H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Cong leader predicts rout of BJP in elections
Hamirpur, February 1
Haryana CLP vice-chief Ajay Singh Yadav said here today that the feel-good factor of the BJP would prove counter-productive for the party in the Lok Sabha elections as an anti-incumbency wave was sweeping across the nation against the NDA government at the Centre.

Ex-minister kicks off BJP’s poll campaign
Chamba, February 1
The Himachal Pradesh unit of the BJP today informally kicked off its election campaign as ‘a preparatory election rehearsal’ from Chamba. Addressing mediapersons, Mr Kishori Lal, a former Industries Minister and a senior BJP leader, said the campaign was aimed at preparing the activists to thwart the challenges of the opposition parties.

Bus fare hike was proposed during BJP rule, says Bali
Dharamsala, February 1
Himachal Transport Minister G. S. Bali, rejecting allegations of former Transport Minister Kishan Kapoor, said that hike in bus fares was recommended by a high-powered committee  constituted during the BJP rule which was headed by Mr Kapoor.

Swan flood-control project yields results
Shimla, February 1
The furious Swan, which played havoc with the life and property every monsoon, will no longer a “river of sorrow” for the people of Una. The efforts to tame the river, which changed course frequently, has indeed started yielding results.

Condition of road to be discussed with BBMB chief
Sundernagar, February 1
Mr Maheshwar Singh, Member of Parliament from Mandi, said here yesterday that he would take up the matter of defective construction and tarring of the 12-km-long Baggi-Sundernagar road (along the hydel channel) with the Chairman of the BBMB.

Committee to review forest land classification
Shimla, February 1
The Himachal Government has set up a committee to review the existing classification of forest land and suggest ways to exclude certain categories of wasteland from the definition of forest.

DC’s warning on avalanche
Chamba, February 1
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rahul Anand, has warned the residents living along snowy hillsides to keep themselves away from the vulnerable avalanche sites as a safety measure.

Cong leader predicts rout of BJP in elections
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, February 1
Haryana CLP vice-chief Ajay Singh Yadav said here today that the feel-good factor of the BJP would prove counter-productive for the party in the Lok Sabha elections as an anti-incumbency wave was sweeping across the nation against the NDA government at the Centre. He claimed that the Congress would form the government with the help of its allies and the rout of the BJP was imminent.

Mr Yadav, party coordinator for Himachal Pradesh for the elections, told mediapersons that the BJP would not be able to win more than 100 seats as the people of India were fed up with its past five years’ performance. This party had failed on all fronts and the people were all set to oust it from power, he added.

Ms Viplab Thakur, general secretary of the state Congress, was also present.

He blasted the NDA government at the Centre for ignoring the interests of the poor. The announcements made by the government prior to the Lok Sabha elections would not help the party retain power.

He said it was for the first time that any announcement had been made without taking the Cabinet into confidence. The Cabinet had been informed later on and it was a sheer joke with Indian democracy, he stated.

He said the next elections would be contested on the issue of good governance of the previous Congress government and the bad governance of the present NDA government. The rampant corruption during the NDA regime would also figure prominently in the elections, he said.

Replying to a question, he said the foreign origin issue of Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Pramod Mahajan’s comments against her two children would not help the BJP as Ms Gandhi was a citizen of India, like her two children.

He said it was for the Congress to decide about its policies and programmes and not the BJP. He said the BJP was apprehensive that it would lose badly due to the popularity of Ms Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadhera and that was why the BJP had started making this non-issue as one of the issues.

Mr Yadav claimed that a Congress wave was sweeping across the state due to the positive performance of the Virbhadra Singh government and the party would win all four seats.

He said the decision on party tickets would be made by the party high command in consultation with the state-level leaders of the party.

Ex-minister kicks off BJP’s poll campaign
Our Correspondent

Chamba, February 1
The Himachal Pradesh unit of the BJP today informally kicked off its election campaign as ‘a preparatory election rehearsal’ from Chamba.

Addressing mediapersons, Mr Kishori Lal, a former Industries Minister and a senior BJP leader, said the campaign was aimed at preparing the activists to thwart the challenges of the opposition parties.

He Appealed to the party workers and leaders to devote themselves wholeheartedly to win all four Lok Sabha seats in the state. He asked them to apprise the public of the achievements of the National Democratic Alliance and the BJP government in the state.

Mr Kishori Lal said the workers had been directed to canvass on ‘development’, the party’s main poll plank. He said the Vajpayee government had given political stability, peace and all-round development to the nation within five years which the Congress government had failed during its 45 years of rule.

He said the Congress had lost its bastion and could not succeed to make alliance with a considerable number of political parties. “The Congress itself is a divided house and there is nothing charismatic in the personality of Ms Sonia Gandhi”, he said.

The former minister urged the party workers to work for Vajpayee’s “Mission-2020”, which would provide social justice, employment and development.

Bus fare hike was proposed during BJP rule, says Bali
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, February 1
Himachal Transport Minister G. S. Bali, rejecting allegations of former Transport Minister Kishan Kapoor, said that hike in bus fares was recommended by a high-powered committee  constituted during the BJP rule which was headed by Mr Kapoor.

Talking to reporters at mini secretariat here yesterday, Mr Bali said that the committee had also recommended charging fare from mediapersons, physically challenged and from government college and school students. He said the fare hike was recommended by the BJP regime.

Mr Bali said that due to transport policies during the Dhumal government some transporters were  making money as the tax structure was tailored to suit them. He said now steps were taken to rationalise tax structure and  efficiency of fuel consumption had also improved. These steps yielded the HRTC and state government additional revenue of Rs 16 crore. He said 2840 vehicles were challaned and Rs 1.5 crore recovered as fine.

The Transport Minister said that e-governance had been introduced at Kangra at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore.

Swan flood-control project yields results
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 1
The furious Swan, which played havoc with the life and property every monsoon, will no longer a “river of sorrow” for the people of Una. The efforts to tame the river, which changed course frequently, has indeed started yielding results.

Over the past three years some sensitive stretches where the meandering river broke through the banks have been channelised under the Rs 106 crore Swan flood management and integrated development project. Embankments have been raised along the banks over 5 km on both sides and work was underway on another 7 km length.

Besides engineering structures to check soil erosion, afforestation is also being carried out in the fragile catchment area. The reclaimed land is being brought under agriculture and horticulture crops to improve the economy of the local people.

The multifarious activities being undertaken will help reclaim 2260 hectares of agriculture land. Oil seeds, pulses and vegetables, besides the traditional foodgrain crops will be grown on the reclaimed land. Further, about 300 hectares will be brought under horticulture crops like guava, grapes and pears.

The development of fisheries is also an important component of the project. Fish like catal, rohu, mrigal, common carp and grass carp would be reared on about 500 hectares of marshland. On completion the project will help produce 1500 tonnes of fish, 14,450 tonnes of foodgrains and 7700 tonnes of fruit annually, ushering an era of prosperity.

The total catchment of the Swan is about 1440 sq km out of which 1200 sq km is in Una district and rest falls in the adjoining Punjab. 

Upper Shimla areas remains cut off

Shimla, February 1
Several areas, including upper Shimla and tourist resorts of Manali and Dalhousie, remained cut off from rest of the state as heavy snowfall blocked major state and national highways. Vehicular traffic from Shimla to Chandigarh, Mandi and Kangra resumed after the clearing of snow.

An avalanche threat loomed large over tribal areas and higher hills surrounding Manali and the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment advised the people to stay indoors.

Normal traffic remained disrupted in Shimla and local buses were not seen on the roads. The authorities deployed snow-cutters and bulldozers to clear the roads and light tourist vehicles stranded in snow were being taken out.

The tourist resorts of Kufri, Narkanda, Fagu, Sarahan and Hatkoti were cut off due to heavy snow and traffic to Rampur was being diverted via Dhami and Basantpur. Rohu, Chopal, Jubbal and Kotkhai areas were cut off due to heavy snow on the 320-km Hindustan-Tibet National Highway beyond Sanjauli.

The Shimla-Rohru road was also blocked due to heavy snowfall at Kharapatthar while the landlocked Dodra-Kwar area was cut off after fresh snowfall.

Shimla and its surrounding areas and parts Jubbal and Kotkhai had mild snowfall this afternoon and the sky remained overcast throughout the day. Efforts were on to resume normal traffic to Manali and Dalhousie and major portions of connecting roads were likely to be cleared by tomorrow.

The ski slopes of Solang near Manali were covered under 200 cm of snow while 130 cm of snow was recorded at the ski slopes at Kufri near Shimla. Ski enthusiasts were waiting for the road to ski slopes at both places to open to traffic while the people from adjoining areas were enjoying skiing.

Normal life in most parts of the state remained disrupted due to the snowfall. They shivered in sub-zero temperatures. The city and the surrounding areas had sleet in the afternoon.

The weather was clear in the morning, but dark clouds covered the sky as the day progressed. Water pipes in many areas froze as the city recorded a minimum temperature of -2.4°C. Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti experienced snow for the fourth consecutive day today. — TNS and PTI

Need to promote spice cultivation stressed
Our Correspondent

Solan, February 1
Dr S.S. Negi, Vice-Chancellor, Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, on Thursday called upon farm scientists to help bridge gap between the potential and actual productivity of spices in Himachal Pradesh adding that these high-value crops could usher in a new era of prosperity.

Dr Negi was speaking at a state-level seminar on spice crops which was jointly organised by the Seed Technology and Production Centre of the university and the Directorate of Arecanut and Spice Development of the Union Agriculture Ministry, at Nauni, near here.

He said the climate of Himachal Pradesh was favourable for growing various spices such as ginger, turmeric, chillies, large cardamom, black cumin and even saffron.

Saffron was hitherto the monopoly of the Kashmir valley and Iran. Trial production had established that this highly remunerative spice could be grown on the commercial scale in certain areas of the state. However, there was a need to provide high-yielding and quality seeds along with suitable cultivation technology to the growers.

Dr Negi reminded over 200 delegates who attended the seminar that India had been internationally known as the home of spices down the ages. Currently the country was cultivating spices on 2.5 million hectares of land, with an annual yield of 3.02 million tonnes. This production worked out to only 2.52 per cent of the total GDP of agriculture.

The Vice-Chancellor released a compendium entitled “The Status and Development of Spice Crops in HP”, at the seminar.

Dr K.K. Jindal, Director, Research, Parmar University, said the institution had developed a high-yielding variety of chilli, named DKC-8 and also an improved variety of coriander. Both these varieties would be released shortly.

Condition of road to be discussed with BBMB chief
Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, February 1
Mr Maheshwar Singh, Member of Parliament from Mandi, said here yesterday that he would take up the matter of defective construction and tarring of the 12-km-long Baggi-Sundernagar road (along the hydel channel) with the Chairman of the BBMB.

The road was constructed by the BBMB authorities but developed potholes within just two months of its completion.

The issue was highlighted by The Tribune on January 13 and residents have already demanded a probe into the matter.

Residents of the area alleged that the quality of tarring got done by the BBMB was of poor quality. Residents of the area met Mr Maheshwar Singh and Mr Damodar Dass, BJP MLA from the Balh assembly segment, in this regard.

Mr Maheshwar Singh said that he had taken a serious view of the matter and as member of the standing committee of the Energy Ministry, he would look into the matter.

Committee to review forest land classification
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 1
The Himachal Government has set up a committee to review the existing classification of forest land and suggest ways to exclude certain categories of wasteland from the definition of forest.

Mr Chander Kumar, Forest Minister, said the decision to set up a committee for the purpose was taken after the Centre rejected the notification issued by the previous BJP government in August 1998, in this regard.

The committee will be headed by Mr Dhani Ram Chaudhari, a retired I.A.S. officer and have Mr S.N. Verma, Mr P.C. Dogra, Mr O.P. Sharma, Mr D.P. Gupta and Mr K.C. Sharma all retired officers, as members.

DC’s warning on avalanche
Our Correspondent

Chamba, February 1
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rahul Anand, has warned the residents living along snowy hillsides to keep themselves away from the vulnerable avalanche sites as a safety measure.

Mr Anand has directed the authorities to clear the snow-covered roads and ensure restoration of water and electricity supply as well as the supply of essential commodities.