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| Sunday,
June 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Officials
tighten grip on limestone thieves VC’s
stress on hill perspective Poachers
pose threat to Kugti wildlife Parking
places earmarked PM may lay
stone at Bhuntar airport |
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16
injured in bus mishap Uttaranchal
wants its private buses to ply in HP 1 lakh
for Ambedkar library building Mystery
shrouds women’s death 
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Officials tighten grip on limestone thieves Nahan, June 9 On reports that some influential persons of the area had started digging land in the reserve forest area of Khajuri forest and the Nalta hullah area, Mr Sameer Rastogi, Divisional Forest Officer, Renuka, along with a team of forest officials, raided several mines in the Nalta nullah area. The offenders ran away abandoning their equipment. Trucks carrying limestone were impounded. The department has deployed a watchman in the area. In the reserve forest areas high-class white marble has been extricated in illegal mining operations carried out mainly during the night by influential persons. The Range Officer, Kafota, Mr Bhagwati Prasad Sharma, along with a team of officials, carried out raids between the Nalta nullah and the Mailani khud and found that illegal mining was being carried out at two places. The offenders ran away into the nearby forest. At another place, a powerful blast occurred when the team approached the site and the offenders disappeared in to the forest. The team found compressor pipes used for boring wholes for the purpose of blasting. The team sealed these places and identified the erring contractors after making inquiries from residents of nearby villages. One belonged to Shilla village. Another had been identified as a resident of Kamrou village against whom a similar case had been registered in the Shillai police station. Mr Davender Thakur, DSP, Paonta Sahib, said several times police parties had raided these places and people of the area asked to give information on the telephone regarding illegal mining and blasting in the area without disclosing their identity so that the offenders could be caught and theft of white marble stopped. |
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VC’s stress on hill perspective Dharamsala, June 9 Having vast experience and knowledge with regard to hill agriculture, he has been working at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICI MOD) for the past 14 years. Talking to TNS, he said it was his work in the Hill and Mountain Agriculture Development Programme, implemented in the eight Hindu Kush-Himalayan countries, which he would want to put to use for the benefit of the farmers of his home state, Himachal. He has also had the chance to visit the hill areas in Europe and Asia extensively. Stressing the need for not only diversification of agriculture but also diversification from agriculture and the government sector, he feels the role of the university is much broader than just concern with agriculture technology. “The biggest drawback is that we are merely focussing on drop technology and that too on borrowed knowledge from the plains, obviously unsuitable for the hill areas,” he opines. He says that despite having good infrastructure and scientific manpower we are still working on national crops like wheat and rice whereas the need of the hour is to focus on hill crops as under the global changing regime there is immense potential for the hills. Surprisingly, till date not even a single institute in the Himalayan region is working on new mountain crops, which can clearly provide comparative advantage to farmer of the hilly areas, he says. Dr Tej Partap, feels there is need for reorientation in the University as students should be prepared not for government jobs but for entrepreneurship. “With factors like scarce land, increasing problem of livelihood for the farmer and fewer government jobs agriculture graduates should be best suited for agri-business. With regard to the dissatisfaction among farmers with the output of the research stations of the university all over the state, he feels they need to work according to the needs of the people of the area. The Vice-Chancellor is of the firm opinion that people of the state must be given equal service and for this every research station must function as a mini university except for being governed from Palampur. However, the biggest challenge before the university at the moment is to meet the challenge arising out of the severe resource crunch. |
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Poachers
pose threat to
Kugti wildlife Bharmour (Chamba) After Sangla in Kinnaur district, spread over 650 sq km, Kugti in Chamba district, occupying 379 sq km, is the second largest sanctuary in the state. It is about 30 km from Bharmour township. The sanctuary is situated at an altitude ranging from 2,195 metres to 5,040 metres. To reach it, one has to tramp from the Hadsar roadhead to Kugti village, a distance of about 15 km. It is reported that wild animals usually come to a place named Dhroundh at night to drink water from the Budhal river where poachers kill them. Poachers earn huge profits by selling the skin and other parts of animals to a gang of traders which clandestinely exports these for medicinal and other uses. According to an official of the Wildlife Department, the sanctuary, which is divided into three beats, is looked after by a Deputy Range Officer and three forest guards. In view of the size of the
sanctuary, the staff strength is inadequate. The species in the sanctuary include the snow leopard, the leopard, the black bear, the brown bear, the
ghoral, the musk deer, the barking deer, the ibex, the thar (kerth), the monal and the snow cock. The snow leopard is one of the most endangered species in the world. Regrettably, the state government has not been taking adequate notice of the census of various species and sub-species of wildlife in the sanctuary for the past some years. Besides, it has not ensured proper care of wildlife . The sanctuary authorities say they have not been able to detect any case of poaching so far. The Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the wildlife habitat was not available for comments. |
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Parking
places earmarked Kumarhatti, June 9 According to the order, private cars and scooters may now be parked on the left side of the Kumarhatti-Barog bypass starting from the national highway-bypass bifurcation and going towards Barog. Additional private cars, scooters can be parked in the leftover space between Krishana provisional store and Kumarhatti-Barog bypass bifurcation after parking of two trucks or two taxis. For idle truck parking, the place on the right hand side of the Kumarhatti-Barog bypass, 50 m beyond the national highway-bypass bifurcation has been earmarked. The point before the present Gumti police towards Shimla on the left hand side of the highway when going from Shimla towards Kalka has been earmarked as bus stop for the downside buses from Shimla to Kalka. For upside buses, the bus stop in front of the Goyal tea stall on the highway has been earmarked. For truck loading or unloading points, one point for a truck and one point for mini-truck adjacent to Krishna provision store on the valley side have been earmarked. The points earmarked for taxi parking are: two points between Gumti police and IPH regular manhole in front of Krishana provision store, two taxi points adjacent to Krishana provision store next to truck/mini-truck loading/unloading points. |
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PM may lay stone at Bhuntar airport Kulu, June 9 According to sources, a study team headed by an Executive Director of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is here these days and will submit its report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation shortly. It was learnt that the
parliamentary committee headed by Mr Sharad
Yadav, Civil Aviation Minister, had already approved the plan. Mr
Yadav, during his last visit had told the mediapersons that the airstrip would be extended upto 6,000 feet. The estimated expenditure is Rs 40 crore out of which Rs 15 crore is to be spent on the division of the river Beas and
acquisition of land. The existing ATC tower and the communication mast will also be shifted. |
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16 injured in bus mishap Palampur, June 9 The injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital here, Sub-Divisional Magistrate
H.R. Chauhan said. PTI |
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Uttaranchal
wants its private buses to ply in HP Shimla, June 9 Mr Arya, who is here to settle the dispute in inter-state operation of buses, said the private buses of Uttaranchal were being allowed to ply up to Paonta Sahib and not beyond that. The meeting comes in the wake of Uttaranchal impounding several HRTC and private buses of Himachal Pradesh plying in their area. Mr Arya said a meeting would be held here to settle the dispute on June 11. He said Uttaranchal wanted that its private buses should be allowed to ply in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, UP and Haryana until their own transport corporation was set up. Mr Arya said the HRTC buses were plying up to Dehra Dun and other places without any agreement with the Uttaranchal government. |
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1 lakh for Ambedkar library building Shimla, June 9 He also presented a copy of the Constitution of India to them as a first contribution for the library. The Governor also saw the site plan of Ambedkar Bhavan which was shown to him by the Municipal Commissioner, Mr H.N. Kashyap. The Municipal Commissioner informed the Governor that the bhavan would house a library, study centre and zonal municipal office. |
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Mystery
shrouds
women’s death Mandi, June 9 On the basis of the report the police has taken the dead body into its possession and sent it for a post-mortem after registering a case. In another incident, Pravin, alias, Pinki, allegedly committed suicide by burning herself. He father works at Chandigarh. Her neighbours took her to the local Regional Hospital where she succumbed burns. |
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Van falls into Beas,
1 feared dead Mandi, June 9 |
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Rs
1 lakh stolen from temple Mandi, June 9 Mr J.R. Thakur, SP told this correspondent today that the DSP, headquarters had been deputed to investigate the burglary. Some unaccounted money had also been found during the investigation. When accounts were checked a sum of Rs 9,000 was found short. When questioned the person maintaining accounts said the amount had been given on loan to a resident of Kulu, but he failed to furnish his address or identification, said Mr Thakur. |
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Governor
gives 10,000 to Red Cross Shimla, June 9 Addressing well-attended gathering on the occasion, the Governor said the main objective of the Red Cross Society was to collect funds for the welfare of the needy and the down-trodden, besides providing financial assistance to orphans and deserted women. Eulogising the role of the Red Cross Society, Dr Suraj Bhan appealed to the people to contribute liberally to Red Cross funds. He said it was the moral responsibility of all to come forward to help the poor and needy. He emphasised on the need for taking the activities of the Red Cross Society to every nook and corner of the state. He called upon the Red Cross functionaries to ensure that every penny contributed was utilised for the service of its envisaged beneficiaries. The Governor announced a grant of Rs 10,000 to the society, besides Rs 1000 to the children who presented a cultural programme on the occasion. He distributed wheelchairs and artificial limbs among the disabled, sponsored by the Dehra Dun-based National Disabled Scientific Study Institute. Mrs Sheela Dhumal, chairperson, hospital welfare wing, Mrs Malvika Nadda, vice-chairperson, Mrs Pushpa Bragta and Mr Lalji Singh, commissioner-cum-secretary, Red Cross Society, were present. |
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