Shimla, February 20
The 43-day Budget session of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha, commencing on Thursday, promises to be a lively affair with the Opposition BJP all set to grill the government on issues like price-rise, rising debt and damage caused to horticultural crops by frost.

Indeed, spiralling prices is a major issue across the country. However, its impact is more on the hill state as being a deficit state, it is largely dependent on other states for essential commodities.

It is an issue which could put the ruling party on the defensive, though the government could do little to contain the prices of the commodities being imported from outside.

The BJP has been highlighting the issue outside the house and its Mahila Morcha (women wing) staged demonstration in the state capital last week.

Linked to the price-rise is the issue of damage to crops due to severe cold during December and January. Frost has caused damage to mango, citrus fruit, litchi and other fruit plantations in the lower hills.

The BJP has been alleging that the government had not done anything to provide relief to the affected farmers. It wants the government to give the relief directly to 
the farmers.

However, the focus of the Budget session will be on the deteriorating financial health of the state. The government will face Opposition's wrath for its unbridled expenditure, opening of new institutions without a financial provision and the rising debt burden.

The BJP maintains that the outstanding loans have doubled form Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore during four years of the Congress rule.

Besides this, routine issues like growing unemployment, corruption, law and order and discrimination in appointments are also likely to be raised during the session.

The session will commence with the Governor's Address and Budget will be presented by Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, on March 5.

There will be a nine-day recess from March 20 to 28 during which the standing committees of the House will scrutinise the demands of various departments. The budget will be passed on March 30.

There will be 24 sittings in all and two days have been set apart for private members' business.

Dharamsala, February 20
The Kangra Central Cooperative Bank serving rural areas of Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Kulu, Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal has lost millions it advanced to farmers and entrepreneurs due to non-recovery of loans. Hundreds of loan defaulters have given the bank a headache over bad debts for the past many years.

There were 347 defaulters having outstanding balance exceeding more than Rs 1 lakh. They still have not cleared the loan. The total due from these 347 defaulters has been calculated at Rs 12 crore. Apart from wilful defaults, other reasons of default are diversion of funds, time or cost overruns in project completion, supply bottlenecks in raw materials and infrastructure, market failure, poor recovery of receivables, industrial recession and liquidity crisis.

Among top defaulters are Sagar Bricks Kiln (Una) Rs 10.06 lakh, KV Mineral Water Company (Kulu) Rs 31.50 lakh, Sidhbari Tea Factory (Kangra) Rs 20.59 lakh, H/L & H/C Tourism Development Cooperative Society (Kulu) Rs 24.70 lakh, DCF (Hamirpur) Rs 49.10 lakh, Surajpur Jhikla Society (Kangra) Rs 13.20 lakh, Allied Roshin Terpentine Society (Kangra) Rs 11.10 lakh, Kulu Valley Ex-Servicemen Transport (Kulu) Rs 18.20 lakh, Kaza General Store (Spiti) Rs 14 lakh, Chachoga Handloom Weavers (Kulu) Rs 67.30 lakh, Nagar Vikas Handloom Society (Kulu) Rs 11.10 lakh, Savan Valley Cooperative Society (Una) Rs 24.20 lakh, Binba Transport Society (Una) Rs 10.10 lakh, Nakodar Talab Cooperative Agriculture Society (Kangra) Rs 32.90 lakh, Kesari Flour Mills (Kangra) Rs 46.90 lakh, Ekta Cooperative House Building Society (Una) Rs 37.50 lakh and Vishal Brick Kiln (Una) Rs. 21.60 lakh.

Shimla, February 20
The state government will introduce computer education in all elementary educational institutions in the state in a phased manner.

This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at a function organised jointly by the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Institute of Information Technology here today.

“The efforts of the government are to create globally recognised educational facilities and the best possible infrastructure in the institutes,” he stated.

He informed that computer literacy programme had been introduced in 282 high schools since the programme was launched in June, 2005. “Seeing the encouraging results of the programme, the government has decided to cover all elementary educational institutions under it.”

Mr Virbhadra Singh said after covering all elementary educational institutions, computer education would be introduced at the primary level. “We are also considering incorporating the emerging trends in modern educational institutions,” he said.

The students should be taught information technology, biotechnology and science from the very beginning.

“Himachal has emerged as a model in the education sector,” he said.

The Director, Elementary Education, Mr B.M, Nanta, and the Director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, said the computer literacy project started as a pilot project in the state had yielded encouraging results and as such it would be extended to other schools.

Nurpur, February 20
The local sub-divisional Civil Hospital, according to a Health Department notification, was upgraded to a 100-bed hospital 
in 2004.

But only 50 beds are available till date, primarily on account of the apathy of the department.

The hospital caters to the needs of residents in Nurpur, Jawali and Bhatiyat sub-divisions. With the upgradation of the hospital under the National Rural Health Mission Programme, a number of specialists have been posted here, but the department has yet to raise the strength of the supporting staff.

The hospital has a provision for 17 doctors, but on record there are only 10 doctors working in the hospital. Instead of 17 staff nurses, only seven are working round the clock in three shifts and against a strength of 20 Class IV employees, only eight are available.

The posts of surgeon, radio grapher and technical assistant to the orthopaedic surgeon have been lying vacant.

The ICU in the hospital has no doctor and supporting staff to run it.