Hamirpur, October 8
As Vijay Kumar, shooter from Harsour village of Hamirpur district, added another feather in his cap by winning yet another gold in shooting in the Commonwealth Games today, residents of the state, especially Hamirpur, are overjoyed over his wonderful achievement.

Vijay Kumar, who had yesterday won gold medal with Gurpreet in double 25-m rapid pistol fire event, once again proved his potential by winning gold (17th for the Indian team in these games) today in the single 25-m rapid fire pistol event.

Talking to The Tribune over phone yesterday, Vijay had expressed tremendous confidence of winning another gold today. After winning the second gold today, Vijay Kumar told The Tribune over phone that he was glad as this was his second gold medal.

“Moreover, I have improved my record of the 2006 Commonwealth Games by scoring 787.5 points this time,” he added. All praises for Vijay Kumar, his father Banku Ram said: “My son has made every Indian proud. The entire state is in a perpetual celebration mode.”

His grandmother and other family members, however, are predicting three gold medals for Vijay in the Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and President of the Indian Hockey Federation Vidya Stokes has also congratulated him.

While talking to The Tribune from New Delhi, Vidya said: “While it is a moment of pride for all Indians, the entire Himachal is overjoyed over this achievement. This would definitely give impetus to sports in the state.”

Nadaunta MLA Baldev Sharma also congratulated Vijay and his family. 

Shimla, October 8
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has urged Union Minister for Roads and Highways Kamal Nath to provide at least Rs 100 crore to the state for restoration of national highways (NHs) which suffered extensive damage due to heavy rain during the monsoon.

In a letter addressed to the minister, he said the state experienced prolonged and unprecedented monsoon which resulted in 80 per cent excess rain. Metalling over several kilometres of road was washed away and the retaining structures and breast walls also suffered huge damage. Landslides also caused widespread damage to the roads, he added.

The total damage to the road network had been estimated to be more than Rs 1,010 crore and the NHs alone had suffered damage to the tune of over Rs 100 crore. He said reports of damage were still pouring in from different parts of the state.

“Roads are lifelines of the people in the hill state and the government has limited resources at its disposal for restoration, work for which has already been started,” he added.

Shimla, October 8
Aimed at making itself accessible to women even while sitting in the confines of their homes, whether in a town or village, the State Commission for Women will reach out to those in need by extending facility of online complaints.

Many harassed women, both working as well as housewives, seek help of the commission in their fight for justice. Formalities for having online complaint facility are being completed and it is expected that by the end of this month, it would be launched.

“Our objective is to reach out to every woman in need of help. However, many of them are unable to file their complaints as either they are living in remote areas or not in a position to file a complaint for other reasons,” said Ambika Sood, chairperson, State Commission for Women.

Since Internet facility is now available at most places in the state, including the tribal and far-flung areas, launch of the online facility is likely to go a long way in enabling women seek help of the commission.

The facility will be of great help to women who are victims of domestic violence and are subjected to grave torture as they can now reach out to the Commission for help by using Internet facility.

The Commission has, till date, been able to resolve 4,729 cases out of a total of 5,268 complaints that it had received. A total of 476 cases are still pending before it. Interestingly, it is not just women who approach the commission for help but a substantial number of men are also seeking protection from it. The commission has received complaints from over 140 men who have complained about ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of their spouses.

However, the maximum numbers of over 500 complaints that are received every year pertain to domestic violence. The women generally complain of harassment, including physical torture, at the hands of their husband and in-laws, mostly related to dowry demands. A substantial amount of complaints also pertain to harassment at workplace, both in the government as well as private sector.

The commission’s endeavour is to bring about reconciliation so that the situation does not worsen and a compromise is brought about. Since approaching the court of law involves a cumbersome and lengthy process besides engaging a lawyer, women are preferring to get their problems resolved with the help of the commission.

OBJECTIVES

Shimla, October 8
US-based multinational energy company Bergamo Acquisition Corporation has decided to set up a mega solar thermal power plant in the state.

Hillard Herzog, president and chief executive officer of the company, said a joint venture company Bergamo Harbinson Energy Limited, Gurgaon, had set up Esoft Informatics Private Limited, a software company based in India, for the purpose in which Bergamo Acquisition Corporation would have a 60 per cent share equity.

He said the company had a comprehensive plan to set up solar thermal power plants in India up to a total capacity of 1,000 MW.

It had identified Himachal Pradesh for the first phase under which a 100 MW solar thermal plant would be set up at an investment of $400 million. The plant would come up in Baddi-Barotiwala area and create employment opportunity for about 10,000 people, he added.

Herzog, who is currently in India along with senior technical team members, said his company was also setting up consumer-cum-retail division in technical collaboration with Suntrough Technologies, a division of Bergamo Acquisition Corp, in Solan to provide cost-effective high-quality solar products such as solar outdoor lights, solar garden lights, street lights, solar water heaters and other products to help reduce energy consumption.

Necessary certifications and permissions were being obtained to launch the products by next month and a unit to manufacture solar products would start functioning in India by March 2011, he said.

During the daytime, the power plant would run on solar power and in the evening on gas and renewable energy. The company had plans to develop India as solar capital of the world, he said, adding that the plant would meet all energy requirements in rural areas. 

Shimla, October 8
Even as the government has turned down the request of the State AIDS Control Society to provide social security pension to AIDS patients, industries in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area has come forward to adopt children of infected persons to enable them complete their education and lead a good living.

To begin with, the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries’ Association has recently adopted 10 such children. It has agreed to provide finances for education and other needs of these children.

“The association has consented to adopt some more children and we are now approaching big industrial houses so that more funds can be raised to provide the best of education and other facilities to settle them,” informed Dr Sulakshna Puri, project director, State AIDS Control Society.

Dr Puri said the selection of the children would be done depending on who requires it the most. The scheme would benefit children of those infected with AIDS and HIV. “The industry is keen on giving preference to the girls in the first phase and later to others,” she said.

The society had sent a proposal to the Social Justice and Empowerment Department to provide social security pension of Rs 330 per month to AIDS and HIV patients like the leprosy patients. “It is not possible to provide such a pension to AIDS patients as people suffering from other ailments could make a similar request,” said Manish Garg, director, Social Justice and Empowerment.

He said the society had been advised to approach the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) or other agencies for financial help.

Despite not being a high prevalence state, Himachal is the only state in the country that is providing funds to children of AIDS and HIV +ve patients. The assistance ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 800 per child a month covers children in the age group of zero to 18.

Another such novel scheme for the AIDS and HIV patients is the free travel facility for the infected person along with one companion in the state transport buses so that they can undergo the free anti-retro viral treatment being provided to them at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. There are total 1,032 AIDS and 4,601 HIV +ve people in the state. 

The State AIDS Control Society had sent a proposal to the Social Justice and Empowerment Department to provide social security pension of Rs 330 per month to AIDS and HIV patients like the leprosy patients.

But the Social Justice and Empowerment Department said it was not possible to provide such a pension to AIDS patients as people suffering from other ailments could make a similar request. 

Solan, October 8
With the management of Ambuja Cement Limited failing to budge from their stand of giving a hike in freight charges, about 3,000 truckers continued their peaceful agitation outside the Darlaghat unit for the third day today.

Four truck unions, Solan District Truck Operators, Ambuja Darlaghat Kashlog Mangu, Baghal Land Losers and Golden Land Losers, held series of meetings to chalk out their future course of action as the unit management had refused any scope of giving a hike.

The truckers resented that as per the initial agreement, the management had agreed to give them a discount of 20 per cent in freight in lieu of back load, both for to and fro journey to Ropar and back. In addition, another discount of 5 per cent was given to them for inter-state movement of trucks after every 150 km.

They added that the scenario had changed drastically now and a truck was forced to wait for 3 to 4 days to get loaded. Consequently, a truck managed to get work for barely 12 days in a month, thus making it uneconomical for them to operate.

The truckers resented that though a formula was worked out, whereby, freight was hiked after every five years after taking into consideration various factors, adding that diesel component should be exempted from this formula as it was hiked several times in a single year.

The strike, however, adversely affected new truck operators, who had to pay EMI in lieu of loans, availed to purchase the vehicles. With work coming to a standstill, the truckers were levied with loan instalments that continued to mount with each passing day.

Deputy Commissioner AS Rathode said none of the sides were ready to budge and it had, thereafter, become difficult to resolve the issue amicably despite holding several round of talks.

Truckers also resented the indifferent attitude of the unit management that failed to make efforts to resolve the issue by failing to send an authoritative person like president or senior vice-president of the management to hold talks. They decided to boycott all such meetings where any of the two authoritative persons would not be present. 

Shimla, October 8
The state has the highest 15.11 per cent of its total geographical area under wildlife sanctuaries in the country against the national average of 4.7 per cent.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while presiding over the closing ceremony of the wildlife week celebrations here today.

He said two national parks and 33 wildlife sanctuaries covered 8,409 sq km area in the state and with the rationalisation exercise, the protected area would rise by 1,210 sq km.

Dhumal said many wildlife species were on the verge of extinction and there was a need to preserve the natural habitat to conserve the threatened species, adding that the wildlife week celebrations should not be a ritual, but an occasion to carry out introspection.

He released the wildlife publication and posters brought out by the Wildlife Department to mark the celebration and gave away prizes to individuals, organisations, and NGOs, who had contributed towards preservation and conservation of wildlife significantly.

Additional Chief Secretary Avay Shukla said jackal and vulture, the two species known as natural scavengers, were now rarely visible.

Shimla, October 8
Blaming the Dhumal government for the anti-grower amendment in bylaws of the Delhi Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee, State Congress General Secretary Kuldeep Rathore today said its strategy to move the high court for enforcement of the bylaw had boomeranged.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the government failed to present the case effectively before the high court and as a result the outcome went against the growers. They would now have to pay 6 per cent commission on the sale proceeds. The move had caused irreparable damage to the cause of growers.

BJP leaders, who were now seeking the support of two Union ministers and PCC Chief Kaul Singh, did not take the Congress party or any leader into confidence before moving the court. The government should have been cautious as interests of the growers were involved.

He alleged that the government had deliberately adopted an indifferent attitude towards the issues and problems of the apple growers as evident from the fact that it did not make any effort to keep the roads open and arrange cartons and trucks to facilitate marketing of the crop.

He said almost 25 to 30 per cent crop had rotted due to delay in harvesting and transportation to market and situation was so bad that the fruit procured under the MIS by government agencies also decayed by the roadside. The fruit that should have processed to produce juice, jam and cider, was being composed to make organic manure.

Referring to the move to provide land to big industries on concessional rates, he said the move smacked of corruption as the BJP government had done nothing over the past three years except facilitating precious land to outsiders. Instead of attracting eco-friendly industries like the information technology, it promoted those units that neither provided employment nor other benfits to the state.