Mandi, June 27
Nearly 53.6 per cent turnout of voters was recorded in 118 polling stations in the flood-hit Kinnaur constituency in the second and final phase of polling for the Mandi Lok Sabha byelection today. This has taken the overall polling turnout for the entire Mandi constituency to close to 53 per cent and all eyes are on June 30 when counting will take place.

The voting was peaceful, but 230 voters in the Shalkhar polling station in upper Kinnaur boycotted the poll in protest against the failure of the state helicopter to lift three patients to Shimla or Rampur for treatment.

State electoral officer Narender Chauhan said they had not received forms from many polling stations as these lacked connectivity, mainly in the Pooh block, and once all forms came in, the final figure would be available, he added.

But voters in Kinnaur did not turn up in high number to exercise their franchise as was witnessed in 16 Assembly constituencies which had voted on June 23 in the first phase.

As per figure available, 52.23 per cent polling was recorded in the 16 constituencies on June 23.

In the morning hours, the polling stations in Nichar and Kalpa blocks witnessed 20 per cent polling, which increased to 39 per cent in the afternoon, said district returning officer for Kinnaur JM Pathania.

"About 53.6 per cent polling was recorded. All parties have returned and the EVMs will be airlifted to Reckong Peo tomorrow", he added. There are 52,345 voters in Kinnaur, including service electors as well.

Apart from Shalkhar, 221 voters in Nalda, 124 in Jasrat villages in Nalda panchayat in the Pattan valley in Lahaul-Spiti and 84 voters in Magan in Mandi district and two villages in Solang and Pulga in Kullu district had boycotted the poll on the issues of lack of bridges and roads on June 23.

Shimla, June 27
Shaken by the catastrophe that hit Uttarakhand, the Himachal government has decided not to permit the construction of any new government offices or allow re-development of existing government structures in the congested areas in its major towns.

The decision taken by the government is coupled with the move to identify sites for developing satellite townships as alternates will have to be suggested to prevent the existing overcrowded towns like Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, Kullu and Mandi from getting congested further.

The move to have at least three satellite townships for the highly congested state capital has already been initiated and land is being identified at Ghandal, Fagu and Vaknaghat. Other towns where there is proposal to develop satellites include Dharamsala, Mandi, Solan, Kullu and Nahan.

“The calamity in Uttarakhand is a wake-up call and if we do not realise the perils even now, it can be too late,” said Vikas Labroo, Director, Town and Country Planning. He added that the government would have to show the way and set an example, before it applied these conditions to the general public. He did not rule out the possibility of restricting construction in the congested areas of all major towns in the near future.

Notwithstanding the rhetoric by successive governments about decongesting the “Queen of Hills” and other tourist destinations like Manali, Dharamsala, Kasauli and Dalhousie by developing satellite towns, this is the first major initiative that has been taken till date. Despite the resources like water, parking and roads in these popular tourist destinations being under tremendous pressure, the talk about developing a satellite township has so remained only on paper.

The peak tourist season in most of the popular towns is a harrowing period for the locals who suffer acute water shortage, constant traffic jams with huge influx of visitors. It is felt that further construction activity in the highly congested and crowded areas be disallowed.

Major parts of Himachal like Uttrakhand fall in the high seismic activity Zone IV and V, which are highly vulnerable to tremors and earthquakes.

As such, erecting high-rise buildings and construction in the sliding zones is most dangerous which could spell doom in case of high intensity tremors. Construction along the river or very close to it too is an area of concern for the government and efforts might be made to check this as well. 

Shimla, June 27
About 20 houses in the Krishnanagar locality of the town today collapsed following incessant rain, forcing evacuation of about 80 other adjoining houses.

Though there has been no loss of life, the collapse in the landslide-prone area below the Cart Road has posed a threat to over 100 houses in the vicinity which have already been vacated.

The occupants of these houses have been shifted to the Ambedkar Bhawan and Valmiki and Sankat Mochan temples. Mayor Sanjay Chauhan visited the spot to ensure safe evacuation and immediate shelter for all families.

He added that the Municipal Corporation would expedite work on the Rs 36-crore Rajiv Awas Yojna under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

“A sum of Rs 9 crore has already been received from the Urban Development Ministry for constructing 300 dwellings for urban poor, and priority will be given to those whose houses collapsed or were damaged today,” he said.

The cave-in took place early this morning as some of these houses had already been declared unsafe.

With incessant rains during the last few days, the walls of some of these houses gave way, posing a threat to the adjoining structures as well.

Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Malhotra said all houses had been vacated and belongings of the occupants moved out. 

Dharamsala, June 27
The concept of community colleges, floated during a meeting of US Secretary of State John Kerry and HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju, has not been accepted by educationists.

Dr Furqan Qumar, Vice-Chancellor, Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), expressed doubts over the success of community colleges in India.

He said the concept was started initially in Canada. As the economy of Canada flourished, a need of professionals of various categories was felt. Since professionals were not available in that country, the government introduced the concept of community colleges. In these colleges, two-year bridge courses were offered to school graduates. The students were trained in sales, banking or marketing by offering them courses that were somewhere between school education and graduation.

In the US, the concept was introduced after soldiers returned from the Vietnam war and there was need to equip them with some kind of skill to make them employable in civil society. In the US, about 40-45 per cent of the total 70 million students studied in community colleges, he said.

Dr Qumar, however, said in India, the situation in quite different. Each year about four lakh engineering graduates passed out. A large number of them were unemployed. In such a situation, when so many trained graduates were looking for jobs, the success of community colleges that would create semi or partially skilled labour was doubtful, he said.

Education experts said the government had already experimented with vocational education. These courses were started in schools to train semi-skilled labour. However, the experiment had failed as vocational education in schools could not produce the desired results, they said.

In India, the concept of higher education was related with status in society. People did not want to send their children for training to institutes to become carpenters or masons, they added.

Diploma and ITIs for technical training were also not a big success and the private sector had not forayed into the field due to lesser demand.

The experts said in Indian context, small bridge courses ranging from three to six months that imparted specialised and job-oriented training to school passouts and graduates could be successful. However, the success of community colleges that would take two-year courses at a time when a large number of trained graduates were available for employment in the market was doubtful.

Solan, June 27
The counselling for admissions to various postgraduate courses in two medical colleges of the state was deferred today following representations by the General Duty Officers (GDOs) that they had apprehensions that candidatures of some ineligible doctors, who had failed to meet the area-wise service norms, were also being considered by the counselling committee.

In a representation to the Secretary, Health, and the chairperson of the counselling committee, the GDOs asserted that several doctors who had not completed the mandatory area-wise service norms should not be entertained for counselling to the various postgraduate courses till their service was verified. Counselling for these courses was to take place today.

Medical officers serving with the state government are eligible to be considered for admission to postgraduate courses as in-service candidates as per terms and conditions mentioned in the prospectus for the various postgraduate degree and diploma courses at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College at Tanda.

As per Clause 3 of the prospectus issued by the Department of Medical Education and Research, Himachal Pradesh, eligibility and distribution of seats has been specifically mentioned as a mandatory condition.

As per these conditions, two to five years service in various parts of the state, which include tribal areas, municipal committee areas and other areas, have been made an essential condition for the in-service graduate doctors.

Doctors who have cleared the common entrance test held by the National Board of Examination, New Delhi, for admission to postgraduate courses in MD and MS had detected some cases where ineligible doctors were also vying to get admission to these courses in the general category as their service records had not been verified.

Kangra, June 27
DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Ambota, has become a pioneering institution of this region by installing 14 smart boards for e-enabled teaching and learning.

This huge technological leap by the semi-rural school will help its teachers to impart knowledge to students with the ample use of technology, thereby making teaching and learning more engaging and effective in comparison to the traditional chalk and duster dependent teaching.

School Chairman KC Katna, Manager GK Bhatnagar, Principal Rashmi Raj Biswal and other LMC members unanimously resolved to build up this electronically empowered infrastructure, so that students of DAV Ambota did not lag behind their urban counterparts.

A school parliament was set up and Ranjna Dadwal was the chief guest on the occasion. A school cabinet for different departments too was elected. Lavleen was elected head boy and Kajal head girl. The cabinet comprised Chirag, Sunidhi, Rajan, Shailja, Vasudha, Prashant, Aditya and Sharshti. Principal Biswal made them take an oath for working with dedication. 

Hamirpur, June 27
The state government has started online registration for obtaining licences under the Food Safety Act.

Shopkeepers and business establishment owners can now apply for licences online saving their time and frequent visits to offices of the Health Department.

This scheme has been started by the Union Ministry of Health for which software has been developed by the Food Standard and Safety Authority (FSSA) and now introduced throughout the country.

Licence seekers can now apply online by using this software sitting at their workplace and need not go to the Health Department office for the purpose.

The applicants can also upload all their documents online and a hard copy of the application, along with necessary documents and licence fee, can be submitted by post or through any other mode within 15 days at the local office.

While fling an online application, the applicant will be automatically informed about any deficiency in the documents submitted for obtaining the licence.

The online application will be automatically referred to a particular Food Licencing Officer through an area code, who will process the application within 15 days and inform the applicant regarding any deficiency in it through internet ID provided in the application.

The applicants will also have the facility to track the status of their applications.

After the submission of all documents and fee, the local Food Licence Officer will have to issue the licence within 30 days.

Atul Kayastha, District Food Safety Officer, said, "The facility of online submission of application for obtaining food licences is a great facility for shopkeepers and business establishment owners as it will save their time and frequent visits to offices. The FSSA has made it mandatory to issue a licence within 30 days after the submission of fee and all relevant documents."

Shimla, June 27
The HP State Forest Corporation Employees Federation has expressed concern over the move of the government to withdraw the ongoing activities of the corporation on the pretext of enhancing revenue.

Govind Chatratha, president, HP State Forest Corporation Employees Federation, has urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to intervene and stall the move of the department to bring back forest contractors for the conversation of trees under salvage marking. He said the corporation was set up to eliminate forest mafia and curb illicit felling of trees, adding that the move to allow their entry was a retrograde step. Moreover, the move was also in violation of the Supreme Court verdict delivered in 1996, he said.

He said prior to the nationalisation of forests, the department used to carry out felling through private forest lessees, who participated in an open auction of trees. The system encouraged illicit felling and to curb it, the government had set up a public undertaking

The forest corporation had also paid revenue by way of royalty, VAT, service tax and other charges to the tune of 35 to 40 per cent of its total turnover, he said.

The financial benefit like time-bound promotions after four, nine and 14 years of service, grade pay, opening of promotional avenue to chowkidar, fieldman or Class IV employees and other categories were being deferred on one pretext or the other since long, Chatratha added.

Shimla, April 27
While the rupee fall against the dollar has made the import of apple costly, the decision of the Central Government to allow duty-free import from Afghanistan under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement is causing worry to growers in the state.

Last season, about 15,000 tonnes of apple were imported. In normal circumstances, such a concession to a friendly country in crisis would not have made much difference, but the facility is being misused by traders who are procuring apple from Iran and Pakistan and supplying it as Afghani produce. Imports from other countries are subject to 50 per cent import duty and it is a huge incentive for such malpractices.

Prakash Thakur, Director, Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Development Authority, said it was a serious matter and if the fruit from other countries was allowed, there would be no end to it. The matter had already been brought to the notice of the Union Ministry of Commerce.

The Himachal government would soon write to the ministry which would refer it to the Ministry of External Affairs for investigation. In case, it was established that apple from other countries were being channelled through Afghanistan, the government would take further action.

However, weakening of the rupee has come as a boon for the growers. As a result, the cost of apple has increased from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,800 per standard box of 20 kg. Taking into account the margin and cost incurred on transportation, it will be sold in the wholesale market at Rs 2,700 to Rs 2,800 per box which is higher than the price of the best indigenous apple.

Rajeev Chauhan, a grower from Jubbal, said his average returns from the high quality apple came to about Rs 1,800 per box and the overall returns were much less. As such, the expensive imported fruit did not pose any competition. Further, the imported fruit was no match as far as the quality was concerned.

Kullu, June 27
The week-long ban on rafting in the Beas from June 12 to 18 in the peak tourist season has adversely hit local raft operators.

The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation (DTCA) had lifted the ban on June 19 with a rider that “no operator will be allowed to raft when the river level rises”. The ban followed after the river rose on June 10 and four rafting accidents took place that killed four tourists.

However, raft operators said the department should regulate rafting by banning unequipped and non-registered raft operators, who were responsible for the mishaps, rather than imposing a blanket ban in advance.

“There is not a single inspector to monitor safety measures being followed by many illegal operators,” insiders said. “A few operators make easy money by overcharging and overloading, which needs to be checked by the department,” they demanded.

"Raft operators charge at will as they have not displayed their charge list. The DTCA has fixed Rs 450 per trip per head for the upper Kullu rafting point and Rs 750 for the downstream stretch. They do not even provide standby rescue boats equipped with throw bags," they said.

The Beas had receded since June 13 and rafting was stopped till June 19, said Gopal Chaudhary of the Beas River Adventure Company operating at Raison.

“A few operators flout notified safety standards and overload rafts,” he added.

However, operators said they paid Rs 1,500 per raft to the DTCA and Rs 1,500 to river guide per raft per day. “We are ruined as rafting was banned in the peak season from June 12 to June 18,” said Shayam Chand, former president of the Kullu Beas River Rafting Association, Pirdi.

There are three lobbies of raft operators, offering joy rides to tourists between three river stretches- Raison and Bandrol, Babeli to Devdham and between Pirdi and Jhiri.

MR Dhiman, district tourism officer, Kullu, said they allowed only 208 raft operators registered with the department. “The technical committee inspects each raft and raids a spot when any complaint comes,” he said. 

Dharamsala, June 27
The Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), Hamirpur, today organised a Himachal Fashion Hunt-2013. Himakshi Agarwala, Femina Miss India-East, 2012, was the chief guest for the occasion.

While speaking on the occasion, Himakshi said Himachal, as presented in today’s event, had a lot of raw talent that could attain success in the field of fashion and modelling if trained under professionals.

Himakshi Agarwala advised the girls participating in the event to train under professional agencies.

The former Miss India-East also adjudicated the winner of the fashion hunt programme organised at Hotel Dhauladhar today.

Shikha of Dharamsala was adjudged winner, Aastha Thakur of Hamirpur first runner-up and Prabhjot Kaur of Shimla second runner-up.

However, some of the participants were found short in answering queries put up by the judges that forced Himakshi to point out that the raw talent in the event needed training.

Kangra, June 27
The body of Om Raj (40) of Kaliad village was found in the bushes near Kholi village on the bank of the Banner river today.

SHO, Kangra, MS Manhas said a passer-by found the body lying in the bushes.

Manhas said the body had been sent for postmortem.

The police suspected that Om Raj might have committed suicide. However, some foul play too could not be ruled out. Investigation under Section 174, IPC, was in progress, he said.