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Attending marriage of CMD’s son from corpn fund
Postal staffer falls from hill, dies
Gulzar inaugurates rare photo gallery at IIAS
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Students must read
Tagore: Lyricist
Threat looms as missing wireless sets still untraced
Panel on HPU fee hike submits report
Sort out staff issues, DC to officers
Action against JP Cement for raising clinker output
50,000 schoolgirls get combat training
Discontinuation of courses at BIMS
DRDO sets up geothermal heating system in Manali
Modi’s ‘Clean India’ campaign has fallen by wayside in Kangra
Scrap contract system: Federation
Housing policy to be fine-tuned
JCB, tipper seized from Chakki river
Govt spending Rs 328 cr on agri development: Minister
Nalsar lake cries for attention
Ban on crackers sale in Nurpur
18 arrested for gambling
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Attending marriage of CMD’s son from corpn fund Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shimla, October 20 What raised the suspicion of the vigilance was that a similar marriage of RP Singh’s daughter was held on November 30 in Delhi in 2013, charged insiders. That time, SJVNL had convened a review meeting of foreign projects, Kholangchu and Wangchu, both located in Bhutan and Arun-III in Nepal on November 27 and November 28, 2013, revealed sources in SJVNL. But this time, the marriage was scheduled for July 4, but no minuets of the meeting came out even after three months, revealed insiders. Of over 90 managers, including deputy general managers, assistant general managers, general managers from all projects and board of directors (BoD) of SJVNL, most of the top managers attended the marriage and many claimed travelling and lodging allowances, said insiders. Taking cognizance of lavish spending by SJVNL and other central public sector undertakings(CPUs) over the years, the Ministry of Power has curtailed SJVNL’s spending on room decoration (CMD’s room in Shimla was decorated at a cost of Rs 50 lakh recently), Diwali gifts, greeting cards, calendar, diary and other gifts. The ministry has issued a circular to all CPUs. Instead, all CPUs have been asked to save the money to construct public or school toilets under the corporate social responsibility, said officials. SJVNL Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) BNS Negi said they had not received a complaint so far. But all TA/DA could be placed on records. The complaint regarding the board of directors came under the purview of the CVC while the CVO could probe complaints of DGMs, AGMs and junior managers, he added. Director, Personnel and Administration, Nand Lal Sharma could not be contacted as he was currently on a foreign tour. SJVNL spokesperson Vijay Kumar Verma said there was no project review meeting or training programme fixed from July 3 in Delhi as such. But there could be some people who had an individual meeting in Delhi as many managers claimed they attended the marriage at their own expenditure, Verma claimed. A circular had been issued by the Ministry of Power recently stopping officials from taking gifts during Diwali, he confirmed. Misuse of power
Of over 90 managers, including deputy general managers, assistant general managers, general managers from all projects and board of directors of SJVNL, most top managers attended the marriage and many claimed travelling and lodging allowances |
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Postal staffer falls from hill, dies
Chamba, October 20 The victim was on
his way home after finishing his official duty when his feet slipped from
the hillside. The police handed over the body to the relatives after a postmortem examination, the report added. |
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Gulzar inaugurates rare photo gallery at IIAS
Shimla, October 20 It is a photo gallery that not only displays historic moments captured on camera before independence, but also recreates the days of the Raj with antique furniture reminiscent of the colonial era at the imposing Viceregal Lodge, the summer seat of the British. It has three sections — Yesteryears Shimla, Pre-independence period and the IIAS. The gallery has some rare pictures clicked by Kulwant Rai where one sees Jawaharlal Nehru riding a horse on his way to attend an important meeting with the Cabinet held on May 1946 at the IIAS and Vallabhai Patel arriving in a rickshaw. “It is a matter of great pride for me that I was asked to come here and put up the rare collection of pictures clicked by my uncle Kulwant Rai, surrounding crucial period before partition including the Shimla conference,” says Aditya Arya, an eminent photographer himself. The gallery exhibits those historic moments which shaped the destiny of India as Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Shimla and stayed at “Manorville”, the residence of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. The pictures capture those crucial moments as all prominent leaders, including Gandhi, Nehru, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Patel, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who fought for the struggle moment, sat together to discuss crucial issues. The pictures displayed in the Shimla of the yesteryears shows most of the town thickly wooded with majestic British architectural marvels such as the Viceregal Lodge, Cecil Hotel, Ellerslie, Loreto Convent, General Post Office, Railway Board Building and others conspicuous with no structures around them. A rare picture of a painting made by the Private Secretary of Lord Landsdown in 1890 also adorns the gallery. The third section has pictures of how the institute has grown over the years and its academic pursuits with scholars and researchers from all over the world coming here. There are some pictures of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, as she remained a fellow at the IIAS for six months from February 1987 and penned her work- Some Aspects of Intellectual Life under Colonialism. The gallery also has on display the antique Burmese teak furniture, including the Viceregal Chair which was used when the meetings of the Imperial Council were held in the Council Chamber.
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Students must read
Tagore: Lyricist
Shimla, October 20 He said this while delivering the Tagore memorial lecture at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here today. Gulzar said Tagore could not be exposed to the world because of his works being translated much later. “Students must know about the great works of Tagore whether it is his poetry, music or paintings and for this, his works need to be made the part of curriculum,” he said. Gulzar said: “Tagore’s poetry is even reflected through his paintings and the entire country must be exposed to his works. It is only after I learnt Bengali and read his work Geetanjali, which I had earlier read in English, that I realised its beauty and worth. He said Geetanjali was just a small reflection of his great works which the world must know and read. It is his third visit to the IIAS since 2002. Gulzar said: “It is always a pleasure coming to such an institute of academic learning as there is space to learn.” He said the charm of becoming a student once again and being in the safe hands of a teacher was immense and very gratifying. In 2002 Gulzar had delivered a lecture on feminism: Tradition and Modernity at IIAS. In 2008 Gulzar spent almost a week in Chamba to get to know about Chamba folklore as he was supposed to attend a workshop on the topic.
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Threat looms as missing wireless sets still untraced
Shimla, October 20 “There is no way to locate the wireless sets as these are not equipped with the GPRS system and immobilising their frequencies is not so simple and as such security threat persists,” said a senior retired police officer. Moreover, no device can ascertain whether frequencies of the missing wireless sets had been effectively immobilised and the messages passed through wireless networks are not being intercepted by those having these sets. “There are thousands of wireless sets and different types of messages are being transmitted through these sets, including movements of VVIPs and other in-house information, and unless the sets are traced, a security threat would continue to loom,” he said. “If the sets are not recovered, frequencies of all wireless sets in the state will have to be changed,” sources in the police said, adding that the matter is serious in nature and has been reported to the Centre. “The Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Telecom will have to be consulted if frequencies are to be changed,” they said. The police force is already overburdened. As per the data available at the National Crime Record Bureau official website, the density of police personnel in Himachal was 25.8 as compared to the national density of 52.9 in 2012 while policemen per lakh population in Himachal was 209 against the national number of 138 in 2012. These sets were being brought back from Kullu in four boxes after the Dasehra festival was over and a box with 20 sets went missing during transit and the policemen escorting the sets came to know about it on reaching Palampur. A complaint was lodged on October 11, but no seriousness was shown to immediately trace the sets or cordon off the area and two policemen were suspended. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had described the incident as a serious lapse. Even after an intensive search and investigations for the past 10 days, the police drew a blank.
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Panel on HPU fee hike submits report
Shimla, October 20 The committee comprising chairperson of the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission Sarojini Ganju Thakur and former registrar of the HPU AR Chauhan as its members, constituted by the state government on October 22, was asked to submit its report within one month. It held meetings with all parties and sought their views on the fee hike. Sources said the committee had deliberated the issue and reportedly followed the middle path. However, the committee members were tightlipped on the recommendations and said it would be inappropriate for them to say anything about the report. The Chief Minster has asked the Higher Education Department to put up the report after examining it. The fee hike by the university was enormous and in some cases it was more than 20 times.
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Sort out staff issues, DC to officers
Una, October 20 The DC said employees were the backbone of the administration. It is they who deliver the programmes and policies at the grassroots level. Strict action would be taken against officers who failed to provide benefits and facilities to the employees as per the decisions taken during the JCC meetings, he said. District NGO Federation president Vipan Rana, senior vice-president Ajay Sharma, general secretary Ramesh Thakur, press secretary Sanjeev Marker and office secretary Dinesh Banyal were also present.— OC
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Action against JP Cement for raising clinker output Ambika Sharma Tribune News Service
Solan, October 20
Its clinker production had, however, exceeded the limit and it produced 2.27 MTPA in 2010-2011, 2.29 MTPA in 2011-2012 and 2.97 MTPA in 2012-2013. Though its case was put up before the state government by the Department of Industries a few days ago for initiating action, it was returned with the remark that the department should initiate action. The department had worked out a penalty of about ~60 crore and they were examining various aspects before issuing notice to the JP Cement for initiating the recovery process. The issue had generated much heat early this year when Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri had stated that they would take tough action against the violation. Even the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) had issued a notice to the president of the JP Cement plant in June this year and action under the Prevention and Control of Pollution Act 1974 was suppose to be taken. Director, Industries, Rajinder Singh said they were examining various issues pertaining to this matter and since a supplementary reply had been submitted by the unit management, they were verifying its veracity before taking any action. He added that the reply of the State Pollution Control Board was also being taken into consideration . Member Secretary of the SPCB Vineet Kumar was not available for comments. The Electricity Department had also been asked to conduct a power audit of the plant since it was extracting more clinker than its sanctioned capacity. Superintending Engineer of HP State Electricity Board Limited Dheeraj Mittal, however, said there was no violation in electricity use. Violation
The Bagha plant of JP Cement was authorised to manufacture 2.54 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of cement and 2.05 MTPA clinker. Its clinker production had, however, exceeded the limit and it produced 2.27 MTPA in 2010-2011, 2.29 MTPA in 2011-2012 and 2.97 MTPA in 2012-2013. |
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50,000 schoolgirls get combat training
Shimla, October 20 ADGP S R Ojha, also the chairman and nodal officer of the committee to oversee and implement the scheme, said about 250 trained officers of the police, both male and female, were spared for the training. The implementation of the scheme was difficult in rural areas as neither adequate funds nor trainers were available. Initially, the training was being imparted after school hours but it did not yield desired results, so it was made part of the school curriculum, he said. Lately, the training was introduced as an optional subject and the period of physical education was utilised to impart training, police sources said. The project, a part of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) of Union Human Resource Development Ministry, was started in March after an MoU was signed between the police and the Education Department.
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Discontinuation of courses at BIMS Our Correspondent
Kangra, October 20 Disclosing this here today, GS Bali, Transport, Technical Education and Food and Civil Supplies Minister, said he had directed the HPTU VC to check colleges and universities in the state which were violating rules and regulations of the government and take strict action against them. Regarding compensation to students of loss of time and money, Bali said it was between them and the institute and students were free to take to legal recourse. High-level panel to probe LLR college issue
Regarding compensation to students of loss of time and money, Bali said it was between them and the institute and students were free to take to legal recourse. Bali said as far as LLR Institute of Engineering is concerned, HPTU VC had constituted a committee comprising dean, accounts officer and project officer of the technical university. They would visit the institute and submit a report within four working days. He said some members had visited the institute and pointed out certain irregularities. “After the high-level committee submits the report, disciplinary action as per the law will be taken against the institution and the government will be forced to intervene in the matter and responsibility will lie on the college management,” he said. He directed the college management to disburse the withheld salaries of three months to employees immediately. The minister said five certification and passing centres for commercial vehicles would be set up in the state at Kholi in Kangra, Baddi, Gumarwin in Bilaspur, between Kullu and Mandi and between Shimla and Sirmour. He said these centres, worth ~30 to 40 crore, were a project of the Centre and each centre would be spread on 8 acre land. Bali said secretary state transport authority would visit Kholi site tomorrow which was shortlisted earlier. He said transport nagars would be created by the Transport Department at several places for traffic decongestion in the state. The minister said the Police Department had been directed not to allow parking on national highways, particularly during nights, to avoid accidents. He said a new transport policy was in the offing which would be implemented in the state after the budget session. |
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DRDO sets up geothermal heating system in Manali
Kullu, October 20 He said geothermal technology was available with the developed nations and efforts of the Defence Research and Development Organisation had enabled India to make its mark in this energy sector as well. The Director Generalsaid the geothermal system would be able to reduce the electricity and diesel expenses for energy requirements of Snow Avalanche and Study Establishment (SASE) by over 30 per cent. He said the eco-friendly system would provide warmth during winters and cooling during summers. He said the system would be kept under observation for six months and would be a major contribution in energy sector of the country. He said the cost would be recovered within six years. Now, residents in snow-bound areas would not have to depend on electricity and diesel equipments to keep their houses warm. How it works
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Modi’s ‘Clean India’ campaign has fallen by wayside in Kangra
Kangra, October 20 The town is stinking at different places but the general public and the municipal authorities are least affected by the campaign. The BJP, on the party level too, does not seem to be conscious about the campaign launched by the Prime Minister. A heap of garbage on the Dharamsala road greets the tourists at the entrance. The road is the busiest one and connects Kangra to Dharamsala on one side and Shimla on the other. The garbage dump is just opposite the Government Polytechnic and students visiting the MCM DAV College, NIFT, and nearly a dozen government and private schools of the town have to pass the area. At various other spots, such garbage dumps are usually seen while the authorities are a mute spectator. The senior citizens’ forum here has suggested that the authorities take a lesson from Modi and keep the temple town clean in the larger interest of the people.
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Scrap contract system: Federation
Una, October 20 He was addressing mediapersons at the PWD rest house here. Jogta said the state employees had demanded that the government either scrap the contractual employment system of their cadre during the first five years of service or adopt the same pattern for recruitment of officers into the state government service. He said they had also demanded that NGOs, who were employed on contract basis be regularised. The state NGO president said all financial benefits, which were promised by the Congress party in its election manifesto, should be implemented immediately, which included salary increments after completion of 4, 9 and 14 years of service, arrears of revised pay scales as per Punjab pattern besides financial dues of employees who were victims of pay anomalies. Jogta said the federation strongly opposed the move to reduce leave encashment benefit from 300 days to 180 days. He said he was very confident that the proposal would not be allowed to be implemented. He said the federation was in favour of enhancing the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years instead of 59 years, adding that this extension should be given with full pay and service benefits.
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Housing policy to be fine-tuned
New Delhi, October 20 In an exclusive talk with TNS here, Sharma said the proposed policy was aimed to simplify rules and cut red tape to give effect to government plan to develop integrated townships in the state. The policy favours an effective single-window system to sort out issues concerning prospective projects within a stipulated period. Earlier, Sharma presided over an interactive meet here with developers for integrated townships. About 35 firms took part in the event. Addressing delegates, Sharma said the government had planned to develop new integrated townships with the help of investors in association with the HP Housing and Urban Development Authoritiy (HIMUDA), the HP Infrastructure Board and the Department of Urban on the PPP mode The sites identified by the government are Wakhnaghat (971 acre) Shimla district; Gura-Chali (195 acre) and Visha village (99 acre) in Solan; Anu village ( 370 acre) in Hamirpur; Nasloh Chipanu and Vhiuli (430 acre) Mandi; Tikka Padher (56 acre) Kangra; and Jodi Sarahan (120 acre) in Sirmour. The event, which was billed as Pre-Proposal Meet, was to seek investors’ views to prepare a holistic and effective policy. The participants were provided with a draft copy of the policy to seek their inputs. The features of the draft policy include acquisition of land by developers in the name of HIMUDA to avoid the restrictive Section 118 HP Land Tenancy and Reform Act. Investors will have to compete for investment in this sector through open competitive bidding process. Also, it says that financing of the projects, including land cost, will be entirely the responsibility of the developers. Sites for townships
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JCB, tipper seized from Chakki river
Nurpur, October 20 DSP Manoj Joshi said tehsildar Arun Sharma, who is leading the flying squad of first zone, received the information of a mining activity on Chakki riverbed by a public caller. He immediately swung into action and with the assistance of police force, raided the spot. The DSP added that he also rushed to the spot and confiscated the whole machinery and vehicles. — OC |
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Govt spending Rs 328 cr on agri development: Minister
Shimla, October 20 Addressing a gathering at the district-level kisan mela, Pathania said Rs 321-crore crop diversification scheme, funded by Japan International Corporation Agency, was launched this year. As many as 210 micro irrigation, 147 link roads and 37 collection centres would be set under the scheme at the cost of Rs 55 crore, he added. Besides, the government had launched the Rs 111.19-crore Dr YS Parmar Kisan Swarojgar Yojna. As many as 4,700 poly houses and 2,150 sprinklers and drip irrigation units would be set up, providing 80 per cent subsidies, he claimed. The minister said under the National Agricultural Development Scheme, the government was spending Rs 86 crore. To improve maize and pulse production and productivity, Rs 19.37 crore would be spent under the national food security mission. Chief parliamentary secretary Rohit Thakur said Shimla district had been allocated Rs 23.4 crore under the agricultural technological management this year. During the kisan mela, 104 farmers were awarded for appreciable work in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and horticulture.
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Nalsar lake cries for attention
Mandi, October 20 Deputy Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Vivek Chandel said two proposals worth Rs 8 lakh each for beautification and restoration of lake had already been sent to the Director of the department. District Grievances Committee member and Baggi panchayat president Vikas Gupta said it was necessary to remove wild vegetation, weeds and dead plants for rejuvenation of the lake and also water should be recharged. “We want to develop the lake as a natural beauty for tourists,” he said, and added that Mandi’s principal deity Kamrunag had stayed here for a while during the Mahabharata era and an island in the middle of the lake was the abode of the local deity. If restored, water sports and boating could be started in the lake which would give employment to hundreds of local residents, he said, adding that a ropeway could also be constructed from the lake to a nearby mountain peak, the abode of the head deity of several nearby panchayats. Nalsar panchayat president Jaswant Kaur said yesterday that they received a sanction letter of Rs 8 lakh from the Tourism Department for beautification, stone-pitching and installation of railings around the lake. She said for tourists, they wanted to construct staircase and also develop the island besides boating and other recreations. She said encroachments would be removed and a boundary wall and a pathway would be constructed around the lake. The president said she had met the Director of the Tourism Department in Shimla and requested him to sanction the money for rejuvenation of the lake. Local MLA and Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary could not be contacted for his comments.
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Ban on crackers sale in Nurpur
Nurpur, October 20 Executive Magistrates-cum-tehsildars have also been directed to grant permission to sellers for setting up cracker stalls on the specified places with a condition of keeping sand and water container with the stalls while selling crackers. The in charge, fire brigade station, was also asked to inspect markets till Diwali to ensure public safety. The fire brigade officials were told to be ready to meet any eventuality.
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Shimla, October 20
Shimla, October 20
Kangra, October 20
Shimla, October 20
Mandi, October 20
