Mandi/Manali, October 12
Three trekkers, including a British national, were killed in a rockslide at Shitidhar in the Beas Kund glacier area, when they were coming back to the Beas Kund base camp from the 5300-m-high Hanuman Tibba yesterday.

The victims are 67-year-old British national Maxwell Slater, team leader Lotus Sandhu and porter Sanjay.

The mishap took place when the trekkers were coming back on the Shitidhar trek. A rock on which a trekker was standing slid and swept away two more trekkers on the lower side. The debris took them down a steep gorge and buried them, rescue team members said.

A 15-member rescue team comprising the police and instructors from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports led by DSP, Manali, Shamsher Singh, launched a massive search operation and recovered the bodies of Maxwell Slater and Lotus Sandhu from the gorge today. The third member was still missing. The search operation was suspended due to snow in the mountain this evening.

Shamsher told The Tribune that the other eight members of the team, including two foreign women trekkers, were safe and camping at the Beas Kund camp. They would be brought back to base camp-II tomorrow.

The trekking group, organised by Delhi-based Wilderness Experience, had started from Manali four days ago. They included six trekkers, most of them British, and seven porters.

Lotus Sandhu was the team leader and hailed from Ladakh. Sanjay, who was feared buried in the debris, hailed from Kangra district.

Shimla, October 12
Nine-time winner Suresh Rana hailing from Manali was today crowned winner of the 15th Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya which concluded at Leh yesterday.

Rana, driving a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara with co-driver Ashwin Naik, had an overall timing of 9.46.23 hours over six days. Sanjay Agarwal and Shiv Prakash driving a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy finished as first runner-up with cumulative timing of 10.10.35 hours. Harpreet Bawa and Parminder Thakur were second runner-up having clocked 10.11.23 hours.

Jagmeet Gill and Chandan Sen of Team Maruti driving a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy lifted the trophy in the Adventure Trial 4W category.

The winners were felicitated by Manohar Bhat, vice-president (Marketing), Maruti Suzuki, in the presence of Manjeev Bhalla and Vijay Parmar from the Himalayan Motorsport Association, organisers of the rally.

The 15th Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya, one of the most exciting motorsport events in India, culminated in Leh last evening after traversing over 1,800 km over six days which included the highest motorable passes and inhospitable sub zero temperatures.

Chandigarh, October 12
Braving icy winds and bad weather, a team of National Cadet Corps (NCC) girl cadets have successfully scaled Mount Shitidhar in Manali. The team comprising two officers and 18 cadets summited the 17,062-ft-high peak in two phases. This is the 71st expedition undertaken by the NCC.

The team had undergone extensive training in ice-craft, snow-craft and avalanche crevasses study before scaling the peak. They established their base camp at Beas Khund and attempted the peak in two groups. The first group with two cadets was led by Lt Col Vishal Dubey, while the second group, led by Capt Deepika Rathore, an Everest summiteer herself, had four girl cadets.

Lt Gen Anil Chait, Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff, congratulated them on their praiseworthy feat and making the NCC proud by the achievement. The girl cadets were overwhelmed by their maiden adventurous experience which has given them tremendous confidence and strength to face challenges in the future, a statement here today said.

Nurpur, October 12
The inclement weather and prolonged wet-weather condition due to rains even at the fag-end of the monsoon season has been playing havoc with the paddy crop standing ready for harvesting in lower Kangra district. The untimely rains have dashed the hopes of farmers who were expecting a bumper paddy crop this year. Earlier, they suffered heavy losses in maize crop due to torrential rains last month.

Water-logging in paddy fields has hampered crop harvesting. Some areas like Raja Ka Talab and Rehan were even lashed by hailstorm yesterday which caused extensive damage to the standing paddy crop. The farmers have urged the state government to take stock of the grim situation and assess the losses. The untimely rains have also hit vegetable crops in the area. The bad weather condition has also disrupted marriage ceremonies here.

Arjun Singh, president, Nurpur district BJP, has demanded that the state government should order an assessment of losses caused to farmers and vegetable growers forthwith and ensure requisite compensation to them. 

Solan, October 12
As many as 30 girl students of a nursing college and the driver of a private bus were injured when the vehicle overturned near Dhabota on the Nalagarh-Bharatgarh Road today.

The bus was on its way to the Public Health Centre, Jogo, when the mishap occurred due to rash driving. All injured were rushed to the Nalagarh-based First Referral Unit. The police said the bus was overloaded and being rashly driven. The bus was taking the students of BSc studying in a private nursing college at Dattowal to Jogo for rural training.

The bus, which was at a great speed, first hit against the side of the road and then overturned. One student has been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

DSP Nischint Negi said a case of rash and negligent driving under Sections 279 and 337, IPC, has been registered against the driver. Tehsildar RD Harnote, who visited the patients at the FRU, Nalagarh, extended a financial help of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 to those having received minor injuries and Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 to others.

Shimla, October 12
The Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, will undertake a population survey and identification of new habitats of western tragopan in the state so that some more pheasantries can be set up for their breeding and conservation which will help enhance their number.

The Wildlife Department has held a meeting with officials of the institute to undertake a survey to get the estimate of the population of western tragopan. In an earlier survey, the estimated number of the birds was found to be around 1,400, which was considered to be on the higher side.

The population estimation is likely to be done before the breeding season so that there can be a broad idea about the population of the bird in Himachal. “Besides undertaking the population survey, experts will also identify new habitats so that more aviaries can be set up as part of the conservation programme,” said a wildlife official.

It will also look into stress factors which could have been inimical in their propogation and led to their population dwindling in the state.

The wildlife wing of the Forest Department is undertaking two conservation projects for western tragopan at Sarahan near Rampur in Shimla district and for chir pheasant near Chail. The experts from the wildlife institute will visit the areas which had evidence of the western tragopan presence so that steps could be taken to help in attracting them.

The Wildlife Department plans to involve the local shepherds along with their staff during the population survey, likely to be held in March-April. Evidence is collected about the presence of the pheasants even through indirect sighting as reported by the locals.

The Great Himalayan National Park is one of the few places in the world supporting a substantial population of endangered western tragopan. All pheasant species have been placed in Schedule I and IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection), 1972, to provide them adequate protection.

After the survey is complete and there is an idea about the potential new habitats, birds bred in captivity will be released. Their reintroduction will also be done in areas where the population of the birds are found to be very scant. The focus will be on high-altitude areas in Chamba, Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Kinnaur where the pheasants are found.

Shimla, October 12
Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh felicitated the people of the state on the occasion of Dasehra.

They said Dasehra was symbolic of victory of good over evil and hoped the festival would be celebrated with great enthusiasm throughout the state.