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Friday,
November 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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HP water policy needed: Rajendra Singh Women cops resolve
disputes
Road to troubles |
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Even cremation sites suffer neglect Distribute land among small farmers: sabha Watershed schemes to be dovetailed 5-yr permit for truck operators Four die as bus rolls down
hill Afforestation project formed 4-hour HRTC bus strike today
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HP water policy needed: Rajendra Singh Shimla, November 22 Mr Rajendra Singh, acclaimed worldwide for reviving five dried-up rivers of Rajasthan, said water and electricity was the strength of Himachal Pradesh. He expressed concern over lack of interest in water management among officials in Himachal Pradesh as not a single person from among the 137 who had visited the rejuvenation projects of the dried water bodies in Rajasthan last year participated in today’s meeting on conservation and management of water sources which was organised by the ABVP. He also met the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, and urged him to draft a separate water policy for the state where almost 85 per cent of water was flowing waste. He said the national water policy had been prepared under pressure from multinationals by technocrats and bureaucrats with the aim of commercialising water resources. He said several water bodies here had dried up because of silt and efforts should be made by the community to revive these sources with traditional methods. Mr Rajendra Singh said villages around Alwar district of Rajasthan, which had once been categorised as a “dark area” in official records, had now turned green because of the efforts of the local residents who voluntarily revived the dried up water bodies and rivers by constructing water-harvesting structures. He said the five dried-up rivers, Arveri, Ruparel, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jahazwali, which flowed in an area of 6,500 sq. km, have been rejuvenated with traditional methods by the local residents. The Health Minister, Mr J.P. Nadda, and a former president of the ABVP, Mr Mohinder Pandey, were among those who participated in the seminar. |
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Women cops resolve
disputes Dharamsala, November 22 Notwithstanding the ever-increasing number of cases of crime against women in Kangra, the police women cell here, has a majority of the cases, succeeded in amicably settling the disputes. Set up here on August 29 last year, the first women cell of Himachal has even managed to bring about a compromise between spouses who had been divorced. According to the Director-General of Police, Mr A.K. Puri, of the 43 cases received at the women cell last year, all have been solved. Of the 87 complaints of cruelty against women received this year, 53 have been settled amicably. Effective counselling by women police personnel posted here has saved many women from going through the tardy legal course in the court of law. Figures of crime and atrocities against women are indicative of the fact that it is within the four walls of the house that a woman faces maximum torture and misery. The number of cases registered under Section 498-A of the IPC. Involving torture by in-laws was 50 in 1998, 61 in 1998, 64 in 2000 and 55 till October this year in Kangra district. The number of cases registered under Section 306 of the IPC, for abetment to suicide, are the highest in Kangra as there were 21 cases in 1998, 21 in 1999, 19 in 2000 and 19 during this year. Most of the complaints being received at the police women cell pertain to dowry demand, second marriage and torture by husband and in-laws. It was because of these disturbing figures that the police opened the first women cell in Kangra. Manned fully by women police staff, it has helped women in narrating their tale of trauma and sufferings without any hesitation. Sub-Inspector Babita Rana, in charge of the cell till recently, said the biggest problem she felt was the lack of awareness among women about their rights. Babita said the most tragic fact was that mostly women were inflicting atrocities and torture against their own sex. The DIG, Mr Prithvi Raj, said the success attained by women cells clearly proved that counselling and persuasion were the most effective tools to sort out domestic problems and atrocities against women. |
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Andretta school
named after
Sobha Singh New Delhi, November 22 A press note issued by the commission here on Thursday said Sobha Singh built his studio at
Andretta, near Palampur, and lived there till his death. The state government had also named the road linking Palampur with Andretta as Sobha Singh Road. In a letter to the Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Tarlochan Singh, the secretary-general of the Sobha Singh Memorial Art Society,
Andretta, Mr Hirday Paul Singh, has expressed gratitude to the commission for all these gestures. |
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Calendar on Sobha Singh Dharamsala, November 22 The government decision came in the wake of declaration of 2001 as his birth centenary year. The portrait of the artist made by himself, along with his paintings “The Gaddan” and “Kangra bride”, will adorn the government calendar. The Postal Department will issue a stamp on the artist at Shimla on November 29. |
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Road to troubles Kumarhatti The 15-km-long road connected Shimla to the rest of the country in the 19th century and was used by the British to reach the summer capital before the Kalka-Shimla road was built in 1856. Its condition has been deteriorating with the passage of time. Occasional repair work undertaken by the PWD has failed to keep it in good shape. Even though traffic on the road has increased manifold, its width has remained the same as in 1814. Owing to the lack of proper maintenance, drivers face a tough time covering the distance as the road is potholed and has many blind curves. During heavy rain, water collects at various points due to the lack of a proper drainage system. The worst stretch is around 1 km from Dharampur where unplanned construction along the road has led to congestion. Besides, sewage is often noticed on this stretch. Residents blame the authorities concerned for not taking action to check unauthorised construction along the road. A bridge, popularly known as the Dagroh bridge, on the road about 2 km from Dharampur is in poor shape. It requires immediate repair as heavy traffic from the Ambuja Cement plant at Darlaghat and 14 Gorkha Training Centre at Subathu passes over it. |
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Even cremation sites suffer neglect Chamba There are six sites — at Bhagot, near Sheetla Bridge, near the Mai-ka-Bagh market, beneath Dharog, beneath Lower Julahkari and near Moogla. The sites are located on the banks of the Ravi. The local administration and the civic body need to pay attention to the development of these areas. To improve the cremation site at Bhagot, Geeta Bhavan and a small but beautiful garden have been set up and seating arrangements provided. The initiative was taken during the Congress regime. However, there is lack of cleanliness in the area. |
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Distribute land among small farmers: sabha Kumarhatti, November 22 In a press note issued here yesterday, Mr Kuldeep Singh, who has recently completed an intensive study on the plight of those farmers who hold meagre landholdings in the state, revealed that small and marginal farmers constituted 84.5 per cent of the total farmers in the state and had only 47.1 per cent of the total landholding. Among those, 64.4 per cent who hold less than one hectare of land have 23.3 per cent of landholdings. The number of such families was 5.56 lakh and among them 3.60 lakh were such families who held even less than half a hectare of land. He said with such meagre landholdings they were not in a position to make both ends meet. The purchasing power of the small and marginal farmers has fallen drastically and in order to increase it the government should distribute the cultivable wasteland among the farmers, he said. He stressed for the promotion of agricultural cooperative societies in the state. He demanded enhancement in the assistance given by the state government for the agriculture sector. |
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Watershed schemes to be dovetailed Shimla, November 22 Presiding over a meeting on watershed development programme of the agriculture department here on Tuesday, the Chief Secretary said henceforth, all ongoing programmes would be dovetailed. The Chief Secretary said watershed development projects in the state were being implemented by the Department of Agriculture under the national development project for rainfed areas, the Rural Development Department under various programmes like the integrated water-land development project, drought prone area programme, desert development project and the Forest Department under river valley project and other World Bank-aided projects like Kandi, Changer etc. He said till now the departments had separate implementation committees under the chairmanship of respective secretaries. He said to have proper coordination and synergy effect, the government had constituted a watershed committee under his chairmanship comprising secretaries from finance, rural development, forest, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry departments and heads of the departments. |
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5-yr permit for truck operators Shimla, November 22 He said the government had also taken steps to bring uniformity in tax collection and now penalty would be imposed according to prescribed norms. He said the matter would be taken up with Punjab and Haryana governments regarding
inconvenience faced by truck operators of Himachal Pradesh in those states. |
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Four die as bus rolls down
hill Shimla, November 22 The ill-fated bus belonging to the Solan depot of the HRTC left Shimla at 11.24 a.m. and met with an accident within 30 minutes when the driver tried to prevent a collision with a car coming from the opposite direction. Three persons died on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries while being shifted to hospital. Atma Ram, a constable of the CID wing of the state police, was among those killed. Dalip Thakar, a resident of Jalandhar, was also killed. Two bodies have not been identified. Eight of the injured have been admitted to the IGMC here and four in the hospital at Kandaghat. Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal has directed the district authorities of Solan to provide immediate relief to the affected families. The Transport Minister, Mr Kishen Kapoor, and the vice-chairman of the HRTC, Mr K.R. Balnatah, visited the accident site. |
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Afforestation project formed Sundernagar, November 22 The minister was addressing a rural gathering at Haraboi, a remote village this subdivision, today. He said the Forest Department had launched here a land conservation project costing Rs 35 lakh so as to maintain an ecological balance in the area. He asked rural people to supplement this task by coming forward. |
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4-hour HRTC bus strike today Shimla, November 22 The employee leaders have alleged that the authorities are delaying the acceptance of their demands. The
employees’ GPF amounting to over Rs 18 crore has not been deposited in the fund, they have alleged. They are also demanding more promotional opportunities and filling of vacant posts. Meanwhile, Ms Kanta Sood, president of the INTUC, has announced support for the strike of HRTC employees. |
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