Shimla, January 12
With the number of winged visitors already crossing 1,05,000, the Pong Dam wetland is likely to play host to a much larger number of migratory birds during the current winter than last year.

Already 96 species have been spotted compared to 95 last year and wildlife officials are delighted over the sighting of the falcated duck at the sprawling water body for the first time. It is predominantly found in China and in smaller numbers in Japan, North Korea and South Korea. “With this the total number of bird species at the wetland has risen to 416, which makes it one of the most important winter destinations for migratory birds in the region, says Sanjeeva Pandey, Chief Conservator of Forests (Faunal Diversity and Protected Area Network).

The bird was spotted by Devinder Singh Dadhwal, Range Officer, Nagrota Suriyan, who has only recently brought out a book entitled “Wild Wings” in which he has documented all 415 species frequenting the man-made lake. The falcated duck has a silvery plumage and its primary feathers grow and overhang onto the tail. It has not been spotted in the north-western region, though it used to be seen in the North-East earlier.

Pandey said the wetland had been attracting a wide variety of species and it not only attracted birds from trans-Himalayan regions like Central Asia and Siberia but also the altitudinal migrants within the region and the country. Moreover, it was the first water body at the foothills of the Himalayas with such a vast expanse, instantly attracting the birds en route during their annual migration. It virtually intercepted birds.

Dadhawal maintains that the wetland will attract a higher number of feathered guests compared to the winter count of 1.32 lakh last year as there will be much more “drawdown” area available after the second week of January for the birds to feed. Local farmers complete sowing on the drawdown area by this time and the area available after that provides the feeding and nesting ground for the visitors.

The department plans to carry out the winter bird census towards the end of the month.The mega exercise will be carried out by involving experts from the Bombay Natural History Society, the Zoological Survey of India, the Delhi Bird Club, the Chandigarh Bird Club and the Pong Birding Society and wildlife enthusiasts, bird watchers, volunteers along with officials of the Forest Department.

Shimla, January 12
With several Bollywood blockbusters still being shot in beautiful locales in Himachal, the Tourism Department is making all-out efforts to woo the film industry in Mumbai and Chennai to visit the hill state, which has locations comparable to Switzerland.

Senior officials of the Tourism Department will try to woo film bigwigs as they are holding a roadshow in Mumbai on January 18 and 19. They have already tried to showcase Himachal’s beauty to the Tamil film industry so that they can be convinced to come to the state for shooting their films.

“We are now making a serious effort to convince film directors and producers to come to Himachal, which can offer one of the best locations that are available anywhere in the world,” said Arun Sharma, Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation. He said despite the absence of basic infrastructure required for shootings films, several films were being shot in Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie and other places.

Even though it was almost a year ago that the state government had created a single window to facilitate clearances specifically for film shooting but not too many movies have been shot here. “During our interaction with the film industry in Mumbai next week, we would want to know from them what is the infrastructure needed by them and their other requirements which would help them in shooting their movies here in Himachal,” said Sharma.

Before the recent trend of overseas shooting became popular, many movies like “Love in Shimla”, “Kudrat” and “Karz” were shot in Himachal. Even recently several directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who shot his acclaimed film “Black” here in Shimla, have shown preference for Himachal.

The efforts of the state government to set up a film city have not been successful. Even though the Tourism Department has offered a huge chunk of land at Saketi near Nahan for setting up of a film city, nobody has shown interest in the project so far.

With basic facilities lacking and several permissions from different agencies taking a long time to come through, film producers prefer to shoot their films abroad. The main reason for this is that the procedures abroad are less cumbersome and they are able to finish their shooting in a much lesser time.

The absence of ample air and rail connectivity is also a major hurdle in Himachal. 

Shimla, January 12
While people got some respite from snow, the cold wave further intensified with the mercury dipping further across the state.

Life in the city was disrupted due to slippery road conditions created by the snowfall last evening. The vehicular traffic remained at a standstill till the afternoon and people had to walk long distances on slippery roads to reach their destinations. Vehicles could not ply on the Circular Road from the old bus stand to Chhota Shimla due to the road condition being bad near Hotel Holiday Home. Local bus services resumed on some routes only after 1 pm and as a result attendance in government offices and other institutions was affected. Even pedestrian roads had not been cleared and many people had to return home as they could not cope with the slippery conditions.

Those who arrived in the morning from outside had to alight several kilometres short and make their own arrangements to reach home. The buses from the Bilaspur side were stopped near Ghanahatti. With no local bus service available, people had to walk all the way from the Barrier near the bypass. The roads beyond Shimla remained closed from the sixth day today and people in the upper Shimla area are already experiencing a shortage of daily necessities.

Meanwhile, despite sunshine and a relatively clear day, the region continued to reel under extreme cold. Water pipes were frozen in mid and higher hills and most areas experienced thick ground frost. The minimum temperature in the city was -1.8°C, 3.4°C below normal, and the maximum was 6.5°C, 2.5°C below normal.

Keylong with a minimum of -10.4°C and a maximum of -1°C was the coldest. It was followed by Kalpa which recorded a minimum of -5.6°C and a maximum of 2.1°C. The minimum temperature remained below the freezing point at -1.4°C in Solan and most other towns, including Palampur, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Dharamsala, recorded very low minimum temperatures, well below the normal.

With large parts of Shimla, Sirmaur, Kullu and Chamba still under a thick blanket of snow, it will take some time for normality to return. The opening of the roads is a big challenge as even after clearance the overnight frost and frozen water make the roads slippery, making plying of vehicles in the morning a risky proposition. 

Chamba, January 12
Inhabitants of high-altitude rural areas in the district continue to remain snow-bound in their homes and it is difficult for them to go out because of icy footpaths for carrying foodstuffs and eatables from nearby shops and depots.

The entire region of Chamba is shivering with intense biting cold. The livestock of rural people has also been confined to cowsheds.

Officials are assessing the damage caused to public and private property due to a blizzard that lashed the area recently.

Meanwhile, agriculture and horticulture experts say the heavy snowfall is beneficial for apple and other fruit crops, besides rabi crops.

Experts working on hydropower projects in the mountainous terrains of this region believe that the huge deposit of snowfall on the mountain ranges of the Himalayas would be a boon for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply schemes in the plains of the country during the summer.

Solan, January 12
The hill station of Chail witnessed the season’s heaviest snowfall last night with the entire town being covered in a white mantle.

It was after 1990 that such a heavy snowfall has been witnessed in Chail which has transformed the entire place into a white sheet. While Solan witnessed the minimum temperature of -1.4°C, the maximum temperature hovered around 14°C.

Though the sun did shine in the day at Chail, it failed to bring any respite to people who were reeling under sub-zero temperature. With only a few tourists having ventured to Chail owing to the risky drive, hoteliers failed to make the most of this weather.

The green deodars acquired a silver hue after snow settled on the trees and vehicles parked outside too were covered under snow. People were seen clearing snow from their rooftops, fields and roads. People preferred to remain indoors with cold winds lashing the area.

Shimla, January 12
Efforts are being made by various government agencies to restore electricity, water supply and telecommunication services in various parts of the state, especially areas which have experienced a heavy snowfall.

An official spokesperson said here today that though major roads had been opened, work was in full swing to bring normality even in interior places where the services had been affected. Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta directed the authorities to ensure that all roads were cleared for vehicular traffic at the earliest and the electricity supply was also normalised.

The spokesperson said major roads, which were closed due to the heavy snowfall, particularly in Chamba, Shimla, Kullu and Kinnaur districts, had been opened. He said in Chamba district all major roads had been opened whereas the clearance of roads was in full swing in rural belts of the district.

According to reports received from the district headquarters, the Chamba-Bharmour road has been opened up to Gehra and the Chamba-Salooni road up to Manjir for traffic. The Chamba-Bhanjraru road has been opened for both heavy and light vehicles.

The spokesperson said the Shimla-Narkanda road had been cleared for traffic, but as a precautionary measure commuters were advised to travel via Basantpur for Rampur and Kinnaur. He said rural roads which had been blocked due to the snowfall would be opened soon by taking restoration work on a war footing.

According to reports received from Lahaul and Spiti district, the road from Keylong to Udaipur and Keylong to Darcha has been opened for light vehicles.

Palampur, January 12
Power crisis in the Palampur region of the state worsened last night as half of the Palampur region comprising over 100 panchayats plunged into darkness causing inconvenience to over one lakh residents.

It is learnt that the Maranda power feeder getting power supply from Dehan sub-station developed a technical snag at about 6.30 pm last night because of a breakdown in the Dehan-Maranda line.

Despite repeated complaints from the public across the region, there was no answer from officials of HP Power Supply Corporation Limited.

Even phones in the power complaint offices were out of order for whole night. Power failure continued till last night and in early hours the power supply was again suspended for over three hours.

The worst-hit areas were Palampur town, HP Agriculture University, Ghuggar, Sughar, Maranda, Mehanja Bundla, Choki Khalet, Paror, Bindravan and Lohana.

According to information gathered, poor maintenance of power supply lines and equipment had led to power crises in the region for the past two months.

Hundreds of consumers today lodged a protest for repeated power failures in Palampur and adjoining areas for the past two months.

They said there were no officials of the corporation to listen the complaints.

They appealed to the Chairman of the corporation to personally intervene and initiate action against the guilty.

Consumers demanded immediate repair of all old power supply lines.

Atul Mehata, Executive Engineer of the corporation, said there was a shortage of field and technical staff as the corporation had stopped new recruitments. Besides, most of the experienced staff had already retired. The equipment installed were also not up to the mark, which is resulting in frequent breakdowns in the region.

Dharamsala, January 12
The Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Kangra, dismissed on January 10 an application moved in his court by the public prosecutor for the withdrawal of a kidnapping case registered against seven accused, including three sitting ministers. They are: Minister for Industries Kishan Kapoor, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Ramesh Dhawala and Minister for Irrigation and Public Health Ravinder Ravi.

The other accused in the case are former BJP leader Dullo Ram, Des Raj, Bhagat Ram and Amar Chand Negi.

The case pertains to an incident that happened in 2001 during the previous stint of the BJP government. Then zila parishad members Swarna Devi and Punia Devi had lodged a complaint against the accused alleging that they had kidnapped them and kept in them in wrongful confinement. On the complaint of the zila parishad members, a case under various sections was registered against the accused.

The case pertained to a tussle between the ruling and the opposition parties to gain control over the Kangra Zila Parishad.

Bhagat Ram, an accused in the case, had moved an application with the state government that they had reached an agreement with the complainants and so the case should be withdrawn. The government had accepted the application of Bhagat Singh and moved an application in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Kangra, for withdrawing the case.

In his plea before the court, the public prosecutor had maintained that the case against the accused was registered on political grounds at the time of the zila parishad elections in 2001. The charge sheet in the case was also filed on political grounds. The state government, in a policy adopted in 2008-09, had decided to withdraw all such cases which were based on political consideration and where no damage was caused to public property.

The judge, however, declined the application on the plea that since no public interest was involved, the case cannot be withdrawn by the government.

Earlier also, the government had moved applications for the cancellation of the FIR registered against the accused two times, but these were rejected by the court.

Shimla, January 12
Nine persons were killed and 23 others seriously injured when a state transport bus skidded off the road near Nerwa in Chopal subdivision of Shimla district.

The accident took place in the evening when the bus had barely covered about 20 km from Nerwa near Dhar Channa. The HRTC bus (HP-63-1033) reportedly had over 40 passengers when the mishap took place while it was on its way from Chopal to Kupvi.

Till the filing of the report eight bodies had already been extricated from the wreckage of the bus, which rolled down over 250 feet below the road. The injured have been admitted to Nerwa hospital while some have been referred to Zonal hospital at Nahan and Poanta Sahib in Sirmour.

Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Onkar Sharma has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. It is, however, not certain whether the accident took place due to slippery road condition because of snow or due overloading.

A large number of office-going people and other workers were those travelling in the ill-fated bus as they were returning home after work.