Baijnath, July 23
Baijnath-Paprola, a religious centre of the state, is in a bad shape. The twin towns, which were accorded the status of sub-divisional headquarters in 1995 with the efforts of the then Forest Minister, late Pt Sant Ram, are still devoid of basic amenities. The population of the twin towns has gone from 5,000 to 30,000 during the past six years, but the state government is yet to initiate steps to improve facilities.

The governments who ruled the state allegedly extended step-motherly treatment to the twin towns and failed to set up even a municipal council which is urgently needed here. Though the BJP government had announced to set up a municipal council here in 2010 but the matter remained confined to official files.

Potholed roads and streets, overflowing drains, contaminated drinking water tell the tale of the town, which is fast turning into a slum. Most of the interior streets need immediate repair. Due to overflowing drains, water collects on these streets, which stink, making it difficult for the residents to move.

Garbage can be seen in every nook and corner of the town. There is no sewerage system in the town, which has caused insanitary and unhygienic conditions. The condition of internal localities of the town is the worst and has been virtually reduced to slums.

Besides, the narrow Pathankot-Mandi national highway that passes through this town has become a major problem for the residents of this town because of frequent traffic jams. Despite repeated requests, the state government has not cleared the project for the construction of a bypass to this town.

During a recent visit of Chief Minister Vir Bhadara Singh to the town, Kishori Lal, MLA, raised these issues and pleaded for the clearance to the construction of the bypass, setting up of a Municipal Council and initiate other development projects at the earliest.

At present the twin towns are governed by two panchayats, which have failed to keep the towns clean. There has been a manifold increase in the population and the panchayats are finding it difficult to maintain the town with the meagre funds allotted every year.

Residents of the towns say that since these towns are expanding fast, a plan should be drawn up to provide basic amenities to them on a par with other towns of the state. 

Due to overflowing drains, water collects on these streets, which stink, making it difficult for the residents to move.

There is no sewerage system in the town, which has caused insanitary and unhygienic conditions.

The condition of internal localities of the town is the worst and has been virtually reduced to slums.

Palampur, July 23
The efforts of the experts at the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University (HPAU) to register the red rice variety of Himachal Pradesh, locally known as 'Chhohartu' yielded results when the rice variety got registration under the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act 2001.

Thakur Nehar Singh, representative of the farming community, had grown 'Chhohartu' in Rohru tehsil, Shimla, got the registration certificate from Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Tariq Anwar at a function held in New Delhi recently.

'Chhohartu' is the first variety of any crop from Himachal Pradesh to get the national recognition. Dr RP Kaushik, former Head of the HP Agricultural University Rice Research Centre, Malan, was the man behind the registration.

Dr Kaushik said it was recognition of the efforts of the farming community as well experts of HPAU. Farmers had inherited the variety from their forefathers, who had been cultivating and maintaining the variety from times immemorial. He said the red rice variety was grown in Chhohara and Ransar Valleys of Rohru sub-division, at the altitudes between 1,500 and more than 2,000 meters above the sea level. Thakur Nehar Singh thanked the HPAU experts and scientists for their role in the registration of 'Chhohartu'. He said the red rice had a special significance in the social life of the community. The paddy of 'Chhohartu' -red rice was gifted on various occasions under different names such as 'Poli' when gifted on occasions of happiness, 'Path' when gifted to a sick person.

Nurpur, July 23
The Kangra district Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has demanded all incentives for fruit growers of lower areas on the pattern of apple growers of upper areas. A meeting of the BKU was held at Rit village, near here, on Sunday. It was presided over by Jagdeep Sambyal.

Sambyal said the union had urged the state government to adopt the same yardstick for apple growers of upper areas and citrus and mango growers of lower areas of the state as these crops were directly linked with the economy of the growers of the state.

“The state government is procuring trucks for transporting apples to big fruit markets outside the state by exempting goods and entry taxes to the transporters. We are not opposed to these incentives, but the government should also formulate the same policy for the growers of other fruits in the state so that they do not feel discriminated against,” he said.

Sambyal rued that the growers of lower areas had been facing problems in transporting their produce outside the state to fetch more remunerative prices. 

Nurpur, July 23
Over 12,000 monkeys are playing havoc with cereal, fruit and vegetable crops in lower Kangra district comprising Nurpur and Jawali sub-divisions.

The forest department has recently completed simian census in all four forest ranges in Nurpur forest division in lower areas of Kangra valley.

According to information gathered from forest department, the department had counted 12,548 monkeys and 50 'langoors' in Nurpur, Kotla, Indora, Fatehpur and Rey forest ranges under Nurpur forest division.

Nurpur range recorded the highest number of simian i.e. 3,928, followed by Indora range with 2,640, Jawali with 2,106 and Rey with 1,573.

The forest department had undertaken census of monkeys in three stages in three days. In the first stage- pre-census, in the second stage-actual census and in the third stage-post census were undertaken by the experts of the forest department.

In the pre-census, the habitats and groups of monkeys were identified. In the actual census, monkeys were counted thoroughly and in the post census, the department experts ensured that none of the monkey group was left in this operation.

The earlier census of the simian in the area had been undertaken by the department in 2012 which recorded simian count to 13,510.

In some areas of lower Kangra district, the monkey menace has forced the farmers to leave cultivation in their field. The forest department has targeted to sterilise 3,500 monkeys in Nurpur forest division in the current year. Divisional Forest Officer, Nurpur, Sanjay Sen said the department would undertake sterilisation in Nurpur, Indora, Fatehpur and Rey forest ranges and the wild life wing of the department would undertake the operation in Kotla forest range.

Talking to The Tribune he revealed that culling of simians had been banned and only their sterilisation was an option to control their further growth. 

Bilaspur, July 23
One forest guard has been suspended and another transferred from his beat in the Naina Deviji area after two villagers complained of illegal felling of trees from forests.

Ram Lal and Chint Ram of Dolan village had complained to the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) here saying that thousands of trees of khair, sheesham, palash and banyan had been felled by wood smugglers from forests in their beats, including Gwalthai, Bassi and Dabat of the Changar area of Naina Deviji, and sold in Punjab.

DFO DR Kaushal said as he received this complaint, he rushed to the site and found the truth in this complaint and suspended Forest Guard Sanjiv Kumar of Bassi beat and fixed his headquarters at Bilaspur town office. He said another Forest Guard of Gwalthai beat Balbir Singh had been immediately transferred to Chadole beat.

The DFO said he had Suharghat Range Officer (Ranger) Roop Lal Sharma go into the details and present a report. He said action would be taken according to the findings of this inquiry. 

Dalhousie, July 23
The emerging issue of atrocities and abuses against womenfolk has increased manifold and the eradication of the social evil cannot be over-emphasised or overlooked, keeping this vital issue as the mainstay.

"The Initiator Brigade" based at Dalhousie under the aegis of 39 Mountain Division, optimally utilised the Northern Command Children Summer Adventure Camp-2013 to undertake the campaign of “Respect for Womenfolk” and other social issues by means of jagriti march, symposium, signature campaign, street play and distribution of brochures.

The camp addressed the adventure facet of each child by organising various adventure sports like rock climbing, rappelling, rivulet crossing and flying fox crossing in Panchpula near Dalhousie.

The campers were also made to participate in treasure hunt at Dalhousie and forest trek in Kalatop.

The children were made to participate in a cleanliness, restoration and plantation drive in the St Andrew’s Church, St Peter’s Church and Dalhousie Club as a mark of respect for the heritage buildings.

To inculcate confidence, interaction and mutual understanding, a friendly basketball match was organised between Dalhousie Public School (DPS) and Josh Campers at Balun ground.

As a major step toward cohesiveness and trust among the policing agency and citizens, an informal interaction and a traffic regulation exercise was conducted, where the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dalhousie, Raman Sharma, had an open interaction with the campers for becoming law-abiding citizens of tomorrow.

The summer camp had been a grand success which had undoubtedly imprinted good virtues, values and ethos on the young budding minds.

Chamba, July 23
The official calendar bearing the photograph of the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at the Ridge in Shimla is missing in the press room and the reading room managed by the state Information and Public Relations (IPR) Department, Chamba. Both the room are in a state of neglect.

The furniture there is gathering dust because of the negligence of the department. The reading room for the general public, which adjoins the press room, is also in a bad shape.

With the monsoon season at its peak, various government and non-government organisations have been carrying out afforestation drives across the state.

Apart from the Forest Department, municipal bodies and other government agencies, schools, colleges and other educational institutes along with NGOs pursuing environmental issues and other social bodies organised a “Van Mahotsava” early this week in the state capital.

The main event was organised at Jakhu by the municipal corporation where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched the plantation drive. The Rotary Club, Shimla, organised a tree plantation drive at Nav Bahar Cemetery as part of its social responsibility. Mayor of the town, Sanjay Chauhan, was the chief guest on the occasion and planted a sapling of deodar. He lauded the efforts of the club in not only trying to beautify the landscape but also creating awareness among the people about the need to preserve the environment.

The club had planted saplings at the same site last year too. Dr Ajay Sood, president of the club, said the survival rate of the plantation was more than 70 to 80 per cent, which was quite satisfying. The local Divisional Forest Officer, Inder, and Forest Ranger Sushil were also present on the occasion. The president of Rotary club urged the citizens to participate actively in the drive, especially the youth, and also promised to be a part of the post-planting care of the sapling such as regular watering and proper protection.

Bilaspur, July 23
The Himachal Pradesh State NGOs Federation has urged the Chief Minister and the DGP to ensure public safety.

Federation president Ram Singh said there were frequent cases of theft in Bilaspur and Ghumarwin areas and in other parts of the district.

The police has failed to catch the miscreants in such cases.

He alleged there were instances when FIRs were registered, but no action was taken as some police personnel or influential persons were involved in such 
incidents. —OC

Shimla, July 23
In a rarest of rare cases, a team of doctors, led by Dr Rajeev Bhardwaj, Professor in Cardiology, at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here saved the life of Ram Prasad (48) by performing on him angioplasty and stenting during a cardiac arrest.

Prasad was suffering from breathlessness and diagnosed with leakage from an aortic valve. “He was advised surgical replacement of the valve, but during angiography on July 17 he suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest, complicating the situation,” said Dr Bhardwaj.

Dr Bhardwaj found that the left main coronary artery was completely blocked and blood was not going to the arteries. “Even after 10 minutes the cardiac arrest was still going on and there were hardly any chances of the survival of the patient,” he said.

Dr Bhardwaj did a balloon dilation, but the cardiac arrest continued. He put a stent in the left main coronary artery, resulting in the blood pressure improving to 40-50 and then within three minutes came up to 130 mm Hg. After four hours, the patient started breathing without respiratory support. The next day he was fully conscious and discharged on July 20.

Bhardwaj was assisted by Sanjeev Asotra, Rajeev Marwah, both Assistant Professors, Nirmal Kolte and Ravi, both DM residents. Technician Jitender Kaushik and staff nurses Shashu and Nitu also assisted in the surgery. 

Bilaspur, July 23
The Himachal Pradesh state Employees Confederation has urged the Chief Minister to reconsider the government decision to restart the Institute of Administrative Tribunal in view of poor financial condition of the state.

They were also unhappy with the past experiences regarding its functioning, where not less than 24,000 cases were pending since the past several years. Confederation president Vinod Kumar said the Tribunal was abolished by the former government after due consideration, taking into account its all aspects of functioning during its 23 years of existence, from 1986 to 2008, as it had failed to provide quick relief to employees.

The sole objective of the Tribunal was to give relief to aggrieved employees and put curbs on objectionable practice of political interference in matters related to staff, including their transfers, he said.

Kangra, July 23
The historic Tandon Club in Kangra is in a shambles and craving for help as most of the members of the club had maintained distance from it.

For the past one decade, the members of the club had not even met once.

Seventyfour-year-old Tandon Club is located at the prime land on the Dharamsala-Shimla-National Highway in the heart of the town.

The club building, which was a glory of the town, was lying in a dilapidated condition due to non-maintenance. The foundation stone of the club was laid on April 3, 1939, by the then Kangra Deputy Commissioner BR Tandon, ICS.

One of the club members said there was no meeting of the executive committee of the club for the past more than 10 years. He said a bore well was dug on the premises of the club near the entrance and the water was being supplied to a few families. The compound in front of the building had turned muddy and marshy.

Kangra SDM Ajit Bhardwaj said the club would be revamped soon. He said the meeting for reorganising the same had been fixed for July 30, 2013.

He said the condition of the club was in his knowledge and efforts would be made to bring back its glory. He further said in future it would be ensured that the club runs in a way as per the objectives envisaged in its constitution. He said efforts would be made to make it a major attraction for residents of the town.

Solan, July 23
As many as 128 candidates were selected for various jobs by industrial units during a job fair organised by the National Institute for Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development (NIESBUD), an apex body of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises at Baddi yesterday.

Though as many as 750 participants were interviewed, only 128 were selected for employment. Besides, 89 persons have been shortlisted and they would be called for the second round of interview.

The total number of trades in which NIESBUD is at present giving training support to unemployed youth, underprivileged sections and the downtrodden of society is over 120. Joint Director of the organisation Sunil Bhardwaj said NIESBUD leaves no stone unturned to groom trainees, not only in their chosen discipline, but overall also.

Director-General Arun Kumar Jha said NIESBUD had recently developed a CD highlighting varied information on entrepreneurship, which is an essential tool for those willing to set up their own enterprise. He said this CD was available with the partner institutes of NIESBUD.

Poonam Sinha, Regional Head, NIESBUD, Dehradun, said providing employment and self-employment support to unemployed youth were part of their mission and job fairs were organised to achieve this motive.

Various industrial units that participated in the fair included Printman, Baddi Foil Pvt Ltd, Satovekraft, Dominos, AP Auto Pvt Ltd, Redstone Industries India, Vardhman Textiles, Elin Appliances, Emmbros Auto, Hotel Clark, Best Western Royal Park, Cosy Auto, VK Textile, Winsome and Laghu Udyog Bharti.

Kunjana Singh was the chief guest on the concluding day of the fair yesterday.

Tajinder Goyal, state president, Laghu Udyog Bharti, said such fairs allow the industries to pick trained youth for various jobs while allowing them employment opportunities.