Poultry farmers allege government apathy
Reeling under repeated outbreak of bird flu, the poultry farmers of the state are ruing apathy of the state government. While talking to The Tribune, the farmers alleged that those carrying out poultry in organised manner are the worst hit.

STEP OUT
Fly without freefall!
Simulated skydiving gives you the experience without the scare
IT’S holiday-time and, as always, I recommend that you pack in an adventure activity during your holiday. Last time, I talked about the extreme sport of skydiving. Simulated skydiving is a recreational adventure activity that most people can try at least once.

Proud to be a railway man
His job requires guts and hard work to man a major railway crossing in the wilderness near Jabli on the century-old Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge rail track. Though this historical track has received blitzkrieg publicity in the media recently, no one ever took fancy of Mahinder Singh who stands tall to manage the crossing without complaining much of his hard job.

shimla diary
Prez visit gives tough time to cops 
The five-day visit of President Pratibha Patil to the ‘Queen of Hills’ is giving a tough time to the police authorities as the presence of a VVIP in town invariably causes inconvenience to the locals as well as tourists.

WOMEN POWER: A view of the ridge area under heavy security due to the visit of President Pratibha Patil. — Photo by S. Chandan

Chamba district emerges as ‘hydropower hub'
The country has total hydropower potential of 84,044 megawatt (MW) out of which Himachal Pradesh state alone has a potential of 20,744 MW, available through five river basins of Yamuna, Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Chenab. Himachal Pradesh also has a hydropower potential of 500 MW through mini and micro projects up to 3 MW. Hydro potential through Ravi basin, which originates in Chamba district, is of the order of 2325 MW. Ravi, through its tributaries and nallahas, has an additional potential of 80 MW through 53 schemes.

vignettes
Improving by degrees
There were four districts – Mahasu, Mandi, Chamba and Sirmaur – at the time of formation of Himachal Pradesh on the April 15, 1948. None of these had a degree college because Dharamsala and Shimla, the college towns then, were in the Punjab. The town of Mandi is distinguished as having the first ever Degree College in HP. Barging unannounced into the office of the principal O.C. Malhotra (Zoology), the twentieth to hold the bat since Major Raj Narain Mathur opened the innings in 1949, I wished for a peep into the past of the college. Malhotra was help personified and placed before me the first fifteen issues of the college magazine Vipasha, the Beas.
The peepal tree under which students learnt Sanskrit. In the background are the old barracks where the college used to run. — Photo by S. Chandan

Yog Mantra
Learn yoga from experts: Swami Karmvir
At a time when the country is witnessing mushroom growth of ‘yoga gurus’, highly qualified yogi and chief of Maharishi Patanjli Yoga foundation, Swami Karamvir has emerged as a ray of hope for the followers of this ancient science of healthy living.

Chief of Maharishi Patanjli Yoga foundation Trust and renowned Yogi Swami Karamvir at Nahan. — Photo by S. R. Pundir

CITIZEN FIRST
Solving water problem
The government is trying to provide water through water tankers and tractors to the hard areas where water scarcity is predominant in the district of Bilaspur in the state. In this regard, approx Rs 1 crore is going to be spent in duration of just two months on tankers or tractors. People on the other hand are still dissatisfied. Instead of spending so much, can’t the government device new methods so that there is a permanent solution to the water problem?