Dharamsala, January 16
A review of the references coming from the Chief Minister’s office to the deputy commissioners of various districts in the state will be a fortnightly affair.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal made this announcement while addressing a press conference here today. He said the practice was being started from today onwards in the entire state.

Instructions were being passed to each Deputy Commissioner to maintain a pro forma for each reference coming from the Chief Minister’s office. In the pro forma, officers would maintain the date on which the reference was marked to them from the Chief Minister’s office, the day it reached the Deputy Commissioner’s office and further referred to lower officials and action taken on it, he said.

He said the deputy commissioners had been asked to hold a meeting every fortnight to review the progress of the action being taken on the references coming from the Chief Minister’s office.

The Chief Minister took the step after complaints from people that even the references coming from his office were not helping solve their problems at the lower levels of the bureaucracy.

To initiate the practice, the Chief Minister held a meeting with the deputy commissioners of Una and Chamba districts today and reviewed the action taken on the references coming to the districts from his office.

He said in Chamba district, 358 references were made from his office on complaints and demands of the people last year. Of these, 203 has been disposed of while action was being taken in the remaining 155 cases.

He complimented the people of Chamba, one of the most backward districts of the state, for using the “e-samadhan” facility provided in his office. Under the service, people of the state can e-mail complaints to the Chief Minister’s office directly. In the past one year, 282 applications were received from the people of Chamba through e-samadhan, of which 256 had been disposed of and action was being taken in the remaining 26 cases.

In Una district, 370 cases were referred to the Deputy Commissioner by the Chief Minister’s office of which 249 had been disposed of and action was being taken in the remaining 121 cases.

Dhumal said the Planning Commission had adjudicated Himachal Pradesh as the best state in terms of the Human Development Index along with two other states, Kerala and Delhi.

Last week also in the survey conducted by young MPs for evaluating malnutrition among children, the state faired very well. In fact, the mortality rate in the state had come down from 45 per 1,000 children to 40 per 1,000 children. This was below the national average of mortality of 47 per 1,000 children, the Chief Minister said.

Shimla, January 16
The fresh spell of snow and rain since last night has thrown life out of gear as vehicular traffic and power supply in many parts of the state has been disrupted and extensive damage caused to orchards in the apple belt.

The cold wave conditions prevailing in the state intensified further with intermittent spells of snow and rain since last night making people shiver. They remained wrapped in woollens and preferred to stay indoors. Power failure in Rampur, Rohru, Jubbal-Kotkhai and parts of the tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti have plunged the areas into darkness, adding to the misery of the residents.

Higher reaches of the state, including Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Manali, Dalhousie, Shimla and the adjoining areas have had heavy snowfall since last night. While the minimum temperature in most parts of the state remained the same, a new development was the decline in the maximum (day) temperature by almost 5°C, making people shiver.

The mid and lower hills of the state were lashed by heavy rain which continued throughout the day. According to the forecast by the local meteorological centre, the weather is likely to improve only after 48 hours as low and mid hills will experience rain while higher reaches will experience snow.

Vehicular traffic to upper parts of Shimla district remained suspended as no vehicles could move beyond Kufri due to heavy snowfall. Several buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) got stranded at various locations because of the fresh snowfall. Government flights from Bhuntar in Kullu to Lahul-Spiti could not take off, leaving over 150 people stranded at both ends.

Much to the delight of tourists, the state capital had intermittent spells of snow throughout the day. The town recorded a minimum temperature of -0.2°C and a maximum of 4°C. Shimla had 24 cm of snow and 31.3 mm of rain. The majestic deodar trees on the Jakhu hill were laden with snow while rooftops were also under a white blanket in the morning.

Kalpa had 41.3 cm of snowfall, Keylong 21.7 cm, Manali 45 cm, Sangla 31 cm, Theog 25 cm, Kotkhai 15 cm and Seobagh 8 cm. Most lower parts of the state, including Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Solan, Bialspur, Mandi, Sirmaur and Kullu were lashed by heavy rain and thunderstorm. 

Palampur, January 16
The entire Dhauladhar range and the Chhota and Bara Bhangal areas of the Palampur region experienced the heaviest snowfall of this season in the past 24 hours. Lower reaches were lashed by heavy rain, paralysing normal life in the valley. Power supply and road transport were the worst affected by the rain and the snow.

The entire Chhota and Bara Bhangal valley has been cut off from the rest of the world as all roads leading to the valley were blocked at different points because of the heavy snowfall. The valley is without power supply and drinking water.

Zila Parishad member Rishi Raj Thakur told The Tribune on the telephone from Multhan that 80 per cent power supply lines had been damaged, electricity poles had got uprooted because of landslides and fallen trees. He said the valley had been plunged into darkness for the past 10 days.

Meanwhile, 2 ft of snow was recorded at Kothi Kohar, Kothi Swar and Multhan this morning. Two dozen buses and other vehicles were reported to be trapped at different points.

Manali, January 16
Life was thrown out of gear as the entire upper Kullu valley experienced moderate-to-heavy snowfall since yesterday. Piercing cold wave conditions are prevailing in the upper Manali region following the fresh spell of snowfall.

Due to the heavy snowfall since last night, local residents of the upper Manali region could be seen clearing snow from their rooftops today.

Power, water and vehicular traffic have been disrupted in various parts of the upper Kullu valley.

Life remained hit in the entire upper Manali region even today as power remained disrupted since last evening.

Traffic on the Manali-Kullu national highway was disrupted between Manali and Katrain. All long-route Manali-bound buses suspended their journey near Katrain today. Only jeeps were plying between Manali and Katrain today.

According to HRTC sources, this morning all local and long-route buses suspended their journey near Bandrol on the Manali-Kullu road.

All local buses remained suspended since last evening on the Manali-Naggar (left bank) road.

The 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district, experienced heavy snowfall.

Kullu, January 16
Fresh snowfall and incessant rain during the past 72 hours in this district has crippled life and damaged private and government property worth lakhs of rupees.

The town today recorded around 4 inches of snowfall.

The incessant rain has damaged many houses in Kullu town at Shashtri Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Sarwari, Sultanpur and Akhara Bazar.

The drinking water supply to the town has also been affected. The electricity supply to many areas in the town and the district remained paralysed.

Sources said around 70 electricity poles had got damaged in the town itself. Many trees fell, blocking roads and damaging electricity and phone wires.

The town has received such heavy snow after over a decade. The cost of essential commodities has risen sharply due to a shortage of supply.

Commercial banks could not function today due to non-availability of power and Internet facilities.

Kangra, January 16
Normal life was thrown out of gear for the third day today as rain continued to lash the Kangra valley since the wee hours with people mostly remaining indoors and roads and markets wearing a deserted look.

It started raining at 4.45 am and the rain continued unabated till this evening. It was accompanied by icy cold winds. The Dhauladhar mountain range and its foothills experienced snow, pushing the temperature in the valley further down.

Kangra town recorded 53 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours where as it was 46.8 mm in Dharamsala. The Kangra valley recorded a maximum temperature of 9°C, 5°C below normal and the minimum was 2°C, 4°C below normal.

Chocked drains in Kangra town left the road flooded due to the rain, putting pedestrians to inconvenience.

The Pathankot-Mandi national highway was blocked at Nagrota Bagwan this morning when a big mango tree got uprooted and fell on the national highway. The traffic remained disrupted for more than two hours before it was removed.

The police said the traffic was diverted through a link road during the period.

Reports of rain were received from Nagrota Bagwan, Gaggal, Mallan, Shahpur, Dehra, Jawalamukhi and Ranital. Dharamsala and McLeodganj too witnessed rain today.

Shimla, January 16
The belated spell of rain and snow has revived the withering wheat crop and raised the hope of the fourth consecutive bumper harvest in the hill state. The week-long spell of snow in high and mid-

hill areas and widespread rain in lower hills has not only broken the dry spell but also raised the level of moisture in the soil. Farmers in the lower hills of Kangra, Solan, Sirmaur and Bilaspur had been awaiting rain for sowing rabi crops. The rain has come in the nick of time and they have sown late varieties of wheat over the past one week and now sowing of wheat has been completed over the entire 3.58 lakh hectares. The sowing of table potato and vegetables has also taken place in time.

“Snowfall in the lower hills of Kangra, Una and Hamirpur may have been a freak phenomenon, but it will be a boon for the farmers. They can now make do if there is no rain till February-end” says Director of Agriculture JC Rana. Unlike rain, the snow is mostly absorbed and helps raise the soil moisture. Not only that it also brings down the ambient temperature as a result of which there is less evaporation and the moisture level remains high, he explains.

The target for the current rabi season has been fixed at 7.33 lakh tonnes and for wheat, the main crop, the target is 6.87 lakh tonnes. Last year the state produced 6.70 lakh tonnes of wheat and thus the target is achievable. The target for table potato is 27,000 tonnes.

During the kharif season, the state produced 9.55 lakh tonnes of foodgrains against a target of 9.59 lakh tonnes and it completed a hat-trick of bumper crops as a result. With the prospects of the rabi season improving following widespread rain and snow, the state is set to achieve a record output during the 2011-12. Last year, the state produced an all-time high 14.68 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, 28,000 tonnes more than the previous high of 14.40 lakh tonnes achieved in 2007-08, after a series of crop failures. The kharif crop accounted for 7.41 lakh tonnes.

Heavy snow in Kullu and Shimla districts, which together account for 90 per cent of the apple production, has also raised hopes of a good apple crop. Growers were disappointed last year as the apple production dipped to a 10-year low of 1.36 crore boxes.

Chamba, January 16
In the wake of the recent heavy snowfall, power blackout in Bharmour tribal subdivision in  Chamba district continued on the 11th day today, according to reports reaching here today.

Bharmour tribal subdivision, including Pangi tribal subdivision, falls in the Bharmour tribal Assembly constituency, which is being represented by Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Tulsi Ram.

The reports revealed that it would take several days to restore the power supply in the constituency.

Almost all the rural link roads were covered under snow. The isolated tribal Pangi valley had also been cut off from the rest of the country. For carrying patients and other residents from the Pangi valley, the state government had arranged a helicopter flight last week.

High-altitude areas of the district had still been experiencing heavy snowfall while lower areas had been having widespread downpour since last night.

Shimla, January 16
With too much height of buildings in the hills not being a very safe proposition, the government is likely to put a cap on the number of floors in the core and restricted areas of the town by reviewing its earlier decision.

The relaxation made by the government last year in the permissible floor area ratio (FAR) in the core and restricted areas had paved the way for raising any number of floors depending on the size of the plot. Those who cover less area on the basement level and have a big plot size can make even more than four storeys. Till this new notification came into effect last year, plot owners could make only two floors in the core area and three floors in the restricted area.

“Since tall buildings in the hills are not very safe, we are likely to review the earlier notification as in some cases the structure can even have five storeys, especially when the plot size is big,” said a senior official. As such, shortly the Department of Town and Country Planning will review its earlier move and put a cap on the total number of permissible floors.

The earlier notification issued on February 28, 2011, had come in for severe criticism as it was technically faulty. “Since the FAR in the core area was enhanced from one to 1.5, it was obvious that the number of storeys would go up, but since this would vary depending on the plot size, we need to put a limit on the maximum possible storeys,” explained an architect.

He pointed out that last year’s notification had another lacuna where the height of each floor had not been specified. “A minimum height of 2.60 metres for each floor was specified, but the maximum height has not been clarified, which is also likely to be rectified by the government,” said an official.

There are strict restrictions on construction in the core area which comprises the most thickly populated areas like the Mall, the Ridge, Lower Bazar, Jakhu and Lakkar Bazar. The relaxation in the FAR had been made last year considering the fact that land was scarce and expensive here so owners should be allowed to construct more floors.

However, later it was felt that there must be a limit on the number of storeys or else the structures could prove to be unsafe. There is a complete ban on construction in 17 green belts of the town while in the heritage zone only reconstruction is allowed, that too strictly along old lines.

Mandi/Kullu, January 16
Apart from blocking most of the link roads and disrupting electricity supply in the snow-bound Mandi-Kullu region, the fresh spell of snowfall in the region has added to the woes of tourists and locals as greedy taxi operators are allegedly charging at will from them.

The fresh snowfall, ranging from 30 cm to 60 cm in higher reaches, has once again blocked the Manali-Naggar road, the Manali-Kothi road, the Kullu-Banjar road and the Kullu-Barshaini road in Kullu district and the Mandi-Janjheli road, the Mandi-Karsog road, the Banjar-Gara Gushaini road and the Mandi-Thatchi road, besides other links roads in snow-bound villages in Seraj and Karsog subdivisions.

Though traffic was restored till the green tax barrier in Manali this afternoon for light vehicles, taxi operators had a field day.

There was chaos at Patlikuhl town today. Taxi drivers were charging Rs 2,500 for a 20-km trip between Manali and Patlikuhl as this stretch remained blocked since last night till this afternoon, commuters lamented.

Tourists who have been on an extended holiday in Manali due to snow have become panicky and are desperate to leave the tourist town. More snow and rain are likely till January 20.

Manali wore a near deserted look due to a heavy spell of snow. Not more than 70 to 100 vehicles have entered the green tax barrier for the past two days, said hoteliers.

More than 2 ft of snow has piled up in Manali.

Admin sounds alert

Meanwhile, the administration on Monday sounded an alert for residents of upper Manali, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kinnaur and other snowbound areas in the state not to venture out of their houses in the next 48 hours as a danger of avalanches and blizzards loomed large in higher snow-bound areas.

The Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, BM Nanta, said they had received an advisory in this regard from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Bilaspur, January 16
Farmers in the district should remain vigilant about the spread of yellow rust, a disease of wheat crop locally known as peela ratua, in their fields. They should take immediate precautions as soon as signs or symptoms of the disease appear anywhere in or near their village. This was stated by Deputy Director of Agriculture Kulbhushan Pal here today.

Dr Pal said last year, in January and February, due to low temperatures and excessive moisture in the atmosphere, this disease had taken over large tracts of fields in the district here under its effect and had caused huge losses to farmers.

This year also a team of agriculture officers has found preliminary signs of this disease at Dabat and Majari villages on the border of this district adjoining Punjab during the first week of January.

He said even now the low temperature and excessive moisture are conducive to the spread of yellow rust and if any signs of this disease are found anywhere, farmers should immediately go in for spray of 60 gm of “Propiconazole 25 per cent EC Tilt” in 60 litres of water for every bigha of wheat crop.

He said any other information could be had by contacting him in his office or nearest officials of the Agriculture Department in their areas. 

Dharamsala, January 16
The state government has invited members of Team Anna to strengthen the institution of the Lokayukta in Himachal Pradesh.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal gave this information while talking to The Tribune here today.

“We are in touch with members of Team Anna and they have been invited to visit the state in February to give their advice on the issue of strengthening the office of the Lokayukta in the state,” he said.

He said the new Lokayukta would take oath in the state on February 3. After that lokayuktas would also be appointed in various government departments dealing with the general public.

The Chief Minister indicated that like Uttarakhand, Himachal would also have the institution of the Lokayukta that would be close to the proposals given by Team Anna to the Union Government.

With members of Team Anna being invited to the state, it is likely to give a political edge to the BJP government in the state against the Congress. The Congress has been targeting the BJP government on various corruption issues like alleged benami land deals.

To a query, the Chief Minister alleged that the Union Government had not released any money to the state government for the repair of national highways that got damaged due to heavy rain and inclement weather. He said the government had diverted funds from various other government departments for the repair of roads in the state.

The Chief Minister evaded queries regarding an expansion of the state Cabinet. One Cabinet berth has been lying vacant in the state ever since Forest Minister JP Nadda quit to take up an assignment in the national BJP.

Responding to a query regarding infighting in the party, the Chief Minister was critical of his detractors.

Asked about a possible change of the state president of the BJP, the Chief Minister said the present state BJP chief, Khimi Ram, was doing a good job and there was no need to change him.

Shimla, January 16
The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) for the management of restaurants located at its tourism reception centres (TRCs).

The MoU was signed by Arun Kumar, Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation, on behalf of the state government and Sohan Singh, Chief Regional Manager of the Railways. Initially, four restaurants located in the TRCs at the Shimla bypass, Solan, Nahan and Suketi in Sirmaur district are being offered on a monthly rental basis for a period of three years. The IRCTC will take over these facilities and start operations from March 1. It will provide food items, beverages and snacks at the restaurants to tourists.

The main objective behind offering these sites to the IRCTC is to cater to the budget class and high-class tourists travelling by road within the state. Arun Kumar said the department might consider providing other TRCs located at different places in the state to the IRCTC if it successfully managed the four restaurants being offered.

The department had submitted a Rs 8-crore proposal to the Union Ministry of Tourism under which 32 wayside amenities would be developed along the national highways and state highways, which would also be offered to such organisations, panchayats and NGOs.

He said the catering facilities to be provided by the IRCTC at the TRCs would be manned by the Department of Tourism and at these centres railway booking would also be done. 

Mandi, January 16
Members of the Krishak Mitras Sangathan appointed by the state government as promoters of government schemes to act as a link between the government and the public today staged a protest in the town demanding remuneration for them.

Krishak Mitra leader Subhash Rana claimed that the government had appointed them as promoters of government schemes on October 2 last, but had not paid a single penny to them. They could not be expected to work for free as they had devoted their time and energy for the work assigned to them.

Rana claimed that they had met the Chief Minister six times on this issue, but nothing had been done for them so far. They submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the DC.