Shimla, August 22
Uncertain about the exact shape of the new body which will replace the Planning Commission as envisaged by the Modi regime, the cash-strapped Himachal Government today constituted a sub-committee for Resource Mobilisation and Economy Measures.

“We are still not sure about the new set up that will be put in place and its objectives, especially concerning the special category states, including the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand,” said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

He admitted that the government was faced with severe financial constraints but the focus would continue to remain on development and the salary burden too would have to be met at all cost.

He said the government was already undertaking several austerity measures but a sub-committee had been set up to look at the issue more minutely. The committee would be headed by Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur and other two members would be Transport Minister GS Bali and Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.

“The state government could consider disinvesting its share in the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam as the Centre is doing so in public sector undertakings (PSUs),” he hinted. Sources said this could help in generating about Rs 650 crore.

Virbhadra also said the government was concerned about the financial mess in case of Mashobra Resorts. “The state government is taking steps to increase its equity since the hotel is its prime property which has been leased out,” he said.

He said though he had initially decided to set up AIIMS-like centre at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College at Tanda in Kangra, if the Centre wanted to construct it in Mandi, the Himachal Government was open to the idea.

“Since there is a lot of land available and the existing structure of the ESI medical college at Ner Chowk could be put to use, we could consider having AIIMS-like institute in Mandi, which is also the central belt of the state,” he stated.

The Chief Minister was critical of the BJP for not allowing the smooth functioning of the Assembly during the monsoon session, which had to be abruptly adjourned. “There can be an occasional reason for ruckus but not the manner in which the BJP made it a routine affair, be it the winter, budget or the recent monsoon session,” he remarked.

He added that important debates on development and welfare issues were the biggest casualty when opposition members decide to not take part in the proceedings.

Shimla, August 22
The state government is still undecided on the Lokayukta Bill even as the recommendations of the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha were placed before the Cabinet which met here today.

“We have yet to make up our mind whether we will bring in an Ordinance or the Lokayukta Bill will be introduced in the Assembly, if it meets,” said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who presided over the Cabinet meeting. Sources said the Cabinet discussed the issue but did not arrive at any decision as some more information had been sought. The matter was likely to be placed before the Cabinet when it meets next.

The Cabinet also decided to set up two women police station in Dharamsala and Mandi on the pattern of women police station in Shimla. It was decided to create 21 posts for the two police station.

The Cabinet also gave its nod for relocation of the 9.9 mw Chirchind-II hydro electric project with a condition that the promoter will have to execute a revised capacity agreement. It will maintain the riparian distance with respect to its upstream as well as downstream projects. It also made it clear that the government would not be responsible for any time and cost overrun on account of relocation of the project domain beyond the provision contained in the hydro policy of the state.

The Cabinet also decided to provide funds for maintenance and performing rituals in those temples whose land had been vested in the government.

It was also decided to create one post of temple officer at the Mata Balasundri Temple Trust at Trilokpur in Sirmaur district. Nod was also given to fill one post of scientific officer at the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga.

Nurpur, August 22
To instil self confidence in women, the Himachal Pradesh police is imparting special unarmed combat training to Class IX and X girls at all government high and senior secondary schools in Nurpur and Jawali subdivision.

Special male and female trainers of the Police Department having expertise in unarmed combat have been engaged at local government schools these days for this purpose.

These trainers are imparting 10 days’ training in self defence to girls by taking a 70 minutes’ period every day on the school premises. According to Nurpur DSP Manoj Joshi, the unarmed combat training to equip girls with self defence techniques has been launched in this subdivision under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan (RMSA).

“Ten government schools with around 900 girls’ strength have been covered under the campaign and nine other schools with 550 girls’ strength are being imparted this training,” he said.

He said all government schools in this subdivision would be covered under this campaign. He said girl students had been showing keen interest in this training programme.

Jawali DSP DC Verma said training was also being imparted to girls in Jawali subdivision and at present beneficiaries of Rey, Palora, Bharmar and Amlela government senior secondary schools were getting self defence know how. 

Shimla, August 22
Kinnaur residents have expressed anger against the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Public Works Department (PWD) for their failure to ensure safe travel on the Wangtoo-Karcham-Kaurik National Highway-22 and Karcham-Sangla-Chitkul, Urni-Rangling-Choling, Kalpa-Pangi-Rarang-Jhangi-Lippa and several other link roads.

The public anger is justified in the light of two mishaps which killed 25 people yesterday and injured 18 others.

The bus fell into the Baspa gorge at Tatrung, where the 500 m stretch of the Karcham-Sangla road was washed away during the 2012 June flash floods, when CM Virbhadra Singh too got struck at Sangla for two days, residents said.

But this spot remains dangerous as the PWD had raised the road on the crate walls as the sandy mountain was prone to slides.

Surender Singh, a resident of Sangla, said: “The PWD has failed to provide a solution to the problem on this stretch due to the sinking debris from the steep mountain.”

Ranjit Negi, a social activist and convener of Himlok Jan Jagriti Manch, Kinnaur, said: “The anger is multiplying as the apple season is about to start next month, but the main exit point of the valley — the 21 km Urni-Choling-Tapri stretch — remains prone to landslides and boulders continue to make travelling hazardous.”

The NH-22 and link roads are a lifeline for tribals who travel and transport apple, almonds and other produce to urban markets and this highway affords strategic access to the forward posts in the Shipki La that straddles Chinese border with the state. But the condition of the Wangtoo-Powari-Kharo, 30 km Moorang-Charang-Thangi stretch and Chango-Akpa-Khaab-Samdoh was pathetic, residents said.

“So is the case with 24 km Wangto- Kafnu, Chota Khamba-Bara Khamba road in Nichar block and 30 km Morang-Thangi-Charang road,” they added.

“There are no drains and spring water and nullas freely flow on the highway,” said local hoteliers Ramesh and VS Negi. “We are using Old Hindustan Tapri road, diverting traffic on Urni-Rangling-Choling and Rangling-Rogi road to Kalpa for the past two months,” said Ashok Chauhan, superintendent engineer, PWD, Rampur division. “The protection work collapsed every year as the mountain is sandy,” he said, adding: “We are widening the 21 km Tapri-Choling road and doing soling and tarring work to make it safe for transporting apples.” 

Shimla, August 22
The scrub typhus claimed another life today. Its fourth victim, 17-year-old Nisha from Jhadaunta, Bilaspur, died at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH), Shimla, where 117 patients have been tested positive so far.

But the state has witnessed a drastic drop in scrub typhus (ST) cases this year. Sita Ram, a patient from Jadhaunta was the first victim of the fatal fever. He died at IGMCH on August 5.

Other victims were Biyasa Devi from Nalagarh and Diksha from Mandi Sadar, the doctors said.

Doctors said the IGMCH has received 1,000 cases of high fever this year till today.

The cases have gone up for the last one week due to the rainy season.

The hospital is getting about 9-10 cases daily from the all over the state, but the fever has not been reported in clusters, said the officials.

Last year, the infectious fever claimed 26 lives. The hospital had received 4,000 patients, out of which 1,000 had tested positive for the scrub typhus, said the doctors.

“As many as four patients have died due to scrub typhus so far at the hospital. But the number of cases has reduced this year”, said Dr Ramesh Chand, Medical Superintendent, IGMCH. 

Cause

Characterised by intense headache and high fever, scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bite of Orientia tsutsugamushi, a mite. People sustain the bite when they walk in grass barefoot or with exposed legs, forearms or other body parts during the rains. It is diagnosed by serologic testing or biopsy. The testing facilities are available only at IGMCH and Tanda Medical College. 

Advisory

The doctors have advised patients to rush to nearby hospitals and undergo serological tests. They should walk in the grass with covered feet as mite remain active in grass during the rainy days. The body should also be covered while sleeping, especially if one is sleeping on the ground or in the fields, to avoid the 
mite bite which leads to scrub typhus. 

Sundernagar, August 22
The vehicular traffic on National Highway-21 remained suspended from 9 am today due to damage caused to the approach road to Dador Bridge.

A cavity was detected on the approach road of the bridge, towards Sundernagar, this morning. Initially, one-way traffic was allowed on the bridge but inspections revealed that the damage was dangerous, so traffic was completely suspended in order to carry out repairs.

Thousands of passengers were seen crossing the bridge on foot and boarding the buses parked on the other side.

The approach road of the bridge was damaged on August 12. It was repaired in a casual manner then. On August 14 and 15, Suketi Khud, on which this bridge is situated, was flooded. But the authorities allegedly did not care to monitor whether any damage was caused to the bridge or approach road or not. Local residents said it was negligence on part of authorities that the bridge was damaged.

B S Mehta, Executive Engineer, National Highway Division, Pandoh, said last year a patch between Nagchala to Garamora had been handed over to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for maintenance.

Employees of sub-contractors of NHAI said they had used mixture of concrete and cement, around seven to eight tones, to fill the cavity. The traffic would be allowed late this evening, they added.

Satish Kaul, Director NHAI, Himachal, said the work had been further awarded to a contractor who was responsible for the repair of damaged road. 

Una, August 22
The Industrial Promotional Cell of the Industries Department organised a meeting of industrialists at Amb here yesterday.

Industrialists from Industrial areas in Amb, Gagret, Deoli-Ghanari, Jadla Keodi and Basal were present in the meeting.

Tilak Raj Sharma, Deputy Director of the Industries Department, and Dr Rajiv Dogra, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, were also present at the meeting.

Parmod Sharma, president of the Gagret industrial area, said bad road connectivity of the industrial areas with national highways was one of the main issues that were discussed during the meeting.

He said industrialists also expressed concern over the erratic electricity supply, which resulted in repeated tripping of power.

“The ESI hospital at Gagret industrial area has been outsourced to a private agency. Earlier, people had demanded to appoint regular medical and paramedical staff at the institution,” said Sharma.

He said industrialists were preparing a demand charter, which would be presented to Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Tilak Raj Sharma informed that on the intervention of Gagret MLA Rakesh Kalia, the Industries Minister has agreed to listen to the grievances of the industrialists in Gagret on September 5.

He said about 200 units were running in these industrial areas and the minister had instructed the departmental officers to find ways and means for the up-gradation of infrastructure.

Tilak Raj said the Industrial Promotion Cell was finalising a series of interfaces between the state government and the prospective industrial investors.

He said the cell was working towards organising investor’s meets in October in all the major cities of the country.

These investors would be invited to set up their units in the hill state, he added.

New Delhi, August 22
Himachal Pradesh Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, speaking at a two-day national conference which commenced here today, claimed that the state was implementing Central schemes relating to welfare of the Scheduled Castes and handicapped effectively.

The conference of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministers is being organised by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry. The conference was presided over by Union minister Thawwar Chand Gehlot.

He said the state government had attached importance to the social sector and spent 25 per cent of its planned expenditure component of the Budget. Under the Prime Minister Gram Yojana, a conscious effort was being made to make available basic amenities to the villages dominated by the SCs.

Also, efforts were being made for rehabilitation and other helps to the handicapped under an integrated scheme christened “Sahyog”. The scheme was unique in the country, he added.

He thanked the Centre for enlisting Solan and Sirmaur districts for launching its pilot project- the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna. Districts in five states, including Himachal Pradesh, had been identified for the pilot project. The project had given a boost to the states efforts to uplift the SCs and other weaker sections of society, he added.

He enumerated the construction of 31 hostels in schools and colleges in the past decade. These were part of the 40 hostels which had been sanctioned by the Centre.

Palampur, August 22
Vice-Chancellor Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur, started an emergency helpline service under his direct control where students and staff can call anytime.

VC Dr KK Katoch disclosed this while chairing a University Anti-ragging Committee meeting here today.

The VC asked students to maintain the glorious tradition of ragging-free campus and have harmonious relations among themselves.

He asked fresh students to explore their full potential in excelling in the academics and other programmes of the university.

He said electronic surveillance system had been strengthened on the campus, including colleges, hostels and other vulnerable points and there was a system in place to monitor it.

“Students can call on the emergency number anytime as I will be monitoring it,” he said.

He said the university was also alcohol and smoke free and anyone found violating the sanctity would be dealt with strongly as per the Anti-Ragging Act and rules.

Dr SS Kanwar, Students’ Welfare Officer, told about various steps being taken to prohibit ragging on the campus and hostels.

He said sports tournaments had been started so that new and old students could mix up and develop good relations.

Registrar Rattan Gautam asked students to come forward in case they had any problem and also asked them to shun negativity.

Mandi, August 22
Members of the ABVP held a protest in front of the principal office, Vallabh Government College here today in support of their demands.

ABVP leaders Manish Saini and Kamlesh Sen said despite implementing the Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the authorities had failed to declare the results of this academic session.

They said the authorities should hold the student elections at the earliest. The elections along with the studies were the democratic rights of the students and they should not be delayed further, they said.

New Delhi, August 22
The state government has urged the Centre to create an administrative body for the promotion of tourism in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Leh-Ladhak areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Presenting HP government vision at a day-long national conference of tourism ministers in the capital yesterday, Vice-Chairperson of the State Tourism Development Board (Himachal Pradesh), Vijay Singh Mankotia, said: “There is immense tourism potential in these hilly areas which are preponderated by tribals.”

“These contiguous areas in the three Himalayan states have common social-religious culture, much as they are common in their topography,” he said.

He underlined that the populace in the areas were Buddhists and a large number of adherents of Buddhism throng these areas.

“They are dotted with ancient monasteries which are well-known the world over and attract devotees,” he said.

Significantly, Himachal’s Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh heads the Tourism Ministry. Mankotia was deputed by the ministry to represent the state at the conference.

He also made a pitch for Central assistance to set up an international airport and underlined the need for strengthening air services to the state. He said flights for Shimla, Bhuntar and Kangra were not regular due to which high-end tourists were not able to visit the state.

He said HP was one of the prime tourist destinations in the country and that it was time to take tourism sector to a higher level by boosting the concomitant infrastructure and other end-user facilities.

The state also drew the attention of the Centre to umpteen number of ancient temples and monuments of archeological importance in the state and urged for their survey and maintenance by the Archeological Department of India.

Besides, Mankotia urged the Union Tourism Ministry to increase the time period for submitting Utility Certificate for the amount released by it for a minimum of 36 months as the projects get delayed due to tough geographical conditions and inclement weather. 

Shimla, August 22
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Director of the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment, who has dealt with granting environment clearance to the second unit of Ambuja Cement at Darlaghat, to remain present before the tribunal on October 16 with complete records.

The National Green Tribunal, headed by Justice Swatantar Kumar, further directed the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to place on record the status report of the industry, the action taken and results, within two weeks.

The NGT further directed that in its report, the Pollution Control Board would take into consideration all activities of the project proponent and all ancillary activity.

The tribunal passed this order on a petition filed by residents of Ramri village (Darlaghat, Solan) alleging that the second plant established by the company was in total violation of environment laws.

Una, August 22
As part of the continued pharmaceutical education, primarily with the aim of informing pharmacists, chemists and druggists about the misuse of certain drugs by addicts, the HP State Pharmacy Council and the Himachal Chemists and Druggists Association are organising a workshop here on August 24.

Chairman of the organising committee Munish Chadda said all pharmacists and chemists of the district, registered with the State Pharmacy Council and working in the private or government sector, had been invited to the workshop. He said the workshop had been made mandatory for all pharmacists by the council to ensure the continuity of their registration licences.

Chadda said expert faculty would speak on the side-effects of drugs, besides giving knowledge on the correct use of medicines. He said the Registrar of the State Pharmacy Council would also be present to clarify doubts in the minds of pharmacists, chemists and druggists.

Shimla, August 22
The HP High Court today directed the Director General of Police of the state to ensure that all officers in-charge of the police stations in the state send accident reports to the magistrate concerned and to the motor accidents claims tribunals within 30 days.

The court directed the motor accidents claims tribunals to treat the said report as a claim petition if any claim petition was not filed.

While passing these orders Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir observed: “The police and claims tribunals are not fulfilling their legal obligation under the Motor Vehicles Act, according to which it is mandatory for the officer in charge of the police station concerned to forward copy of the report of any accident involving death or bodily injury to any person to the claims tribunal and insurer within 30 days and the claims tribunal shall treat this report as an application for compensation under this Act”.

Justice Mir said after hearing several such cases he had observed that neither the police nor the motor accidents claims tribunals were following the mandate of the Motor Vehicles Act, the purpose of which was that the poor persons did not suffer unnecessarily and get compensation as early as possible.

The court cautioned the authorities that any departure from the directions would be viewed seriously.

Dharamsala, August 22
The district administration has given an open space, available near the Kotwali market in Dharamsala reserved for a multi-storey parking, to municipal council (MC). However, the MC developed a marketing complex over the land, which would add to the parking problems of the area.

A four-storey building has been constructed in the open space. It would consist of shops on the two lower floors and parking on the upper two. The shops have been auctioned and would be occupied by shopkeepers soon. Had a multi-storey parking been constructed here, it would have eased the parking problem of the area.

MC officials, on the condition of anonymity, said the state government had given just Rs 1 crore for the construction of multi-storey parking, which was not sufficient. The cost of the building was about Rs 5 crore. So the council decided to construct shops on the lower two floors and auction them. The building has been financed by the money collected by auctioning the shops in the complex, they said.

Sanjay Singh, a resident, however, said constructing more shops in the Kotwali market area, which is already congested, would add to the parking and traffic problems. The parking that has been constructed on the top floor can only be approached through the Kangra museum. It was unlikely that the parking would be used by the locals, he added.

As per the norms of the Town and Country Planning Department, each commercial building coming up in the area has to keep one floor for parking. However, the norm is being flouted openly. None of the hotels coming up in Mcleodganj and Bhagsunag have parking facility.

In the lower Dharamsala area also, new commercial complexes are coming up but none of them has parking facility. Shiv Kumar, a resident of Mcleodganj, said in case the traffic problems were not resolved, the area would lose high-end tourists.

Kangra, August 22
Dr Ashwani Kumar was unanimously elected president of the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College at Tanda during a general house on Wednesday.

Dr Rahul Gupta, outgoing president, RDA, proposed the constitution of new governing body for the session 2014-16 which was accepted by voice vote.

A new governing body was unanimously elected and Ashwani Kumar was nominated president, Tomar-senior vice-president; Puneet Kumar Gupta, Isampreet and Vikrant vice-presidents, Desh Raj - general secretary; Manik, Surjeet, Ira Jamwal and Isha - joint secretaries; Vikrant - finance secretary; Sakshi Kohli and Ravi - treasurers; and Shailendra Minhas, Akshay Minhas and Gopal as Press secretaries.

The house nominated Jitender Sandhu, Rajan Negi, RS Raspa, Ajay Vaid and Dr Bhoop Singh advisers to the governing body of the RDA.

Mandi, August 22
At least 872 houses will be constructed for the poor at a cost of Rs 6.54 crore in the district this year.

This was stated by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Gopal Chand during a monthly review meeting with Block Development Officers (BDOs) here yesterday.

He said 692 houses would be constructed under the Indira Awaas Yojana, while the remaining 180 houses would be constructed under the Rajiv Gandhi Avas Yojna.

He said 247 rain harvesting structures of 21 lakh litre capacity had been approved for the district and out of these, 127 had already been constructed in various schools of the district at a cost of Rs 1.39 crore.

The ADC directed the BDOs to complete the ongoing development works with time-frame.

Mandi, August 22
The Mandi police have arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) after two years from Hoshiarpur early this morning.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohit Chawla said Rana Singh alias Satinder Singh was living under fake identity in Hoshiarpur.

Chawla said a case of theft was registered against him and two others on September 13, 2003, at the Sadar police station here. Satinder was declared the PO on September 29, 2012. One of his accomplices had died while another, Balbir Singh, would be arrested soon, the SP said.

The SP said they had constituted a Technical Investigation Cell (TIC) to crack cyber and technical crime cases. The TIC was be headed by an inspector-level officer, he added.

Shimla, August 22
The state government has opened 125 collection centres in the state for the procurement of C-grade apples under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS). This would ensure remunerative prices to apple growers at their doorstep.

A spokesperson of the Horticulture Department said 117 collection centres were being opened in Shimla district, seven in Mandi and one in Chamba district. These centre would be managed by the HPMC and HIMFED.