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Dry spell rings alarm bells for farmers
Snow eludes ski lovers in Solang valley
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High infrastructure development charges pinch industry
Act against leaders who skipped Gadkari rally: BJP
Universal Cartons for Apples
Anganwari workers to be part of NRHM programmes
2 killed as car rolls down into gorge
Property worth Rs 10 lakh destroyed in fire
Embezzlement of funds: 4 industrial units booked
13-year-old girl found murdered
RTO official caught on graft charge
Updated voters’ lists to be published by tomorrow
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Dry spell rings alarm bells for farmers
Shimla, January 3 Barring a few areas like Kullu and Solan, the state has been reeling under a dry spell since mid-September when the monsoon ended. The overall deficiency was 83 per cent in October and 97 per cent in November. A brief spell of rain in some pockets in the plains and snow in upper reaches improved the situation a wee bit in December during which the state recorded 9.6 mm rain as against the normal of 43.6 mm. The overall deficiency was 78 per cent. All districts have experienced deficient precipitation and even the tribal areas which are normally under a thick white sheet of snow are virtually barren so far. The meteorological data reveals that the two tribal districts, Lahaul and Spiti district (-94 per cent) and Kinnaur (-91 per cent) have been the driest. The lower areas were as much affected with Kangra, the granary of the state, recording 90 per cent deficient rain. Chamba district was as bad as the tribal belt with a deficiency of 91 per cent. Kullu district, which had two moderate spells of snow and rain, was the wettest with a deficiency of 33 per cent. Solan (-52 per cent), Mandi (-53 per cent), Shimla (-65 per cent) Sirmaur (-65 per cent) were the other districts which had a spell of light snow and showers. Farmers are a worried lot. After waiting for rain for almost two months, most farmers have resorted to dry sowing. “If there is no rain, there will be no germination as the soil has gone bone dry,” says JC Rana, Director of Agriculture. Further, the crop sown during October to take advantage of the monsoon moisture has started withering due to lack of rain. If it rains over the next one week, as predicted, there is every chance of a good recovery but if the dry spell prolongs beyond January 15, the farmers will be in trouble. The situation is not as alarming for apple growers as the temperature has been low and the requirement of minimum chilling hours is likely to be met. However, if the snow is delayed beyond January 25, there will be an impact on the health of plants as lack of adequate moisture will affect the intake of nutrients. Moreover, lack of snow also at times leads to sudden warming of weather, resulting in early flowering which is not good as the drop in mercury thereafter, which is quite usual, affects fruit setting. Desperate for Rain
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Snow eludes ski lovers in Solang valley
Manali, January 3 This year Manali and its environs experienced the season’s first snowfall on December 9. The main ski slopes of the Solang valley had received only about 11 inches of maximum snowfall. However, due to rise in the temperature the snow melted after four days. Even the higher reaches of the Pir Panjal range, including the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass (the gateway to the Lahaul-Spiti valley), Brighu ski slopes, Hamta ski skopes and Sari ski slopes at the base of Deo Tiba, which are at an altitude ranging from 10,000 ft to 15,000 ft, and that is also famous for helicopter-skiing in western countries, also received little snowfall till now. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, used to conduct many skiing courses during winter months at Solang ski slopes and had imparted training to hundreds of participants from across the country every year. Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Director of the institute, said the first 14-day basic ski course, was starting from January 11. Two intermediate skiing courses were also starting from February 11 and March 1. Special skiing courses would also be organised for participants of the National Service Scheme, Nehru Yuva Kendra, National Adventure Club, Chandigarh, Air Force and Navy. This year, the institute would also conduct additional basic and advance skiing courses during the winter months, and all the ski courses were booked in advance, he added. According to some of the private tour operators of Manali, who also used to conduct many skiing courses in the upper Manali region every year in the first week of January, these courses had to be postponed till the fresh snowfall. Similarly, the fate of many skiing courses starting from the second week of January also hang in the balance if the weather conditions remain the same in the region. |
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HP skaters dominate in figure skating
Shimla, January 3 The weather god obliged with a clear sky overnight providing an ideal turf at the rink for the competition. Thick clouds and a slight drizzle yesterday had created much uncertainty about the event. The organisers heaved a sigh of relief as the clouds drifted away around midnight and the ice sheet, which had melted, froze again. It was a stiff competition for the participants but for the viewers it was pure fun as the participants danced with grace on the ice to musical notes. The choreography on ice provided a refreshing change from the usual dance forms and there were plenty of graceful movements and exciting acrobatics which left the audience spellbound. The hosts, Himachal Pradesh, dominated on the opening day of the championship with senior players excelling in the figure skating event. Local skaters bagged four of the top six positions in the figure skating event in the senior category and three of the six positions in the junior section. In the men’s senior category, Anup Kumar of Andhra Pradesh won the first position while Surya Uday Manchanda and Abhishek Barulwalia, both from Himachal, bagged the second and third positions, respectively. In the women’s senior category, Sumitra Sahni of Delhi was the winner, followed by Jaspreet Sidhu and Sunidhi Sharma, both of Himachal. Suchali Sharma of Himachal won the first place in the female junior category, while Monal of Maharashtra came second and Shaifali of Himachal third. In the male junior category, Ashu Raj of Uttarakhand was the winner, followed by Gurmeet Sidhu of Himachal and K Chetan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh. Other results: Sub junior (boys): Nischaya Luthra (Delhi) first, Aditya Rana (Uttar Pradesh) second and Satwik Arya (Delhi) third. Sub junior (girls): Suhair Kanojia (Maharashtra) first, N Dharmani Silak (Andhra Pradesh) second and Arusha Gupta (Andhra Pradesh ) third. |
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Separate Irrigation, Public Health depts soon
Dharamsala, January 3 Minister for Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Ravinder Ravi gave this information while talking to The Tribune here today. The minister said a decision to this affect would be taken in the near future and the proposal would be put before the Cabinet. Ravi said a master plan for irrigation across the state was being prepared. At present 5,83,000 hectares were under cultivation in the state. Of it, 3,35,000 hectares could be irrigated through optimum utilisation of the available natural water sources. The government had directed officials of the IPH Department to draw a master plan for providing irrigation facility for all available cultivable land in the state. “Under the master plan, we are proposing to construct water-harvesting structures in rain-fed areas like Kangra district, check dams on natural rivulets, lift irrigation schemes and major possible canal projects. The master plan will also include flood-protection measures that can be taken in the state,” the minister said. He said the master plan would be ready by June 30. The minister said the project had been launched to save and reconstruct khulls (traditional natural water springs across the state). In many areas the khulls had either been damaged or had been rendered useless due to climatic and geographical changes. The department had been asked to prepare a project report for the resurrection of the khulls. Ravi said the IPH Department had prepared a project report for constructing 191 lift irrigation schemes worth about Rs 50 crore in the state. The lift irrigation schemes would be brought up on major rivers flowing through the state and would help in providing irrigation facilities to farmers. Lift irrigation schemes in the Pong and Bhakra dams could provide irrigation facilities to many arid areas of Una and Kangra districts. Though some lift irrigation schemes had been installed by the Himachal government in the dams, these were not enough to meet the irrigation demands of the arid areas. The minister also heard the grievances of people at the Dharamsala mini-secretariat today. |
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High infrastructure development charges pinch industry
Solan, January 3 While this has put an additional burden of several lakhs on each unit, an investor said, “It was unfair to first invite the industry on the promise of providing cheaper power, and then levying such exorbitant charges for supplying power. IDCs of as much as Rs 70 lakh have been levied on one single unit and I have requested the board to make the payments in three instalments.” Since the board had taken affidavits from the investors to bear these charges, the industry had no choice but to pay this amount. Especially affected are those consumers who had applied for additional load or had to seek a new connection as the board compelled them to pay these charges before granting them the added load. The board, with a view to recovering the cost of its various sub-stations set up in its industrial areas, is now recovering the cost from the consumers. The rates have been worked out on the actual cost basis. However, since this has led to non-uniformity in a single industrial area having multiple sub-stations, the board has now sent a proposal to the HP State Electricity Regulatory Commission to rationalise the rates. A committee constituted for the purpose had submitted a proposal to the commission after taking into account various issues. It is learnt that various issues like excluding the 90 per cent cost of sub-stations set up under the centrally funded Revised Accelerated Power Development Reforms Scheme from the total cost and recovering cent per cent cost of sub-stations which were funded by the board by raising loans had been taken into consideration. The commission will now decide whether all categories of consumers right from the domestic to 220 kV industrial, commercial and other categories of consumers should also be made to share the cost or the difference in the cost incurred and recovered should be included in the subsequent power tariff. Chief Engineer (Commercial) JP Kalta confirmed that a proposal had been submitted to the commission in this regard. Investors are now awaiting the decision of the commission which will finally decide the cost to be borne by them. |
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Act against leaders who skipped Gadkari rally: BJP
Shimla, January 3 Even though Gadkari had been apprised of the calculated move of the dissidents to stay away from the rally on the very same day at Kullu, the state party unit has also sought appropriate action against the defiant party leaders. The two ministers, Kishan Kapoor and Ramesh Dhawala, and MLAs Praveen Sharma, Des Raj, Khushi Ram Balnahata and Vipin Parmar have been extending tacit support to the members of the Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha, but have so far not joined them openly. Incidentally, these leaders had also chosen to stay away from the BJP state executive meeting held some time back. However, by deciding to maintain distance even from a rally to be addressed by the national party chief, they have tried to indicate that they are in support of the morcha members and could join them if not given due weight. Even though the party took prompt disciplinary action against practically all morcha members, including Maheshwar Singh, Shyama Sharma, Navin Dhiman and Tikku Thakur, it is uncertain if it would like to upset the ministers and sitting MLAs as it would only aggravate the situation. It is reliably learnt that state party chief Khimi Ram Sharma has sought action against the leaders on the plea that skipping a rally held to mark the completion of four years in office of the Dhumal regime, of which they too are a part, amounts to indiscipline. Moreover he has also taken the plea that when it was clear that Gadkari would address the rally, there was no reason why the ministers and MLAs should have maintained a distance as it amounted to showing disrespect to the party chief. The outright defiance by Shanta loyalists clearly indicates that they would step up their campaign against the Chief Minister and those close to him in the coming days. With the Assembly poll in the state less than a year away, the high command would also like to tread with caution so as not to antagonise the party legislators. The dissident leaders are also getting the support of Kangra MP Rajana Sushant, who had met Gadkari along with morcha leaders. In fact, he is the one who provided documentary evidence against some ministers and other BJP leaders facing serious corruption charges. |
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Illegal Mining in Chakki River
Dharamsala, January 3 The bridges are a board-gauge railway line bridge connecting the Pathankot-Jalandhar railway line and a narrow-gauge railway line bridge connecting Pathankot with Kangra district in Himachal. Railway officials maintain that there is a threat to both bridges due to illegal mining in the Chakki. The narrow-gauge railway line bridge connecting Pathankot with Kangra was rendered non-functional as one of its pillars got damaged allegedly due to illegal mining. It has affected railway traffic on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow-gauge railway line that is the lifeline for many areas in Kangra. The committee comprises the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, the Deputy Commissioner, Pathankot, and mining and other officials of both Kangra district in Himachal and Pathankot district in Punjab. The high court has directed members of the committee to visit the spot in the Chakki on January 7. After holding a meeting at the spot, the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, will have to submit a report to the high court on January 9. Besides the impact of mining on the railway bridges, the high court has also directed the committee to suggest steps to safeguard the railway bridges on the Chakki. The Chakki, that originates in Chamba district, has suffered the maximum damage due to large-scale illegal mining. There are about 300 stone crushers located both in Punjab and Himachal that are carrying out mining in the Chakki. According to the records of the Irrigation Department, the river bed of the Chakki has gone down by about 30 to 50 ft in the past decade due to large-scale illegal mining. Many vital national installations like the Air Force Station and the domestic airport in Pathankot and bridges over the Chakki are under a threat due to illegal mining in the area. A vital road bridge connecting Pathankot with Kangra district also collapsed allegedly due to illegal mining in the river. A new bridge has now been constructed in its place. The drinking water schemes in the Chakki have also been rendered useless as the water table has receded due illegal mining. The public health authorities of both Himachal and Punjab have been writing to the authorities concerned regarding the damage being caused to their drinking water schemes due to illegal mining in the area. The Himachal government has banned mining in the Chakki. However, due to lack of proper demarcation of the Punjab-Himachal boundary in the river bed, illegal mining is still continuing. |
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Universal Cartons for Apples
Shimla, January 3 Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta said today there was an urgent need for packaging apple in standard universal cartons so as to be able to compete at the international level and fetch good prices for the apple produced in Himachal. “We will seek suggestions from all stakeholders, including growers, and make them aware of the advantages of standard universal cartons and then take a final decision,” said Bragta. Bragta’s decision of holding a high-level meeting on the issue by involving MLAs and other elected representatives comes close on the heels of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes writing a letter to the Chief Minister on the issue. With the Congress leader herself advocating the shift from a professional angle, the BJP regime is keen that growers, too, should be convinced about the advantages of the change. Bragta said the cartons being used at present for packaging apple had many drawbacks like heavy grading, putting in extra layers for quick disposal, blockage of air slots and low storage capacity. This resulted in damage to the fruit, which in turn affected the price that the growers got. With Stokes supporting a change in the packaging cartons, it is likely that the Congress MLAs and zila parishad members from apple-growing areas like Chopal, Rampur and Theog may support the government on the issue. |
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Anganwari workers to be part of NRHM programmes
Hamirpur, January 3 The state government had already decided not to employ ASHA workers involved in child and women health programmes across the country and instead rope in anganwari workers for doing the job of ASHA workers. Anganwari workers will be given incentives for doing this additional work and the training process has already started to train them for the job. All jobs carried by ASHA workers like helping expectant mothers for institutional deliveries, promoting immunisation programmes, rendering help under the Janani Suraksha Yojna and help for family planning will be performed by anganwari workers. The incentives received under the link workers’ scheme from the NHRM and the Health Department will supplement the remuneration of anganwari workers. At present, over 18,000 anganwari workers are working in the state and each worker is being paid Rs 1,800 per month, besides the hike announced by the Central Government in the last budget for them. The Health Department has already started training programmes for the link workers in a phased manner and 40 master trainers are being trained in Maharashtra in three phases. Trained link workers will also be given kits through which they will take care of mothers and their newborn children after delivery. Officer on special duty, state NHRM project, Dr Nishad said: “Anganwari workers will start working as link workers for the ICDS project and health programmes in the state from February this year and do additional work of ASHA workers for which they are being given training and will get incentives.” |
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2 killed as car rolls down into gorge
Shimla, January 3 The car rolled down almost 500 m into a deep gorge killing Anil and Virender, while the other two occupants of the Spark car (HP-06-2005) also sustained serious injuries. The injured are undergoing treatment in a hospital. Two die
in accident Chamba: Two persons were killed on the spot and another injured when the private vehicle in which they were travelling veered off the road and rolled about 300 m down the hill near Dugli on the Jot road in Chamba district yesterday, according to a report received here today. The report revealed that the bodies of the deceased had been extricated from the accident site and identified as Talwinder Singh and Inder Paul of Ludhiana. Injured Nirmal Singh, who was driving the vehicle, had been rushed to the district hospital in a serious condition where he was undergoing medical treatment, the report said. The officials had rushed to the incident site to carry out relief and rescue operations and disburse the admissible immediate relief as per the government relief manual. A case in this connection had been registered to investigate into the cause of the accident, the report added. One killed, 4 hurt in mishaps. Kangra: One person was killed and four others were injured in different road accidents in Kangra valley during the past 24 hours. Kangra district police chief today said Vipan Kumar of Surajpur Dhaliara died when his scooty (HP-36-A-6530) was hit by an unknown vehicle at Dhaliara yesterday. Vipan was injured and rushed to FRU, Dehra, where he succumbed to his injuries. The vehicle responsible for the accident could not be traced by the police till this evening. Ragunandan of Kandhor village was injured when his scooter (HP-38-A-2751) skid off the road at Chuha Ka Talab. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Fatehpur. Munish Kumar’s motorcycle hit a girl at Luv village resulting in injuries to both Munish and the girl. They were admitted to CHC, Jawali. Sumit Kumar of Ichhi was injured and admitted to TMC when his Scooty (HP-40-A-2255) was hit by a Sumo (HP-01-D-2909) at Ichhi. The police has registered cases under different
sections against the accused persons. |
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Property worth Rs 10 lakh destroyed in fire
Bilaspur, January 3 Reports said there was no member of the family present in the house when the fire broke out, but a large number of people gathered on the spot immediately and tried to control the fire. But it could not be checked till fire tenders from nearby JP Cement factory arrived which saved the lower storey of the house from being burnt down. Hira Lal said 10 rooms of the upper storey of his house, along with the entire property, old gold and silver jewellery, costly electric gadgets and some Rs 2.50 lakh cash were burnt down. He had also lost the entire new jewellery kept in the house for the marriage of their daughter. Local MLA Randhir Sharma arrived on the scene on hearing the news of the fire and handed over an amount of Rs 10,000 from his own funds, while the district administration has also provided an immediate grant of Rs 10,000 to the family. In the meantime the loss is being assessed for the disbursal of further grant from government. The police has registered a case and is investigating the cause of the fire which is suspected to be due to short circuit. |
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Building in Lower Bazar collapses
Shimla, January 3 Fortunately there was no casualty or injuries as nobody was in the rooms when the building gave way. Mayor Madhu Sood, along with officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC), visited the spot. “Since the building had been declared unsafe by the MC several years back, we had asked the occupants to move out on several occasions, but they continued living here,” said Sood. She said the MC had even closed the steps leading to the rooms at the back, but people removed the barricades and started using the road. She said the persons living there had even moved court. The owner of the building too had issued them notices to vacate the premises.
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Embezzlement of funds: 4 industrial units booked
Solan, January 3 It was learnt that while the four units, including Ashish Spaners, Baddi, Health Biotech, Sandholi, Jai Mata Glass, Barotiwala and DS Industries, Jharmajri, had been charging PF from their employees but the same had not been credited with the PF Department thus duping the employees of their dues. Baddi SP Gurdev Chand Sharma said a case under Sections 406 and 409, IPC, has been registered against the four units and it appeared that they had not even credited the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) dues, though no such complaint had been received from the ESIC officials yet. It was also learnt that DS Industries closed its unit about a year-and-a-half ago and its owner was also wanted in some other criminal cases by the Delhi Police. While this was not the lone case where such frauds on account of embezzlement of funds by industrial units had come to the fore. More such cases would emerge in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area where many units had not deposited their PF amounts with the department concerned as several units were faltering on ESIC dues, including MNCs that were already facing penalty worth
crores.
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13-year-old girl found murdered
Hamirpur, January 3 After waiting for quite some time, her father Desh Raj, who is a driver, and her mother Rekha Devi went to look for her. The blood-stained body of the girl was later found lying in a nearby grassland some distance from their house. A wooden stick was also recovered from the place. The police has sent the body for postmortem and is waiting for the report. The ASP, Hamirpur, said, “Investigation is on in the case, but no arrest has been made till now.”
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RTO official caught on graft charge
Dharamsala, January 3 The SP, Vigilance, in a press statement issued here today, said they got information that the accused officer had collected money from private bus and truck operators during his duty hours at the RTO barrier. The informer also told the Vigilance Department that the accused official was carrying the graft money with him as he was proceeding on leave. The Vigilance team intercepted Lekh Raj while he travelling by bus going towards Pathankot. On being searched, an amount of Rs 76,016 was recovered from him. The Vigilance officials maintained that since the accused official failed to give a satisfactory explanation regarding the cash recovered, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered against him.
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Updated voters’ lists to be published by tomorrow
Hamirpur, January 3 He said the voters’ lists could be inspected by the public from January 6 to 15 at their polling booths and in the offices of booth-level officers, the SDM and the tehsildar. All eligible citizens, who have attained 18 years of age on January 1, 2012, could register themselves as voters in the voters list’ by applying on Form No. 6.
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