Water scheme sans funds
DALHOUSIE: Owing to the increase in the number of tourists and visitors to the famous hill station of Dalhousie and the additional demand from the Army, Air Force and Chamera Project authorities, the hill town has been facing an acute scarcity of water.

Protest against demolition
NAHAN, Dec 2 — The PWD and the District Aurveda Department have lodged a strong protest against the demolition of a part of the District Aurveda Hospital building last Friday by officials of the Town and Country Planning Department.

BDS students resent delay
SUNDERNAGAR, Dec 2 — The parents of some students of BDS (third year) course at Himachal Dental College here have resented the delay in conducting the BDS (final year) examinations even though they claim that the Dental Council of India has already approved the BDS (third year) examinations.

Defamation case against minister
DHARAMSALA, Dec 2 — The Kangra District Congress Committee, member and Gurkha leader, Mr Arun Bisht, has filed a defamation case against the Transport Minister, Mr Kishan Kapoor.

2 die as tractor falls into Beas
MANALI, Dec 2 — Two persons were killed at the spot when the tractor in which they were travelling fell in the Beas at Kanchnikut, on the Manali-Rohtang road, 3 km from here, today.

Horticulture industry must ‘revamp’ itself
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 2 — Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister has called upon the horticulture industry to restructure and reorient itself to face international competition which has become imperative in the wake of new globalised trade regime.

Delivering the inaugural address at a three-day national seminar on "Himalayan horticulture vision 2020" jointly organised by the National Horticulture Board and the state here today, he said improvement of quality and productivity, which was essential for the industry to be competitive, and scientific post-harvest management should form the core of any strategy for the development of horticulture in coming years.

The WTO agreement signed by the Congress Government in 1994 had allowed India free access to horticulture produce of other countries and as such the industry could survive only by becoming competitive in respect of both quality and price.

There was an urgent need for diversification of the processing industry for the manufacture of value-added products by expanding the product range.

Mr Dhumal said Himachal Pradesh had already been conscious of the great potential of "tree crops" as a sustainable form of agriculture. This industry had not only achieved great heights but had given the state national recognition. At present 34 fruit species were being cultivated and the total area under fruits had increased from 793 hectares in 1950-51 to 2.07 lakh hectares in 1998-99.

Similarly, the fruit production had increased from 1200 tonnes to 4.50 lakh tonnes during the same period. Horticulture provided means of sustenance to 4.64 lakh farm families.

With regard to productivity the state still lagged behind others when compared with international standards. The apple productivity in Himachal Pradesh ranged between 7 to 10 tonnes per hectare in contrast to 40 to 60 tonnes per hectare in countries like the USA and Australia. Similar was the case with other fruits.

Tibetans urged to exercise restraint
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Dec 2 — The Secretary, Home and Tourism, Mr Ajay Prasad, today requested the Tibetan Government-in-exile to impress upon the Tibetans to exercise restraint and not be provocative towards the Indians in order to maintain harmony and cordial relations with the locals.

Mr Prasad today met the Tibetan Home Minister, Mr Tempa Tsering, at the headquarter of the Tibetan Government at McLeodganj. "We requested the Home Minister that the Tibetan Government must also take the initiative and impress upon its people that they should not give undue offence to the locals, which could cause bitterness between the two communities," he stated.

Mr Prasad said that in order to foster harmony between the local and the Tibetans the Tibetan Government had decided to have a"voluntary code of conduct" where the Tibetans would be asked to be courteous and warm towards the locals and join them in celebrating various festivals and occasions.

While admitting that a small place like McLeodganj was unfit to accommodate unlimited population, he said there was little one could do in this regard as most of the land here was forest land. He added that so far the Tibetans too had not made any request for additional land in McLeodganj for their use as they too understood the problem.

Mr Prasad said one thing which was very evident was the fact that McLeodganj had become too congested and lacked even basic facilities like proper sewage, drainage and parking facilities.

"In order to improve the basic civic amenities, we have decided to have a proper sewage scheme for the place, which attracts tourists from all over the world,", he said. For this, the Centre has even agreed to extend financial help of Rs 50 lakh while the balance amount for the scheme would be provided by the state government, he said. He stressed that to put a check on soil erosion and bring about stabilisation in the entire area a sewage scheme was must.

Mr Prasad along with the DGP, Mr T.R. Mahajan, will be touring the Chamba areas bordering Jammu and Kashmir to review the winter arrangements for the forces deployed in the area. "Since this year we have decided that the posts along the Jammu and Kashmir border will not be shifted down. We want to ensure that our men are provided with proper clothing, staying facility and ammunition to face the harsh winters and the challenge from the militants," he said.

Apart from the DGP, Mr Mahajan, he will be accompanied by the ITBP officials and other from the state police. He assured that this was a routine tour of the area, before winter set in and there was no problem along the border with Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaini Prem elected Mayor of Shimla
Tribune News Service and PTI

SHIMLA, Dec 2 — Mrs Jaini Prem, a Congress councillor, was today elected Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation unopposed.

The outgoing Mayor, Mr Manoj Kumar, proposed her name and Mrs Mala Singh seconded it.

Mr Shashi Sekhar was elected Deputy Mayor in place of Mr D.S. Verma.

Mr Manoj Kumar completed his 30-month term, which expired yesterday. The government had issued notification for the election of a woman councillor as Mayor in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Corporation Act.

The election was a smooth affair in the House comprising 23 Congress and 2 BJP members. Earlier, the Congress councillors held a meeting at the Pradesh Congress Committee office. Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Congress Legislature Party leader, was also present on the occasion.

Mr Sohan Lal, a Congress councillor expressed displeasure over being ignored by the party for the post of Deputy Mayor. He said Mr Virbhadra Singh had promised to give the post of Mayor to the councillor who won by the highest margin of votes and since the post of Mayor had gone to woman candidate on rotation, he should have been made Deputy Mayor.

The election was held in the Town Hall at a special meeting which was presided over by G.P. Goonta, Additional Director Urban Local Bodies Department who also conducted the election.

It is for the first time that a woman has been elected as a Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation, which is the oldest municipal body in the country.

Water scheme sans funds
From Balkrishan Prashar

DALHOUSIE: Owing to the increase in the number of tourists and visitors to the famous hill station of Dalhousie and the additional demand from the Army, Air Force and Chamera Project authorities, the hill town has been facing an acute scarcity of water.

Besides, there are about 60 hotels registered by the state Tourism Department, seven rest-houses, a dozen restaurants, 30 dhabas, and 25 halwai shops. The demand has risen manifold against the existing water supply scheme which can hardly meet the needs of the projected population growth of about 20,000. The present requirement of water is about 30 lakh litres per day.

To augment the existing water supply of the hill town, a prestigious scheme for Rs 7.35 crore was prepared and got sanctioned by the Himachal Pradesh Government in 1995. It is one of the key water supply schemes in the state.

Under the scheme, water will be lifted from a source, Bathri stream, at Sherpur near the Ravi from a distance of about 10 km and having a total lift of 1498 m.

According to official sources, the work on Providing Treatment Unit of the scheme was awarded to a private concern in June, 1996. But, because of the paucity of funds, the design pace of progress could not be achieved. The treatment plant is now being completed during the current fiscal year after a lapse of three years.

An estimate amounting to Rs 5.88 crore under the Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme for a design period of 30 years stands submitted to the Union Ministry of Urban Development in 1996. This project envisages pumping 21.70 lakh litres of water per day to the main distribution system of Dalhousie.

The Irrigation-cum-Public Health Department (IPH Deptt) has been pursuing the matter with the Union Ministry since then, but no funds have been released so far. It is important that funds for this estimate be expedited, otherwise the national cost of the project will have to be revised taking into account the enhancement in daily wages, material cost, diesel and petrol etc.

It may be recalled that the water supply scheme for Dalhousie was constructed in 1857 and based on spring sources. Thereafter, some additional sources were tapped in 1962,1972 and 1981.

At present, all available sources around Dalhousie hills stand tapped. During the normal period, 15.10 lakh litres of water is being supplied to the town every day, but during summer, there is an acute shortage of water and only seven to eight lakh litres per day is available from all five sources.

Protest against demolition
From Our Correspondent

NAHAN, Dec 2 — The PWD and the District Aurveda Department have lodged a strong protest against the demolition of a part of the District Aurveda Hospital building last Friday by officials of the Town and Country Planning Department.

The District Aurveda Officers Association and employees have also strongly condemned this action.

When PWD officials lodged their immediate protest with the Town and Country Planning authorities in Shimla, order were sent to the its Nahan office not to interrupt the construction work of the district aurveda hospital.

In a Press note released here yesterday Mr Durga Ram Gaur, vice Chairman of the Nahan Panchyat Samiti, has demanded an immediate high level inquiry into the incident and immediate transfer of the officer responsible for the "harsh" action.

BDS students resent delay
From Our Correspondent

SUNDERNAGAR, Dec 2 — The parents of some students of BDS (third year) course at Himachal Dental College here have resented the delay in conducting the BDS (final year) examinations even though they claim that the Dental Council of India has already approved the BDS (third year) examinations.

They protested against the sudden cancellation by HP University of the BDS (final year) examinations scheduled to begin on December 10.

They have sought the intervention of the Chief Minister, the Health Minister and the Vice-Chancellor to save the careers of 60 BDS (final year) students.

Defamation case against minister
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Dec 2 — The Kangra District Congress Committee, member and Gurkha leader, Mr Arun Bisht, has filed a defamation case against the Transport Minister, Mr Kishan Kapoor.

The case has been filed in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kangra, under Sections 500, 501 and 502 of the Cr.PC against Mr Kishan Kapoor and the Editor, printer and publisher and a reporter of Hindi daily published from Jalandhar.

The case had been filed for the alleged defamatory statement made by Mr Kapoor, which was reported in the newspaper.

2 die as tractor falls into Beas
From Our Correspondent

MANALI, Dec 2 — Two persons were killed at the spot when the tractor in which they were travelling fell in the Beas at Kanchnikut, on the Manali-Rohtang road, 3 km from here, today.

According to Mr A.L. Sharma, SDM, the deceased have been identified as Uttam Kumar (24) and Bhagat Bahadur (23), residents of Nepal. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for a post-mortem examination.