Amb (Una), July 6
A broad gauge railway track to Amb subdivision in Una was thrown open to the public by Union Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa who flagged off a DMU train from the newly constructed railway station here this morning.

Muniyappa came for the inauguration ceremony today as the earlier programme of inauguration by Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president and BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur on July 1 was cancelled allegedly at the behest of Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Virbhadra Singh.

The influence of Virbhadra over the function was obvious from the fact that the Union Minister made special mention about him in his speech.

BJP and Congress workers and leaders had gathered in considerable numbers at the Amb railway station today. Congress MLAs Rakesh Kalia and Mukesh Agnihotri reached there with a large number of supporters. Meanwhile, supporters of Anurag Thakur also arrived.

The BJP and Congress workers raised slogans against each other. Both parties tried to disrupt the speeches of their rivals.

The consistent sloganeering peeved the Union Minister, who expressed his displeasure in his speech.

Speaking on the occasion, Muniyappa said state governments should contribute 50 per cent of the cost in case they wanted speedy development of railway network in their area. The minister’s proposal, however, did not find any favour with both ruling and opposition party leaders.

Anurag Thakur said Himachal was a special-category hill state that did not have resources to pitch in 50 per cent of the cost.

Mukesh Agnihotri, Congress MLA from Santoshgarh in Una, said Himachal had meagre resources and could not contribute 50 per cent cost for the expansion of the railway network.

He said Congress leaders had demanded that the railway line from Una should be connected with the Hoshiarpur and the Jajon areas of Punjab.

“We have also demanded that a special train should be started from Una to Haridwar and the Jan Shatabdi Express should be extended to Amb,” he said.

The Union Minister said the Railways had taken up two new projects in the state, including the construction of the 63-km Bhanupli-Bilaspur-Beri railway track and the Chandigarh-Baddi railway project.

Shimla, July 6
There will be no “clean felling” of old orchards under the Rs 85-crore apple rejuvenation project. Instead high density plantations will be raised to phase out the aged fruit trees in a gradual manner.

New rootstock, mostly spur varieties, will be inter-planted in the existing orchards, raising the density up to 800 plants per hectare from the existing 250 to 300 plants. As the new semi-dwarf varieties require much less space, the density will be in excess of 500 plants per hectare even after the phased removal of the aged plants. Any old plants still in good condition will not be removed and rather rejuvenated by pruning and grafting to extend their productive life by a decade. The plantation work will be carried out in the orchards during the current winter to cover 1,500 hectares.

The aged plants will be axed only after the new plants are well-established.

A survey conducted by the Horticulture Department has revealed that about 13 per cent of the total 96,000 hectares under apple required rejuvenation. In all 12,700 hectares of old orchards, planted before 1965, have been identified, of which 5,000 hectares will be covered under the project over a period of five years. The maximum senile orchards, spread over 6,325 hectares, are in Shimla district of which 2,500 hectares will be covered. Kullu has old orchards spread on 3,212 hectares, of which 1,250 hectares will be rejuvenated.

The growers will get 50 per cent subsidy under the project and in non-tribal areas it will come to about Rs 1 lakh per hectare and in the tribal Kinnaur belt it will work out to Rs 1.07 lakh per hectare. The department has procured a number of spur varieties like “oregon, gold, starkrinson and silver” for planting under the project. If the growers insist on some existing varieties like “royal delicious”, they will be provided the cloned varieties which are semi-dwarf.

The pollinating varieties will account for around 30 per cent of the plants in each orchard. Varieties like “fuji and gala” which are good pollinators and also have commercial value will be encouraged.

The rejuvenation project was formulated in view of the declining productivity which has come down to six tonnes from nine tonnes per hectare over the past three decades.

Shimla, July 6
The Himachal Apple Growers Union has rejected the freight charges fixed by the administration for the transportation of apples from various points in Shimla district to the Azadpur Mandi in Delhi.

Rakesh Singha, convener of the union, said an increase of 20 per cent was unjustified, despite the recent hike in the diesel prices and it provided undue benefit to 10 truck operators. Diesel was priced at Rs 38.89 per litre in July 2010 and it had increased to Rs 42.46 per litre but with the reduction in VAT the net increase came to only 1.67 per litre, which worked out to 3.93 per cent. As such there was no justification for effecting a 20 per cent increase in freight charges.

He said he was duty-bound to protect the interests of fruit growers and with the freight charges fixed on higher side, transporters would exploit them. Moreover, the administration had not acted in a transparent manner while deciding the freight charges and representatives of growers were not associated in the exercise. Only those connected to the government were present in the meeting.

He urged the administration to review the decision and if it could not provide relief to the growers it should at least refrain from acting against their interests.

Dharamsala, July 6
Tibetans in exile today celebrated the 76th birthday of the Dalai Lama in his absence at the main temple at McLeodganj. The Dalai Lama had left for the USA yesterday.

The birthday celebrations were marked by cultural programmes organised by artistes from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.

The Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, while delivering an address on the occasion, said, “A few people in our community are not satisfied with the Dalai Lama devolving all his powers. They continue to criticise him without recognising and respecting his tireless work for Tibet and the Tibetans. Taking democratic rights as an excuse, these people, who do not have to shoulder any responsibility and who are devoid of any principle and moral values, use their glib tongue to express their dissatisfaction. It is clear that these are aimed neither at improving the democratic culture nor at the welfare of society,” he said.

He said the 13th Kashag, nearing its completion of term of office, would like to pay respect to the Tibetan people.

Rinpoche said the Kashag would like to urge the Tibetans to uphold their spirit and determination by not being deterred by political changes and the Dalai Lama’s devolution of all his powers.

Meanwhile, PWD Minister Gulab Singh presided over a function organised by Tibetan organisations at Bir to mark the 76 birthday of the Dalai Lama. In his address, the minister said the Dalai Lama was a symbol of peace and non-violence.

Shimla, July 6
A clash between activists of the SFI and the ABVP at Rajiv Gandhi Government Degree College, Court Shera, today left four students and a constable grievously injured.

Trouble had been brewing since yesterday as a clash had taken place between activists of the SFI and the ABVP in which counter cases had been registered. A fresh clash broke out when SFI and ABVP activists threw stones and later attacked each other with iron rods and sticks.

A constable, Mukesh Kumar, received serious injuries on the face when he was hit by a stone thrown by one of the clashing students. He has been admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College while four other students, Amit and Sudhir of the ABVP and Chanderkant and Daleep, too, sustained injuries in the melee that ensued the throwing of stones.

With elections to the student bodies due next month, clashes in HP University and colleges become a regular feature. The police said steps were being taken to ensure that there was no violence on the campus or the hostels by undertaking regular patrolling and ensuring that outsiders were not allowed on the campus.

Shimla, July 6
The Himachal police will now seek the help of trained pilots who will use motorised paragliders to undertake surveillance and map the inaccessible higher reaches of Kullu, Mandi and other districts where illegal cultivation of cannabis and poppy is being undertaken.

Though the state police has been according top priority to check the illegal drug trade, especially in the Kullu-Manali area, its efforts have not yielded the desired results. People are cultivating cannabis and opium on large tracts in the higher reaches where it is difficult for the police or other agencies to take action.

To begin with nine police personnel, trained as pilots, will get down to the task of scanning the endemic areas in Kullu-Manali, which has gained notoriety the world over for easy availability of hashish and opium.

“The nine pilots will undertake surveillance and map the area in the higher reaches so that the police can take action accordingly,” said Somesh Goyal, Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP), Armed Police and Training.

He said the strategic application of use of aero sports in combating the menace of drugs would help the police map the problem areas and have exact data about the area under cannabis and poppy.

“We will make use of motorised paragliders so that there is no problem in take-off and landing even if there is a little open stretch of land,” said Goyal. He added that each glider would cost about Rs 1 lakh.

The CID, along with the district police, and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), undertakes campaigns in the higher reaches to destroy narcotic plants cultivated illegally. However, to evade arrest and police action, the locals plant them on government land and not on their private land.

Even though strict instructions have been issued to forest, revenue and police officials to report and take action in case of such illegal plantation on government land falling under their jurisdiction, it is rare that action is taken.

It is on the directions of the NCB that the state CID had prepared a detailed report of the specific villages and areas where cannabis or poppy cultivation was being undertaken. It had been reported that the Sainj Valley in Kullu had over 1,100 bighas spread over 23 villages under cannabis. Besides, about 280 bighas in 40 villages of Banjar and the Upper valley of Kullu was reported to be under cannabis.

In Mandi about 700 bighas in the Aut area and 220 bighas in the Bali Chowki area were reported to be under the cultivation of narcotic plants. In Chamba though the area is not specified, the problem is more in the remote areas of Kehar, Tissa and Bharmour. In Shimla district too, the problem, according to the state police, is confined to the Thoeg and Chopal areas.

Kangra, July 6
On the eve of his martyrdom day, the parents of Capt Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra recipient and hero of the Kargil war who recaptured Tiger Hill on July 4, 1999, fondly remember their son and his achievements.

GL Batra, father of Capt Vikram Batra, recounts the heroic feat of his son, who attained martyrdom on July 7, 1999, while fighting the enemy during the Kargil war.

During the battle, one of his junior officers, Lieutenant Naveen, was seriously injured and he immediately went to his rescue. While bringing Lieutenant Naveen back under cover, the Lieutenant pleaded Captain Batra to let him continue fighting despite his injuries, to which Captain Batra replied, “Tu baal bachedar hai. Hat jaa peeche” (you have kids and a wife to look after. Get back).

During the rescue, the brave Captain was hit by a bullet in the chest. With the words “Jai Mata Di” on his lips, he fell down and was hit again in the waist by an artillery splinter. Before succumbing to his grievous injuries, this brave son of the motherland killed another five enemy soldiers.

GL Batra and his wife Kamal Kant, while looking at a family photo album, nostalgically remember the childhood days of Capt Vikram Batra.

“Vikram was popular among friends, students and teachers. He was an all-rounder - good at studies who would always get a first division, good in sports and co-curricular activities, besides being a green belt in karate. He was adjudged the best NCC cadet of north India during his college days and was always keen on joining the Army,” says his father.

Kamal Kant, Capt Vikram Batra’s mother, says Vikram had leadership qualities since childhood and was obedient, loving and one who respected his elders.

Dharamsala, July 6
Shanta Kumar, Rajya Sabha member and former Chief Minister, sanctioned Rs 25 lakh to CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University from his MP Local Area Development Fund today.

He was the chief guest during the oath-taking ceremony of passing out veterinary graduates at Dr GC Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. While addressing 19 neo-graduates and scientists, he said there was a need to increase milk production as milk worth Rs 50 crore was imported in Kangra district alone annually from the neighbouring states.

Dr SK Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of the university, while expressing gratitude to Shanta Kumar, said a grant of Rs 25 lakh will be utilised for the construction of new lecture theatres in the university.

He said advanced veterinary multi-specialty and farmers’ capacity building centre, funded by the state government, would be constructed soon in the university at the cost of Rs 11 crore. Dr AC Varshney, Dean of the college, in his report highlighted teaching, research and extension activities.

He said out of the 19 neo-graduates, six have already qualified the Junior Research Fellowship Examination of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to pursue higher education in the prestigious institutions of the country. Eight students of the college have joined as officers in the Remount Veterinary Corps.

Shimla, July 6
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh has approved the list of office-bearers and the executive committee of the Shimla (Rural) district unit of the party.

President - Kehar Singh Khachi; vice-presidents - Guman Singh, Bala Ram Garg, Attar Singh Thakur, Sahib Singh, Kiran Dulta, Neem Chand, Krishan Rana, JP Verma and Shiv Pal Thakur; general secretaries - Dhirender Chauhan, Devinder Negi, Rakesh Chauhan, Mahesh Sharma, Rajender Mehta, Devinder Khurana, Devinder Sawant, Yash Pal Tanayak and Nisha Thakur;and treasurer - Anil Goel.