Mandi, January 1
Outraged by the shameful Delhi gang-rape case, residents and legal experts today recommend an ‘exemplary deterrent punishment’ by defining the degree of crimes, giving more teeth to Section 376, Indian Penal Code, and criminal justice system in such rarest of rare cases of crimes against women should be made in a fixed three months’ time. ”The members of civil society and legal experts stand for time-bound scientific investigation and exemplary punishment for the criminal accused of bestial and rarest of rare crimes like gang rape and acid attacks against women and children. They asserted that the investigative methods are not scientific and time-bound, evidence collected is weak and full of loopholes and rarely stands the test of the Evidence Act. This, in turn, gives enough room for the accused to get acquittal as the corruption is rampant in investigation,” they said.

They demand that a police commission should be set up to bring about police reforms and new curricula of police academies. The communities should be sensitised against dispelling negative perceptions in society against women, they added.

They talked to The Tribune here on suggestions sought by the Justice Verma Committee appointed by the Central government to seek suggestions from the public on possible amendments in the criminal laws for “quicker trial and more punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women”.

Sanjay Mandyal, a local lawyer, said that the best deterrent is that 376 Section should include gang rape and heinous bestiality and capital punishment should be made a rule. “We need to define degrees of crimes like it is in America. Actions of the accused there are measured according to offences inflicted on the human body”, he adds.

VN Machhan, a retired HPS officer said that in rarest of rare crimes should be investigated in a time-bound manner and punishment should act as exemplary deterrent so that nobody dares to repeat such acts again. The police beat should be made accountable for such acts, he added.

Ravi Rana, another lawyer said that criminal justice system has all the provisions, but the investigating agencies and justice system should be time-bound. The criminals should be given capital punishment in a time-bound manner so that women feel secure and criminals are brought to justice, adds Shivali Rathor, a teacher.

The investigation should be scientific so that there is no scope for police to distort evidence and a separate law should be made for crimes against women and children under Section 376, IPC. The accused, if proved guilty, should be hanged after completing investigation in a three-month time, said Des Raj, a member of the Aam Admi Party.

Palampur, January 1
Three-hundred-year old ‘Kirpal Chand Kuhal’, one of the oldest water channels of the region is crying for attention. Kuhal is considered as a lifeline of over 1,00,000 residents of 100 villages of Palampur subdivision. At present it is turning into a big ‘garbage dump’, at a rapid pace.

In the absence of a garbage disposal facility in one dozen panchyats of Palampur town, people residing on its bank between Bundla and Bhawarna have been dumping their entire waste in this Kuhal.

Besides dumping of garbage residents of these panchyats have also thrown open its sewerage into the Kuhal. Till recent past its water was used for drinking purposes, but now the water has become highly polluted and contaminated, not fit for even washing clothes and feeding animals. Situation is worst between Aima and Maranada town where people have been openly using this primary water source as ‘Dust Bin’ and IPH department has become just a silent spectator.

There are large scale encroachments on the IPH land between Aima and Bhawarna. People have encroached the Kuhal and its adjoining land, constructed cemented structures reducing its diameters to half, resulting in frequent blockades causing great inconvenience to farmers, whose adjoining lands had turned slushy.

It is seen that tons of garbage, including polythene, animal carcasses, empty gunny bags and other waste material is thrown into the Kuhal, daily. An officials of IPH department told the Tribune that over thirty labours had been deployed between Palampur and Bhawarna to flush out the garbage from the Kuhal. He said that in the absence of any law and failure on the part of higher authorities water channels has become a garbage dump.

Political interferences has made the matter even worse as Irrigation and Public Health Department, which looks after the maintenance of the ‘Kirpal Chand Kuhal’ has completely failed to initiate corrective measures till date and to check the large scale encroachments.

Though the IPH department knew that that the ‘heritage asset’ of the public had turned into ‘garbage dump’, even this it failed to serve a simple notice to the defaulters. Various environmentalist groups of the region have expressed its concern over the failure of IPH department in maintaining the Kuhal and allowing dumping of garbage in it.

Palampur, January 1
To meet the shortage of specialist and super-specialist doctors in the state hospitals has become a major challenge for the newly elected state government. At present, over 200 posts of expert are lying vacant.

It has become a matter of serious concern that no specialist doctors are willing to serve in the state. According to information gathered from the state Health Department, in the absence of a separate cadre for specialists in the state, no PG or DM doctors were willing to serve here.

Postgraduate doctors and MBBS doctors have the same pay scale in the state. So, most of the PG or DM doctors are moving out, either to corporate hospitals or private nursing homes, where they get higher salaries and perks, resulting in an acute shortage of specialists in the state.

In the past one year, government conducted interviews for specialists in and outside the state, a hundred specialists were selected too but hardly 26 of them reported for duty. Another factor responsible for the shortage of doctors in the state is that the government has stopped recruiting doctors through HP State Public Service Commission and offers appointments on contract basis. This decision has further discouraged the doctors from joining in the state.

Even after spending over Rs 1,000 crore annually, health services in the state are in bad shape as all critical patients are referred to hospitals in neighbouring areas like Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh for treatment.

Two medical colleges, TMC Tanda and IGMC Shimla are still ill equipped and without super specialty.

State has no facility even for petty medical tests like T3, T4, Tsh, anti bodies and B12 deficiency test. All such tests are conducted outside the state. Labs functioning in the adjoining states are earning a lot as they have deployed their agents in the state, who collect thousands of blood samples daily and get it tested at Chandigarh and Ludhiana. Sometimes patients have to wait for weeks for the reports of such tests.

Thakur Kaul Singh, new health minister, while interacting with The Tribune said he was well conversant with the situation and necessary steps would taken for streamlining the health services in the state. Special incentives would be offered to PG doctors to join the state health services, he added.

The building that was raised as Council Chamber whose design was approved in 1920 by Claude Hill Committee comprising 15 legislators and was inaugurated on August 27, 1925, by Lord Reading, the Viceroy who had arrived in Victoria driven by six horses to the melodic tunes of British regimental bands specially invited for the occasion,is, now, ready to welcome the 12th Vidhan Sabha of the state comprising 36 members of the Indian National Congress (INC), 26 of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the Himachal Lokhit Party and five others.

Anil Bairwal, National Coordinator of National Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms, had recently come to Shimla from Delhi to share with the local press the information based on the affidavits filed with their nomination papers by the contestants to the recently concluded elections. PR Ramesh and Bhim Singh from Himachal Pradesh were there to assist him. The joyous people who danced and indulged in merry-making after the election results (see photo) need to know that they have sent this time more fat-pursed, well-educated and lesser number of such MLAs who have declared criminal cases against them. A comparison between the outgoing and incoming Vidhan Sabhas shows that “44 (65 per cent) MLAs out of 68 in the newly elected Himachal Pradesh Assembly are crorepatis. The INC has 26 (72 per cent) crorepati MLAs out of 36 and the BJP has 13 (50 per cent) crorepatis out of 26. In the 2007 Assembly elections, 20 (29 per cent) MLAs were crorepatis.” It means five out of the other six elected to the new Vidhan Sabha are crorepatis.

If you are gearing up to fight the next elections, please check your bank balance. These are the rich who sway peoples’ votes to their ballot boxes. The 2012 elections have shown that the chances of winning are pitted more towards those who have greater assets. Thirtsix candidates with assets worth Rs 5 crore and more were in the fray and of these 17 have won giving a percentage of 47. As many as 115 who tried their luck had assets worth Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and only 27 could make the mark thus giving a percentage of 24. With assets worth Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore, 168 had fought the elections, of these only 20 could wear the garlands giving a percentage of 12 and lastly, 140 had assets less than Rs 20 lakh, of which four have touched the rope with a percentage of 3. So, in a democratic, developing India, you have to be rich to frame the policies for eradicating poverty. “Brij Behari Lal Butail of the INC from the Palampur constituency has declared the highest assets worth Rs 169 crore followed by Balbir Singh Verma, an Independent from the Chopal constitutency, with assets of Rs 41 crore.” I may add: “Yadvinder Goma of the INC from Jaisinghpur (SC) constituency has declared his assets (lowest) as worth Rs 5.2 lakh followed by Hansraj of the BJP from Churah (SC) with assets worth Rs 7 lakh only.”

The 12th Himachal Vidhan Sabha would be a house of well-educated people. Of 68 MLAs, 82 per cent, i.e. 56 MLAs are graduates or have higher qualifications. I am reminded of a quote by John F. Kennedy here:“Remember that our nation’s first great leaders were also our first great scholars” and so I am expecting scholastic debates in the Vidhan Sabha this time.

The last point is about the declared criminal cases filed by the candidates. Out of the 68 newly elected MLAs, 14 or 21 per cent have declared criminal cases against them. The number is less than what was in the 2007 Assembly elections when 26 or 39 per cent MLAs had given this declaration. It is,however, disheartening that the party that is going to rule has more persons against whom criminal cases are pending. Ten (28 per cent) out of 36 MLAs of the INC and the BJP’s 3 (12 per cent) out of 26 have declared the pendency of criminal cases against them.

The new Vidhan Sabha is richer, more educated and less allegedly crime-flashed than the outgoing one. We, the people of Himachal Pradesh, expect smarter results from it.

Solan, January 1
With no rain having been received in the district after the second week of December, the farmers have been feeling anxious after having sown various cereal and vegetable crops.

According to the weather forecast made by the Department of Environmental Sciences, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, there was no indication of rain for the next few days.

The department’s head, Dr Satish Bhardwaj, said cloudy conditions would persist for the next few days but adequate moisture was available in the atmosphere due to cloudy conditions and the early germination of crops would not be affected by lack of rains in the next few days.

Earlier 13 mm rain had been recorded in the second week of December in Solan.

He, however, added that a spell of rain would help to enhance the moisture content in the soil, thus aiding normal plant growth. The maximum temperature recorded in Solan was 16 degrees while the minimum remained at 1.8 degrees.

With cloudy weather and cold winds lashing Solan and its surrounding areas the probability of any further rain in the remaining days of December was bleak.

Since majority of the agrarian community was dependent on rain for irrigating their land, timely rain plays a crucial role in determining a good crop yield. The farmers were already facing the brunt of enhanced fertiliser prices and vagaries of uncertain weather has forced them to shift to other vocations to make both ends meet. Timely rains could help revive hopes of a good crop and farmers hoped the weather god would oblige them in the first week of January.

Palampur, January 1
Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University (CSKHPAU) has entered into research collaboration with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Area (ICARDA), based in Aleppo, Syria.

ICARDA is the global agricultural research centre, working with countries in dry areas all over the world, for sustainable productivity of their agricultural production systems, to enhance the income of small holder farmers living on dry lands and fragile ecosystems and to secure nutritional and national food security.

As part of collaboration, ICARDA nominated Fikru Mekonnen, a PhD candidate pursuing his research at ICARDA under the guidance of Dr Shiv Agrawal, Lentil Breeder, to the CSKHPAU for two months’ period. Mekonnen will undergo training in the area of genomics and molecular breeding in lentil in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology under the mentorship of Dr TR Sharma.

Mekonnen intends to study allelic diversity and genetic structure of Ethiopian lentil germplasm. He will identify genomic regions linked to rust resistance in lentil using a RIL population to develop markers for use in lentil breeding. Scientists of the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology in the university have also submitted a pre-proposal with ICARDA and many international partners for consideration of funding to Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

The project aims at alleviating malnutrition and increasing lentil production in third world countries using genomics-enabled technologies.

Dr SK Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of CSKHPAU, while appreciating the scientists of ICARDA and CSKHPAU for the initiative, said such collaborations widen the horizons of research mutually beneficial to the partner institutions. It also brings name and fame to the institutes and scientists. “As the farmers in the state practice rain fed farming and ICARDA was also working on dry land agriculture so the results of this collaboration will go a long way for the benefit of farmers here”, he added.

A week-long painting exhibition held at the State Museum showcased the works of four artists depicting varied themes.

It was a combined show of four artists, 40 paintings in all, and each artist had displayed 10 works based on different themes. Prashant Kumar, the only artist from the state who hails from Rohru, focussed on the theme of Mahatma Gandhi. It was largely figurative work which brought out various aspects of the Gandhian philosophy. Santosh Kumar from Meerut University provided a peep into the mindsets of the Indian and western women (see photo).

Works of Suman Malik from Uttar Pradesh were based on colour textures, the pictures were created by using different colour compositions while Jas Kaur from Chandigarh focussed on nature. They have used different mediums, including acrylic, oil and water colours.

Kangra, January 1
The Central Tibetan Administration has welcomed President Barack Obama’s nomination of Senator John Kerry as his next Secretary of State. Prime Minister, Tibetan Government in Exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay, said, “Senator Kerry is a long-term friend of Tibet. He has a deep understanding of the Tibetan issue. I wish him a speedy confirmation and much success in his new role as the next Secretary of State. I hope he’ll build on the efforts of Secretary Hillary Clinton, elevate the Tibet issue and human rights as American foreign policy pivots to Asia, and fully implement the Tibetan Policy Act.”

He said Senator Kerry had served in the US Senate for 28 years, and had been the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 2009. He was an expert on American foreign policy and was highly respected among his colleagues. Senator Kerry had a long record of support for Tibet and had helped steer two Tibet resolutions in the Senate in 2012 alone, including one in March where under his Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate passed a resolution expressing support for the people of Tibet and calling on the Chinese government to end its repressive policies toward Tibetans, Dr Lobsang divulged.

He said Senator Kerry who was also one of four senators who wrote a letter to President George Bush on May 9, 2008 calling on the Bush administration to take specific actions to help resolve the crisis in Tibet, including making a presidential visit to Tibet during the Beijing Olympics, establishing a consulate in Lhasa and calling for expanded access to the region for international humanitarian officials and journalists.

The Secretary of State-designate had met the Dalai Lama on several occasions and with Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay twice. In their most recent meeting in July 2012 in Washington, DC, Senator Kerry and Dr Lobsang met at length talking about both the current crisis in Tibet and lighter subjects such as various things they had in common.

They were both residents of the state of Massachusetts, Harvard University alums, and passionate Red Sox fans.

The Prime Minister Tibetan government in Exile Sikyong and CTA congratulated Senator John Kerry on a well-deserved nomination and looked forward to his continued support to Tibet and the Tibetan people in his new role as the next United States Secretary of State.

Chamba, January 1
To inculcate courage among girls to face any eventuality, an adventure sports camp (river crossing) was organised by the block resource centre (BRC), Hardaspura, in Chamba, under the aegis of sarv shiksha abhiyan (SSA). It concluded at Gajnuien on the Chamba-Khajjiar road recently.

As many as 34 girls from different schools of the district, participated in the camp.

Nalin Gautam, who is an instructor in mountaineering, imparted training to all the participants. Giving instructions to the participants of the camp, he said such adventure activities encouraged the students and made them fearless. He said these activities helped the youth to face any kind of disaster also.

Dr Kavita Bijalwlan of the BRC, Hardaspura, who was the key person in organising the camp, also attended the camp.

Chamba, January 1
The Senior Citizen Sports Club, Chamba, currently on a tour to Mandi, is the first sports club of its kind in Himachal Pradesh which has taken the initiative of infusing a new life into veteran cricket players by arranging goodwill cricket matches in the state every year.

According to the convener of the Senior Citizen Sports Club, Chamba, Major SC Nayyar, the aim of these matches is just to reinforce the mutual bond of affection and fraternity among the veteran players of different regions.

These matches rejuvenate the declining physical, mental and spiritual health of senior citizens.“These goodwill matches are unique in the country and go a long way in reviving the old traditions and unite us with our pristine culture,” feels Major Nayyar.

It is evident from the annals of the erstwhile hilly states that Chamba, Mandi, Suket and Kullu used to have a friendly exchange of cricket matches in their states. For this purpose, the Rajas had developed pitches known as ‘Chowgan’.

The Senior Citizen Sports Club of Chamba has been organising one-day goodwill cricket matches for the senior citizens of Himachal Pradesh since 2008.

Earlier, such matches were organised against Mandi, Suket, Nahan and Kullu in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. But amazingly, it was the Chamba team, which won all the matches.—OC