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Wildlife Wing to hold monkey census on June 29
Low-chill varieties can usher in apple revolution in mid-Himalayas
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Most tourists from Kinnaur evacuated
Rain fury: CM asks officials to act now
Pratibha visits Kinnaur
EVMs airlifted to 34 polling stations
Polytechnic institutes seek relaxation in admission norms
SFI activists protest at MCM DAV College against fee hike
Rs 3.58 crore for 478 dwellings in Bilaspur
Employees urged to donate one-day salary
CUHP staff donate salary
Rs 6.71-crore budget for Bilaspur Nagar Parishad
Consumer forum members stage dharna
BJP pays homage to Shyama Prasad Mukherji
Three get 3-year RI for burglary
Widow duped of Rs 2.08 lakh by anonymous caller
Woman found hanging
Woman goes missing
Man found murdered
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Wildlife Wing to hold monkey census on June 29
Shimla, June 24 As per a survey undertaken in 2004, the number of monkeys in the state was 3.19 lakh and there were over 50,000 langurs. “After the census, we will be able to arrive at a final figure that will help us to say with certainty whether the sterilisation drive has proved fruitful,” said AK Gulati, Principal Chief Conservator, Forest. He said an action plan had been prepared to check the growing population of monkeys with a focus on developing monkey sites in over 3,000 hectares in the next 10 years. Each monkey site will be spread in the area of about 10 hectares and the emphasis will be on habitat improvement. Plantation drives will be undertaken to help meet-the-food requirement of the simians. These sites are being identified by the Wildlife Department in places where there is no human interference and ample amount of food is present. Currently, monkey sterilisation centres are being run at four places, including Shimla, Sastar in Hamirpur, Gopalpur in Kangra and near Una. Three more centres will come up at Paonta Sahib, Sundernagar and Chamba. Two new sites have also been identified near Una and Bilaspur. The experiment to set up a private protection park near Tara Devi in Shimla had failed and it was later shelved. Notwithstanding claims by the government, farmers are reeling under the monkey menace. In some areas, plagued by monkeys, the farmers have given up growing maize, vegetables and fruits. The devastation caused by monkeys in the fields has spread to most parts of the state. It has become even a major issue in the last Assembly elections. People have been demanding that scientific culling of monkeys must be undertaken if agricultural and horticultural produce of the state has to be saved. Action plan ready
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Low-chill varieties can usher in apple revolution in mid-Himalayas
Dharamsala, June 24 While talking to The Tribune, Guddu Pathania said they had started growing apple trees about four years ago in about 55 kanal agriculture land available with them. "We had brought apple shoots from Hariman, a farmer in the Ghumarwin area of Bilaspur. He had first successfully grown apple in low-altitude area of the state," he said. "The trees have started giving fruits in their fourth year. The crop has been really good and it is very encouraging for us. We intend to develop shoots and sell these to other farmers of the Dharamsala region, so that they can grow commercial fruit crop of apple," he said. Dharamsala falls in the mid-Himalayan region and has an average altitude of just of 1,500 m. SC Dhiman, Additional Director, Horticulture, Dharamsala, said besides the Mann Tea Estate owners, many other farmers have also started growing apple in low-altitude areas. He claimed that a farmer in the Dehra area had successfully grown an apple orchard. Dehra subdivision of Kangra district has an average altitude of just 503 m from the sea level. The area witnesses extreme temperatures ranging from 40 to 45 degree Celsius during summers. The apple varieties that have been successfully grown in Dehra and Dharamsala areas are low-chill varieties of apple. Inquiries by The Tribune revealed that the apple varieties that are being successfully grown by farmers in lower hills include the Anna and Golden Dorsett varieties. These varieties were developed in Israel and first introduced in 1959. The low-chill varieties of apple flower in January and February, whereas the varieties sown in high altitudes flower in March and April. The low- chill varieties that are being grown successfully in Dharamsala, bear fruit in June or July, whereas the high-altitude varieties give fruit in September and October. Additional Director, Horticulture, when asked as to what the state government was doing to promote apple in mid or lower Himalayan region, said the department had imported 2,000 low-chill apple saplings from France and distributed these in lower areas of the state. However, the entire apple promotion policy of the state has remained limited to just high-altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh. The apple crop is promoted by the state government in just Shimla, Kullu and tribal areas of Kinnaur and Chamba. It is unfortunate when the low-chill varieties are available since 1959, why the state government does not make concerted efforts to introduce the apple crop in mid-Himalayan regions that include Bilaspur, Kangra, Solan and Sirmaur districts. |
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14 American schoolchildren airlifted to Rampur
Mandi/Sangla, June 24 Hundreds of tourists, who had left behind their vehicles, left for Shimla from Reckong Peo and other parts of Kinnaur after the BRO restored the Wangtoo-Karcham-Powari stretch, linking the Rampur-Reckong Peo highway, yesterday. Locals and trekking groups took the Sangla-Shaung-Chasu-Karcham trek to reach Karcham to take a bus to their destinations as the HRTC has restored its services between Rampur and Reckong Peo, said the officials. It took six hours to reach Sangla from on foot, they added. The PWD has not started work on the Karcham-Sangla road as it needs heavy machineries as the long stretches of the road at four different places have been washed away into the Baspa river, residents said. Pooh, Nako, Chango and the Spiti valley remained cut off from the Hindustan-Tibet Road as the BRO had restored the highway today till the Pangi Nullah. Even the Bhawa valley in Nichar remained cut off as the PWD is yet to restore the link roads as it has no standby machineries to do the mammoth task, PWD engineers said. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened the Kunjam Pass and the Public Works Department (PWD) opened the Saach Pass for traffic. The Manali-Gramphu-Kunjam Pass-Kaza Road has opened for normal traffic and the Kunjam Pass, Chandratal Lake and Spiti valley have been opened for tourists, the officials said. BRO commander for NH-22, AK Singh said they had restored the NH-22 till Pangi Nala beyond Powari today and has set July 15 as deadline to restore the Hindustan Tibet Road for normal traffic till Sumdoh. |
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Most tourists from Kinnaur evacuated
Shimla, June 24 In all 118 persons were evacuated and a large number of local people were airlifted within the district from Pooh to Sumdoh and Reckong Peo and from Sumdoh to Reckong Peo and Pooh. As many as 97 persons were rescued from Sangla, who included 68 tourists, out of whom were 14 Americans. From Nako 15 persons were evacuated and six from Pooh. There are still about 100 local persons queued up for airlifting from Sangla. The state helicopter dropped electronic voting machines (EVMs) and other poll material to Sangla, Pooh, Sumdoh, Gyaban, Choling, Nichar, Jangi and other places. The State Road Transport Corporation resumed bus services between Reckong Peo and Shimla. The IAF helicopters dropped 2,500 litre of kerosene, 40 quintals of wheat flour, 15 quintals of rice and 2.5 quintals of salt at Sangla where the restoration of road connectivity could take about a fortnight. Supplies were also being replenished at Reckong Peo and six trucks of wheat flour and four trucks of cooking gas refills, two tankers of diesel and one of petrol was on way. With sufficient supplies of diesel available, the construction machinery was fully deployed for restoration of roads. The district administration had assessed the demand of diesel for machinery at 3,000 litre per day. The road from the Lahaul side had also been restored up to Sumdoh and if required supplies would be sent from that side. The main problem is being encountered in the restoration of the road from Reckong Peo to Sumdoh as large stretches have been completely wiped out by landslides. There is hardly any construction machinery in between which can be deployed to expedite work and the BRO will have to restore the road gradually. |
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Rain fury: CM asks officials to act now
Shimla, June 24 At a meeting to take stock of the relief efforts in the rain-hit Kinnaur district, Virbhadra said the machinery at the Rongtong and Rukti projects should be replaced as it was demanding frequent repairs and maintenance. They were more than a liability, he added. He directed that one helicopter be stationed at Reckong Peo and three at Rampur for airlifting people, medicine and material. The focus should now be on the intra-district evacuation of people who had been stuck at
various places, said the Chief Minister. A team of officers familiar with the area should be sent to assess the actual losses so that the Central Government could be asked to release appropriate funds for restoration and relief works, he said. Virbhadra was told that a team of 19 officers had reached the affected areas. The Chief Minister stressed on the need for the early restoration of communication network and transportation links in the area. He said the Old Hindustan-Tibet Road, particularly the Urni-Rogi-Kalpa-Chhyaso section, be restored to provide an alternative link during such eventualities. The PWD authorities should work for its maintenance, he added. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials said the Powari-Kasang Road would be cleared in the next three to four days and Kasang-Skiba-Spilo-Pooh-Chango and Sumdo axis would take a minimum of seven to 10 days to reopen. The water supply at Pooh subdivision, which bore the brunt of the catastrophe, would take seven to 10 days to be restored, they said. |
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Pratibha visits Kinnaur
Shimla, June 24 She also apprised them of the rescue-and-relief measures being carried out by
the government to restore normalcy. She said it was an unprecedented calamity and the total loss had been estimated at Rs 2,575 crore. Pratibha said the rehabilitation of the people whose houses had collapsed was the main concern and she would take up the matter with the government. She said it was time to rise above the party lines and make concerted efforts to provide succour to the victims, who had lost everything and would have to start their lives from
a scratch. |
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EVMs airlifted to 34 polling stations
Mandi/Reckong Peo, June 24 There are 52,345 voters in the tribal constituency, who will exercise their right to franchise on June 27. Though the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored the National Highway-22 till Pangi Nullah today and the Public Works Department (PWD) has linked Reckong Peo to Powari, Pooh, Nako, Moorang and Spiti valley remained cut off due to the breaches and landsides on the highway triggered by the June 17-18 untimely rains. The Bhawa valley in Nichar block, the Sangla valley, Jhangi Moorang, Nako, Chango and Sumdhoh are cut off from the rest of the world since June 17. Some polling stations are located in these areas and the EVMs will be taken there, said district officials. State electoral officer Narender Chauhan said the EVMs were being airlifted to 34 such polling stations. The presiding officers and the polling staff there
had been trained for the smooth conduct of poll on June 27, he said. |
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Polytechnic institutes seek relaxation in admission norms
Solan, June 24 This restriction is leading to the exodus of students, who either failed to appear in the PAT or could not clear it, to Punjab where they secured admission easily, thus depriving the institutes in Himachal of adequate student strength. These institutes run three-year courses in various disciplines. In a bid to encash in on this situation, private institutes of Punjab have opened their offices in several towns and prominent cities of the state where they are admitting students to various courses. This trend is more pronounced in places like Nalagarh, Solan, Shimla, Una, Bilaspur etc, which are in the proximity of Punjab. Terming this as a retrograde step, the Principal of a private polytechnic institute said this was depriving the institutes of Himachal of a chance to admit students. And since the intake had declined by 20 to 30 per cent in the last few years due to the presence of 21 institutes, this norm would adversely hit them. The counselling for the general category students is slated to start from July 1 in Himachal, and the presence of five new government polytechnic institutes is another cause of concern for the managements of private institutes. CS Awasthy, Chairman of a private institute, said last year 12 students had opted to take admission in his institute through counselling, but barely six students turned up. He added that it was only after the government relaxed the mandatory norm of PAT that more students came to take admission. This proved how students lacked information about the PAT exam, thus forcing them to spend more on lodging and boarding in a college in Punjab. The managements of private institutes were unanimous in demanding that the government should consider granting these relaxations. Bound by these norms, private institutes had failed to get adequate students in the last session which made it difficult for them to even meet their recurring expenditure, including staff salaries. |
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SFI activists protest at MCM DAV College against fee hike
Kangra, June 24 The SFI activists were led by college unit president Sushant Thakur and joined by senior student leaders Vishal Deep and Vivek Rana. They were demanding the rollback of the fee hike which was 10 to 15 per cent annually made by the management. Wearing black badges, the students gheraoed officiating Principal Prof KC Gupta and office superintendent CK Saini against RUSA. They demanded that RUSA be revoked as it was against the students' interests. They denounced the Congress for hurriedly implementing RUSA in the state putting the student community in the dock. The SFI activists also protested against college Principal Dr Virender Bhatia, who was on medical leave for two months. They stated that both the faculty and the students were protesting in the college premises on a daily basis for their demands and the college was in a shambles and needed a regular Principal. SFI leaders announced that a seminar on RUSA would be held in the college tomorrow. The officiating Principal said RUSA was implemented by HPU and the state government and the college management had nothing to do with it. Regarding fee hike, he said B Com and BCA classes were self-financing and fee hike was unavoidable. |
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BJP honours party’s veteran leaders in Hamirpur
Hamirpur, June 24 Addressing partymen, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal said: “People are fed up with the UPA government and looking towards the BJP-led NDA to form the next government at the Centre.” “The governments are formed with the hard work of party workers and it is very important to honour them for their good work,” he said. The mission of the BJP is not to enjoy power, but to serve people, Dhumal said. BJP state president Sat Pal Singh “Satti” in his address came down heavily on the Congress-led government at the Centre. "The Union Government has turned out to be the most corrupt regime as scams worth Rs 70 lakh crore have been unearthed during its term," he said. “The Congress leaders are having difficulty in finding a candidate for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency and the Chief Minister literally had to plead for votes for Pratibha Singh in the Mandi bypoll,” he claimed. In his address, Anurag also lambasted the Centre and the Uttarakhand Government for their alleged failure in evacuating stranded pilgrims in the rain-ravaged state. “The state government has failed to provide relief to pilgrims who are suffering due to official apathy. Even the Himachal Pradesh Government has done little to help the rain-affected people in Kinnaur,” he alleged. District BJP president Vijay Agnihotri also addressed the party workers. |
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Rs 3.58 crore for 478 dwellings in Bilaspur
Bilaspur, June 24 Pradip said this year 98 per cent dwellings would be constructed and provided to Scheduled Caste families under the Indira Awas Yojna, 40 per cent under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna and 60 per cent for other deserving families. He said Rs 35 crore was being spent under MNREGA in the district during this year and they would achieve a target of completing 4,308 schemes in the entire district. He said all MNREGA payments would be attached with the Aadhaar Card number from now onwards so that beneficiaries received these through their bank accounts direct without the involvement of any other person. The ADM said easy loans worth Rs 2.36 crore were being given under the Swaran Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna and 8,154 hectares would be treated under the Integrated Watershed Management Programme during this year. |
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Vehicle with deodar sleepers impounded
Chamba, June 24 In early hours today, a vehicle bearing No.HP73-6606 crossed the naka and speeded away towards Chamba. The forest and police officials chased and overtook the vehicle for about 7-8 km and seized the timber. Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) ARM Reddy said vehicle driver Vyas Dev had been taken into custody by the police, while the other person, namely Farook, had fled from the scene. The CCF stated that 16 fresh deodar sleepers had been seized and the vehicle impounded by the officials on duty. A case under relevant sections of the Indian Forest Act had been registered at Chamba. Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicle was carrying timber from Khalel to Bhalei in Churah sub-division of the district. |
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Employees urged to donate one-day salary
Bilaspur, June 24 Meanwhile, led by general secretary Raj Pal Gauttam, vice-president Ram Kumar and other prominent truck operator leaders Pyare Lal Chaudhary, Rakesh Kumar, Sita Ram Thakur, Ashok Thakur, Rakesh Dogra, Prem Lal Thakur, Shamsher Gauttam and Harvinder Singh etc, the Bilaspur District Truck Operators Co-operative Society (BDTS) working at the ACC cement factory at Barmana for cement loading work, has decided to donate at least Rs 1,000 on each truck for this cause. Reports said an estimated amount of Rs 20 lakh is expected to be donated by the BDTS for this purpose at the earliest. Local Press Club president Sanjay Sharma and general secretary Kulbhushan Chabba and District Journalists Association president Shakti Upadhyaya said a campaign had already been started for collecting funds. Mandi association donates `21,000 Mandi: The Moti Bazar Swarankar Welfare Association, Mandi, today donated Rs 21,000 to the Prime Minister Relief Fund for flood victims of Uttarakhand. They gave a cheque to Mandi Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar to help the victims, said an official statement here today. |
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CUHP staff donate salary
Kangra, June 24 Meanwhile, residents of the Shahpur Assembly segment today collected Rs 40,000 and handed over the collected amount to HRTC vice-chairman Kewal Singh
Pathania. Pathania said the collection would continue for a week and the amount would be contributed to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
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Rs 6.71-crore budget for Bilaspur Nagar Parishad
Bilaspur, June 24 The meeting was attended by all members of the parishad, including those from the Congress. The budget could not be adopted in the last meeting held earlier this month as all Congress members had boycotted it and there was no quorum. The budget estimates show an income of Rs 7.95 crore. The parishad decided not to impose House Tax. A sum of Rs 35 lakh would be earned as rent from shops, rest houses and guest houses. While Rs 8 lakh would be earned as interest, Rs 2.20 lakh as ‘Tehbazari’ fee and Rs 2 lakh from liquor sale duty. A sum of Rs 1.97 crore would be spent on development works, Rs 63.10 lakh on power and water, Rs 54.75 lakh on sanitation, Rs 6 lakh on parks and Rs 65.82 lakh on maintenance of vehicles, telephones and stationery bills. |
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Consumer forum members stage dharna
Hamirpur, June 24 The members also met the Chief Engineer and other officers of the department and apprised them of the poor quality of water being supplied in the town. They said the quality of drinking water had not improved despite court directions. The forum has also urged the Chief Engineer to hold an inquiry in the filter media supply, which has not been procured for more than a year due to negligence of the certain officials of the department and take strict action against the guilty.
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BJP pays homage to Shyama Prasad Mukherji
Shimla, June 24 He said before his sacrifice, the Indian Constitution was not enforced in Kashmir and Indian citizens had to obtain permit to enter the region. The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir was the "Prime Minister" of the state. Mukherji was a minister in Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet, but he resigned and set up Jan Sangh to fight for the cause of the country.
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Three get 3-year RI for burglary
Kangra, June 24 In case of failure to pay the fine, they would have to undergo imprisonment for another one year. The prosecution said Vijay Kumar, Seshi Pal and Raj Kumar, all residents of Pathankot, had entered the victim's house and decamped with Rs 2 lakh and ornaments worth Rs 5 lakh on November 29, 2011. The police had failed to solve the case and it was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU). Officials of the CIU arrested the three culprits and recovered some stolen gold items at their instance.
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Widow duped of Rs 2.08 lakh by anonymous caller
Nurpur, June 24 The victim started depositing money in bank accounts of different account holders in different banks from June 11 onwards. She had deposited Rs 2.08 lakh till June 18. On Wednesday, she again received a call asking her to deposit Rs 41,000 as the final charges to release the prize money. Only then she realised that she had been duped. DSP Rajiv Atre said a forgery case under Section 420, IPC, had been registered in this connection.
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Woman found hanging
Bilaspur, June 24 She called the police and it started investigations after registering a case. The police has taken the body into its possession for getting its post-mortem examination conducted. It is reported that Saurabh was not at home when the incident took place.
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Woman goes missing
Bilaspur, June 24 Rajender has lodged an FIR at the Barmana police station, near here, saying Manorama married to him for the last 13 years and having four daughters and one son, had gone to see her sister at nearby Sohar-Dehar village, along with her son Rahul, on June 18. But she never returned. Even her mobile phone was not responding. Rajender Kumar accused a person of Sirmaur
district for kidnapping her with her son. The police has started its search.
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Man found murdered
Nurpur, June 24 The body of the deceased was found in the corridor of an under-construction building of the Government High School here this morning. It was first noticed by schoolchildren. Panchayat pradhan Lata Devi informed the Nurpur police that rushed to the spot. Reports said the deceased was a labourer and had left his house last evening and didn’t return. The body bore marks on the neck and bleeding from the mouth.
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Shimla, June 24
