SERC roadmap

* Power cuts incongruous with power surplus state

* HPSEBL should tie up to buy power from projects

* Board must use prudence while purchasing power

* Equity power to provide about 1,500 million units

Palampur, May 5
Air India will start its flight between New Delhi and Dharamsala from May 15. The flight (AI-9813) will depart from New Delhi at 9.15 am and land at the Gaggal airport at 11.15 am. It will leave for New Delhi from Gaggal at 11.35 am the same day.

However, there was no official confirmation, but Air India had already started online booking for its flight to be started from May 15 and the minimum fare had been quoted at Rs 6,046 with free meals.

It may be recalled that after the lock-out in the Kingfisher airlines in September 2012, air services on the Delhi-Dharamsala circuit had been suspended, which adversely affected the state tourism industry. Hoteliers and travel agents were pressurising the state government for the restoration of air services to the Kangra valley.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Urban Development Minister Sudheer Sharma had last week pleaded with the Union Civil Aviation Minister in New Delhi for the revival of air services and the request had been conceded by the Centre. 

Shimla, May 5
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president Balbir Punj has demanded the immediate resignation of Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal following the bribery scam and threatened to use all means to take the matter to its logical conclusion.

Addressing mediapersons here today, he said the minister had been trying to wriggle out by asserting that he had no business connections with his nephew Vijay Singla but this could be ascertained only after conducting a probe.

Punj claimed that the Central Bureau of Investigation would not be in a position to carry out an impartial probe as long as Bansal was at the helm and said Bansal should resign to get his name cleared by facilitating an impartial probe.

Punj said the scam revealing bribery in promotions had added a new dimension to corruption and alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government had the ingenuity to put corruption on the fast track as scams had been surfacing with unfailing regularity.

He claimed that the Congress was following double standard in dealing with cases of corruption involving ministers of its alliance partners and its own. He alleged that a minister of an alliance partner would have been shown the door without delay had he been in Bansal's place.

Punj claimed that 'Coalgate' had exposed the Congress as no action had been taken against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who was Coal Minister as well and any of the three ministers of state under him. Punj alleged that a scam in the allotment of coal blocks had taken place in connivance with officials and political bosses.

He said Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader A Raja had been maintaining that the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister were fully aware of the allotment of the 2G spectrum, but they were not held accountable.

Replying to a question regarding a memorial for so-called militants killed in Operation Bluestar, Punj said any action to glorify so-called terrorists would encourage anti-national elements.

He said people of the state should take a strong stand against it as there was a danger of the state plunging again into days of insurgency. He said the BJP had taken up the matter with Punjab Chief Minister PS Badal, but it was not contemplating pulling out of the state government.

Kangra, May 5
The Himachal Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) will spend Rs 100 crore during the current financial year on the purchase of land and construction of residential colonies in a phased manner in all districts of the state.

Stating this over the phone, Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma said the process for the selection of land for residential colonies, to be constructed by the Himachal Urban Development Authority, was initiated.

The purchase of land at Sarah village, near Dharamsala, for a residential colony, was in progress, he said.

The minister said the Himachal Urban Development Authority had fixed a target during the current financial year for the construction of 199 flats, besides allotting 156 plots to aspirants in the state. HIMUDA would construct 152 flats and four cottages at a cost of Rs 70 crore at Solan and Baddi. As many as 26 plots had been allotted at both places.

Sudhir Sharma said during the current financial year homeless and poor families would be provided residential facilities under the Jawahar Lal National Urban Renewal Mission.

He said these colonies would be equipped with all basic facilities, adding that the state was contemplating to seek loan from the Asian Development Bank for the expansion of the services being provided to people in towns and cities of the state through local bodies.

Dharamsala, May 5
Khubu Ram’s family has been evicted from government land and forest officials have razed the small house constructed by his father about 30 years ago.

The officials have removed hundreds of encroachments on directions of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. This has brought the department at loggerheads with a large number of farmers in Kangra district.

They allege that no action is being taken against Tibetans who have encroached upon reserve forest land in parts of the district. The farmers have organised protests at the district headquarters.

Forest officials refute the allegations of the farmers and maintain that the anti-encroachment drive has been carried out on a High Court order.

There are about 200 cases of encroachment on reserve forest land by Tibetans at Mcleodganj and surrounding areas. In many cases Tibetans have constructed residential or commercial complexes on forest land.

No action has been taken even though cases have been registered against Tibetans. Kangra Deputy Commissioner Paul Rasu says cases of government land allotment to Tibetans is pending before the government.

He says the administration is seeking clarity from the government before taking action as the government has decided to allot the land on which encroachments have been made to the Dalai Lama's society.

The previous Congress government had adopted in 2006 a policy to regularise encroachments on government land by Tibetans on the request of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

On the basis of the policy the Tibetan government-in-exile had submitted a list of over 70 properties, including Tibetan village schools and monasteriesm to the government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government did not implement the policy of the Congress government and the issue remained pending for more than seven years.

During this period many revenue courts had ordered the removal of encroachments and vesting of certain monasteries in the name of the government, but no action was taken to remove the encroachments.

Sources here said the government might not be able to regularise the encroachments on forest land as the mandate of the special empowered committee of the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment was required.

Palampur, May 5
Brij Behari Lal Butail, Speaker, state Assembly, today cautioned the Hydel Power Project authorities to follow the law of land and provide 70 per cent employment to residents of the state in all power projects, either completed or under execution.

Butail was addressing the management of power projects being executed by private companies in the Palampur constituency here today.

He categorically stated that the management of power projects in the state was bound to give 70 per cent employment to state residents in their projects as per law passed by the state government. They should follow the same and submit details to the government from time to time in this regard.

Butail expressed concern over the cutting of hills and degradation of environment by power projects in the Palampur region.

He said it was a serious matter that a number of water supply schemes were damaged and water channels disrupted during the execution of power projects. It was the responsibility of the project management to repair the same or pay the due compensation to the departments concerned and the public should not be harassed.

Butail said he had also received reports that private houses and lands were also damaged by the projects. The affected residents should immediately be compensated and state officers must ensure that compensation was paid to them. Over 12 power projects were coming up in the Dhauladhar hills, which had failed to follow the terms and conditions of the MoU signed with the state government.

Over 24 water supply schemes and irrigation channels had adversely been hit during the execution of power projects.

Residents of the Palampur region had been forced to consume muddy and contaminated water because of large-scale cutting of hills and continuous landslides in the catchment of the Neugal river, which was a major source of drinking water for seven lakh residents of this region.

Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, C Pal Rasu and SDM, Palampur, Bhupinder Attari also attended the meeting.

Palampur, May 5
Hundreds of striking employees of four hydel power projects raised slogans in support of their demands and took out a procession in the town yesterday.

Later, the striking workers held a rally near the Rotary Bhawan where speakers criticised the power project management for not accepting their just and genuine demands which included the reinstatement of all suspended workers, timely payment of their salaries, fixation of working hours and enforcement of labour laws to check the exploitation of workers.

Addressing mediapersons, Ashok Katoch, president, district unit, CITU, said the indefinite strike would continue till their demands were accepted. He said the non-cooperative and unhelpful attitude of the project authorities had forced them to resort to direct action. He said he always favoured a dialogue with the project management to end the stalemate, but the project authorities were not ready to listen to their demands.

Earlier, residents of Surad village blocked the road leading to the site of Om Power Project. Residents of this village had demanded compensation on account of damage caused to their houses and land during the execution of projects. Till date the project authorities had not paid any compensation despite heavy loss to the property in the village.

Villagers alleged that despite submitting a memorandum to the local MLA, leaders and the SDM, none had turned up for their rescue. No action had been initiated by the state government against the project management so far.

Meanwhile, construction activities in all the four power projects had come to a standstill as no worker reported for duty. If no measures were taken to call off the strike, the completion of all the four projects could be further delayed.

The completion of these projects had already been delayed by three to five years because of labour unrest and other reasons.

Bilaspur, May 5
The Dogra Regiment Centre, Faizabad (UP), will hold a recruitment rally for admission into the Rajput Regiment Centre, Fatehgarh, out of those students who have passed their classVI and are in the age group of 11 to 14 years.

Major Rahul Thakur, Commanding Officer, Boys Sports Company, said here today that this rally would be held from May 13 to 18 for Boys Sports Company.

He said those students who were from the Dogra belt and had participated in sub- junior or junior teams in disciplines of volleyball , handball and hockey at the district , state and national levels could come for rally, while those who had participated in the national and international events would be given relaxation in minimum and maximum age .

Hamirpur, May 5
The proposal to set up a Scouts and Guide training camp in the Plasi area of Hamirpur district has been turned down by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as a large area is required for the project.

The Education Department had submitted the project for setting up a Scouts and Guide training camp on 5 hectares in the district where nearly 1,000 trees were to be cut and the permission for which had been declined with an advice to resize this project.

The proposal to set up the camp was mooted about three years ago to provide training to scouts and guides in the district. A hostel for girls and boys, playground, auditorium, tracking field, adventure and sports centre are proposed to be built in the camp.

The project will be a good training centre for local children interested in getting scouts and guide training.

The ministry has reportedly advised the Education Department to reduce the size of the land required for the project and plan a multi-storeyed building consuming lesser land to save the conversion of a large forest land for the same.

The ministry has also made it clear that permission for this project would not be given if the requirement of land was not reduced.

Conservator of Forest, Hamirpur circle, said: “We had forwarded this proposal to the MoEF, which had turned it down and it has advised the Education Department to submit fresh proposal having multi-storied complex requiring lesser land.”

RC Tabalyal, Deputy Director, Secondary Education, said: “We are trying to identify a piece of land with the help of the Revenue Department for the purpose and will submit a fresh proposal for setting up a scouts and guide training centre in the district.”

Mandi, May 5
People in hill towns suffer from Vitamin D deficiency even though the sun shines bright. In a bid to get check this, a physician has suggested walking in the sun for at least 30 minutes a day between 10 am and 2 pm while scarf-clad and umbrella-holding women can go in for Vitamin D supplements.

Dr Jatinder Mokta, Associate Professor with the Department of Medicine at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla, has come out with these startling facts about Vitamin D deficiency in a study on 300 patients in Shimla.

He was here today to deliver the keynote address at a continuing medical education programme chaired by Dr PC Marwah and Dr PK Sinha. Doctors from the Mandi Zonal Hospital and at Sundernagar participated.

Dr Mokta cited studies in Shimla and New Delhi and data prepared in Bengaluru, Benaras and Boston on how Vitamin D deficiency resulted in skeletal, muscular and mental disorders, rickets among children, besides increasing the risk of breast, rectum and colon cancer.

He said children and pregnant women had less exposure to ultra-violet B rays which helped synthesise Vitamin D in the body. “Skylines are hazy due to smog and pollution. People are closeted in homes and offices and they are not taking enough Vitamin D from the sun,” he observed.

Dr Mokta had examined 300 patients at the IGMC of which 95 per cent suffered from weak bones and muscles. “When they have Vitamin D supplements, they improve showing that Vitamin D is important and a critical factor in case of risk of breast, rectum and colon cancer,” he observed.

He said the sun shone horizontally in winter which added to the problem. He said the best way to synthesise Vitamin D was direct exposure to the sun for 30 minutes a day keeping forearms, legs and face uncovered. He said a healthy body had between 40 and 60 nano grams per litre, he said.

“Patients are put on 50,000 international units per week for eight weeks. This is reduced to 50,000 international units per month to make up for the deficiency. There is no risk of toxicity,” he said.

Dr Marwah is a former Head of the Department of Surgery at the IGMC. He is Senior Consultant with the Harihari Hospital here at present. Dr Sinha is Senior Consultant with the same hospital.

Chamba, May 5
Local NGO Chamba Welfare Association has pleaded for the setting up of a "herbal medicine factory" in Chamba district.

Despite being endowed with rich natural resources like precious forests in the Himalayan origin and hidden treasure of innumerable medicinal and aromatic plants, Chamba district has been listed amongst the most backward districts of the country as well as Himachal Pradesh even after 67 years of Independence.

As many as 17,000 quintals out of thousands of species of herbal medicinal and aromatic plants of Chamba had been exported to various places in the country realising Rs 37.32 lakh as collection-cum-export fee of these non-timber forest produces during the past five years, president of the association RK Mahajan and general secretary YR Sehgal stated in a memorandum submitted to the government recently.

They claimed that Chamba had all those species that had been mentioned in the red list of endangered species of medicinal and aromatic plants of the state.

The setting up of herbal medicinal and aromatic plants marketing-cum-manufacturing plants in Chamba district would be cost effective, most remunerative and profitable, they asserted.

It would also provide livelihood to the rural population of the district and adjoining Doda and Kishtwar districts of Jammu and Kashmir living on the fringe of civilisation.

This would not only encourage the farming of high-potency endangered medicinal and aromatic herbs, but also let the poor rural folk get remunerative prices for their produce.

Shimla, May 5
The government has decided to set up a multi-purpose food park at Shilaroo in Theog to harness the full potential of the area for growing cash crops.

Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes stated this today while speaking at a civic reception organised at Matiana, 45 km from here.

She said the food park would come up over 300 bighas with an investment of over Rs 300 crore. She said it would have units for food, fruit processing,
agriculture market and other amenities.

She said the food park would generate multiple economic activities in the state. She said it would ensure remunerative returns for fruit and vegetables growers due to value addition.

The minister said processed products would be sold at high rates. She said Theog, a hub of economic activity, was often choked due to traffic jams.

She said a bypass would constructed soon for which Rs 50 lakh would be released. She added that construction would be begun within the next few days.

She told Public Works Department officers to undertake on a war footing repairs of roads at Theog and Matiana so that growers did not face problems in transporting produce during the apple season.

She said the Civil Hospital at Theog would be given a facelift and strengthened with the addition of modern diagnostic equipment and adequate staff.

She said health facilities would be improved in other parts of Shimla district as well. She said tourism in the area would be given a boost and Rs 50 lakh would be spent for the purpose.

Sundernagar, May 5
The Himachal Pradesh Football Association (HPFA) today announced a 20-member state sub-junior (boys) football team for the upcoming Coca Cola Cup Sub-Junior National Football Championship-2013 to be held in Kalyani (West Bengal) from May 14.

Deepak Sharma, general secretary, HPFA, said 30 boys participated in a seven-day training camp held here out of which 20 were finally selected in the team.

The team will play the opening match of the championship on May 14 against host West Bengal.

At present, the selected boys are undergoing training under the supervision of chief coach Indraneel Ghosh with his assistant coach Vikram Bisht at the BBMB Colony ground.

President, HPFA, Amit Pal Singh, OSD to CM, and Dr CP Kaushal, senior vice-president, gave best wishes to the team before it left for Sundernagar to take part in the national tournament.

Bilaspur, May 5
The Barmana police has succeeded in arresting main accused Shyam Lal of Kolnu village, near here, in a kidnapping case of a minor girl from that area.

Shyam Lal was arrested by a police team lead by Head Constable Kishori Lal from Rohru in Shimla district and the girl was also recovered from him, who has now been restored to her parents.

Earlier, the police had arrested three youths, namely Anil Kumar, Dharam Pal and Karam Chand of this area, on the charge of helping Shyam Lal in the crime, which took place on April 20.

The police is searching for the fourth accused, Inder Singh, who is also charged with helping the other accused in this crime.

Nurpur, May 5
Following a complaint of Anju Bala, wife of Sahib Singh of Lagor village, the local police today registered a case against her brother-in-law Saroop Singh for allegedly outraging her modesty and thrashing her.

According to DSP Rajiv Atre, the complainant alleged that the accused had entered her house and committed the crime. He said a case had been registered under Sections 354, 504 and 506 of the IPC against the accused and initiated investigation.

Kangra, May 5
The Kangra unit of the HP Non-Government College Lecturers’ Association yesterday expressed its dismay at the obdurate attitude of the MCMDAV College administration in resolving the current situation regarding the enhancement of the ADA, medical and house rent allowances and other issues for which lecturers had being protesting here for the past two months.

Dr Kapil Vaid, president of the local unit of association, said the association had raised the issues of enhancement of the ADA, medical and house rent allowances and grant of Pay Band III and IV to some members with Principal VK Bhatia in December last.

He said the ADA had been frozen at 12 per cent from March 2008 onwards and the current admissible rate, according to the state was 72 per cent.

Vaid alleged that the last nine installments had not been paid to the staff, which he described was unfortunate and unethical.

He said other similar colleges in the state at Shimla, Sundernagar and Badohli had been enhancing the ADA rates from time to time but the DAV management was adopting a ‘inhuman’ attitude towards their employees.

He said the DAV management had enough funds that too in crores, but were depriving their employees of their rights.

Vaid said after having explored and exhausted all avenues of redress, the association started working under protest by wearing black badges from March 5, 2013, onwards.

He said the college administration displayed an utter disregard towards the demands and protest by the staff.

He said the association’s protest was later joined by the college’s non-teaching staff too.

He said the dharna was continuing for the past one-and-a-half month in support of their demands without any response from the college administration.

He said the association was aware of its responsibility towards its institution and pupils and had restrained itself from intensifying its protest due to the ongoing HPU annual examinations.

“All that we have received from the Principal are vague and contradictory responses meant to further muddy the situation,” Vaid alleged.

He said repeated letters to the DAV colleges Managing Committee, New Delhi, had yielded no result till now.