Shimla, July 24
The apple season has taken off early due to good crop, but the prices are much lower as compared to last year.

The season starts in the third week of July, but this year 12,19,883 standard boxes of apple have already been transported to various markets till July 23. Yesterday alone, 347 trucks carrying 1,56,358 boxes left the state and, in all, 2,714 trucks have been sent out.

Last year, only 92,524 boxes had been exported by this time. The total production was only 2.06 crore boxes, whereas this year the output was estimated to be between 3.50 crore and 4 crore boxes.

Last year, when the state had a lean crop, the initial consignments fetched as high as Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,500 per box in the Delhi market. However, this year the rates have been hovering between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,500 per box. The rates in the Dhalli market, near here, were around Rs 1,800 per box.

The main reason for low returns is that the production in the lower elevations is high but the quality of fruit is not good and it did not acquire the normal size and colour due to unfavourable weather conditions. The small and extra-small size fruit accounts for 20 per cent to 30 per cent but this year it is 50 per cent to 60 per cent and packing is being done in five and six layers in the 20-kg cartons.

“The apple belt had heavy pre-monsoon showers, which caused much damage in Kinnaur, but it was followed by a month-long dry spell. While the rain in mid-June ensured that there was no premature dropping of fruit, the lack of rain subsequently affected the size of the fruit,” points out Rajesh Dhanta, spokesperson of the Himalayan Apple Growers Society.

However, he expected the rates to remain stable, unlike last year when arhtias (commission agents) manipulated the market by offering exceptionally high prices initially and once bulk of the produce arrived, they suddenly dropped prices severely affecting returns to growers.

This year, the lower areas were having an all-time high production, but the middle elevations, which accounted for over 60 per cent of the total output, were having a moderate to good crop. The chances of a glut in the market during the peak season were less, he explained.

The higher elevations mostly got reasonable returns as the quality of the fruit was good and the crop was harvested late in the season. A grower of the Kotgarh region Ranjeet Mehta said now that monsoon had revived, the growers in the middle and higher areas would delay harvesting so that fruit acquired the right size and colour, the key to good returns.

Mandi/Kullu, July 24
The 126-MW Larji power project on the Beas was shut down today for two hours from 4 pm after the filth level in the surging river rose to 2,400 particle per minute (PPM), the highest level recorded this season so far. The project suffered loss of 2.52 lakh units of electricity as a result of the blackout triggered by the floods in three tributaries - Sainj, Tirthan, and upper Beas coming from Manali side. All three flood gates of the Larji barrage were opened to make room for the filth and logs to pass into the Beas to protect the project, said HPSEBL engineers.

The project also experienced tripping in the Tandu-Shimla transmission line due to the sudden shutdown, sources said.

The HPSEBL engineers said the barrage of the Larji project was flooded with trash and junk and wooden logs carried all the way from the upper catchments of the Beas. The Sainj and Tirthan witnessed a higher level of filth due to heavy discharge of debris into the river, while the Parbati was clearer, they added.

The trash dumped by tourists and hoteliers continued to flow in the Beas right from the Rohtang Pass through Manali, Kullu, Bhunter and Mandi towns that exposed the claims of the municipalities that they had sent the waste to the solid waste management plants.

PL Masoom, Superintending Engineer, HPSEB Ltd, told The Tribune that the project had resumed generation after the two-hour-long shutdown.

The flow of the Beas was normal at 375 cumecs per second, which is less than over 400 cumecs, highest this season, recorded in June this year, he added.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Kullu and Mandi today sounded a fresh alert dissuading people and tourists from venturing near riversides.

Mandi, July 24
The Central team, led by RK Singh and LF Reddy, today visited the flood-hit Dharampur villages of Satrehar, where eight families were rendered homeless after the flashflood washed away the entire village four days ago. The team is expected to visit Deori near Pandoh, the Kotli area in Mandi Sadar, the hospital road, and may visit Kolang and Baksiad areas in the district where bridges, roads and cultivable land were washed away in the flood.

The district administration has estimated the total losses to be to the tune of Rs 175 crore caused by the recent rains and flashfloods in Katola-Shegli, Kolang, Deori, Bakshiad-Thunag, Bali Chowki, Dharampur and other areas in the district. The damage included houses, land, IPH scheme areas, roads and bridges and other government and private

properties, horticulture and agriculture, said the officials who accompanied the team.

The district administration has given an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 to those who have been rendered homeless and provided them two-month ration and temporary shelter in school buildings till the final arrangements are made, said Pankaj Rai, ADM, Mandi. The team will have an interaction with all the officials of the different departments tomorrow and cover nearby flood-hit areas, Rai added.

Mandi, July 24
Imagine the students who have scored “negative or zero marks” in the Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE) test or those who have not taken JEE will become engineers! Courtesy the government’s decision to allow private technical universities and engineering colleges to enrol these students for different BTech courses so that private players can benefit.

On the other hand, the merit list for BTech students enrolled in two government engineering colleges varies from 160 marks to 72 marks in JEE this year, revealed sources.

All government seats have been filled - 240 seats in Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, Sundernagar, and 120 seats in Atal Bihari Vajpayee Engineering College, Pragtinagar - in the first round of counselling.

The rest of the 35 SC and ST seats had no takers and were likely to be filled through the open pool, the sources said.

Like last year, only 10 per cent seats of the total 7,490 B.Tech seats in private engineering colleges are filled this time, with students with negative or zero score making it to the BTech course this year, revealed admission councillors.

Even then, a powerful lobby of private technical education providers continue to have their way with the state government for the second time. Even if it means playing with the future of the students, comment the experts.

Last year, the BJP government had permitted private players on their plea that they had contended that they would encourage students in remote area schools to take the entrance tests. This time they also pressed upon the government that the students were taking technical courses in private colleges in Punjab, which enrol the non-JEE students and end up paying more than double what they charge in Himachal.

The Cabinet yesterday decided to allow private engineering colleges to admit students with a rider that the candidate should secure 65 per cent marks in physics, maths and one of the subjects from chemistry, biotechnology, computer science and biology in the qualifying examinations.

But these pleas were making a mockery of the norms prescribed by the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). This, in the long run, will ruin technical education, they add.

Secretary, Technical Education, RD Dhiman said they had not waived the JEE condition for private players. They were permitted to admit students who secured 65 per cent marks in the aggregate. Those who violated and enrolled non-JEE students would attract penal action, he asserted.

Dharamsala, July 24
The Una district of Himachal Pradesh that has produced two Olympian hockey players, Chanranjit Singh and Deepak Thakur, now has an international-level astroturf hockey stadium.

This is the second astroturf hockey stadium in the state. Earlier, an astroturf hockey ground was brought up in the Shilaru area of Shimla district.

The astroturf stadium at Una, that has been brought up at a cost of about Rs 4 crore by state Sports and Youth Welfare Department, was getting the final touches when The Tribune team visited the area. Two French technicians were checking the astroturf as per the norms fixed by the International Federation for Hockey (IFH).

Sources available at the spot said the stadium was now fit for even international matches as per the IFH norms.

The astroturf hockey stadium at Una will boost the promotion of hockey in the district. Una district has been producing some fine hockey players, but there was no stadium of international standards.

However, the sources said the maintenance of an international hockey stadium at Una would be a problem. The Sports and Youth Welfare Department was a government agency for maintaining the stadium. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said though the stadium had been brought up under the aegis of the Union government, the state Sports Department did not have funds for its maintenance.

The maintenance of an astroturf stadium requires regular maintenance for which the funds will have to be arranged by the department from its own sources. Besides, managing the stadium will also be difficult. Improper use of the stadium can damage the astroturf that has been laid at a cost of Rs 4 crore.

The players will have to be provided specialised hockey sticks, balls and shoes to practice at the astroturf stadium.

Earlier also, the Sports and Youth Welfare Department had brought up a swimming pool at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Una. The swimming pool, along with the filtration plant, was brought up at a cost of about Rs 1 crore. However, the swimming pool has not been made functional as yet. The sources said the department did not have funds for the operation and maintenance of the swimming pool, due to which it was lying unutilised.

The sources also said the department tried to outsource the operations of the swimming pool, but it did not attract anyone.

The only alternative for the Sports Department to generate income from the stadium would be to organise Indian Hockey League matches at the Una stadium. However, for this more sitting space will have to be created at the stadium. Presently, the stadium has very limited sitting capacity and can only be used for practice matches.

The sources said the department was planning to get the stadium inaugurated by the Chief Minister in the near future. However, to make optimum utilisation of the facility, special coaches and equipment would have to be arranged to train hockey players from the state.

Chamba, July 24
Chamba Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kadam Sandeep Vasant has emphasised the need for adopting hard recovery measures with the help of sponsoring agencies against the wilful defaulters of loans in the district.

The DC stated this while presiding over a meeting of the District Consultative Committee of Bankers organised by the State Bank of India here today.

Reviewing the performance of the annual credit plan (ACP) of various banks operating in the district, the DC said the bankers had extended the credit of Rs 269.60 crore, thereby registering an achievement of 98.04 per cent under the plan that ended on March 31. "The development under priority sector is 95.64 per cent", he added.

In the meeting, the main points, which included Aadhaar cards, credit to agriculture sector, bank linkage of self-help groups and potential link credit plan, were discussed for implementation in the next year.

Shimla, July 24
The Tourism Policy framed in 2005 is being reviewed with technical assistance from the World Bank to shift emphasis to sustainable development tourism in the ecologically fragile hill state.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, presiding over a review meeting of the Board of Directors the State Tourism Development Corporation and the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, said here today that a tourism development plan would be prepared for Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur. He said the Wi-Fi system would be provided in the entire Keylong and Spiti region so that the tribal region could be provided reliable telecom connectivity.

Virbhadra Singh also launched the Himachal Tourism Online Information System for the collection of tourist statistics on the occasion. An SMS-based software, which would help tourists to send their queries, suggestions and complaints instantly to the Tourism Department, was also started.

The Chief Minister stressed on the promotion of tourism in a sustainable manner and said the department had started the study of the Dharamsala-McLeodganj area for the purpose. He said a Master Plan and Mobility Plan for Chintpurni, Shri Naina Deviji and Kangra would also be prepared soon.

Infrastructural facilities were being provided at all tourist destinations and 1,000 youths to be trained as tourist guides, while 3,900 youths were being trained in driving skills.

He said a mini water amusement park would be set up at Sadhupul in Solan district and possibilities would be explored to open a wayside amenity on the Parwanoo-Chandigarh bypass for which the district administration was asked to identify land.

Managing Director of the corporation Subhasish Panda said online tourist statistics software would provide district-wise information of those tourists who check into hotels.

Shimla, July 24
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said unless education kept abreast of the social, economic and political changes of the present epoch, it would cease to be meaningful.

Presiding over the closing ceremony of the three-day 44th foundation day celebrations of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) here, he said in an egalitarian society, the role of education institutions was to train young minds in such a way that they were able to develop their potential and participate in the process of the national growth. The universities had a vital role to play and they must produce learned persons who understood the complex connection between educational institutions and the present day society.

He said the university recently introduced the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) at the undergraduate level would go a long a way in assuring greater employability of passouts students across the world.

Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpayee said the university had pioneered in implementing Rastriya Uchhtar Shiksha Abhiyan and, thus, making Himachal Pradesh a leader in the country. It was a matter of pride that HPU had improved its ranking from 44th to 32nd in the top 50 universities of the country as per India Today survey.

Solan, July 24
With the state government having initiated a probe on land deals executed on the basis of the general power of attorney (GPA) in the state, a number of resorts and flats coming up in the greater Kasauli planning area have come under a scanner.

The government has detected 3,579 cases in Solan district where land and property transactions have been executed on the basis of GPA and Kasauli figures prominently on the list of such places.

The Deputy Commissioner has been directed to identify such transactions where the GPA has been used to buy property in the names of Himachalis by outsiders. All such cases would now be probed.

With the district having a large number of violations of the Section 118 of the HP Land Reforms and Tenancy Act, 1972, local builders said GPA violations would be high in Kasauli.

Builders are indulging in commercialisation of the area and since they had not approached either the HP State Electricity Board or the Irrigation and Health Department to procure NOCs, as is the norm, officials cannot estimate the water and power requirements of commercial projects at the inspection stage. This causes shortage of water and power in the area.

The probe on the GPA land deals will not only act as a deterrent for the fresh projects, but also help check such constructions undertaken by the outsiders in the name of Himachalis. Deputy Commissioner Madan Chauhan said such directions were yet to be received by him.

Shimla, July 24
The police has directed the management of the Buddhist monasteries in Dharamsala, Tabo and Kei in Lahaul-Spiti and Rewalsar in Mandi district to adopt a strict security protocol while allowing entry and stay of foreigners in their institutions.

The CID has already alerted the management of these monasteries, including the one adjoining the residence of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, to adopt proper security measures before allowing the entry of foreigners. It is following the blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya and threat by the Indian Mujahideen that such an alert has been sounded at the monasteries.

“I have directed the CID to ensure that proper screening and frisking of foreigners is undertaken as is followed at the Tirupati shrine,” said Director General of Police B Kamal Kumar.

The security will be beefed up at Tabo, Kei in Lahaul-Spiti, Rewalsar and the Tsughlakakhang monastery opposite the Dalai Lama’s residence in McLeodganj and the Gyuto Tantrik Monastery at Sidhbari on the outskirts of Dharamsala, which is the abode of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorjee.

With the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa having a sizeable following all over the world, thousands of foreigners, including high-profile personalities and international dignitaries, visit McLeodganj and other important places associated with the Buddhism.

The tribal Buddhist circuit of Kinnuar and Lahaul-Spiti too is very popular with foreigners. To visit these tribal areas, the foreigners have to seek a permit from the district administration, due to proximity to the international boundary with China.

The CID had received reports about the monastery authorities being very casual in allowing foreigners to stay within their temple complexes. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had sent an alert to the state police, recommending beefing up of security at the Buddhist and Tibetan monasteries which are visited by thousands of foreigners every year.

It had been pointed out that these centres could be made targets of terrorist attacks.

It is also learnt that the CID has also recommended beefing up of security and installation of closed-circuit cameras at all prominent monasteries. It is only at the Dalai Lama’s residence that proper frisking of all outsiders is undertaken, but at other places this system is not in place.

It is recommended that proper anti-sabotage check of visitors and residents in the monastery must be undertaken. The installation of chemical detectors, explosive vapour testing and strengthening of the dog squad has also been recommended at the Dalai Lama’s residence.

Dharamsala, July 24
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) today organised a prayer meeting this evening at the main temple of Tibetans at McLeodganj in view of the 120th self-immolation in Tibet. Lobsang Sangay, elected leader of Tibetans-in-exile, addressed the Tibetans present on the occasion.

Earlier, members of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to convene a special meeting in response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet, in view of the continous self-immolations.

In a statement here, the Tibetan parliament-in-exile urged the UNHRC to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in Tibet and called on the Chinese leadership to carry out a thorough investigation into the real causes of self-immolations instead of resorting to blame games. The parliament also appealed to the UN and the government to send fact-finding delegations to Tibetan areas to assess the ground situation.

Since 2009, as many as 120 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Kunchok Sonam, an 18-year-old monk of the Thangkor Sogtsang Monastery in Zoege region of eastern Tibet, on Saturday became the 120th Tibetan to self-immolate. He died at the site of his protest after which a large number of local Tibetans gathered and retrieved his body.

The Tibetan parliament-in-exile in its statement said the Chinese government’s continued occupation of Tibet and its hard-line policies to annihilate Tibetan nationality, culture, religion and language were the root causes behind the self-immolations.

Hamirpur, July 24
HP Non-Gazetted Services Federation district president Man Chand Rana and other members of the organisation have criticised certain leaders belonging to another faction of the body for allegedly issuing misleading statements.

They said the employee leaders, who claimed to have resigned from the elected posts, were not eligible to be members of the NGO. — TNS

Kangra, July 24
The Himachal Pradesh Association of School Principals has taken an exception to the ongoing restructuring of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Solan, in which the involvement and role of school principals and teachers are being ignored.

In a statement here today, spokespersons of the association JS Rao and Vinod Chaudhary said the SCERT, which is a nodal agency for imparting in-service training to school teachers, was being hijacked by college teachers.

They said the association would not accept the biased system being adopted for restructuring of the SCERT and it would fight for seeking total control of the SCERT by school principals and teachers.

The association has appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter so that the primary objective of the SCERT is not defeated since the role of school administrators and teachers in the running of the SCERT is indispensable to achieve the ends in the school education system and Centrally sponsored schemes.

Besides, the association also demanded that all trained graduate teachers appointed as block resource centre coordinators to monitor different activities of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan at the block level should be removed and replaced by school principals.

Other demands of the association included regularisation of principals, enhancement of their administrative allowance to Rs 1,200 and grade pay on the Central pattern.

Shimla, July 24
Rakesh Kalia, who represents the Gagret Assembly seat, today resigned as Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS).

He said he was resigning from the post to uphold the principle of one-man one-post. He was recently made secretary of the All-India Congress Committee. The resignation has been accepted.

Kalia was inducted as CPS on May 14 last, along with Jagjivan Pal, Nand Lal, Rohit Thakur, Sohan Lal and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal. He was attached for Ayurveda.

With his resignation, the number of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries has come down to eight.

Nurpur, July 24
Local MLA Ajay Mahajan dedicated the new Inter Facility Transport (IFT) 108 referral ambulance on the premises of the Civil Hospital here today by flagging it off.

On this occasion, he said the state government had fulfilled a long-standing demand of people of the area by providing free referral ambulance as it would shift referred patients from here to other medical colleges like the DRPGMC, Tanda, the IGMC, Shimla, and the PGI, Chandigarh, free of cost. He said the government had provided three such ambulances with advanced facilities to the Tanda medical college and Civil Hospitals at Nurpur and Dehra.

He said the strengthening of health services in this hospital was his top priority as it was a dream project of his late father and Congress stalwart Sat Mahajan. “Patients will soon get round-the-clock CT scan facility and child ICU in this hospital. Free eye operations have been started in the hospital. Camps for the disabled, which were stopped by the previous government, have also been restored here,” he asserted.

He claimed that Rs 35 lakh was being spent on the facelift of the building of the Civil Hospital and more posts of doctor and para medical staff were created by the state government to make functional the 100-bedded capacity of the hospital.

Bilaspur, July 24
Personnel of the Fire Brigades of Sallapad and Bilaspur town saved the life of a cow that had got been trapped in the strong currents of the Sutlej under the Sallapad bridge, 24 km from here, yesterday.

Reports said Sohan Lal, an employee of the Sallapad Fire Brigade, was informed by a villager that a cow was trapped in the Sutlej. He rushed to the spot and tied one end of a rope to a tree and jumped into the water with the other end and managed to tie the rope around the neck of the cow. Then personnel of the two Fire Brigades pulled the cow out of the water.

Others who helped in the prcess included Jarnail Singh, Bhupender Pal Dogra, Malkeet Singh, Kartar Singh, Devki Nandan and Sunil Kumar of the Bilaspur Fire Brigade and Rajiv Singh Bhadoria, Fire Officer, and Naseeb Khan of the BBMB Fire Brigade team.

Shimla, July 24
Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today said the government was considering enhancing the diet allowance of nurses to Rs 18 from Rs 6 per day.

Stating this during a meeting with representatives of the Trained Nurses Association of India here, he said the training of nursing sisters in the ward administration would be restored to help enhance their efficiency. The training of immunisation would also be included in the training. He said the Annual Confidential Report of nurses would also be made online.

Kaul Singh said medical certificate for light duty would now be issued after examination by a medical board and the surplus staff would be deputed to health institutions. He said the government was also considering enhancing the strength of nurses and more posts would be filled to provide quality medicare services to the people.

He called upon the nursing staff to voluntarily serve the rural areas. The Health Minister assured the association that their genuine demands would be considered.

Principal Secretary, Health, Ali Raza Rizvi, spoke about the benefits being given to the nursing staff and gave various suggestions for further improving the healthcare services.

Jyoti Walia, president of the state branch of the Trained Nurses Association of India, urged the minister to provide stipend to nursing students, count services rendered under the Rogi Kalyan Samiti for regularisation and grade pay for nursing sisters on the pattern Punjab.

Nahan, July 24
Four unidentified youths snatched a chain and a pair of ear-rings from Mohini Gupta, eldest sister of Nahan MLA Rajeev Bindal, around 1:15 pm today in the Ranital area of Nahan today.

The police rushed to the spot after receiving the information and put up nakas in various parts of the town to nab the youths who appeared to have disappeared after snatching the jewellery.

The mishap occurred when the woman was alone at home and a youth came to Gupta’s house to enquire about somebody residing in the neighbourhood and later asked for a glass of water. But as soon as she went inside, three other youths came inside and snatched a gold chain and ear-rings from her by placing a small gun on her temple.

The youths, however, managed to flee from the spot.

Additional SP Bhagat Thakur said the police had registered a case under Sections 462 and 323, IPC, and further investigations were underway. Dr Bindal said the police was on its toes ever since it received information about the incident.