Shimla, October 21
While landslides at Urni continue to be a nightmare for people of Kinnaur, the formation of an artificial lake on the Sutlej near Chauling in the district has added to the worries of local people.

Following landslides during the past few days, the flow of Sutlej has been blocked and people are on tenterhooks as sudden bursting of the lake could cause flash floods.

An alert has been sounded by the district administration, warning the people living along the Sutlej from Tapri to Kol Dam at Tatta Pani to remain vigilant and refrain from venturing close to river as the water level could surge following breach in the lake.

Villagers of the Kilba panchayat approached the district administration and informed it about the formation of the lake which was increasing in size. Fissures have appeared on the rocks and people are on tenterhooks as they are facing a threat.

Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, DD Sharma said, “A lake measuring about 100 metres long and three to four metres deep has been formed in Chauling near Tapri, about 50 km from Reckong Peo. We are considering a minor blast to release the water in a gradual manner,” as per norms of the Central Water Commission.

There is no imminent threat as the water released from the artificial lake will be absorbed by the reservoir of the Karchham-Wangtoo power project and the excess water will spill over to the river.

Earlier also, an artificial lake was formed in the Sutlej following a massive landslide near Urni, 25 km from Reckong Peo, on June 14. The landslide had blocked the river and a lake was formed, posing a flash flood threat but water started seeping from the lake and the threat was averted.

Shimla, October 21
Shopkeepers and online sellers such as Flipkart, Snapdeal Home Shops, Naaptol and others are doing a brisk business ahead of the festival of lights. Residents today flooded the bazaars to buy utensils on Dhanteras.

The Mall, Lower, Middle and Lakkar Bazaars witnessed a huge rush.

The new trend in the market is that consumer goods companies are not offering reduced prices, but extra goods, said shoppers.

“The trend of online sale has picked up, but the real time shopping experience is missing online,” said Neena and Jyotsna, housewives.

People are on a shopping spree though there are not enough Diwali discount offers by shopkeepers.

Jumping in the midst of the consumer goods company are NGOs who have set up shops on The Mall to seek donations from buyers in the name of needy and physically challenged people.

The prices of all consumer goods items have gone up over the years, said Manoj Kumar, a local resident. Still people were buying as government employees’ salaries had gone up, he reasoned.

Shopkeepers are selling walnut, almonds, even chocolates, as packed Diwali gifts.

Significantly this time, the farmers producing walnut and pecan nuts, mainly in Kangra, have harvested a good turnover - about 1450 metric tonne and more than 150 metric tonne this year, said the officials.

But the farmers earn a pittance and consumers have to pay through the nose as the traders and middlemen make the fast bucks in the retail markets, commented a economist at HP University. 

Shimla, October 21
A Screening Committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, will meet here tomorrow to clear the names of three IAS officers who are to be promoted as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS). There is uncertainty over the issue of prosecution sanction against PC Dhiman, who is one of the contenders for the post.

While it is almost certain that Tarun Sridhar, Principal Secretary (Revenue and Forest), and Narinder Chauhan, Principal Secretary (PWD), both belonging to the 1984 batch, are likely to be promoted, but it is still unclear what stand the committee will take in case of Dhiman. It is almost a month back that the Cabinet had approved the promotion of three seniormost IAS officers belonging to the 1984 batch, but the orders had not been issued.

Besides Chief Secretary Mitra, other members of the Screening Committee are Principal Secretary (Personnel and Power) Sushil Negi and Additional Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhry. Dhiman, also belonging to the 1984 batch, is currently facing a Vigilance case in connection with pulling down of lecturers’ flats adjacent to the HP Cricket Association stadium at Dharamsala.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had sought the sanction from the state government to prosecute Dhiman under CrPC 197 in the HPCA case. Dhiman was Principal Secretary (Education) when the flats were pulled down to pave way for the stadium. The Vigilance has brought Dhiman under scanner for not objecting or seeking compensation from the HPCA for pulling down the structure.

The mandatory Vigilance clearance certificate before any promotion has been given by the department in case of Sridhar and Chauhan. “As far as Dhiman is concerned, we have written that he is facing investigation in a case pertaining to the HPCA and now it is for the Screening Committee to take a view on it,” said Vigilance sources.

The Vigilance has given clearance certificate of two others also who are junior to the officers.

Now it remains to be seen whether the committee will promote Dhiman or his it could be held back. “The committee could keep the post in abeyance till Dhiman does not get the clearance from the Vigilance Bureau,” said an official.

Though the possibility of the next seniormost officer getting the promotion if Dhiman is overlooked is bleak, in that case it is Srikant Baldi, Principal Secretary (Finance), who is the seniormost, followed by Sushil Negi.

The case for granting prosecution sanction against Dhiman had been sent in by the Vigilance Bureau almost a month back. Though the bureau is yet to get the nod from the Personnel Department, there are conflicting reports whether the government had granted nod or not.

Even though it is Tarun Sridhar, Ajay Tyagi, Arvind Mehta, Narinder Chauhan and PC Dhiman who belong to the 1984 batch, with Tyagi and Mehta being on the Central deputation, the other three are likely to be promoted to the ACS rank.

Meeting today Probables for Additional Chief Secretary’s post are Tarun Sridhar, Narinder Chauhan and PC Dhiman, all of the 1984 batch The Vigilance has given clearance for Sridhar and Chauhan, but in the case of Dhiman it has cited the HPCA case faced by him The Screening Committee headed by the Chief Secretary will meet today

Shimla, October 21
The police will soon launch a campaign to track down over 350 foreigners, overstaying in the state and start inquiry into cases of illegal narcotics cultivation and drug trafficking.

The crackdown against those involved in illegal drug trade has been planned with input from intelligence agencies, who held a meeting here yesterday with the state police. “There are over 350 foreigners who are staying without filling Form-C which is mandatory for any foreigner, so we will try to locate them,” revealed a senior police officer.

Sources said the areas which the police would virtually scan for such foreign nationals include Kullu-Manali, Bir and Dharamsala and Kasol in Kullu.

“We could also bring some educational institutes under our scanner where some foreign students were studying without completing the formalities,” he added. With drugs being routed into the country through international borders of Nepal and Burma, the police do not want the hill state to be part of this trafficking.

To ensure that no foreigners stay illegally without disclosing their location, it has also been decided to place advertisements in newspapers to alert and make aware the owners of hotels and guest houses to ensure that any foreigner staying with them has the valid documents and permission to stay in India.

Another area of concern for the police is the rise in number of cases of drug trafficking. “With the presence of a large number of Nepalese workers, Himachal is emerging as a route for trafficking drugs, with the seizure of almost Rs 5 crore drugs in Solan being a confirmation to this effect,” said an official.

The police has also decided to expedite investigation into cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), which involves a large number of Nepalese.

Hamirpur, October 21
There will be no more delays in getting environment clearance for forest-related projects, as every application will be routed online from now onwards.

On the directions of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) not only the state government, but the departments too will have to process their applications for environment and forest clearances by adopting an online procedure.

A workshop was held at the office of the Conservator of Forest here today to make officials aware about this new procedure which would cut down on unnecessary delays in granting clearances, which often hampered development projects.

Conservator of Forest (CF) Pardeep Thakur said the Government of India had adopted the online application procedure from August 15, 2014.

From now onwards, all clearances required from the MoEF would only be accepted if applied online.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) ID Lakhanpal, Deputy Commissioner, District Revenue Officer, SDMs and tehsildars attended the workshop, where they were given technical know how on submitting the application where forest clearance was required.

The CF said all such applications would be addressed to the Divisional Forest Officer, who would forward it to the CF after making preliminary investigations before forwarding it to the CF. The application would then be sent to the Chief Conservator of Forests and then to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

It would be finally sent to the Secretary Forest who would send the same to the Secretary MoEF of the Government of India for final approval.

He said the procedure would not only speed up the working but would also enable the applicant to track the status of an application online.

He said the state government could issue forest clearance up to one hectare forestland only, whereas projects over one hectare to 40 hectare would be cleared at the Regional Environment and Forest Centre in Dehradun.

All projects over 40 hectare would be sent to the MoEF, he said.

Shimla, October 21
Apple farmers in Kinnaur and the high-altitude belt of Shimla district have stopped supplying apple cartons to markets following a slump in the prices as most fruit traders and buyers left markets due to Diwali.

The apple season is in its last leg as more than 80 per cent of the commission agents in Rohru, Narkanda, Bhatta Kufar, Kharapathar, Solan and Parwanoo have closed their shops, revealed traders.

According to growers, apple prices have plunged from Rs 1,600 a carton to Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 these days for the A-grade fruit in Chandigarh and Delhi markets. It is true for the B-grade fruit which is fetching Rs 400 a carton to Rs 700 in the local markets.

The farmers have stopped sending fresh supply of A-grade fruit to the markets due to slump in the prices, said Surender Kumar, a farmer from Sangla in Kinnaur, where more than 50 per cent of the crop is yet to be marketed. “We will resume harvesting and marketing when the markets will gain after Diwali,” he added.

The apple transportation dipped from 1.20 lakh apple cartons to around 50,000-60,000 cartons today, which would dropped further due to holiday during Diwali, revealed sources. The export from the state to outside markets was about 75,000 apple cartons yesterday, they added.

The season is in its last leg as harvesting in Kinnaur and Shimla district is heading for a close, they added.

The buyers desert the markets around Diwali that in turn results in drop in prices as the fruit has not been lifted, said Mukand Lal, a commission agent from Chandigarh. The markets will pick up after Diwali when traders and buyers resume trade, he added.

Dark days The apple prices have plunged from Rs 1,600 a carton to Rs 1,000 these days for the A-grade fruit in Chandigarh and Delhi markets. The B-grade fruit is fetching Rs 400 a carton to Rs 700 in the local markets Apple transportation dipped from 1.20 lakh apple cartons to around 60,000 cartons

Shimla, October 21
A week-long session of the Vidhan Sabha is likely to be held from November 17 to discuss the Town and Country Planning (TCP) and Lokayukta Bills.

Sources said the session could have six to 10 sittings so that important Bills, which could not be taken up due to abrupt adjournment of the monsoon session in August, could be discussed. Even though it is not mandatory, 35 sittings of the Assembly are completed every year, which appeared difficult in view of the fact that the Budget session was brief and the complete monsoon session could not be held.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had earlier stated that though it was not binding, he would want the Assembly to complete 35 sittings. He had hinted that the Assembly would meet in November before the brief winter session in Dharamsala. However, the Cabinet will decide the dates for the session.

“The government is keen to table the Bill which will enable amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act which will pave the way for the regularisation of over 25,000 unauthorised constructions,” confirmed an official. He said the Ordinance issued earlier had been withdrawn and the government had made up its mind to introduce a Bill in the Assembly.

The fact that some building owners have swung into action and undertaken construction in the hope that it will be regularised has also added to the urgency of holding a session.

“Taking undue advantage of the fact that the state government had issued an Ordinance to bring about amendments to the TCP Act, some people have constructed additional stories and committed violations. So the sooner the amendments are made, the better it will be for us,” admitted an official.

The Lokayukta Bill too could be tabled in the House. The Bill had been referred to the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha earlier and its recommendations had been placed before the Cabinet. As such, a fresh Lokayukta Bill could also be tabled in the House during the session.

Shimla, October 21
A rally will be an effective mode to make road users aware of precautions needed to be taken during road journey, especially in hill areas like Himachal.

This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while flagging off a road safety awareness rally from The Ridge here today.

He said rally participants, carrying the message of road safety, would not only stop at the selected locations, but also make people aware of traffic rules and signals to be followed while driving.

He said vehicles would carry the road safety message throughout the state, particularly on the Shimla-Kalka-Parwanoo highway. Pamphlets would also be distributed to people under this campaign, he added.

Later, Virbhadra dedicated four modern fire tenders worth Rs 1.40 crore. These water tenders are equipped with the latest equipments, which can also handle class ‘B’, i.e. liquid fire where water cannot be used.

These tenders would be stationed at Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district, Banikhet in Chamba district, Fire Station in Chotta Shimla and Dharamsala in Kangra district. He said the total fleet of such tenders in the state had now gone up to 125.

Shimla, October 21
The recommendations of the three-member committee headed by former High Court judge VK Sharma on fee hike may offer some relief to students and parents, but complete rollback of fees has been ruled out.

The committee, comprising Chairperson of the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission Sarojani Thakur and former HPU Registrar AR Chauhan, has tried to rationalise the fee structure and students and parents would definitely get some relief, highly placed sources said.

The panel is understood to have prepared a revised fee structure for the next year and also made some recommendations to provide relief to students appearing in the examinations in November this year.

The members also got a feedback from parents, who reportedly agreed that the fees, which had not been hiked for the past 25 years, be revised. But they said the hike should be reasonable, based on logic.

“There will definitely be some relief. Certain fee amount which had been hiked disproportionately will be rationalised,” sources said.

Parents and students pleaded before the committee that the fee hike was “irrational” and in some cases the increase was 10 to 20 times more and the comparison of structure with Panjab University was “illogical” as the facilities and faculty of HPU were nowhere near PU.

Shimla, October 21
A training centre for Bharat Scouts and Guides (BS&G) to be constructed at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore will come up at Riwalsar in Mandi district, said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while announcing the first instalment of Rs 1 crore for the purpose.

Addressing the State Council meeting of Bharat Scouts and Guides here today, the Chief Minister, who is also the state president of BS&G, said the employees, who were working on year-to-year contract basis at the headquarters, would be permanently absorbed in the BS&G after completing eight years and the arrears of the headquarters’ employees be released from July 8, 2013.

He also agreed to the concessional vouchers for scouts and guides for camps and courses in HRTC buses.

Exhorting the children to get associated with the movement, he said it would be made compulsory for the students to join the movement. The education department will shortly come up with a notification, he said.

He also announced free transport facility to girls going to Delhi for receiving the President Award.

The Chief Minister stressed on revising the courses of maths, English and Hindi from first class and to make these more effective.

Shimla, October 21
Three Himachali players, who were members of the Indian powerlifting team, brought laurels to the country by winning one gold and two silver medals in the World Powerlifting Championship held at Las Vegas in America from October 17 to 21.

Forest Development Corporation Vice-Chairman Kewal Singh Pathania, who is also manager of Team India for the World Powerlifting Championship, informed that 63 players from India participated in the championship which won 11 gold and seven silver medals.

He said Jiwan Kumar from Jogindernagar in Mandi district had won the gold medal and Ajit Singh from Rait and Dhruv Singh from Bharwana in Kangra district the silver medals.

Kangra, October 21
Rangoli was performed ahead of Diwali at different schools and institutions here today.

The local GAV Public School organised a rangoli programme and boys and girls of Class XI in eight groups were to make a rangoli within 20 minutes. Programme coordinator Komal said each group tried to do their best in the competition.

The commerce group, adjudged the best group, got the first prize followed by the Parul-Muskan-Aditi group which got the second prize. Principal Sukhvinder Singh presented the prizes among the winners.

At the Fortis Hospital here, a rangoli of Lord Ganesha was made by an artist working in the hospital.

Some of the visitors to the hospital expressed resentment over the location of the rangoli. They said that Lord Ganesha was revered among the Hindus and the location of the rangoli was hurting their sentiments.

Kangra, October 21
Govt Degree College, Nagrota Bagwan, will have an additional block and Rs 2 crore will be spent on it.

GS Bali, Minister for Transport, Technical Education and Food and Civil Supplies, today said this while speaking on the prize distribution function of the college. He said to generate avenues of employment for the youth, professional courses were initiated in higher educational colleges and directed Principal SS Gill to start these training courses in this college too. Bali asked the students to adopt these courses.

He asked the youth to shun drugs which was endangering the younger generation. He appreciated the faculty for achieving good academic results and asked them to concentrate more on imparting education to girl students.

Bali announced Rs 10 lakh for the boundary wall of the college premises for which he had earlier too gave Rs 10 lakh. Students presented cultural programme during the functionand Bali gave Rs 20,000 for the winners of the cultural programme.

Kullu, October 21
Police Commemoration Day was observed at the Police Lines in Bashing, 4 km from here, today.

Solan, October 21
The HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC) had issued a notice to the Solan-based LLR Institute of Professional Courses last evening for violating the academic calendar and service conditions of the teaching faculty.

The institute has been accused of not paying past three months’ salary to the faculty and illegally declaring holidays till October 26.

The regulatory commission has now directed the management of the institute to appear before it on October 29 with all records.

Meanwhile, a four-member committee of officials led by the Dean from the Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU) visited the Solan-based LLR Institute today, following directions of Minister for Technical Education GS Bali. He had yesterday directed the team to submit a report within four working days.

The team inspected various records pertaining to the appointment of staff, their service conditions and accounts among other things.

The officials also met institute’s teaching and non-teaching employees, including non-payment of salaries as per All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), HPTU and University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, non-payment of allowances, no appointment letters, etc, before the committee.

The employees said the fee collected from students was being credited into the account of an accountant which was illegal. They said Rs 3 lakh was recently deposited into his account.

The teaching and non-teaching staff raised slogans against chairman Kailash Goyal as he failed to turn up. Salaries of some non-teaching employees were, however, disbursed.

The institute, which had closed on October 2, had re-opened on October 13. Holidays were again declared on October 17 in view of the strike by the teaching and non-teaching employees.

Though no written notice was issued by the institute regarding the declaration of holidays, students were directed to vacate the hostel at a time when examinations were underway.

Shimla, October 21
Five persons were killed when the taxi (HP-01S 0922) they were travelling in fell into a 2,000-ft-deep gorge at Kashmiri Crusher near Jhakri on the Hindustan-Tibet national highway, 142 km from here, this morning.

The police said about 10 persons from Solan boarded two vehicles for the Bhima Kali temple at Sarahan and took a break near Jhakri. The accident took place in the morning when the driver put the vehicle into reverse gear and it went out of control and plunged into the gorge.

The passengers of the other vehicle informed the police about the accident and rescue operations were launched. All five bodies were recovered and handed over to the relatives.

The district administration gave an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 to the next of kin of the deceased. The deceased were driver Sandeep (20), Anil (18), Sudhir (21), Kuldeep (20) and Jagdish (18), all hailing from Solan.

Kangra, October 21
Three persons, including a 22-year-old girl, were killed and one brother of the deceased girl seriously injured when the car they were travelling in dashed against a tree at Sunait village falling under the Dehra police station here last night, the police said today.

Reenu Sharma, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Dehra, said a Nano car (HP-19-C 1397), carrying four persons, including three members of a family, was headed for Kangra from Hoshiarpur when Shrawan Kumar, who was driving the car, lost control on the vehicle.

The accident led to the death of Bharati (22) of Kangra and her cousin Dheeraj (26) of Hoshiarpur. Shrawan Kumar (40) was seriously injured.

Reenu said Shrawan was rushed to the Dehra Civil Hospital where Bharati and Dheeraj were declared brought dead.

Later, Mohan Kumar (25) succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Shrawan was referred to the DRPGMC at Tanda.

In view of the serious condition of Shrawan, he was further referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, by doctors. However, his relatives took him to the CMC, Ludhiana, for treatment, the DSP said.

Reenu said a case was registered against Shrawan at the Dehra police station under Sections 304-A and 279, IPC. She said the bodies were handed over to their relatives after postmortem today.

Solan, October 21
The Western Command Inter Army Public Schools’ (APS) Basketball Championship for boys and girls concluded at The Army Public School, Dagshai, here today.

The tournament, in which five boy and girl teams participated, was played on a league-cum-knockout basis. Brig OP Singh, Commandant, 14 GTC, and Chairman of APS, was the chief guest who also gave away the prizes to students. — TNS