SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI


THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
H I M A C H A L    P R A D E S H

Posts of panchayat secretary
Anger over lowering job requisites to plus 2
Dharamsala, September 30
The state government’s decisiosn to relax educational qualification for the recruitment of panchayat secretaries has raised many eyebrows. In a notification issued in July this year, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats had notified graduation as the minimum qualification for recruitment of panchayat secretaries.

Channelisation of Pabbar on cards
Shimla, September 30
The government is mulling the channelisation of the Pabbar river in Rohru, 100 km from here, prone to frequent floods, causing soil erosion, Chief Minister Virbharda Singh said here today.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh accepts greetings of students of Government College, Seema, in Rohru on Tuesday. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh accepts greetings of students of Government College, Seema, in Rohru on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Hike in HPU’s budget sought
Shimla, September 30
Students of Himachal Pradesh University and affiliated colleges under the banner of Joint Action Committee (JAC) took out a rally from the Deputy Commissioner’s office via lower Bazaar to Naaz here today to press for their demands of rollback in fee hike and restoration of Students Central Association (SCA) elections.


YOUR TOWN
Dharamsala
Shimla


EARLIER STORIES

McLeodganj hill under landslide threat
September 30, 2014
Used syringe found from IGMC, stocks seized
September 29, 2014
120-mw Miyar hydropower project
September 28, 2014
HC rejects review plea on animal sacrifice
September 27, 2014
No relief to unauthorised houses in Shimla likely
September 26, 2014
Ban on animal sacrifice: HC reserves order on review plea
September 25, 2014
Cabinet eases age norms for Class IV workers on compassionate grounds
September 24, 2014
3-member panel to review fee hike
September 23, 2014
HPU fee hike to deprive poor of education: Ex-VC
September 22, 2014
Resource crunch fuels massive fee hike in HPU
September 21, 2014
Students lathicharged, 220 rounded up
September 20, 2014


CM promises sports hostel at Rampur 
Shimla, September 30
A sports hostel will be opened at Rampur Bushahr besides shifting the Padam Government Primary School to a separate school building along-with hostel facility. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said this while presiding over the closing ceremony of the 57th under 19-HP state-level girls’ tournament organised at Padam Government Senior Secondary School, Rampur.

Pathania lays stone of substation in Theog
Power Minister Sujan Singh Pathania and IPH Minister Vidya Stokes during the stone-laying ceremony in Theog on Tuesday.Shimla, September 30
Power and Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania laid the foundation stone of a 66-KV sub-station at Bago-Sandhu in Theog here today. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes was also present. Sujan Singh said the sub-station would improve the power supply in Theog .


Power Minister Sujan Singh Pathania and IPH Minister Vidya Stokes during the stone-laying ceremony in Theog on Tuesday. Tribune photo

HRTC buses to have tracking system 
Transport Minister GS Bali addresses mediapersons in Shimla on Tuesday.Shimla, September 30
Transport and Food and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali today launched the vehicle-tracking system in HRTC buses at the Tutikandi Inter-State Bus Terminus and declared that 1,000 HRTC-run buses had been linked to the system that aimed at checking overspeeding, overloading and reckless driving. 


Transport Minister GS Bali addresses mediapersons in Shimla on Tuesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

Cantt Board nod to Kasauli geo park soon 
Solan, September 30
Work on the Rs 8.66-crore National History Museum and Geo Park, which is being set up in Kasauli by the HP Tourism Department, is expected to begin soon with the board already having given its NOC for it.

Heptulla announces Rs 120 cr for flood-hit J-K 
Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla launches a provident fund facility for pensioners at Portmore Girls Senior Secondary School in Shimla on Tuesday. Shimla, September 30
Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla said today that the ministry will release Rs 120 crore for rehabilitation of flood-hit people in Jammu and Kashmir. The package would be utilised under various schemes being executed by the ministry, Heptulla said.


Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla launches a provident fund facility for pensioners at Portmore Girls Senior Secondary School in Shimla on Tuesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

Ministry has no schemes for Hindus
Shimla, September 30
While the Union Ministry for Minorities has launched several programmes and the budget has been raised to Rs 3,734.01 crore, there are no schemes for Hindus who are in a minority in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and Mizoram.

Women health worker training centre in Kullu soon
Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur inaugurates an advanced trauma centre at the Regional Hospital in Kullu on Tuesday.Kullu, September 30
Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur inaugurated an advanced trauma centre, developed at a cost of Rs 2.67 crore, at the Regional Hospital here today. He said a similar trauma centre would be started at Bilaspur soon. He also inaugurated the ultra-modern mortuary constructed at a cost of Rs 37 lakh.



Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur inaugurates an advanced trauma centre at the Regional Hospital in Kullu on Tuesday.

Arki MLA goes on fast against incomplete works
Solan, September 30
Arki MLA Govind Ram Sharma sat on a 36-hour fast in Arki last evening against the non-completion of various developmental works in his constituency. The BJP MLA sat on the fast for the whole day outside the SDM office today and would break it tomorrow morning.

Industries Minister dedicates Haroli SDM office to public 
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri inaugurates a new Civil Subdivisional Office at Haroli on Tuesday. Una, September 30
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today dedicated the new Haroli Sub-Divisional Magistrate office at Haroli village of the district to the public. The civil subdivision had received the Cabinet nod about four months ago, but the office could not be started due to the unavailability of suitable space.





Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri inaugurates a new Civil Subdivisional Office at Haroli on Tuesday. Photo: Rajesh Sharma

Bank manager booked for cheating 
Mandi, September 30
The police have registered a case of cheating and forgery against a bank manager, the general manager of the Industrial Development Corporation and two others for fraudulently grabbing an industrial plot of Arvind Pal Singh, a resident of the town.

Sihunta-Kangra bus service sought
Chamba, September 30
Public organisations have urged Transport Minister GS Bali to introduce a bus service from Sihunta to Kangra to curb overloading in buses in the Sihunta area of Bhattiyat subdivision here. These organisations included pensioners’ welfare association, senior citizens forum and other social bodies.

HPU teachers take lectures in supercomputing
Shimla, September 30
Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) Prof ADN Bajpai today asked computer professionals to adopt facilities provided by the National Knowledge Network (NKN) throughout the country.

Crime against women on the rise
Hamirpur, September 30
Ten cases of murder and over 68 of crime against women in the past eight months has exposed the inefficiency of the police to check the crime rate. As per data, the district has registered 10 cases of murders and three of attempt to murder in the first eight months of the year against four murders and one case of murder attempt in the same period last year.

CM urged to start work on Churah road
Chamba, September 30
Residents of remote Seikothi area in Churah subdivision of the district have urged the Chief Minister to undertake the construction of Seikothi-Haratwas road so that villages here can be linked to the subdivision and district headquarters.

IFFCO blames HIMFED for delay in fertiliser distribution
Solan, September 30
Officials of the IFFCO today said they had received no advance money from the Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Marketing and Consumer Federation (HIMFED) for supply of NPK 12:32:16 fertilisers for the current rabi season.

Two minors among 5 held in theft case
Mandi, September 30
The police arrested five persons, including two minors, in a theft case here today. Assistant Superintendent of Police KC Rana said the accused had stolen goods, including gold, cash and a mobile phone, worth over Rs 1 lakh from a house at Jawahar Nagar in the town on August 13 this year. Rana said the police had recovered the stolen goods.

Police to maintain strict vigil during Kullu Dasehra
Kullu, September 30
In the wake of upcoming Dasehra festival starting from October 3, the Kullu police have started disbursing pamphlets regarding road safety at various places in the town urging commuters to adhere to traffic rules. Superintendent of Police Surinder Verma said around 1,700 additional police personnel would be deployed during the festival.

MC office shifting begins for Town Hall renovation 
Shimla, September 30
The shifting of the office of the Municipal Corporation (MC) began today from the Town Hall to the transit accommodation in the Deputy Commissioner’s office complex. It will make way for the renovation of the 106-year-old historic Town Hall and conservation of The Mall under the Rs 32-crore project the foundation for which was laid by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on June 24 last.

Women sports meet begins in Mandi 
Mandi, September 30
A two-day district-level women sports meet started at the Paddal Ground here today. Nearly 450 women players from 10 blocks of the district are taking part in volleyball, kabaddi, kho-kho, badminton, races and other events.

10 pc DA for Forest Corp staff okayed
Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri presides over a meeting of BoD HP State Forest Development Ltd in Shimla on Tuesday.Shimla, September 30
The Board of Directors (BoD) of the Forest Corporation at its meeting held here today decided to release the instalment of dearness allowance (DA) of 10 per cent to its employees from January 1, 2014, thereby enhancing it to 100 per cent from 90 per cent.


Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri presides over a meeting of BoD HP State Forest Development Ltd in Shimla on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Panchrukhi is sub-tehsil
Palampur, September 30
Panchrukhi, a small town near here, was accorded the status of sub-tehsil by the state government. Jaisinghpur MLA Yadvinder Gomma inaugurated the new sub-tehsil today.

 





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Posts of panchayat secretary
Anger over lowering job requisites to plus 2
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 30
The state government’s decision to relax educational qualification for the recruitment of panchayat secretaries has raised many eyebrows.
In a notification issued in July this year, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats had notified graduation as the minimum qualification for recruitment of panchayat secretaries.

It was also stated that extra marks would be given to the candidates with higher qualification.

However, just after a month, the department issued another notification in which the minimum qualification for the post was reduced to 10+2. In the notification issued in August, besides reducing the qualifications from graduation to 10+2, the state government also decided against giving any extra marks to the candidates having higher educational qualifications.

As per the second notification, a formula has been prepared in which the merit of candidates would be worked out as per their marks in 10+2 that would comprise 60 per cent of total merit marks. The candidates, residing in the rural areas of the district in which they have applied for the post, will be given 5 extra marks while the candidates having one year diploma will be given 15 extra marks. No extra marks will be given to graduate and postgraduate candidates.

The state government is undertaking the process of recruiting panchayat secretaries in the state. The recruitment is being made at the district level. In Kangra district, the recruitment is being done for 108 posts of panchayat secretary on a contract basis against a fixed salary of about Rs 7,000 per month.

Panchayat secretary is a clerical post in panchayat. He is supposed to do all administrative works.

Highly placed sources here told The Tribune that in Kangra district, about 25,000 applications had been received for 108 posts. The applicants for the posts included a large number of postgraduate students. The local youth preferred the post of panchayat secretary as they were of the view that the state government regularised the service after six years.

The authorities are finding it hard to sort out all applications and form a merit list as per the conditions laid down by the state government. In the notification, the state government has notified 5 marks for any candidate who has done six-year computer diploma from an institute recognised by the government.

Officials in the Rural Development and Panchayats Department are perplexed over the fact that as to why the minimum qualification for the post has been reduced from graduation to 10+2 when ample number of graduate unemployed candidates apply for the job.

The number of highly qualified candidates also illustrates the high rate of unemployed in Kangra district. Earlier also, a large number of highly qualified youth, including engineers and PhDs, had applied for the post of patwaris in Kangra district.

Anil Sharma, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, was not available for comments.

Graduate losers

  • In an August notification, the qualification for the post was reduced to 10+2
  • No extra marks to candidates having higher qualifications
  • The candidates in rural areas will be given 5 extra marks while the candidates having one-year diploma will be given 15 extra marks.
  • Qualified youth, including engineers and PhDs, had applied for the post of patwaris in Kangra district.

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Channelisation of Pabbar on cards
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
The government is mulling the channelisation of the Pabbar river in Rohru, 100 km from here, prone to frequent floods, causing soil erosion, Chief Minister Virbharda Singh said here today.

Inaugurating the auditorium and library hall of Government Postgraduate Degree College (Seema) at Rohru, constructed at a cost of Rs 7.25 crore, he said the designs of the proposed project had been prepared and the river would be channelised from Sandasu to Rohru and the work would be allotted to an agency.

He said the road from the remote Dodra Kwar area to Rohru would be improved to give a boost to tourism and skiing and other adventure activities would be taken up in Chanshal slopes to generate employment.

He said the colleges at Seema in Rohru and Saawra at Saraswati Nagar were started simultaneously but the Seema college had excelled in pursuing academic and sports. He announced construction of additional block for office and staff room for the Seema college behind the principal’s office.

He said 25 bighas would be acquired by the government for constructing playground for the college and adequate compensation would be paid to those whose land would be acquired for the purpose. He appealed to the people to donate land and not seek high rates for land.

Referring to the agitation in HPU, he said the studies were going on uninterrupted in all colleges and no union or association would be allowed to hinder studies and vitiate the academic atmosphere.

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Hike in HPU’s budget sought
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
Students of Himachal Pradesh University and affiliated colleges under the banner of Joint Action Committee (JAC) took out a rally from the Deputy Commissioner’s office via lower Bazaar to Naaz here today to press for their demands of rollback in fee hike and restoration of Students Central Association (SCA) elections.

They raised anti-government and anti-university slogans and said if the government was really bothered about students’ welfare, it should increase HPU’s budget. The JAC comprising ABVP and SFI members demanded that the university library be opened till late as students were preparing for their examination. They sought withdrawal of Section 144 of the CrPc imposed in the university. ABVP state secretary Ashish Sikta said on the call given by JAC, students took out a rally in Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Bilaspur, Una, Chamba and Mandi districts. 

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CM promises sports hostel at Rampur 
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
A sports hostel will be opened at Rampur Bushahr besides shifting the Padam Government Primary School to a separate school building along-with hostel facility.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said this while presiding over the closing ceremony of the 57th under 19-HP state-level girls’ tournament organised at Padam Government Senior Secondary School, Rampur.

Announcing a sports hostel to facilitate budding sportsmen, he said the school’s space problem would be resolved after the completion of new school building.

The primary school would be shifted to a separate building which would also have hostel facility.

He said Rampur was fast developing as an educational hub and though there were many institutions in government and private sector in the area, parents still wanted their wards to study at Padam school as it had earned fame with its outstanding achievements.

He said 15 degree colleges had been opened by the present state government besides opening and upgrading hundreds of schools in the government sector.

The government realises the importance of girl education in society, hence it had laid emphasis to open schools in far-flung areas, he said.

He distributed prizes to winners of different sports events and also released the souvenir on the occasion.

As many as 546 girls from all over the state participated in the event.

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Pathania lays stone of substation in Theog
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
Power and Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania laid the foundation stone of a 66-KV sub-station at Bago-Sandhu in Theog here today. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes was also present.
Sujan Singh said the sub-station would improve the power supply in Theog .

Addressing a gathering, Stokes said the Rs 8.92-crore 66-KV sub-station, along with Rs 4.18-crore 66 KV double-circuit transmission line, would benefit consumers of Theog, Sandhu, Matiana, Shilaroo and Narkanda. They would get an uninterrupted power supply.

“Besides, it will reduce transmission and distribution losses in these areas,” she added.

She said about 70,000 people of Jaishghatti, Sareon, Davni, Bashnog, Jhali, Nayagaon, Fagu, Cheog, Dhamandari and surrounding areas would be benefitted by the sub-station.

Pathania said many works to improve the power supply were being executed under the Theog electrical division for which Rs 7.28 crore would be spent this year. 

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HRTC buses to have tracking system 
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
Transport and Food and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali today launched the vehicle-tracking system in HRTC buses at the Tutikandi Inter-State Bus Terminus and declared that 1,000 HRTC-run buses had been linked to the system that aimed at checking overspeeding, overloading and reckless driving. He also renamed the office of the Director, Transport, as Road Safety and Transport.

Addressing mediapersons after the launch of the service, Bali claimed the GPS-based vehicle-tracking system had linked about 1,000 HRTC buses in Shimla, Mandi, Palampur and Baijnath depots. All commercial and passenger vehicles and state carriages will be linked to the system, he added.

Principal Secretary, Transport, Ajay Mittal said private vehicles would also be included in the new tracking system with the passage of time. The focus is to ensure road safety, he added.

RN Batta, Managing director, HRTC, and Director, Transport, said the Rs 6.5-crore transport and tracking system would build data on track record of vehicles and drivers, check speed, load, location, bus time and breakdown, if any. All information would route to regional manager and control room and the passengers would get information on arrival and departure time, encouraging them not to sit the in bus which had no vacant seats, he added.

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Cantt Board nod to Kasauli geo park soon 
Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service

Solan, September 30
Work on the Rs 8.66-crore National History Museum and Geo Park, which is being set up in Kasauli by the HP Tourism Department, is expected to begin soon with the board already having given its NOC for it.

No work has, however, been initiated on this project ever since its foundation stone was laid by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal in June 2011 as the board is completing the formalities of giving permission to a bore well which has been sought by the executing agency to meet the water needs of the project.

Since no construction work can be undertaken in a cantonment area without the permission of the authorities, the Tourism Department had to initially wait for nearly two years to procure this permission.

District Tourism Department Officer Arun Bhardwaj said he had met officials of the Cantonment Board to expedite the matter regarding the permission to the bore well and work could begin only after this permission was granted.

The people of Kasauli and visiting tourists were eagerly awaiting this project as there is hardly any place of tourist attraction in this town.

The geo park will make Himachal the first state where the material of historical importance in geology will be made available for study and research and this will also bring geologists to the town.

The idea to establish the park was mooted by the Tourism Department following the discovery of rare paleontological (fossil) wealth. Such fossils are not found anywhere else in the world.

Apart from the Geo Heritage Museum, a tourist reception centre, a five-star hotel and a parking at the Ros Common Tourist Complex will also be set up to attract tourists.

According to the concept finalised by the officials, it was decided that the museum would be based on the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, to give a peep into the rich fossil wealth of Solan district.

A well-preserved and diverse assemblage of flora and fauna excavated in and around Kasauli will also be displayed at the museum. 

Attraction for geologists

The idea to establish the park was mooted by the Tourism Department following the discovery of rare paleontological (fossil) wealth. The geo park will make Himachal the first state where the material of historical importance in geology will be made available for study and research and this will also bring geologists to the town. 

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Heptulla announces Rs 120 cr for flood-hit J-K 
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla said today that the ministry will release Rs 120 crore for rehabilitation of flood-hit people in Jammu and Kashmir. The package would be utilised under various schemes being executed by the ministry, Heptulla said.

Addressing a press conference here, she said the package included Rs 50 crore as concessional finance for setting up micro enterprises and Rs 5 crore to be spent under the “Seekho aur kamao” programme. Under the latter, the training would be given to 2,000 youths.

Further, Rs 30 crore would be provided as pre-matric and post-matric scholarships and scholarships worth Rs 1.30 crore be given to 2,000 girls under the Maulana Azad Education Foundation. The ministry would spend Rs 25 crore for construction of health centres, government schools and madrasas, ITIs and colleges under the Jan Vikas Yojna.

Heptulla said Rs 4 crore would be utilised for upgrading the skills and training of 1,000 people in traditional arts and crafts and providing bridge courses for madrasa students under the “Nai manzil” initiative.

A unique programme for upgrade of traditional skills in arts, resources and goods, christened as “Ustad”, had been launched for upgrading the skills of minorities for training in ancestral arts, she said, adding that the programme was aimed at preserving the traditional arts and crafts which are a rich heritage.

She said the modernisation of madrasas was key to development of Muslims and Rs 100 crore had been provided for modernisation of madrasas, pursuing the motto of Narendra Modi, “Ek haath mein Kuran, Dusere main computer”, (religion and computer should go hand in hand).

The government was also taking steps to ensuring marketing of the products and also persuading them to change the designs keeping in view the new trends.

Earlier, she launched the much-awaited minimum monthly pension of Rs1,000 and a higher wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 for social security schemes run by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation at Portmore Girls Senior Secondary School here. The scheme will immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners, who get less than Rs 1,000 as pension. 

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Ministry has no schemes for Hindus
Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
While the Union Ministry for Minorities has launched several programmes and the budget has been raised to Rs 3,734.01 crore, there are no schemes for Hindus who are in a minority in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and Mizoram.

“As per the Constitution, there are six identified religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis, and it is in the domain of the government to decide on the minority status of Hindus who are in minority in some states,” Union Minister for Minorities Affairs Najma Heptulla said.

“I have talked to Kashmiri Pandits and the package released for flood-hit people will be available to Hindus also as all are affected by the floods” she said.

Referring to resistance of the Muslim community to family planning programmes, Heptulla said increasing population was a major reason for the problems faced by the people.

She said she was exhorting all communities except Parsis to adopt family planning as their population had come down to just 69,000.

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Women health worker training centre in Kullu soon
Our Correspondent

Kullu, September 30
Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur inaugurated an advanced trauma centre, developed at a cost of Rs 2.67 crore, at the Regional Hospital here today. He said a similar trauma centre would be started at Bilaspur soon.
He also inaugurated the ultra-modern mortuary constructed at a cost of Rs 37 lakh.

Kaul Singh stated that the trauma centre had the latest equipments and would benefit residents of Kullu district and people of adjoining areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Mandi and Pangi region of the Chamba district as well.

The minister said a training centre for female health workers, under the aegis of the Indian Nursing Council, would be started in Kullu. The first batch of 60 girls would commence from the next session. Two cancer hospitals would also be set up at Mandi and Shimla at a cost of Rs 45 crore each, he added.

Kullu MLA Maheshwar Singh, Hari Chand Sharma, Kullu Zila Parishad Chairman, State Congress General Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur and Chief Medical Officer, Kullu, Dr Baldev Thakur also addressed the gathering. District Health Officer Sushil Chander thanked the chief guest and other dignitaries present on the occasion.

Kullu DC Rakesh Kanwar, District Congress president Budhi Singh Thakur, other senior Congress leaders and dignitaries were present. 

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Arki MLA goes on fast against incomplete works
Tribune News Service

Solan, September 30
Arki MLA Govind Ram Sharma sat on a 36-hour fast in Arki last evening against the non-completion of various developmental works in his constituency.
The BJP MLA sat on the fast for the whole day outside the SDM office today and would break it tomorrow morning.

He said his 15-point demand charter was not accepted by the CM and this had prompted him to initiate his fast.

He said health services were in a shambles with staff shortage plaguing the institutions and strengthening works suffering.

Terming it as an exercise in futility aimed at drawing the attention of people towards him, Sanjay Awasthy, Member State Executive Committee, of the Congress, said the MLA was unnerved by the plethora of developmental works underway in the constituency such as sanctioning of Rs 8.5 crore by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for a 75-bed hospital during his recent visit and this was a lame ploy to hide his failure before people.

Awasthy said the MLA had not only failed to raise issues of public concern such as opening of a Community Health Centre at Materni, upgrade of schools at Jai Nagar and Lagdaghat and had rather got an incomplete road leading to Kararaghat-Dhyanpur-Deev-Bania Devi inaugurated during the former BJP regime.

He said this road was being metalled now and this had exposed the MLA’s false claims of developmental works suffering during the present Congress regime.

Likewise, no funds had been set aside for the Dhamela-Dhanoghat lift potable water scheme whose foundation stone he had laid during the BJP regime, he added.

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Industries Minister dedicates Haroli SDM office to public 
Our Correspondent

Una, September 30
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today dedicated the new Haroli Sub-Divisional Magistrate office at Haroli village of the district to the public.
The civil subdivision had received the Cabinet nod about four months ago, but the office could not be started due to the unavailability of suitable space.

The office has now temporarily been started at the Haroli Block Development Office complex.

The minister said: “The Haroli Assembly segment has got a new identification today. Vehicles with registration numbers starting with HP-80 will be identified as those from Haroli. Now, people won’t have to travel to the district headquarters for petty works related to the Revenue Department.”

Agnihotri gave away learning licences and vehicle registration certificates to applicants that were processed on the first day of work at the office.

He said a permanent building of the SDM mini-secretariat would be constructed at a nearby plot, for which funds had already been allocated.

Later, Agnihotri laid foundation stones of drinking water augmentation scheme for Tahliwal industrial area estimated at Rs 2.32 crore and a drinking water tubewell in Makodgarh village estimated at Rs 64 lakh.

He said the ambitious Rs 41 crore medium irrigation scheme for nine panchayats of Haroli segment, lying at a high altitude, would be completed and dedicated to the public during the next two years.

Former vice-chairman of the Agro-Packaging Corporation Omkar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Jain, Superintendent of Police Anupam Sharma and Haroli SDM Dhanvir Thakur were also present. 

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Bank manager booked for cheating 
Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 30
The police have registered a case of cheating and forgery against a bank manager, the general manager of the Industrial Development Corporation and two others for fraudulently grabbing an industrial plot of Arvind Pal Singh, a resident of the town.

In a complaint to the police, Arvind said in 2005, the accused had prepared fake documents of his plot by forging his signature and grabbed it.

Sub-Inspector Chet Singh said a case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B, IPC, had been registered at the Sadar police station against Canara Bank Manager SS Heer, Industrial Development Corporation GM Rajbir Singh, Satish Chaudhary and Param Dev Verma, both employees of the corporation. Further investigations were on.

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Sihunta-Kangra bus service sought
Our Correspondent

Chamba, September 30
Public organisations have urged Transport Minister GS Bali to introduce a bus service from Sihunta to Kangra to curb overloading in buses in the Sihunta area of Bhattiyat subdivision here.
These organisations included pensioners’ welfare association, senior citizens forum and other social bodies.

The plying of this bus service would be of great advantage to commuters who travelled to and fro to the Central University in Kangra and the Tanda medical college, they said. 

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HPU teachers take lectures in supercomputing
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) Prof ADN Bajpai today asked computer professionals to adopt facilities provided by the National Knowledge Network (NKN) throughout the country.

He was speaking at a seminar “Garuda high-power supercomputing facility through NKN” organised by the University Institute of Information Technology (UIIT), HPU, Shimla, in collaboration with the office of Dean of Studies, here today.

Experts from the Centre for Development of Advance Computing, Bangalore, delivered special lectures on Global Access to Resources Using Distributed Architecture (GARUDA). It has the capability of high-power supercomputing that can be utilised for advanced research work with computational nodes, mass storage device.

The entire programme is funded by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of IT, government of India.

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Crime against women on the rise
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, September 30
Ten cases of murder and over 68 of crime against women in the past eight months has exposed the inefficiency of the police to check the crime rate.
As per data, the district has registered 10 cases of murders and three of attempt to murder in the first eight months of the year against four murders and one case of murder attempt in the same period last year.

Crime against women in the district has risen drastically and 11 rape cases have been registered till August 30 against only eight cases last year. According to a report, 21 cases of cruelty against women and 19 of outraging the modesty of women have been registered so far.

Superintendent of Police Ajay Bodh said the police had arrested over 722 persons in various cases of crime and 584 accused were being prosecuted in various courts.

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CM urged to start work on Churah road
Our Correspondent

Chamba, September 30
Residents of remote Seikothi area in Churah subdivision of the district have urged the Chief Minister to undertake the construction of Seikothi-Haratwas road so that villages here can be linked to the subdivision and district headquarters.

Villagers said the survey for the construction of the road completing all formalities had already been processed. In the absence of the road, villagers have to carry patients in palanquins in case of any emergency to reach nearby civil hospitals.

Those living in the far-off belts of the area said they have to trudge more than five to 8 km.

They hoped that the construction and completion of the Seikothi-Haratwas road would go a long way in accelerating the area’s development. 

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IFFCO blames HIMFED for delay in fertiliser distribution
Tribune News Service

Solan, September 30
Officials of the IFFCO today said they had received no advance money from the Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Marketing and Consumer Federation (HIMFED) for supply of NPK 12:32:16 fertilisers for the current rabi season.

Talking to The Tribune, IFFCO’s State Marketing Manager MP Sharma said they had directed HIMFED officials to give them post-dated cheques after placing an order but no advance money had been received yet.

Since fertiliser companies have made it mandatory to supply fertilisers only after receipt of advance money, the HIMFED is now finding it difficult to procure fertilisers for the state’s farmers, despite being the government’s authorised agency to supply the commodity.

Officials of the HIMFED, who did not want to be quoted, said being a state government agency it was not possible for them to give post-dated cheques though they would pay the money as soon as an invoice was made available.

They added that even the last payment of Rs 1.62 crore had been paid and there was no pending payment.

This unsavoury situation has, however, delayed supply of fertilisers to the farmers for the current rabi season, who were awaiting the first application of NPK 12:32:16.

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Two minors among 5 held in theft case
Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 30
The police arrested five persons, including two minors, in a theft case here today.
Assistant Superintendent of Police KC Rana said the accused had stolen goods, including gold, cash and a mobile phone, worth over Rs 1 lakh from a house at Jawahar Nagar in the town on August 13 this year. Rana said the police had recovered the stolen goods.

He said the accused were arrested on the basis of the mobile phone they sold to some other person.

Three of the accused have been identified as Rajeev, Sanjiv and Mohammad Gulsher, all residents of the town.

SP Mohit Chawla said they would launch a special traffic awareness drive in the district on October 2.

He said wrongly parked vehicles on the highway would be towed away. 

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Police to maintain strict vigil during Kullu Dasehra
Our Correspondent

Kullu, September 30
In the wake of upcoming Dasehra festival starting from October 3, the Kullu police have started disbursing pamphlets regarding road safety at various places in the town urging commuters to adhere to traffic rules.
Superintendent of Police Surinder Verma said around 1,700 additional police personnel would be deployed during the festival.

He said a strict vigil would be maintained from the gateway of the district at Bajaura, adding that 43 CCTV cameras would be installed.

He said special cells would be formulated to check anti-social elements and hooligans, while a bomb squad would also be deployed during the festival. He said a special police cell would maintain vigil in civil dress.

He said vehicles parked haphazardly would be towed away and the expenses would have to borne by offenders. 

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MC office shifting begins for Town Hall renovation 
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
The shifting of the office of the Municipal Corporation (MC) began today from the Town Hall to the transit accommodation in the Deputy Commissioner’s office complex. It will make way for the renovation of the 106-year-old historic Town Hall and conservation of The Mall under the Rs 32-crore project the foundation for which was laid by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on June 24 last.

The corporation shifted office files, furniture and other lock, stock and barrel in its trucks to the DC office complex where the corporation will function till the renovation of the Town Hall, the seat of the oldest civic body since the time of the erstwhile British Raj.

The project aims at restoring the pristine beauty of The Mall heritage zone and rehabilitation of the Town Hall, a heritage building that will make the city more attractive for tourists. The Rs 8.3-crore project will restore the Town Hall conservation project and Rs 23.7 crore will conserve The Mall from the CTO building to the Shimla Club and all roads leading from The Mall to The Ridge.

The park near the Town Hall, Daulat Singh Park and Rani Jhansi Park will be beautified and The Ridge will be resurfaced under the project with-high density macadam bitumen along with stone edging along both sides of the road, said officials of the Tourism Department, which is executing the project.

Similarly, the Scandal Point, gathering space in front of the Town Hall, rain shelters adjacent to the Rotary Club, the Sher-e-Punjab junction sitting place near Oberoi Clarkes Hotel will get a better look under the project.

The Town Hall will retain its outer structural design, but it will install directive, instructive and descriptive signage for heritage buildings and other places at all major junctions facilitating the visitors. The Gaiety Theatre, the Town Hall, the Scandal Point, Ashiana on The Ridge, Christ Church, the State Library and Chinar Tree will be illuminated to make it more attractive for the tourists.

Shimla, Mayor, Sanjay Chauhan said they had urged the government to make extra accommodation adjoining the Town Hall building as was done during rehabilitation of the Gaiety Theatre.

“Second, the MC house has passed a resolution that The Mall should create duct system for cables and water pipelines for better drainage system”, he added.

Director, Tourism, Mohan Chauhan said they would start work as soon as building was handed over to them as tender had been allotted. The V-shaped and U-shaped stone drains would be laid along all retaining walls and stone edging on both sides of the roads. The cast iron benches with wooden planks would be set up at the key points.

“The three escalators near the Khadi building, Jain Dharamshala and Snow White Drycleaners will facilitate the movement of people from Lower Bazaar to The Mall,” he added. 

Restoring glory

The project aims at restoring the pristine beauty of The Mall heritage zone and rehabilitation of the Town Hall, a heritage building that will make the city more attractive for tourists. The Rs 8.3 crore project will restore the Town Hall conservation project and Rs 23.7 crore will conserve The Mall from the CTO building to the Shimla Club and all roads leading from The Mall to The Ridge.

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Women sports meet begins in Mandi 
Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 30
A two-day district-level women sports meet started at the Paddal Ground here today.
Nearly 450 women players from 10 blocks of the district are taking part in volleyball, kabaddi, kho-kho, badminton, races and other events.

After inaugurating the meet, Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said it was a right platform for women players to exhibit their talent.

He exhorted players to move from the district level to national and international levels.

Speaking on the occasion, District Sports Officer Ved Prakash Upadhyaya said 100 players would be selected for the state-level competitions to be held here from October 13 to 15. He said over 1,000 women players would take part in the competitions.

In the 1,500-m race, Kanta won gold, while Himani and Pooja won silver and bronze, respectively.

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10 pc DA for Forest Corp staff okayed
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 30
The Board of Directors (BoD) of the Forest Corporation at its meeting held here today decided to release the instalment of dearness allowance (DA) of 10 per cent to its employees from January 1, 2014, thereby enhancing it to 100 per cent from 90 per cent.

Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, presiding over the meeting, said this would put an additional burden of Rs 30 lakh per month on the corporation. A sum of Rs 2.39 crore would be spent on arrears accrued from January 1 to August 31, 2014, he added.

He said the corporation had given all benefits to its employees in due time, including DA arrears, gratuity and pension with arrears.

The minister said the distribution of wood to tribal areas of the state had been ensured and 1,500 quintals of additional timber had been supplied to far-flung areas of Spiti from Kullu. Besides, the matter regarding sending 6,000 quintals of more wood to these areas was under consideration.

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Panchrukhi is sub-tehsil
Our Correspondent

Palampur, September 30
Panchrukhi, a small town near here, was accorded the status of sub-tehsil by the state government. Jaisinghpur MLA Yadvinder Gomma inaugurated the new sub-tehsil today.

Gomma said with the setting up of the sub-tehsil at Panchrukhi, residents of 15 patwar circles would be benefitted and saved from visiting Palampur for petty matters like purchase of revenue stamps, court fee tickets and judicial papers.

He said residents of the area were demanding sub-tehsil status for the past 30 years and thanked Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for accepting their demand.

Kangra DC C Paulrasu said all pending cases pertaining to demarcation of land and other petty dispute of land would be disposed of quickly with the posting of Naib Tehsildar at Panchrukhi.

Bhupinder Attari SDM Palampur said 15 patwar circles, including Andretta, Kangri, Ghar, Chandroppa, Parnoh, BSaliana Thandol, Bhuwana, Ramnagar, Bhora, Khaira, Loharkhund and Jaind had been brought under the new sub-tehsil.

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