Shimla, June 28
Organic rajmah (kidney beans) and dry apricots grown in the salubrious climes of the tribal district of Kinnaur are much in demand in Brazil and the Middle-East countries. However, the obsession of growers with apple is proving to be a major hindrance in meeting this demand from abroad.

Last year, 11 metric tonnes of organic certified rajmah grown in various parts of Kinnuar were exported to Brazil. “Their demand was for 25 metric tonnes of rajmah. However, since the growers are more inclined towards the commercial cultivation of apple, not many take interest in growing rajmah,” says Dr RS Manhas, Chairman of the Himachal Organisation for Organic Agri-Product Research and Development. Organic farmers who have formed cooperatives and societies are attending a three-day organic festival, which started here today.

The agency has its presence in all districts even though it is Kinnuar, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba which have emerged as the leaders in organic farming. The demand for organic products abroad as well as within India is very high which cannot be met at the moment even though 12,500 hectares of land has been brought under organic farming.

In 2010 too, six metric tonnes of rajmah was exported to Brazil and this year also, the supply will be sent after the season starts in September as the demand has already been placed from abroad. Oil extracted from the kernel of wild apricot (chuli) is also in demand and sells for over Rs 550 per kg.

“With little awareness about the demand for organic products, people are cutting down wild apricot plants to make way for apple orchards, not realising the value of organic products,” says SS Thakur from the Bushahr Organic Society. He says there is need for strengthening the marketing network and setting up collection centres so that growers get greater profits, which at the moment are being netted by middlemen.

Some of the other organic products which are cultivated without use of any chemicals in the form of fertilisers, insecticides of pesticides are much in demand because of their nutritional and healing qualities. The products which are more in demand include organically grown dry fruits like almonds, walnut, apricot, hazel nut, fruits like mango, kiwi, apple, peach, plum, pulses, grains like sea-buckthorn, red rice, millets, oats, barley, all vegetables and spices.

Though so far there are 25,160 farmers who are registered for organic farming in Himachal, only 2,040 have been certified as organic farmers. There are proper certification agencies which put the farmers on a three-year conversion period by making surprise visits to ensure that the cultivation is completely free from chemical use, both for rabi as well as kharif crops. 

Shimla, June 28
Keen on getting the legal battle over the Annandale ground shifted to the Supreme Court by invoking Article 131 of the Constitution, the Army today sought time till September 10 before the Divisional Commissioner, Shimla, who is the arbitrator in the dispute over the possession of the ground between the Himachal Government and the Army.

The arbitration case came up for hearing before the Divisional Commissioner today. Counsel for the Defence Ministry Vijay Arora sought time till September 10 so that the Army could seek opinion from the Solicitor-General of India on the issue of invoking Article 131 of the Constitution. He basically took the plea that all matters pertaining to governments were normally dealt with by the Supreme Court and this case too fell in that category.

The state government had sought back the possession of the Annandale ground from the Army on the plea that since the lease had expired, the Army was occupying it illegally. “The Defence Ministry is also of the opinion that sensitive matters involving the security of the nation must be resolved amicably by a high-powered committee, including the Union Defence Secretary and the Chief Secretary of Himachal,” said sources.

It was on May 1 that the Annandale matter had come up for hearing last time. Even then the Army had sought time while contesting that since all documents and communication had to be taken from the Army Headquarters and the Defence Ministry, it needed sufficient time to study all aspects. “The Army authorities here are in constant touch with the Union Additional Secretary, Law, and the top brass of the Army as the possession of the Annandale ground is very important for it from the strategic point of view,” the sources said.

The Himachal Government and the Army have been engaged in a bitter battle over the possession of the Annandale ground. The conflict over the possession took an ugly turn when the Army accused the Himachal Government of shielding the land mafia. The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, led by its president and MP Anurag Thakur, had said that the ground could be converted into a multipurpose stadium.

In 1955, a lease agreement was signed between the Punjab Government and the Defence Ministry where the Annandale ground was given on a lease of 10 years on a token amount of Re 1 per annum. Finally in May 1982, a fresh lease agreement was signed between the Himachal Government and the Defence Ministry and the arbitrator in case of dispute was also changed from the Divisional Commissioner, Ambala, to Shimla.

Shimla, June 28
With an eye on the Assembly elections due by the end of this year, AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will hold meetings with senior party functionaries, MLAs and MPs during his two-day visit to Kullu on July 2.

Rahul will meet HPCC executive committee, MLAs, MPs, AICC, state election and disciplinary committee members and heads of frontal organisation and departments. The same day he will meet chairmen and vice-chairmen of Zila Parishads, Nagar Parishads, Nagar Panchayats and councillors of the Municipal Corporation.

He will meet the district Congress and block chiefs and five members from each of the blocks.

AICC general secretary and in charge of party affairs in Himachal Birender Singh Chaudhary has appointed observers for parliamentary constituencies and districts for the Assembly elections. 

Shimla, June 28
The 1,000-MW Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Project of Jaiprakash Power Venture Ltd (JPVL) has been registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the benefit of carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The JPVL expects to get carbon credits worth Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore per annum. The crediting period is from October 15, 2011, till October 14, 2021. It is the largest private sector hydroelectric project in the country constructed on the Sutlej river upstream the public sector Nathpa Jhakri project in Kinnaur district. It is designed to annually generate 4,261 million units of power.

Chairman of the company Manoj Gaur said this registration was the validation of the vision of the founder chairman of the group, Jaiprakash Gaur, who foresaw the future of hydropower in the country and was among the first Indian entrepreneurs to embark on its development in a big way.

It had been built almost three months ahead of schedule with a total investment of Rs 6,900 crore.

It involved about 45 km of tunnelling, including the largest underground de-silting arrangements in the world. It will provide 3.54 million tonnes of carbon dioxide reduction in a year.

Paonta Sahib, June 28
With a view to enhancing the employability of the youth, the state government is laying stress on imparting vocational education with 19 per cent of its budgetary provision having been earmarked for promoting educational activities.

As many as 41,817 youth are undergoing training to upgrade their skills in various institutes across the state, thus facilitating their intake in industrial ventures.

This was stated by Chief Minister PK Dhumal while addressing a public meeting at Paonta Sahib subdivision in Sirmaur district after laying the foundation stone of Government Polytechnic College, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 12.5 crore.

He said a network of ITIs had been created to provide vocational education to the rural youth. Besides, an IIT had been set up in Mandi, a National Institute of Fashion Technology had been set up at Cheb in Kangra and engineering colleges had been established at Sundernagar and Pragati Nagar (Shimla).

The Chief Minister announced that the new polytechnic college would be functional before the next academic session and it would have the computer science and mechanical engineering trades.

Dhumal said Sirmaur district had taken a lead by “getting the first Eternal University at Baru Sahib in the private sector, where a medical college would also be started from the coming academic session”.

He said the state government had raised the 6th India Reserve Battalion at Kolar and 800 additional posts of constable were being filled, which included 200 for women. He announced a science block for the GSSS, Barma Papri.

The Chief Minister was presented with bank drafts for Rs 11,000 by the Labana community, Rs 5,100 by the Bharatiya Khetriya Parishad and Rs 2,100 by the pradhan, Dhaulakuan, Malkiyat Singh, as contribution towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Dhumal also distributed LPG connections under the Mata Shabari Mahila Shashaktikaran Yojana to 24 deserving women of the district on the occasion.

Shimla, June 28
With the successful hatching of seven chicks during the current season, the prestigious project for the conservation breeding of the highly endangered western tragopan at the Sarahan pheasantry is finally back on the rails.

Breeding has taken place after a gap of more than three years. There had been no breeding since 2008 and the outbreak of the E-coli infection in 2010 had put a question mark over the future of the project on which the survival of the species depends. Almost all birds were infected and three of them died. The wildlife authorities were forced to stop the breeding process midway during the season. Sarahan is the only place in the world which has nine pairs of the rare species in captivity.

In all 40 eggs were laid by the pairs in six clutches. The maximum of three chicks were hatched in one clutch and two other clutches produced two chicks each. All chicks were in fine health. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, RK Sood said the successful breeding of the pheasant after the E-coli infection threatened to wipe out the entire breeding stock augured well for the conservation programme. It provided an indication that the infected birds had fully recovered from the infection. However, taking abundant precautions biotic interference in the pheasantry had been confined to the minimum. Visitors were not being allowed to enter the complex and only attendants were being allowed to venture near the birds.

Another heartening aspect was that, unlike the past, broody hens were not required and the eggs were hatched by natural mothers. The department had earlier planned to use incubators for the purpose but it did not go ahead with it as not much technical information was available about it. In the situation, maintenance of ideal parameters, particularly temperature, was a tricky affair.

Last year, the authorities decided not to go ahead with breeding even though the bacterial infection was contained as the birds were left weak and vulnerable. The Wildlife Department entered an agreement with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for both “ex-situ and in-situ” conservation of the species under a three-year programme. Experts of the WII advised the authorities not to take any measures to prevent breeding this season and provide a natural environment to the birds in the pheasantry as they were healthy enough to breed.

For in-situ conservation of the pheasants, an exercise was on to estimate the population of the western tragopan in the wild so that a strategy could be worked out accordingly. Efforts were also on to identify wildlife areas where the birds could be released.

Mandi, June 28
Voices for declaring veteran Congress leader Virbhadra Singh as the Congress chief ministerial candidate ahead of the coming state Assembly poll are becoming louder and stronger within the state Congress. However, his likely absence from the third “parivartan rally”, scheduled for June 30 here, has posed a challenge to his opponent, Drang MLA and state Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur, who has put in all his might to make this rally a launching pad to present himself as the possible chief ministerial candidate.

“Declare Virbhadra Singh as the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the poll or perish,” asserted his supporters, including a majority of the 23 Congress MLAs and former ministers camping in Delhi, to press this point before the high command. “There is no other way out to dislodge the BJP from power,” said Harsh Mahajan, Congress vice-president.

They have rushed to Delhi in his support ever since Virbhadra Singh resigned from the Manmohan Singh Cabinet after a Shimla court framed charges of corruption against him and his wife Pratibha on June 25 in a 23-year-old audio-CD case.

Virbhadra has termed the case as a “political conspiracy allegedly hatched by the Dhumal government to decimate him”.

“Virbhadra Singh is the only leader who can take Chief Minister PK Dhumal head-on and bring the party back to power,” his supporters said here.

Interestingly, in 1993, then Telecom Minister Sukh Ram had also 
tried to put in his might against Virbhadra Singh at a rally by “presenting himself as the chief ministerial candidate”.

Party men said in 1993 the situation was different. Sukh Ram enjoyed the support of most Congress MLAs from Mandi district. However, despite this Virbhadra Singh became the Chief Minister.

For Kaul Singh Thakur, who is eyeing the top post, the path is full of thorns as he is being opposed by Congressmen within his home district, leave alone other parts of the state.

Kaul Singh has deputed his deputy Puran Chand Thakur, district Congress president, to garner support for him in all 10 blocks. Kaul Singh had toured Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, all part of the Mandi parliamentary constituency, to present a good show at the parivartan rally.

According to Kaul Singh, “The Congress should not declare the chief ministerial candidate in advance. The experiment did not work in the Assembly elections in Punjab also. However, the party is united here. I could not contact Virbhadra Singh, but he may come along with Birender Chaudhary, in charge of the Congress affairs in Himachal, Vidya Stokes, Leader of the Opposition, Viplove Thakur, Asha Kumari and others leaders. There is no confirmation whether Union Minister Anand Sharma will attend the rally.”