Mandi/Kullu, August 2
Due to unavailability of enough market space for apples in the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) shed, Azadpur, Delhi, the apple prices crashed from Rs 1,500 per standard box to Rs 1,100 per box.

The decrease in the prices of apples in Delhi has also sent markets in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla crashing for the past one week.

The number of apple trucks from Kullu, Mandi and Shimla to the Azadpur market has soared to 700 every day. However, only 350-400 truckloads of apples are being sold at Azadpur daily.

Apple growers said a glut situation had been created there, which was posing problems for them.

They lamented that the market authorities had not made enough space available for apples.

"Long rows of apple-loaded trucks from the Kundli border to the Azadpur mandi have become a big headache. The fruit overripes or rots in the trucks due to the sweltering heat in Delhi as it is being unloaded after three to five days," said Laxman Thakur, chairman, Ecohort Growers Society.

"An APMC shed in Azadpur, which accommodates about 80 trucks daily, collapsed and has not been repaired so far. Similarly, mango and pomegranate sellers have not vacated space for apples ," he said.

The apple growers alleged that the glut had been created deliberately by APMC commission agents to bring down the prices.

They said the price of an apple box of 15 kg in Kullu had come down from Rs 600-1100 to Rs 500-750 in the past week.

The price of a 25-kg apple box now is Rs 1,100 as compared to Rs 1,500 per box sold on July 25. "The farmers' profit margins have dropped drastically for which the APMC mismanagement is to blame," said an apple grower.

“We have taken up the matter with the APMC and asked them to make space for apples as the season has picked up in Himachal Pradesh,” said Deepak Dhawan, president, Shimla Commission Agents, Azadpur.

About 40 per cent space has been vacated by the pomegranate sellers so far as its season is over. “We expect the mango agents will do the same in the next few days as the season is over,” he said.

Shimla, July 2
The monkey and langur census undertaken in the state after almost a decade has shown a considerable decline in the number of simians with the latest figure being 2.36 lakh as compared to an estimated population of 3.19 lakh recorded in 2004.

The Wildlife wing of the Forest Department has for the first time revealed the figures of the census that was undertaken on June 29. The department has compiled the figure of 2.36 lakh monkeys and about 18,000 langurs in the latest census, which indicates a decline of almost 30 per cent over the last 10 years. The number of langurs in the 2004 census was 56, 986 which indicates a major decline in the last one decade.

"The estimation of the monkey population was undertaken at temples, roadside, wildlife sanctuaries, the rural and urban areas so that a near-exact number can be arrived at," said AK Gulati, Principal Chief Conservator, Wildlife. He said the decline in their population could be attributed to monkey sterilisation campaign, with four centres functioning in the state.

As per the figures, the highest concentration of monkeys has been found in Una, Nurpur, Hamirpur and Rajgarh in Sirmour district. Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts have negligible monkey population. The number of monkeys has gone down from 1,700 to 1,464 in the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Four monkey sterilisation centres are functioning at Tutikandi in Shimla, Sastar in Hamirpur, Gopalpur in Kangra and one at Una. Three more centres at Chamba, Sundernagar and Paonta Sahib are ready for inauguration. The department proposes to set up 12 primate parks, spread over 10 hectares where about 2,000 sterilised monkeys will be kept.

As part of another long-term strategy, fruit trees and shrubs which will provide food for the simians will be planted in over 10,000 hectares. A project worth Rs 200 crore has already been sent by the Forets Department to the Centre for funding.

Shimla, August 2
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated an "ultra-modern" data centre of Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank (HPSCB) at the Training Institute of the bank at Shangti-Summerhill, here today.

He said with this, the State Cooperative Bank had joined the group of elite banks having this sophisticated facility. He said the data centre, set up at a cost of Rs 6 crore, would provide security, protection and integrity of organisational data besides ensuring fast leverage to multiple delivery channels such as internet and mobile banking.

The Chief Minister said the data centre would ensure logical access control to identified and authorised persons only and would provide protection from hacking and virus threats. It would have automated standby equipment in case of any failure related to fire, water and other natural calamities.

He said the bank would complete 60 years of its formation on August 21 this year and congratulated the bank for attaining new heights. He said the bank was competing with commercial banks and had become the first State Cooperative Bank in the country to be completely functioning on the Core Banking Solutions (CBS) mode.

He said the HPSCB had shown the courage of opening its branches in the interior of the state where other banks hesitate to work and consequently, had carved a niche in the hearts of people in the state.

The Chief Minister congratulated the bank for being the first cooperative bank to be on the National Financial Switch (NFS) network by virtue of which customers of the bank could use their ATM cards at ATMs of all other banks nationwide and vice-versa. He appreciated the bank for opening MNREGA accounts and successfully implementing Government of India's ambitious Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy scheme.

HPSCB chairman Harsh Mahajan said all the branches of bank were working on the online mode and people living even in remote areas such as Dodra Kwar, Bharmour, Tissa and Pooh were getting computerised banking facilities.

He said the bank had a deposit base of Rs 6,000 crore and a loaning portfolio of Rs 3,100 crore. He said the bank had won four national first prizes amongst cooperatives banks.

Mahajan said the endeavour of the bank was to open 29 new branches this year, out of which six would be opened shortly. He said the bank would recruit about 200 employees on various posts soon.

Dharamsala, August 2
The Food Security Bill will increase the current account deficit and worsen the economic condition of the country. National president of the BJP Rajnath Singh said this while addressing delegates of the party at a state-level meeting in Palampur today.

He said the country was facing crises. Many international agencies such as Goldman Sachs had indicated that the economy of the country would not revive in the near future. The value of rupee was going down.

The currency had devalued to such an extent that it was among the lowest in the world. This had increased the cost of imports, mainly fuels, that was further burdening the economy, Rajnath Singh said.

When asked if the BJP or the NDA would declare its prime ministerial candidate, Rajnath remained evasive. He said, "Ask the Congress about its prime ministerial candidate. Ours is already clear."

Rajnath also alleged that the security of the country had never been as weak as during the stint of the present UPA government.

"In such a scenario, only the BJP can save the country. I admit that there may be some weaknesses in the BJP. However, it is the best alternative to the Congress," he said.

He said there were just three national parties in the country. These include the Congress, the BJP and the communists. The communists stood divided today. The Congress had also suffered a split many times. However, the BJP had never witnessed any split though many leaders may have left the party or rejoined it again, Rajnath said.

He was here to inaugurate a 3-day training camp for state delegates of the BJP in view of the coming parliamentary elections. The other senior leaders of the party, including JP Nadda, national general secretary, Balbir Punj, national vice-president, Prem Kumar Dhumal, former Chief Minister, Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member, Anurag Thakur, national president of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha and Satpal Satti, state president of the BJP, were also present. BJP MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant, was not present at the meeting.

The meeting at Palampur that is the home town of Shanta Kumar seems to be an attempt to forge unity among the two party factions in the state. The BJP's performance in Kangra district was dismal in the last Assembly elections due to infighting between Dhumal and Shanta factions.

The BJP could manage just 3 out of the 15 Assembly seats in Kangra district. The loss led to the formation of the Congress government in the state as the party won 10 seats in the district that was once considered as the stronghold of the BJP.

Shimla, August 2
The HP High Court today directed the state government to conduct an inquiry into the allegations of misuse of power by former minister and BJP leader Kishan Kapoor while he was the Urban Development Minister and chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA).

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice VK Sharma directed that the investigation be conducted by an officer not below the rank of superintendent of police and submit a report by September 20.

The court passed this order on a petition filed by Arun Dev Bisht , resident of Dari Dharmshala, alleging that Kishan Kapoor had misused his discretionary power when he was the chairman of HIMUDA. The petitioner alleged that he had obtained all documents under the Right to Information Act from HIMUDA and other departments which revealed that he had misused his official position to benefit himself and his relatives.

The petitioner alleged Kishan Kapoor allotted a plot measuring 836 sq. metres to himself in violation of the regulations. He also allotted a plot to a journalist of a vernacular daily. These plots were never advertised by the HIMUDA. The petitioner mentioned that though Kishan Kappor had returned the plot, he could not escape the criminal liability for his illegal acts.

The petitioner also alleged that Kishan Kapoor constructed a hotel at Dharmsala in violation of the plan. The sanctioned plan was of four plus one parking floor, whereas he had constructed six floors. The petitioner mentioned that at the time of construction, Kishan Kapoor was the Minister of Urban Development. 

Nurpur, August 2
Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri accompanied by local MLA Ajay Mahajan, visited the underdeveloped industrial area at Naglahar and sick unit of Nurpur Silk Mills near here today.

He explored the possibilities of revival of the silk unit and development of industrial area, which had been pending for the past many years.

After reviewing the present status of the area, he told mediapersons that he had directed the Industry Department to prepare a detailed project report on the proposed industrial area so that all impediments in the expansion and development could be removed.

He said the department had also paid Rs 35 lakh to the Forest Department as compensation for forest land acquired for this industrial area. All basic amenities like road, water and power would be provided for the development of the area, he added. He said the Industry Department would organise a job fair in Nurpur next month.

Agnihotri said: “The state government will soon declare its new industrial policy. As per the new mining policy, vehicles carrying boulders from khads and rivers of the state will be confiscated if they are found transporting the material to neighbouring states.”

He said the previous BJP government had ignored the development of the industrial areas in the state, whereas the Virbhadra government had recently sanctioned three new industrial areas in Indora (Kangra), Una and Solan.

Bilaspur, August 2
An amount of Rs 3.55 crore will be spent to provide houses to the poor in Bilaspur and Rs 1.42 core will be spent for the same in the Naina Devi constituency, said Ram Lal Thakur, chairman of the HP state Planning Development and 20- Point Programme Implementation Committee, at Suharghat.

He presided over the function organised to distribute free dwellings sanction certificates among deserving families under the Indira Awas Yojna and Rajiv Awas Yojna last evening.

While distributing the certificates among 144 families, Thakur said each of the families would get Rs 75,000 for construction of a house and additional Rs 5,000 for the construction of a toilet in the house. He said efforts would be made to develop Suharghat as a popular tourist destination.

He said the state government had increased social security pension by Rs 50 per month and it had sanctioned 680 such pensions in the district in the past six months.

Thakur said Rs 30.11 crore had been given to the Suharghat Development Block, under the MNREGA scheme, for development work.

He declared that three villages, Tiun Khas , Lakhala and Mandhyali, had been selected as model villages under the Mukhya Mantri Adarsha Gram Yojna and each village would get Rs 10 lakh for the development work.

DRDA Deputy Director-cum-Project Officer Rattan Chand Deputy and Block Development Officer (BDO) Ajaya Kumari were also present at the function.

Bilaspur, August 2
The Himachal government is committed for all-round development of fisheries and economic uplift of 10,000 fishermen and their families in the state. This was stated by Forests and Fisheries Minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri while talking to mediapersons here today.

He said the Gobind Sagar reservoir here had achieved distinction in the maximum fish production in the entire country. A total of 121.30 kg of fish per hectare was produced in the water body against the national average of 33 kg last year.

Even this year, before imposing a ban on catching fish during first two months, Gobind Sagar produced 369.20 metric tonnes of fish, which was 153.90 metric tonnes more than last year’s fish production during these months.

He said the state government had started several schemes for the benefit and welfare of fishermen, including the Fishermen Accidental Insurance Scheme, under which major concession had now been extended in case of death. The copies of FIR and post-mortem report would not be required as earlier. The insurance amount of Rs 1 lakh would be paid to the family only after production of hospital certificate and police report.

He said the government would make another effort to increase the quality of fish production. A team of scientists from the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrakpore, Kolkata, would arrive here during the last week of this month. This team would tour the entire state and recommend techniques to give boost to fish production in water bodies, he added.

Bilaspur, August 2
A number of social and cultural organisations in the district have objected to the transfer of a medical specialist, Dr Deepak Thakur, from the Regional Hospital here.

In various statements issued here, leaders of the Bilaspur Nagar Vikas Sabha, Beopar Mandal Bilaspur, State NGOs Federation, Vyas Rakta Data Samiti, State Pensioners Welfare Association, State Electricity Board Pensioners Association, Vyas Civil Society and the Aam Admi Party have urged the Chief Minister, Health Minister and local leaders Ram Lal Thakur, Bambar Thakur and Rajesh Dharmani to look into the matter and cancel his transfer at the earliest in public interest.

Dr Deepak Thakur, who completed his MD from the PGI, Chandigarh, was deputed at the hospital 15 months ago.

Members of these organisations said it was after many years that competent doctors had been posted at the hospital. They said his transfer to Nurpur would deprive patients of expert medical advice and affect the functioning of the hospital.

The statements were issued by prominent leaders such as AP Sharma, Tarun Tadu, Mahipal Sankhyayan, Navin Varma, Ram Singh, Karan Chandel, JK Nadda, Badri Dass Gupta, Surender Gupta, Purnender Kashyap, Raj Varma, Dr Tej Pratap Pande and Bashir Durrani.

Dharamsala, August 2
The birthday of Minister for Housing and Urban Development Sudhir Sharma was celebrated in various parts of the Dharamsala Assembly constituency today. A medical and blood donation camp was organised by Congress workers on the Khaniara road to mark the occasion.

About 50 youth donated blood in the camp.

The minister said the entire expenditure of renovating the Press Club, Dharamsala, would be borne by the state government.

He said the state government was releasing Rs 1,187 crore for improving health services in Himachal. He also inaugurated various development projects in Dharamsala.

Earlier, he listened to public grievances in Palampur, Yol and Dharamsala.

Dharamsala, August 2
Governor of Nagaland and Manipur Ashwani Kumar interacted with newly enrolled students at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) at Shahpur.

He was here to participate in an orientation programme for students of postgraduate programmes for the academic year 2013-14.

While interacting with students and faculty members, the Governor said there was no shortcut to success and that it could only be achieved through hard work and honesty.

He asked the students to adapt to changing situations as it would help them in achieving success.

Addressing the gathering, Vice-Chancellor Furqan Qamar said this was the time to move towards innovative, student-centric, multi-disciplinary approach in higher education.

"While developing the curriculum and academic structure of the university, we have focused on this approach," he said.

Dean and Proctor Dr Roshan Lal Sharma gave a brief introduction of the university to the guests and new students. Dean Student Welfare and Provost Prof HR Sharma proposed the vote of thanks.

The governor and his wife later planted saplings in the campus as part of the programme.

Solan, August 2
The state has received 29 per cent less rainfall in July with the total precipitation being only 222 mm with the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti receiving 95 per cent deficient rain.

Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi have received normal rain with Una received the highest rainfall which was 27 per cent more than the normal.

However, Kangra district received the highest rainfall, 666 mm which is 14 per cent more than the normal rainfall.

The remaining seven districts, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla, Bilaspur, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Chamba, have received rainfall below normal.

The other tribal district of Kinnaur has received 68 per cent deficient rain in July followed by Chamba 67 per cent, Solan 50 per cent, Shimla 41 per cent, Bilaspur 34 per cent and Sirmaur 20 per cent.

This variation was also visible in cities where several places received less precipitation in July which included Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Nahan, Kalpa, Bilaspur, Keylong, Chamba, Dalhousie and Sundernagar.

Explaining the reason for the deficient rain, Dr Manmohan Singh, Director, Meteorological Department, said it was because monsoon trough line had not shifted to the northern side from its normal position. The monsoon trough line during its normal position generally passes from Ganganager to Kolkata via Agra, Allahabad and this ensured normal rainfall.

Interestingly, rainfall in June was 143 per cent more than the normal precipitation with 241 mm rain having been witnessed throughout the state.

During the last 10 years, this was the highest rainfall in the state in June. Earlier, it was in 2008 that the highest rainfall was recorded in June which was 179.6mm. 

Shimla, August 2
The state government is planning long-term agreements for the sale of equity power and free power available as royalty from various hydroelectric projects in view of the continuous downswing in the power market and the rising cost of generation of new projects.

The average sale rate of power at the Energy Exchange of India has plunged to Rs 2.05 unit in July as compared to Rs 3.25 last year. There are few takers for power as evident from the fact that against the average quantum of 6,300 MW available for sale, the sales effected actually amounted to 3,700 MW.

Out of the total 930 MW power available, the state government is selling 230 MW through the exchange. Four years ago, the rate was in excess of Rs 6 per unit and that the state earned profits. However, the market rate had been continuously declining as a result of which the revenue from power declined from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 700 crore last year.

The West Bengal government has signed a 12-year agreement for purchasing power at Rs 3.65 per unit from the Baghliar project in Jammu and Kashmir. It has entered a similar accord with the Tata group for supply of power.

The state government is also mulling similar arrangements in view of the low market rates, but it wants agreements for three to five years keeping in view the uncertainty in the power market. As the state power board has been taking power from the government to meet its commitment, the government has asked the board to come out with long-term projections of its demands so that its requirement could be taken care of while going for long-term sale agreements with other states.

It will have problems in disposing of its 30 per cent equity power available from the 412 MW Rampur projects, which will be commissioned in the current year, due to exorbitantly high generation cost of Rs 4.59 per unit.

The power available for sale will increase further as a number of projects with a combined installed capacity of 2,182 MW are slated for completion over the next one year.

The revised cost of the Rampur project has shot up to Rs 3,397.07 crore from 2,047 crore in 2006 and a with a designed energy of 1770 million units, the levelised tariff will be as high as 3.45 per unit as against Rs 2.17 per unit for the Nathpa Jhakri project. 

Solan, August 2
The large-scale constructions coupled with the exploitation of water and land have made Kasauli and Solan figure among the most vulnerable tehsils of the state in a Vulnerability Assessment (VA) conducted by the Department of Environment.

These findings have emerged in an Environment master plan (EMP), first of its kind in the state, prepared to address crucial issues of ecological and environmental restoration after coordinating with the departments concerned.

As many as 14 vulnerable tehsils falling in high vulnerability to very high vulnerability have been ranked based on various factors such as water, air, land, natural critical habitats, climate change, hazard susceptibility, spatial areas of conflict, health and quality of life, including education.

Sources said three key sectors, infrastructure, natural resources management and services, had been included in the EMP which also included 18 sub-sectors like infrastructure (roads, highways, rural roads and transport, hydropower generation transmission, and distribution), tourism, ecotourism and art architecture and cultural heritage, industry, mining and geology, irrigation and public health, health, market infrastructure, including horticulture and agriculture, rural and urban planning, natural resources management (agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry livestock, forests, wildlife and wetlands and fisheries) and services (education and vocational training, IT and telecom, livelihoods and waste disposal).

Guidelines for each sector are ready to create awareness about the environmental and social issues related to sectors including providing information on key policies, plans and regulations, introduce good practices to enhance the development of the sector and encourage coordinated planning within various departments.

The guidelines for infrastructure, natural resource management and services sectors have been identified and an action plan has been formulated to address these issues. Sector-specific issues have been integrated with the existing policy, plan and programmes to ensure that there is no overlapping with the existing policies and a framework for monitoring and reporting for each sector has been suggested which includes performance indicators.

To implement the EMP, a high-level steering committee has been recommended apart from developing monitoring and evaluation protocols and training and capacity needs have been identified which will aid implementation of the EMP.

Awaiting the final approval from the state government, the EMP will address the development needs of future and vulnerability to climate change and also help balance the development needs and environment concerns for posterity.