P R A D E S H
Thursday, April 22, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Thursday, April 22, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Government not promoting
aerosports AIDS bomb ticking in Hamirpur |
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 Hamirpur Dharamsala Shimla
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HP Cabinet blames
Congress for govt’s fall HP exceeds cataract operations
target 40 deodar trees felled illegally Steps to promote Red Cross
activities NZCC reviews performance |
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Government
not promoting aerosports DHARAMSALA, April 21 — Despite the increasing popularity of adventure sports, the Tourism Department has once again failed to hold the national paragliding event for the fourth consecutive year. Though, Billing, near Baijnath, remains one of the best aerosports sites in the world, the government has failed to promote the sports in the state. It has been seen in the past that the paragliding meet is a big attraction for tourists with a large number of Indian and foreign tourists descending on the place. Aerosports was introduced in the state way back in 1985, but due to government apathy, lack of trained youths and infrastructure, the sport is still in its infancy. It is the efforts of a handful of enterprising youths that has kept the sport alive in Himachal. After organising the national paragliding meet in 1994 and 1995, the Tourism Department has failed to hold it again. It was felt that promoting paragliding could give a boost to tourism in the Kangra valley. Even though the meet is not being held annually, one can frequently spot foreign pilots paragliding in Billing and McLeodganj. Even though the Tourism Department has organised two international events at Billing, the basic facilities are still lacking. The aerosports centre being constructed at Bir is still incomplete. The condition of the 13 km track to the take-off site at Billing remains narrow and unmetalled. Though money had been provided by the Tourism Department to the PWD for improving the condition of the road, it is in such a bad state it remains closed during the monsoons. The few paragliders in the state complain that the government's contribution towards promoting the sport has been almost nil. It is on their own that these youths have set up training institutes. They suggest that if the sport has to be promoted to attract tourists, suitable sites should be identified in the state and then infrastructure development should be undertaken. The reasons cited by the Tourism Department two years ago for not being able to hold the meet, was that the Central Government had laid down the condition that safety guidelines for the sport must be adhered to. The fact that the department has still not been able to meet these safety guidelines reflects the 'disinterest' of the government in promoting the sport. Moreover, in the absence
of proper publicity, paragliding remains more of a
state-level event. A majority of the participants are
from Himachal, as had been the case in 1995. It is the
effort put in by people like Roshan Thakur of Manali that
the youth in the state are training at the Himalayan
Institute of Adventure Sports run by him. If the
government provides some support to the educated youth
for starting aerosports training centres, a large number
of them can get self-employment, apart from giving a
boost to tourism. |
AIDS bomb
ticking in Hamirpur HAMIRPUR, April 21 — AIDS has hit this district of Himachal Pradesh with a vengeance. The first full-blown AIDS case was reported in the district in 1992. Sources in the Department of Health and Family Planning put the number of HIV positive cases in the district at 55, including eight full blown AIDS cases. They claim that most of these persons had died since long. The figures provided by the HP Directorate of Health Services put the figure of HIV positive at 156 and full-blown AIDS cases at 57. They claim that eight persons had died due to AIDS in the state since 1992. Most of the full-blown AIDS and HIV positive cases were either taxi drivers or truck drivers who had contacted the disease during their stay in Mumbai, Calcutta or other parts of India. They return to their native villages and pass on the disease from the HIV viruses and then spread the same further to their wives. The figures supplied by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in respect of Hamirpur district in general and the state as a whole in particular seem to be incorrect. Insiders in the department feel that the total number of HIV positive cases in Hamirpur district alone was around 1,000 and that of full-blown AIDS cases was 100. According to them, 15 persons had died in the district since 1992. Though the AIDS has made inroads into the district, neither the state government nor the Department of Health and Family Welfare seem to have taken any step to check the spread of the disease. Those connected with the mass media or AIDS awareness programme feel that since Hamirpur district has become the target of the disease and more and more cases from the area are coming to the light, there is a need to open a counselling cell at Hamirpur Zonal Hospital. They also want that a full fledged cell of media personnel fully trained in the AIDS awareness programme be created and village to village camps be held to tell the people about the gravity of the situation. There is also a need to
open a separate laboratory for testing blood samples in
the district especially for the suspected HIV positive
cases and to refer them to the AIMS, New Delhi for
further verification. |
HPSEB to
execute Uhl-III project SHIMLA, April 21 — The 100 MW Uhl stage-III hydroelectric project in Mandi district will be executed by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). The decision to assign the project to the board was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, here today, Mr Gulab Singh, the Speaker, and Mr A.K. Goswami, the Chief Secretary and Chairman of the board, also attended the meeting. The Chief Minister directed the board to prepare the latest detailed project report (DPR) at the earliest and start the process for taking techno-economic and environment clearances so that wok on this project could be started without delay. The Chief Minister directed that work for building infrastructure should be taken up immediately so that on completion of all other codal formalities, construction could be started on a war footing. It is the second largest project to be executed by the board so far. The project was earlier assigned to a private company which failed to start work. Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, the Speaker, thanked the Chief Minister for agreeing to his request to entrust the project to the HPSEB. The project, to be
constructed near Jogindernagar, will help utilise the
full capacity of Uhl on which Shanan and Bassi projects
had already been constructed. |
HP Cabinet blames Congress for
govt’s fall SHIMLA, April 21 — The Himachal Cabinet has decried manoeuvres of the Congress and other political parties to pull down the Vajpayee government at the Centre. The Cabinet, which met here today, under the chairmanship of Mr P.K. Dhumal, Himachal Chief Minister, observed that the "unholy" nexus of these political parties plunged the country into economic and political instability. It lauded achievements of the Vajpayee government which enhanced prestige of India in the comity of nations within a short period of 13 months. It appreciated its efforts in strengthening relations with neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan, a fact acknowledged by Mr Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the country. It thanked the outgoing government for all help and support it gave to Himachal. It noted that the forces of opportunism, which toppled the government, had failed to provide an alternative even after five days, though they had been claiming that they would form a government within five minutes. Mr Mohinder Singh,
Himachal Public Works Minister and a senior HVC leader,
moved a resolution pledging his party's unconditional
support to the Dhumal government. The BJP-HVC combine
government was stable and those trying to destabilise it
would never succeed in their designs, the resolution
said. |
HP exceeds
cataract operations target SHIMLA, April 21 — Himachal has exceeded the target of cataract operations in the state under the national programme for control of blindness, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, said while presiding over the state steering committee meeting for making the state cataract backlog free by 2000. As many as 13104
cataract operations against the target of 12,300 fixed
for 1998-99 were performed in the state. The government
was committed to making Himachal cataract backlog free by
involving voluntary organisations, youth and mahila
mandals in big way so that the target under the programme
could be achieved well before the deadline. As many as
13,500 cataract operations would be performed in the
state this year. A survey to determine bilateral
blindness cases would soon be conducted in Himachal by
involving voluntary organisations and anganwadi workers.
A school eye screening programme would also be launched
this year under which 5.50 lakh school children would be
examined for eye ailments and free medicines and
spectacles provided to them. |
40 deodar
trees felled illegally DALHOUSIE, April 21 — Illicit felling of about 40 of deodar trees in the Sia and Gutri forests of Sukhigala range under Dalhousie forest division was noticed early this week. It is officially reported that the illicit felling had been continuing clandestinely for the past about one month and so far timber worth Rs 6 lakh had been smuggled out of the area. An official spokesman
said a case had been registered with the Dalhousie police
under sections 32 and 33 of the Indian Forest
Conservation Act and section 379, IPC. One person had
been arrested in this connection and one forest official
of the Drada forest beat put under suspension. Timber
worth Rs 1 lakh had so far been recovered by the police.
The forest authorities were assessing the value of the
deodar trees felled illegally. |
Steps to promote Red Cross
activities SHIMLA, April 21 — The state Red Cross Society has decided to open a civil dispensary at Tutikandi here. The executive committee of society which met here today under the chairmanship of Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 3.46 lakh to six patients undergoing treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh, under the state illness aid scheme. It also decided to provide hearing aid machines worth Rs 15,000 to three persons. To promote the activities of the Red Cross in the state five members of the state executive committee were made in charge of the twelve districts. Dr Malika Nadda will take care of Bilaspur, Mandi and Kulu districts. Mr Deepak Sharma, vice-chairman of the society will look after Hamirpur and Una districts, Mrs Malvika Pathania was made in charge of Kangra, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts and Mrs Prem Negi of Kinnaur and Sirmaur districts. The work in Solan and Shimla districts has been entrusted to Mrs Subhash Kapoor. It was decided to
celebrate World Red Cross Day on May 8 by organising
programmes at Shimla and other places in all districts to
imbibe the spirit of social service amongst people. |
NZCC
reviews performance SHIMLA, April 21 — The governing body and the executive board of the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) which met here today reviewed the performance of the centre and passed the budget. The meeting was presided over by Lt Gen B.K.N. Chhibber, Governor, Punjab. During last year the centre organised 403 programmes, including classical, folk music, dance, fine arts, bhakti sangeet and seminar. The Governor lauded the
role of the centre in promoting cultural activities. |
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