Mandi, August 9
Rescue teams evacuated 50 persons from Tamled village in Sarkaghat today following a massive landslide measuring 2,000 sq m. The landslide has left eight houses unsafe and damaged three bighas of land as well as a 200 ft stretch on the Ner Chowk-Kalkhar-Jahu highway.

The rescue teams of the departments of revenue, mining and PWD and the police, led by SDM, Sarkaghat, Rohit Rathaur, shifted the villagers to a safer place. They also closed the anganwadi centre housing 11 children at Tamled.

The entire hillock sunk 10 ft. It continues to sink further as rain water is entering the huge cracks. The cracks are widening and big boulders threatening human settlements and land, officials said.

The 100 ft stretch on the Ner Chowk-Jahu Kalkhar highway has been washed away due to the landslide. The situation is worsening every hour due to continuous rain over the last two days. Traffic has been diverted towards the Patrighat-Jahu road.

The villagers blame the unscientific cutting of the hill by the highway contractors, which has destabilised the area due to blasting. “We took up the matter with the PWD in January last for a retaining wall to be built at the site, but to no avail,” Tek Chand, pradhan, gram panchayat Patrighat, said.

The PWD has deputed a few labourers to divert water from the cracks formed after the landslide to drain water after the geologist inspected the site.

Another small landslide occurred at Lumblu on the highway. The PWD has cleared the stretch. “We have cordoned off the area with the help of the police and home guards to keep watch on the landslide so that no one ventures in its ambit,” said Rohit.

The villagers have been shifted to nearby houses, he said. No loss of life is report,” he added.

Udaipur (Lahaul-Spiti), August 9
The controversial 400 mw Seli power project on the Chenab here has landed in trouble. The Sangharsh Samiti, Udaipur gram panchayat and gram sabha, has said no to the project because 81-metre-high dam will destroy 57,219 plants and trees of this town.

Moser Baer has hired a two-room site office here and started drilling at the lower dam site for investigation.

The company has sought to convert 276 sqm of forest area for dam, muck dumping sites, the surge shaft and roads, but it has yet to pay Rs 100 crore for its conversion to the government. As many as 57, 219 plants, including 12,800 trees out of which 2,677 are rare high-altitude deodars, 44,386 saplings, will be submerged or eliminated as per enumeration carried out by the Forest Department in 2011, said forest officials.

The yellow marks put up at 2,610-mt height, the highest point of the Seli dam, lies at a stone throw distance from here. The proposed dam will destroy a temple and bury cremation grounds of Udaipur, Kuraki, Salpat, Ratoli villages and a bridge to Salpat across the Chenab, the residents charged.

The ASI has declared historic Mrikula devi temple as a protected monument of rare art and beauty and residents have to get an NOC from the ASI to build even a cowshed.

“We have no option than moving the Green Bench of the high court or national tribunal seeking scrapping of the project”, said samiti president Sudarshan Thakur.

It takes 60-70 years for the deodar trees to grow in the cold desert area and it is difficult to grow trees here as the Forest Department has a bad track record of planting trees in the high mountains, he added.

The villagers whose land will be acquired for the project favour it out of ignorance, but the gram sabha and gram panchyat, Udaipur, have a passed resolution opposing the project during a public hearing, said members.

“We have issued a notice and registered villagers objections, but the report is being sent to the state government”, said RK Thakur, SDM, Udaipur.

Though the company has availed in principle approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), but it awaits the final clearance, said H L Rana, divisional forest officer, Lahaul-Spiti.

Apart from this, the residents charge the project violates the Schedule Tribe and Traditional Forest Dwellers Rights Act 2006 and the Extension of Panchayati Raj and Schedule Area Act, 1966 (PESA).

The PESA empowers gram sabha to preserve, protect, and promote community resources, they assert.

On the other hand, head, Moser Baer hydro projects, SK Khare said the state government had allotted it the project at 2606 mt and given its nod to go ahead. The local area development fund from projects would benefit the locals and help raise fresh plantations.

Dharamsala, August 9
After the landslide in Dharamsala, panic gripped villagers as soon as news spread that a hillock was sinking at Paror village near here.

A school at nearby Ghaneta village faces threat due to sinking of a portion of a hill on which a dera of the Radha Swami sect is situated. Residents visited the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. In the complaint, Shiv Paul Singh, ex-pradhan of the village, alleged that reckless blasting and deforestation, being carried out by dera people was the reason for the hill sinking and it had posed a threat to Darang village.

A Tribune team visited the area today. A portion of the hillock on which the dera was situated was sinking. It had posed a threat to a private school building as mud had entered its premises.

The locals present on the spot said the sinking of the hill portion had also posed a threat to the narrow gauge railway line passing through the area.

They also said the sinking portion of the hill had blocked the natural drain in the area due to which water had entered the school premises.

A survey in the area revealed that even the national highway had sunk near Darang.

The dera authorities are engaged in construction work at the hill top. The locals alleged that due to the work and levelling of the hilltop, the hill had started sinking. This has brought the locals and the dera authorities at loggerheads.

There were reports of landslides and road blocks in other parts of the district also, as rain has continued in the region for the past more than 48 hours. 

Nurpur, August 9
Flash flood in Chhonchh Khad at Malot on the Indora-Pathankot road in Indora has washed away 50 m stretch on the causeway (approach road) of the bridge. The causeway had been repaired by the Public Works Department a month ago.

All rivulets and khads in Nurpur have swelled because of the recent downpour.

The flood water has breached the 500 m Dhussi bandh near Kandrori. The river water flooded the residential and agriculture areas at Kandrori, Bari, Chak, Shekhupura villages and its surrounding areas.

According to SDM Ashwani Sood, who visited the flood-affected areas today, the flood water has entered 100 houses. He said the Army area and the railway track at Kandrori had been submerged in the flood water. The railway traffic on the Pathankot-Jalandhar railway track also remained suspended for hours.

“However, the flood water in the affected areas has been subsided this evening, but the administration has requested the Army to be ready for relief and rescue operation,” he said.

The flood water has damaged maize, paddy and vegetable crops in Indora. A number of cowsheds have also been damaged. Traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi highway also remained suspended near Nurpur for a few hours when a tree fell on the highway.

The release of the overflowing Pong dam reservoir by the BBMB authorities for the past two days has also flooded the Beas in the Mand area in lower Kangra district. The traffic on a number of link roads in Indora remained suspended for hours due to landslides. 

Shimla, August 9
Desperately hoping that the 14th Finance Commission will compensate the state for the unjustifiably low non-plan revenue deficit grant recommended by the 13th commission, the government is focusing on sectoral grants to ensure maximum resource transfer for the 2015-20 period.

Besides seeking a special dispensation for preserving the green cover, the state will seek enhancement in grants for disaster management, local bodies and other sectors from the commission headed by Dr YV Reddy which is scheduled to visit the state from August 12 to 15.

The state had imposed a moratorium on green fellings in 1983 and it has been losing much-needed forest revenue as a result. After carrying out evaluation of the forest wealth and the revenue, the state was denying itself by not exploiting it, a figure of Rs 4,750 crore has been worked out, which the state will seek from the commission to compensate it.

In the memorandum being prepared for the commission, the requirement for local bodies has been pegged at Rs 1,147 crore and Rs 2,476 crore proposed for disaster management. Besides, the state-specific grants to be put up before the commission for various projects add up to over Rs 2,000 crore. The state will plead for change in norms for funding for the hill states in view of the high cost of infrastructure development and delivery of services due to difficult terrain and sparse population which results in higher expenditure on salaries and development projects.

The focus will be on seeking maximum funds for construction and maintenance of roads, which involve a very high cost compared to planes and also suffer maximum damage due to rain and snow. A number of bridges, tunnels and other projects are being proposed for funding. The total amount being sought is more than Rs 20,000 crore.

With expenditure on salaries and pensions pegged at 35 per cent, the 13th commission recommended a revenue deficit grant of Rs 7,889 crore for the 2005-10 period, down from Rs 10,202 crore for the 2000-05 period. However, the total devolution recommended to the state for the five-year period was Rs 21,691 crore, up from Rs 14,450 crore for the 2000-05 period, mainly on account of increase in sectoral grants.

Still the overall hike was just 50.6 per cent as against the average increase of 126 per cent at the all-India level.

The non-plan revenue gap has been increasing as the actual expenditure on salaries and pensions is 59 per cent. The gap works out to around Rs 10,000 crore till March 2015 and projection brings out an additional deficit of about Rs 15,000 crore for the next five years. The state’s revenue has been growing by around 10 per cent, while expenditure by about 17 per cent.

The state had demanded Rs 69,377 crore, including a revenue deficit grant of Rs 55,523 crore, from the 13th commission and it recommended Rs 21,691 crore. This time the demand may touch the six-figure mark. 

Nalagarh, August 9
Mohan Chauhan, Director Industries, today constituted a committee to suggest remedial measures to check illegal mining in the industrial belt of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) of the state.

The mining mafia had tried to overrun the vehicle of the SDM here when he was on a visit to check illegal mining on the Nalagarh-Ropar State Highway on Wednesday.

A committee comprising SDM and officials from various departments like the Public Works Department, Irrigation and Public Health Department, Forest, Revenue, Industry, etc., has been constituted to suggest measures to control illegal mining in this bordering industrial belt where even directions to restrict the movement of vehicles carrying quarry material between 8 pm to 6 am were not being followed in the absence of policemen.

Chauhan took stock of the situation today along with a team of officials, including Tehsildar, Mining Officer and the Superintendent of Police.

Chauhan said the department will soon introduce barcodes on the M Forms to check illegal mining as it was leading to loss of revenue to the state government. The Mining Officer had also been directed to prepare an inventory of the stock lying with the stone crushers so as to curb sale of quarry material to Punjab where it was being sold at profitable rates.

The mining officer has been directed to sit in the BBN area for 10 days every month and monitor mining activities. Apart from this, a toll free telephone number will soon be installed in the office of the state geologist where complaints against illegal mining can be made for prompt action, Chauhan said.

He said since the area had a porous border, it required a coordinated approach to curb this menace as the government had authorised several officials to check illegal mining.

With reports pointing to illegal mining in the demarcated protected forest officials of the Revenue and the Forest Department had a larger role in checking this illegal trade, he said.

He also held a meeting with members of the Stone Crushers Association, which said majority of the mining material was being transported to the Punjab where mining was banned.

Kuldeep Rathode, member, All India Congress Committee, has demanded a thorough probe in the incident. He said officers trying to curb such mafias should be provided complete protection by the state government to send the right signal to the masses.

Chamba, August 9
Eight persons were killed and 12 injured as an overloaded passenger jeep rolled into a 200-metre gorge in Salooni tehsil of Chamba district last evening. Sources said the jeep, carrying passengers to the remote rural areas of Salooni tehsil, met with an accident on the Chakauli-Kandwara road.

Though, the carrying capacity of the jeep was of nine, at the time of accident, about 20 passengers were on board the jeep.

The sources said the driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled down into a gorge. The accident took place around 6.30 pm yesterday. While four people died on the spot, others died in the Chamba Zonal Hospital later.

The deceased include Porki and his two sons Dinesh and Karan Singh of Daki village, Dharu, Vinod Kumar and Naro Devi of Garon village, Gita of Billa village and Jivna of Halela village.

Chamba ADC Sandeep Kumar said immediate relief had been provided to the victims of the accident. Two seriously injured patients had been shifted to the Tanda medical college. Other patients are being given treatment at the Chamba hospital.

Driver of jeep Kuldeep was also among the injured. The police has registered a case against the driver.

Himachal Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh have expressed grief over the accident. The Chief Minister directed the district administration to provide immediate relief to the next of the kin of the deceased and ensure the best treatment to the injured.

Shimla, August 9
To ensure proper drainage of storm water and check landslides, the Shimla Municipal Corporation has submitted a Rs 63-crore project for the channelisation of 65 nullahs in the city to the Centre.

There are over 100 nullahs in the city and many of them have been permanently choked or buried due to reckless dumping of debris over the years. As a result, the storm water has been seeping into the hills and making these prone to landslides. Further, filth and garbage get deposited in the blocked nullahs creating unhygienic conditions.

The corporation cleans smaller nullahs before the rainy season to ensure proper drainage of storm water and prevent spill over which causes damage to roads, water and sewerage pipes, public and private property.

“The nullahs have to be channelised. it involves a huge expenditure which is beyond the means of the fund-starved corporation. It decides to seek funds from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)”, said Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar.

Now that the corporation had earmarked sites for dumping of construction debris and it was not being disposed of in the nullahs, it was time to restore and channelise this natural drainage system for smooth outflow of the storm water, he added. Under the project, the nullahs will be constructed anew and the portions prone to landslides will be stabilised by raising suitable retaining structures. The bed of the nullahs will be cobbled with stones to ensure absorption of adequate water to help recharge the ground water sources.

The Rs 250 crore project to replace old water pipelines to check leakage and provide the missing links in the sewerage system may finally be implemented with the government allowing the corporation to execute it under the engineering procurement and construction(EPC) mode.

The project has been hanging fire since 2008 as the government had earlier decided to implement it in the public private partnership (PPP) mode. The corporation opposed it as it saw a ploy to privatise the water distribution system, which was not in the interest of residents as it would have led to steep hike in water charges.

Tikender said as the stipulated period for the completion of project was March 2014, which was not far away, the corporation was trying to secure funds from the Centre under a new project to gain time for its implementation.

Palampur, August 9
Construction activities on KU Hydro Project on the Lambadagg river in Chhota Bhangal area of Palampur came to standstill today following indefinite strike by contractors, sub-contractors and labourers working in the project.

Official sources said here today that unrest was going on in the project as the management had not released the bills and wages of local contractors and labourers for the past few months. They were already on a token strike since August 2.

Several rounds of negotiations were held between the management and affected parties in past one week but failed to reach in any conclusion.

Situation moved from bad to worse today when hundreds of labourers along with contractors working in the company went on indefinite strike and blocked the main road leading to the project site.

A senior official of the company said they were ready to release the wages and wanted to extend cooperation to the contractors and local residents so that strike was called off and construction activities began.

However, agitated contractors, sub contractors were not satisfied with this arguments of the company. They announced to continue their agitation till full payments were made to them. 

Shimla, August 9
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has urged Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari to extend the accessibility of the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK), Shimla, on the Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform.

In a letter to Tewari, he said it would enable people in remote areas of the state to view programmes of the DDK, Shimla. He apprised the minister of the tough topography of the hill state where vast stretches remained snowbound for more than six months in a year and cut-off from the rest of the world which made it necessary to have a strong network of Doordarshan.

The Chief Minister stressed that the arduous topography of the state justified the out-of-turn allotment of frequency band on the DTH platform by relaxing the preconditions, if any. The programmes of DDK, Shimla, were not available on DTH even after two decades of its functioning. With only terrestrial transmission available, the people of the state had a limited access to Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla.

The CM also took up the matter regarding installing 5,000 DTH sets in the tribal areas of the state. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the state in May 2005, on his request, made an announcement to provide 20,000 DTH receive systems to tribal people.

The then Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni had informed him in 2009 that the Prasar Bharti had included the state for distribution of 5,000 DTH sets under the DTH scheme during the 11th Five-Year Plan. However, the state had not received these DTH sets till now.

He informed the minister that 20,000 DTH sets were received in 2008 which were installed in the tribal areas of Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Bharmour and Pangi. He stressed that 5,000 DTH sets should be provided at the earliest, besides considering all fringe areas for providing DTH sets on the analogy of such scheme of the Prasar Bharti for the North-Eastern states. 

Shimla, August 9
Cultivation of the golden herb saffron will be possible in the state with excellence in the field of plant science. Himachal Pradesh can become the second saffron-producing state, after Jammu and Kashmir, with grasslands in the Mashobra and Kasumpti area to be covered under the plant which can change the economy of the area.

This vision of Edge India Agrotech can make commercial cultivation of saffron a success in the state. The plant material will be imported from Srinagar and the multiplied saplings will be distributed among interested growers.

“Saffron can be grown easily in agro-climatic conditions prevailing in the districts of Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan,” said Mahesh Sood, owner of Edge India Agrotech.

Trials for saffron cultivation conducted at the Sainj farm have been showing positive results. Saffron does not require fertile soil as it can easily grow in sandy soil. Moreover, it does not require much care and can be grown in natural surroundings and climatic conditions, he said.

He explains that saffron can be planted on grazing lands on slopes and even under trees in apple and other fruit orchards. “The beauty of the saffron plant is that it remains in dormancy for almost 10 months and one can wrap it up and store it in a refrigerator before planting it again,” he explains.

Though there have been trials to grow saffron in various parts of the state, including Sangla in Kinnuar district, but its commercial cultivation is still unheard of.

“The saffron plants bloom in November-December and it is the stamens of the flowers which are picked for making saffron,” he elaborates. 

Shimla, August 9
The Himachal Pensioner’s Welfare Association has urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to announce the release of the instalment of additional dearness allowance which became due in January on the Independence Day.

The association also urged him to ensure clearance of the pending medical reimbursement bills of pensioners in a time-bound manner and a monitoring committee be constituted for the purpose.

It drew attention of the Chief Minister to the fact that the cases registered against the pensioners during the previous regime while they were staging a protest at Solan in April 2012, had not been withdrawn despite his specific directions. The pensioners were being unnecessarily harassed and his orders were not being implemented.

Hamirpur, August 9
A district-level Vanmahotsava was celebrated at Pathaliyar Panchayat in Badsar division yesterday. Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) ID Lakhanpal was the chief guest.

He inaugurated the function by planting a sapling of Arjun tree. Addressing a gathering, Lakhanpal said it was important to preserve the environment. The CPS also appealed to the youth to prepare nursery of different plants for which the Forest Department would provide government land on lease basis. Conservator of Forest, PK Thakur and DFO Hamirpur and Anil Joshi were also present.

Bilaspur: Bilaspur MLA Bambar Thakur inaugurated a sapling plantation campaign at the Changar sector here today as he planted a sapling on the premises of the PWD here.

Addressing a gathering, Bambar Thakur exhorted all employees and officers posted here to ensure that each one of them plant one sapling and also ensured its protection in future.

Present on the occasion were Superintending Engineer RC Varma, Executive Engineer CL Gupta, SDOs Ramesh Singh, Pravesh Kumar Sharma and Deepak Surehali others.

Keylong, August 9
The Lahaul and Spiti police today seized a banned China-made satellite phone being used by three Italian tourists at Serchu. They were brought to Kullu and produced before the Judicial Magistrate as the Chinese "thoraya" satellite phones are banned under the Indian Telegraph Act.

The tourists told the police that they were not aware about the ban and were talking to their mother. They were on the their way from Leh to Manali today, the police said.

SP, Lahaul-Spiti, Sunil Kumar said they had took the phone in their possession. One of the tourists has been identified as Aldo Pasotte. — TNS

Kangra, August 9
A 25-year-old woman from Majin village died in Dr RP Govt Medical College at Tanda today who had allegedly consumed poison yesterday at her home, the police said here today.

The woman, identified as Anu Kumari, was married to Harminder Singh three years back who yesterday consumed poison and was rushed to hospital at Nadaun from where she was referred to Tanda hospital.

Her body was sent for the post-mortem before it was handed over to her relatives. The police has registered a case and started investigation.

Bilaspur, August 9
Fear gripped villagers as a boy died and two persons were admitted to hospital as snakes bit them in the district yesterday.

Reports said Shivam, student of Class IV and resident of Khurani village near Suharghat, was bitten by a snake last night.

People said another guest in the house was also bitten by the snake as both were sleeping on floor of the house. But the guest used some herb and saved himself. Nobody noticed that the boy, who seemed to be fast asleep, was also bitten by the snake.

The body of the boy turned blue this morning. He was rushed to the nearby Primary Health Centre at Suharghat where doctors confirmed it to be a case of snake bite. He was rushed to Anandpur Sahib hospital due to his serious condition, but died on way to hospital.

In another case, Meera Devi of Haritalyangar village near Ghumarwin was bitten by snake while she was cutting grass in her fields last evening . She was immediately rushed to Civil Hospital, Ghumarwin. She is said to be out of danger now.