Goodbye, 'angithis' & smoke
SHIMLA, Dec 3 — A clear sky, the winter this year has been different in the queen of the hills. Columns of smoke and haze, which obscured the skyline, are nowhere to be seen, thanks to the initiative taken by the State Pollution Control Board in the past two years to phase out the "angithis", a major source of air pollution in the state capital during winters.

Goodbye, 'angithis' & smoke
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 3 — A clear sky, the winter this year has been different in the queen of the hills. Columns of smoke and haze, which obscured the skyline, are nowhere to be seen, thanks to the initiative taken by the State Pollution Control Board in the past two years to phase out the "angithis", a major source of air pollution in the state capital during winters.

Various government offices, which start using "angithis" or "bukharis" from November 15, have been mainly responsible for smoke pollution. Until last year more than 100 offices were using "angithis" for space heating. The tonnes of coal burnt every year not only made the skies hazy but also released sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other hazardous gases into the atmosphere.

A survey conducted by the board two years ago revealed that the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the ambient air was as much as 61 per cent higher in winter as compared to the summer. Similarly, the concentration of sulphur dioxide was higher by 32 per cent. The smoke density during peak hours was as high as 80 to 90 per cent at various sources of smoke produced from coal burning.

The situation becomes worse as smoke which consists of finely dispersed particles of coal resulting from incomplete combustion, tends to concentrate near ground level due to temperature inversion conditions, a common feature during winters. All this has a deleterious effect on health. The high concentration of particulate matter and sulphur dioxide in the ambient air causes pulmonary disease such as bronchitis and asthma. In addition it adds to the stress in persons suffering from cardio-vascular diseases.

Last year the board issued notices to most of the offices and directed them to stop using coal-fired "angithis". Consequently, many of the offices switched over to power operated or kerosene and LPG-based equipments of space heating.

This year the board adopted a persuasive approach and issued a general appeal to all government and private organisations to minimise, the use of "angithis", which pollute air, and switch over to cleaner methods of space heating. After making another appeal the board will issue a public notice to stop the use of "angithis". Finally, the offenders will be issued directions to stop their use failing which action will be initiated under the relevant Air and Water Pollution Control Act.

While central heating system has already been provided in some major office complexes like the State Secretariat, and Forest Department Headquarters, installation of solar passive features and central heating system has been made mandatory for new buildings.

The board has been trying to drive home the point that use of power operated or LPG or kerosene-based heating devices was not only good for health but also cheaper in the long run. The response to its appeal, particularly from the private establishments, has encouraged the board and it is hopeful of wiping out "angithis" for space heating from the entire state by the next winter.

Christians seek end to atrocities
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 3 — The Christian community here has urged the government to take a firm stand to prevent atrocities on them.

The Christian Solidarity Committee headed by Father Henry Lewis, submitted a memorandum to the Governor, Ms V S Rama Devi, here today demanding that the dishonouring of Christians should be stopped as they were as much Indians as any Hindu.

The memorandum said that attacks on members of the Christian community had increased in the country. Women had been abused, nuns and priests attacked, burial sites desecrated, churches broken, the Bible torn and educational institutions infiltrated to interrupt the pursuance of excellence in education with which the Christians had been associated for centuries.

The memorandum denied that the Christians were carrying out forced conversions as the Christians had, by and large, concentrated selflessly on the areas of social service, education and medicine.

Meanwhile, the Christians have decided to observe tomorrow as protest day and stage a dharna at The Ridge here to focus the attention of the government on the atrocities on the community.

IIAS denies inviting Amartya Sen
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 3 — The Indian Institute of Advanced Studies has refuted the allegation that Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, had been invited to deliver the annual Dr S. Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture in supersession of an earlier decision to invite Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen.

A spokesman of the institute clarified that Prof Sen was invited to deliver the memorial lecture for 1997. But he declined the request saying he was not really in a good position to write something suitable in the coming year as he was completely tied up.

He was again invited for the 1998 memorial lecture, but he again turned down the invitation as he was busy with his work at Harvard and Trinity College.

The new governing body of the institute, which met on October 16 took a decision to invite Dr Joshi, but the name of Prof Sen did not figure during the meeting at all. As such it was grossly misleading to say that Dr Joshi had been invited in place of Prof Sen, he added.

Notorious pass of Chamba
From Balkrishan Prashar

KALABAN (Chamba): The security forces, including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Indian Reserve Police Force (IRPF), are on their toes to curb militancy and check infiltration through the notorious pass of Dhanetru from where a gang of eight Pakistani-trained militants, including foreign mercenaries, sneaked into the hilly borderland of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh on the night of August 2 and massacred 35 innocent labourers at Kalaban and Satrundi.

The Dhanetru pass is visible from Kalaban at an altitude of 4390 metres on the left side of the Saach pass and on the borderline of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir and Chamba district. The pass generally remains covered with heavy snow during winter.

The pass is 100 km from the district headquarters town of Chamba and accessible by bus via Bairagarh. The onward route from Bairagarh to Satrundi at an altitude of 3400 metres is a slow gradient through thick forests which can be travelled by a light vehicle. Then it is a gradual climb up to the pass of Dhanetru. There is no petrol station en route from Chamba to Satrundi in this alpine terrain.

Thanks to the security forces which were deployed immediately after the Kalaban-Satrundi carnage, the situation has now returned to normalcy. These security forces are keeping a strict vigil on several check-points set up on the border hills in consonance with each other with a modern communication network.

According to Mr H S Goraya, Commandant, 15th battalion of the ITBP, and Mr Arvind Sharda, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Himachal Police who are spear-heading the operation to curb terrorism on the border of Himachal Pradesh, the security forces are giving training to special police officers (SPOs) in the sensitive belts of Chamba district. More than 100 SPOs have already been trained as soldiers to reinforce the regular security forces in the defence of the border areas.

The SPOs are youths selected from identified sensitive border villages and belonged to different castes and communities. This move has boosted the morale of the local residents in fighting militancy.

More than 150 village defence committees (VDCs) have been formed in the border area. Arms licences are being issued to the inhabitants of border villages for self-defence as per the directives of the Himachal Government in the wake of militants' activities in the region. The district administration has received nearly 4,000 applications to seek arms licences.

Plea for uniform pay structure
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 3 — The Himachal Public Works Department Graduate Engineers Association has urged the Pay Anomalies Committee to recommend a uniform pay structure for junior engineers of all departments.

It pointed out that the Fifth Punjab Pay Commission had erred by recommending different pay scales for junior engineers of the Agriculture and Soil Conservation departments.

Since there was no difference in the duties of junior engineers of the Agriculture Department and the PWD, they should have uniform pay scales, on the principle of "equal pay for equal work."

Hotel mazdoors’ strike on Dec 11
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Dec 3 — Members of the Himachal Hotel Mazdoor Lal Jhanda Union has decided to observe a day’s strike on December 11 to protest against the anti-worker policies of the government.

Mr Jagat Ram, general secretary of the union, said that the pro-capitalist policies of the present regime would aggravate the problem of unemployment. He expressed concern over the move to take out small industrial units from the purview of labour laws. This would undermine the rights of workers.

Besides these issues, the union is demanding enhancement of the minimum wage to Rs 3000 per month and implementation of the ESI scheme in the state capital.