Palampur, June 2
The waste generated from hospitals and other health institutions has become a major source of environmental and public health problems in Kangra district and it immediately requires safe handling and secured disposal.

Most of the waste generated by the health institutions here is non-hazardous. One of the unique waste streams from the medical institutions is the infectious waste that contains live pathogens and needs special treatment and disposal.

In the absence of any treatment plant, it has been noticed that the liquid waste from the hospitals here finds its way to drains and the solid wastes are disposed of in municipal dumps. The indiscriminate disposal of wastes is becoming a major health hazard for human population.

The extensive use of plastic in health institutions is resulting in a sharp increase in waste which needs special treatment plants. In fact the plastic has replaced glass in medical institutions.

Despite the fact that Kangra is the biggest district of the state where there are a large number of private and public health institutions, including Government Medical College at Tanda. But no efforts have been made in the past 10 years for the scientific handling of bio-medical waste in the district.

At present most of the hazardous and non-hazardous waste is being thrown into khuds and streams. These streams are the major source of drinking water supplies in lower areas.

It is surprising that the Irrigation and Public Health Department has no water treatment plants for the water tapped from these khuds and the people are left with no alternative except to take contaminated water.

In view of the indiscriminate disposal of bio-medical waste and increasing concern on the health and environment, the Union Government has taken up on priority to regulate the waste generated in the medical and health institutions.

Despite the fact that the necessary amendments have also been made to the Environment and Forest Protection Act, 1986, twice in 1995-96 and 1997-98. The notifications to this effect were also circulated. Subsequently in 1998, the Bio-Medical Waste Management and Handling Rules-1998 were also forwarded to the states by the Union Government for further action. These rules provide for control on the generation, handling of all biological and medical waste, the hospital waste being in the major waste categories.

The municipal councils in the district are also openly flouting these rules by dumping the entire medical waste in local streams. Most of the municipal dumps are situated along highways emitting foul smell.

Despite spending crores of rupees on the protection and conservation of environment, the state has been facing serious environmental threats in different fields.

Manali, June 2
The tourist circuits of Manali, Shimla and Dalhousie have registered over 10 per cent increase in tourist arrival this season.

Following the recent tourist killings and RDX attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, there has been an increase in tourist arrival to the state from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and North India since last week of May.

Though the arrival of “family tourists” from Gujarat and Maharashtra has decreased over the past one week as school holidays are over there, the tourist flow from Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West-Bengal is increasing for the past few days, according to travel agents and hoteliers.

“Family tourists want a hazard-free holiday and the latest happenings in Jammu and Kashmir have made them think twice before going to trouble-torn destinations,” said Mr S. Bahaduri, a businessman. He, along with his family, has come to visit Shimla, Dalhousie and Manali for the first time.

“No family would like to invite unnecessary hazard in trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir, when it can have a peaceful holiday in Himachal,” said Mr A.S. Biswas, a Bengali executive, who is on a visit to Manali these days.

Shimla, June 2
The government has refuted the reports that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Kinnaur district were not getting funds for development activities and that various agencies were not cooperating with them. An official spokesperson said there was no truth in the reports.

He said the persons quoted in the news item Ms Chandermani Negi, Chairperson, Zila Parishad Kinnaur, and Mr Gangabhakti Negi, a resident of Dunni village, had refuted the remarks attributed to them and termed the news story a bundle of lies.

He said the government had provided various supervisory powers to the panchayats and had also envisaged an ambitious programme to computerise the functioning of gram panchayats. The government was rendering all possible help for the smooth functioning of PRIs and as such the question of maltreatment by district administration did not arise. It was merely an attempt to show the district administration in bad light.

He said the fact was that the state government was committed to socio-economic uplift of the tribal areas and it had earmarked 9 per cent of the budget for the purpose. A sum of Rs 309.05 crore was being spent during the current year. During the past three years, 17 primary schools were upgraded to middle schools, seven middle schools to high schools and seven high schools to senior secondary schools. He said that Rs 58.12 crore had been earmarked for construction of 23 roads and bridges projects in the tribal areas under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna.

He said the state government was also giving top priority on strengthening the PRIs in the state and Kinnaur district was no exception. He said that the district administration had always maintained cordial relations with the elected representatives of PRIs so as to ensure their participation in development process.

Shimla, June 2
Another case of large-scale illegal felling of trees has come to light in the Chopal division. There are also reports of irregularities in marking of trees.

According to sources, the flying squad of the Forest Department has not only unearthed illegal felling of 78 trees and 32 green trees, but also detected that out of the total 1,900 trees, which were on the marking list as per records, about 400 had not been marked at all.

Apparently the tree were not marked to leave scope for green felling. Further, the marked green trees that were to be de-blazed had been felled and the dry trees that were to be felled had been standing.

The scam is a sequel to the green felling scam unearthed last year in the Amta, Kiari and Sarain forests when the flying squad had detected green felling of 201 trees.

An inquiry conducted by the Conservators of Forests later put the number of felled green trees at 67.

Besides, it was found that another 67 green trees had been marked but were not yet felled.

Shimla, June 2
Coming out in the defence of the controversial ski village project, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Raj Krishan Gaur, yesterday said, besides ensuring that the grazing and TD rights of the locals were protected, no trees would be axed for the project.

In a statement issued here, he said extra precaution was being taken to ensure that the project did not affect the ecology of the area. “This would be the biggest tourism project in the country which would herald an economic revolution, even though people with vested interest are trying to create an impression that it will interfere with the religious sentiments of the people,” he said.

“The implementation agreement of the project would be signed shortly and the Himalayan Ski Village Company would acquire only 12 to 14 hectares out of which only five hectares would be the government land, given on lease for 99 years,” he disclosed.

The government would get a revenue of Rs 50 crore per annum after the project was complete and provide direct employment to 3,500 persons, while over 3,000 persons would get jobs through tertiary employment, he added.

Giving details, he said the project would be in different stages on the mountains and would have three luxury hotels, 27 restaurants, two spas, a handicraft village and a food court.

About 300 villas would be constructed on 40 hectares of private land.

The ski village would be set up at the potato farm, presently leased by a power project, while the gondola towers would be erected at Hamta-Challet village.

Parwanoo, June 2
The two teenaged dancing girls who had been arrested by the local police have been sent to Solan on 14 days’ judicial remand. The girls, one of them from Nepal aged around 18 years, were arrested by police team on night patrol at around 2 am yesterday night.

The girls were nabbed near the bus stand while they were trying to catch a bus to Chandigarh. On seeing the police party the girls tried to hide. The police got suspicious of their activities and followed them. On being questioned the girls failed to give satisfactory answers to the police. On being further questioned they revealed their identification. The girls belonged to Ferozepore cantonment. They used to perform at marriage parties. According to the police the girls were on a visit to Shimla along with four boys. As per the police the boys were not fully known to them. The girls had agreed to accompany the boys after a relative of one girl introduced the boys to them. The girls along with boys stayed at a hotel that was around two hours drive from Parwanoo. The boys started to consume liquor at the hotel and this scared the girls who fled from there and somehow they reached here. After reaching Parwanoo the girls were planning to take a bus to Chandigarh, the police said.

The girls even managed to stop a bus at the bus stand. But the driver of bus refused to carry them as the bus was on way to New Delhi, said the police. The girls’ whereabouts are being verified by the police so that their families can be contacted.

Shimla, June 2
Himachal Pradesh University today honoured the students who excelled in various examinations.

In all 267 students who had secured first three positions were honoured and presented certificates of merit at the annual prize distribution function.

Prof J.R. Gupta, Dean of Studies, congratulated the toppers for their performance and said it was the outcome of the hard work put in by both teachers and students. He said it was a matter of pride that the University Grants Commission (UGC) had included the university among the 12 universities with a potential for excellence out of 125 universities in the country.