CM Lays foundation stone of eight floor Secretariat Building

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh laid foundation stone of Secretariat Armsdale Building Phase III, near HP Secretariat to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 29 crore.

Besides having four storey parking facilities for as many as 120 small vehicles, the building will house four other floors besides an attic, which will have a big  conference hall, waiting rooms , pantry and dining hall connected with both lift and staircases.

The building will also house two banks, viz: State bank of Patiala and Punjab National Bank besides other rooms. The building will have a separate smoke cabin too.

The Chief Minister said that this would be a modern building with all facilities for the officers, officials and the visitors.

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CM pays tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi

Chief Minister Mr Virbhadra Singh today offered floral tributes to the former Prime Minister of India, late Mr Rajiv Gandhi on his statue at Rajiv Chowk, Chhota Shimla, to mark celebration of his 71st birth Anniversary.

Chief Minister was joined by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Mr Rohit Thakur, Mr Nand Lal and Mr Inderdutt Lakhanpal,   MLAs Mr Karan Singh and Mr Kishori Lal, Dy. Mayor, MC Shimla Mr Tikender Panwar, President, DCC Shimla Rural Mr Kehar Singh Khachi, Ex Mayor  Mr Adarsh Sood, Councilors of MC Shimla, Deputy Commissioner Shimla Mr Dinesh Malhotra, Commissioner, MC Shimla Mr Yunus and other  prominent persons and dignitaries of the town.

Artists of Information and Public Relations sung devotional and patriotic songs on the occasion.

Last date of admission today

Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) has extended the last date for admission in all the undergraduate courses in government and private colleges to July 31. This was disclosed here today by HPU Registrar Prof Mohan Jharta.

He said the date had been extended as some students hailing from the tribal district of Kinnaur could not seek admission due to the natural calamity. He said the last date had been extended so that interested students could seek admission in colleges where seats are vacant.

Shimla faces water shortage due to siltation

Even with incessant downpours and ample groundwater reserves, Shimla residents have been facing shortage of potable water due to excessive siltation. Water supply has been hit since Monday evening as siltation has increased in Giri and Ashwani rivers, from where water is lifted, while leakage in the main Giri water pipe on Tuesday added to the problem.

According to irrigation and public health department (IPH) officials, accumulated silt at the pumping sources and leakage in the main line reduced water supply to nearly 12-15 MLD on an average, contrary to 37-38 MLD required in the township. Shimla MC commissioner Amarjeet Singh said, "We are only distributors of water that we receive from the IPH department. Giri, Gumma and Ashwani water schemes have been down since past two days. The IPH department may be having its own limitations, but at our end we have been informing residents about lack of supply and we are trying to cater to the population through the MC reservoirs. However, these reservoirs too are fast going empty, he added.

According to MC estimates, the daily requirement of Shimla is around 38-40 MLD of water and it increases during tourist seasons due to rise in floating population. The five major sources from where water is pumped to the city include Churat Nullah, Ashwani, Giri, Gumma and Chair. Since past two days, water crisis has deepened in Chotta Shimla, Kasumpti, Chaura Maidan, Tutu, Boileauganj and other areas.