H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Kulu Dasehra a flop show
Kulu, October 14
The Kulu Dasehra, which is acclaimed as an international folk festival, has turned out to be a flop show as far as the cultural events are concerned. The Kulu Dasehra Committee (KDC) has failed to bring in artistes of repute for the festival.

FCI faces shortage of godowns
Shimla, October 14
Lack of adequate storage capacity is creating problems for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in ensuring availability of foodgrains in the hill state, particularly in case of emergency.

Soldier cremated with military honours
Bilaspur, October 14
Martyr Sainik Arjundev (28) of Androli village near Barthin was cremated with full military and state honours at the village cremation ground on Wednesday.

4 killed as Tata Sumo falls into khud
Shimla, October 14
Four persons were killed and five seriously injured when their jeep rolled into a khud near Sabra, about 100 km from here today.

Man killed in mishap
Kumarhatti, October 14
A man was killed when a tractor carrying him overturned near Baddi last night. The accident took place on the Baba Haripur road near Surajpur Mour.

Kulu Dasehra a flop show
Kuldeep Chauhan & Subhash Sharma
Tribune News Service

Kulu, October 14
The Kulu Dasehra, which is acclaimed as an international folk festival, has turned out to be a flop show as far as the cultural events are concerned. The Kulu Dasehra Committee (KDC) has failed to bring in artistes of repute for the festival.

Though the committee members put the blame on the lack of funds and hard work, but the artistes and the stall owners blamed the poor show on the organisers. They alleged that the committee members manipulated and included even the name of “bathroom singer” as performers for the cultural evening.

The first evening of the cultural night, inaugurated by the Himachal Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, turned out to be a poor show at the Lal Chand Prarthi Stadium here, which remained thinly attended by local young revellers. Family members preferred to stay indoors.

There was not even a single foreign troupe for the so-called international folk festival this time, rued the residents. Only one artistes of repute Hans Raj Hans would perform on October 16 night. The visit of Pakistani artiste Mr Haider Ali is uncertain due to the recent earthquake, they added.

“The artistes were decided not on merit, but by the phone calls from the politicians,” rued Mr Dalbir Singh Sakhwalia, bhangra and giddha performer, who was not included in the cultural show. “Punjab is neighbouring state, but no troupe from Punjab has been included,” he added.

The traders who have installed their stalls featuring eating joints, readymade garments shops and other goods complained that the KDC had raised the rates this time. As a result, many stalls remained unoccupied.

“I am paying Rs 32,000 for the stall, but the clients turnover is poor even on the second day,” said a stall owner who runs the juice-cum-fast food joint. Even there are no proper arrangements for the media to cover the event. 

FCI faces shortage of godowns
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 14
Lack of adequate storage capacity is creating problems for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in ensuring availability of foodgrains in the hill state, particularly in case of emergency.

Stating this at press conference, Mr R.K. Jain, Senior Regional Manager of the corporation, said the monthly requirement of foodgrains ranged between 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes but the total storage capacity in the state was only 25,930 tonnes. The corporation has been transporting stocks from godowns in the adjoining states of Haryana and Punjab to ensure timely supply.

The state requires at least 10,000 tonnes of additional storage capacity. The FCI has been making efforts on this front but it could not do much as the Centre did not allow it to construct additional storage facility. An exception has been made only in case of Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. The efforts to augment the storage capacity by involving private sector also failed as there was no response under the BOO (build, own and operate) scheme.

Soldier cremated with military honours
Our Correspondent

Bilaspur, October 14
Martyr Sainik Arjundev (28) of Androli village near Barthin was cremated with full military and state honours at the village cremation ground on Wednesday.

Kanungo Ramesh Chand and SHO Rai Singh paid homage on behalf of the state government.

Sepoy Arjundev Pathania was serving in 7 Dogra Regiment in Uri Sector in J&K and was posted near Aman Setu when a bowlder fell on him due to earthquake.

He is survived by his mother, father, wife and two children.

4 killed as Tata Sumo falls into khud
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 14
Four persons were killed and five seriously injured when their jeep rolled into a khud near Sabra, about 100 km from here today.

Most of the occupants of the ill-fated Tata Sumo were apple contractors who were returning from Delhi after selling their produce. They were on their way to Chirgaon in Rohru area when the accident took place.

Those killed includes the driver Pradeep Kumar, of Sonepat, Babu Ram, Vidya Sen and Raji Ram, all residents of Khabbal and Jabbal village.

Man killed in mishap
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, October 14
A man was killed when a tractor carrying him overturned near Baddi last night. The accident took place on the Baba Haripur road near Surajpur Mour. Inder Dutt was going to his home at Tipra village after working in fields where he was returning rear end of a tractor got entangled with something on the road to pull tractor from the blockade Inder Dutt lost control of the vehicle. Inder Dutt was removed to primary health centre at Nalagarh but died on the way.