H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Hamirpur, Kangra, Chamba villages to have roads by 2007
Shimla, October 19
The state-level Standing Committee on the “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna” has approved the “Districts Rural Roads Plan” for Hamirpur, Chamba, Sirmaur and Kangra Districts to provide connectivity to all villages having population of more than 250 souls with an all weather road by the year 2007.

HP sets up investment promotion board
Shimla, October 19
The fund-starved Himachal Pradesh Government today constituted a high-level board for securing investments in the state. The Chief Minister will be chairman of the investment promotion board.

Highway to link Una, Bhota
Hamirpur, October 19
The HP Government has taken up the construction of an express highway between Una and Bhota to provide additional national highway type road link. A sum of Rs 3.28 crore had already been spent on this link, according to Education Minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman.

Workshop to train young artistes
Shimla, October 19
Several celebrities of theatre world will be here in the next few days to train upcoming stage artistes, who are participating in a 21-day workshop being organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The workshop started yesterday.

Plea to modernise fire station
Manali, October 19
Mr Gautam Thakur, president, Kullu Valley Hoteliers’ Association has, expressed concern over the malfunctioning of the Fire Brigade station here. In a press statement issued here today he said that recently two major fires had exposed the preparedness of the Fire Brigade station.

Students burn Dhumal’s effigy
Kangra, October 19
Students of government degree college Dharmsala today boycotted classes and held a march raising anti government slogans. They burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal and blocked traffic for one hour at Kacheari chowk of Dharmsala town demanding a regional centre.

3 Cong Seva Dal men removed
Bilaspur, October 19
The state executive of the Congress Seva Dal has removed three of its office-bearers from their posts. This was announced here today by the Congress Seva Dal state chief organiser, Mr Baldev Thakur.

• NSUI activists burn PM’s effigy

Now, daily power cuts
Shimla, October 19
The HPSEB has decided to resort to a staggered 10-hour power cut everyday in Himachal Pradesh because of severe shortage of electricity.

Inter-school folk dance competition
Parwanoo, October 19
An inter-school folk dance competition ‘Dhamaal’ was organised by the local Eicher School here today. Six students of six schools participated in the competition.

Hamirpur, Kangra, Chamba villages to have roads by 2007
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 19
The state-level Standing Committee on the “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna” has approved the “Districts Rural Roads Plan” for Hamirpur, Chamba, Sirmaur and Kangra Districts to provide connectivity to all villages having population of more than 250 souls with an all weather road by the year 2007.

Perspective plans for these roads have been recommended to the State Government by the respective Zila Parishads. The meeting of the committee was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Mr Harsh Gupta.

The Chief Secretary said that Kangra District has 1546 villages with population of 250 people and above. Out of this, 910 villages already stood connected by road and added 73 villages were being connected under ongoing programme of NABARD and “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna”. Remaining 563 villages would be covered under the “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna” in a phased manner.

This will involve construction of 453 roads having a road length of 1460 Km. With an estimated capital expenditure of Rs. 240.00 crore 221 smaller villages falling on the proposed road will also get connected, he added.

Referring to Hamirpur District the Chief Secretary said that it had 443 eligible villages, of which 289 were already connected. He said that while 40 villages, had on-going projects for their connectivity the plan envisaged connection of 114 villages during the period. This will involve construction of 80 new roads with road length of 317 Km. And with expenditure of Rs. 66 crore 59 smaller villages falling on these roads would also get connectivity.

Mr Gupta said that in Chamba District plan out of 591 qualifying villages, 172 already stood connected. After making allowance for the 45 villages where connectivity project under “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna” and NABARD are under execution, 373 eligible villages are required to be covered by the target date of 2007.

Referring to Sirmour District the Chief Secretary said that the district had got connectivity of 142 out of 413 eligible villages. Ongoing road works programme would cover 23 villages and the District Rural Road Plan as recommended by the Zila Parishad envisaged all weather connectivity to 248 villages involving 169 new roads having a length of 1400 km at a cost of Rs. 331 crore.

This programme will provide connectivity to 145 additional smaller villages falling on the proposed roads.

The Chief Secretary said it was proposed to provide roads to 1,298 eligible along with 568 smaller villages on a total road length of 4906 km of 977 new roads. The aggregate investment envisaged for these four districts is Rs. 1107 crore, he added. 

HP sets up investment promotion board
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 19
The fund-starved Himachal Pradesh Government today constituted a high-level board for securing investments in the state. The Chief Minister will be chairman of the investment promotion board.

The Industries Minister will be its Vice-Chairman, while the Ministers for Revenue, Excise and Taxation, the Chief Secretary and Secretaries of Finance, Horticulture, PWD, Town and Country Planning, Agriculture, Tourism, Revenue, Bio-Technology, Industries, Information Technology and Planning will be its members.

Top industrialists and trade organisations have also been nominated as members of the Board.

Other members of the board are, the Development Commissioner, NEPZ, chairman (HPSEB), CII, Chairman (PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Director (FICCI), Mr Sachit Jain, Executive Director, Vardhman Group, Chairman (Morepan Laboratories, Mr Jai Prakash Gaur, Chairman JP Industries, DGM (IDBI), General Manager (NABARD), General Manager (SIDBI), DGM, Reserve Bank of India, Chandigarh, DGM, UCO Bank and a representative of the Export Import Bank of India. The Director of Industries will be the Member Secretary of the Board.

Highway to link Una, Bhota
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 19
The HP Government has taken up the construction of an express highway between Una and Bhota to provide additional national highway type road link. A sum of Rs 3.28 crore had already been spent on this link, according to Education Minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman.

He said this while addressing a public meeting at Salauni yesterday during a “vikas yatra” programme. He said all villages would be linked with roads by 2005. He said four national highways had been sanctioned, raising the national highways in the state to eight.

Workshop to train young artistes
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 19
Several celebrities of theatre world will be here in the next few days to train upcoming stage artistes, who are participating in a 21-day workshop being organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The workshop started yesterday.

Among those scheduled to give lectures at the workshop are Shyam Nand Jalan, Dolly Ahluwalia and Rattan Thiyam.

The director of the workshop, Mr J.N. Kaushal, told TNS that the workshop was being organised to train young artistes. As many as 22 candidates had been selected from different areas of the state. They would be given lectures in mime and movement, voice and speech and various other aspects of theatre, he added.

Mr Kaushal said similar camps would be held in Uttaranchal, Amritsar, Kurukshetra and Jammu.

Candidates from among the participants would also be identified for further programmes after the third phase of training at the workshop, he said.

Plea to modernise fire station
Our Correspondent

Manali, October 19
Mr Gautam Thakur, president, Kullu Valley Hoteliers’ Association has, expressed concern over the malfunctioning of the Fire Brigade station here.

In a press statement issued here today he said that recently two major fires had exposed the preparedness of the Fire Brigade station.

Mr Thakur urged the state government to provide modern fire tenders to the station and deployed more skilled firemen.

The association had provided a relief of Rs 10,000 each to the owners of Hotel Bulbul and Hotel Ambika which were recently gutted.

Students burn Dhumal’s effigy

Kangra, October 19
Students of government degree college Dharmsala today boycotted classes and held a march raising anti government slogans. They burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal and blocked traffic for one hour at Kacheari chowk of Dharmsala town demanding a regional centre.

Led by college Students Union president Mahesh Sharma students were demanding that the building of the college which was occupied by the regional centre be got vacated. The decision to discontinue the public administration subject in the plus one and plus two classes be withdrawn besides the degree classes.

Students had been protesting against the recommendations of the Tegta committee report demanding its withdrawal.

3 Cong Seva Dal men removed
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, October 19
The state executive of the Congress Seva Dal has removed three of its office-bearers from their posts. This was announced here today by the Congress Seva Dal state chief organiser, Mr Baldev Thakur.

He said Mr Vishwanand Thakur of Shimla and Mr Jagjiwan Pal of Kangra, both state organisers and Mr Tilak Raj Sharma of Bilaspur, had been removed from these posts and also from the state executive committee for failing to perform their duties.

He said Mr Pratap Kondal, state organiser and in-charge of Una district, would also be in-charge of Bilaspur district. While Ms Manbhari Devi women state organiser would be the new in-charge of Kangra district.

NSUI activists burn PM’s effigy
Our Correspondent

Shimla, October 19
The National Student Union of India (NSUI) today burnt an effigy of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee on the Himachal Pradesh University campus here to protest against the re-induction of Mr George Fernandes as Defence Minister. The NSUI also organised a statewide dharna in this connection.

Meanwhile, NSUI activists staged a dharna on the campus and raised slogans against the BJP-led government. 

Now, daily power cuts
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 19
The HPSEB has decided to resort to a staggered 10-hour power cut everyday in Himachal Pradesh because of severe shortage of electricity.

A spokesman of the HPSEB today said that besides the severe power shortage in the northern region, there was a normal seasonal decline in HP’s own generation which has been compounded by the continued dry spell.

Load shedding will be between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a staggered basis for consumers of all categories. Power supply will, however, be maintained for essential services as far as possible.

Efforts were being made to augment power supply from various sources so that normalcy could be restored at the earliest.

Inter-school folk dance competition
Our Correspondent

Parwanoo, October 19
An inter-school folk dance competition ‘Dhamaal’ was organised by the local Eicher School here today. Six students of six schools participated in the competition.

Mr Yograj Sachdeva, Regional Director of the CBSE, presided over the function. The panel of judges included Shobha Kosar from Prachin Kala Kendra, Subash Chandra Ghosh, a guitarist and Ms Pachnanda, an educationist.

Ms Shalini Kashyap, Principal of the host school, welcomed the guests.

The competition was aimed at presenting a panorama of Indian folk dances. The programme began with junior section of Chinmaya School, Solan, presenting a Rajasthani folk dance. Children of Eicher School, Parwanoo, presented ‘dandiya’ dance. Marathi ‘machwara’ dance was presented by students of Pinegrove School, Kasauli. Students of Central School, Sabathu, Eicher School, Faridabad, and Alwar Public School, Alwar, gave a marvellous performance of Rajasthani folk dance. Senior students of Eicher School, Parwanoo, and Pinegrove School, Kasauli, presents Himachali folk dance ‘Nati’.

Students of Pingrove School, Kasauli, bagged the first prize both in junior and senior sections. The second and the third prizes in the junior category went to Eicher School, Parwanoo, and Eicher School, Faridabad, respectively. In the senior group, the second and the third prizes were won by Alwar Public School, Alwar, and Chinmaya School, Solan, respectively.