Residents brave cold to celebrate 66th R-Day

Tribune Reporters

Shimla, January 27

The 66th Republic Day was celebrated with gaiety and fervour across the state. Hundreds of people braved the intense cold wave to attend the state-level function at the historic Ridge here.

Governor Urmila Singh presided over the event for the sixth time. She unfurled the national flag and took the salute from contingents of the Army, ITBP, SSB, Police, Home Guards, ex-servicemen, Scouts and NSS.

A 13-member band of prisoners lodged in various jails of the state also took part in the march past.

Freezing cold wave prevailing in the state capital, with mercury dipping to 0.2°C, was no damper for people as they watched the celebrations of over two hours.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Jagat Singh Negi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Nand Lal, Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor of the SMC Takinder Panwar and a host of dignitaries were present at the function.

A colourful cultural programme was organised and tableaux depicting the developmental activities of various departments were the main highlight of the function.

 

Chief Justice unfurls national flag at HC

Republic Day was celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervour on the High Court premises. Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir unfurled the national flag and inspected Guard of Honour. High Court Judges Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Justice Piar Singh Rana were also present on the occasion.

Retired Judges from the High Court DP Sood, AK Goel and VK Sharma, Registrar General CB Barowalia and other Registrars, Judicial Officers posted in Shimla and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Apart from them, officials of the High Court Registry, District Courts Shimla, HP Judicial Academy, State Legal Services Authority, State/District Consumer Forum Shimla, Office of the Advocate General, Advocates and other Offices based on the High Court premises participated in the ceremony.

The day was also celebrated at Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) and Himachal Pradesh University. Chairman of the HPPSC KS Tomar and Vice-Chancellor of HPU Prof ADN Bajpai presided over the function respectively.

 

Republic Day celebrated in Bilaspur

Bilaspur: Presiding over the district-level function at Bilaspur, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said 118 projects worth Rs 7,582.95 crore had been sanctioned through Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority during the last two years, which would provide employment to 11,000 people. He said it was decided to accord sanction to an industry within 90 days and three new industrial areas were being established at Kandrori in Kangra, Pandoga in Una and Nalagarh in Solan.

He said investment worth Rs 2,500 crore had been attracted during the Investors Meet, which would provide employment opportunities to 8,000 youth. Only 2 per cent power fee was being charged up to five years from the industries providing employment to more than 300 Himachalis, he added.

 

Tribals celebrate in Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti

Kinnaur: Tribal people turned out in large numbers to attend the district-level Republic Day function in the sub-zero temperature at Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district and Keylog in Lahaul and Spiti.

Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary presided over the event in Reckong Peo. He said over 908-km new roads and 98 bridges had been constructed and 187 villages connected with road facility during the last two years. Six new state highways had been declared national highways, increasing the total road length of national highways in the state to 1,753 km, he added

Deputy Commissioner Hans Raj Chauhan unfurled the Tricolour at Keylong. He said the state government was spending 9 per cent of its total Budget under the Tribal Sub Plan for development of tribal areas.

 

Work for development of country, state: Minister

Hamirpur: “On this Republic Day, we must pledge to take our country and state forward on the path of development and meet new challenges,” said Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma while addressing a gathering at the district-level Republic Day function organised at the Police Grounds here yesterday.

He took the salute of a march past presented by contingents of the police and Home Guards.

He said thousands of soldiers had sacrificed their lives to get independence and in saving the borders of the country thereafter. It was a matter of great pride that the first recipient of the highest gallantry award, Paramveer Chakra, was from Himachal Pradesh, Major Som Nath Sharma.

The minister said 19 soldiers from the district had been honoured with gallantry awards, including seven Vir Chakra, one Kirti Chakra and 11 Shaurya Chakras.

Those present on the occasion included Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, MLA Sanjay Rattan, Vice-Chairman of Disaster Management Board Rajinder Rana, Vice-Chairman of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Member, Himachal Pradesh Private Institutions Regulatory Commission, Sunil Sharma, Chairman of Hamirpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Board Prem Kaushal and former CPS Anita Verma.

 

Minister announces Skill Development Centre

UNA: Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma unfurled the national flag at the district-level Republic Day celebrations at the government school grounds in Una city on Monday. He inspected the Guard of Honour and took the salute from contingents of the Himachal Police, Home Guards, NCC and NSS.

Anil Sharma announced that a skill development centre would be developed in Una district shortly, where youth interested in self-employment opportunities or those wanting technical know how to take up jobs in industries would have the facility to learn and hone their skills.

He congratulated people of the district for the prestigious Rs 922-crore project, being implemented to create stone pitched embankments on all 73 tributaries of the Swan river.

The minister honoured former Deputy Commissioner of Una KR Bharti with the Census of India Silver medal for meritorious services during the 2011 Census operations, while posted in Una. He also honoured seven sportspersons of the district for winning medals at the national games in their respective disciplines, besides honouring Sub-Inspector Harish Kumar, in-charge of Una City police post, for investigations and City Traffic in-charge Assistant Sub-Inspector Kuldip Kumar for outstanding traffic duties.

Various departments showcased their schemes through tableaux, while schoolchildren performed colourful cultural shows. Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Jain, SP Anupam Sharma, former Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly Ram Nath Sharma, former MLA GD Bharwal and district Congress President Varinder Dharmani were present among others.

 

Rs1,100 cr for welfare of SC, OBC: Shandil

KULLU: Himachal Pradesh Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Dhani Ram Shandil said Rs 1,100 crore had been earmarked for welfare of Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes and Minorities during the current financial year. He stated this during the 66th Republic Day celebrations at the Dhalpur Maidan here yesterday.

The minister said the state government had enhanced the ‘samman rashi’ of freedom fighters from Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,000 and for their widows and unmarried daughters from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 per month. He said assistance under Mukhya Mantri Kanya Dan Yojna had been enhanced from Rs 21,000 to Rs 25,000, whereas, financial assistance under inter-caste marriage and for widow remarriage had been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.

Earlier, the minister hoisted the Tricolour and took the salute from the contingents of police, ITBP, Himachal Home Guards, SSB, NSS, NCC and scouts, led by the HHG Band. He lauded the achievements of police in recovering the idols stolen from Lord Raghunath temple and awarded the police personnel who played a major role in it.

MLAs Maheshwar Singh and Karan Singh, former minister Satya Prakash Thakur, Zila Parishad Chairman Hari Chand Sharma, prominent persons and officers of district administration were present on the occasion.

 

NHPC’s Chamera-II celebrates R-Day

Chamera (Chamba): The NHPC’s Chamera Power Station-II celebrated the 66th Republic Day with great enthusiasm and patriotic fervour on its premises at Karian on Monday.

Chief Engineer (in charge) of the Chamera power station-II Bikram Singh unfurled the national flag and took the salute of jawans of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Chief Engineer (Civil) Raj Mal was also present on the occasion. Later, students of Kendriya Vidyalya presented a patriotic culture programme.

 

Speaker presides over function in Chamba

Chamba: A sum of Rs 39.03 crore has been disbursed among 26,453 pensioners of Chamba district under various schemes of the government during the past two years.

This was stated by Vidhan Sabha Speaker BBL Butail while presiding over a district-level function of Republic Day at the historic Chowgan here on Monday.

The Speaker said the state had so far distributed about Rs 2.43 crore as skill development allowance to 4,518 applicants of the district.

Earlier, Butail hoisted the national flag and took the salute from the impressive march past presented by the contingents of HP Police, Home Guards and civil defence, NCC, NSS and school troops. Butail conferred citations and medals upon various officials, including Additional District Magistrate Shubh Karan Singh who had rendered exceptional services in conducting 2011 census operation. He also gave away certificates to police officials for meritorious services. Later, schoolchildren performed a colourful cultural programme based on patriotic and folk themes. Those present on the occasion included MLA BK Chauhan, judicial and civil officers besides the people of the region.

 

Celebrations held at Solan, Nahan

Solan: Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Minister Vidya Stokes, while presiding over the district-level function at Nahan, said Rs 460 crore had been spent on providing safe drinking water to 4,600 households and a target to provide potable water to 1,181 houses had been kept for the current financial year. Stokes said revised project of Rs 76 crore would be prepared and sent to the Central Government for permanent solution of drinking water problem of the town. Till date, six water ATMs had been established in different towns of the state. At Solan, Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur presided over the function at the Thodo ground. He said over 50 health institutions had been opened or upgraded in the state during the past two years. As many as 730 doctors had been appointed during the last two years to provide better health services to the people. Kaul Singh said sanitation workers, rag pickers, auto rickshaw drivers and taxi drivers had been covered under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and 4.48 lakh smart cards had been issued to beneficiaries under the scheme.