Mandi, October 6
The blood component separation unit in the Zonal Hospital, inaugurated here recently by Health Minister Rajiv Bindal, is marred by a shortage of trained staff to run it 24X7.

Irony of the story is that the blood bank is catering more to the mushrooming private hospitals in the Mandi region than the government-run Zonal and Civil Hospitals as most of the government hospitals have no surgeons to perform surgeries. Most of the patients are either referred to the IGMC, Shimla, Medical College, Tanda, or private hospitals, which performed most of the surgeries, lamented patients.

“The blood component units are important in saving wastage of blood. Some patients need blood plasma or some need RBCs or the like and as such other components of blood go waste in the absence of blood component separation,” said Dr Arindam Rao, in charge of the unit at Mandi.

The Health Department is starting a blood component unit at Dr Rajindra Prasad Medical College Tanda as well. Blood banks and their units function under the state nodal officer, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

According to sources, the only blood bank in the Mandi region supplies over 2,000 units of blood each year and most of it is consumed by private hospitals.

“The blood component separation unit will help in saving the precious life-saving blood, but the problem is that we need two more trained technicians to run it round the clock,” said the doctors handling the unit.

The Zonal Hospital has just two trained technicians and a trained doctor for the new unit and the blood bank.

State NACO surveillance officer MP Pathak said they were training more staff to take care of the blood separation units.

“We are training technicians at the IGMC to make up for the shortage as we are starting this unit at the Tanda Medical College as well,” he added.

Sundernagar, October 6
Dile Ram, MLA, Nachan, and Chairman of the Finance Commission, today said the Ayurvedic Dispensary of Mahadev would be upgraded to a 10-bedded ayurvedic hospital soon.

He was addressing a gathering at the Shiv temple, Mahadev, near here, after dedicating a building of ayurvedic dispensary to the public.

The MLA further assured the local residents that the panchkarma therapy of ayurveda would be available here in the dispensary. He also laid the foundation stone of a community hall in the temple for which the NTPC had provided 15 lakhs under the scheme of corporate social responsibility. — OC

Dharamsala, October 6
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today dedicated the biggest rural drinking water supply and augmentation scheme in an arid area of Kangra district. The scheme will benefit rural areas in Dehra, Khundian, Jaisinghpur and Palampur tehsils.

It has been completed at a cost of Rs 68.33 crore and is estimated to benefit a population of 1,31,293 in 35 panchayats. It will also help in augmenting 27 existing schemes in the area and provide 70 litres of drinking water per person per day.

Addressing a public meeting at Kangehan, the venue of the project, the Chief Minister said the state government had spent “Rs 5,098 on each person in the said areas” by completing the drinking water supply scheme in a record time. By completing the scheme before time, officials had helped the government save a sum of Rs 1.40 crore, he said.

Launching a counter-attack on the Congress on the issue of benami land deals in the state, the Chief Minister said the state had constituted a commission under the chairmanship of a retired High Court judge to deal with cases filed by any person regarding benami land transactions in the state. However, none of the Opposition leaders, who had been making statements regarding benami land transactions, had been able to bring even a single case before the inquiry commission.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a 132 kV electrical subdivision and an electrical line, likely to be brought up at a cost Rs 28.74 crore at Kangehan in Jaisinghpur subdivision of Kangra district. The substation will feed 33 kV substations at Thural, Jaisinghpur, Kangehan, Sandhol, Lahru-Dadu, Sijanpur, Jakhu and Kakkar, benefiting areas of Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur districts.

Dhumal greeted people on the occasion of Dasehra.

The Chief Minister also presented drafts of Rs 11,001 each under the Mukhya Mantri Kanyadaan Yojna to various beneficiaries.

Shimla, October 6
Terming anti-hail guns installed in the apple belt as a miserable failure, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh today said he would take up the matter for providing high-quality anti-hail nets to apple growers with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Addressing a series of public meetings in the Rampur area, he said the BJP government was misleading people regarding the effectiveness of anti-hail guns in protecting fruit corps. He said the device had not been successful in any apple-growing country and the use of anti-hail nets was the best way to protect the crops. He would take up the matter with Pawar to secure Central assistance for spreading the protective anti-hail net in the apple belt, he said.

He lambasted the government for its failure to maintain roads which were in a bad shape in the entire state. However, their condition was the worst in Shimla district and there were only potholes and the road surface was hardly visible. The condition of roads reflected the quality of governance. Even the national highways were in a deplorable state, he added.

Virbhadra Singh alleged that the Dhumal government had totally failed on the development front and instead of opening new education institutions it was closing down the schools opened during the Congress regime. He said another 2,500 schools would be wound up in the second phase and an exercise was already on.

The Centre was providing liberal financial assistance to the state, but it was not being properly utilised by the BJP government. It was pre-occupied with land deals and governance was not one of its priorities. 

Kangra, October 6
Resentment prevails among hundreds of BSNL consumers of different villages falling under the Shahpur telephone exchange as their telephones have been out of order since June this year. They have been moving from pillar to post for the redressal of their grievances.

Col SS Rana (retd), a BSNL consumer from Sihuan village, in a statement here recently alleged that nearly 200 telephones in Sihuan, Rehlu, Dhraman, Hatli and other villages falling under the Shahpur telephone exchange under the supervision of the SDO (T), Kangra, had been ‘dead’ for the past four months. The consumers, despite repeated requests, did not get any respite. On the contrary they were getting regular telephone bills.

Colonel Rana said he was in touch with the telephone authorities with the first written communication sent to the JTO, Shahpur, on April 7, 2011, to the SDO (T), Kangra, on May 23, 2011, and again on July 16, 2011, and August, this year. There was no response from that end.

He alleged that BSNL authorities expressed their helplessness on this issue saying that the cable had been stolen by miscreants. The police had failed to nab the culprits and blamed them for lodging the FIR late. Naresh Kumar, SDO (T), Kangra, said it was because of the cable theft that the consumers were suffering.

Shimla, October 6
With a view to exercising an effective check on the quality of development works and pre-empt any scope for financial irregularities and other malpractices, the government has decided to carry out video-graphic monitoring of schemes.

The decision has been taken in view of increasing complaints of use of substandard material, payments without work being actually executed or completed on the site, failure to adhere to specifications and terms and conditions of the contract. According to the latest notification of the Finance Department, video-graphy and photography of all works will be the responsibility of the department concerned. The exercise will have to be carried out at regular intervals at critical stages of the works and maintained as part of the record. The visual evidence will leave no scope for manipulations in the measurement book by supervisory officials and it will become impossible to allow payments to contractors without the execution of work on the ground.

The Finance Department has circulated the notification to all departments with the instructions that henceforth a provision for video-graphic monitoring should be made in all projects.

Underlining the need for video-graphic monitoring, the circular says that it has been noticed that various developmental works being carried out by different government departments are sometimes not meeting the required quality standards. Numerous complaints are being received about the use of sub-standard or inadequate quantity of material and violation of the conditions of the contract. Later, such works become the subject of litigation and it becomes difficult to resolve these matters at a later date in the absence of any verifiable record.

The step will not only ensure quality of works but also bring relief to honest officials as influential contractors will no longer be able to exert political pressure on them for making payments without executing the works and as per the specifications.

Mandi/Kullu, October 6
Amid tunes of dhols and shehnais, the rath of Lord Raghunath, pulled by thousands of devotees, rolled out from the temple treasury of Sultanpur to the Dhalpur Maidan with traditional fervour, giving a flying start to the week-long Kullu Dasehra today.

However, the absence of Balu Nag, believed to be a reincarnation of Laxman, and Shringa Rishi, believed to be a reincarnation of the Guru of Lord Rama, marred the rath yatra, that began today. This time no “devta” escorted Lord Raghunath on his right side. “Devtas” from Banjar walked slightly behind him.

Lord Raghunath will take on Ravana during the “Lanka dahan ceremony” without the support of Balu Nag and Shringa Rishi, giving a “body blow” to Kullu Dasehra. Thanks to ego hassles among devotees of Balu Nag and Shringa Rishi, the dispute to occupy the right slot with Lord Raghunath is pending in the high court.

Watching the colourful procession of “devis and devtas” from the VVIP stands were Governor Urmila Singh, a Supreme Court judge, Justice KS Pannickar, Chief Justice of the HP High Court Joseph Kurian, PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur, Kerala Health Minister Adoor Prakash and VHP secretary Pravin Togadia. Thousands of other spectators, including foreigners, were present on the occasion.

Conspicuous among the Dashera crowd were many foreigners. They, however, confessed they did not understand much about Dasehra. “I have come here for the first time. I can’t understand what’s happening,” said James, a tourist from the UK.

“There is a big crowd and ‘confusing music’, but it is interesting,” said Roberts, a woman tourist from Europe.

The rath showcased images of Lord Raghunath and other deities and was escorted by priests and the scions of former kings of Kullu - Maheshwar Singh, who is a representative of Lord Raghunatha, and his brother Karan Singh, a Congress leader, and their family members, who were attired in traditional dresses.

Interestingly, Banjar MLA and BJP president Khimi Ram and Kullu MLA Govind Thakur called the shots in the Dasehra arrangements this time while Maheshwar Singh, a BJP leader, was sidelined, indicating that Dasehra has turned out to be a hotbed of politics.

For thousands of Dasehra devotees, the pulling of the rath from the Dasehra starting point in “upper Dhalpur” to the main camp in “middle Dhalpur” is believed to be auspicious. All “devis and devtas” camp in the ground for the remaining six days forming part of traditional ceremonies before they make their return journeys to the temple treasuries in different parts of the district.

Kangra, October 6
This temple town was humming with religious activities today, and the evening witnessed the burning of Ravana’s effigy in the local Municipal Stadium and the immersion of Goddess Durga’s idol in the Banner river.

Goddess Durga’s idol had been kept at the Tara Devi Temple at Birta on the outskirts of the town during the Navratras. Thousands joined the procession and raised slogans “Jai Mata di” and “Jai Durga Maiya” and carried the idol through the main roads of the town. A long motorcade followed it. Army jawans from the Yol Cantonment too joined the procession.

Swami AS Bramchari, popularly known as Lal Baba, who has arranged the celebration 44 times at the Tara Devi Temple and led today's immersion procession.

Thousands also attended the Dasehra festival at the local Municipal stadium where Ravana’s effigy was set ablaze by local MLA Sanjay Choudary.

NURPUR: Dusehra was celebrated here with immense religious fervour. Thousands thronged the historical Nurpur Fort this evening to celebrate the festival. Colourful fire crackers were the main attraction in the festival celebrated by the Raja Sahib Dusehra Committee for the past 45 years.

Committee chairman-cum-municipal councillor RK Mahajan who has taken a keen interest in converting Dusehra into a religious fair greeted people on the occasion. Local SDM Sushil Kumar presided over the ceremony. Effigies of Ravana, Kumbkarana and Meghnath were burnt at the end of the festival. 

Shimla, October 6
Terming anti-hail guns installed in the apple belt as a miserable failure, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh today said he would take up the matter for providing high-quality anti-hail nets to apple growers with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Addressing a series of public meetings in the Rampur area, he said the BJP government was misleading people regarding the effectiveness of anti-hail guns in protecting fruit corps. He said the device had not been successful in any apple-growing country and the use of anti-hail nets was the best way to protect the crops. He would take up the matter with Pawar to secure Central assistance for spreading the protective anti-hail net in the apple belt, he said.

He lambasted the government for its failure to maintain roads which were in a bad shape in the entire state. However, their condition was the worst in Shimla district and there were only potholes and the road surface was hardly visible. The condition of roads reflected the quality of governance. Even the national highways were in a deplorable state, he added.

Virbhadra Singh alleged that the Dhumal government had totally failed on the development front and instead of opening new education institutions it was closing down the schools opened during the Congress regime. He said another 2,500 schools would be wound up in the second phase and an exercise was already on.

The Centre was providing liberal financial assistance to the state, but it was not being properly utilised by the BJP government. It was pre-occupied with land deals and governance was not one of its priorities. 

Shimla, October 6
The sixth day of the Hercules MTB-2011 turned out to be a great disappointment for top seed Ajay Pandit Chhetri who failed to repeat his last year’s performance in the climb to the 10,500-ft Jalori Pass and ended up at the second place in the leg.

Chhetri took 2 hours, 5 minutes and 42 seconds for the steepest uphill climb of the race, one second more than Nanyan Narnag who hogged the honours today. Last year he had completed the leg in just 1 hour and 47 minutes. Trilochan came a close third. However, Chhetri maintained his overall lead in the event and held on to the top place so far quite comfortably.

In all, the riders negotiated a distance of 61 km today during which they gained an elevation of 1,600 m, the highest for any day. They passed through cliffs and streams on way to Jalori in the most adventurous leg of the event.