Mandi/Kullu, May 4
Upbeat by a good fruit set, farmers in the apple-belt of Mandi-Kullu-Shimla-Kinnaur are hoping for producing a good quality crop this year to keep fruit markets rocking in the country.

Barring a few pockets hit by hailstone last month, the fruit set was good in lower-middle and higher apple belts across the state this time after harvesting two consecutive lean apple seasons in 2011 and 2012, said farmers.

The production could be close to or even more than what it was in 2010 when the state produced a record 4.5 crore apple boxes. But farmers are focusing on producing good quality fruit to fetch good market price this time and want no repeat of 2010, when a large chunk of the fruit rotted in orchards and roadsides for want of transportation and cartons and due to bad road and excess monsoon, warned farmers.

Temperatures were ideal hovering between 6°C to 22°C and moisture was good that kept bees active throughout, said Dinesh Singha, an orchardist from Jaban-Dalash-Nirmand, a major apple belt in Kullu district.

The size of the fruit would improve in the next 30 days after the setting of fruit if there was rise in temperature as it multipled the number of cells in the fruit, said Laxman Thakur, Chairman, Ecohorts Society of Growers in Shimla district.

Farmers should go for thinning or de-fruiting if the crop was in excess at the right time and remove weeds and vegetative growth from orchards to improve the quality as it was going to be a good crop year this time, he added.

The farmers resented that they could not go for chemical thinning in orchards under stress due to heavy crop as chemicals were expensive and not available in the country.

“We cut the bad fruit by manual thinning, but then we are facing labour shortage in the apple belt,” said Laxman Thakur. But farmers in hailstone-hit pockets across the apple belt are in distress.

“But this is a small area when you compare it with the overall area under apple as it will not matter much in overall productions,” they said.

Farmers in the Katrain-Raison-Naggar-Jagatsukh-Manali and Lug valley apple belt in Kullu district and Snor-Seraj-Churag-Karsog in Mandi district are equally upbeat over the good apple crop this year after they experienced two lean harvests in a row.

“We are not concentrating how to nurture the fruit set into a good quality fruit so that they fetch good prices in markets,” said Kishan Lal Chaudhary, an orchardist from Seri-Bagra in Karsog.

Vijay Thakur, senior scientist and Associate Director, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture, said the fruit size and quality would improve if farmers went about judicially as temperatures were rising for the past two days. Overall, the crop was good, but fruits that were not properly pollinated or weak would drop in June and farmers should not rush into wrong chemical sprays for thinning, he cautioned.

Shimla, May 4
The BJP today staged a demonstration outside the Raj Bhawan, seeking the dismissal of the “corrupt” Congress-led UPA regime which had been marred by one scam after the other.

BJP workers led by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, national BJP vice-president and Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Punj, state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti and party legislators and former ministers staged the protest against the failure of the scam-tainted UPA regime to take stern action against China and Pakistan, who were repeatedly posing a threat to national security.

They also submitted a memorandum to the Governor, seeking the dismissal of the UPA regime.

“The UPA regime has lost the moral right to continue in office as it has cheated and let down its people with new scams being unearthed practically everyday,” the memorandum read.

The document lists various scams, including the Commonwealth Games, 2G Spectrum, Adarsh Housing Society, purchase of helicopters and coal.

The Leader of the Opposition in the state, PK Dhumal, said the protest was aimed at highlighting the UPA’s “misrule” marred by one controversy after the other. “Today the Congress has become synonymous with corruption and price rise, with the common man suffering the most,” he remarked.

Expressing concern about national security, he said rather than giving a befitting reply to China and Pakistan, India had become a mute spectator to acts like beheading of its soldiers and intrusion by Chinese troops right inside the Indian territory.

“Despite raising the issue of strengthening infrastructure along the China border in Kinnaur several times, the Prime Minister chose to remain mum,” he said.

Satti said the dismal performance of the UPA regime had left the nation demoralised while the Prime Minister’s inefficiency is making matters worse. BJP legislators Suresh Bhardwaj, Rajeev Binadl, Randhir Sharma and MP Virender Kashyap also spoke.

Shimla, May 4
The case involving the George Cross medallion given to Naik Kirpa Ram of Bilaspur in 1945 has taken a fresh turn. The medallion’s present owner has offered an out-of-court settlement, saying he was ready to share half of the auction amount with the soldier’s widow. The case is pending in Queen’s Court in England.

Brahmi Devi, widow of Naik Kirpa Ram who died in 1945, received the offer from Ashok Nath, who had unsuccessfully tried to put the George Cross under the hammer at an auction house in London in 2009.

While making an out-of-court settlement offer, Nath said: “I would prefer a settlement which is in the interest of all the parties to this dispute though I am in no way conceding my position as a bona fide purchaser of the medal that I bought in 2000 from a shop in New Delhi after seeing all the legal documents and the accompanying video.” He said he was not aware at that time that there was any competing property right attached to the medal for which he paid a sum of 400 British pounds.

He has offered that the medal be auctioned by a house specializing in military medals and the proceeds from the sale are shared 50:50 after deducting the expenses incurred by him. Nath’s proposal was drafted on April 3, 2013 and sent to lawyers of Brahmi Devi, retired bureaucrat SS Chandel and Scotland Yard Police.

However, it is still not clear whether Brahmi Devi is willing to auction the medal or she wants to continue with the legal fight. Her lawyer in London, Vijay Sharma, has strictly advised her against accepting any such offer from Nath. Her response to the advice is not known.

Nath reportedly visited India last month but could not meet Brahmi Devi owing to a medical emergency in the family.

Chandel, who was instrumental in getting the auction of the medal, stalled in 2009, thinks that no negotiations can be held without taking the government into confidence. “I would want that besides this, a representative of the Indian High Commission in London should also be present during the negotiations,” he said.

He said the Himachal government agreed in principle to bear all expenses of litigation on behalf of Brahmi Devi in the event of her losing the case in the London and local courts in the state.

Brahmi Devi had in 2002 got a police case lodged that said the medal had been stolen in Bilaspur. Later, a London-based lawyer, Vijay Sharma offered to contest her case in Queen’s Court. The matter is likely to come up for hearing in June.

Shimla, May 4
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said today that Shimla was the first city in the state to develop a city sanitation plan, besides implementing the Decentralised Waste Water Treatment Technology in some areas of Shimla town.

He was speaking at the review meeting of various departments regarding development and implementation of cleanliness and sanitation programmes in urban and rural areas of the state here today.

Shandil said 1,011 panchayats of the state had been declared Nirmal Panchayats, besides Ghumarwin block in Bilaspur district was adjudged as Nirmal Block.

The minister said a project to the tune of Rs 168.68 crore had been submitted to the Central Government for the construction of toilets and solid waste management in rural areas.

He said for constructing toilets in rural areas, Rs 5,100 for households, Rs 38,500 for schools, Rs 10,000 for anganwari centres and Rs 2 lakh for constructing community toilets were being provided under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan Programme.

Stressing upon the need for adopting advance technology for constructing toilets in rural areas, he said cross linkage of sewerage pipes with drinking water supply pipes should be avoided as it could contaminate drinking water and lead to various ailments.

He directed officers to accomplish schemes on a priority basis before initiating the work on new projects and also ensure proper utilisation of funds for timely completion of developmental projects.

Shandil stressed on capacity evaluation, upgrade of existing agencies and proper monitoring for avoiding overlapping of funds”.

Kangra, May 4
The Nagrota Bagwan Assembly segment will have two new drinking water supply schemes costing Rs 11 crore, one for Nagrota Bagwan town, and another for 20 panchayats in the changer belt of the constituency and work on these projects will start soon.

Himachal Pradesh Transport, Technical Education and Food, Civil Supplies and Public distribution system Minister GS Bali stated this on Thursday while addressing a public meeting after hearing the grievances of the public during an MLA at your doorstep programme at Nagrota Bagwan, Sarotri, Sherathana and Pathiar.

He said as Nagrota Bagwan town was developing fast with different higher educational and technical institutions coming up, more than two lakh litre additional drinking water was being provided to residents. Besides, a new drinking water supply scheme costing Rs 6 crore had been sanctioned to meet the requirements for the future and work on the project would start soon.

He said another drinking water supply scheme for 20 panchayats of the Changer belt, costing Rs 5 crore, too, was sanctioned to provide a succour to 17,000 residents of this belt and work on this project would start shortly.

He said in the Changer belt, 52 hand pumps were installed to mitigate the drinking water problem of the residents during the last three months. He said 10 more hand pumps had been sanctioned for this belt which would be installed within one month.

Bali said Rs 4 crore would be spent on three roads in the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly segment which included Bhaldar-Jasour, Niharglow- Bhatti-Barana and Souni Pandhol roads. He said for providing better power supply to Nagrota Bagwan town, Rs 1.5 crore would be spent.

He said Rs 15 lakh was sanctioned for the maintenance of the Nagrota Bagwan bus stand and the work would be executed by the PWD shortly.

He said Rs 5 lakh was sanctioned for the construction of a well-equipped stage at the Gandhi ground in Nagrota Bagwan town.

BCC president Partap Choudhary, general secretary Man Singh, DCC general secretary Manoj Mehta and BDC vice-chairman Kuldeep Naraian, besides other officers were present on the occasion. 

Palampur, May 4
Despite specific orders of the state government to remove all encroachments on highways, the HP Public Works Department (PWD) is yet to initiate steps in this regard in Palampur and its adjoining areas.

The state government has directed the PWD to deal firmly with encroachers and strictly enforce the HP Roadside Infrastructure Act. Reportedly, political interference in the functioning of the PWD has made the matter worse as no officer is ready to take any action without the approval of their ‘bosses’.

The width of the highways, connecting the town or passing through the town, was squeezing day by day because of encroachments. It has inconvenienced commuters and passers-by.

The Pathankot-Mandi National Highway has reportedly become a death trap for commuters as over 100 fruit and vegetable vendors have encroached upon the road. Till now, none of them has shifted to the allotted sheds, provided by the Municipal Council, near the Income Tax Office.

Likewise on the Palampur-Dharamsala highway, the PWD has failed to remove the encroachments. It had suspended its campaign, which began in 2010, at the SSB Chowk due to unknown reasons. The width of the road has reduced to just half of its actual breadth with shops coming up on its both sides.

A senior officer of the PWD said the department had served notices to the encroachers in March, 2010. Inquiries revealed that no follow-up action was taken and most of the encroachers did not reply to the notices of the PWD.

The encroachment has resulted in regular traffic jam at Ram Chowk and Ghoggra colony.

Nurpur, May 4
Akil Bakshi, son of local ex-MLA Ranjit Bakshi, has brought laurels not only to Kangra district, but also the hill state by cracking the prestigious national-level Civil Services Examination-2012. Bakshi is on the 581st rank out of the 998 successful candidates who had appeared in interviews recently in Delhi after qualifying the preliminary and main written examinations.

He was among the 2,600 candidates who had appeared in these interviews. He succeeded in his second attempt to fulfil his father’s aspiration to become an IAS officer.

While interacting with mediapersons at his residence at Jassur, near here, today, Akil said after completing his graduation at Government College, Dharamsala, he was keen to adopt media as his career option and to achieve this goal he took admission in postgraduation in mass communication at APG College, Delhi.

“My father motivated and inspired me to work hard and keep my option of Indian Civil Services examination open. I got my father’s wholehearted support right from my schooling to my final mission, which I achieved after the successful clearance in the Civil Services Examination," he said.

"Besides the Almighty, I share my success with my parents, elders and teachers who remained my guiding force during the period of my preparation for this national-level examination,” he added.

Solan, May 4
As part of their corporate social responsibility, Ambuja Cements Limited (ACL) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Elementary Education for providing requisite support in improving the quality of education in government schools of the state.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Director of Elementary Education HR Sharma and Dinesh Sharma, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, ACL, and would be applicable for the current financial year.

It would focus on providing academic support to help improve the quality of education and issues like construction of school buildings, provision of playground, boundary walls and teaching aids would be taken care of by Ambuja Cements Limited, saidDinesh Sharma.

Elaborating on their earlier endeavours, Dinesh Sharma said the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) is supporting 31 primary schools and 16 middle schools of Dhundan and Arki educational blocks and they have been endeavouring to assist the state Education Department in providing quality education.

Officials of various departments like IPH, Industries, Health and Forest were also present. Director, ACF, VK Jain and other officials of the ACL were among those others present.

The ACF is a social development arm of the ACL and is working exclusively with rural communities in and around the manufacturing locations on issues related to education, health, agriculture, agro-based, livelihood, women empowerment and watershed.

Director, Elementary Education, HR Sharma and other officials appreciated the efforts of Ambuja Cements Limited to help the local community.

Nurpur, May 4
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in collaboration with the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Shimla, has been imparting free computer training to as many as 25 pradhans and ward members of different gram panchayats under the Nurpur development block.

In the four-day training camp, which started on April 30, a team of six computer trainers of a local computer institute have been imparting computer education to the representatives of gram panchayats.

The department has arranged free boarding, lodging and food for trainees. 

Chamba, May 4
An exhibition featuring the life and works of Swami Vivekananda is on at the Kala Manch at the Chowgan in Chamba to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Kadam Sandeep Vasant here on Wednesday, will conclude on May 8.

The eight-day exhibition titled "Life and Teachings of Swami Vivekananda" highlights various aspects of his life and times through panels depicting rare photographs, texts and important quotations of the revered monk-reformer.

Swami Vivekananda (January 12,1863, to July 4, 1902) was born as Narendranath in Calcutta. He was an Indian Hindu monk. He was a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and yoga to the western world. He was a major force in the revival of nationalism in the then colonial India.

Solan, May 4
A fire that erupted in the Baddi-based Dabur unit this evening seriously injured four employees, who were later referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

Fire Officer Sukhdev said they immediately rushed to the spot to douse the fire.

He said they took about 30 minutes to control the fire using two fire tenders. The fire had occurred due to a short circuit.

The employees who were working in the room were injured by fire while trying to leave the place.

Those injured included two contractual employees - Abhib Ulla and Abdul Aziz - and two permanent employees of the company - Chetan and Raman Kumar.

SP, Baddi, S Arul Kumar said a case had been registered for negligence.

Dalhousie, May 4
Charas weighing 1.6 kg was seized from two persons, Bhuvnesh Kumar and Hans Raj, who were nabbed while travelling in a private taxi near Chakoli bridge in Salooni tehsil of Chamba district today, according to Chamba SP BM Sharma.

The SP said the police party, which was on a patrol near Chakoli bridge, intercepted a taxi and recovered the charas from the two persons in it.

A case under Section 20, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, was registered and both were arrested, the SP further added.