Shimla, September 23
Hundreds of tourists remained stranded in the Sangla valley in tribal Kinnaur district as bad weather foiled attempts to airlift them by helicopter today. The government deputed a chopper to rescue the tourists, which included 24 foreigners, this morning. However, it could not proceed beyond Rampur as inclement weather made it impossible to enter the valley.

Another attempt will be made to rescue them tomorrow. The situation in the valley worsened as flash floods, caused by heavy rain in the Kupa nullah, washed away over 200 bighas of agriculture land. In all, orchards of seven tribals were damaged by floods.

The Hindustan-Tibet highway was blocked beyond Rekong Peo near Pangi Nullah by a huge landslide which wiped out a long stretch of the road. It may take a few days to restore traffic on the road.

The Theog-Hatkoti road was again blocked at several places by landslides which also damaged four vehicles. A major landslip blocked the road linking Chopal. In another landslide on the Sanjauli bypass road, two vehicles were damaged. Landslips and boulders caused long traffic jams near Dhalli.

Meanwhile, Bishambar Ram, who was crushed by a tree at Nabha yesterday, succumbed to his injuries, while another person Gobind Ram died after he was hit by falling boulders near Oachghat in Solan.

Kasauli recorded the maximum 187 mm of rain over the past 24 hours, followed by Dharmpur-132 mm, Pachhad-96 mm, Renuka-83 mm, Jubbar Hatti-77 mm and Gohar-53 mm.

Solan, September 23
Railway traffic remained suspended on the Kalka-Shimla route as massive landslides at various places halted the movement of all 10 trains today.

Officials in the Railways said work was under way to restore the traffic as a massive landslide, which had occurred at Dedgrat between Kandaghat and Salogra, was being cleared with the help of JCB machines. Another landslide near Kanoh was also being cleared and this had halted the movement of trains from Shimla to Kalka. Yet another landslide at Kaithlighat delayed the movement of train which started from Shimla at 6:15 am. Its passengers had to carry on their journey through road.

Another landslide between Guma and Koti stations on the NH-22 had halted the rail traffic since late last evening. Another train had to be stopped at Koti following the landslide. Its passengers were shifted to other vehicles for their onward journey.

All five trains, including 241, 251, Up Mix, 1KS and 255, were suspended today and there was no movement of trains either uphill or downhill. Scores of labourers and JCB machines were clearing the track at various places.

With little upkeep of this world heritage track, landslides often disrupted traffic during the rains posing inconvenience to the passengers.

Kullu, September 23
Maheshwar Singh, the descendant of former rulers of Kullu and chief care-taker (Chharibardar) of Raghunathji, the chief deity of Kullu, expressed concern for the slow pace of repair works on roads that had been damaged due to the heavy rains this year.

He said week-long Dussehra in Kullu would start from October 17 and more than 300 local Devi-Devtas would participate whereas the condition of the roads, particularly in Ani and Banjar subdivisions, were miserable. He said the local deities usually did not use any mode of transport. Hence the district administration should accelerate the repair works on the roads on war-footing so that these deities could reach and participate in the festival.

Maheshwar, talking to mediapersons at his residence at Raghunathpur here, expressed hope to settle the long-pending “Dhur” dispute among devotees of three Devtas in the district. It may be recalled here that accompanying Raghunathji’s Rath Yatra by standing and moving on the right side of the chariot became an issue while Balu Nag claimed to stand at that place instead of Shringa Rishi in 1991. The police had to use force to disperse the agitating devotees while the Rath Yatra got delayed for more than an hour.

Since then the administration had to face this problem every year though the use of police force and cordoning off the camp temples of these Devtas had become a routine. Maheshwar Singh claimed that he had discussed the issue with a proposal with two of the three Devtas’ devotees and would reach a positive settlement very soon.

Though the Dussehra Committee has not invited the two of the Devtas this year, too, like the previous years, the devotees never honoured the invitation earlier. They claimed that the festival did not belong to the government or the administration but a religious fair of local deities. The devotees of Shringa Rishi, Balu Nag and Jamdagini Rishi might join the fair after the dispute was resolved by Chharibardar of Lord Raghunathji.

Maheshwar Singh urged the government and the district administration to take in confidence the Kardars Sangh and upkeep the religious traditions alive.

Solan, September 23
With little check on constructions along the flood-prone riverbeds, many industrial units have become vulnerable to damage during the ongoing rainy season.

While such a situation was witnessed along the Chikni river in the Nalagarh industrial area, several units located along the Markandey river in the Kala Amb area faced damage due to constructions.

Industrial units along the Chikni, Kundlu, Mahadev and Sarsa have witnessed damages. “Reasonable rates of land have led to a hike in construction activities in these areas. While a plot in the prime area was priced somewhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, the land was available for as less as Rs 3 and Rs 5 lakh along the riverbeds," a Nalagarh-based realtor said.

This has, however, led to plethora of problems. An illustration to this point is the case of Chikni Bridge, which had collapsed due to diversion of water owing to development of a plot in its vicinity. Officials of National Highways, who had inquired into the bridge collapse, found out that a plot measuring about 200 sq m was being developed in the middle of the river.

The officials of the Town and Country Planner department said since no master plan had as yet been developed for the Kala Amb industrial area, norms could not be enforced there. They said older units that came up before the master plan had failed to abide by such norms, thus, putting such buildings at risk.

Such cases have also come to the fore in other industrial areas, including Parwanoo and Kamli, where industries have come up right next to the Kaushalya river. This has given a rise to a serious question as to how the insurance companies have been clearing the cases. "If a report conveys sites as non-dangerous and later rain causes damage, then the responsibility of the surveyors is fixed so much that a legal action can be taken against them," a surveyor said.

Mandi, September 23
Over 250 rural primary and community heath centres across the state are being run without a pharmacist, courtesy ad hoc recruitment policy for pharmacists. Shortage of pharmacists, in turn, has hit the patient care in most rural areas.

According to trained pharmacists, the state had no clear-cut recruitment policy for the pharmacists. “At times, the Heath Department fixes matriculation as basic eligibility qualification while sometimes it raises it to Class XII,” they rued.

The trained pharmacists are the worst-hit who have appeared twice in the interview but the department has not recruited a fresh batch for the last six years, they claimed.

Even the pharmacy courses are offered by mushrooming teaching shops that have no recognition from the statutory bodies like Pharmacy Council of India, they said. There is no check on these as they hook gullible students from the rural areas, they resented.

Consequently, the trained pharmacists have moved the high court after the government raised the basic qualification from the matriculation to Class XII for recruitment. The government has landed in a limbo as 250 pharmacists, who have appeared twice in tests, are running from pillar to post after filing a PIL in the high court, sources said.

The worst hit are patients in the rural areas where they do not even find a pharmacists in the health centre. There are over 250 health centres without a pharmacist in the state, the sources added.

Mandi needs over 31 pharmacists in the primary or community health centres. “We have no direction to recruit pharmacist through the Roigi Kalyan Samiti so far, said Dr AB Gupta, CMO, Mandi. On the other hand director Health Services, Dr Vinod Pathak said the process to recruit 250 pharmacists had been halted after certain candidates filed the writ. The government had made a policy to recruit 50 per cent batch wise and 50 per cent directly through other methods including, Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS), he added.

Dr Pathak said the trained pharmacists had to register with the state pharmacy council and only the recognised colleges could run the pharmacy courses.

Gohar (Mandi), September 23
The Department of Agriculture in collaboration with Agricultural University at Palampur launched F-1 variety of hybrid maize (single crop, high-quality, high-protein) at a training camp at Goderi farm in Mandi district yesterday.

PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur launched the variety at the camp in which over 1,000 farmers participated.

Vice-Chancellor of Agricultural University at Palampur Dr SK Sharma said, “The field trial of F-1 variety maize is successful and the two farmers at Bajaura in Kullu have already grown it. The variety has been tested by the plant breeding centre of the university.”

He said this maize seed was in high demand in the food products and beverage markets. The normal hybrid maize seeds are sold for Rs 10 per kg while this variety will be sold at Rs 40 to Rs 70 per kg, he said.

Dr Sharma said the farmers had been trained here to grow this maize variety. He said 75 per cent of maize produced in the state was exported while 25 per cent was consumed locally.

Director of the Agriculture Department JC Rana said the department would buy the F-1 maize from the farmers at Rs 40 a kg that would give them almost 10 times more benefits. However, crop insurance scheme will be stared at panchayat level to take care of crop failures, he added.

He said the Gaderi farm produces just 10 quintals of the new variety whereas as they need 5,000 quintals each kharif season in Mandi district.

Dr Manmohan, deputy director of the Agriculture Department, said, “The department has identified pockets in Gohar and other areas in Mandi district, the main maize belt, and will monitor and train farmers to grow the crop in cluster.”

Shimla, September 23
Unable to transport apple procured under the market intervention scheme (MIS), the state-owned HPMC proposes to convert the fruit rotting at the collection centres into organic manure.

The corporation has approached the Dr Y.S.Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry for technical collaboration so that the spoiled fruit could be utilised to recover at least a part of the cost incurred on procurement.

A formal tie-up will be worked out over the next couple of days for making compost at selected places near the procurement centres. With the state heading for a record crop of 3.50 crore boxes, an all-time high procurement of over 60,000 tonne is expected under the MIS.

Scientist of the university Dr G.P.Upadhyaya, who specialises in organic farming, maintains that the apple manure would be much superior in quality as the fruit contains very high percentage of nitrogen. Further, the high sugar content would facilitate microbial activity, ensuring speed conversion to manure. Vermi-composting would be prepared by mixing apple, cow dung and biomass (grass clippings for farm waste) in equal proportions. The conversion would be around 60 per cent which means that the produce of 1 kg of apple would help produce more than 1.5 kg of manure. The market price of manure is Rs 10 per kg. It will help recover more than 50 per cent of the fruit cost.

Economics apart, composting of the rotting fruit would help prevent environment pollution. The stench emanating from decaying fruit at collection centres is a big nuisance for the local people. The plan fits in well with the government policy to promote organic farming.

So far 2.92 crore boxes have been sent to the market as compared to 1.88 crore in 2007 when the state recorded the highest-ever production of 2.97 crore.

Already, over 45,000 tonne of fruit has been procured which is more than the total procurement in 2007. Out of this, 22,000 tonne is still lying at the collection centres as trucks are not available for transportation and about 4,500 tonne has been processed to produce over 400 tonne of juice concentrate. The spoilage is anticipated to be round 20 per cent of the total procurement which means that around 10,000 to 12,000 tonne will be available for composting, which is enough to make 15,000 to 18,000 tonne of organic manure. 

Shimla, September 23
The state government today placed before the high court a list of 24 officials facing corruption and other charges.

In the affidavit filed before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Kuldip Singh by Chief Secretary Rajwant Sandhu on the direction of the court, the officials were divided into two categories.

The first category included a list of 18 officials, who were caught accepting bribes by the vigilance department or other police agencies, while the second category had six persons against whom complaints of corruption had been received and investigations were on.

Those against whom complaints were under investigation included Subhash Ahluwalia, former private secretary of the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, district revenue officer B.C.Negi, DFO Barkha Ram, RTO Mohinder Singh Rana, Praveen Kumar of rural development department and M.S Parmar, executive engineer of irrigation and public health department.

The 18 officials trapped while allegedly accepting bribe included divisional commissioner Sanjay Gupta, Shilai tehsildar Pratap Singh Ranta, Haroli naib tehsildar Rameshwar Das, Solan naib tehsildar (settlement) Mangat Ram, subject matter specialist (agriculture department), Rohru, Prakash Chand, assistant controller (treasury department), Bilaspur, Balram Kumar, PHC, Kalbog, Dr Shashikant Diwedi, and Civil Hospital, Nerwa, Dr Ashok Kumar, ASP Mohinder Singh, assistant excise and taxation commissioner, Kiran Dev Pal, executive engineer Virender Dev Kanwar and assistant engineer Ashok Arora ( both irrigation and public health) and assistant engineer Anil Kumar, executive engineers Tek Chand Gupta and Om Prakash Sharma, assistant engineer (electrical circle) Dharmendra Kumar (all PWD), assistant engineer Kulbhushan Verma(electricity board) and accounts officer Khushal Singh.

Besides, cases against three officers Jamit Singh, land acquisition officer, Baldev Singh, horticulture development officer, and drug controller Sher Singh, had been filed in the court. In the oldest case of Rameshwar Das, naib tehsildar,Haroli, challan had not been filed even after seven years.

Shimla, September 23
In a minor reshuffle in the Police Department, the government today ordered transfer of three IPS officers and one state police officer.

Daljeet Thakur will be the new Superintendent of Police, Kangra. He replaces Atul Fulzele who has proceeded on central deputation to join the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Abhishek Dullar has been appointed the Superintendent of Police, Kullu, in place of KK Indoria, who has been posted as the AIG (headquarters), Shimla. — TNS

Kangra, September 23
The Indian Ex-servicemen League of Himachal Pradesh today suggested that politicians should not let down armed forces by diluting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) otherwise it would prove suicidal for the national security.

State chief of the league Major Vijay Singh Mankotia (Retd) said the Kashmir crisis had concerned the entire ex-servicemen.

He said it was unfortunate that there was move to undermine the morale of the security forces.

He said the armed forces ensured the freedom, independence and liberty of this country and protected the borders from external threats.

He said this Act was not against the Kashmiri citizens but protecting the interests of the Army fighting against terrorists.