Shimla, October 25
Keen to reduce marketing costs and standardise packaging for apple, the government is considering introducing reusable plastic containers to replace the telescopic cartons currently in use.

According to official sources, an exercise has been started to identify the right type of plastic bins and a high-powered committee, which will have representatives of growers, arhtias (commission agents), ladanis (wholesalers) and other stakeholders, will be set up soon for the purpose. The committee will also go into the issue of designing standard cardboard cartons for which the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has already engaged the Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai.

The cost of corrugated board cartons and separating trays is increasing every year and it is affecting the net returns.

Further, the growers were packing up to 37 kg to 30 kg fruit in the standards 20 kg carton, which often spoils the quality of fruit and makes standardisation of packaging a difficult proposition.

Worse, a large quantity of processable grade of fruit is also sent to market in 60 kg bags, which affects the market prices. Such low quality apple can be better marketed in returnable plastic bins like tomato and other vegetables, which are highly perishable.

The reusable plastic bins will hold about 18 kg of apple and they are collapsible and can be transported back from markets for reuse. Another advantage is that they can be stacked and are easier to handle. The only disadvantage is the initial high cost, but studies conducted in Europe have revealed that they are much more economical due to their long life cycle.

These days interlocking allows plastic bins to be stacked up to a height of more than 36 ft.

The initial high cost could be taken care by making the state-owned HPMC, which supplies corrugated cartons, the nodal agency for reusable plastic bins.

It can procure bins in bulk and rent these out to growers, who can return these after the harvesting season.

Bins used for transporting 10 trucks of apple could be brought back in a single truck load in the collapsed state for reuse.

Other advantages are they are much better from the sanitation point of view as plastic body has a smooth surface that do not harbour disease-carrying organisms and can be cleaned easily. Unlike corrugated cartons they are not affected by rain and they do absorb water or chemicals.

the steps An exercise has been started to identify the right type of plastic bins A high-powered committee will be set up soon for the purpose

Billing (Kangra), October 25
Top paragliders from across the world have termed the Billing takeoff site among the top 10 paragliding sites of the world. Talking to The Tribune, paragliders who had come here to participate in the pre-World Cup championship said Billing was ideal to host the World Cup with some improvements.

The Billing Paragliding Association claimed that it had the second best paragliding site in the world after South Africa. Gurpreet Singh Dhindsa, the top-ranked Indian paraglider, said the Billing site was among the best in the world as it had a vast open valley. In most other paragliding sites, there were closed valleys that led to wind formation, creating hurdles in paragliding.

He said Billing could become a favourite among paragliders from across the world with some improvements. Dhindsa is running the only school in the country providing international certification for paragliding. He said the only drawback of the Billing site was that the weather was favourable for paragliding only for three months whereas the weather was favourable for six or seven months in many European countries.

Kalaudia Bulgakow, the top-ranked woman paraglider, and Adam Hills were among the other paragliders participating in the championship. Talking to The Tribune, they said the takeoff site at Billing would have to be improved to allow at least 10 pilots to take off simultaneously.

Some participants said on the condition of anonymity that security was the main concern for promotion of paragliding and other adventure sports in India. As per rules of the Director-General of Civil Aviation, winches are allowed only in Army helicopters in India, but not in private helicopters.

Winches are iron ropes operated with motors to rescue pilots trapped in unfriendly circumstances. To improve security in adventure sports events, either the Army should be associated with the organisation of such events or winches should be allowed in private helicopters, the participants said.

The tasks for pilots participating in the pre-World Cup Championship were cancelled today due cloud formation in the afternoon. Though the championship cross-country race could not be held, the free pilots (not participating in the championship) had a field day. They took off from various sites and filled the skies.

Minister for Housing and Urban Development Sudhir Sharma, who is the president of the Billing Paragliding Association, visited the site. He said the government was committed to improving facilities at the site.

He said the landing site had been improved and was being appreciated by participants. The endeavour was to host the World Championship in the coming years, he said.

Shimla, October 25
The state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has requested the Central Enforcement Directorate to look into the issue of raising of money for a high-end housing project, Bemloe Development and Infrastructure Company, by 54 persons hailing from Amritsar district of Punjab.

Suspecting serious irregularities in raising of money for the company, the Vigilance Bureau brought the matter to the notice of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last week.

The Vigilance Bureau, currently probing the housing project, located amid a thick deodar forest near Kanlog below the Shimla bypass, sought the help of the Central agency after inquiring into the matter at its own level.

“It was within 12 days in November, 2009, that 54 persons applied for the purchase of shares worth Rs 5 lakh each in the company formed by proprietors Karandeep Sekhon and Harinder Singh Randhawa,” informed a Vigilance official.

He added that Vigilance sleuths could verify only 35 shareholders and record the statements of 18 persons after visiting Amritsar. A sum of Rs 2.51 crore had been raised by way of floating shares by the company.

“However, none of these persons have so far been given any allotment letter, shares, receipts or profits from the investment of Rs 5 lakh made by them,” said the official. He added that a majority of these investors had stated that they had invested the money they earned from agricultural means.

The agreement to sell land in two separate deals was made on the same day, July 25, 2008, for Rs 36 lakh and for Rs 35 lakh at Beerkhana, near Kanlog. The final sale deed was made for Rs 3.22 crore. The company was registered on June 27, 2008, under the Companies Act, 1956.

The Bemloe housing project had been in the news ever since it was granted permission by the Himachal Urban Development Authority and the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

The issue had figured prominently in the Congress charge sheet as the Congress and the Vigilance Bureau started its probe immediately after the formation of the Congress regime. The Bureau is looking into various issues like construction of a road to the site and alleged felling of green trees.

During investigation, the Vigilance Bureau had found that a majority of the persons whose names figured in the application for the construction of a road were either dead or non-existent or their signatures had been forged. The matter was under investigation.

Shimla, October 25
With the Congress high command, determined to enforce the one-man-one-post principle, another leader, who was holding two posts, resigned from the party post today.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Inder Dut Lakhanpal resigned as Chief of the State Sewa Dal today. He is the second leader after Rakesh Kalia, who had resigned from the post of the CPS, after being appointed as Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee. The resignation has come in the face of fresh directions of the high command.

Incidentally, Lakhanpal is the only Congress MLA from the Hamirpur and his continuation as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary will ensure that the district had representation in the government.

The state leadership has been of the view that the principle of one-man-one-post could not be implemented in toto. Exceptions will have to be made as service of certain experienced leaders was required in the party as well as the government. However, AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been all through insisting that the principle should be followed in letter and spirit. There are half-a-dozen other leaders who are holding the party posts and also the posts of chairpersons of various boards and corporations. President of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee Sukhwinder Singh maintained that the directions of the high command would be followed and the principle would be adhered to.

Nurpur, October 25
Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today cautioned Virbhadra Singh-led government against unleashing political vendetta against opponents and said all those who indulged in it would be paid in the same coin with interest at the right time.

Addressing a press conference here, he alleged that the government had worked only to target and frame opposition leaders during the last 10 months. He alleged that this government had cheated every section of society in the state and failed to fulfil its promises made in manifesto.

He alleged that the government had not enhanced wages of daily wage workers, not given school uniforms to students, failed to fulfil the promise of unemployment allowance and cancelled a large number of HRTC routes in rural areas.

“It has imposed 4 per cent VAT on all items of CSD canteens meant for soldiers and former Army men and their families. It has disappointed government employees by stalling 20 per cent dearness allowance instalment and promotions and benefits of four, nine and 14 years of service with effect from 2006 as promised by the Congress before the Asembly elections,” he lamented.

Dhumal asserted that Narendra Modi factor would click during the general election in every state as people wanted to see him as the next Prime Minister. He said the party would allot the ticket to candidates with the sole criterion of potential to win and would not repeat the mistakes of the last Assembly elections in the state.

Talking about the shifting of the Disaster Management Battalion, sanctioned during his regime in the Kopra area of Nurpur, Dhumal said it was unfortunate and an injustice to this border area.

He alleged that the government had presented distorted facts on the sanctioned project in the Assembly. He said his government had almost completed formalities of land acquisition proceedings for the project in Nurpur.

Dhumal inaugurated a training camp of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of the Indora mandal at Indora and presided over the closing ceremony of the camp of the Nurpur BJP mandal here.

He was accompanied by state BJP spokesperson Kirpal Parmar, general secretary Vipin Parmar, vice-president Rajiv Bhardwaj and Nurpur district BJP president Arjun Singh.

Shimla, October 25
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated a Rs 12.65-crore pharmacy college building and a Rs 1.52-crore combined government offices complex at Rohru, about 80 km from here, today.

The foundation stones of the college and the office complex were laid by Virbhadra during his earlier term as the Chief Minister. He also inaugurated a Rs 2.65-crore hostel building of Government Postgraduate Degree College, Seema. The pharmacy college houses separate academic, administrative-cum-auditorium block, dispensary and residential blocks. The government offices complex will help bring various offices under one roof, besides the newly constructed boys’ hostel at Seema College has a capacity to lodge 105 students.

Presiding over the silver jubilee function of Seema College and Zone IV Inter-College Youth Festival, Virbhadra congratulated the staff and students of the college for organising the function and celebrating 25 years of its existence. He said the college had emerged as a centre of excellence for higher education and more than 25,000 graduates had passed out.

The Chief Minister directed the Education Department to fill all the vacant posts of teachers in far-flung areas on a priority basis. He also directed the department that the under-construction library-cum-auditorium building of the college be completed within two months. He announced to construct a sports field and staff quarters at the college.

Earlier, BL Vinta, Principal of the college, said the foundation stone of the college was laid by Virbhadra Singh and it was a matter of pride that he was presiding over its silver jubilee function. He thanked the Chief Minister for introducing master courses and various other infrastructure facilities in the college for the convenience of students of far-flung area.

Earlier, before leaving for Rohru, Virbhadra visited the old Hanuman temple at Rampur Bushair and directed the authorities to ensure proper maintenance of the temple keeping in view its heritage value. He also inspected the new bus stand at Rampur and asked the authorities to maintain cleanliness. He said to avoid traffic congestion all the buses should ply from the new bus stand only. He also directed the authorities to construct a road from the bus stand to Khaneri connecting the national highway to ensure smooth traffic up to the new bus stand.

Shimla, October 25
The lawyers practising at the district courts here today abstained from attending the courts. Today's protest was against the move of the High Court for sending circuit courts of Additional District and Sessions Judges to subdivision level.

As a result, no work could be undertaken in the district and other subordinate courts here. On October 24, the general body of the Simla Bar Association (SBA) unanimously adopted a resolution to protest against the decision of the High Court for sending the sessions circuit courts to subdivision level.

As per the demand charter, members of the Bar are opposing the move to open a new Judicial Court at Sunni, and contractual appointments of Judges.

Bilaspur, October 25
Ganga Ram (70) of Khated village under the Jhandutta area was killed when his scooter was hit by another vehicle on the National Highway No-21 at Jaamli, near here, last evening.

Reports said the vehicle, which hit the scooter, ran away from the spot. A case has been registered and further investigations are on.

The deceased was returning from a social ceremony when the mishap happened.