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Winery Projects
Plan to set up medical varsity
Fungal disease grips apple orchards
Pharmacy colleges face shortage of experts
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Student bodies’ poll on Aug 21
Naina Devi Stampede
Naina Devi fair concludes
No effort to ensure pilgrims’ safety
Protest against forcible collection from truckers
Shortage of docs irks patients
Stray dog menace on the rise
Restore land to Amarnath board: Dhumal
Rally against pay panel report
Truck, motorcycle collide, 2 die
Brar LS poll observer for HP
Anganwari centres to go online
1 dies as tree falls on house
Petition on retention policy disposed of
Single-tender allotments to be probed
Viplove appointed poll observer
Nod to rail link welcomed
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Govt to talk tough with private firm
Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 12 The proposed winery projects to be set up at Pragtinagar in Kotkhai and Nagwain in Kullu district have failed to take off. The plant at Pragtinagar in Kotkhai is now being used as a bottling unit with the raw material being brought from outside. The government has now asked Indage Limited to accept apple from growers in the state so that they can benefit and the purpose behind allowing the project is achieved. The Pragtinagar unit has the capacity to utilise 18,000 tonne apples for making wine, but the plant is being used only as a bottling unit. “We have asked Indage Limited to start making wine at the earliest so that apple grown in the state can be put to use and the growers are saved from transporting it to the market,” said horticulture minister Narender Bragta. It was during the BJP regime that an MoU was signed with Indage Limited for the two winery projects. The unit at Pragtinagar was to make apple wine, while the other one at Nagwain was to make grape wine. As per the earlier MoU, 20 per cent profit share was to be given to the growers and 10 per cent each to the HPMC and the government. During the Congress regime, the MoU was changed and the share of the government and growers was surrendered. However, the present regime is determined that the purpose with which the wineries were set up must be achieved. In fact, the government is keen that the commercial cultivation of four grape varieties imported from France, which were found suitable for the agro-climatic conditions of the state, is resumed. The government had imported 14 varieties of grapes out of which four were successfully cultivated in the warmer climes of the state. Under the proposal, there was a buyback arrangement and the farmers were to undertake contract farming in over 200 acres so that the demand of the winery could be met. The Horticulture Department had identified areas in Sirmaur, Mandi, Kullu, Bilaspur and Una where the grape varieties were to be planted.
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Plan to set up medical varsity
Shimla, August 12 This was stated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal while reviewing the functioning of the Health and Family Welfare Department here today. “The health sector is the priority of the government and private players are being invited to set up medical institutes of international repute so that the best health facilities can be provided to the people of the state,” he said. He said since there were over 4,000 health institutions in the state, the need for a separate medical university was being felt. He said efforts were also being made to set up green field medical colleges in Mandi, Solan and Hamirpur. He said the health indicators in the state were among the best in the country despite geographical constraints. “With 70 per cent of the population being dependent on government health institutes, efforts are being made to upgrade facilities and provide services of specialised doctors even in the most remote areas,” he said. Dhumal said the government had decided to provide free medical facilities to all IRDP families at government health institutions. He asked the Health Department to ensure effective implementation of the tuberculosis eradication programme. “Anaemia amongst women was an area of concern and steps need to be taken to tackle it,” he said. Health minister Rajiv Bindal said the TB sanatorium at Dharampur was being strengthened so that the latest TB treatment facilities could be extended to the people. |
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Fungal disease grips apple orchards
Shimla, August 12 According to the latest reports, almost 50 per cent apple orchards in the upper Shimla region and parts of Kullu and Mandi districts have been affected to varying extents. Plants in severely hit orchards are already witnessing premature defoliation that could affect production during the next season. Director of horticulture Gurdev Singh, who himself visited some areas, said the infection was sporadic and of minor nature and there was no cause for alarm. However, the department was not taking any chances and it had formed five teams, three for Shimla and one each for Kullu and Mandi districts to assess the situation. Intermittent rain from the end of April and the early onset of the monsoon created ideal conditions for the revival of the fungal disease. Jubbal, Kotkhai, Rohru, Chopal, Chirgaon, Maryog, Dalash, Nankheri, Chindi, Churag, Arsu and Karsog are the areas where a large number of orchards have been affected. The continuously overcast conditions and high humidity prevailing for the past more than three months have been highly conducive to the growth of fungus. However, unlike the past outbreak, orchards have been by and large spared the twin attack of mite along with morssinona. The humidity has been very high for the mite to flourish as the leaves remained soaked in moisture, leaving little dry space for eggs to hatch. The outbreak has been severe in the orchards that are not well maintained and the growers have failed to adopt the revised spraying schedule, says Dr S.P. Bhardwaj, joint director of extension services at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry. The orchards have to be sprayed after 15 days in place of the normal 25 days. Mercifully, the fungal disease has broken out at time when harvesting of the fruit has already started and as such it will not have much impact on the production. However, premature defoliation will affect the process of photosynthesis, which in turn will weaken the plants. This will affect production during the next season. Farm scientists suggest that the growers should spray the orchards with food supplements after harvesting the fruit to keep the affected plants in good health.
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Pharmacy colleges face shortage of experts
Solan, August 12 The condition was worse even in the government college Rohru where the apex regulatory body, Pharmacy Council of India
(PCI), had issued directions to stop admissions for the current session till permanent faculty was appointed. Though it was running a diploma course since 1990 with 40 seats, the faculty members were appointed on a contractual basis. In Kandaghat and Rohru Polytechnic, few staffers were rotated due to shortage of staff. Surprisingly, even the principals’ qualifications of these colleges was not as per the council’s norms. Similar situation was witnessed in most of the private pharmacy colleges where the principals lacked the mandatory ten-year experience along with a doctorate degree. Interestingly, in one college, the principal was heading two colleges located in two different states. In some colleges, instead of appointing M.Pharmacy faculty, B.Pharmacy teachers were taking degree classes. The government had accorded permission to four such colleges in Solan , two in Sirmaur, two in Mandi and one each in Kangra besides a government-run college at Rohru in Shimla. Director technical education S.S.Guleria ,however, said a council team which had inspected the institute had been apprised that the regular staff would be appointed within the six months. Since, the process had been initiated and the recruitments have to be made through the Public Service Commission, it would take some time. Managing trustee of
L.R. Pharmacy college said, “ The reason for the lack of faculty in pharmacy colleges was the lucrative pay packages drawn by them in the industry. Even a beginner managed to get anything between Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in the industry and an experienced one could fetch even higher amounts.” With each institute requiring the council’s approval in its third year, it was observed that few private institutes start upgrading their infrastructure and staff after the first two sessions. Since a substantial investment is required, it’s to be ascertained how many colleges get the council’s approval. |
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Student bodies’ poll on Aug 21
Shimla, August 12 HPU vice-chancellor Sunil Kumar Gupta announced the schedule for elections in HPU, the Dharamsala postgraduate centre and all colleges (both government and private) in the state. He said the display of voter lists would be done on August 14. Objections would be filed on the same day. The display of the final voter lists, filing of nominations, scrutiny and display of the list of candidates would be done on August 18. The withdrawal of nominations would be allowed on August 19 with the final list of candidates to be put up the same day. The voting would take place on August 21 from 9.30 am to 2 pm. The counting of votes would begin at 3 pm on the same day and the results would be declared late in the evening. Gupta appealed to the students to maintain peace during electioneering. He said the entire election process would be held strictly as per the guidelines laid down by the Lyngdoh Committee. “I have directed principals of all colleges in the state to strictly follow the guidelines and, if needed, seek the help of local administration to ensure that there is no violence,” he said. |
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CPI fact-finding panel blames govt, admn
Our Correspondent
Bilaspur, August 12 Addressing mediapersons here today, CPI state finance secretary Diwana Ram Chaudhary, who led the committee, said the party had sent this committee to the spot immediately after the tragedy. The committee spent five days and talked to hundreds of eyes-witnesses. Chaudhary said that district administration did not have any plan for the disaster management. The committee said no responsible officer was at the time of accident. Most of them were resting and arrived after two hours of the accident. The Committee felt that the mela managers hardly had any experience of controlling such crowds. It said there was no doctor to meet any emergency and though there were at least 20 ambulances, only few of them had fuel. Two of the ambulances were in possession of the additional district magistrate and subdivisional magistrate. The committee said the police lathicharge was also responsible for aggravating the situation.
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Naina Devi fair concludes
Bilaspur, August 12 Additional district magistrate C.P.Verma said today around 25 thousand devotees had darshan in the temple who offered cash worth Rs. 5.27 lakh, 39 g gold and 3 kg silver. He said that 3.5 lakh devotees visited the fair and offered cash worth Rs. 65.30 lakh, 684 g gold and 39 kg silver at the temple. The yajna which was started on the temple premises for those killed in the stampede on August 3, also concluded yesterday. The people who participated in the ceremony, paid homage to the departed souls and expressed grief to the bereaved families. Verma and sub divisional magistrate P.C. Akela also thanked the devotees, voluntary
organisations, officers and others who tried their best to make the arrangements as good as possible, despite all odds
during the fair. |
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No effort to ensure pilgrims’ safety
Shimla, August 12 Hundreds of trucks and vans that have been temporarily converted into double-deckers by fixing wooden planks are carrying pilgrims from nearby towns and states, sources in the state transport department said. On top of that, the entire 13-km stretch connecting the temple to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab is dotted with large potholes. Heavy vehicles move like seesaws as if they are crossing lunar craters, some even the size of shallow graves.The sources said the danger increased during the pilgrimage season when devotees carry kerosene and cooking gas cylinders in these vehicles. "Why is the government allowing the truckers to ply overloaded vehicles thus putting the lives of people in danger?" asked Zile Singh, a volunteer of the Punjab Durga Sewa Dal. More than 300 volunteers of the Sewa Dal have been helping the police in managing the crowd and traffic during the 10-day long annual fair at the Naina Devi shrine. "Every year, we, more than 80 villagers, go on a pilgrimage. We visit various temples and gurdwaras in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh by hiring a truck. This is a cheaper mode of transportation," said Kuldip Singh, a villager from Punjab. A senior police official said: "We have received orders from our seniors not to check any vehicle which is carrying devotees during the fair. The same problem occurs during the fairs at other Himachal shrines like Jawalaji, Chintpurni, Chamunda Devi, Bajreshwari and Kiratpur Sahib. Inspector-general of police (law and order) S.R. Mardi said: "We have given instructions to the cops to fine all such vehicles but the unexpected rush of devotees affected the security arrangements."
— IANS |
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Protest against forcible collection from truckers
Nurpur, August 12 In a memorandum submitted to the Kangra DC and SP, as many as 13 entrepreneurs have alleged that the society had engaged goons to exhort money from the drivers of trucks loaded with sand, bazri and crushed stone. These entrepreneurs have set up their units in the Gangath assembly constituency of this subdivision and have approached the state government to intervene. They have sought legal action against the alleged highhandedness of the society. The society has set up nakas on the Kandwal- Bhadroya, Damtal-Indora, Gangath- Indora and Dhangu- Mazra link roads. Recently, the musclemen of the society allegedly thrashed industrialists of the area, who had lodged FIR against the accused with the intervention of local MLA Des Raj. Des Raj admitted that he had received a number
of complaints against the society. He said it was only after his intervention the police had booked society’s musclemen for thrashing and intimidating the three local industrialists. He added that he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Thakur Rashpal Singh, the president of the Truck Operators Society, said the society used to collect money by issuing slips only from Punjab’s loaded goods vehicles. |
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Shortage of docs irks patients
Kangra, August 12 The post of medical superintendent is lying vacant in the hospital. Dr Rakesh Mohan, deputy medical superintendent, is looking after the hospital in absence of a regular MS. There were 650 posts, including 200 doctors, which are lying vacant. At the medical college, 22 posts of professors were created and only 13 were filled. Out of 25 posts of associate professors, nine were lying vacant. Out of 40 posts of assistant professors, only 20 were filled and out of 129 posts of registrars, 41posts were lying vacant. As many as 18 posts of junior residents were lying vacant. “The state government should take steps to improve the condition of this hospital and make it a real boon for the people of this area,” a senior doctor said. The number of the nurses, including the staff nurses and other para medical staff, is also low. |
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Stray dog menace on the rise
Kumarhatti, August 12 The stray dogs galore thanks to the feeding by roadside dhabas, which have emerged as a major problem for the locals. The dogs kept roaming in and around the dhabas along the highway. The tourists encounter the greedy dogs as soon as they halt at these dhabhas and eating points. These dogs chased the vehicles crossing on highway and, at times, they even attacked the tourists. A social worker said no efforts were being made to check the stray dogs population. There was an urgent need to sterilize the dogs as they could not be culled, pointed. The veterinary department should ask the respective panchayats to launch a joint drive to arrest the menace, he
maintained. Interestingly, the emergence of this problem has caused a catch -22 situation for residents, who were already reeling under simian menace. The efforts of the forest department to check the monkey menace by trapping them has failed to serve the purpose. |
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Restore land to Amarnath board: Dhumal
Shimla, August 12 In a statement issued here today, he said the Centre must act wisely and promptly, evaluating the gravity of the situation. “The Centre must direct the Jammu and Kashmir government to restore the land earlier allotted to the Amarnath shrine board so that communal harmony is restored,” he said. He said the land was given to the board for creating facilities for the pilgrims and there was no reason to cancel the move. “Succumbing to pressure of extremist elements is not in the interest of the nation and is bound to harm religious harmony in the state,” he said. He said the only way to resolve the issue was to restore the land to the board. He hoped the Centre would take a decision in that regard at the earliest. |
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Rally against pay panel report
Shimla, August 12 Speakers urged employees to be prepared for a long-drawn battle. They said the pay commission had downgraded the pay scales of classes “D” and “C” categories and conveniently overlooked the 15th Indian Labour Conference norms to deny need-based minimum wages to them. The lowest paid employee would benefit only by Rs 990 per month, whereas the monthly increase would be as high as Rs 34,000 for the IAS cadre. The demand for raising the retirement age from 58 to 60 years had also been ignored, they said. Representatives of state government employees condemned the scrapping of State Administrative Tribunal and opposed unbundling of the state electricity board. They alleged the BJP government was harassing employees by effective “vindictive transfers”. |
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Truck, motorcycle collide, 2 die
Nahan, August 12 The truck was coming from the Paonta side, while the motorcycle riders were on their way to Paonta. Anil and Nirmal received grievous head injuries and were killed on the spot. The police has rounded up the truck driver and impounded the vehicle. |
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Brar LS poll observer for HP
Chandigarh, August 12 General secretary of the AICC Janardan Dwivedi, informing Brar about his appointment as observer, has told him to contact R.K. Dhawan, in charge of party affairs of Himachal. Brar’s appointment indicates the Congress high command has started preparing for the Lok Sabha elections which may be before May next year.
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Anganwari centres to go online
Dharamsala, August 12 He revealed that the state had chalked out an ambitious plan to bring all the anganwari centres in the state on-line by December this year. Three anganwari centres, including at
Mashowara, Thoeg and Kandaghat had already been brought online. They are developed for under privileged children of rural areas under the age of 6 years. The basic objective of them is to provide proper nutrition to children from poor families in rural areas. |
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1 dies as tree falls on house
Shimla, August 12 According to the police, the incident took place in the evening killing Sangeeta, resident of Pine Lodge, behind Ashiana Regency. A massive tree collapsed on the house damaging the building and injuring Sangeeta, who later died in the hospital. In another incident, police constable Bharat Bhushan was critically injured after being hit by a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus (HO-03A-6035) outside the police headquarters in Nigam Vihar. He was admitted to the IGMC in a critical condition. |
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Petition on retention policy disposed of
Shimla, August 12 A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice R.B. Mishra and Mr Justice Surjit Singh observed that in view of the dismissal of the main petition, the interim order was passed on December 29, 2006. |
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Single-tender allotments to be probed
Palampur, August 12 He said number of such cases were brought to his notice and hence, Chief Minister Prem K. Dhumal had asked the vigilance agencies to look into the matter and submit a detailed report to the government. Thakur said preliminary investigations had revealed that loss to the state exchequer, worth crores of rupees, was caused with the allotment of single tenders’ contracts. |
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Viplove appointed poll observer
Shimla, August 12 A communication received from the high command in this command said she had been asked to assume charge immediately. |
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Nod to rail link welcomed
Shimla, August 12 He said it was a decision that would help Himachal in promoting tourism, horticulture and agriculture. Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal had vociferously pleaded for the Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh rail line in the national interest, he said. The people of Himachal were grateful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for granting approval to the project, he said. |
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