Shimla, April 20
The contentious issue of disintegration of Kangra into smaller districts was raised at a BJP meeting addressed by its central leadership here yesterday even as leaders from rival factions of the party have divergent views on the question of breaking the largest and politically most significant district of the state.

Independent MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania, who is an associate BJP member, broached the sensitive issue of creation of smaller districts by disintegrating Kangra. Pathania stressed that if the BJP wished to perform well in the Assembly elections due by the end of the year, the issue of creation of smaller districts out of Kangra would have to be taken up sooner than later.

Though none of the senior leaders or MLAs reacted to Pathania’s demand, the issue is very much alive with leaders having different views.

Even though the ticklish issue has been raised in the past by Irrigation and Public Health Minister Ravinder Ravi, a trusted lieutenant of the Chief Minister, the government has so far not given any indication to go ahead with this plan. “Having smaller districts is certainly in the interests of all as in a big district like Kangra comprising 16 Assembly constituencies, certain areas tend to get ignored,” said Kripal Parmar, former Rajya Sabha member and senior BJP leader from Kangra who is considered close to the Chief Minister.

Both Pathania and Ravi are diehard loyalists of the Chief Minister. It is being felt that the move could take shape at some stage, close to the Assembly poll. On the other hand. Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor, who is considered close to former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, has openly aired his resentment at the very thought of dividing Kangra.

“This is an attempt by the Dhumal faction to reduce the political importance that the district enjoys in state politics and as such undermine the authority and stature of Shanta Kumar, who is considered the voice of Kangra,” said a senior MLA.

Parmar said it was on the insistence of the BJP that smaller districts were created in Punjab and the experiment seemed to have worked as the party managed to win five of the six seats in that area. “I am of the firm opinion that smaller districts must be made out of Kangra as this will be in the interests of all,” said Parmar.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the Chief Minister will like to take up the issue of creation of new districts, especially in Kangra. Leaders have been demanding that three districts of Palampur, Dehra and Nurpur should be carved out of the biggest district of the state.

Shimla, April 20
The success of the pilot project implemented under the World Bank-funded Mid Himalayan Watershed Development Project has raised new hopes for saving the endangered red rice, a traditional Himalayan variety which has been confined to a few pockets in the state.

A pilot project implemented in the Dhullara panchayat in the Bhatiyatt area of Chamba has resulted in a significant increase in the area under the “rakthashali” as the variety, known for its medicinal properties, is called in ayurveda. The white-tipped rice with red bran, dating back to more than 3,000 years, was widely grown in the hills until four decades ago. However, it started losing ground when farmers started switching over to the new high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, maize and other cash crops in the wake of the Green Revolution.

The area under the variety has been declining. It has got reduced to just around 1,000 hectares now and it is being grown mainly for its religious significance. Only a few families in the Basolda area of the Dhullara panchayat were growing it when the project authorities selected it for the pilot project. Apart from low yield, lack of irrigation and market were found to be the main reasons for its decline, says RK Kapoor, Chief Project Director.

The pilot project addressed all these issues by building check dams to create the irrigation facility, by setting up a local federation of farmers to take care of marketing and ensuring quality seed and farm know-how under the guidance of Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agricultural University, Palampur.

After two years of efforts, the yield had increased and more importantly the area under red rice had more than doubled from 10 bighas to 22 bighas, he said. The local people were also educated about its medicinal properties.

However, the most important aspect was marketing for which the farmers were organised into “Kalimata”, a self-help group, and linked with the Federation of Self-Help Groups for marketing. The federation sold red rice in the famous Minjar Fair of Chamba at Rs 45 per kg in its first effort. The price has now increased to Rs 60 per kg despite local husking due to which its red outer layer could not be retained. Otherwise, the price could have been much higher.

Arrangements were being made for proper shelling to retain the outer red bran and market it in attractive packing with the help of the federation. Once this was achieved, it could be sold at Rs 80 to Rs 100 per kg, Kapoor explained. There was much demand for it as it not only took care of modern lifestyle diseases but also slowed down the process of aging. Once marketing infrastructure was in place, red rice cultivation would be started in more panchayats, he said.

Hamirpur, April 20
The Agriculture Department, which provides various subsidised seeds to farmers in the state for better yield, is selling expired sorghum Sudan grass seeds (chari) in Hamirpur district. The seeds had expired in December 2011.

On getting this information, this correspondent procured a 5 kg pack of “chari” seeds from a local sale depot of the Agriculture Department, which was packed in April 2011 and bore a mark that it will expire within nine months. Several quintals of these seeds are lying in the depot for sale.

The seed pack, containing the mark of sorghum Sudan grass F 1-58, is being sold on a subsidised rate of Rs 120.

Farmers are buying the seeds since the sowing season for kharif crops is about to begin in the district.

Deputy Director, Agriculture, Som Dev Kalia said, “The department is procuring 1,500 quintals of sorghum grass seed and 800 quintals have already arrived in stores.”

Asked about the sale of expired “chari” seeds by their sale depot at Hamirpur, he said, “Some old seed packs may be lying in the depot, but these do not affect harvest in any way.”

Shimla, April 20
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has refused to retract from his charges or tender an apology to Union Minister Virbhadra Singh who had issued a legal notice to him for filing a defamation suit against him.

Replying to the notice, he had stated that he had not levelled any new charges and whatever he had said was published in newspapers several times over.

He had mentioned all the cases in this regard, including the audio CD case, that was already sub judice.

He had no reason for tendering an apology as he had not committed any wrong by highlighting the issue of corruption.

Arvind Kejriwal added that instead of demanding an apology, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh should pursue the case for a strong Lokayukta in the party and in case it failed to respond positively, he should resign.

Shimla, April 20
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today inaugurated a new block at the state museum, built in typical hill architectural style with plenty of woodwork at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

He said with the new addition, the museum would attract more tourists, including foreigners and researchers, keen on knowing about the rich cultural heritage of the state. On an average, over 20,000 tourists had been visiting the museum every year and now with more space available for display, they would be able to experience the state’s cultural diversity in all its richness. He said ample space had been provided to Kangra miniature and other paintings which attracted visitors from the world over.

Palampur, April 20
Jagjivan Pal, former MLA and senior Congress leader from the Sulaha area, today criticised the proposed one-day visit of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to the Sulaha constituency tomorrow alleging that official machinery was being misused in a big way to make his rally successful.

Addressing a press conference here today, he alleged that the Chief Minister would also inaugurate some new projects tomorrow, which were half-complete and not fit for inauguration.

Pal said the Chief Minister had been misguided by the administration regarding the inauguration of new projects. He said before going ahead with the inauguration of these projects, the Chief Minister should verify the facts. — OC

Shimla, April 20
The executive council of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) today decided to constitute a three-member committee to take-up the issue of “additionalties” in proposals submitted to the government for clearance of pending arrears to employees and the teaching staff of the university.

Vice-Chancellor Prof ADN Bajpai chaired the council meeting here today.

The committee will be headed by the Director (Higher Education) while the registrar and finance officer will be its other members.

The council also approved the move to provide fellowships, scholarships, medals and prizes to be awarded on the basis of poverty and merit as initiated by the the “Harbans Lal Kailash Chand Memorial Trust.”

The executive council also approved the recommendations of the academic council about the 12th Five Year Plan proposals to be submitted to the UGC. The VC informed the executive council about the 12th Five Year Plan proposals to be submitted to the UGC.

He informed that a five times hike has been proposed in the existing grant of Rs 14.43 crore allocated during the 11th Five year plan.

He informed the executive council that the results of all postgraduate examinations conducted during December and January have been declared.

He welcomed the new appointed Director, Higher Education, Dr Dinkar Burathoki, in the meeting.

He also informed the council about the seminars, symposia and workshops conducted during this period and also about special lectures delivered by him in different teaching departments.