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Monday,
September 3,
2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Fund-starved HP zoos face closure Reckless quarrying takes its toll Guru vanishes, agencies baffled HPCC’s charge
against govt Rift in HPU teachers’ cell |
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Make registration of marriage ‘mandatory’ IN FOCUS Using scooters to smuggle timber Gulab Singh leaves
for Australia Seminar on Himalayas from October 31 Social science institute for Manali
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Fund-starved HP zoos face closure Shimla, September 2 Over the past two years, the government has not been able to provide adequate funds even for providing feed and veterinary care to the animals kept in captivity in various nature parks, zoos and pheasantries. For instance, against a requirement of Rs 55 lakh, only Rs 27 lakh was allocated during the year 2000-01. The government asked the department to make up the shortfall by effecting internal savings. It was left with no option but to shelve the building projects to spare Rs 25 lakh required to procure feed for the animals. This year again, the government has allotted only Rs 27 lakh against the requirement of Rs 57 lakh. Given the dismal financial position of the government, there is no hope for more funds during the year. Unlike the previous year, it may not be even possible to spare funds from other heads. With the government keen on downsizing the establishment and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) also insisting that the states should have only a limited number of zoos, which they could properly maintain from their own resources, the department proposes to close down some zoos. It recently sent a proposal to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to wind up five of the 10 zoos in the state. These include the Rewalsar zoo and pheasantries at Manali, Kharyun, Blossom and Raj Bhavan. It proposes to shift the animals and birds from these to other zoos. Instead of having so many small pheasantries, it plans to properly maintain the Sarhan pheasantries where all birds would be shifted. Similarly, the animals in Rewalsar could be shifted to the nature parks at Gopalpur or Kufri. Senior officers, however, point out that this may not solve the immediate problem of feeding the animals. The closure of these five centres would only save some manpower which has to be accommodated elsewhere. Funds would be needed to feed the animals, wherever they are kept. Moreover, the bulk of funds are utilised for feeding big animals like lions and leopards, which require truckloads of meat, and the expenditure on maintaining the pheasantries is minimal. While the annual cost of keeping a leopard in captivity comes to Rs 75,000, the expenditure on a lion is up to Rs 45,000 per year. There are 22 leopards and 20 lions in various centres. The stringent norms laid by the Central Zoo Authority had forced the department to close down the Kala Pull zoo last year. Another zoo at Solan maintained by the local municipal committee was also closed due to the failure of the authorities to provide adequate infrastructure and other facilities to ensure proper unkeep of the animals. The Wildlife Department has also not been able to provide the required specialised veterinary care to the animals. The inquiry into the death of a rare snow leopard Rozy at the Himalayan Nature Park, Kufri, early this year had pointed out several shortcomings in this regard and made some important recommendations to improve the situation. The government had recently reorganised the Wildlife Department. It opened a new circle at Dharamsala and a division at Hamirpur. However, proper management of wildlife, particularly in captivity, would be possible only when adequate funds are provided. |
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Reckless quarrying takes its toll Palampur: The change in the rain pattern in Himachal Pradesh has got farmers, orchard owners and tea growers worried. Scientists at the agricultural university here say that large-scale felling of trees and indiscriminate quarrying are among the reasons for the change. The green hills of the state have been ruthlessly stripped of their forest cover during the past 10 years. This has resulted in flash floods and landslides apart from the change in the rain pattern. The large-scale construction of roads and buildings has also disturbed the ecological balance. In the absence of political and administrative will to check reckless deforestation and quarrying, such activities are going on unabated in the state. Besides, the state is losing huge revenue. Palampur, one
of the beautiful towns in the state, has been facing a serious environmental threat because of unscientific quarrying. wonder who issued the permits for such activity and what circumstances compelled officials to do this. Reliable sources say that a permit was issued to a private party for the extraction of stones without the official concerned visiting the site. Residents of Lohana village said the extraction of stones had upset the ecological
balance. If this was not stopped, it would result in widespread landslides during the next rainy
season. Hundreds of chil trees would also be destroyed. Residents of the town saw the worst-ever rainy season this year which claimed several lives in the Baijnath
area. Besides, property worth crores of rupees was damaged. |
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Guru vanishes, agencies baffled Palampur, September 2 A resident of Tikka Har where the “guru” initially stayed for 15 days said the disciples wore “sadhvi” dress. Villagers said one of the girls who hailed from Mumbai had been carrying cash and jewellery and was committed to Padma Ananda. When her parents came to know about her whereabouts, they arrived at Palampur to take her back but she refused. Another girl who had joined him a few days ago belonged to Shimla. It is learnt that when the officer came to know about the “anti-social” activities of the “guru”, he got his house vacated with the help of the police. However, the disappearance of the “guru” had become a matter of concern. A senior intelligence officer who was in town in connection with the investigation of this episode said they were in touch with the British Government and Padma Ananda’s antecedents were being verified. One of his local disciples told mediapersons here this morning that the “guru” had a large number of devotees all over the world and the figure had already crossed 1.5 million. In India, over 60,000 persons had joined him. He said he had not fled Palampur but had shifted to Punjab or Haryana on the request of his followers. However, the intelligence agencies said the “guru” had neither any followers in India nor was he associated with any ashram. They said the purpose of his visit to India was yet to be ascertained. |
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HPCC’s charge
against govt Chamba, September 2 Holding the present government responsible for the lapses, Mr Harsh Mahajan, general secretary of the HPCC, said in a statement that the funds allocated under NABARD and TWDP were being spent on schemes which were proving beneficial only for the kith and kin of politicians. Mr Mahajan opposed hospital user charges and the hike in the water tariff, which had burdened the common man. He also opposed the move to scrap pension for government employees. Mr Mahajan slammed the BJP-led government for the crumbling education system and health services. He suggested that the system of education should be employment-oriented. |
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Rift in HPU teachers’ cell Shimla, September 2 The Congress-Left combine had made a clean sweep of all posts with handsome margins. Dr J.B. Nadda, brother of Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who contested for the post of president was among those defeated. Dr Nadda today alleged that the Vice-Chancellor, his secretary, Dr K.C. Sharma, along with their coterie of officers engineered the defeat of the official BJP teachers’ cell candidates. They canvassed against them and some officers pressurised the newly appointed teachers to vote against them. He said it amounted to gross misuse of the office of Vice-Chancellor. He demanded immediate removal of Dr K.C. Sharma from the post of secretary to the Vice-Chancellor. The fact that the BJP cell had applauded and supported the demand of Mr Waryam Singh, leader of Intuc, provides an indication of the factional divide among the teachers aligned with the ruling party. Mr Waryam Singh has threatened to go on fast in protest against the dictatorial vindictive style of functioning of the Vice-Chancellor and his demand for the removal of Dr K.C. Sharma. |
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Make registration of marriage ‘mandatory’ Una, September 2 Ms Pathania said the registration of marriages would reduce the difficulties faced by women in property-related and other court disputes. She said the commission had also urged the government to
implement the Prostitution Law so as to curb this social evil. She said the commission was introducing family and women lok adalats with help of NGOs and District Judges so that long-pending cases pertaining to women were disposed of at the earliest. She said the commission would also provide free legal aid to women in atrocity cases. Earlier, Ms Pathania inaugurated the commission’s first helpline set up in collaboration with an NGO here. |
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IN FOCUS Nalagarh The lower Shiwalik hills abound in khair trees, which grow there naturally and are also planted by the Forest Department. There has been a spurt in khair smuggling in the past few years. As many as three cases each have been detected in the Barotiwala and Ramshahar areas this year. A large number of minor thefts, carried out particularly at night, remain undetected, say the local residents. The officials opine that the topography of the area helps the smugglers. The area shares a porous border with Punjab and Haryana. This has proved a boon for the smugglers and a headache for the officials. At some places khuds form the border between two states. The illicit traders slip across the border to sell the contraband in Punjab where there is no restriction on its movement, whereas in Himachal Pradesh a permit from the Forest Department is required. This wood is used in the dye industry and is the chief ingredient of pan masala. It thus finds easy buyers. One kilogram of the wood fetches anything between Rs 40 and Rs 50. A person can easily carry a load of 15 to 20 kg in a single attempt and earn as much as Rs 600 to Rs 1000 overnight. An organised network of illicit traders operates in the region. The residents of a village close to the Barotiwala-Kalka road are known for khair smuggling. These villagers often fell khair trees surreptitiously at night and deliver the logs to contractors who sell these across the border. These logs are at times concealed under quarrying material carried in trucks and are covered by sand, stone or clay. They usually ply at night and cross the state’s barrier with ease. Sources reveal that the contraband is further sold to agents from Delhi who directly or indirectly deal with the pan masala and dye industries. The villagers do not rule out the connivance of the authorities concerned. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Mahender Singh, says that the lure of easy money attracts the youth to this illicit trade. They remove the bark of the trees and then carry the red logs on their shoulders. He says a strict vigil is being maintained to check this illicit trade and all vulnerable points are being specially manned. The Divisional Forest Officer of Nalagarh, Mr Tejinder Singh, explains that most of the khair plantations lie on shamlat lands, looked after by the Revenue Department. This impedes immediate effective action against the offenders since prompt legal action can be initiated if the theft takes place in a forest area. Another factor that encourages khair smuggling is that a khair tree takes barely two hours to be axed whereas a deodar tree takes days. They are undertaking night patrolling besides conducting surprise checks, says the
DFO. |
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Using scooters to smuggle timber Mandi, September 2 Stating this while addressing mediapersons, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vineet Kumar today said three persons were arrested and two scooters impounded at a naka while carrying sleepers last night. The arrested were loading the frames brought manually from a village a few hundred metres away from the forest barrier. They were nabbed by a team of forest officials led by a Deputy Range Officer, Mr Mahendra. The DFO said under Section 52 of the Indian Forest Act, the impounded vehicles could become the property of the Forest Department after the conviction of the arrested persons. He said during a campaign launched against the smuggling of timber in the division, 35 vehicles had been impounded. The Village Forest Development Committees, constituted under the Joint Forest Management launched in the district under the Indo-Forestry Project, were playing an important role in checking illicit felling and smuggling of timber, he said. The cases of illicit felling had been reduced from 769 in 1995 to 432 in 1999 and the forest cover in the district had increased by 224 sq km in Mandi circle, he said. |
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Gulab Singh leaves
for Australia Shimla, September 2 He is accompanied by Mr Ajai Bhandari, secretary of the state legislative Assembly, who has been nominated secretary of the Indian delegation. The conference to be held from September 4 to September 14 will focus on “Reassessing the profession of politics to raise the publics to raise the public perception of Parliaments and parliamentarians”. Mr Bhandari will also represent the Himachal Pradesh branch at meeting of the society of clerks-at-the-table in Commonwealth Parliaments, which is also being held simultaneously during the conference period. |
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Seminar on Himalayas from October 31 Shimla, September 2 The seminar being organised in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh University would focus on environmental problems arising in the mountain ranges due to the adoption of western model of development, besides discussing the security aspect in view of the terrorism. According to the Education Minister, Mr Ishwar Das Dhiman, and convener of the seminar committee, the event would be preceded by a fortnight-long campaign from October 7 to 20 to educate the people about the need to safeguard the Himalayas. He said besides scholars from Nepal, Ladakh, Nagaland and other Himalayan states, representatives of various Buddhist organisations and academic institutions would participate in the seminar. |
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Social science institute for Manali Manali, September 2 He said under the Prime Minister’s village road scheme 80 link roads had been included in his constituency and 250 villages were to be linked with the highway and national highway. “Nearly Rs 1 crore has been earmarked for two roads”, he said.
UNI |
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Actor Samir in Shimla Shimla, September 2 In “Lajja”, he is playing the lead role opposite Madhuri Dixit. Currently, he is busy with films “University” and “Basti”. He says he does not favour any particular type of role. He prefers roles which would enable him to exhibit his acting talent. He has no immediate plans to marry but says he has found the right girl in
Nafisa. |
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