Kotgarh/Dalash, May 12
The prolonged dry spell has damaged 80 per cent of apple and stone fruit crop in the lower and middle altitudes and doomed the prospects of a good crop in the higher sunny apple orchards. This has disappointed apple growers across the state, who have been hoping of a good crop this year.

Though the rains have lashed the apple belt this week, drought has already taken its toll on the fruit crop, causing a lot of resentment among the fruit growers all over the belt.

The farmers rue that 70 to 80 per cent crop in the lower and middle apple belts in the region has been perished. TC Sirckeck, an orchardist from Dalan in Kotgahr, says, “It is now a question of saving apple trees from perishing. The shoots have flowers but no leaves,” he rues.

“The orchards exposed to the sun had no moisture, as there was no snow in winter and not enough rains since October that has marred the chance of fruit this season,” observes Anup Bhalaik, a farmer from Bhuti. “There is not even 20 per cent crop of stone fruit in the lower belt this time,” he adds.

From Shantha-Chopal to Dakal in Kotkhai and Kutara on Rohru, farmers report that there is not more than 20 per cent of apple crop this year. “We are hit badly due to drought and the prospects in the higher orchards have diminished as not more than 60 per cent of crop has been observed this time,” says Pramod Chauhan from Dakal, and Govind and Deepak Banchta from Chopal.

“This year, there is virtually no crop in the orchards, which had bumper crop in the high altitudes. The orchards, which are on forest and moisture-retaining sites, have an average crop. But the fruits are dropping due to drought,” observes Balbir Chajta, a progressive orchardist from Jubbal.

The story is no different in the Seraj, Janjeli, Karsog and Chindi areas in Mandi, Dalash-Naggar-Ani in Kullu and Rampur, Bahali, Pulzara, Thanadar and the Kumarsain apple belt. Only some higher pockets like Chaithla in Kotkhai, Maroag area in Chopal and other small pockets in Baghi have reported good crop, inform farmers.

They say they have experienced a new phenomenon this time. “The impact of drought is so severe that the flowers sprouted without leaves in the lower altitudes much later than these are detected in the middle and higher altitudes”.

The last nail in the coffin was laid by frost that struck during the peak flowering time in the lower and middle altitudes, says Chajta. Even hail has dashed the hopes in Naggar in Kullu, Deorighat in the Nawar valley in Rohru and the Ganang areas in Ani subdivision. Even Sarahan in Rampur and the Kinnaur tribal belt has reported a lean to average crop this year.

Senior scientists and horticultural officials claim that the orchards in the higher altitudes might be benefitted from the cooling effect of cloudy and intermittent spells of rain. “It has checked the rising temperature that will help the fruit crop in the higher altitudes. But reports on the crop from the fields are awaited,” they add.

Palampur, May 12
Despite the fact that the state government has restricted the use of tractors to agricultural purposes only. In Palampur, a large number of tractors are engaged in mining, quarrying, extraction of sand stone and transporting quarrying material from local streams and rivers to different towns.

The use of tractors for this purpose is leading to indiscriminate quarrying and unscientific mining, which has become a cause of concern for environmentalists. It has also damaged roads and irrigation schemes.

According to information, there are over 750 tractors in Palampur, Baijnath Dehara and Jaisinghpur subdivisions of this region, which are registered for agricultural purposes, but all are put to commercial use.

It may be recalled that a majority of tractors do not carry proper documents such as driving licence and registration certificates and even if they are caught red-handed, the mining department can do little to take punitive action against them. Many times the drivers desert their vehicles and flee.

The government, in its latest notification, has stated that if a tractor registered for agricultural purposes is used for commercial purposes, the authorities can collect taxes from retrospective effect besides impounding the vehicle. But there is none in the administration to implement the orders. A majority of tractors in this area have been registered for agricultural purposes. The owners of these tractors often indulge in indiscriminate quarrying and dig up stones from riverbeds, which has greatly widened the riverbeds at certain points.

In Bundla village near Palampur, the government has prohibited quarrying from the Neugal river, but it is still going on unchecked. Numerous tractors can be seen digging stones and sand from the river. No officer, including the SDM or DSP, ever bothered to the check the illegal mining, which has resulted in a large-scale damage to about 12 drinking water supply schemes.

Save Palampur, a voluntary social organisation of the region, has expressed concern over the misuse of tractors in the region. KB Ralhan, senior member of the Palampur Welfare Forum and an environmentalist, says the unchecked entry of tractors in the town has become a major traffic hazard. During peak hours, it becomes difficult for small children to move on the roads. Besides, these tractors also cause sound pollution. The government should fix time for these tractors for entering into the town, he adds.

He regrets that the government had several times assured that it would come out with a legislation to check illegal mining and restrict the misuse of tractors, but in the past five years, nothing has been done. He says Chief Minster PK Dhumal is well-versed with the situation that the existence of over 100 drinking waster supply schemes, which get water from small rivers in Kangra district, are in danger because of reckless mining by the owners of tractors, still he seems indifferent towards the problem. 

Shimla, May 12
While the state government has realised the need to harvest rainwater to meet the worsening problem of water scarcity only recently, the far-sighted British engineers provided this facility in the Viceregal Lodge constructed more than 130 years ago.

The building designed by architect Henry Irwin is an engineering marvel in which the latest technology available at that time had been incorporated. There was no shortage of water at that time and a scheme which brought drinking water through gravity from the Dhalli Catchment forest had been serving the erstwhile summer capital adequately. However, the far-sighted engineers even made a provision for water harvesting to take care of the crisis situations so that water could be used for maintaining the huge lawns, gardens and other non-drinking purposes in the sprawling complex which was converted into Rashtrapati Niwas after Independence and now houses the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.

The lawns and gardens of the presidential estate retain a lush green hue even when residents are not getting enough water for dirking purposes. Prolonged dry spells have become a regular feature. The secret of greenery in the complex lies underneath the lawns which cover the huge underground tanks in which the entire rainwater from the roof of the main building is collected. The stored water is used to provide life-saving irrigation to plants during dry spells.

There are four tanks in all- two under the front lawns and two in the backyard. Built in stone masonry, the tanks have a circular base and end up in dome shape at the top. Each tank is 4- m- high with a diameter of 9 m and the total storage capacity is over 2.5 lakh litre. The tanks were recently cleaned to remove silt so that their full capacity could be used for storage.

The only problem now is that there is insufficient rain to fill the tanks.As a result, water is available only for saving the plants during drought and it is too meagre to ensure luxuriant growth, says M.R.Sharma , in- charge of the horticulture wing. Apart from harvesting rainwater, a mix of imported and indigenous varieties of grasses has been selected to maintain the green hue through the year. These include kentucky blue, poa , white clover and trifolium which flush at different times to help maintain greenery, he points out.

Belatedly though, the state government had only recently decided to enforce the decision to make rainwater harvesting mandatory in the towns and the areas covered under the state town and country planning act. Henceforth, building plans without a proper rainwater harvesting structure will be approved in these areas. The department of town and country planning department has issued a circular directing the urban local bodies and the special area development authorities to ensure that no building plan be approved without a proper provision for rainwater harvesting. The size of the storage tank will be determined on the basis of the number of inhabitants likely to occupy the building and the quantum of activities to be carried out therein.

However, more steps are required to tackle the water problem which is becoming worse with each passing day due to declining discharge in natural water sources. The hills are being made impervious due to heavy concrete constructions and as a result there is very little absorption of rainwater as a result of which natural sources are fast depleting. The building plans must prescribe the minimum soft area to be maintained around the structures for absorption of rainwater, besides the mandatory setbacks. All the buildings during the British era had sprawling lawns, gardens and tennis courts which is not the case with even the huge government complexes being constructed these days.

The central ground water board, which is concerned over the depleting water reserves, has suggested digging of contour trenches on hills starting from top to arrest the flow of water and ensure the maximum absorption of water in soil. It has also suggested construction of a series of small check dams on various streams.

As compared to the BJP whose top brass, including LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Narender Modi, stormed the state in the last week of campaigning, Congress leadership, barring Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, did not bother much with the electioneering in the hill state.

While in the Mandi parliamentary constituency, former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is single handedly managing the campaign having traveled the length and breadth of the areas falling under the seat. He did take out time to campaign in Shimla, Sirmour and Kangra.

With only four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal, the focus of Congress leadership was more on bigger sates like Punjab, Haryana and others. HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur held election meeting all over the state. The Union Minister for External Affairs and Information and Broadcasting also pitched in, as he, too, addressed election rallies all over the state.

The BJP put in all its might in the terms of resources and aggressive campaigning to wrest the three seats of Mandi, Shiml and Kangra that are currently with the Congress. It is only Anurag Thakur of the BJP who is the MP from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat.

Hamirpur, May 12
It seems that local BJP workers have forgotten the contribution of former party stalwarts from the area, including Jagdev Chand Thakur and Capt Dhian Chand Soharu, as their names do not find any mention in the party campaigns.

Thakur, considered as one of the founder members of the party in the area, was the first MLA from here who made it to the state Assembly on the Jansangh ticket.

It is strange that BJP leaders seldom mention the contribution of late Capt Dhian Chand Soharu, who was the first MLA elected from the then Bhota Assembly constituency in 1967 on the Jansangh ticket.

Captain Soharu had not only laid the foundation of the party’s movement in the area but he had also played a significant role in raising the problems of the area in the state Assembly.

When the Congress dominated politics in the state, it was a real achievement for Captain Soharu to win the election against the tide. Before entering into active politics, Captain Soharu had joined the Army and rose to the rank of a Captain and fought in the World War I and II.

Later, he joined the Indian National Army, founded by Subhash Chandra Bose, and remained in Japan as a prisoner of war for more than three years.

After taking retirement from the Army, he joined active politics and contested the Assembly elections from the Bhota constituency against Congress candidate Sarla Sharma, but lost to her in 1957, as an Independent candidate.

Later, he had joined the Jansangh and won the next election from the Bhota Assembly constituency in 1967 by defeating Chet Ram Sharma of the Congress and represented the area in the Assembly till 1972.

After his death, his son Ranjeet Singh Soharu also remained active in the Jansangh politics and was elected as councilor from ward no. 3, which is, at present, represented by his son Vijay Pal Soharu.

Showing family’s firm commitment to take the ideals and ideology of Captain Soharu further, his grandson Vijay Pal said, “We are proud that our grandfather had contributed for laying the foundation of the Jansangh politics and strong footings of the BJP in the district and our family would always carry this tradition further.”

Shimla, May 12
To switch over from a “jawan to a kisan” has certainly not been easy one for Ashok Kumar, a retired BSF officer, but with the teething problems over his floriculture business in Parohi village on the outskirts of Bilaspur town has finally taken off, as he ponders over venturing into other areas like mushroom cultivation.

With more and more people having taken to floriculture, one cannot help noticing the numerous green houses dotting the hills as one drives through the state. People have found floriculture as a profitable venture with lilums, carnations and roses making it to flower markets all over the country.

Notwithstanding the marketing problems faced by the growers, people are forming cooperatives and making joint arrangements to send their produce to markets. The endeavour by the residents of the remote Churah valley in Chamba to reach the flower markets of Holland might not have taken off, but the farmers in the state have finally taken to floriculture in a big way.

Despite the absence of an organised sector or much support from the government, growers in the districts of Shimla, Solna, Sirmour, Bilaspur, Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and Kangra have taken to floriculture in a big way. From a few hectares under flowers in the early 90s, the area under flowers has touched 620 hectares this year. Presently there are 48 cooperative societies in the state with 2,800 farmers undertaking floriculture.

The new poly house scheme launched by the government is likely to give further impetus to floriculture, as it is not only in green houses but also in natural climatic conditions that gladiolus, carnations and roses can be grown in certain parts of the state. Unfortunately, the efforts of the Churah Valley Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Growers Marketing Society in Chamba to send tulips to Holland did not take off. “Despite the problems like meeting their huge demand, quality, transportation and the lack of support system proved to be the obstacles, one consignment had been sent to Holland,” said a member of the Society.

Even Ashok Kumar has 3,500 sq mts area under three huge green houses in his Parohi village. “It is certainly not an easy area to venture in, but once you acquire technical knowledge and master the tricks of the art, the going is good,” he says. Even though he plans to branch out into mushroom cultivation, his love for flowers will continue.

He sends his flowers to markets in Delhi but complains that the profit margin of the traders is far higher than what the grower gets. “In the absence of strong marketing facilities and the government support, the growers are at the mercy of the traders who fix rates and make payments at their whims and fancy,” he laments.

Though the government is providing funds up to Rs 1.50 lakh for setting up poly houses and has also set up nurseries, most of the growers prefer to get seeds and plant material from abroad to ensure quality. A floriculture centre and tissue culture laboratory has been set up at Chail for the propagation of plant material in the hope that in the near future floriculture sector will see a major growth.