Shimla, October 26
The Congress campaign for by-election to Rohru constituency began on an unpleasant note with enraged partymen taking out their ire on Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh for denial of ticket to Pratibha Singh.

The trouble started at the very onset as Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, accompanied by Kaul Singh arrived at Sungri to hold a workers’ meeting. They questioned the PCC chief to know the reason for denial of ticket, particularly when the local unit of the party had recommended only one name for it. Kaul Singh told them that it was a decision of the high command and that he could not say anything about it.

However, the workers were not satisfied and while asking him to go back almost pushed him. However, the tempers cooled down subsequently and the two leaders headed to Baloon for a public meeting. Tension was in the air and within minutes an unseemly situation arose. As leaders started addressing the gathering a section of crowd started raising slogans against Kaul Singh, blaming him for denial of ticket to Pratibha Singh. Another group reacted by raising slogans in favour of the party candidate Manjit Singh. In between, slogans were also raised in favour of Virbhadra Singh.

Slogan shouting apart the speech of Virbhadra Singh also failed to enthuse the gathering. He said he had been contesting from Rohru for the past more than 25 years but today some people were terming him as an outsider. He said ‘he was glad that the party high command had started to enforce the policy of not granting ticket to close relatives from him’ in a rather sarcastic manner, making obvious his anguish over the selective implementation of the policy.

Overcome by emotions he virtually came to tears while recalling his long association with Rohru. He said he would be extremely hurt if the party lost the seat which had been its bastion. A BJP win would be like a Pakistani flag over an Indian fort. However, there were no unpleasant happenings at the next two meetings.

Interestingly, most party leaders deployed for the election duty in Rohru by Kaul Singh have not arrived. Only Harsh Wardhan Chauhan, Ram Lal Thakur, Mukesh Agnihotri and Subhash Manglait were there and even in charge of campaign Gangu Ram Musafir was yet to take charge.

Dharamsala, October 26
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today kick-started the BJP campaign for the Jawali Assembly constituency by-elections by organising political rallies in the area.

The Chief Minister, while addressing public rallies, listed achievements of the present government. “The present government has catered to all sectors of the society including employees, farmers as well as traders. In addition to provide employment to youth in government and private sectors, the government has also stressed on self-employment,” he said.

Schemes like providing 80 per cent subsidy on construction of poly houses have been formulated for providing the youth an opportunity to get self-employed. Employees of all categories were provided interim relief and later new pay scales even before the Punjab government, he added.

He said the Opposition had no issue to criticise the government on issues of development. It was, therefore, concentrating on raking up non-issues to sway the public.

Dhumal, while responding to queries from mediapersons, also said candidates for both the Assembly constituencies, had been finalised by the party high command. The BJP would win both Assembly segments with a considerable margin, he claimed.

Kangra MP Rajan Sushant, while speaking on the occasion, credited present BJP government with construction of the Shah Canal. The canal would solve the irrigation problems of many arid areas of Kangra districts, he said.

He alleged that the Congress had been ignoring the lower areas of the state, including Kangra district.

The BJP has fielded Baldev Raj Chaudhary, a local leader, for the Jawali Assembly constituency. Sources here said the candidate had been selected at the recommendation of Rajan Sushant.

Rajan had initially sought party ticket for his wife. His wife had also resigned from the government job and had started campaigning.

However, Madan Sharma, brother of Rajan Sushant, also staked his claim. In this imbroglio, the party decided against giving ticket to any of the family members of Rajan Sushant and instead asked him to suggest an alternative name.

However, the sources are considering Baldev Raj Chaudhary, a first-timer, a weak candidate against the old war horse and former Congress minister Sujjan Singh Pathania.

After the denial of ticket to Pratibha Singh, the Congress faction owing affiliation of Virbhadra Singh, has also concentrated on winning the Jawali Assembly segment. However, chances of the BJP candidate would depend on performances of Rajan Sushant, and Shanta Kumar, the former Chief Minister, who have considerable clout in the area.

Shimla, October 26
The entire top brass of the BJP, including Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state party chief Khimi Ram, have stepped up efforts to convince BJP rebel Madan Sharma to retire from the contest, considering the fact that he is bound to make a dent into the vote bank of the ruling party.

Dhumal, along with other leaders including Satya Pal Jain, in charge of party affairs in Himachal, organisation secretary Mahender Pandey and Khimi Ram are already in touch with Madan, who is contesting as an Independent after being denied the party ticket.

The Chief Minister today campaigned extensively in Jawali to ensure the BJP victory.

The fact that the BJP has till now not expelled Madan from the party is an indication that efforts are still on to convince him to retire and for this the Chief Minister is making personal efforts. In fact, the party had acted swiftly and suspended Veena Shukla, a BJP leader from Rohru, who had filed her nomination as an Independent and also Devender Bushairi, who finally joined the Congress.

“Parleys are being held with Madan and his supporters to convince him to retire from the contest in favour of BJP candidate, Baldev Raj Chaudhary,” confirmed Ashok Kapatia, convener of the state BJP media cell and party spokesperson.

Sources said it was being hoped that by tomorrow it would be known if the rebel candidate and brother of Rajan Sushant, the Lok Sabha MP agrees to retire.

However, the sources said despite everyone sensing that the presence of Madan in the contest would damage the BJP in a big way, Sushant, who earlier represented the seat, is trying to convince party leaders that efforts should not be made to woo his brother.

Party leaders, who sense the urgency and pressure from the rebel candidate, are in fact, perturbed over Sushant’s defiant attitude in not trying to convince his brother to retire from the contest. His presence clearly gives the Congress an edge over the ruling BJP.

In sharp contrast to Rohru, Congress candidate Sujan Singh Pathania is getting the support of Congress leaders and is extensively campaigning. Despite the presence of top brass of the party in Jawali, the chances of undercutting of BJP candidate Chaudhary, a greenhorn, cannot be ruled out. It will depend on how sincerely all those who are in the race for the ticket, work for ensuring his victory.

Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to revoke the suspension of Veena Shukla after she withdrew from the contest. The sources said she had already written to the party explaining her position and had sought her re-entry into the party fold.

Shimla, October 26
Taking serious note of statements of Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh that a BJP victory in Rohru would be like a Pakistani flag on an Indian fort, the BJP today said that denial of party ticket to his wife Pratibha Singh had left him frustrated and demoralised.

In a statement issued here today, state BJP chief Khimi Ram said by making such provocative statements Virbahdra was trying to vitiate the healthy political atmosphere in the state. “Despite holding such senior constitutional position the utterances made by Virbhadra Singh are so unfortunate,” said Khimi Ram.

The BJP chief said the denial of party ticket to his wife had put an end to his wishes of getting his son introduced in politics. “Statements of HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur that it was the decision of the Congress high command to not give ticket to any relatives of leaders had provoked the union minister who was making such statements,” said Khimi Ram.

He said the BJP would win both Jawali and Rohru seats with impressive margins.

Dharamsala, October 26
The police and organisers of the pre-world cup para-gliding championship at Bir-Biling in Kangra district have launched a campaign to locate the missing Russian para-glider.

Alexey Ashrov, 41-year-old Russian para-glider, who had come to participate in the pre-world cup championship that was scheduled to be held from November 3 to 10 had reportedly gone missing on October 23. He took off from Bir and allegedly landed somewhere across the Dhauladhar mountains. The organisers of the event did not inform the local administration about the missing pilot for the next two days.

Kangra SP Atul Fulzele said they were informed about the missing pilot today by the organisers. Two teams of the police have been sent along with the organisers to trace him.

When asked if an action would be taken against the organisers, he said no complaint had been lodged in the matter as yet and so till date our primary concern was tracing the pilot.

Meanwhile, sources said the state government had decided to cancel the pre-world cup paragliding event that was to be organised at the Bir-Biling area. The organisers had allegedly not taken permission from the state Tourism Department and Aero Sports Club of India for organising the event.

The sources added that the state government had cancelled the event alleging that the organisers did not have adequate infrastructure to ensure safety of participating para-gliders and had also not sought necessary permissions.

However, the event also had political overtones as the organisers had allegedly invited Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh for the closing ceremony.

However, the cancellation of the event is bad for tourism sector in Kangra district that is already reeling due to drop in number of tourists due to swine flu and recession. The pre-world cup paragliding event that had become an annual feature at Bir-Billing was attracting large numbers of foreign tourists.

Last year, the Chief Minister had presided over the closing ceremony of the event and announced to make Bir as an ideal place for organising paragliding world cup. The district administration had also started the process of acquiring land for the land site of paragliding pilots in Bir.

The event had also led to increase in house tourism in the Bir sector. However, the cancellation of event this year would come as a setback.

Solan, October 26
Another case of swine flu has come to the fore here with a 18-year-old local girl testing positive in the HINI tests conducted at the IGMC, Shimla, last evening.

The girl has been kept in isolation at the hospital and her family members had been quarantined, according to CMO Dr Ashok Tagra.

Tagra said the girl had recently returned from Kurukshetra but she had complains of flu prior to her trip. Her condition deteriorated after her return and she came to the regional hospital yesterday.

Fearing swine flu, her nasal swab samples were sent to the IGMC and she was tested positive by late evening.

A total of 16 persons, who had come in contact with her, had been given prophylactic treatment.

Tagra added that her condition was stable and under control. He also said a sensitisation workshop had been conducted at the hospital to educate the paramedical staff about swine flu and they had been instructed to take treatment in case they suspected any symptom.

This was the sixth case of swine flu reported in the district. Being a bordering district, chances of the disease being contacted from the neighbouring state were more.

Meanwhile, the recent swine flu death had exposed the lack of awareness among the people as the deceased had consulted at least two doctors telephonically for receiving treatment and hence the doctors failed to diagnose her.

It was only after visiting a third doctor and an x-ray conducted that she was referred to the regional hospital. The condition of the other four swine flu patients was stable, said Dr Tagra.

Chamba, October 26
Despite best efforts of the state government for breeding and rearing of pheasants in captivity at Sarahan in Rampur and Chail in Shimla hills, due attention is not paid to increase the population of ‘western tragopan’ in other parts of the state.

This species of rare tragopan is found in western Himalayas, which covers Chamba districts. The environs of western Himalayas are ideally suited for it.

Even today, Chamba district has these species of tragopan in many pockets of Sahoo, Sillagharat, Kidi, Belag, Holi, Bharmour, Jot, Himgiri, Devikothi and Chanju.

Western tragopan is a timid pheasant with rich black and red colour and white small dots spread all over its body.

Expressing deep concern over the dwindling population of western tragopan, Navneet Chowfla, a naturalist, stated the reason behind this was labourers working in different parts of the district as herb collectors.

“They make their way into these areas, laying traps of ropes. They cut the bushes in a periphery and leave only one opening. The poor animal has no way out to go. They land into these well-laid deathtraps. Besides this, poachers clandestinely hunting these species, are going unchecked,” he said.

Despite the fact that Chamba being the home of western tragopan, nothing has been done for the revival of tragopan species. If the forest department opens pheasant breeding centres at Gararo, Kalatop, Bakani, Kugti, Harchu and Talli for better results, successful breeding of these species could be achieved. Also by releasing them in the wild, the population of these pheasants could be multiplied.

Far better results of successful breeding can be achieved for the revival of western tragopan in Chamba district if the government pays heed to the development of aviary for the promotion of tourism in this hilly state, he said.

Shimla, October 26
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 42.53 crore to the state for creation of rural infrastructure.

With this the aggregate sanctions under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) during the year 2009-10 have gone up to Rs 229.29 crore. Out of this, Rs 27.44 crore has been provided for construction of 14 rural roads, Rs 4.05 crore for construction of two bridges, Rs 11.04 crore for 37 minor irrigation projects and water harvesting structures.

While roads and bridges will be constructed by the Public Works Department in Chamba, Kullu, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Una districts, five minor irrigation projects will be implemented by the Irrigation and Public Health Department in Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Una, and 32 projects by the Agriculture Department in Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Shimla, Sirmour, Solan, and Una.

In all, 56.715 km of all-weather roads, 24.51 km of kutcha road and two bridges with total span of 127.50 m will be constructed.

Shimla, October 26
While a large number of posts of medical officers are lying vacant in interior areas of the state, there are doctors in the health department who have managed to stay in convenient urban areas for more than 10 years.

Under the guiding principles for effecting transfers of government employees, the normal stay at a station is three years. However, information obtained under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, an RTI activist, has revealed that as many as 282 doctors have stayed put even after completing three years.

Out of these, 105 were posted in district hospitals and the rest in other health institutions in the districts.

Further, 41 doctors posted in district hospitals have completed more than 10 years. The longest stay of a doctor posted at Hamirpur District Hospital is 24 years, followed by Chamba (23 years), Bilaspur (19 years) and Mandi (16 years).

The maximum number of 22 doctors with more than three years stay are at Mandi district hospital, followed by Shimla and Solan (13 each), Una (nine) , Nahan (eight) and Hamirpur, Kangra and Chamba (seven) each.

In contrast, there are only two doctors who have put in more than three years in the tribal Kinnaur district and only one in the land-locked Lahaul-Spiti district hospital.

Bhattacharya was also told that any provision of the guidelines can be relaxed with prior approval of the Chief Minister to be obtained on file through the minister in-charge. However, information about the number of cases in which such relaxation had been granted was not provided.

Bhattacharya questioned the purpose of framing guidelines if these were not to be implemented. In his view it was merely a tool in the hands of politicians to harass employees.

The government had admitted in the guiding-principles document that employees of the health and education departments managed to stay in one station, especially in urban areas, for a very long time, depriving other deserving persons of opportunity.

Accordingly, the policy says those who have completed more than 10 years in an urban area, must be sent to a rural area to serve a minimum term of three years. Bhattacharya wonders how many years the government will take to send the 41 doctors who have completed more than 10 years in district hospitals to rural areas according to the policy.

Kullu, October 26
Even the close proximity of Deputy Commissioner’s residence has not helped the district library to get the much-needed attention. Facing a neglect, the building cries for repairs and basic needs.

Since 1974, when it was built, the district library has not been repaired or even white washed till date. The area around the building has become an open toilet and the stinking atmosphere does not permit any one to use the library.

The roof of the building has been leaking for the past many years and repeated requests to local authorities have fallen on deaf ears. Librarian Tashi Dolma said they had been requesting the departments concerned to repair but to no avail. She lamented that even the toilets were not useable since 2007 and the staff had to go to the nearby building.

She further said there was no sweeper for the past many years, making things worst. One peon was also doing the job of a watchman. Books did not have enough cabinets for display and storage. The cracked walls and floor gave a shabby look to the place.

Dolma further said funds for books were also very minimal till last year but now books were supplied by Raja Ram Mohan Rao Book Centre, Mumbai, periodically, and the library was having a good stock of books. However, she lamented that there was no place for storage.

Those who visit the library regularly are in pain to see the indifference of the authorities. They strongly feel that the Municipal Council should provide public toilets in the area and take care of sanitation around the library. They further said the Dhalpur ground was used by many government and private institutions, colleges, schools, cricket clubs for organising events and matches. Even political parties also organised functions on the same ground.

But there were no civic convenience available in the area. The government should take up the matter and make the library worth a place for its use for reading and studying.

Mandi, October 26
Environmental activists, representing various NGOs, today joined hands and asserted that they would hold a “parallel conclave on climate change” at Shimla in protest against the failure of the successive state governments to protect economic interests of people of the Himalayan region.

They will hold this conclave on October 30, lodging protest against the Chief Minister’s conclave on climate change to be held from October 28 to 30 in which Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is also expected to participate, they claimed.

Talking to The Tribune here today, the activists said the successive state governments had failed to protect the interests of local people hit by cement plants, hydro projects, unscientific roads, destruction of forests for projects and transmission lines.

“We oppose the summit as voice of ‘local people’ has not been included in the action plan so that our voice reach the Copenhagen Summit on climate change proposed for December this year,” they asserted.

Environmentalist Kulbhushan Upmanyu said the government claiming “carbon credit” polluting industries such as cement, big dams and other projects, was nothing more than an eyewash.

“Locals are directly hit by offenders setting up big projects in the hill region and we oppose the double standards adopted by the government,” he added. He said the government was making the state “carbon neutral”, but the release of green house gases into the atmosphere was increasing as the government was setting up more and more cement plants, thermal plants, dams and other projects in the region.

Farmers have been displaced from their land, their forests are being eroded and destroyed by projects, he added.

Ranjit Negi, convener, Himlok Jagriti Munch, Kinnaur, said they rejected the action plan as it was not sustainable for views and interests of directly hit villagers, including tribal people, had not been included in the final report being sent to the PMO.

He charged that the JP company, executing 1,000 MW Karcham-Wnagtoo, project, had destroyed the ecology and green cover of the Sutlej valley in Kinnaur. “Apple crops, chilgoza and cash crops like peas and zeera have been hit hard by dust, aerosols and environmental pollution wrecked by hydro projects there,” he said.

Negi said 10 big hydro projects had come up on the Sutlej in the course of its 150- km journey. “The river has been diverted through tunnels that, in turn, has destroyed local springs and streams that fed tribal people and their crops. However, there is no mention of this in the final report on climate change,” he claimed.

Guman Singh, convener, Himalayan Niti Abhiyan (HNA), claimed that they were holding a “parallel conclave” at Shimla in protest.

“We will march to the venue of the CM’s conclave at Shimla and submit our memorandum to the Union Minister and the Prime Minister,” he added.