Shimla, December 8
There was further addition to the number of swine flu patients in the state as three more persons today tested positive for the infection which has already claimed three lives in the state.

Blood samples of three men, one from Kullu district and two from Shimla, tested positive at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) today. While the two patients from Shimla, aged 50 and 23, have been admitted in the isolation ward at the IGMC, the patient from Kullu is being given treatment there only.

The total number of persons who have tested positive for swine flu in the recent past has risen to 21, including the three new patients.

IGMC authorities have received fresh stocks of tamiflu tablets, N-95 and triple layer masks so that there is complete preparedness and the paramedical staff treating the patients are protected.

It was only yesterday that a 22-year-old pregnant woman had succumbed to swine flu at the IGMC. It was only a day before her death that it was confirmed that she had contacted the disease as she had been admitted for treatment of pneumonia.

With the chances of spread of swine flu being higher during winter, the Health Department is taking all precautionary measures and the situation is being monitored very closely by senior officials by taking regular inputs from all over the state.

Kangra: First suspected swine flu patient in this region of the state died in the isolation ward of Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, this afternoon, according to doctors attending on the patient.

Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, HoD, medicines, and the nodal officer for swine flu, told The Tribune that Indu Bala (32), wife of Kulwant and a resident of Bhoranj, was referred here in a very critical condition with symptoms of pneumonia from Hamirpur last night and died this afternoon in the isolation ward here.

Dr Kapoor said it was suspected that she might have been suffering with swine flu. Therefore, she was kept in the isolation ward.

Indu Bala had visited Lucknow 20 days ago, returned home and developed symptoms of pneumonia, according to her husband.

Dr Kapoor said her blood samples were taken for confirmation and would be sent to Delhi tonight. Doctors at Tanda said symptoms of swine flu and pneumonia were practically the same. It could be confirmed only once the samples are tested in Delhi, they added. 

Shimla, December 8
The screening committee of the Medical Council of India (MCI) will be visiting Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) tomorrow to give its final nod for increasing the number of MBBS seats from the present strength of 65 to 100.

With the MCI already issuing the notification for increasing the number of postgraduate seats from 39 to 62, IGMC authorities are hopeful that the much-awaited enhancement of MBBS seats will finally come through. The deficiencies pointed out by the MCI in the past have been fulfilled and this is likely to pave way for enhancing the MBBS seats to 100.

It was only a fortnight back that a number of facilities, including a patient facility area, echocardiography unit, emergency operation theatre complex, cardiac care unit (CCU) and an auditorium complex, were inaugurated by Chief Minister PK Dhumal at the IGMC.

A sum of over Rs 4.10 crore has been spent on adding these facilities which were a must for getting the go-ahead from the MCI to increase the number of MBBS seats.

The biggest area of concern for the IGMC has been faculty shortage, which has considerably improved in the recent past. It is after great efforts that 39 faculty positions, 180 registrars, 273 nursing staff, 21 medical staff and 66 ward attendants have been added to the existing manpower.

In fact, shortage of specialists, especially anaesthetists and radiologists, has badly hit the effective expansion of health services in the state. The failure of the government in attracting specialists has severely hit effective implementation of the National Rural Health Mission as the first referral units (FRUs) do not have the requisite strength of specialists. It is now expected that witha an increase in the number of both MBBS as well as MD seats, the availability would improve.

Shimla, December 8
Up in arms against ecological devastation being caused due to the coming up of the 100 MW Tidong power project in Kinnaur, the local Paryavaran and Van Sanrakshan Samiti and voluntary organisations have demanded strict action against the company for violating norms.

“Even though the company has been granted permission by the Ministry of Environment and Forest to fell 1261 trees but the number of trees which have already fallen victim during road construction work far exceeds the permissible limit,” said R.S. Negi, heading the Him Lok Jagriti Manch. He said what was of grave concern was the fact that most of these trees were of “neoza” variety which was fast dwindling and was under threat in the tribal districts of Kinnaur.

It is on the strong opposition by the locals that a joint inspection will be held by ADM (Kinnaur) and DFO (Forest) to look into the complaints of the people. The people are opposed to the manner in which the blasting and unscientific dumping of the debris is being done mindlessly, posing a threat to the ecology of the area and triggering soil erosion and massive slides.

The samiti comprising people from the three affected panchayats of Rispa, Moorang and Thangi has already brought the matter to the notice of the politicians, bureaucrats and the forest officials with little success. “The project is proving to be the latest graveyard for the valuable trees which not only act as climate regulators in this dry zone but are an important source of livelihood,” said Narender Negi, pradhan of Rispa panchayat.

He pointed out that in a blatant act of violation of the land code of the state, the company has begun work without the government land in the project area having been officially transferred to it through a lease.

Negi alleged that this drastic reduction in the number of trees was nothing but a way to hoodwink the people, who are opposing the enormous destruction of ecology. His concern is shared by Bhuvneshwar Negi, president of Paryavaran and Van Sanrakshan Samiti of Rispa village, who puts the figure of trees that have been either felled or damaged by the project authorities at more than 2500.

The locals warned that in case the government authorities do not stop damage to the ecology they would not allow the coming up of the project. 

Shimla, December 8
Chief Minister PK Dhumal said today that there was a dire necessity to educate masses about environment protection and disposing off non-biodegradable material in a scientific and friendly manner so that the fragile ecology of the Himalayas remained protected.

Presiding over a meeting convened here today for working out modalities for the use of polythene for construction of roads, he announced that a special campaign would be launched from December 21 to 26 to remove plastic and other non-biodegradable material strewn all over. He added that the government would involve environmentalists, NGOs and educational institutions in the campaign.

Urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions would also be associated in the task to make the campaign a mass movement to achieve the objective. “Himachal has already banned the use of plastic carry bags and the people have willingly accepted the same,” he said.

Dhumal said use of plastic for mettling of roads would be the next step in making Himachal Pradesh a plastic-free state in the country. “It has scientifically been proven that plastic roads are long-lasting and useful for smooth vehicular movement,” he said. He added that the government was considering use of cement and plastic for mettling of the road so that frequent maintenance of roads was minimised.

He said while carrying the construction work of new roads and undertaking widening, the debris sites needed to be developed which could be used for parking and creation of wayside amenities on the roadsides. 

Kangra, December 8
The Chinese authorities arrested 11 Tibetans, mostly monks, accusing them of producing and distributing subversive songs on video compact disc (VCD), according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

Tashi Choephel Jamatsang, spokesman of the TCHRD, said 11 Tibetans from Tsakho and Khakhor monasteries in Matoe County Golog, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, (TAP), Qinghai province, were arrested on Friday by the county public security bureau (PSB) officials. He said Tsakho Monastery followed the tantric school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The VCD was jointly produced by five monks from two different monasteries in Tsakho township which included three monks of Tsakho Monastery — Abbot Ngagsung (23), Nobay, Sherab Nyima (25) and two monks of Khakhor Monastery — Trulku Tsepak (28) and another unidentified monk.

The VCD, titled “Chakdrum Marpo” (Bloody omen), was released on September 1, he added.

He said, “It mainly comprises songs with lyrics expressing nostalgia for the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, sadness and helplessness over the death of Tibetans following mass protests in Tibet since last year, Chinese misrule and brutality since 1959 and mining exploitation in Tibet.”

The VCD had incorporated many images of Chinese brutality, killings of Tibetans in the popular Tibetan unrest last year, Tashi disclosed.

Around 5,000 copies of the VCD were distributed free of cost by six other Tibetans in and around Matoe County. They too were arrested.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) called for the government of People’s Republic of China (PRC) to immediately release the Tibetan detainees unconditionally and respect the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution and other major international covenants. 

Hamirpur, December 8
Three persons were killed and four others injured when a van plunged into a deep gorge at Kashmir (Galod) last night.

Those killed in the accident have been identified as Trishla Devi, wife of Krishan Kumar of Kangu village, driver of the van Vijay Kumar, son of Balbir Singh of Charmain (Galod) and a three-year-old boy Krish, son of Anil Kumar of local Pratap Nagar colony.

According to the police, seven persons were coming after attending a marriage function when driver of the Maruti van (HP- 21-0889), in which they were travelling, lost control on the vehicle and fell into a deep gorge near Kashmir, under the Nadaun subdivision.

Four injured — Anil Verma, Sarita Devi, Krishan Kumar and Sachin — have been admitted at the regional hospital here with multiple injuries. Local advocate Anil Verma, along with wife Sarita and son Krish, had taken a lift in this ill-fated van.

The district administration has given Rs 10,000 each to the families of the deceased and Rs 5,000 to the injured persons as an immediate financial assistance.

Mandi, December 8
Fate of over 63 dentists, serving in rural areas across the state since 2007, hangs in the balance as the state government has not regularised them just because “they were recruited during the last Congress regime”. The government has asked them to reappear in a selection test afresh, making mockery of the government appointments done earlier, the dental doctors charged.

Narrating their tale of woes to The Tribune, they rued that the present government had given them extension for three months twice in the past and till March, 2010. However, our jobs have become uncertain just because we were recruited during the last Congress regime in 2007, the doctors rued.

“We have met Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Health Minister Rajiv Bindal seeking regularisation of our jobs, but nothing has been done for us for the past three years,” they said.

Dharamsala, December 8
Tibetan showman Lobsang Wangyal will organise the fifth Annual Free Spirit Film Festival here from December 10-12. While talking to The Tribune, Wangyal said on December 10, a film on Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, “10 Conditions of Love”, directed by Jeff Daniels, would be screened.

The film is a love story of a woman, a man, a family, people and their homeland. It is the story of Rebiya Kadeer, the woman China accuses of igniting terrorism within its borders. It is also the story of the area that its Muslim people call East Turkestan, but which the Chinese call Xinjiang Province, he added.

Exiled in the US, Rebiya Kadeer fights for human rights of her people, the Uyghurs, allegedly China’s oppressed Muslim minority.

Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, once the richest woman in China, Rebiya Kadeer is a remarkable woman who pays a terrible price for patriotism, Lobsang said.

On December 11, the film “Shining Spirit,” directed by Keren McDiarmid, would be screened. It is a film on Tibetan culture, songs and separated families.

On December 12, the film “A Shawl To Die For”, directed by Rita Banerjee, would be screened. The film traces the ancient handicraft of “shahtoosh” weaving in Kashmir, and traces its link to the Tibetan antelope or chiru found on the Chang Tang plateau in China. It establishes that shahtoosh is, in fact, the fleece of chiru, which is killed to extract this fibre. The international ban on shahtoosh was critical for the survival of the endangered chiru, but it also spelt disaster for thousands of traditional shahtoosh workers in Kashmir. The film explores this grim struggle between conservation and livelihood. It also documents the interventions brought in by a community project, initiated by the Wildlife Trust of India, and International Fund for Animal Welfare, supported by the British high commission. The solutions thrown up by this project have been steadily implemented and the challenge now is to ensure and measure its growth and success.