Mandi/Kullu, October 1
The invasion by “new vermin” parakeets and monkeys in the day time and bats at night of orchards and maize fields has virtually ruined the economy of farmers in the state.

Parakeet-eaten fruit on apple trees in an orchard in Kullu.

The damage to the fruit crop varies from 10-15 per cent, rue farmers, who do not know of any method to fight the new vermin. The parakeets' number has multiplied manifold for the past three years in the apple and maize belt.

“Earlier, we had been battling hail storms, fungal and insect attacks in orchards. But now we are fighting a losing battle with parakeets and monkeys during daytime and bats at night time,” resent

Tara Chand Thakur of Saterh Behal and Mehar Chand Thakur of Haripur, orchardists from the upper Kullu valley.

“Our assessment is that more than 15 per cent crop is damaged by the threefold attacks of parakeets, bats and monkeys in Kullu district every year,” said Mahendra Upadhaya, president of the Kully Valley Growers’ Association. “The farmers have expressed concern that the number of bats and parakeets has multiplied alarmingly and it is difficult to save the crops from these new rogues,” he says.

The story of bat menace is no different in other parts of the apple belt, where the fruit bat menace is spreading all along the Pabbar valley in Rohroo and Jubbal and Chopal valleys, part of the upper Yamuna basin. “They come in thousands from the Tiuni side (Uttarakhan) and invade fruit crops during the night silently, wreaking havoc in orchards. We have made several pleas to to the Wild Life Department to contain the problem, but to no avail," says Laxman Thakur, president, Ecohorts, Nandpur-Ruildhar, where bats have been invading orchards for the past three years.

The parakeets and crows invade the maize belt of Mandi-Jogindernagar-Dharampur-
Drang-Seraj in Mandi and Banjar and the lower Kullu district and several orchards and maize crops in Shimla district from July onwards. “It is difficult to locate parakeets when they prey in the maize field as their green colour jells with the green maize plants,” lament Tola Ram and Budhi Singh, the maize farmers of lower Seraj in Mandi district. Monkeys add to the parakeet menace. Their number has multiplied in the region. They eat up 10-15 per cent crops every year and the farmers get no compensation for the loss as the government never assesses the loss, resent farmers.

Chamba, October 1
The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) has claimed that the BJP leader Narendra Modi stands nowhere before the popularity of Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the people of the state will see the Congress sweeping all four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh in the coming general election scheduled for next year.

Presiding over a meeting of party workers and leaders at Chamba last week, the HPCC general secretary, Sunil Sharma, who is also the in charge of Chamba district, claimed that the Modi factor could not breathe in Himachal as the Congress had gained in strength in the hands of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and HPCC president Thakur Sukhvinder Singh. "Becoming the Prime Minister of India is daydreaming by Narendra Modi," Sharma quipped.

Sharma came down heavily on the previous BJP government in the state for its failure in fulfilling its promises and "misleading" the public about development.

At the meeting, he reminded the party leaders, workers and the rank and file of the party of the strength of the Congress organisation and the policies of the government for the well being of the poor and the needy. This would help the Congress in winning the next Lok Sabha elections.

He apprised the meeting of the HPCC president, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh, to strongly implement the policies announced by Rahul Gandhi. The party men should hold meetings in all blocks of the state which in turn will result in massive support to the Congress organisation.

Regarding election strategy, Sharma directed the district and block presidents to divide Chamba district in five zones within 15 days and each zone must be having minimum 20 booths.

Prominent among the leaders who addressed the meeting were former MP Choudhary Chander Kumar and HPCC vice-president Kewal Singh Pathania.

Nahan, October 1
Blaming the Congress government in the state for having failed in providing relief to the common man, Dr Rajiv Bindal, BJP MLA from Nahan and the party's general secretary, said the state government had failed to control the price rise and this was adversely affecting the common man.

He said the Congress government had no right to stay in power as it was adding to the hardships of the common man.

In a press note, Dr Bindal said the Congress was looting the public. He said an LPG cylinder, which was available at Rs 437 till last month, was now being sold at Rs 1,040. He said though Rs 435 as subsidy would be credited in the bank account of the consumer, a cylinder would cost Rs 605 and its price had been increased by Rs 168. He said the government had also added Value Added Tax of Rs 37 in the enhanced price thus burdening the common man. Dr Bindal said the move to increase the bus fares by 30 per cent would directly hit the poor passengers. He termed this as an act of dacoity.

He said the woes of the common man did not end here as diesel, which was available at Rs 16 per litre during the Vajpayee regime, had gone up to Rs 53 per litre under the Manmohan Singh regime. He said every item, including education, travel, foodgrains,vegetables, milk and medicines had become costly thus making the life difficult.

Kangra, October 1
The state government has made earnest efforts to attract tourists to this hill state but despite such efforts, the number of national and international tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh was far lower when compared to other states, indicating that there was ample scope for improvement.

Dr Pardeep Kumar, head, Department of Economics, MCM DAV College here, said this recently, coinciding with World Tourism Day.

He said Himachal Pradesh was one of the peaceful and progressive states. After getting statehood in 1971, it had made tremendous progress in the fields of agriculture, industry, banking, insurance and tourism. However, it made significant improvement in the tourism sector especially in the post-economic reform period but there is still ample scope of improvement. He said the number of national tourists increased from 1.48 lakh to 156.46 lakh and the number of foreign tourists increased from 8,000 to 5 lakh during the last two decades from 1992 to 2012.

He said that during the past 20 years, the number of Indian tourists went up more rapidly in comparison to foreign tourists. Despite the natural wealth in abundance and this hill state being the seat of exile of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Himachal Pradesh still figured last among the 10 top states so far as influx of foreign tourists was concerned.

He said that among the top 10 states in India where foreign tourists increased in 2012 , Maharashtra was at the top with 51 lakh foreign tourists followed by Tamil Nadu with 36 lakh, Delhi 23 lakh, Uttar Pradesh 20 lakh, Rajasthan 15 lakh, West Bengal 12 lakh, Bihar 11 lakh, Kerala with 8 lakh, Karnataka with 6 lakh and Himachal Pradesh with 5 lakh figured at the last.

Pardeep expressed concern as to why effective steps were not being taken by the state government and the Tourism Department to see Himachal Pradesh figuring at the top of the list of tourist influx.

Kangra, October 1
The Anti-Ragging Committee (ARC) of Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, recently decided to hold elections to the Parent-Teacher Association after four years on November 9.

The aim behind this is to develop a relation between parents and the faculty for shaping the future of the students in a better way. The meeting of the ARC was held under the chairmanship of officiating principal Dr Ramesh Bharti. The committee members and the parents showed concern about their wards after they get admission in DRPGMC, Tanda.

Following the directions of the apex court after the Aman Kachroo incident, a parent-teacher association was constituted but despite efforts no general body meeting could be held and the PTA remained a distant dream.

Two years ago, only 14 parents attended the meeting instead of 200. In another meeting only one parent was present. Taking a serious note of the attitude of parents toward their wards, it decided to hold the PTA elections on November 9.

The committee was informed by Dr Bharti that all first year students due to inadequate hostel accommodation in the college were putting up in private accommodations and were were under vigil. DSP Ashok Verma said the police had been visiting the Sadarpur area where the students were staying. Dr Bharti said the state government had already approved two hostel buildings, one exclusively for the first year students, and funds for that had already been received but it was for the PWD department to expedite the construction work.

The ARC has decided to formulate a sexual harassment committee under the chairmanship of Dr Sita Thakur. She was asked to name the members before the next ARC meeting scheduled to be held on the last working day of the next month. It was also decided to set up CCTV cameras in the college.

The16th Global Female Folk Dance Competition and Carnival being held at the Gaiety Theatre in the state capital acquired the tag of an international event in the true sense with participation from seven countries.

Besides neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Tibet, troupes from far-off Mexico, Indonesia and Uzbekistan are participating. In all girls from across the country and 135 foreigners have assembled in the "Queen of Hills" making the event a mega festival.

The competition is being organised by the Charu Castle Foundation, which was set up by Kapur V Bhan in the memory of her daughter Charu who died in her teens. It provides an opportunity to the local people and tourists to witness colourful and authentic folk dances drawn from different parts of the world and also a platform to artistes to showcase their talent.

The idea is to preserve and promote various types of folk dances in their pure forms, says Bhan. The best dance group will be given a cash prize of Rs 51,000 instituted in the name of Delhi gang-ape victim Nirbhaya. In all prizes worth Rs 1.5 lakh will be given to encourage the participants.

Kangra, October 1
The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Regional Station, Palampur, organised the day-long Kisan Mela-2013 in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Kangra. More than 300 farmers participated in the mela. Women outnumbered men farmers.

Dr KK Katoch, Vice-Chancellor, CSK HP Krishi Vishvavidyalya, Palampur, was the chief guest on the occasion. He stressed to organise such events on a regular basis by which the farmers could be benefited with the latest research techniques.

He also discussed about the rearing of elite milk animals and explained that unproductive animals should be removed and not reared as these animals were responsible for the production of methane gas and global warming. Dr Katoch advised farmers for the production of good crops.

Dr OP Sharma, Scientist In charge, IVRI Regional Station, Palampur, briefed about the achievements of the IVRI.

Dr BP Singh, Senior Scientist, IVRI, said the IVRI was the first of its kind in India developing and delivering vaccines, pharmaceuticals for veterinary health applications.

Dr KS Thakur, In charge, local SAREC, expressed his views on the quality of seed production and explained the importance of mela benefiting the farmers.

Dr SK Upadhya, In charge, local KVK centre, explained the importance of mineral mixture for augmenting live stock production in state.

Dr SK Bhambota, Director, Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), highlighted about the activities of the ATMA and also explained the importance of "Makhan grass" introduced recently in the region. He expressed his concern over the delay in providing maneuver to the farmers for mushroom cultivation.

Dr Anil Kumar Sharma, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, praised the collaborative efforts made by the IVRI, Palampur, KVK, Kangra, and CSK HP Krishi Vishvavidyalya, Palampur, along with the ATMA for organising the Kisan Mela-2013.

Dr KS Pathania, Joint Director, North Zone (HP), recommended artificial insemination for the cross-breed animals for enhancing milk production.

The mela was attended by a large number of farmers, farm women and villagers from different parts of Kangra district. An exhibition was also put up for the farmers.

Dr B Singh, Dr G Mal, Dr Vishal Dogra and Dr Deepika Sud made significant contributions for successfully organising the mela.

Dr TK Bhat, Principal Scientist, IVRI, Regional Station, Palampur, proposed a vote of thanks.

Manali, October 1
The hoteliers who use almost three times more energy than their counterparts in Japan, can save up to 30 per cent energy, if they adopt annual energy audit system, install energy-saving devices and solar heating system in their hotels, say experts. Not only this, they can cut down on the hefty energy, LPG, petrol and diesel bills and brand hotels as per the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) standard. These measures could attract more tourists, help make environment clean and in turn the country could cut down the huge oil import bill, energy experts asserted.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a seminar on energy-saving in hotel industry, Dr Amardeep Singh, an expert from Thapur University said, “Hotels can install occupancy sensors, active filters and power capacitors that can save up to 30 per cent of electricity in hotels each month. This will help them avoid generation of unhealthy harmonics and penalty imposed by the electricity board incurred in the bill as distribution cost," he added.

He cited the example of the Japan hotel industry, which sets 6 per cent target each year to reduce energy consumption bill. “Hoteliers in the country consume on an average more than double, even three times, more electricity than by hoteliers do in Japan,” Dr Amarjeet added.

HN Singh from the Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) said petrol, diesel and LPG consumption in the hotel industry could be cut down by 20-30 per cent a year by adopting simple measures. “By installing solar water heating and steam saving boilers hoteliers can save energy bill by 30 per cent,” said Pradeep Kumar and Sandip Kumar from a private company. KK Bahuguna from the ONGC cited the example of how the company saved Rs 450 crore a year by adopting energy conservation measures in the production of food oil. “We have set up energy saving cell and train employees on how to save energy,” he added.

Daleep Sharma , Regional Director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which organised the seminar in association with the Manali Tourism Stakeholders Association (MTSA), said hoteliers were made aware of the energy saving measures and changed their attitude by using solar energy.

Shimla, October 1
The digitisation of judicial record of the Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) and later of subordinate courts, along with intimation of case status both to lawyers and litigants, is all set to make justice delivery system accessible, affordable and litigant friendly.

The task of digitising the judicial record is one of the first initiatives taken by Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar after assuming office here in the High Court in April earlier this year. In the first phase, digitisation of over 2 lakh cases decided in the High Court will be undertaken within a month’s time. Later, this will be extended to all the decided cases by various subordinate courts of the state.

The High Court is perhaps among the few high courts in the country to have switched over to the Case Management Information System. The digitisation process will save both the litigants as well as the lawyers from sifting through voluminous records and documents as all the record information will be available at the click of a mouse.

The SMS facility intimating lawyers and litigants about case status will be beneficial for litigants who will remain updated about their litigation. The consolidated cause list is posted on the website of the High Court, ensuring transparency, consistence and certainty.

Another initiative being appreciated is the preference in the hearing roster being given to cases pertaining specifically to offences related to women, children, senior citizens, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In an endeavour to reduce the pendency, cases which are seven to eight years old are given priority.

The enhancement in the existing pecuniary jurisdiction resulting from the inflationary impact will increase the jurisdiction of the subordinate courts making it convenient for litigants to get justice at district level. The pecuniary jurisdiction has been doubled, which means the original suit value of cases beyond Rs 30 lakh can be filed in the High Court, between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh before the district Judge.

The move to open a circuit court at some sub-divisional headquarters having pendency of 200 triable cases and distance not less than 25 km will bring the judicial system closer to the litigants, mainly those residing in rural areas.

Solan, October 1
Elin Appliances, Baddi, has grabbed the ELCINA-EFY Award for its outstanding achievement in the environment management.

Kamal Sethia and Kishore Sethia, Directors, Elin Appliances, JS kang, Factory Manager and Sunit Verma, Manager, received the award from the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Dr Killi Kruparani, at a function organised in New Delhi.

Ajay Shankar, Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, was the guest of honour. Elin Appliances has established a name for itself by undertaking plethora of environmental activities not only around their industrial unit but also in Jhiri, Mandi, where a nature park has been developed.

The park, besides providing a picturesque place to relax for the tourists, has also developed a herbal garden where several plants of medicinal value have been planted.

The unit management has also undertaken sapling plantations on a large scale where a targeted approach has been adopted to plant lakhs of sapling.

A comprehensive analysis of various activities in the unit was undertaken before awarding Elin Appliances.

Various environment performance indicators, its targets and national and international benchmarks were also assessed.

The adoption of pollution control technologies and the details of pollutants discharged into the environment were among the parameters taken into account.

"The company has well-defined environment initiative and we are undertaking a project to educate schoolchildren about various environmental aspects which are consequences of the disturbed ecological system. We endeavour to educate 10,000 students from various schools in the Nalagarh subdivision and activities like painting, slogan competitions and lectures on environment have been imparted to students to increase their awareness,” said JS Kang, Unit Manager.

Besides this, the company has set its own environmental indices which it strives to achieve and improve and thereby save energy on account of conservation and efficiency.

The unit conducts its own surprise audits to check the misuse of power and harvest water within the premises to minimise any adverse environmental impact.

The management has also been awarded for their outstanding performance in several other categories like human resource development, corporate social responsibility, quality and safety.

Shimla, October 1
The Himachal Pradesh Paryatan Vikas Nigam Karamchari Sangh has alleged deliberate delay in taking action on complaints of serious irregularities against the finance manager of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). It demanded action against the “high-ups, who were shielding him” and even threatened to file an FIR.

It said the officer recruited on a contract basis for one year had not been removed even after the expiry of contract on September 24. The management was deliberately delaying matters, while some officials were busy brushing under the carpet the plethora of complaints against him to enable him to get an extension, it alleged.

The sangh said in spite of making a written complaint against the finance officer to the Chief Minister, who ordered immediate action in the matter, the authorities concerned were “shielding” him. It again urged the Chief Minister to direct the HPTDC management to immediately remove the finance officer and hold an inquiry into all his acts of omission and commission committed in a short spell of one year and make recoveries along with penal interest to ensure that no financial loss was caused to the corporation.— TNS