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Monday, September 16, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Bitumen scam: Virbhadra seeks CBI probe Off-season vegetable output to get boost Rs 80 lakh for Prashar Lake NDA Pak policy ‘weak-kneed’ 50 pc heart patients Indians by 2010: WHO |
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‘Hydrams’ — boon for marginal farmers CM distributes prizes HRTC officers defend minister Contaminated water claims two lives Three held for murder Workers want place in voters’ list
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Bitumen scam: Virbhadra seeks CBI probe Solan, September 15 The alleged scandal had surfaced following a chance interception of three trucks carrying bitumen from the Mathura refinery to the divisional office of the HPPWD at Kulu, recently Mr Virbhadra Singh, who addressed a press conference at Barog, near here today, accused the PWD authorities of connivance in the scam, adding that the department was headed by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal. He expressed dismay at the regularity with which scams had been surfacing during the four years of BJP rule. He said the scam had occurred even as the inquiry ordered by the government in a similar scam was yet to be completed. Ridiculing the oft-repeated BJP claim that theirs was a farmer friendly party, he said that the state BJP-led government’s indifference towards the horticulturists had all but ruined the fruit, particularly the apple growers. Today, the state apple industry which contributed over Rs 1500 crore annually to the state’s income, was being rated as the lowest in terms of per acre productivity in the world. The government had done little concrete by way of helping the state horticulturists in this regard. The Congress government headed by him was the first in the country to extend minimum support prices to the perishable commodities like fruit. Prior to that MSP was extended to non-perishable commodities like cereals only. He promised that, when voted back to power, the Congress would extend the MSP to vegetable also, which had come to play a dominant role in rural economy of districts like Solan. He accused the government of misusing government machinery for holding the Sundernagar rally and demanded that the BJP should compensate the exchequer for misutilising the services and materials of the PWD and the IPH
departments. KUMARHATI: Addressing a gadhering of 500-odd Congress workers from different panchayats of the constituency, Mr Virbhadra Singh said an MLA was well within his rights to call a closed-door meeting of party workers in his constituency. Earlier, the Solan DCC, dominated by supporters of Mrs Vidya Stokes, had termed the holding of the meeting by the MLA without PCC consent as a case of indiscipline. The meeting was convened by the Kasauli constituency Congress Committee to facilitate Mr Raghu Raj, the sitting Congress MLA from Kasauli to get elected as a secretary of the Pradesh Congress Committee. |
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Off-season vegetable output to get boost Shimla, September 15 At present the state was supplying about 4 lakh tonnes of fresh off-season vegetables in the northern region, generating an economy of about Rs 300 crore. About 34,000 hectares have been brought under cultivation so far and the production level touched 6.5 lakh tonnes in 2001-2002. The farmers of Lahaul-Spiti, Shimla, Mandi, Kulu and Solan districts have come forward to adopt vegetable cultivation in a big way and the production in these areas has gone up substantially. Peas, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato and capsicum are some of the major crops being grown in these areas. The varied agro-climatic conditions of the state are conducive for seed production, especially of temperate vegetables. At present, about 3,000 quintals of high-quality seeds, worth about Rs 5 crore, is being produced annually. A project specific approach has been adopted to popularise vegetable cultivation, which is being encouraged in non-traditional areas. Initially, 25 vegetable projects were started in 1999-2000, but now the number of projects had increased to 125. An assistance of Rs 5,000 is being provided to each farmer to establish block demonstration plots in 1 hectare and as many as 250 such demonstrations plots are being set up. Besides, 12,500 small kits containing improved seeds and fertilisers are being distributed among farmers free of cost. Plant protection material is also being provided at 50 per cent subsidy to the farmers. The NABARD has also come forward to promote these efforts and so far 328 minor irrigation schemes, mainly gravity flow and tubewell schemes, have been approved under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund at a total cost of Rs 30.58 crore. In addition to them, 157 schemes amounting to Rs 10 crore have also been submitted to the bank. A community-based water harvesting and resource management project involving an expenditure of Rs 8.29 crore for the Hamirpur district has also been approved by NABARD. With a view to ensuring remunerative price for the growers as many as 41 regulated markets have been set up. |
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Rs 80 lakh for Prashar Lake Mandi, September 15 Mr Sharma (BJP), who was defeated from the Darang constituency by Congress candidate Thakur Kaul Singh in the last General Election, said what the Congress had failed to do in the past 45 years for
Darang, the BJP government had done in a short tenure. He said the famous tourist resort of Barot would be linked with an all-weather metalled road. A sum of Rs 1.8 crore would be spent under the PMGSY on the Gatasani-Tikkam-Barot road this year. Mr Sharma said a sum of Rs 80 lakh had been sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Tourism for the beautification of the legendary Lake of Prashar located at a height of 9,000 feet above the sea-level. Another sum of Rs 2.7 crore had been provided under Nabard for linking the historic lake with a metalled road. The road would pass from the Tihri-Punga belt to the panoramic Prashar valley. He said during the past four years, Rs 4 crore was spent on drinking water supply schemes and another Rs 2 crore on lift-irrigation works in the constituency. Mr Sharma said market yards had been constructed at Takoli in this district at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore. This was proving a boon for farmers and fruit growers of Mandi and Kulu districts. Another market yard had been set up at
Pali. He said for the first time, the Dhumal government had taken the initiative to grant the OBC status to the people of the Chuhar valley. The matter had been taken up by the Centre. He said 14 new educational institutions were opened in the constituency during the past four years. As many as 372 rooms for primary schools were constructed under the Bal Vikas Sankalap
Yojana. |
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NDA Pak policy ‘weak-kneed’ Shimla, September 15 Maulana Kaosar Yazdani, secretary of the Jamte-Islami-e-Hindi, Maulana Zahir Alam Badar Quasmi, vice-president of the Jamiyat Ulema and Moulana Mumtaz Ahmed Quasmi, president, Imams Organisation of the Northern states, who were here in connection with the conference on Islam and brotherhood, told newsmen that the inability of the government to wage a decisive war against the inimical neighbour had been main cause of turmoil in the troubled state. The government had failed to take the Kargil war to a decisive stage. It raised much hue and cry when terrorists attacked Parliament, but failed to take on Pakistan. They alleged that it was the US pressure that prevented India from going to war with Pakistan. By dancing to the US tune the NDA government had lowered the country’s image. The Muslim leaders supported the elections being held in Jammu and Kashmir and refuted the charge that Indian security forces were killing innocent Muslims or committing atrocities on them. Sporadic incidents take place by mistake. They maintained that Indian Muslims were better off than their Pakistani brethren. They lamented that the image of madarsas had suffered due to lack of information and misconceptions. Most of the madarsas were providing modern education, including computer training, along with Islamic education. The belief that they were preaching fundamentalism was misplaced. They condemned the increasing terrorism and all those fascist forces, which were trying to create hatred in the country. All these forces blocked the overall developments of the society and weaken the nation. There was no religion which permits such anti-social and anti-national activities. The terrorist activities sponsored by the neighbouring country in Kashmir and the communal hatred spread over Gujarat were undoubtedly weakening the country. The need of the hour was to organise such programmes to fill people’s hearts with love. It was a sorry state of affairs that some divisive forces were trying to create a gap between communities on the basis of religion. Maulana Kousar Yazdani stated that the Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi had prepared a literature to clear misunderstandings about Islam and its followers. He further stated that false propaganda and faulty interpretation of some basic tenets of Islam need to be checked. Maulana Quasmi while concluding the programme stated that the Tanzeem-e-Aimma had planned to organise such programmes in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. |
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50 pc heart patients Indians by 2010: WHO Shimla, September 15 Talking to newsmen, he said the incidence of coronary heart disease in the USA had come down to 1 per cent due to preventive measures adopted by the people, whereas it was as high as 3 per cent among Indians and about 7 per cent among north Indians. A report of the World Health Organisation presented a frightening scenario with the country accounting for more than half of the total heart patients in the world by the end of the current decade, he added. He said the institute was striving to reduce the failure rate in heart surgery to 1 per cent, which would be better than that in the USA or England. In fact, a law was recently enacted in England to debar surgeons with a failure rate of 4 per cent or more from practising. This was quite high as compared to the normal failure rate of 2 per cent. The failure rate also depended on the stage of disease. In India patients opted for interventional procedures at the last stage and more often then other problems like diabetes. There was an urgent need to educate people that the early detection of disease and a healthy lifestyle could prevent the disease. It was for this reason that the institute had started conducting free cardiac camps and continuing medical education programmes in the region, Dr Karenjekar said. As many as 819 persons were examined at the camp of which 60 were recommended interventional surgery. |
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Blood donated Shimla, September 15 |
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‘Hydrams’ — boon for marginal farmers Mandi The Central Government has sanctioned a Rs 12.71 crore project under the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna for the installation of 500 ‘hydrams’ in eight districts of the state. In Mandi district 57 hydrams are being set up. Till now 25 have been installed. Of these 17 are functional and eight others are expected to become functional shortly. The installation of these ‘hydrams’ is being done by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). Deputy Commissioner Jagdish Chander Sharma says that all seven hydrams in Gohar block and six in Dharampur block are functioning. He claims that these have transformed the rural economy as farmers have switched over to cash crops like off-season vegetables which are fetching them handsome return. With the installation of a hydram the farmers of Shambla village in Gohar sub-division of this district have started earning much more from their small holdings. They told this reporter that without irrigation they could hardly eke out a bare living. Their pleas for irrigation facilities had so far fallen on deaf ears. Luck smiled on them two years ago with the installation of a hydram which is providing irrigation facilities to the entire cultivable village land measuring about 35 bighas. They are now growing cash crops, including off-season vegetables. The installation cost of a hydram roughly works out to 2,24,300. Of this farmers have to contribute only a sum of Rs 24,300 by way of voluntary labour. The balance of Rs 2 lakh is provided as a bank loan and subsidy on a 50:50 basis. For installing a hydram, a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh is given of which 75 per cent is shared by the Centre and 25 per cent by the state government. The balance Rs 1 lakh is a loan given to the beneficiaries of the scheme at a nominal rate of interest. The share of each farmer in the loan is very small. A hydram operates through water hammering caused by the sudden blocking of the flow of water in the inlet pipe resulting in the formation of pressure which lifts water with an added force through the delivery pipe. For hill areas endowed with fast-flowing perennial streams hydrams are the cheapest source of irrigation, particularly where the holdings are small, farmers are poor, the topography is uneven and the conventional irrigation methods like gravity and lift-irrigation schemes are either costly or not feasible. Its repair and maintenance is simple and does not take more than two or three hours to restore its functioning if something goes wrong. Of the total geographical area of 55698 km in Himachal Pradesh, only 10 per cent land is under cultivation and over 75 per cent of the population depends on agriculture. The average land holdings is only 1.2 hectare varying from 2.3 hectares in Sirmour district to 0.8 hectare in Kulu district. The operational and maintenance cost of hydrams compared to electric pumpsets is very cheap. The per hectare investment by the IPH Department on irrigation comes to Rs 1.10 lakh while the per hectare average investment on hydram technology is only Rs 30,000. A hydram normally irrigates an area ranging between five and 15 hectares. It is therefore, an ideal low-cost technology of irrigation for small and marginal farmers. It is best suited for irrigation small holdings perched over the spurs for growing off-season vegetables. The production of non-traditional crops, according to a survey, yields a high income to farmers. While income from the traditional maize crop is about Rs 6600 per hectare, the cultivation of tomatoes in one hectare yields about Rs 35000. Income from growing paddy is Rs 6,200 per hectare while the production of cabbage yields Rs 31,000 per hectare. Similarly, the wheat yield from one hectare is about Rs 11,700 while the return from growing green peas is about Rs 24,000. Farmers are slowly switching over to non-traditional crops in areas where irrigation facilities are being provided. This has ushered in prosperity in vegetable-growing rural areas. The hydram technology could go a long way in wiping out poverty if the agencies engaged in its installation work with a missionary zeal. A hydram in Jawala village in Sundernagar sub-division is non-functional merely because washers are not available. Similarly, two hydrams in Janjehli and Lamba Thach villages of Seraj block, which would have provided irrigation facilities to 100 bighas, are not functioning because pipes and nut bolts are not being provided. This speaks volumes for the lopsided and casual approach of the executing agencies. |
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CM distributes prizes Shimla, September 15 Presiding over the state-level Hindi divas on Saturday, he said we should use Hindi more frequently, but English was also of utmost importance, as it was an international language. The Chief Minister said the government would honour persons using Hindi in official work at state and district levels every year. The Chief Minister also distributed prizes to schoolchildren on the occasion. Mrs Anita Tegta, Director, Language Art and culture, detailed out the activities undertaken during the week-long Hindi day function. |
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HRTC officers defend minister Chamba, September 15 The state general secretary of the association, Mr G.K. Negi, stated that the propaganda waged against the minister is baseless. There was no truth in the accusation being levelled at the minister. On the contrary, Mr Negi claimed, during his tenure, the minister gave a new lease of life to the transport corporation as well to the private transport by introducing special road tax, thereby fetching a considerable revenue to the state exchequer. He said that the imposition of SRT perhaps irritated the private transporters and that is why the miscreants having a vested interest had waged
a campaign to defame him. |
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Contaminated water claims two lives Nurpur, September 15 According to information, the Tehsildars, Fatehpur and Indora, visited the affected village yesterday. A team of doctors from the block medical office, Indora, provided medical aid to the affected. The epidemic broke out after the consumption of contaminated water by villagers from a well. The Irrigation-cum-Public Health (IPH) Department, which also visited the affected village, have advised the villagers not to drink water from the conventional sources. They have been promised potable water by the department. |
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Three held for murder Dharamsala, September 15 According to police sources, Ram Kishan (50) was reported missing since September 3 and last seen with above named persons in Karbah. A report was filed with the Dehra police. On Saturday body of Ram Kishan was recovered near Karbah village and the brother of the deceased alleged that he was murdered. A case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. In another incident the Nurpur police arrested Karamjit of Surajpur village under the Indora police station and recovered one kg of opium from him. Additional S.P. Kangra, Santosh Patial, said that the police had set up a naka at Jassur near Nurpur. When Karamjit, who was on a motorcycle, was stopped for checking one kg of opium was recovered from him. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered and the motorcycle impounded. |
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Workers want place in voters’ list Shimla, September 15 The adivasis presented a memorandum to the minister regarding their demands which include ration cards, hostels for their children and free medicines. A song and dance function of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh was also held. Among those who were present included Mr Jagdev Ram Oraon, president, All India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Mr Roop Das Kashyap, State Urban Development Minister. |
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