Shimla, June 11
The people of state got some respite from the current hot spell as the mercury fell across the state over the past 24 hours.

Light showers in parts of Mandi and Kangra districts over the past 24 hours brought relief to the people from oppressive heat. Cloud cover and thick haze enveloped the region causing day temperature to decline appreciably. There is more good news from the local Met office that predicted showers at isolated in the region over the next 24 hours.

Shimla, which recorded the highest ever temperature of 31.5°C yesterday, cooled down considerably as the maximum temperature plummeted to 28.5°C. The minimum temperature also declined marginally from 22.3°C to 21.2°C.

Sundernagar recorded a maximum of 37.4°C, down from 41°C, while the minimum rose marginally to reach 24.6°C. The maximum temperature at Bhuntar fell from 38.4°C to 35.2°C and the minimum increased to 20°C. Dharamsala had a maximum of 36.4°C, a decline of 2.5°C, and a minimum of 25.4°C, up 6°C.

Tribal areas also experienced fall in temperature with Kalpa recording a maximum of 26.6°C as against yesterday’s 27.3°C. However, the minimum temperature rose marginally to 12.5°C.

However, Una, which was the hottest in the state yesterday at 44°C, continued to sizzle with a maximum of 44.4°C. The minimum temperature also rose to 28.6°C.

Forest fires raging in the mid-hills continued unabated adding to the haze and heat. The Forest Department is desperately looking for help from the rain god as forest fires could not be contained manually.

KANGRA: Dharamsala and its surrounding towns in the Kangra valley witnessed showers in the afternoon, bringing respite to the people from scorching heat of the hottest-ever summer during the past 20 years. The respite, however, did not last long.

The day was as usual hot till 2 pm when the sky became overcast and it started raining. Some other towns in the valley also had light showers.

However, the humidity level went up immediately after the rain and the people were in for a trouble again.

Thousands of tourist coming to the state are feeling disappointed as the state is experiencing the hottest summer of the past 20 years.

While Kangra town touched 40°C, Jawalamukhi sizzled at 41°C breaking all previous records. The towns wear a deserted look during afternoon. Some water schemes have also been affected.

Chamba, June 11
The newly constituted Manimahesh Pilgrimage Trust has decided to construct a helipad at Gaurikund, around 1 km for the sacred lake. The work would be completed before the start of pilgrimage this year. The yatra this year will start on September 4 and conclude on September 19.

Local MLA Thakur Singh Bharmouri said the Union Ministry of Tourism had sanctioned Rs 5 crore for creating infrastructure with a view to conserving and preserving the religious heritage of the famous shrines of Manimahesh. From this year, the state-level Manimahesh pilgrimage would be organised under the aegis of the newly constituted public trust, he added.

He said the work on the helipad was already in progress. On way from Chamba to Hadsar, 20 parking lots had been identified. Around 120 open places would be developed for providing staying options to the pilgrims. A complete ban had been imposed on the use of polythene bags, he added.

Hamirpur, June 11
A meeting called by the district Congress committee to identify the causes for the defeat of party candidate Ram Lal Thakur at the hands of BJP candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal in the recently held Hamirpur Lok Sabha byelection, turned out to be a war of words between the factional-ridden Congress leadership.

Though district Congress president Balak Ram Sharma had especially convened the meeting to make in depth study of the reasons for the party’s defeat on the basis of report from lower levels, the district leaders used this opportunity more to criticize each other.

The party was almost unanimous that price rise and regionalism were two main reasons for the party’s defeat and Mankotia’s accusations played a spoilsport.

A section among the party leaders felt that the party could not give proper reply to the voters about the issue of monkeys and their candidate’s alleged statements made about soldiers and drivers in context of spread of AIDS.

One issue, which was discussed with great concern, was that the Congress-led government could not clear the feeling of regional discrimination from the minds of voters despite carrying many development projects.

The issue of lack of command of one leader under whom all other could work cohesively was also raised. 

Shimla, June 11
Former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today questioned the haste being shown by the government in approving the Himalayan ski village project when the necessary clearances from the Centre were awaited.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Dhumal said what were the compelling factors forcing the government to clear the controversial project in Kullu in such a hurry. “The company had yet to submit its environment impact assessment (EIA) report and even the clearance from the Defence Ministry was still awaited,” he said.

He said it appeared that the government was keen to push the project through within its tenure even if it would cause irreparable damage to the valley’s scenic beauty and ecology. “After delaying the final decision on the project for almost two years now the government appears to be in too much of a hurry to approve it,” he remarked.

“The government should come out clear even on FDI involved in the project as the earlier estimated cost of $3,500 million was incorrect,” he said. It was surprising how the Cabinet had approved the detailed project report (DPR) when the EIA report had not yet been submitted.

The BJP leader also raised the issue of the China visit by horticulture minister Singhi Ram without approval from the Centre. “Now when the Centre is holding an inquiry into it, the government is trying to put the entire blame on officials. The agriculture minister did not go abroad as the approval from the Centre had yet to come.

Dhumal said seeing the prevailing situation it would not be surprising if the Chief Minister went for an early poll. “There is so much pressure on him within and outside the party that he could go in for an early poll,” he remarked.

Rather than ordering a massive administrative reshuffle and looking for excuses to explain the party’s defeat in Hamirpur, the Chief Minister should be indulging in self- introspection, the BJP leader said. The needle of suspicion would always be on the Chief Minister in the CD episode until he clarified things or filed an affidavit that its contents were not true as the CD appeared to be a proof of the allegations levelled against him.

Regarding his party’s strategy on the CD issue, he said BJP office-bearers would meet here on June 16 to decide the future course of action. The BJP legislature party would meet on June 17 to elect its leader as his replacement.

Regarding his return to state politics Dhumal said this question had already been adequately addressed by senior party leaders. “It is for the party high command and the people of Himachal as to whether I should be at the Centre or in the state,” he remarked.

Bilaspur, June 11
Himachal Pradesh will be developed as a “herbal state” and the government has chalked out a special working plan to achieve the objective, Dinesh Kumar, registrar, Himachal State Ayurveda and Yunani Board, said at the conclusion of a two-day district-level seminar organised by the department on this subject. A state medicinal plant board had also been formed for the purpose.

Dinesh Kumar said Himachal had a climate conducive for growing 250 varieties of herbal plants of good quality and the government was providing financial help and other facilities for their growth. Herbal crops could bring prosperity faster than any other cash crop.

The government had decided to encourage health tourism and several hotels of the Tourism Corporation would provide treatment through the “Panchkarma” system of ayurveda to tourists. Bilaspur is already known for growing a large number of herbal plants.

The seminar was attended by about 60 ayurvedic doctors. 

Shimla, June 11
The pheasant breeding programme of the Forest Department achieved a major success when one of the three clutches of eggs of the highly endangered western tragopan hatched in the Sarhan pheasantry to produce three chicks.

This is the second time since the project to breed the bird, which is high on the red data book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was started four years ago. In 2005, four chicks were produced, but all them, barring one, had died subsequently.

The pheasantry is the only one in the world that has the rare bird in captivity. There are four pairs in all and this season three female laid as many clutches of eggs. There is a hope of more eggs being hatched over the next few days.

The exact number of eggs is not known as the pheasantry staff has been asked not to disturb the birds.

Bayal (Kullu), June 11
Virtually an extension of the country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri project, the 412-MW Rampur project is the most economical hydroelectric venture with the per megawatt cost of generation at Rs 4.97 crore.

The first year tariff for the project to be completed by February, 2012, at cost of Rs 2047 crore works out to be Rs 2.38 per unit and levelised tariff of Rs 1.80 per unit. It is indeed very cheap in view of the fact that the cost of private sector 300-MW Baspa project commissioned in 2003 came to over Rs 5 crore per megawatt with the first year tariff of Rs 2.85 per unit and levelised tariff of 2.35 per unit. The cost of the project would have been lower if work on the project had been started with the completion of the Nathpa Jhakri project which was commissioned in 2003.The state took a long time in signing an MoU with the SJVN and the delay increased the cost by about Rs 1 crore per megawatt.

The main reason for the low cost is that the project will utilise the de-silted tailrace water of the Nathpa Jhakri project and as such no big diversion dam or de-silting chambers will be required to be constructed. A 15-km-long head race tunnel (HRT) with a diameter of 10.5 m will carry the tailrace water from Jhakri to Bayal where the power house will be constructed on the right bank of the Sutlej. The tunnel will start from the left bank and crossover to the right bank at a depth of about 30 m under the bed of the Sutlej from a point 484 m downstream Jhakri. Besides the tunnel, a 140 m deep surge shaft having a diameter of 38 m will also be constructed uphill Bayal to take care of backpressure. As the power house will function in tandem with the Nathpa Jhakri project, six turbines of 68.67 MW capacity each, will be installed. Nathpa Jhakri has six units of 250 MW each. In all 1770 million units of electricity will be generated.

Work is progressing ahead of the schedule so far. While the Kunni adit has been competed while work on the Goshai and Bayal adits and surge shaft is progressing at a brisk pace. General manager of the project Vimal Sharma says that scientific disposal of debris is a major task as excavation of tunnel along with four adits and surge shaft will generate over 30.63 lakh cubic metre of muck. Out of this 3 lakh cubic metre will be reutilised in the project as aggregates and the rest 27.63 lakh cubic metre will have to be dumped.

The project is being financed by the World Bank on the 70:30 debt equity ratio and the SJVN will provide Rs 614 crore from its internal resources. The state has 30 per cent equity share and it will also be entitled to 12 per cent of the power generated free of cost as royalty.

Shimla, June 11
With the conviction rate in cases of atrocities against scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) being barely 20 per cent, the state police will undertake an in-depth socio-economic study to look into reasons for the trend and even penalise police officials found to be complacent while investigating cases.

The state CID has created a special cell in the headquarters here, which will take up case studies of atrocities registered in various parts of the state, even though the problem is more dominant in the mid-Himalayan region.

The problem is grave in areas like upper Shimla and interiors of Kullu and Mandi districts.

A cell has been created in the CID headquarters here, which will have at least 10 police personnel, who will gather all data and statistics of SCs and STs population the cases registered under prevention of atrocities against them.

Being more of a socio-economic problem, the police will not just depend on data but will visit areas where more cases have been reported to study the ground realities.

“The staff in the cell will look into the investigation part, conviction and the socio-economic reasons for this trend in the more vulnerable areas,” IG (CID) I.D. Bhandari said. He added that in case the investigating police officials were found to be laid back in dealing with cases of atrocities, they could face action.

In order to ensure that there are no atrocities against the weaker and more vulnerable sections, the government has entrusted the responsibility of conducting investigations in cases against them to DSP rank officers.

Bhandari said the police would also look into reasons for under reporting from certain areas.

Officials said in many places the people from the SC category do not enter temples or draw water from common wells as they feel it is a social taboo and as such in many instances cases are going unreported. “There is also the problem of insensitivity on the part of the police officials who do not bother to investigate the case seriously,” the officials said.

As far as the tribal areas are concerned even cases of atrocities are registered under the Indian penal code only, as the tribal customs prevail.

Even though Himachal is far better off than many other states as far as atrocities against the SCs and the STs are concerned, but the government is keen that these cases are handled efficiently with prompt action and strong case which will enable conviction.

Nahan June 11
Noisy scenes were witnessed for around one hour in the office of the assistant engineer (telephones) at Paonta Sahib here today. In the presence of mediapersons, panchayati raj representatives announced to launch an agitation against the poor telephone services and the alleged misbehaviour by some BSNL officials with residents of the area.

Chairperson of the Paonta Block Development Committee (BDC) Lata Devi and senior Congress leader and BDC vice-chairman Sant Ram Chauhan went to the office of the assistant engineer with over 16 BDC members to complain about dead telephones in their area. These phones had been reportedly lying dead for the past over six months.

According to panchayati raj officials, when they started telling about the problems being faced by residents of over 12 panchayats of Paonta valley represented by them due to non-functioning of telephones and bills being demanded for even dead phones for the past over six months, the assistant engineer allegedly misbehaved with them and asked them to go out of his office. This led to noisy scenes there.

The panchayati raj representatives have condemned the behaviour of the official. They alleged the official had been misbehaving with subscribers in his attempt to ‘hide the misdoings’ of the department.

Sant Ram Chauhan said despite an agitation against poor BSNL services last year, the department had done nothing to improve the condition. He announced that an agitation would be launched against poor services and misbehaviour by BSNL officials soon. The matter would also be brought to the notice of the telecom minister of the country, he added.

Kumarhatti, June 11
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh paid floral tributes to late K.D. Sultanpuri, former MP, on his first death anniversary at Sultanpur near here today. Satya Sultanpuri and Vinod Sultanpuri, wife and son of Sultanpuri, respectively, also paid tributes to the departed veteran Congress leader.

The CM laid the foundation stone of a museum named after Sultanpuri on the occasion. He recalled his association with the former MP. His contribution towards development and strengthening of the party would always be remembered.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by revenue minister Sat Mahajan and industries minister Kuldeep Kumar. Deputy speaker of Vidhan Sabha Dharam Pal, MLA Chaudhary Lajja Ram, MLA Raghu Raj, HPCC general secretary Kuldeep Rathore, chairperson of the State Women Commission Krishna Tandon were also present.

Nurpur, June 11
Irate villagers of Bassa Waziran along with members of the family of deceased Kashmir Singh held a demonstration in front of the office of the SDM. The demonstrators, led by former MLA Rakesh Pathania, later submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the SDM, demanding the arrest within a week of the accused involved in the alleged murder of Kashmir Singh otherwise they would block traffic on the national highway. Members of the family of the deceased alleged that the police was trying to hush up the murder of Kashmir Singh following a conspiracy hatched by the suspect whose name had been named in the FIR. — OC

Shimla, June 11
Irrigation and public health minister Kaul Singh Thakur said today the government would ensure proper water supply to all households in the town, despite the problem of receding water level.

He was presiding over a meeting of officers of the IPH Department to review the water supply position in the state capital. “All leakage points should be plugged so that there is no wastage and supply is given to the last house at the tail end,” he stressed.

He said up to May, 70-lakh gallons of water was being supplied to the town daily, while now this figure had come down to 60-lakh gallons. “However, due to large influx of tourists in the town the daily water requirement has gone up to 99-lakh gallons per day,” he informed.

Thakur said there was some problem as far as smooth water supply was concerned on June 9 due to electricity tripping. 

Nahan, June 11
The palanquin of Lord Bijat Maharaj would proceed to the Choor Dhar hills on June 16 from his ancient temple situated at Braila village under the Rajgarh subdivision.

Leading social worker of the area Yagyadutt Sharma said the religious process (Shobha Yatra) of the devta would start on June 16 , from the temple complex after performing pooja. He said the shobha yatra to Choor Dhar takes place every two years. Hundreds of local residents took part in this religious function.

He said Bijat Devta was worshipped as the younger brother of Lord Shirgul and is considered an incarnation of Lord Shiva and in some parts, Lord Bijat is worshiped as ‘Bijli Mahadev’.

He said lord Bijat is identified as the ‘god of prosperity and good health’ in the traditional lyrics of Sirmaur. The shobha yatra of the lord would stay for one night on the Saranti hill, in the dense forest as per tradition, and after performing the traditional pooja there, the procession would leave next morning to Choor Dhar hill.

He said after reaching at Choor Dhar, hundreds of devotees would watch the meeting of the two Devta brothers in the traditional manner and sing traditional devotional songs with the beats of Sirmauri musical instruments. He said the Lord would take a holy bath in the Kailash Kund in front of the famous Shirgul Temple on the Choor Parvat and after performing a day and night long pooja, the palanquin of Lord Bijat would proceed back to its temple with devotees.

Chamba, June 11
In order to control forest fires, the state Forest Department has sought the help and cooperation of other departments as well NGOs operating in the district.

This was an outcome of today’s significant meeting convened by Chamba conservator of forests Avtar Singh with a view to combating forest fires and saving precious forest wealth and wildlife thriving in the forest region.

At the meeting, there were candid deliberations regarding forest fires and all participants put forth their views and suggestions to tackle the situations.

Agreeing to the suggestions and queries of the participants, the conservator of forests said about 20 cases of forest fires involving an area of 229.30 hectare had been reported from various parts of the district. Emphasising the need to save forests from fires, he said since the people had the right and privileges over majority of the forests so it was their moral duty to come forward in combating the fires.

The conservator of forests further explained to all participants the detailed causes of forest fires and the preparedness of the department to combat the forest fires. He further explained that the forests fires mainly occurred in the month of May, June and July and the main causes were high temperature coupled with accumulation of dry pine needles.

He further said contacts with the panchayats, NGOs, schoolchildren and the masses to educate them regarding the forest fires was started every year well in advance. During the fire seasons no leave was granted to the field staff.

Chamba deputy commissioner Gopal Sharma pointed out that he would soon call a meeting of all panchayat pradhans of the fire-prone areas to make them more responsible and accountable.

While addressing the meeting, SP Opender Thakur stated that there was ample provision in the CPC and the Indian Forests Act, 1927, to deal with culprits, who intentionally put the forest on fire. All participants attending the meeting expressed deep concern about the forest fires and its consequent damages.

While concluding the meeting, the conservator of forests appealed to all participants as well as the voluntary organisations to extend cooperation to the Forest Department in this regard.

Those who attended the meeting included the Chairman Zila Prishad, Divisional Forest Officer, Chamba and district officers of various departments.