H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Two books on the personality & works of renowned Hindi author, Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Consumer Affair & P.D. Minister were released on Thursday by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Human Resources Minister at Triveni auditorium. Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, Governor, Himachal Pradesh was the chief guest on the occasion

Stir against green felling threatened
DHARAMSALA, Feb 11 — The Himalaya Bachao Samiti, has threatened to launch an agitation in protest against the decision to start commercial green felling. Which shows short sighted approach of the government towards Forest management.

Mercury dips further
CHANDIGARH, Feb 11 — People in north-west India shivered under intense cold wave conditions following renewed spells of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and West Uttar Pradesh hills and rain in the plains during the past 24 hours.

Shastri visits Jawalaji
JAWALAMUKHI, Feb 11— The Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, yesterday visited the Jawalamukhi shrine at Dehra sub-division in Kangra district.

Stir against green felling threatened
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Feb 11 — The Himalaya Bachao Samiti, has threatened to launch an agitation in protest against the decision to start commercial green felling. Which shows short sighted approach of the government towards Forest management.

A number of NGO’s working under the banner of the Himalaya Bachao Samiti has decided to launch a statewide agitation, in case the government does not reconsider its decision. "The debate on green felling must be expanded and should address the larger issues of forest management and land use in a Himalayan state like Himachal," said Mr Kulbhushan Upmanyu of the Himalaya Bachao Samiti of Chamba.

These voluntary organisations working on environmental issues have suggested that before taking a decision on a vital issue like forest management, needed to be addressed, first. It has to be decided how much land in the state needs to be under tree cover. The benefits in terms of water, air, soil and biodiversity is an asset and a resource pool that should be given priority.

The NGO’s also suggest that it should be decided as to what should be the correct land use of the different types of forests in the different agro-climatic zones of the state. Mr Kulbhushan Upmanyu, says that until the state reaches 50 per cent tree cover, there should be no question of restarting commercial green felling.

He regretted that the Forest Department was using a short-cut method to generate a paltry sum of Rs 50 crore.

Mr Rajeev Ahal of Palampur, pointed out that the total dependence of the Forest Department on timber had led to the immediate prescription of felling to generate money from forests. "Rather, plantations of fruit, fodder, fibre, fuel, fertilisers and medicinal plants will open up less destructive and more revenue earning options than tree felling," he suggested. He said that the dry, decaying and dead wood has always been sold by the Forest Department and advocated that the government should impose a ban on any forest produce being exported from the state in raw form.

Mr Amar Singh Kaundal of the Society for Rural Development and Action (SRDA) in Mandi district questioned the complicated and impractical system of forest classification into Reserved and Demarcated forests. He suggested that forest lands in the state should be of two types only — State Forest and Village Forests. "While all ecological and national needs should be met from the state forests, the local needs of the people and their livelihoods should be based on the village forests, with a clear ownership and control of the community," he stated.

Mr Sukhdev Vishva Premi of the Rural Technology Development Centre, in Balh, of Mandi district, added, these forests should have specified ratio of land devoted for conservation and the rest to production priorities.

They also pointed out that though 66 per cent of the geographical area of Himachal was notified as forest area, but barely 23 per cent had tree cover, that can be called forest in the true sense.

Mercury dips further

CHANDIGARH, Feb 11 (UNI) — People in north-west India shivered under intense cold wave conditions following renewed spells of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and West Uttar Pradesh hills and rain in the plains during the past 24 hours.

The maximum temperatures in the plains dipped by two to five Celsius below normal as 15 to 20 km per hour velocity icy winds swept the snow-clad Shivaliks coupled with rain. The afternoons, however, turned little warmer with the sun peeping through the cloud-dappled sky.

Rain, at this time of the year, is considered beneficial for standing rabi crops. However, hailstorms at isolated places in the region over the next 24 hours, as warned by weathermen, could cause damage to crops and fruit.

Besides the upper reaches in Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir, the tribal belt in adjoining Himachal Pradesh and other higher reaches had a sharp fall in temperatures, that remained six to 10 degree Celsius below freezing point.

Reports here said that in the plains, Delhi and the National Capital Region received widespread rain. Delhi itself recorded 33.7 mm of rainfall, both at Palam and Safdarjung, during the past 24 hours ended at 8.30 am today.

Gurgaon with 26.3 mm of rainfall was the wettest place in Haryana. Patiala with 22.7 mm of rainfall was the wettest place in Punjab followed by Ludhiana (14 mm) and Amritsar (3.4 mm).

Weathermen attributed the renewed spells of snow and rain to westerly disturbances moving eastwards from Jammu and Kashmir coupled with depression over north-west Rajasthan and adjoining areas. They warned of heavy rain or snow at isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Utter Pradesh.

People around Chandigarh shivered with the day temperature hovering around 15.8 Celsius, about five degrees below normal. The city received 15.8 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours.

In Himachal Pradesh, all tribal areas reported moderate to heavy snowfall and the state capital intermittent snowfall overnight and today.

Bhuntar with 35.7 mm of rainfall was the wettest places in Himachal Pradesh followed by Sundernagar (26.5mm).

Shimla woke up to a white mantle of snow. Jakhu, the highest peak in the town, reported about 30 cm snow.

The 320-km Hindustan-Tibet road was blocked to traffic beyond Dhalli. The Shimla-Chopal, Shimla-Rohru, Karcham-Sangla and Chamba-Bharmour roads were also closed due to snowfall.

Shastri visits Jawalaji
From Our Correspondent

JAWALAMUKHI, Feb 11— The Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, yesterday visited the Jawalamukhi shrine at Dehra sub-division in Kangra district.

Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri reached Sapri near here in the morning and drove to the Jawalamukhi temple. During his 35-minute stay at the temple, the Governor offered prayers and performed havan. He was received at the temple by the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Mr B.K. Aggarwal.

During his interaction with baridars and priests of the temple, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri stressed that baridars ought to be well-versed in rituals pertaining to the worship of deity. He appealed to all baridars to make efforts to maintain sanctity of the shrine. He reminded those engaged in the temple management should have thorough knowledge of both history and mythology of the temple. They should be knowledgeable in Sanskrit literature. The Governor asked the priests to maintain the sanctity of the precincts. He said temple tourism should be promoted in the State.

After inaugurating a community hall at Dehra Gopipur he said performing "pooja" in temples is mere symbolic. If we wish to be near the God then only selfless service of society should be our preference.

Lauding the constructive role of the Radha Krishana Community Kendra Trust, Mr Shastri said the temple was an example of selfless efforts of the devotees.

A message of his holiness Jeyendra Saraswati Sankracharaya of Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham of Kanchipuram was read out by Justice V.Ratnam. Mr Kapil Dev Sood, Chairman of the trust, thanked the Governor.

CM has 'succumbed' to forest mafia
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Feb 11 — The former Chief Minister and leader of the Congress Legislative Party, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today criticised the Himachal Government decision to lift the ban on green felling, saying that the "ill-advised move would not only prove ruinous to the ecology of Himachal Pradesh, but also adversely affect that of the neighbouring states in the plains."

Addressing a press conference here today, he said Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal seemed to have played into the hands of the "forest mafia" and a section of the Forest Department.

He said that the same mafia and a coterie of forest officers had during his tenure as Chief Minister pleaded for continued felling of forests on the plea that it fetched hadsome revenue. However, he had refused to yield. The state's forest cover had dwindled to a mere 17 per cent as against the national norm of 60 per cent for hilly states. Any further depletion of forests would only spell disaster for the state and the region's ecology and economy, Mr Virbhadra Singh warned.

Undertrial rearrested
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, Feb 11 — The district police yesterday rearrested an undertrial Sher Mohammad at Latara falling under Delma police station in Jagroan tehsil of Ludhiana district. He absconded from police custody on April 21, 1999.

Mr R.M. Sharma, SP, said that a police party was sent to Latara in Punjab. The accused was nabbed at a gujjars’ ‘dera’ of livestock.

Mr Sharma said the accused was facing a trial along with Gulam Rasoom, Barkat Ali, and Gammu, a resident of Malla Bukhara in Sahoo belt of this district on a charge of murdering Hem Raj and injuring another over a grazing land dispute. A case was registered under Section 452, 302 and 307, IPC, in 1997.

The SP said Sher Mohammad escaped from police custody while being brought from the district jail and taken to the district hospital for medical treatment. He managed to escape from the town.

The police constable accompanying the accused had been suspended.

2 die as truck falls on jhuggi

HAMIRPUR, Feb 11 (UNI) — A man and his daughter were killed when a truck overturned and fell on their jhuggi on the roadside here last night.

The wife of the deceased and the driver of the truck were seriously injured. Both of them were admitted to hospital, sources said today.

The deceased belonged to Rajasthan. The man, Manak Ram, and his family were labourers.

The mishap occurred near Hotel Hamir when the driver lost control of the vehicle in heavy rain.

Senior district and police officials reached the scene to supervise the rescue operations, Subdivisional Magistrate Baldev Thakur told UNI.