Palampur, October 5
People’s Voice, an NGO, today urged MP Shanta Kumar to use his good offices and get vacated the ban imposed by the Union Government on the export of monkeys from India.

The general house of the NGO, which met here yesterday, said in view of the large scale loss being caused to crops, the Union Government should allow the export of monkeys for the sake of poor farmers.

The organisation said the sudden increase in the number of monkeys in the state had become a matter of concern for farmers and fruit growers. Herds of monkeys could be seen in fields, destroying crops worth Rs 500 crore every year. They had become a big nuisance in urban areas too, it stated.

Neelam Sood, a member of the NGO, said “Villagers, however, feel that the problem has become more acute because monkeys have been provided protection under laws like the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Wildlife Protection Act.”

The organisation appreciated the previous BJP government that had allowed the killing of monkeys in the state on the demand of the farming community in 2010. But a few organisations had got a stay from the High Court under the pretext of cruelty to animals and the problem still persisted.

It said in the past five years, over 500 people were bitten or clawed by aggressive monkeys in Kangra district alone, which resulted in the death of a dozen victims.

“Monkeys snatch handbags from passers-by, steal food from houses, medicines from hospitals and even files from government offices. Women and school-going children have become soft targets. Monkeys have also caused automobile crashes in many parts of the region recently, resulting in fatal accidents,” the NGO stated.

It said thousands of acres of land in the state had gone barren in the past 10 years because farmers had abandoned their fields and stopped cultivation.

Shimla, October 5
The Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) and the Himachal Pradesh Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) are on a collision course over the plying of taxis on sealed and restricted routes in the capital city.

Transport Minister GS Bali had declared that the HRTC would run its own taxis in the city, while the corporation had its own plans saying the HRTC had failed to serve its purpose.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma and Shimla BJP legislator Suresh Bhardwaj have pitched in support for Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tikender Singh Panwar saying that it was the corporation which enjoyed the mandate to start pink taxis and golf cart service in the city.

They said the city area was MC’s domain and the corporation had the first right to exercise its option, while running service on sealed and restricted routes rather than the HRTC and the Transport Department.

Tikendar said the HRTC was encroaching upon the corporation’s domain as pink taxis and golf cart service was being pursued with the government.

“It is our jurisdiction to run transport service for its citizens on sealed and restricted routes,” he said.

Sudhir Sharma said the department had asked the Infrastructure Development Board to register golf carts and re-invite bids for pink taxis and golf carts in the city.

“The taxi service will be started by the corporation as soon as the proposal gets through,” he said.

Joining hands with the MC and the Urban Development Minister, Shimla legislator Suresh Bhardwaj said: “The MC should be given preference to run the taxi service on sealed and restricted routes in the city. The core heritage zone should be kept free from vehicles, which otherwise will mar its pristine beauty.”

Residents and councillors said senior citizens, the disabled and children should get preference in taxis as directed by the High Court. But the HRTC had failed in its purpose in the past three years.

Transport Minister GS Bali, who is also the Chairman of the HRTC, said: “We are doing away with the outsourcing of the taxi service to private operators in the city. Only the HRTC will run its own taxis on sealed or restricted routes in the city.”

On being asked about the MC’s plan to start golf cart and pink taxis in the city, Bali said he had not received any proposal from the MC for it so far. 

Kangra, October 5
KS Pathania, Vice-Chairman, Himachal Forest Corporation, today laid the foundation stone of Van Kutter Bhawan at Lipiana.

To be built at a cost of Rs 10 lakh, the building will be for the convenience of officials of the Forest Department and people visiting the area.

After the foundation stone-laying ceremony, Pathania distributed various varieties of seeds among 150 farmers of the area, under the Mid Himalayan Project.

He heard the grievances of 135 persons of the area and sorted out nearly 100 on the spot.

He directed the officials concerned to sort out the problems of the remaining 35 persons expeditiously.

He asked people to protect the forests and the environment in the larger interests of the people of the area. All efforts were being made by the state government to preserve and protect the forests and the environment at all costs, he added.

On the occasion, senior forest and other officers, besides Congress party functionaries, were present.

Dharamsala, October 5
Preparations are on for the upcoming international cricket match between India and West Indies scheduled on October 17 in Dharamsala. This will be the second one-day match of the series between India and West Indies starting on October 8.

This is the second international one-day match to be hosted in Dharamsala. Earlier, a one-day international cricket match was held here between India and England.

The Dharamsala stadium is Kings XI Punjab’s home ground and IPL matches have been hosted here. However, this year IPL matches could not be held as the state government had expressed its inability to provide security during matches on the plea that it could not spare security personnel from Lok Sabha election duties.

The match is being held amid a row involving the Congress government in the state and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) headed by BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur.

The HPCA president had recently accused the state government of not cooperating with them for holding the match. He had said in case the state government did not provide security for the match, the BCCI could change the venue.

However, the state government responded to the allegation by saying that it was not against hosting matches and was willing to provide security for it. Thereafter, a meeting was chaired by C Paul Rasu, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, to review the arrangements for the match.

HPCA spokesperson Sanjay Sharma, said: “We have requested the state government to provide security for the match and arrange for parking places.”

On the other hand, hoteliers and tour operators in the region are upbeat about the match. An ecstatic hotelier said all hotels in Dharamsala and surrounding areas had been booked for the match.

Some hotel operators are charging exorbitant amount from tourists who are expected to visit the area on the match day.

Meanwhile, the organisers as well as the district administration are facing a tough challenge to make arrangements for adequate parking space and to regulate traffic on the match day.

Sources said the parking space would be created near the SAI stadium, police ground in Dharamsala, Dari ground and a stadium near Sidhbari.

During the stint of previous BJP government, the state agencies used to participate actively in hosting matches here.

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) used to run shuttle service for spectators, who parked their vehicles at far-off places.

However, so far it has been not been finalised weather the HRTC would extend a similar service now. Nearly 20,000 vehicles arrive in Dharamsala during cricket matches. Without active participation of the state police, such a huge traffic cannot be controlled. Earlier the state police had been demanding charges from the HPCA for providing security during matches.

However, the HPCA had been maintaining that it was the duty of the state government to provide security during the matches.

Dharamsala, October 5
Tourists remained stranded for three to four hours owing to long traffic jams on roads leading to famous tourists spots in McLeodganj, Bhagsunag and Dharamkot in the past two days.

The tourists remained huddled in their cars for hours. Locals too are sore over the fact that the administration and the government have failed to redress this problem.

Vikas Nehria, who runs a hotel and restaurant here, said: “Bhagsunag and Dharamkot are the only places, where locals have set up tourism infrastructure. In McLeodganj most of the hotels and shops belong to the Tibetans.”

“The government has failed to provide good roads. Long traffic jams have haunted tourists during the entire season. This may discourage them from visiting the place in future,” he said.

Dinesh, another local running a guest house at Bhagsunag, said several suggestions given by locals to ease traffic problems have been ignored by the administration. Locals had suggested that a small bypass from Dharamkot road be constructed, as it could help in easing the problem of traffic jams on the Baghsu-McLeodganj road.

The starting portion of the road from McLeodganj, where several illegal structures have been raised by Tibetans reducing the road width to just 10 feet, is the major hold-up.

Another long-term solution to the problem, as suggested by locals, was connecting the Baghsunag area with Indrunag road. If constructed, a one-way traffic rule could be implemented on the said road that would eliminate traffic blockades, they had said.

Locals had suggested that traffic lights be set up on the congested portion of the said road. Only one-way traffic should be allowed on the road with both sides being manned by traffic cops. This could prove to be an effective short-term measure to avoid traffic jams on the said road, they suggested.

Inquiries by The Tribune revealed that parking along the narrow road and encroachments were also a major reason for long traffic jams.

Most of the hotels that have come up along the road have not left any parking space as a result vehicles are generally seen parked along the road.

In several cases, tourists are allowed to take their mini buses till the Baghsunag area even during the rush hours. These vehicles create traffic jams as they need the entire road to pass.

Shimla, October 5
The Himachal Pradesh BJP has flayed the reported move of the state government to relaunch the “state lottery” and threatened to oppose the “unethical and immoral proposal with all its might”.

Party spokesman Ganesh Dutt said the Congress government, which had brought the state to the brink of bankruptcy by indulging in wasteful expenditure was now resorting to “unethical and immoral” means to mop up resources by relaunching the “state lottery”, but the BJP would oppose it.

He said the state lottery was scrapped under public pressure as thousands of homes were ruined due to this evil. Even the High Court had intervened in the matter and ordered the scrapping of the lottery, but the Virbhadra Singh government, in all its wisdom, was planning to relaunch the online lottery to mobilise resources.

The debt liability of the government has crossed ~35,000 crore and it was raising more loans, but instead of managing the finances in a prudent manner and curtailing the wasteful expenditure, it was opting for starting the lottery, he rued. Dutt advised the government to focus on governance and work for the welfare of the people instead of engaging itself in frivolous issues.

Shimla, October 5
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has urged farmers to not abandon domestic animals, particularly cows, after utilising them, as it was against tradition.

Addressing a gathering at Tikkar in the Kasumpty constituency, he said cows were seen wandering on roads and in crowded areas, increasing the risk of accidents. It was against the culture and tradition of the state where cow worship was considered sacred, he said and urged NGOs to educate people on the issue. He said people would volunteer to provide shelter to stray cattle as the government would provide assistance for setting up ‘gau sadan’ for such animals.

He enhanced the nazarana of the Nanal Devta temple committee to ~1 lakh and announced ~25,000 for Tikkar mela committee and ~4 lakh for constructing Sarai Bhawan at Barog. He also announced upgrade of Tikkar School from middle to high and Sonthal primary school to middle school.

The CM said not holding exams for the students of Class I to Class VII in the school was not a good practice. He announced a PWD rest house to be constructed between Mashobra and Baldein. He said the matter to open an ITI at Mashobra, would be discussed with the department concerned.

Palampur, October 5
Bipan Parmar, state BJP general secretary, and Vinay Sharma, district president of the BJP, today criticised the Congress MLAs and ministers from Kangra for becoming mute spectators on the issue of opening an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kangra district.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, they said the Centre had already sanctioned AIIMS hospital for the state and the same should be opened in Kangra district. However, the Congress government was not in a favour of the same, they alleged.

The BJP leaders alleged that the Congress government, headed by CM Virbhadra Singh, had been ignoring Kangra.

They said if AIIMS hospital was opened in Kangra district, it would benefit residents of the adjoining four districts namely Chamba, Mandi, Una and Hamirpur.

Shimla, October 5
Three lakh beneficiaries have got health smart cards under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) which is providing a health cover to the weaker sections of the society in the state.

Eligible families get free, cashless medical treatment at the empanelled hospitals like the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Tanda Medical College and PGI, Chandigarh, a government spokesperson claimed.

The scheme has been extended to MGNREGA, building and construction workers, besides the below the poverty line sections, including persons with 70 per cent disabilities, domestic workers and street vendors.

Now, other categories like sanitation workers, rag pickers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, weavers, artisans and contractual employees are also being covered under RSBY and they can be enrolled till November 30, a press release issued today said.

Enrolment has already been started and more than three lakh new smart cards have already been issued.

The eligible members get smart cards for health cover up to Rs 30,000 for one year under floater basis under the scheme, providing insurance to five members of the family.

The cover includes over 1,000 diseases and the eligibility for the claim becomes on the admission in empanelled hospitals.

The new smart cards provide benefit of the scheme without admission into the hospital.

A patient is entitled to get free medicines up to Rs 150 per month, including medical test, and can avail benefit up to Rs 1,500 in a year, he added.

The RSBY provides for cover of Rs 1,75,000 per family for critical illness. Three hospitals - IGMC, Shimla, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, provide the critical treatment for diseases like cardiac and cardiothoracic surgeries, genito-urinary surgery, neuro-surgery, radiation oncology, trauma, transplant surgeries, spinal surgeries, surgical sastroenterology, hemophilia and cancer.

The treatment expenditure under critical care is directly reimbursed to empanelled hospitals by the state nodal agency.

To widen the benefits, the state has empanelled 177 hospitals which include 155 public and 22 private and beneficiaries can choose the hospital to avail the RSBY.

As of now, benefits worth Rs 64.37 crore have been availed by 1.43 lakh smart card holders.

As many as 2,816 patients got treatment under critical care and claimed Rs 1,296.87 lakh, the spokesperson added.

Health matters Eligible families get free, cashless medical treatment at the IGMC, Tanda Medical College and PGI, Chandigarh The scheme has been extended to MGNREGA, building and construction workers, besides the BPL sections, including persons with 70% disabilities, domestic workers and street vendors Now, other categories such as sanitation workers, rag pickers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, weavers, artisans and contractual employees are also being covered under RSBY and they can be enrolled till Nov 30

Mandi, October 5
The government is committed to provide better health services in the state, said Revenue and Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, while addressing a gathering after inaugurating a residential complex at the Zonal Hospital here recently.

Nearly Rs 1.8 crore was spent on the construction of the complex, he added.

The minister also released a book published by the Health Department on safe motherhood.

Six houses were constructed on the complex for doctors, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 3.12 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of Type-2, 3 and 5 houses in the hospital.

He said health services would be strengthened in the state and accordingly, doctors and other staff would be posted.

Apart from 428 doctors and 53 specialist doctors, 130 pharmacists, 100 laboratory technicians and 350 staff nurses had been appointed in the past nearly two years, he said.

He said the sanctioned strength of doctors in the state had been increased from 1,597 to 1,797.

On expansion of services, Kaul Singh said a 100-bed mother-childcare hospital was under construction in the Zonal Hospital and a cancer care hospital would also be set up here at a cost of Rs 45 crore.

The minister said a Community Health Centre, which would cost Rs 4.53 crore, was under construction at Padhar in the district.

He said a sum of Rs 26 crore had already been provided to the PWD for the construction of 45 projects of the Health Department in the district.

On expansion of health services in the state, he said there was a proposal to set up medical colleges at Chamba, Hamirpur and Nahan and a cancer care hospital and a mother-child hospital were being constructed in Shimla.

Shimla, October 5
Defending champion Suresh Rana is going strong in the Xtreme category, while superstar Salman Khan’s brother Sohail Khan is among the top 10 competitors in Raid Adventure on Day One of the 16th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, which reached Manali today.

The Raid officials said, accompanied by champion navigator Rahul Sancheti of Pune, Sohail Khan excelled in the Time-Speed-Distance format of raid adventure and scored well. Interestingly, Sohail performed better than most competitors in Corkscrew, the prologue to the Raid for rallyists driving 4X4 SUVs held early on Saturday morning.

But while manoeuvring the challenging track for Corkscrew, Sohail rushed alone to conquer a particularly difficult turn and left his navigator behind, incurring a penalty of 20 seconds, they said.

Sohail admitted that this was his first rally and a lot of learning had to be done. “Just because I am teaming up with one of the best navigators of the country does not mean we are going to be winning all the way. We tried doing well on the first day of the rally and hope to make up on the penalty we incurred at Corkscrew,” he said.

Sohail is driving a Gypsy for Team Maruti.

On Day One, Raid Xtreme covered 326 km and had two competitive stages, while Raid Adventure covered 317km. In both categories, rallyists combined speed with essential safety precautions. Out of the 79 teams that took a start in Rally Xtreme, 76 successfully made it to the end of the leg on Day One, the officials added.

The Raid, however, had its own share of drama. Pramod Joshua, a Motocross champion from Bangalore went down the mountain on his bike. Fortunately, he was caught in a tree and escaped unhurt. Joshua was riding for Team TVS, and had to quit the rally.

Nishant Pal Yadav and Chirag Thakur of Team Tusker, Delhi, had to quit Raid Xtreme after their vehicle rolled over. Baljeet Singh of Chandigarh sustained a minor injury after falling from his bike and had to quit the Raid too.

Major Dankar and Major Ravi Dhillon of Team Army had to quit the event after a radiator burst in their vehicle. Defending champion Suresh Rana was among the fastest runners today with Aman Ahluwalia of Noida, Sanjay Agarwal of Delhi and Lt Col Shakti Bajaj of Team Army keeping up the pace.

Among bikers, Nick Sarao and Suresh Babu were among the fastest today. The competitors were on their way to Manali for the end of the leg on Day One at the time of filling of the report.

Hamirpur, October 5
The Himachal Pradesh Patwari-Kanungo Association will intensify its agitation if the government does not pay heed to its long-pending demands of filling the posts of field revenue officer.

This was stated by Partap Singh Thakur, state president of the association, who was also on strike, along with other members, in front of the Sadar tehsil office here on Thursday.

He said the 744 posts of patwari were lying vacant in the state and 200 retired patwaris had been re-employed to cover up the gap, but it was not improving the working of the department. He said the government had also not fulfilled their demand of 35 per cent quota for their cadre for their promotion to the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services (HAS).

He said the other demands included the creation of one kanungo circle for every four patwar circles, provision of salary and perks to contractual patwaris on a par with those of regular ones and filling vacant posts of their cadre.

Members of the association said there should be 100 per cent promotion of kanungo-level officers to the naib tehsildar level.

He said the shortage of patwaris was delaying revenue works of the public, resulting in unnecessary harassment.

The association had also given an ultimatum to the government regarding fulfilment of their demands.

Shimla, October 5
The National Academy of Medical Sciences has elected Dr Surendra Kumar Ahluwalia, Principal, MM Medical College and Hospital, Kumarhatti (Solan), as fellow of the academy in recognition of his services in the field of medical sciences.

The formal admission to fellowship and the award of a scroll to him will be made at the annual convocation of the academy, being held on October 18 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh. He will be admitted as fellow or member only on receiving the scroll and his name will be entered in the Register of Fellows or Register of Members on the day he receives the scroll, Dr Sanjay Wadhwa, Honorary Secretary, National Academy of Medical Sciences, said in a communication to Dr Ahluwalia.

The National Academy of Medical Sciences was inaugurated in New Delhi on December 19, 1961, by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

Noted Himachali writer Sudarshan Vashishth has been conferred Senior Fellowship by the Ministry of Culture under the “Scheme for Award of Fellowship to Outstanding Persons in the Field of Culture”, for his outstanding work in the field of culture.

Vashishth will work on the folk traditions of Himachal Pradesh. His name has been selected along with 177 scholars from all over India in different disciplines like folk music, dance, drama, paintings, sculpture, graphics, etc out of which 10 persons were in the field of folk.

Hamirpur, October 5
Technical sanctions have been given to 107 sub projects under Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDPP) for early implementation, said Yogesh Mahajan, Director of the project, on Tuesday.

He said the Rs 321-crore project would be completed in seven years and 210 such sub projects would be implemented in five districts, including Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur and Una.

The project started in May 2011, with the collaboration of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Japan had sanctioned a soft loan of Rs 256 crore for this project and Rs 55 crore are to be contributed by the state government. Sources said about Rs 100 crore had been spent on the implementation of the project so far.

“To promote sustainable crop diversification in the state by development and rehabilitation of minor irrigation facilities and access to farm roads, the sanctioned sub-projects would cover 1,905.20 hectare land with an expenditure of Rs 48. 55 crore”, said Mahajan.

The project would also help farmers increase income by diversifying to cash crop cultivation, promoting organic farming and ensuring prosperity of small and marginal farmers of the state, including capacity building, he added.

Project Engineer Pardeep Behl said the construction work on 37 irrigation schemes and four tube wells had started and a few were nearing completion. Installation of irrigation schemes, tube wells and poly-houses would be done in a phased manner. The schemes would be handed over to the Kisan Village Associations for operation and maintenance, he said.

Nurpur, October 5
The state Excise and Taxation Department has relaxed the condition of filing quarterly Value Added Tax (VAT) returns online, irrespective of the annual turnovers, for small and marginal traders of the region. The order came following a hue and cry by Nurpur and Jawali traders with small annual trading turnover of a few lakh rupees against the order. The new norm was to be implemented from July onwards.

The plight of small and marginal traders of the region had been highlighted in these columns a few days ago.

Vivek Mahajan, Assistant Excise Commissioner, Nurpur, convened a special meeting with the representatives of beopar mandals of Nurpur and Jassur in this connection.

The small traders, registered with the department and having a meagre annual turnover, who were novice to the online technology, had faced a lot of hardship in submitting their VAT returns for the first quarter of the current financial year as the department offices declined to accept the hard copies of their returns.

Mahajan said the traders whose annual turnover was between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh would get the relaxation in filing online returns. “The traders with an annual turnover of below Rs 10 lakh can deposit VAT amount in the bank and submit a hard copy in the local office of Assessing Authority-cum-Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) within the first 10 days of the next month after the completion of each quarter period and traders with turnover from 11 to 20 lakh can submit the same within 20 days for the same period.”

He said the data entry operator in the office of the ETO would upload their VAT returns in the department’s system.

Hamirpur, October 5
The Private BEd Colleges Association of Himachal Pradesh has urged Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) to extend the dates for admission to BEd colleges.

Secretary of the association Rajeev Sharma said over 1,500 seats were still lying vacant in various colleges throughout the state.

He said the decision of the government of not relaxing admission norms not only deprived students from getting quality education, but also led to heavy financial losses to private colleges.

Sharma said norms for admission to BEd courses should also be relaxed and be fixed as per All-India Council of Teacher Education (AICTE). He said HPU should relax eligibility to 45 per cent for general category against the prevailing 50 per cent and 40 per cent for reserve category against 45 per cent.

He said a major chunk of students were going to neighbouring states, especially Jammu and Kashmir as they were luring students with low fees, non-attendance and high scores without regular classes. — OC

Una, October 5
A team of doctors organised a free multi-specialty health camp in memory of late Dr Umesh Gautam at Lathiani village in Bangana block here today.

Dr Gautam had served for a long time at the allopathic dispensary in Una city and died this day last year.

Orthopaedic specialist Shiv Paul Kanwar, gynaecologist Jagdishwar Kanwar, eye specialist Ashish Sawhney, paediatric specialist Ravi Kumar, physician Rakesh Agnihotri and dental surgeon Vikrant Prashar examined patients and gave away free medicines.

About 400 persons attended the camp.

Dr Gautam’s mother Saraswati Devi, wife Anita Gautam and daughter Prerna Gautam, besides Una Janhit Morcha activists Rajiv Bhanot, Raj Kumar Pathania and Balwinder Goldi were also present on the occasion.

Shimla, October 5
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) realised Rs 8,80,67,442 as interest and penalty from policy holders for late payment of premium in Himachal during 2013-14, revealed information gathered by an RTI activist.

The information was furnished by First Appellate Authority, Gurmel Singh, Senior Divisional Manager, LIC, to RTI activist Deepak Sood, who alleged that the LIC was not informing policy holders about the due date for payment of premium and charging interest and penalty from them.

Sood had filed an application under the RTI Act, seeking information about amount realised on account of penalty and interests on late payment of premium, copy of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) guidelines regarding intimation to policy holders about premium payable and due date and details of the practice adopted by the LIC in this regard.

The Public Information Officer (PIO) refused to give the required information under Section 8(1) (d) of the Act and claimed that it pertained to commercial confidence and trade secret. Regarding IRDA guidelines, he asked the applicant to visit the website. However, he informed that the premium notices were posted three days before the end of month preceding the month in which premium falls due.

The applicant appealed to FAA on August 20, 2014, who maintained that the information sought is not commercial confidence. 

Shimla, October 5
The formation of water bodies under the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project (MHWDP) in Himachal has proved to be a boon to fish farming and the cage culture technique introduced by the project has made it a potential and profitable livelihood activity in rural areas.

The government introduced the scheme by constructing earthen run-off dam through the MHWDP at Kudini (Kudini Dam) in Dabat village in watershed development division, Naina Devi, having the pond area and capacity of 1.43 hectares and 4.28 hectares on the pattern of Jharkhand, considered a leading state in fish farming. The total cost of the project is Rs 3.71 lakh which covered the beneficiary share of Rs 59,410.

The cage culture is an aquaculture production system where fish is reared and grown in floating net cages which can be placed in dams, lakes, ponds, rivers etc having average water depth of 5 m to raise and protect the fingerlings until they are harvested.

Fish stocked in cages are fed with commercial feeds and harvested when they reach market size.

Besides augmenting the income of the youth, the project will go a long way in raising the living standard of people and the cage culture will emerge as an important source of livelihood for people and also help in better entrepreneurship skill development among the target groups, a senior official of the Fisheries Department said.

Local markets are available in and around Bhakra, Anandpur Sahib, Naina Devi and Nangal for members of groups within a distance of 10-15 km for selling harvested fish which will fetch them remunerative returns. Simultaneously, the cage culture will be extended to the other water bodies.

The state government had sent a team of the MHWDP to study the fish farming technique in small reservoirs and ponds in Jharkhand and it was decided to adopt it in Himachal.

The earthen run-off dams constructed by the project in the Changer area falling under it can serve as potential water sources for fish farming. The average depth of water in the water bodies varies between 4 and 5 m and favourable climatic conditions of the area provide an excellent opportunity for adopting fish farming as livelihood activity. A pisciculture sub-project has also been approved for fish farming in Swarghat as a livelihood activity for the area.

Solan, October 5
Various industry associations have welcomed the state government’s decision to make permissions under Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, a time-bound procedure by easing its various provisions.

Welcoming the decision Vinod Khurana, President, Nalagarh Industries Association, said since such permissions had been made time-bound it would help in avoiding undue delays and this would benefit investors who had to do a lot of running around in pursuing these cases.

Since the state government would clear such cases within seven days and then refer them to the district collector for further approval within 15 days, it would help reduce the time involved in getting such clearances.

The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association also welcomed the decision for the simplification of procedures under Section 118 for the conversion of land for industrial use as well as keeping industrial plots of the Department of Industries/ HPSIDC under deemed permission under Section 118.

Its General Secretary YS Guleria said: “The decision will promote the industrialisation of the state.” They thanked the chief minister and industries minister for simplifying the procedure.

Tajinder Goyal, state president of Laghu Udyog Bharti, also termed the decision as a step aimed at boosting industrialisation and said investors, who were operating on the plots allotted by various government agencies would benefit.

I received two books on poetry through dak. Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma was a lost name for me as I had met him last during my posting about 21 years ago in Dharamsala where he was teaching English in the Government College. I had heard him earlier reciting poems when I, as Director of Languages and Culture, had arranged an English poetry symposium in Shimla. An anthology of all poems read there was published as “Nascent Warmth”. Lalit had served as Principal at different government colleges in Himachal Pradesh since 1998 superannuating in 2010. His earlier books on poetry were published in 1984 and 1986 and then he slept. He awoke from his slumber in 2010 with “Pearls and Pebbles” (see photo) published by Book Plus in New Delhi. The paperback edition has 46 poems in it and costs Rs 200 only. Lalit Mohan inadvertently complements Anupam Kher’s popular show “Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai” by writing in a petite Foreword: “A few things have happened in life which I never expected although I wanted those to happen and dreamt. The present book, ‘Pearls and Pebbles’, is one of such things.”

Pearls, I reckon, is love and Death pebbles. First, I touch Lalit’s imagery on love: “Lovers don’t wait for flowers to bloom/May just faint in joy at the sight of green”. Does it not happen that time spent with someone close to your heart, stays with you forever? Yes, it does. He and she were at a party and then, “The moment stayed with me/Often can I feel your silver/Rimmed sari rustle past me.” Enjoy this expression from “Another Time”: “Even as she blushed and/Suddenly shot a glance at me/We knew this blazing passion was/Like a sculpture displayed/Not meant for sale.” When she speaks, he is moved by her lips, her teeth, her eyes, which are audible too, her elegance and what more;

“Unawares/ Unblinking/ A side glance-/A sight for gods.” I liked his use of oxymoron in “The Urge”: “Turn the excitement/Into a mood of deafening resonance.” Compare it with the famous: “Let valiance grow in the wake of affliction/And silence the deafening resonance of doubt” by Ascariasis.

There are quite a few poems on death and the dead; the poet’s grandpa and his poet-friend to be mentioned. “I am not here to sing praises/Act in sham rituals/Breathe hosannas to your glory/Not to rave and resent/All that you did/O grandfather.” Do we see the doors of death approaching as we age and start journeying towards those emotionally too? The poet says: “No one dies/One just gets into the vanishing act/ Only to haunt generations” probably toeing Sri Chinmoy. “Death is not the end/Death is the road/Life is the traveller.” I shall be doing half justice if I do not appreciate the lyricism of the eight coloured photographs given in the book. Read and enjoy it.

The other book of ghazals “Dariya Dariya-Sahil Sahil” (see photo) is by Zahid Abrol. I had covered “Faridnama” by Zahid in this column a few months back. The present book is published by Sabhya Prakashan, New Delhi; it has 101 ghazals in Devnagari script and a hardbound copy costs Rs 295 only. Zahid showers praise on his wife Rita Abrol: “Zahid usko khuda to maan liya/Jee main hai, doon usey khitab ik aur.” Well done, Zahid. Wives, sacrificing all for the family, deserve such accolades. Zahid too has woken up in 2014 with this book after a long siesta since “Faridnama” was published in 2003. The poet writes: “Jismon ki shatranj mein, sheh aur maat chali hai/Dariya dariya, sahil sahil raat chali hai.” Why is it that the poet beautifully express the darker phases of life? The poet, in simple words, gives an apt warning to those who think of flying high from a short runway: “Ik na ik din is dharti pe girega yaaro/Maum ke pankh laga kar jo udega yaaro”. One of his couplets reads: “Kitne baarik ho gaye raastey/Taalne waale bhi haadsey na taleyn” (The roads have become so narrow that even the avoidable accidents are unavoidable.) Zahid writes unpretentiously. I have enjoyed every ghazal of the book and am sure that you will too.

TAILPIECE
Little Vodka, little lime: I’m all rhythm and rhyme.

Nurpur, October 5
The post of a radiologist has been lying vacant in the local 100-bed civil hospital since the past two years, hitting health services badly in the region. Patients have to go to Pathankot in Punjab for ultra sound scanning, which is expensive and also time consuming.

A large number of patients from Nurpur, Jawali, Fatehpur, Indora and Bhatiyat Assembly segments visited the hospital daily due to the special health services available here. But patients, especially expecting women, are facing a lot of hardships as they have to travel to Pathankot to undergo the prescribed tests.

The state government had reportedly set up ultra sound scanning units at hospitals in Dharamsala, Nurpur, Kangra, Baijnath, Palampur, Dehra and Jwalamukhi. But regular appointments of radiologists were made only in Dharamsala, Kangra, Jwalamukhi, Dehra and Palampur hospitals. Meanwhile, Nurpur and Baijnath hospitals are waiting for the vacant posts to be filled up for long. The Nurpur civil hospital is catering to the need of the lower areas of Kangra district and a part of Chamba. But the state health department is indifferent to its needs.

The scanning units, set up by spending lakhs of rupees, have failed to deliver the requisite services to the patients. In Nurpur, patients are getting ultra sound facility only once a week.

BM Gupta, Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, said the Health Department had made a temporary arrangement by deputing a radiologist every Thursday. Meanwhile, the local Nagar Sudhar Sabha and the Town Welfare Committee have urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to appoint a radiologist at Nurpur at the earliest.

Una, October 5
The Swan Women Federation launched a seed distribution campaign for its 5,000 members at a programme organised at Kangar village here yesterday.

Under the programme, women members of more than 400 groups spread in 50 panchayats of the district were being given kitchen garden seed kits.

Federation chairperson Subhadra Devi said the seeds had been procured directly from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute and the kit consisted of nine hybrid seed vegetable varieties.

She said women had been motivated to cultivate vegetables in the backyard of kitchens, using kitchen waste water.

Chief guest Omkar Sharma, former Vice-Chairman of the Agro Packaging Corporation, said the federation, having 6,000 members, was working not only towards generating employment, but also overall empowerment of rural women.

Talks on bettering the child sex ratio, abolition of the dowry system and other social evils were delivered. Federation Chief Executive Officer Raj Kumar Dogra spoke on their future plans.

Chamba, October 5
Dr Dai Yeun Jeong, Professor Emeritus, Jeju National University, South Korea, has emphasised the need for an interwoven relationship between development, biodiversity and climate change. He has also observed that this region of India is very rich in biodiversity and it should be properly conserved.

This was stated by Dr Jeong at a three-day International Conference on Development, Biodiversity and Climate Change, which concluded at the local Government Postgraduate College today.

In his keynote address, Prof SM Yadav, National Institute of Technology, Surat, said owing to the excessive use of natural resources, biodiversity had been disturbed. He suggested, “We consider sustainability as our priority while planning development.”

While delivering his presentation, Dr Harjeet S Anand, president, International Sociology Association, who was the chief guest, condemned the popular notion of development being economic development.

He stressed the need for maintaining a proper balance between development and the environment.

The conference was compered by Dr Jyotindera Thakur and Prof Purnima Sharma.

Palampur, October 5
Palampur, an important tourist destination famous for its tea gardens, is crying for the immediate attention of authorities.

Known as Palam, meaning the land of brave soldiers, it has sent hundreds of soldiers, who laid down their lives in various wars fought before and after independence.

Major Som Nath (PVC), Capt Vikram Batra (PVC), Capt Saurabh Kalia and Major Sudheer Walia (Ashok Chakra) are the latest in the series from this town, who sacrificed their lives in recent wars. Unfortunately, successive governments have failed to recognise their supreme sacrifices and neglected the development of the town.

The long outstanding demand of local residents for the extension of municipal limits is hanging fire.

At present, only 20 per cent area of the town is governed by the municipal council and the remaining 90 per cent falls in panchayats.

Ten per cent area of the town with a population of 4,000 falls in the municipal limits, while 45,000 people live outside the municipal limits.

Today, people are devoid of all basic amenities here and are forced to live in hellish conditions. Potholed roads, streets, overflowing drains and contaminated drinking water tell the tale of the town which is fast turning into a big slum.

Despite the population increasing at an alarming rate, the state government has failed to extend the municipal limits of the town.

Roads and streets dug up for laying water supply pipes, telephone cables in the town are still to be repaired. The two busiest places — Ram Chowk and bye pass roads leading to the town and inter-state bus terminal — are in a pitiable condition, where road dug up for widening a year ago has not been repaired by the PWD.

Heaps of garbage can be seen in every nook and corner of the town emitting foul smell. In several areas garbage is not removed for days together. The situation in the internal parts of the town is no better as panchyats have no resources to maintain cleanliness resulting in huge garbage dumps on the roadside at Ghuggar, SSB Chowk, Aima, Bundla and Chokki Khalet.

The unplanned and haphazard construction of housing colonies in the town has become quite common. Since all these colonies have been coming up in panchayat areas, it lack basic amenities such as streetlights, roads, sewerage and drinking water supply.

In the absence of any appropriate authority to deal with the town’s planning, mushrooming of colonies and concrete jungles are being witnessed.

Panchyat areas such as Ghuggar, Sughar, Aima, Choki, Bindravan and Bundla are in bad shape. No funds have been provided to the panchyats for the development of their areas. Even panchyats have no means to remove garbage dumps.

Kullu, October 5
Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will inaugurate the renovated and modernised district library on the closing day of the Dasehra festivities on October 9.

Kanwar said the library was the first of its kind in the entire state with Wi-Fi facility, a book-café and a conference hall. Both traditional and modern sitting facilities would be available to readers and the computer section was equipped with films and music.

A self-study section and special section for students had also been developed. The DC said the CM would inaugurate the Nature Park developed by the Forest Department at Mohal on October 7.

He said on October 8, the CM would lay the foundation stone of the Sabzi Mandi at Bandrol and then inaugurate a new block of the office of the Deputy Director Elementary Education at Kullu. He would also inaugurate the newly constructed science block of the Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) at Dhalpur and the Zila Parishad guest house.

The DC said traditional artisans and vendors located along the road near the library would be moved to the stalls constructed adjacent to the library. He added that a food court would be developed behind the Kala Kendra near ICICI Bank for vendors selling traditional cuisine.

Chamba, October 5
Around 50,000 devotees from various parts of the district and outside paid obeisance at the Bhadrakali Bhalei Mata temple at Bhalei, 35 km from here, during the Navratris.

This was stated by Bhalei Mata Temple Committee president Kamal Thakur here yesterday.

Long queues were seen outside the temple atop the hill during the nine-day Navratris.

“It is believed that devotees who pray and observe a fast during the Navratris are blessed by the goddess,” Kamal said.

Mandi, October 5
Social activist Deshraj Sharma, demanding a refund of the fee charged by the Kullu Dasehra Committee from rural Dalit craftsmen, said it was illegal and unconstitutional to charge Rs 5,500 from the poor handicraft workers.

He said by charging the fee, the committee had ignored the 20-Point Programme, Street Vendor Act and various schemes launched by the Central Government for the eradication of poverty.

Deshraj said the workers were allotted space free of cost in several other fairs of the state, including Shivratri in Mandi.

He said they would send a memorandum to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to frame a uniform policy for the better management of fairs and festivals in the state.

Nurpur, October 5
Notwithstanding a state-wide ban on polythene bags, its use continues with impunity in Nurpur and its surrounding areas bordering Punjab.

This has annoyed environmentalists, who heaved a sigh of relief when the previous PK Dhumal government had imposed a ban on the sale and use of poly bags in June 2004.

The use of recycled poly bags has also hit small units manufacturing paper packaging bags set up in the region.

The government authorities are “silent” over the use of poly bags in the area.The state government has empowered as many as 18 officials at the district and sub-divisional level to curb the menace, but none of them have acted to stop its use. These officials were empowered to penalise violators and impose fine on those compounding the offences committed under the notification issued in June 2004.

Intriguingly, this ban has become a farce all over in the state in general and in border areas in particular.

As per information, initially the use of coloured polythene bags manufactured from re-cycled plastic had been banned in January 1999 to check indiscriminate throwing of used plastic bags and to prevent unsanitary condition in the hill state.

The banned poly bags are reportedly being used by vegetable and fruit vendors and grocers here as these are being poured from the neighbouring state of Punjab.

Due to persistent pressure of government authorities vendors had stopped using poly bags, but now their apathy has emboldened violators in the region.

Local non-government organisations and environmentalists have appealed to the state government to take serious note of the use of banned poly bags in all border areas across the state, as it was harmful to the environment.

Local SDM Ashwani Sood said he had scheduled a meeting with beopar mandals of Nurpur and Jassur on Wednesday evening at his office in which vendors and traders would be issued a warning against the usage of banned poly bags.

He said stern action would be taken against vendors in case they were found violating norms.

Una, October 5
The police have registered a case under Sections 306 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, against the in-laws of Tihra resident Tarsem Chand’s daughter for abetting her to commit suicide. A complaint in this regard was lodged by Tarsem.

Superintendent of Police Anupam Sharma said the complainant’s daughter was married to Raj Kumar of Oel village in Gagret block of Una district in 2009. In his complaint, Tarsem had alleged that her in-laws maltreated her.

As per Tarsem, his daughter came back to Tihra in 2013, but after a settlement between members of the two panchayats, she returned to her in-laws’ house.

The complainant alleged that his daughter was again manhandled by her in-laws on September 30. On October 3, they learnt that she was admitted to a hospital where she later died.

Tarsem alleged that his daughter had committed suicide due to being tortured repeatedly by her in-laws. The SP said besides Raj Kumar, his mother and brothers had also been booked.