Shimla, October 11
The HP Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) is facing an acute shortage of culled apple fruit for processing this time as the corporation has failed to procure not even one-third of the quantity it had procured in 2013.

Reason: Bureaucratic delay, along with less number of procurement centres opened this year and inadequate support price under the market intervention scheme (MIS), forced farmers to sell C-grade apple in markets.

The HPMC has procured 9,300 MT so far and had targeted to procure about 20,000 MT to 25,000 MT this year as compared to 34,229 MT culled fruit procured in 2013. But the HPMC and HIMFED together will not be able to procure even 11,000-12,000 MT culled fruit this year, which will be one-third of the quantity it had procured last year, revealed insiders.

“The procurement price for apple at Rs 6.50 per kg is negligible under MIS. The government must increase the support price to minimum Rs 10 per kg to give adequate support to farmers,” demanded Balbir Chajta, a farmer from Jubbal.

“We expect that farmers will procure more fruit in the upper apple belt, where the apple season is in its last leg. But this quantity will not take us beyond 12,000 MT this time,” an official of the Horticultural Department said.

The department announced the MIS price in mid-August, when the apple season was heading for a close in the lower belt and farmers dispatched consignments to the markets, which had hit prices of the apple then.

Secondly, the HPMC and HIMFED opened 105 and 88 centres, almost half than what the government had opened in 2013, the managers said. The HPMC is upgrading its Parwanoo and Jadol processing plants. The Parwanoo unit will process 250 tonne fruit per day as compared to 120 tonne per day being done these days. The Jadol unit will process 50 tonnes per day, which is almost two times more than its present capacity of 24 tonnes.

HPMC vice-chairperson Prakash Thakur said the corporation got less fruit this time as farmers were fetching good prices for B and C-grade fruit in the markets. Rohru, Jarol in Mandi and Patlikuhal plants would be overhauled. The two vegetable store units were being set up at Ghumarwin and Nadaun which would cater to the needs vegetable growers in the lower region, where off-season vegetables have emerged as a big cash crop, he added. 

Shimla, October 11
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising ABVP and SFI members is all set to go ahead with the chakka jam planned for October 14 and the jail bharo andolan on October 17 to press for the rollback in fee hike and restoration of the Students Central Association polls.

SCA members in HPU and Chhatra Ekta Manch have warned that such tactics would not work and the agitation would be further intensified in the coming days.

Condemning the “unprovoked” lathicharge on students on the campus yesterday, the activists alleged that the police action was premeditated and uncalled for. They said even those students who were going to the library were not spared. They demanded immediate withdrawal of Section 144, CrPC, from the university campus.

The imposition of prohibitory orders was hindering the normal movement on the campus and the actions taken at the behest of Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai to suppress the agitation had created anarchic conditions, they alleged.

Rahul Chauhan, spokesman of the manch, said: “Lathicharge on students has become a routine affair. Students faced a similar action on September 18. Such provocations will further spoil the atmosphere.”

Lashing out at the VC for indulging in wasteful expenditure by appointing Pro-VC, secretary to VC and security officer, he said: “On the one hand the VC has hiked the fee to mobilise resources, on the other hand he was wasting limited funds by filling superfluous posts.”

The university should get additional grants from the government instead of putting burden on students, he said.

SCA secretary Piyush Sewal also demanded the withdrawal of Section 144 from the campus.

Shimla, October 11
Apple markets have crashed in the state as fruit from the flood-ravaged Jammu & Kashmir has flooded the markets in the country. The price has got reduced by Rs 400 a carton in the state which has exported 2.38 crore cartons so far.

The prices of A-grade royal and red delicious apples have dropped to Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800 per standard carton, while the price of B-grade apples has dropped from Rs 1,100 to Rs 900 to Rs 400 per standard carton, orchardists said.

But high-chilled apples from Kinnaur are still reaping good prices ranging from ~1,800 to Rs 1,600 for a standard carton, though nearly 15 per cent of the fruit has reached the markets so far.

The fruit from the high-altitude region of Chango, Namgai, Hango and Lippa has started coming, farmers said.

The cascading effect of the arrival of fruit from J&K is more pronounced in local markets of Rohru, Narkanda, Bhattakufar, Solan and Parwanoo than in Chandigarh and Delhi.

The standard royal carton is selling at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 in the local markets, while the B-grade apple is selling between Rs 500 to Rs 800 a carton, farmers said.

“Due to the arrival of fruit from J&K, the over-graded A-grade apple carton of 28 kg is selling for Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,800 in Chandigarh, which was earlier sold at Rs 2,200 to Rs 1,800,” said Ashutosh Chauhan, a farmer from Baggi Kotkhai.

“The arrival of traders from outside to buy fruit from local markets has also decreased after Dasehra and Bakri-Id,” said Deepak Kumar, a commission agent at Bhattakufar.

“But the saving grace for Himachali apples is that 30-70 per cent of the fruit crop has been affected due to floods and fungal attack in J& K this time,” said traders, quoting J&K officials.

But its arrival has picked up leading to the crash in markets, they added.

The apple season in the state is in its last leg as the higher belt of Shimla district, which produces more than 85 per cent of the apples in the state, is heading for a close towards the end of this month, orchardists said.

The dispatch of apple consignments from the state has dipped from 2.18 lakh cartons per day on October 8 to 1.60 lakh cartons per day reported today from the state’s barriers to the outside markets. 

Shimla, October 11
Hundreds of women clad in bright attires converged on The Ridge to break their fast today.

The traditional Hindu festival of fasting and feasting is unique in Shimla as married women of all ages, accompanied by their husbands, come to The Ridge to see the moon from a vintage point and break their fast.

As soon as the moon appears, the ground is covered with thousands of dazzling oil lamps lit simultaneously. Women perform the aarti and pray for the long life, well-being and prosperity of their husbands. Aditi, who got married recently, said she was excited as it was her first Karva Chauth.

The district administration had made elaborate arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents such as eve-teasing, molestation, chain snatching etc. No untoward incident was reported. Competitions such as best dress, best dance and Karva Chauth couple were also organised on The Ridge.

Mandi, October 11
Members of the Himachal Parivahan Mazdoor Sangh today held gate meetings at Mandi, Sarkaghat and Sundernagar in the district.

Leaders of the sangh urged the employees to reach Shimla in a large number for the October 14 rally.

Sangh leader Jashmer Rana said more than 4,000 employees from the state had already applied for leave for the rally. He said they had submitted a charter of demands to the authorities of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), but nothing had happened so far.

He said their main demands included regularisation of contractual employees after five years, immediate release of Rs 40 crore of the night allowance and overtime which was due for the past more than 18 months and full salary to the employees of different categories who were getting Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000 per month.

Dharamsala, October 11
The canalisation of the Swan river in Una district may have helped in reclaiming acres of agricultural land, but it has also threatened several natural wetlands.

The destruction of natural wetlands has destroyed the natural habitat of many rare wildlife species, including the sarus crane.

The Swan river wetlands is a breeding ground for the sarus crane species. Wildlife experts have reported considerable decline in the number of sarus cranes visiting the Swan river wetlands.

Prabhat Bhatti, a wildlife expert who has been keeping a close watch on the sarus crane population in Una district, said: “Just a few birds are seen in the area now as their habitat has been destroyed, primarily due to the channelisation of the river.”

It has also led to the decline in the groundwater level in several areas of the district. The water level in areas adjoining the Swan river and its tributaries is very high. At certain places, farmers even installed artisan wells due to high water level.

The water level in areas adjoining the river was about 20 to 30 feet. However, after canalisation, the water level has gone down from 70 to 100 feet.

The experts attribute the reduction in water to over-exploitation of underground water and canalisation of the Swan river. They said the natural wetlands in the Swan used to recharge groundwater in Una district. However, after canalisation the water was not retained in the riverbed and recharging of underground water decreased.The Swan river that originates in Talwara area of Punjab, passes through Una district of Himachal before merging into the Sutlej river near Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.

It has over 70 tributaries that are generally seasonal rivulets that bring water from the Shivalik hills of the region during monsoons.

The Swan is, however, a perennial river though water in it peaks during monsoons. Due to floods, it was also once called the sorrow of Una district.

Small and big wetlands have been created in the river and its tributaries.

The state government has spent over Rs 500 crore on the canalisation of the Swan river. A project of another about Rs 1,000 crore has been cleared by the Union Ministry for Water Resources for the canalisation of the Swan river tributaries.

Though the canalisation is going to help in containing floods and reclaiming thousands of acres of water-logged land, its impact on the environment and underground water of Una is an aspect that is worrying environmentalists.

They are of the view that the government should also make provisions for water recharging in the river so that the underground water does not goes down at an alarming rate.

Not only this, natural wetlands that are a habitat to several rare species, should also be preserved even if in an artificial manner by creating some undisturbed habitats for rare birds’ life, they said.

Una, October 11
The Chintpurni shrine will soon find mention on the Railways map. The Railways authorities have accorded approval for the setting up of Chintpurni Marg Halt station at Kuneran village in Una district on the Una-Talwara broad-gauge rail line, work on which is underway.

According to the authorities at the Divisional Railways Office, Ambala, funds have been sanctioned for the construction of infrastructure at the station and work has been awarded to a government contractor. Besides a platform and offices, the station will also have staff quarters. Though the Chintpurni shrine is a few kilometres away from Kuneran, the rail line will provide a cheap and safe travel to devotees from different parts of the country.

Work on the 88-km-long Nangal-Una-Talwara broad-gauge line to connect it with the Jalandhar-Jammu rail section began about 45 years ago and only 46-km track has been laid till date up to Amb-Andaura. A railways engineer said work on the Amb-Andaura to Daultapur Chowk section was under way.

There are 10 major bridges on the 16.5-km section, all of which are complete. During the current financial year, there is a budgetary provision of only Rs 20 crore for this track. The Railways is focusing on the 8-km stretch from Amb-Andaura to Chintpurni halt station, said the engineer, adding that the shrine would have the rail connectivity with New Delhi by the Himachal Express train.

Shimla, October 11
Dehla in the Una Assembly constituency will be developed as adarsh gram — a model village — under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), said Hamirpur MP and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president Anurag Thakur.

Anurag, in a press statement here today, said Dehla was among the largest villages of Himachal Pradesh with a population of nearly 10,000. “The village has overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well as in all previous elections. Also, people from every community reside here which makes it fit to the BJP’s philosophy of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” he said.

Under SAGY, one village has to be turned into a model village by 2016 and another two by 2019. Anurag said instead of three, he would turn six villages as model villages by 2019. The village would be developed holistically by strengthening health infrastructure, road, water and educational facilities, he added. 

Mandi, October 11
Urban Development Department Director JM Pathania took stock of the sanitation situation in the town.

Pathania inspected several areas, including Khaliar, Old Mandi Town, Samkhetar, Upper Samkhetar, Bhagvahaan and Thanehra Mohallas. During the inspection at Bhagvahaan Mohalla, he found a dustbin near a drinking water source and immediately ordered its removal.

Municipal Council (MC) Executive Officer Ajay Prashar said the Director also visited various wards to get feedback on door-to-door garbage collection scheme launched by the MC and urged people to support the drive.

Pathania also took stock of various sanitation schemes being launched in the town.

Shimla, October 11
Independent MLAs can support a party’s policies, but not a political party, said BJP state spokesperson Ganesh Dutt, adding that the law would take its course on the four Independent MLAs who had given in writing that they supported the Congress.

In a statement here, he said the BJP had submitted a petition to Himachal legislative Assembly Speaker BBL Butail seeking disqualification of these four MLAs under the Anti-Defection Act. He said they were acting like Congressmen inside and outside the legislative Assembly and the decision would come in four months. Meanwhile, former BJP MLA from Kinnaur Tejwant Singh Negi termed the recent Kinnaur visit of CM Virbhadra Singh as a flop show and said the NH 22 leading to Kinnaur is blocked near Urni for the past five months.— TNS

Una, October 11
The Himachal Pradesh State Chess Association today launched a two-day state chess championship at Government College, Una. The championships are being held for under-13 and under-14 boys and girl, besides under-25 mixed categories.

Association Chief Executive Officer Sita Ram Sharma, college Principal Dr SK Chawla and Una DSP Surinder Sharma spoke during the inaugural function.

Varun Puri, president of the Venus Sports Club, said top four winners in under-13 and under-14 categories would participate at the national-level championship to be held later this year in Chennai and Jharkhand, respectively.

State Chess Association secretary Sudarshan Sharma, members Kushal Kapila, Bharat Bhushan, Karun Sharma, Vanita and Anjali were also present.