Shimla, July 2
Himachal today earned the distinction of becoming the first state in the country to be declared smoke-free with a compliance of 84.52 per cent, based on a scientific technical survey conducted as per international standards.

The milestone achieved by the state was formally announced by Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur here today. He stressed the need for taking steps to check smoking at home which was at an alarming high of 83 per cent, which affected all the family members.

However, the fact that 60 per cent of the youth in Himachal in the age group 20 to 34 years smoke, as compared to the national figure of 39.3 per cent, is a matter of grave concern. The fact that an overwhelming number of 21 per cent youth in the state get hooked to smoking when they are still in school or college is even more worrisome.

As per a smoke-free compliance arrived at jointly by the Department of Community Medicine of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and the Population Research Centre at Himachal Pradesh University, Bilaspur followed by Shimla have a compliance percentage of 92.76 and 92.17 per cent.

“To be declared a smoke-free state, the compliance has to be above 80 per cent and the average for the entire state has been worked out at 85.42 per cent,” said Narinder Sharma, Executive Director, HP Voluntary Health Association (HPVHA).

Srinivas Joshi, consultant, HPVHA, said a total of 9,609 places, including educational institutes, offices, health institutions, industry, public conveniences and eating facilities, were taken into consideration for various parameters like display of no smoking signages, non-availability of active smoking, smoking aids, cigarettes or traces of recent smoking. The compliance was found to be highest in educational places at 93.14 per cent, followed by 91.10 in health institutions and 87.83 in offices with the average for the state being 85.42 per cent.

As far as districts are concerned, Kangra with a low of 80.17 per cent has the worst compliance followed by Chamba being a close second at 80.30 per cent, Hamirpur at 80.86 per cent, Sirmaur at 81.06 per cent and Una at 82.95 per cent. The urban areas of the state have a slightly better compliance with regard to non-smoking at 51 per cent as compared to 49 per cent in rural areas.

Shimla, July 2
The state has received 143 per cent excess rain during the current monsoon, making June an unusually wet month with all the 12 districts recording higher than normal precipitation. The average rainfall across the state came to 241 mm, against the normal of 99 mm, which was the highest for the last one decade.

The monsoon arrived 10 days earlier than the normal date of June 25 and the tribal district of Kinnaur, which bore the brunt of weather god’s fury, received 335 mm of rain, 804 per cent more than normal 37 mm. Sirmaur district, which borders Uttarakhand, recorded the maximum precipitation of 497 mm during the month against the normal of 141 mm (253 per cent more). Una district received 290 mm, exceeding the normal precipitation of 68 mm by 329 per cent.

Kangra district, which normally receives high rainfall, had 365 mm, 151 per cent more than the normal of 146 mm. Similarly, Mandi district had 387 mm (+141 per cent), Solan 337 mm (+159 per cent), Bilaspur 276 mm (+157 per cent), Hamirpur 243 mm (+104 per cent) and Shimla 231 mm (+120 per cent). Lahaul-Spiti was the driest with 65 mm (+25 per cent), followed by Chamba which received 173 mm (+30 per cent).

Among towns, Paonta Sahib received the highest 935.6 mm of rain, followed by Gohar (Mandi), 658 mm, Dharamsala, 559 mm, Renuka, 506 mm, Nahan, 498 mm, Nagrota Suriyan, 475 mm, and Baijnath, 464 mm.

The high rainfall in the hills in June has raised the level of all the reservoirs in the region quickly. The level of Bhakra reservoir reached 1,601.56 ft on June 25 as against 1,532.81 ft on the same day last year. Similarly, the level of the Ranjit Sagar Dam was 1,683.40 ft, 45 ft higher than the last year, and that of the Pong Dam stood at 1,321.24 ft, 25 ft higher than the last year.

The early arrival of monsoon not only kept forest fires at bay but also ensured timely sowing of maize, the main kharif crop which is mostly grown in rain-fed areas. Farmers are entirely dependent on monsoon as only 22 per cent of the total the cultivated area had irrigation facility. The early rain has been beneficial for the sowing paddy and transplantation has been completed in almost 60 to 70 per cent of the total area under the crop.

The early rain has been beneficial for apple crop in the lower elevations, which usually suffers due to the lack of moisture due to deficient rain in June.

The rain has helped improve the size and colour of the fruit and also the juice content.

The growers have started harvesting the early maturing varieties almost a fortnight in advance.

Shimla, July 2
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said efforts would be made to revive the old Hindustan-Tibet Road, though the priority of the government remained in restoring all road links in the rain-ravaged tribal district of Kinnaur.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the state government would take up with the Centre the revival and maintenance of the old Hindustan-Tibet road as it was more dependable because of its stable strata. “I would like to assure the people of Kinnaur that farmers whose crops of pea, rajmah and apple have suffered extensive damage will be compensated adequately by the state government,” he said.

He regretted that because of the poor condition of roads, farmers of Kinnaur could not take their produce to the market. “We will make provision for purchasing the produce of the farmers from their fields so that they do not suffer huge losses,” he stated. He also denied reports that there was shortage of foodgrains and other ration in Kinnaur.

These would be airlifted as and when required.

On the issue of alleged phone tapping case, the Chief Minister said strict action would be taken against those behind the illegal act. “No Home Minister will ever give directions to any government agency to tap somebody’s phone,” he remarked in a reply to a query if action would be taken against the Home Minister during the BJP regime for phone tapping.

“Those aspiring for a change in their portfolios should stop this wishful thinking as no change in the department of ministers will be made nor is anyone likely to be dropped,” he reiterated. He also added that the lone vacancy in his Cabinet would be filled up in due course of time.

Virbhadra credited the victory of his wife Pratibha Singh in the Mandi by-poll to the leadership of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the policies of his government.

Shimla, July 2
For the first time in the country, 5,500 families affected by the construction of the 231-MW Chamera III Hydroelectric Project will get cash benefit under the new policy of distribution of 1 per cent of free power available as royalty among the families in the project-affected area (PAA).

An amount of Rs 3.5 crore will be distributed among these families, and below poverty line (BPL) families will get a maximum of Rs 16,000 and above poverty line (APL) Rs 12,943 for the year (July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013) for which the rate of power was Rs 3 per unit. The 1 per cent power is in addition to the 12 per cent free power the state has to be provided as royalty by the power developers.

As per the notification issued today by the Directorate of Energy (DoE), the nodal agency for the purpose, in all the 14 panchayats, nine of the Mehla block and five of the Bharmour block have been declared as affected partially or entirely, They are Lothal, Radi, Sunara, Gehra, Kilod, Brehi, Khudel, Chhatrari, Lech (Mehla), Aura, Ullansa, Khanni, Poolanpalan and Garola (Bharmour).

The amount will be divided among panchayats on the basis of population and land acquired for the project. While 85 per cent of the amount will be distributed equally among the project-affected families (PAF), the remaining 15 per cent will be divided among the BPL families.

The department has also notified the project affected zone (PAZ) where general development activities will be undertaken under the local area development fund (LADF) scheme. The five panchayats notified under the PAZ are Preena and Piuhra in the Chamba block and Durgathi, Jagat and Tundah in the Bharmour block.

The benefit will be available as annuity for the entire life of the project. Thus, the PAF will gain with an increase in the rates of power.

Solan, July 2
Three labourers were killed and two others injured in a blast at a paper mill in Baddi this afternoon.

The mishap occurred after diesel leaked from a truck and it caught fire due to sparks from the welding work at Bhandari Deepak Industries Private Limited. An LPG cylinder also caught fire leading to a blast.

The blast was so powerful that three labourers were killed on the spot, while two others, who were inside the truck, were injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital, where their condition is said to be stable.

The incident exposed the negligent attitude of the unit management which failed to take safety measures at the plant. The presence of an LPG cylinder in the proximity of the welding works was also an invitation to danger.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Bir Bahadur visited the spot to look into the matter. Superintendent of Police S Arul Kumar said a case of negligence under Section 304-A, IPC, had been registered and further investigations were going on. He said the persons who were killed had received 100 per cent burn injuries due to the blast and it was a case of negligence.

The deceased have been identified as Harbhajan Singh (41) of Habbobal, Ludhiana, Ravinder Pal Singh (45) of Farukabad, Bihar, and Kundan from Bihar. The injured labourers, Anil Kumar and Sunil Kumar, are also from Bihar.

Police officials said a team of Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga, would be called to help in assessing the incident. The post-mortem examination of the bodies will be conducted at the IGMC in Shimla tomorrow.

Shimla, July 2
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has said the construction of a structure for running a dhaba on a forest land did not come under the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

The high court was looking into an application filed by a dhaba owner at Marhi (Rohtang), who challenged the eviction order passed by the Divisional Forest Officer, Kullu, stating that it was against the provisions of the Act.

While dismissing the plea of the applicant, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice RB Misra observed that it was an Act to recognise and vest forest rights and occupation of forest land in scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. "In the present case, we are concerned with the applicant, who claims to be from a scheduled tribe. However, to fulfil the qualification of a forest-dwelling scheduled tribe, the person must establish that he was primarily residing in the forest and that he depends on the forest for his bona fide livelihood needs. Thus, merely being a scheduled tribe member is not enough," the Bench observed.

It stated that to come under the ambit of the Act, the person concerned must be primarily residing in the forest. It stated that the person would get the right to have that land only for activities specified in the Act and constructing a structure for running a dhaba on forest land was not in its ambit.

The court had earlier directed the state government to remove unauthorised dhabas, hotels, catering and food stalls between Kothi and Rohtang Pass. As a consequence of that order, the Divisional Forest Officer, Kullu Forest Division, had issued a notice for eviction-cum-removal of encroachment on the government forest land to the applicant. 

Shimla, July 2
In compliance of the order passed by the HP High Court in a case regarding alleged illegal appointments made in various departments by the state from 1993 to 1998, the investigation officer of the case yesterday submitted the progress report before the court.

After perusing it, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Kuldip Singh further listed the matter for August 5, 2013. In its earlier order, the court had directed the investigation officer to remain present in the court with the record of the case.

The court had passed this order on an application filed by SM Katwal, former chairman of the HP Subordinate Services Selection Board, alleging that despite registering an FIR on the directions issued by the court on November 7, 2005, no investigation was done in the alleged illegal recruitments case and no progress was made in the case after the court stopped monitoring it.

Kullu, July 2
After facing constant rain and fog hazards here for 15 days in June, Air India today suspended all its flight operations between Delhi and Kullu-Manali till September 15.

The airlines took this decision in view of the monsoon. “All the bookings have been cancelled as tourist inflow has decreased in Kullu-Manali since the last week of June.

However, the move of Air India has raised the ire of the hotel industry, which had toiled hard with the Civil Aviation Ministry to resume flights after seven months on May 15.

Air India has informed the Airport Authority of India (AAI) about the suspension of its flights to Kullu from July 1 to September 15.

Sources said Air India pilots could not land aircraft at the Kullu-Manali airport for almost 15 days in June due to bad weather. “The flights returned from Sundarnagar in June, which in turn had put passengers to a lot of inconvenience and ran the airlines into losses,” the sources said.

The pilots said visibility at the Larji hills, which comes on the way to the Kullu airport, remained poor.

The month of May was smooth after Air India resumed its flights on May 15 after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the state tourism industry mounted pressure on the ministry. “Air India operated a six-day flight schedule to Kullu once a week flying 30 passengers,” said managers of the airlines here.

AR Thakur, president, Manali Hoteliers’ Association, said the decision of the airlines would hit the inflow of high-end tourists to the state and send a negative message to tourists all over the world.

YK Sharma, AAI in charge, Kullu airport, said flights had been stopped from July 1 to September 15 till further decisions due to bad weather.

Dharamsala, July 2
Balbir Tegta, an IAS officer, was today appointed Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) by the state government.

Tegta joined as Chairman at the Dharamsala-based office of the education board. He was presently Secretary of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha.

Tegta, a resident of Rohroo subdivision in Shimla, did his graduation from DAV college, Jalandhar, and Government College, Chandigarh. He did his post-graduation from Panjab University, Chandigarh, in public administration. His wife Anita is also an IAS officer.

The present government has also opted for an IAS officer over educationists as Chairman of the school education board.

The previous government had also posted retired IAS officer Balbir Sharma as Chairman of the education board after the infamous scam in which many students were found to have been declared pass without appearing in examinations.

Before that CL Gupta, an educationist, was appointed Chairman of the board.

During the previous Congress regime also, educationist BR Rahi's stint as board Chairman remained shrouded in controversy over declaring a former Congress minister's daughter a topper.

A case in the matter was registered by the state Vigilance and proceedings are going on in a Dharamsala-based court.

Shimla, July 2
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched the second phase of Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme for the people availing benefits of various government schemes here today.

The Chief Minister said the second phase had been started in six districts, including Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Solan, Kullu and Mandi. “A sum of Rs 8.25 crore will be transferred in the bank accounts of 9,189 persons under various government benefit schemes,” he said.

He added that the first phase of the DBT scheme was introduced in January 2013 and so far, Rs 2.16 crore had been deposited in the bank accounts of 8,452 beneficiaries under various schemes.

He said the scheme would benefit people belonging to SC, ST, OBC and minorities for availing benefits of scholarship schemes, beneficiaries under the Indira Gandhi Matritav Sahyog Yojna, National Social Assistance Programme, old-age pension and Dr Ambedkar and Swami Vivekanand Scholarships. 

Mandi, July 2
Technologists have prepared a road map for building a sun-charged, smarter direct current (DC) power micro grid system that suits the power sector, mainly in the ecologically sensitive Himalayas.

“This system will be secure from terrorist and virus attacks, stable, low cost and reliable for sustainable energy sector in the country,” technologists said.

Director, IIT, Mandi, Prof TA Gonsalves and Prof S Mahulikar, who inaugurated a national workshop on “Strategic Research Vision to Build a Smarter Grid” that concluded at IIT, Mandi, stressed the need to devise globally recognised solutions for the problems of society and industry mainly in the fragile eco-system of the Himalayas. The industry institutions and social groups must join hands to solve the challenges of security, stability and reliability for a sustainable energy sector, Professor Gonsalves added.

In his keynote address, Professor Gonsalves said the economical DC micro-grid could solve the problem of energy deficit and reliability of power grid for the rural sector. “It utilises and converts direct sunlight available free to us and is a part of low-cost technologies development suited for the rural sector,” he added.

Professor Mahulikar said the country needed an integrated research planning for energy as well as natural resources. “It is a vision for building a smarter grid and its suitable applications for efficient power grid operation,” he added.

Workshop coordinators Dr BS Rajpurohit and Dr Samar Agnihotri emphasised on developing the technological and regulatory solutions to build a healthier and economical power grid. “This grid will be efficient, free from virus and terrorist attacks and we are already introducing incremental changes in the present system. It will cater to renewable energy sources like small hydro energy, wind energy and solar energy for the power sector,” Dr Samar added.

Shimla, July 2
Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited today donated Rs 15 lakh towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the rehabilitation and relief works in the flood-affected area of Kinnaur district.

A high-level delegation of Ranbaxy called on the Chief Minister in New Delhi today and presented him a cheque. Arun Sawhney, Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories, offered all possible support on behalf of the organisation.

Palampur, July 2
Urban Development Minister Sudheer Sharma today said after a gap of 15 years the Congress had got a lead in the Joginder Nagar Assembly constituency in the recently concluded byelections for the Mandi parliamentary constituency in which Pratibha Singh was elected.

The minister, who was in charge of the Joginder Nagar region in the byelections, said in the past two Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was defeated by the BJP in Joginder Nagar by a margin of over 9,000 votes, but the current election results had proved that people had reposed their faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

The minister said corruption and poor governance during the BJP regime in the state remained a key issue in the campaign for the byelection. He said the Congress was committed towards providing a "clean" and corruption-free administration in the state.

Sharma said the Chief Minister had directed the ministers and MLAs to hold “khula darbars” in their respective constituencies to address grievances of people at their doorstep. He said the Chief Minister, too, would hold khula darbars soon.