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Monday,
October 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Earthen dam that has spelt prosperity
Small hydel projects to
get priority |
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Plea to
ease curbs on Karmapa Winter
power cuts to continue
Food
parks: Kangra apple growers ‘ignored’ Three
held on murder charge Kulu
police denies lathi charge Sharad
mahotsava from Oct 30 Problems
of khadi industry highlighted
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Dhumal for separate ministry on hill region Shimla, October 28 Addressing a press conference here today he said preserving the Himalayan environment was itself an task and now with the ISI and other inimical forces bent upon disturbing peace and serenity of the mighty mountain ranges by aiding and abetting terrorism a new dimension had been added to the problem. The Himalayas no longer were the impenetrable barrier which provided a protective cover to the country. It was very clear from the Kargil conflict and the ongoing war in Afghanistan that the future battles would be fought mostly in the hills and this factor would have to be taken care of while formulating the defence policy. For instance, the Army would have to recruit more people from hills as they were fit to take on the enemy in hostile terrains. In this context the state’s demand for setting up a Himalayan regiment should be considered seriously. He said the North Eastern Hill Development Council should be made broadbased by including all Himalayan states and its meetings should be held frequently to effectively address the peculiar problems of the hill areas. To discuss all these issues a national seminar on “Himalayas through ages and the present challenges” was being organised at their Baba Balak Nath College of
Chakmoh, from October 31 to November 3, Mr Dhumal said Mr George
Fernandes, Defence Minister, would inaugurate the seminar while Mr Mukut
Mithi, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, would preside over the concluding session. |
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Earthen
dam that has spelt prosperity Nalagarh Women whose role was earlier confined to domestic chores today confidently sit with menfolk and discuss village problems. It all started when this area comprising four villages of
Nanowal, Kheri, Nahar Singh and Mandiarpur — located on the left of the Sirsa river — was adopted by the Integrated Watershed Development Project in 1999. Initially people had doubts about the whole idea, apprehending it as an attempt by officials to grab their revenue land used for grazing of animals. It took officials a series of meetings where the purpose and plan of the project were discussed. Then followed whole-hearted devotion from people, Assistant Project Director Gurnam Singh said. The region earlier suffered the fury of seasonal rivulets, commonly called
choes, which caused widespread damage by inundating large chunks of arable land. It was predominantly a degraded scrub area where soil retained less moisture and sustained scarce vegetation. The area comprised disintegrated pockets which were completely cut off from the rest of the region during the monsoon. Emphasis was laid on participation of people in planning and implementation of development activities. Being rain-fed lift-irrigation schemes irrigated only half of the 500 bighas of arable land. Various water bodies were examined by officials to harness and channelise water. In addition to this, gullies were plugged by constructing a number of structures along the water line. Finally, a site was selected for the construction of an earthen dam at Mandiarpur village. Within a short span of four months, a nine-metre-high dam was built with the cooperation of villagers under technical guidance from the project officials, stated the Assistant Project Director. This dam has provided perennial source of irrigation to 28 families irrigating 225 bighas of land. These families who are also responsible for the upkeep of the dam have been organsied into a user group who charge a fee of Rs 20 from those using this water for irrigation. According to the secretary of the village development committee, Gulzaar Mohammed, this dam has proved to be a boon for villagers. The water which earlier inundated land has now been channelise through cement pipes to the fields for irrigation. This has led to a change in the cropping pattern. Besides traditional crops, cash crops like tomato, ladyfinger, long gourd, fodder crops like barseem and fruits like lemon, guava and mangoes are being grown by most of the farmers, fetching them rich returns. The project Director, Mr
R.A. Singh, said more areas were likely to be incorporated in the project after its mid-term review later this year. |
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Small hydel projects to get priority Shimla, October 28 Small hydro projects (SHPs) are considered reliable, eco-friendly and renewable, which can be exploited in a decentralised and cost-effective manner. These do not require setting up of big dams and are free from problems such as deforestation, submergence and rehabilitation. Himurja, a state government undertaking, has been entrusted with the job of harnessing the small, mini and micro hydel potential in cooperation with the state electricity board. It will keep shelves of projects ready for small entrepreneurs by getting all clearances, including techno-economic and environmental. This has been done to save them from the inconvenience of running pillar to post, to get these clearances. In order to exploit this vast potential in a cost-effective way to accelerate investment from the private sector, an attractive package of incentives is being given to the private investors. The state government has removed the bottlenecks by simplifying the procedures for the transfer of land etc. and has also approved the standard Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to facilitate their entry. Out of the total potential of 750 MW approximately 645 MW at 431 sites with varying capacities have been identified in the state. In the first phase, MoUs for 64 small hydro projects were signed with 21 companies for a total capacity of 71.42 MW. Detailed projects reports (DPRs) of 56 projects have been prepared and the HPSEB has accorded Techno-Economic clearance (TEC) for 33 projects. In the second phase 24 SHPs with an aggregate capacity of 50.24 MW were allotted to 20 private firms. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have also been signed with 68 companies and total projects were allotted to private investors with an aggregate capacity of 191.89 MW in 2000-2001. The implementation agreements (IAs) for 81.05 MW had been signed by the government with 23 companies for 35 SHPs which would involve investment of Rs 487 crore. Besides, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for 23 projects with a total capacity of 47.75 MW have also been signed. The state government has revised the incentives provided to private investors last year to speed up harnessing of the SHPs. Under these, the HPSEB shall purchase power from these projects at the rate of Rs 2.50 per unit instead of Rs 2.25. Wheeling of energy will be allowed and the wheeling charges shall be 2 per cent within the state and 10 per cent outside the state. Banking of energy has been allowed for captive use within the state. The incentive available upto 3 MW has been extended for all small hydro projects up to 5 MW. Royalty on water up to 5 MS has been waived for a period of 15 years from the date of commissioning of the projects. Thereafter it will be charged at the rate of 10 per cent. The incentives are apart from the incentives being provided by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Government of India up to 25 MW capacity. |
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Plea to ease curbs on Karmapa Dharamsala, October 28 A high-level delegation of the Sangh comprising prominent national leaders from various political parties, defence experts, social workers and intellectuals from various fields, today called upon the Dalai Lama at his palace in McLeodganj to express their full support and solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom. Prominent among those in the delegation were former Law Minister and MP Ram Jethmalani, former Governor B. Satyanarayan Reddy, former union minister Satya Prakash Malviya, Brig B.D. Mishra convener of the BJP defence cell and Mr Anand Kumar, General Secretary of the sangh. The delegation also met the 17th Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect and paid a visit to the Sherabling monastery at Bhattu. As part of the proposed satyagraha at Gangtok, the members will take out a “padyatra” in Gangtok and then march to the traditional route at Nathula, connecting Sikkim and Tibet. The main objective behind the launching of the satyagraha is to press the Indian Government to be pro-active on the Tibetan issue, remarked Mr Anand Kumar. The delegation felt it was time that the Indian Government dealt with the issue fast as the Karmapa and the Dalai Lama had made a request to the government to allow him free movement so that he could take up the seat of the Karma Kagyu sect at Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. The delegation said letters had been written to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, requesting them to lift all restrictions on the free movement of the Karmapa. While appreciating that security reasons could be the reason for delay in granting free movement to the Karmapa, the delegation felt that the stand of the authorities was somewhat contradictory as the Karmapa was allowed to visit Varanasi and Ladakh but not the Sherabling monastery of Tai Situ Rimpoche, just 70 km away near Baijnath. Dispelling all notions about the alleged shady past of Tai Situ Rimpoche, the members felt that there was no reason for doubt as the Dalai Lama had vouched for the integrity of the spiritual guru, who had been living in India since the age of six. |
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Winter power cuts to continue Shimla, October 28 The state has been facing a severe power shortage for the past fortnight, forcing the state electricity board to impose prolonged cuts on all categories of consumers. Power cuts during the winter have become a regular feature as the demand goes up and the generation in various hydel projects declines due to reduction in discharge. As against the peak demand of 95 lakh units, only 75 lakh units are available. The state’s own generation plunges from 70 lakh units in the summer to 15 lakh units during the peak winter. As such the state is surplus in power during the summer and faces an acute deficit during the winter. The availability from the central pool also declines due to fall in hydel generation. This year the generation in the state projects has already come down to 20 lakh units and it will further plunge to 15 lakh units by December. Thus the shortage will increase to over 20 lakh units. The situation may ease a bit by November 1 if the efforts of the government to borrow power from the Centre and various surplus states yield positive results. The government has urged the Centre to allot some power to the state from the unallocated central pool. It has also requested the Punjab State Electricity Board to spare power and help the state meet the winter shortfall. In fact, the state power board has been supplying power to Punjab during the summer and getting some from it during the winter. The board is making efforts to secure about 20 lakh units from various sources to meet the shortfall. Mr Harsh Gupta, Chief Secretary, who is also the Chairman of the board, is confident that the board will be able to arrange sufficient power to meet the shortage during the current season. A permanent solution to the problem will be found only after the completion of some of the hydel projects, which are under construction. At least four big projects are slated for completion over the next three years. These include the 1500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri, the 300 MW Chamera-II and the 300 MW Baspa projects. The state will get 12 per cent power free of cost as royalty in these projects. There will be no shortage of power during the winter once the 126 MW Larji project, which is being executed by the board itself, comes up in 2003-04. |
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Food parks: Kangra apple growers ‘ignored’ Nurpur, October 28 Mr Ranjit Bakshi former MLA of Nurpur Assembly segment, Mr Balbir Sen Kangra district president of the Himachal Vikas Congress, (Kisan Morcha) criticised the government for ignoring interests of fruit growers and farmers of Kangra district. |
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Three held on murder charge Bilaspur, October 28 The Superintendent of Police, Dr Atul Verma, said here yesterday that the police had raided several places and had put “nakas” since the murder incident. A number of police parties were also sent to their possible hideouts, he added. Those arrested have been identified as Satish and Ashwini, both brothers and Anil Kumar, alias Nilu of Kiyari village, near Ghumarwin. A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered against them. |
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Kulu police denies lathi charge Shimla, October 28 Mr N. Venugopal, SP, said trouble cropped up when the “karkoons” of two local deities, Shringa Rishi and Balu Nag started querrelling and beating up each other for placing their respective deities on the right side of the chariot of Raghunathji. Some of the ‘karkoons’, the SP said, were drunk and they were separated to prevent further violence. The drunk “karkoons” pelted stones on the police, resulting in injuries to 14 officers and policemen. Making an appeal to maintain peace and order during the festival, Mr Venugopal warned no person trying to disturb peace take law into his own hands would be spared.
PTI |
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Sharad mahotsava from Oct 30 Paonta Sahib, October 28 Dr M. P. Sood, SDM, Paonta Sahib, said the programme would be inaugurated by Mr Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar and presided over by Mr Satender Pal Singh, SP, Sirmaur. On the concluding day, Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur would be the chief guest. Kawali singer Mohammed Hayat Khan and party would entertain the audience, the SDM added. |
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Problems
of khadi industry highlighted Una, October 28 He said with help from the Centre and the state government in the form or rebate during the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, khadi was sold cheaper than its production cost. He said the Central Government had announced a 20 per cent rebate for the next five years on the sale of khadi and the state government had also announced, through the state Khadi Board, a 5 per cent rebate on woollen khadi clothes. He said the aim behind these two orders might be to boost the sale of woolen khadi in Himachal Pradesh.. |
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