Shimla, January 1
The failure of Uttar Pradesh to pay for the power purchased by it from Himachal is adding to the woes of the fund-starved state. The government had supplied almost its entire surplus power during the summer to Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), which offered the highest rate of Rs 4.30 per unit when the power market was on the decline. In fact, the state heaved a sigh of relief as the market rate hovered between Rs 2.50 and Rs 3 per unit. It purchased 200 MW in April, 400 MW in May and June and from July onwards the quantum has been increased to 623 MW.

However, the state did not expect the UPPCL to falter in making payments. It has not made any payment sine June to the Power Trading Corporation (PTC) through which power is sold by the state. The PTC continued to pay the state from its own resources till August 15. It also stopped making payments as the Assembly poll is on the anvil in Uttar Pradesh and the prospects of early clearance of dues have dimmed.

In all, an amount of about Rs 200 crore has been held up, but the UPPCL owes much more to the PTC. A redeeming feature is that the PTC is a public undertaking and as such the state will eventually get the dues. However, the delay will cost it dearly as its financial position is already tight. Only two days ago, an officer-level meeting was held to sort out the matter but not much headway was made.

Another meeting will be convened later this month for the purpose which means that the state may not get the dues within this financial year. The agreement for sale provides for a 2 per cent rebate if the payment is made within a week and a surcharge of 3 per cent per annum if the payment is delayed beyond 30 days.

Power is one of the major sources of revenue for the state but of late it has been facing problems as most of the electricity boards in the country are in bad shape. They have no funds to purchase power and are opting for power cuts even though adequate power is available at reasonable rates. The only exceptions are the states where the Assembly elections are due. Uttar Pradesh purchased power only because it was an election year but it is not making payment.

On the other hand the state electricity board is facing problem due to refusal of Haryana to supply power during winter under the contra-banking arrangement like the previous years. The board is, thus, facing a shortage of about 10 to 12 lakh units per day and it has no option but to scout for power in the market.

Shimla, January 1
With the weather god refusing to oblige with a white New Year, the “Queen of Hills” witnessed thin crowds compared to previous years. The region was lashed by a storm in the wee hours of the day but there was no snow. However, brisk showers brought some respite from the dry weather. The crowds were manageable and there were no traffic jams. The government had for the convenience of winter revellers opened the sealed portions of the Mall and restricted roads for parking. The crowd may have been less, but the revellers on the Mall and the Ridge were as noisy as ever and greeted the New Year with a thundering roar.

There was no snow but the cloudy weather disrupted ice skating at Asia’s oldest natural ice skating rink here. According to the local Met office, there is no scope of snow over the next 48 hours as the current western disturbance has lost steam. However, in charge of the office Manmohan Singh said another western disturbance was building up and it could reach the state soon. It was expected to cover whole of Himachal and bring widespread rain and snow.

Various hotels had come out with special packages and musical programmes on the occasion. A local non-governmental organisation, Ashadeep, chose to celebrate the New Year with inmates of the School for Visually and Hearing Impaired, Dhalli.

The celebration provided an opportunity to the special children to showcase their artistic talent at a colourful cultural programme organised on the occasion. It became a memorable event for the children whose happiness was reflected in through the play, songs and dances presented by them.

Appreciating the initiative taken by Ashadeep, Principal of the school Kanta said such efforts went a long way in boosting the morale of these children and making them feel part of society.

President of Ashadeep Sushil Tanwar said, “Our organisation has always tried to bring a smile on the faces of the poor and disabled children and the New Year programme was one such endeavour to bring joy in their lives and raise hopes for the future.”

Solan, January 1
With the four-laning of the Zirakpur-Parwanoo stretch of the National Highway-22 yet to be completed despite the lapse of its deadline of December 31, commuters continue to face traffic jams for hours together at Kalka and Parwanoo.

Motorists faced a harrowing time today as thousands of holiday revellers, who had travelled to the hills for celebrating New Year, were caught in a huge traffic jam at Parwanoo and Kalka due to a sudden increase in the number of vehicles on the road.

Parwanoo DSP Rajesh Kumar said since tourists were returning from their New Year holiday, a huge number of vehicles were seen on the road. Though the police from both Haryana and Himachal was on its toes to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, it failed to provide much relief as tourists were stuck for hours together.

Mandeep, a resident of Solan who was travelling to Chandigarh, said he was stuck near Timber Trail Resorts as there was a huge traffic jam on the road with thousands of vehicles being stuck on both sides, making the traffic move at a snail’s pace. He added that he could not reach Kalka from Parwanoo despite a lapse of one and a half hours.

Though the four-laning of the NH is supposed to provide relief to the commuters, the work appears to have been delayed for sometime now.

This has also delayed the laying of the toll tax barrier by the Excise and Taxation Department and once the road is through, it will set up two barriers, one near the HPMC parking yard and the other near Negi Petrol Pump. Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department said they were exploring the possibility of setting up a permanent barrier near Tipra bordering Himachal.

The second part of the Zirakpur-Parwanoo four-laning falls in Himachal. Of the total stretch, 5.6 km falls in Himachal, 21 km in Haryana and 2 km in Punjab. Work on the project had begun in March 2008.

Kullu, January 1
Farmers of the district are worried due to the prolonged dry spell this season that might damage their cash crop of apples. Snow is considered as white manure for apple orchards, but this year with very less amount of snowfall, the required chilling period of apple might not be available.

The apple crop requires 1,000 to 1,600 hours of chilling with the temperature at 7°C or less. Frequent spells of snow enable the crop to get the required chilling period, which is beneficial to the crop during blooming and fruition.

With very less or no snowfall in the lower areas of Kullu, Bajaura, Gadsa and Manikaran belt, farmers are worried for next year’s crop also. The rise in day temperature (approximately 18° C) has added to the woes of the farmers.

Jitenter Upadhyaya, a local apple grower, said, “We require minimum 1,000 to 1,600 hours of sub-zero temperature, but this year we fear that the minimum required hours might not be available.”

Prem Sharma, farmer and president, Upper Kullu Fruit Growers Association, said if the dry spell continued, the crop would be affected.

Lower Kullu Fruit Association president Kartar Singh Guleria said due to the rise in day temperature in the lower region, the apple crop would be affected. However, he expressed hope that the required moisture for apple trees would be available during next month.

JP Sharma, in charge, Horticulture Research Station, said the minimum chilling period required for different varieties of apple plants started from 800 hours to 1,600 hours.

He added that the snowfall during the first week of December in the upper reaches had given average chilling hours and said if the prolonged dry spell continued, the apple crop would be affected.

Solan, January 1
Health and Ayurveda Minister Rajeev Bindal today inaugurated a 21-bedded maternity ward in the local Regional Hospital which is equipped with the latest medical equipments and also has provision of a nursery for the care of new-born babies.

He also inaugurated two special wards in the hospital. Later, he also dedicated the Solan-Kather income tax link road constructed at a cost of Rs 41 lakh.

Addressing a public meeting at Kather, he said tremendous development had taken place in and around Solan in the past four years, thus transforming Solan into the state’s most progressive town.

He said best medical facilities had been created in the town in allopathy as well as ayurveda systems of medicine.

The Heatlh Minister said the comprehensive use of information technology would be made in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the state. Computerised system would be made functional in 22 hospitals in the state in which diagnosis and history of the patient would be available on the computer for further investigation at the IGMC level. This would be a revolutionary step for providing better health services to the common man in the state.

Zila Parishad Chairperson Kumari Sheela, Solan Nagar Parishad Vice-Chairman Pawan Gupta, CMO MK Sharma, District Health Officer NK Gupta and others were present on the occasion.

Bilaspur, January 1
The government is taking steps to develop the state as an education hub and “knowledge state”, said Naina Devi MLA and BJP spokesman Randhir Sharma while presiding over the annual prize distribution function of Government Senior Secondary School, Kallar, about 22 km from here, today.

Sharma said the government had provided facilities for technical education within the state and students now did not have to go outside the state for the purpose. He said Himachal was the only state in the country which was spending 19 per cent of its annual budget on education and providing the best pupil-teacher ratio and trained teachers, fully equipped science laboratories.

He hailed the recently announced scheme of “two- time uniform” to some 10 lakh government school students in a year from now onwards and claimed that this was a “first” in the country which would go a long way in “bringing discipline, uniformity and sense of responsibility among students”.

He gave away prizes and certificates to the talented students in various fields. The Principal, Jai Dev Garg, read out the annual report.

Sharma announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the school boundary wall and assured to provide additional funds soon for the construction of two more classrooms.

Bilaspur, January 1
HP state Congress President Kaul Singh Thakur has appointed a jumbo-sized 52-man Block Congress Committee for Bilaspur Sadar here and appointed Col Amba Prasad Gauttam (retd)as its president.

There are nine vice-presidents, nine general secretaries, one treasurer, 10 secretaries and 22 executive panel members, apart from all ex-presidents, member, PCC, MLA, ex-MLAs, MPs, ex-MPs, Chairman, BDC, and members, Zila Parishad, heads of block frontal organisations and departments.

Congress state general secretary Kuldip Singh Rathore said Tek Chand Raghuvanshi, Ram Sharma, Sita Ram, Kali Dass, Rakesh Kumar, Daya Nand Varma, Prem Lal Dhiman, Surjit Thakur and Kishore Singh would be vice-presidents and Narottam Sharma, Ranjit Chaudhary, Chhota Ram, Dinesh Gauttam, Surender Kaushal, Ram Krishan, Gopal Thakur, Nain Singh and Des Raj general secretaries.

Shiv Singh of Baloh would be treasurer and Dev Raj Kaundal, Hoshiar Singh, Manoj Thakur, Deep Chand, Krishnu Ram, Rattan Singh Varma, Om Parkash, Inder Dev, Rajvir and Praksh Chand secretaries.

Executive panel members were Kartar Singh, Devi Ram, Bhagat Ram, Sunder Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Ajit Joshi, Mast Ram, Nand Lal, Ramesh Kumar, Naginder Chandel, Kishori Lal, Shankar Dass, Sunder Singh, Sher Singh, Rakesh Pathak, Surjan Singh Chandel, Shobha Ram, Godawari, Shakuntla Devi, Shyam Dass, Ranvir Thakur and Vikram Thakur.

Shimla, January 1
A centre to monitor the impact of change in climatic conditions in different zones will be set up in the state soon. Stating this here yesterday, Chief Minister PK Dhumal said the state had earned a reputation for its initiative taken on the environment front and its efforts had been lauded by experts.

He said the centre was required to implement the policies directed towards protection of environment and mitigation strategies to minimise the impact of climate change.

He said the government had invited renowned environmentalist Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, Energy and Resources Institute, to inaugurate the centre in February, 2012. Pachauri would also deliver the key-note address on the issues and challenges of climate change on the occasion.

Dhumal said the government would invite environment scientists and intellectuals, besides the MLAs, Secretaries and heads of the departments on the occasion.

Dhumal said the state had made its mark on the environment front by taking various protective measures. The state had banned use of polythene which had been appreciated not only by the environmentalists, but the common man too. He hoped that with the setting up of the centre, it would be possible to carry out more focused activities to protect environment.

Kangra, January 1
Two persons were killed and two others injured in two different road accidents in Jawali subdivision of this district last night, the police said here today. SDPO, Jawali, Bhupender Singh Negi said two accidents left two persons dead and two injured, one under Jawali police station at Kuthaird and another under Fatehpur police station at Bharoat last night.

He said at Kuthaird a motorcycle (HP 54 A 7730) dashed against a truck (HP 38 2203) which was coming from the opposite direction leaving Vibeshen Singh, a patwari of Ladoo village, dead on the spot. Motorcyclist Kuldeep Singh was also injured in the accident and under treatment in a hospital.

In another accident late last night at Bharoat village falling under Fatehpur police station, a van (HP 54 A 4815) dashed against a Delhi-bound HRTC bus (HP 73 1748) from behind leaving one occupant of the van dead on the spot. The deceased was identified as Narinder Singh (32) of Batadhi village.

The bus was on its way from Chamba to Delhi. Van driver Rinkoo of Majjar village was injured in the accident and admitted to a hospital at Pathankot.

Negi said the bus had stopped at Bharoat and the passengers were alighting from the bus when the van dashed against the bus from behind.

The police has registered cases under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A, IPC, and investigation is in progress.

Shimla, January 1
Chief Minister PK Dhumal has taken a serious note of the complaint filed by Pong Dam oustee Harbans Kaur of Bharmar village in Jwali tehsil regarding wrong entries in the revenue record.

He directed the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary, Revenue, and the Deputy Commissioner concerned to get the complaint redressed on priority in accordance with the newly enacted Himachal Pradesh Public Services Guarantee Act, as per which complaints had to be settled in a time-bound manner.

He said the complainant purchased land at Bharmar village and had been pursuing the matter with the authorities to get her encroached land vacated from the unauthorised occupants and handed over to her. As the matter had been delayed much and required immediate attention at the appropriate authority level, he had issued directions to the authorities to settle it on top priority.

He reiterated that the government would protect the interests of the Pong Dam oustees, who had sacrificed their home and hearth to pave the way for the construction of the dam. The government had been raising the demands of the oustees with the Centre and other partner states of the Bhakra Beas Management Board and created the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation, to protect their interests.

Bilaspur, January 1
All three police station areas under Ghumarwin subdivision here in district have been asked to ensure that all hotels, dhabas, petrol pumps, inns, serais and other residences being used for stay of strangers are equipped with CCTV cameras with a view to control activities of any unsocial elements and also to ensure that possible crimes are curbed or at least detected with the help of these cameras.

Police Sub Divisional Officer Sanjay Sharma has passed these orders and urged all owners of these tourist facilities to be vigilant in these matters as now a large number of devotees, tourists and others are visiting the state and the district under various genuine and non- genuine reasons. Some criminals have also been found to take shelter in these dhabas, hotels and serais etc. This system will certainly reduce the incidence of crime.

Sharma has said these three police stations are Ghumarwin, Talai and Bharadi in this subdivision.

Kangra, January 1
Unemployed youth Ravi Kumar was arrested by the Dehra police in connection with his aunt’s murder and remanded to police custody for five days by Judicial Magistrate, Class I, Dehra, Aslam Beg today.

SDPO, Dehra, Manmohan Singh said today that Nisha Devi (32) of Dehra had gone to collect fuel wood from nearby forest on December 22, last year. She was brutally murdered and her body was found lying in a pool of blood in the forest.

He said the police succeeded in solving the murder mystery by arresting Ravi Kumar, son of the victim’s brother-in-law, under Section 302, IPC, from his residence yesterday.

The DSP said there were certain evidences which led the police to arrest Ravi who had an altercation with Nisha Devi in the forest before he allegedly murdered her.

Manmohan Singh said ultimately SHO, Dehra, Tilak Raj Chauhan and his team nabbed the culprit.

Chamba, January 1
The prevailing dry weather has worried residents of Chamba about the historic Chowgan, which was closed for its regeneration last month. They are of the view that the need has arisen to irrigate the Chowgan.

According to official sources, the Chowgan will reopen in April.

The chowgan is a promenade located on a beautiful plateau.

In addition to being a promenade and place of recreation, it is also utilised during the state and national-level events.

For regeneration of grass on the legendary Chowgan, there is a need to irrigate it.

For this, the services of the local Fire Brigade can be utilised, the residents opined.