CM Khattar to be Chief Guest At Chhath festival in Panipat

Chandigarh: The city of Panipat is gearing up to host the Chhath Puja on Sunday, a festival dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal will be attending the function as the Chief Guest. On Saturday, Member of Parliament, Karnal,  Sanjay Bhatia and Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr. Amit Agrawal visited the venue of the Chhath Puja program and took stock of the preparations. Bhatia said that over 30 organizations from Purvanchal have joined hands to organize this grand celebration, showcasing unity and cultural diversity. Dr. Agrawal informed that adding to the list of distinguished guests, MP from Delhi, Manoj Tiwari is expected to join the celebration. The people of Purvanchal are set to receive a warm welcome at the Chhath Puja program in Panipat, where they will also have the opportunity to present their demands before the Chief Minister, said Dr. Agrawal.

Haryana Cabinet meeting on Nov 28

Chandigarh: The Haryana Cabinet will meet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal in the Committee Room of Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh on November 28 at 11 am. A notification to this effect was issued by the cabinet branch on Saturday.

68 out of 131 stone crushers in Beas Basin did not have permission, says report

Shimla: The Multi Sector Committee in its interim report has highlighted that 68 out of 131 stone crushers in Beas river in Himachal Pradesh were running without permission, officials said. Along with the climatic change, the unscientific and illegal mining along the river beds are responsible for the natural calamity in the state causing huge damage to life and property, the committee, in its interim report submitted to the government said. The committee was constituted after the disaster wreaked havoc in Himachal during monsoons triggering flash floods and massive landslides claiming 509 lives in rain-related incidents and road accidents, a spokesperson of the state government said. As per the report, out of 131 stone crushers set up in the Beas river basin, 68 did not have the necessary permission while seven were affected by the floods, few anomalies were found in six and only 50 operators were found to have the valid permits, the spokesperson said. Due to excessive muck dumping in the Beas river and on its banks, the flash floods caused enormous damage to life and both the public and the private property, the report said. It also mentioned that the environmental balance of the Beas river basin is under great pressure, which needs to be studied scientifically and has also stressed on suggesting short, medium and long term measures for the operation of stone crushers.

Himachal govt slashes firewood rates to Rs 805 per quintal

Shimla:  In a relief to the state’s tribal people, the Himachal Pradesh government Friday said that the rates of firewood would be slashed from Rs 1,300 per quintal to Rs 805 per quintal. Making the announcements, Revenue and Tribal Development Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the government has decided to give a subsidy to the State Forest Corporation by cutting the firewood rates by about Rs 500 per quintal. This subsidy would help the tribal people procure firewood from the corporation at Rs 805 per quintal instead of Rs 1,300 per quintal earlier, Negi said. The use of firewood increases significantly in tribal areas during the winters due to extreme cold conditions and reduction in rates would be a big relief for the tribals, he said.