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‘Marssonina’ outbreak in apple orchards
Pollution ‘factories’ by river side
Farmers decry proposed cement plant at Sundernagar
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HC comes to rescue of hapless father
CD case: Hearing on Virbhadra’s plea deferred
Jwalaji flame for Singapore temple
Don’t promote ‘cemetery tourism’, says minority council
Fire power: 11 new tenders for state
Designing courses vital, say engineers
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‘Marssonina’ outbreak in apple orchards
‘Marssonina’, a
fungal disease It enters the plant first and symptoms like yellowing of leaves manifest later. It secretes ethylene and cuts off the supply of nutrients and water to the leaves which start withering, causing premature defoliation. Remedial
measures The disease can be contained and treated by spraying orchards with mancozeb (100 gm per 200 litre), carbendazin (500 gm per 200 litre) or ziram (600 gm per 200 litre). They should also apply 1 kg of CAN (calcium ammonium nitrate) per tree to improve the intake of nutrients.
Shimla, September 16 Fresh attack of ‘marssonina’, a fungus, has set off the phenomenon of defoliation during the peak harvesting season in a large number of apple orchards in the Shimla and Kullu regions, the two main apple growing districts of the state. In the normal course the leaves wither away towards the end of November, well after the harvesting of fruit when the period of winter dormancy sets in. Over the past three weeks some of the severely affected orchards have been totally deprived of the foliage. The impact is first felt in the lower part of the tree’s crown with discolouration of leaves. It is more severe in the orchards which are not being managed on scientific lines. Even if proper pruning is not carried out the lower portion of the crown is deprived of requisite sunlight. Excessive humidity due to incessant rains, which is conducive to outbreak of fungal diseases, has been mainly responsible for its reappearance and orchards at an altitude of 6,000-8,000 ft are being affected the most. The maximum incidence has been reported from Chirgaon, Jubbal, Ani and left bank of the Beas river in the Kullu valley. If not controlled in time the disease will affect production as the fruit does not acquire its full size due to poor intake of nutrients. According to deputy director of horticulture ID Gupta, who has visited the affected orchards, the disease has mostly appeared in the neglected orchards where fungicides were not sprayed. They are to be sprayed after every 20 days from May 15 onwards right up to September, as per the recommended schedule. He said fungicides were available in plenty but continuous rain did not allow any time for spraying. Moreover, spraying was not very effective during rains. Rajiv Chauhan of Chhajpur in Jubbal, an apple grower, said even well-managed orchards had been affected as incessant rain rendered the chemical sprays ineffective. “The fruit in the severely affected orchards has acquired a dark tinge, affecting quality and market price. It takes longer to harvest as every fruit has to be wiped clean before packing,” explains Rajender Justa, a grower from Kotkahi. The department issued an advisory to the growers to immediately spray both infected and healthy plants with the recommended fungicides to check the further spread of the disease. |
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Pollution ‘factories’ by river side
Dharamsala, September 16 In Una district, a new paper mill is coming up on the banks of the Swan River on Santoshgarh road. The place where the industrial unit has been set up exposes it to swelling river waters, especially during monsoon. In the Gagret industrial area, a battery-making industrial unit has been set up in the middle of the bed of a seasonal rivulet. Sources told The Tribune that the unit had been inundated many a times during monsoon but the unit was still persisting with its position in the middle of a rivulet. Similarly, many industrial units in Solan, Sirmour, Una and Kangra districts had been set up on the banks of rivers. Interestingly, both units come in red category due to pollutants released from them. The environmentalists alleged that the units were just being brought on the banks of rivers so that the toxic effluents could be released easily in natural water courses. Since water is running, pollutants get washed away easily, they added. Already much hue-and-cry is being raised regarding the pollutants being released in rivers from the Baddi and Golthai industrial areas. The environmentalists from Punjab alleged that the pollutants from Baddi industrial units were damaging the environment in the Ropar international wetland area and those from Golthai the Nangal national wetland area. The environmentalists had moved the Punjab Human Rights Commission against the said pollution. The commission last week sought an information regarding the steps taken by the Himachal Pollution Control Board against the polluting units. The officials in the Department of Industry said they allowed the units to come up near river only after a no objection certificate from the Irrigation and Public Health Department (IPH). However, officials of the department said land of river beds on which the industry had been set up was a private land. There is no policy to stop private owners from using their land for other purposes. |
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Farmers decry proposed cement plant at Sundernagar
Keran (Sundernagar), September 16 “We have full faith in our judiciary and media. We have fought the 1971 war to save our country. Today, the government has forced us to fight to save my motherland here,” said Devi Singh Thakur, a former war veteran, while addressing the committee and mediapersons here. Dharampal Prashar, president of the Krishak Vikas Samiti, Chunilal, president of the Kisan-Kalyan Samiti, Col (retd) BS Raghava, president of the Paryavaran Sangharsh Samiti, Lalit Chaudhary, president of the Sundernagar Sangharsh Samiti, Chandramani, Tramar-Keran Kalyan Samiti and Joginder Thakur, state president of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, regardless of their affiliation, came on one platform and warned that the cement plant would never be allowed even if they were given compensation worth crores. “No pubic hearing was conducted when the plant site was shifted. The company and the administration decided the rates of their land in our absence,” they alleged. The visit to the village is an eye opener. The 173-hectare site is, in fact, lush, thick forest groves of vast varieties of trees, plant, shrubs and herbs where thousands of species of birds, animals, leopards and reptiles and yield grass for farmers. The jungle also conserves over 21 water sources feeding many villages and Sundernagar and is less than four km from Bandli Wildlife Sanctuary. “We will not allow the polluting cement factory on the 2,284 bighas of land in this area around Sundernagar,” Raghava said. Joginder Thakur, Raghava, Chunilal, Prashar, Lalit Chaudhary met former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, present Chief minister PK Dhumal and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar but to no avail. |
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ABVP activists booked for blocking traffic
Dharamsala, September 16 The activists blocked traffic at the Secretariat crossing this morning on a state-level call of their organisation. The ABVP had announced a statewide bandh against the alleged commercialisation of education by the state government. The students raised slogans against the government, however, the police diverted the traffic to avoid any inconvenience to the public. The ABVP, a student’s organisation affiliated to the BJP, has been raising its voice against setting up of private universities in the state. However, the government has been arguing that the private universities have brought in investment worth crores. SHIMLA: Commuters, especially schoolchildren, were in for major inconvenience as activists of the ABVP blocked traffic for one hour at Victory Tunnel protesting against the commercialisation and privatisation of education. ABVP activists drawn from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) and other colleges of the city blocked traffic for over an hour as they raised slogans against commercialisation of education. “The government’s move of encouraging private participation will make basic education out of a common man’s reach,” ABVP state secretary Naveen Sharma and HPU chief Narender Thakur said. The ABVP leaders demanded that the government must constitute a high-level committee that would act as a regulatory body to keep a check on all issues, including fee, faculty position and other infrastructural facilities. They warned that in case the government does not stop commercialisation of education, the ABVP would be forced to intensify their agitation. |
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HC comes to rescue of hapless father
Shimla, September 16 Acting on a complaint filed by Guru, a Division Bench of the High Court, headed by Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajeev Sharma, today directed the Director General of Police (DGP) and Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, to immediately look into the case of Guru’s son Krishan Kumar. The court directed the DGP and the DC to look into the matter and take an appropriate action. The court also directed them to make arrangements for Krishan’s treatment who was in a critical state at Reckong Peo hospital. The court observed that he should be shifted either to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla, or any other hospital where the required treatment was available. The matter will come up for hearing on September 23 for further orders. In his complaint, Guru alleged that his son, a driver of a private bus, was picked up by the police following a tiff with a local resident who was very influential. “The only fault of my son was that he asked this person to return Rs 1,000 that he had borrowed which infuriated him, leading to the police torture and affliction,” Guru pleaded. He alleged that his son was mercilessly beaten up after hanging him upside down. “I came to know of the incident when I called up my son inquiring about his whereabouts and the police answered that they had found him in a critical condition,” he said. He said Krishan was in a critical state in Reckong Peo and doctors had advised that he be shifted to IGMC for treatment. In his complaint, he mentioned that his plea before the Kinnaur SP who assured him that the erring cops would be suspended, also did not yield result as nobody enquired about Krishan. He also attached the medical record of Krishan along with his complaint. |
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CD case: Hearing on Virbhadra’s plea deferred
Shimla, September 16 The petition will now come for hearing tomorrow before another Division Bench. Today, the petition was listed before the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajiv Sharma. In the petition, the minister mentioned that the ruling group had launched a multi-pronged attack on him with the twin objective of tarnishing his image and eroding his political career. He also said after Prem Kumar Dhumal became the Chief Minister in December 2007, the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered a case against him and his wife on August 3, 2009, under the Prevention of Corruption Act on the basis of an audio CD released by Vijai Singh Mankotia in 2007 during the Hamirpur byelection. It was also mentioned that the case had been registered on the basis of a CD whose origin was not known. It was also alleged that the present investigating agency was acting under the influence of political bosses, therefore, urged the court to direct to conduct the inquiry by an independent investigating agency like the CBI. |
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Jwalaji flame for Singapore temple
Singapore, September 16 “It is the first time that the flame has travelled outside India,” said Satyaprakash Tiwari, secretary of the temple. The flame was brought to Singapore on a six-hour flight in a vessel similar to the lamp used to transport Olympic flame. Tiwari said it took six months to prepare the flame's journey. Every year, about 700 Hindus from Singapore travel to the north Indian temple to see the flame, which represents Goddess Jwalaji. “Hindu devotees from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand now don’t need to travel to northern India to see the flame as they can see it at the Singapore temple,” he said. Singapore has a population of about 15,000 Hindus from northern India, while most of them hails from the southern part of the country. — PTI |
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Don’t promote ‘cemetery tourism’, says minority council
Shimla, September 16 Chairman of the council Rajeshwar Negi said the government had recently come out with an idea of promoting “cemetery tourism”, which was abhorrent and distasteful in its appeal and nomenclature. Rather than documenting the already known and chronicled cemeteries the government should take steps to stop their “vandalisation” and “defilement” along with other burial grounds of minorities. The foreign visitors which the government plans to attract during the CWG would leave them shocked, tearful and despondent at the sight of those desolate forlorn graves, crying for care and proper upkeep. He said all 23 prominent cemeteries in the hill state were in a dilapidated state and some smaller ones had disappeared altogether. Some of the funeral grounds were being used as playgrounds, dating and late night parties, or worse, as open toilets. None of the graveyard was fenced and the gravestones had been removed and used for paving the doorsteps to houses. The government had clearly failed in its constitutional duty to protect the burial grounds. Negi informed that he had already taken up the matter with Chief Minister PK Dhumal and also submitted memorandums to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and the British Prime Minister through the Embassy in Delhi and urged them to do their bit in proper upkeep and protection of these burial grounds. |
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Fire power: 11 new tenders for state
Shimla, September 16 The new fire tenders shall be positioned at Rampur, The Mall, Shimla, Chhota Shimla, Tilak Nagar, Nahan, Paonta Sahib, Mandi, Dharamsala, Baddi and Una. Speaking on the occasion, Dhumal congratulated the Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Services department for upgrading the services which would further strengthen the fire-fighting services network in the state and deliver efficient services to the people. He lauded the role of the department in saving valuable lives and property of the people during fire and accidents. He said Himachal Pradesh had varied geographical conditions and delivering efficient services under such conditions was a challenging task which the department had been accomplishing successfully and saved precious 132 lives in 1,287 cases and property worth Rs 618 crore during 2010. He said there was a network of 22 fire stations and two fire posts in the state, which were rendering round the clock services. Dhumal said eight new fire stations were likely be made functional at Kaza, Keylong and Udaipur of tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, Amb in Una district, Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district, Banikhet in Chamba district, Nadaun in Hamirpur district and Jogindernagar in Mandi district. |
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Designing courses vital, say engineers
Shimla, September 16 Delivering the lecture on “Impending Paradigm Shift in Engineering Sciences and Future Challenges”, C, IK Bhat said new trends in engineering in the global scenario had brought a shift from seeking a degree to seeking learning. Latest technology had made learning more accessible, efficient and affordable. |
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