Una, October 2
Factionalism has once again marred the chances of the Congress in the district. Except for the Haroli Assembly constituency represented by Mukesh Agnihotri of the Congress, the party is witnessing intense infighting in all other four Assembly constituencies of the district.

The Congress has been losing the Una Assembly constituency to the BJP due to infighting between former MLA OP Rattan and late Congress leader and Virbhadra Singh’s confidant Varinder Gautam.

Both the groups in Una have been responsible for each other’s defeat in consecutive Assembly elections. Sources said Virbhadra Singh was trying to secure a party ticket for his son. Rattan is also trying to bag a ticket from Una. A section of senior Congress leaders is of the view that the Congress should put a third leader ignoring both Rattan and Gautam factions. However, putting a third candidate might antagonise both the factions and they may act against the interests of the party.

Bangana Assembly constituency has been the bastion of the BJP for more than 20 years. Here also factionalism in the Congress is said to be responsible for the defeat of the party candidate.

Ram Nath Sharma, former Congress MLA, is trying to secure the Congress ticket from the Bangana Assembly constituency for his son. Besides, Des Raj Moudgil and Ram Nath Malangar, former Deputy Speaker, are also in the fray.

After the reconstitution of Bangana Assembly constituency, many areas of the Una Assembly constituency have been merged in it. This time the Congress candidates are expecting better prospects. However, they can give a fight to the BJP only if the warring factions sink their differences and put up a united front.

The Gagret Assembly constituency, which was a reserved constituency, has been thrown open after the delimitation exercise. Sitting Congress MLA from Chintpurni Rakesh Kalia is now eying the constituency as his earlier constituency has been reserved.

However, Kalia is facing stiff resistance from the local Congress leaders. They even opposed giving the ticket to an outsider during the Congress rally at Una in front of the state and central leadership of the party.

Former Congress minister Kuldeep Kumar is now eying a party ticket from the Chintpurni reserved constituency. He is also facing opposition from local Congress leaders.

At the Haroli constituency, however, the Congress has a lone leader, sitting MLA Mukesh Agnihotri. He has already started his campaign in the area and is said to be in a better position than the other Congress candidates from the district who are still camping in Delhi to secure a party ticket for themselves.

On the other hand, the BJP has already cleared three ticket out of five in the district. The BJP has cleared the name of state president of the party Satpal Satti from Una, sitting MLA Varinder Kanwar from Bangana and Balbir Chaudhary from Chintpurni.

Shimla, October 2
With the threat of rebels jumping into the fray from several Assembly segments, Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar will once again hold a meeting to take a final decision on the most contentious seats before the BJP Parliamentary Board issues the list of candidates to be fielded from the remaining 23 seats.

The two arch rivals are likely to hold a meeting to decide on the remaining seats before a final decision is taken within a week. Sources said in a majority of the 23 seats, names of two persons had been recommended to the Parliamentary Board, but the main problem was being faced in Jwalamukhi, Dehra, Kinnaur, Bharmour and Chopal.

Shanta has been asked to persuade his loyalist minister Ramesh Dhawaal to shift from Jwalamukhi to Dehra to accommodate Ravinder Singh Ravi. Though he has already conveyed that keeping in mind the sentiments of his supporters he would not shift to Dehra, Shanta has been entrusted the task to convince him. The fact that he has made it amply clear that he will contest as an Independent if denied a ticket has brought the party under pressure.

Similarly, the party is also facing a rebel situation in the tribal segment of Kinnaur. Former MLA Chet Ram has conveyed to the party that in case the party does not accept his claim for the party ticket, he would contest as an Independent. While Shanta is backing the candidature of Chet Ram, sitting first-time MLA Tejwant Negi is trying to find favour with the high command with the blessings of the Chief Minister. The party survey too has indicated that Negi could find the going tough if fielded as his popularity has taken a beating.

Deciding on the ticket from another tribal segment of Bharmour in Chamba too is proving to be an uphill task for the senior leaders. Assembly Speaker Tulsi Ram is facing opposition from party workers.

A decision on the candidate to be fielded from Bilaspur too is pending. The names of former MP Suresh Chandel and Subhash Thakur are under consideration.

Meanwhile, National BJP general secretary JP Nadda said his wife Mallika was not in the fray. “It is the collective decision of both me and my wife that she will not contest the election and she was never in the running,” said Nadda.

He added that it was his personal opinion that nobody other than him should be in the electoral arena as he was against the kith and kin of leaders being fielded.

Chances of Sudha Sushant, wife of Rajan Sushant, Lok Sabha MP from Kangra, being fielded from Fatehpur in Kangra too seem bleak. The names of Sushant’s brother Madan Sharma and Baldev Thakur have been shortlisted in the panel forwarded to the Parliamentary Board.

Hamirpur, October 2
Refuting rumours of cracks in the Himachal Lok Morcha, comprising the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), morcha leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to contest all 68 seats in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state jointly.

The rumour of cracks in the morcha had spread after the CPM released its list of candidates for the polls in the state a few days back.

The morcha leaders met after this development and resolved to unitedly contest the polls, release a manifesto, hold rallies and conduct campaign in the all Assembly constituencies.

State secretariat member, CPM, Onkar Shad, said, “Though the CPM has released its list of candidates, there is unanimity on a majority of the seats and efforts are on to reach an agreement on the remaining seats as well.”

He said, “All morcha leaders are for remaining a part of it and strengthening the morcha and there is no question of cracks in the morcha as all pending issues will be resolved amicably. We meet regularly.”

HLP leader Maheshwar Singh also expressed a similar opinion and said, “There is no bickering in the morcha and we have already reached unanimity on 12 Assembly seats being contested by the CPM, six by the CPI and 44 by the HLP. A decision on six Assembly seats is pending, which will also be taken soon.”

He said, “The morcha will contest all 68 Assembly seats in the state in the elections and a complete list will be out by October 6.”

Shimla, October 2
The HPSEBL Employees Union has accused the management of the power board of lapses in the online billing system put in place by HCL Infosystems Limited.

The union has pointed out that the management had failed to get the shortcomings in the computerised billing system implemented by the private company, despite repeated pleas of the employees and the feedback from censures.

The company failed to implement the pilot project in 10 sub-divisions, still the management allowed the project for the remaining sub-divisions to the same company, the union members alleged.

The selection of HCL Infosystems Limited as implementation partner was erroneous and questionable as their experience in software development was meagre and negligible in power utilities. It was evident from the fact that the application failed to carry the load of just 10 sub-divisions during the execution of the pilot project and it was not feasible that it could take over the load of more than 100 sub-divisions.

At present the application of the online billing system was partially paralysed even for sub-divisions of Shimla city which were covered under the pilot project. As per the feedback received from employees working on the system, the union members feel that the billing software was very slow and it kept crashing every now and then. The online billing system was coded in an outdated way using obsolete technology and the database structure being used in the system was not up to the mark.

As there were no experts of Internet technology and billing software, the management should have opted for consultancy in the field before selecting the technology as well as its implementation partner.

The complexity, scalability and the usability of the software should have been kept in mind. The management awarded the job of software designing to the company dealing in hardware sales and had no background of software development, they said.

Instead of blacklisting the company, the management had handed over the work of online billing system to it. The union has urged the management to blacklist the firm and review the decision.

Solan, October 2
The BJP has stepped up its efforts to curb dissidence and satisfy disgruntled partymen with the support of irate BJP leaders from Nalagarh for official nominee KL Thakur.

Thakur, who recently joined the party after resigning from his state government job, had been given the ticket ignoring the claims of family members of former MLA HN Saini.

In a meeting between the Chief Minister and HN Saini’s wife Gurnam Kaur and brother Avtar Saini, the former managed to prevail upon them to forego their claim and support Thakur instead.

The decision, however, incited the ire of their supporters at a specially convened meeting at Chowkiwala today. The supporters who also included senior BJP leaders from the constituency were initially upset at the decision of Saini family and they asserted that they were the supporters of the Saini family and not the BJP.

They not only exerted pressure on Avtar Saini to contest the polls, but also refused to support KL Thakur saying they were now free to vote for any candidate.

The situation took a violent turn when some of the supporters climbed on to the stage and urged Avtar to announce his decision to contest the poll. Gurnam Kaur’s intervention helped diffuse the situation. She announced that her husband had directed them to support Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Though a section of the supporters left the meeting, Gurnam Kaur was hopeful that they would come back.

The coming together of the two warring factions in Nalagarh had rung alarm bells for Lakhwinder Rana of the Congress who would now face a division of votes on his home turf Changer as Thakur too hails from the same area.

Bilaspur, October 2
A triangular contest is likely among well-known political opponents in the most debated constituency of Naina Devi, formerly known called Kot Kehloor. The BJP has cleared the name of sitting MLA and state spokesman Randhir Sharma from this segment yesterday. Congress state president and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh declared Ram Lal Thakur as the Congress candidate from here as he urged the voters to support Thakur in the presence of party state in charge and national general secretary Virender Chaudhary at a rally at Kothipura near here last week. This has left no doubt that Ram Lal Thakur will once again be the Congress choice from this seat.

Ram Lal, a senior leader, was defeated by Randhir Sharma of the BJP in a straight fight in the last elections. Randhir won the seat with a margin of 4,954 votes. With Krishan Kumar Kaushal not in the fray, it went in the favour of Randhir.

This time Kaushal, who became MLA for the first time by defeating the then Minister Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress in 1990 by a margin of 5,700 votes as a CPI candidate, is once again in the fray from the CPI on the ticket of the state joint front of the Himachal Lokhit Morcha (HLM).

Randhir is contesting the election for the third time as he was defeated by Ram Lal in his first election as a BJP candidate, while Ram Lal has been the Congress candidate from this seat for the past 20 years and Kaushal is also a regular contestant from this segment except during the last polls. 

Shimla, October 2
Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister PK Dhumal paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri here today.

Devotional songs which were dear to the Father of the Nation and the former Prime Minister were sung on the occasion. Prabhat pheris were also taken out in the early hours of the morning all over the state.

Suresh Bhardwaj and Sohan Lal, both MLAs, Sanjay Chauhan, Mayor, and Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor, Municipal Corporation, and Veena Thakur, Chairperson, Social Welfare Board, also paid tributes to the two great leaders. Senior officials and prominent people of the town were also present on the occasion.

Sanawar, October 2
The 165th Founder’s Day celebrations of Lawrence School, Sanawar, began today. Headmaster Praveen Vashisht hoisted the Tricolour followed by the national anthem. A commemorative function was held at the Barne Hall to mark the 143rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. A vocal rendition of Gandhi’s favourite hymns was also presented by the school choir. The school headboy and headgirl spoke about the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi.

Addressing the students on the occasion, the Headmaster highlighted the key aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy encompassing supreme love for all living beings, fair and ruthless honesty and no hypocrisy.

The function culminated with the prize distribution to the winners of the essay-writing competition held on the topic “If I were Gandhi”. This competition is held specially for students of Classes XI and XII by Naveen Chawla, former Chief Election Commissioner and a distinguished alumnus of Sanawar. While Yashaswini Singh and Richa Garg secured the first and third positions, the second position was shared by Kudrat Kashyap and Shivani Tara Munshani.

In the afternoon, a chapel service was conducted for the alumni who had graduated 25 and 50 years back. This year the batches of 1987 and 1962 were the special invitees. On behalf of the school, the Headmaster offered prayers for late Sir Henry Lawrence, founder of the school, and made divine invocation for the welfare and wellbeing of all those associated with the school.

Later, old students, including Veena Mallik, Kamal Katoch and Arvind Sikand, son of Bollywood actor Pran and Madhurita Anand and Omander Singh shared memories of their school. The programme concluded with Headmaster’s tea.

Palampur, October 2
LPG consumers in this region are a harassed lot following directions of the Central Government to get regularise permanent addresses of consumers.

Since the government has restricted the supply of LPG to six cylinders a year to a consumer, oil companies had asked its dealers to regularise addresses of consumers to avoid duplicate connections.

Long queues of consumers can be seen daily outside gas agencies here. They are reaching in the early hours carrying their address proof and consumer cards.

Oil companies have directed dealers not to issue LPG refills till addresses of consumers are regularised and verified by the dealer concerned.

In case a consumer gets a LPG refill after the prescribed limit of six, the loss of revenue will be recovered from dealer. Therefore, dealers should advise consumers to get their addresses regularised at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Palampur Welfare Forum has assailed gas companies for harassing LPG consumers.

Addressing mediapersons here today, KB Ralhan, spokesman for the forum, said consumers in large numbers were being called to LPG agencies daily and they had to wait for hours outside these venues to get their papers completed.

He appealed to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, to intervene in the matter.

Shimla, October 2
Alarmed over the widespread manifestation of woolly aphid in apple orchards in various parts of the state during the current season, the Horticulture Department has advised the growers to take adequate measures to prevent its outbreak next year.

While mild aphid infestation is a common phenomenon, the problem turned acute this season as the prolonged dry spell that preceded the arrival of a delayed monsoon created highly conducive conditions for the insect.

According to reports reaching here, most orchards in Jubbal and Kotkhai in Shimla and Pooh in the tribal Kinnaur have been affected.

Normally the problems subsides with rains, but a delay in the arrival of the monsoon led to acute infestation. Preventive measures are important as the insects move down to the roots from branches after the harvest season. They rest at the roots through winter and start moving towards the branches as the weather warms up.

Additional Director of Horticulture ID Gupta said to contain the problem the plants should be sprayed with insecticides like Blitox, Fytolon and Masstox immediately after the harvesting of the fruit.

In the next season, a 2-inch-wide band from granules of insecticides like Phorate or Carbofuran should be made under the soil close to the stem of the plant. It should be done at the time of fruit setting as the application of insecticides with a pungent smell during flowering will repel bees and other insects, thus affect pollination. Proper management of orchards was important to contain the problem.

The state had a poor crop of 1.37 crore boxes last year and a below normal production this season. The problems like woolly aphid and twin fungi marssonina and alternaria, if not contained effectively, could ruin the next crop as well.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the apple crop has been harvested in the state and till date 1.62 crore standard boxes have been sent out as compared 2.9 crore in 2010 when the state registered a record crop of 4.46 crore boxes. The number of trucks leaving the state has come down from over 700 in mid-September to 300 yesterday. In all 35,600 trucks have been sent out so far. With the harvesting season heading towards a close the total output is likely to be two crore boxes.

Karsog (Mandi), October 2
As many as 137 patients were examined at the free diabetes medical check-up camp organised under the aegis of Ashadeep at the Civil Hospital here today. The camp was organised to mark the birthday of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

A team led by Dr Jatinder Mokta, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla, examined the patients and distributed free medicines to them.

Three patients were diagnosed with diabetes, while four patients, including two women, were administered insulin at the camp assisted by Dr Kishan Chauhan, Block Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Karsog.

Hira Singh from Karsia village, under treatment for diabetes over the past six months said he had suffered a foot injury and faced amputation, but was cured with regular medication.

“Lal came to us at a later stage and we put him on diabetic treatment and his foot was to be amputated. But we prescribed him a simple treatment of how to wash the foot cleanly with sterilised water, keeping his foot as clean as his face and covered which saved his foot from being amputated,” said Dr Mokta.

Chandrakala, 33, who was born visually-impaired, was diagnosed with diabetes. “Her body mass index (BMI), and other symptoms pointed towards the disease. She did not do much physical activity leading to a bulging waistline, a predominant condition among diabetic women and men in India,” said Dr Mokta.

Urging the patients to spread awareness and shun misconceptions about the diabetes and sugar, Dr Mokta said diabetes could lead to complications like amputation, neuropathy (weakening of nerves), cardiovascular diseases and stroke among diabetic patients who did not take medicine regularly and or get their blood pressure checked regularly.

Dr Mokta said it all depended on how the patients followed and controlled the “environmental and dietary factors with physical work or exercise and ate simple home-cooked food as advised by the doctors”.

“These tests help examine diabetes and put them on medicine managing their complications like hypertension, neuropathy as well,” he said. SDM, Karsog, SK Sharma was present.

Solan, October 2
With the starch crop facing massive damage due to lack of timely rain in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the packaging industry is facing the brunt with prices having shot up due to low supply and high demand.

Starch is one of the main raw materials used in the packaging industry and the widening gap between the demand and the supply has pushed up its prices by Rs 5 in the past two months. With a vast shortage of starch, its price is not only witnessing a sharp rise, but its availability has also declined as per its demand. The price which hovered around Rs 27 per kg about two months ago has witnessed an increase of Rs 5 per kg now.

This has sizeably enhanced the production cost for this sector as starch comprises nearly 10-15 per cent of the price component. Mukesh Jain, president, HP Corrugated Box Manufacturers’ Association, said poor starch production was taking toll of the industry.

He said lean apple crop had further aggravated the condition as the demand for cartons had declined abysmally. The small-sized crop was packed in jute bags, further reducing the demand for cartons.

With weather playing a spoilsport, apple production in the state is slated to remain at 22 million boxes, each weighing 20 kg that is nearly 50 per cent less than the bumper produce of 45 million boxes produced last year. The crop loss is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore.

What has added to their plight is the availability of assured employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rozgar Guarantee Scheme to migrant labourers, thus reducing their presence in the industries.

This has created a huge shortage of labourers, forcing investors to pay higher wages for retaining labourers.

Jain said the industry was going through a rough patch and many units had been put on sale as they failed to cope with the vagaries of the market. Being an unorganised sector, the industry had little support and often faced pressure from undue price hike by the paper industry when such adversities like poor starch crop and hike in diesel prices led to a sudden increase in the prices.

Shimla, October 2
A team of state government officers, led by Chief Secretary S Roy, held discussions with Lyudmila V Shaposhnikova, first vice-president of the International Centre of Roerichs (ICR) and the Director-General of Museum in Moscow and finalised an agreement of cooperation here yesterday.

Both sides discussed the road map for future collaboration between the state government and the ICR, Moscow, in respect to the International Roerich Memorial Trust Naggar (Kullu).

Roy said co-operation between both the sides would lead to a meaningful partnership and help strengthen the cause of world peace that was so dear to the Roerichs.

From the Indian side Manisha Nanda, Principal Secretary, LAC, and Rakesh Kanwar, Director, Art, Language and Culture, were present during the discussions.

The Russian side was represented by Alexey V Postnikov, president of the International Centre of Roerichs, Alexander V Stetsenko, first Deputy Director General of a museum named after Nicholas Roerich.

Both sides expressed a keen desire to collaborate to realise the vision of the Roerichs and hoped that the Uruswati Himalayan Research Institute would be revived soon.

The team also visited the Roerich Memorial Museum, library, archives, publication centre and scientific centre earlier in the day and appreciated the work being done by the ICR, Moscow.

Shimla, October 2
The three-day All-India Public Relations Conference focussing on travel and tourism concluded here yesterday.

Speaking at the concluding session, Chief Information Commissioner Bhim Sen said in the present scenario of globalisation and liberalisation the role of public relations (PR) had become more important and an inseparable part of every organisation. He said together with recreation, tourism provided a platform for national and international integration. People who were frequent travellers were socially more integrated.

He said there was need for PR professionals to update themselves with the latest trends and technologies to deliver goods in a befitting manner. Various organisations were engaged in image building and communicators associated with the tourism industry were making all-out efforts to tap the media. He said after power and horticulture sectors, the tourism sector generated maximum revenue for the state. Travel and tourism had powerful impact on shaping local communities and strengthening national economies.

He said such workshops and conferences must also focus on the RTI Act and its use by the public in general so that it might further help in improving transparency and remove corruption.

Earlier, High Commissioner of Mauritius Arye Juggesseur, in his presidential address, stated that many suggestions had poured in and strategies developed for the promotion of tourism, both at the national and international levels, but continuous innovation was required for the survival of tourism industry. He said such interactions would help in building a stronger relationship between India and Mauritius.

President of the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) Ajeet Pathak said over 200 delegates from all over the country had participated in the conference making it a huge success.

Dr CV Narsimha Reddy, former president, PRSI, and Editor, Public Relations Voice, narrated his experience during the conference and said tourism policies had been successful because of effective PR by the state government.

Mandi, October 2
Shop owners of the old bus stand are up in arms against Transport Minister Mohinder Thakur and the HP Bus Stand Management and Development Authority (HPBSMDA) for turning the “new incomplete inter-state bus terminus into a commercial shopping complex” in which they have been denied shops which has been a norm in all newly built bus stands in the state.

Narrating their woes to The Tribune, eight old shop owners said the HRTC, Transport Minister and HPBSMDA had denied them shops in the new bus stand inaugurated by Chief Minister PK Dhumal on September 13. “They are asking for an auction price of Rs 30 lakh for a shop, which is beyond our reach,” they rued.

They alleged that the authorities had turned the bus stand into a money-minting commercial complex rather than rehabilitating old shop owners there. “There are 40 complete shops, most of them locked, at the new complex and that speaks volumes about their actual motive,” they charged.

“We have sent several representations to the HRTC and the bus stand management and met the Transport Minister and even the Chief Minister, but they have not allotted us shops so far,” they said.

Besides, sanitary conditions at the bus stand continues to be depressing for visitors as stench invades the bus stand premises. “The old and infirm cannot use toilets located on the first floor as they have to climb the stairs,” resented Rohit Thakur, a passenger, accompanying his grandmother.

Meanwhile, sources in the HRTC revealed that the minister was trying to rope in a contractor to run the bus stand. “The HRTC has availed loan to construct the Rs 16-crore bus stand against the HRTC land in Sauli Khad,” sources claimed.

Transport Minister Mohinder Thakur could not be contacted for his comments, but an officer on special duty (bus stand project) and Divisional Manager, HRTC, Mandi Parkash Chander claimed that they had started toilets on the first floor after the IPH restored the connection. The toilets on the ground floor were under construction and the allotment of shops would be decided by the higher authorities, he added.

Bilaspur, October 2
Kewal Kumar (27) of Dardehada village under Pantehada gram panchayat near Ghumarwin was injured seriously when a leopard attacked him near the Bandehada Patwar Ghar late Sunday evening.

Kewal shouted for help and villagers rushed to the spot which resulted in the leopard fleeing from there and thus his life was saved. He was rushed to nearby Community Health Centre, Bharadi, where his condition was said to be stable.

Village elders, led by panchayat president Kanta Devi, said this incident had spread panic in the area and they were not allowing women to go to the fields for routine farming work. Even children were not being allowed to go to school alone.

They feared that this leopard might have turned a “man eater” as it had attacked a person and might have tasted human blood.

Meanwhile, district Forest authorities have taken immediate remedial steps and deputed two “watcher teams” for this leopard, apart from fixing a cage for catching it.

A leopard had earlier killed a girl a few months ago in the Marhana area and it might be the same leopard.

Kangra, October 2
A 28-year-old man of Sudherd village falling under Dharamsala police station died of poisoning at DRPGMC in Tanda last midnight, the police said here today.

The police said Sonu, a carpenter, had consumed some poisonous substance and was rushed by his family members to the Zonal Hospital at Dharamsala from where he was referred to the Tanda hospital.

A case has been registered under section 174 CrPC.