Solan, May 25
The Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) today cancelled its several buses to Punjab following reports of violence in the wake of killing of a dera leader in Vienna.

Divisional Manager, Solan, Pankaj Singhal said the situation had worsened in Jalandhar. The windowpanes of a bus (HP-14-7503) belonging to the Solan depot were smashed by a mob while the bus was parked at a workshop there. The bus was on its way to Amritsar from Shimla. He said the bus had a halt at Jalandhar for some time. Meanwhile, a curfew was imposed there. The bus, which was earlier parked at the bus stand, was shifted to the workshop sensing insecurity. However, an unruly mob chased it and smashed its windowpanes. The mob also damaged some other vehicles.

Bus services to Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana were immediately withdrawn and services discontinued beyond Chandigarh. The cash-strapped corporation was suffering a loss of around Rs 15,000 to 20,000 per bus, officials said.

The routes of buses that had to cross through Anandpur Sahib, Una and Ropar in Punjab routes had been diverted through Naina Devi in Himachal, Divisional Manager of Nalagarh Depot Avtar Singh said. Drivers had been directed to avoid routes passing through Punjab.

Even the Nalagarh Truck Operators Union had suspended services to Punjab areas. General secretary of the union Vidya Rattan said the decision was taken following reports of burning of vehicles, especially those belonging to places outside Punjab.

Hamirpur: Two buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), Hamirpur division, have been burnt by rioters at two different places in the public disturbance that broke out at various places in Punjab.

A bus (HP67-7372) of Hamirpur depot, which was on its way from Ludhiana to Hamirpur, was put on fire by a mob at Phillaur today morning. According to information, the assembled mob directed the passengers and staff of the bus to come out of the bus and later put it on fire.

In another such incident, one more HRTC bus (HP 38-1886) belonging to the Dehra depot, which was on its way from Amritsar to Chamunda, was torched in a similar manner at Rama Mandi.

Divisional Manger of the HRTC Hamirpur division Beer Singh has confirmed the incident of torching of two Hamirpur division buses in Punjab in the violence. Meanwhile, the HRTC Hamirpur division has suspended operation of its buses in Punjab till improvement of situation there.

The HRTC authorities said, “As a precautionary measure we have suspended operation in the Punjab region and the HRTC will carry passengers up to Punjab borders only.”

Shimla, May 25
Concerned over the increasing incidents of forest fires in the state, the government has decided to put in place a satellite data-based advanced system to detect, monitor and effectively combat such blazes.

The digital data available from the moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) onboard various satellites under the international earth observing system will be used for monitoring forest fires. The data will be analysed by computer to generate necessary geographical information and the field officials concerned will be alerted automatically, providing all required information about the location and status of the blaze.

The National Remote Sensing Agency (NARSA) has already developed a system to provide fire alerts in “near real-time” on the basis of satellite data received from MODIS. It captures both visible and infrared wavelengths to help detect forest fires. The system provides satellite imagery, besides latitude and longitude of the site of fire. Such systems are currently being used in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and the results have been encouraging.

Secretary (information) BK Aggrawal said a multi-layered geographical information system (GIS) was being developed so that it could be used by the forest and other departments for various purposes. It would be integrated with the personnel information system (PIS) to send alerts to the field staff concerned in the form of short messages on mobile phones.

The possibility of integrating an early warning system based on fire index will also be explored. Parameters like temperature, humidity and quantity of inflammable material on the forest floor are used to work out fire index.

As much as 8,267 sq km area, about 23 per cent of the total forest area in the state, is prone to fires. Around 500 to 900 fire incidents take place every year, but things can go worse depending on the weather conditions.

The wrong afforestation policy of the government, which promoted monoculture of pine, has allegedly increased fire hazard. Over 1,500 sq km area has been brought under pine since 1960.

One hectare of pine forest yields about two tonnes of dry needles and around seven million tonne of the highly inflammable pine needles get accumulated on the forest floor in the state every year.

Shimla, May 25
With the interested companies seeking certain modification in the conditions for the execution of proposed aerial ropeways in the state, these projects are not likely to take off before next year.

These projects of the Tourism Department have already suffered delay due to the coming into force of the election code of conduct for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

It was during the pre-bid conference held by the department with the interested parties that certain issues were raised. The pre-bid conference for the execution of the Palchang-Rohtang, Kullu-Bijli Mahadev and Dharamkot-Triund aerial ropeways in Kullu and Kangra districts was held in Delhi earlier this month.

The main grouse of the companies was with regard to acquisition of private land by the project promoters, instead of the government. Moreover, seeking permission from the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment for felling trees was also a cumbersome affair.

“The interested companies raised certain points during the pre-bid conference and we will try and address these as far as possible,” said Secretary, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Manisha Nanda. She said they wanted the project completion period to be increased from the present two years to 39 months, mainly because of the time required for seeking permissions from various agencies.

As far as acquisition of land was concerned, the government could only act as a facilitator, she said. “The necessary relaxation under Section 118 will have to be taken as per the laid down procedure by the companies concerned,” she said.

The companies are also seeking more relaxation with regard to providing them parking space at lower terminal, land for the setting up restaurants, besides ensuring water and power supply.

Nanda said efforts were on to get the Naina Devi-Anandpur ropeway project cleared by sorting out the pending issues with the Punjab Government. “We have asked RITES to undertake a fresh survey once again so that the matter can be taken up with our counterparts in Punjab,” she added.

So far, work on only one aerial ropeway is on at Jakhu in the state capital.

Mandi, May 25
Shortage of pump operators has hit the operation of over 15,000 lift drinking and lift irrigation schemes, resulting in frequent breakdown of pump houses and pumping machinery, causing inconvenience to the common man.

Most of the schemes were being run on ad hoc basis by “beldars” and “chowkidars”, sources said. The IPH Department’s training institutes for pump operators at Sundernagar and Gagret (Una) had been shut down. “The recruitment of pump operators has been stopped over the years. As such, these institutes are as good as defunct,” sources said.

As the demand for drinking water and that for irrigation is at peak during summer months, most of the lift water schemes need to be run for around 16 hours a day. However, that cannot be done due to the shortage of pump operators.

According to IPH experts, the state needs at least 3,000 pump operators to run these schemes efficiently. “The posts of pump operator are not being filled by the department to please the top bosses. While the department has imposed an embargo on the recruitment of pump operators, the posts of chief engineer are being created without any necessity by the government,” they asserted.

Chief Engineer, Mandi central zone, SK Vats admitted that the department was facing shortage of pump operators. However, he maintained that most of the schemes were being run by “trained beldars”. “Those having matriculation certificate have been trained as pump operators at various ITIs from time to time,” he added.

IPH Engineering-in-Chief RN Sharma claimed the department had trained over 950 persons as pump operators. 

Nurpur, May 25
Strong winds which lashed the area last evening disrupted normal life. Many roadside trees were uprooted and some fell on electricity wires resulting in breakdown of electricity supply.

In Nupur town power supply was restored after over six hours of hard struggle by field staff of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). The water supply also hit due to power failure. The electricity supply was restored today in the rural area.

According to executive engineer of the HPSEB Nurpur division Jatin Raina, the electricity supply in 11 kV feeders of Nurpur, Jassur, Ganoh, Suliali, Ondh and Kotla were hit by high velocity storm, which hit the area last evening. He informed that roadside trees were uprooted and some fell on power supply lines at Chogan, Khushinagar and Bindravan.

According to information from the HPSEB Nurpur subdivision, the field staff will undertake repair and maintenance of electricity supply lines tomorrow and power supply will remain off from 9 am to 5 pm.

Dharamsala, May 25
Chief Secretary Asha Sawroop has issued directions to the district administration, Kangra, to complete computerisation of revenue records by September this year.

She passed these directions at a meeting of district officials here to review the progress of various developmental programmes.

The computerisation of revenue records in Kangra district has been delayed inordinately. The sources available here said the work was started in 1990. Since then about Rs 93 lakh have been spent but the computerisation of records is yet to be completed. Due to lack of computerisation the people are facing problems in getting correct revenue records and cases of mutations and corrections are piling up.

The deputy commissioner, KK Pant, apprised the Chief Secretary regarding the problems being faced in the computerisation of records and requested for special computer training for revenue employees.

Besides the computerisation of revenue records, the settlement work of Dharamsala office has been pending for the past 50 years. The settlement office has also been demanding additional computers but they are yet to be supplied by the government. Due to pending settlement work in many villages falling under Dharamsala zone the people are finding it hard to get the record of their lands.

The Chief Secretary also directed the district officials to make long-term plans under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). By making long-terms plans we can extend the employment being provided to the people. Last year Rs 99.26 crores were spent under NREGS in Kangra district. In the current financial year the budget is increased to Rs 184.74 crore. Under the scheme till date in Kangra district 25700 man days of employment have been provided to locals, the Chief Secretary said.

Hamirpur, May 25
The Sujanpur Mandal of the BJP has passed a resolution against party’s sitting MLA from Hamirpur, Urmil Thakur, demanding “action against her for not putting her soul and spirit in the election campaign” during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Some members of the party criticised Urmil Thakur during a meeting of the mandal held to discuss the outcome and campaign policy of the party.

Urmil Thakur is the wife of elder brother of Congress candidate Narinder Thakur, son of late Jagdev Chand Thakur, a BJP stalwart. Narinder Thakur had contested against Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur.

Though Urmil Thakur had campaigned against Congress candidate and her brother-in-law Narinder Thakur during these elections, some BJP workers had been accusing her of “being soft towards Narinder Thakur”. They highlighted the issue in the mandal meeting.

Mandal president Sukh Dev said, “During the meeting, some members expressed their sentiments against the MLA and even demanded action against her. A resolution to that effect was passed and forwarded to the party’s higher committee for further action.”

On the other hand Urmil Thakur has vehemently denied the charges of being soft towards Narinder Thakur. “I worked for the party wholeheartedly and the allegation of being soft towards Narinder Thakur is not only false, but also mischievous. The entire episode is the handiwork of the persons who had worked against me during the last assembly elections.”

“I am not bothered about the sinister campaign since I had put in my whole energy in the election campaign of Anurag Thakur and even published an appeal to vote for the BJP against Narinder Thakur. How can I go against the party that has made me an MLA twice from here. However, if they expected me to abuse Narinder Thakur, I definitely did not do that,” she added.

Shimla, May 25
Every government school in the state will be provided a hand pump in a phased manner to supplement the centrally funded ‘Jalmani’ scheme under which stand alone water purification system is being installed.

Stating this while presiding over a meeting to review the functioning of the Irrigation and Public Health Department Chief Minister PK Dhumal said 14,330 rural schools were being covered under the central scheme, which would cost Rs 111.29 crore. The government proposed to install hand pumps in schools in a phased manner. The total number of hand pumps in the state would cross 20,000 by the end of the current financial year. He urged the department to launch special drive to revive the dry and non-functional hand pumps.

He said there were 35,795 fully covered habitations and the target was to achieve cent per cent coverage by the year 2012. He said the scheme to augment water supply to Sundernagar, Dharamsala, Chamba and Palampur would be completed within the year. In all Rs 172.22 crore was being spent to cover 1,171 habitations of the Changar area in Kangra and Bilaspur districts. He underlined the need for restoration of traditional water bodies, which could be instrumental in recharging the ground water.

Out of the total 56 townships in the state 15 had been provided with sewerage facility and another 24 towns were likely to get the facility shortly. The government would consider making it mandatory for every household to have a sewerage connection.

The Chief Minister said strengthening of the irrigation network was a priority and so far 2.27 lakh hectares of land had been brought under irrigation through 2,056 schemes and 15,287 hectares would be irrigated under Rs 310.89 crore Shahnehar project, 3,150 hectares under Rs 66.35 crore Sidhatha Medium Irrigation Scheme, 2,350 hectares under Rs 88.09 crore Anandpur Hydel Channel Project and 2,780 hectares under Rs 62.25 crore Balh Valley Left Bank Medium Irrigation Scheme.

Additionally, Rs 155 crore had been made available by NABARD for the current financial year to bring 37,702 hectares under irrigation.

Dharamsala, May 25
Government College, Dharamsala, has sought autonomy from Himachal Pradesh University under the policy declared by the UGC. It is the first Government College in state to apply for autonomy under a scheme floated by the UGC.

UGC team members, including the Vice-Chancellor of upcoming central university at Bathinda and former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University Jairup Singh, Dr Chakar Dhar Sinha from the Indian Institute of Management and IT, Dr Arvart, Professor of Economics from Pune and two professors from HP University- SK Sharma and HS Parmar- visited the college here today. They were here to evaluate the college for granting autonomous status.

If granted, the college would be able to make its own curricula as per the local needs. The institution can also prescribe its own courses and hold examinations as per its specific needs. An examination controller would also be appointed in the college.

Under UGC guidelines the government has also been directed to avoid transferring employees of the institution that is declared autonomous.

The UGC members, when contacted, said the scheme was aimed at delinking the colleges from the affiliating structures. Due to increasing numbers of institutes the universities are not being able to manage the colleges well.

However, in case the colleges are declared autonomous it would decrease the burden on universities and improve the functioning of colleges.

Hamirpur, May 25
Rohan Sharma, a local boy from ward number 8, has secured 17th position in the All-India Entrance Test conducted for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).

His father BR Sharma, who is a banker, and mother Raj Kumari, a head teacher, were elated with joy over their son’s achievement.

A brilliant student throughout his career Rohan had won several competitions in the past, which includes position in Olympiad in physics and chemistry and was also topper of the National Talent Search Programme during 2007.

Rohan aims to enter the Indian Institute of Management after completing engineering from IIT and later become an investment banker.

Chandigarh, May 25
Guru Nanak Mission Public School, Paonta Sahib, has once again done well in the class XII CBSE examination with its student Manu Sehgal securing 94.8 per cent marks in aggregate, according to a press note issued by the principal of the school.

Shimla, May 25
Having badly fared in the engineering entrance examination, two Delhi girls Nupur and Priyanka jumped off a building in the Kacchi Ghatti area on the outskirts of the town. According to the police, the two girls, residents of Dwarika in Delhi, jumped off a five-storeyed building this evening.

They have been admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in a critical condition with multiple fractures. The two girls left their home in Delhi yesterday morning and came to Chandigarh on the pretext of joining coaching classes. They reportedly came to Shimla today and got off the bus after which they jumped off the building.

Eyewitnesses said they too were taken by surprise when the two girls suddenly jumped off the building. They were rushed to IGMC where they have been admitted to the casualty. — TNS