Shimla, October 15
With a view to prolong the stay of tourists in the state capital, the local Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to execute over 100 projects aimed at beautification and resource mobilisation through the private-public-partnership mode. The MC has chalked out a “Beautification and Resource Mobilisation Plan”, which includes about 100 projects, to be implemented with private partnership.

The detailed project report (DPR) of the plan is in the final stages and the moment it is ready, the MC will rope in private parties to help develop various spots.

“The moment the DPR is ready, we will invite private entrepreneurs to join us in making Shimla an ideal hill station, which offers all kinds of adventure, heritage, pilgrim and water and winter sports activities,” said AN Sharma, Commissioner, MC.

The DPR is being prepared by Gurgaon-based Messrs Ramky Enviro Engineers and is likely to be submitted by the end of this month.

The cash-strapped MC is desperately looking at various resource mobilisation options so that it can improve its financial condition. The projects, some of which can also be clubbed, will be offered to private parties so that the MC can get revenue and at the same time beautify the town.

The works intended to be taken up under the scheme include developing water bodies, picnic spots, camping sites and walking trails. The MC has already identified over 100 such spots which can be developed into ideal tourist spots and once the DPR is ready the works will be allotted.

“The bigger projects will be given to one investor, while the smaller ones can be clubbed and offered to more than one person,” said Sharma.

He said the work on getting the DPR ready for the Rs 19-crore Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded beautification and stabilisation of the Ridge and the Mall was also underway.

“We want to strengthen the sinking Ridge and create a heritage zone, replete with cobbled streets and shops having a uniform façade which is in sync with the Gothic style architecture of the Gaiety Theatre,” he said.

The government had undertaken an exhaustive conservation project of the Gaiety Theatre and now it is keen to protect the adjoining Town Hall building. As such, the entire area around the theatre will be given a facelift with focus being on preserving and highlighting the British heritage.

Solan, October 15
With little being done by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to restart the production of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine in the Kasauli-based Central Research Institute (CRI), which is the lone institute manufacturing the vaccine in the country, the ministry has been forced to import the vaccine from China.

This is despite the fact that hundreds of children are dying each year in Uttar Pradesh due to Japanese Encephalitis in the absence of the vaccination.

About 400 deaths have been reported so far from North India, with 347 deaths being reported from UP alone in the past one month.

The CRI was directed to shut its production in November 2007 when its laboratory was found not confirming to the Good Manufacturing Norms of the World Health Organisation.

The CRI was, however, directed not to manufacture this vaccine even after suspension was revoked as the old technique of manufacturing mouse brain-derived inactivated vaccine was a costly option. A single vial of JE vaccine using the mice brain technique comprising five doses was priced at Rs 277, while the Chinese single shot vaccine was priced at Rs 9.50.

Though the ministry had given its nod to begin production of JE vaccine through the tissue culture last year, nothing could be initiated in the absence of adequate funds, staff and unavailability of the GMP lab.

“It will be an arduous task now to begin the JE production as various aspects, including breeding of mice on a fresh basis, buying new machinery and conducting clinical trails are not only time-consuming, but also require dedicated staff,” opined a senior scientist at the CRI.

He added that with staff and resource crunch hitting the institute, manufacturing JE vaccine would require at least three years which appeared to be a tall order for an institute that was already running behind time in manufacturing its flagship DPT group of vaccines for universal immunisation programmes.

With the efficacy of the Chinese vaccine yet to be tested in India and studies being underway at the ICMR and the NICD, little had been done to promote the lone public sector enterprise to begin the production of the JE vaccines.

This was despite the fact that the Chinese vaccine was found to be sub-standard and had failed to act in several cases reported in Uttar Pradesh last year.

The institute had the capacity to manufacture 3 lakh doses a year and this would have made some difference to the JE-hit children, who were dying in the absence of the vaccination each year.

Fact File

l The CRI was directed to shut its production in November 2007 when its laboratory was found not confirming to the Good Manufacturing Norms of WHO.

l About 400 deaths have been reported so far from the North India, with 347 deaths being reported from UP alone in the past one month.

l With staff and resource crunch hitting the institute, manufacturing JE vaccine would require at least three years.

Shimla, October 15
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today urged Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to relax norms under the MNREGA in view of the difficult topographical conditions and allow the construction of paths connecting one habitation to another to provide rural connectivity.

These issues were discussed at a high-level meeting held here today. The Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to provide requisite number of days of works to the job-card holders as per demand.

“Since the issue of damage to crops by wild animals is a big issue, the crop-protection work must be included under the MNREGA,” he said.

Dhumal said in case of natural calamity, which often occurred in hilly areas, the restoration of damaged assets, including buildings, should also be brought under the ambit of the scheme as an immediate relief measure.

He said the construction of buildings of schools, health institutions and anganwari centres in rural areas should also be included in the scheme.

He also urged the Union Minister to get the NPV (Net Present Value) in road construction projects included as part of the road projects and requested him to get the already approved hydro engineering college made functional since there was a great demand for hydro engineering skilled manpower in projects.

Ramesh congratulated the Chief Minister for successfully making Himachal Open Defecation Free state.

He said Himachal Pradesh happened to be one of the top five states in the country. He assured the Chief Minister to look into the demands made, including the relaxation of norms for hilly states.

Dharamsala, October 15
Traditional Tibetan singer Kundeling Thupten today got the lifetime achievement award at the Tibetan Musical Awards, 2011, ceremony that concluded in McLeodganj today.

Thupten was recruited to start a Lhamo (Tibetan opera) group in Lhasa when he was 17 years old and performed in many opera shows there.

He was among the top opera singers in Lhasa. Old Tibetans, who have seen him perform in younger days, say that he used to get goose bumps while singing. His groups have performed operas Pema Woebar, Suki Nyima, and Dowa Sangmo.

Lobsang Wangyal, promoter of the awards event, while talking to The Tribune said: “Ache Lhamo is what Tibetans call the Tibetan opera. It is believed that Lhamo was created in the 14th century by great saint Thangtong Gyalpo.”

Thupten was also one of the persons who started the Lhamo Association in Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in South India.

He has taught in Tibetan Homes School in Mussoorie for six years, and Tibetan Children’s Village at Dharamsala for two years.

At 78, he continues to be an active member of Bylakuppe Lhamo Association and performs regularly.

The other winners at the awards included: Best male singer Gomo Tulku (Italy), best female singer Kadak Tayang (Tibet), best album “Trung Trung” by Tsering Gyurmey (Nepal), best lyrics “The Sound of Unity by Sherten” (Tibet), best song “Potala” by Kadak Tayang (Tibet), best fusion, “They Stole My Land” by Culture Brothers (US), best opera singer Samten Dhondup (India), best traditional artiste Tenzin Kunse for Nangma Toeshay (US), best love song, “Ngae Sem Ki Kecha- Khong Gi Zetrin” by Sonam Gonpo (India), best debut album “Notes in Exile”, by Melong Band (US), best Rap/Hip Hop “Shabale” by Karma Emchi (Switzerland), best devotional album “Medicine Tree” by Ani Tsering Wangmo (US), Best Album Cover “Tibet: Awakened Heart” by Tenzin Choegyal (Australia) and best act “Namgyal Lhamo” (The Netherlands) and best international artiste Tibet Franco Battiato for “Tibet” (Italy).

The Tibetan Music Awards were started in 2003 to honour Tibetan musicians, singers and others from the recording industry.

The event is held every two years on the basis of albums produced by musicians and singers. The winners are directly selected by the public through online voting. Each e-mail has one vote each per day.

Lobsang added that due to the critical situation in Tibet, especially in the Ngaba, in the north-eastern Tibet, the event has been dedicated to Tibetans in Tibet.

Shimla, October 15
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today directed the authorities to ensure uninterrupted power supply not only to domestic consumers but also to industrial units during the winter season.

He said this while presiding over a high-level meeting with Rajwant Sandhu, Chief Secretary; Srikant Baldi, Principal Secretary, Finance; and RD Dhiman, Chairman.

Dhumal said Himachal would be getting additional power from October 16 and thermal power generation would also be picking up.

“The state will be a power-surplus state as more hydel projects are nearing completion,” he said.

He said the state government had entered an agreement with the Power Trading Corporation of India for selling the state share of power generated in the open market and the validity of the agreement had also been enhanced by one year.

He added that due to the freezing of glaciers and lakes on high altitude, the downstream flow of water had reduced substantially, resulting in reduction in power generation.

The Chief Minister said keeping in view such conditions, the state government had made alternate arrangements to ensure uninterrupted power supply to domestic and commercial consumers in the state.

“The government will ensure that even during the lean winter season there are no power cuts,” he said.

He said the state had been supplying additional power to Punjab during the summer and would be getting back the same during the winter.

He said domestic consumers were getting electricity subsidy of Rs 166 crore during the current financial year, which was Rs 20 crore more as compared to the preceding financial year.

Hamirpur, October 15
The estimates committee of the state Assembly visited Hamirpur district yesterday to review the expenditure of budgetary allocation on different development works there.

MLA Roop Singh Thakur, who is the Chairman of the committee, also held a meeting with the district administration in this regard. Other members of the committee MLAs Urmil Thakur, Praveen Sharma and Rajesh Dharmani were also present.

The estimates committee discussed various schemes and development works being undertaken by the PWD, IPH, Health and Rural Development Departments and expressed concern on the conditions of national highways.

Roop Singh Thakur has asked officials to implement the government schemes effectively.

The Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner assured the members of the estimates committee that every effort would be made to implement government schemes, besides utilising funds allocated for these works.

The committee also visited the NIT campus and the state Institute of Hotel Management today.

Fire fighters perform a mock drill at the Ridge in Shimla. Photo: Amit Kanwar

He also launched the HPSDMA website - www.hpsmda.nic.in that would ensure better access to disaster-related information in the state.

Role of media discussed

HAMIRPUR: A workshop on the role of the media in disaster management was held on the International Day for Disaster Reduction here recently.

The role of the media in disaster management before, during and after any natural calamity was discussed in detail through a presentation at the workshop.

Speaking at this workshop, DC Rajinder Singh Thakur said the district administration had taken steps for disaster management and organised mock drills at many places.

The DC said Nehru Yuvak Kendra had been asked to prepare lists of volunteers who could be engaged in disaster management, besides identifying buildings which could be used for shelter during any eventuality.

Mock exercise performed

KULLU: A mock exercise was performed here on Friday to deal with disasters like earthquakes, floods and other natural calamities. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Bathinda, administrative departments, police, Home Guards, fire service officers, traders and general public were involved in the exercise held at the mini secretariat here.

Brigadier Khanna addressed the participants and said he had done more than 430 such mock drills in the country with the NDRF. He termed the Friday’s exercise as one of the best and called upon the district administration to keep repeating such drills. District Disaster Management Committee Nodal Officer and Additional District Magistrate RK Paruthi said new skills had been added in disaster management.

Mandi/Kullu, October 15
The Karva Chauth fast, which until recent times was not popular among hill women in Himachal Pradesh, has backfired on the present BJP government as a lot of women, mainly working in government-run hospitals, medical colleges and private institutions, could not avail holiday today as the government remained populist in announcing Karva Chauth a holiday in the state.

Most of the private schools, institutions and hospitals did not implement the government decision as many working women, including nurses and teachers, attended their offices willy-nilly today. “It is cheap publicity by the government that Karva Chauth will be a holiday as most of the government hospitals, private schools and institutions did not allow them a holiday”, working women stated.

The nurses were not allowed to take a holiday as that they had to attend to emergency duties to look after patients in wards and operation theatres. They were told that they could take a compensatory holiday later. “But that is ridiculous. We need a holiday for Karva Chautha, the longest and toughest fast for women,” they said.

But village women from remote Seraj village said they were not aware about Karva Chauth fast as it was a recent import from Punjab. “I do not know how it has come to the hills. But I have doing this fast for the past three years”, said Sakshi, a college girl.

“But either the government should implement the rule strictly in private and public setups, or it should withdraw its half-hearted decision to appease the fasting women for the sake of winning vote banks,” working women asserted.

CMO, Mandi, AB Gupta said they had not allowed holiday to certain nurses on emergency duties as they needed minimum staff to cater to the needs of patients. “We can have rotation system allowing them holiday in turn yearwise,” he added.

Shimla, October 15
Chief Minister PK Dhumal said today that there was a vast scope for pilgrim tourism in the state and places like the gurdwaras in Poanta Sahib and Nahan had great significance in the Sikh history as the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, visited the area.

Dhumal, who visited the Dashmesh Asthan Gurdwara at Nahan yesterday, said the religious significance of such places must be highlighted as it helps promote tourism and attract pilgrims.

He said the gurdwara dates back to 1685 AD and had immense historical importance.

He said Guru Gobind Singh had visited Nahan on the request of the then King Medani Prakash to help him defeat King Fateh Shah of Srinagar (Tiri Gharwal). However, an agreement was peacefully reached upon between the rulers in the presence of the Guru.

It is believed that during the stay of the Guru at Nahan, King Medani Prakash requested him to get them rid of a lion, which has spread terror in the area.

“The fossils of the lion found recently during digging have only confirmed this legend, which dates back to the time of Mahabharata,” he said.

The district administration is already in touch with archaeological experts to examine these lion fossils and ascertain the exact date to which it belongs.

The Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has taken up the responsibility of reconstruction of the gurdwara since March 2011.

Chamba, October 15
The state government is contemplating to launch subsidised helicopter service from the district headquarters town of Chamba to Killar, the Pangi tribal sub-divisional headquarters, and also from Killar to Kullu under the tribal sub-plan from this winter.

The air travel by chopper will be cheaper for tribals.

Stating this during his tour to the Pangi tribal sub-division, state Vidhan Sabha Speaker Tulsi Ram said today that tenders relating to plying subsidised helicopter service would be invited from private enterprises shortly.

The Speaker said earlier the helicopter service had been provided to tribals only in case of any emergency every year, but now it would be a regular chopper service on subsided rates.

The maintenance of the helipad in the snowbound Pangi tribal area would be entrusted to private companies so that they would not face any hindrance while plying choppers, the Speaker said. The Speaker added that a provision for the construction of a mini secretariat at Killar had also been kept and work would soon be undertaken after the completion of the tendering process.