Shimla, January 14
After witnessing rapid industrialisation for almost four years the hill state is going through a lean period during the current financial year.

The state has attracted an investment of Rs 28,800 crore ever since the Centre granted the package of incentives to promote new industry in 2003-04. The package has indeed served as a catalyst and helped in accelerating the pace of industrialisation with almost all big houses setting up their manufacturing facilities in the state. In all 920 proposals for medium and large industrial units involving an investment of Rs 21,914 crore have been approved. Besides, 9394 small-scale units are also coming up with an investment of Rs 6,886 crore.

However, there has been a slowdown during the current year as evident from the fact that over the past nine months only 16 new industrial projects involving an investment of Rs 2,435.73 crore have been approved. It is insignificant in view of the fact that the preceding four years saw the state attract an investment of over Rs 26,000 crore and in all over 10,000 units were cleared during the period. In the past financial year 160 projects with an investment of Rs 4,971 crore were given the nod by the state-level single window clearance authority. There was a scramble for setting up units in the state as initially the Centre had limited the period of the industrial package only up to March, 2007.

The subsequent decision to extend the package up to March, 2010, led to a slowdown towards the end of 2006-07 as the prospective investors took it easy. There was further deceleration in 2007-08 as the investors were wary of entering the state during the election year. In fact, there have been only two meetings of the single window clearance authority this year so far and not many projects are in the pipeline.

Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal has already stated that his government would make all efforts to get the package extended up to March, 2013. He maintains that the Vajpayee government had granted the package for a period of 10 years but the UPA regime later curtailed it to March, 2007. The Centre is under pressure not only from neighbouring Punjab and Haryana but also far-off states like Gujarat for not extending the package.

Sundernagar, January 14
The government will explore the possibility of setting up a cement plant near Sundernagar by taking the best ecological safeguards.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while addressing a public meeting at Bhangrotu in the Balh segment of Mandi district today. He laid the foundation stone of the Balh Valley Left Bank Medium Irrigation Scheme estimated to cost Rs 62.25 crore.

He said the scheme would provide irrigation in additional 2,780 hectares of farmland of 67 villages in 17 gram panchayats. He said Rs 12.02 crore had already been spent on the first phase of the scheme, providing irrigation facility in 2,410 hectares of farmland. With the completion of the Left Bank Scheme, 5,190 hectares of fertile land of the area would get irrigation facilities. In order to meet the requirements, around 14.75 to 29 cusec water would be drawn from the BBMB canal, 1 cusec from Suketi Khad and 7.08 cusec by boring 18 tubewells. He said there was a proposal to acquire 33. 52 hectares of land to execute the scheme.

He urged the people of Balh valley to voluntarily transfer their land required to be acquired for the scheme through negotiations. He directed the authorities to complete the codal formalities to execute the project by 2011.

He said the support price of citrus fruits had been increased by 50 paise per kg.

He said every industrial house would be required to give a housing plan along with the main project proposal so that industrial workers were provided suitable residential accommodation. He said efforts were on to draw the maximum benefit out of the industrial package announced by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He said the next elections to zila parishads, municipal corporation, municipal councils, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats would be conducted by providing 50 per cent reservation to women in all PRIs.

Earlier, he addressed a public meeting at Bhambla in Sarkaghat subdivision. He announced a grant of Rs 25 lakh to carry out relief and rehabilitation work for the families affected due to floods in Seer Khad during the last rainy season.

Col Inder Singh, MLA, welcomed the Chief Minister and apprised him of various local demands. People had assembled at different places to welcome Dhumal. He listened to their grievances en route Bhangrotu from his native village Samirpur.

He announced Rs 5 lakh for the examination hall of Bhangrotu government senior secondary school.

Public works minister Gulab Singh Thakur said efforts would be made to construct and expand the road network in the state by ensuring quality control.

Irrigation and public health minister Ravinder Ravi said IPH activities would be revolutionised and best services would be delivered to every family.

Chachiot MLA and state BJP president Jai Ram Thakur welcomed the Chief Minister. He thanked the people of the district for giving massive mandate to the party.

Sundernagar MLA Roop Singh Thakur, Nachan MLA Dile Ram, Balh MLA and former minister Prakash Chaudhary, former MLA Damodar Dass also spoke on the occasion.

Prominent among those present on the occasion were: Col Inder Singh, MLA and president of the Mandi unit of the BJP, Heera Lal, Karsog MLA, Kanhiya Lal Thakur and D.D. Thakur, former MLAs, Ram Swaroop Sharma, senior vice-president of the state unit of the BJP, Jawahar Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal, president of the Yuva Morcha, Hem Pal Rana, president, Balh BJP, Subhashish Panda, DC, R.N. Sharma, engineer-in-chief, IPH, B.S. Rajpal, chief engineer, PWD, D.K. Gupta, chief engineer, IPH, senior BJP leaders, officers of various departments and public representatives.

Palampur, January 14
Himachal Pradesh irrigation and public health minister Ravinder Thakur said here today that before the onset of summer, the state government would initiate necessary steps to check the drinking water crises in the state. He said long-term strategy would be formulated to regulate the supply of drinking water in the state particularly in the water-starved areas.

Addressing mediapersons in the local PWD Rest House here Thakur said despite the fact that over 90 per cent villages in the state had been provided potable drinking water still the state was facing shortage of water to the extent of 20 to 25 per cent, which is a serious matter. To meet this challenge the BJP government had planned that in the next two years, all villages in the state would be provided potable drinking water.

Thakur said out of total 45,367 villages in the state over 400 villages were left without potable drinking water. Besides, over 8,000 villages in the state were getting inadequate supply of drinking water, therefore, the water supply schemes in these villages immediately needed augmentation of the existing set up. In some of the schemes the augmentation works had already been taken up by the department and the remaining schemes would be covered in the next financial year.

The minister said all executive engineers in the state would be told to personally visit the water shortage prone areas and initiate necessary steps in this regard before the onset of summer.

He said in future the BJP government would lay more stress on gravity water supply schemes. This had been planned to reduce the electricity bills. At present, the state was paying Rs 65 crore annually to the HPSEB on account of electricity charges of lift water supply schemes in the state.

In reply to a question, the minister said the government had no plan to make hike in the domestic water charges. However, it could levy user charges on all commercial establishments in the state since they could afford to pay it easily.

Shimla, Janaury 14
The Rs 64-crore Bamsan-Lagwalti Lift Water Supply Scheme in Hamirpur district will soon be dedicated to the people shortly.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal stated this after inspecting the scheme. He asked officers of the Irrigation and Public Health Department about the status of the project and directed them to maintain a strict quality control. He said the government would examine all related aspects to ensure that quality material was used for construction of the scheme and technically it was up to the standard. He said distribution of water would be regulated in such a way that every household was provided sufficient water for various purposes.

Dhumal further said his government would pursue the timber distribution case pending in the high court and do its best to get the ban on allotment of trees lifted for the benefit of stakeholders all over the state. He said the government was concerned about the legitimate rights of the people and was committed to protect them by making best efforts.

The Chief Minister said Rs 22 crore would be spent on construction of Hamirpur bye-pass to ease the traffic congestion in the district headquarter. He also said formalities were being completed and work was likely to start in the near future. He further said the government had decided to provide three per cent reservation each to the handicapped and sports persons in the government jobs.

He asserted that religious sanctity of Awah Devi temple would be maintained and funds would be sought from the government of India to develop the shrine to facilitate the devotees. He directed the authorities to prepare a detailed plan to check landslides on either side of the temple so that it was protected from further damage. He offered prayers at the ancient shrine accompanied by his family members.

Kangra, January 14
Health minister Rajeev Bindal today said better and low-cost medical facilities would be made available to the people in the state. It was a top priority with the government, he said.

He was talking to mediapersons at Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda. It was his first visit to the college after he took over as the health minister. He said the government would spare no effort in providing the best medical facilities to the people.

When he was told that the hospital did not have CT scan, MRI and other facilities and 40 per cent of the sanctioned posts were lying vacant, he refused to comment on the issue saying he would have to look into the facts.

He even asked representatives of electronic media to shut down their cameras as he was not well versed about the facts and would not speak anything. Later, he held a meeting with senior officials of the college. He also inspected the hospital.

Bilaspur, January 14
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme would be launched on April 1 from the new financial year under which every person of the age of 18 years and above would have a right to get employment for 100 days through his or her respective panchayat here in the district.

Additional district magistrate Hans Raj Chauhan declared this while presiding over a district-level seminar of the zila parishad, panchayat samiti members and gram panchayat presidents organised here under the rural development agency.

Chauhan said any person desiring such employment would have to apply to the respective panchayat or program officer while the applicant would get a receipt for the application and he or she would be provided employment in the same village or the adjoining village after he gets a job card, which would be issued within 15 days of application.

Chauhan said mainly the panchayats would be responsible for deciding the schemes and development works under which such an employment would be provided while the panchayat samities and the zila parishad would mostly perform the job of supervising such construction works which include water conservation and collection, flood control, land development and land conservation, minor irrigation schemes, afforestation and land reclamation, restoration of old water sources, construction of village paths and link roads and smaller bridges etc.

He urged all panchayat representatives to spread this message of employment opportunity in every household of every village so that all desiring persons can take full advantage of the scheme.

District rural development agency project officer Niraj Gupta said seminars would be organised at Lakhanpur on January 16, in Suharghat and Jhandutta on January 17 and in Ghumarwin on January 21 for propagating the entire program under this scheme to the maximum people in district.

Hamirpur, January 14
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said yesterday that the government would make the application procedure for recruitment easier.

Addressing a public meeting here, he said the departments concerned would accept applications from applicants on plain paper. Self-attested documents of applicants would be enough to provide them admission in recruitment tests, he added.

The Chief Minister said his government would ensure maximum transparency in recruitment of Anganwari workers and helpers.

He said to meet the power scarcity, his government was purchasing power from other states and supplying to the domestic consumers at the fixed rate of 70 paisa per unit.

Dhumal said his government would give priority to redress of public grievances. He further said directions to the administration at all levels to redress grievances of the people had been issued. — UNI

Chamba, January 14
Believe it or not, but it is true that the milk adulterated with water is nowadays being sold openly in Chamba at Rs 12 per litre, while the non-adulterated milk is sold at Rs 15 per litre under the very nose of officials concerned.

The milk-sellers openly say that they have graded the milk into two categories - one is adulterated with water while the other is non- adulterated and whichever the customer likes is sold to him as per his choice. The customer too has no objection in this deal. Likewise, there is no check on prices in the town. The local vegetables are costly than the vegetables imported from Pathankot (Punjab). When asked about the higher prices being charged by the local vegetable-sellers, they openly said, “These are local vegetables.”

Then comes the sugar which is sold in the government fair price shops is insipid and having bad smell and taste.

It was difficult to locate the officials and when they were contacted over the mobile for any clarification they said it was their ‘personal number’. Moreover, their mobile numbers generally remain switched off for the common public.

Solan, January 14
A leaking LPG cylinder caused a powerful blast in the first floor of a residential building on Tank Road here around 1:30 a.m. last night. The triple-storeyed building belonging to Vinod Gupta got cracks at various places after the blast.

The first floor of the house had been rented out to Chandigarh resident Om Prakash Madan who had arrived last night after a month’s stay at Chandigarh. According to a team of Forensic experts the leaking LPG led to the accumulation of carbon dioxide causing limited fire.

SP Daljeet Thakur, who visited the spot today, said it was probably some sparking caused due to the switching on of power supply that made leaking LPG cause the blast. A case had been registered. The SP said the blast made the kitchen windows and doors fall apart. Even the railings of the adjoining building suffered some damage. However, none was injured in the house.

Shimla, January 14
Experts have expressed concern over the increasing incidence of forest diseases and called for implementing an integrated management programme to effectively tackle the problem.

Asserting that related issues like climate change and global warming should also be taken care of, the experts said. Participating in the two-day symposium on “Forest Insect Pest and Disease Management in Himalaya” at the Himalayan Forest Research Institute here, they underlined the need for involving research institutions. They felt that the Forest Department did not have the requisite expertise to carry out in-depth scientific study of the problem.

The symposium primarily focused on the insect pest and disease incidences in the forests of Himalayan ecosystem. To give more practical basis to the research on the forest insect-pest and disease management it would help draw a road map to combat the problem.

In his inaugural address principal secretary, Forests, Ashok Thakur, said that serious incidences of pest-infestations on various tree species, which contributed significantly toward the drying process of indigenous as well as exotic trees planted in the fragile ecosystem were taking place.

It had become major problem in the forestry sector with high mortality of important tree species like, chir-pine, blue-pine, deodar, willow and shisham noticed in the Himalayan region.

He stressed that the use of chemical fertilisers be minimised and other nature-friendly materials and biological control methods should be adopted.

Additional principal chief conservator of forests Vinay Tandon said the Forest Department did not have much expertise to address the issues relating to insect pests problems of forests and necessary research backup should be provided by universities and other such institutions.

The research institutions, universities and the Forest Department should work in close collaboration.

Delivering the keynote address director of HFRI Mohinder Pal said temperature was an important factor directly affecting distribution and development of pathogen and pests. Due to rise in average temperature, pest and disease outbreaks had been observed in almost all tree species causing serious damage.

The present trends in climate change indicated that these epidemics would only increase in the near future. The distribution ranges of pathogen and pests might be extended to new areas but the frequency of out break was hard to predict, more knowledge about the anticipated affect of climate change on population dynamic on these biotic agents was required.

He requested the eminent scientists, researchers and foresters to pay immediate attention and help develop a species specific integrated pest management programme and make them available to the end users like the forest departments.

Shimla, January 14
Lingering isolation is exposing the only snow leopard to a myriad of health problems at the Himalayan Nature Park in Kufri here.

Wildlife experts here are worried that Subhash could suffer emotional stress, behavioural changes and related complications as the efforts of the state wildlife authorities to get him a mate from overseas have been unsuccessful so far.

Wildlife experts as well as the Central Zoo Authority guidelines stress that animals must be kept in pairs for their normal growth and well-being.

Subhash, however, had been forced to live a lonely life since the death of his mate Sapna last year. Sapna, who had died at the nature park reportedly of a chronic stomach ailment, was the second snow leopard to have died in the park.

The pair was brought to Kufri from Darjeeling in West Bengal about two years ago under an exchange arrangement.

Sources revealed that the wildlife wing of the Himachal Pradesh Forest department had initiated a plan to import a new bloodline of snow leopards from the zoos of European countries, however, even after sustained efforts of the wild life authorities the new bloodline of snow leopard could not be found that could have been brought to Kufri park for display as well as for breeding purposes.

The wildlife wing had also been looking for ‘rescued’ snow leopards in the tribal belts.

Sources in the department said the matter for bringing a female snow leopard from the Padmja Naidu National Zoological Park, Darjeeling, is also under consideration .

“We have also requested the Central Zoo Authority to help in procuring a mate for our snow leopard by coordinating with other zoo’s,” a wildlife official said.

The Padmja Naidu Park and the Himalayan Nature Park were among the very few destinations in the country that encourage breeding of snow leopards in captivity. 
— UNI

Shimla, January 14
The true spirit and fine traditions of the Indian Army were showcased at the exhibition organised by the units of the 36 Sector today at Rampur to mark the Army Day.

Besides, having a close look at the various weapons and equipments being used for fighting at high altitude by the Army, the local people also got an opportunity to interact with the Army personnel and get familiarised with the country’s finest organisation. Artillery and infantry weapon systems, including demonstration by mountain artillery mules, stalls on adventure activities, veterinary facilities, special clothing and ration used by the Jawans were on display.

Inaugurating the exhibition Brig O.P. Tomar commended the performance of the Army during war, peace and combating terrorism. He lauded the effort of the Army in organising the event, which would help bring the Army closer to the people.

From the event the youth also gained detailed information regarding the different channels of entry into the Army and the modes of recruitment was provided. A cultural programme and band display were also organised on the occasion.

The 3 HP (Independent) NCC company of Rampur also participated in the event. It provided complete information about the NCC and its benefits with regard to entry into the armed forces.

The aero-modelling show featuring remote controlled aircraft model presented by the Kullu-based air squadron of the NCC drew wide applause from the gathering.

Solan, January 14
The Solan police has nabbed Vishal Sharma, who after posing as labour inspector had duped a woman hailing from district Shimla of nearly Rs 70,000. According to the police, he had allured her for marriage by posing as a labour inspector and had coaxed her to shell out this money to undertake registration of a piece of land.

He was arrested from Solan after the aggrieved lodged a complaint with the local police under Sections 419 and 420 of the IPC. The woman got suspicious about the antecedents of Sharma after he disappeared with the money for some days.

His modus operandi involved giving matrimonial advertisements where he posed as a government official, said the police. Finding the identity convincing, the brides’ relatives would get in touch with Sharma. Following which, talks regarding materialising the marriage would take place. It was at this stage that he would demand cash for buying some property. In this case too the aggrieved woman handed her Rs 70,000 to undertake registration of some property and having extracted this amount he became elusive.

Meanwhile, another matrimonial advertisement was placed in some newspaper, which became a matter of suspicion for the woman. She informed the police and Sharma was finally arrested after being directed to meet the woman’s relatives at Solan.

Sharma, who hails from village Sehal in Baijnath area of Kangra district, was presently out on bail as he had earlier as well duped another woman from Solan. He had posed as a food inspector this time. In this case he had extracted nearly Rs 2.5 lakh, including cash and jewellery, and had also married her at some temple in Kangra.

The police, in the latest case, presented him in a local court today. His antecedents were verified from some place in Hoshiarpur in Punjab.

Kullu, January 14
The La Montessori School (LMS) Kalehali, about 15 km from here, won 10 gold medals in the National Bal Vigyan competitions held at Baramati, Pune. Lalita Kanwar, principal of the school while talking to mediapersons said Sharad Pawar, agriculture minister and chairman BCCI, while distributing the prizes to the students said the genius students from the rural areas of the country have to be given recognition and their inborn potential to be utilised. Pawar said such science competitions would provide exposure to the children living in the rural and backward areas.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, who also interacted with the participants during the competition, said these students would help make a great society.

Lalita Kanwar said Sukriti and Rohitas, who represented Himachal Pradesh in the national competitions, were honoured with gold medals and certificates. She said the students of the school — Varun, Lavika, Shubham, Vividha, Parikshye, Manik, Akshat and Anmol had also participated in these groups. She further said Dr Kalam appreciated the work done by the LMS students while children of her school were also impressed by the interaction with the former President. The students had memorable moments with Kalam and were proud of that she added.

Solan, January 14
There seems to be no progress on the high court’s directive to the Health Department to appoint a government analyst in the state’s lone composite testing laboratory at Kandaghat in 15 days. The court had passed this order on December 30. The candidate should have the educational qualification as laid down in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the court had said.

The order had come following a civil writ petition filed by a former drug licensing authority, Daler Singh. The court had quashed the appointment of Vijay Sharma, who was appointed as per a notification issued in August, 2006.

Neither the principal secretary nor the director, health, were available for comments.

The state has acquired the reputation of being the pharmaceutical hub and around 350 pharmaceutical firms have set up their units here. The government analyst is responsible for the testing of various drugs.

The earlier analyst appointed by the government lacked the crucial drug-testing experience and it had often weakened the state’s position while contesting cases of spurious drugs in courts. The offending firms generally got away on the pretext of not having a qualified analyst. In one case, the government failed to blacklist a Jalandhar-based firm that had supplied spurious glucose bottles sometime back.