City page for December 28

WEATHER

Forecast (December 28): Weather will remain dry in the lower, middle and higher hills

Temperatures:

Shimla: 14.4, 3.8 Degrees Celsius Sunrise: 7:19 am, sunset: 5:27 pm

Dharamsala: 10.2, 3.4 Degrees Celsius

Manali: 11.6, – 1.0 Degrees Celsius

READERS SAY

Road mishaps on rise

Even after strict enforcement of the Motor Vehicles Act, the number of accidents due to overspeeding is on the rise. There is a dire need to check the speed of vehicles, especially on the suburbs of the city, on the pattern of Chandigarh. Recently, three persons were injured when a speeding pick-up overturned near Gausadan on the Totu-Jubbarhatti road.Riya Sharma, Totu

Demand for community centre

Residents of Jeuni Village have been demanding a community centre at Jachh village under the Nachan Assembly segment in Mandi district. The state government should sanction funds for the purpose. It will be of great help for villagers.Krishan Kumar, Mandi

EDUCATION NOTE

Jaypee University gets 3 patents

Jaypee University, Waknaghat, was granted four patents this year. Three patents were given to the department of biotechnology and bioinformatics, while one was granted to the department of electronics and communication engineering. Patent Cell Coordinator Prof Sudhir Kumar said the entire process took seven to eight years. The patents include a novel method for production of seabuckthorn wine, purification of medicinal constituents of picroside (kutki), development of high oil content of jatropha and development of an embedded system for microstrip like connections. These patents will help in industrial research and product development.

Free education for disabled sought

Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU) should also take steps like providing free education to the disabled, said Member, Executive Council, HPU, and nodal officer for disability affairs Ajai Srivastava, who shot off a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of HPTU, saying the university gave 5 per cent reservation to students with disabilities. He urged the VC to create supernumerary seats in all departments in MPhil and PhD to bring the persons with disabilities into the mainstream.

Nauni varsity’s annual sale of plants

Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, will hold its annual sale of planting material from January 2 on a first-come-first serve basis. This year, the total number of plants available for sale at the university is over 89,000. Various varieties of apple, kiwi, pomegranate, apricot, peach, nectarine, cherry, walnut, pecan nut, persimmon, pear, grapes, plum and almond, will be provided to farmers. Various Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and research stations of the university have also produced over 57,000 saplings of fruit plants, which will also be available to the farmers. Owing to its good quality, the planting material provided by the university is always in high demand among the farmers of Himachal and other states. The Regional Horticulture Research and Training Stations at Dhaulakuan and Jacch and the Horticulture and Forestry College at Neri, Hamirpur, also specialise in producing planting material for litchi, mango, guava and kinnnow. These are provided to the farmers in summer.

Training programme

A three-day training programme on “Non-communicable diseases”, organised by the Health and Family Welfare Department, concluded in Chamba on Friday. Presiding over the programme, Chief Medical Officer of Chamba district Dr Rajesh Guleri said the training was imparted to the health staff on the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Dr Guleri said teams of block-level health staff would also be trained and they would further train health workers. This way, they would examine the people affected due to non-communicable diseases.

Annual function of DPS

Delhi Public School, Jhakri, Nathpa, celebrated its annual function. Children presented various cultural items. More than 150 students presented dance items. Over 50 students were awarded. Chief guest PS Negi, GM, HR, SJVNL, congratulated the school principal, teachers, parents and students on the occasion and lauded their efforts for putting up a good show. School principal Kamal Chand and coordinator Manisha Chauhan Negi expressed their views and encouraged the students to think differently.

WHAT’S ON

Shivratri fair to be held in Mandi from February 22 to 28