HC orders truckers to transport cement

Himachal High Court today directed the truck operator unions, carrying their business in Darlaghat area, to immediately start their business of lifting the cement, clinker and related raw material from the Gujarat Ambuja Cement factory

H.P. civil supply corporations profit rupees 447 lac in 2004-05

Singhi Ram, Food and Civil Supplies Minister said here today that Civil Supply Corporation had owned a profit of Rs. 446.75 lacs during year 2004-05 out of which a record sum of Rs. 70.30 lacs has been proposed to be paid as dividend to the State Government @ 20 per cent which was an all time high rate of dividend paid so far to the State Government in the history of corporation which had paid a total sum of Rs. 207 lacs against the total paid up share capital of Rs. 351 lacs. He was presiding over the meeting of the Board of Directors of the H.P. Civil Supplies Corporation here today

CM dedicates dalhousie wss augumentation scheme

Dalhousie, Sep 29: Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister dedicated the Rs. 10.78 crore water supply augumentation scheme to the people of Dalhousie and its suburbs which would cater to the water needs of people upto 2029 and laid foundation stone of sewerage scheme to the town to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 8.52 crore and would cater to the needs of people upto year 2029 at Dalhousie today.

Panchayati Raj institutions to be empowered: C.M.

The Panchayati Raj institutions would be empowered with supervisory powers after the ensuing panchayat elections. This was revealed by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister while addressing an impressive gathering at Nurpur after formally inaugurating the upgraded Government Girls Senior Secondary School and laying the foundation stone of M.C. Hall to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 57.58 lakh and Rs. 1 crore Science Block of the Government Arya Degree College at Nurpur today

HImachal Departmental Examinations

The next Departmental Examinations for Indian Administrative Service, H.P. Administrative Service, IFS/HPFS and all other Gazetted officers, Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars and NGO (Supdt.Gr.-II) and Sr. Assistant (Technical and Non Technical), Excise and Taxation Inspectors of the Excise and Taxation Department will be held from 18th February 2006 to 27th February, 2006, according to Secretary, Board of Departmental Examinations.

For the convenience of candidates taking examination only in Paper No. 1 Financial Administration, the Board shall also conduct the examination at Dharamsala and Mandi, besides Shimla.

H.P. Red Cross hospital welfare section to hold blood donation camp on 2nd November

:A meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Red Cross Hospital Welfare Section was held here today. Leena Kokje, Lady Governor who is also the chairperson of the Section presided over the meeting.

She said that the Welfare Section was serving poor and needy people in the State with utmost dedication and added that members of the society were frequently visiting the hospitals and providing medicines, medical equipment to the deserving. She said that Red Cross Hospital Welfare Section was also providing ambulance service regularly to the patients.

Plea for tribal specific projects for Himachal

Himachal Pradesh Government has requested the Centre to formulate specific developmental projects suitable for tribal areas of Himalayan Regions which experience heavy snowfall during winters and remain cut off from rest of world for eight months in a year.

Speaking in the conferences of Rural Development Ministers on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Sat Mahajan, Rural Development Minister said that it was neither practical nor feasible to execute the projects through out year in these areas as normal life is badly affected due to heavy snowfall and adverse climatic conditions and development projects can only be carried out in working season which is just 4 to 6 months in these areas.

Sat Mahajan thanked the Central Government for including Chamba district under the NREGA programme and pleaded for inclusion of more districts in the programme to ensure equitable development of all regions of the State.

Sat Mahajan requested the Central Government for formulating separate norms of financial assistance to hilly states of the country keeping in view the difficult geographical conditions and pleaded for equating Himachal with other North Eastern States in this regard. He demanded that individual employed youth should be treated as unit instead of family unit so that maximum youth could be benefited under the programme. He said that all eligible adults should be provided 100 days employment under the programmes.

Counselling forB.Sc. Medical Technology on 30th September

Counselling of successful candidates of the B.Sc. Medical Technology (Laboratory, Radiology Imaging, Anesthesia and OT Techniques) which was held on 25th September, 2005 by the IGMC Shimla has now been fixed on 30th September, 2005 at 11 AM.

According to Dr. Surinder Kashyap, Principal IGMC, Shimla all the candidates of General category who had secured 50% marks in the entrance test and candidates of reserved categories who had obtained 40% marks are advised to attend the counseling at Indira Gandhi Medical College Shimla

Himachal doing best in td system in the country

Himachal Pradesh has done pretty well in realizing the goals of Targeted Public Distribution System and State has the lowest foodgrains leakage at Fair Price Shop (FPS) level. This was revealed by S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary Himachal Pradesh while inaugurating Regional Conference of States Secretaries of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs of Northern State here today.

S.S. Parmar said that State has the lowest foodgrains leakage at FPS level which stands at 0.41 percent. He further said that the off-take in terms of kg/per household/per annum was highest in the State which stands at 266 as compared at National average of 165.25. He expressed a concern over foodgrain leakage due to ghost cards and said this needs to be checked and remedial measures needed to be taken.

Chief Secretary said that for the eradication of poverty, the first priority should be food security followed by health, education and women empowerment and suggested to coin a new slogan of FHEW to cover all these. He stressed upon the need for better co-ordination among the departments of Food, Health, Education and Women Empowerment for achieving the desired results.

S.S. Parmar said that the population of migrant labourers were high in the State which needed to be brought under PDS system and said that some mechanism should be evolved for it.

Parmar said that alongwith education and health, nutritional and educational deprivation of most Indian women needed to be tackled effectively. The practice of aborting the females even by affluent States was a matter of concern.

H.P. would soon have its own water policy

H.P. would soon have its own water policy

Kaul Singh Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health Minister said that water was a basic human need and it must be managed in the most optimal manner so that consumption and development needs are met.

Presiding over the meeting of State Water Policy here today, Thakur said that keeping in view the emerging challenges and a number of issues in the development and management of the water resources, it was imperative to formulate a State Water Policy for Himachal Pradesh backed with an action plan for implementation in a time-bound manner.

Thakur said that it would be envisaged under the State Water Policy that available water resources were utilized in an efficient manner to meet drinking water needs that would also promoted its conservation and engenders community participation.

Rural tourism promotion with rural participation

Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, emphasised over the need for strengthening the middle class domestic tourism infrastructure by associating the local people in its expansion rural and village tourism promotion. He was speaking on the occasion of concluding function of the World Tourism Day celebration organised by the Department of Tourism and Institute of Vocational Studies, Department of Tourism, HP University, here last evening.

Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh had been blessed with bountiful natural beauty, which had proved to be the major asset for attracting tourists from every part of the world. He said that the number of tourists was increasing year after year and need of the hour was to strengthen and sustain the created infrastructure which could cater to the growing demand of the domestic middle class tourists.

He said that during the preceding year 2,04,344 lakh foreign and 63,45,069 domestic tourists visited the State and was a record in itself. He said that the middle class tourists had been the backbone of the tourism in the State, which required to be cultivated and increased further. He said that tourism was the fastest growing industry in the world where ample employment and self-employment avenues were available.

Virbhadra Singh stressed upon the need for associating the people of the rural areas and encourage them to create necessary infrastructure to cater to the promotional activities of the rural tourism which was gaining popularity to cater to the domestic and foreign tourists.

He said that with the availability of basic amenities in the rural areas and villages more of the enthusiastic tourists would be thronging these places thereby increasing economic activities in rural Himachal besides providing local people self-employment avenues. He said that the services required had to be of quality and professionally standardized so that the visitors would enjoy the hospitality of the State.

Winter business forces postponement of Tibetan prime ministerial polls

The chief election commissioner of
the Tibetan government in-exile has postponed this year's Prime
Ministerial elections.

The second direct election of the Kalon Tripa or Tibetan Prime
Minister in-exile initially scheduled for December 22 this year has been
postponed on the request of Tibetans living in various settlements in
different parts of India.

"A number of requests from various Tibetan settlements saying
that during December most of the Tibetans in the settlements in
various parts of India they are on business, means that they are
out of the settlements, they will not be in the settlements and
so there will few people who will be voting for the Kalon Tripa
preliminary election, please postponed or preponed the date. So,
accounting to their request we have received and according to the
rules and regulation we have now decided to hold the preliminary
election for the Kalon Tripa on the March 18 next year along with
the election for the 14th Assembly of the Tibetan People's
Deputies and Kalon Tripa final will be held on 3rd June 2006 next
year," Tashi Phuntsok, Chief Election Commissioner, told
reporters in Dharamsala, the headquarters of the government, on
Tuesday.

Over 70,000 Tibetan voters exercise their franchise in the direct
election of the head of the Central Tibetan Administration in-
exile.

The direct election of the Kalon Tripa by the people themselves
was started in the year 2001 following an amendment in the
Tibetan charter.

Recently, thousands of Tibetans living in-exile cast their votes
in the preliminary round of the election of the 14th Assembly of
Tibetan People's Deputies (ATPD).

Members of the ATPD are directly elected by the people every five
years with around 82,000 Tibetan voters registered in India,
Nepal, Bhutan, Europe and North America.

The Tibetan people, both inside and outside Tibet, consider the
government-in-exile to be the sole legitimate government of
Tibet.

Bhubneshwar celebrates Tourism Day with a colourful rally

Orissa's tourism department
on Tuesday marked the World Tourism Day with a rally to create
awareness among the people of the state's heritage sites and
tourism potential.

People from all walks of life participated in the rally.

"We are involving everyone to highlight the important of tourism
for our state. Our state is very beautiful, it has a great
tourism potential. State Government should take initiatives to
form an integrated tourism development," said Orissa Tourism
Department Secretary, Ashok Tripathy.

Shimla also organised the "Great Himalayan Run" two days back on
the occasion of World Tourism Day.

Commencing at the famous Historic Ridge Ground, the event saw the
participation of over 2,000 athletes.

Tourism authorities said they wanted to place the state on the
international tourist map.

Pomegranate juice may fight prostate cancer

Washington, Sept. 27: A new study by University of Wisconsin Medical School researchers states that pomegranate juice may fight against prostate cancer, which is the most common invasive cancer.

Previous studies have shown that pomegranate is rich in anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and is effective against tumors in mouse skin. In fact, pomegranate juice has higher anti-oxidant activity than do red wine and green tea, both of whichappear promising as anti-cancer agents.

The UW research team aimed to find out if the extract from pomegranates would not only kill existing cancer, but help prevent cancer from starting or progressing. Using human prostate cancer cells, the team first evaluated the fruit extract's
effect, at various doses, on those cells cultured in laboratory dishes.

They found a 'dose-dependent' effect - in other words, the higher
the dose of pomegranate extract the cells received, the more
cells died.

The research team then progressed to tests in mice that had been
injected with prostate cancer cells from humans and developed
malignancies.

The 24 mice were randomly divided into three groups. The control
group received normal drinking water, while the animals in the
second and third groups had their drinking water supplemented
with .1 percent and .2 percent pomegranate extract respectively.
The doses for the mice were chosen to parallel how much
pomegranate juice a typical healthy human might be willing to eat
or drink daily.

The mice receiving the higher concentration of pomegranate
extract showed significant slowing of their cancer progression
and a decrease in the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA),
a marker used to indicate the presence of prostate cancer in
humans. The animals that received only water had tumors that grew
much faster than those in the animals treated with pomegranate
extract.

Netherlands company to invest one billion dollar in Himachal

Brakel Corporation of Netherlands has been inspired by the industrial friendly and economically safe environment of Himachal Pradesh and shown interest in investing one billion dollars in hydel power and other sectors over a period of time. This was revealed by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, after he had a meeting with Dean Gesterkamp, Director of Brakel Corporation, Netherlands, accompanied by its Director in India Anil Wahal, who called on him here today.

Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh would welcome direct foreign investment and make reputed entrepreneurs partners in the development of the State and in harnessing the natural potential available in the State for exploitation. He said that the State had been blessed with immense natural wealth, which could bring about prosperity in the State and contribute towards the development. He said that the government was safeguarding the interest of the people in all such activities besides taking ecological safeguards so that environment was not disturbed.

Virbhadra Singh said that the State would soon be advertising the identified hydel power projects and invite open bids for their execution. He said that the Government had reserved projects up to 5 MW for execution by the people from within the State of Himachal Pradesh so that they could also contribute towards exploitation of hydel potential while projects between the 6MW to 100MW would be allotted through MOU and projects above 100MW would be advertised widely and competitive bids invited from reputed company with global standing.

He said that the codal formalities for announcing the projects were nearing completion and soon the projects would be advertised so that the execution process could be started at the earliest. He said that the Government would maintain transparency in allocation of projects and all related aspects taken into consideration so that interests of the State and investors were safeguarded equally.

Chief Minister said that the State Water Policy and the Hydel Power Policy had the provision of making it mandatory to maintain minimum of 10 percent water flow in every project down stream beyond the dam area. He said that it had been made compulsory after taking all aspects into consideration and for the survival of the marine line, feeding the drinking water supply and irrigation schemes based on the river water. He said that the minimum of ten percent water discharge was also necessary for the maintenance of the ecological conditions of the area which otherwise would get affected adversely.

Virbhadra Singh said that vast industrialisation was in progress in the State and besides prominent national companies multinational companies were also coming forward to invest in the State after they got convinced that there were best of the industrial friendly, good governance, political stability, law and order conditions in the State. He said that many direct foreign investors had also shown interest in investing in different projects of hydel power and tourism etc. in the State.

Single window clears 26 new industrial units

The number of industrial units cleared by the State Level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority has reached 5,834 and investment touched Rs. 14,317 crores with possible employment to 2,00,822 persons as the Authority cleared 26 new industrial units having investment of Rs. 215 crore and employment potential of 2,308 persons in its 16th meeting held here under the Chairmanship of Virbhadra Singh Chief Minister today. The new entrants included Cadbury India Ltd. Johnson and Johnson and Gillette India Ltd. Like many international chain of industries.

Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh had emerged a favourite destination for the entrepreneurs from the world over and in every successive meeting of the Authority more prominent business houses were showing keen interest in setting up their units in the industrial friendly environment of the State where best of the infrastructure was available besides good law and order, governance political stability and attractive package of incentives. He said that the industrial infrastructure available in the State was incomparable to the rest of the country, which was added facility to attract vast number of entrepreneurs.

Virbhadra Singh said that the State had the potential to attract additional investment of Rs. 5,000 crore in the information technology sector by year 2010 since the State offered best climatic condition for the IT and BT industries. He said that the State was progressing ahead in setting up of IT and BT parks in the State for which suitable locations were being identified so that best infrastructural facilities could be created for the technologies.

Chamba millennium in April, 2006

The Chamba Millennium would be celebrated with great fervor and gaiety in April, 2006 and eminent artistes of international fame invited to perform. This was revealed by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, while addressing the Sacred Heart Convent School, Tara Hall students, teachers and parents on the occasion of Annual School Concert dedicated to the Millennium Celebration of Chamba here last evening.

Chief Minister said that Chamba was one of the oldest and historically important town of the State and had completed one thousand years of its existence. He said that the occasion would be marked by grand celebrations wherein eminent artists in different forms of art would be invited to perform.

He said that traditional music, dance, drama, exhibitions, debates and seminars would be organised on the history of the Chamba town besides a number of musical concerts. He said that publications depicting the historical background of the town and replicas of prominent historical monuments would be prepared as souvenirs besides raising some memorial monument dedicated to the millennium celebration.

Virbhadra Singh said that exercise for the grand celebrations had already been started, a number of meetings at various level organised and necessary arrangements were underway so that the occasion could be marked in a befitting manner.

He appealed to the people having valuable mementos, documents, memorials and other artifacts relating to the Chamba town history for exhibiting the same during the celebration so that maximum information was provided to the people visiting the town during the period about the rich cultural heritage and historical importance of the town.

He said that local artifacts and handicrafts would also be available to the people during the celebrations. He also gave call to the local residents Chamba town to volunteer their services and participate actively in the millennium celebration.

Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh was culturally a rich State and every district had its own historical importance. He said that the historical legends of Chamba had been composed and a number of songs and lyrical ballads were being performed to acquaint new generation about the background of the town. He said that the ancient temples were witness to the changes, which took place during last one thousand years. He said that the traditional handicraft of the district was still in great demand and the same was being passed on by one generation to the successive generations.

Virbhadra Singh said that similar historical importance was contained by the other old towns of the State, which too have their own distinct identity. He said that there were endless legends, historical monuments and stories about the rest of the State which needed to be rewritten and composed into suitable lyrics and drama forms so that the new generation could be made proud of their rich cultural heritage and history.

Appreciating the musical concern dedicated to the Chamba Millennium celebration, Chief Minister said that the story related to the establishment of the Chamba town and the sacrifice made by the queen of Chamba for helping her King husband bring water to the people of the town.

He said that the history of Chamba was one of the golden chapters of the history of the State whereas a large number of similar chapters were yet to be rewritten. He congratulated the Principal, staff and students, especially music teacher Ms. Poonam Sharma, who directed and choreographed the musical ballad in best of the professional style.

HP policy against power sector reforms

While the Centre has been asserting that hydroelectric projects should be awarded only through competitive bidding, the power policy announced by the Himachal Government last week provides for allotment of projects up to 100 MW by the MoU (memorandum of understanding) route.

The policy also goes against the power sector reforms the main objective of which is to bring down the generation cost by creating a competitive environment. In fact, the government of India is in the process of formulating guidelines in this regard. However, the state has come out with its own policy. Further, the experts have been of the view that the projects should be awarded on tariff-based bidding so that the cost of generation to ensure that cost and time over-runs did not increase the cost of generation. As such the policy allowing the MoU route for projects up to 100 MW is a retrograde step which will only push up the generation cost.

Governor inaugurates all India BSNL volleyball tournament

Governor V.S. Kokje inaugurated the five day long 5th All India BSNL Volleyball Tournament here today. He stressed upon holding of such events as they go a long way in promoting the feelings of brotherhood and fraternity.

The Governor stressed for organizing such events frequently as this also helps in giving exposure to the budding talents. He exhorted the employees to participate in these games with enthusiasm.

Chief General Manager, BSNL Rajender Singh welcomed the Governor and also detailed about the events being organized in the tournament and added that BSNL was giving employment to sportsmen in the State on priority and about 15 sportsmen have been given employment during last three - four years.

Governor was honoured with shawl and Himachali cap on the occasion.
The tournament was being organized from 26th to 30th September, 2005 and about 21 teams from various States are participating in it.
Earlier, the participating teams held an impressive march past. Children of local schools also presented a cultural programme on the occasion.

Naina Devi sub tehsil computerized

Land Records of Naina Devi Sub Tehsil in Bilaspur goes computerized after Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, inaugurated the computerization of it at Bilaspur today.

Chief Minister said that the State Government had launched a campaign in the State to remove all encroachments from the Government land and effective steps were already underway in this direction. He said that the Government had sought the cooperation of all to help the Government in removal of encroachments .

He said that those who had encroached the land has also been requested to voluntarily surrender the encroached land to the Government. He said that all the district revenue authorities would be collecting the requisite information about the encroachments in the respective district and get the same computerized so that complete picture of the encroachment in the State was readily available. He said that it would also help in monitoring the progress of the encroachment removal campaign.

Federation of Himachal Industries (FHI) has decided to go on strike

Shimla, September 25:Taking the truck unions head on, the Federation of Himachal Industries (FHI) has decided to go on strike if the transporters fail to lift the seize to the two cement plants of ACC and Gujarat Ambuja in the state.

Mr M.P. Mittal, chairman of the federation, said that truck unions could not be allowed to hold the industry to ransom.

A delegation of the industrialists led by Mr Mittal met the Chief Minister here today and urged him to intervene in the matter. The Chief Minister assured that transport services would be resumed shortly.

The threat of lay-off was looming on both the cement plants with continued stoppage of work by transporters of Barmana and Darlaghat which would seriously affect the economy of the state and more significantly, the industrial image of Himachal Pradesh, he said.

Himalayan rally goes to Srinagar this year

Shimla, Sep 26 :For the first time in seven years, India's best known motor car rally is daring to enter the troubled Kashmir Valley following an improvement in the situation there.

'The Maruti-Suzuki sponsored seventh Raid-de-Himalaya rally kicks off in Shimla on Saturday and after travelling 1,745 km of treacherous mountain terrain, the race will end in Srinagar a week later,' said Maruti Udyog spokesman Arun Arora.

'The rally will pass through Manali, Kaza, Sarchu, Leh, Kargil and Drass besides several high passes before reaching Srinagar,' Arora told IANS.

Until now, participants had driven up to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region before finishing at Manali. But this year the drivers will for the first time travel further to Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley via Zoji La pass, Drass and Kargil.

These spots are precariously close to the Line of Control (LOC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Asked about challenges in the terrorist-prone Kashmir Valley, the organisers said the Indian Army had offered help both for security and in any emergency.

'We were given permission at the last moment to finish the rally at Srinagar,' said Manjeev Bhalla, vice president of organisers Himalayan Motor Sports.

The organisers say nearly 90 drivers from across India will take part in this year's rally along with a lone foreigner, an American driving a Maruti Gypsy.

The race will test the participants' skills and stamina as they pass through some of the most difficult terrains of the country where they will face temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Raid-de-Himalaya has the reputation of being the longest, highest and most arduous motor rally of India.

Tanglang La at 17,564 feet is the highest point on the 1,745 km route.

'Raid-de-Himalaya is on the international calendar of road rallies as one of 12 events worldwide and the only one from India,' said Bhalla.

This year there are three separate categories - Xtreme, Reliability and Bikes Xtreme.

Xtreme is the toughest of the lot and open only to four-wheeled vehicles that have taken part in such rallies earlier in the Reliability category.

The Reliability version is open to stock cars and will run only on state highways. It will be far safer and involve less stress than the more competitive Xtreme category.

'The drivers on motorcycles of any type will have to face hostile weather and terrain,' said Bhalla.

Besides Maruti, the co-sponsors are Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism and the central tourism ministry. The organisers are Himalayan Motor Sport and the Himachal Pradesh government.

Last year the rally had to be called off in its last leg in the Lahaul Valley due to heavy snowfall. Stranded drivers were rescued by the army and brought to Manali.

The organisers are keeping their fingers crossed as the weather has been rough this autumn with light snowfall at several places on the high altitude route.

Preference to locals in hydro projects up to 5 MW okayed

The Himachal Cabinet today approved the state power policy and decided to reorganise the Education Department to create a separate Directorate for Elementary Education.

As per the power policy preference will be given to Himachalis in allotment of hydroelectric projects up to 5 MW capacity, which will be handled by the HIMURJA. The projects with capacity ranging from between 5 MW and 100 MW will be awarded via the MoU route and those with more than 100 MW capacity will be assigned through global competitive bidding. The state will have 30 per cent equity participation in projects with more than 100 MW capacity.

The meeting presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, cancelled 22 hydroelectric projects and decided to give six months extension to 32 projects with a stipulation that if the companies failed to start work during the period the project would automatically stand cancelled.

The Directorate of Elementary Education will take care of Class I to VIII, while Class IX to XII will be under the Directorate of Secondary Education. Committees will be set up for division of staff and infrastructure.

In order to generate more revenue from the sale of turpentine oil and Rosin from the factories of the state Forest Corporation at Nahan and Bilaspur, it decided to introduce a system of calling tenders on bi-monthly basis. The rate will be applicable for the in between period. Further, 60 per cent of the turpentine oil in terms of volume will be reserved for local units.

For Rosin the same procedure will be followed and the reserve of 40 per cent for local units will continue. The system will be tried for one year and reviewed thereafter.

The Cabinet approved transportation subsidy on apple packaging material to the fruit growers in the flood affected areas of Kinnaur district. Many areas of Kinnaur have been cut off from the rest of the country.

It also approved amendment to the state Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972, to the effect that special road tax and penalty shall not be levied and charged from on Stage Carriage Operators, whose buses are impounded for the non-payment of tax. The amendment shall have retrospective effect from January 1, 2000, the date from which the special road tax was imposed.

Heavy rains damage Himachal apple orchards

Shimla, Sept.22: Rains and heavy winds that lashed Himachal
Pradesh in the last few days have severely damaged apple orchards
in the State.

Apple growers, who were counting on a good crop, have very little
left for marketing.

In some of the orchards more than 50 per cent of the crop has
been damaged, as the fruit has got black spots, making them
unsuitable for marketing.

Harish Thakur, an apple grower,says sudden rains had crashed
their hopes of a bumper crop. They have lsot 70 per cent of their
crop."The 20 percent of the apples left on the trees is not good
for marketing as it does not have good red colour. We are not
able to pay to the labourers. All the farmers are facing severe
losses," said Thakur Ajit Singh, a producer.

Popularly known as the "Apple Bowl of India," Himachal Pradesh is
the largest producer of apples in the country. It is the mainstay
of the local economy, with hundreds of growers earning their
livelihood from the orchards, continuing rains have also hit the
apple belt of Kinnaur, Kullu Chamba and Mandi.

Meanwhile, in August, the apple crop in Himachal Pradesh was
severely affected by a disease called Apple Core Rot (ACR) . The
disease spread because farmers were not using fertilizers because
of the increase in their cost due to withdrawal of Government
subsidies.

The worst-affected were the orchards that produced four popular
varieties--Red Delicious, Rich-a-Red, Red June and Tydeman's
Early, all of which grow above 1800 meters in the State. The
disease destroyed more than 10 per cent of the apple plantations
in the State.

First spotted in Mandi, in the heart of the Karsog belt, ACR had
also been reported in adjoining areas of Kullu and Shimla,
attacking the crop and weakening roots. This mysterious fungal
disease has no external manifestation but causes apples to rot
and finally drop off the trees.

Himachal Pradesh alone accounts for over 120 billion rupees (2.76
billion dollars) worth apple produce.

Spread across nine districts of the State, grown on a land area
of 96 000 hectares, the apple industry provides employment to
almost 800, 000 people.

Himachal 'Bravehearts' receive Godfrey Phillips Bravery awards

Shimla, Sept 23 : Six people in Himachal Pradesh have received the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards for displaying extraordinary feat of courage.

The people won the medals for saving lives, property and also for their contribution to the social causes.

Himachal Pradesh Governor VS Kokje, awarded the medals to the recipients.

Ranjinder Kumar Sen who won the gold medal for physical bravery had single-handedly prevented three dacoits from looting a bank.

"Our residence was near the bank. I was alone at my house. One night, three people wearing masks came with the intention of looting the bank. I fought unarmed with all my courage. And I was successful," said Rajinder Kumar Sen.

Under the social category, Sanjeev Atri, a teacher, was awarded the medal for spreading awareness against drugs. He also initiated efforts to close down the shops selling drugs to schoolchildren.

Atri has also made documentary films to accelerate his mission against drugs.

"I have been awarded in the social category for fighting against drugs. For the last nine years, I have been conducting awareness campaigns against drugs. I have tried to campaign against the use of drugs by organising seminars in schools and in different organisations. I have been successful in spreading awareness against drugs among people and many have even left taking drugs. I have made films on this topic for Doordarshan and also written books," said Sanjeev Atri, silver medalist for social acts of courage.

Tobacco major Godfrey Phillips incorporated the awards with an aim to contribute towards social causes and award people for their exhibition of courage.

"As a corporate organization, we have a social responsibility. Every corporate does some degree of public social responsibility. Some have opened up hospitals, some have constructed schools, some are giving donations for various social causes, we wanted to invest in something, which is more of a concreted effort to help society at large. Bravery is a very important attribute," said Harminjit Singh, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd.

The recipients of the awards were Rajinder Kumar Sen, Sulekha Devi, Rudesh Chand, Ravi Kumar, Jitendra Kumar for physical bravery and Sanjeev Atri, Relu Ram Thakur for social acts.

Directive on power projects assailed

Shimla, September 18: The Himachal Professional Forum has criticised the decision of state government to assign the mini hydroelectric projects up to 10 MW through the HIMURJA which were earlier being handled by the state electricity board.

Mr R.L. Justa, convener of the forum, said the HIMURJA was basically an agency for popularising non-conventional sources of energy like solar photovoltaic energy system and did not have technical expertise for tendering the projects of more than 5 MW capacity. The agency was headed by an officer of the Indian Forest Service and had only one superintending engineer, two executive engineers, 15 assistant engineers and 30 junior engineers. On the other hand, the board which had 15 chief engineers, 55 superintending engineers and 200 executive engineers with requisite expertise, whose services were being grossly underutilised.

He said if projects up to 10 MW were to be assigned through the HIMURJA it should be strengthened by deputing at least one chief engineer, two superintending engineers and 15 executive of civil and electrical cadre from the board. Moreover, the agency should be headed by a chief engineer.

Mr Justa urged the government to implement its decision to allot projects up to 1 MW to Himachalis and up to 2 MW to local cooperative societies by cancelling the MoUs in respect of the already awarded projects in which no work had been carried out. He said as many as 264 projects with an aggregate capacity of 476 MW had been allotted since 1994-95 but no work had been done in over 100 projects. The allottees, instead of executing the projects, trying to sell them at a premium.

The HIMURJA had recently returned the earnest money in respect of 195 projects but the applications had not been cancelled so far. He urged the government to cancel the applications immediately and invite fresh applications for awarding these projects to Himachalis. In future all the self-identified sites should be exclusively reserved for Himachalis.

Pheasant breeding project suffers setback

Pheasant breeding project suffers setback

Shimla, Sep 18: The prestigious project for breeding of the highly endangered western tragopan species suffered a further setback when another chick died at the Sarhan pheasantry on Friday.

With this three of the four chicks bred for the first time at the pheasantry have died. All chicks were born to the same pair in two clutches.

While Mr B.L. Negi, the Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Sarhan, refused to confirm or deny the death of the chick, sources in the department said that the chick, which sustained an injury on one of its legs last month, had died.

Over the past two months four birds have died. Besides three chicks, an adult pheasant also expired but it had completed the average life span.

It is a project of global importance as Sarahan pheasantry is the only one of its kind in the world having the rare birds in captivity. “Tragopan melanocephalus” for the zoologists, the rare pheasant is placed high on the Red Data Book of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) listing the highly endangered species. The survival of the species depends on success of the breeding programme being pursued by the department since 1991.

It took 15 years to have a successful breeding, thanks to the guidance of Mr John Corder, conservation breeding expert from the World Pheasants Association, who had been making regular visits to monitor the programme.

However, it appears that the department lacks the requisite expertise in captive rearing which is as much a specialised as breeding. The success of the Rs 4.93 crore breeding project is very much in doubt now.

Besides the lone surviving chick, the pheasantry still has three pairs of the rare bird but the breeding programme is in doldrums. The department will have to have fresh look at the programme and ensure that trained staff was deployed for such projects. Failure of the project could deprive the state of similar projects which are in the pipeline.

A core group under the Principal Secretary, Forests, was set up to oversee the conservation breeding programme but apparently the lack of expertise had undone the success achieved in breeding the pheasant.

Private Educational Institutions Himachal Pradesh

Private Educational Institutions of par excellence being encouraged in the State: Virbhadra Singh

Arki, Sep 16: Himachal Pradesh Government was associating private sector in its endeavour to promote vocational courses to provide opportunities to unemployed youths to acquire skills for employment and self employment. This was revealed by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister while addressing a large gathering at Arki on the occasion of inauguration of traditional ‘Sayar’ fair today.

He said that skilmanship had emerged the need of the hour as there were vast opportunities of employment and self employment for the skilled persons world over. He said that State Government was encouraging private sector participation for vocational education by encouraging educational institutions of par excellence so that youth could acquire professional skill to enable them getting employment in industrial sector.

He said that State had attracted an investment of over Rs. 11,000 crore in industrial sector during last two and a half years where employment potential for about two lacs people had been explored which would be filled up from amongst the skilled people of the State. He said that Government was implementing its decision to provide atleast 70 percent employment to local people in all the industrial units strictly.

He said that entrepreneurs defying government decision would be made accountable and necessary action initiated against them. He added that during last one year over 120 SCVT centers had been sanctioned all over the State which would provide training in different trades to the unemployed youths. He further said that this decision of the Government had been successful as large number of youth were undergoing vocational training in these institutions.

He said that Government would not allow opening of teaching shops and would ensure that courses being taught were of standard and entrepreneurs got manpower of standard.

Virbhadra Singh said besides Industries, Hydel power and tourism were two more sector where vast employment avenues were available. He said that during last two years over 25,000 employment opportunities were made available in government sector only while thousands of opportunities had been created in industrial sector. He said that Government was committed to create best of the employment opportunities to every unemployed so that they could meet their both ends meet conveniently.

Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh had initiated this path of development from a stretch having meagre resources. He said that due to the visionary leadership of the Congress Party at the Centre and the State, Pradesh had succeeded in emerging a model of development amongst all the big States of the country. He said that credit goes to the hardworking people of the State and employees who despite difficult topography implemented the policies and programmes of the Government in every nook and corner of the State.

He said that Central Congress leadership had always been considerate towards the developmental needs of the hilly people and provide best of the incentives and funds for meeting the developmental requirements. He said that State had a vast network of over 15000 educational institutions as against about 300 at the time of formation of the State He said that road length had also increased from about 300 kms. to over 25,500 kilometers and all the census villages had been electrified way back in 1988. These all speak of the pace of development the State had made.

Virbhadra Singh said that State Government was exploiting the identified 21,000 MW Hydel potential to the optimum by giving top priority which would meet the power requirement of the northern Indian States on the one hand and on the other strengthen the economy of the State and will also provide employment to the people of the State. He said that in coming three four years about 8000 MW additional Hydel power would be generated.

Earlier he dedicated the Science Block of Govt. Degree College Arki completed at a cost of Rs. 75 lacs. He gave a call to students to plant trees in the periphery of the college so that they become partners in bringing about green revolution in the State. He said that boundary wall around College complex would be constructed on priority basis.

G.S. Bali, Transport Minister said that the Congress Government headed by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister was carrying out development at an accelerated pace uniformly by rising above all considerations. He said that a number of milestones were established in different sectors during last two and a half years. He said that the bus stand at Arki would be completed on priority basis the foundation of which was laid by Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister today and would cater to the needs of the people of the areas for coming about 25 years. He said that the bus stand would be equipped with all the basic amenities to facilitate the commuters. He directed the transport authorities to restart Bharai bus service.

Dharampal Thkaur, Deputy Speaker, H.P. Vidhan Sabha welcoming the Chief Minister thanked him for providing a degree college at Arki. He also detailed the various developmental projects in the areas that had been undertaken under the present government regime.

Roshan Lal Jagota, President, Mela Committee proposed vote of thanks.
Earlier, Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the Science Block building of the Govt. Girls Senior Secondary School at Arki to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 42 lacs and also offered prayers at the local Kali temple.

Lajja Ram, MLA, K.D. Sultanpur, Chairman, 20 Point and Planning Committee, Amba Dutt Sharma, Chairman, Zila Parishad, Smt. Shani Pundir, President District Congress Committee, Solan, Laik Ram Sharma, Chairman, Marketing Committee, APMC, Mohan Mehta, Chairman, Jogindera Coopearive Bank, Smt. Nirmala Devi, Member, Women Commission, Surender Sethi, Director BOD, HPTDC, Arvind Gupta, Director, BOD Pollution Control Board, Pt. Sita Ram, Ex MLA, Arun Sain, Director BOD, SIDC, Kanshi Ram, Chairman, BDC, Daljeet Dogra, Managing Director, HRTC, Dr. Anita Ram, Director, Education and SP Negi, Chief Engineer PWD were present among others on the occasion.

Shutdown of Naptha Jhakri

Shutdown of Naptha Jhakri

Jhakri power plant Himachal Pradesh has caused huge losses to the
state government.

The 1500-megawatt plant, which supplies nearly one-third of the
power used by north India, has been closed for the last one month
after a pipe burst, which led to flooding in the underground
powerhouse of the project submerging three floors.

Authorities have said that though the water was being pumped out,
the exercise was going to take longer.

Vidya Stokes, State Power Minister said, that the loss was going
to increase, if the project was not re-started soon.

"The loss in five days is approximately 90 million rupees. So you
can easily calculate the loss, given that it has been closed for
a month. Now, if it is delayed for two more weeks, then you can
imagine the loss. There has been a great loss," she said.

The plant was closed repeatedly in July and August because of
excessive silt.

The state government has constituted a committee to conduct a
thorough enquiry and suggest precautions to prevent such further
incidents.

Sair Fair started today at the Arki Chaugaan

Arki (Shimla), September 16:The two-day Sair Fair started today at the Arki Chaugaan ground here. Thousands thronged the ground to witness the bullfight which is the traditional sport of this town. The participants displayed feats of daring and strength and were cheered by the spectators.Around 20 bulls with their handlers and trainers participated in the event. Men in the age group of 20 to 35 are generally engaged by the farmers as trainers to goad their bulls.These trainers are mostly young farmers or boys who are either studying or tilling land.“The only thing we see in the trainer is that he should have the expertise to make the animal have an edge over its rival,” said Paras Ram Thakur, the owner of a bull.For these trainers, the job starts right from moment he is introduced to the animal. “ The first time you come across the beast, you have to tease him the maximum so that he gets irritated and attacks more ferociously when the bull fight starts,” said Salig Ram, another participant.

It is alleged that the beasts are given alcohol to arouse their anger.In the past there were instances when the bulls ran into the crowd which resulted in many fatalities. But this year, no such incident happened.“ I am ready and prepared for the challenge as I have been working hard on my bull,” said Parsu Ram, another bull owner. Irrespective of the fact that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who was the chief guest, was late by an hour, it failed to dampen the spirits of the participants. A cultural programme followed by the much awaited bull fight. To meet with any untoward incident an ambulance and a fire brigade squad was on standby.

The bulls were categorised in two categories according to the weight and age of the animal.Later, the CM expressed happiness that the festival still maintained its old rituals and customs.

Ex-MP Anil Sharma escapes unhurt

Ex-MP Anil Sharma escapes unhurt (Himachal)

Mandi, September 16:A former Rajya Sabha member, Mr Anil Sharma, had a miraculous escape when his private Maruti car was hit by a truck from the left side and dragged a few feet near Saulikhud here last evening. Mr Sharma said today that he was returning home from Kulu when he incident took place. “The truck approached fast from behind and hit one side of the car. But I jumped out of the driver seat and escaped unhurt,” he said. The truck dragged the vehicle for 15 feet.The police has registered a case against the driver under Section 289 and 336, IPC. The truck (HP-69-0731) has been impounded and the driver arrested, the police said.

Four buried alive in house collapse in Himachal village

Four buried alive in house collapse in Himachal village

Palampur(Himachal Pradesh), sep 17: Two women and an equal number of children were buried alive and three others sustained serious injuries when a house collapsed following heavy rains in Thalla village six kilometers from Palampur last night. The deceased were identified as Rekha (22) and her four- month-old son and Sudershan (23) and her two-year-old daughter, they said ading while two bodies had been recovered from under the debris by the rescue team, the remaining two were yet to be retrieved.The injured were admitted to a hospital here and an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 announced for the affected families, they said.Meanwhile, as the approach road to the village had been breached at several points due to non-stop rains, ambulance and fire brigade could not reach the site and the district officer and rescue team had to walk nearly five km to reach the spot, they added.

Nalagarh Fort, Nalagarh Himachal

The best place to stay is the Nalagarh Fort, located on a hillock at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. It was built during the reign of Raja Bikram Chand in 1421 and is now a hotel, with good lodging facilities strongly reminiscent of the famous Neemrana Fort. One can go for Ayurvedic oil treatment, golf and swimming here. At night, the fort provides a breathtaking view of the surrounding towns of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Mind you, it is the not the only major fort in the region - 21 km north of Nalagarh stands the Ramgarh Fort, at a height of 4000 feet. The fort played an important role in the Gurkha Wars and its ramparts command a panoramic view of the snow-clad Himalayan peaks.

Himachal Blog Launched

Himachal Blog Launched

Megrisoft Network is pleased to announce the launch of its latest blog: Himachal Online Blog on hill state of India to be managed by Nameeta Kahsyap and Jagan Nath. Like the other Blogs in our network, Himachal Blog combines combine both (1) permanent resources and links, and (2) daily news and information. The purpose of this blog is keep up to date information about Himachal including news, travel destination information and guide to foreign tourists. The blog will be maintained by staff of Himachal online a 7 Year old portal on Himachal Pradesh India