. They are maintaining almost 50 per cent of the total petroleum sales of Himachal Pradesh is from gas stations on the border of the state. If the sale of petrol at these gas stations decreases, the revenue of thegovernment from petroleum products may fall instead of increasing. |
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Shimla back to Simla mission
Shriniwas Joshi
A reader can guess from the ages of those photographed that they, in their youth, might have wondered as to why what we call “Shimla” in Hindi was spelt as “Simla” in English. But when in the beginning of the 1980s, it was officially declared that Simla, henceforth, would be written as Shimla, all these old-timers must have felt uncomfortable. But they consoled themselves by dittoing Shakespeare: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” Shimla was, is and will be “rose” for them.
The purpose of the three organisations is not to change the spellings of Shimla, but to put a permanent check on this “rolling down the hill”. A senior journalist had appropriately written on the present-day Shimla: “The process of degeneration, which started after it became the capital of the hill state four decades ago, has only hastened in recent years. The verdant hill-scape, once dotted with a few red-roofed structures, has been transformed into a veritable concrete jungle. The green belts in the main town have already been reduced to continuous patches of grey, and the concrete clusters are now spilling over to the peripheral areas, devouring more and more of the fast-depleting tree cover. A number of landmark buildings, which stood out as fine specimens of the colonial architecture, have been consumed by fires, while the faces of some others have been altered beyond recognition.” The Shimla Planning Area Development Plan was formulated in March 1979, but under the political pressure of the parties ruling the state, it has been amended several times to condone deviations or increase the number of permissible storeys or allow construction in the declared green belts. Similarly, Section 118 of the State Land Reforms and Tenancy Act, which debars non-agriculturists from acquiring land in the state without prior permission, is a mockery now. Builders can raise flats here under the garb of this or that permission given under the Act. I quote the journalist again:”Wanton deforestation, indiscriminate and excessive constructions have already taken a heavy toll of the ecologically fragile hill environment, and its impact is now becoming discernible in the changing weather pattern. The ambient temperature is rising and snow is becoming increasingly scarce and erratic. In fact, the hills which remained draped in a white blanket for weeks together until the early 1990s are frequently experiencing snow-less winters, and nowadays even nearby places like Kufri, which hosted winter games as late as the 1980s, do not get much snow.” Will the combined effort of the organisations, students and the NCC bring back the lost glory of Shimla? TAILPIECE
A remark on today’s Shimla, “Ludhiana on hill top.” |
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Kullu nati set to enter record books during Dasehra celebrations
Kullu, September 28 Kullu Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rakesh Kanwar who is also the Chairman of the Kullu Dusshera Festival Committee said artistes from Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Latavia, Bhutan, Turkey, Nepal, Bangladesh and Kenya would present a glimpse of their respective traditions and culture. He said local artistes and those from other states would also entertain the audience during the week-long festivities. The DC said a special folk group dance, famously called nati, would be organised on the fifth day at Dhalpur ground in which over 5,000 participants from various schools and institutions, women from various Mahila Mandals and gram panchayats, Red Cross members and Anganwari workers would perform. He said a large number of girls and women had started rehearsing for the nati, phrased as the “pride of Kullu”. He said various Yuvak Mandals had also been invited and over 250 folk artistes would assist in the nati and play folk musical instruments. The DC said the district administration would give certificates to participants. He said if the event qualified for the Limca Book of Records or the Guinness Book of World Records, the participants would be awarded with a certificate for achieving the record by these respective agencies. He said the event was aimed at motivating the youth to conserve the folk culture and appreciate traditional attire, besides popularising the rich cultural heritage of Kullu at national and international level. |
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Shadow over Kullu Dasehra ceremonies
Our Correspondent
Kullu, September 28 On the seventh day of the week-long festivities, Goddess Hadimba is pleased with the sacrifice of seven animals marking the culmination of the festival. A bull, a he goat, rooster, crab, pig, fish besides a coconut and ash gourd are also offered to the goddess upon the successful conclusion of the festivities, as a symbolic move of victory of good over evil. The Mohalla festivities on the second-last day of Kullu Dasehra are the final preparations of conquering over Ravana, while all participating devi-devtas register their presence at the camp temple of the chief deity of Kullu Lord Rama and support the killing of Ravana on the last day. Maheshwar Singh, Kullu MLA and chief caretaker of Lord Raghunath, chief deity of Kullu, said the members of the Dev Samaj would approach the apex court for the relaxation on the High Court orders, as the change in old traditions and adopting new practice was not favoured by deities during the Jagti pooch at Naggar recently. While the Dev Samaj had decided to approach the apex court to review the ban, the pendency of the matter has left residents and members of the Dev Samaj in a dilemma to either bear the wrath of deities by disobeying their orders or to defy orders of the High Court to continue with the age-old tradition of animal sacrifice.
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Traditional Ramlila back to Una after years
Una, September 28 Chairperson, Una Ramlila Committee, Somnath Sarraf and president Avinash Kapila said they held meetings with local opinion leaders and the decision to bring alive the age-long tradition was unanimous. “Around 25 years ago, Ramlila stage shows were organised by local committees in rural clusters. People from far-off villages used to come on bicycles to watch shows,” said Kapila. Lack of funds and loss of public interest were responsible for the gradual decline of Ramlila shows in rural areas, he added. This year, the organisers have made special efforts to procure costumes, prepare scripts for artistes and decorate the stage, besides inviting expert religious story tellers to attract the public. “Food and games stalls have also been put up at the Ramlila ground to attract children and women. Our future generations need to keep alive our ancient traditions,” said
Kapila.
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exemption of noc to power projects
Palampur, September 28 The executive committee of the organisation, which met here recently, said power companies had already caused a large-scale environment degradation in the state, adding that while executing power projects, if these companies were exempted from the NOC, they would play havoc with nature. Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, KB Ralhan and Neelam Sood, members of the organisation, said the state government should review its decision and it should not give free hand to the power companies. They said in the absence of proper check from the state government, power companies had played havoc with the nature by openly flouting environment laws that resulted into flash floods, soil erosion and landslides. Besides, unscientific cutting of hills and dumping debris in local khuds and reserve forests had caused extensive damage to drinking water supply schemes, roads, local paths and irrigation channels, they added. The organisation said if the government allowed power companies to go ahead without NOCs from the departments concerned, there could be more flash floods, landslides and soil erosion in the coming years. Besides, there could be drinking water crisis because of regular dumping of muck and debris in local rivers by the power companies, they added. The organisation urged the state government to incorporate stringent measures to check large scale environment degradation being caused by cement plants and power companies in the state and extend co-operation to NGOs that had been fighting for the cause.
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CM lauds sculptor for making Sankat Mochan temple gate
Shimla, September 28 He said the main gate of the temple constructed in traditional wooden architecture and texture with features such as metoc panma, mermaid, rattan and kailasha flowers depicted the convergence of Hinduism and Buddhism and their cultures. He also honoured Daya Chand and his family on the occasion. Daya Chand, who belongs to Panvi village of Kinnaur district, said he was in the profession from the past 30 years and had inherited the art from his great grandfathers. He said among his works included the Badrinath temple of Batseri, Kalimata temple of Chitkul, Narayan temple at Kalpa, Nag temple at Yula Kul and Narayan temple at Panvi. Launches website
The CM launched the website (www.sankatmochanmandir.in) of Sankat Mochan on the occasion. Later, he also visited the Taradevi temple and after paying obeisance laid the foundation stone of the main gate, a park, elevation project, wherein the temple would be elevated along with the beautification of surroundings. He also launched it’s website
(www.maataradevitemple.in).
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PWD design engineers demand promotion
Shimla, September 28 They said designer engineers have been working in the wing for the past six to 16 years and have been regularised by the department. But they have not been promoted as assistant engineers (AEs) in the design wing despite clearance from the CM. “We made representations to the department and principal secretaries over the years, but these have fallen on deaf ears,” they said. The department made recruitment and promotion rules and even the commission had fixed departmental promotion council meeting twice or thrice, but every time the process was stalled for reasons best known to the department, they rued. Despite the fact that 35 posts of AE are vacant in the design wing, the government had not filled these, they said. “We do all design works and have Bachelor of Engineering degree and are eligible for promotion as AEs in the design wing, but the department is not doing anything,” they said. On the other hand, diploma holders are being promoted and getting all benefits as they have a strong pressure group in the department. “On the other hand, nearly 300 junior engineers (JEs), civil have been promoted in this period. But the department is discriminating against us as we lack a clout,” they charged. They said the design wing was constituted in 2005 and R and P rules were notified in 2006. The design cadre comprises 50 posts of AE (design) and 70 posts of design engineer. “All structural design work, the detailed project report and e-tendering are done by design engineers and still we are treated lower than JEs,” they said.
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Vacant posts, cable thefts mar functioning of lift irrigation schemes in Una
Una, September 28 Since the district has no perennial surface water source, the IPH Department has installed deep-bore tubewells, which lift groundwater for irrigating agricultural fields. Each lift water scheme irrigates 25 to 35 hectare land. NK Trivedi, Superintending Engineer, Una IPH circle, said: “At present, there are 712 lift water schemes in the district, out of which 192 are used for supplying drinking water, while the remaining 520 are used for irrigation purposes.” He said there were 480 sanctioned posts of pump operator in Una district, of which 105 were lying vacant. Similarly, of the total 82 posts of fitter, 57 were vacant, 117 posts of helper were vacant against 181 sanctioned posts, while 171 posts of watchman at lift water schemes were vacant against a sanctioned strength of 291, he said. Sanjeev Kumar, pradhan of Kotla Khurd gram panchayat, said there were two irrigation schemes in the district, both of which were lying defunct. He said while miscreants had stolen power cable of the submersible pump a few months ago, the other one was not working due to the unavailability of a pump operator. While on papers, nearly 40 per cent of the cultivated area in the district is “irrigated”, the ground reality is that a big percentage of the schemes remain non-functional throughout the year since there is no staff to operate them. The absence of night watchmen at the schemes makes these vulnerable
to miscreants. Trivedi said in the past one year, as many as 122 cases of cable theft from lift irrigation schemes were reported by the department to the police. He said the matter was discussed at higher levels and the gram panchayat concerned had to bear the responsibility of ensuring security of the scheme. The superintending engineer said gradually, the irrigation and drinking water schemes were being handed over to panchayats, adding that about 150 Jal Rakshaks had been appointed on different schemes in the district. He said besides paying a monthly honorarium of Rs 1,350 to the Jal Rakshak, the department would also provide for the repair and maintenance of the machinery.
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No supply of fertilisers despite advance payment
Solan, September 28 Fertiliser companies have made it mandatory for buyers to deposit advance payments and a consignment is dispatched only after receipt of the payment. HIMFED, despite facing fund constrains, arranged Rs 1.62 crore to ensure that farmers did not suffer. Farmers in the tribal areas of Lahaul, where 400 to 500 metric tonnes of NPK 12:32:16 is required, are the major sufferers as they face the threat of closure of road routes in the near future due to adverse weather. While the delay is giving them anxious moments, the officials of HIMFED are also worried over the delay. Officials of HIMFED said at least 2,600 metric tonnes of NPK 12:32:16 fertiliser, which is the initial requirement for various crops for current rabi season, has failed to be supplied while all other fertilisers such as urea, superphosphate, calcium nitrate, etc, have been made available. They said they took up the issue with IFFCO, but met with no success. The supply was delayed owing to some internal problem in IFFCO, which they had failed to resolve. Since at least one application of this fertiliser is required for various crops, including apples, HIMFED is caught in a fix as it has already placed its order by paying in cash while failing to get the supply.
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No relief for banished Dalit family
Shimla, September 28 Kedar Singh, Preetpal Singh Mattu and Karam Chand Bhatia, presidents of the Akhil Bhartiya Kohli Samaj (Trans Giri unit), Baba Sahib Ambedkar Welfare Society and Sant Ravi Das Dharam Sabha respectively, accused the Khumli panchayat of taking arbitrary decisions in favour of the upper castes and announcing punishments like banishing victim families, calling for social boycott and pressurising the lower caste people to bring disputes to Khumli panchayat and warning them against going to the police. In a memorandum submitted to the Governor through the Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, today, they said hundreds of cases of atrocities of Khumli panchayats have come to notice and the situation had become so desperate that even if a villager filed a complaint with the police, he was shunned by the police and asked to approach the panchayat for getting the problems and grievances redressed. The panchayat also direct lower caste families to arrange food for three to four villages, which adds on to the burden. Kedar Singh said: “We will submit sworn affidavits of 50-100 people on whom the panchayat has committed atrocities. We have urged the government to ban these panchayats which announce tuglaqi farman against the Dalits.” Victim Janki Devi, a resident of Jabrog village and belonging to Doom caste, last week had alleged that in August 2007, when her family members were out, she was forced to remove the hide (skin) of animal by the people of higher class and the next day, when the six-member family refused to obey the dictates, they were shunted out of the village and their house and cattle yard was demolished. The family alleged that after two days, they reported the matter to the Sangrah police, but before any action could be taken, Bhadur Singh, a middleman known to both victim and the accused intervened and took them to Timbi in Kiyari Gundhan village (Khatanaghat) on the pretext of taking them to the Deputy Commissioner in Nahan and instead took their property papers and kisan card. They said they were forced to work as bonded labourers for three years. They alleged that they had filed a complaint to the Director General of Police, IG (Law and Order), chairperson of the Women Commission and others concerned and sought justice on September 22, but no action was taken. As soon as the family returned to the village, the Khumli panchayat announced its dictate and banished the family from the village on September 24. The Dalit victim in her complaint to the DGP said her family was working as bonded labourers in the land of an upper cast landlord at Khatanaghat. She said the landlord’s son sexually assaulted her daughter for nearly five months. She demanded that the guilty be brought to book.
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Chelsea celebrates 150 years of existence
Shimla, September 28 She said the dream which founder Sister Claudine Thevenet saw had been realised as the school had prospered in the last 150 years. She said: “Only that society prospers, where girls’ education is given due importance.” She said she was happy to learn that the school was also known for its cleanliness and greenery. She said the state government had taken several initiatives in the field of education and it was a matter of pride that HP stood second to Kerala in terms of literacy today. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said this was a historic occasion and a proud moment for the school which was celebrating its sesquicentennial celebrations in more effervescent manner. The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Bishop Cotton and Auckland House School are some of the oldest schools in the state capital. The CM said: “Shimla is blessed with best institutions of the times which have achieved many milestones of quality education to boys and girls. I am proud that I am here on this occasion, when the school after many ups and downs initially, stands established today as a premier institute providing qualitative education to a girl child.” Recalling the past, the CM said he visited this school during his schooldays and since then, a lot of expansion had been made and new blocks elegantly constructed keeping in view the ecological balance.
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Ex-servicemen felicitated
Dalhousie, September 28 The rally was organised to felicitate their selfless contribution and service to the nation and extend all possible support to make their post-service life meaningful and comfortable. In his address, Brig JS Bhardwaj, Station Commander, welcomed veterans and Veer Naris to the rally. He said, “I hope that they will benefit from the facilities and assistance provided at the rally site.” The rally included counters from the State Bank of India, HDFC, Maruti car, Honda two-wheeler, FPO cell, grievance cell, a military band display, canteen facilities and free medical check-up by a panel of doctors, distribution of free medicines followed by a lunch. Gifts and cash awards were distributed among selected ex-servicemen and war widows during the rally.
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Nagrota steal show in sports events
Kangra, September 28 He said the state government was committed to providing international
sports facilities. He said the government was committed to boosting rural sports. He said every panchayat would be provided Rs 1 lakh for the construction of a village ground for boosting rural sports. MP Bhariya, District Sports and Youth Officer said 371 girls from Kangra district participated in the event. In basket ball, Indora got first prize and Nagrota Bagwan got second position, in badminton, Fatehpur first and Nagrota Nagwan second position, handball, Baijnath got first and Pragpur got second position, in table tennis, Nagrota Bagwan got first prize and Dharamsala got second prize, whereas the overall trophy was bagged by
Dharamsala.
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DC opens youth fest in Kullu
Kullu, September 28 He apprised the participants about diversities in culture and traditions. He said to maintain pace with the technology, the library of the college was digitalised and over 97,000 books and 70 journals were converted into the digital form. Wi-fi facility was started on the library premises and soon the facility would be extended throughout the college premises, added the DC. Principal of the college, Yashpal Mahant, welcomed the chief guest, staff members and students. He outlined the activities to be undertaken during the youth festival.
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3G Wi-Fi dongle out
Shimla, September 28 It would also enable users to create a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere, anytime by just plugging the dongle to any USB port said an official spokesperson of the company here today. The new device would enable the consumers to connect up to five devices (mobile, tablet, laptop) simultaneously for a seamless experience. It would be introduced in the country in a phased manner.
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Students awarded
Dalhousie, September 28 In his speech, Brigadier Bhardwaj said there was no shortcut to success and hard work alone paid in the long run. Capt NS Bhandari, Chairman of the school, presented a souvenir to the chief guest. Captain Bhandari is a gallantry military award recipient during the 1965 war.
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Heavy rain, hailstorm in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, September 28 Heavy rain that followed also triggered minor landslides in the area. Muck got deposited on the road near the Himachal Board of School Education building as the hill started sliding. The McLeodganj road and Dharamsala bypass that was damaged during heavy monsoon rain in the past few months suffered further erosion. The hailstorm that struck Dharamsala also brought down the temperature in the region.
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Youth held for raping minor
Una, September 28 The SP said the victim had stated in her complaint that she was living with her maternal grandmother for the last 11 years. On September 21, accused Devinder Kumar of Rapar village in Nawanshahr district of Punjab, asked her to accompany him on his motorcycle, the SP said, adding that the accused took the victim to his house in Rapar village. The SP said the victim complained that she was repeatedly raped by the accused, who also threatened to kill her parents and siblings if she dared to tell about the incident to her family. The complainant reportedly escaped from the clutches of the accused when he was out of home on Friday. A case under Sections 363, 366 (a), 376, 506, 201 of the IPC and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has been registered, said the SP.
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One killed in accident
Kangra, Sepetmber 28 Due to his serious condition, Chandu Lal was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, but he succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital. His body was handed over to his relatives after the postmortem at the DRPGMC today. The police have registered a case. In another incident Vipin Kumar (22) and Rakesh Kumar (35), both residents of Dari village, were injured when the Scooty on which they were travelling skidded off the road at Dagwar. One of them was injured seriously, the police said. Both were admitted to the DRPGMC, Tanda. The police have registered a case.
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Two nabbed with charas
Kullu, September 28 In another incident, a Nepalese woman was nabbed by the police with 140 gm charas, near Hurludhar village, here yesterday. Kamala was coming on foot from Jai Nullah. The SP said separate cases under Section 20, NDPS, had been registered and both the accused remanded in the police custody till September 29.
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Chauhan is observer for Yamunanagar
Shimla, September 28 His appointment was made by All-Indian Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Shakeel Ahmed today. After his selection, Chauhan held a meeting with party workers of the two Assembly constituencies, including Sadora and
Yamunanagar. — TNS
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Shimla, September 28
Supporters of the three organisations of Shimla town — INTACH (Shimla Chapter), AgeCare and Maanvi (See photos) — met at the Rani Jhansi Park to discuss how to achieve INTACH convener Capt Ved Sud’s dream “Shimla back to Simla”. Students of St Thomas, Arya Samaj schools and NCC cadets participated in this “Back to Simla” mission.
Peter Popham writes:”The British came to Simla as a way to detach themselves from India while continuing to rule it, and as a way of restoring themselves in the mild weather among their own kind. What they wanted was a sort of seasonal apartheid. Cultural evangelism was not a part of the plan. But willy-nilly, the torch was passed on. A Simla-lover, if bitten by the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ bug, arrives in Shimla today, he will find the toy train chugged up the mountains by diesel instead of steam. He may have a nasty shock on arriving here. The pretty little deodar-shaded place is a boom town of 1.70 lakh persons with an equal number of floating population. Seen from Taradevi, it depicts a house over house that have eaten the mountain flanks. Pophome writes, “Get closer and it’s an ugly riot of concrete hotels and shops and restaurants, slammed together with as little thought for nostalgic sensibilities as for fire codes. The bazaar, which was always a feature of Simla even when the British fantasised about making the town an Indian-free zone, has taken over. At this point the crestfallen colonial may feel like skulking back to the toy train and rolling down the hill to Delhi.”