Shimla, October 2
The exorbitant prices of vegetables this season may have pinched the common man, but it has proved to be a boon for the growers in the state, who have reaped huge profits.

The returns have been 100 to 150 per cent more compared to last year, though heavy rain caused some damage to tomato crop in Solan and ginger crop in the Sirmaur district. Not only peas and tomato, but even potato, cabbage, brinjal and cauliflower fetched high prices all through.

In fact, the rates of potato were so attractive that a large quantity of seed potato grown in Lahaul and Spiti was sold as table potato. The growers got Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg on field as compared to Rs 10 to Rs 15 kg last year the crop and the crop has also been good.

Agriculture Director JC Rana said out of the total production of 2 lakh bags of 50 kg seed potato at least 60,000 to 70,000 bags were sold as table potato. The production of vegetables has been steadily increasing. The state produced 13.40 lakh tonnes last year, the target for the current year is 13.50 lakh tonnes.

The tomato growers earned up to Rs 50,000 per bigha as against Rs 20,000 per bigha last year. The growers got Rs 35 to Rs 38 per kg on the field as against Rs 15 to 20 per kg last year. The rates of ginger, the harvesting of which has just started, have also been high and growers are being paid Rs 55 to Rs 60 per kg, almost double the last year’s price.

However, the ginger crop in some pockets of Sirmaur has been damaged in heavy rain and in some other areas like Killaur, Badhana and Tonru, it was affected by rhizome rot disease.

Ravinder Chauhan, a farmer of Kepu village near Rampur, said his returns from tomato were more than double compared to last year. The increase in earnings in case of vegetables like capsicum and brinjal was comparatively less.

Of late, farmers have been switching over to cultivation of off-season vegetables in a big way as it is far more remunerative than the traditional crops. The area under vegetables has increased from 28,000 hectares in 1991-91 to 65,000 hectares and production from 6.5 lakh tonnes to 12.40 lakh tonnes. On the other hand, the area under major crops has declined.

Nepalese Army Chief General Gaurav Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana lays a wreath at the war memorial at Lawrence School Sanawar on Wednesday

A session of patriotic songs and bhajans was also organised by the Information and Public Relations Department and a film on Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Shimla was also screened on the occasion. A photo exhibition was also put up.Prabhat Pheries were also taken out by the prominent persons of the town and children of various schools early morning.

Tibetans extol Gandhi’s principles

Dharamsala: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) today observed the 144th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The CTA described Gandhi as the world’s icon of non-violence and truth and called on Tibetans, inside and outside Tibet, to reaffirm their commitment to non-violence in the freedom struggle.

Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 is also marked as the International Day of Non-violence as per a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly on June 15, 2007.

“On the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, we offer our profound reverence to Mahatma Gandhi and gratitude to the people and government of India,” Sikyong Lobsang Sangay said while taking to newsmen at a ceremony marking the occasion at the secretariat.

“Tibetans are leading a successful non-violent freedom struggle and we rededicate ourselves to non-violence,” Sikyong said, adding, “the world trend has shown that countries regained freedom in their pursuit of non-violence.”

Founder's day celebrated

Solan: The 166th founder's day celebrations of Lawrence School Sanawar began today with Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. Headmaster Praveen Vasisht hoisted the national flag. A commemorative function was held in the historic Barne Hall to mark the 144th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The school head boy and head girl threw light on the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi. They urged everyone to rededicate themselves to the ideals of Gandhi by adopting the guiding principle of “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever”.

Addressing the students, Vasisht highlighted the key aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy that showcased supreme love for all. The function culminated with the awarding of prizes to the winners of the essay writing competition on the topic “If I were Gandhi”. The first, second and third positions were bagged by Baladitya Saklani, Serchen Doma and Sarah Yadav, respectively.

Old students, including Avneet Virk and Mandeep Dhillon, of 1988 batch and Asha Bery Bhatia and Krishna K Dhar of 1963 batch shared their fond memories of school with the gathering.

The three-day extravaganza which began today will unfold a variety of events, including athletics, a concert and tattoo-show in the evening.

General Gaurav Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana, Chief of the Nepalese Army, and distinguished alumnus of Sanawar (1971 batch, Himalaya) is the chief guest on the occasion.

AAP activists hold Swaraj Yatra

Mandi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists today started the Swaraj Yatra from the Gandhi Chowk to Gohar and paid tributes to the Father of the Nation on his birth anniversary in support of issues like corruption, price rise, right to reject candidates and the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Des Raj Sharma, who led the yatra, said AAP would take the issues to the grass-root level.

Meanwhile, the district administration, along with the Congress and All-religion Sabha, celebrated Gandhi Jayanti in the temple town here today.

Tributes paid to Shastri, Gandhi

Chamba: District Congress Committee members paid tributes to the Father of the Nation and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries here today.

Block Congress president Jagdish Handa called upon the youth to follow the ideals of truth and non-violence preached by these leaders for promoting patriotism, peace and brotherhood.

Schoolchildren present skits

Kangra: Gandhi Jayanti and Lal Bahadur Shastri's birthday were celebrated at DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Nagrota Surian, today.

Principal Meenakshi Rao gave a speech on both the great leaders and advised students to take inspiration from their lives. Students and staff of Minerva Public Senior Secondary School, Alampur, too celebrated the birthday of both the leaders and most of the students wore costumes of Mahatma Gandhi.

Cultural programmes were presented and a function was presided over by Chhtanki Devi, chairperson of the school.

Diksha Rana, Shristi Walia, Richa, Siwani and Ekta took part in a debate on the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Vipin Mankotia, Principal of the school, spoke on the occasion.

Pulga/Siund, October 2
In the past seven years, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) could bore just 33 m of the 31-km tunnel of the 800-MW Parbati-II project. The project cost has doubled from Rs 2,700 crore in 2007 to Rs 5,693 crore.

As per the NHPC’s revised schedule submitted to the Central Electricity Authority, the project will be commissioned in July 2018, if all goes well.

Besides the problem in boring in the “shear, weak and loose rocks zone”, a series of cement, steel and other scams, which are being investigated by the CBI, have doubled the cost of the project from Rs 2,700 crore in 2007 to Rs 5,693 crore till July 2018.

The water ingress and silt discharge in the zone of the Parbati mountain at 25 km inside the tunnel was 7,000 litres per minute in 2007; now it has been reduced to 1,000 litres per minute. “Though we had expected the water ingress when we prepared the detail project report, we never expected it to pose such a challenge,” said Sharad Bhatnagar NHPC geologist.

The NHPC expects seven more shear zones in the remaining 4.8-km tunnel. “The tunnel boring machine (TBM) work has resumed. It takes time to first treat the loose layers and proceed further in the tunnel,” he added.

It took the NHPC almost five years to award the fresh contract to Gammon India Ltd for the boring work in the 4.8-km tunnel. The corporation had cancelled the contract given to Satyam Company after it could construct 25-km tunnel till 2007 and failed to complete the work as it got stuck in the shear zone.

The tunnel, once complete, will take the Parbati water from Pulga dam to its power house at Siund in the dam of the 520-MW Parbati-III, which would be used to run all four units at Bihali, said engineers.

The NHPC claimed that 87-m-high dam on the Parbati at Pulga was ready. It was only the boring of the 4.8-km tunnel that remained, said JK Sharma, Chief Engineer, Parbati-II. “As per the revised schedule, the project will commission in 2018,” NHPC managers said.

The Parbati power projects, which started in 2001, will produce 3,160.66 million units every year. The state will get 12 per cent as free power from the projects as per the pact signed with the NHPC.

Dharamsala, October 2
Illegal mining is continuing unabated in various parts of the state despite a complete ban on it by the National Green Tribunal.

Sources said stone-crusher owners were deceptively indulging in illegal mining in the guise of the permission given to them by the state government for stock clearance.

Interestingly, most stone crushers were now operating on permission for selling existing stocks of ready material available with them.

Officials do not have concrete records regarding the material available with stone crusher owners. They are just relying on the statements filed by stone-crusher owners on the existing material with them.

Sources in the department of mining said most stone-crusher owners had given statements to the department inflating their stocks. The department has not verified the stocks available with the stone-crusher owners. They are now resorting to illegal mining during the night in guise of clearing existing stocks.

Villagers residing nearby mining areas alleged that stone-crusher owners were resorting to illegal mining in the night and crushed the material in day time in the name of processing existing stocks.

Thakur Basant Singh, who has been carrying out a campaign against illegal mining, alleged that it had been over a month since the ban on mining was imposed, but, strangely, stocks of crusher owners were not exhausting.

He alleged that the Mann rivulet on the borders of Kangra and Hamirpur districts was being plundered of its mineral wealth. We have informed the authorities and given them details of illegal mining, but no action had been taken, Basant Singh alleged.

In Kangra and Una districts, too, stone crushers located on the borders of Punjab and Himachal were allegedly resorting to the illegal practice

Environmental activists have urged the mining department to audit the stocks of the stone-crusher owners so that it could be matched with their sales. The permission for stock clearance had resulted in illegal mining, they said.

Interestingly, though there is a complete ban on mining, the state police is catching a number of vehicles carrying illegally mined material. This indicated that illegal mining is on.

The state government had imposed a ban on carrying sand and gravel outside the state.

However, the ban has not been imposed and the sale of mined material from Himachal in the adjoining state of Punjab is continuing with impunity. The locals undertaking construction are facing acute shortage of sand and gravel that is being supplied to them at exorbitant rates.

Officials of the Mining Department in Kangra and Una could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Mandi, October 2
The two main factions of the State Non-Gazetted Official (NGO) Federation led by SS Jogta and Surender Mankotia are lobbying hard to seek the blessings of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to call a meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) in Shimla to declare federation’s chairperson.

As BJP-led NGO leaders have fallen on the sidelines after the Congress ousted the BJP from power in the last Assembly elections, Jogta and Mankotia have been vying for the post claiming support of 84 different government employee unions.

The NGO federation of over 2.7 lakh government employees has become a "pampered" lot by the BJP and the Congress. The federation had been “blackmailing” the government down the decades to fulfil employees’ demands because they constituted an influential vote bank in the state, revealed insiders.

Both the Congress and the BJP had been "nurturing their own breed of NGO leaders, who openly supported the party which suited them" during elections, the insiders said.

The employees’ unions are not only divided at the state level but also at the district level.

Jogta claimed he was elected unanimously as the president of the state federation on August 14 in Shimla.

However, NGO leaders in each district, who used to rub shoulders with the then ruling BJP, have been hobnobbing with both the Jogta and Mankotia factions. They are waiting for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s decision.

The tussle for the top post of the state NGO federation reached a flash-point last January when the Mankotia group captured the NGO Bhawan at Shimla as soon as the Congress ousted the BJP from power. The Jogta group staked claims for the post and the GAD locked the NGO Bhawan to avoid trouble.

Mankotia has also roped in Gopal Krishan, his adviser, who is using the princely Junga connection to lobby hard for him. Jogta hails from Rohru, the bastion of Virbhadra Singh.

Supporters of Jogta, Trilok Thakur, senior vice-president, Hem Singh Thakur, president, Mandi, and JS Rana, Kangra, claimed that Mankotia enjoyed Shimla postings during the BJP regime whereas Jogta was victimised as he was with the Congress.

“Mankotia is eyeing the top post to further his real estate business rather than taking up issues of employees’ interests,” they alleged.

However, Mankotia’s supporters, both Dev Raj Sharma and Gopal Krishan, refuted the charges.

Shimla, October 2
Minister of State for Railways K Surya Jaya Prakash Reddy called on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here today.

The two had a detailed discussion regarding strengthening of the railway network in the state and also regarding expediting work on railways projects being commissioned in the state.

The Chief Minister said Railways should look into the possibility of alternative route to link the Baddi area with railway network, as it was very important keeping in view of the upcoming industrial and commercial complexes in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh belt.

He urged the Union Minister to take up the Bilaspur-Bhanupalli-Berri railway line at earliest, assuring him that the state would provide land free of cost for the project.

He said the work on the Nangal-Talwara railway line be expedited, as only 44 km of track had been laid from Nangal to Amb in last 33 years. He also requested the minister to provide adequate budget for the survey on Ghanoli-Baddi-Kala Amb-Paonta Sahib-Deshradoon broad guage railway line and all other railway lines which were announced in the Railway budget.

The Chief Minister said the Kalka-Shimla railway section should be well maintained as it was very important from tourism point of view and its historical significance.

Reddy informed the Chief Minister that a team from UNSECO would visit soon for inspection of Kalka-Shimla railway section.

Shimla, October 2
Accusing the Congress government of pursing the pro-corporate sector policies of the previous BJP regime, CPM secretary Rakesh Singha said the manner in which certain departments had been functioning over the past nine months indicated the weakening of “political authority” under the new regime.

Addressing a press conference, here today, he said from the attitude of the labour department, the police, HPMC and some officers, it seemed they were functioning independent of the government. A common feature in all those de-linking themselves from the political authority of the state was that instead of intervening in favour of people, they were protecting the interests of private companies, the CPM alleged.

It was not clear whether this new strategy adopted by them had the approval of the Chief Minister’s office or not. For instance, the labour commissioner was insisting that a trade union of employees would be registered only after they got approval from the CEO of the establishment concerned, the CPM secretary alleged.

Citing an example, Singha said even after a lapse of six months the workers union of JP Cements plant at Bagga had not been registered in spite of the fact that 900 workers were paraded at the labour commissioner office along with their identity cards on September 17 for verification. The management of JP Cements had threatened the leadership of the workers to terminate their services in case they pressed for the registration of the union.

The Labour Commissioner did not hesitate to challenge the authority of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and it had not acted on the decision taken during the Lok Adalat conducted by the Kullu District Legal Service Authority in December last. The blatant violations of labour laws by the famous “catch” factory manufacturing soda and mineral water at Riason came to the fore and the labour officer Kullu was directed to ensure the implementation of the various laws. However, violations continued and the workmen, who attempted to raise the issue, were transferred to Noida. To top it all, the Labour Commissioner was refusing to register the union of the workers though eight months have lapsed.

The CPM went on alleged that the top management of the HPMC had forgotten the purpose for which the agency was set up and it had outsourced its cold stores and other facilities created for the benefit of fruit growers to private parties. A major reason for the slump in the apple price was that the growers were deprived of the facility of storage which was essential to regulate the flow of fruit to the market.

The party would launch a campaign to pressure the government to ensure that at least 25 per cent of capacity in the controlled atmosphere stores (CAS) of companies like Adani Agri-fresh and Dev Bhoomi, which were given subsidy of over Rs 16 crore, be set apart for the growers.

Dharamsala, October 2
Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) president Maheshwar Singh has claimed that he was approached by some senior BJP leaders to join back, but he declined the offer.

Addressing a press conference here today, the HLP president, however, refused to name the senior BJP leaders who had approached him.

Rumours were rife in political circles that Maheshwar was being approached by the senior leadership of the BJP, as it wanted him to contest from the Mandi Parliamentary constituency to give fight to Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Maheshwar, who was earlier in the BJP, had contested from Mandi in the last Parliamentary elections and lost to Virbhadra Singh by a narrow margin of just about 15,000 votes. He later left the BJP due to differences with former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Shimla, October 2
Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rohit Thakur, in a joint statement here today, said the relief given by the Delhi High Court to the fruit growers of the state was a result of relentless efforts of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who pursued the matter with the Chief Minister of Delhi from time to time.

They said the matter was discussed several times by Virbhadra Singh at various levels and also in the Chief Ministers' Conference on February 15, 1994, when PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister. He had empathically raised the issue and stated that "growers were being illegally charged an exorbitant commission on sale of their produce by agents, which required immediate curbing".

The Congress government time and again pursued the case through the State Agriculture Marketing Board during its last term also. They said Virbhadra Singh was well aware of the issue of illegal commission being charged by the agents at Azadpur market and the farming community being fleeced by them.

The Congress government under his leadership had been agitating over the issue with the Delhi government for long with regard to enforcement of bylaw 49 (3) to the effect that "the commission shall be charged at the existing rate of 6 per cent, but it shall be charged from the buyers and not from the farmers or the sellers".

Shimla, October 2
Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rajesh Dharmani has reportedly resigned from the post on the grounds that there are no powers to exercise.

While Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said he had no information about the resignations, sources close to Dharmani said he had sent the resignation to the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. However, the Chief Minister was away to Chandigarh on tour.

The reason cited by him was that while the CPS had no powers, the post was affecting his functioning as a legislator.

An aspirant for ministerial berth, he has been sulking for the past quite sometime and was accommodated as Chief Parliamentary Secretary. However, he was apparently not satisfied with the post.

He was also unhappy over the fact Bilaspur MLA Bambar Thakur had been made chairman of the district grievances committee and it was the reason for his action. Earlier, Rakesh Kalia had resigned from the post of CPS after being made joint secretary of the AICC to uphold the principle of one-man one-post.

Chamba, October 2
Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) in the far-flung Tissa area of Chamba district have been waiting for the supply of subsidised ration for their quota of September and October months.

Residents of the area said there were about 2,000 BPL families living in the area and more than 20 ration depots functioning in the area.

Officials, however, maintain that the supply of cheap ration had arrived at the district headquarters and would be made available in ration depots shortly, adding that the process was underway.

Kangra, October 2
The Changer Shiksha and Kalayan Parishad has demanded a Vigilance inquiry into the alleged embezzlement of Rs 7 lakh from Pandit Anant Ram Sanatan Dharam College Baroh bank account. It was “detected” by the society managing the college recently, but the police investigation revealed the charges to be baseless.

Raising the demand for a Vigilance inquiry, president of the society Ved Prakash Sharma said the college had its account in the Baroh branch of Himachal Gramin Bank and the parishad had demanded a statement of the account from the bank manager, who allegedly refused to provide the same.

Ved Prakash said it was following the intervention of the chairman of the bank that the statement of the account was made available to the parishad on September 23 from the Kangra branch of the bank.

He alleged that it was found that Rs 7 lakh was withdrawn from the college account by some unidentified person on September 21, whereas only Surender Sharma, former officiating principal of the college, was authorised by the parishad to withdraw funds.

Meanwhile, officiating principal of the college Bidhi Chand denied the allegation of embezzlement. He said Rs 7 lakh was not embezzled but were transferred to another account in the same branch of the bank for the safety of the funds.

He said a complaint of embezzlement by the former officiating principal with the Jawalamukhi police was “wrong and baseless”.

The Jawalamukhi police claimed that no FIR was lodged with the police station, however, a complaint made by Surender Sharma in this connection had been received.

Surender Thakur, SHO, Jawalamukhi police station, said it was found that Rs 7 lakh was transferred from one account of the college into another account of the same college by officiating principal Bidhi Chand, with intimation to the ad hoc managing committee of the college.

Bilaspur, October 2
Helped by a Forest Department officials team, led by Range Officer Garja Ram Dhiman, villagers of Badog under Bhapraal gram panchayat near Ghumarwin caught a young leopard yesterday.

Reports said a youth found a leopard hiding near the house of Manish Kumar and immediately informed other villagers.

Several villagers gathered at the spot and informed Forest and police officials on the phone. But fearing the escape of the leopard due to the commotion there, Gyan Chand, a villager, shot a tranquiliser at it causing it to become unconscious.

Later, a police team, led by SHO Vijay Kumar, also arrived there and Forest officials placed the unconscious leopard in a cage. It has now been sent to Gopalpur Zoo. It was found to be a15-month-old female leopard. Villagers heaved a sigh of relief after the leopard was carried away by the Forest officials.

Bilaspur, October 2
Vivek Kumar, Chairman, District Market Committee (DMC), said here yesterday that the committee had started a campaign to spot those who were evading market fee.

He said till now it had been found that all the 29 fishing cooperative societies had not been giving market fee and their arrears were now being calculated which might run into several lakhs.

Talking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here, Vivek Kumar said the market fee was now being assessed on the base of royalty being paid by these societies to the Fisheries Department and it would take some time before the entire recoverable amount was totalled.

He said the evasion of the market fee could not go on for years without the "connivance" of someone in the committee office.

He said the district committee would take suitable measures to spot if there was anyone guilty in the office.

He said the District Market Committee had already started the system of Apni Mandi on Sundays at Ghumarwin for which land had been allotted, adding that it would be started at Bilaspur town soon. “This will help consumers as they can purchase vegetables and fruits from farmers directly at reasonable prices without any intervention of the third party,” he said.

He said he was aware that there was a big gap between mandi sale price and purchase price of fruits and vegetables in the markets here. He said steps were being taken to plug the loopholes and ensure that consumers get these commodities at cheaper rates than the present rate and any third party intervention should end.

Vivek Kumar welcomed the decision of the Chief Minister to regularise encroachments of Bhakra Dam oustees in the town and said the government would soon look into other demands.

Bilaspur, October 2
Yogesh Jaswal, Additional Sessions Judge, Ghumarwin, near here, has found three accused — Nand Kishore of Kurved, Kuldip of Thehad and Labh Chand of Chowki, all of Nurpur, guilty of kidnapping and one of them forcibly marrying a minor girl of a village under Ghumarwin police station more than four years ago.

The Additional Sessions Judge has sentenced them to four years’ imprisonment each and an additional fine of Rs 12,000 each.

However, the fourth accused in the case, Anju Kumari Dhiman of Duhki, Jaswan tehsil, Kangra district, has been declared proclaimed offender.

Earlier, public prosecutor Rahul Chopra told the court that the three accused and absconding Anju managed to entice the complainant into their trap and kidnapped her and one of them married her forcibly.

Later, the local police arrested three accused after the minor girl registered an FIR on March 14, 2009, at Ghumarwin police station.