H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Dhumal govt blamed for raising ‘unnecessary’ loans
Shimla, January 7
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, criticised the previous BJP regime for raising indiscriminate loans, leading the state into a debt trap and said that his government would seek advice of experts and senior Congress leaders to tide over the crisis.

Uttaranchal wants tourism ties with HP
Shimla, January 7
The Uttaranchal Government is keen on collaborating with the Himachal Government in the tourism sector and plans to have a joint circuit to promote key hill resorts like Nainital, Shimla and Mussourie.

Sena (Thackeray) merges with Sena (Hindustan)
Kangra, January 7
The Himachal Pradesh unit of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) today merged with the newly floated Shiv Sena (Hindustan) in protest against the alleged regional bias of Shiv Sena Chief Thackeray.

Shweta Sharma crowned winter queen
Manali, January 7
Ms Shweta Sharma of Natraj Kala Sangam, Kulu, was crowned the winter queen at the Winter Carnival-2004 here last evening. Ms Nisha Verma of Government College, Kulu, was the first runner-up and Ms Abhilasha Dass of Srijan Kala Manch, Jabalpur, the second runner-up at the five-day carnival.

Martyr’s family builds entrance gate to temple
Nurpur, January 7
The family of martyr Ashok of 21 Grenadier from nearby Nagni village has built an entrance gate to the famous Nagni Mata temple. Ashok Kumar (21) laid down his life in Siachen Glacier while patrolling last year.

Villager’s phone bill more than  Rs 43 lakh!
Chamba, January 7
Dhimo Devi, a resident of Dramta village in Singi panchayat of Chamba district, received a telephone bill amounting to more than Rs 43 lakh for November. In the bill, the subscriber was directed to deposit the balance amount of the bill amounting to Rs 21,62,778 by December 27 last year after 50 per cent discount offered by the BSNL.

Follow teachings of Vivekanand, says Governor
Nurpur, January 7
Fifteenth Himalyan Cultural International Festival concluded at Rey — a small village on the Punjab and Himachal border in Jawali Sub-division on Tuesday, Mr V.S. Kokje, Himachal Governor, presided over the valedictory function and exhorted the youth to follow the teachings of Swami Vivekanand.

Bhota hospital remains closed
Hamirpur, January 7
Bhota Charitable Hospital in the district, being run by the Radha Soami Satsang, Beas, remained closed today also. All medical officers and paramedical staff has either been shifted to Beas (Punjab) or Sikandarpur (Haryana) for performing duty there following an order from the high-ups at Beas.

Winter expedition flagged off
Dalhousie, January 7
The last batch of trekkers participating in the National Himalayan Winter Trekking Expedition organised by the Youth Hostels Association of India was flagged off by Brig S.S. Sambyal at a function held at the local youth hostel here today.

• Tourist police course

• Weekly off for cops compulsory

• Charges framed against MLA

Dhumal govt blamed for raising ‘unnecessary’ loans
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 7
Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, criticised the previous BJP regime for raising indiscriminate loans, leading the state into a debt trap and said that his government would seek advice of experts and senior Congress leaders to tide over the crisis.

Addressing a public meeting at Devidhar in Ransara valley of Rohru last evening, he said that the Dhumal government mismanaged finances and burdened the state with Rs 15,000 crore loan.

He said the government was paying special attention to given women fair representation in panchayati raj institutions and other organisations.

He said that the government had provided 33 per cent reservation to women in the panchayati raj institutions for development.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the women’s literacy in the state was higher than the national average and the government was trying to bring it on a par with the male literacy rate. Besides, providing free education to the girls, the government was also giving scholarship to bright students of the weaker sections.

The Chief Minister said that the rural areas of the state and the weaker sections of the society, which remained neglected in past 5 years, were being given special attention by the government.

Uttaranchal wants tourism ties with HP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 7
The Uttaranchal Government is keen on collaborating with the Himachal Government in the tourism sector and plans to have a joint circuit to promote key hill resorts like Nainital, Shimla and Mussourie.

Stating this here yesterday, Dr Pratap Bisht, chairman of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, said his state proposed to have a Nainital-Dehra Dun-Mussourie-Solan-Nahan-Shimla tourism circuit which would proved mutually beneficial for the two states.

He said for this the road between Dehra Dun and Solan would have to be upgraded to a national highway.

The Uttaranchal government would take up the matter with Mr B.C. Khanduri, Union Minister for Surface Transport. It would also urge the minister to upgrade the road from Rohru to Uttarkashi to a national highway to facilitate better communication between the two hill states.

Dr Bisht said he would discuss these issues with Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief minister, so that the two governments could pursue the matter jointly.

He favoured setting up of a separate ministry at the centre for hill development keeping in view the peculiar topography of the mountains. He also underlined the need for setting up a council of hill states to address their common problems. The failure of the government to pay special attention to the hills was mainly responsible for terrorism in hill states. He said only Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal were free from militancy and it was time that policy decisions were taken to prevent militancy from spilling over to these states.

Farmers return without saplings from varsity
Our Correspondent

Solan, January 7
Shortage of apple of apple saplings at Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, near here has forced growers of the region to return empty-handed. It is learnt that farmers who had come to the university today from as far as Kinnaur, Theog and other far-flung places of Shimla district as well as neighbouring Rajgarh were a disappointed lot.

With the last apple season having produced a bumper crop and the weather witnessing the required chill owing to early snowfall, there was a sudden rise in the demand for apple saplings this year, said Dr A.S. Ananda, head of the Pomology Department of the university. Around 10 lakh saplings are annually planted in Himachal Pradesh and the requirement is generally met with the help of various departments, including the Horticulture Department. Farmers told The Tribune that while the higher officials had promised to give them the saplings today at Kandhaghat KVK, they were told today that the entire stock had been exhausted. Lamenting the lack of coordination between the field staff and senior officials, they said they had been unduly harassed.

Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry here with its various horticulture research stations at Bajaura in Kulu, Tabo in Lahaul Spiti, Sharbo in Kinnaur, Rohru and Kotkhai in Shimla as well as its various krishi vigyan centre, including Kandhaghat, cater to the demand of growing saplings. Each centre grows saplings ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 depending on the facilities available.

Dr Ananda said it was the principal job of the Horticulture Department to meet the demand of saplings. The university has disbursed 30,000 saplings from Nauni university and 10,000 each from Kandhaghat and Mashobra research stations till now.

Renuka Lake aging slows down
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 7
The efforts of the Wildlife Department to slow down the “aging process” of the shrinking Renuka Lake in Sirmaur district have started yielding results.

The removal of weeds and measures taken over the past 10 years to check silting, which had reduced the effective area of the lake by over 25 per cent, has brought about a visible improvement in the national wetland. This became evident from the arrival of migratory birds in significant numbers this winter. Over 400 birds have descended on the lake for the winter sojourn.

The State Council for Science and Technology, which is the coordinating agency for the maintenance of the wetland, is pleased with the development and terms it as an indication of the fact that the overall environment is getting better.

Mr Deepak Sethi, scientist in charge, feels that besides the improvement in the quality of water, the removal of weeds has much to do with the arrival of migratory birds. The shallow water areas which the birds look for had been completely covered with a thick growth of weeds. The bushy weeds also provided cover for predators. With no weeds around, the birds must be feeling secure.

Further, the physiochemical parameters also present an encouraging picture. The rate of siltation has been found to be 3mm per year, which is quite low, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water ranged between 7 and 8 mg per litre, which is very good for supporting aquatic life. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) has been 1.5 mg per litre and total dissolved solids (TDS) stood at 150 mg per litre, indicating a healthy condition.

The Wildlife Department has put in place a three-tier system to prevent silt from flowing into the lake. Besides creating a network of check dams and other civil works to check soil erosion caused by the 19 nullahs, which drain into the lake, retaining walls have been constructed on the hillside around the lake. A 2800 m-long and half-ametre high toe wall has been constructed along the edge of the lake with silt-retaining structures to prevent silt from entering the water body. The entire Renuka sanctuary has been fenced to check biotic interference.

The measures have almost checked the flow of silt almost up to 90 per cent, claims Dr Lalit Mohan, Conservator of Wildlife. Work is now on to remove the silt from the lake to increase its effective area. Emphasis will be on bio-engineering works to rehabilitate the degraded catchment of the lake spread over 500 hectares. Fast growing shrubs and grasses will be planted to cover the denuded hills in the first phase. Thereafter, trees will be grown to provide a proper forest cover.

Rs 2 crore forestry project sanctioned
Our Correspondent

Mandi, January 7
A Rs 2.12 crore project has been sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Forests for the Jogindernagar forest division under the National Afforestation Programme. A forest development agency, a federal body comprising 50 village forest development committees, has been constituted under the Societies Act to execute the project.

Stating this today, the Parliamentary Affairs and IPH Minister, Thakur Kaul Sing, said the project would be executed with the participation of the people and the beneficiaries.

He said people’s participation was imperative for the success of all the forestry projects in the state. He said the first instalment of Rs 33 lakh had already been received by the DFO, Jogindernagar, and it had been envisaged to complete the project within three years.

Effigies of Dhumal, Virbhadra burnt
Our Correspondent

Sujanpur Tihra, January 7
Leaders and workers of BJP and Congress came on road here today and resorted to burning of effigies of leaders of the opposite parties.

While the BJP men burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Congress workers burnt the effigy of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Both sides held demonstrations at separate places and raised slogans.

The atmosphere was tense in the town after these incidents. Mr Dhumal who was in the town to attend a party function maintained a low profile and refused to comment on this issue.

Sena (Thackeray) merges with Sena (Hindustan)
Our Correspondent

Kangra, January 7
The Himachal Pradesh unit of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) today merged with the newly floated Shiv Sena (Hindustan) in protest against the alleged regional bias of Shiv Sena Chief Thackeray.

At a meeting of Shiv Sena workers from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh held here today, Mr Anil Tara, state president of the Thackeray group announced the merging of the state unit with the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) led by Mr Pawan Kumar Gupta.

Mr Gupta announced that Shiv Sena (Hindustan) would start a rath yatra from January 23 from Patiala for Lal Chowk in the Kashmir valley to hoist the Tricolour and Bhagwa flag on January 26.

Shweta Sharma crowned winter queen
Our Correspondent

Manali, January 7
Ms Shweta Sharma of Natraj Kala Sangam, Kulu, was crowned the winter queen at the Winter Carnival-2004 here last evening. Ms Nisha Verma of Government College, Kulu, was the first runner-up and Ms Abhilasha Dass of Srijan Kala Manch, Jabalpur, the second runner-up at the five-day carnival.

The following are the results of other competitions: personality contest (men): Mr Navneet Bhardawaj, Akash Kala Sangam, Bhunter 1; Mr Pawan Garg, Virasat Group, Giddharbaba 2; and Mr Triyug Mantri, Dalmia College, Mumbai 3.

Folk Dance: Government College, Kulu, 1; Muktisar Kala Manch, Muktisar 2; and Virasat Group, Giddarbaha (Punjab) 3.

Film Song: St Gregorious, Mumbai 1; Ashian Kala Manch and Government College, Kulu, 2; and KMS, Manali 3.

Film Dance: S.N. Kansagara Group, Rajkot (Gujarat) 1; Akash Kala Sangam, Bhunter 2; and St Gregorious, Mumbai 3.

Rangoli: S.N. Kansagara Group Rajkot (Gujarat) 1; Muktisar Kala Manch, Muktisar (Punjab) 2; and Government College, Kulu, 3.

Street Play: Virasat Group (Punjab) 1; Valcono Entertainment Group (Gujarat) 2; and Pritibha Dharpan (Jammu) 3.

Instrumental Music: Natraj Kala Sangam, Kulu 1; Government College, Kulu 2; and Ashian Social Cultural Association, Patlikulh 3.

Mimicry: Valcono Group, Mehsana (Gujarat) 1; Paryas, Jabalpur 2; and Rytham, Jammu 3.

Fashion Show: S.N. Kansagara, Mehsana (Rajkot) 1; St Gregorious Memorial College, Mumbai 2; and Muktisar Kala Manch, Muktisar (Punjab) 3.

Fancy Dress: Akash Kala Sangam, Bhunter 1; Muktisar Kala Manch (Punjab) 2; and Vyas Kala Sangam, Patlikulh 3.

Group Songs: Government College, Kulu, 1; Virasat Group (Punjab) 2; and Srijan Kala Manch, Jabalpur 3.

Jhanki: Ashian Social Cultural Soceity, Patlikulh 1; Jagriti Kala Manch, Manali 2; and S.N. Kansagara Group (Rajkot) 3.

Jhanki (Mahila Mandal): Manu Mahila Mandal, Manali 1; Jharag Mahila Mandal, Chachoga 2; and Gayatry Mahila Mandal 3.

The overall trophy was won by Government College, Kulu. The best behaviour team award went to Wise Musical Group, Solan.

The concluding function was presided over by Mr Rangila Ram Rao, Excise and Taxation Minister. He announced a grant of Rs 3 lakh for the construction of the second floor of Manu Rang Shala and Rs 1.50 lakh for the maintenance and repair of the flowing nullah near the local police station.

Martyr’s family builds entrance gate to temple
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, January 7
The family of martyr Ashok of 21 Grenadier from nearby Nagni village has built an entrance gate to the famous Nagni Mata temple.

Ashok Kumar (21) laid down his life in Siachen Glacier while patrolling last year. He had been missing since February 23, 2003. His body was found buried under a glacier. It was extricated after five months on July 22, 2003.

Kartar Singh, elder brother of the martyr, lamented that his brother had made supreme sacrifice for the country but no politician or government official had turned up to console or know the welfare of the martyr’s family. He informed that the family had been constructing a “martyr memorial” in his native village. He said the family was also interested in building a rain shelter near the government school if the public works department allowed it.

Villager’s phone bill more than Rs 43 lakh!
Our Correspondent

Chamba, January 7
Dhimo Devi, a resident of Dramta village in Singi panchayat of Chamba district, received a telephone bill amounting to more than Rs 43 lakh for November.

In the bill, the subscriber was directed to deposit the balance amount of the bill amounting to Rs 21,62,778 by December 27 last year after 50 per cent discount offered by the BSNL.

Dhimo Devi received bills for Rs 62 in August, Rs 74 in September and Rs 49 in October. But she was issued the bill for Rs 43,25,557 for the month of November. Village private phones are exempt from monthly rent.

Subscribers of Chamba yesterday apprised Mr Shanta Kumar, a former Union Minister for Rural Development and MP, Kangra, of the inflated bill and other such complaints who took up the matter with the BSNL authorities.

Follow teachings of Vivekanand, says Governor
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, January 7
Fifteenth Himalyan Cultural International Festival concluded at Rey — a small village on the Punjab and Himachal border in Jawali Sub-division on Tuesday, Mr V.S. Kokje, Himachal Governor, presided over the valedictory function and exhorted the youth to follow the teachings of Swami Vivekanand.

Lauding the national award Winner Friends Club Rey Mr Kokje said people lived in different states in the country but their cultural heritage was the same.

He called upon people to preserve the rich cultural Heritage of the country. He reiterated that cultural festivals strengthened National Integration and exposed artists to different cultures.

The festival is organised every year on the occasion of Swami Vivekanand Jayanti. Cultural troupes from various states participated the cultural event. Prizes were given away to winners of the event. Earlier Mr Kokje visited Ram Gopal Temple Damtal and Brijraj Swami temple at Nurpur and paid obeisance there.

Bhota hospital remains closed

Hamirpur, January 7
Bhota Charitable Hospital in the district, being run by the Radha Soami Satsang, Beas, remained closed today also. All medical officers and paramedical staff has either been shifted to Beas (Punjab) or Sikandarpur (Haryana) for performing duty there following an order from the high-ups at Beas.

The hospital was closed down till further orders following violent incidents there 15 days ago. The hospital premises presents a deserted look as no one is allowed entry inside the campus. Only security guards are on duty at the main gate. Brig Ranjit Singh, Chief Administrator of the hospitals being run by the satsang has also left for Beas to function from there. He had already submitted his report to Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon, chief of the Radha Soami sect.

Sources in the hospital said here this evening that so for no decision had been taken by the authorities for re-opening of institution. They said Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon would take the final decision. — OC

Winter expedition flagged off
Our Correspondent

Dalhousie, January 7
The last batch of trekkers participating in the National Himalayan Winter Trekking Expedition organised by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) was flagged off by Brig S.S. Sambyal at a function held at the local youth hostel here today.

Addressing the participants, Brigadier Sambyal said the main aim of organising such programmes was “national integration and if all Indians come together with the aim of working for the uplift of our country, forgeting our regional barriers, then the whole world would bow before us.”

Nearly 790 members of whom nearly 30 per cent were female drawn from different states participated in this year’s trekking being organised for the 11th year in succession at Youth Hostel, Dalhousie.

Tourist police course
Our Correspondent

Kulu, January 7
The district police in association with the Department of Tourism yesterday started a training course for police and Home Guard personnel for setting up the proposed tourist police.

The four-day-long camp would train 25 officials who would be deployed at important tourist spots in this district. Mr Devender Thakur, Additional Superintendent of Police, in-formed that jawans and officers would be imparted training to have courteous behaviour with tourists visiting the state.

The course Director, Dr S.P. Bansal, Head of the Tourism Department of HP University, said Himachal Pradesh had scope to explore new destinations within the state to attract foreign and domestic tourists.

Weekly off for cops compulsory

Shimla, January 7
The state Police Department has decided to make a provision for compulsory 12-hour weekly off to the police personnel deployed in police stations, on traffic duty, guard duty and in control rooms.

Director-General of Police A.K. Puri said the personnel up to the rank of Head Constable, posted at places which required 24-hour duty would get a 12-hour break from 8 am to 8 pm once a week. The weekly break would be in rotation. — PTI

Charges framed against MLA

Solan, January 7
Charges were framed against local MLA Dr Rajiv Bindal in a case pertaining to the death of a girl in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr D.S. Khenal, here today. The accident occurred on February 17, 2001. Dr Rajiv Bindal, who was driving a car (HP-A-50), had crushed Upasana (4) at Top Ki Bher village on the Solan-Subathu road around 6.15 p.m. The girl was crossing the road, along with her sister and father. She died at the Zonal Hospital later. The case is listed for March 8. — OC