Bathahad (Kullu), September 16
Bowing to political pressure exerted by the powerful lobby of the forest mafia, the state Forest Department has extended the permission to contractors to fell over “6,000 dry fir, rai, tosh and other trees” till 2012 within the Shili and Kalvari jungles located in the “5-km-wide eco-sensitive zone of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP)”.

The Kullu-based contractors have deployed diesel-run cutting machines, wreaking havoc on the jungles. Wild animals, birds and other sensitive species thrive in the GHNP’s core area, which is just three hours’ walk from the work site, say locals. Besides, medicinal herbs are also found in the core area.

The contractors have left behind dry combustible timber waste in the jungles which can lead to a fire tragedy.

Work on cutting the trees has been going on in the Shilli-Bung belt since 2007. The picture is no different in the Kalvari and Srikot belt located on the right bank of the Tirthan river in the GHNP’s buffer zone.

The contractors ferry sleepers through ropeways to the road head at Bathahar and Deori, respectively. At present, over 3,000 sleepers are stocked at Bathahar.

The contractors have deployed local and Nepalese workers who allegedly trap “prized animals”, which are sold in big hotels in Manali.

The pulp of fir and rai trees is used in paper-making, while timber from walnut trees is used in making furniture and building houses.

Director-cum-conservator, Wildlife, GHNP, Ajay Srivastva says the felling of trees was sanctioned in 2006.

He said so far no cases of illicit felling or wildlife traps had come to their notice. He said they had increased surveillance in the area as the government had now extended the permission given to forest contractors till 2012.

DM, Forest Corporation, Kullu, Ajit Thakur said the contractors could not complete the felling due to rain and shortage of labour.

Shimla, September 16
The under-construction bridge over the Gobind Sagar at Bagchhal in Bilaspur, on which more than Rs 21 crore has already been spent, may have to be abandoned, apparently due to wrong decisions on the part of engineers of the PWD.

Work on the project, being executed by Gammon India Limited, has been at a standstill since March 2010. During excavation for the second pier of the bridge, the company found that the strata was not the same as that of the first pier as envisaged while designing and lacked the requisite strength to hold the structure.

It sought the advice of the geo-technical department of the IIT, Roorkee, which clearly stated in its report that the construction of the bridge was not safe at the present location, unless safety measures were adopted to strengthen the strata below the pier foundation. Thereafter, the company approached another Mumbai-based consultant, M/s Fugro, for carrying out the underwater survey, which has been completed and boring is on. The strengthening measures will be decided after correlating data from both the reports.

However, information obtained under the RTI Act by an activist, Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, has revealed that the engineers of the department ignored the design of the consultant, M/s Construma Constructions Private Limited, which was paid Rs 23 lakh for preparing the detailed project report, and shifted the site of the Rs 21.15-crore NABARD-funded bridge on their own.

The company submitted the project report on July 20, 1996, proposing a bridge of 350 m span at a deck level of 542 m. It was rejected by the department due to a landslide problem and the company was asked to come up with a fresh proposal for a site 110 m upstream at the site finalised during the visit of the then Engineer-in-Chief in March 1997. Accordingly a bridge of 324 m span with a deck level of 530 m was designed.

The department again rejected the proposal as uneconomical and asked for a fresh design for a location 50 m further up. In the meantime, the engineers of the department on their own decided to build a 290 m span spandrel arch bridge with a centre span of 135 m. A fresh proposal of Rs 20.15 crore was prepared accordingly and work assigned to Gammon India Limited in June 2005. Over Rs 21 crore have already been spent on the project and any strengthening measures in the depths of Gobind Sagar will cost dearly, making it unviable.

Bhattacharya wants the government to fix responsibility for the lapse on the part of the engineers who rejected the report of the consultant specially hired for the purpose, shifted the site upstream and came out with their own design and that too without carrying out thorough geological investigations of the strata on which piers were to be raised. He had also asked the names of the engineers involved in the decision-making process which were not provided.

Kangra, September 16
Kangra valley was lashed by heavy rains since midnight last night which left life out of gear in the town. The Dhauladhar mountain range experienced a mild snowfall dropping down the temperature considerably.

The Valley witnessed rains since midnight, which continued for the entire day today leaving the life out of gear. The traffic was also disrupted on some link roads.

The rains left the Banner khud and Manooni khuds passing through Kangra swollen following the rains in the Valley.

The schoolchildren were the worst affected.

The temperature fell down following a mild snowfall on the Dhauladhar mountain range. The reports of rains were received from different parts of the valley, which included hill town of Dharamsala, McLeodganj, Dharamkot, Gaggal, Mallan, Nagrota Bagwan, Dehra, Jawalamukhi and Shahpur.

Deputy Commissioner RS Gupta said there was no loss of life reported from any part of the valley, however, the damage of roads was excessive following the current moonsoon.

CHAMBA: The entire region of Chamba district has been experiencing widespread downpour since this morning, according to reports coming into the district headquarters today.

Reports revealed that the transportation services had been disrupted at many places as the Chamba-Satrundi, Chamba-Nayagran and Hadsar have been blocked at different points due to landslide following heavy rains.

As a sequel to this, the normal life in the far-flung areas had been paralyzed, the reports said.

The Ravi river, which originates from the Bada Bhangal mountains of the Kangra district, and its tributaries from the Bharmour tribal region of Chamba district were in full spate as it had been raining heavily, the reports added.

Dharamsala, September 16
Expressing concern at the declining population of game fish, mahaseer and trout in rivers and streams of the state, the Himachal Anglers Association (HAA) has demanded that its members should be appointed as honorary fisheries officers under the HP Fisheries Act, 1976.

GMS Mann, president of the HAA, said foreign tourists who visited the state for enjoying angling last year have reported that poaching and lackadaisical management have reduced the trout population in the natural streams of the state.

The Fisheries Department has been complaining that they are not in a position to check poaching in rivers due to shortage of staff.

In this case, appointing honorary fisheries officers is the only solution to the problem, he said.

Honorary fisheries officers are authorised by the government to apprehend poachers legally under the HP Fisheries Act. They are, however, not paid any money for their services.

Mann said since members of the HAA had been organising angling competitions in the state for the past 32 years, they were closely associated with the issue of fish poaching in the state. They could help the department in apprehending poachers, who are threatening the ecology of river and streams.

Mann further said promotion of angling sport could attract high-end tourists and as well as promote eco tourism in the state. Top corporate executives from the country and abroad want to come to enjoy angling in the hinterlands of the state.

The HAA had given simple suggestions to the Fisheries Department to attract and facilitate such tourists.

They had suggested that the department should display information on sign boards regarding timings of their offices, how to obtain fishing license and names and numbers of staff having information on where to fish.

The department should also make public the information regarding Gillies, the local river guides who are experienced fishermen and could be hired for a day, and details of boats available on rent.

It should put information on the availability of hotels, rest houses and angling lodges in the vicinity where tourists could put up for a day or two. In the absence of hotels, registered home stay facility could be offered to tourists, he said.

The HAA had also suggested that the Department of Tourism at least once a year should organise a fish fest coinciding with the anglers’ meet. In the fest, chefs of the hotel industry could also compete.

The government should also finalise a 20-year perspective master plan of developing sustainable and environment-friendly tourism in the state, Mann added.

Shimla, September 16
The Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC), a state government undertaking, signed an MoU with Future Group, a leading business house, in New Delhi today for direct market linkage between the agriculture and horticulture produce of the state and Big Bazaar stores.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal launched the “Himachal Yatra”, jointly organised by the state government and Future Group, to mark the occasion.

Madan Chauhan, Managing Director of the Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation , and Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective companies.

The primary objective will be to link the existing farmers’ groups and other producers and strengthen them through mobilisation, market linkage and the formal banking system.

The regions and the beneficiary groups will be jointly identified by Future Group and the HPMC after assessing the localised strengths and potential in each region for each of the activities selected.

Future Group will manage the entire supply chain and procurement by itself or through its agents and the quality standards will be set by a mutual agreement.

The HPMC will arrange for financing of decentralised production ventures in the name of farmers’ groups, self-help groups, producer groups, service groups and other such groups with the existing schemes.

Dhumal said the tie-up would benefit the farmers of the state at large by showcasing Himachali products in Big Bazaar stores in 73 cities and towns and 65 rural locations across the country.

The government’s endeavour was to promote organic farming in the state and already about 25,000 farmers had been registered for organic farming.

Solan, September 16
A case of misappropriation and embezzlement of funds in the purchase of farmyard manure (FYM) in the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Floriculture, Nauni, has come to light with the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau receiving a complaint in this regard.

Bureau’s DSP Ramesh Sharma, while confirming the matter, said they had written to the university to provide records about the case which were yet to be received.

The issue pertains to the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping (FLS) where quotations were invited during 2010 for the purchase of 500 quintals of manure for trial activities for research and production of flowers.

The lowest rate of Rs 90 per quintal was quoted by a resident of Koti village, who resides in the neighbourhood of a university official, and this was approved on January 21, 2010. He was given orders to supply 100 quintals of the FYM for Rs 9,000, 200 quintals for Rs 18,000 and 200 quintals for Rs 18,000 on February 5, 2010.

Three bills of Rs 45,000 were then issued to the department in lieu of supplying this manure on February 6, 2010, for clearance. These bills were presented before the audit for clearance but the audit raised three objections and returned the bills to the department. The manure was supposedly transported through a truck (HP-14 2098) in 13 trips to the university. But according to the complainant, a checkpoint at the main entry gate of the university, where security guards maintain records of all vehicles entering the university, had no record regarding the entry of this truck either having entered or left the university premises. A complaint regarding this bogus transportation and manure-supply scandal was also lodged with the Director of Research, but no serious effort was made to unearth the truth.

According to the recommendations of the university’s own farm scientists, 5 kg of FYM is used in one sq mt while the university authorities have shown the utilisation of 500 quintals in two poly houses measuring less than 300 sq m.

Thus with little evidence of the FYM having being supplied, the complainant has alleged that bogus bills were cleared and funds to the tune of Rs 45,000 were embezzled.

Dharamsala, September 16
The functioning of the Kangra MC has come under the scanner after one of its former councillor alleged misappropriation of funds.

Former councillor of the Ward No 1 Ram Swaroop Verma has alleged that the incentive being paid to councillors was not being paid on time and the amount paid differs from person to person and also no detailed record was shown to councillors, which explains that on what basis the total amount was paid to them.

After much hue and cry, Verma received his share of monthly incentive of Rs 20,600 on August 8, 2011, in cash after his tenure got over.

Being a person who is aware about his rights, Verma refused to accept the cash and asked for cheque payment with due records on what basis he has been sanctioned the amount.

“After I sent an application to the higher authorities, I received a cheque of Rs 26,300 yesterday that made me aware of the workings of the MC. The difference of Rs 5,700 raised many questions regarding the MC functioning,” he said. Verma again refused to accept the cheque and said: “I will demand an inquiry of the past 10 years and seek a record of accounts on the basis of the monthly incentives being paid to the councillors.”

He also demanded the MC to pay his due amount with interest. The present councillors have also been murmuring about the issue as one of them has received Rs 16,600 recently for his last tenure.

However, the EO, Desraj Chaudhary, who is on an additional duty of the Kangra MC, stated: “All the pending monthly incentives of the councillors have been cleared and the amounts had been paid as per the norms.”

Shimla, September 16
Every phone call made to the 16,000-strong Himachal police force in the state will help generate awareness against social evils like drug addiction, drug trafficking and crime against women as various theme-based caller tunes will welcome the caller whenever he tries to seek police assistance.

As an effective means to generate awareness about social evils and other menaces plaguing society, caller tunes based on these subjects were today activated on the mobile phones of all Indian Police Service and senior state service officers in the state. Within a month’s time, the theme-based caller tunes will welcome the callers on the phones of all the police personnel right up to the police station level.

“We thought that this was not only a novel but one of the most effective ways of generating awareness about social problems,” said DS Manhas, Director-General of Police. He said efforts were on to have similar caller tunes on the landline numbers of police stations and other police office numbers.

It is with the assistance and cooperation of a retired All India Radio employee, Hansa Gautam, that the police has been able to achieve its mission. Every call to any police personnel will be welcomed by the mellifluous and very familiar voice of Gautam, who served in the AIR for several decades.

“To begin with, we have chosen three main themes - drug abuse among youth, illegal cultivation of opium and cannabis and its trafficking and the high rate of fatal accidents,” says N Venugopal, DIG (CID).

He added that later on more theme-based caller tunes would be added, which would help create awareness and sensitivity about issues like crime against women, zero tolerance towards corruption, caring for the elderly and female foeticide.

The caller tunes which were activated today talk of about 4,000 road accidents in Himachal every year, claiming 1,000 lives. The message talks of obeying traffic rules, not driving under the influence of liquor and avoiding the use of stereos and mobiles when driving.

The message against drugs talks of protecting the youth from getting addicted to drugs and informing the police in case of its illegal cultivation and trafficking.

Shimla, September 16
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has criticised the decision of the UPA government to effect a steep hike in the prices of petrol, which would hit the common man hard, and urged it to withdraw the unjustified increase immediately.

He said the people were already reeling under the rising prices of various commodities and the increase of Rs 3.14 per litre of petrol would further fuel inflation. The prices of petroleum products had direct bearing on essential commodities.

He urged the Centre to withdraw the increase in the larger interest of the common man.

The CPM has also condemned the decision and said the third increase in the price of petrol within this year was unwarranted at a time when inflation was touching double digits. It would have a cascading effect on prices to further fuel the inflationary trends.

Shimla, September 16
Shimla is one of the two cities in the country along with Tirupati to have been chosen by the United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO) for the launch of eco-labelling of tourist accommodations so as to adopt environmentally sustainable practices in the rapidly expanding tourism industry.

To begin with, the pilot project will be implemented in the “Queen of Hills” and the world-famous pilgrim shrine of Tirupati in India. Called as the “Eco City Eco Business Partnership Programme in India”, the local Municipal Corporation will be the nodal agency.

The project, to be implemented by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in collaboration with the UNIDO and the city of Vienna, will aim at enhancing environmental awareness in the tourism sector which is witnessing a fast pace of growth. “Experts from the UNIDO had visited the town and discussed the project which is aimed at reducing carbon emissions and thus having sustainable tourism which is essential for a town like Shimla which is known worldwide as a famous tourist destination,” said AN Sharma, Commissioner, MC.

More than 20 hotels in the town, including the government-owned Peterhoff, Holiday Home, East Bourne in Khalini and Combermere, have volunteered to be part of the project.

“The hotels will be accorded an eco-label after monitoring their compliance with the relevant regulations enacted by the government agency concerned,” said Sharma. He added that these units would be encouraged to voluntarily adopt environmentally sound practices in areas like general environment awareness, energy management, application of renewable energy, waste management and cleaning.