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Modified scale developed for assessment of dementia
Solid waste being burnt unscientifically in Dharamsala
The burning of plastic emits smoke at the solid waste management site of the Dharamsala Municipal Council. Photo: Kamaljeet |
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Delay in deciding on taxation depriving MC of revenue
Workshop on websites kicks off at Jawaharlal Nehru college
Cong takes serious note of defeat in civic bodies
Backs defence FDI proposal
HP to set up judicial academy
Reduce price of cement manufactured locally: MLA
Women’s stir over liquor vend pays
Forest guard transferred for lapse in preventing felling
Sleepers stacked at Bharian village in Chamba district.
Hospital to have dialysis centre
17 IPS, HPS officers transferred
Villagers protest plying of multi-axle vehicles
Shanta not keen on party post
Kiran wins MTB Shimla
Cyclists take part in the Hercules MTB Himalaya Rally that was flagged off from
the Potter’s Hill in Shimla on Saturday.
Dhumal dares govt on inquiries
3 nominated to Naina Devi Nagar Parishad
Home Guard dies on duty
2 weeks on, body found
Man killed in freak mishap
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Modified scale developed for assessment of dementia
Kangra, April 7 Lead investigator of the team Dr Sunil Raina, Associate Professor in Community Medicine, recently said the scale was developed to assess dementia in the largely illiterate elderly above the age of 60 years in the tribal population of the hill state. He said the scale to be published as a research article in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Neuroscience in Rural Practice. He said Dr Vishav Chander and Dr Sukhjit were the other members of the expert group. The core group was helped by an expert in the Bharmouri language. He said around the world the most commonly used scale for the assessment of dementia was Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and this scale originally developed in English had seen a few modifications in the past. But till now no modification exclusively suited to tribal population had been worked out. Dr Raina claimed that their scale, the Bharmour Mental State Examination (BMSE), was the first of its kind around the world. He said, “A scale in Hindi had been used in the past for the assessment of dementia among the illiterate elderly in India, but the difficulty with using a Hindi scale among the tribal elderly is the same as in using an English version as the tribal elderly are not well versed with Hindi.” He said the need for a scale was further necessitated by the understanding that cultural practices played a major role in language development and the tribal culture in India was entirely different from the urban or rural culture. This scale development was a part of a study at finding the prevalence of elderly people suffering from dementia in Himachal Pradesh. For this Dr AK Bhardwaj, Dr Sujeet Raina, four areas, tribal (Bharmour), rural (Shahpur), urban (Palampur) and migrant (Damtal), were selected, he added. The study was funded by a research grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi. Dr Orsola Gambini from the University of Milan, Italy, commenting on this modified scale said, “The study shows that by using this scale, dementia assessment can also be done in remote and less developed regions where a majority of elderly individuals have no formal education and are illiterate.” |
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Solid waste being burnt unscientifically in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, April 7 However, in Dharamsala, the entire solid waste is burnt down. This, despite the fact that burning of plastic and rubber waste spreads harmful fumes. The waste when torched at the site keeps emitting smoke for many days. Many residents of the area have submitted a complaint in this regard. Despite strict directions from the Supreme Court regarding scientific management of solid waste in all the urban areas of the country, nothing has been done in this direction in the state. Many Municipal Councils have not even earmarked areas for dumping waste and many of those who have identified the areas are not using them for the purpose due to resistance from locals. Sources said a shredder machine for converting huge pieces of solid waste into small manageable parts had been installed in Dharamsala. However, the machine was dysfunctional. The executive officer of the Dharamsala Municipal Council, Lalit Kumar, said they had no knowledge as to who was setting fire to the waste at the dumping site. He said it could be the work of an outsider or some burning material in the waste must have caught fire. “We have deputed a person to guard the place so that nobody sets fire there,” he said. When asked if the shredder machine at the dumping site was working, the executive officer said the machine has been dysfunctional for past many years. He said some parts of the machine had been stolen by some miscreants. He said the civic body was in the process of buying a new shredder machine for effective solid waste management. He said the council was also planning to involve NGOs and rag pickers for proper solid waste management. FLOUTING NORMS:
As per the norms fixed for solid waste management, the concerned authorities have to deploy labour for segregation of solid waste for the purpose of recycling. However, in Dharamsala, the entire waste is being burnt down at the dumping site. This, despite the fact that burning of plastic and rubber waste spreads harmful fumes. The waste when torched at the site keeps emitting smoke for many days. Many residents of the area have submitted a complaint in this regard. |
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Delay in deciding on taxation depriving MC of revenue
Shimla, April 7 Property tax is the main source of income for the corporation. It will be able to recover about Rs 10 crore under the old system. However, at present, about 12,000 units are being charged tax whereas the survey carried out by PRUDA, a group of urban planning and development management professionals, has identified over 55,000 residential and commercial units under the corporation, including the merged areas. Thus, the tax base of the corporation will increase four times under the new unit area method of tax and a nominal rate of tax will enable the corporation to increase its revenue substantially. However, the delay in determining the method of taxation is depriving it of the much-needed revenue. Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar said even a tax rate of 25 paise per sq ft for residential units and 15 per cent of the rent for commercial units would make the corporation increase its revenue by about Rs 14 crore. It is a huge amount, considering the government grant in lieu of abolition of octroi has been declining and for 2013-14, it is Rs 14 crore. The grant came to 50 per cent of the total income of the local body initially but it gradually declined and now accounts for only 32 per cent of the income. The corporation has been spending around Rs 3 crore per month on salaries and pensions. Over 70 per cent of its budget is being spent on this committed liability. The increase in income by bringing all the 55,000 units under the tax net will bring down the percentage of committed expenditure and financial health will be improved. Further, only 15,000 of the total of about 55,000 households had sewerage connections. As one connection served more than one household, about 30,000 connections were required to connect all of those. Tikender said delay in the implementation of the Rs 250-crore project to upgrade sewerage was not only depriving the corporation of revenue avenues but leading to frequent outbreak of water-borne disease such as jaundice as well. |
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Workshop on websites kicks off at Jawaharlal Nehru college
Sundernagar, April 7 Science experts present on the occasion underscored the need for sharing information and communication technology for the development of society and industry. They also laid stress on empowering the engineering students with the latest tricks of trade that would help them choose a better career option. Chief guest Pawan Kohli, Chief Engineer, HPSEBL, Sundernagar, said budding engineers and participants should make use of the technology available for the betterment of society. The website had become one of important modes of information today, he stated. Dr RL Sharma, Director of the institute, said the college was committed to upgrade the institutes with the technical skills that would benefit students, faculty and working engineers. The workshop would help students develop website designs for their own projects, he added. He said the department had submitted the proposal for a new BTech course in computer engineering to the AICTE. The college would have national knowledge network (NKN) launched by the Ministry of Human Resource and would also conduct online workshops of the spoken tutorial project of IIT-Bombay, he added. Over 85 participants from IIT-Mandi, NIT-Hamirpur, Uttarakhand Technical University, Chitkara University, Sikkim Manipal University and several other polytechnic institutes are participating in the workshop. Coordinator of workshop Varun Gupta said the students would benefit from the hands-on sessions demonstrating how to develop dynamic websites and conduct web-testing to provide a solid foundation to the budding computer science engineers. The department would also conduct workshops on the software testing and android programming in the near future, said Gupta. Dr Chetna Gupta from the JP Institute of Information Technology said various issues were involved in developing and testing of websites. She said the industry and businesses were using the dynamic websites that were safe and secure. Dr Kamlesh Dutta, an associate professor, NIT, Hamirpur, talked about tools and techniques of websites that could simplify the website designing for students. Nikhil Khullar, a website expert, cited his experience from industrial projects like Samsung's SMART TV browser, which he developed in South Korea while working as a software engineer in Samsung there. It is being organised under the TEQIP-II programme of IIT-Bombay and partly sponsored by the State Bank of Patiala, Allahabad Bank and Ellora Technologies Private Limited.
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Cong takes serious note of defeat in civic bodies
Mandi, April 7 The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) has taken a serious view of the recent debacle considering that the party is in power. The state party high command was not taken into confidence before the no-confidence motion was moved by Congress members first in the Zila Parishad and then in the Sarkaghat Panchayat Samiti, said a party worker. The Congress’ defeat by the BJP has lowered the party’s prestige ahead of the Mandi bypoll and Lok Sabha elections in 2014. Congress workers said the PCC was contemplating action against party members who were responsible for giving the setback to the party. The pro-Congress members, who claimed to enjoy the support of former Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao, had moved a no-confidence motion against pro-BJP chairperson Roshan Lal and vice-president Kalpana Sharma in the 25-member Sarkaghat Panchayat Samiti last week. The motion was dropped because only one independent turned up for the meeting called for the purpose after pro-Congress members had staked claims for the top posts. Earlier, Chaman Rahi, a pro-Congress member of the Zila Parishad, who enjoys the support of Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur and district president Puran Chand Thakur, had moved a no-confidence motion against BJP-supported Zila Parishad chairperson Kheeramani and vice-president Saroj Dhumal, a relative of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal. The motion was dropped in the Zila Parishad meeting called by the district panchayat officer that day as “no member turned up for the meeting”. The Congress has 12 members and the BJP has claimed the support of 24 members in the 36-member Zila Parishad. Puran Chand, however, has put the blame on Rahi Rather for the ill-advised move. “Rahi did not take the party into confidence before moving the no-confidence motion in the Zila Parishad and the party will issue him a show-cause notice soon,” he claimed. |
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Backs defence FDI proposal
Palampur/Kangra, April 7 Shanta Kumar said the country had strategically important borders with China and Pakistan. He said purchase of equipment and ammunition in the defence sector had been delayed. He said defence services lacked important ammunition and had shortage of 48,000 personnel. He said ammunition worth crores was being bought every year, claiming that each purchase ended in a new scam. He said the annual budget of the Defence Research and Development Organisation was Rs 5,500 crore and it had 5,000 scientists and 25,000 other personnel, expressing surprise that there was no significant
achievement. Shanta Kumar said it was important for India to attain self-sufficiency in manufacturing ammunition. He said countries like Israel, which was smaller than Himachal Pradesh, had been exporting ammunition to India. He said assistance from foreign countries would boost ammunition production in the country. He pointed out that India was the largest importer of defence equipment. He said some foreign companies had shown interest in setting up units in India, but could not proceed due to low foreign investment percentage allowed. He said raising to 49 per cent the percentage of foreign investment would facilitate foreign companies to collaborate with their Indian counterparts. He said after this India would have the best technology. He said manufacturing ammunition would provide employment avenues. He said the practice of commission in purchases would stop to some extent. He urged all political parties to support the proposal. |
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HP to set up judicial academy
Shimla, April 7 The Chief Minister said the academy would create well-trained cadre to manage judiciary and help in checking short comings in institutions. He said legal aid clinics were being set up in the state at the panchayat level and 10 mediation centres had been set up and 10 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) centres were being set up for speedy delivery of justice in the state. He said 10 posts of additional district and sessions judge had been created in the state for rendering speedy and effective justice to litigants. Two courts of civil judges (junior division) have also been created and three traffic mobile courts have been set up and four special magistrates appointed to expedite delivery of justice at the magistracy level. The Chief Minister said the government was providing the best possible infrastructure to the judiciary despite the financial constraints. He said residential accommodation had been made available to almost all the subordinate judges up to sub-divisional level. The Shetty Commission and Padamnabhan Committee reports on the revision of the pay scales of judges have been implemented, he said. He said, “The state high court has only 56,899 pending cases out of about four million cases pending in various high courts of the country. About 2.24 lakh cases are pending in subordinate courts of the state out of the total 27 million cases pending in trial courts throughout the country.” |
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Reduce price of cement manufactured locally: MLA
Bilaspur, April 7 Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here yesterday, Bambar Thakur said this was one of the important points of his election manifesto that gave him an unprecedented majority in the recent elections and he would not rest till these factories started charging reasonable price from people of the district and the state. Bambar said these units were exploiting the state’s natural wealth at throwaway prices and enjoying all sorts of facilities and concessions from the government. They were responsible for the bad health of lakhs of state residents due to dust and other sorts of pollution and also damage to the environment. “Besides, if we get even a bag of cement on almost 50 per cent price more from these factories. Then why allow these cement factories here in the state as the entire demand of cement can be met from outside the state at much cheaper rates per bag?” he asked. Bambar expressed thanks to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who had not only categorically rejected the demand of BJP leader Rajeev Bindal for starting another cement plant in Sirmaur district, but also warned cement factories to charge reasonable price from consumers, failing which the government would not remain a silent spectator to the same. Bambar also thanked Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur for giving the assurance that the local Rs 2-crore trauma centre building would be made functional soon and it would be given proper staff. A sum of Rs 96 lakh was sanctioned recently for its essential machines and equipment, he added. |
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Women’s stir over liquor vend pays
Bilaspur, April 7 Led by their respective Mahila Mandals, women had given strong reasons for its removal. They said the atmosphere of their gram panchayats was being spoiled by the liquor vend and it was destroying the peace of several households. They also said it was becoming troublesome to move around and work in the fields due to drunkards being there. They had been urging for its closure ever since the vend was opened here. They took out a joint peaceful march and also staged a dharna outside the vend today, not allowing anybody to come and purchase anything. They also staged a demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here and demanded his intervention. The Excise and Taxation Department is convinced that if the women’s demand is not respected, it can turn into a major agitation, as more and more men and youth were also joining the agitation every day. Assistant Commissioner of the department Vivek Mahajan, accompanied by other officials, arrived at the spot and talked to the agitating women. It was then decided to close the vend at once. He told the contractor to choose another place for the same. Leaders of Mahila Mandals, Dohla Brahamana, Balh Bhalwana, Chakkali, Talwaad and Yuvak Mandals, Dev Bhoomi, Sada Bahar and prominent youth leaders Neelam Chandel, panchayat president Ram Krishan, Kamla Devi, Prem Lal, BDC member Seema Sharma, Shakuntala Devi, Ram Kali and Surendra Chandel expressed happiness over the government’s decision. |
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Forest guard transferred for lapse in preventing felling
Bharian (Chamba), April 7 At the same time, the DFO has asked other officials concerned to explain about the lapse. Revealing this here yesterday, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) ARM Reddy said the trees had been felled by a registered contractor of the Forest Corporation, who had not yet been awarded any work by the corporation and even before the forest was handed over physically to the corporation by the department. The CCF said in a raid conducted recently at a naka under the leadership of the DFO, 32 sleepers stacked at Bharian village of the district had been seized, as these did not bear property marks nor were stacked at a registered roadside depot. Reddy claimed that the action was being taken under the provisions of the Indian Forest Act 1927 and the HP Sale of Timber Act. However, he also confirmed that the basic value of the trees was estimated at Rs 1.89 lakh. “As per the law, only the state Forest Corporation is entitled to work in the government forests and neither any individual nor agency can cut the trees even when marked in the diversion cases. The case is likely to be compounded, as range officers are entitled to compound such offences. Else the case will be challaned in the court of law within the time frame for the purpose,” the CCF stated.
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Hospital to have dialysis centre
Hamirpur, April 7 The hospital would be second to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, to have a dialysis facility in the state. With an increase in the number of kidney patients, the need was being felt to set up another dialysis centre in the state. The dialysis facility is very costly in private hospitals whereas it costs only a few thousands in government hospitals. The patients suffering from kidney failure are required to undergo frequent dialysis, which entails huge cost in private hospitals. Starting of the dialysis facility in the Hamirpur hospital will facilitate kidney patients from Kangra, Mandi, Una, Bilaspur districts and the surrounding areas to undergo dialysis much easily. The proposal to have a dialysis centre at the Hamirpur hospital has been mooted by the state government and the district health authorities have been asked to submit a detailed project report (DPR) to the state government in this regard. The authorities have also been asked to identify a piece of land for the setting up the centre. Chief Medical Officer, Hamirpur, SK Soni, said, “We have already submitted a DPR to the state government to set up a dialysis centre in the regional hospital here. We have also identified a piece of land to set up this centre.” |
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17 IPS, HPS officers transferred
Shimla, April 7 PL Thakur, IG, Armed Police and Training (APT), Shimla, has been posted as IR, Central Range, Mandi. Rakesh Aggarwal, IG, Southern Range, Dharamshala, has been given additional charge of IG, Police Training College (PTC), Daroh. The regular and additional charge of AP Singh, DIG, CID and Vigilance, with additional charge of OSD at Himachal Bhawan, Delhi, have been swapped. Chander Shekhar, awaiting posting, has been made SP, PTC, Daroh. Ranjana Chauhan, posted as SP, Police Headquarters (PHQ), has been posted as Commandant, Home Guard, Una. Sanjeev Gandhi has been posted as SP, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mandi. Rajesh Kumar Dhiman, Additional IG, TTR, has been posted as SP, Leave Reserve at PHQ, Shimla. Sajju Ram, awaiting posting, has been made SP, Leave Reserve, PHQ, Shimla. Virender Sharma, SP, Leave Reserve, PHQ, has been made SP, Welfare, PHQ. Surinder Verma, Additional SP, has been posted as AIG, TTR. Bhupender Negi has been posted as Deputy SP at 3rd Battalion, Pandoh. Badri Singh has been posted as DSP, CID, Dharamshala. Dinesh Kumar has been posted as DSP, Ist HP Armed Police, Junga, and Yogesh Rolta as DSP, Jawali. |
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Villagers protest plying of multi-axle vehicles
Nurpur, April 7 The villagers had staged a protest in November last year, too, against the poor condition of the road and plying of vehicles with 40-metric tonne weight or above. Following public outcry, the Kangra district administration had imposed a ban on the plying of multi-axle loaded vehicles on the road on November 27. The protesters alleged that the police and the administration had failed to enforce the ban. They said they would continue their protest till the road was repaired. “Owing to plying of banned loaded vehicles, the condition of the road has further deteriorated. This is causing a lot of inconvenience to pedestrians and those who commute on light vehicles on the road. The number of road mishaps has also increased,” said a protester. Meanwhile, local MLA Manohar Dhiman pacified the agitating villagers and said after the issue was raised in the Assembly, the state government had assured to improve the condition of the road. He said tender for the reconstruction of the road would be floated soon. |
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Shanta not keen on party post
Palampur, April 7 Addressing party workers here last evening, he said he wanted to serve the party as a worker instead of holding a senior post. He said he had no regret that he was not given any post in national president Rajnath Singh’s team. Shanta Kumar was happy that a number of young faces had been accommodated. He told party workers that he had always advocated induction of young blood. He said he was contented that he had served the party for over 50 years. He claimed that he was second as far as seniority in the party was concerned and only LK Advani was senior to him. He said corruption would be the main issue in the general election next year. He said a number of scams had been unearthed in the last four years. He claimed that people would not allow the United Progressive Alliance to remain in power and only the Bharatiya Janata Party could fight corruption
in high offices. Shanta Kumar said people wanted a clean and transparent administration. He added that he had stated many times that the party should adopt a policy of zero tolerance to corruption in public life. |
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Kiran wins MTB Shimla
Shimla, April 7 Fifteen-year-old Shiven of Karnal bagged the first position in the student category clocking four hours and 16 minutes. An amateur rider, he also bagged the fourth position in the overall event. Vamini was the winner in the women’s category clocking five hours and 59 minutes. She was the only woman to complete the race as the other two failed to complete it. A total of 48 bikers, including six foreigners, took part in the event, but only 25 touched the finish line. The two-day prelude to the MTB Himalaya was organised by the Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association. |
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Dhumal dares govt on inquiries
Hamirpur, April 7 Addressing party workers on its foundation day function here yesterday, he said, “The government is free to institute as many inquiries as it wants, including on the phone-tapping issue, but we have not committed any misdeed.” He urged party workers not to get misled by the reportedly vicious campaign of rivals and give them a befitting reply. He said, “The BJP leadership is working on installing a National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre after the general election in 2014.” Talking to mediapersons later, Dhumal said, “Subsidised rations being given through the public distribution system are not available on shops. The state government should arrange supply of subsidised rations failing which the BJP will start an agitation.” |
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3 nominated to Naina Devi Nagar Parishad
Bilaspur, April 7 According to reports, the SDM, who is also the Chairperson of the Naina Devi Temple Trust, discussed the difficulties and problems being faced by devotees at the shrine with the parishad members and other prominent citizens present on the occasion. He said all difficulties being faced by residents would be solved at the earliest. The members who
were administered the oath are Anjana Sharma, Narender Kumar and Rameshwar
Dutt. Present on the occasion were parishad members Chandi Gauttam, Dhan Bhadur Thapa and former member Vipin Sharma. |
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Home Guard dies on duty
Bilaspur, April 7 Sources said Shyam Lal, who was from Ajnala village, was on this duty since the first day of the fair on March 13. He complained of chest pain today, following which he was rushed by his companions to Primary Health Centre where doctors declared him brought dead. A case has been registered and his body has been handed over to his family after a postmortem examination. The district unit of the Home Guards Welfare Association has urged the government to make a provision of full pension for such employees. |
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2 weeks on, body found
Bilaspur, April 7 The Dadi Bhadi panchayat president informed the police that a body was floating in the Sutlej at Jeori Pattan. The police went to the spot and fished out the body. The body was identified as that of Chanchal Kumari (22) of Androli village near Ghumarwin. Her relatives had got registered a first information report at the Ghumarwin police station. |
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A modified scale for the assessment of dementia, a brain disorder manifested by the deterioration of intellectual faculties such as memory, concentration, judgement etc, has been developed by a team of doctors from the Departments of Community Medicine, Medicine and Psychiatry at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC),
Tanda.
Solid waste collected by the Dharamsala Municipal Council is being disposed of in an unscientific manner despite the fact that the civic body is spending lakhs of rupees for the purpose.
Bharian (Chamba), April 7
Shimla, April 7
