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| Friday, April 14, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Where garbage, stink greet
tourists Rights panel decrees Rs 1 lakh
relief "Mahabharata war took place
around 800 BC" Tributes paid to Gen Zorawar Staff of three banks plan stir Lama Palden Senggy cremated |
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IFS officer suspended Snag delays train by three hours Special provision for water made
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Where garbage, stink greet
tourists DHARMSALA, April 13 — Notwithstanding the tall claims of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department of having improved tourist facilities, what greets the tourists in McLeodganj, the abode of the Dalai Lama, are heaps of garbage and stinking drains. Despite McLeodgang being an internationally renowned tourist destination, even the basic civic amenities and tourism infrastructure are lacking. Even the fact that the highest number of foreign tourists visit Dharamsala has not attracted the attention of the authorities towards promoting tourism in the area. Since the teachings of the Dalai Lama were not held this year in March, the tourist influx was affected to a great extent. Being an annual feature, a large number of foreigners descend upon the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile every year to attend the teachings. After a lean period in March, the season has started picking up, but the authorities seem to be least bothered to gear up the place to welcome the tourists. With unabated constructions coming up at every possible place in McLeodganj, the place is fast turning into a concrete jungle. The heaps of garbage and stinking drains of McLeodganj compelled Hollywood star Richard Gere to launch a cleanliness drive, but the local authorities seem to have little concern. "With the local municipal committee forever crying itself hoarse for funds and the tourism authorities virtually missing, there is little improvement that can be expected here," commented one of the shopkeepers. The road in McLeodganj and adjoining areas is in a bad condition. Adding to the woes of the tourists as well as the locals is the absence of a proper parking slot, leading to traffic congestion most of the time. "The ambitious schemes launched by the government remain only on paper, as the issue of parking place has been hanging fire for the past so many years", lamented Mr Jagmohan, a travel agent in McLeodganj. Despite lakhs of rupees being pumped into the picturesque Dal Lake for desilting, more than half of it has shrunk, on the other hand the Bhagsu Nag waterfall is no more than a trickle, mining due to unscientific slate mining in the area. Although the government has hardly made any contribution towards promoting the place, the Regional Mountaineering Institute, run by the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, is attracting a lot of tourists from West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Despite the focus shifting to adventure tourism, the Tourism Department has failed to hold the annual sports event at Bir, near Baijnath, for the past three years. Apart from the annual water sports event at the Pong Dam, there is no other regular activity for the tourists. The resumption of air
flights from the Gaggal airport has definitely helped
boost tourism, but the demand for subsidy on air tariff
on the pattern of Jammu and Kashmir and North-East not
having been met, it becomes slightly unaffordable,
especially for the domestic tourists. |
Rights panel decrees Rs 1 lakh
relief SHIMLA, April 13 — The Himachal Human Rights Commission has directed the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board to pay Rs one lakh as compensation to the father of Rajesh, a 10-year-old boy, who who suffered a crippling electric shock from broken power lines in Darna village in May 1997. The commission, which met here today under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Om Prakash did not agree with the report of the departmental investigation committee and held the board guilty of gross negligence in not maintaining its transmission lines properly. It was the duty of the board to ensure that the earth wire remained fastened properly into the ground. Loose or broken wires were dangerous as children who often go to fields for grazing cattle could come in contact with these. It was the duty of the board to ensure safety of public, it observed. Rajesh came in contact
with the broken stray wire of a double electric pole
structure for 22 KV high tension transmission line and
received serious electric burns. As a consequence his
right hand had to be amputated and the left hand was
rendered absolutely inactive. A departmental committee
which investigated the case, concluded that no employee
of the board could be held responsible for the mishap. |
"Mahabharata war took place around
800 BC" SHIMLA, April 13 — The "Mahabharata" war took place between 800 and 900 BC and not 3100 BC, according to Prof B.B. Lal, a renowned archaeologist and scholar, who was here to participate in the three-day national seminar on the great epic which concluded at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study today. Looking into the intricate but controversial issue of the historicity of the "Mahabharata", he rejected the traditional notion that the event occurred about 5,000 years ago and forward a convincing and incontrovertible evidence to prove that it only dated back to 800 or 900 BC. Basing his lecture on archaeological excavations carried out in the fifties, he pointed out how grayware pottery had been unearthed from several sites connected with the events of the great war. He also tried to establish that Hastinapur was no figment of the imagination but a real place, which was located on the banks of the river Ganga, but was later washed away in floods. Several papers were presented on a wide range of themes and topics connected with the epic on the final day of the seminar. Dr Meera Uberoi was of the view that Bhishma was always guided by a definite sense of duty and dharma in all of his actions. She further remarked Bhishma’s sense of righteousness was not personal or subjective, as often believed, but guided by the exigencies of the statecraft as he owed unfailing allegiance to the throne of Hastinapur. Dr S. Ramaratnam, a Sanskrit scholar from Chennai, talked about how the principles of effective communication were eroded within the Mahabharata itself. Emphasising that effective communication was the foundation of an inter-personal relationship, be it familiar, societal or commercial context, he made insightful comments on the semiotics of communication. Another Sanskrit scholar
from Chennai, Dr C.S. Radhakrishanan, presented a paper
on "the early traces of nayaya vaiseshika in the
Mahabharata". Following the commentary of Neelkanta
he sought to establish a close abiding contact between
the philosophical system of thought and literary and
cultural sources as available in the Indian tradition. |
Tributes paid to Gen Zorawar DHANETA (Hamirpur), April 13 — Himachal Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri has stressed the need for inculcating a sense of courage in life to achieve one’s goal. He said that nothing could be achieved without taking risk and showing courage. Addressing a massive gathering here last evening in connection with the General Zorawar Singh Jayanti, the Governor said that land belonged to one who had the courage to plough it. He said that youngsters should come forward to take lead in life. The government exhorted the parents and teachers to make their children brave and patriot. He said that there was a need to learn shaahstra gyan as well as shastra gyan (weapons knowledge) as shastras could not be given due recognition without adequate strength and knowledge of weapons. He paid rich tributes to General Zorawar Singh and described him a true patriot who fought to safeguard the national borders. He appealed to people to take a lesson from the life of General Zorawar Singh and make India a world power. Earlier, the Governor garlanded the portrait of General Zorawar Singh and also laid the foundation stone of the building complex of General Zorawar Singh College here. Rs 15 lakh would be spent on it. Mr Shastri lauded the work done by the General Zorawar Singh Samiti in making this programme a success. He announced a grant of Rs 21,000 to the samiti. Mr Babu Ram Mandyal, MLA, said that Indians were known for bravery and have been teaching a lesson to the forces that tried to have evil eye on the unity and integrity of the nation. Brigadier (retd) Lal Chand Jaswal, and president of the General Zorawar Singh Jyanti Samaroh Samiti said the General was a great warrior. He was the only man in history of India who inducted 1.30 lakh km of area into Indian territory. The Governor also
released a souvenir on the occasion. The souvenir was
brought out by the Samaroh Samiti of General Zorawar
Singh. |
Staff of three banks plan stir SHIMLA, April 13 (PTI) — Employees of United Commercial Bank, Indian Bank and the United Bank of India will hold a nationwide strike on April 18 to protest the government’s move to implement the new wage settlement in these banks. The call for the strike has been given by the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), which was opposed to the wage settlement of March 27 in which the payment of arrears to the employees of these banks has been subject to discussions with individual bank management. The government has issued directions to the heads of these three banks that the wage settlement in respect of officers should not be implemented until a view was taken on recommendations of the Verma Committee panel, general secretary of the Himachal BEFI Abhimanyu Khosla said. Mr Khosla asserted that
the employees of these banks would not take such
arbitrary’ decisions lying down. |
Lama Palden Senggy cremated SHIMLA, April 13 — Thousands of Buddhist tribal people thronged the Chhos Khor Ling Bodh Vihar in Brailing village of Kinnaur district to pay homage to Lama Palden Senggy, a renowned Buddhist intellectual and founder of the Vihar, who was creamted today. Lama Palden died on April 6 but his disciples waited for a week, for his soul to leave the body which was kept in "samadhi" posture all this while. Tobden Rinpoche, an enlightened Lama from Karnataka, came to perform the last rites in the Buddhist way. Born in 1904 in Khadra village of Kinnaur Lama Palden went to Tibet to study Buddhism early and returned to India in 1959 after the Chinese invaded the country. He spent 35 years in Deyung monastery of Tibet studying Buddhism to obtain doctorate. He took several "samadhis" in the caves of Himalayas for spiritual enlightenment and finally established Chhps Khorling to spread Buddhism. His disciples are scattered the world over. Lama Palden also set up "Loseling Khamjan" section in the Despung monastery in Karnataka to promote higher studies in Buddhism. Elaborate rituals were
performed and a "stupa" was made in the name of
Palden Lama, before consigning his mortal remains to
fire. |
IFS officer suspended KULU, April 13 — An IFS officer, Mr C.S. Singh, has been placed under suspension for not complying with his transfer order. His suspension was ordered by the Himachal Pradesh Government today as he failed to report at his new place of posting even after about six months. Mr Singh, who was
Conservator of Forests at Kulu, was transferred to the
University of Horticulture and Forestry at Solan, as
professor in November last. |
Snag delays train by three
hours SOLAN, April 13 — Nearly 70 passengers of a Shimla-bound parcel train that left Kalka at 9.15 a.m. were stranded for over three hours at the Sanwara railway station following the failure of the train’s engine today. A group of passengers
stormed into the Station Master’s office to register
their protest against the inordinate delay in the
provision of relief measures |
Special provision for water made SHIMLA, April 13 — The Himachal Government has made special arrangements to ensure adequate water supply during the summer months. Stating this here today, Mr Balram Sharma, Director of Tourism, said that most of the hotels in Shimla and other tourist towns had also made alternative arrangements for supply of water during the peak tourist season. He said all tourist
information centres would function up to late evenings
for the convenience of tourists. |
Last date extended SHIMLA, April 13 —
Himachal Pradesh University has extended the last date
for submission of application forms for admission to the
B.Ed. course from April 17 to 22 in view of the holidays
during the second week of the month. |
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