Shimla, August 13
The century-old railway station at Koti on the Shimla-Kalka track was washed away in a cloudburst while 19 persons were killed at various places over the past 24 hours as rain continued to play havoc in the state for the second day today. With this the death toll due to rain-related incidents over the past two days has risen to 30.

Rain fury unabated * Traffic on NH-21 in Solan district remained disrupted for around 12 hours * Four killed in landslides in various areas * A bridge washed away on Parwanoo-Kasauli road * Death toll reaches four in Kangra district * Death toll reaches seven in Mandi Crop in 10,000 hectares and 110 houses damaged. Estimated loss: Rs 50 crore

Normal life remained totally paralysed as not only the link roads but also the main highways, including Shimla-Kalka, Shimla-Mandi and Hindustan -Tibet road, remained blocked by landslides.

The maximum number of six persons died in Solan district. Dharampur received 330.5 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hours during the cloudburst which brought down Koti railway station. The massive landslide not only disrupted the movement of trains but also blocked the Shimla-Kalka national highway. More than 3000 vehicles remained stranded for about 18 hours on both sides of the blockade. Two persons were killed in Kasauli, two in Nagli and another two in Parwanoo.

A family of four, including a five-month-old child, was buried in a landslide in Nag village, near Matiana, in the Upper Shimla area. The other three deceased, all Nepali labourers, were identified as Prem Kumari, Man Prasad and Bhim Bahadur.

Four more persons were reported killed in Kangra district. The rescue workers recovered two bodies from the landslide under which some shops were buried in Jwalamukhi. One person died in Dehra while another was washed away in Kotla.

In Kinnaur the main highway from Reckong Peo to Pooh was blocked by landslides at six places.

SOLAN: The Koti railway station was washed away due to a cloudburst around 1.45 am last night. The huge volume of water that suddenly filled the railway station washed away quarters of the two stationmasters and part of the railway track.

The staff posted at the railway station, including pointmen, a stationmaster and his family, had a miraculous escape as they managed to climb on to the tunnel roof. Four deaths have been reported from various areas due to landslides. Two labourers, Narinder (20) and Dinesh (30), were buried when their jhuggi got buried in a landslide around 3 am near Mashobra. Jaspal and Naresh, who worked at a Swaraj Mazda workshop at Nagali village (near Barog), also lost their lives after being buried under the debris due to a landslide. Two houses collapsed in Ramshehar sub-tehsil and around 10 cowsheds were washed away in various parts of the district.

KUMARHATTI: Heavy rain during the past 36 hours wreaked havoc in Parwanoo areas. Traffic on the Parwanoo-Kasauli road was disrupted after a bridge on the road at Sector 4 was washed away. The approach road to the industrial area near Taksaal village was completely washed away in the rain.

INDORA (NURPUR): The Shonsh Khud continued to wreak havoc on the second day on Monday. A pilgrim to the Kathgar temple was washed away this morning while his two companions had a miraculous escape. These persons were residents of the Tanda area in Hoshiarpur district.

DHARAMSALA: The bodies of two persons, who went missing following a landslide, were recovered while clearing debris from the main temple road at Jawalaji in Kangra district on Monday.

Meanwhile, one more death was reported in a case of a house collapse at Jakhnarh village in Dehra subdivision.

Kangra additional deputy commissioner K.D. Lakhanpal said the bodies of Bhagmal, a resident of Tehri village, and Bhushan, a resident of Amroh village in Mukerian subdivision of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, were found and handed over to their family members after post-mortem examinations.

Meanwhile, there were reports that one person died at Jakhnarh village in a house collapse incident in Dehra subdivision of the district early this morning.

MANDI: The death toll due to house-collapse incidents went up to seven on Monday after two more deaths were reported from Lot panchayat in the Gohar area. The rain damaged crops in around 10,000 hectares besides 110 houses. The loss in the district is estimated to be around Rs 50 crore. Sarkaghat remained cut off from district headquarter even after 24 hours.

Mandi deputy commissioner Subhasish Panda said around 10 houses were completely damaged in landslides killing seven persons, while around hundred others were damaged. The two deaths reported from Lot were yet to be confirmed, he said. Over 10,000 hectare of cropped area main in Balh valley had been affected by the rain and floods.

He said the situation was under control and the traffic was being restored on various roads in the Sarkaghat and Jhanjheli areas. “The loss was estimated to be around Rs 50 crore,” he said.

Shimla, August 13
Heavy rain has thrown life out of gear as residents in the state capital had to go without water for the second consecutive day today. Power supply was also affected due to uprooted trees and huge landslides.

Most parts of the capital went without water for the second day as there was no pumping due to excessive silt on account of heavy rain. Heavy rain during the past two days has made pumping impossible both at the Ashwani khad and at Gumma, the two main pumping stations from where the supply comes to Shimla. Power supply in some parts of the capital has also been affected since last night as huge trees have fallen on the transmission lines

Efforts are being made to restore water supply by tomorrow only if there in no downpour in the night. "We were able to pump some water by running three of the five pumps at Gumma in the afternoon today and if there is no rain in the night, water supply will be restored by tomorrow," said Mayor Narender Kataria. He said the water level had reached five feet in the storage tanks after pumping at the Gumma station.

Pumping at both Gumma and the Ashwani khad had to be stopped so that silt did not cause damage to the pumps. Pumping at the Ashwani khad would still not be possible as there is excessive silt due to construction activity in the catchment area. The IPH staff is waiting for the silt to recede before pumping can be resumed at the Ashwani khad.

Electricity supply in various localities also remained affected as huge trees have fallen at more than 12 places. Ares where power supply has been affected include Lalpani, Tutikandi, Charlie Villa, Chaura Maidan, Kasumpti, Panthaghatti and bus stand. Staff of the Electricity Department has been trying to restore supply, which is far from normal after three days of heavy rain.

Residents of about 10 buildings right above the Dhalli sabzi mandi under construction have sought help of the district administration following a threat to their houses due to a landslide. The downpour has caused a huge landslide, threatening the safety of these houses. The authorities have asked them to move to safer places in view of the continuous rain.

The Mayor along with municipal corporation staff visited the site at Dhalli and various other areas in the town to assess the damage and provide succour to the affected people.

Shimla, August 13
With a complete ban on non-students taking part in the election process as per the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, no leader of any political outfit will be able to campaign for the candidates contesting the SCA elections in Himachal Pradesh University and its affiliated colleges.

With the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee being implemented in the state for the first time, it is the students enrolled in the university or the college concerned who will now spearhead the campaign of their outfits. In the past it was mainly the youth wing of the Congress, the BJP and the CPM which used to campaign for the official candidates.

The election process in the university took off today with the authorities putting up the official voters list. A total of 2,437 students will cast their votes on August 18. The three main students outfits, the SFI, the ABVP and the NSUI, declared their panels today.

While the SFI has put up Naresh, Anchal Gulerai, Rajneesh Thakur and Rashmi for he posts of president, vice-pesident, scretary and joint secretary, respectively, the ABVP has fielded Ashish Chauhan, Kamal Kant, Pallavi and Rajni Kalia. The NSUI has Kush Sharma, Manoj Thakur, Hema Hasta and Rahul Chauhan as its respective candidates.

With the university authorities ensuring strict implementation of the recommendations of the Lyngdo Committee, it is being hoped that the SCA elections would be held peacefully. “In order to ensure that no outsider in involved in the election process, the police has been deployed on the campus and the students have been told to carry their identity cards,” said Suresh Kumar, dean, students welfare.

The expenditure limit will also come into force during these elections for the first time. No candidate can spend more than Rs 5,000 on his campaign. In the past, as there was no expenditure limits, much more money was being spent by the candidates.

Those who had earlier contested the elections have been barred from being in the fray again. Besides giving a chance to new candidates this is likely to keep the election process free of violence. “Rather than the university students, it is outsiders who create more problems and violence on the campus,” said a senior official. He said keeping the campus free of outsiders would be the biggest step towards ensuring peaceful elections.

The age limit for the candidates has also been brought into force for the first time. The age limit for post-graduate students will be 25 while for research scholars it has been fixed at 28.

As far as barring students with a criminal record from contesting is concerned, the authorities are being very particular. The Lyngdoh Committee report says that registeration of an FIR will not bar any student from contesting the poll. It is only if he has been convicted or the challan put up in the court that he cannot take part in the elections.

Shimla, August 13
In a significant order, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had quashed the state government policy with regard to issuing of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for opening B.Ed colleges in the state. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice V.K. Gupta and Mr Justice Rajiv Sharma said the state cannot frame a policy against the provisions of the Central Act.

The Bench further held that the policy framed by the state was void being repugnant to the National Council for Teachers education Act. This order came on a petition filed by Shimla Education Society and Trust, wherein, the society challenged the policy framed by the state in this regard. The petitioner further alleged that the state government and HP University without assigning any reason rejected the application of the petitioner society for grant of a no objection certificate

The petitioner further alleged that the policy framed by the state government was unenforceable being repugnant to the Central Act. Consequently, it could not force the petitioner to obtain a NOC on the basis of the policy and is not valid in the eyes of law. While passing the above said order, the Bench directed HP University to grant affiliation to the petitioner college.

Shimla, August 13
The government has decided to set up computer laboratories in all colleges. This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while addressing students and staff of local Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya after inaugurating a computer laboratory.

He also laid the foundation stone for a Rs 5.76-crore earthquake-resistant arts and administrative block of the college.

The Chief Minister said the government had made a provision of Rs 5 crore each for building infrastructure in the newly opened government degree colleges. The government had set up a record by opening 21 colleges in one year.

Virbhadra said computer laboratories were being opened in all government degree colleges for which Rs 7.79 crore had been earmarked. In the first phase, 26 colleges were given Rs 3.4 crore for setting up computer laboratories by September this year.

He said every laboratory would be equipped with the state-of-the-art computer hardware and software having broadband, the Internet, LAN and multimedia projector facilities.

All such laboratories would add to impart employment-oriented courses like BCA, MCA and BPO courses besides specialized certification courses to the students.

Nurpur, August 13
Resentment prevails among woman applicants whose names did not figure in the anganwari selection lists in the Nurpur Assembly constituency. In some villages unmarried girls were recruited, ignoring widows. In certain cases deserving candidates of the same wards were ignored and candidates from other wards of the same gram panchayat were selected.

In the Kopra gram panchayat, Anita, wife of Ramesh Kumar, a handicapped resident from the Salgot ward, has submitted her complaint to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the Kangra deputy commissioner, lamenting that she had applied for a post of anganwari assistant but another woman from other ward of the same panchayat was given employment, ignoring her merit. She claimed her husband had been declared disabled five years back and he was not in a position to earn livelihood. She has three daughters and one son.

She alleged that the selected candidate hailed from a well-off family. Meanwhile, Kangra district BSP president Amar Singh Kaundal has demanded a high-level probe into the recruitment of anganwari workers and assistants in the Nurpur area. He alleged that irregularities had been committed in the selections at the cost of deserving candidates.

Nurpur SDM Inder Bhardwaj, who was the chairman of the selection committee, denied any irregularity in the recruitment. Candidates having grievances could file their appeals with the Kangra deputy commissioner.

Shimla, August 13
Deputy Commissioners of the state will be empowered to sanction developmental schemes worth upto Rs 25 lakh under the Scheduled Caste Special Component Plan for which Rs 231 crore had been earmarked in the current financial year.This was stated by Chief Minister Virhadra Singh while addressing the sixth meeting of the Kabir Panthi Welfare Board here today.

He said the Scheduled Caste Special Component Plan had been incorporated as a separate demand in the state Budget from the current financial year and 11 per cent of the Budget had been earmarked, over and above the regular provisions to ensure speedy and need-based development of the scheduled caste-concentrated habitations. He said his government had earlier also adopted a similar procedure with regard to a sub plan for tribal areas for which 9 per cent of the Budget was being spent annually.

Virbhadra said the government was considering to take over primary schools operating under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan under the government control and absorb eligible teachers as primary assistant teachers under the existing system. He announced up-gradation of Government Middle School, Chanal Majra in Nalagarh to high school and opening of a new government primary school at Kothari in Sirmaur.

The Chief Minister said his government was closely monitoring the condition to provide 70 per cent employment to Himachalis in industrial and hydel power projects and workers were being issued photo identity cards to ascertain their identity. He said over 1.23 lakh photo identity cards had so far been issued and surprise checks by the labour offices were being conducted to ascertain that every worker was issued proper photo identity cards.

He said the government was serious about the construction of a modern bus stand at Mandi, which happened to be a place of historical and religious important town, besides being the headquarters of the Central zone. He said a detailed project report of about Rs 10 crore had been prepared for the purpose. 

McLeodganj, August 13
Even as the hullabaloo over the construction of a parking lot-cum-hotel at McLeodganj on reserve forest land is yet to subside, another controversy over the construction of a shopping complex here has surfaced with the local people contending that it is illegal.

As per the revenue records, a six-kanal piece of land near the Bhagsunag temple on the main road belonging to the Forest Department as the ‘title-holder’ and the Education Department as the ‘possessor’ was handed over to the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) in 1980-81 by the Education Department for running a coffee house to facilitate visiting tourists.

The HPTDC constructed a coffee house in 1982 that was run for a few years only. Later, the senior authorities of the corporation decided to shut it down. The land was to be transferred back either to the Education Department or the Forest Department.

In 2004, however, the HPTDC authorities gave the land to a private company that chalked out a plan to set up a shopping complex there. The proposal was to construct the complex and sell out shops.

No senior officials of the Tourism Department or the corporation was available to give official version on the status of the land.

A group of local people had launched a protest against the company to save the forest land. They had also formed the Bhagsunag Bachao Samiti to save the area from the “land mafia”.

Some people also tried to forcibly stop the ongoing construction work on the shopping complex yesterday. They also uprooted and damaged the hoardings of the construction company.

Shimla, August 13
The government is encouraging the use of substitute packaging material in place of wood for packing of apples and other fruits.

A spokesperson for the Horticulture Department said yesterday that a cost subsidy on various types of cartons and a transport subsidy on the import of eucalyptus and poplar boxes were being provided to protect the valuable forest wealth. It was in 1989-90 that the government took a decision not to cut trees and introduced a cost and transport subsidy.

He said polar and eucalyptus was being bought from Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi to meet the requirement of the apple and other fruit growers. “During the early 90s the percentage of wood used for packing cases was about 50 per cent which has now come down to about 5 per cent, he added.

Under the carton subsidy scheme, the government provides a cost subsidy on cartons supplied by the state-nominated agencies, including HPMC, HIMFED, HPAIC, AIPIL and KINFED. In order to provide quality cartons to fruit growers, the HPMC and HIMFED had fixed the sale rate of telescopic cartons between Rs 28 and Rs 29.

Private corrugators were supplying cartons to the fruit growers ranging between Rs 23 and Rs 25 per carton. “The quality of the cartons being provided by private corrugators was not up to the mark as the ones being given by government agencies were heavier with proper strength. 

Chamba, August 13
The state government has recently launched Rs one crore Centrally -sponsored Grassland Project in Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Solan and Shimla districts with a view to developing pastures for growing quality grass for the health of livestock of cattle-rearers. The Government of India had also allotted Rs 1.97 crore for strengthening the cattle breeding farm at Kothipura in Bilaspur district.

The project aims at developing pastures for growing quality grass for the health of livestock of cattle-rearers. The Government of India had also allotted Rs 1.97 crore for strengthening the cattle breeding farm at Kothipura in Bilaspur district

In a press note issued today, animal husbandry minister Harsh Mahajan, said that in order to benefit sheep-breeders, a Centrally-sponsored programme called Integrated Wool Improvement Programme with an outlay of Rs 5 crore had been implemented in Chamba, Kangra and Kullu districts where adequate number of sheep were reared. Simultaneously, the government had also increased the procurement prices of sheep and angora wool by 20 per cent, Mahajan added.

With the objective of saving livestock owners from loss in the event of death of high yielding cattle and buffalo, the livestock insurance scheme had been introduced in Kangra and Mandi districts,. Mahajan stated.

“Animal husbandry and daily farming is an integral part of the life of farmers. Animal rearing is playing an important role in boosting the rural economy, besides emerging as a major sector of self-employment.

At present 2,070 veterinary institutions are providing better animal health care in the state and special integrated development projects have been launched for improving the breed of the milch cattle and to give a face-lift to the health management and marketing infrastructure”, Mahajan claimed.

Mahajan saida Centrally-sponsored scheme- Assistance to States for Control of Animals Diseases-had been started to provide free vaccination with a view to combating contagious diseases like FMD, BQ, enterotoxaemia, PPR, ranikhet disease, marek’s disease and rabies.

Kumarhatti, August 13
HIMUDA has failed to develop 24 industrial plots at Khareen village, near Parwanoo. The plots that were allotted to units in March last year were set up on 46 bigha of land. Their sizes varied from 600 sq m to 1,000 sq m.

After the allotment, HIMUDA was supposed to develop roads, sewerage, drinking water and street light facilities. However, till now no development work has taken place. The plots are lying as they were when they were earmarked for the allotment.

The plots were planned to accommodate new units to avail benefits of a Central Government-announced industrial package. The package that was earlier supposed to remain in force till 2013 was later curtailed to 2010. Moreover, after getting the plot possession, the allottes have to construct the unit buildings.

Meanwhile, the allottes are at the receiving end as the duration of the package is shrinking with the passage of time. Ironically, the development work on the plots that should have taken little time, has taken a lot of time.

While admitting the delay, Parwanoo HIMUDA office executive engineer Umesh Sharma has put the blame on the contractor. He said it would take another three to four months to develop the plots.

Shimla, August 13
The government has reconstituted the Himachal Pradesh State Agricultural Marketing Board (HPSAMB).

The principal secretary of agriculture will be the vice-chairman of the board while the principal secretary, horticulture; principal secretary, forests; secretary (finance), principal chief conservator of forests, director of horticulture, registrar, cooperative societies, CGM of NABARD and the State Marketing Board MD will be its official members.