Kullu, October 17
Famous week-long Kullu Dasehra took off today with the “rath” of Raghunathji was pulled by hundreds of devotees in historical Dhalpur Maidan here.

The whole atmosphere was filled with the sound of drums and shahnais, while men, women and children in their traditional colourful dresses gathered to watch the spectacular event.

Maheshwar Singh and Karan Singh, the descendants of Raja Jagat Singh, former ruler of Rupi (Kullu), led the shobha yatra that started from Raghunathpur, the sanctum sanctorum of the chief deity of Kullu.

The idols of Lord Rama and Sita were placed in a beautifully decorated chariot at the northern-end of Dhalpur Maidan which was pulled to the middle of the ground where the idols would be worshipped for the next six days in a camp temple.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh, Khimi Ram, former Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha and BJP state chief, Govind Singh Thakur, MLA, and other dignitaries were present on a dais specially erected near the starting point.

Later, the Governor inaugurated an exhibition of industries and power projects coming up in the state and shown special interest in the local handicraft and Kullu shawls.

Raghunathji, the chief deity of Kullu, and more than 129 gods and goddesses with their procession arrived at Dhalpur Maidan. The participation of foreign tourists was unprecedented this time.

Oscar and Lui, a British couple, said they had come to India for the second time to see the Dasehra festival in Kullu. They hoped that they might visit Kullu again for this festival.

Gabriela Menyhart and G M Breukers, Swiss women, said Dasehra reminded them of a function in Switzerland that was celebrated after winters while people from mountains came down and assembled and celebrate the occasion. A Canadian group termed the festival “amazing”.

Earlier in the morning, RSS contingents, led by Praveen Togaria, took out a march past from Akhara Bazar to Dhalpur Maidan as a mark of respect to the festival

Nurpur (OC): Dasehra was celebrated with religious fervour on the premises of historical Nupur fort this evening. It was presided over by local MLA Rakesh Pathania who lauded the efforts of municipal council president R.K.Mahajan for celebrating this festival in a big way. He announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for Raja Sahib Dasehra Committee which had been organising this festival for the past 35 years.

Thousands of people from the far-flung areas of the subdivision thronged the fort to watch the colourful event of cracker bursting.

Hamirpur, October 17
Ace shooter Subedar Vijay Kumar, who has brought laurels to Hamirpur district and the country by winning four medals (three gold and one silver) in shooting in Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, was given a rousing welcome by people of the area on reaching his ancestral Harsour village today.

The people of the area, local MLA Baldev Sharma, leaders across party lines, panchayat presidents and other elected representatives and representatives from district administration joined his relatives and friends in according a warm welcome to the hero for glorifying this area.

Vijay Kumar, who was driven in a car decorated with flowers, was received amid drum beats on the boundary of Hamirpur district near Lathiani by people. Sweets were also distributed.

From there, he was taken to the Badsar bazaar. On reaching his village, Vijay was given a rousing reception by his family members and a big gathering.

While his family members, relatives and friends danced on drum beats, firework was displayed and sweets were distributed.

Overjoyed, the father of Vijay Banku Ram also organised a dham (traditional feast) for the people of the area.

Talking to mediapersons, Vijay said, “I am happy that my performance in Commonwealth Games has brought medals for the country, my next target will be a gold in Olympics and at present I am preparing for the next Asiad.”

He said, “The money which he will get in the prize will be spent to get coaching from foreign coaches and buying perfect weapons for shooting. I had already spent about Rs 5 lakh on coaching in Germany before these games last month” he added.

Telling about his training, Vijay said, “I keep myself in perfect health by taking energetic food, exercise and practices for about five hours daily.”

On being asked about his marriage plans he replied: “At present, I want to concentrate on my game for two-three years and will think about marriage after that only.” 

Shimla, October 17
Government agencies have made the highest-ever procurement of apple under the market intervention scheme (MIS) during the current harvesting season, courtesy the record crop.

Against the targeted procurement of 65,000 tonne, the HPMC and HIMFED have already procured over 85,000 tonne of apple till yesterday at Rs 5.25 per kg. The quantity is likely to cross 90,000 tonne by the time the harvesting season ends on October 31.

The government will suffer huge losses on account of procurement as almost 50 per cent fruit has been spoiled for want of timely transportation and it is now being utilised to make organic manure.

The HPMC will be able to process about 10,000 tonne of fruit that will be provided free by the government and as such only about 900 tonne of apple juice concentrate (AJC) will be produced. Of this, 700 tonne will be supplied to the Patanjali Yogpeeth of Swami Ramdev at Rs 70 per kg. As such the total return to the corporation will be around Rs 6.5 crore.

The total expenditure of the government including, handling charges of Rs 1.90 per kg, will be over Rs 60 crore but the total return from sale of AJC , fruit and manure may not touch Rs 20 crore.

In 2007, when the state achieved the previous highest production of 2.97 crore boxes, the total procurement was just 45,000 tonne. So far, 3.55 crore boxes have been sent to the market till yesterday as against 2.34 crore boxes in the corresponding period in 2007.

However, about 400 trucks with 2 lakh boxes were dispatched. With another three weeks to go for the season, another 20 to 25 lakh boxes will be exported.

Shimla, October 17
With a very poor conviction rate of merely 27 per cent as against a national average of 74 per cent, the government has decided to appoint special case officers in each police station and special investigation units.

These officers will not only maintain liaison with witnesses, but also will move case for departmental action against government witnesses who turn hostile.

SR Mardi, ADGP, Law and Order, issued directives to all three Inspector Generals and 12 district police chiefs last week. Drawing attention to the poor conviction rate, he has recommended that a case officer be appointed to increase the conviction rate and ensure speedy and successful trial in special reported cases.

“The case officer will assist the public prosecutor (PP) during the conduct of trial in those special cases in which specific request is made by the PP,” Mardi said.

He added that conviction rate in all police cases in the state in 2008 was 29 per cent and in 2009 it stood at a mere 27 per cent, far below the national average of 73.9 per cent.

While providing a revised list of special reported cases, he has also laid down criterion to be adopted while appointing case officers. “To ensure that there is regular monitoring of such endeavours aimed at enhancing conviction rate, the case officers and law officers can point out hurdles and lapses in investigation so that remedial measures can be adopted,” Mardi said.

The case officers and public prosecutor were required to submit a written report to the district SP in case government witness turned hostile, he said.

The case officer will have to maintain liaison with witnesses and brief them and the PP about the trial of cases.

According to guidelines, the public prosecutor concerned will inform the SHO 15 days in advance regarding dates of various cases in different courts. A copy of this has to be provided to the SP as well.

Thereafter, the investigating officer concerned will be the case officer for the trial if he is posted in the same police station and also if he is within the same district. In case he has been transferred, then the SP will appoint a non-gazetted officer (Grade I) or a head constable as a case officer. 

Dalhousie, October 17
Dalhousie Public School, Dalhousie, celebrated its biennial 40th founder’s day today. Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, GOC, Northern Command, was the chief guest.

On the occasion, school students presented classical and modern dances, tae kwon do and aerobics, which left the audience mesmerised. They also performed a dance show named ‘Krishna’ which depicted events relating to the Mahabharata age. An important feature of the cultural show was that each presentation had more than 150 students.

Dr (Capt) GS Dhillon, director-cum-principal of the school, gave a brief account of the activities of the school.

The chief guest said the school was one of the pioneer educational institutions of the country rendering excellent service in the field of education. He appreciated the pollution-free environment in and around the school. He also gave away prizes to the meritorious students.

Solan, October 17
The internal crisis management system appears to have crashed at Barru Sahib-based Eternal University where a clash between student groups had left 12 injured and cases of non-bailable section of the IPC slapped against a few others. With cases of rioting, causing hurt and damage to property, trespass and preparation to assault on fellow students being slapped against students, questions have been raised over its internal security too.

Since the university is closed till Tuesday the police is now awaiting the arrival of students and it will be after seeking their statements that arrest of guilty students can be made, DSP Babita Rana Pal confided.

The Kalgidhar Trust, which runs the university, has, however, in a statement claimed that it was a case of ragging and a high-level committee constituted into the matter had confirmed it.

Ravinder Pal Singh, adviser PR to the university, said an FIR had been lodged against a group of students where seven of them have been named for ragging a third semester engineering student on Thursday night. Loss worth more than Rs 30 lakh had been suffered by the university.

The DSP, however, refuted the claim and said there was no evidence of ragging in the investigations conducted into the incident till now. A daily dairy report for investigation had been written at the Sarahan Police Station last night after the trust approached with some complaint but it was yet to be verified.

She added that the university cannot absolve itself from owing responsibility as the locks of all five blocks of the hostels were opened when such extreme violence was being witnessed by the hostel staff and this had let loose the 200 students who went on a rampage on the campus. With investigations in progress more facts would emerge gradually.

SDM Rajesh Maria also confirmed the fact and said he was an ex-officio member of the anti-ragging committee, but he had not received information about notification of such a committee though he added that his consent was indeed taken.

He added that the students had confided in the administration that they did not repose faith in the grievance redress system and though the university claimed that the dean student welfare was heading it, the students were not satisfied with its functioning.

He said no report of their high-level committee’s findings had been handed over to the administration till now. He said though he had visited the place today and asked for report, it was not made available to him.

An armed police battalion has been stationed on the campus to ensure maintenance of peace.

Solan, October 17
With the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) directing induction furnaces and steel units to get their non-hazardous slag treated through the Shiwalik Hazardous Waste Plant, investors resent that the board had made it compulsory to get this waste treated from the hazardous plant which was contrary to the laid guidelines.

Conversely, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had laid down that this waste did not fall in the category of hazardous waste, hence, required no specific treatment. It could, however, be used for brick kilns or a site could be identified where it could be dumped after seeking approval from the board.

The state has nearly 40 induction furnaces and steel units with about 19 falling in Sirmaur and nearly nine to 10 in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area that are letting out this waste every month. The remaining units are located in Una and Kangra districts.

President of the Barotiwala Baddi Jharmajri Industries’ Association Jiwan Aggrawal said the issue had been taken up a number of times with the higher authorities, including the state PCB, but no relief had been provided to them. He added that they had been demanding dumping grounds at various sites where such clusters existed but it failed to be even considered. He clarified that the slag was not even a treatable waste and even the hazardous plant was charging them for merely dumping it.

Member Secretary, PCB, Dr Nagin Nanda said the CPCB was devising guidelines for this and they would be put in place by December. He added that since the slag had leaching properties and could contaminate water it could not be disposed of openly. About 50 per cent concession in rates had been worked out for them and it was also being used for filling land at Kala Amb.

Another investor said they were forced to bear an additional cost of Rs 3 to 5 lakh per unit annually for sending this waste to the hazardous plant after the board made it compulsory to get it treated as per its directions issued in 2008. Prior to this it was sold off either for land filling or to the cement plants and even to brick kilns but now the investors were forced to send it to the waste plant. Similar practices of selling existed in the neighbouring states also.

Mandi, October 17
Employees of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation resented over the callous attitude of its management and the state government towards their long-pending demand of providing them pension and regularisation of those who have completed eight years of service.

Despite Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s assurances made in the election manifesto to over 1,500 employees of the corporation, nothing has been done hitherto, employees rued.

General secretary of the corporation Sita Ram Sharam and senior vice-president Jagat Ram said the BJP had promised that pension would be provided to the employees if the party comes to power.

The employees said Dhumal had asked the management to constitute a “common pension cell” for the corporate employees but to no avail. Besides, they rued that over 35 daily wagers who had put in more than 10 years of service, had not been regularised though the government-run corporate employees were entitled to the same as government employees.

They said the government had regularised employees of other corporations but the HPTC management had not done anything so far.“We have sent reminders to the special secretary, Tourism, and HPTDC MD Vineet Kumar but to no avail,” they said.The pension scheme notification was issued in 2003 for the corporate employees, but it was never implemented leaving the employees of all 22 corporations in the lurch, senior employees said.

They said the state had been claiming of fulfilling all promises made in the election manifesto, but the reality was the other way round.

Whereas MD of the corporation Vineet said he had recently joined and the employees’ union had not taken up the matter with him so far. “I would look into the matter and know the status of the case, including regularisation of employees,” he added.

Shimla, October 17
The government has decided to put in place an effective mechanism to monitor unsolved murder cases at the level of the Chief Secretary immediately.

This information has been given by the State Home Department in response to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding steps being taken by the government to solve such cases, particularly those over five-year-old. The public information officer said: “A process to monitor unsolved murder cases is put in position with immediate effect where the Chief Secretary will monitor all such cases.”

So far, serious cases of crime were monitored by the police at the level of the DGP. However, with the setting up of a committee under the chairpersonship of the top bureaucrat, the exercise will also be carried out at the level of the government.

In reply to the query of RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya whether there was any proposal to grant adequate compensation to families of the victims in such cases, the public information officer has stated that no such proposal was “at present” under consideration. Similarly, there was also no proposal to transfer any unsolved cases to the CBI.

There are in all 189 unsolved murder cases in the state out of which 108 cases have been over five years old. Shimla district accounts for the maximum number of 31 unsolved cases, followed by Kullu (28 cases), Kangra (20 cases), Solan (24 cases) and Bilaspur (20 cases). Out of the 108 unsolved cases, which are over five years old, Kullu has the maximum 21 and Shimla 20.