Solan, September 14
Inordinate delay by the Himachal Pradesh Housing a
nd Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) in issuing licences to realtors has put on hold investment in the housing sector. While a large number of realtors are awaiting licences, the complete bar on even new registrations has disheartened them.

With the realty sector showing signs of recovery from the prolonged recession the realtors are keen to invest now. But with the authority failing to entertain any new request the investors are getting disenchanted from investing in the state.

Though officials in HIMUDA said they were contemplating to revise the registration fee from the hitherto Rs 5,000 per bighas and there were certain aspects of the HP Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 2005, which needed to be amended, nothing worthwhile seemed to be done. The issue was also discussed during the last board meeting of HIMUDA where the plea for revising fee was put forth.

A prospective investor told The Tribune that he had submitted a proposal for a housing project and it had been lying pending for several months now. Repeated inquires from HIMUDA have failed to elicit any response.

Realtors rued that it was unfair to adopt this indifferent attitude as the government had duly framed the HP Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 2005, and if investors were dissuaded in this manner it was better to annul the very Act.

It was learnt that there were some reservations within a section of politicians with the Act allowing non-Himachalis access to realty business in the state. But, these could be amended by bringing about suitable changes, officials opined.

According to an estimate, more than 60 licences were pending and the number of registrations was even more. Keen investors were on the lookout for old licences so that they could initiate their ventures but even that option was limited, confessed a realtor. The present situation even made Himachali investors suffer, as there were no new registrations.

HIMUDA had registered 168 applicants as promoters and 33 licences had been granted which included 17 to non-Himachali and 16 to Himachali promoters. Out of this, 23 licences had been issued for the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area alone, which witnessed maximum real estate activity.

Dharamsala, September 14
The recent visit of former chief minister and union minister for steel Virbhadra Singh, to Kangra district, the political capital saw most of Congressmen from the area falling in line for him. Even the perceived detractors who owed affiliation with rival group of state Congress were seen eager to register their presence before the veteran Congress leader.

Virbhadra Singh started his three-day Kangra tour from Kandrori, a remote place on the Punjab-Himachal border on September 11. He was at Kandrori to inspect the site of proposed steel processing plant of SAIL. Most of the Congress leaders from the district, including former MLA and district president of Congress Brij Behari Butail, former MLAs Sujjan Singh Pathania, Yog Raj and Vikram Katoch, the state president of Youth Congress Manmohan Katoch, the spokesperson of HPCC Kewal Singh Pathania, former Kangra MP Chander Kumar and Ajay Mahajan, son of former Congress minister Sat Mahajan, were at Pathankot airport to welcome Virbhadra Singh.

Manmohan Katoch managed his show of strength at the Kandrori political rally, whereas most of the other Congress leaders were just there to register their presence.

On September 12 Virbhadra Singh addressed a political rally in the Fatehpur area of Kangra district that falls in Jawali assembly constituency where the by-elections are to be held in the near future. The rally was also attended by most of the Congress leaders from the district though the in charge for elections HPCC general secretary Asha Kumari who belongs to Chamba district did not come.

An oblique reference of Virbhadra Singh towards some local leaders from the Indora area who organised a tea party for Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal during his recent visit to the area, however, has created controversy in the Congress. The senior Congress leader Vidya Stokes has reacted to the statement apprehending that the comments were directed at her.

Viplove Thakur, the former president of HPCC and Rajya Sabha member and her brother Nikhil Rajore, MLA from Jaswan, were the only Congress leader from Kangra district who was not did not meet Virbhadra Singh during his recent visit. The known loyalist of Virbhadra Singh, Sudhir Sharma, MLA from Baijnath, was also not present due to personal reasons.

The kind of response Virbhadra Singh received in Kangra district clearly indicated a shift of balance of power in the state Congress towards him.

Mandi, September 14
Inter-state transport buses, plying from Punjab and Haryana, have become “safe conduit” for taking contraband charas consignment from Manikaran and Kasol in Parbati valley to outside the state.

This came to light today when the special investigation unit (SIU) of Mandi police arrested one Om Nath, a resident of Jari valley, Parbati valley, under the NDPS Act after recovering 1.2 kg charas from his possession while he was travelling in a Punjab roadways bus on its way from Manikaran to Ludhiana.

According to the police, Om Pal was travelling in the bus (PB 10 BY 7698) when the SIU team, led by head constable Prem Pal, stopped the bus near Sukki Bain today. He searched Om Pal’s bag and recovered the charas from him, the police claimed.

Recovery of charas consignment has revealed the fact that even transport buses, plying between Manali and Manikaran, are safe conduit to smuggle out the contraband from Kullu-Mandi district, the hashish hub.

The police claimed that the accused had been arrested and further investigation in the case was on.

However, the cops monitoring or checking transport buses, including those run by the HRTC or Haryana roadways, remain casual.

Central range DIG Anurag Garg stated that the police had launched a special campaign to nab drug peddlers. However, according to sources, nothing substantial have been done in Kullu, Mandi and other districts to catch smugglers, considering that charas season has picked up as cannabis plants have already been harvested.

Meanwhile, the police expressed its inability saying that it was not possible to check each and every vehicle plying in or out from barriers.

Shimla, September 14
The Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded Swan River Integrated Watershed Management Project will go a long way in taming Una district’s river of sorrow.

The rain-fed river is unruly during rainy season when it causes most of the destruction. Flash floods have been the order of the day and, over the years, the river has washed away several thousand hectares of fertile land, causing huge damage to life and property.

The scanty green cover over the fragile Shivalik ranges adds to the problem as rain triggers off land slips and brings down lakhs of tonnes of silt from the slopes.

However, all this is set to change with implementation of the integrated project under which a series of measures are being taken to stabilise slopes, check soil erosion and improve livelihoods, besides channelising the turbulent river.

An area of 61,900 hectares and covering 95 panchayats in the district is being covered under the project. Initially, 15 panchayats were taken up in 2007-08 for carrying out various works.

So far, Rs 23.3 crore have been spent till March, 2009, on afforestation, soil and water management, livelihood improvement while an amount of Rs 20 crore has been provided in the budget for the current year.

As many as 21 water-harvesting structures have been constructed in Una, Gagret and Amb areas of the district at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore. Farmers in some villages like Takrala have been able to bring almost their entire land under irrigation after a farm pond was constructed under the project. The extension of irrigation facility has brought about a drastic change in the cropping pattern productivity and the net income from farms has increased manifold.

In Nangnoli panchayat, intensive soil and moisture conservation works and afforestation were taken up and these helped in ground water recharge. As a result, water table rose significantly, providing relief to about 40 families who were using the dry well. A pumping set has been installed and the motor is operated for 14 to 15 hours daily.

Watershed management is integral to sustainable forest management and livelihood development in environmentally fragile hill ranges like the Shivaliks.

The approach is gaining importance in planning and implementation of natural resource management programmes, especially forest sector, for checking soil erosion and denudation of catchment areas of turbulent rivers like the Swan.

Hamirpur, September 14
While detection of bacteria in operation theatre of district hospital here has forced health authorities to go for thorough fumigation of the operation theatre, they have also decided to be more cautious to check such cases in future.

A bacteria named “pseudomonad” was found in a test report, sample of which was taken on a swab from the operation theatre and sent to a private laboratory in New Delhi by the district health authorities.

The report of the sample has confirmed presence of the bacteria which was received here a few days back.

Acting immediately after its detection, the health authorities closed the theatre for a few days and carried thorough cleaning, washing and spray of pharmolin.

The presence of these bacteria in the operation theatre could have serious consequences for patients being operated here.

Medical experts say if any patient comes in contact with the said bacteria, it could lead to chances of getting infected and causing delay in the healing process of wounds.

“These bacteria live in soil or decomposing organic material and though in normal circumstances the bacteria can be controlled with tetanus and other antibiotic medicines, its presence in operation theatre can create hurdles in recovery of a person undergoing surgery,” they claim.

The process of sending samples from the operation theatre was started by the district health authorities sometime back and now the samples would be sent to Rajinder Prasad Medical College, Tanda.

Confirming the report of presence of the bacteria in the operation theatre, Dr DS Chandel, CMO, said, “The presence of the bacteria was confirmed in the test report after which we got the theate thoroughly washed, cleaned and fumigated.”

“It is natural to find a bacteria in operation theatres and we have decided to send samples for test more frequently to Tanda medical college,” he added.

Nurpur, September 14
Three teenagers drowned in a rivulet at Sakri village, near Nagrota Surian, this evening. According to information, the deceased have been identified as Mandeep Kaur (12) and Gurdeep Singh (14), children of Satnam Singh of Sakri, and Hardeep Singh (15), son of Ravinder Singh of the same village. The trio had gone to the rivulet for taking bath, but accidentally they drowned in the deep waters.

However, local villagers fished out the bodies late in the evening.

Shimla, September 14
Adopting a holistic approach, which can help understand even the slightest adverse impact on the fragile ecology, is the only solution to saving environment.

This was stated by Forest Minister JP Nadda at the two-day national seminar on “Disaster Preparedness and Management” organised jointly by the Institute of Integrated Himalayan Studies (IIHS) and the Department of Geography, at Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), here today.

Nadda called upon scientists, scholars and policy planners to look into the spiritual angle and ensure people’s participation in the mission. “It is important to understand the earth and environment as it is only then possible to undertake restoration and preservation of the Himalayas,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Ravindra K Pandey from Kumaun University, Nainital, (Uttarakhand), and former director of the Disaster Mitigation Centre said one must emphasise the need for expanding observation and monitoring system, especially in areas where data is scarce and risk factor is high.

“Reliable feedback, information on warning system and public reception with susceptibility of the warning system, must be assessed,” he said.

With regard to minimising losses due to natural calamities like earthquakes, he said efforts must be made to extend application of existing techniques and knowledge.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, HPU, said such seminars on issues like climate changes, disasters, floods and accidents, would help avoid catastrophe and mitigate the damage caused by them.

Shimla, September 14
The state Fisheries Department has urged the Centre to relax norms for seed stocking at the Gobindsagar and Pong dams due to non-availability of big sized fish seed in 
the region.

It was only last week that the Fisheries Department had written to the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) to relax the norms so that procuring fish seed became easy.

They urged the NFDB to reduce the criterion of getting 100 mm fish seed to 30 or 40 mm as getting big seed was becoming exceedingly difficult.

According to soures, despite advertising its requirement for 100 mm fish seed twice, there were no takers.

Left with no other option, the department has now urged the NFDB to relax the norms. The department has already received a sum of Rs 1.40 crore out of a total of Rs 2.80 crore from the NFDB to undertake seed stocking at the two main reservoirs.

Though funding was not a constraint, but non-availability of big fish seeds was hampering implementation of the scheme, they added.

“Farmers from places like Indora in Kangra and Patiala in Punjab are willing to provide 30 mm to 40 mm fish seed but getting 100 mm fish seed is next to impossible, forcing us to seek relaxation in norms,” said a senior official.

The NFDB has laid down norms for putting in only big fish seeds measuring 100 mm as survival rate of bigger seed is far higher than the smaller seed.

Though production of fish in the Gobindsagar dam has been on the increase, it is Pong Dam where the fish production is less due to damage by migratory birds who flock the water body in winters.

Fish production in Gobindsagar was 1,020 tonnes last year while the catch at Pong dam barely touched 283 tonnes.

The main catch at Gobindsagar is silver carp, which constituted 742 tonnes of the total catch of 1,000 tonnes while at Pong, the main fish is Singhara.

To tide over the problem of less production at Pong Dam, the Centre has approved setting up of Rs 5 crore fish seed farm at Pong.

The formalities for transfer of land from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) are being completed so that it can be constructed at the earliest.