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No trauma centre in lower Himachal
Magisterial probe ordered into Chamba bus accident
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Orchard rejuvenation to enhance productivity
90 pc people in state get potable water
NSUI to launch stir if student polls banned
Sack VC, CPM asks Governor
HP rural sector bank first to enter core banking
BJP neglecting Bilaspur: Cong
25 apply for Cong ticket from Bilaspur
Mobile phone scheme a misconceived plan: BJP
Drugs seized from quack
Ex-serviceman found murdered
CITU demands relief for labourer’s kin
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No trauma centre in lower Himachal
Dharamsala, August 12 The maximum cases of death in accident have been reported from the Chamba district. Remoteness and bad roads contribute to the high mortality rate. As there is no trauma centre in the district, accident victims with head injuries and other serious injuries have to be transferred to Jalandhar. It takes at least six hours to move a patient from Chamba to Jalandhar. This time is crucial and only a few seriously injured patients are lucky to survive for such a long period. Since there is no trauma centre in the entire lower Himachal region, the accident mortality rate is high. Sources say about 3,000 persons have died in accidents in the state in the last one year. A trauma centre is generally a medical facility where almost every medical-testing equipment, operation theatre and doctors, especially orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, are available. The Minister for Surface Transport had earlier announced two trauma centres for the lower Himachal region, including one at Nagrota Bagwan in the Kangra district, but it did not materialise. The Congress MLA from Nagrota Bagwan, GS Bali, also a former Transport Minister, said the government did not follow up the case of setting up trauma centres in Himachal Pradesh with the Centre. He alleged that the faulty transport policy of the state government, under which route permits were given without assessing viability, was also one of the reasons for the high occurrence of road accidents. The Tanda medical college is the only facility in the entire lower Himachal region where trauma patients can be treated. Though the hospital has full-fledged orthopaedics department, it does not have a neurosurgeon. When contacted, the spokesperson of the medical college said a neurosurgeon was available till the recent past, but the doctor left due to personal reasons. Due to the non-availability of a neurosurgeon, most patients with serious head injuries were being referred to various hospitals in Punjab. BJP leader Shanta Kumar had conceived the idea of a super-speciality hospital at Palampur about 20 years ago. His dream project, Vivekananda Hospital, had been inaugurated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Though the hospital had been established with the help of the JP Group of Industries, it was nowhere near to being called a super-speciality hospital. |
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Magisterial probe ordered into Chamba bus accident
Chamba, August 12 Chamba District Magistrate Sunil Chaudhary ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident and directed Additional Deputy Commissioner RS Rana to submit his report within three weeks. The 42-seater private bus was carrying about 100 passengers. When contacted, Choudhary and Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Sharma said the issue of overloading was under the purview of the regional transport authority. The former confirmed that the main causes were overcrowding and mechanical failure. SDM Rohit Rathour said there was an eerie silence at the villages where the bodies were cremated and assistance was provided for the purpose. He said 11 were cremated at the Chamera crematorium, four at Kurahan village, four at Rajera village, three at Kalsuin village-II, two at Kalsuin village-I and the rest at other villages. Residents of villages in the area had been demanding the plying of HRTC buses on this route, but their demand had not been met so far. Chief Minister PK Dhumal had directed the district authorities to help the injured on humanitarian grounds and incur the expenditure for treatment, Chaudhary said. |
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Mishap victims were on way to Minjar fair
Chamba, August 12 The deceased were identified as bus driver Narender Kumar (29), Devi Singh (38), Kishor Kumar, Kuldeep (35), Sanju (21), Mankho Ram (35), Fullo Devi (25), Ranju Ram (65), Kishno (32), Parkaso (27), Tilko (35), Pardeep (22), Lambi (41), Vivek (11), Surinder (12), Surender (28), Chaman (35), Aptu (50), Bidho (55), Hans Raj (43), Reenu (30), Kunta (50), Fanko Devi (55), Tilku (40), Pappu Ram (21), Pawan Kumar (24), Vipin Kumar (26), Kewal Sharma (25), Gilmo (55), Beena (40), Kishori Lal (17), Chanchlo (32), Israil (45), Seena (40), Seema (39), Lal Hussain (22), Shafi Mohd (35), Shamash Deen (50), Rafi Mohd (27), Reeta (23), Premo, Naresh Kumar (50), Shobha (45), Anita (16), Kabbu (3), Bablu (24), Sumna (16), Surekha (26), Hardiyala (40), Ghania Ram (50) Rinku (17) and Rintu (9). The injured were identified as Om Parkash (27), Gulam Rasool (38), Lalu (17), Kisho (35), Safi (28), Bindu (17), Rattan Chand (27), Raj Kumar (40), Sachin Kumar (6), Kuldeep Singh (26), Akshay Kumar (7), Mohinder (38), Abhishek (10), Davinder Kumar (8), Guddu (24), Ashwani Kumar (38), Hitender Kumar (16), Harnam (24), Trilok (21), Amit Kumar (12), Balkrishan (37), Latif (28), Masum (18), Bindu (20), Kamlesh (39), Thethi Ram (16), Pawan Kumar (24), Hitesh (16), Israil (36), Surinder (39), Lilo (35), Koshalya (18), Aimna (29), Sima (19), Pooja (13), Tulso (40), Anita (34), Bimla (28), Pushpa (22) and Bimla (45). Nine of the injured were stated to be in a critical condition and referred to other hospitals. Four other victims had been discharged from hospital. |
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Apple shortfall for HPMC likely
Shimla, August 12 Though the government has increased the procurement rate from Rs 5.25 per kg to Rs 6 per kg after five years, hardly any procurement has been made under the market intervention scheme (MIS). The HPMC has a capacity to process 22,000 tonne of apple annually, but processing has not begun yet. It can process up to 12,000 tonne of apple if adequate fruit is available throughout the harvesting season, which lasts four months. The state had a lean crop last year and only 1.37 crore boxes were grown. Procurement under the MIS was only 5,664 tonne compared to 1,11,000 tonne in 2010, when the state achieved a record production of 4.46 crore boxes. Lat year, the HPMC produced only 300 tonne of apple juice concentrate (AJC), which was sold at a very high rate of Rs 150 per kg. This year, it has a demand of over 700 tonne and requires between 150 tonne and 200 tonne for its outlets, but does not have fruit for processing. On an average, it can produce between 9 tonne and 10 tonne of AJC. As such, even if it utilises its full capacity for the rest of the season, it may not be able to produce more than 300 tonne. HPMC sources said it might have to procure AJC from Jammu and Kashmir if adequate fruit was not available. As a result, the accumulated loss, which was over Rs 60 crore, would mount further. The government’s decision to introduce standard universal cartons (SUCs) to phase out telescopic cartons, which will ensure that not more than 20 kg of fruit is packed, has evoked a poor response from apple-growers. The HPMC had procured about 30,000 SUCs, but there had not been any demand. Apple-grower were still using the economical telescopic cartons, in which up to 25 kg of fruit could be packed, saving on packing and transportation costs. Standardisation ought to be to be done in a planned manner, said Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Director Prakash Thakur. He asserted that the only way to ensure that all apple-producing states switched over to SUCs in one go was to enact a legislation, making those mandatory. DEFICIT DEFINITE
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Orchard rejuvenation to enhance productivity
Shimla, August 12 The government is implementing a rejuvenation project, under which old plantation will be replaced by new high-yield imported commercial varieties. The yield in the state is between 5 tonne and 6 tonne per hectare compared to between 45 tonne and 50 tonne per hectare abroad. As many as 44,750 plants of apple, pear and cherry are being imported. The rejuvenation process is on at 349 orchards, covering 170 hectares, for which 10,000 plants have been imported. The marketing infrastructure is also being strengthened by setting up a network of packing and grading houses, controlled atmosphere stores (CAS) and agricultural markets. A Rs 163.12-lakh computerised apple packing and grading house, along with a CAS, had been made operational at Gumma in Kotkhai. A packing and grading house has been set up at Jarol Tikkar in Kotgarh and a computerised centre at Oddi in Kumarsain. The weather-based crop insurance scheme for apple and mango is being implemented and anti-hail guns have been installed at Kathasu, Deorighat and Bareonghat in the Shimla district. A modern market yard is being set up at Parala in Shimla at a cost of Rs 100 crore, with more being proposed in the state. |
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90 pc people in state get potable water
Shimla, August 12 He said according to national statistics, only 65 per cent people were getting the facility in the country and as such the state was far ahead. He gave credit to the employees of the department who were instrumental in implementing the policies and programmes of the government. He said for improvement in the delivery of various services to the common man, employees are needed put in their best effort, adding that keeping this in view, the government had been maintaining cordial relations with employees and giving them various benefits from time to time. Dhumal said the government fully recognised their importance in the development of the state. He said all the genuine demands of the employees had been met and the government would continue to settle the issues raised by them on a priority basis. The Chief Minister said a committee would be constituted to consider the genuine demands, particularly the creation of various posts in the department. |
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NSUI to launch stir if student polls banned
Shimla, August 12 He said the Joint Action Committee of the students’ bodies had already given a call for an “education bandh” tomorrow to oppose the ‘anti-democratic’ designs of the university and the government. He said if the elections were held as usual, the NSUI would emerge as the largest students’ organisation in the state. However, he said the joint front was formed with limited objective of waging a battle against the authorities who were bent upon ‘usurping the democratic rights’ of the students in the name of maintaining peace in educational institutions. The NSUI would agitate peacefully following the Gandhian approach, he added. Sandeep Kumar, coordinator for student elections, alleged that Chief Minister PK Dhumal was more concerned about the political future of his son Anurag Thakur than the mission repeat of the BJP. The main worry for Dhumal was that if the student elections were held before the Assembly poll, a new leadership of the ABVP would emerge which would pose a challenge to his son in future, he said. He had asked the state BJP chief Satpal Satti to clear his stand on the issue a few days ago, but there had been no response from him so far. The ABVP had threatened to convert the mission “repeat” into mission “delete” if the present situation continued. VC a tool to deprive students of their rights: Congress
KANGRA: Former NSUI state chief and spokesperson of the state Congress Kewal Singh Pathania said here today that the state government had used the Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) as a tool to deprive the student community of their rights by proposing a ban on student polls. He said the BJP was claiming that the SCA poll ban proposal was being made in view of deteriorating law and order in colleges and universities. He added that maintaining law and order was the responsibility of the state government which it had failed to do. He demanded that the proposal for banning polls in colleges and universities in the state be dropped to protect the rights of the student community. He criticised the national chief of the BJP Youth Wing Anurag Thakur for remaining silent over the SCA poll issue despite the fact his father Chief Minister PK Dhumal was claiming that Anurag was a youth icon. He said on the one hand, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave youth the right to vote at the age of 18 years and on the other hand, the BJP government was depriving them from voting rights during university and college elections. He threatened that if the SCA polls were banned in the state, the NSUI would be forced to resort to a state-level agitation to revoke the ban. |
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Sack VC, CPM asks Governor
Shimla, August 12 Shimla district unit secretary Omkar Shad alleged that the Vice-Chancellor had been misusing his official position to promote corruption and harass the honest. He said the university had been facing a financial crunch, but the Vice-Chancellor was wasting lakhs in organising foundation day and other functions. He claimed that Bajpai had a controversial past and there had been serious charges against him. Shad said he was selected for the post, ignoring the charges and reports against him. He said Bajpai was the least concerned about academics and the manner in which he closed hostels during semester examinations made it evident that he was the least bothered about students’ future. He alleged that Bajpai was harassing an honest official with the engineering wing. He was promoting Hindutva ideology and making appointments in violation of statutes, Shad said. He said a party delegation would meet the Governor shortly and seek her intervention. |
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HP rural sector bank first to enter core banking
Solan, August 12 Customers will also manage to make use of real time gross settlement (RTGS) facility, thus facilitating faster cash transactions from all over the country. Its entry into core banking will allow customers to access ATMs of other banks using their ATM card and even ATMs of HPSCBL can be accessed by customers of other banks. With 175 banks and 17 extension counters in the state, the HSCB has already become the first co-operative sector bank to have opened ATMs across the state, including tribal areas of Reokong Peo and Sangla. While 30 ATMs have already become functional, the bank plans to open another 30 ATMs in near future. Amit Kashyap, MD of
the bank, said entry into the national financial switch would help expand customer base of the
bank which stood at 13 lakh presently. Besides, the bank will shortly distribute newly designed ATM cards to 50,000 customers, thus facilitating financial transactions. Chander Mohan Thakur, chairman of the bank, said the bank, which was operational since 1954, was now being spruced up to compete with nationalised banks and various facilities like the installation of burglar alarm in the branches located near inter-state borders and CCTVs were also being installed. He said a disaster recovery centre for preserving data in different seismic zone would also be set up so that in case of any natural calamity, the bank did not lose its vital data. He said the support granted by Chief Minister PK Dhumal had helped the bank achieve this feat which would go a long way in expanding its operations. |
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CPI to contest 16 seats in Assembly poll
Mandi, August 12 At a two-day meeting of its state council that concluded here today, the CPI declared that the party would contest 16 Assembly seats, subject to negotiations with the third front partners, the Himachal Janhit Party and the CPM. The party said the BJP government had ‘ignored’ the welfare of the common man and ‘sold and mortgaged’ the resources of the state with outside companies. CPI state secretariat member and former CPI secretary Des Raj said the party had constituted a nine-member committee that would take up the issues of allotment of ticket, its drafts and manifesto with the third front partner. “We have passed a 20-point programme on which the party agrees with its alliance partner, which can be taken up with the HLM,” he added. He alleged that the BJP government had cut down on government jobs and failed to provide employment to the youth of the state. The government was giving employment on a contract basis in the state as was the case with the previous Congress regime, he alleged. The meeting was presided over by trade union leader Keshva Sharma and attended by CPI leaders SS Chandel, Vasedev Vasu, Himal Chand, Ratan Chand and others. |
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BJP neglecting Bilaspur: Cong
Bilaspur, August 12 Talking to mediapersons here today, Vivek, accompanied by Youth Congress leaders of the Jhandutta constituency, said on the contrary, it was the Dhumal Government that was giving a “step-motherly” treatment to Bilaspur district in every aspect, including development works, schemes and setting up of institutions. He said former Sports Minister Ram Lal Thakur had spent crores of rupees on the development of the Luhnu Sports Complex at Bilaspur town and it was being developed as an ideal adventure sports complex for all types of sports. A number of national-level paragliding, adventure water sports and national kabaddi, basketball and handball competitions had been held here during the previous Congress regime, he said. But as soon as the BJP took over in the state, the Dhumal government disbanded all sports coaching centre here and even shifted the projects of synthetic athletics track and hockey astro-turf to some other districts, he alleged. He said similar was the fate of the astro-turf, for which the Centre had conducted all tests of ground soil and had given technical approval and for which Rs 3.50 crore had been already sanctioned by the Central government then. This project was also shifted from here and was being implemented at some other district, he added. |
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25 apply for Cong ticket from Bilaspur
Bilaspur, August 12 He said others who had submitted their applications on the last day included Congress Seva Dal leader Pratap Kaundal, Bilaspur Sadar Block president Col (retd) Amba Prasad Gauttam, INTUC state vice-president and former zila parishad member Bhagat Singh Varma, district Congress senior general secretary and Bilaspur Nagar Parishad former president Gopal Krishan Sharma, former Bamta Gram Panchayat president Dipa Bhatta, district Congress vice-president Amar Singh Thakur and Bilaspur Sadar Youth Congress president Baldev Thakur. Other leaders who also have submitted applications from this seat are Vivek Chandel, Nikka Ram Mehta, Surender Thakur and Santosh Kumar
Guttam. |
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Mobile phone scheme a misconceived plan: BJP
Shimla, August 12 Spokesperson of the party Ganesh Dutt said the proposal reflected the mental bankruptcy of the UPA policy makers. Moreover, the hidden objective of the move seemed to shower financial benefits on telecom companies. He said providing expensive gadgets to people, who were struggling to get two square meals, was nothing but a cruel joke. It would have been better if the UPA regime had come out with some concrete programme to generate employment for youth. A mobile phone would hold no attraction for people with empty stomachs. A vast majority of the people in the country was surviving on Rs 32 per day which reflected the dismal socio-economic conditions. Such gimmicks would not help the UPA in diverting the attention of people from the main issues concerning the country.
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Drugs seized from quack
Solan, August 12 Gurdev Chand Sharma, SP, Baddi, said they had been receiving information about a quack operating in the Deerowal area for quite sometime now and a raid conducted by the drug authorities and Sub-Inspector Ravinder Kumar led to the seizure of several drugs from his premises on Wednesday. Drug controller Navneet Marwaha said drug inspector Anup Sharma seized several allopathic drugs from the premises and two other drugs which were being used as intoxicants. These include 82 capsules of parvon spasm and 300 tablets of phenotil which were being disbursed to the patients without any bill or valid documents. Jitender Kumar, who was posing as a doctor, could not produce any valid document of having passed any medical course from any institution. “A case under Section 18-C and 18-A, Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940, had been registered in this matter and custody orders had been procured from the court,” Marwaha said. The clinic has been sealed and the drugs have been taken into possession. The investigations are underway. Jitender Kumar was earlier operating in Punjab, but had shifted to Deerowal since the past few months. |
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Ex-serviceman found murdered
Kangra, August 12 He said Puran Chand, an ex-serviceman had been living with his 24-year-old son Shekhar at his Gurkhari residence. He said his son had gone to Chandigarh and Puran left his house at 5 pm on Friday evening and did not
return. Puran Chand was father-in-law of Pawan Kajal, member, Zila Parishad, and a strong aspirant for BJP ticket from
Kangra.
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CITU demands relief for labourer’s kin
Mandi, August 12 Besides, CITU and workers demanded safety for workers. The workers, who sustained injures in the incident, be compensated as per the labour laws, the workers demanded. CITU leader Kushal Bhardwaj said the government-run Beas Valley Power Corporation, which was executing the project, was not adhering to the security standards.
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