Shimla, September 13
The Cabinet today approved a relief package for farmers and enhanced subsidy from existing 10 to 50 per cent on premium under group insurance for the rabi, 2007, to be effective from August. The package will cover the wheat, barley, maize, paddy and potato crops. It also gave nod for setting up a private university in Sirmaur district and decided to issue the letter of intent in favour of Eternal University at Baru Sahib.

The Cabinet granted sanction for creation and filling 1,812 posts of different categories, including 982 posts in the Education Department and 669 in the Health and Family welfare Department.

It decided to take remedial measures to attend to emergencies arising due to road accidents and sanctioned well-equipped ambulances (trauma vans) with supporting staff for Solan, Mandi, Tanda, Hamirpur, Nahan, Chamba and Rampur. It also decided to open two toll barriers at Gorakhnath Mandir on the Gorakhnath-Shahpur road and at Pul Baddi at Jharmajri road via Sun City. It decided to include an additional area of 86031.99 sq m in the limits of the Parwanoo Municipal Council.

It approved opening of ayurvedic health centres at Bathara in Shimla, Kanerar in Hamirpur and Ghatgalla in Chamba and sanctioned 12 posts of various categories to make these functional. It approved the upgradation of five ITIs at Solan, Mandi, Shahpur, Una and Shamshi to Grade-I and accordingly upgraded the posts of principals there to the senior scale.

The fixed remuneration of the contractual personal assistants appointed by the zila parishads was raised from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,800 plus 50 per cent dearness allowance. It granted one-time relaxation in educational qualifications for regularisation of daily-wage conductors and cleaners with eight years of service. It sanctioned 642 posts of various categories under the National Rural Health Mission.

It also sanctioned 609 posts of lecturers and laboratory attendant for the government senior secondary schools, 259 posts of teaching and non-teaching categories for 37 newly upgraded high schools, 114 posts of teaching and non-teaching categories for 19 upgraded middle schools, 20 posts of excise and taxation inspector in the Excise and Taxation Department, 15 posts of stenotypist in the Rural Development Department.

The Cabinet granted approval to amend the recruit and promotion rules for the post of additional director of horticulture to relax the essential qualifications from M.Sc. to B.Sc. and amended the recruitment and promotion rules for the posts of radiographer, senior laboratory technician and pharmacist.

Tribune News Service
Janjheli (Mandi): Apple growers in the Bagshiad-Thunag-Janjheli belt here have become silent spectators to the “scourge of scab” and “premature falling of leaves,” spreading from the government-run demonstration- cum-progeny orchard to other orchards, giving sleepless nights to farmers.

The demonstration orchard raised in the heart of the valley at Kataru presents a pathetic picture of scab and Marcinina botch, fungal diseases which cause premature leaf fall.

This orchard raised in 1962 to promote and propagate apples among farmers here, has been affected by scab and premature leaf fall, complained growers.

Farmers rued that the government procurement agencies like the HPMC had stopped procuring the fruit from them on the plea that the fruit was infected with scab. They said they had complained about the presence of scab in their orchads way back in July when the horticultural officials had visited them, but to no avail.

Brij Lal, a farmer from Ruhara said the hailstorm had damaged about 80-90 per cent crops. Scab and premature leaf fall was spreading from the Kataru orchard and panchayat orchard located across the Bakhli khad to other places like Chiuni, Sarahu and Ghair in the valley. “Over 90 per cent crops are damaged due to scab, and premature leaf fall this season, throwing farmers into huge financial crisis”, said Bhag Chand from Chiuni.

“I rung up at least 100 times and requested scientists to examine our problems but nobody listened to us in the Horticultural Department,” he complained.

The farmers rued that the department did nothing to control the disease.

They further added that their miseries had multiplied as commission agents asked for gifts like telephone, stationary and other items from them for sending their fruit to the markets.

Horticultural extension officer, Janjheli, Narpat Ram said they had applied sprays in the orchard to prevent scab. But the farmers have rejected his claims and have demanded that a team of horticultural scientists inspect the area and redress their problems.

Nurpur, September 13
Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programme, the Health Department is all set to recruit rural women, preferably widows and divorcees, as ‘accredited social health activists’ known as ASHAs.

The ASHA project under the NRHM is going to become a ray of hope for the hapless rural women. Inquiries revealed that as per guidelines laid down by the NRHM, each ASHA will be appointed against a population of 800.

However, ASHAs are non-government employees and no monthly salary will be disbursed to them. Instead every ASHA will be paid Rs 150 as remuneration. The Health Department has been directed to complete the recruitment process of the ASHAs by October 1.

These women will assist health activities in rural areas. The main objective of ASHAs is to motivate rural women to undergo family planning operations in camps organised by the Health and Family Welfare Department.

They will also assist in the immunization of kids ageing from one month to nine months for which Rs 25 will be paid for each kid’s immunization. The department will equip them with mini-kits of medicines named ‘ASHA Kits’.

BDO, Nurpur, Anil Mahajan said in Nurpur block, as many as 135 ASHAs would be appointed. “The Health Department will also impart special training to the appointed ASHAs,” he added. 

Dharamsala, September 13
A scam regarding fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 41 lakh from the treasury has come to light in Tisa subdivision of Chamba. Three employees of the Treasury Department, including a superintendent currently posted at Dharamsala, have been suspended. A case of fraud has also been lodged against them.

Arvind Kumar Sharma, district treasury officer of Chamba, told The Tribune on the telephone that the fraud was detected a couple of weeks back when the treasury branch began disbursing salary through banks. Earlier, the record of payments related to the salary was maintained in the cashbooks manually.

Saying that the fraud seemed to have been perpetrated by making wrong entries in the cashbooks of the treasury, he said the exact modus operandi would come out only after a thorough inspection of the cashbooks.

Certain irregularities in the accounts were found when the salary accounts of government employees were being transferred to Punjab National Bank on August 30.

Arvind Sharma said the matter was immediately reported to the head office at Shimla which asked R.K. Sharma, deputy director of the treasury department posted at Mandi, to probe the matter. During the preliminary inquiry, Rs 41 lakh was found having been illegally withdrawn without making proper entries. An FIR was then lodged against three employees-- superintendent Rajesh Sharma, senior assistant Aaso Ram and assistant Tek Chand-- who had been suspended. The police has sealed the relevant record but the suspects have not yet been arrested.

Shimla, September 13
The development plan for Chamba was approved by the State Cabinet today and it aims to preserve the natural heritage of the historic town, which recently completed 1000 years of its existence.

It is one of few old towns in the country where cultural and architectural heritage have been well-preserved.
The plan provides for a heritage zone, which will take care of the Chowgan, the landmark of the town, and the core area. No new construction will be allowed in the heritage zone and the old structures could be rebuild only on old lines.

Only two-storeyed structures will be permitted in the core area. The expansion of the town will take place in the newly included areas where up to three-storeyed structures will be permitted. In case of commercial establishments, four storeys will be allowed. The plan will take care of the development of the town up to 2021.

It covers the area under the municipal committee of Chamba and adjoining villages of Mugla, Karian and Sultanpur. In all, 947 hectare, including 455 hectare of municipal area has been covered. An area of 267 hectare has been set apart for urban use out of which 147 hectare will be for residential purposes. Besides, 12 hectare will be for commercial activity, 5 hectare for industrial use, 3 hectare for tourism and 29 hectare for traffic and transport. A new bus stand has been proposed near Zero Chowk along with two truck terminals, one at Sultanpur and the other at Mugla on the Chamba-Bharmour road. Two wholesale and warehouse hubs will be established, one in the old area and the other in the new area. 

Shimla, September 13
The UNESCO heritage team visiting the state in connection with granting world heritage status to the Kalka-Shimla railway track, today said the case would be placed before the World Heritage Declaration Committee.

Team leader Robert Lee today met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and said the track qualified to be declared as a world heritage site. He said he would recommend the same before the World Heritage Declaration Committee.

The CM said the state government had taken up the matter for declaring the Kalka-Shimla track as a world heritage site keeping in view its importance and maintenance of the original architecture with the Union ministry of Tourism and Railways.

The CM said the track was completed in the year 1903 and the centenary celebrations were held by the Railway ministry. “The track is of historical importance and many dignitaries of international fame have travelled and appreciated the journey on the narrow gauge track,” he said.

He said boring the tunnels for the British, too, was a Herculean task and the services of a local supervisor, Bhalku Ram were requisitioned which helped in speedy construction of the track.

He said the track was well maintained and no changes had been brought in the original track and all fittings were original. 

Solan, September 13
The industrial area of Baddi-Barotiwala is witnessing an increasing number of cheating cases where the buyers are being duped by property dealers. The police have registered at least eight to nine such cases in the recent past and the trend is depriving genuine entrepreneurs of both land and money.

According to the prevailing trend the property dealers first enter into an agreement with the land owners promising to sell their land at higher prices and procure the General Power of Attorney (GPA). They then sell land to a number of buyers on instalments. The dealers not only end up making money out of the bargain but dupe innocent buyers of lakhs. In a recent case a Panchkula resident, Hemant Malhotra, was duped when he bought about 220 sq m of land at Housing Board Baddi from a Chandigarh resident Devinder Kumar for Rs 27 lakh. According to SP Solan, Malhotra was supposed to pay this amount in instalments with the last instalment being fixed for November 25, 2006. He paid Rs 5 lakh through cheques and Rs 1 lakh in cash after finalising the deal.

Meanwhile, Devinder entered into an agreement with another buyer for the same piece of land and he kept delaying the mutation of the land. On inquiring about the matter Malhotra learnt about the fraud and filed a case against Devinder under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C.

Police officials said there had been a galore of such cases in the past 3 to 4 years though there had been a temporary cess now due to a covert ban on buying land. 

Hamirpur, September 13
The police has arrested a man and his son on a charge of murdering a person of their village. Police sources said Sudesh Kumar (32) was found dead near Galot village, about 18 km from here, this morning.

It is learnt Sudesh Kumar and Vipin Kumar of Galot (Dhaned) village under Hamirpur police station quarrelled over something after consuming liquor together the previous night.

On the complaint of Kesari Devi, the police arrested Vipin Kumar and his father, Jagat Ram, on the charge of murdering Sudesh Kumar when some bloodstains were found in their house.

Sudesh Kumar leaves behind a child and his wife, who is stated to be pregnant. 

Mandi, September 13
As many as 16 passengers, including a bus driver and a conductor were injured when a private bus (HP 33-5096) lost its balance due to overspeeding and smashed the rocky hillside near the Brindabani barrier on the national highway-21 near here at around 9 am today. The bus was on its way from Mandi to Kullu carrying around 35 passengers.

The injured passengers who were rushed to the zonal hospital were reported to be out of danger but were being kept under observation. “Nine of them have been kept under observation and the rest have been discharged”.

The injured have been identified as Katki Devi, Murtu, Balak Ram, Rita Sharma, Sarya, Khima Nand, Kanta Sharma, Tisha, Suresh, Chandru, Pushpa Devi, Hem Nalini, Babita and Dhan Dev, all from Mandi.

The driver and the conductor, Hari Chander and Suresh, sustained injuries and were under treatment at the hospital. The passengers alleged that the bus was moving at a very high speed and the driver lost control of the vehicle, which went sideways smashing the rocky hillside. Mohan Lal, ASI Mandi sadar police station said the police had registered a case of negligence against the driver under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.

Bilaspur, September 13
The Himachal Pradesh State Journalists Federation has condemned the registration of a false case against a journalist of a vernacular daily at Nahan and threats of dire consequences to him by an official of the electricity board.

Federation president Jai Kumar said here that it was all the more condemnable that the official concerned should sponsor and manipulate a demonstration outside office of the newspaper concerned to intimidate and coerce both the journalist and the daily.

The federation urged the CM and the DGP to take strict action against those who had conspired against the journalist. — OC

Shimla, September 13
Minimum temperatures fell in the tribal districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul Spiti, Chamba and Kinnaur and other surrounding areas after higher altitude peaks in Lahaul Spiti recorded fresh spell of mild snow last night, the met office said today.

Shimla, the state capital, and other surrounding areas are experiencing a chill since afternoon following overcast conditions and snow in the higher altitude areas of the tribal district.

Local people were seen wearing half-sleeve pullovers and jackets and women used shawls to keep the cold away on the Mall and the Ridge here after light showers lashed the area during the second half of the day.

Light showers lashed isolated places in the mid and lower hills during the day with Baijnath in Kangra district, Jubal in Shimla district and Dharamsala in Kangra district recording 114, 10.5 and 12.2 mm rain, respectively.

Reports of light showers were also received from places in the mid and lower hills of the state after a bright and sunny morning.

The met office said Shimla, Sundernagar and Bhuntar recorded minimum temperatures of 14.2, 18.5 and 15.7 °C and maximum temperatures of 21.4, 31.2 and 32.4 °C respectively.

Manali in Kullu district recorded a low of 11.6 °C, while Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a night temperature of 7.6 °C. The met office has forecast rain or thundershowers in the state during the next 24 hrs.

KANGRA: Heavy rains lashed Kangra valley this evening and the Dhauladahar mountain range had a mild snowfall this evening, its second this season.

The sky was overcast with visibility being really low forcing the vehicles to ply with head lights on. There were reports of spells of rain from Palampur, Shahpur, Nagrota Bagwan, Dharamsala, Jawalamukhi, Malan, Gaggal Ranital and Suni sarotri areas of the district. — UNI 

Chamba, September 13
The ‘chhari mubarak’ of Manimahesh pilgrimage, which started from Chamba this afternoon, would reach the Manimahesh lake on September 19.

Sadhus of the dashnam akhada, local residents and district officers accompanied the ‘chhari mubarak’ led by the insignia of Manimahesh and ‘trishul’ of Lord Shiva along with Home Guards and local bands.

According to deputy commissioner Pushpendra Rajput, the holy ‘chhari’ would halt at various places on its way to the Manimahesh Lake.

The district administration has taken adequate steps to provide security to the pilgrims, especially from the Bhadarwah area of J&K in view of the prevailing disturbed conditions there.

The DC said 50 voluntary organisations have been allowed to hold langars (free kitchens) along the roadside for the pilgrims. No ‘langar’ had been permitted in the precincts of sacred lake to keep it clean.

Security had been tightened on the borders of Chamba district adjoining the terrorism-affected pockets of J&K.

Shimla, September 13
The Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service Competitive (preliminary) Examination- 2007 -II, will be held on September 23. The examination will be conducted at centres located at Shimla and Dharamsala in three sessions from 10 am to 11 am, 12 noon to 1 pm and 3 pm to 4 pm.

A release from the State Public Service Commission said the particulars of all provisionally admitted candidates had been put up on the website and those who intended to appear in the examination should download the particulars and bring along their documents and photographs.

It also informed that the Main Written Examination - 2007 for the candidates who cleared the preliminary examination would be held in the hall of the commission from October 29 to 31. 

Dharamsala, September 13
On the instructions of Major-Gen Rajendra Singh VSM the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 39-Mountain Division of the Army and Station Commander Brigadier RK Singh, the Army in association with the State Health Department organised an eye check-up camp for ex-servicemen and their families at Lunj village in Kangra district on Thursday.

As many as 120 patients were examined by the eye specialists and free medicines were given as per the prescription, revealed Colonel N.S. Katoch and Lieut Colonel G.S. Shahi of the 33 mountain brigade who coordinated the camp.

Captain Sita Ram (retd.) and members of his ex-servicemen league voluntarily helped in bringing ex-servicemen and widows of army personnel living in Lunj and its adjoining areas for medical check-up.