LAVI FAIR Lavi fair has remained an important trade fair between India and for centuries, and was a unique example of the glorious, social, cultural, economic history and legacy of . Even today, the tradition was as vibrant as ever. The Lavi Fair, which is almost 400 years old, dates back to the time when Raja Kehari Singh of Rampur state signed a treaty to promote trade with Tibet. Rampur, 120 km from , was once a major trade centre as it is located on the old silk route connecting Afghanistan, Tibet and . The traders from Tibet used to bring raw wool, herbs and leather products and take back wheat flour, rice, spices, butter, farm implements and livestock.  A three-day horse trade-cum-exhibition was organised before the beginning of the Lavi Fair.  The main attraction during the fair every year is the sale and purchase of Chamurthi horses — an endangered species known as the 'ship of the cold desert'.  Being a surefooted animal, it is mainly used for transporting goods in the Himalayas.  The Chamurthi horse traces its origin to the Tibet region.  In India, it is bred in the villages of Himachal Pradesh bordering China.  According to the livestock census, there are around 1,100 Chamurthi horses in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts in the state.

PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HIMACHAL

The Cabinet gave its approval to declare Baisakhi Nalwar Mela Jhandutta and Nalwar Mela Sunhani in Bilaspur district as District level Fair to promote rich culture and tradition of the district.

The state government has declared Yamuna Sharad Mahotsav, Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district as State level fair.

COW SANCTUARIES New cow sanctuaries and big cow shelters will be established in the state, the Gau Seva Aayog has released Rs. 1.20 crore for the construction and expansion of nine cow shelters. The state government is committed to providing shelter to the destitute cows and to solve problems. The government is making a multi-pronged effort. The State government has established 'Gau Seva Aayog' to achieve this aim. Gau Seva Aayog It has been observed that the cows that have stopped milking or bulls that have not been able to plow have been abandoned by cattle ranchers. Apart from this, due to the use of modern instruments in agriculture, farmers are leaving the oxen. Keeping in view this problem, the 'Gau Seva Aayog' has been constituted by the State Government on March 1, 2019. There are 10 government members, 10 non-government members and 10 special invitees in this Aayog. In order to raise financial resources for the Aayog, the government had decided that 15 percent of the income of temple trusts and one rupee Gauvansh cess on sale as per bottle of liquor will be taken, from which the amount of Rs. 7.95 crore has been collected in Aayogs account. Sex sorted semen facility center to be opened in Lamlahari

The State Government is setting up a Sex-Sorted Semen Facility Center at a cost of Rs. 47.50 crore. For establishing this center, 90 percent grant will be given by the Central government and the state

GURUJI’S KIRPA, SNM IAS STUDY GROUP WEBSITE: www.snmiasacademy.com government will be providing the remaining 10 percent money. In this center, such injections will be prepared for indigenous cow breeds that will produce only female calves. 740 kanals of land have been selected for the establishing Sex-Sorted Semen Facility Center in Lamlahdi of Kutlehar Assembly constituency. This will reduce the problem of destitute animals on the roads and it will also motivate farmers to adopt livestock activities. Establishment of Cow Sanctuaries and big cow shelters in the state. Cow-sanctuaries and big cow shelters have been established by the Aayog across the state. The foundation stone of cow-sanctuary worth Rs. 1.52 crore have been laid at Kotla Badog in district Sirmaur and similarly the process of setting up 'Gau Sadan' is going on in other districts as well.

 A cow-sanctuary will be constructed at Thanakala Khas in District Una at the cost of Rs. 1.69 crore and Rs. 2.97 crore at Hada-Kudi in District Solan.  In addition, an amount of Rs. 77.90 lakh has been released by the Aayog for the fencing of Gaushala operated by the temple trust in Bai Attariyan of district Kangra. With this, the capacity of 'Gau Sadan' will be increased to 1000 cows.  Land has been selected for the establishment of cow-sanctuaries at Barota Dabwal and Dhara- Tatoh in District Bilaspur. An amount of Rs. 21 lakh rupees has also been released for the construction of four new cow shelters in district Kangra, Mandi and Solan. Construction and expansion of Cow shelters: An amount of Rs 1.20 crore has been released by the Aayog for the construction of nine new cow shelters and for the expansion of old cow shelters to provide shelter to the destitute cows of local areas. So far now, two new veterinary dispensaries have been started by the state government and eight veterinary dispensaries have been upgraded to the veterinary hospital, while one veterinary hospital has been upgraded to sub-divisional veterinary hospital. Apart from this, various schemes are being implemented by the state government with the aim of giving a big boost to animal husbandry and dairy activities 20% additional subsidy will be provided for by indigenous Cow: The Government of India has started 'Dairy Udyami Vikas Yojana'. Under this scheme the State Government is providing 10 percent additional subsidy on purchase of foreign breed cows and 20 percent subsidy on purchase of indigenous breed cows to the beneficiaries. Apart from this Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir and Tharparkar breed have also been included in the Animal Breeding Policy. Under the National Gokul Mission, an amount of Rs. 195.00 lakhs has been received from the Central Government for the preparation of fetus of Sahiwal breed in the embryo transplant laboratory of Palampur. For this eight Sahiwal cows or calves of high breed have also been purchased from Punjab and Haryana. HIM GAURI Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister has launched Him Gauri, the fortified cow milk brand by state-run cooperative Milkfed in collaboration with TINI-Tata Trusts and the National Dairy Development Board. The milk will be sourced from indegenous hill cows.  The fortified milk with vitamin A and D is widely used to help people getting nutrients that may otherwise be lacking in normal diet.  The fortified milk contains extra vitamins and minerals that are not naturally found in milk in sufficient amounts.  Milkfed collects 1.40 lakh litres daily from farmers in rural areas of the state.  Two new milk processing plants would start functioning in Duttnagar in and in Mandi by 2020 under centrally sponsored project, which will double the potential of the milk plants.

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 Milkfed is daily providing 14,000 litre milk to armed forces.150 lakhs litre of milk is being fortified in the country daily. STRENGTHING SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE The state government is planning to develop Shilaru High Altitude Centre as an International Level Centre with world class facilities like running tracks, swimming pool, boxing rink, Hostels etc.  This Centre is most suitable for preparing Indian sportsmen for international events.  There is no other centre at such altitude in the country and if proper facilities are developed even sportsmen from other countries will also like to get trained here.  The Chief Secretary has invited the Secretary Sports to visit Shilaru to finalize plan for developing an international level high altitude centre.  The Union Sports Ministry was requested for speedy approval for sports infrastructure projects worth Rs. 74 crore pending with Government of India.  The state has submitted projects for creating infrastructure for indoor stadium at Solan, 400 metres synthetic track at Saraswati Nagar in Shimla district besides 5 DPRs under Khelo India Scheme . UN HONOUR FOR CHAMBA PEACEKEEPER  Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Constable Jitinder Kumar from Chamba has been awarded the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal posthumously for meritorious services in UN peacekeeping forces.  India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin collected the medal on behalf of the fallen Indian peacekeeper on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 29. Kumar had laid down his life while serving in the UN peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 2018.  Kumar is the lone Indian among the 119 military, police and civilian personnel who will be honoured with the UN medal in 2019.  India is the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping. It currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peacekeeping operations in Abyei, Cyprus, the DRC, Haiti, Lebanon, Middle East, South Sudan and Western Sahara.  India has lost the highest number of peacekeepers — 163 of 3,737 — deployed in various UN operations in 70 years.  Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will preside over the ceremony where the medal will be awarded posthumously.  The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002.

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