Shimla, April 14
With Himachal Pradesh fast emerging as a major off-season vegetable-growing state, the government is contemplating setting up vegetable dehydration and fruit-processing units in belts growing those to save transportation cost and ensure good prices for second-varieties as well.

The move is aimed at saving huge transportation cost and money being spent on buying low-grade fruit under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS). The plan is not just to have fruit-processing units in areas growing those but also to bring in technology of dehydrating vegetables whose market is growing fast.

With vegetable production in the state touching 13,85,000 tonnes in 2012-13 and generating income of over Rs 2,000 crore annually, efforts are being made to ensure that processing industry for vegetables and fruits is promoted. The state has earned a name in the field of off-season vegetables whose production was a mere 25,000 tonnes in 1951.

“We are contemplating setting up vegetable dehydrating units in various areas growing those so that produce during the peak season is preserved and sold later,” said Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes. Many areas in Solan, Sirmaur and Shimla districts are taking to vegetable cultivation in a big way with her constituency Theog being one of the largest vegetable-growing areas.

Stokes said cost of setting up dehydration units was not high and those could be set in the Rajgarh area in the Sirmaur-Solan belt, Theog and other parts where vegetables were being grown on a large scale. She said setting up processing units for fruits like apple, peach, plum, pear and apricot would be encouraged.

Agro-climatic conditions in different parts of the state are conducive to growing off-season vegetables and vegetable seeds. Tomato, cauliflower, peas, beans, cabbage, capsicum, radish, turnip and cucumber are some important off-season vegetables being grown in the state.

She stressed that one could process second-grade fruit into juices, candies, squashes and jams by having processing units. “This will save money on transporting low-grade fruit to processing units away from growing areas,” she said. She said one could learn various ways of preserving fruit from countries where several products were being prepared.

Transporting fruits like apple, especially in a bumper season, becomes difficult with roads getting choked. There have been occasions of apple brought under the MIS being dumped along roads and left to rot, resulting in wastage of funds.

CM Virbhadra Singh pays homage to Dr Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary in Shimla on Sunday.

He said the parking lot, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 80 lakh at the Sankat Mochan temple, would provide parking facility for about 150 vehicles. He said a kirtan bhawan with a capacity to accommodate about 250 people would be constructed by spending Rs 75 lakh. He also laid foundation stones of five meditation huts in the temple complex to be constructed at a cost of Rs 35 lakh.

Sewing machines distributed

NURPUR: The local Dr BR Ambedkar Yuva Welfare Societyorganised the Ambedkar Jayanti at the Municipal Council hall here today.

Presiding over the function, chief guest local MLA Ajay Mahajan said, “Our country is proud of the Indian Constitution, and is also proud of its founder.” He exhorted to take inspiration of life of Dr Ambedkar.

Briefing a number of schemes launched by the government for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes (SCs), he said, the state government had earmarked Rs 1,013.52 crore for the socio-economic welfare of these castes for the current fiscal year.

He also distributed sewing machines, gifted by the society, among 32 local poor SC women and girls.

On the occasion, society chairman DS Deol exhorted the society to remain united and work for uplifting poor and destitute families.

Foundation stone of shed laid

KANGRA: Dr Ambedkar was still proving to be a torch-bearer for people of this country. This was stated by Vikramaditya Singh, youth leader and son of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at Dadamb village, near here, today. He was addressing a public meeting after he laid the foundation stone of a Dr Ambedkar shed, a project of Rs 3 lakh on the occasion of Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.

Vikramaditya gave call to people of the state to move in the footsteps of Dr Ambedkar.

Earlier, he addressed Youth Congress office-bearers at Rait village.

He was accompanied by HRTC Vice-President Kewal Singh Pathania. He announced a that a state-level youth rally would be held at Shahpur shortly.

Palampur, April 14
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur inaugurated a CT scan machine in the Civil Hospital here today. The equipment has been installed under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode by a private company, which will extend 24 hours service to residents of the area.

Speaking on the occasion, Kaul Singh said in the first phase such facility would be made available in 12 hospitals in the state and later it would be extended to all the hospitals. He said it was a most modern equipment which needed no radiologist locally and the company would monitor the equipment online from Pune and make available CT scan reports within two hours.

The minister said technicians of the company would be posted in each hospital to look after the machine. He said charges for the CT scans had been approved by the government and the maximum charges would not exceed Rs 1,600 per scan in any case.

He said likewise the government had also asked this company to install MRI in the state hospitals under the PPP mode. The government would make available the buildings and other infrastructure for the installation of such equipments. He said it was the first step towards outsourcing health services in the state.

He said this was a new concept as the government alone could not meet the requirement of health services in the state. He also invited retired doctors to join the PPP mode and extend health services in rural areas of the state. They would be paid suitably, he added. 

Nahan, April 14
The state government will soon fill vacant posts of nurse and paramedical staff in various medical institutions. This was stated by Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur while addressing medical practitioners at Nahan. He was adderessing during the seventh annual function of the Himachal chapter of the Indian Medical Association yesterday.

He said the government was giving a special emphasis on strengthening health services in the state and services of private medical practitioners would be availed though the IMA to deal with the paucity of doctors. These doctors would be paid an allowance for rendering services in various government hospitals of the state. The cadre of medical practitioners has also been enhanced from 1598 to 1698 to ensure presence of doctors in various hospitals.

Giving details, the Health Minister said the government had already begun the process to recruit 100 doctors and 50 per cent of the recruitments would be made through the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission while the remaining would be deputed on contractual basis.

Lauding the efforts of the Himachal chapter of the IMA, he said the association was taking necessary steps to change itself in view of changing medical scenario and this was having a positive bearing on the health sector in the state.

Thakur said after the introduction of the Clinical Establishment Act by the Government of India, the state government, too, had implemented its directions to check the entry of non-professional people in the field.

He appreciated the fact that 900 medical practitioners in the state were working as active members of the IMA. Former MLA Nahan Kush Parmar, Dr Kulbhushan Sood, Director, Health Services, newly elected president of the Himachal Chapter of the IMA, Dr Peter Dsouza, SDM Jyoti Rana were also present on the occasion.

Mandi, April 14
The four-laning of the 84-km-long Kiratpur-Ner Chowk section of the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway (NH)-21 will cut down the distance by 40 km and be completed in three years.

The Rs 1,818-crore project has been given to a Mumbai-based firm, Indian Lease and Finance Service Transport Ltd, after the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) accorded the environment clearance to the project, but awaits forest clearance.

“The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which is executing the project, has awarded the project to the company on a design, build, finance and transport mode,” said NHAI engineers.

The four-lane highway will not only cut down the distance by 40 km between Kiratpur and Ner Chowk, but also ease up the traffic congestion and hassles created by thousands of cement-carrying trucks travelling from cement plants at Darlaghat, Barmana and Bhagha to Rorpar and Nalagarh daily.

Lakhs of commuters, including tourists, will breathe a sigh of relief. They will not only get rid of the cement trucks hassles, but also cut down on the travelling time between Chandigarh and Manali by two hours, said the engineers.

The new-look highway will have five tunnels, covering a 5-km road length.

The largest tunnel is the 1.7-km-long Kenchi Morh. The other four are at Mahal, Malyawar and Tanu villages, all in Bilaspur district, while the last will be at Kangu in Mandi district with length varying from 800 m to 500 m.

But the two toll tax barriers to be set up by the company on the new-look highway will dent commuters pockets deeper. They will have to pay green tax at a barrier in Manali, besides tax at Ghara Morah.

NHAI General Manager Satish Kaul said the company would set up the two toll tax barriers at Ghara Morha in Bilaspur and Dehar in Mandi on the highway. The company would operate the barriers for the lease agreement for 25 years from the time of operation, he added.

Kaul said the project had been frozen as the land acquisition process had started. “The company will start the construction work as soon as the forest clearance is availed,” he added.

Kaul added they had received no direction on the 4.75-km-long Dadour bypass from the ministry so far and it would be built on the same straight alignment as conceived in the project.

Palampur, April 14
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today said the state government planned to create a separate cadre for postgraduate medical specialists. He said this decision had been taken keeping in view acute shortage of postgraduate doctors.

He said the state needed separate cadres of GDOs and direct appointees at a par with adjoining states as it would help the government attract to the state health services more postgraduate doctors.

Addressing a press conference here, the Health Minister said the state had a separate cadre for postgraduate doctors till 1990, but the BJP government headed by Shanta Kumar had abolished the separate cadre which hit health services.

He said there were over 200 vacancies of postgraduate doctors in the state and a number of district and zonal hospitals were without specialists.

He said this had been causing inconvenience to the public.

He said the state had no alternative except creating a separate cadre for postgraduate doctors to meet this challenge.

In reply to a question, he said he had got reports that some doctors at government hospitals were receiving commission for prescribing substandard medicines. He said he would not hesitate in suspending doctors found guilty.

He directed Chief Medical Officers and other senior officers to immediately conduct an audit of indoor prescriptions and initiate action.

He categorically said there would be zero tolerance to corruption in the Health Department.

He said he was shocked to see a prescription in which the doctor had prescribed nine medicines.

He claimed that the mala fide intention could easily be ascertained in such cases as he had done it help a particular drug manufacturer.

Kaul Singh alleged that things had gone from bad to worse in the last five years. He said 300 posts of doctor and 1,500 paramedic posts were vacant when he assumed charge of the Health Department three months ago.

He blamed it on the reportedly defective recruitment policy of the previous regime. He said the present government had enhanced salary of doctors and sanctioned an additional allowance of Rs 20,000 in case of posting in remote areas of the state.

He said the government had urged the Medical Council of India to enhance undergraduate and postgraduate seats at the Shimla and Tanda medical colleges.

He added that both colleges would have seats in super-speciality courses.

Shimla, April 14
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said Sri Sathya Sai Baba School and the temple complex Anand Vilas at Pujarali near here was a dream project of the saint, and students were being imparted quality education in the spiritual and serene environment.

The Chief Minister yesterday presided over the inaugural function of the three-day state-level conference to commemorate Sai Baba's visit to the temple three years back.

Virbhadra inaugurated the function by lighting the lamp amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras.

He said the conference bears a special significance as it aimed at taking further the Sri Sathya Sai Mission: "Service to man is service to God". He said Sri Sai Baba opened various reputed health and educational institutions in the country, especially at Puttapurthi and Bangalore.

The Chief Minister said Sai Baba had special love and affection for the people of the state. Earlier, the Chief Minister also performed a puja at the main temple of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He also honoured the teachers of Sri Sathya Sai School and office-bearers of the Sri Sathya Sai organisation.

Dr Shyam Sundar welcomed the Chief Minister and said Sri Sathya Sai Baba visited Shimla in 1973, 1975 and April 15, 2010. During his last visit, he inaugurated Anand Vilas and other buildings of the complex at Pujarali.

Nurpur, April 14
The Street Vending Committee (SVC) of the town constituted under the National Policy of Street Vending convened its first meeting recently under the chairmanship of Krishna Mahajan, chairperson of the local Municipal Council.

the committee gave a week’s ultimatum to local vendors and shopkeepers to remove their encroachments from roadsides in the markets.

The committee also restricted rehris from staying at one place for long. DSP Rajiv Atre, who is also a member of the committee, told the vendors to cooperate. — OC

Hamirpur, April 14
The two major parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have sped up political activity in the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency.

Congress leaders are making an effort to wrest the seat from the BJP which won it seven times in a row.

BJP leaders are not taking things lightly as stakes are high. The seat will test the BJP as PK Dhumal is making an effort to defend the BJP bastion. Both major players are keen to prove their mettle.

Dhumal has been meeting party workers at the polling booth level.

The BJP organised a programme in the Sujanpur Assembly constituency on April 10 to celebrate
Dhumal’s birthday and mobilise a large number of party activists.

Sitting Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur is scheduled to tour extensively the constituency in the coming days. Various BJP leaders have been targeting the Centre and the state government for alleged failures.

State Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been extensively touring the constituency.

He had recently organised two programmes in Hamirpur district and toured Una and Bilaspur districts as well falling under the Hamirpur constituency.

Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and former minister Ram Lal Thakur, who are probables for the Hamirpur ticket, have been frequently visiting the constituency.

They have been repeatedly targeting Dhumal and Anurag during their tours.

Kullu, April 14
After getting a warm reception here today, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the government was committed to all-round development of the state. He urged party workers to gear up for the general election due next year.

He landed here today to preside over the state-level Himachal Day function tomorrow. He said the government would sympathetically consider demands for a tehsil or block office and a forest depot at Bhuntar.

He was received by Kullu legislator Maheshwar Singh, district Congress president Budhi Singh Thakur and Congress workers and supporters. He was accompanied by Banjar legislator Karan Singh.

Kangra, April 14
Himachal Pradesh has made progress on the socio-economic front with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 8 per cent during the 11th Five-Year Plan period 2007-2012 compared to the national growth rate of 7.9 per cent.

Dr Pardeep Kumar, head of department, economics, MCMDAV College, Kangra, and life member, Indian Economic Association, said this here today. He said the GDP growth rate in Himachal Pradesh was on a par with the national growth rate.

During the beginning of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017) last financial year, the GDP growth rate was higher in the state at 6.2 per cent compared to 5 per cent at the national level, he said. He said the per capita income in Himachal Pradesh was Rs 82,611 and the national per capita income was Rs 68,747.

He said literacy rate in the state was 83.78 per cent in 2011 compared to 74.04 per cent at the national level. He said difference between male and female literacy rate in the state was 14.23 per cent compared to national average of 16.68 per cent.

He said fertility rate in the state was 1.8 compared to 2.5 at the national level. He said infant mortality rate was 40 in the state compared to 47 at the national level. He said birth rate in Himachal Pradesh was 16.9 compared to 22.1 at the national level.

He said the death rate in the state was 6.9 compared to 7.2 at the national level. He said poverty ratio was 9.5 per cent in the state compared to 29.8 per cent at the national level. He said Himachal Pradesh was progressing well and had better socio-economic status.

Solan, April 14
The Vivekanand Kalyan Sangh, a local social organisation, has sought an independent probe in a private university where three students were injured on April 12 after falling from a campus building while a cultural festival was underway.

Sangh organiser Vivek Dhobal said they had given a memorandum through Kasauli MLA Rajiv Sehzal to the Governor to initiate an independent probe into this incident so that those responsible could be taken to task.

Dhobal said they would show black flags to those visiting the university on April 18, during its convocation, as the university authorities had failed to initiate any action in this case. The other members of the sangh, including its acting president Manu Sharma, secretaries Anil Kumar, Abhishek Thakur, Tilak Raj, Rakesh and Chander Mohan, would launch an agitation if no action was taken by the authorities.

Interestingly, the police had expressed ignorance about the incident, but Dr Anuj, who had treated the three students at the Regional Hospital, Solan, had confirmed that a student had been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, as he was in coma. The other two had sustained injuries in the spine and eye.

Bilaspur, April 14
The Rukmani Kund shrine will be developed into a tourist spot. This was stated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rajesh Dharmani, Forests and Fisheries, while inaugurating the three-day annual Baisakhi mela at the Mata Rukmani shrine, 30 km from here, yesterday.

He said Devi Rukmani’s sacrifice could never be forgotten by people as she was said to have given her life for providing drinking water in this totally parched and dry area several centuries ago. He said now at least five gram panchayats of this area were being provided drinking and irrigation water from this hilltop fresh water stream that broke out on the altar of her sacrifice. That was why the spot had developed into a religious centre for thousands of people who visited it during the fair every year, praying for good health and well being and prosperity of their children and family.

He said, “Such fresh water hill streams are our priceless treasure and we should ensure that this water is not allowed to be polluted and its purity and sanctity is maintained at all costs.”

He said now a new four-lane Express Highway was being constructed near it for which the Central Government had already allocated funds worth Rs 2,200 crore, reducing distances between Chandigarh and Kullu-Manali through this area by 44 km.

Dharmani announced that a befitting road would be soon constructed for this shrine through NABARD. Also Rs 4 lakh had been granted for the construction of a community centre at this spot.

Rukmani Kala Sangam president Subhash Gupta and panchayat president Desh Raj Sharma also addressed the function. Several panchayat representatives, including presidents Surender Kumar (Hirapur) and Madhu Chandel (Berry Mian), were also present.

Pilgrims had their auspicious bath at the Markandeya shrine, which is associated with Maharishi Markandeya, 30 km from here, yesterday on Basoa, local name for Baisakhi where a four-day mela also started.

Mandi, April 14
Weavers can not only double their production, but also market their products to ready markets provided by the Ministry of Textiles and Commerce and Industry under the special integrated skill development programme launched in Mandi, Kullu and Kangra districts.

The Handloom Service Centre of the ministry has developed the first loom in the country which can weave two cloths simultaneously, said Director VV Paul, who visited different clusters of weavers created by the Industry Department.

The loom will double production. "This will generate more income with improved designs and value addition," he said. Weavers will get the looms free, along with winding and warting machines and accessories, Paul said.

"We have trained 80 weavers, most of them women, and are training 120 more. In all, 900 weavers working in the self-help group or NGOs will be trained this year," he added.

He said each weaver would be given a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month to sustain them during the skill training programme. Two programmes each were launched in Mandi, Kullu and Kangra districts, he added. He said they planned 750 exhibitions this year. He said weavers would get free stalls to sell woollen products. The ministry had made a provision to export the products, he added.

Mandi, April 14
The 15-member Mandi Municipal Council (MC) recently passed a unanimous resolution in support of declaring the civic body a municipal corporation by extending its present limits by 14 km, merging into it the IIT Mandi at Kamand, Special Area Development Authority (SADA), Ner Chowk and other seven different villages in its vicinity, which are otherwise turning into concrete jungles.

The resolution was passed at a general house meeting of the council, chaired by president Sushila Sonkhla and vice-president Gagan Kashyap, in which 10 councillors were present. The meeting unanimously supported the resolution and forwarded it to the Director of the Urban Development and Planning for consideration for the government action.

On the other hand, panchayats in the periphery are yet to give their consent on whether or not they want to be part of the plan of the urban expansion. The villagers said they would be deprived of rural charges on water and electricity and the land mafia and real estate tycoons would wipe them out.

The resolution followed the government proposal seeking the response of local urban bodies of Mandi, Palampur, Dharamsala, Solan and other towns to convert those into municipal corporations considering the unplanned expansion in these towns. Besides, these urban bodies are starving. “These towns are facing lack of funds for development and are mainly surviving on doles dished out to them by the Centre and state government from time to time,” said the councillors.

The Mandi council needs an additional population of 24,000 to qualify the population criterion for the corporation. “We have a population of 26,000 and the House has passed that the SADA, Ner Chowk, and IIT Mandi at Kamand, 14 km away from the town, be included in Mandi town so that it fulfils the criteria for a municipal corporation,” said Sonkhla.

Even the IIT Mandi has forwarded a proposal to include the Kamand campus in the municipal limits. The town limits will be extended till Dadour to included the SADA Ner Chowk, Randhara, Pandoh, Tandu on the Mandi-Jogindernagar highway and Behna and Gagal in the Balh valley. The Mandi development plan of the town and country planning has 13 wards and seven villages and all need to be included in the proposed Mandi Municipal Corporation,” said Kashyap.

“The resolution would be submitted to the Director, Urban Development and Planning,” said Sonkhla. The panchyat areas of Bhiuli would be included in the council and corporation, she added.

The demand for the corporation had been in the pipeline to generate its own sources of income. Its income was not even Rs 1 crore whereas it had to pay Rs 25 lakh per month as salaries to its staff,said sources.