Shimla, October 1
The state government has raised a demand of Rs 1,580 crore before the Central team that visited various parts of the state to assess the damage caused by the recent heavy rain in the state.

Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal informed the team, which met him before leaving for New Delhi, that the total loss on account of damage caused by rain and flash floods had been assessed at Rs 2,076 crore and all 12 districts of the state had been affected.

He said 100 lives were lost, while 3,625 cattle had also perished in rain-related incidents. Around 2.56 lakh hectare of agricultural and 15,160 hectare of horticulture land was also affected. The loss to private property, including houses, sheds and cattle, amounted to Rs 240 crore. He said the prolonged monsoon had caused havoc in the state. Hundreds of trees got uprooted, causing massive road damage and loss to private and public properties. The government immediately carried out rescue and relief operations out of its own funds, he said.

He said the Assembly had passed a resolution urging the Centre to grant immediate relief of Rs 1,000 crore to the state pending the final assessment of the damage. He said the road infrastructure had been damaged severely and it had to be restored promptly as winter was approaching. He said forests had also been badly hit and around 12,650 trees were uprooted or washed away.

Earlier, chief Secretary Asha Swaroop apprised the team of the rain damage and pleaded the state’s case for liberal assistance from the Centre.

Kashmir Singh assured the chief secretary that the case of the state would be put forward effectively before the Centre so that maximum possible assistance could be provided for restoration of the damaged infrastructure.

Shimla, October 1
With the Rules for Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places coming into effect from October 2, the Himachal Pradesh Vouluntary Health Association (HPVHA) has demanded that Shimla be made ‘smoke-free.

The association today launched an awareness campaign by holding a silent march and street play to make the people aware about the ill effects of smoking and the need to ban it in public places.

Sriniwas Joshi, closely associated with the campaign for making Shimla ‘smoke-free’ said though the awareness level had improved but smoking was still not banned in all public places. He stressed the need for effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Act 2003 and adequate pictorial health warning on all tobacco product packages.

He said Shimla being an international tourist destination, the need to make it smoke-free was all the more. All public places including hotels, restaurants, parks, coffee bars and other such places should be made smoke-free at the earliest so that people can be saved from the ill effects of smoking.

It had in May undertaken a signature campaign and later submitted a memorandum to the Governor and chief minister for effective implementation and enforcement of Tobacco Control Act 2003. “When 60 per cent of the pack surface area in Australia and 50 per cent in Thailand could be adopted for carrying health warnings then why can this not be done in India, said Joshi.

He said the awareness about tobacco control was high but there was extreme indifference towards its implementation. “The main objective of the HPVHA is to raise awareness levels among the school, college and university students so that they can be kept away from the ill effects of tobacco consumption,” he said.

Shimla, October 1
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken a serious view of felling of trees in the municipal limits of the Shimla Municipal Corporation despite the peremptory orders banning felling of green trees passed by it.

Justice Rajiv Sharma summoned the entire record pertaining to the felling of green trees in violation of the court orders. During the course of the hearing it was brought to the notice of the court that there had been large-scale felling of green trees with in the territorial jurisdiction of the corporation.

When the court asked the additional advocate-general about this fact, the only explanation given by the state counsel for this Act is that it has been done on the recommendations of the trees committee. Counsel for the petitioner prayed for some time for placing on record these facts before the court by filing of an appropriate application. The court also directed the state counsel to make the record available for the assistance of this court.

The case will come up for further hearing on October 17.

Shimla, October 1
The government will explore the possibility of setting up “special education zones” in the state in collaboration with international universities to help create facilities for imparting world-class vocational education.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal after Kolkata-based PS Group Reality Limited made a presentation on such a proposal here last evening. He said private players should be motivated to identify suitable locations in the inner parts of the state, preferably in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla districts.

He said the peaceful hill state had ideal environment for academic pursuits that would prove to be a big asset to attract global players to invest in the education sector and other development activities. He said the state was poised to emerge as the “knowledge hub” of the country in association with the universally acknowledged global players and produce qualified and trained manpower. The “special education zones” would have a cluster of reputed colleges affiliated to international universities imparting education in sunrise sectors like information technology, biotechnology and pharmacy.

The government had enacted a law to facilitate entry of private players in the education sector. The state had the distinction of establishing the first IT university in the private sector, which was ranked among the best in the country. He said the government would act as a facilitator for setting up of such professional institutions, but it would be very selective in permitting private universities.

So far, private universities were preferring border districts of the state, including Solan, Kangra and Sirmaur, while there were much better locations available in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla districts where such institutions could be established.

Chief secretary Asha Swaroop advised the interested parties to submit their detailed proposals along with the blueprint so that the same could be examined threadbare.

Shimla, October 1
Apprehending the possibility of human trafficking, the state police has decided to look into the cases of women going missing (immediately after their marriage or otherwise) from various parts of the state.

A team of the state CID recently visited certain areas in Sirmaur district from where there had been some unconfirmed reports of such cases. Efforts are being made to ascertain the whereabouts of such women.

The state CID is collecting details about the exact number of such women, their age profile, economic background and circumstances that could help the police to reach to them. “Though there are speculations about human trafficking, we have yet to ascertain any such case. We will try to trace women who have gone missing, kidnapped or abducted,” said Puneeta Bhardwaj, SP (crime) in the CID.

Some such cases of women going missing or never returning home after their marriage had been brought to the notice of the State Commission for Women also. The commission had also asked the police to look into the reasons behind the disappearance of such women. Police teams will visit these areas again to get some clues about missing women.

Besides making efforts to involve families of missing women in their search, the police is also contemplating getting in touch with certain voluntary organisations in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. These NGOs are running projects with the aid of United Nations Organisation for Drug Control (UNODC) for women who have been pushed into flesh trade or sold off for one or the other reason.

“In case we succeed in tracing even one such woman hailing from Himachal who has been pushed into flesh trade, we can start tracing the route backwards,” said Bhardwaj. Quite a few cases of missing or abducted women pertained to minors.

In 2007, 537 women had gone missing from various parts of the state. “Out of them, 305 have been traced out but we have no clue about the whereabouts of the remaining 222 women,” she said. The possibility of human trafficking could not be ruled out, she said.

Shimla, October 1
Endurance of vehicles and the driving skills of the men at wheel will be put to a severe test during the 10th edition of Raid de Himalaya, the world’s highest and one of the toughest motor sport event, which was flagged off by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal here today.

The organisers were forced to make some changes in the original route as some portions were had become unfit for the rally because of the extensive damaged caused to roads by the recent heavy rain.

The 2,050-km rally will pass through the most rugged and inhospitable terrain in the western Himalayas over the next eight days. Besides famous tourist destinations like Manali and Leh, the rally will cross through Kaza, Keylong, Sarchu, and Kargil. It will culminate at Leh, instead of Srinagar as originally planned. It will make foray into the Zanskar region for the first time. In the final leg, the rally will touch Kargil and instead of proceeding to Srinagar return to Leh.

The event has again featured on the international off-road rallies calendar of the Federation of International Mostorsport, Geneva. Apart from inhospitable terrain, the dare devils will also have to deal with the elements. Last year, the rally had to be terminated midway following early snow that led to blocking of the roads. This year, the route had to be changed because of heavy rain and early snowfall. Manjiv Bhalla, vice-president of the Himalayan Motorsport Association, which is organising the event, said the weather outlook for the next five days was favourable but one had to be prepared for every exigency.

Most of the top ranked national teams are participating in the rally. In all, 132 entries have been received. Of these, 35 motorbikes and 37 four-wheelers are in the X-treme category and remaining in the Adventure Trial category. The Indian Army has sent 10 teams. There are eight women and three foreigners among the participants. All foreigners are in the two-wheeler category and are riding Indian-made motorcycles.

Dharamsala, October 1
Minister for public health Ravinder Ravi has alleged that a grease scam was committed the Public Health Department during the stint of the previous government.

The department purchased grease worth Rs 1.9 crore at prices ranging from Rs 910 per kg to Rs 9,975 per kg, while the present price of grease in the Delhi market is around Rs 200 per kg only.

The comparison of prices at which grease was purchased by the department during the stint of the previous government clearly indicated misappropriation of public funds, he alleged.

The inquiry into the case had been handed over to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department. All officials concerned would be brought to the book in the case, Ravi said.

He also alleged that the department wasted more than Rs 7 crore by raising a drinking water scheme in the Durang constituency of former IPH minister Thakur Kaul Singh. The scheme was set up in a forest area by the Panjori rivulet, he said.

The department should have sought clearance from the Forest Department for the project, but it went on to spend Rs 7.69 crore without doing so. The result: The scheme could not be made operational and the public money was lying waste.

The BJP minister targeted the HPCC president in both the cases.

He said the Congress was now creating an issue in Mandi district by demanding a government medical college there.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had already promised private medical colleges in Mandi and Una districts. The private medical college would cater to medical needs of the people of district, he said.

The government also going to start the Vivekanand Institute of Medical Sciences at Palampur, he said.

Dharamsala, October 1
Former transport minister and Congress MLA from Nagrota Bagwan GS Bali is peeved at not being invited at the proposed function of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in Tanda medical college on October 3. While addressing a press conference here on Monday the minister said that the medical college fell in his constituency. Being an elected representative of the area the district administration should have invited him on the function.

Besides me, all other elected representatives of area including sarpanches and block samiti members have also not been invited. By this act the district administration was setting up a wrong precedent that can create a permanent wedge between the opposition and ruling party, he alleged.

The government and district administration have even forgotten promises made to residents who gave their land for the construction of Tanda medical college. During the stint of previous government such people were promised preferential treatment in allotments of shops and canteen in medical college campus. One medical seat was also reserved for students from Nagrota Bagwan assembly constituency.

However, the present government has de-notified all the benefits that were to be extended to Nagrota Bagwan residents in Tanda medical college.

The former minister also alleged that the present government had failed to get the Chaki causeway repaired. Due to it the movement of heavy traffic in the district has been impaired for the past four months.

Bilaspur, October 1
Led by joint action committee chairman Dr Satish Sharma , doctors accompanied by representatives of other paramedical staff unions, met deputy commissioner Devesh Kumar here today and presented him a memorandum to be forwarded to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The memorandum expressed resentment over the suspension of Dr Kamal Kumar. He was suspended for his alleged failure to attend to Manish (14) of Panjgaain, who was allegedly not attended to the doctor concerned on time at a regional hospital here . They sought immediate reinstatement of the doctor.

Earlier, the District Medical Officers Association held an emergency meeting and formed a joint action committee and decided to wear black badges in protest against this suspension order. They also threatened to suspend their services.

Solan, October 1
Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal today paid a private visit to Mohan Shakti Heritage Park at Haret village, about 10 km from here, where he inspected its progress. Accompanied by the chairman of Mohan Shakti Trust, Brig Kapil Mohan (retd) and health minister Dr Rajiv Bindal, Dhumal reportedly made this visit after being invited by Brig Mohan.

It is noteworthy to mention that the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid its foundation stone in December, 2002 and the trust had then announced to complete it within five years.

Though the visit was a private affair all officials were directed to be present there. Though it was another question as to how many residents turned up for presenting their grievances.

Dharamsala, October 1
The bar association of Dharamsala has resented the non-availability of court fee stamps of smaller denominations in the court complex. Lawyers in a resolution adopted here said the non-availability of smaller denomination court fee stamps and stamp papers was causing financial exploitation of poor litigants.