H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Flash flood kills villager
Mandi, July 12
Flash flood in the Nihara Nullah, 28 km from the Karsog subdivision in Mandi district last midnight washed away three cows, three goats, a house and water-mill a water-run saw mill and killed one villager.

Heavy rain sets off alarm bells
Dharamsala, July 12
The heavy downpour during the past one week in Kangra district has set off alarm bells here. People living close to water features, including gorges, nullahs, rivers, and areas prone to landslides have been advised to move to safer places during the on going monsoon season to avoid any loss of life or property.

Flood destroys trout farm at Banjar
Mandi, July 12
The surging Tirthan river at Nagni in Banjar subdivision has spelled a doom for anglers’ paradise in the country, turning trout farm into a desert littered with the boulders, silt and trash.

New project for seed production soon
Solan, July 12
With a view to ensuring the availability of quality seeds to farmers a Rs 200 crore project will soon be launched by the Indian Council for Agriculture Research.

4 killed, 5 hurt in road mishap
Chamba, July 12
Four persons were killed and five seriously wounded when a vehicle, (PB-05A-BT-9729) in which they were travelling, went off the road and rolled down about 15C metres towards the hillside at Dradda on the Chamba-Pathankot highway, about 25 km from here today.

Flesh trade thriving
Parwanoo, July 12
The area in and around here is fast developing into a den of flesh trade, it is learnt. The sensational unearthing last week of a flesh-trade racket at a hotel along the Kalka-Shimla national highway by the Solan CIA staff was not an isolated case as a number of immoral trafficking cases have been reported in the area in the past.

Flash flood kills villager
Tribune News Service

Mandi, July 12
Flash flood in the Nihara Nullah, 28 km from the Karsog subdivision in Mandi district last midnight washed away three cows, three goats, a house and water-mill a water-run saw mill and killed one villager.

According to a report received here today, flash flood started from the upstream Nihara Nullah, which feeds Sutlej after the area had heavy rain last night. The flood caused maximum damage in Katanda village located downstream, they added. Flash flood damaged part of a orchard in Katanda village. The person washed away by the flood has been identified as Khem Singh, a resident of Kuthair village nearby, the officials said.

Deputy Commissioner, Mandi district Subhasish Panda said a rescue team was sent to flood-hit village today under the SDM, Karsog. “The affected villagers have been given aid under the relief manual. “The details are awaited as the phones were not working there”,he added. Mr Panda said flood might have occurred due to some cloudburst or heavy rain upstream in the area.

Heavy rain sets off alarm bells
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 12
The heavy downpour during the past one week in Kangra district has set off alarm bells here. People living close to water features, including gorges, nullahs, rivers, and areas prone to landslides have been advised to move to safer places during the on going monsoon season to avoid any loss of life or property.

The district administration has also started an exercise to identify vulnerable points, prone to disaster.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Bharat Khera, Deputy Commissioner, said the district administration was focussing on preparedness to deal with any crisis due to heavy rains and the spread of diseases.

Mr Khera said a district control room had been set up in the police lines, which will function round-the-clock.

The local SDM, DSP and other officials of the administration can be contacted on phone.

“We are also putting together a relief directory which will include telephone numbers of all agencies and officials involved in relief operations. The arrangements made by the Food and Supplies Department are also being monitored and all SDMs in the district have been asked to identify disaster-prone areas,” he said.

Mr S.P. Singh, Superintendent of Police, said safer places also needed to be identified to locate people to be evacuated in case of an emergency.

Sources said directions had also been given to the Public Works Department (PWD) to restore road communication immediately in case of any crisis.

The Irrigation and Public Health Department (IPH) has also been asked to maintain the quality of potable water along with proper maintenance and restoration of drinking water schemes in the district.

“We have asked them to assess losses caused to any road and water schemes due to rains and send report,” said Mr Khera. Officials of the District Health and Family Welfare Department also briefed the administration about the preventive steps being taken to prevent and control jaundice and gastroenteritis in the district during the monsoon season.

The IPH and the local panchayat pradhans have been asked to take steps for keeping the conventional sources of water safe.

Chlorine tablets would also be distributed in villages where people use other sources of water.

Meanwhile, the Health Department is taking water samples through its nodal officers appointed at all block levels.

The details of the rescue operations were later chalked out at a meeting attended by the SP and Mr Rakesh Bhardwaj, Commandant, Home Guards, ADM, Mr P.D. Choudhary and SDM Mr Rakesh Sharma.

Flood destroys trout farm at Banjar
Tribune News Service

Mandi, July 12
The surging Tirthan river at Nagni in Banjar subdivision has spelled a doom for anglers’ paradise in the country, turning trout farm into a desert littered with the boulders, silt and trash.

Flood that wreaked havoc on July 5 and 6 was the worst in the past 20 years in the history of the trout fish farm in the Tirthan valley that attracts anglers from all over the world, revealed Fisheries officials here.

Apart from a setback to the angling in the state, the flood has robbed trout fish farmers of their bread and butter as the Nagni fish farm used to cater to the farmers in Banjar subdivision.

The fish farmers have urged the state government to rebuild the trout seed farm soon.

“It is also a matter of bread and butter for us”, said Mr Chet Ram, fish farmers from Banjar. “Where will go for seed for fish? Tourists come to Banjar because of trout, the beauty of the valley”, he added.

The surging river washed the farm, staff houses, office, lab and tanks, burying the farm under a thick coat of silt boulders and trash, which is beyond recognition.

On the other hand, the surging Beas river pumped in 4-ft high silt in the trout fish farm at Patlikuhal in Kulu district.

The Director, Fisheries, Mr B.D. Sharma, who inspected the site yesterday, said the loss could be over a crore of rupees. “We have directed the farmers to get seed from the Patlikuhal seed farm in Kulu district. “There was no trace of fish farm now. We are giving a fresh proposal to the government to rebuild the farm”, he added.

Mr Sharma said they had desilted tanks at Patlikuhal as water filters had saved the fish from deal due to silt load. The Barot farm was safe and was catering to the needs of farmers in Mandi district. 

New project for seed production soon
Ambika Sharma
Our Correspondent

Solan, July 12
With a view to ensuring the availability of quality seeds to farmers a Rs 200 crore project will soon be launched by the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR). Stressing the need for adopting eco-friendly techniques by the farmers Dr G. Kalloo Deputy Director General Horticulture, ICAR, said today that it would reduce the expenditure on fertilisers and enrich the soil with nutrients.

He was addressing scientists at XVII meeting of AICRP on floriculture at Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. He said marigold cultivation was catching up due to its beta carotin content which had immense value in the poultry industry. He advised the scientists to work on mite control in mice , thrips control in carnation and white fly for enhancing its quality and production.

The national coordinator, Dr R.L. Mishra, informed that during the 10th Five Year Plan the ICAR’s share in the projects was around Rs 27.65 lakh.

Earlier the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Jagmohan Singh, said floriculture was fast expanding as a dynamic industry and it had gained momentum with the liberalisation of the economy.

He said floriculture accounted for an area of 1.06 lakh hectares with a production of 5.35 lakh metric tonnes of loose flowers and more than 25,000 millions numbers of cut stem in 2004. The agroclimatic conditions in the nation were ideally suited to floriculture he said. He advised the scientists to develop cheap and eco-friendly production technology and thrust upon the germplasm conservation, crop protection and protection.

The Director Research, Dr S.D. Sharma, highlighted various research activities of the university.

4 killed, 5 hurt in road mishap
Our Correspondent

Chamba, July 12
Four persons were killed and five seriously wounded when a vehicle, (PB-05A-BT-9729) in which they were travelling, went off the road and rolled down about 15C metres towards the hillside at Dradda on the Chamba-Pathankot highway, about 25 km from here today.

According to police sources, the vehicle was on its way from Chamba to Pathankot. Two of the deceased had been identified as Narender, resident of Bhanauta village, and Poonam, who died on the spot, while a child and another person succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital. The bodies of the deceased had been brought to the hospital for post-mortem.

The police sources said the five injured had been admitted to the regional hospital here and three of them were stated to be in a critical condition. All of them belonged to the nearby areas of Chamba.

Flesh trade thriving
Our Correspondent

Parwanoo, July 12
The area in and around here is fast developing into a den of flesh trade, it is learnt. The sensational unearthing last week of a flesh-trade racket at a hotel along the Kalka-Shimla national highway by the Solan CIA staff was not an isolated case as a number of immoral trafficking cases have been reported in the area in the past.

Hotels in area, situated along the Kalka-Shimla highway, have become a hub for immoral trafficking as persons involved in the act easily get a booking for a night or so in these hotels. The police, more or less, remains clueless despite claiming that it keeps a tight vigil on hotels. The cases have become public only after police raids on getting tip-offs.

The modus operandi of those involved in the flesh trade is simple. They enter the state at the Parwanoo barrier under the disguise of a couple to avoid detection by the police staff at the barrier. The young women and girls usually dress up like newly weds. The booking is easily available in hotels and guesthouses along the highway. Over the past few years, the 30-km stretch of the highway between Parwanoo and Kumarhatti has witnessed sprouting of numerous hotels and guesthouses.