Shimla, May 9
The government has decided to rope in two eco-battalions comprising retired Army personnel for beautifying and conserving forests in Shimla and McLeodganj.

A decision to this effect has been taken by the Forest Department, considering depletion in the green cover of the two tourist destinations. Their task will be to manage urban forests through conservation and plantation techniques.

“We have decided to do this on an experimental basis and initially 20 personnel each from the eco-battalions based at Sunni and Larji wil be assigned the task of conserving the urban forests in Shimal and McLeodganj,” confirmed RS Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator (PCCF), Forest. He said this had been done to ensure that the green cover in the two towns was taken care of.

The main task assigned to these eco-battalion personnel will be to ensure that there is no illegal muck dumping in the forest area, planting of ornamental plants, removal of unwanted species and conservation of the entire urban forest. Thrust will also be laid on undertaking plantation drive and good care of plants climatically suited for the two places. Gupta said the towns, which attracted a large number of tourists from all over the world, will be beautified by planting ornamental plants such as hydrangea, rhododendron and bougainvillaeas.

He added that different varieties of these plants would be brought from various places. Action plans were being prepared for both places before the eco-task force could be put on the job. “Very often in Shimla and Dharamsala, people indulge in illegal dumping of muck and debris, which the eco-task force can check,” he said.

He added that despite there being a provision for penalty, people still threw debris anywhere in the forest area which could damage plants and trees. Besides protecting and increasing the green cover, the eco-battalion personnel would also be of great help for disaster management in case of a calamity. The entire urban forests falling within the Shimla municipal limits is about 1880.13 hectares. It was in 2006 that the management of this urban forest was handed over from the Shimla MC to the Forest Department. Later, 843.91 hectares were given back to the MC but about three months ago, the management of the entire forest area was given back to the Forest Department.

Efforts made by the department or the Shimla MC to plant trees did not succeed as there was no dedicated force to look after the plants and ensure their survival. Even the Deodar Rejuvenation Drive launched with much fanfare in Shimla failed to bring about the desired results for want of proper care. 

New Delhi, May 9
The Supreme Court today issued a notice on petitions filed by the Himachal Pradesh Government challenging the High Court verdict directing the state to implement the pension scheme for employees of 20 public sector undertakings (PSUs) involving Rs 1,000 crore.

A Bench comprising Justices JS Khehar and RK Agrawal sought the response of the PSU employees by July 14 also on the state’s plea for a stay on the December 19, 2013 judgement of the HC, pending disposal of the appeals.

Senior counsel PP Rao and Additional Advocate General Suryanarayana Singh pleaded that the state government had notified the pension scheme on October 29, 1999, but withdrew it on December 12, 2004 as the PSUs were running in losses rendering the scheme financially unviable.

Further, the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner did not permit the transfer of employees’ PF to the pension fund, compounding the financial crunch.

Despite repealing the pension scheme, the state government retained it for the employees who had retired during the period when the scheme was in place.

In the appeals, filed through advocate Pragati Neekhra, the state government contended that the HC had delivered the verdict on petitions filed by the affected employees without properly appreciating the evidence on record.

“The power to take a decision includes the power to modify or rescind the decision,” the state pleaded.

The employees had challenged the withdrawal of the HP Corporate Sector Employees (Pension, Family Pension, Commutation of Pension and Gratuity) Scheme 1999 in the HC, five years after the government decision and as such the HC could not have entertained their plea, the state contended.

The state also questioned the validity of granting pension on the basis of the legitimate expectation of the employees, ignoring the fact that the scheme was financially unviable and unworkable.

Shimla, May 9
Hit by hailstorms, rains and poor bloom, farmers fear a drastic drop of 20 to 40 per cent in the apple crop this year.

The fruit set (fruit-bearing flowers after pollination) is lean in the lower altitudes where farmers had harvested bumper crop in 2013. In the higher altitudes, orchards ranging from 6,500 ft to 8500 ft, the apple crop is good and fruit set varies from orchards to orchards.

“Our assessment is that there will a drop of 30 to 50 per cent in the apple crop this year as compared to last year’s,” said Balbir Chajta, an orchardist from Jubbal valley, a leading apple belt in the area.

The rains hit the bloom during the peak flowering time that in turn hampered the bee activity, which was a must for pollination, he observed.

“The Thanedhar-Kotgarh apple belt, the state’s oldest apple kingdom, has reported a normal to moderate crop this year. The higher orchards were hit by hailstorms last year and had a lean crop. But this year, the prospects of a good harvest are high. But lower hills might see a drop of over 40 per cent in the harvest,” said Anup Blaik, an orchardist from Kotgarh.

Similarly, farmers in the Shantha-Dewat-Maroag, Baghi-Ratnari-Kotkhai and Chopal apple belts and Nawar and Spail valley in Rohru have reported a drop of 20 to 40 per cent crop this year.

“The extended winter and last year’s heavy crop meant a lean bloom in orchards this year. Besides, the hailstorm hit the crop when the bloom was at its peak last week in many areas in Chopal tehsil,” said Sachin Chauhan, an orchardist from Maroag, a major apple cart.

“It is an alternative crop this year and it appears there will be a drop of about 30-40 per cent in the apple crop this year, but total assessment is yet to be made, said Dr Vijay Thakur, Vice-Chancellor, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture And Forestry, Solan.

Kullu-Manali Apple Growers’ Association president Mahender Upaddhayay said Kullu and Mandi farmers too have reported a drop of about 30-40 per cent in the crop.

Manikaran-Kasol in Parbati valley and upper Kullu valley had a normal crop, but the mid-Kullu valley has a lean crop, said Dr Jayant, a scientist in-charge at Bajoura Fruit Research Centre.

Though the apple production has increased from 12,000 metric tonnes in 1960-61 to a record production of 8.92 lakh metric tonnes in 2010-11, the average returns for farmers remain poor. Farmers have alleged that the network of commission agents and corporates bring down the prices during the peak season despite bumper crop. According to officials, in 2012, the crop droped to half and in 2013, it was about 3.40 crore cartons.

Mandi, May 9
The district administration has taken a new initiative to regulate prices of fruits and vegetables in the local wholesale market.

Forgoing old practice of issuing slips for the produce sold in the market to farmers by wholesale merchants, the district administration has issued instructions to wholesale merchants through the market committee to now issue computerised bills.

Since the sale proceeds of the produce sold are issued on a daily basis, the district administration is getting several complaints regarding discrepancies in the sale proceeds being issued on slips.

There was no mechanism to verify the sale proceeds as it was difficult to cross-check or verify the slips given to farmers.

The district administration has already enforced the practice of issuing Form R and Q by the market committee to maintain transparency about the daily rates at which fruits and vegetables are bought and sold in the market.

On the basis of these forms, the district administration is displaying rates of fruits and vegetables at the main market for public to regulate prices and check overcharging in the retail market.

Through computerised sale proceeds, the farmer’s accruals from the sale of their produce will be properly maintained.

The market committee has already conducted trials of this practice and the district administration recently held a meeting with it in this regard.

After implementation of this practice in the local market, this procedure will be extended throughout the district.

Shimla, May 9
The Himachal Pradesh University's Department of Physics today stated that the candidates appearing in the M Sc Physics entrance test on May 13, who have not got their roll numbers should get it from the website www.hpuniv.ac.in

Even if they did not get it online, they should take their passport photograph and copy of the application to the respective examination centre at the time of test, said Dr Raman Sharma, chairperson, Department of Physics here today.

The roll numbers could not be dispatched to some candidates due to the short time available with the department, he added. 

Kangra, May 9
Swami Tejomayananda, chief of the Chinmayanand Mission today inaugurated a two-and-a-half-year eleventh Vedanta course at Sandeepni Himalayas in Tapovan.

He said Swami Chimayananda, founder of the mission, in 1981, established the Vedanta seminary, a residential gurukulam, for in- depth study of Vedanta at Tapovan Sidhbari.

He said gurukula is a place where students and the guru resided together and formed a family and this system of constant interaction between them enabled students to learn not only from the words of their teacher but also from his daily living example. Swami Tejomayananda declared the course open by lighting the sacred lamp amid recitation of Vedic hymns. — OC

Shimla, May 9
The Energy Safety Week observed by the Electrical Department of Northern Railways, Shimla section, that started on May 1, concluded today under guidance of Puneet Kathpalia, senior division, electrical engineers, Ambala division.

Anup Pokheral, a senior engineer, said the Energy Safety Week launched a special drive for checking electrical safety equipment including earthen pits, preventive maintenance of sub-station and proper rating of Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) in the railway quarters.

Pokhrel said the railway men, vendors and passengers should be educated on how to take preventive action to avoid electrical accidents. Star-rated ISI mark products should be used and use of sub-standard water heating elements should be shunned.

He said MCBs should be properly used and maintained to avoid accidents. — TNS

Shimla, May 9
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) today organised a blood donation camp and collected 100 units of blood. The camp was organised by SJVNL’s women and executive clubs in which the staff of the corporation donated blood to mark its raising day here today, said the press release. 

A team of doctors from the IGMC monitored the camp, which was inaugurated by Dr AS Bindra, director finance, and NL Sharma, director, personnel, SJNL.

Dharamsala, May 9
McLeodganj, the little Lhasa and abode of the Dalai Lama, is a major tourist destination of Dharamsala region. However, the 10-km road from Dharamsala to McLeodganj has become a nightmare for commuters.

The road is under repair and filled with potholes along the entire stretch. Authorities have failed to do patchwork on the said road, despite the fact that May and June are peak tourist season months of the region.

A manager of the famous hotel at McLeodganj said his guests were so peeved about the poor condition of road that they threatened to sue us. The tourists said the road condition should be updated on their website so that they could take a decision accordingly.

However, we could not put the condition of road on our website as it would discourage tourists, he said.

Suresh, who runs a hotel at Dharamkot, said besides the condition of road being in a bad state, the Mcleodganj-Dharamkot road is encroached upon every year. He said the road had been reduced to just 10 feet at places.

Interestingly, most of the encroachments being made on the roads are incursions on the reverse forest land. At night, people park their vehicles on the road, leading to traffic jams, he said.

Roads to Bhagsunag and Naddi, other summer tourist destinations in Dharamsala region, are also in a bad shape. The Bhagsunag road passes through a bottleneck near McLeodganj, leading to traffic jams during the tourist season. The bottleneck has been created due to encroachments on the road.

During the stint of previous BJP government, the PWD had planned to connect Bhagsunag with Indrunag area. This would have created an alternative access to Bhagsunag area and may have eased the traffic. However, the plan has been put on backburner after the present Congress government took over.

The PWD authorities when contacted said a contract for strengthening the Gaggal to the McLeodganj road worth Rs 11 crore has been awarded. Soon the road would be improved. They said a plan for developing 4-km Khara Danda road as concrete road has also been approved.

However, hoteliers say the PWD should at least carry out patchwork on bad roads.

Sources said since the contract for the said road had been awarded, the PWD was not carrying the patchwork on its own. The contractor is also carrying out the work of retaining walls along the road rather than making the road motorable. In this official maze, real sufferers are the tourists coming to the area and hoteliers are forced to face their ire.

The bad roads in Mcleodganj and its surrounding areas remained an election issue in the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll.

Nahan, May 9
The manner in which the Health and Family Welfare Department has given its go-ahead to transfer of land belonging to Leprosy Hospital, Mandhodhar, near

Dharampur, to the Education Department to facilitate construction of a college without making any alternative arrangement for the patients has left ailing patients in the lurch. The district administration has been aggressively looking for a suitable piece of land ever since the state government announced opening of a college for the Kasauli constituency.

Though the previous BJP government too had initiated a move to open a college after hiring two rooms in the office of the Deputy Director, Education, at Dharampur at the fag end of their tenure, it was discontinued by the Congress government - It is said to have been lacking infrastructure, staff and budgetary provision for the same.

The Congress government, after assuming power had, however, showed its seriousness about opening a college for residents of Kasauli constituency and its foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on February 23 this year just before the model code of conduct came into force. A sum of Rs 5 crore was announced for construction of its building in the hospital complex.

The hospital, existing since the British Raj, is home to 11 ailing patients who hail from various parts of the state and who have been staying here for years now. With a majority of them having been deserted by their families, this hospital has been providing shelter to hapless leprosy patients who have little connection to the outside world.

Since the hospital is housed amid forest land, permission under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 is supposed to be sought to divert the forest land for a non-forestry purpose. The approval is supposed to be accorded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. No such move is underway to seek this permission and it appears that this crucial issue has been ignored in the enthusiasm to transfer land to the Education Department, Forest Department officials confirm.

The Health and Family Welfare Department had given its consent for transfer of this land to the Education Department and the fate of the patients hangs in balance. No alternative location to shift this hospital and its patients has been finalised as yet.

Deputy Commissioner Madan Chauhan said they had selected a site measuring 5 bighas on the Kumarhatti-Nahan road for the construction of a new hospital for leprosy patients though no budget was yet available for the construction.

He added that since the land had been transferred to the Education Department at Mandhodhar, it was their prerogative to seek permission under the Forest Conservation Act 1980.

Kangra, May 9
The Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, was awarded the prestigious 2013 Harold A Kaminetzky Prize Paper award in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Dr Anil Chauhan, Principal, DRPGMC, on Monday said the award was given by the American college in Chicago, USA, last week.

He said the doctors who conducted this award-winning research included Dr Shashank Shekhar, Dr Chanderdeep Sharma, Dr Sita Thakur and Dr Suresh Verma.

He said the research team proved in a trial that an oral drug “Nifedipine” was more effective in lowering blood pressure than the injectable Labetalol during pregnancy.

Kullu, May 9
Dharma Chand (24), of Chamba, was burnt alive after being trapped in a devastating fire, late Wednesday night at Sainj village, about 45 km from here. The deceased was a worker in a construction company engaged with a hydel project in Sainj.

The police said two-and-a-half-storeyed house of Roshan Lal, Chaman Lal and Kishori Lal, caught fire around 1 am, when the deceased was asleep. Workers of the company and villagers gathered and tried to control the fire, but in vain. The nearby house of Prem Singh, Yashpal and Tulsi Ram was engulfed in uncontrolled flames. It was learnt that there were shops on the ground floor of these buildings and loss of property worth over Rs 30 lakh was estimated, while around six families were rendered homeless.

Repeated incidents of fire in Sainj and Banjar valley have evoked resentment in the masses, who have for long been demanding a fire station in the area.

The nearest fire station being in Kullu town, the narrow hilly terrain and road condition delay the approach of fire tenders to Banjar subdivision of this district, having a large number of villages. The Banjar region has witnessed seven fire incidents since April besides two major accidents, in which over eight persons lost their lives, due to which, there is a wave of grief in the entire valley. Certain people say the ire of supernatural powers could be a reason for recent calamities and they have sought blessings of local deities for protection.

Congress MP Pratibha Singh, BJP’s candidate Ram Swaroop and other senior leaders visited the valley time and again to console the families of the victims, but they have not been able to cater to the residents' long-pending demand for fire station.

Despite havoc being repeatedly caused by fire in the Banjar and Sainj valley, the government and administration turn a deaf ear to the cries and plight of the residents and victims of such disasters, and very less has been done to prevent such calamities in future.

Makhan Singh, senior executive of the construction company, said all possible help would be made available to the family of the deceased. Bhuntar SHO Lal Singh said a case had been registered and investigations were underway. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined.

Nahan, May 9
Three persons were killed on the spot and one seriously injured when an Alto car (PB-08-5542) by which they were travelling rolled down into a 1,000-ft-deep gorge near Prada on the Dadahu-Bacher-Ka-Bagh road this morning around 7.30 am.

The ill-fated vehicle was coming from Lanacheta and proceeding towards Nahan when the accident occurred. The exact cause of the accident was yet to be inquired into.

The deceased, who include two brothers, were identified as Sukhdev Singh (30), Dinesh 
(30) and Subhash, all of whom hail from Lanacheta village falling in Sangrah tehsil of Sirmaur district.

The injured has been identified as Aman (20). He was referred to Regional Hospital Nahan for treatment after he received preliminary treatment from a local hospital.

DSP Nahan Khazana Ram visited the spot to oversee relief and rescue operations.

SDM Nahan Jyoti Rana said a relief of Rs 10,000 each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 5,000 to the injured had been extended.

Locals said the poor condition of the road was responsible for the accident and little had been done to ensure its timely maintenance.

Poor condition of roads has often led to accidents in the district, but apart from institution of inquiries, little has been done to check such mishaps.

Nurpur, May 9
An unidentified body was found in a field at Milwan under the Indora police station here today.

As per information, local villagers spotted the body of a Sikh octogenarian in the morning and informed the police.

The body was yet to be identified. The deceased had been roaming in the village for the past few days and was in depression. The police has registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In another incident, Gurmeet Kaur (40) of Thakurdwara under the Indora police station, was electrocuted at her house. According to information, she was operating the water-lifting motor and suddenly, an electric shock hit her and she died on the spot.

Kullu, May 9
A donation box and two silver ornaments (chhatra) were stolen from the Jagti temple at Naggar village, about 30 km from here, yesterday.

The priest found the locks of the temple broken and reported the matter to the police.

DSP, Manali, Puran Chand said a forensic team and dog squads were engaged to take stock of the situation. The police was able to recover some vital clues and the accused would be nabbed soon, he said.

The incident has raised many questions as the temple is located on the premises of Naggar Castle, a heritage tourist lodge.

The temple is believed to be the abode of all deities of the Kullu valley. If legends are to be believed, a huge rock known as Jagtipatt was moved by deities from Manali to here, after taking the form of honey bees. The oracles and priests perform a joint meeting (Jagti) to resolve or prevent the valley from calamities on this Jagtipatt.

The ambitious multi-million dollar Ski village project was also opposed by deities here in 2006. The project has still not commenced, despite stable financial background and support of the ruling government, claimed a resident.

Since incidents of thefts were on the rise in the valley, a little has been done to curb the menace. Majority of temples of the valley were still unprotected and lack CCTV recording facilities.

The security and safety of a common man was a big question, said Maheshwar Singh, MLA, Kullu.

The repeated incidents of thefts in the temples have created a lot of unrest among residents as religious sentiments of people were attached with local deities. The people of the valley have repeatedly raised their voice demanding security measures for the protection of rich cultural heritage and enormous wealth in the temples of the district.