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Govt orders compulsory acquisition of Bantony
Reduce employee cost, power utility told
Fill vacant posts in panchayat office: ZP
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Martyr’s father seeks protection for POWs
Industrial units resent infrastructural charges
Mehatpur-Una-Amb highway to be ready by February
All set for 10-day Shrawan Ashtami Navratra fair
Tanda medical college labs best in country
10-year RI for rape accused, Rs 50,000 relief for victim
Woman forced to commit suicide, alleges brother
IFS officers thank govt
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Govt orders compulsory acquisition of Bantony
Shimla, July 26 Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today directed the Principal Secretary, Urban Development, to initiate proceedings for the expeditious acquisition of the prominent structure in public interest through the local municipal corporation. Similar directions were also issued to the Department of Finance to provide the money required for the takeover of the building from the owners of the private property. Before initiating proceedings for the compulsory takeover of Bantony, an assessment of its actual value will also be undertaken so that the owners are provided compensation at the market rate. Considering the prime location of the structure, the vast expanse of open land around it, its strategic location and the history associated with it, the property is valued at several crores. Last year also, the MC had moved a case for the compulsory acquisition of Bantony as an application had been moved to this effect before the Shimla Deputy Commissioner. However, the move did not take shape and the owners of the property were keen to sell it off even though the setting up of a hotel here would have been impossible as it is a heritage building where the original structure cannot be tampered with nor can the original one be altered or changed. A London-based businessman, Ranjay Trehan, had submitted a proposal to the Tourism Department to grant approval for the setting up of a high-end spa resort at the vantage site, overlooking the Mall. He had also made a simultaneous request to the MC, seeking water and electricity connections for the proposed structure. Trehan, who has played county cricket and football in London, had even submitted detailed drawings and a map of his proposed resort. Ever since the building was vacated by the Police Department following the court verdict coming in favour of the owners, speculation had been rife about a deal having been struck for the construction of a hotel at the site, adjoining Grand Hotel. Union Minister Virbhadra Singh, too, had expressed an apprehension in this regard and demanded that the government must conserve the historical structure. The structure, housing the summer palace of the erstwhile Maharaja of Sirmaur, was built in 1880 and derives its name from the name of the Governor-General, Lord Bentick, who resided in the adjoining Grand Hotel complex. As such the entire hill came to be known as Bantony. Prior to this, only a rickety cottage, owned by Captain Gordon, stood at the site. The beautiful building is an interesting mix of Alpine architecture indicated by the Pagoda-like structure over the porch and liberal use of wood. The building is fenced by cast iron railings, made at the famous Nahan foundry. Protecting heritage
The heritage structure on the Mall in Shimla, housing the summer palace of the erstwhile Maharaja of Sirmaur, was built in 1880 and derives its name from the name of the Governor-General, Lord Bentick, who resided in the adjoining Grand Hotel complex. As such the entire hill came to be known as Bantony |
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Reduce employee cost, power utility told
Shimla, July 26 The employee cost, even without the burden of the arrears of pay revision, is Rs 1.15 per unit, the highest in the country, and it is bound to increase further. In the neighbouring hill state of Uttarakhand, it is as low as 25.94 paise per unit. Even in Punjab, it is 81.76 paise per unit. The employee cost has increased from Rs 576 crore to Rs 815 crore over the past two years. The pension annual liability has increased to Rs 159 crore and is projected to reach Rs 213 crore over the next two years. “While the current cost of employees is increasing as a usual phenomenon in spite of attrition, pension and terminal obligations are likely to increase with phenomenal volumes. A stage will arrive shortly when the pension obligations will be larger than the current cost of employees and with a positive life expectancy rate, long-term arrangements for pension have to be made. It cannot be visualised whether such costs can be sustained through the tariff mechanism”, the commission has observed in the latest tariff order while addressing strategic issues. It has underlined the need for making appropriate institutional arrangements to manage this challenging obligation with the participation of all stakeholders, including employees, the state government, the distribution company and the commission. Various legislations and the regulatory framework are already in place in the country. The commission has also taken notice of the “distortions in performance” and transmission and distribution losses, which otherwise look comfortable in comparison to other utilities, exceeding 25 per cent in industrial areas and some rural electrical divisions. While some of the losses can be reduced by technological and infrastructural improvements, some are on account of thefts and commissions and omissions on the part of the staff, which have to be addressed by way of strong governance, the commission has observed. |
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Fill vacant posts in panchayat office: ZP
Mandi, July 26 Members of the parishad also demanded the construction of a new building at Bhiuli to house the the district panchayat office as they said the present office was not sufficient. Raising the Panchayat Bhawan issue in a general house meeting of the zila parishad here today, members from Karsog and Bakshiad SS Chouhan and Ram Lal hit out at the government for depriving the zila parishad members of the facility of Panchayat Bhawan as it had been given to the HRTC, a college and the IIT, Mandi, for use. The members said they had not paid the rent for the past two years while visiting members from over 473 panchayats had to stay in private hotels and pay huge tariff. The House also raised the issue of 10 vacant posts in the district panchayat office despite it being the home district of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Jai Ram Thakur. All members supported the demand and urged the government to fill the posts immediately. They demanded that a Junior Engineer be appointed for every five panchayats. After the meeting, zila parishad chairman Kheeramani said, “The House passed a unanimous resolution on the Panchayat Bhawan issue and filling of vacant posts.” |
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Floral tributes paid to Kargil war heroes
Shimla, July 26 He said the country was proud of the soldiers, both serving and retired, for their contribution to safeguard the frontiers of the country and their contribution would always be remembered by generations to come. HAMIRPUR: Activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Purv Sainik Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) today organised the Vijay Diwas at the Gandhi Chowk here to commemorate the victory of the Indian armed forces in Kargil, named as Operation Vijay, in 1999 over Pakistan forces. The activists paid floral tributes to the martyrs of the Indian Army killed in different wars from 1948 to 1999. They also observed a two-minute silence and offered flowers to the pictures of the eight soldiers from Hamirpur district who had sacrificed their lives in the Kargil war. Recalling the bravery of the Indian soldiers, especially the valour of Capt Saurabh Kalia from Palampur and other soldiers from Himachal Pradesh, the BJYM and Sainik Parishad leaders praised the soldiers for showing exemplary courage in guarding the Indian borders. Speaking on the occasion, president of the Sainik Parishad Capt (retd) Prabhat also raised various issues pertaining to the martyrs and ex-servicemen’s families. He said, “Though soldiers from the region have always been in the forefront in defending our borders, several issues pertaining to their families have not been resolved at the government level.” The Sainik Parishad has also demanded the Bharat Ratan award for martyrs and other soldiers, gallantry awards for those who had fought wars, uniform pension to the families of martyrs and ex-servicemen who had participated inwars from 1948 to 1999 and resolving all other issues related to ex-servicemen on priority basis. BJYM leaders Ajay Sharma and Vijay Pal Soharu also addressed the gathering. |
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Martyr’s father seeks protection for POWs
Dharamsala, July 26 He says International Human Rights Organisations must be approached to pressurise Pakistan to identify, book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime on our men in uniform. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Kalia said, “I have raised my voice ever since I got the postmortem report on June 12, 1999, when his body was flown from Kargil to Palampur via New Delhi. This is not for Saurabh alone, but also for the other five soldiers who braved this inhuman treatment in Pak custody.” |
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Industrial units resent infrastructural charges
Solan, July 26 With charges at the rate of Rs 1,000 per kW already having been charged in advance from the investors, these additional charges have upset them as high-power-consuming units like steel mills have been levied crores of rupees. Opposing these “arbitrary charges”, president of the Nalagarh Industries Association Prem Sharma said, “We have been compelled to go to court as the entire cost of setting up substations has been put on our shoulders while other consumers have been spared.” He said, “The industry already bears the cost of laying the cable line from the substation to the unit and since infrastructural charges were already being paid by investors, these additional charges are uncalled for.” He said the industry was paying “demand charges” in Himachal though no such charges were levied in any other state except Punjab where such charges were levied but were adjusted against energy charges. The investors said they were given notices to pay these charges when they demanded enhanced load. They were asked to pay these charges before availing of the enhanced power load. An aggrieved investor said, “I have been given a notice to pay crores as infrastructural charges to get an additional load of 6,500 kW to my existing load of 12000 kW. This is highly unjustified and has burdened the industry.” Sanjay Guleria, president, Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association, said since 90 per cent of the pharmaceutical units were small units, such additional costs would hit their economy and make survival difficult for these. While officials of the board said the issue of rationalising these charges on an average basis was being worked out, they pointed out that these charges were calculated on the basis of the total cost of setting up the substations and initially only a partial amount had been recovered. They added that the board’s financial liability was mounting as it had availed short-term loans for enhancing infrastructure in the industrial areas and it had become imperative to recover the costs if the government did not compensate them for these losses. |
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Mehatpur-Una-Amb highway to be ready by February
Shimla, July 26 He said the widening of the Una-Barsar road would be completed by July next year by spending Rs 97.95 crore and the target was to complete the Barsar-Jahu section of the road by September 2012. Regarding the maintenance work on the Theog-Kotkhai-Hatkoti-Rohru road, the lifeline of fruit growers of Shimla district, he said work was being expedited keeping in view the apple season. He directed the officers of the department to frequently monitor the progress of maintenance of this road as the volume of traffic would increase manifold. Singh directed the officers to ensure effective cross-drainage and side-drainage along these roads. Besides, signboards should also be displayed at the construction sites to ensure the safety of people. He said breast wall should be constructed alongside after widening the roads so that soil erosion could be checked. Earlier, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Satpal Satti underlined the need for for the timely completion of the Mehatpur-Amb road. Virender Kanwar, also CPS, said effective cross-drainage would be provided alongside the Una-Barsar road to ensure that farmers did not
face any difficulty due to water-logging. |
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Traders to hold protest rally in Kullu
Mandi, July 26 Addressing the press meeting here today, Dr Thakur said the meeting would deliberate on various issues, including “anti-workers’ amendments” being brought about in the labour laws and public sector banks. He charged that these amendments were being brought about in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha by the UPA regime to benefit profit-making private companies and foreign banks under pressure from big capitalists. These amendments were anti-workers and anti-employees. CITU would oppose them and stage a countrywide agitation in due course of time, he added. Dr Thakur said the mid-day meal and anganwari workers were being exploited as they were underpaid and equally exploited by the state government by engaging them in extra work and surveys. CITU would hold a protest rally in Kullu on July 31 involving all anganwaris workers, mid-day meal workers and other affiliated unions after the conference, he said. He added that the committee would chalk out a common strategy with other trade unions like BMS, INTUC, AITUC and others sharing their common concern over the plight of workers and employees opposing these amendments. The meeting would be attended by all-India CITU president AK Padamabhan and CPM MP and general secretary Tapan Sen and Politburo member and vice-president MK Pandhe among others. |
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All set for 10-day Shrawan Ashtami Navratra fair
Bilaspur, July 26 This was stated by local MLA Randhir Sharma while presiding over a meeting of the Mela Management Committee officials and non-officials at Naina Deviji, 95 km from here. He said there would be a total ban on the beating of drums or noisy instruments and playing of any type of loud music on the microphone or DJs and cassettes by shopkeepers and at langars etc. No beggar would be allowed and offering of halwa as prasad and coconuts would also remain banned during the fair. He said the District Public Relations Office would set up six information centres for giving information on loud speakers for lost and found items and during other emergencies. Additional District Magistrate Darshan Kalia said the entire mela area would be divided into nine sectors, each supervised day and night by sector magistrate and police officer with a strong posse of
police force and Home Guards with all equipments to control any situation and crowds. Kalia said additional HRTC bus services would be pressed into service and no tractors, trolleys, trucks, tempos etc would be allowed to carry devotees and cross Kiratpur Sahib and Kaulanwala Toba towards the shrine road to avoid accidents. Besides, five police and traffic barriers would be fixed at Toba, Kainchi Ka Mode, Ghwandal, Ropeway and Kohni Mode to control the flow of traffic. Devotees would be allowed to proceed towards the temple in blocks of 200 to 250. The Additional District Magistrate also said all departments and agencies had been given strict instructions to ensure proper and regular 24-hour supply of all essential commodities at reasonable rates, power supply and clean drinking water, sanitation and cleanliness, parking of vehicles and health services and medical facilities in the mela premises. A large number of district officers, including Superintendent of Police Santosh Patial, Chief Medical Officer Sudershan Sharma, Sub Divisional Magistrate (Civil) Sandip Kadam and Temple Officer Madan Lal Sharma were also present. |
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Tanda medical college labs best in country
Kangra, July 26 KK Sharma, head of bio-chemistry department, said on Sunday that blind samples, with known value, were provided by the CMC last month and the results, following the tests here, were adjudged the best in the country. He said 2,500 laboratories in the country participated in the EQAS, in which the DRPGMC Tanda laboratories topped the list in quality control. Sharma said it was a matter of pride that they had achieved a milestone by touching the top in the country in Overall Mean Variance Index Score (OMVIS) by getting 94 on the index for June. He said the faculty and staff of these laboratories were maintaining the quality control despite heavy rush of patients. Thousands of samples were being tested in the laboratories in the college every week and it maintained quality control to the best. Some of the doctors serving the DRPGMC directed patients to get pathological tests done from a private laboratory at Tanda for their vested interests and poor patients were getting fleeced. A doctor, on the condition of anonymity, said the result of a test, which required minimum 48 hours, was being provided from the private laboratory within six hours. |
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10-year RI for rape accused, Rs 50,000 relief for victim
Kangra, July 26 Disclosing this here today, Additional District Attorney Kuldeep Sen, who was prosecutor in the case, said the 13-year-old girl had come back from school in the noon when Deep Singh, 30, entered the house posing as a plumber called by her father. The accused on the point of a broken bottle ransacked the house and took away Rs 6,000 and a mobile cell phone. He then raped
the minor. Before leaving, Deep Singh threatened her not to disclose the incident
to anyone. The prosecution examined 19 witnesses in support of the case, which was registered at the Palampur police station at the instance of the victim’s parents. The accused was charged under Sections 376, 452, 382 and 506,
IPC. |
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Woman forced to commit suicide, alleges brother
Kangra, July 26 In charge, Ranital police post, said Meena Kumari consumed poison and was rushed to the DRPGMC, Tanda, where she died. He said the victim’s husband did not accompany his wife to the hospital and she was brought there by her parents-in-law and villagers. The police has registered a case under Sections 306 and 498, IPC. No arrests had been made as yet. The police is investigating
the case. |
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IFS officers thank govt
Shimla, July 26 In retaliation to the displeasure expressed by the IAS and HAS officers in the state over the assigning of important posts to IFS, the state IFS Association said recently that there was nothing unusual in several posts in the Secretariat and Central ministries being assigned to them. The general secretary of the association said all the posts given to them were ex-cadre posts, which should not be a reason to worry for anyone. The association thanked the Chief Minister for giving them an opportunity to contribute in various schemes and programmes. They had a special word of praise for Chief Secretary Rajwant Sahdu for her continued support. |
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Dharamsala, July 26
