Shimla, July 22
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today underlined the need for preparation of a vision document for qualitative improvement in education along with strengthening of infrastructure.

He was speaking on the occasion of 40th Foundation Day function of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) here today. He also laid the foundation stone of multi-faculty building (phase-III) to be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.90 crore and tourism and hotel management institute under vocational studies programme of the university, estimated to cost Rs 5.10 crore.

Dhumal said the university happened to be the centre of intellectual discourses and to keep it abreast of the global trends in vocational and academics, need of the hour was to have a vision document. He exhorted HPU authorities to prepare a consolidated document containing road map of an action plan for the coming years.

“There is an urgent need to frame an education policy which can be effective and practical in carrying forward improved and latest global educational standards,” he said.

He said the university had locational advantage and congenial atmosphere for studies which should be capitalised to make it a centre of excellence so that it emerged as a role model for other universities.

Dhumal said 40 years period was a long time for any institution and also provided an opportunity to introspect its achievements and weaknesses. The HPU had produced best of the professionals and academicians who had brought laurels not only to the university, but the entire state.

Shimla, July 22
Determined to enforce punctuality and efficiency in its offices, the government is planning to go a step beyond the bio-metric machines and install sensor doors in the state Secretariat which will register details each time an employee enters or leaves the office like in corporate offices.

Even as 1,500 employees in the Secretariat are quite unhappy with installation of bio-metric machines, the administration is considering installing sensor doors to check errant employees who are missing from office except when it is time to mark attendance at 10 am in the morning and 5 pm at the time of leaving offices.

Despite 16 bio-metric machines being operational since June 1, it is being felt that they too have not served the purpose. Some of the habitual latecomers may be coming on time but they are missing from office during the day after marking their attendance.

Senior officials admit that timely arrival of employees has been achieved to a great extent but there is no way to check whether they are in office during working hours or not. “Installation of sensor doors will record their exit and entry each time, which will make it difficult for them to remain missing,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Though employees could not oppose installation of the bio-metric machines, however, now they are insisting that all IAS and HAS officers should also follow the system religiously.

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has written to all senior officers to ensure that they too mark their attendance on the bio-metric machines. Majority of the senior officers, barring a few, are not marking their attendance on these contraptions.

According to a survey conducted by the Secretariat Administration, almost 30 per cent employees had been found to be absent from duty despite not being on leave before installation of the bio-metric machines.

Termed as more of a corporate culture, the Secretariat employees were a bit reluctant to accept the system. However, after issuing of guidelines, they agreed to accept it.

Chief Minister, ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries have been kept out of this system as they are political persons with a lot of touring and public engagements.

Solan, July 22
After dilly-dallying for nearly two years, the Nalagarh police finally registered a case of abduction of a young woman, Mamta, who had gone missing in August, 2008, on the complaint of her mother Savitri Devi.

It was, however, an uphill task for Savitri Devi who was forced to attempt self-immolation on Saturday outside the office of Baddi SP as the police failed to register an FIR in this matter.

She was engaged a few days prior to her disappearance and her fiancé used to visit Khera to meet her. This had allegedly angered some local youth who mercilessly beat up both Mamta and her fiancé. A few days after this incident, Mamta went missing and despite efforts Savitri failed to get her complaint registered with the police.

Her plight did not end here as two months after the disappearance of her daughter the police recovered an unidentified body of a girl who was cremated without a post-mortem examination. The role of an ASI came under scanner as he cremated the body without probing its cause.

Even after waging a battle in the state high court, the police failed to take note of her complaint. Though an inquiry was instituted early this year to probe the role of the said ASI, justice still eludes Savitri who continues to wage a lone battle against the injustice meted out to her. Since her husband was bed-ridden, the old woman had been running single-handedly from pillar to post to get back her daughter who she believes was still alive.

Narrating her tale, Savitri held the police responsible for acting under pressure as those responsible for her daughter’s disappearance were close to politicians.

A case under Sections 363 and 364 of the IPC was registered against some local youth, including Raj, Jeet Ram, Binder, Harbhajan, Pappu, Pappu, Nand Lal, Kala, Balbir, Palla and Sita Ram.

Shimla, July 22
Taking suo motu cognisance of developments in the Aman Kachroo ragging murder case, the Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) today issued notices to the state and the four accused who were granted bail by the fast track court.

Justice DD Sood took cognisance of the news reports published in the media regarding grant of bail, strong reaction of father of the victim Raj Kachroo and others and the subsequent application filed by the state for review of the order. However, the notice will not affect the ongoing proceedings in the fast track court.

“I find that the matter has been listed for hearing in the fast track court on July 23, the case is fixed here for July 24,” Justice Sood said.

Besides the state, notices have been issued to Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, who were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A fast track court in Dharamsala had granted bail to the accused on the grounds that statements of the witnesses had been recorded and material evidence taken into account. However, release of the four accused led to much hue and cry and Raj Kachroo, in particular, termed it as a big blow to the anti-ragging campaign in the country. 

Dharamsala, July 22
Palampur Agriculture University (PAU) has decided to use mobile technology for disseminating farm-related information to farmers of the state. The farmers across the state would also be sent farm advisory through SMS on mobile phones. The farm advisory regarding steps to be taken to protect crops, cropping time period and measures to protect crops from pests etc is issued by the university experts after every 15 days.

At present, it is disseminated through Internet or call centre that has been opened in the university. However, most of the farmers in Himachal do not have access to the Internet.

The other alternative of calling at the call centre of the university is comparatively more viable. However, many farmers do not have knowledge regarding working of the call centre and thereby fail to get much benefit of the facility.

Hence, under the advice from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), university authorities have now decided to use the SMS technology to deliver advise to the farmers. BC Sood, director, Research and Extension, PAU, said all regional centres of the university had been directed to collect data regarding mobile numbers of farmers in their respective areas.

To start with, each centre of the university has been asked to collect phone numbers and other relevant data of at least 500 farmers. The registered farmers would be provided farm advisory through SMS free of cost, Sood added.

According to sources, the university would have to collect a diverse and elaborative data for making the project a success. Unlike states like Punjab where farmers follow a traditional wheat and paddy cropping pattern, crops are quite diversified in Himachal.

The state has plain areas like Una district, mid-hills like Hamirpur and Kangra district and very high altitude areas in Lahaul and Spiti district. The cropping areas range from 1,000 m from the sea level to 7,000 m above the sea level.