H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

HP to issue medical 
treatment norms
SHIMLA, Aug 23 — In a major step to improve the quality healthcare services in the state, the Himachal Government has decided to issue “standard treatment guidelines” along with a “drug formulary” which will be mandatory for doctors to follow.

Col Chauhan cremated
KANGRA, Aug 23 — The mortal remains of Col Rajinder Chauhan who was killed in a landmine blast in Kupwara district in North Kashmir was cremated with full military and state honours at the cremation grounds at Shahpur in this district today.

Seasonal rivulets play havoc
KASAULI: A grim situation has arisen due to heavy rain coupled with flash floods during the monsoon which has eroded and damaged a major chunk of the irrigated land and deposited coarse sand, stones and silt in areas downstream of Mandhala, Kotiyan, Kuranwala, Sehran, Kalu-Jhinda, Kambwala and Baguwala villages which lie about 40 km from here, near the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial belt.

Daily wager admits to burning bank
MANDI, Aug 23 — A class III daily wager of the Himachal Gramin Bank Som Nath, today admitted to having set fire to the bank building after stealing Rs 70,000 from it.

HP to issue medical treatment norms
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Aug 23 — In a major step to improve the quality healthcare services in the state, the Himachal Government has decided to issue “standard treatment guidelines” along with a “drug formulary” which will be mandatory for doctors to follow.

Stating this at a “meet-the-press” programme organised by the Shimla Press Club here today, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister, said the decision which was a sequel to the essential drug policy implemented early this year, would go a long way in ensuring proper treatment of patients and help prevent overmedication and malpractices. The guidelines would be made available to public also and, as such, the patients would know whether they were getting the right treatment. It would also ensure the much-needed uniformity in the line of treatment. In case of deviation from the standard guidelines, action could be taken against the doctor concerned.

Similarly, the drug formulary, containing detailed information about drugs, besides their composition, would enable the patients to purchase medicines of the company of their choice. The doctors would not be allowed to prescribe branded medicines and would be required go by generic names. This would considerably bring down the cost of treatment as there was a wide difference in the prices of drugs produced by various companies.

A list of 375 essential drugs had already been notified and displayed at main hospitals and the doctors were by and large prescribing and procuring these only.

Simultaneously, a quality assurance scheme had been launched in Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital and the state hospital, here, on experimental basis. Under the scheme patients were given a questionnaire regarding the quality of services and shortcomings were removed on the basis of the feedback. The scheme would soon be extended to district hospitals. Mr Nadda said the government had also decided to involve the private sector for providing effective and efficient sanitary and security services in big hospitals. It had also invited the private sector for setting up institutions for the training of paramedical staff and some offers were already under consideration.

It had also been decided to convert the cadre of staff nurses pharmacists, male and female health workers, laboratory technicians and assistants into district cadre. As many as 235 medical officers had been appointed and only 100 vacancies of doctors had been left vacant.

Financial and administrative powers had been delegated to Chief Medical Officers and Block Medical Officers to ensure efficacy.

A comprehensive policy document entitled Health Vision-2020, was being prepared to ensures continuity and proper direction in the development of the health sector in the state. The document would lay down a time frame for the eradication of diseases like malaria, polio, water-borne diseases and the strategy to combat new maladies like AIDS and hepatitis.

He said the state has doing well in achieving the goals set by the national health policy. The state was close to achieving some of the major indicators and was way ahead of the national average.

Snag disrupts telecom services
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Aug 23 — Kangra, Palampur, Dharamsala and other towns of the Kangra valley and Chamba district and Barmour remained cut off from rest of the world following a technical snag in the microwave system of the Telecommunication Department which resulted in the failure of the microwave link between Dharamsala and Shimla, yesterday for a few hours.

It left STD subscribers delinked at 5.40 p.m. It was the mediapersons who informed the A.E. Microwave Dharamsala, about the STD failure. The link was restored at 8 p.m. The same snag was reported on Monday evening too putting the STD subscribers to inconvenience.

The regional headquarter at Dharamsala has no other alternative telecom route to keep it linked with the world through STD when even the main microwave link gets disturbed.

According to the authorities the frequent snag which develops at the microwave tower at Nehri near Hamirpur results in the failure of the microwave link between Dharamsala, which is the nerve centre of Kangra and Chamba districts, and Shimla leaving the STD subscribers in the lurch.

Sources in the department said the matter to have an alternative route via Mandi had already been taken up with the higher authorities but no decision had been taken as yet.

Col Chauhan cremated
From Our Correspondent

KANGRA, Aug 23 — The mortal remains of Col Rajinder Chauhan who was killed in a landmine blast in Kupwara district in North Kashmir was cremated with full military and state honours at the cremation grounds at Shahpur in this district today.

The body of Col Chanuan was airlifted from Chandigarh by helicopter last evening. His widow, Mrs Hemlata Chauhan, 35, and 12 year-old son, Jai Vijay Singh accompanied the body to Gaggal airport where civil and military officers and hundreds of others lined up the receive to it.

From Gaggal it was taken to the military hospital in Yol Cantonment, 15 km from Gaggal in the tricolour and taken to his native village Shahpur. Thousands thronged his house to pay their last respects.

Today his mortal remains were carried form his residence to the cremation ground 500 yards away. As the procession made its way the slogan ‘Col Rajender Chouhan Amar Rahay and Pakistan Murdabad’ rent the air.

His 12 year-old son Jaivijay Singh lit the pyre. The last rites were performed with full military honours.

Col S.K. Bali, 21 Sub-Area Command laid the wreath on behalf of the President of India.

All shops and business establishments remained closed in Shahpur, Rait and Chambi towns as a mark of respect.

Seasonal rivulets play havoc
From Ambika Sharma

KASAULI: A grim situation has arisen due to heavy rain coupled with flash floods during the monsoon which has eroded and damaged a major chunk of the irrigated land and deposited coarse sand, stones and silt in areas downstream of Mandhala, Kotiyan, Kuranwala, Sehran, Kalu-Jhinda, Kambwala and Baguwala villages which lie about 40 km from here, near the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial belt.

This tract, which has seasonal rivulets called choes and small sandy fields scattered along their beds, is unable to prevent water from washing away the land and crops. The channelisation of these choes along with massive plantation was proposed to be taken up according to the development plan of the area. But nothing worthwhile has been done to take stock of this recurring problem. Soil of this quasi-hilly area also does not gain sufficient moisture for cultivation and absence of water has rendered this area with undeveloped agriculture. This is in spite of the fact that a majority of the population here is dependent upon primary activities like agriculture and forest. About 67.86 per cent of the total workforce in this district is engaged in these activities as per the last census. Maize, rice and wheat are the principal crops, while potato, tomato, ginger are the main crops.

Although agro-climatic conditions are more or less suitable for production of good crops but no facility has been provided to farmers to develop the necessary infrastructure for irrigation, agriculture or horticulture. Despite being the largest revenue yielding region, with an area of about 35,000 hectares under agriculture, facilities are limited and inadequates. There is only one tubewell providing potable water to the villagers here. Persistent request by the people have now led to the sanctioning of two more tubewells which are yet to be installed. People lack even the basic amenities like drinking water, pucca streets and link roads, schools, drainage system, community centres, hospitals and other benefits. Consequently, the social-economic condition of the people dwelling here is not very prosperous.

As if the prevailing limitations were less, extensive quarrying of gravel, sand and stones from rivers and choes has been allowed to be auctioned due to which, besides other irreparable losses, banks of all major rivulets have been widened and their beds deepened 10 to 15 times of their original dimensions. All trees and green plantations have been removed along with roots, flouting all rules in connivance with government agencies.

Similarly deforestation, floods, lowering of the ground water level, drying up of natural water springs, eroding and crumbling of highly fragile cliffs are the other features of this so-called green belt declared by the Town and Country Planning Department. The government has also permitted setting up of brick-kilns in this belt for which fertile soil from cultivated fields is being extracted, thus leaving behind barren land. Many khair trees falling in the purview of this land are consequently uprooted.

The Divisional Forest Officer, Dr U.K. Banerjee, when contacted stated that soil conservation measures would be carried out to prevent soil erosion in the next monsoon. He feigned ignorance about the uprooting of ‘‘khair’’ trees. An area of 174.60 hectares is proposed for parks and open spaces, which includes leisure valleys and green belts along rivers and streams to check soil erosion, according to the development plan. Leave alone this particular stretch as a green belt, not even a fraction of this land has received the attention of the department concerned. No activity that can be considered environment-friendly is prospering here. TCP officials, when contacted, stated that unplanned and haphazard growth of industries around the area hampered the proposed planned development and maintenance of green belt. The area has been exploited to the maximum by allowing brick-kilns, quarrying of gravel and sand from the river-beds. The TCP is the nodal agency which makes plans and its implementation rests with the allied departments, the official claimed.

The Krishi Vikas Sangh, a local organisation, is trying to voice its protest against these anti-environmental activities. They feel if this self-suicidal trend of government to damage nature is allowed to continue, the tract will see a major environmental disaster beyond redemption as seen in sub-Saharan Africa. It is, therefore, high time flood protection and soil conservation programmes and horticulture development projects be prepared and implemented on top priority and anti-ecological activities be banned.

Daily wager admits to burning bank
From Our Correspondent

MANDI, Aug 23 — A class III daily wager of the Himachal Gramin Bank Som Nath, today admitted to having set fire to the bank building after stealing Rs 70,000 from it.

The accused took the police party to an adjoining village, where he had hidden the money in an unused iron chullah.

The police recovered Rs 68,600 from the spot.

The police had yesterday arrested the acting bank manager Bachittar Singh and Som Nath a daily wager after the chest was found unlocked and Rs 70,000 found missing.

Mr O.C. Thakur, SP said further investigations were on and more persons were likely to be arrested.

The acting manager had reportedly left the bank to visit an adjoining shop leaving the keys behind and Som Nath allegedly took advantage of his negligence to steal the cash.

“I committed the theft because all my colleagues called me a ‘chor’, he told the police. Asked why he set the complex on fire, he said he disliked the shopkeepers.