Shimla, August 5
The issue of IPS officers in Himachal donning the blue uniform seems to have reached a flashpoint as the HP Police Employees Welfare Federation today warned that in case any IPS officer was seen in the new uniform, a case would be registered by it as it amounted to a violation of Central Government rules.

President of the federation Ramesh Chauhan today said since the change in uniform of IPS officers was governed by the IPS (Uniform) Rules, 1954, wearing of the blue uniform by any officer would amount to a violation of the rules. Since the case filed in the high court against the change in uniform from khaki to blue and wearing of the new uniform by IPS officers will come up for hearing on August 9, the federation seems to have toughened its stand.

“We will file a case in court under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC against any IPS officer seen wearing the blue uniform. Kumar Bansal, Secretary, Internal Security, has already turned down the request by Chief Secretary Rajwant Sandhu and by Director General of Police DS Manhas for allowing a change in the uniform of IPS officers,” he said.

In his letter, Bansal has clearly stated that HP must not order any change in the uniform of IPS officers as it will create confusion and discontentment among various cadres in the country. He has also advised that since a change in the colour of the uniform is not permissible under IPS (Uniform) Rules, HP should follow the rules in letter and spirit.

DGP Manhas said Union Home Secretary had been once again approached by the Chief Secretary to allow a change in the uniform of IPS officers in Himachal. A reply from the Centre in this regard was, however, awaited.

Shimla, August 5
Apple growers of the state, who have been suffering heavy losses due to large-scale import of the fruit, are pinning hopes on a high-level meeting convened by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on August 8 to find a lasting solution to their problems.

With imported apple from countries like China flooding the domestic market, the prices have crashed and according to rough estimates, the growers have suffered a loss of over Rs 100 crore till date during the current season. The state government has been concerned as apple is the mainstay of over 1.6 lakh families and with a very low yield of 6.5 to 8 tonnes pre hectare, a fall in the prices hurts the growers even more.

Pawar intervened in the matter after Himachal Horticulture Minister Narinder Bragta, who is also the Chairman of the Forum of Horticulture Ministers of Himalayan States, met him in Delhi early this week and drew his attention to the unending woes of the growers.

Bragta, who has been asked to coordinate with other states, has already contacted his counterparts in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, which are facing similar problems.

The main issues to be discussed in the meeting include raising the import duty to 50 per cent and designating apple as a “special product” to facilitate imposition of severe restriction on its import in accordance with the provisions of the WTO Agreement. Western Himalayan states are also demanding sharing of burden on account of procurement under the market intervention scheme (MIS) on a 75:25 basis on the pattern of the north-eastern states. They also want the condition, according to which the MIS is applicable only if the production increases by 10 per cent over the previous year, to be waived as the states do not get any reimbursement from the Centre in lean years.

Further, hailstorm be declared a natural calamity for the purpose of granting compensation to growers whose fruit crops are damaged and financial assistance be provided for installing anti-hail guns. Besides, specific guidelines be framed under various schemes of the National Horticulture Board to assist farmers with landholdings of 5 bighas or less so that they can install mechanical lines for grading fruit.

Bragta expressed confidence that the prompt and direct intervention of Pawar would help find a solution. Pawar had already gathered information regarding the market position and he was convinced that large-scale import of apple was affecting local growers and hurting them economically.

Dharamsala, August 5
Ex-servicemen from the state have criticised the UPA government for dropping the one rank one pension scheme. Reacting to a news item in which Union Minister for Defence AK Antony has written to Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal that the one rank one pension scheme for ex-servicemen had been dropped, the Ex-servicemen League of the state has termed it as betrayal.

The president of the league, Vijay Singh Mankotia, while talking to The Tribune, alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured in Parliament that the one rank one pension scheme for ex-service would be implemented. Now, the Union Minister for Defence had unveiled the real intention of the present UPA government.

“If the UPA government does not implement the scheme it will be a breach of privilege of Parliament, before which the Prime Minister had assured to implement it,” he said.

He alleged that successive governments had been dithering on the issue of the implementation of the one rank one pension scheme.

Mankotia alleged that bureaucrats were opposing the one rank one pension scheme for ex-servicemen. “However, they cannot compare their own job profiles of sitting in cosy AC offices with soldiers who spend most of their in difficult situations on the borders,” he said.

He said, “A soldier enters the Army at the age of about 20. He gives the prime of his life till to protect the borders of the country and is then sent home on a paltry pension. If such soldiers get pension as per the revised scales of their colleagues to make a living, it is not going to burden the coffers of the government,” he said.

“The Army is already facing a shortage of officers. However, if the present government continues to treat the Army like this, it may face a shortage of even good soldiers,” he alleged.

Members of the Ex-servicemen League said the decision of the UPA government to drop the one rank, one pension scheme would have repercussions during the elections.

Kangra district has the highest number of ex-servicemen in the state. There are about 40,000 ex-servicemen in the district.

Shimla, August 5
As the one-man commission inquiring into benami land deals in violation of Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Act and the HP Apartment and Property Regulation Act begins its tour of nine districts of the state, the Congress has decided not to place any such irregularity before the commission and rather make it part of its own charge sheet against the BJP.

The one-man commission, headed by a retired HC Judge, Justice DP Sood, has chalked out its tour programme of the state till October 1. During this period the commission will visit nine districts, barring Shimla, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti. As such its final report is likely to be ready only by next year even though the commission is expected to complete its work by December.

“Cases of benami and other land violations that are in our notice will form part of the charge sheet that the Congress is preparing,” said state Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur. He expressed apprehension that the commission would only try to save the BJP regime and show the Congress in bad light, which his party would not allow at any cost.

The commission will look into all cases that have been approved between March 2003 and March 31, 2011, which will cover both the Congress as well as the BJP rule till now.

Sources in the government said with the commission undertaking a tour of the state till October, it would not be possible for it to probe all complaints it received from individuals, political parties, voluntary organisations and others by the end of the year. As such, it is expected that its report will come only next year. In fact, the Congress had expressed apprehension about this delay earlier also.

Not too satisfied with the appointment of the one-man commission, the Congress has been crying hoarse over benami land deals being done in Himachal and the hill state virtually being on “sale”. However, now the party has decided not to place on record any such cases before the commission.

The commission will start its tour from Kangra, where it will spend two days on August 8 and 9. Interestingly, the commission has devoted maximum time to Solan district, where it will spend the maximum time from August 17 while being open to public complaints at places, including Nalagarh, Baddi, Kasauli and Solan.

Following this the commission will spend two days in Sirmaur district on August 25 and 26. It will visit Mandi, Kullu, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una districts in September. It will spend three days in Chamba from September 29.

Shimla, August 5
A museum showcasing the heritage of the “Queen of Hills” to acquaint tourists with the “popular and prevalent history” will be inaugurated here by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal tomorrow.

Director, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Arun Kumar Sharma said Shimla Heritage Museum, established on the US Club premises, was essentially based on the coffee table book “Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai”.

The museum offers a glimpse of Town Hall, Viceregal Lodge, post office, the Gaiety Theatre, the Vidhan Sabha, Barnes Court, Rippon Hospital, Combermere Bridge, Gorton Castle and other heritage structures.

Built in 1860 with stone and timber, the Town Hall represents the typical European architecture, housing the MC office. — TNS

Mandi, August 5
Inaugurating the Rs 12-lakh tourist resting spot at Ghatta, near Jogindernagar, PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur said today that the department would build similar tourist resting places with urinals on key locations on highways for tourists.

Talking to The Tribune after the inauguration of the Tourist Resting Complex, Thakur said Ghatta was a key location on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar highway with an eye-catching view of the Kangra valley and the Jogindernagar valley.

“We will provide urinals at this tourist resting spot as well and it also has a parking and 20 persons can sit inside the shelter at a time”, he added.

Thakur said they have sought funds from the Centre to erect similar tourist resting spots on highways at key locations.

“We are planning to provide shopping complex in such places so that unemployed youth can start their own business ventures and are seeking permission from the Forest Department to allot such key spots to the PWD to make tourist resting places, which will have urinals as well”.

He said the complex, including landscaping and plantation and the main shelter, cost about Rs 12 lakh.

Shimla, August 5
The high court has sought information from the state regarding the steps taken by it for providing facilities for thalassaemia patients in Indira Gandhi Medical College & Hospital (IGMC), Shimla.

The court directed the state and the medical superintendent of the hospital to file an affidavit regarding the short-term steps to be taken for providing facilities for thalassaemia patients in the IGMC within three weeks and detailed reply about the long- term measures in eight weeks.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajiv Sharma also directed the government to give information as to how many blood banks were available in the state and whether these were in the position to meet the demand for blood.

The orders were passed on the petition of YK Thakur alleging that the facilities provided by the IGMC for thalassaemia patients are minimum, inadequate and below standard.

The petitioner has alleged that there were no separate wards and rooms for blood transfusion and blood-test laboratory was quite far from children/emergency wards.

He also alleged that blood transfusion was conducted by trainee doctors and sometimes by Class IV staff, who do not have requisite skills for doing the job and no senior paediatric consultant was available during the blood transfusion.

Chamba, August 5
In the wake of the ensuing fortnight Manimahesh pilgrimage in the Bharmour tribal region of Chamba district, security arrangements have been beefed up on the sensitive borders of this district of the state adjacent to Jammu and Kashmir.

The police has intensified patrolling and surveillance in consonance with the strategy of paramilitary forces, including the ITBP and the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) deployed on the borders of Chamba. Briefing to mediapersons here today, Chamba SP Madhu Sudan Sharma said nearly 500 security personnel equipped with walkie-talkies and sophisticated weaponry would be on their toes to facilitate pilgrims while providing them safety en route the Manimahesh trek.

He said policemen in plain clothes would also be deployed to keep a watch on the activities of the anti-social elements. The pilgrims, who were expected to come to Manimahesh on foot from the Bhaderwah area of Jammu and Kashmir passing over the Padhri Pass at an altitude of 3,049 m entering the borderland of Chamba, would be provided with tight security cover.

These pilgrims start taking holy dip in the icy waters of the Manimahesh lake on Janmashtami on August 22.

After a period of fortnight, the pilgrimage would conclude on Radhashtami.

He said village defence committees and special police officers from amongst the local militia were assisting the security forces. He said no heavy vehicle would be allowed to ply between Bharmour and Hadsar, a 15 km patch of road up to Hadsar, the last stop from where the steep climb of 15 km to the Manimahesh lake starts; adding that arrangements had also been made to park vehicles towards the Kugti road. The SP added that the parking sites on the Chamba-Bharmour national highway were being identified to avoid traffic blockades.

During the fortnight, they will take holy dip in the sacred icy waters of the Manimahesh lake at an altitude of 4,170 m having a vision of the Kailash peak (5,656 m).

Mandi, August 5
The 300-year-old Nandi ashtdhatu idol and other artefacts excavated on the premises of Government Sanskrit College, Sundernagar, in December 2005 have been found missing in the college.

Nobody is aware as when the artefacts went missing from the college principal room. When the caretaker, Purshotam Lal, who is the acting principal, was contacted regarding the matter he claimed that he was not aware about the same.

The value of the idol and cooper utensils done up with gold and silver is worth lakhs in the antiques market.

The State Art Language and Culture (SALC) is the custodian of arts and artefacts in the state and are responsible for the missing artifacts, resented art lovers in the town.

Chuni Lal, Principal of the college, has been bed-ridden for the past two years as he suffered a paralytic attack that made him speech impaired as well, college sources said.

It was during his tenure that a labourer discovered the artefacts during the excavation on the college premises and handed it to the college authorities.

But neither the college nor the SALC could save the idols, resented residents.

The apathy of the SALC is understandable as the district language officer (DLO) had inspected the artefacts on December 12, 2005.

But the department did not take it into its custody.

Neither the DLO nor the college administration lodged an FIR in the case yet.

RK Saklani, DLO, Mandi, blamed the college for the stolen artefacts claiming that they had sent a letter to the college to either shift it to the Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba, or the Shimla museum.

“We have inspected the idols in 2005 and these are about 300 years old,”  he added.

Bilaspur, August 5
Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan, who is also the chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS), inspected the Regional Hospital here and talked to patients and their attendants to know their difficulties and problems and assured to look after all these at the earliest.

The hospital has been in the news every now and then for wrong reasons and it has virtually become a challenge for the government to streamline its functioning and make it useful for those who have to visit it as government is spending a huge amount of money on it every month.

Bilaspur, August 5
Led by former MLA and former BJP leader Karam Dev Dharmani, former MLA and Himachal Kisan Manch chief convener Krishan Kumar Kaushal and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti president and advocate Rangil Varma, farmers, including women, demonstrated through bazaars and raised anti-government slogans.

They protested in favour of the persisting demands of the local farmers and later staged a dharna at Ghumarwin under the banner of the “Himachal Bachao Morcha,” yesterday.

The leaders charged that no steps had been taken to channelise the Seer khud, which was eroding thousands of bighas of lands of farmers. Farmers were suffering incalculable losses due to destruction of crops by wild animals and stray cattle. They demanded the channelisation of the Seer khud and steps to control water pollution should be implemented soon. — OC