Shimla, September 3
The work on the 80-km Theog-Hatkoti-Rohru highway, which has been giving nightmares to apple growers for the past four years, is likely to resume by the end of the year.

The Public Works Department has completed the re-tendering process of Theog-Kharapathar and Kharapathar-Rohru stretches on the highway and sent the case for approval to the World Bank, which is funding the road projects worth Rs 1,802-crore in the state.

Gurgaon-based C and C Company has been the lowest bidder for both the stretches and the combined cost comes out to be Rs 321 crore. The company quoted Rs 179 crore for the 48 km Theog-Kharapathar stretch and Rs 142 crore for the 32-km Kharapathar-Rohru portion. The approval is likely to be received within a month and the department is hopeful of awarding the contract by October 15.

Originally the work on the 80-km highway was allotted to a Chinese firm, Long Jian Road and Bridge Construction Company, for Rs 228 crore. The project has been hanging fire for the past three years. Plagued by perennial shortage of funds and manpower, the company could execute only 22 per cent of the work in five years, forcing the department to cancel the contract. The company was paid Rs 62 crore for the work. The company started work on the entire stretch but did not complete any portion. As a result, the road was virtually reduced to dustbowl and turned into a pool of slush during rains, leading to traffic jams.

This season the situation improved as after cancelling the contract, the government handed over the maintenance of the highway to the PWD.

Engineers point out that the Chinese company had erred by quoting a low rate of Rs 228 crore for the entire 80-km stretch, as the next bidder had quoted Rs 305 crore. It also did not take into account the fact that the region received snow during winter, which reduced the effective working season.

During the rainy season, when the apple crop is harvested, the heavy rush of fruit- laden trucks made working impossible. All these factors weighed with the World Bank, which agreed to extend the period of the project and also agreed to provide additional funds to compete the works.

The Rs 1,365-crore road projects were originally slated for completion in December 2013 but delay forced the World Bank to extend its period to 2016 and it also agreed to provide additional loan of $61 million to meet the increased cost.

Mandi/Kullu, September 3
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued notices under Section 5 of the Environment Act to the Shimla Municipal Commissioner (SMC) to shut down the bio-medical waste treatment plant at Shimla and start the new treatment plant at Solan. It has also directed private operators to manage bio-medical waste treatment plants in Kullu and Pathankot properly.

The CPCB has found that the private operators and government agencies had not installed the “mandatory double-chamber incinerators” to check the release of harmful gases into the air in Shimla, Recong Peo and Mandi.

The CPCB has asked the State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (SEPPCB) to immediately operate the biomedical waste treatment plant at Solan so that bio-medical waste generated in Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and other peripheral areas is collected and dispose of safely at the plant.

The CPCB gave the directions after it inspected the biomedical waste treatment plants recently and held a compliance meeting with various stakeholders and private operators, including the SMC, in New Delhi.

Environo Engineers, which runs the Kullu bio-medical waste treatment plant, has installed the double-chamber incinerator both at Kullu and Solan as directed by the CPCB and got its clean chit, said HR Thakur, company manager.

While the Kullu plant took care of the hazardous biomedical waste generated in government and private hospitals from Mandi, Kullu and Bilaspur districts, the Pathankot bio-medical plant took care of wastes generated in Una, Kangra, Chamba and Hamirpur districts, said the SEPPCB officials.

The Mandi incinerator worth a crore of rupees was shut down two years ago, as it malfunctioned. The Recong Peo incinerator in Kinnaur did not have the double-chamber technology, sources revealed.

Even as the Kullu plant has the latest double-filter devices in its incinerator, the plant site still stinks. The residents complain that they smell toxic gases released from the plant and dead animal carcasses and no-biodegradable waste litter the treatment plant site, sending hazardous fumes in villages in the Baghi gram panchayat.

As a result, Baghi gram sabhas recently passed a resolution asking the municipal bodies to shift both plants to other non-populated site.

The SEPPCB and the Kullu Municipal Council had not obtained a no-objection certificate from the panchayat, alleged the gram sabha.

Vineet Kumar, member-secretary, SEPPCB, claimed that the Kullu and Pathankot plants had been approved by the CPCB, while the Shimla plant was being shut. The bio-medical waste of Shimla would be disposed of in the Solan plant being started soon.

Shimla, September 3
Taking a serious note on the issue of infringing the liberty of a person by officials of the state government, the HP High Court today directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the victim, Suresh Kumar, for keeping him in illegal detention.

The court further directed the state to conclude disciplinary proceedings against two senior administrative officers of the state, BR Kamal and Sidharth Acharya, within three months. Both the officers were suspended by the state after an order was passed by the court on May 23.

This order was passed by Justice Rajiv Sharma on a petition filed by Suresh Kumar challenging the powers of the SDM to direct the arrest of a person under the provisions of Sections 107 and 151 (Breach of peace) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and alleging that his personal liberty was infringed upon as he was kept in custody for more than 72 hours and his surety bond was not accepted.

The court also directed the government to suspend and initiate disciplinary action against Om Prakash, the then ASI, Police Post Saraswati Nagar, Jubbal, and to conclude the disciplinary proceedings within three months. The court said the government would be free to recover the said amount of compensation from all the three officers.

While passing the order, Justice Rajiv Sharma observed: “The petitioner’s personal liberty has been infringed. He has been humiliated by ordering his detention without an authority of law. The actions of these three officers have also caused him mental torture. They are also liable to be proceeded departmentally for dereliction of their duties”.

The petitioner alleged that he had made a number of complaints to the government authorities regarding encroachment made by two residents of his village on the village common land as well as the government land measuring 60 bighas. “Thereafter, encroachment was removed but I was implicated in a false case,” he said.

The then Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Rohroo, BR Kamal, ordered his arrest on July 7, 2009, and he was arrested on July 10, 2009, under Sections 107 and 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but he was produced before the Executive Magistrate on the next day. He further alleged that though he had moved an application for his release on bail, the then tehsildar, Jubbal, Sidharth Acharya, did not accept his surety bond and remanded him to judicial custody for two days and he was released on July 13, 2009. The proceedings against him were later dropped.

Thunag (Mandi), September 3
As another suspected man-eater exists in the Bharari-Thunag-Bunalidhar belt, representatives of Shikawari, Thunag and Lambathatch gram panchayats today criticised conservationists for allegedly distorting facts in a section of media on the recent killing of two leopards, suspected to be man-eaters.

A leopard killed a farmer’s lamb at Tandi village yesterday night. In a written representation to the DFO, Nachan, copies of which were released to the media also, Paramdev, pradhan, Shikawari Gram Panchayat, Nisha Sharma, pradhan, Lambathatch, Geeta Devi, pradhan, Thunag, and Pitamber Lal, ward member of the Khalwahan Zila Parishad, slammed the conservationists for “distorting facts” in a section of the media.

“The sharp shooters have killed two leopards suspected to be man-eaters after monitoring their movements around villages where they had killed three persons since July 20,” they claimed.

The villagers justified the killing of the leopards by Nawab Shafat Ali Khan after the Chief Wildlife Warden gave him permission to kill or trap the animals.

They rubbished the media reports on the killing of a leopard cub along with two innocent leopards. No cub was killed and only two leopards were killed and there were more on the prowl in the area, they claimed.

PD Dogra, DFO, Nachan, said they had laid five traps with baits in different locations to trap the animal and set up various village committees to educate people as per guidelines of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

“However, the two leopards, which have been killed earlier, could not be trapped and these were spotted where two human killings took place. This made them to be probable man-eaters,” he claimed.

Dharamsala, September 3
Three technicians from Kangra and Kullu districts have illustrated that innovation has no bounds. The three youths have constructed a temporary hydropower house on a local rivulet to light up a 2-km arduous stretch of the Manimahesh yatra, providing relief to the district administration and pilgrims.

Chamba Additional Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said we had installed 200 generators along the trek for providing electricity to temporary shopkeepers and langar (community kitchen) organisers on the trek. He added it was not an eco-friendly method as it involved the use of diesel and caused noise pollution.

“The method adopted by the youths for lighting up the stretch should be adopted as a model for providing eco-friendly power in difficult areas. They are not charging anything from the district administration for the service, he said. The youths, Sanjay Bharadwaj and Manne Chand from the Jawali area of Kangra district, and Manne Chand Verma from the Sainj area of Kullu district, said they were running the Dev Pashakot Gharati Society for promoting the eco-friendly generation of hydropower using conventional knowledge.

Sanjay Bharadwaj said they had studied the area and found that a suitable water head could be created near Dunali on the Manimahesh trek that could help generate hydropower.

“We requested the district administration to allow us create a temporary dam on a stream for producing eco-friendly power that could be supplied free of cost to the pilgrims during the yatra. Our proposal was accepted after which we created a temporary water head using stones and other material,” he added.

The water from the head was taken 18 m down through PVC pipes into a small turbine, which is working round the clock and producing 5 KW power to light up 2-km stretch of the trek.

The youths are managing the temporary power project on their own from a tarpaulin shed in which they have set up their turbine. They cook in their power house and keep themselves warm in extreme cold using an electric heater.

They have also offered to the district administration to set up such hydropower projects at Dhanchho and Gaurikund during the Manimahesh yatra next year in case the state government provides them little financial aid.

Shimla, September 3
Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today urged Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Gulam Nabi Azad to increase the number of MBBS seats to 150 from existing 100 in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla.

In a meeting with Azad in New Delhi today, Kaul Singh said the college was functioning since 1966 and the number of MBBS seats was fixed as 100 in 2010. He said the number of seats should be increased to 150 as per the norms fixed by the Medical Council of India.

He urged the Union Minister to increase the allocation of funds to the state under the National Rural Health Mission to Rs 220 crore from Rs 153 crore. He also requested the Centre to bear the 90 per cent of the expenditure under 108 National Ambulance Service. He said the central assistance should be provided to the state on the analogy of north-eastern states for the National Ambulance Service.

Kaul Singh also met Union Labour and Employment Minister Shish Ram Ola and requested him to start classes at ESI Medical College and Hospital in Mandi from the next academic session 2014-15.

He said the Central Government had agreed in principle to associate Zonal Hospital, Mandi, with ESI Medical College. He said the state government and the Government of India would sign a memorandum to associate 350-bed Zonal Hospital, Mandi, with the medical college. The facilities including equipment, machinery and other infrastructural facilities would be provided to the ESI Medical College.

The Health Minister said the state government had given 41 acres on 99 years lease for establishing the ESI Medical College and Hospital. He said there would be 100 MBBS seats in this college out of which 50 seats would be reserved for bona fide state students. He said this would also help in meeting the requirement of doctors in the state.

Shimla, September 3
Deficient rain over the past two consecutive months has more than neutralised the impact of early onset of monsoon and the deluge it caused in June. The state has ended up with a normal overall precipitation.

As per data from June 1 to September 1, the state recorded an average rainfall of 711 mm, almost equal to the normal precipitation of 707.5 mm. In fact, three of the 12 districts have recorded deficient rains. The highest deficiency of 70 per cent was in Lahaul and Spiti which received 108 mm as against the normal of 361 mm. It was followed by Chamba, which had 757 mm rainfall as compared to normal of 1,190 mm (-37 per cent) and Solan 726 mm against 837 mm (-13 per cent).

Kinnaur had an excess rain to the extent of 98 per cent, 389 mm against the normal precipitation of 198 mm. The other districts which recorded excess precipitation are Una, 51 per cent (1,094 mm), Kangra, 32 per cent (1,797 mm) and Kullu, 31 per cent (571 mm), Sirmour, 17 per cent (1,397 mm) and Mandi, 16 per cent (1,102 mm).

The monsoon had set in with a bang with the state receiving 143 per cent excess rain for the month. However, in July, the average rainfall was 221.9 mm as against the normal of 311.1 mm, a deficiency of 29 per cent.

Much like July, the state experienced deficient rain during August with an average precipitation of 246.1 mm, 15 per cent less than the normal of 290.8 mm. Except for Una and Kangra, which recorded 19 per cent excess precipitation, all the remaining 10 districts had deficient rain during the month. Besides the tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti (-75 per cent) and Kinnaur (-70 per cent), Solan also had a relatively dry August with just 188 mm of rain against the normal of 332 mm, a deficiency of 43 per cent.

Mandi, September 3
Women self-help groups (SHGs) in remote villages of Lot Bhanwas and Chauri Thatchi in Seraj have started making coal from pine needles, weeds like congress grass and waste foliage under the Rural Innovation Scheme being funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

The Mandi Saksharta and Jan Vikas Samiti (MSJVS) implemented the energy-saving project in the district on an experiment basis. It has set up two coal-making machines at the two villages and trained villagers, mainly women, in making coal from pine needles and waste leaves.

Chandra Tiwari, a scientist from the Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), a Dehradun-based NGO, who was here to impart training to villagers, said, “The coal is smoke-free and can be used for cooking and keeping warm in winters”.

“This coal can be made by using 95 per cent pine needles, waste leaves, congress grass and other weeds by mixing it with cow dung or soil,” he said. “One quintal of the material generates 25 kg of coal. The machine runs on a low voltage and weighs 75 kg,” he added.

“One kg of coal lasts for three hours and is not hazardous as it has little carbon dioxide,” he claimed.

The machines have been bought for Rs 62,500 each from the REC. “We are charging a nominal rent from the villagers, who have formed 15 SHGs. If it turns out to be successful, the project will be extended to other villages,” Bhim Singh, co-secretary, MSJVS, said.

Palampur, September 3
Shanta Kumar, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Commerce Committee of Rajya Sabha, today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reject the recent proposals of Brown Field, a foreign drug company, for the foreign direct investment (FDI) in drug manufacturing in India.

He said if the Government of India allowed the FDI as proposed by the drug company, it would adversely hit the generic drug companies in the country and the prices of drugs would skyrocket.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which was released to the media here today, Shanta Kumar said the Commerce Committee had submitted in its report to the Government of India on August 13 for not allowing FDI in the drug sector.

He said the committee had categorically recommended for a complete ban on the entry of the “drug giants” in the Indian market to protect the domestic drug manufacturers. He regretted that despite the clear recommendations of the committee, the Prime Minister accepted the proposal of Brown Field.

He said India was the largest exporter of medicines and its total export was over Rs 45,000 crore in 200 countries in the world. He said the institutions like UNICEF were meeting 60 per cent of its requirements of drugs from the Indian market.

He alleged that it was a deep-rooted plan of foreign companies to capture and monopolise Indian drug market in a planned manner, as patents of 61 branded medicines would come to an end by next year.

He quoted an example that a drug pertaining to the treatment of cancer was being sold for Rs 2.8 lakh by a foreign company, whereas the same salt manufactured by a Hyderabad-based company was costing Rs 8,800 only. He said if the government failed to review its decision the foreign companies would destroy the Indian drug-manufacturing companies soon.

The Commerce Committee of Rajya Sabha has categorically recommended a complete ban on the entry of the “drug giants” in the Indian market to protect the domestic drug companies. But despite the clear recommendation, the Prime Minister has accepted the proposal of a foreign company on FDI.
— Shanta Kumar, Member of Parliament

Sundernagar, September 3
A Bench of the Consumer Forum, Mandi, headed by its president JN Yadav, has directed Blezeflesh Courier Limited to pay the cost of item along with compensation to Jagriti Thakur, a student of Himachal Dental College, Sundernagar, for not delivering a courier at Chandigarh booked by her from Sundernagar.

The forum directed the Sundernagar, Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai offices of the company to pay Rs 3,119 (cost of items) plus Rs 70 (amount charged for courier services), along with an interest of 9 per cent to the complainant. It further directed the company to pay Rs 10,000 for harassment caused to the complainant along with Rs 5,000 as the cost of litigation.

Jagriti Thakur, a student of Himachal Dental College, Sundernagar, booked a courier from the Sundernagar branch of the company containing goods worth Rs 3,119 on July 17, 2013, and Rs 70 was charged for it. However, it was not delivered.

The complainant produced the bills of items and receipt of amount charged. The forum said there was gross negligence on the part of the company which amounted to deficiency in service as provided under the Consumer Protection Act.

Kangra, September 3
MLA Sanjay Rattan Jawalamukhi today criticised former Chief Minister PK Dhumal for his alleged statement that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was targeting the BJP.

In a statement here today, Rattan said Dhumal was trying to divert the attention from the misdeeds allegedly committed by him and his son Anrag Thakur. He alleged that Dhumal was resorting to malicious propaganda against the government to pressure the investigating agencies by posing as a victim before people.

The Congress MLA alleged that the HPCA had betrayed the trust of people as there was no transparency in its functioning. He asked Dhumal to explain the public interest behind making HPCA a company from a society and raising an association by the name of Himalayan Players Cricket Association and registering it in Kanpur.

Bilaspur, September 3
The Himachal Pradesh State Pensioners Welfare Association will organise its state-level sammelan soon and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will be chief guest at the function. This was stated by association president Jiva Nand Jivan, senior vice-president JK Nadda and secretary general Hari Chand Gupta here today.

They said a deputation of the association executive met the Chief Minister in Shimla two days ago and presented him a memorandum of demands listing the financial difficulties of more that 1.50 lakh pensioners of the state. It urged him to announce the acceptance of the demands which had already been accepted by him in principle, so that they could tide over the crisis presently gripping them during these days of ever-increasing prices .

The deputation thanked the Chief Minister for announcing the grant of dearness allowance to them from January this year along with other employees of the state.

The deputation presented a cheque worth Rs 7,06,355 to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund which was collected from association units from all parts of the state, while Rs 1,11,110 had already been presented to the Chief Minister directly by a few of its units.

The association also demanded the scrapping of police cases against leaders of the association at Solan while it presented a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Commissioner there on April 9, 2012. The Chief Minister ordered the withdrawal of these cases.

They said the state executive would now meet in Shimla at Bachat Bhawan on September 14 for finalising the programme on the state sammelan. Others present included office-bearers Suvidha Varma, JN Nirala, HR Vashishtha, Beli Ram Varma, Vishwa Mitra Mahajan and presidents and secretaries of all 12 districts of the state. 

Dharamsala, September 3
BJP leaders have criticised the statements issued by two Congress ministers, Vidya Stokes and Sujjan Singh Pathania, in which they had accused former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal for allotting land to the HPCA in violation of rules.

In a statement here today, party general secretary Vipin Parmar and spokesperson Himanshu Mishra said the Congress was targeting the HPCA to "divert the attention of the common people from its failure".

They said HPCA president and BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur had done a commendable job by bringing an international-level cricket stadium at Dharamsala. The Congress was trying to capture the stadium, they alleged.

“The fact is that the state became a role model for other hill states of the country during the rule of the previous BJP government. The growth rate of the state was about 10 per cent during the BJP rule, whereas it has come down during the first eight months of the present government,” he said.

Palampur, September 3
People's Voice, a voluntarily organisation, has urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to take over all the “benami properties” owned by Asaram in the state.

The organisation in its meeting held here yesterday said the state government had already initiated action against many benami land deals reported in the state, but it had not “touched dharma gurus” like Asaram, who had amassed a huge wealth in the state.

The NGO, in a letter to the Chief Minister, said Asaram owned properties in 12 towns of the state. “Nobody knows on whose name these properties have been purchased and who has financed it,” it said.

It urged the state government to order a high-level probe regarding properties owned by these gurus in the state so that “true facts” should come before the public.

Sundernagar, September 3
Three persons allegedly tried to lift a six-month-old girl from Kharot village of Sarkaghat yesterday. However, two of them were thrashed by the public and later handed over to the police, while the third one managed to escape.

As per information, the infant’s mother was at her home when three persons approached her and asked for a cigarette pack from her shop, which was situated nearby. However, when she came back she noticed that the persons were not there and the infant was also missing. On search, she found that the persons were trying to put the infant into a bag.

She raised an alarm after which locals chased the kidnappers and managed to catch two of them. However, the third managed to escape.

The police has registered a case under Section 363 and 363-A of the IPC and the two arrested persons were produced before a court at Sarkaghat from where they were remanded to police custody.

The locals alleged that the police reached the spot too late. They claimed that a gang of child lifters was active in the area.

However, Mandi SP RS Negi said the police had arrested two accused and was trying to arrest the third one.

Bilaspur, September 3
The state government has been fulfilling its election manifesto promises right from day one of taking charge and now the state is right on the path of progress.

This was stated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Forests and Fisheries) Rajesh Dharmani while addressing a gathering at a rest house at Bharaadi after holding a ‘meet the people’ programme yesterday.

Dharmani ordered officials concerned to ensure that DPRs were prepared at the earliest for places which had a paucity of drinking water and also where check dams were possible so that work should start soon on all such projects.

The Chief Parliamentary Secretary said the Kaamli-Kothi lift drinking water supply scheme was completed with an expenditure of Rs 1.24 crore, while the work on the Jaaman-Tikkar lift drinking water scheme would begin soon. He said Rs 2 crore would be spent on metalling of the Bam-Jahu road.

He said the Chief Minister had kept Rs 100 crore for giving skill development allowance to unemployed youth in the state this year.

He said one gram panchayat in each of the 68 Assembly segments of the state would be given Rs 10 lakh this year for the overall infrastructure development works under the Chief Minister’s Adarsh Krishi Village Yojna. 

Shimla, September 3
Seeking proper regulation and traffic management in the town, the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) yesterday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, seeking an end to traffic woes of the state capital.

The HLP said challaning vehicles were no solution to the problem. “The absence of traffic police outside some of the schools is leading to traffic jams,” said Tikku Thakur, HLP leader. He added that the bridge near Darni Ka Bagicha has broken a long time back but till date it had not been repaired.

He said the decision to divert all the apple trucks on the Mahli-Anandpur-Shoghi had not been implemented, making matters worse, as apple-laden trucks make movement between Panthaghatti, Vikasnagar, New Shimla, Khalini and Tutikandi difficult.

The HLP demanded that the traffic police must be deployed at all the places with heavy vehicular movement. They demanded that school managements should also be involved so that maximum children were asked to travel in public buses and not use private vehicles.

Solan, September 3
State Drug Controller Navneet Marwaha has been nominated to represent the country in an international drug regulatory conference that will be organised in Korea shortly.

It is for the first time that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has nominated a Drug Controller to represent the country on a crucial issue relating to drug regulation. The conference will help understand drug regulatory issues and expectations of the international drug regulatory vis-à-vis Indian pharmaceutical industry.

With the state’s industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh , Solan, Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb manufacturing more than 70 per cent of the country’s drugs such interactions are also considered important to study the trends in the industry by gaining first-hand knowledge of regulatory bodies of various countries.

Before leaving for the conference, Marwaha said the exposure would help in devising strategies to update the regulatory systems and ensure compliance of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The Drug Controller General of India, who was recently in Baddi to interact with investors, said the state Drug Controller had been chosen keeping in view the strategic significance of the area, which is the pharmaceutical hub of Asia.

Nurpur, September 3
Munshi Ram (82), an ex-councillor, Nurpur Municipal Committee, Ward No. 9, died of snakebite last evening. He remained councillor for two terms. He was bitten by a poisonous snake two days back while sleeping at night.

His condition deteriorated yesterday and he was rushed to the Civil Hospital at Nurpur, but died due to the spreading of snake venom in the body.