Shimla, June 13
Political parties and experts may be questioning the reliability of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) but Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin B. Chawla terms them as India’s technological wonder which other countries are keen to adopt.

“Every other day a delegation from one country or the other lands up at the commission to seek information about the use of EVMs and the technology deployed for the purpose. Only the other day a team from Kenya had discussion with the commission and Pakistan and Bangladesh had also evinced interest in the machines and were exploring the possibilities of using the technology,” informed Chawla, who was in the city to inaugurate a photo exhibition organised in connection with the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

There are no issues regarding vulnerability of EVMs to manipulation and doubts raised by various quarters of and on were misplaced. The country should take pride in having developed the machines which is a great achievement on the technological front, he said while expressing full satisfaction with the functioning of the machines.

Referring to efforts being made to ensure fair and free elections in the country, he said the deployment of “booth level officers” (BLOs) along with Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) were the key to check malpractices and the focus was on these two areas. The experiment of appointing BLOs had been very successful in West Bengal and the commission was now insisting that one BLO be appointed for each booth to ensure that there were no inaccuracies in the electoral rolls. One BLO could easily handle about 1,500 electors and even personally contact each and every household for the purpose during the annual updating of voter’s list. In Himachal there was a shortage of over 800 BLOs which required urgent attention of the government.

Over 82 per cent of the electors had been covered under the EPIC’s programme and already more than 58.2 crore cards had been issued. In Himachal over 94 per cent of electors had been issued EPICs and he had given the target of September 15 to the state for achieving cent per cent coverage.

Regarding the “paid election news”, Chawla said the commission was investigating one such complaint but it would like to know more from people, non-government organisations and other bodies about such malpractices.

He maintained that under the existing law it was not possible to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and various Vidhan Sabhas. The commission had to carry out its assigned responsibility within the purview of law and it was a matter for the legislature to address.

Dharamsala, June 13
The state government has been orchestrating its eco-tourism policy. Senior officials of the Forest Department claimed that eco-tourism was being promoted, however, the eco-tourism policy to date had remained limited to the properties owned by the Department of Forests only.

The department recently advertised about 21 department-owned properties and sites. The exercise was intended at giving the said properties on five-year lease to private parties for promoting eco-tourism. The government so far has given on lease about 50 properties of the Forest Department in the name of promoting eco-tourism.

However, the promotion has eluded the farmers owning private forests. Their lands have been converted into private forests under Sections 4 and 5 of the Forest Act. Hence, the farmers cannot use the land for farming. They are only allowed to cut down trees after 10 years and the income they fetch out of it is meagre.

Some farmers told the Tribune that instead of giving out forest properties to private persons, the government should encourage them for developing eco-tourism in their privateforest.

Raghav Guleria has a forest land near Pong Dam lake. He is trying to convert the ruins of an old fort in his village for attracting tourists; however, the problem is the approach has to come through the private forest land.

The residents of Chota Bhangal, one of the most remote areas of Kangra district, have been protesting against the inclusion of their villages in the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary area. They even boycotted the last parliamentary elections to register their protest.

The Department of Forests could have conceived an eco-tourism project in the Chota Bhangal area.

It could have provided employment and an alternative source of income to the residents and compensated them for inclusion of their land in the sanctuary area.

Most areas on the banks of Gobind Sagar lake (the biggest man-made lake of the country) of Bhakra Dam, are also private and government forests.

If those owning the private forests are involved in eco-tourism projects, it would encourage them in preserving the forests in their respective areas. 

Hamirpur, June 13
The work on Dhola-Sidh, the first hydel project of Hamirpur district, being built on the Beas near Nadaun by the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), would begin by March next year.

The clearance for term of reference (TOR) for the project, which has now been upgraded from the proposed 40 to 66 MW, was granted recently the by Union Ministry of Environment.

This had been done to make it economically viable while keeping it’s height at 61m without making any changes in the water level. The project was initially surveyed by HPSEB engineers with options of 40 or 80 MW power generation capacity but on the basis of the SJVN survey, it was upgraded to 66 MW.

During its upgrade, the authorities ensured that the water level would remain the same as was meant for 40 MW capacity. They also ensured that the water would flow 5m below the main bridge near Sujanpur Tihra on the Beas. The project would be built vertical in the river and maximum barren land would be utilised. Only about 200 hectares government, forest and miniscule portion of private land would be acquired and the total estimated cost of the project would be Rs 500 crore.

The authorities have also started an awareness campaign in the area to ward off the scare of bridges getting submerged or any extra area being acquired for the upgraded project.

Senior Manager of the SJVN Sushil Sagar said: “The would begin next March and after its 
completion, everyone would be benefited as this area would come up as a popular tourist destination with fo mation of 14-km lake along with other activities.” 

Shimla, June 13
The NABARD-funded Doodh Ganga scheme has taken off on a flying note with as many as 1,123 individuals and self-help groups (SHGs) securing loans to the tune of Rs 22.96 crore by March 31 last, within five months of the launch of the scheme. The beneficiaries were provided interest free loan of Rs 11.48 crore under the scheme to boost milk production in the state.

During the current financial year, 732 more cases and loans to the tune of Rs 13.39 crore advanced with interest free loans of Rs 6.64 crore have been sanctioned. The government has set a target of financing more than 3,500 cases under the scheme during the financial year.

Each case comprises one beneficiary, while a SHG with 10 members forms a case. The ground-level credit flow of Rs 100 crore will be given to all SHGs with interest free loans of Rs 50 crore.

However, acute shortage of fodder, lack of adequate knowledge about scientific animal management and non-availability of quality milch cattle have been a major constraint in the development of dairy farming in the state. Due to which the state has to import milk from outside. Lack of veterinary care has also been affecting the dairy farming. The scheme takes care of all factors and it has been extended to all districts. In all, over 10,000 SHGs will be covered over a period of three years.

Under the scheme, SHGs are provided loans for setting up dairy units with 10 animals at a cost of Rs 3 lakh. The entrepreneur will be required to spend 10 per cent of the margin money. Further, 50 per cent loan is interest free.

However, the NABARD has also been extending support for the collection, preservation, processing and setting up rural marketing network for milk products. The scheme will help boost milk production by 350-lakh litre per annum.

So far, 5,175 active women SHGs have been formed and they are seeking loans from different banks. The Animal Husbandry Department has been assisting beneficiaries for purchasing suitable breeds of milch cattle from within and outside the state.

Shimla, June 13
Known as a factory of producing engineers from economically weaker families, Super 30, may now start free coaching classes for IIT aspirants from northern states in Himachal Pradesh.

Kaumarya Manoj, the man behind Super 30, who has won many national awards, was here to see the infrastructure available for the purpose. He said North Super 30 would have students from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

There are hardly any coaching facilities in the state because of poor infrastructure due to which over 5,000 students go to Kota, Delhi and Chandigarh for coaching.

He said free boarding and lodging would be provided to the students for a 18-month course that requires Rs 1.5 lakh per month.

Some NGOs had assured to support and he was hopeful of starting classes in Shimla or Hamirpur in the next two months. The focus was to train the faculty so that classes could run for the benefit of students. Some retired officers had pledged support and the government help would make the task easier. Coaching should not be a money-minting business, rather should aim at enhancing the understanding of students.

Kaumarya said he chose Himachal for it was the most peaceful state and its students were the most disciplined, hence, they deserved good coaching facilities.

Shimla, June 13
The administration today rescued 16 children from various schools of Mumbai who were stranded at Batal, following heavy unseasonable snow in tribal Lahaul-Sipti district.

The state helicopter made five sorties from Manali to airlift the children who were cut-off from the rest of the world since June 7. In all 32 children, who were on a visit to Chandertal arranged by a private tour operator, were stranded at Batal as heavy snow blocked the Kunzum Pass, the road leading to Gramphoo and Chandertal.

While some children were flown to Manali, the rest were dropped at Gramphoo as weather deteriorated. They will be brought to Manali by road.

The special secretary general administration, who himself flew to Batal to supervise rescue operations, said the remaining 16 students would be airlifted tomorrow, if the weather permitted.

He said some patches of road were still under 3-ft snowfall. He said a local couple who ran a dhaba at Batal helped the stranded persons.

Solan, June 13
The NH PWD authorities seem to have woken up after traffic chaos near Bagvania bridge. The traffic has now been diverted from both sides of the bridge for light and heavy vehicles.

This has brought some relief to commuters, who travel between Nalagarh and Baddi through the NH-21A. Officials of the NH PWD said since the slab of one pier had been laid, it would be open for traffic by June 24.

However, the traffic management had taken a chaotic turn last week when heavy rains had made it difficult for commuters to wade through the riverbed leading to a huge jam extending for hours. The jam led to an unfortunate incident, where an expecting mother had failed to reach hospital leading to the birth of a
stillborn child.

It was after long protest from the locals that an alternate traffic plan was devised to streamline the traffic flow. However, similar problems were faced in Baddi, where the closure of the Balad bridge after sinking in of one of its pier had led to diversion of traffic from Barotiwala. Since the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area was visited by thousands of people daily, the diversion of traffic led to frequent jams at Barotiwala.

Though the rainy season was yet to set in, the initial rain showers had exposed the preparedness of authorities, where both the bridges had given way. The authorities pleaded that they had undertaken repair and were endeavouring to complete the repair work well before the onset of the rainy season, but the sudden spell of rains had taken them unaware.

They added that work was underway on a war footing and the bridge would be opened for traffic in the next three weeks. The investors were upset with this breakdown and they stressed that a similar problem that occurred in 2008 had taken more than a year to get repaired.

However, the alternative route through Lakkar Depot bridge was also in a bad shape and could give way if not repaired immediately. Though the immediate attention of the authorities was to repair the two bridges on the NH-21A, the lack of timely repairs on the other bridges had made their condition equally vulnerable.

Chamba, June 13
Member of Parliament from Kangra Rajan Sushant vindicated the demand of people of Chamba with regard to the issue of proposed new bus terminus at the existing site of old bus stand at the district headquarters town of Chamba.

Rajan said the existing bus terminus needed to be expanded at its existing imposing site, where a plenty of space was available. He said the matter would be taken up with the state government for the expansion of the existing old bus stand as the site was quite spacious, adding that the existing bus stand was conveniently accessible by everyone.

After inspecting the site of the bus stand accompanied by people of the district, he said he would hold a dialogue with engineers of the HIMUDA to explore any possibility on the issue.

However, people of the district suggested that the residence of Himachal Road Transport Corporation’s regional manager should be shifted from the old bus stand to its actual official residence, near the HRTC workshop, where a lot of government accommodations were already available.

Shimla, June 13
Having completely switched over to organic farming six years back Kanta Deshta of Sambhala village in Rohru is enjoying divine happiness as the positive energy generated by the flames rising from the havan she performs at sunrise and sunset have ensured healthy crops, vibrant livestock and complete peace of mind.

She was one of the few farmers who dared to tread the difficult path to organic farming way back in 2004 while it was still a new concept. Surely she has no regrets as her input costs have been drastically reduced, the produce fetches handsome prices and the demand too is mounting gradually.

Today over 10,000 farmers in Himachal, 183 of whom are certified, have switched over to organic farming shunning chemical fertilisers and pesticides as they use cow dung, cow urine, herbs and vermicompost. “The best part of organic farming is that besides giving good returns it ushers in good health, positivity and divine happiness in the family and all around,” says Kanta while selling organic nectarine, an imported variety of peach at the Organic Fair, being held here.

Others like Pramod Chauhan too have no complaints performing the two hours havan daily, chanting mantras which according to him grant good health not only to plants but also to family members.

“It was a German scientist, Reiner, whom I met at one of the trade fairs who told about the ingredients for the havan and the shlokas to be chanted and ever since the havan culture really caught up with farmers in the Rohru, Kotgarh, Kotkhai and Rampur area,” said Gopla Mehta, chairman of the Himachal Organic Framers’ Association (HOFA).

The HOFA is trying to ease out the problems being faced by growers in taking to organic farming. “When I switched over to organic farming a decade back I was mocked at but with growing awareness and interest in the field more and more farmers are adopting it,” Mehta said.

While growers cite problems faced in marketing and purchase of bio-pesticides, but overall they are happy at the good prices they get for their products. “The setting up of a market in Shimla for organic products and giving some subsidy on bio-pesticides will give a boost to organic farming,” he added.

Another problem being faced by growers is that of certification. Though they are certified as organic farmers only after three years of non-use of chemicals, for this they have to rely on Jaipur-based organisations. 

Nurpur, June 13
The Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers’ Association is up in arms against the alleged political interference in the State Ayurveda Department.Upender Gupta, the state general secretary of the association, said here today that contrary to the Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s order, the department had failed to float even a single tender to purchase ayurvedic drugs from local pharmacies.

“As a sequel, Budget is being lapsed every year and local ayurvedic drugs manufacturing units are facing closures,” he rued.

Upender said following the CM’s order in May last, the department had to purchase 70 per cent medicines from Himachali pharmacies by floating tenders every year and the rest from other pharmacies.

He alleged that the department was benefiting big manufacturers, that too, at the cost of local pharmacies.

Criticising the state for changing five ayurveda directors within two-and-a-half years and appointing HAS or IAS officer as a director, the Union General Secretary sought appointment of a technical director forthwith.

Gupta said under the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules formulated by the Centre, only a graduate in Pharmacy or Pharmaceutical Chemistry could be appointed the director-cum-licensing authority.