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3-phase panchayat poll from Dec 28
50 pc wards reserved for women
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State to focus on ‘total tourism’
Patients wait for doctors at the zonal hospital in Mandi. Photo: Jai Kumar
BSNL services on the ebb
Hydel projects taking toll on forest
Preserve traditional food crops: MLA
Mad dog bites 14
Use chlorine-free water for mushroom: Experts
State to have 36 Grameen Haats
Winter Session
Laparoscopic surgeons’ workshop ends
Governor, CM mourn Prasad’s death
Students’ Council poll
GOC-in-C calls on CM
CWG, Asiad winners to be honoured on Statehood Day
1.7L cases pending in lower courts
6 ear surgeries performed
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3-phase panchayat poll from Dec 28
The term of the present bodies ends on January 25. As per the schedule announced, nominations will be filed on December 10, 13 and 14 and scrutiny will take place on December 15. The last date for withdrawal is December 18. The counting of votes for the post of pradhan, up-pradhan and panch will be held on the same day. The counting of votes for panchayat samitis and zila parishad will take place on January 3 and 4 and the election process will be over on January 6. Dev Swaroop said dates for the elections to 48 municipal bodies would be announced soon as the term of different municipal bodies was expiring on different dates. People who have encroached upon government lands will not be eligible to contest elections and the respective returning officers will ask the candidates to make a declaration in this regard. Each voter will cast five votes to elect panch, pradhan, up-pradhan, block samiti member and zila parishad member. As many as 3,195 panchayat presidents and vice-presidents, 19,159 panches, 1,651 block samiti members and 240 zila parishad members will be elected. Fifty per cent seats have been reserved for women in all PRIs, except for the post of up-pradhan which is open. Besides reservation for women, 15 per cent reservation for the OBC and proportionate reservation for the Scheduled Castes will also be made and there will be reservation within reservation for women. About 19,000 polling booths will be set up for 46.11 lakh voters which include 2,332,121 men and 2,278,881 women. |
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50 pc wards reserved for women
Hamirpur, November 29 Ward no 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 have now been reserved for women candidates from the general category, while ward no 9 has been reserved for the SC category woman. Ward no 1 has been reserved for SC category candidate open for man and woman. In the outgoing house, wards no 1, 7 and 10 were reserved for the women candidates from the open category and ward no 4 was reserved for the SC woman candidates. Out of the total 11 wards, 2, 3, 10 and 11 will be in the open category now. For nagar
panchayat, Sujanpur, out of the total 9 wards, ward no 4, 6, 7 and 9 have been reserved for women candidates while ward no 5 has been reserved for SC women and ward no 2 for SC candidate. |
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State to focus on ‘total tourism’
Shimla, November 29 The Tourism Department has submitted a concept note to the government for consideration where the theory of “total tourism” has been put forth. Based on the model prepared by the Pacific Asia Travel Agent’s Association (PATAA), which is being followed internationally, the department has sought greater funds at its disposal in coordination with other departments. “It is not feasible to develop tourism in isolation so the need of the hour is to integrate the efforts of all the departments concerned so that facilities like good roads, water, electricity, god air connectivity, well planned urban and rural centres can be created,” emphasised Arun Sharma, director, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Besides chalking out a road map based on the mantra of Himachal as “A Destination for All Seasons and All Reasons,” the interesting aspect is the proposal for having a tourism sub-plan. Officials admit that despite there being immense potential in the tourism sector in Himachal, the budgetary allocation is very meagre and as such tourism contributes merely 2 per cent to the GDP. “Departments like PWD, IPH, Power, Rural Development, Town and Country Planning and Youth Services and Sports can pool a portion of their resources which are linked to tourism so that tourism as a while can get a fillip without allocation of additional resources,” Sharma said. As such the thrust will be on adopting a holistic approach as tourism alone cannot be promoted if the road condition is bad or the tourist destination is overcrowded exceeding its carrying capacity or faces acute water shortage. In fact many of the destinations in Himachal like Shimla, Manali and McLeodganj have exceeded their carrying capacity resulting in environmental degradation. The road map specially focuses on development of new destination to offer the best in terms of adventure, pilgrimage, tribal, cultural, eco-tourism, wildlife and Buddhist tourism. There is special thrust on heritage which is one the most important “marketable commodities” that Himachal has. The concept also lays emphasis on community participation so that there is coordination among decision makers, planners and the ultimate beneficiaries will be helpful in making tourism sustainable. Development has to be in a manner that keeps in mind the well being of the local people, as well as ensures that there is no environmental degradation.
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Staff crunch ails zonal hospital
Mandi, November 29 Most sufferers are poor patients who visit the zonal hospital for surgery as they do not know that the hospital has no surgeon. The only surgeon, Dr AB Gupta, has already promoted as chief medical officer, revealed insiders. The state Health Department had appointed Dr Joshi as surgeon but he spent 15 days at the zonal hospital as he joined as registrar at Dr RP Medical College, Tanda, recently. Even senior doctors are deserting the zonal hospital and joining more lucrative private hospitals that have been put on the panel by the state government for reimbursement. Dr Humant Kumar, a senior physician at the zonal hospital, took voluntary retirement recently and joined a private hospital and as such the zonal hospital has only two physicians, reveal insiders. The patients who cannot afford the expensive surgery are the worst hit as they have no option other than getting expensive treatment at private hospitals, rue patients. Others go to the IGMC or the PGI that cost them dearly, the patients said. In fact, the zonal hospital has a sanctioned strength of 45 doctors but only 27 doctors are in position over the years. This sanctioned strength is based on the old parameters and the strength, as per the latest provisions of the Health Ministry, should be more than 60 doctors, said doctors. The Mandi Citizens’ Council president RN Vaidya said they had sent several representations to the Health Minister and the state government, but the zonal hospital continues to face the shortage of doctors. “The poor patients are suffering as they cannot afford costly treatment at private hospitals”. CMO Mandi Dr AB Gupta said the minor surgeries were being performed at the zonal hospital while major cases were referred to the IGMC. “We have requested the government to fill the vacant posts at the zonal hospital. We have a surgeon at Sundernagar”, he added. Health Minister Rajiv Bindal, who visited the zonal hospital, expressed helplessness over the filling of all sanctioned 45 posts in the hospital. “We are on the job and the country as a whole is facing shortage of the specialist doctors” was his pet reply to reporters.
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BSNL services on the ebb
Solan, November 29 While the quantum of call drops has increased, the network remains busy for hours together making it difficult to make or even receive calls, especially in the evenings. The increasing number of call drops forces a subscriber to make several calls, thus, unduly draining a customer’s pocket.
Though the BSNL had attracted thousands of customers by floating user group schemes for government employees as well as student plans, the system failed to be upgraded vis-à-vis subscriber population. It was observed that people preferred to avail an alternative cell connection of other private operators given the shoddy services of the BSNL. The SMSes failed to be delivered on time, especially in the evenings, and at times were delivered after hours, thus, defeating the very purpose of the service. Though the BSNL takes prides in having the largest customer base in Himachal, it has expanded its base without effecting a considerable expansion of its infrastructure. This has deteriorated its service quality and the network remained exceptionally busy during the evenings. Users complained that the broadband lacked the requisite speed and even the GPRS failed to work on majority of the cellphones barring one company. This reduced the utility of its GPRS services and made it brand specific. Still worse one had a harrowing experience in trying to get GPRS settings on cellphones from the BSNL as a few officials seemed to know about it. It was learnt that though number of BTS towers were erected but the BSNL failed to undertake its optimisation with nearby towers and with no drive tests being conducted to check uniformity of signal and, besides its strength, the services continued to suffer. General manager of the BSNL Solan Secondary Switching Area Ashwani Salwan said he was unaware of the problems but would get them rectified. Interestingly, other officials of the BSNL did confirm that some problem had occurred at Chandigarh-based BSNL operations, thus, causing temporary problems.
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Hydel projects taking toll on forest
Shimla, November 29 Latest data reveals that 9,131 hectares forest land has been diverted for non-forestry purpose from 1980, when the Forest Conservation Act came into force, till October 31, 2010, and another 900 hectares is in the pipeline. Hydroelectric projects have devoured maximum green cover with a diversion of 3,929 hectares, followed by transmission lines (2,226 hectares), roads (1,691 hectares) and mining (819 hectares). Out of this 2,065 hectares, over 22 per cent of the total land, has been diverted over the past three years. Over 11 lakh trees have been axed for hydroelectric projects and transmission lines over the years. Indeed, Himachal has been lagging far behind in protecting the green cover in comparison to other Himalayan states and this embarrassing fact has been brought to fore by the report of the 13th Finance Commission which awarded least “green bonus” to the state on the basis of the existing green cover. The commission based its recommendation on the latest “India State of Forest Report (SFR)-2009” of the Forest Survey of India
(FSI) and accordingly Himachal got only Rs 100.6 crore as against Rs 205.4 crore recommended for Uttarakhand. The neighbouring state has maintained a better forest cover despite a higher population and much less geographical area compared to Himachal. The state with a geographical area of 55,673 sq km has only 14,668 sq km (26.35 per cent) of forests whereas Uttarakhand, spread over 53,483 sq km, has 24,495 sq km (45.8 per cent) under forests. Open forests (density between 10 to 40 per cent) accounted for over 34 per cent of the total forest area as compared to just 24 per cent in Uttarakhand, indicating the extent of degradation. Similarly, Arunachal Pradesh with 67,353 sq km forest cover (80.43 pc) has been recommended the highest amount of Rs 727 crore and even a small state like Mizoram has been awarded with Rs 171 crore for maintaining a good forest cover (91.27 pc). Similarly, Nagaland got Rs 331 crore (81.12 pc), Meghalaya Rs 168 crore (77.23 pc) and Manipur Rs 150 crore (77.4 pc). If Himachal had maintained its forest cover at the level of Uttarakhand it would have got more than Rs 220 crore. It remains to be seen if the Centre follows a uniform policy in respect of all projects to save the forest cover or selectively withholds forest clearance for projects like Renuka Dam.
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Preserve traditional food crops: MLA
Chamba, November 29 Presiding over a one-day district-level biodiversity fair and farmers’ symposium organised under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Agriculture University, Palampur, here today, Chamba MLA B.K.Chauhan, in his keynote address,
expressed concern that some traditional food crops were on the verge of extinction and emphasised the need for preserving these food crops which were an integral part of the biodiversity. The MLA said entire Chamba district was known for its rich biodiversity resources and it was high time to conserve and intensify biodiversity through integration of
plant animal and fish genetic resources for livelihood security. Vice-Chancellor of Agriculture University, Palampur, Prof S.K.Sharma said a unique project called “National Agricultural Innovation Project” which has been designed especially for three blocks, Salooni, Bharmour and Bhattiyat of Chamba district, would go a long way in assessing and enhancing the resources to local
diversity and extend the benefits to local farming communities. Among others who gave deliberations included Director of Research PAU
Dr S.P. Sharma, Consortium Principal Investigator National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources New Delhi Dr S K Pareek and Joint Director Animal Husbandry Dr B P Joshi. |
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Mad dog bites 14
Mandi, November 29 According to patients, the dog went on a biting spree without any provocation in the village and attacked whoever came into its way. The victims have been identified as Nand Lal, Parvati Devi, Phulavati, Kiran Kumar, Mangat Ram, Tula Ram, Yadvinder, Vimla Devi, Manju, Kishori Lal, Manju Devi-II, Sarni and three more remained identified. The dog spread panic in the village and the villagers had no option but to shoot down the dog. “We also suspect that the dog has bitten other dogs in the Chail Chowk area where three more people have been bitten by dogs”, the victims said. They rued that they could not afford the treatment as they come from a poor family. “I have no card and no money to pay for the treatment,” rued Parvati Devi. Chief Medical Officer of Mandi Dr AB Gupta said, “The patients are under treatment. Only one patient is a smart card holder while others are poor villagers who cannot afford the costly treatment.” “For the card holder treatment is free while we will be meeting half-the-cost of the treatment for other patients from the Rogi Kalyan Samiti,” he added. Dr Gupta said the dog appeared to be rabid as it had bitten over a dozen people without provocation. “We will treat all patient regardless of their economic status,” he assured the patients.
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Use chlorine-free water for mushroom: Experts
Solan, November 29 Further, diversification of substrate and formulation for commercially cultivated mushroom and diversification and improvement in the cultivation technology of medicinal and speciality mushroom was also proposed. Scientists also suggested that various active ingredients present in different medicinal mushroom needs to be studied for their neutracetical value so that its use could be further highlighted. Locally available substrates should be utilised for production of Pleurotus spp. The impact of Ganoderma spp. on forest species need to be addressed because of its saprophytic nature and emphasis should be given to early detection of disease and pest infestation in the mushroom house as it was a sensitive plant facing maximum damage due to the changing climatic conditions. In the symposium, 73 scientists and mushroom growers from all over the country participated. Dr Manjeet Singh, director, Directorate of Mushroom Research at Chambaghat, and Dr KR Dhiman, Vice-Chancellor, spoke at length about the problems that mushroom growers are facing. Dhiman also felicitated renowned scientist of taxonomy Dr TN Lakhanpal for his outstanding contribution in the field of mushroom research. |
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State to have 36 Grameen Haats
Shimla, November 29 “The state government will be creating a strong network of these haats in all districts in a phased manner where the artisans can showcase a range of local products made by them,” Dhumal said at a public rally at
Bhatakufar, located on the outskirts of the state capital town. The hill state is known for hand-knitted woollens like shawls, stoles, mufflers, socks, gloves, pullovers and caps, Chamba rumal (handkerchief), Chamba chappals (slippers) and jewellery items. The Himachal Handicraft and Handloom Corporation, which is marketing the products made by the local artisans and craftsmen, is operating 15 sales outlets, including one each in Bangalore and Delhi. The state government has got the Chamba handkerchief, Kullu and Kinnauri shawl and Kangra tea registered under the Geographical Indications (GI) of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, with the
Chennai-based Geographical Indications Registry. — IANS |
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Government focuses on cost cutting
Dhara Katoch Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, November 29 The Speaker said, “The session will be of four days (December 6-9) in which first three days (Dec 6-8) will be reserved for questions, Bills and proposals to be tabled in the House while December 9 had been dedicated as Private Member Day.” The Speaker has requested the members of governing party and the Opposition to maintain the dignity of the House and ask questions under the conditions of the House which will be answered by the government. He added that the government had focused on cost-cutting which would be maintained this year too. He said the number of officials had been reduced to 73 this time. “I’ll also try at my level to contribute to the cost-cutting. I will use my personal residence at Palampur during the whole session and will try to use minimum services provided by the government except the government vehicle.”
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Laparoscopic surgeons’ workshop ends
Kangra, November 29 Dr. Ramesh
Bharti, head of department, Surgery, DRPGMC, Tanda, today said the workshop on laparoscopic surgery in collaboration with the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India was the first such workshop held ever in the state. He said 90 surgeons from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Haryana, New Delhi, West Bengal and Chandigarh participated in the event. He said eight specialised laparoscopic procedures were carried out by laparoscopy surgeons during the workshop, who explained to the participant surgeons the new techniques of such procedure. The laparoscopy surgeons who delivered the goods during the Continuing Medical Education
(CME) programme were Dr. Navneet Choudary, CMC, Ludiana, Dr. Kanwal Jaswal,
IGMC, Shimla, Dr. Deepak Godary, Maharashtra, Dr. B.S. Pathania, Jammu, and Dr. Om Tantia
Kolkata.
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Governor, CM mourn Prasad’s death
Shimla, November 29 Urmila Singh expressed grief over the demise of Prasad and conveyed her heart-felt condolence to the bereaved family members. She said his services as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh would always be remembered by the people of the state. The Chief Minister also expressed grief over the sudden demise of Prasad. He added that Mahavir had always taken keen interest in the development of the state and the welfare of its people. Mahavir Prasad remained Governor of Himachal Pradesh from September 18, 1995, to November 16, 1995, and April 23, 1996, to July 25, 1997. |
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Students’ Council poll
Shimla, November 29 The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of the Dean of Studies. The filing of nomination papers for election of secretary, joint secretary and three members for the session 2010-11 will be accepted till 12.30 p.m and withdrawal can be done till 1 p.m. The HPU authorities said all members should bring their identity cards along with a letter from the chairperson, Director, Principal of the institution concerned, authorising them to participate in the Students’ Council election. Nobody will be allowed inside the Himachal Pradesh University auditorium where the elections will be held after 12 noon.
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GOC-in-C calls on CM
Shimla, November 29 He thanked the Chief Minister for all co-operation he had received from the state government in various activities of the Army Training Command. He said the Command was obliged to the Himachal government for its help from time-to-time and for maintenance of best civil and military relations. He said he would always cherish the time he had spent in Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister also thanked General Lamba for the co-operation and help the state had received under his command. He said the government had always extended full cooperation to the military authorities in resolving all their problems relating to the state government departments. |
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CWG, Asiad winners to be honoured on Statehood Day
Shimla, November 29 Stating this here today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the government had decided to give a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh to winners of gold medal, Rs 5 lakh for silver medal and Rs 3 lakh for bronze medal. He said Subedar Vijay Kumar from Hamirpur had won three gold medals and one silver medal in the Commonwealth Games and two bronze medals in the Asiad would receive Rs 41 lakh. Samresh Jung (Sirmaur) who won one silver and one bronze in shooting, while Meena Kumari (Bilaspur) won a bronze medal in Rifle Shooting in the Commonwealth Games. Sonia Rai (Kangra) won a silver medal in Pistol Shooting at the 16th Asiad. |
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1.7L cases pending in lower courts
Shimla, November 29 A spokesperson of the high court today clarified that that in his inaugural address Chief Justice Kurien Joseph had state that the total population of Himachal Pradesh was 67 lakh and the figure did not pertain to number of
pending cases.
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6 ear surgeries performed
Kangra, November 29 Dr Sanjay Sachdeva, director, Max Hospital, Noida, performed the surgeries.
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With chlorinated water being identified as a key reason of residue problem, scientists have suggested the use of chlorine-free water for spraying in mushroom cultivation.
This was one of the key recommendations which emerged during a two-day national seminar on “Diversification for sustaining profitability in mushroom production” which concluded at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. It was also suggested to undertake diversification of species to reduce the predominance of white button mushroom in the country and carry out extensive work on wild edible mushroom.
Shimla, November 29