Shimla, November 28
The HP Government has put in place a Dam Safety State Cell (DSSC) that will not only monitor 20 dams, but also ensure that new power projects enforce the compliance of dam-safety guidelines.

With this, HP has now become a member of the National Dam-Safety Cell as the government has set up its state-level cell in the Directorate of Energy (DoE), which is headed by a Superintending Engineer and monitored by its Chief Engineer.

India has 4,636 dams, the third largest in the world in terms of number, out of which Maharashtra has 2,096 large dams, the highest in the country, while Himachal has 20 large dams. The state government roped in services of the dam safety state cell of Nasik-based Dam Safety Organisation and sensitised independent power producers and Central 
and state project owners on how to ensure compliance of dam- safety guidelines.

The DoE inspected all 20 dams in the state and pointed out the shortcomings in dam safety. Independent power producers, government firms BBMB, the NHPC, the NTPC and HP State Electricity Board-run power projects have sent the compliance reports on their dam-safety cells, said engineers at DoE.

“Dam owners have to demonstrate how they operate the standard operating procedures (SOPs), disaster management plan (DMP) and emergency action plan (EAP). The dam must have proper and visible flood marks, signboards and warnings, fenced danger spots, hooters and mobile vans, when releasing water downstream,” said Hariman Dhareula, chief engineer at DoE. “The dam authorities must send SMSes to locals and tourists. The BBMB has set up a dam-safety cell and the NTPC has also started sending alert messages,” the DoE engineers said. Similar is the case with the NHPC, which runs Chamera I, II, III and Parbati projects in Chamba and Kullu districts.

“The dam authorities have to warn tourists and locals through messages not to venture along the rivers, dam sites and streams. They have to conduct mock drills from time to time,” said Dhareula.

“Regular inspection will be done by both project developers and a third party in a specified time as mandated by the Central Water Commission guidelines,” he said.

“The cell is monitoring dams for the safety programme and safety requirements at planning, construction and operation stage,” said Sanjeev Arya, SE DSSC.

The DSSC was set up after a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary P Mitra and attended by Principal Secretary, Power, SKBS Negi and DoE engineers, IPPs and other stakeholders and the minuets of meeting have been circulated to all.

“The safety cell has started functioning and is linked to the national dam-safety cells. The dams must send compliance report on a regular basis,” Negi told the stakeholders. On June 8 this year, the sudden release of water from the 126-mw Larji dam washed away 24 engineering students of a private college from Andhra Pradesh and their tour operator in the Beas river near Thalot in Mandi district.

The case is still pending in the High court.

Fact file

* HP has now become a member of the National Dam Safety State Cell

* India has 4,636 dams, the third largest in the world in terms of number, out of which Maharashtra has 2,096 large dams, the highest in the country, while Himachal has 20 large dams

Shimla, November 28
The Congress will launch its membership drive from December 2 with all party stalwarts, including the Chief Minister and all former state Congress presidents filling in their forms. The party has set a target of making 10 lakh primary members and 1 lakh active members.

It is after a gap of five years that all party leaders will fill in party membership forms as the last membership drive was undertaken in 2009.

“Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, all former state Congress chiefs, ministers and past heads of all frontal organistaions will take part in the membership drive,” said Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief.

Sukhu said the Congress had almost 5 lakh primary members and about 50,000 active members. “We want to increase the party’s support base among all sections of society, including women and the youth, who play a dominant role in society and must be given prominence in any party,” he said.

The meeting of the State Executive of the HPCC will be held here on December 2 as all senior leaders, including the CM, ministers, MLAs, state office-bearers, present and past presidents of various frontal organisations such as the Youth Congress, the Sewa Dal, the Mahila Congress and the National Students Union of India will be present at the launch of the membership drive.

Sukhu said there was also a provision for online membership as it might not be possible for everyone to visit the Congress offices.

Sukhu said the process of creation of Panchayat Congress Committees in every panchayat of the state had begun. “We will initially appoint the Panchayat Congress Committee chief and later the office-bearers will be appointed,” he said.

He said the creation of the Panchayat Congress Committee was a must to reach out to the maximum electorate with the party ideology and policies and programmes of the government. 

Shimla, November 28
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has said he will take up the issue of rehabilitation of Pong Dam oustees with the Rajasthan Government again and if the displaced families are not given their due, Himachal will knock at the door of the Supreme Court.

The issue was raised at the meeting of the State-Level Pong Dam Rehabilitation and Advisory Committee chaired by the Chief Minister here today. “We will meet the chairman of the committee constituted for the purpose and the Rajasthan Government regarding the rehabilitation of the oustees. If the Rajasthan Government again shows its lackadaisical approach, we will approach the Supreme Court to get justice for the oustees,” he said.

The Chief Minister said a visit to Rajasthan in January by Kaul Singh Thakur, Revenue Minister, along with senior officials would be the last attempt in this direction, failing which the government would file a contempt plea in the Supreme Court.

Virbhadra said despite the ruling of the apex court that Rajasthan would make available to the oustees an equivalent piece of land and the original allottee would get back the possession of the land, the Rajasthan Government was not serious to solve the issue and had shown its inability give land and remove encroachers.

The Chief Minister suggested that even if the original allottee was not there today, his legal heirs would be eligible for the compensation or use of the Pong Oustees Development Agency (PODA) Fund. He said it was rather disappointing that the Rajasthan Government was to give 15.625 acres of land to the Pong Dam oustees but the matter had been pending for the past many years.

The CM said despite 17 meetings of the committee, nothing had come out. It shows the lack of positive approach on the part of the Rajasthan authorities to adhere to the tripartite agreement. He said 1188 murabas of land which were handed over to the oustees and later given back to the people of Rajasthan should be looked into as per the ruling of the Supreme Court. It should also be enquired that under whose direction, 1188 plots were given back to the Rajasthan people, he added.

He said the plea of the oustees to give them irrigated land, reserved for them in Ganganagar and Anupgarh districts, was not being heard and the Rajasthan Government was offering them unfertile land without any facilities of roads, drinking water and education at Mohangarh, Ramgarh and Nachna in Bikaner district.

About 75,268 acres were submerged under the Pong Dam in which 226 villages were submerged and 113 villages partially affected. The Dam is the direct source of water for the Indira Gandhi Canal Project in Rajasthan. Out of the total 20,722 displaced families, 16,352 were found eligible for the allotment of land in Rajasthan. Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said after one last effort in January, HP would not tolerate the belittling of its people who lost their homes and land. 

The case

About 75,268 acres were submerged under the Pong Dam in which 226 villages were affected, 113 partially. The Pong Dam is the direct source of water for the Indira Gandhi Canal Project in Rajasthan. Out of 20,722 displaced families, 16,352 were found eligible for the allotment of land in Rajasthan. Around 1188 murabas of land were allotted to the oustees but later given back to the people of Rajasthan.

Shimla, November 28
The state secretariat of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) today demanded that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should sack the Forest Minister for making an irresponsible statement. A section of the media had quoted him as saying that trees could be ordinarily cut in private premises as it smacked of an alleged connivance between the land owner in Tara Devi and the minister.

In a press statement, CPM state member Tikender Panwar said the suspended forest staff was being made scapegoat in the tree felling episode, which appeared to be a pre-meditated move executed at the behest of the minister. The party has asked the minister to explain how is it possible that when the forest beat guard of the area initially filed an FIR against the accused on November 14, the police did not act, Tikender charged.

“This FIR was registered on November 14 and the police visited the site on November 16 and marked a comment that prima facie no case of criminality was to be registered against the accused as the land was private,” he charged. It was only after the news spread that the minister, who initially was saying that trees could be cut on private land and further that these were not trees but shrubs, withdrew his statement, Panwar alleged.

The minister should quit on moral ground, Tikender said. On the other hand, the minister has claimed that he was misquoted. 

Shimla, November 28
BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti today threatened that his party would launch a state-wide agitation against the shielding of culprits of the illegal felling of trees near Tara Devi. He demanded that the names of politicians protecting such elements be made public.

In a statement issued today, Satti said the announcement of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh that an inquiry was being done was a mere eye wash as the real intention of the government was to shield the culprits. “It is impossible that the illegal act was done without the connivance of forest officials and knowledge of some top politicians,” he said.

Satti said even when the BJP had levelled serious charges against the ministers, Virbhadra had assured that he would look into it but nothing had been done so far. “The BJP will raise the issue of illegal felling of trees in the Assembly with facts as it is unbelievable that the Forest officials did not get to know about it on their own,” he said.

He said the government acted and suspended officials only when the media highlighted the illegal act. Despite officials being aware of it since November 14, no strict action was taken and all attempts were made to hush it up.

The BJP chief said his party had come out with a chargesheet against the Congress regime with serious allegations against some ministers. “It is common knowledge that some of the ministers face serious allegation and very often they indulge in bitter exchanges during the Cabinet meetings,” he said.

Nurpur, November 28
After creation of three organisational districts in Kangra by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), the demand to accord administrative district status to Nurpur has started gaining momentum.

As per HPCC’s decision, Nurpur, Palampur, Dehra and Kangra will be new organisational districts in Kangra having independent District Congress Committees (DCCs). Nurpur DCC will comprise Nurpur, Indora, Jawali and Fatehpur Assembly segments. Earlier, during the previous Dhumal government, the BJP had also created new party organisational districts (units) in the state after the then government’s failure to carve out new administrative districts in Kangra.

Nurpur Block Development Committee’s chairperson Abhilasha Chib, vice-chairperson Reeta Thakur, Zila parishad members Sat Pal Dhiman and Sardar Singh and a large number of elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions in Nurpur sub-division have urged the Chief Minister to accept the pending demand of lower Kangra area to grant district status to Nurpur. They also appealed to HPCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in this regard so that development in the lower areas of Kangra could be expedited. Nurpur Sudhar Sabha and Town Welfare Committee have also demanded district status to Nurpur. 

Shimla, November 28
Anvita Khosla, a Class XII student at Abu Dhabi Indian School in UAE donated over 2,000 books to schoolchildren after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh released her books ‘Pink Eagle and Fountain of Youth’ and ‘The Bird who wouldn’t fly’, here today.

The first book is for children aged seven and above and the second one is for children below seven years of age.

The CM congratulated Anvita for her noble thoughts, saying that her stories would certainly entertain children and ignite reading habits among children in rural schools.

Accompanied by grandparents Prof PK Khosla, who is vice-chancellor of Shoolini University, Solan, and Saroj Khosla, Anvita said the idea struck her while she was volunteering her service at a rural school in Solan.

She hails from Solan, studies in Abu Dhabi and spends her summers in India. She raised funds on her own through “crowdfunding” (funding through the web). Anvita has also penned a novel, ‘Asuras’ and wants to keep her interest alive.

Shimla, November 28
The volume of trade between India and China along the Shipkila Pass in Kinnaur district seems to be almost sluggish as traders are demanding the inclusion of livestock, china clay and electronic items for import.

The trade, which takes place from June to November, has been almost stagnant and this year 77 traders from India went to Tibetan to sell their goods. Till November 20, the value of goods that had been exported and imported was ~3.10 crore and ~3.17 crore, respectively.

“The value of the goods exported and imported is almost the same this time as has been during the last few years, but now traders are demanding the inclusion of some more items which are in demand,” said Anil Thakur, District Industry Officer, Kinnaur.

He said the traders had been asked to submit a charter of demands as they claimed that the volume of trade could increase considerably if items like china clay, thermos, crockery, packaged fruits and electronic goods were allowed to be imported from China.

Last year, a total of 63 traders from India went to Shipki village in Kinnaur to sell their goods. As per the list of trade items prepared by the Customs Department, a total of 36 items figured on the export list and 20 on the import list. The biggest demand of the traders on the Indian side is to allow the livestock trade as horses and goats they buy from Tibet are in great demand in India.

With trade between India and China failing to pick up during the past decade, a dozen new items, including Chinese handicrafts, carpets and herbal medicines, were included in the trade list in 2012 to increase the quantum of trade. Till date, not even a single Chinese trader has visited India, but traders from the Indian side have kept the trade going, even if its volume is not very high.

Hishey Negi, president, Traders Association, said: “We have approached the government and foreign trade officials to set up a single window so that traders do not face inconvenience and livestock trade is also allowed,” he said. Most of the traders say the India-China trade has lost its charm due to a ban on import of livestock.

They say the livestock, including goats and horses, are sold at a high
price at the Lavi fair, which is held in the first week of November.

Vital stats

* Till November 20, the value of goods that had been exported and imported was Rs 3.10 crore and Rs 3.17 crore, respectively

* As per the list of trade items prepared by the Customs Department, a total of 36 items figured on the export list and 20 on the import list.

Dharamsala, November 28
Vikram Chaudhary of Dharamsala won the silver medal in the Masters 40 + age group in the Men’s Tipple Jump event in 31st Mecantile Athletics Championship held in Mahinda Rajapaksha International Stadium in Sri Lanka last month.

He represented India in the event. The gold was won by the Asian record holder of Sri Lanka. There were 1500 participants from across the world in the event, including 45 from India.

Vikram also qualified for the world masters meet to be held in Australia in the 2015. Son of former Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar, Vikram Chaudhary is working as faculty in management at HIET, Shahpur. He thanked the management of the institute promoting sports in Himachal Pradesh and providing him an opportunity to participate in the event.

Bharmour, November 28
To solve the monkey menace, three more sterilisation centres would be set up in the state so that framers could get rid of the monkeys destructing crops and household accessories.

This announcement was made by Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri while presiding over a district-level kisan mela and kisan samman samaroh, held at Mehla under the aegis of ‘Atma Project’ today.

Bharmouri said seven monkey sterilisation centres were already functioning in various regions of the state to mitigate the havoc created by monkeys in fields and villages.

So far over 85, 000 monkeys had been sterilised in the state through these centres. The state government was mulling to set up monkey parks which would help assuage the menace gradually, he contended.

Speaking about the development in fish farming, Bharmouri said eight lakh seedlings of silver fish had been procured in the reservoirs of Chamba district and a target of 35 metric tonne fish production had been fixed for this year, which was five metric tonne more than the previous year.

On this occasion, the minister honored 55 progressive farmers with cash award of ~10,000 each, four self-help groups with ~20,000 each and distributed free nets to nine fishermen.

Bharmouri appealed to the farmers to enhance their agricultural production by using vermin compose so that they could improve the quality of crops and earn lucrative prices.

Chairman of zila parishad Amit Bharmouri was also present.

Kangra, November 28
A minor girl of the Gupt Ganga locality of Kangra was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a youth of Hisar. The police, on the direction of the court, registered a case under Sections 363, 366 and 376 IPC this evening.

Station House Officer MS Manhas said the mother of the minor girl had moved the court here complaining that her daughter was kidnapped by a youth of New Dani Mandi, Hisar, Haryana, on July 30 this year and was allegedly raped by him.

The SHO said following the court direction to the police, police parties had been rushed to nab the youth and recover the victim. He said only after the girl was recovered and the medical examination was conducted, the rape could be confirmed.

He said the mother of the victim had not lodged any complaint with the police since July 30, however, moved the court and got the relief. 

Mandi, November 28
Residents of several villages today met Additional Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand to seek compensation for the crops damaged by wild animals.

Hem Singh, a resident of Kipper village, said wild animals had destroyed over 50 per cent of the wheat crop sown recently in several villages.

He said nearly 30 residents of Kipper, Dudhar and Bharon villages had met the ADC to seek compensation for the damaged crops and protection from wild animals.

Earlier, wild animals had destroyed nearly 90 per cent of their maize crop and nearly 100 bighas of land under paddy cultivation had turned barren as farmers had stopped paddy plantation due to fear of wild animals, he said. — TNS