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Haryana Assembly session from Mar 21: Hooda

     Ambala: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today, two-day Haryana Assembly session will be held from March 21 during which the Vote on Account will also be presented. Addressing worker meeting in District Congress Bhawan here on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Dandi Yatra in which he administrated oath to party workers, he said his government had decided to hold the panchayat election at the earliest. The notification in this regard would be issued on March 17. The elections of Municipal Council would also be conducted at an appropriate time, he told reporters.

PM to flag off Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will flag-off the historic Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus when it restarts after a gap of nearly 60 years on April 7. The bus is being seen as one of the biggest confidence building measures for ordinary Kashmiris, as also an important step forward in the Indo-Pak peace process. It is believed that the Prime Minister personally pushed for more flexibility through the months of hard negotiations over the bus, and at times when the controversy surrounding documents threatened to stall the bus. It is also clear that through his presence the PM is signaling a clear attempt to bolster the domestic peace process, to the Pakistanis as well as the Kashmiris. The move comes even as the Centre is yet to get a dialogue with Kashmiri separatist off the ground.

Heavy snowfall augurs well for India's shrinking glaciers, rivers (Go To Top)

     Shimla: There's good news for the geologists and the environmental scientists who have been craving to assuage their anxieties over shrinking of glaciers and drying up of snow- fed rivers. Heavy snow in the higher regions of Himachal Pradesh this year haver rejuvenated them all. The snowfall has given a fresh lease of life to both perennial and seasonal glaciers in the region. Snow deposit have been recorded maximum in the mountain ranges of Kinnaur, Lahaul Spiti, Chamba, Kangra and Shimla districts.The region has received its heaviest snowfall in over two decades this year. The environmentalists had been alarmed earlier at the melting of tropical glaciers due to global warming fearing a major climactic imbalance in nature. This year's snowfall would again load the glaciers with snow to their respite. "The raw material for the glacier formation is snow. When there's a snowfall, the snow changes form many a time. It forms glaciers too which are very much beneficial for us. Heavy snowfall creates a balance in nature. This year's snowfall is really a good sign, both for our environment and in solving the water problem," said Jampa Negi, an environmentalist and a mountaineer.

     The heavy snowfall is also fortuitous for the rivers, especially snow-fed ones which will have abundant water during summers when the snow melts which in turn shall boost hydel-power generation. "Heavy snowfall is very beneficial. The snow-fed rivers are replete with water as more of water is discharged. At the onset of summers, the snow starts melting," said J K Sharma, General Manager, Nathpa-Jhakari Hydel Power Project. The snow has also lent some happiness to farmers in the state who are anticipating a good yield with abundant water to enhance their crop quality. "It is really beneficial for our crops. We'll have good fruit yield. Rivers will have water. Our cattle will also have good fodder," said Sohan Lal, a farmer. Himachal certainly has a lot of bounties to celebrate this year with the snow streaming in like a fresh wiff of breath!

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