HIMACHAL PRADESH

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur laid foundation stones of 44 developmental projects worth about Rs 200 crore in Darang assembly constituency of Mandi district.

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Thakur, while addressing a public meeting at Bhatog in Darang Vidhan Sabha area announced shifting of PWD division no-1 from Mandi to Darang, Rs 25000 each for Mahila Mandals present on the occasion, Rs 10 lakh each for construction of Panchayat Bhawans in two new panchayats of the area and Rs 3 lakh for construction of link road in the area.

He said that the would take up the matter regarding opening of sub Judge court at Darang.

The Chief Minister also laid foundation stones of Rs 11.70 crore lift Irrigation scheme from river Beas to village Tandoo-Mehar-Pakhari-Dadwas and Bhatog in tehsil Sadar, Rs 60.58 crore lift water supply scheme to PC habitation Baragaon, Kufri, Dhamchayan and Tikker etc. in tehsil Padhar under NDB scheme, Rs 2.50 crore Shiv project at Badagaon and Rs 3.38 crore Choura to Kumharda road under PMGSY.

HP to have dedicated special task force to combat drug menace

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Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to set up a dedicated task force to combat the drug menace in the hill state.

The has taken up the issue of making the Narcotics Act more stringent with the Central Government so that the properties of drug peddlers can be confiscated and strict action can be taken against them, he said.

To tackle drug addiction and aid in the rehabilitation of affected individuals, the State Government plans to establish two State-of-the-art drug de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation centers in Himachal. About 50 bighas of land is being identified for setting up each center, which will focus on providing effective treatment and support to those in need, he said, adding that as the State Government continues its endeavours to combat drug abuse, Himachal remains committed to ensure the welfare and prosperity of its citizens.

Highlighting the importance of modernizing the Police Department, Sukhu said that the Government would extend full support to enhance the capabilities of law enforcement. He advocated the use of modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence to make the Police Department more efficient. The State Government has sanctioned four new police stations, with three to be located on the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway, and one in Bir in Kangra district.

HP plans 3 logistics hubs to facilitate states agro industry

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TheHimachal Pradeshgovernment has notified itsLogistic Policy2022 under Gati Shakti National Master Plan to create an efficient and sophisticated ecosystem to support the states industrial Growth. The policy aims to strengthen the logistics infrastructures of the state by promoting Investment from private sector to develop Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Common Facility Centres (CFCs), Integrated Cold Chain, Logistic Parks, Truck Terminals, Air Cargo facilities, Quality testing labs, Integrated Cold Chain etc.

According to the policy, it will be the states goal to build key logistics hubs that can handle freight from the states higher reaches, particularly agricultural and Horticulture products to support first mile connectivity. It says that Shoghi in Shimla district, Sauli Khad inMandidistrict, and Pandoga inUnadistrict are all potential locations for such logistical hubs and the state will provide incentives for setting up primary processing centres to facilitate the vast agro-Industry in the state.

The State Government has also constituted an Empowered Group of Secretaries under the chairmanship of the chief secretary for the overall development of logistics sector in the state and also to ensure the projects are in line with the vision of PM GatiShakti NMP.
The policy says that to support the existing industrial corridor, the state would provide the required Infrastructure assistance for the establishment of an Industrial Logistics and Warehousing Hub in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh region.

Himachal Pradesh currently lacks a robust Network of customs Ports, with only one ICD facility located inBaddi. The state government will continue to look into the possibility of establishing new ICDs and CFCs as needed, as well as assist the development of logistic parks, warehousing zones, and other similar facilities wherever feasible. The state would support the establishment of transportation and warehousing zones at strategic locations.

Mandi, Kullu & Hamirpur get high-speed digital connectivity

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Chief General Manager of BSNL, Himachal circle, JS Sahota virtually inaugurated the fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) optical line terminal (OLT) service in Mandi, Kullu and Hamirpur districts from its office here today.

The BSNL started the service in the remote Chindi area of Mandi, Kushaini of Kullu and Bangana of Hamirpur district.

The BSNL is implementing a state-funded project of Rs 50 crore allocated under the special assistance to the states during 2022-23 to provide high-speed digital connectivity on fiber in the tribal areas of HP. Under the project, optical cable will be laid to provide 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi Services under the FTTH digital connectivity in fiber deprived villages of Lahaul,

To facilitate the home isolated Covid-19 patients, the State Government has launched Himachal Covid Care mobile app to connect asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with their designated doctors. Through this app, doctors will be able to monitor the health status of Covid-19 positive patients regularly and make quick decision regarding hospitalization of the critical patient, if required.

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Around 90 percent of over 28000 active cases in the state are under Home isolation.

The spokesman said that the app enables Covid-19 patients to self register themselves and provide their vital symptoms on the app which would be monitored by the assigned doctors. This mobile app would provide an online platform to all the essential service providers and users like patients, doctors and chief medical officers, block medical officers etc.

The app has features of prescribing medicines, triaging patients whose condition is deteriorating and required to be shifted to a Health care facility. The administrators like CMO and BMO in the districts and the State administrative officers can also monitor the health parameters of patients and also supervise the working of the district team, he said.

Govt offices in Himachal to go paperless; CM issues instructions to IT dept

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Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Monday directed the IT department officials to complete all the formalities for e-office implementation in the government offices in the state in a timely manner. The state governments vision is to create a digitally advanced state with secure, accessible, digital for effective Governance, he said.

The chief minister added that plans were underway to incorporate technology in various sectors and the IT department should take a lead in building a robust digital infrastructure across the state.

All the branches of the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat, Directorates, Deputy Commissioner (DC) offices, Superintendent of Police (SP) offices and field offices are expected to go paperless from July 1, according to an official statement. The state has 109 branches of the secretariat, 70 directorates, 12 deputy commissioner offices and 14 SP offices, all of which will become paperless under the e-office system, it said.

FCI buys 30 pc more wheat in Himachal this year

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The wheat procurement in the state has surpassed the last years level by 30 per cent. Four new centres have been opened to purchase wheat from farmers after strict restrictions were announced by Punjab and Haryana in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Around 4,500 MT of wheat has been procured against the total of 3,100 MT last year. The procurement will continue for one month.

The (Fci) has procured wheat for Rs 1,975 per quintal, benefiting 1,124 farmers.

As the total production of wheat during 2021-22 is expected around 6.72 lakh MT, eight procurement centres have been opened.

The centres are opened in Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb (Sirmaur), Kanger and Takrala (Una), Fatehpur and Thakurdwara (Kangra) Nalagarh (Solan) and Patta (Bilaspur) from farmers, who were unable to sell their produce in the neighbouring states.

Wheat produced in the Paonta valley is known for its quality but the farmers were either dependent on middlemen or travelled to the markets in Punjab and Haryana to sell their produce at throwaway prices.

Kangra to have 100 early landslide warning systems

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The District Administration of Kangra has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIT Mandi for development of satellite-based subsidence system profile for Kangra district and its adjoining areas. The system would act as an early warning system (EWS) for landslides. It is for the first time that such a system would be developed in the state.

Deputy Commissioner Kangra, Nipun Jindal said that 100 landslide monitoring and early warning systems would be deployed at certain sites based on analysis to be conducted for landslide vulnerability. As per the MoU, it would be the mandate of the IIT Mandi to develop machines for predicting landslides that can act as early warning systems, he said.

Fee regulation Bill unjust: Himachal pvt schools

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The Himachal Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fee and other Related Matters) Bill, 2021 is unconstitutional and unjutst as it deprives the school managements of a chance to seek from courts, said Dev Raj Verma, president of the Private Schools Management Association, here today.

Verma said that the private schools charged a monthly fee of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 per student while the government was spending over Rs 6,000 on every student but still the private schools performed better than the government schools. If the Bill was passed, a large number of teachers of the private schools would lose their jobs and students would lose the opportunity of better Education, he added.

He said that it was unfair to have only one representative of the private schools in the six-member committee. He added that the Bill proposed only a six per cent annual hike in the fee while the Inflation rate was higher than it.

8.82 lakh unemployed in Himachal Pradesh, job creation a challenge for govt in poll year

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As per the figures cited by the Industries and Labour Department, the number of youth registered in EMPLOYMENT exchanges across the state stands at 8,82,269. In reality, the count would be much higher as there would be many who havent got themselves enrolled for jobs. The Congress puts the figure at 14 lakh. Successive governments, both of the BJP and Congress, have tried to provide succour to the huge contingent of unemployed youth by announcing an Unemployment allowance. It was the late Virbhadra Singh who first announced unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 for the differently abled, subject to certain eligibility criteria, just before the 2017 Assembly poll. The BJP government too continued with the practice. It has provided this allowance to 76,855 youth in the last three years, indicating that the benefit goes to just a small segment. With limited job avenues in the government sector and the near-absence of in most parts of the state, barring the border districts of Kangra, Solan, Una and Sirmour, unemployment remains the most crucial issue. The outbreak of Covid pandemic hasmade the situation more grim. Thousands of youth have returned Home from other states. There is no denying that it is next to impossible for the State Government to provide jobs to all. Efforts have been made to attract big Investment. Over 40 industrial units have closed down while many others have been compelled to put on hold their expansion plans over the last two years.

The tourism sector which could have helped provide jobs is probably the worst-hit with people avoiding holidays and only undertaking compulsory travel. As such, the jobless educated youth of the state is staring at limited avenues in Himachal and not seeing a change in the situation in the immediate future.