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Will work without any political discrimination: Nadda
Delay in Neugal ropeway project: Firm gets show-cause notice
Bajpai is HPU VC again till May 2017
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NGO opposes demand for culling of monkeys
‘Create positive atmosphere for industrial investment’
Art fest to mark Sobha Singh’s 114th birth anniversary from Nov 17
HRTC told to refund excess amount to passenger
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Will work without any political discrimination: Nadda
Shimla, November 15 Nadda, was given a rousing welcome by BJP workers, who had turned the town “saffron” with BJP flags, said the Modi government did not believe in “political discrimination” and would give all states their due and seek their cooperation in making India healthy. Nadda said the health sector was multidimensional and a sensitive area involving every individual. He said he was trying to grasp the problems and issues to have a coordinated approach. He said: “The conventional attitude has to change and we have to think out of box to solve the problems.” The Centre would give its due to all states and of course HP would get a special treatment and all demands of the state would be met, he said. Addressing BJP workers at state party office here, Nadda said he was not only the Health Minister, but also a representative of the people of Himachal in the Union government. Stressing that health sector had a vast potential, Nadda said efforts would be made to all possibilities and potentials and besides inducing new ideas and charting a “different path” suggestion from all sections of the societies would be welcomed. “After taking over, I have just started understanding the department and put in my best efforts to give the best to the people and bring Himachal in the mainstream of the country,” he said. Responding to the claim of Himachal Health Minister Kaul Singh that the Centre curtailed funds for Himachal under the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), Nadda said he was not aware about any cut in allocation of funds and in case there was any such move, he would intervene. “Our government believes in giving and not in snatching,” he said. A changed political scenario was witnessed at the BJP office with all top leaders, including state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti, former state
BJP chiefs Suresh Bharadwaj and Jai Ram Thakur, Lok Sabha member Varinder Kashyap, former Speaker of Vidhan Sabha Gulab Singh and other leaders, singing praises of Nadda and acknowledging his capabilities and contribution to the party. Makes courtesy call on CM
Union Health Minister JP Nadda also made a courtesy call on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who congratulated him for his induction in the Union Cabinet, while state Health minister Kaul Singh also called on him. Bindal seeks funds for medical college
Solan: Dr Rajeev Bindal, former Health Minister and MLA Nahan, today submitted a memorandum to Union Health Minister JP Nadda and persuaded him to release funds for a proposed medical college at Nahan, which was announced during the tenure of the former UPA Government without any budgetary provision. Bindal was accompanied by other MLAs of Sirmaur, including Baldev Tomar, Suresh Kashyap and district BJP president Sukhram Chawdhary. While terming it as a genuine demand, Bindal emphasised that the minister should ensure early release of funds for the medical college. He said Sirmaur was among the most backward districts of the state and people had to travel to nearby places like Chandigarh, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Dehradun, Vikasnagar, etc., for medical purposes. He also requested the minister to visit Nahan and lay the foundation stone of the college. |
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Delay in Neugal ropeway project: Firm gets show-cause notice
Shimla, November 15 “Since the company has failed to show progress and complete the project, we have issued them a show-cause notice as per the terms and conditions,” a senior tourism official said. It is reliably learnt
that the state government was keen on awarding the work for all projects in the state and wherever there was delay, projects would be cancelled and awarded afresh. It is being felt that aerial ropeways would not only help reduce traffic congestion, but also be major attractions at prime tourist destinations. The department has already invited bids for six of its projects for which the last date has been extended from November 15 to December 10. 2014. The six ropeway projects are in Shimla, Naina Devi-Toba (Bilaspur), Shah Talai-Deotsidh (Hamirpur), Himani Chamunda, Dharamsala-McLeodganj and Dharamkot-Triund, all three in Kangra. All projects are to be executed under the private-public partnership (PPP) mode for a period
of 40 years. The prospective bidders include some big names, including Tata, Usha Breco, Damodar, JLPL and Himalaya Ski Resorts. “With the kind of response we are getting, we are quite confident that aerial ropeway projects which have been delayed for one reason or the other will finally take off,” a senior official said. Though no final decision has been taken so far, the two projects of Solang-Palchang and Kullu-Bijli Mahadev in Kullu district are likely to be given to a company which has tied up with the Tatas. Prior to this, the response for executing serial ropeways in the state was lukewarm. In the past, when some aerial ropeways were advertised, there were no takers for the Dharamkot-Triund ropeway, while in the case of Palchang-Solang only a single bid was received. It is only the Bijli Mahadev ropeway in Kullu, where three bids had come in from Damodar, Conveyer and Power Himalayas. It is being expected that once the government awards work for the six advertised projects, the other ropeways would also be advertised soon so that they become operational at the earliest. |
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Bajpai is HPU VC again till May 2017
Shimla, November 15 The notification regarding the appointment of Bajpai issued by the Governor said: “In the exercise of my powers as HPU Chancellor under sub-section 3 of Section 12 of the Himachal Pradesh University Act, 1970, I, Urmilla Singh, re-appoint Prof ADN Bajpai in consultation with the state government with effect from May 25, 2014, for a period of three years, which includes the extension period of six months already given to him.” The second term of the VC would be three years, subject to maximum age of 65 years and his extended term would expire on May 24, 2017. Initially, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had reservations about giving a second term to Bajpai and he was given extension of six months for completing the process for appointment of the new VC and his appointment for the second term is being considered as recognition of his acumen as an academician and administrator. Bajpai is the second
VC after KC Malhotra to get a second term as a Vice-Chancellor. He was credited with implementing the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and firmly dealing with students’ agitation on fee hike and scrapping of direct elections to the Students Central Associations of the university and affiliated colleges. Fee hike and campus issues which the previous VCs did not dare touch, Bajpai stood firm against all pressures and implemented the decision to hike fee and also adopted a resolution in the Executive Council, barring teachers from taking part in active politics. Expressing gratitude to the Governor and Chief Minister for reposing trust in his ability, Bajpai said he would pursue the initiatives taken by him with vigour and open new campuses in Mandi and Hamirpur. He said opening a second campus near Shimla would be his priority besides effectively implementing the “Vision 2022” document. However, students’ associations, including the SFI and the ABVP, condemned the decision and said maximum protests were witnessed during Bajpai’s tenure. |
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NGO opposes demand for culling of monkeys
Shimla, November 15 In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, convener of NWI, Rajeshwar Singh Negi, said the demand for culling monkeys or their translocation or export was not only legally untenable, but also contravened the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Claiming that the propaganda about monkey menace was “misleading and motivated”, he urged the government to take immediate steps to effectively check the malicious propaganda and conduct a monkey census in a scientific manner to nail the false propaganda unleashed by vested interests. Negi said: “The fruit and vegetable production has increased from 1,200 MT in 1952 to 10.27 lakh MT in 2012-13 as per government statistics and the share of agriculture in GDP was 14 per cent. Hence, it is preposterous to claim that wild animals are causing loss of Rs 2,000 crore per annum to the crops.” Asserting that the figures about monkey population were being grossly exaggerated, he said the figure of 5 lakh was totally wrong. He said feeding monkeys had not been banned in any part of the country, but in Himachal it was an offence. He demanded that the people be allowed to feed waste food to monkeys to reduce attacks, which were mainly due to their hunt for food. “We are willing to rescue, rehabilitate and feed monkeys, but it will be easy to feed them if there is a fenced protected area for animals,” said, Amit Sood, an animal lover. CPM lambasts animal rights activists
The CPM yesterday lambasted the “arm chair animal rights activists” for protecting monkeys and other stray and wild animals, which have emerged not only as a “life hazard in the capital city, but has pushed apple, maize and vegetable farmers to the brink in many parts of the state”. Hailing the High Court directive to the state and Central governments, CPM state secretariat member Dr Kuldip Tanvar said: “Certain animal rights groups are raising anti-human voice protecting the burgeoning armies of monkeys to mislead the public which is out raising a banner of revolt against growing monkey menace in the city after the death of Mamta Sachdeva, 36, a resident of Middle Bazaar on November 4. |
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Conference held on sentencing, victimology
Shimla, November 15 He said while concentrating on criminals, the courts could not ignore victims. He dwelt on the provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code for providing compensation to victims, right of a victim to prefer appeal against acquittal or inadequacy of sentence. He said the courts were under obligation to translate these protections into reality. Justice Rajiv Sharma said the sentence should be law-centric and not judge-centric. “The discretion to award the sentence cannot be exercised in arbitrary manner and it has to be guided by the law and fairness in given circumstances, but this aspect is usually given the least consideration,” he said. Around 110 judicial officers participated in the workshop organised to enhance the skills and knowledge of judicial officers and to apprise them about the considerations and guidelines for sentencing and burning issues facing criminal justice administration. Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary, Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, Justice PS Rana and Justice Sureshwar Thakur chaired sessions on victimology, considerations and guidelines for sentencing and providing speedy justice to victims. The resource persons Prof SC Raina, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Prof Gurpal Singh, Former Dean and Head, Law Department, Punjabi University, Patiala and Prof Trisha Sharma, Director, Law College, APG University, Shimla, held different sessions with participants. DP Sood, RK Mahajan, AK Goel, KC Sood, Surinder Singh Thakur, Kuldip Singh, VK Sharma, Advocate General and chairman of Bar Council of HP Shrawan Dogra and Assistant Solicitor General of India Ashok Sharma, Registrars of the HP High Court Sushil Kukreja, Arvind Malhotra, Dr Baldev Singh and RK Chaudhary, Director of the Judicial Academy Rakesh Kainthla, Deputy Director Anuja Sood were also present on the occasion. |
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70 encroachments removed in Kangra
Kangra, November 15 A team of officials of the Municipal Council and the PWD, a heavy contingent of policemen, accompanied by Tehsildar PL Sharma and led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ajeet Bhardwaj, swung into action at 7.30 pm. The encroachments were removed from outside the Civil Hospital, Rajput Sabha, State Bank of Patiala Chowk, Dharamsala road and general bus stand. Bhardwaj said over 250 accidents had been reported in the past year along this stretch of the road. He said the drainage system had collapsed due to these encroachments. |
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Free ambulance service for pregnant women, children launched
Shimla, November 15 The ambulances were flagged off to provide free transport and drop back facility to pregnant women and women after delivery and sick children up to the age of one year in the state. The services will be available to the remotest Dodra-Kwar and other far-flung areas as well. The CM said under this scheme, 125 ambulances would be stationed at major delivery health centres, including regional and district hospitals and the services would be available through a toll-free number102. At present, the infant mortality rate of the state was 36 as compared to the national average of 42 and similarly, the fertility rate in the state was 1.7 as compared to 2.4 at the national level, he said. He said another milestone had been achieved in the health sector after the successful launch of the 108 ambulances, adding that it would play a pivotal role in strengthening the health infrastructure and would also promote institutional deliveries which in turn would go a long way in further reducing the maternal and infant mortality rate. He said under the National Rural Health Mission the state government was successful in getting Rs 261 crore from the Centre and he hoped that the Union Government would provide assistance to further strengthen the health sector as Union Minister of Health JP Nadda represented the state. He said a provision of Rs 30 crore had been made for necessary drugs numbering 352 for the poor. Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said a sum of Rs 6.15 crore was being spent under the 102 Janani Sishu Suraksha Karyakram. He said the free 102 ambulance drop-back service would reduce the pressure on 108 ambulance services which were also performing the same services. He said 100-bed Mother and Child Hospitals at Kamla Nehru Hospital and DRPGMC, Tanda, were being constructed at a cost of Rs 20 crore each and as many as 71 specialist doctors and 457 doctors had been appointed, besides nearly 700 para-medical staff in the state. |
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‘Create positive atmosphere for industrial investment’
While addressing mediapersons at the Circuit House, he discussed the investor’s meet organised by the government in different parts of the country. He said the government had been misleading the public over the issue as there were no concrete figures on the quantum of investment proposed in the state. Dhumal said there were proposals for investment in cement and liquor production sectors. It was for the government to decide whether they wanted to promote the industrial sectors here. He said the BJP had always welcomed new industrial investments. Dhumal said the CM had stated that the norms for the allocation of land for industries would be relaxed, which meant that the norms were stringent. He questioned the authenticity of the slogan “Himachal on sale”, which the Congress had used against the BJP during the previous regime. Dhumal said all the five amendments in Section 118 of the HP Land Reforms and Tenancy Act were done during the Congress regime. He said the party in power was shying away from holding Assembly sessions. There were reports of the winter session starting from November 17, which was later postponed to December. Responding to media queries regarding a fresh challan against Lok Sabha MP and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur, Dhumal said the state Vigilance Department was merely doing media trials. “Media reports only quote sources in the Vigilance Department without mentioning the name of the official who gives information,” he said. |
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Art fest to mark Sobha Singh’s 114th birth anniversary from Nov 17
Dharamsala, November 15 Yadvinder Goma, MLA, Jaisinghpur Vidhan Sabha constituency, will inaugurate the festival on November 17. Hirday Paul Singh, secretary general, Sobha Singh Art Memorial Society, while talking to The Tribune said parallel programmes to mark the birth anniversary of Sobha Singh were also being celebrated in Bathinda and Ludhiana in Punjab. He said Sobha Singh’s family living at Andretta village had decided to convert the old house, where Sobha Singh lived after the Independence and created masterpieces, into a heritage property. He said nearly 20 rural women would be given art and craft training in a six-day workshop to be organised during the fest. An expert lecture and a documentary on folk art “Likhnu” by Dr Gautam Vyathit would also be organised on November 19, he said. A four-day workshop on Likhnu would also start the same day in addition to a workshop for schoolchildren on making greeting cards. An expert lecture on Art and Culture of Himachal Pradesh by Ajai Srivastva from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, will also be organised. BBL Butail, Speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha would be the chief guest during the closing ceremony. |
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HRTC told to refund excess amount to passenger
Sundernagar, November 15 The forum further directed the regional manager to pay
Rs 1,500 as compensation and Rs 500 as the cost of litigation to the complainant. As per the facts, the complainant, along with his four family members boarded an HRTC bus on May 1, 2013, from Sarkaghat to Haridwar and
Rs 431 per seat was charged. On return journey on May 2, 2013, the complainant and his family members boarded another HTRC bus for Bilaspur and
Rs 443 per seat was charged (Rs 12 more per seat). Therefore, the complainant filed a complaint to get the amount refunded and for the award of compensation. — OC |
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Una, November 15