Manali: Himachal Pradesh’s potatoes, grown in the cold deserts of the Lahaul Valley, have been reaping profits for the growers; farmers are happy that the humble ‘aloo’ commands a good price this season. Every year a huge chunk of potatoes, say traders here, finds its way to markets in West [...]

Shimla: With fruit production yields having stagnated in the state, Himachal hopes to benefit from technology transfer from New Zealand that a business delegation led by primary industry minister David Carter proposed here today. Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, after meeting the delegation said, “New Zealand has offered to collaborate [...]

 Chandigarh: Beating the drought this year which saw 42 percent deficient rainfall in the state, Punjab has made a record procurement of 127 lakh tonnes of paddy, a government spokesman stated here today. “The farmers of Punjab surprised the world by clocking record procurement of paddy beating the biggest drought with [...]

Shimla: As politics of marijuana advocacy sobers up America, residents of Kullu valley meekly look for a way out from the draconian Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) law to cultivate and trade charas, something that always was a way of life till Parliament criminalized it in 1985. “With Colorado [...]

 Dehradun : For about twelve years now, ever since Uttarakhand came into existence, the ‘babudom’ has been painting rosy pictures on paper, making it a paper tiger and befooling the people, not knowing the bureaucracy was befooling itself into believing that they were doing a great job, whereas nothing was [...]

Shimla: The apple season in Himachal Pradesh has almost come to an end with the total production around 20 percent less than the normal of 2.50 crore boxes of 20 kg each, an official said here today. “The apple season has been over in the state with the harvesting of [...]

Shimla: The Himachal cabinet today approved a market intervention scheme (MIS) for procuring citrus fruits in the state and decided to charge nothing for apples bought under a similar scheme and supplied to HPMC, a state PSU, for processing purposes. Presided over by chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal the cabinet [...]

Pampore Highlands (Jammu and Kashmir): A 16th-century royal was smitten by the beauty and voice of a singer-poetess in these south Kashmir highlands during a moonlit November night amid the fragrance and magical colours of the blooming saffron flowers. King Yusuf Shah summoned the husband of Zoon, the singer-poetess, to [...]

Bishramganj: Thirteen years ago, Bipin Chandra Debbarma was a poor nomad. Today, the septugenarian tribal lives in a concrete house, drives a car and has all the household gadgets available in the market. This miraculous transformation in his lifestyle has been made possible by the natural rubber cultivation he has [...]

Ever since the anti hail guns have been installed in Jubbal-Kotkhai, the government and the opposition are making claims and counter claims regarding the effectiveness of the device in stopping or controlling a hailstorm. The ruling BJP government has publicized the anti hail gun as an ultimate solution for stopping [...]