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Yellow rust gives sleepless nights Wheat crop affected by yellow rust. Photo: Jai Kumar
Condemn China’s crackdown on Tibet, UN urged
Activists of the Students for a Free Tibet hold a protest in McLeodganj on Wednesday. Photo: Kamaljeet |
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National Rural Health Mission
Brian Rogers, Visa Officer of the US Embassy, at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla
on Wednesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar
Curator of Roerich museum refuses to quit
Bidi-making company ‘vanishes’
Outsiders keen to buy land in Solan
Class-I posts for physically challenged
Urban local bodies list demands before CM
The Shimla Nagrik Sabha stages a protest at the Tutikandi bus stand in Shimla on Wednesday.
Regularise services, say takniki staff
BJP’s industry cell hails Budget
SDM in Sujanpur on March 23
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Yellow rust gives sleepless nights to farmers
Mandi, March 21 Farmers are in a panic as they have become helpless victims to this fungal epidemic that has yellowed their green wheat crop in a large area of the district. Barring higher hilly areas, the yellow rust has influenced a major chunk of 63,000 hectares under wheat cultivation this season, said farmers. Ironically, the agricultural officials claimed that wheat yellow rust is spreading from the Kashmal, Beri Beri plants, which host the fungus, in lower areas where plants are found sporadically. But the rust has not impacted much the higher region so far, which has a larger concentration of the host plants. Farmers have come under the banner of the Kisan Sabha. They are demanding compensation for the possible crop loss this year. “My crop has turned yellow due to rust. I applied sprays, but it did not control the disease,” said Labh Singh and Paras Ram, farmers from the Balh valley. The fungal epidemic has yellowed the large chunk of wheat field in dozens of gram panchayats in Tungal-Kotli, Nichla Lot, Kshan, Sai, Badi Ghumanu, Badyal, Chadyal, Gagal Sakroh, Kumi, Rajgarh, Nalsar, Ner, Bhangrotu, Mandal, Badsu and Nagchala in Mandi Sadar and Balh. The fungal attack is also spreading fast in Kanaid, Dinak, Bhaur, Hadgarh, Dhaban belt in Sundarnagar sub-division, giving sleepless nights to farmers. The fungus has also showed signs of spreading in Gopalpur, Dharampur, Paddar and Jogindernagar areas as well, said farmers. The farmers said the yellow rust had infested the wheat crop. Once the disease spread, it rendered the crop yield useless as the immature grains turned brackish, they said. The yellow rust has infested old and new wheat varieties like Raj-3765, Raj-3772, PBW-17 and PBW-550. District Kisan Sabha leader Bhupender Singh said they met the Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday and urged him to compensate farmers for the loss they would suffer due to the yellow rust. Deputy Director, Agriculture,Mandi, AR Sharma said the yellow rust was spreading in the region, but it would not impact much on the crop yield as the “crop is in late ‘earing’ stage”. The disease was not spreading from seeds as such, but from the Beri Beri plants, which hosted the fungus, he added. He said farmers had been advised sprays and they get compensation if they had insured the crop. “We are assessing the loss,” he added. |
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Condemn China’s crackdown on Tibet, UN urged
Dharamsala, March 21 The political theatre held today at the main crossing of McLeodganj depicted China’s “extreme and violent response” to incidents of self-immolation. Tibetan monks in blood-soaked robes were surrounded by the Chinese military, which violently assaulted them for calling for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Bystanders were asked to deliver petitions to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, urging him to take urgent action in the matter. “This harrowing scene is being repeated across Tibet as Tibetans are attacked and harassed by the Chinese authorities for simply advocating their basic rights and freedom," said Tsewang Dhundup, a Tibetan who narrowly escaped Tibet after being shot by the Chinese police for taking part in a protest in 2008. “I saw a Tibetan monk shot right in front of my eyes. He later died in my arms as I tried to help him. The United Nations and world governments must intervene now to stop China’s extreme and violent attacks against Tibetans before more lives are lost,” he said. The Chinese government has sealed Tibet for foreign media to stop news of the protests and its horrifying response from reaching the outside world. “The situation in Tibet demands an immediate response from the United Nations and our elected leaders that Beijing cannot ignore,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet. Today’s protest was organised by activists of the Students for a Free Tibet.
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Rich pocketing benefits meant for the poor
Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, March 21 The officials, however, have little to offer to the complainants. They maintain that the decision to include beneficiaries under such schemes lies with the gram sabhas. The bureaucracy has no role in deciding the beneficiaries. It can only order an inquiry into specific complaints, but again the power to exclude the names from the already approved lists lies with the gram sabhas. Rules framed by the Union Government stipulate that only BPL families are entitled for benefits under the scheme. The Centre has fixed the percentage of population that can be included in the BPL category. In Himachal the quota has been fixed at about 2 lakh persons. The quota of 2 lakh BPL persons has further been divided in various villages of the state. Under the quota system, only a fixed percentage of people can be included in the BPL category in the villages. This structured and fixed system to ascertain BPL families leaves scope for misuse in the villages. Since the number of persons who can be included under the BPL category has been fixed, influential people in villages get their names included under such schemes. This deprives most deserving candidates from the benefits of such schemes. RTI activists have obtained information which reveals that in many cases, government employees and rich people have been pocketing the benefits of schemes meant for the poor.
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Indians corner 65% US work visas, says officer
Shimla, March 21 “The impression that the federal government has adopted a stringent visa policy because of the economic slowdown is wrong. There has been no change in the policy; only some corrective action has been taken as a few companies have been misusing its provisions and stretching it beyond the legally permissible limits due to lack of proper understanding or design,” said Rogers, who was in the city along with Peter Vrooman, spokesperson for the US Embassy in India, to sensitise students about the procedure for obtaining a visa. The USA was a magnet for higher education and from 2001 to 2009 it attracted the highest number of overseas students from India. Only during the past two years, China pushed it to the second place. The US Embassy had taken an initiative to demystify the process for the grant of student visas and apprise the aspiring students about the education system. Many gullible students, who were not aware of the visa process and the status of educational institutions, fell prey to touts. The main objective of the awareness campaign was to prevent touts from exploiting aspirants. Of the total applications, visas were granted in over 75 per cent cases. A transparent system was adopted and 95 per cent of the applications were processed on the next business day. The campaign to reach out to students had been launched in collaboration with the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) which also operates a toll-free hotline to provide guidance to students. At present, there are about one lakh Indian students in the USA and on an average every year 25,000 to 35,000 students were getting enrolled. Vrooman said the USA and India were major trade partners and global sourcing brought mutual trade benefits to the two countries. He said US Commerce Secretary John Bryson would lead a high-powered trade mission to India next week to explore the possibility of investing in the infrastructure sector. Representatives of infrastructure companies accompanying the delegation would evaluate the potential and identify projects for investment. Renuka Raja Rao, country coordinator, USIEF, made a presentation at the local Bishop Cotton School at an awareness programme during which Rogers and Vrooman also addressed the students.
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Curator of Roerich museum refuses to quit
Mandi/Kullu, March 21 The government is learnt to have appointed a new curator for the museum. However, sources said she did not hand over the charge to the new incumbent. She refused to resign from the post when the new incumbent went to the office of the Trust at
Naggar. Instead, she has sought some clarifications from the state government on her removal. Following a row over foreign donations for the Trust and the alleged mismanagement of its funds, Eina rejoined as the curator this year after renewing her visa and passport. The government was under pressure to remove her after some members of the board levelled charges of misappropriation of funds. Though the Russian Embassy refuted the charges of mismanagement of funds, members of the board sought the control of the Trust as stipulated under the norms of the Indian Trust Act. They cited a judgment of the Bangalore High Court which bars foreigners from controlling Indian Trusts. The Roerich Art Gallery has become a “money-spinner” as it attracts a large number of foreigners every year. It is located in the heart of
Naggar, the erstwhile capital of former kings of Kullu state. More than 31 societies or trusts in Russia had pledged support to the Roerich Trust, which the present curator “has been using” as a “bargaining chip” to press the Centre to let her stay on the post, the sources said. The Roerich Trust was set up by Nicholas Roerich’s wife Devika Rani in 1993 to promote and propagate the works of the Roerich family in India. The Prime Minister of India is the chief patron, the Chief Minister is the chairman of the Board of Trustees and former Russian ambassador AM
Kadarin, a close associate of the Roerich family, is a life trustee. |
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Bidi-making company ‘vanishes’
Hamirpur, March 21 The company, floated by a Kolkata-based entrepreneur who hails from Hamirpur district, had started manufacturing bidis in 40 centres in the district with much fanfare in August 2011. Since then the company has not made any payment to a large number of poor women and children involved in rolling bidis and to its 13 employees. The proprietors and top mangers of the company are not traceable. The company, “which had been functioning in a mysterious manner right from the beginning, had obtained permission from the the Central Government and the state government in a short time”. Eyebrows were raised when the company was given clearance by the state government under the single window system since it had not invested much capital in the state. Employees of the company met the Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, today and sought his intervention in the matter. “The tobacco company has abandoned production and the workers and employees have not been paid for the past six months,” said a worker. Poonam Chandel, founder proprietor of West End Tobacco Company, said on the phone from Kolkota, “I had left the company in November 2011 and now Swaroop Dutta, new director, is looking after the company.”
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Outsiders keen to buy land in Solan
Solan, March 21 This was stated by Deputy Commissioner C Palrasu while interacting with mediapersons here yesterday. He said 76 cases of violation of the Act were found in the district and action was being taken against them. He said the amendments made in revenue matters by the state government were being implemented in the district to benefit the public and cases of demarcation and partition of land were being decided on priority basis with no pendency of over one year in these cases. Instructions had been issued to the revenue officers to settle these cases. The Deputy Commissioner asked people to avail of the Khangi Takshim scheme where property could be divided amongst co-sharers on mutual consent through a simple application filed before the Tehsildar concerned. This whole procress for the division of land was simple and most economical, he added. He said instant mutation of land was being executed at the tehsil level and this facility was computerised. As many as 73 persons had benefited from the scheme to award two biswa of land to the homeless. As many as 52 among them belonged to the Scheduled Caste category and 21 to the general category. |
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Class-I posts for physically challenged Vijay Arora
Shimla, March 21 It further observed that “it is high time the state thought of alternate methods of selection. It should also be thought of as to whether such selection should be continued with the HP Public Service Commission or whether certain guidelines with regard to the selection in the matter of cut-off marks be also prescribed so that the Public Service Commission will be appropriately guided, as the commission cannot compromise on quality”. The Bench observed that “even in a selection in respect of the reserved quota, there cannot be any compromise on standard of merit as prescribed by the appointing authority. Of course, it is certainly open to the appointing authority to prescribe lesser standard, in respect of the reserved categories, to achieve the objects of such reservation. Therefore, the state has to think of taking some thoughtful steps”. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Dharam Chand Chaudhary passed this order on a petition filed in this regard. It directed the state to hold an urgent review of selection of physically challenged to Class-I posts and appropriate action for achieving the objects of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, would be taken within six months.
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Village girls briefed about working of cops
Kangra, March 21 Rakesh Kumar and Vimla Sharma, supervisors of the Intensive Child Development Scheme (ICDS), said the girls were picked up from Kholi, Matour, Rajiana, Kholi, Tiara, Kangra and Boatkuwalo villages. They were told how to get an FIR lodged and what the laws were, including the domestic laws, which provided legal protection to women. They were also briefed about the working of police stations. The girls visited an agriculture exhibition organised at the Shivalik Agriculture Research and Extension Centre here where they were told about improved varieties of oil seeds and the latest scientific developments in agriculture. They were later given some tips in first aid at the local Civil Hospital and briefed about the activities of 108 Ambulance. The girls were told about the prevention from HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis treatment programme DOTS. The girls were jubilant over the day-long new experience and learning practically. Rakesh Kumar said this programme would help girls to learn about their legal status. |
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Urban local bodies list demands before CM
Shimla, March 21 The request was made by representatives of the association, who met Chief Minister PK Dhumal here today. The body comprises representatives of the Shimla Municipal Corporation and 48 municipal councils in the state. They also urged the government to allow chairmen and vice-chairmen of urban local bodies to use a beacon atop their vehicles. Chief patron of the association Madhu Sood, who is also the Mayor of the Shimla MC, and Kul Rakesh Pant, chairman, highlighted various problems and demands of the urban local bodies before the Chief Minister . Another demand made by the association was that all forts falling within the jurisdiction of the urban local bodies must be transferred to the bodies. “Since the thrust is on generating resources, we want that the Excise Department should pay the urban local bodies Rs 5 per bottle rather than Rs 2 being given at present,” said Sood. |
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Provide facilities at bus stand: Sabha
Shimla, March 21 The sabha alleged that the private company, which had built the bus stand under the public-private-partnership mode, was not providing due facilities to commuters. A lift had been installed but it was not being operated and elderly people who could not climb the stairs were forced to hire taxis to reach the upper storey from where buses departed. It demanded that buses departure terminals should be shifted to the ground floor for their convenience. There were no rest room, transit accommodation, cloak room and other such facilities and passengers were virtually driven out of the bus stand during night. A path leading to the lower Tutikandi had been blocked.
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Regularise services, say takniki staff
Mandi, March 21 Takniki Sahayak Sangh leaders Kashmir Chand and Vijendra Kumar said they had put in over eight to 10 years in service, but the government had not regularised their services so far. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, they stated that the government should make a contract policy for them defining recruitment and promotion rules. They should also get equal pay for equal work. They were working at the village level under MNREGA and other schemes, but they were not getting good wages, Takniki sahayaks added. |
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BJP’s industry cell hails Budget
Solan, March 21 This benefit will be available to new investors for five years. Terming it as a positive step, convener of BJP’s industry cell Sanjay Guleria said: “This will bring investors to the state as after a lapse of the Central industrial package there was nothing much to attract investment.” Guleria said since quality power was a major issue in the neighbouring state, investors would benefit by the 5 per cent relaxation in electricity duty. — OC
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SDM in Sujanpur on March 23
Hamirpur, March 21 Hamirpur DC Rajinder Singh Thakur said this decision had been taken as per the announcement made recently by the Chief Minister during the holi festival. He added that the SDM would be present in Sujanpur on March 23 and would undertake several works like registration of vehicles and licencing. |
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Mandi, March 21
Dharamsala, March 21
