Shimla, December 19
Set up with the primary objective of checking illicit felling of trees and smuggling of forest produce, the “van thanas” will be held accountable for encroachments on the forest land.

Instructions have been issued to the staff manning the “van thanas” not only to ensure that no fresh encroachments take place in their jurisdiction but also to take action for eviction of unauthorised occupants in respect the pending cases.

Further, having provided vehicles for mobility and weapons for taking on the offenders, the focus must shift from detection to prevention of forest offences.

While 10 thanas are already functioning in the state, seven more are to be opened by March 31. The new thanas are proposed to be set up at Theog in Shimla, Puruwala in Sirmaur, Naggar and Jhibbi in Kullu, Kalel in Chamba, Nankheri in Shimla, Bhagarwan in Kangra and Talhera in Una. With this, the total number of such thanas will be raised to 17.

The removal of encroachments has been a major concern with 60,448 cases involving 1,47,287 bighas of forestland.

Most of the cases came to light after the government came out with a policy to regularise encroachments in 2002. The government early this year appointed three divisional forest officers to expedite the cases but the step has failed to deliver the desired results.

Now that van thanas have been made accountable, it is hoped that the drive to remove encroachments will make headway.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal had, during the last review meeting, asked the department to monitor the performance of the “van thanas” on a fortnightly basis.

The thanas will be responsible for preventing all forest offences, including those pertaining to wildlife and minor forest produce in their respective jurisdiction.

The government has already framed rules to ensure that the “van thanas” function on the pattern of the police stations.

Shimla, December 19
Questioning the opposition by animal right activists to the culling of monkeys, the People’s Action Group (PAG), an NGO, said such organisations were unaware of the practical problems being faced by farmers all over the state and were resorting to pressure politics to deter farmers in their mission.

President of the PAG Bhupender Singh said, if need be, they would not hesitate to move court on the issue as protecting the rights of the people was most important. “Such bodies must shun their narrow vision and look at the issue from a larger perspective,” he advised.

He said it was easy for such organisations to talk about animal welfare sitting in air-conditioned rooms but they did not understand the plight of the farmers who were suffering loss of their crops and fruits at the hands of monkeys, wild boar, blue bulls and other wild animals.

“If they are so bothered about animal protection, then they should raise a hue and cry about the killing of more than 1 lakh goats which will take place during the panchayat and local body elections, a tradition in the hill state,” he quipped.

He also questioned the constitution of the Animal Welfare Board and the National Wildlife Board pointing out that no representation had been given to the farmers who were being affected by monkey menace. “The Centre or the Environment Ministry must not succumb to pressure from such pseudo organisations as the issue involved the interest of 60 lakh farmers of the state,” he said.

Shimla, December 19
It is only through government intervention and strict implementation of the Geographical Indications (GI) Act, 1999, which can provide protection to Kullu and Kinnauri shawl weavers against cheap imitations made in Ludhiana factories.

These were the views expressed by Dr R. Saha, director of the Patent Facilitation Centre in the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the Department of Science and Technology, Delhi.

He was speaking at a seminar organised here recently on “Intellectual Property Rights and Biotechnology” by Patent Facilitation Centre of the State Council for Science and Technology here in collaboration with the TIFAC.

“Getting the GI logo does not serve the purpose as in case of Kullu shawls we can see the market flooded with factory made Ludhiana shawls being passed off as the Kullu wrap,” he says. He is of the opinion that the government will have to step in to provide protection to the weavers who labour hard to produce the product on looms with multicoloured intricate designs.

Dr Saha says though about 160 products from various parts of the country are registered under the GI Act, in most cases the imitations are being sold without any check. “The government will have to work out a method in association with the weavers body, experts and law enforcing agencies to undertake checks to ensure that no imitations are being sold,” he asserts.

He is of the opinion that awareness will have to be created about the legal implications, including the fine and imprisonment, in case imitations of GI registered products are sold. “It is only by taking legal action that there will be deterrence and at the same time such products must be sold in exclusive stores which clearly indicate the GI logo,” he says.

Dr Saha is also of the opinion that rather than considering the GI registration as a mere identification of knowledge, the economic sense has to be given great priority. So far the Patent Information Centre of the State Council for Science and Technology has got the GI registration done for Kullu shawls, Kinnauri shawls, Chamba rumaal and Kangra tea.

Work on compilation of data for getting GI registration for chulli oil (wild apricot) and Kangra paintings is underway.

The Centre has also identified 20 other products indigenous to specifics areas of Himachal, including chilgoza, sea buckthorn, red rice, Chamba jaris, Chamba chukh, Chamba chappals, Pule (embroidered grass shoes), Kinnauri caps and Kullu caps for being registered under the GI Act in the near future.

Shimla, December 19
With slow progress on the two World Bank-aided road projects being executed by it in Shimla and Una districts, Chinese Longijian Road and Construction Company has once again sought two-year extension for completion of the work, which was to be finished this year.

It is through a consultant that it has made a fresh request for granting it 30-month more time for completing work on the Theog-Kotkhai-Hatkoti-Rohru road and 18 months for the Mehatpur-Amb-Una road. However, the state government is yet to take a final decision on granting it more time though it is possible that they will be granted extension but not the extent being sought by it.

Principal Secretary, PWD, PC Kapoor confirmed that a request had been received from the Chinese company on which a decision would be taken shortly. “We will grant it time taking into account various factors as we are keen to see the project being completed as these are two very significant roads in terms of providing good connectivity,” he said.

The delay in completion of the work is not just causing inconvenience to the people of Upper Shimla and the Kinnaur area in a major way but will also lead to major cost escalation. The estimated cost of the 81-km Theog-Hatkoti road is Rs 226 crore while that of the 46-km road in Una is Rs 124 crore. The total compensation for the land acquired has also shot up from Rs 60 crore to Rs 125 crore.

A detailed project report (DPR) of the two projects was made in 2006-07 but actual work could start only in 2008. Though the work was to be completed by the end of this year, so far only 10 per cent work has been completed on the Theog-Hatkoti road and 18 per cent on the Una road.

In fact, apple growers had to face major inconvenience because of the work on the Theog-Hatkoti road which resulted in major traffic jams leading to delay in transportation of the fruit. The poor condition of the road was also a major cause for breakdown of trucks, hampering the smooth flow of traffic.

The work on the two road projects has suffered due to visa restrictions imposed by the External Affairs Ministry last year. All 100 Chinese workers who were engaged in the task had to return home as they were here on a business visa and not work visa as required. It was only on the request of the Himachal government that 11 Chinese, most of them engineers and managerial staff, has given visa to resume work.

Though the option of rescinding the project and starting the entire process all over again is there with the government but this will not only delay the project further but also lead to cost escalation.

Hamirpur, December 19
With the last date for withdrawing of nominations for the local bodies and panchayat election ending yesterday, the BJP leadership has failed to contain the rebels in Hamirpur nagar parishad poll.

For Hamirpur, where four rebel candidates of the BJP had staked their claim to contest the post of president, two are still in the fray.

Two BJP rebels contesting as independents for presidentship, Kashmiri Lal Handa and Avnish Sharma, against official BJP nominee Deep Kumar. They may pose problem for the party here.

Hamirpur being the home district of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the election for the nagar parishad is quite important for the BJP.

Though, through the efforts of the party leaders, two aspirants Vijay Pal Soharu and Ramesh Sharma had been persuaded to withdraw from the contest, the party leadership could not do much in the case of other two.

Though rebel candidates from both BJP and Congress are in the fray in several wards of zila parishad, BDC and panchayats too, both parties are not bothered much about them since the election for these are not being contested on the party symbols.

In Gasota, Jangal Ropa and Sarakahad Zila parishad wards, rebels from both parties are in the fray.

Shimla, December 19
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state to take steps to set up new fire stations on priority basis at Jogindernagar, Ghumarwin, Dalhousie, Dehra, Jwalamukhi, Nurpur and Amb-Chintpurni.

It directed the government to deploy trained personnel in the fire stations and also to check that no vacancy in the fire stations be kept vacant. However, if there were any vacancy then it should be filled within a month.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice VK Ahuja passed this order on a petition filed by Harnam Singh for seeking appropriate arrangements of fire-fighting equipment and staff at the fire stations in the state.

The stand taken by the government before the court was that they were short of required financial resources and the Central assistance was needed.

The Government of India had filed an affidavit in this regard and informed the court that under the 11th Finance Commission, the Planning Commission had allocated Rs 200 crore for strengthening fire and emergency services in the country.

The share of Himachal Pradesh was Rs 5.037 crore for setting up of seven advance fire tenders, 24 combi tools for rescue, 24 high pressure pumps and 12 quick response vehicles. It was also stated that the Central Government had released Rs 4.03 crore and the balance was the state’s contribution.

Shimla, December 19
The Congress has taken a strong exception to the manner in which the state Election Commission had withdrawn the “rose” from the list of election symbols after the process of withdrawal was completed.

General secretary of the party alleged that the commission was working at the behest of the ruling BJP, reducing the entire election process to a farce. The approved list of symbols could not be changed once the poll process got underway and in this case that nominations had been filed and the last date of withdrawal had also passed.

More importantly, many independents who were allotted rose as the symbol had completed the first round of electioneering and even got printed the election material.

He said the symbol had been withdrawn under BJP’s pressure which felt that similarity between rose and lotus could confuse the voters. In any case, the commission should have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the issue and found a way out taking them into confidence.

He said the BJP government had opted for conducting urban bodies polls on party symbols but sensing defeat it was now indulging in all sorts of malpractices. The commission had virtually closed its eyes to all irregularities and violations being committed by the ruling party.

Bilaspur, December 19
The district unit of the Himachal Pradesh State Pensioners Welfare Association here has urged the Chief Minister to be considerate to the financial difficulties of pensioners. It asked him to get all arrears of their medical reimbursement bills cleared which had been pending for years.

A deputation of the association led by their state association senior vice-president JK Nadda and comprising district general secretary Jagdish Dinesh, organising secretary Omparkash Garga, finance secretary Mahender Bakshi and secretary Dr. Upendra Gautam met the Deputy Commissioner here last evening and presented her a three-page detailed memorandum stressing nine major demands of the pensioners for forwarding to the Chief Minster.

It was stressed that at least the revised pay arrears of all those families, who have either lost their “pensioner spouse” or those who have completed their 80 years of age, should be cleared within one month.

Other demands included that 10 per cent DA due from July 1 this year should be released and a state-level joint consultative committee be constituted and its meetings be ensured regularly every six months to solve all their pending and day to day problems.

Dharamsala, December 19
It is an all-men fight in election to the Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile (Kalon Tripa). The only woman candidate in the election, Gyari Dolma, deputy speaker in the outgoing parliament, has withdrawn her nomination. She announced her decision to withdraw from the final elections due to be held on March 20.

The Tibetan election commission last month shortlisted six candidates for the final round of Kalon Tripa election. The candidates included Lobsang Sangay, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong, Gyari Dolma, Tashi Wangdi, Lobsang Jinpa and Khorlatsang Sonam Topgyal.

Lobsang Jinpa and Khorlatsang Sonam Topgyal had already withdrawn their candidacy. With this, now just three candidates remain in the race for election to Kalon Tripa.

Lobsang Sangay dominated the preliminary round as he beat Tenzin Namgyal Tethong by more than 10,000 votes.

Out of the 79,449 registered voters, a little over 47,000 (approximately 61 per cent) voted in the preliminary polls conducted on October 3.

Estimates show that some 90,000 of the approximately 150,000 Tibetan exiles worldwide are above the age of 18 and eligible to vote. In the last Kalon Tripa election in 2006, 72,000 (60 per cent) were registered to vote and an estimated 26.8 per cent (32,205 persons) actually voted.

The election commission also announced fresh registration dates from November 30, 2010, to January 17, 2011, for eligible voters who had missed the preliminary rounds of elections. The voter registration should reach the office of election commission by January 24, sources said.

Shimla, December 19
Students of “Mad Arts Jaspal Bhatti Film School” staged a play to create awareness of breast cancer at various locations in the town. The play “Kahin Der Na Ho Jaye” underlines the need for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease and also guides the public how to go about it.

Head of production of the school Lally Gill said the play brings to the fore the reality that society was still not open to discussing the early symptoms of breast cancer which was curable if treated at the right time.

She said the production house would soon come with its new venture, a Punjabi feature film, for which auditions for searching new talent had been started.

The aim was to provide a platform to deserving artists from the northern region.

Una, December 19
Officials of the Dogra regiment have surveyed areas in the Bangana area of the district for setting up their regimental centre. The team led by Brigadier JK Dang was shown various sites by the district administration.

Una Deputy Commissioner KR Bharti said the Dogra regiment had raised a demand of about 200 acres for their centre. We had offered them about 250 acres.

The officers had, however, said they also require certain amount of plain area. For this also we had offered them land. However, for this purpose the government might have to acquire some private land, the DC added.

The DC said the Dogra regiment officials would now take up the issue of transferring their regimental centre from Uttar Pradesh to Una district with higher authorities of the Army. Only after that a proposal would be sent by the Army to the state government.

The officials surveyed the area after a request in this regard from Chief Minister PK Dhumal. The CM in the recent past had written to the Centre requesting shifting of the Dogra regimental centre from Uttar Pradesh to Una district. He had based his request on the fact that a large number of soldiers in the Dogra regiment were from the hill state.

Earlier also, a proposal was mooted to set up an Army cantonment in the area. However, it did not materialise.

The regimental centre is likely to boost the economy of the Bangana area that is almost arid. The area that is being offered to the Army is largely inhabited by Bakhra Dam oustees. The oustees were allotted lands in Haryana and Rajasthan. However, majority of them preferred to stay back in their own state.

Sources said that regimental centre was likely to generate direct employment to about 150 persons. Besides, it would create indirect employment for thousands of small farmers of the area as they would be in a position to supply daily need items like meat and milk to the cantonment areas.