Shimla, February 18
The Chinese move of extending its rail line right up to Lhasa and western Tibet could get Himachal what it has not been able to achieve during the past four decades.

Citing national security and strategic importance as the main reasons, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Jogindernagar-Manali-Leh rail line project may be taken up so that the rail line made by China does not prove to be a security threat to India. Himachal shares its borders with the Chinese-occupied Tibet region.

“The project to convert the Pathankot-Jogondernagar rail line into a broad gauge one may be examined so that India can effectively counter the logistical superiority that China has gained by extending its rail line into western Tibet,” Dhumal wrote to the Prime Minister last week. He has requested that the supposedly high cost of Rs 1,000 crore, because of which the project was shelved, cannot be a consideration when it involves a question of national security.

Himachal is hopeful that with national security being of paramount importance, the inhibiting high cost of laying the rail line between Pathankot-Jogindernagar may be overlooked, giving manifold benefits to the hill state.

Dhumal has urged the Prime Minister that the project should be reviewed so that it is converted into a broad gauge rail line and linked to the proposed Bhanupalli-Barmana-Manali rail link at a feasible point and then extended beyond till Leh and Ladakh. “This project will not only negate the superiority that China has gained in terms of its defence security but also help give a major boost to the state’s industry and tourism,” he stressed.

Himachal has made several requests to the Centre for extending its rail line network along with converting the narrow gauge into broad gauge but there has been practically no progress. The state has a virtually non-existent broad gauge rail line, which too was laid by the British and only 25 km have been added since Independence. It is felt that strengthening the rail network will improve connectivity in a state with limited transportation means.

The fact that China accorded top priority to its rail line project by extending it right up to Lhasa and beyond in western Tibet is being cited as a major development which should be viewed by India in terms of national security.

“After the 1962 aggression, China realised the importance of having an uninterrupted, reliable and high-capacity supply line and is now strategically placed in a much better position which we cannot afford to overlook,” the Chief Minister has stressed. Dhumal has stressed that though the road network connecting the hinterland with the border areas has undoubtedly improved the cost of ferrying essential items to the border areas is still prohibitive.

Bilaspur, February 18
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today accepted only one garland from party workers upon his arrival in a workers’ conference on Monday. It was in consonance with his declaration that money should not be wasted on flowers and other decoration items like shawls and caps in such functions and money so saved should be sent for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

He asked workers to remain vigilant and report cases of corruption to him so that strict action was taken.

In the wake of an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, the government had no alternative but to increase bus fares.

State unit president Jai Ram Thakur, forest minister J.P. Nadda, and MLAs Randhir Sharma and Rikhi Ram Kondal addressed the conference attended by a large number of party leaders and workers.

HAMIRPUR: Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while addressing the BJP workers in a thanksgiving function at Hamirpur today laid stress on the party organisation and role of workers and assured them that the government would give them both honour and attention.

Thanking the party workers for bringing the BJP back to power in the state Dhumal said, “Organisation, government and individuals are important component of the party; while organisation is permanent the other two keep changing and workers are life of the organisation since it can form the government but the government can not form the organisation.”

Dhumal also gave a call to the party workers to prepare for the next Parliament election to install the BJP led government at the Centre and achieve our target of making L.K. Advani as the next Prime Minister of the country as election could be held this year only.

He said, “The state government have taken steps to solve monkey menace by establishing sanctuaries, arranged adequate fertilisers for the farmers, increased support price for kinnow, orange and other citrus fruits and have directed all agriculture and horticulture officers to provide the scientific information to farmers in their fields.”

Dhumal also appealed to people to donate liberally in CM relief fund since this money is spent on the needy poor people.

BJP state president Jai Ram Thakur, education minister I.D. Dhiman and few other party leaders also spoke on the occasion.

Solan, February 18
Dissatisfied over failure of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission in reviewing the result of the preliminary examination for Himachal Administrative Services (HAS) aspirants have now approached the Apex Court for getting it annulled.

Trouble arose when the results of its preliminary examination declared in October last year was fraught with errors. While the answer key for as many as 27 questions in the political science paper showed incorrect answers five answers for other subjects had similar errors. These errors came forward after some aspirants had approached the state high court and a committee formed by it had pointed out these errors. The high court later allowed those candidates to appear in the main examination those who sought reprieve from it. Many others who failed to approach the court were left in lurch.

Aspirants rued that instead of entire result being reviewed by the commission it was now conducting the main examinations and these would finish by March 27.

It was learnt that while there were 31 posts for which these examinations were being held about 160 aspirants had approached the high court to allow them to appear in the preliminary examinations. About 620 aspirants were earlier issued roll numbers as they had qualified the preliminary examination.

Demanding cancellation of these examinations an aspirant Dev Kumar Negi, who had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, told The Tribune that it was unfair to deny those aspirants a chance to appear in the mains who had failed to approach the high court. Considering the geographical conditions of the far-flung tribal areas of Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur it was not possible for every candidate to approach the high court he lamented.

Aspirants also lamented that it was after much toil that they had managed to get the answer keys know. Earlier, efforts to seek information under the RTI Act had failed to yield any result as no such information was supplied to them. It was only after court directions that the answer keys were displayed on the commission’s website.

Shimla, February 18
Terming the hype and panic over “global warming” as “unnecessary”, well-known hydro-geologist Ritesh Arya seeks to redefine the phenomenon as a natural cyclic process for transporting the weathered and eroded material accumulated during the global cooling phase in the past.

Arya, who shot into limelight for harnessing ground water in mountainous regions, has in his latest research paper to be presented at the “Global conference on global warming” being held at Istanbul in July later in the year introduced a new concept of bio-geologic cycle to explain the relevance of global warming in shaping the earth now and in the future.

“There is urgent need to put the phenomenon, which had not been triggered off suddenly, in the right perspective as today almost every human activity right from vehicular emissions to use of polythene is being linked to global warming which was a much larger event which started as soon as the Ice Age ended. The fact was that the “biotic” agents (man and other living organisms) had a very small role compared to the “abiotic” (geological, geomorphologic, climatologic, planetary and hydrological) events like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, movement of glaciers and landslides” he told The Tribune here today.

His theory is based on the observations made by him during the drilling operations to tap sustainable water sources by developing groundwater resources in various “hydrostraigraphic” zones identified by him over the past 15 years in the high-altitude areas, including the cold deserts of Ladakh, across the north-western Himalayas. The core material found during deep drilling on high mountain areas like Khardung La (over 18,000 ft) was geologically similar to the one found on the banks of the Indus river which established a link between global warming and glacial movements. Rivers like the Saraswati vanished long time ago when there were no industries, no polluting vehicles or other human activities which could cause global warming, which are being termed as the main contributing factors by present-day environmentalists. Disappearance of the river was a geological event caused by global warming, explains Arya, who found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for his achievement in finding groundwater in the Chushul area at an altitude of more than 14,000 ft.

The phenomenon could not be understood in isolation and it had to be seen in totality. Global cooling and global warming are like day and night, one will follow the other and instead of pressing the panic button the effort should be on “managing the situation”. However, it should be kept in mind that human effort would be of no consequence in reversing the mega process.

Una, February 18
The number of industries coming up in Himachal has increased after the Union government gave a tax relief package to the state. In Una district alone the government has cleared 1,200 industrial units. Out of these 55 industries are in red category in terms of pollution due to their effluents, 270 in orange and 213 in green. With the increase in number of industrial units the problems of pollution are also increasing.

However, the pollution control board of the state has equipped itself with manpower to check industrial pollution. The highly placed sources in Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board (HPPCB) told The Tribune that no engineer has been recruited in the board since 1990. Twelve posts of subdivision engineers and 11 posts of JE’s were lying vacant in the HPPCB.

The result is that there is generally just one officer to check the pollution levels in two to three districts. At Una office there is just one engineer and clerk. Both the officers, besides checking the pollution also have to carry out the administrative works.

As per the laws all the red, orange or green category industrial units have to install industrial waste treatment plants inside the units. Their effluents should be checked at periodic intervals to ascertain the efficiency levels of installed treatment plants. However, it is almost impossible for a single officer to periodically check industrial effluents coming out of industry.

The compliance of Medical Waste Disposal Act and solid waste management in the district are also unregulated. The sources in the department told that the HPPCB has not authorised even a medical waste management and handling unit in the district. A unit was brought up in Civil Hospital, Una, which has not been made functional as yet.

The district also does not have a single solid waste management site or properly function sewerage treatment plant due to which most of the waste generated in city ends in river or rivulets that are acting as drains.

A sewerage treatment plant was developed by the Department Of Public Health in Una rivulet. By the time the plant came up a private coloniser developed residential colony near it. He moved court against the government’s decision to develop sewerage treatment plant near the residential colony. The court ruled in favour of the residential colony owners. The result was that the sewerage treatment plant brought up at a cost of about Rs 25 crore is not utilised.

Sharavan Kumar, executive engineer HPPCB Una, when contacted said the solid waste management sites are being developed at Santoshgarh and Mahetpur towns of the district. Efforts are being made to install sewerage treatment plants in Una and enforce other laws. Regarding Medical Waste Disposal Act he said some Punjab based medical waste handlers were picking up medical waste from Una.

Sundernagar, February 18
After the successful rehabilitation of mined areas of quarries in Sirmaur and degraded forest areas of Mandhala in Nalagarh, scientists have come out with “models of eco-restoration of degraded forests”. These are set to be replicated in degraded pockets in other areas of the state.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a two-day training programme at the Forest Training Centre, Sundernagar, coordinator of the programme and scientist at the HFRI K.S. Kapoor said, “These models have been successful implemented at Sirmaur and Mandhala. The degraded forest and mined areas have been restored.” The training programme is being organised by the Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Shimla.

“Over 400 farmers of Mandhala have benefited from the restoration of the degraded land. They are harvesting fuel and fodder from the reclaimed forest area. We have conserved water sources, checked soil erosion and restored greenery,” he added.

Field botanist at HFRI Vaneet Jishtu said babul, bel, siris, jarul, kaner, robinia, ailanthus, gulmohar, shsisham, safeda, kachnar, bhiul and morpankhi were suitable for reclamation of degraded areas.

R.K. Verma, a scientist associated with Mandhala project, presented a case study on these projects.

Scientists from the HFRI, Shimla, Vijender Panwar delivered a lecture on various HFRI activities. He said the institute would conduct such training programmes for frontline staff, NGOs, mahila mandals and schoolchildren to encourage them take up eco-restoration work in their areas.

B.D. Suyal, conservator of forests, Mandi, said such training would be a boon for the field staff of the Forests Department. He asked participants to put this knowledge into practice.

Nurpur, February 18
The community-policing scheme, which was launched in 1999 in Himachal Pradesh, has got legal validity only when the state enforced its own Police Act last year. This was stated by DIG Kangra range Yog Raj while talking to mediapersons here.

He claimed that this scheme had bridged a traditional gap between the police and the public. “Under Section 71 of the HP Police Act-2007 the Police Community Liaison Groups (PCLG) are being formed in every police station in the state,” he added.

He said the police beats were also being formed in rural as well as urban areas in the state. “The PCLGs are not only assisting the local police in tracking anti-social elements but are also supposed to keep a close vigil on the working of the police station to ensure transparency in its functioning,” he informed.

He informed that under the act district complaint authority headed by divisional commissioner had been constituted at district headquarters. Similarly, a state police board had come into existence at Shimla. He claimed that the PCLG were proving milestones in the police stations and ultimately they would strengthen the police network in the state.

Earlier, the DIG addressed a meeting of the citizens in the police station and briefed the community-policing scheme. He also heard the complaints and suggestions of the citizens on this occasion.

Kangra, February18
The medical representatives of different pharmaceutical companies here today lodged a protest against their respective company managements and submitted a memorandum to the labour ministers of different states demanding action against these companies in the states for violating the Sales Promotion Employees (condition of the service) Act, 1976.

Dinesh Sharma, secretary Himachal Pradesh Medical Representatives Association Kangra said today a representation was submitted to the labour ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal through SDM demanding implementation of the act by the employers of their respective pharmaceutical companies.

Sharma alleged that the letters of appointments were not being issued as per the format prescribed in Section 22 (1) A of the rules in accordance with Section 5 of the act. He alleged that the medical representatives were not provided with earned, causal and medical leaves violating Section 4 of the rules.

They demanded that the erring employers of these companies should be prosecuted under the law of the land.

Shimla, February 18
Agreement for the execution of the 775-MW Luhri Project, which has been hanging fire for the past five years, is likely to be further delayed with the government raising a new demand for a share in the unallocated power during winter.

The state had made a commitment to award the Luhri and Khab projects to prevent repatriation of over 700 employees of the state electricity board, who were on secondment with the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam. These employees were rendered surplus after the completion of the 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project. However, subsequently it decided to withdraw the Luhri project as the Centre was reluctant to accept its conditions for raising the equity share and ensuring employing at least 70 per cent of employees and workforce from within the state.

The Union Ministry of Power later relented and agreed to the state’s plea of raising its equity share from 25 per cent to 49 per cent. The Centre had agreed to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in which the SJVN and the state government will be partners with equity share of 51 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. Once the new SPV is set up, it will not only pave the way for the execution of the Luhri project but also open the doors for the implementation of more projects in partnership with the Centre.

It had also conceded to the state’s demand of giving at least 70 per cent jobs to Himachalis. However, the state, which has been facing power shortage during winter, now wants the Centre to commit the 15 per cent unallocated share in the project at least for the winter months to enable it to meet the shortfall. It will be in addition to the 12 per cent free power as royalty to which the state is entitled and 49 per cent of the remaining on the basis of equity share.

It remains to be seen whether the Centre will agree to part with the unallocated share. It will lead to a situation where it will be left with less than 30 per cent share even after having 51 per cent equity in the project.

Bilaspur, February 18
Recent thefts and burglaries in various parts of the district have been a cause of worry for residents here.

Some citizens have expressed concern regarding objectionable activities of some youths, who have come here from outside the state and are living here without any identification. They are said to do odd jobs now and then with view to cover up their illegal activities.

Two villagers, Vidya Sagar of Pehadavin village and Pratap Singh of Ghandhir lost property worth Rs 1.30 lakh. They lost gold ornaments and cash as thieves broke into their houses during the daytime on Wednesday and decamped with the booty.

The police has registered cases at the Ghumarwin and Talai police stations and are investigating the matter. These thefts occurred when the house owners were away and there was nobody in the house.

At Pehadvin, Vidya Sagar, an electricity employee, lost gold ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh, when he and his wife had gone to a temple. He is said to have lost 70 gm of gold, a mobile phone and a watch.

At Gandhir, Pratap Singh, had gone to bazaar, while his wife was away in the fields attending to their cattle. The family lost property worth Rs 30,000, including gold ornaments and cash Rs 7,000.

Earlier too, the thieves had struck in the Ghumarwin bazaar and taken away goods and cash worth Rs 82,000 from two shops.

A pansari, Tulasi Ram, had lost goods worth Rs 12,000 and cash worth Rs 6,000 while a garments showroom had lost Rs 24,000 in cash and cloth worth Rs 40,000.

The police is yet to make any arrests in these cases.

SP K.K. Indoria, who joined his duty here at Bilaspur recently, immediately summoned a meeting of all officers in charge of police stations and police chowkis in the district and instructed them to be extra vigilant in all areas of their jurisdiction.

Hamirpur, February 18
State BJP president Jai Ram Thakur has said those who worked against the party during the last Assembly elections would not be adjusted on any party post.

In an informal talk with mediapersons at the Circuit House here today, he said, “Discipline is very important and workers who had worked against the party during the Assembly elections cannot be accommodated on any post in the government.” He said, “Soon, party’s national president Rajnath Singh and leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani will tour the state and hold party workers’ meetings.”

Nahan, February 18
A team of forest officers led by Paonta divisional forest officer (DFO) Shushil Kumar on a tip off raided a house owned by Anish of Bhagani village under Paonta tehsil yesterday and seized 49 logs of khair wood from the house.

Forest officers had to face resistance from local residents who gathered on the spot in large number helping all offenders to sneak from the scene. The DFO admitted that local people were bent upon to help the offenders and tried to force them to drop action against the offenders.

The market price of seized wood is over Rs 50,000 in the open market. The case has been handed over to the Singhpoura police.

The DFO said the department had tightened its vigil on the boarder areas and forest nakas were being laid everyday in different areas to nab wood.