Shimla, April 22
Putting fiscal reforms in the backburner, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today announced that he had no intention of closing down or merging any board or corporation in the state.

Addressing the 5th General Conference of the State Forest Corporation Employees Federation here, he said the government had created public sector undertakings with specific objectives and they were required to function as commercial organisations and become self-reliant.

He said all such boards and corporations would have to diversify their activities and generate income to pay for their liabilities and the government would provide them all possible assistance for diversification. He emphasised that PSUs must strive to make products that were in demand to make profits.

He announced that the government would consider regularisation of 977 daily-wagers of the corporation after completion of the minimum prescribed years of service and redeploy them in other departments, boards and corporations.

He said apple had revolutionised the economy of the state and had contributed significantly towards the gross domestic product, besides creating employment. Earlier, trees were cut for transporting fruits in wooden cartons but with the introduction of card board cartons, it was not done anymore, he said.

The government had nationalised the state forests, banned the felling of trees, checked the smuggling of forest wealth and had initiated steps towards saving forests from fire and other natural calamities.

Referring to the welfare of employees, he said it was during his government that the recommendations of the 5th Pay Commission were implemented, which provided financial benefits worth Rs 840 crore. During the past four years, financial benefits worth Rs 600 crore had been provided by way of merger of 50 per cent dearness allowance in the basic pay. 

Solan, April 22
The railway traffic over the Kalka-Shimla route remained disrupted for nearly four and a half hours as a cement-laden truck (HP-14-5399) fell over the railway track near Kaithlighat after hitting a car (HP-52-A-4142) coming from the opposite direction around noon today.

The truck, according to the onlookers, was in great speed and after hitting the Alto car deflected towards the adjoining railway track. The truck’s driver and cleaner fled the spot. The railway authorities swung into action and stopped the trains coming from either direction.

According to railway sources, 256 Down Himalayan Queen was stranded between Kaithlighat and Shoghi while 2 Kalka-Shimla Down passenger train was stuck at Shoghi. The two other trains enroute Shimla from Kalka, Up Parcel was put on hold near Kaithlighat while 255 Up Himalayan Queen had to be halted at Kandhaghat.

The track was finally cleared around 4:30 pm with the help of two cranes from Shimla.

Shimla, April 22
With high mountain passes between Chamba and Jammu and Kashmir border becoming surmountable with the melting of snow, the 13 posts manned by the ITBP and the police have started shifting to the summer locations along with renewal of long-range patrolling that remains suspended during winters.

It is reliably learnt that seven of the 13 posts have been already shifted to the summer locations (above 10,000 feet). The police and the ITBP personnel have taken charge of the posts at Gar Mata, Dhappan, Mangli, Siul, Mansa, Bhanudi and Brewla in the Tissa and Kehar sectors, bordering Jammu and Kashmir.

The long-range patrolling (LRP) undertaken jointly by the ITBP and the police has also been resumed. The LRP is discontinued by end of November once the area is covered under deep snow. “We have resumed the LRP along the borders as the snow has started melting. Complete vigil is being maintained along the border with Jammu and Kashmir,” said Upender Thakur, SP, Chamba.

During harsh winters, when these areas are buried under deep snow, the location of these 13 posts is shifted to lower areas. The two posts at Satrundi and Bhagotu, which are located at a height of almost 12,500 feet are likely to move to their original locations only by mid May.

The posts at Satrundi and Bhagotu are located on either side of the Saach Pass (14,750 feet) and it would be possible to take the locations only after the Pangi-Tissa road opens in May. With high mountain passes like Padri Gulli, Bharari Gulli, Saach, Dhanotru being covered under snow in winters, the threat of militant infiltration reduces and the posts are shifted to lower heights.

It is learnt that the civil-Army-intelligence conference organised for information sharing and better coordination between the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the CID, the Army and the police from Chamba, Kathua, Gurdaspur and Doda, is scheduled to be held shortly.

The ITBP and the Himachal Police personnel from the Ist and IInd India Reserve Battalion have been deployed along the 240-km border that Chamba shares with Jammu and Kashmir to check any infiltration by militants. While nine posts are manned by the ITBP, which include six in the Kehar sector and three in the Tissa sector, the Himachal police has 20 posts along the border in the Pangi, Kehar, Tissa and Khairi sectors.

Shimla, April 22
A separate OPD block is proposed to be constructed close to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) hospital campus, equipped with all medical examination and testing facilities.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh made this announcement while inaugurating a six-bedded new general intensive care unit (ICU) constructed at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore at the hospital. The hospital already had an ICU unit and the new one would further improve quality medical care in the hospital. The IGMC was emerging as the best equipped institution with state-of-the-art specialised medical services.

As open heart surgery, MRI and all other latest medical testing and operational facilities had already been made available to the people, they no longer had to go outside the state for treatment. More facilities were being added to make the system self-sufficient, the Chief Minister said.

The IGMC would soon be connected with a lift from parking being constructed below the hospital campus where adequate parking space for patients would also be available.

The Chief Minister directed the authorities to prepare a plan to overhaul the entire old hospital infrastructure so that modern facilities could be made available. He also stressed the need for creating residential facilities for medical and paramedical staff near the hospital complex so that their services were available to the patients at odd hours as well. Orders had already been issued to the medical and paramedical staff to stay at the places of their posting.

The Chief Minister said best cleanliness and hygienic conditions were required to be maintained in all health institutions. The health institutions functioning from private premises would also be provided with own buildings in a phased manner.

Kumarhatti, April 22
With the onset of summer season the shortage of potable water has started to haunt the region. The daily water supply has already been curtailed and the situation is likely to get worse with each passing day. The town is nowadays getting supply after the gap of two days.

While at Dharampur water was being supplied on alternative days. Similar is the condition at Barog. As per the IPH department, the flow in the natural water resources is receding at a fast pace. And with prediction of dry weather the situation could be bad in coming days.

A random survey of surrounding villages showed that water has emerged as a main cause of concern for residents. The natural water resources are on the verge of drying up. However in some pockets the natural sources have already gone water less.

In panchayat meetings, water issue mainly tops the agenda.

At present, Dharampur town is not facing crisis, but residents fear to witness severe water shortage in the months of May and June. The town’s daily water requirement is over 7 lakh liters while in the peak of summer the town could hardly get 2 lakh liters. The water discharge at Dagroh khud, the main source of water supply to Dharampur, has already started showing falling trend.

Dharamsala, April 22
The union government has given Rs 60 crore during the current financial year to Himachal Pradesh for carrying out construction of the Shah canal. After completion the canal would take water from Punjab territory to irrigate 15,287 hectares of land in Kangra district.

As per the agreement between the two neighbouring states, Punjab was to pay its share of Rs 196.05 crore to the hill state for the construction of the canal but after releasing Rs 61.91 crore, it started adopting a dilly-dallying attitude.

Himachal made a big hue and cry before the union government to pressure Punjab into releasing the balance of Rs 134.14 crore for completing the canal.

The union government had now directly released Rs 60 crore during the current financial year so that the construction work on this project was not affected.

The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs 317.52 crore. As per the agreement, Punjab was supposed to spend 61.74 per cent of the total cost and the rest by the the hill state. However, both states were banking upon grants given by the union government.

As per official details, construction on 27.35 km length of the canal in Kangra district had already been completed. The total length of the canal is 78.85 km.

Apart from this, work had been completed on 41 tubewells and most of the watercourses. As many as 23 cross drainages had already been constructed while work on 15 cross drainages was on.

Almost all work on the canal had been completed in Punjab. The construction work on this canal began in 1997 and it was supposed to be completed by the end of 2007 but due to lack of coordination between the two neighbouring states, the target to complete this project has been extended by three years.

Solan, April 22
Reflecting poor coordination between the PWD and the NHAI, Rs 3.5 crore is being incurred on erecting buttress walls along the NH-22 though the same road is slated to be expanded soon.

Thus the buttress walls being raised now would have to be demolished once the work to four-lane the highway begins. This project is in its final stage and is likely to be awarded soon. The project was announced in December 2003 by the then union minister for surface transport B.C. Khandoori.

Raising questions over the intention of the NH authorities, vice-president of the state BJP and local MLA Dr Rajiv Bindal here today said it belied all logic why crores were being spent on raising buttress walls when the road had to be widened soon.

He said according to the drawings of the NH four-laning project, the road from Timber Trail to level crossing at Chambaghat here had to be widened. The present road alignment would be widened with an increase of 5 m along the hill side. This means all these buttress walls would be demolished and more funds would be spent on their demolition.

Further, these walls are being raised at places where stable rocks existed on the NH-22. Since no landslides had occurred at many such places on the Kalka-Shimla highway for the past several years, there was little reason for raising these buttress walls.

Dr Bindal lamented that these funds could have been used for the development of the road between Barog-Solan instead of being wasted on this futile exercise. He questioned the PWD’s role and alleged that a contractor was being favoured through this contract. He further questioned the coordination between the PWD and the NHAI, saying that while the NHAI was undertaking a project worth Rs 750 crore for the expansion of NH-22 the PWD had been awarded a contract of Rs 3.5 crore for raising buttress walls on the same road.

Kangra, April 22
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered that the issue concerning the local municipal council chief be sorted out before May 30 and dismissed the petition moved by Suman Verma and Menakshi Mehra, president and vice-president, respectively, of the municipal council, charging four councillors, including former MC chief Bal Krishen, with allegedly kidnapping councillor Ashwani Kumar, whose vote was tilting the balance of the civic body.

The court not only dismissed the case but also imposed a fine on both president and vice- president for filing a wrong petition.

The controversy cropped up in the 10-month-old municipal council on  February 27 when former MC chief Bal Krishen and four other councillors requested the deputy commissioner, Kangra, that as MC president Suman Verma had lost support of the majority in the nine-member MC, she be asked to prove her strength on the floor of the house.

The deputy commissioner directed the SDM, Kangra, to take appropriate steps in this direction but in the meantime Suman Verma and Meenakshi Mehra moved the high court, saying that Ashwani Kumar, alias Kaka, had allegedly been kidnapped by Bal Krishen and others.

The court stayed the holding of the trial of strength. Ashwani Kumar, however, informed the deputy commissioner that he had withdrawn support to Suman Verma on February 27.

The high court dismissed the case following the submission by Ashwani Kumar before the court that he was not kidnapped by anybody.

Deputy Commissioner Bharat Khera said that he had not yet received a copy of the high court decision.

Shimla, April 22
The state chapter of the Society for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies organised a painting competition to create awareness about the rights of disabled persons.

The theme of the competition for college and university students was “disability rights - shift from charity to human rights”. While exhibitions displaying works of disabled persons are a regular feature, it was for the first time that a competition on the theme of “disability” has been organised in the country.

Chief General Manager, Himachal telecom circle S.K.Sharma, who was the chief guest, said the disabled needed “parity and not charity”. It was the responsibility of society to ensure that the disabled got their due. He lauded the role of the society in taking up the cause of the disabled.

Chairperson of the society Ajai Srivastava said that laws had been framed to safeguard the rights of the disabled but there was little awareness about these and the approach to help them continued to be charity-centred.

Minal of the local Government Girls College won the first position, followed by Rajesh of Himachal Pradesh University and Sangh Mitra of the Government Girls College. A poster competition on the theme of “satyagrah” was also organised for plus two classes. Chandni Chuahan of DAV School, Lakkar Bazar, bagged the first position ,followed by Vandna Pawar of Dayanand Public School and Rohit Kumar of Government School, Lalpani.

Mandi, April 22
The Citizens' Council Mandi (CCM) has locked horns with the Mandi Municipal Council (MMC), and local administration, accusing them of spoiling the beauty of city central plaza, Sunken Garden. They have expressed their concern over the rampant violations in Indira Market that amounts to endangering the public safety in the market.

The members alleged that the two toilets being proposed to be constructed on the top of the Indira market would destroy the beauty of the Sunken garden. "The council toilets stink below its office and in the Indira market, then how the council will maintain the two others being proposed at the top", they questioned.

Expressing their concern over the rising trend of influential shopkeepers breaking the walls between two shops to combine them to make room for one shop, the MCC members alleged that such violations would endanger the safety of the entire Indira Market complex as over five shopkeepers have already removed the walls under the nose of the local administration.

"Moreover, the vehicles are parked on the roof of the double-storeyed Indira Gandhi complex, which is prone to seepage during the monsoons. "The walls being removed between the two shops to make one big shop will jeopardize the strength of the shopping complex", pointed a resident.

Not only this, some influential businessmen and builders have obtained permission to run a parking facility in the underground floor or basement from the council, but they are running commercial establishment in the premises, making mockery of the law, charged residents. "Even one influential furniture maker has removed a beam to expand his shop", they pointed out.

The shopkeepers claimed that they have sought permissions from the councils, but the residents alleged that they have no permission and such violations endanger the safety of the public in the town, considering that town was rocked by an earthquake in 1905. "The Mandi falls in seismic zone IV and V and such violations has set up a dangerous precedence in the town", residents cautioned.

President CCM P.C. Bisht, said senior citizens in the town, whose number has soared to over 7,000 citizens, have no community centre or sitting place in the central town. "We have demanded that the council should raise a storey near Gandhi chowk for this purpose", he added.

Mandi, April 22
An oustee of the Beas-Satluj link got land after 15 years of running from pillar to post during a revenue grievance redressal camp conducted by divisional commissioner K.J.B.V. Subrahmanyam.

He was not alone. There are in fact over 110 “victims of official apathy” who had been making rounds of different revenue officials from Patwari to district revenue officers seeking justice for them for years.

Now all of them have breathed a sigh of relief as 57 cases have been disposed of at the mobile camps conducted at different places in the past four months.

Most of the complaints related to the demarcations, partition delays, possession of land, non-attestation of mutations, clerical correction, issuance of spot maps and a host of complaints against the field staff.

Subrahmanyam said 11 cases were disposed of at Mandi, seven at Sarkaghat in the district. “In Bilaspur district 40 cases were received at Ghumarwin and Bilaspur Sadar out of which 32 cases have been disposed of. We received 52 cases at Hamirpur, Barsar, and Nadaum out of which seven cases have been disposed of at the spot and compliance regarding other cases is awaited.”

Even the plot holders of the housing board have been given spot revenue papers and documents as revenue and board staff went to the spot for the joint inspection and prepared relevant records for the owners and issued them the required documents within no time, the commissioner added.

He added the government had decided to hold such camps in Shimla and Dharamsala divisions. 

Shimla, April 22
Despite a 70 per cent quota for the posts of forest ranger and 5 per cent bonus marks in the examination conducted by the state public service commission, forestry graduates form Dr Y.S.Parmar University of Forestry and Horticulture are finding it difficult to get selected.

Only nine forestry graduates have passed the written examination conducted recently for filling 62 posts of forest ranger. In all 28 candidates cleared the examination. Thus, there are only nine candidates for 43 posts. The number will further come down as the physical endurance test --during which men have to walk 24 km and women 14 km--is yet to be conducted. Thereafter, interviews will be held.

As such only about 20 to 22 posts will be filled after a long drawn-out recruitment process. In such a situation the department will have to wait for longer for forest rangers as the recruitment process will have to be started afresh to fill the remaining posts. The selected candidates have to undergo two-year training at Forest Training College, Dehra Dun.

Senior functionaries of the commission maintained that there was no option as the candidates had to clear the examination. They have to secure at least 45 per cent marks in aggregate and a minimum of 40 per cent in individual subjects. In the case of forestry graduates, 5 per cent of the total marks obtained are added as bonus yet they fail to qualify. This also reflects on the academic standards of the university.

Himachal Pradesh is the only state which has a university of horticulture and forestry. Since the passouts were not getting jobs, the government decided to reserve posts of forest ranger for them. However, this has created problems for the department which has to cope with a perennial shortage of staff.

The only way out is that the government should either reduce the quota of forestry graduates or the university should suitably modify its curriculum and improve the academic standards so that its passouts are in a position to qualify the examination.