Shimla, September 2
Thirteen per cent excess rain in August largely made up for the shortfall in the early part of the monsoon, providing relief to both the government and the farmers.

The state received 308 mm of rain last month, 33 mm above normal, bringing the situation near to normal. The cumulative precipitation during the monsoon increased to 542 mm, 19 per cent less than the normal of 665 mm.

In meteorological terms, a variation of 19 per cent was considered normal. There could be further improvement as another spell of rain was expected later this week, said local met department in charge Manmohan Singh.

The largest district, accounting for a bulk of the state’s foodgrain production, Kangra received the highest precipitation of 940 mm in August, 55 per cent above normal.

The overall figure for the last three months went up to 1,580 mm, 20 per cent above the normal of 1,320 mm. Lahaul-Spiti continued to be the driest district with a deficiency of 83 per cent.

Sirmour recorded 818 mm of rain, a deficiency of 32 per cent. Chamba was deficient despite excess rain in August. It recorded 303 mm of rain last month, but the cumulative figure of 448 mm was 39 per cent below normal.

The overall precipitation was normal in Hamirpur (947 mm) and Mandi (945 mm). The shortfall in Una reduced from 43 per cent to 19 per cent.

In Solan, the deficiency came down from 40 per cent to 19 per cent. The overall deficiency was 73 per cent in June-end, 38 per cent on August 1 and only 19 per cent now.

The precipitation was more in the Beas catchment area than in the Ravi and Sutlej catchment areas. The level of the Pong Dam on the Beas was 1,370 feet, 17 feet less than last year.

The shortfall at the end of August was 38 feet in case of the Ranjit Sagar Dam on the Ravi and 46 feet in case of the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej.

Mandi, September 2
Residents of Mandi town are up in arms against the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department’s notice in which they were asked to either “install private water meters or face disconnection of water supplies”.

The resentment has also been brewing up among residents on the issue of recent annual 10 per cent hike in water charges.

The slugfest between the Citizens’ Council (CC), Mandi, and the IPH Department has now reached the State Consumer Reddressal Commission and the case is slated for hearing on September 13.

The council said the IPH Department had shirked from its responsibility of installing quality water meters and providing assured supply of potable water to each resident as guaranteed by the Supreme Court.

The IPH Department, they said, instead increased the water charges to Rs 7.80 per kilo litre for domestic consumers and to Rs 15.65 per kilo litre for commercial consumers this year which was a hike of 10 per cent over last year.

Even the employees living in government colonies are being asked to install their own private meters.

“We may get transferred to any place. It is the IPH Department’s duty to install meters in government colonies as it can get security deposited from employees and install meters,” an employee said.

The IPH Department cites pending water bills that are due on both private consumers and government departments as the reason behind the hike.

Sources said the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office had to pay a bill of Rs 31,221, the Revenue Department had Rs 2,918 pending dues, while the Forest Department (Khaliyar office) owed Rs 14,410 to the IPH Department. The private consumer arrear stood at Rs 10 lakh.

“We have disconnected water connection of the Forest Department and issued notices to private consumers,” said an IPH engineer.

President, Citizens Council, YN Vaidya said it used to be the responsibility of the IPH Department to repair and maintain its installed meters before the new policy was implemented in 2009.

“The sad part is that it has no service centre to repair the meters and now it is asking the consumers to repair or replace these at their own cost or face disconnection,” Vaidya contended.

The council has no choice other than moving the State Consumer Commission on the issue of installation of meters and hike in water charges, he added.

“We had sought redressal at the District Consumer Forum, but it dismissed the case ruling that the matter pertained to the entire state,” Vaidya said.

PC Thakur, IPH executive engineer, Mandi, said the department had made a policy according to which all meters would be installed by the consumers irrespective of private or government departments. They would repair and maintain the meters, he added.

Solan, September 2
A high drama was witnessed yesterday when BJP and Congress supporters clashed over the inauguration of a hospital in Kandaghat which was slated to be done by former Health Minister and Solan MLA Dr Rajeev Bindal.

The entire episode unfolded when Congress activists, led by Solan Block Congress Committee president Ramesh Thakur, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) member Ramesh Chauhan, Solan Municipal Committee (SMC) president Kul Rakesh Pant and others gheraoed the newly-constructed four-storey building in a bid to stop its inauguration. Their contention was that the building could not be inaugurated as it was incomplete. They alleged that the ruling party wanted to take political mileage out of it ahead of the Assembly elections.

However, hundreds of supporters of Dr Bindal, weighed heavy on a handful of Congress supporters who had gathered at the inauguration site. A scuffle took place between the two groups before Bindal, who was being carried by his supporters on their shoulders, could enter the hospital premises. Though the heavy police deployment helped to avert any major clash, skirmishes were witnessed between the two groups wherein some people received minor injuries and their clothes were torn off.

Congress leaders said the BJP was trying to take mileage from the incomplete hospital building. The BJP regime, they said, had brought down the sanctioned budget for the hospital from Rs 6.86 crore to Rs 2.44 crore and reduced it to a mere 15-bedded hospital from its proposed 50-bedded structure.

Later, Dr Bindal had to take a detour to reach the site and inauguration ceremony was held thereafter. He also addressed a rally and condemned the Congress supporters’ act. He said it exposed the anti-people stance of the Congress which was resorting to anti-development planks to oppose the inauguration of a public utility building.

Bindal said it was shocking that the Congress was opposing the hospital inauguration and thereby forcing people to use an old, dilapidated building.

He alleged that Congress leaders from Kandaghat had been opposing the hospital construction and had also threatened the contractor not to finish its construction.

“The Congress has also been creating hurdles in the construction of various roads such as the Kandaghat-Qwarag-Sainj road which had forced the Public Works Department (PWD) to construct a road from Kyari to Qwarag,” Bindal added.

Bindal, while giving details of hospital buildings in Solan district, said many hospital buildings of the Regional Hospital in Solan and others were being constructed at Arki, Kandaghat and Baddi that would incur a cost of Rs 28 crore.

The Congress, he said, was unnerved by such development works and, hence, resorting to such tactics.

Mandi, September 2
With 2,68,000 government employees, who constitute between 15 and 17 per cent of the electorate, it is time for government sops before Vidhan Sabha elections.

Both Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state Congress president Virbhadra Singh are propping themselves as the real benefactors of government employees.

Non-gazetted officers (NGOs) constitute about 95 per cent of these employees. NGO leaders rub shoulders with the Chief Minister, say insiders. Their clout has decreased and remains confined to personal favours and transfers.

The employees have become shrewd and know the leaders who can ensure that their demands like new pay scales, arrears, allowances, wage hike and promotion are met.

According to figures dated March 31, there are 43,000 government employees with public-sector units, of which 1,90,000 are regular, a decrease of 1,000 from last year. Scheduled Castes constitute 22 per cent, Scheduled Tribes 6 per cent and women 19 per cent of the employees.

Sops for and transfers of employees are being used by politicians in power. If they hope a huge chunk of votes from a large section of employees, they should think twice.

The government has been working to issue the notification on new pay scales. The employees know that it is their right, which is due since 2006, says a former leader of the engineers’ association.

Government employees are a divided vote bank. There is factionalism in employees’ unions with teachers, the largest section, having 16 unions.

Employees are represented by NGO leaders who have political loyalty to the party in power. Those loyal to the Congress are nowhere to be seen.

NGO leaders loyal to the BJP have been rubbing shoulders with the Chief Minister. He has been attending meetings and seeking their support, says a political observer.

Virbhadra Singh has termed Dhumal’s announcements prior to the completion of his term a politically motivated move to woo employees.

Shimla, September 2
With the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) giving its nod, the green tax will be charged from all outside vehicles entering the state capital from the four entry points. Though the MC had intended to impose the green tax from April 1 this year, the imposition of the same got delayed due to delay in obtaining approval from the NHAI.

The green tax is likely to be levied from September 15, with a monthly income of Rs 50 lakh for the MC.

As per rough estimates on the basis of which the contract for the green tax was given for Rs 6 crore annually, about 5,000 vehicles are entering Shimla daily during the peak tourist season. Adding to this is the huge influx of weekend tourists coming especially from the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand to the town.

The company, which has been awarded the contract, is likely to begin with manual barriers and not computerised as proposed. The reason for delay in installing computerised barriers is that the equipment procured by the company got damaged in a house collapse in Totu, which had been rented as a store.

The four entry points where the green tax would be charged are Tara Devi, Totu, Dhalli and Mahali.

The figure of Rs 6 crore annually was worked on the basis of Manali, which was the first town of the state to impose the green tax. In Manali also, the contract was given for Rs 6 crore annually and the funds generated are used for improving civic amenities, cleanliness and environment protection.

The income generated from the green tax in the state capital will go a long way in easing out the poor financial health of the civic body.

Solan, September 2
Additional Session Judge, Fast Track Court, Solan, KK Sharma sentenced Tejinder Singh, alias Nittu Baba, hailing from Kanoh village in Kandaghat sub-division, to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 for raping a married woman in June 2010 on the pretext of curing her of some disease.

The victim in this case was suffering from some ailment after her marriage and despite undergoing regular treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh, had failed to get relief. In a desperate bid to seek relief, she agreed to visit Nittu Baba after her tenant Gurvinder Singh suggested her to do so.

The victim, along with her husband, visited the baba on June 19, 2010, where he directed them to visit him again on June 22 as he would awaken the spirit of her forefathers and work out a cure. Five-six other women and two men had also come to the baba the same night to seek remedies for their problems.

The baba after doing some witchcraft at a nearby khud, directed all others to stay back and asked the victim to accompany her further ahead in the khud where he raped her on the pretext of removing evil influence.

A case of rape was later registered by the victim against the baba who had absconded after the crime. He was, however, arrested in August 2010. Deputy District Attorney SS Kaundal, who examined 18 witnesses, proved the baba’s guilt.

Shimla, September 2
The Consumer Coordination Council has urged the government to set up a unified web portal to provide a list of medicines permissible along with prices and put in place a medical prescription system to protect the interests of patients.

The Chairman of the Northern Region Consumer Coordination Council, Dr Sunil Prakash, said patients were being taken for a ride by unscrupulous medical professionals.

He said the ‘illegible’ handwriting on prescription slips made things worse. Most of the problem would be solved if medicines permissible were listed in the web portal, he added.

The portal should contain information like name, composition, manufacturer details, usage, side effects and contradictions, he said.

If the Union Ministry of Health was not in a position to do so, the task should be assigned to the Indian Medical Association, he said.

If this could not be done, the council could take up the responsibility if the government agreed, he said. He further said individuals and groups should be encouraged to take up the advocacy of consumer rights.

A chapter on consumer rights should be included in the school curriculum from class IX, he said. He added that the council would organise a convention on consumer education.

Dharamsala, September 2
The Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Dharamsala, took a lead in the state by starting diatom examination to ascertain death due to drowning. It also became the state’s first forensic science laboratory to be equipped with the facility.

While talking to The Tribune, spokesperson of the laboratory said deaths by drowning were difficult to determine.

However, diatom test stands as a direct screening test to ascertain death by drowning. Diatoms found inside the body of a drowned victim serve as corroborative evidence in the diagnosis of cause of death. It can be ascertained whether the death is ante-mortem or post-mortem. The identification of diatoms in the body tissues to prove a death by drowning (known as the diatom test) dates back to the end of the 19th century. Diatoms are aquatic unicellular plants that represent the most abundant single source of oxygen producers. Most diatoms exist singly, although some join to form colonies. They are usually yellowish or brownish, and are found in fresh and saltwater, in moist soil and on the moist surface of plants.

The presence of diatoms in bone marrow, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney and brain tissue led to the development of the diatom test. Diatom test is based on a theory that normally people do not have significant number of diatoms in some important organs like kidneys, brain and bone marrow. However, if a person drowns in water containing diatoms, the diatoms in that water will reach the lungs and some of them will penetrate the alveolar wall.

Surender Kumar Pal, spokesperson of the RFSL, Dharamsala, said the test had helped unravel the mystery of the death of Rajat, a youth who drowned in the Beas. The diatom test conducted on the bone tested positive for the presence of diatom species which revealed that the subject was alive when he entered the water body proving ante-mortem drowning. Report pertaining to the diatom test had been given to the investigating agency, he said.

Arun Sharma, deputy director of the RFSL, Dharamsala, said, “So far, the Himachal Police was depending on forensic science laboratories in Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Bangalore for various types of forensic tests, some of which are available with us now. New facilities and instrumentation will be available in near future”.

He said, “The forensic science is indispensable to scientific investigation and has already evolved into a hi-tech science and the country needed to keep pace with research and development in the field for better and faster detection of crime”.

Shimla, September 2
The Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress has criticised the BJP government in the state for acquiring fertile land for cement plants and its failure to utilise funds under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Yojna implemented by the UPA regime.

The sabha, which met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of its president Ram Nath Sharma, said the government had “failed” to implement flagship programmes launched by the UPA government as it had not been able to spend the full budget allocated to the state under the MNREGA.

The sabha registered protest over acquisition of fertile land for establishing cement plants instead of setting up agro-based industries to process apple, vegetables, potato, mango and tomato. These environment-friendly industries would have ensured better returns to farmers and also generated employment for youth, the sabha said.

Sharma said the Congress on coming to power would open agri-markets at the block level so that farmers did not have to transport their produce to distant markets.

The sabha also expressed resentment over the scarcity of seeds, fertilisers and spraying chemicals in the state and demanded a package for farmers affected by drought and floods.

Dharamsala, September 2
The Dalai Lama attended the 52nd Tibetan Democracy Day function at McLeodganj here today. His presence at political functions of the Tibetan government-in-exile were rare after he announced his retirement.

Delivering his address, Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said his government was committed to the middle-path policy and dialogue to peacefully resolve the Tibet issue.

He welcomed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent call to the Chinese Government to resume serious dialogue with the Tibetan leadership. The Tibetan task force on negotiations would meet in December, he added.

In a recent interview, the Dalai Lama had said using force for 60 years had failed and Mao Zedong’s idea that power came from the barrel of the gun was outdated.

China should release all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, Sangay said. He expressed gratitude to the government and people of India.

Addressing Tibetans he said this it was time for unity and solidarity. He termed unity, innovation and self-reliance as the three guiding principles.

A statement issued by the Tibetan government-in-exile said the Dalai Lama had taken steps to introduce and consolidate Tibetan democracy.

Bilaspur, September 2
The body of a newly-wed girl Anjali of Kallar village in Hamirpur district, who had gone missing since August 27, was found floating on the bank of the Gobind Sagar last evening here.

After getting information, the police rushed to the spot and took the body in its possession. Later, it was sent for the post-mortem examination. A case was also registered in this regard.

The police said the victim, who still wore the bridal dress and ornaments, may have jumped from the Kandraur bridge into the Gobind Sagar.

In another incident, the body of Kuldip Singh (27) of Kot-Bathoh village of the Jukhala area, was found in a nullah near Asha Majhari village under mysterious circumstances yesterday. The police took it in its possession and sent it for post-mortem examination.

Kuldip was reportedly missing for the past one week. His family had said he might have been kidnapped by some persons with the intention to kill him.

The police has taken three persons of a family, including two women, in its custody for interrogation.

A case has been registered in and investigations are on.

Kandraur bridge is notorious as the ‘suicide bridge’ in the area. The Public Works Department (PWD) authorities have failed to install railings on both sides of it despite repeated public requests.

Solan, September 2
Fissures in the Nalagarh mandal of the BJP have come to the fore with the section led by former MLA HN Saini’s wife Gurnam Kaur demanding the immediate removal of the mandal president.

The trouble began when mandal president Baldev Thakur finalised Panjhera as the venue for the Chief Minister’s rally on September 6 without taking the Saini family and other leaders into confidence.

This peeved some ticket aspirants as Panjhera was the home turf of an IPH Department official who was vying for the ticket. Gurnam Kaur said her husband’s brother Avtar Saini should get the ticket.

Zila Parishad vice-president Hardeep Thakur, Kisan Morcha state executive member Hem Raj Thakur, district vice-president Dharmender Rana and Nalagarh mandal general secretary Yogesh Sharma opposed the official’s candidature.

They added that the official had been vying to enter the Congress and should not be given the BJP ticket and he was not a primary member of the party. They demanded Baldev Thakur’s immediate removal. A meeting was called at Chowkiwala for September 4 to discuss the fallout and decide the future course of action.

Mandi, September 2
Birbal Chand, a junior assistant with the Mandi centre of the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), has been absconding along with office cashbook since June 23.

Sources said Chand left the HIPA centre located in the Deputy Commissioner’s office building on June 23 and never reported back on duty. Even as he violated the Employees Conduct Rules by taking the cashbook along and remained elusive, no FIR has been lodged by the department in this regard so far.

The sources said the reason behind not lodging an FIR in this case might be due to the fact that Chand enjoyed considerable political clout. He had reportedly committed the same offence in the recent past and got away with it. Not only this, he had been disbursed his salary for the month of June despite absconding from the office since June 23.

Interestingly, the HIPA’s part-time staff is not getting due salaries and its faculty has to look after the clerical work in the office.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Mandi, Sandeep Kadam, said they had stopped Chand’s salary of August month and also informed Director, HIPA, Shimla, Dinesh Malhotra in this regard. He had been issued a show-cause notice as well, Kadam said.

The ADC said he had summoned Chand in June and asked him to get the cashbook signed from the an official. But Chand did not get the cashbook signed and remained at large since, he said.

Director Malhotra, said they had issued a show-cause notice on Chand’s home address, but he had not responded. “We will put him under suspension and take action as per the law,” he said.

Bilaspur, September 2
A meeting of the Block Development Committee (BDC) at Ghumarwin, near here, presided over by its chairperson Anisha Sharma, has demanded that the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) should stop injustice towards passengers going to Bilaspur at the Chandigarh bus stand and ensure that passengers travelling to Bilaspur get the same treatment as passengers from Mandi, Kullu and other districts.

The meeting took exception to the fact that passengers at the Chandigarh bus stand going to Bilaspur district are given tickets and seats only when passengers travelling to Mandi and Kullu districts are accommodated.

The meeting urged the Transport Minister and the Chief Minister to take notice of the matter. They also resented that passengers going to Bilaspur got tickets only in Bilaspur-bound buses that were less in numbers and they had to wait for hours at the Chandigarh bus stand or had to purchase tickets for any other destinations in Mandi or Kullu, even if they had to board down at Bilaspur much earlier.

They demanded that the HRTC should provide proper bus service to Bilaspur destinations.

Vice-chairman of the BDC Satish Thakur and members Raksha Kapil, Santosh Gauttam, Rajiv Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Roshni Devi, Santosh Kumari, Meena Devi, Asha Kumari, Kalpana and Neelam were among those present.