Solan, November 2
Even as a Vigilance inquiry is underway to probe irregularities in the fertiliser purchase made during the previous Congress regime, a similar case has surfaced in the purchase of super phosphate (SP) fertiliser during the tenure of the present BJP government.

Enquires made from HIMFED revealed that the fertiliser samples failed to meet the laid-down specifications as all of them failed laboratory tests.

The reports were confirmed by the Sundernagar-based laboratory of the Agriculture Department. On October 22, HIMFED directed its officials not to sell the stock to the farmers.

Enquires made by The Tribune revealed that HIMFED had placed an order on September 27 to purchase 1,000 MT of SP with a Noida-based firm M/S Jubilant Organosys.

It was supposed to supply the fertiliser to the HIMFED’s authorised transporter Rajnish Enterprises at Chandigarh till October 30 after which it was supposed to be supplied directly to about 85 HIMFED godowns across the state.

As per the fertiliser control order (FCO), the Agriculture Department is supposed to get its quality tested from a laboratory before selling it to the farmers.

Therefore, officials were directed to draw samples and send these for analysis before putting it on sale.

The firm supplied 922 MT till October 21. When these samples failed to meet standards, directions were issued to HIMFED officials on October 22 to draw more samples and not to sell the stock till it was tested further.

The director, agriculture, has now called a meeting for tomorrow to review the situation. Officials of HIMFED and the Agriculture Department would participate in the meeting.

Since the issue could cause embarrassment to the government, efforts were underway to hush up the matter, sources said.

The case had, however, put a question mark on the working of HIMFED where such a large-scale purchase had been recommended by a committee comprising a fertiliser development officer and the MD.

Director, agriculture, J.C. Rana confirmed that the samples tested so far had failed to meet the laid-down specifications. He, however, added that the difference was not much. As against the specified norm of 16 per cent phosphorus, the content was around 14.5 per cent, he added.

“We are now undertaking a re-analysis to corroborate the earlier results and if the fertiliser fails to meet the specifications, prosecution could be launched against the supplier,” he added.

“No supply of this fertiliser has been made to the farmers and it will be ensured that only quality fertiliser is made available to them. All bags purchased from the firm are lying in HIMFED godowns and these will be supplied to the farmers only if found fit according to the specified standards,” he said.

Being a main fertiliser used by orchard owners across the state, the issue has put a question mark over the fertiliser purchase mechanism of HIMFED.

Hamirpur, November 2
The first evening of cultural programmes during the Hamir Utsav saw playback singer Javed Ali make the audience dance to the tune of his famous numbers, including “Nadaga Nagada”.

Javed Ali, who reached the stage around 10 pm, regaled the audience with many melodious songs like “kahne ko jashane bahara hai”, “jia dhadak dhadak jaye”, “tujhe dhek dhek jagna”, “bin tere sanam mar mitenge hum”, “ji karda”, “ek din teri rahon main”, and “kajrare-kajrare”. The youngsters in the crowd not only enjoyed popular songs, but also danced to their tunes.

“Star Voice of India”-fame singer Ashardeep also kept the audience in good mood by singing popular songs like “jivan sathi ho diya aur bati”, “yeh ishq hai baithe bithaye” etc. School students and local artistes also performed on the occasion.

Earlier, education minister I.D. Dhiman formally inaugurated the cultural programme. He said fairs and festival were part of our culture and presentation of culture through such functions was not only invigorating but also educative.

The minister said he was impressed by the government policies and programmes displayed through exhibitions put up during the festival. MP Anurag Thakur and MLA Urmil Thakur also addressed the gathering.

Ukhali (Hamirpur), November 2
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has castigated critics of the government decrying the alleged slow progress in the improvement of national highways and other roads.

He was addressing a public meeting at Ukhali after inaugurating the Bhota and Maid-Ukhali lift drinking water schemes built at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore at Ukhali.

He said, “Even our adversaries in the Congress are appreciating good work done by our government. It is strange that some people are still raking up the issue of improvement of national highways. We will have to think about it.”

Dhumal said, “One should compare the present condition of the roads with that which prevailed during the last year. Ours is the only government in the country that has fulfilled 80 per cent of the promises made in the election manifesto within just 10 months of coming to power. Even in remote places like Kinnaur, women are praising the good works of the BJP government through songs.”

He said, “The Irrigation Department has started accepting public complaints through the Internet. These complaints are addressed within 24 hours. Seventy-seven hand pumps have already been installed in Hamirpur district and 2,000 more will be installed soon. A sum of Rs 24 crore has been allocated for it.”

He said, “While complaints about government officials for their lapses are always welcome, people should also learn to praise their good work since it has been part of our culture to thank and praise good work.”

He said, “The government has decided to start the office of chief conservator of forests, wildlife, at Hamirpur. Though the UPA government has reduced the rice quota from 20 kg per month to 5 kg for a family and has not released relief for damages caused during the monsoon, the state government will continue its efforts to make the state a model hill state.”

He also announced to give Rs 5 lakh for the building of a middle school at Ukhali and Rs 2 lakh for constructing a wall.

Education minister I.D. Dhiman, IPH minister Ravinder Ravi, MLAs Urmil Thakur and Baldev Sharma also addressed the gathering.

Kangra, November 2
Resentment prevails among residents of the town for the government apathy faced by the Bajjreshwari temple due to non-formation of the temple trust, which has affected development activities related to this temple for the last nearly one year.

The temple one of the 52 shakti peeths and a major attraction for the devotees from all over the country was facing a neglect at the hands of the government as no new trust has been formulated after the government headed by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal came into being.

The temple was supposed to have a 21-member trust with 11 official and 10 ex-official members nominated by the government to run the activities of the temple, besides developmental works and pilgrim related activities.

After the formation of the government the new trust was supposed to get formulated, but unfortunately due to the leadership tussle within the BJP in this block the trust members could not be nominated leaving its formation in a lurch.

The BJP leadership had submitted five different lists to the Chief Minister for nomination of the trustees of the temple, but for want of consensus on names the government failed to nominate the members.

The crisis has evoked a criticism from the religious minded people and intellectuals. P.R. Agnihotri, B.L. Sharma, M.L. Sharma and other senior citizens of the town have demanded that the government should prefer religious minded social activists, senior citizens and retired senior government officers with zeal and dedication to work for the temple activities instead of nominating party activists of the ruling party.

The temple has generated revenue of Rs 2.5 crore this year against Rs 1.99 crore last year, but the annual budget could not be approved for want of the formation of the trust. The action plan too was not approved, said Kangra SDM Pardeep Kumar.

He said there was no formal meeting of the trust for the past nearly 11 months. He said the trusts for Jawalamukhi and Chamunda temples in this district were formulated, but notification for this temple was yet to be made.

Despite a huge revenue the Bajjreshwari Ghat work could not be carried on, white marble scheduled to be laid in the temple could not be laid, fibre sheet shelter from Nehru Chowk to the temple could not be erected, no ladies bath rooms were constructed near Chakar Kund and other places of the temple town thus putting the visiting pilgrims to a dock.

The residents here demand that Chief Minister should set a new and right precedence of making a non political but lively, dedicated and active trust for this temple.

Palampur, November 2
Om Power Corporation, a private company, which is executing a 15 MW power project on the Neugal river near the town had been directed by the Department of Forest and Environment to immediately suspend entire construction activities in Dhauladhar hills, as the company had failed to follow the environment laws and violated the provisions of MoU signed with the state government.

Disclosing this to mediapersons here today divisional forest officer A.S. Baniyal said this action had been initiated on the basis of report submitted by a team of forest officials, who visited the site of the project yesterday and found that till date the company had not followed the environment laws, indulged in reckless felling of hills and damaged the green cover.

Besides, the company had failed to create dumping site and damaged the water sources causing hardship to the local residents.

Baniyal said the Forest Department was assessing the loss caused to the forest wealth by the illegal construction activities of the company and soon it would be asked to deposit the money in the state exchequer.

The DFO admitted that as per provisions of the MoU signed with the state government the company was bound to develop a dumping site for the debris, but instead of dumping site it preferred to dump stone, clay and debris in the local irrigation channels and the Neugal river resulting in serious water crises in the entire Palampur region.

It may be recalled that this action has been initiated following complaints made to state forest minister J.P. Nadda, during his visit to town last week.

Thereafter, Nadda constituted a high-level team of forest officials and asked them to submit him a detailed report after visiting the site. The team submitted its report to the minister last evening.

J.P. Nadda while talking to The Tribune on phone said no one would be allowed to violate the provisions of environment and forest laws.

He said as per the report of the team it had been established that the company had played havoc with the nature, destroyed the green cover and indulged in reckless cutting of hills with heavy machinery.

He warned the other companies executing power projects in the state to stick to the terms and conditions of the MoU signed with the state government and do not disturb the fragile eco system of the state.

MLA Parveen Sharma welcomed the action initiated by the forest minister. He requested the minister to direct the company to restore all damaged water sources without any delay, which would ease the drinking water crises in entire Palampur region.

He said company must pay Rs 3 crore to the IPH Department who had suffered heavy loss because of reckless cutting of hills and dumping of debris in its water channels.

Palampur, November 2
Congress MLA from Baijnath Sudheer Sharma here today threatened to launch an agitation if the government shifted the office of sub-divisional police officer from Baijnath to Darlaghat in Solan district.

He said residents of the Baijnath region would resort to direct action on the issue and take to the streets.

He said the office of the SDPO was opened 10 years ago and the building for the office was also under construction as the Congress government had sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for it. He alleged the Dhumal government was discriminating against Baijnath.

This was being done because the Baijnath constituency was represented by a Congress MLA, he alleged.

Instead of opening new offices in Kangra district, the BJP government was shifting offices from here.

He termed the decision of the BJP government as politically motivated with an intention to create hardship for the people of Kangra district.

He said the SDPO, Baijnath, had jurisdiction over 200 villages of Palampur, Jaisinghpur and Baijnath subdivisions.

Therefore, there was no justification to shift this office from here to Darlaghat, he said. If the government was really keen to open a office of the SDPO at Darlaghat, it should open a new office, he added.

Sundernagar, November 2
A fast track court of Mandi has sentenced Hari Lal, a resident of Tandi Manglor village of Kullu district, to undergo rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh for possessing commercial quantity of charas.

As per the order, the convict has to further undergo rigorous imprisonment of one year in default of payment of fine.

The convict was nabbed near Pandoh Dam on March 2 when he was trying to run away from the spot after seeing the police party.

He was found possessing 3.5 kg of charas, which was wrapped around the body of the convict with a tape.

The police registered a case under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Act and arrested the convict who was charged by the fast track court for this offence.

The prosecution examined 12 witnesses in its favour to prove the case. The court held the convict guilty of the offence.

The court while rejecting the plea of the convict for leniency observed that the convict was carrying commercial quantity of contraband and deserves no leniency and sentenced the convict on Friday.

Nahan, November 2
Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Jagdish Bhalla inaugurated the newly constructed judicial complex at Nahan today.

Speaking on the occasion he stressed the need for quick disposal of litigations. For this purpose he also solicited active cooperation from the Bar members in the state.

He said for the fast disposal of cases Lok Adalats have also played a very useful role and results are good. He said the Bench and Bar must come forward to give cheap and quick justice with full transparency to the aggrieved person.

He called upon the Bench and Bar to equally follow the norms of responsibility, integrity and accountability while pleading and deciding the cases.

He stressed that these were the key points to maintain the high standards of judicial system and further strengthen the faith of common man in the judicial system.

He said efforts to bring all courts under one roof at the district headquarters, Nahan, had materialised with the inauguration of the new complex which is equipped with all modern facilities.

He hoped that with reducing distance between session’s court and lower courts now work would be speeded up and it would help disposing of litigations quickly.

He asked the judges and Bar members of Nahan to make this complex an example of mutual cooperation by living just like a family with cordial relations.

He appreciated the Sirmaur Bar Association, which had rich legal tradition and capacity to produce very competent judges also.

On this occasion Justice Surjit Singh said he expects good results in disposing of the cases quickly as the district was having good team of judges and advocates.

V.K. Gupta, district and sessions judge, Sirmaur, welcomed the chief guest. Additional district and sessions judge presented the vote of thanks.

One of the senior most lawyers of Sirmaur district I.C. Gupta spoke on behalf of the Sirmaur Bar Association and extended full support of the association to the bench for speedy disposal of cases.

Singh announced that after coming in power in state the Congress government would give regular service to every PTA teacher.

Shimla, November 2
The site on the Shoghi-Seri road where fossil-like rock pieces had been found during excavations for widening is drawing large crowd even as the Language, Art and Culture Department is awaiting arrival of the experts to ascertain if they were ordinary rocks or a geological treasure.

The locals who heard about fossils of the extinct creature were comparing the jaw-like structure of the twin-rocks to the head of a dinosaur. However, those who have no such knowledge are also turning up in large numbers just to satisfy their curiosity.

Secretary, Language, Art and Culture, B.K. Aggarwal said his department did not have experts who could examine the fossils. Experts from the Geological Survey of India and other institutions who specialised in the study of fossils were being contacted.

Meanwhile, the PWD had stopped excavation around the three pieces of rocks, which are being seen as parts of fossilised dinosaur. They together add up to about 20 feet.

Shimla, November 2
Concerned over the tardy implementation of development schemes by panchayati raj institutions, the state government has decided to computerise their functioning so as to ensure effective monitoring of schemes.

It will also ensure transparency in the implementation of programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as names of all beneficiaries, along with details of payments made to them, will be put on the web muster for public scrutiny.

In the first phase, a management information system will be put in place at development block level.

A pilot project will be implemented in Mashobra and Kandaghat development blocks and by the next year all 77 blocks will be covered. The accounts of all 3,243 panchayats will also be computerised in a phased manner.

“The government also proposes to extend the videoconferencing facility right down to the block level so that issues could be thrashed out in real time, without involving any physical movement of officers,” says Srikant Baldi, secretary, rural development and panchayati raj.

The necessary hardware had already been installed at the block level. Besides 1,000 panchayats had also been provided computers and the plan was to cover another 1,000 panchayats this year, he added.

Block-level connectivity would be provided through the statewide HIMSWAN project, while broadband network being laid out for the Community Service Centre Scheme would be utilised to connect panchayats.

Once connected, the panchayats would deliver all services to the public that were available at community service centres.

Secretary, information technology, B.K. Aggrawal, said the plan was to computerise the functioning of all departments.

Instead of rushing matters, his department was playing the role of a facilitator and departments were being asked to come up with their own plans.

The target was to ensure that every department achieved minimal computerisation, covering accounts, employees’ data and other functions in the first phase.

In the second phase, departments important from the point of view of public services would be put on line. The Irrigation and Public Health Department was likely to be the first to go online.

The Panchayat Raj Department had been taken up on priority as it would generate base data to be used by other departments.

Shimla, November 2
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has taken initiative for holding talks with neighbouring states to settle long-pending issues bilaterally.

He has spoken to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and requested them to dispose of the common issues in a phased manner through talks for the benefit of all northern states.

He said both Badal and Hooda were positive in their response and had expressed desire to thrash out contentious issues and cooperate with each other in mattes pertaining to development.

Badal reportedly assured him that the construction of the Kurali-Siswan-Baddi road would be completed by June, 2009.

Necessary directions had been given to the officers concerned in that regard, he added. The road would benefit industrial units of both states.

He said he took up the matter for the repair and maintenance of the Pinjore-Baddi road with Hooda and urged him to ensure that the 18-km stretch from Pinjore to Madhwala, which fell in Haryana territory, be restored on priority. Hooda had assured that the repair would be carried out within 30 days.

Various issues relating to industrial units and residents of the Nalagarh-Baddi- Barotiwala belt were also discussed.

The state government wanted to resolve all problems faced by industrialists and locals in collaboration with Punjab and Haryana.

Dhumal said he had assured the Chief Ministers of both states that repair of the roads within Himachal was being carried out on a priority.

Shimla, November 2
The Himachal Hawkers Society has urged Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal to reconstitute the state wakf board at the earliest and streamline its functioning.

A delegation of the society led by its president Liaquat Ali met the Chief Minister yesterday and impressed upon him that there had been no improvement in the working of the board even after its bifurcation from the Punjab Wakf Board.

The main reason for that was that the same staff was deployed by the board that had been responsible for various irregularities in the parent board.

The BJP government appointed an administrator to mange the board soon after coming to power but it had not made any difference as it did not have power to take major decisions.

Things could be set right only if a regular chairperson was appointed and the board was cleansed by removing old employees, who were involved in irregularities and responsible for the gross misuse and mismanagement of properties.

Liaquat Ali also drew attention of the Chief Minister towards some of old mosques that were in dire need of repair.

Most of the wakf properties were either in the possession of the government agencies or private individuals and no concrete action had been taken to get these vacated over the years.

Chamba, November 2
All three occupants, including a subdivisional officer (SDO), his driver and peon of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department, who were travelling in a government vehicle, Tata Sumo (HP-46-0534), died on the spot when their vehicle swerved off the road and rolled down into a 150-metre deep Budhil rivulet at Lahal Dhank, near Bharmour, last night according to report received here today.

The report said the deceased have been identified as SDO Shanti Swaroop Kaundal, driver Karnail Singh and peon Chattar Singh of the IPH Department -all posted at Bharmour tribal headquarters.

The bodies of the SDO and the driver have been recovered from the accident site, but the body of peon was yet to be extricated from the rivulet.

When officials of the IPH, Bharmour, after a long wait observed that the deceased who started their journey from Chamba along with official cash amounting to lakhs of rupees have not reached they started searching for them and found the bodies laying downside the highway in mutilated condition at Lahal Dhank.

Confirming report about the accident, additional district magistrate of Bharmour N.K. Lath told this reporter on phone that the body of the peon was yet to be recovered as his body was presumed to have been rolled down along with the vehicle, which was neither visible nor accessible in the narrow rivulet amidst steep-sided cliffs.

However, a search operation pressing into service police personnel, home guards and fire brigade crews along with locals had been launched to trace the body of the peon, the ADM said; adding that an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of two deceased had been sanctioned.

Bilaspur, November 2
People who are fortunate and have enough resources should come forward to provide financial help for various humanitarian activities of the Red Cross and fulfil their social obligation towards less fortunate persons who are below poverty line.

Presiding over a day-long district-level Red Cross fair organised by the District Red Cross Society here today, forests and environment minister J.P. Nadda said every rupee given in donation to Indian Red Cross is invariably spent on welfare and assistance of the needy and the destitute.

He urged all people to get associated with this humanitarian organisation and participate in its activities, which would certainly provide them priceless satisfaction of having done something for those who deserve it.

He also distributed wheelchairs to handicapped persons namely Dinesh Kumar of Chakoh village, Kishori Lal of Kothi village and Verinder Kumar of Barthin while Ram Gopal of Malothi was provided with a hearing aid and Rachana Kumari was given artificial limbs.

Daksha Kumari of Chandpur, Karam Singh of Majari, Sapna Devi of Ballu, Rakesh Kumar of Palathin and Madan Lal of Barad were given financial help worth Rs 25,000 each as inter-caste marriage assistance on behalf of the government.

Mandi, November 2
The rising incidence of trauma in road accidents, the ascents and the descents in hills, have emerged as a major cause of bone deformities, including knee joint and back ailments, in the state.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the CME-cum-workshop on orthopaedics, which concluded here today, associate professor of the Orthopaedics, IGMC, Shimla, Manoj Thakur said, “Trauma cases related to road accidents have doubled in the past five years in the state. The main culprit is the high speed and manifold increase in traffic on the roads, including highways.”

Dr Manoj said over five-seven cases of road accident related traumas are reported at the IGMC for surgery everyday from all over the state.

The rising incidence of road accidents has become one of major disease burden in the state.

Besides, the ascents and descents that people of hills tread daily result in the knee joint and back problems when they enter the middle age group, the doctors said.

There is no study available in the state as to how much is the incidence of the bone-related problems triggered by the factors like ascents and descents in the hill population of the state.

“But hill people are more prone to the knee and back problem. They run a high risk of knee joint and back problems in middle age-group,” said Dr Manoj.

He said lifestyle related bone diseases like osteoporosis, weakness of bones are other diseases prevailing among the patients in the state.

The lack of physical exercise and wrong sitting postures also result in bone related problems, he added.

The orthopaedic experts also gave training to the field surgeons working in the district hospitals in the region.

They also learnt new techniques in the field and how to perform the foot correction and fracture correction surgeries during the workshop.