Dharamsala, April 29
No taxi will ply in the state tomorrow as the taxi operators’ associations have called for ‘chakka jam’ for one day in protest against the alleged inability of the state government in providing meters for installation in the taxis at reasonable rates.

The operators have said that the state government will be solely responsible for the inconvenience caused to the tourists due to the strike.

A spokesman of the taxi operators’ association of the state said the taxi operators across the state were ready to install meters in their cabs, but these were not available at the notified sales centres.

It was learnt that the meters were being made available shortly at selected sales counters at Shimla and Dharamsala for Rs 3,800 and Rs 3,600, respectively. However, the rates of such meters vary from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per piece in New Delhi.

According to taxi operators, the state government and the Transport Department authorities were adamant on ensuring financial gains for a particular meter-manufacturing firm that was allegedly owned by a close relative of a senior politician of the ruling party.

They said they should be allowed to purchase meters from anywhere outside the state, which could be checked and passed for installation by the Transport Department, or the department should provide meters at reasonable rates.

Meanwhile, taxi operators of Dharamsala, McLeodganj, Kangra and other adjoining places did not ply vehicles on the second consecutive day. They staged a protest against the authorities concerned of the district administration for challaning taxis.

On the other hand, a total loss of at least Rs 2 crore was estimated to the tourism industry in the state due to the one-day ‘chakka jam’ of taxi operators in the state.

The loss to the tourism industry as a whole was further likely to rise if the solution to the problems of the taxi operators was not made at the earliest.

Kangra, April 29
Himachal Pradesh transport and tourism minister G.S. Bali today warned taxi operators against taking the law in their own hands, after they assaulted an RTO and his staff, who were on official duty. The minister said vandalism would not be tolerated.

Bali was addressing a press conference at his residence, here, this afternoon. He said taxi operators took the law into their own hands by assaulting RTO Kulu S.L. Saini for hauling up seven taxis without meters and drivers who were not in their uniforms, near Dharamsala yesterday. The operators took away Saini’s official documents and damaged his vehicle.

Bali said the government would not tolerate attacks on government officials and damage of official documents and property..

Bali added that the transport department was implementing the decision of the High Court to install meters in taxis. Those who refused to do so were violating the court’s directions.

He said there were about 4,000 to 5,000 registered taxis in the state. Private vehicles, being used by their owners as taxis, were not only violating the law, but were also posing risks for persons travelling in them. He said the work of installation of meters, which were available at Dharamsala and Shimla, was deferred earlier from April 1, 2007 to April 11 and then to April 23. There will be no further extension of these dates.

Bali said this decision was taken by the government after a series of meetings with taxi operator unions. He said this public-interest decision would be implemented at any cost and the government would not succumb to any pressure and tactics by the taxi operators.

The minister said the taxi operators’ claim that meters were not available at Dharamsala was untrue, adding that besides the authorised distributor, meters were available at the RTO office as well.

Readers’ response to our debate has been passionate. Although all of them agree that canine menace has assumed alarming proportions, the undercurrent of love for “the most faithful companion of man” is clearly evident in most of the suggestions they make. The response has been a blend of tender feelings for the animal and some tough measures, including the extreme step — extermination. Here goes a selection:

The local bodies should tackle the problem in a humane and scientific way. Killing of dogs should be replaced by mass sterilisation and immunisation initiative. Stray dogs should be surgically neutered and then released in their respective areas. They may also be vaccinated against rabies. These dogs will die their natural death and their numbers come down.

Gopal Krishan Sharma
Solan

II

The responsibility to tackle this problem should be entrusted to the municipal authorities and help should be provided by the Animal Husbandry Department. Vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs should be undertaken. Municipalities should also have a dog-monitoring cell and the people should actively help them in the proper upkeep these animals so that the “faithful” becomes an asset rather then a liability.

Hitesh Lakhanpal
Dharamsala

III

The problem of stray dogs has to be tackled by the local self-government bodies. People should also come forward and adopt stray dogs.

Col Jaswant Singh Chandel, VSM
Kalol, Bilaspur

IV

As the population of stray dogs has increased drastically, the cases of dog bites have also increased. Catching of stray dogs by societies or municipal authorities and keeping them at appropriate places, coupled with sterilisation, can go a long way in checking this menace. There is no need to kill them. They also have a right to live, so let them live, too.

Ram Krishan Sharma
Dhanot, Theog

V

The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should think of ways and means to check this menace without loss of any time. I am of the opinion that the municipal authorities should not shirk their responsibility of ensuring safety of the people. The government and the local authorities should ensure adequate supply of anti-rabies vaccine in dispensaries, health centres and hospitals to save those who happen to be the victims of the menace.

M.S. Garga
Summer Hill, Shimla

VI

Residents of big buildings can adopt a dog or two for the security of their complexes. They can pool in money for the upkeep of the dogs so adopted. Residents can also help the cause by providing funds to the authorities running shelters for dogs. Dogs are not a menace; they are our best friends. Killing them is no solution.

Samina Keskar
Shimla

VII

The best way out is to sterilise stray dogs. The state government should earmark funds for the purpose in the budget.

Bharat Kumar Gupta
Kandaghat (Solan)

VIII

Local residents or dog lovers living in a particular area should take upon themselves the responsibility of getting stray dogs vaccinated from time to time. This will go a long way in reducing the severity of the problem.

Anjali Sharma
Hiranagar (Hamirpur)

IX

The government should appoint a temporary task force to help in dispersing large groups of stray dogs. They must keep a record of dogs and ensure that these hostile groups have undergone the birth control procedure. Killing these should be the last resort when the situation goes out of control.

Zimpa Dorje
VTC, Shamshi, Kullu

X

With the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001, the killing of stray dogs has been banned in India. Under the ABC programme, stray dogs are sterilised and vaccinated.

Following steps can help control dog-bite cases:

There should be at least one ABC centre in each district.

ABC camps should be conducted jointly by the local administration, local NGOs and the Department of Animal Husbandry.

NGOs working in this direction should be encouraged by the government.

Dr Munish Batta
Veterinary Officer, Parwanoo, Solan

Shimla, April 29
The Animal Welfare Board of India has decided to launch an aggressive campaign to sterilise stray dogs in the country and vaccinate them against rabies which will help save about Rs 500 crore annually spend on importing drugs to treat dog bites.

Chairperson of the board R.M.Kharab said as per estimates there were about 20 million stray dogs in the country a number more than four times the acceptable level. It was hardly surprising that dog bites was a major problem and over 20,000 pertsons died annually after contacting rabies. Further, all tmedicines for treating rabies were imported and the country was spending about Rs 500 crore for the purpose.

The board had already launched five pilot projects in metros and so far 70,000 canines had been sprayed, vasectomised and castrated through non- government organisations, animal welfare societies and tlocal bodies. The cost of sterilisation was Rs 445 a dog and the board provided 50 per cent of the amount. Sterilisations would have to carried out at a much higher scale to bring down the canine population within the acceptable limits.

Along with sterilization, stray dogs were to be immunised against rabies through oral administration of the vaccine continuously for five years to rid the country of rabies . In Europe fox rabies had been stamped out by dropping oral vaccine in infested areas by helicopters.

Referring to the problem of stray cattle he said the board was working on a plan for establishing self-sustaining "gowshalas"(cow shelters). There were already about 4,000 small and big "gowshalas" across the country. It had already identified about 50 such gowshalas some of which had more than 15,000 animals.

These centres would produce a host of cow products like organic fertilisers, biogas, biopesticides, ayurvedic medicines, mosquito repellents and even generate power. Besides, they would also procure cow dung and urine from farmers so that they got some returns from non-productive animals. The main reason for the farmers abandoning the cattle was their low productivity. Once the farmers started getting returns they would have no compulsion to abandon the animals.

Shimla, April 29
Having launched a pilot project for the mass sterilisation of stray dogs in the city, the local Municipal Corporation proposes to make sterilisation and vaccination against rabies mandatory for pet dogs.

This was stated by Shekhar Gupta, commissioner of the Shimla Municipal Corporation, while speaking at a special camp for the registration of pet dogs organised by the Corporation, here today.

He said so far 902 stray dogs had been sterilised. The corporation plans to achieve the target of 100 per cent sterilisation by operating all the 2,500 stray dogs over the next one year.

The sterilised dogs were also vaccinated against rabies, in order to achieve the twin objective of stabilising the canine population and to make the city rabies free. In case of pet dogs, the effort was to ensure that every animal was registered.

In the next phase, the Animal Birth Control Society would work for the welfare of stray dogs by taking measures like their adoption, relocation and ensuring treatment of the sick.

The camp was inaugurated by the chairperson of the Animal Welfare Board of India, R.M. Kharab, by vaccinating a dog. He appreciated the effort of the corporation and said similar pilot projects would be launched in Dharamsala and Solan.

In all, 71 pet dogs were registered and 76 were vaccinated for free in the one-day camp.

Shimla, April 29
The area under foodgrain crops in the hill state has started declining but for the good.

More and more farmers are diversifying to cash crops like off-season vegetables with the extension of irrigation facilities. In 2000-2001 principal crops maize, wheat and rice were sown over 8.14 lakh hectares. However, the area under these crops came down to 7.95 lakh hectares last year. The area under irrigation increased from 1.95 lakh hectares to 2.09 lakh hectares over the same period.

In the absence of irrigation facilities the farmers were totally dependent on the rain god and could not take the risk of growing vegetables or other cash crops which required assured irrigation. However, the expansion of irrigation network is proving a boon for the farmers, though it is making it more difficult for the state to achieve the elusive target of self-sufficiency in foodgrains.

Farmers in the areas brought under irrigation, particularly which have good road connectivity, are switching over to off-season vegetables the production of which is increasing with each passing year. The off-season vegetable production has shot up from 7.50 lakh tonnes in 2001-2002 to 9.50 lakh tonnes last year. The target for the current year is 10 lakh tones.

According to director of agriculture J.C.Rana, self-sufficiency in foodgrains is a desirable target but not the main priority. The emphasis now is on improving the economy of the farmers by maximising returns from small land-holdings.

While foodgrain crops yield Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per hectare the returns from off-season vegetables is around Rs 50,000 per hectare and from floriculture up to Rs 80,000 per hectare.

Kangra, April 29
Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister Mr G.S.Bali today expressed concern over the shooting incident on Friday night by a youth to terrorise a senior journalist. He said Kangra district police chief A.K.Yadav had been instructed to nab the culprit.

According to a report, Anil Soni, Editor, Divya Himachal, a Hindi daily, was on his way to Dharamsala from his office on Friday late in the evening along with four other officials of the daily when a Santro Car ( HP 39 B 1111) did not allow Soni’s car to overtake.

Anil Soni said when he signalled the Santro car driver for a pass he brandished his pistol and fired shots twice.

The Editor was, however, not injured because the driver fired in air. It was on Saturday evening 20 hours after the incident that an FIR was lodged by Soni through fax.

A.K.Yadav said the police raided the residence of car owner Bhiraj Kapoor late last evening and seized the licensed pistol used in the firing. Bhiraj Kapoor had absconded but the police was on his trail.

NURPUR: Condemning the incident, the Nurpur Press Club said such coercive and intimidating tactics would not throttle the voice of the media. The Chief Minister and the DGP were asked to take stern action against the culprit. 

Bharmour (Chamba), April 29
Following a report about the outbreak of a mystery fever among some children in Kugti village of Bharmour tribal sub-division in Chamba district, a team of doctors from the Government Community Health Centre Bharmour, today examined more than 150 people.

The doctors reported that about 10 children were found suffering from cough, cold and pain in the throat. Other children who were suffering from the same symptoms, were given medicines and were advised precautionary measures. — OC