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Weather god not kind to apple growers
Respite for officials as CM’s visit ends
Dhumal’s outburst against Viplove flayed
Govt contemplating action against ADGP Thind
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65-yr-old murdered
Man held on murder charge
Undertrial escapes
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Weather god not kind to apple growers
Shimla, January 16 Last year, the state experienced an unusual warm winter with the temperature rising to record levels during the peak season. However, this season the mercury has mostly remained below the freezing point in the apple belt.But the weather god has not obliged the growers with snow which is considered as white manure for apple orchards. For a good crop, 1,600 to 2,000 chilling hours, with temperature remaining below 7 degree Celsius, are essential. Shimla district, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of the state's apple production, has not had any snow so far. There was only a glimpse of snow in early December and the weather has remained dry ever since. At least two to three good spells of snow during the season can provide the much-needed moisture to soil. While the severe cold spell has ensured the minimum chilling hours, the level of moisture is fast depleting in the soil due to the lack of snow. In the continuing dry conditions, the growers cannot use fertilisers. Besides, the lack of adequate moisture also affects the size of fruit and the juice content. Last year most of the apple belt had a snowless winter as a result of which the production dwindled from 2.65 crore boxes in 2005 to 1.32 crore boxes. The state may have to content with a poor crop for the second consecutive year, unless the region experiences snow over the next fortnight. Thereafter, it may not help as bud-breaking will start towards the first half of February. Delayed snow or sudden drop in temperature after bud-breaking causes winter injuries which in turn affects flowering and fruit setting. The growers have been advised to delay application of fertiliser and resort to mulching to retain moisture in orchards. The fruit growers in the lower hills are also a worried lot as the severe dry cold is causing damage to mango, litchi and citrus fruit plants. They fear that if the present conditions continue the young plants may succumb to frost bite. The potato and oilseeds crops have also been affected by the dry spell and in some parts even the wheat has started withering due to frost. |
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Respite for officials as CM’s visit ends
Dharamsala, January 16 As soon as the Chief Minister flew off from Dharamsala this morning, there prevailed a cool atmosphere in the town. The police patrolling parties that roamed here and there in the town for security reasons vanished suddenly. Kangra District Magistrate Bharat Khera did not come to the office. An employee posted in his office said the boss had gone out for a few days. The Tribune correspondent visited many offices this afternoon and found that some senior officials of the district administration had not come to the office. It may be mentioned that besides the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha, three meetings of the state Cabinet and a meeting of the state planning board were also held here during the past couple of weeks. The CM attended 20 public meetings in the nine constituencies of Kangra district. A senior bureaucrat of the state said it was very difficult to shift the entire official machinery from the state capital to some other place for just political reasons. He said constructing another Vidhan Sabha complex at Dharamsala had nothing to do with the common people. Another bureaucrat was of the view that public money was being wasted on the Vidhan Sabha building and conducting the session. This money could have been utilised for some development work, he added. The Chief Minister was so adamant on conducting the Vidhan Sabha session here in the new building that certain arrangements and adjustments were made on temporary basis. |
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Dhumal’s outburst against Viplove flayed
Hamirpur, January 16 Mr Rajinder Zar, PCC vice-president, talking to mediapersons, said Ms Thakur had held different key positions in the party. She was a legislator before being elected to the Rajya Sabha and if her political career was to be compared with that of Mr Dhumal, she had double the experience. He added that the fact that members of Mr Dhumal's own Cabinet had rebelled against him during the last BJP government was a reflection on the poor political skills and administrative acumen of Mr Dhumal. On the issue of delimitation, Mr Zar said it was during Mr Dhumal's tenure as Chief Minister that the draft of re-organisation was prepared and he had failed to safeguard the interests of voters. Even now he had failed to discharge the responsibility of being the leader of the Opposition in not convincing the Delimitation Commission not to make drastic changes. |
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Govt contemplating action against ADGP Thind
Dharamsala, January 16 The suspended ADGP had allegedly written a letter addressed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in which he had levelled serious allegations of corruption against some top bureaucrats of the state who are considered close to the Chief Minister. This letter purported to have been written by Mr Thind was leaked to a section of the media and was prominently published in some newspapers. The BJP had made it a big issue in the state levelling charges of corruption against the Chief Minister and his top bureaucracy. Perturbed over this issue, Mr Virbhadra Singh had already told him during the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha to abide by the service conduct rules, otherwise he may have to face department action. After this episode, Simranjit Singh Mann, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)) has come out openly in support of Mr Thind. Sources close to the Chief Minister revealed that the state government had been turning down the request of Mr Thind to reinstate him, giving him a clear signal that he will now have to sit at home for some more time. A special board under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary was constituted to look into his request of reinstating him. This board after reviewing his application and giving him a personal hearing did not recommend his reinstatment. Further, the suspended ADGP has also not been granted outstation leave to visit a London hospital for medical check up. The government has also initiated a process to procure a copy of the challan filed against him from the Punjab Police.
— TNS |
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Irrevocable bond with Shimla brought Dr Wilson back
Shimla, January 16 Dr Wilson earlier had had a brief stint as the Pro-Vice Chancellor in the university. But he had to return to his parent institution, Stephen's College of Delhi, as the management refused to extend his lien. A decade later he is back as the Head of the institution. Leaving the Principalship of the prestigious Stephen's College to become the Vice-Chancellor of HPU is certainly not a career move. It was the irrevocable bond with the Queen of Hills and the desire to "return home" to give back something to the city, the state and the institution where he had spent the best part of his life which made Dr Anil Wilson opt for the "crown of thorns". Indeed, the job of a Vice-Chancellor these days is a challenging one, particularly if it happens to be Himachal Pradesh University, known more for campus unrest than academics. "It has been indeed a ‘call of the heart’ which has brought me back to Shimla once again. Having got so much from the city,I constantly felt that I must do something in return," he told The Tribune during an exclusive interview.“Also, the fact that it is a rare honour to head the institution where one has studied can not be overlooked”, he added. How strongly he feels about Shimla can be judged from the fact that he plans to form a "We Love Shimla Group" to help revive the old ambience of the hill resort, particularly its unique pedestrian culture which fostered lifelong bonds of affection and love among the people. He has had so many relationships with people all through his life,but the ones which had roots in Shimla have remained the strongest. It is an important mission for him as he feels that relationships nowadays are losing their "selfless innocence"and degenerating into a need-based arrangement. Teaching has been in his blood. It has been a tradition with the family. His father, late M.M. Wilson, taught philosophy at the local Christchurch College on the Ridge and moved to Gorton High School in Kotgarh following its closure. Later, he joined the local Bishop Cotton School in Shimla. His mother, Mrs D.Wilson, was a teacher at the local Auckland House. His wife,Rita, also had a long stint as Principal of Auckland School. She rose to head the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination. She has now taken over as the Principal of the prestigious Starex International
School, Gurgaon. He wants to be an "interactive" Vice-Chancellor and see the functionaries of the university taking care of the routine activities. Things should not start with an end at the Vice-Chancellor, as usually happens in
universities. Managing the administrative and academic affairs has to be a collective effort with everyone doing his bit, he adds. |
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Butter idol attracts thousands
Kangra, January 16 The idol was made using 11-quintal butter for the Makar Sankranti festival. Twenty purohits worked for 12 hours for making the idol. According to a legend, when goddess Sati got injured while fighting demons, her wounds were embalmed with butter on Makar Sankranti by gods. Mr Ram Swroop Sharma, temple officer, said devotees donate ghee at the temple. Purohits of the temple wash it with water 108 times, thus giving a butter-like appearance. The idol, he said, was made during the night of January 14. He said the temple authorities received ghee from devotees from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Agra, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. He said a butter idol of nine quintals was made last year. The butter, when removed, would be distributed as prasada among the people and used by them for treatment of skin ailments, he added. The temple has been tastefully decorated for the festival. Recitation of the Vedic hymns, bhajans and hawana goes on in the temple continuously. The pilgrims were seen standing in long queues for having a glimpse of the butter idol. The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhdra Singh, was scheduled to visit the temple on January 14 to attend the idol-making ceremony but due to political engagements, he could not attend the same, he added. |
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Rs 7.80 crore to boost
pilgrimage tourism
Shimla, January 16 Famous pilgrim destinations like Manimahesh, the Bhimakali temple at Sarahan and Naina Devi in Bilaspur will be developed and given a facelift as the Union Ministry of Tourism has granted Rs 7.80 crore for promoting different pilgrim circuits in the state. |
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65-yr-old murdered
Dharamsala, January 16 The deceased was later identified as Saran Dass, a resident of Narwana village. His body was recovered from a hut in Khaital village yesterday and sent to a local hospital for a post-mortem examination. A friend of Saran Dass, identified as Jagdamba, was also found in a serious condition from the adjoining hut in the same village. The injured was taken to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital for treatment. The deceased was allegedly abducted and brutally beaten up on January 11 and kept in illegal confinement in the hut for four days without food and medical care before being murdered, the police said. Two brothers, Vinod Kumar and Suresh Kumar, have been arrested in this connection and a case of murder registered against them. During interrogation, the accused said Saran Dass had stolen liquor from their tea stall due to which they had beaten him up and then locked in the hut. |
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Man held on murder charge
Solan, January 16 The murder came to light when a labourer, Prakash Khalko, saw clothes and bone parts in a forest near the construction site of Mohan Shakti National Heritage
Park. Budeshwar who had gone to his native village, Narma, in Jharkhand on December 10 last year after allegedly murdering Anita, returned a day ago to seek work at the same site. The superviser inquired into the whereabouts of Anita who was staying with him. Budeshwar said he had asked her to go to Delhi on December 8 as she was pregnant with his illegitimate child. But she died there due to some illness. Not
convinced, the superviser informed the police. A sub-inspector, Anil Dhaulta, conducted an inquiry. The police later said Budeshwar confessed to having killed Anita after she refused to return the money she had taken from him and did not agree to go to Delhi. The police has registered a case under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC and further investigation is in progress. A team of experts from Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga, also visited the scene and collected samples for analysis. |
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Undertrial escapes
Bilaspur, January 16 Reports here today said Sanjay Kumar took advantage of a crowd which had gathered on the main bus stand crossing on the national highway when he was being taken for boarding a bus.
— OC |
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