Kullu, December 12
State BJP chief Khimi Ram Sharma has been booked on a complaint lodged by the district BJP chief Ram Singh. He alleged in his complaint that the state president had supported senior BJP leader and state executive member Dharam Vir Dhami objecting Ram Singh’s nomination on the grounds that Ram belonged to a particular caste and tribe.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dullar confirmed that a case under Section-3/989 of the SC/ST Act has been registered on the complaint of Ram Singh. He said he would get the matter inquired by a senior gazetted officer and action could be taken after the preliminary investigations. No arrest could be made until the inquiry was completed, he added.

Local MLA Goving Singh Thakur was also present at the meeting for the selection of party candidate for Municipal Council president from Kullu. Govind supported Ram Singh’ nomination while Khimi Ram and Dharam Vir were for Rishabh Kalia. Goving did not pick up the telephone when this correspondent tried to contact him.

owever, party sources said the moment Rishabh’s name was finalised, Ram Singh walked out with the allegations that he was insulted because of he being a tribal.

The differences within the BJP cadre could affect the ongoing panchayats, zila parishad, panchayat samiti and Municipal Councils’ elections in this district.

The Congress had lost all three seats of the district to the BJP during the last assembly elections due to an incident of caste-related slogans raised from the Congress election meeting dais.

Hamirpur, December 12
A large number of ex-servicemen of the district today assembled to honour ace shooter Subedar Vijay Kumar Sharma, who hails from Harsour village in the district and has brought laurels to the country by winning four gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and two silver medals in the Asian Games.

Vijay Kumar was taken in an open jeep from Dosarka, near Hamirpur, to Anu and Pucka Bharo to Shiam Nagar where a function was organised to felicitate him.

Two bands from Dogra regiment — Jazz and Piper bands — were specially invited to perform on the occasion at the Gandhi Chowk.

Lt Gen Jasbir Singh, Chief of Staff of Northern Command, who was scheduled to attend this function, could not attend it due to some urgent meeting.

Colonel BC Lagwal (retd) honoured Vijay and his father, also an ex-serviceman Subedar Banku Ram (retd), by offering them caps and shawls.

Lagwal said the achievements of Vijay Kumar had raised the head of people of Hamirpur district and all serving and ex-Army personnel were very happy for him. He said the youths of the district would gain a lot by Vijay’s achievement and also get a lot of inspiration from him.

Expressing his sincere thanks to ex-servicemen for honouring him, Vijay Kumar said, “Youths through hard work can achieve anything in life and they should set a goal to achieve high in life.”

He said, “My next target is to win a gold medal in shooting for the country in the next Olympic Games and for that I am preparing hard and will seek coaching from a German coach in Germany.”

Dharamsala, December 12
Thousands of commuters from the lower Himachal area are in for trouble during the winter months. The Railways has decided to discontinue Himachal Express, the only broad gauge train coming to the state.

Sources told The Tribune that the train would be discontinued from December 23 to January 31 due to suspected foggy conditions during the period.

Railway officials said last year, the department faced problems due to foggy conditions during December and January. So this year, the decision had been taken in advance to discontinue some trains.

Unfortunately, on the Una-Delhi section there is just one train and that will also be discontinued.

A large numbers of passengers from Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Kangra districts take Himachal Express for going to Delhi. The timing of the train suits traders from the area. The train leave Una at 9 pm in evening and reach Delhi early morning. From Delhi, the train leave at 11 pm and reached Una early morning.

Businessmen from the lower areas have flayed the decision of the Railways to discontinue the trains. They said in foggy conditions, the train was a better alternative to travel rather than going by bus or cars.

Since Himachal Express was the only board gauge train coming to the state, it should not be discontinued, they said.

Jan Shatabdi is another train that has been extended up to Una district. However, its timings do not suit passengers. The train leaves at 4.30 am from Una that is unsuitable for passengers from Hamirpur and Kangra residents. Besides, it has limited seats that cannot accommodate the heavy traffic that goes through Himachal Express.

The Nangal-Una railway line is the only broad gauge railway track in Himachal. The project, aimed at connecting Una district with the Talwara area of Punjab, is also going on. However, the work on the project has been at a very tardy pace. In the past 38 years when the project was started, just 31 kilometres railway track has been laid. Now the broad gauge railway line has reaches Chruru station in Una district.

After the track reaches Amb subdivision of Una district, it will start catering to a larger population.

Political leaders from Himachal had demanded that the broad gauge railway line should be extended to the Jwalamukhi area in Kangra district. From here it could be connected with already the existing Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge railway line. If the project was approved, it could improve the rail connectivity in the lower Himachal.

Already the only train plying on the track has heavy traffic and generally goes packed. So there is also a demand to add another train on the track.

Shimla, December 12
The indifferent response of farmers to the campaign started by the Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti to kill monkeys notwithstanding, conservationists are shocked at the insensitivity and inhumane attitude of the state government in allowing culling of simians and other animals, including some threatened species.

Terming the decision as irrational, the Nature Watch India (NWI), an NGO, pointed out that there was no scientific basis as no assessment or any authentic census by any credible wildlife experts, institution or organisation had been conducted. Worse, some threatened species like black bear, jackal, fox, blue bull and sambhar had been ignorantly added to the government list of vermin. The government in spite of its tall claims and lakhs of rupees spent on the project for mass sterilisation of monkeys, capitulated to politically motivated clamour and panic hysteria drummed up by the cadres of the Left parties aiming to create a political constituency at the expense of helpless and voiceless animals, alleges Rajeshwar Negi, convener of the NWI.

If these groups really thought about welfare of the farmers at heart, why they maintain silence when huge areas of scarce agricultural land was forcibly acquired by the government and private companies for setting up cement plants, housing projects and hydroelectric projects and the farmers were displaced, he asked.

By granting thousands of killing permits to untrained persons, the government had set a new precedent in the primitive and barbaric method of the most inhuman kind in the entire civilised world. Such indiscriminate “politically endorsed mass killings” by amateur persons had made the jungles of Himachal open killing fields.

With black bear being identified as a vulnerable animal, the jackal being a harmless and a fast disappearing scavenger, the monkeys already under a severe sterilisation drive and the neelgai and wild boars being limited in area and population such measures were unwarranted. Not only that, permits had been granted even in areas where no problem from wild animals existed. The plea that permission was already in existence did not hold as the previous government had suspended culling after nature conservationists raised objections. Most of these permits were being used by poachers and hunters acting as proxies to further their illegal and commercial interests. The average affected farmer neither posses a rifle nor can afford costly ammunition as required under the law.

Negi demanded withdrawal of the notifications permitting culling, failing which his organisation would approach and enlist the support of national and international conservation organisations and urge the financial institutions to withhold funds and environmental collaborations.

Shimla, December 12
The campaign launched by the Himachal Kisan Sabha for culling of monkeys could not succeed as most farmers were busy in panchayat polls.

In fact, there was no organised campaign to kill monkeys as was planned, admitted Kuldeep Tanwar, president of the sabha. He said the reason for it was that the farmers were busy with the panchayat polls.

Some farmers did shoot monkeys, particularly in the Naura area of Sirmaur district. However, the success rate was low, as the farmers were not sharp shooters and monkeys did not take time in escaping into nearby jungles.

He said farmers were willing to kill monkeys to save their crops but the campaign had been affected due to the polls. The sabha was considering suspending the campaign for now and a final decision would be taken after observing the progress of campaign for a day or two.

Since the Forest Department had issued licence to about 3,000 farmers for a limited period of 15 days, the sabha would seek extension of validity period so that the campaign could be resumed after the panchayat polls.

Tanwar said the best possible solution was to allow export of monkeys for medical research but the Government of India was not responding to the call.

An idol of Lord Shiva near Khajjiar. Photo by writer

Dalhousie, December 12
An 81-foot-high idol of Lord Shiva in Khajjiar, about 22 km away from Dalhousie, is now almost at the finishing stage.

The local Jagdamba Mata Temple Committee, which is supervising the construction work of the idol, has deployed the well-known idol-makers from Pilani (Rajasthan) Matu Ram Verma and Naresh Verma to built this idol.

As part of religious tourism, the idol of Lord Shiva has now become an added attraction for the tourists visiting Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Chamba hill resorts.

According to Jagdamba Mata Temple Committee general secretary Rajinder Gupta, the idol of Lord Shiva is being erected in collaboration with the Bharat Vikas Parishad. There are more than 1,600 families associated with the committee as “life-long donor members”.

Moreover, 500 children belonging to Khajjiar have been adopted jointly by the Jagdamba Mata Temple Committee and the Bharat Vikas Parishad for their welfare.

Shimla, December 12
The Municipal Corporation proposes to seek funds from international agencies to implement its plan for conservation of the fast-depleting biodiversity, the main factor responsible for the rapid degradation of environment and deteriorating quality of life in the Queen of Hills.

The corporation has approved an action plan to be implemented over a period of five years which will not only take care of scientific disposal of city waste, preservation of built-up heritage and regulate construction, but will also focus on the hitherto neglected aspects like loss of green cover, degradation of land and depletion of water sources.

The plan has been prepared in pursuance of the goals set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to address the unchecked loss of biodiversity and ecosystems as part of the strategy to combat climate change.

The corporation has to approach the United Nations Centre for Regional Development and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency for technical and financial support for the implementation of the plan, says Joint Municipal Commissioner K.K.Sharma, who attended the City Biodiversity Summit- 2010 held in Japan recently in this regard.

These agencies are willing to extend help for capacity building, the first step towards implementation of the plan, he says.

The plan lays stress on afforestation, upkeep of parks and gardens, pathways, construction of check dams on nullahs and protection of the existing green cover of slopes.

Medicinal plants and other useful species will be planted on barren slopes for which the corporation will raise its own nurseries. More trees will be planted in parks and gardens.

Proper disposal of construction debris will be a priority as the dumping of muck on slopes causes maximum damage to vegetation and also pollutes water sources.

The plan also envisages strict enforcement of building laws to check haphazard and excessive construction, the main factor behind deforestation. Under the CBD, a “city biodiversity index” is also being developed as a self-assessment tool.

The plan has come too late as vast stretches of green have already been transformed into a veritable concrete jungle due to unregulated construction activity. Nevertheless, it will help in checking further degradation of the hill stations which has been fast losing its charms.

Dharamsala, December 12
Though the Congress has decided to declare the list of candidates tomorrow, Subhash Nehria likely to be its candidate for the post of municipal council president from Dharamsala, sources said here today.

It is for the first time that the Congress has decided to put a Gaddi tribal as its candidate from Dharamsala. Subhash Nehria is a sitting municipal councillor. He is said to have a stronghold in the Gaddi and Gorkha community in Dharamsala. He will take on Surinder Parmar of the BJP.

The sources also told The Tribune that for the Kangra municipal council, the district president of Congress Suman Verma had been selected as party candidate for the post of president. She was a close confidant for former Congress minister and MLA from Nagrota Bagwan GS Bali.

From Nurpur, Krishna Mahajan is the likely candidate for the post of president. She is also a former municipal councillor.

From Nagrota Bagwan, Kanta Mehra, and from Palampur, Balwant Thakur, are the likely candidates who have been selected by for the posts of president.

In Kangra, the biggest district of the state in terms of population, there are five municipal councils, Dharamsala, Kangra, Nurpur, Palampur and Nagrota Bagwan, and two nagar panchayats, Jwalamukhi and Dehra. For nagar panchayats, the elections are not being held on party symbol.

Solan, December 12
With the panchayat polls on anvil, cases of fake voters were emerging from different parts of the district where inquiries by officials revealed that scores of forms for enlisting as voters had been found fake.

In Taksal panchayat falling under the Dharampur block, officials were directed to include the names of 568 voters following a high court direction but it was found that the claim of merely 62 voters was found genuine.

Officials confided that the initial scrutiny of forms led to the selection of merely 102 voters out of the total 568 applications as the rest of the voters were not found existing at the mentioned addresses. Even out of 102 voters, 40 were already enlisted as voters in other wards, thus, their dual claim was rejected.

In the Baddi municipal committee area, a BJP activist had alleged that 1,069 fake voters had been enlisted but a subsequent inquiry led to the deletion of 325 voters as they were not found at the mentioned addresses.

Baddi tehsildar Vikas Shukla said some voters had been enlisted since 1970s but were not found residing there now and majority of the cases pertained to the migrant population who had been working in the industries for sometime. Another list of 507 voters had been deleted in November after receiving complaints.

Inquiries revealed that candidates contesting the elections often indulged in getting fake voters enlisted and deposited scores of forms before the authorities for making votes. Though the authorities claim that the fake voters had been deleted, locals of the Baddi area observed that a thorough scrutiny of voters would lead to detection of more such cases as thousands of voters comprising migrant population still fared in the voter lists. They pointed out that ward No. 3 continued to have scores of such fake voters enlisted on their rolls.

Shimla, December 12
The female sex ratio in the hill state has been improving constantly for the past 10 years and it had reached 922 in 2009 as per the latest available data.

Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said here that it was a matter of great relief that the sex ratio which had plunged to 784 in 1999 had been increasing with each passing year. The improvement had been quite significant in the last year as the sex ratio was 903 in 2007 and 904 in 2008.

He said it was an important indicator about the status of females in an area and, moreover, the declining trend in sex ratio created social imbalance.

Unfortunately, female foeticide was committed not only by the illiterate and the impoverished but also by the educated and the rich. The higher incidence of female foeticide was in the developed districts and regions of our country.

The government had initiated a number of schemes to restore gender balance. An awareness campaign entitled “Beti Hai Anmol”, launched by the Chief Minister on July 15, was first of its kind in the country. A pledge was administered to social workers, anganwari workers, non-government organisations and others who participated in the launch function.

Similarly, an inter-state one-day convention to take joint action to check female foeticide was held on July 25 in which Punjab, Uttarakhand and Haryana and Chandigarh participated. He told that during the campaign awareness camps, rallies, road shows, painting competitions and declamation contests were organised and 50,000 people signed the pledge letter.

He said regular inspections of ultra sound clinics were being carried out to curb illegal sex-determination tests and workshops had been organised to sensitise medical officers.

He added that under the “Beti Hai Anmol” scheme the government would deposit an amount of Rs 5,100 in the post office in the name if each girl born in the BPL family. Girls from the BPL families were getting scholarships till class X, the facility would now be extended to class XII and the annual scholarship would be Rs 1,500.