Shimla, October 17
After a decade of ferocious leopard attacks that resulted in 31 deaths, the state government has decided to take up mapping of such conflict zones. This will help the wildlife wing of the forest department to zero in on a pattern of human-animal conflict and prompt solution to the growing problem.

The wildlife wing has culled out decade-long data of leopards, which says the leopard population in the state in 2005 was 700. The wing wants to associate Dr Vidya Athreya, a wildlife biologist working on leopards outside protected areas.

“We will shortly undertake a fresh survey on the number of leopards to see if their number has grown or come down,” said Lalit Mohan, Chief Wildlife Warden. “Though in most of Himachal, there are not many man-animal conflicts, we would like to have our own assessment.” He said as Hamirpur, Rampur and Bilaspur are the areas where most leopard attacks have been reported.

The government data shows there have been 362 leopard attacks since 2004. These include 31 deaths, 94 grievous injuries and 237 simple injuries. The state government has paid Rs 72.21 lakh compensation to the victims.

“We need to study the animal behaviour and take steps to minimise man-animal conflict in the coming days,” said Lalit.

“The man-animal conflict is more of a man-made problem as the leopards normally attack only when they are provoked,” said Vidya Athreya. She said culling could have serious consequences for people who have to step out to work, especially here. Past experiences had indicated that killing of animals always led on conflict.

The department also intends to undertake radio collaring of 10 leopards in different parts of the state. “It is only a comparative study of areas with the sizable leopard population, but difference in number of attacks will give us an idea about the reasons for greater man-animal conflict,” said Satpal Dhiman, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife). He added that the radio collaring of leopards would also give a fair idea of the behaviour of leopards. 

Shimla, October 17
Noted wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya today termed the human-leopard conflict man-made which could be dealt by creating awareness and not killing the animal which was bound to increase the conflict.

Athreya, who was here today, made a detailed presentation on “Leopards are not hostile” said the sensitisation of the media and reaching out to people to explain the characteristics of leopard behaviour would go a long way in conservation of leopards without disturbing the human habitats.

Speaking at a media workshop organised by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the wildlife department, she said the main reasons for conflict were crowding of leopards by people, pressure on the Forest Department to cage the leopards, poaching and efforts to restrain the wild cat within the man-driven territorial boundaries.

The noted wildlife biologist emphasised the fact that leopards made dogs, goats and sheep as their prey but attack human beings only when provoked. “Studies have proved that the practice of caging an animal and releasing it elsewhere has only led to increase in the human-leopard conflict.

She also raised doubts about the experiences of Jim Corbett, who wrote extensively about the man-eaters of Kumaon and said his observations did not match with scientific findings.

Referring to her experience of working on the human-leopard conflict in Mumbai for the past more than 10 years, Vidya Athreya said radio collars were implanted on six leopards and tigers to watch their movements and the leopards let off in other forests were found to be more ferocious but there was no mechanism to find out that whether a leopard had turned a man eater or not.

Shimla, October 17
The state government today increased the rate of VAT on petrol from existing 25 per cent to 27 per cent from tomorrow. It will make petrol dearer in the state.

As per a notification issued here, the government spokesperson stated the revised rates would be effective from October 18. All dealers have been asked to charge VAT accordingly from tomorrow, he added. — TNS

Kangra, October 17
Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, received a major setback as the Medical Council of India (MCI) did not recognise seven of its postgraduate courses due to deficiency of staff, scientific journals, infrastructure and equipment. The step has put in jeopardy the future of 13 postgraduate doctors who had passed MD from the college.

Sources from the MCI said the Postgraduate Medical Education committee, chaired by Dr SB Siwach, sent the communication on September 23, 2014.

On the basis of an assessment report of June 2014, the committee decided and recommended that MD pharmacology, MD biochemistry, MS ophthalmology, MD radio diagnosis, MD general medicine, MD dermatology and MD pathology was not recognised by the MCI.

The council had first recognised the courses in the beginning of the session and at the time of final examination, after three years, it was un-recognised.

Most of the issues could have been conveniently sorted out by the government and authorities but the lack of interest has put the institute and the students in dock.

There are 15 departments where postgraduate courses were started for 48 students. The qualification of department of anaesthesia, gynaecology, surgery, ENT and community medicines stands recognised and recognition of orthopaedics, microbiology and paediatrics were awaited from the MCI, sources disclosed. 

Solan, October 17
The teaching staff at Solan-based LLR Institute of Professional Courses took out a silent protest march from the Thodo Ground till the Mall Road here today.

Carrying placards of injustice meted out to them, they said the management had failed to disburse their three months’ salary. The staff members said it was a painful day for the teaching community as none of the authorities had intervened to resolve the issue. 

They said they had sent fresh representations to the Chief Minister, Deputy Commissioner, Himachal Pradesh Technical University, All-India Council of Technical Education, among others over the issue.

The strike entered its fifth day today. The institute has been closed without any written notice arbitrarily by the institute’s management, they said.

Carrying placards bearing slogans such as non-grant of PF, salaries for three months, etc., the teaching community sought to draw the attention of the administration towards gross injustice being meted out to them.

The entire staff proceeded on strike as a result the teaching work has been affected. The management declared holidays as against the academic calendar prepared by the Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU). The calendar is supposed to be followed by all institutes falling under it.

Interestingly, while the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission is cracking the whip on private universities for every big or small violation, the state government had not only adopted a tardy approach to check violations in this institute, but a strong action was still being awaited against the management who was operating from another state and had failed to come here to settle the matter.

Mgmt to appear before registrar

HPTU registrar Manoj Kumar said he had directed the institute management to appear before him tomorrow with the records pertaining to monetary transactions as it was primarily a dispute between the employees and the management owing to non-payment of salaries.

No team had visited the institute to take note of the untimely closure of the institute and employees were left to march on streets.

Shimla, October 17
Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) President Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has said the development of the state has always been the priority of successive Congress governments. He said directions have been issued to complete all developmental works within a stipulated time frame, failing which action will be taken against defaulters.

He was addressing a meeting of party workers in the Neen area of Sunni under Shimla rural constituency during his tour of the state along with AICC secretary Raja Rampal Singh. Sukhu said as Shimla rural constituency was represented Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, many development works had been carried out in the area and would continue in the future also.

“Recently, a Rs 105-crore Irrigation and Public Health scheme has been sanctioned for the area which would benefit 41 gram panchayats and solve the problems of drinking water and irrigation. Roads are being constructed to connect remote villages of the area and 13 new roads will be sanctioned soon on which a sum of Rs 40 crore spent,” Sukhu said.

Sukhu said the Congress government was working for the development of rural areas in the state and various schemes had been launched for the welfare of rural people. “The Congress government is focusing on new schemes in the health, education and transport sectors and all issues of people of the area and the state will be resolved soon,” Sukhu said.

He said sincere efforts were being made to strengthen the party from the block to district level and youth and women would be given preference in the party.

“Apart from this, the Block Congress Committees and departments which had been dissolved will soon be reconstituted so that new office-bearers start their efforts to boost the party in their areas,” he added.

Addressing party workers, AICC secretary Raja Rampal Singh said it seemed Prime Minister Narendra Modi believed only in long sermons as he had failed to deliver on the promises he had made during the Lok Sabha elections. 

Kullu, October 17
Kullu Municipal Committee president Rishabh Kalia has approached the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau against the alleged irregularities in payments made to a private company engaged in door-to-door garbage collection in Kullu town.

In his complaint, he alleged that payments had been made to the company without prior approval of the president and members of the Municipal Committee.

Rishabh said while the company was awarded the job to collect garbage and collect fee directly from consumers, the company approached the MC on September 20 and expressed hardships in collecting monthly payments from consumers.

He said while no decision was taken by the council, the district administration authorities directed the official concerned to make the payment from the MC’s account. Kalia said while the company had collected the dues directly from consumers for August, a payment of Rs 6 lakh was further released to the company for the month.

The president said he had received complaints from residents from various parts of town that garbage collection was very irregular and in certain places only three to four visits had been made by the collection team in the entire month, due to which residents refused to pay the monthly bills.

Residents of Inner Akhara Bazar rued that earlier the MC employees regularly cleaned the road and pavements. But the garbage collection team now collected only dustbins from households. They alleged that earlier those throwing construction material on road were penalised by the municipal committee, but now heaps of stones and construction material remained piled up at various places in Inner Akhara Bazar, causing public nuisance and choking drains of the locality. 

Dalhousie, October 17
Dalhousie Public School (DPS), Dalhousie, is all set to celebrate its 44th school founder’s day on Sunday. Vice-Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal, Director General, Indian Coast Guard, will be the chief guest.

A significant feature of the function is that the Vice-Admiral will inaugurate the tallest National Flag in Himachal Pradesh.

The Director-Principal, Dr (Capt) GS Dhillon said at 108 feet, this was indeed the highest. Since 2013, the school had been endeavouring to achieve this with the help of the ‘Flag Foundation of India’. — OC

Shimla/Sissu, October 17
Devotees of Raja Gepan, presiding lord of the Lahaul valley, today left animal sacrifice to the will of the lord. They decorated the “rath” of the devta at Sissu temple for his traditional tour to the valley starting tomorrow after three years.

Though the Harook and devta committee of Raja Gepan have pleaded their inability to carry out the sacrifice of lamb to greet the lord at the portals of the temple, citing the High Court ban on animal sacrifice, they fear the wrath of the lord.

The devotees have expressed helplessness for not sacrificing the lamb to welcome him after three years and offered to sacrifice a coconut to appease the god, said Puran Chand, president of the Raja Gepan Devta Committee. “We respect the court verdict, but have left it to the lord whether he accepts the coconut sacrifice or not”, he told The Tribune from Sissu.

Raja Gepan will leave for Gondla for the traditional mela there. “We cannot dictate terms for Raja Gepan whether or not he wishes to undertake the traditional two-month long journey to Udaipur where he pays his obeisance to Mrikula Devi”, the devotees said.

The ancient temple of Mrikula Devi, which is being protected as an ancient monument by the Archeological Survey of India, was believed to be built by none other than Vishvakarma, architect in mythology. Raja Gepan yatra is not complete if he does not visit the devi, said Prem Lal, another devotee.

The devotees had an oracle session on last Saturday with the Gur of the lord along with Harook of devta and discussed the ban on animal sacrifice imposed by the court. The Gur told the Harook that the devta did not approve of a break from the tradition of sacrificing the lamb.

The devta will go to Gondla for the mela and then to Gonchaling to perform the traditional puja on October 21-22 and will decide there and then whether to go to on its yatra to Udaipur or not in the face of ban on animal sacrifice, said Puran Chand.

Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, Hans Raj Chauhan said they had made the public aware about the ban on animal sacrifice. The administration would ensure that the court order was not violated, he added.

The Kardar Sangh of Kullu and chief representative of Lord Raghunath and Kullu legislator Maheshwar Singh have moved the Supreme Court against the High Court ban on animal sacrifice. The apex court had issued notices to all stakeholders, including the state government, but gave no relief to petitioners on October 8 when the petitions were admitted in the court.

The devotees have expressed helplessness for not sacrificing the lamb to welcome him after three years and decided to offer
a coconut to appease the god. We respect the court verdict, but have left it to the lord whether he accepts the coconut sacrifice or not.— Puran Chand, president of the Raja Gepan Devta Committee.

How the deity decides

Devotees invoke the deity in an oracle session in which it is believed that the appointed gur (human incarnation of ‘devta’) is in possession of divine power and answers the questions of the devotees.

Nurpur, October 17
A 15-day farmers’ fair began here today at Machhot village in Fatehpur development block in Jawali subdivision. The event has been organised by the Agriculture Department to create awareness and motivate farmers to adopt the latest farm technology. As many as 600 farmers of the area are taking part in the fair.

Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania inaugurated the fair. He called upon the farmers to diversify their crops as the state had launched a number of schemes to boost economy.

He advised them to do soil testing of their fields and grow crops accordingly.

Pathania also inaugurated soil testing and seed treatment workshop.

Pathania said the state government was providing free soil testing facility to farmers and had spent ~321 crore from 2011 to 2018 to promote organic farming and irrigation under the crop diversification project.

“Apart from this, the government is providing subsidy on seeds, pesticides and agriculture implements to farmers. The government is also giving cash prizes of ~10,000 at block-level and ~25,000 at district-level to farmers adopting innovative and latest farm technology,” he said.

The minister also inaugurated a water harvesting project at Langra village.

Shimla, October 17
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today urged the Prime Minister to release ~670.71 crore as per the approved labour budget under MGNREGA for 2014-15.

A press statement issued today stated that Virbhadra took up the matter with the PM and pointed out that the government spent ~571.22 crore in 2013-14 on 282.47 lakh persons. For 2014-15, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Government of India, has approved the budget for 276.80 lakh persons.

Against the approved budget, the Centre’s share amounts to ~670.71 crore, but as per the revised allocation of funds, the Centre’s share has been kept at ~355.43 crore. He urged the PM to release ~670.71 crore as per the approved budget as reduction in the central allocation would affect the implementation of MGNREGA.— TNS

Palampur, October 17
Two occupants of a Maruti car were burnt to death here today when their car hit a tree and caught fire. A senior police official said the duo stole the car from Choki village. They drove the car at a high speed with an intention to cross the Himachal Pradesh border and enter the Punjab border.

“They traveled only a kilometer and reached a forest near Maranda town and the car met with an accident,” said the police official.

Later, a few passersby spotted the car with burnt bodies and informed 
the police.

Meanwhile, the owner of the car also reached the accident spot and told the police that his car stolen from his house early morning.

The police said a case under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) had been registered.

Kullu, October 17
The district police have seized 1.380 kg charas in four separate incidents. Nand Kishore (41) of Goa was arrested with 350 gm charas at Bajaura police check-post today. He was travelling to Chandigarh from Manali in an HRTC bus.

In another incident, Sunder Singh of Bhekhali village in Kullu district was nabbed with 250 gm charas at Bajaura police check-post today.

According to the police, the accused was travelling in a bus bound to Chandigarh and contraband was seized from his possession.

Around 220 gm charas was seized from Inderjeet (23) of Pulga village in Kullu at Bajaura police check-post yesterday.

The accused was travelling in a bus from Manali to Delhi. Another person was arrested as 560 gm charas was recovered from his possession near Deuri village in Banjar valley yesterday.

Kullu SP Surinder Verma said separate cases under Section 20 of the NDPS Act had been registered and further investigations were on.

Mandi, October 17
The police have registered a case of slaughtering animals to appease deity at Karsog police station in the district yesterday.

In a complaint to the police, Mehar Singh Kukhila, president, Bhanera panchayat, alleged that Devi Singh, a resident of the locality, had slaughtered five animals in his house on the arrival of a deity on October 13.

The police said a case under Section 11 of the Animal Cruelty Act had been registered against Devi Singh and further investigations were on. — TNS