The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, January 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H

Shifting of ITBP may be reviewed: Dhumal
Shimla, January 1
The Centre is likely to review the orders for the withdrawal of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from the Chamba area of Himachal Pradesh bordering Jammu and Kashmir in wake of the terrorists gunning down two Army personnel at Damtal today.

Sobriety marks New Year’s Eve
Shimla, January 1
Unlike previous years, the New Year’s eve celebration this year was largely a sober affair in Queen of Hills, thanks to the low turn-out of tourists and the elaborate arrangements made by the police to maintain law and order.

Rural Women brimming with confidence
Nalagarh
When the Kandi project took up the task of organising rural women into self groups with a view to developing income-generating activities for them, the women in this tehsil had little idea how it would bring a sea-change in their lives.

Winter carnival begins today
Manali, January 1
The stage is set for the five-day annual winter carnival which will be held here from January 2.

Cong varsity panel office-bearers
HP Janata Dal to merge with SP

REGIONAL BRIEFS

YOUR TOWN

Shimla

EARLIER STORIES

	Rush of winter revellers missing January 1, 2002
	Incentives for HP entrepreneurs December 31, 2001
	First website on adolescent education December 30, 2001
	Virbhadra, Stokes share dais December 29, 2001
	Sukh Ram’s re-entry will weaken Congress, says Virbhadra December 28, 2001
	HP to have new wildlife, zoo policy December 27, 2001
	Year that kept CM on tenterhooks December 26, 2001
	HPSSB selections: Cong seeks probe December 25, 2001
	Slate mining hits power projects December 24, 2001
	RS seat: race on to claim BJP ticket December 23, 2001

Shifting of ITBP may be reviewed: Dhumal
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 1
The Centre is likely to review the orders for the withdrawal of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from the Chamba area of Himachal Pradesh bordering Jammu and Kashmir in wake of the terrorists gunning down two Army personnel at Damtal today.

The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said he had talked to the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, about the move of shifting the ITBP and the latter had assured to reconsider the matter. This was for the first time that terrorists struck in Kangra district. They had so far been operating in Chamba district which was considered as the safe haven by them whenever the security forces mounted pressure on them in the Jammu and Kashmir territory.

There were reports that the ITBP personnel guarding the Himachal borders along the terrorism-hit Doda district of Jammu, have received marching orders for Jammu and Kashmir as the Army has moved to the forward posts because of the tension on the Indo-Pakistan border.

Soon after receiving report about the Damtal incident, the Chief Minister held a meeting to review the situation. The Home Secretary, Mr Dev Swaroop, and the DGP, Mr B.L. Pandit, were present at the meeting.

Highly placed sources said the terrorists opened fire on the Army personnel at Damtal with AK-47 rifles as four empty magazines had been found there. Efforts were being made to establish as to from where the terrorists infiltrated into the Himachal territory at Damtal which is sandwiched by Punjab on both sides.

The Himachal Pradesh police will be deployed in the Chamba areas with the removal of the ITBP personnel and it is to be seen as to how far the arrangement succeeds. During winters the entire area gets snowbound and the movement of terrorists is restricted through the high passes and the real test lies when the snow melts in the summers.

It is learnt that the police has been ordered not to scale down the vigil on the entry points in the state because of reports of some suspected militants having already infiltrated in the Jhakri area beyond Rampur.

Earlier, talking to TNS, Mr Dhumal said his effort this year would be to take steps to make the state financially self-sufficient.

He blamed the previous Congress government for the financial mess and said the tax-free budgets presented by them for 10 years to gain popularity had landed the state in a crisis. Had the Congress government imposed a token amount of taxation, it would have helped generate some funds.

Mr Dhumal said although there was not much scope for imposing taxes here, but people had now started realising that they cannot depend on doles and had to contribute something for the development of the state. The globalisation of economy had also come as an eye opener for the people.

The state would start earning more than Rs 120 crore annually as its 12 per cent free share by the end of the year with the phased commissioning of the Nathpa Jhakri, Baspa and Chamera projects. Besides, 25 per cent equity share would also be received from the Nathpa Jhakri project.

The Congress government did not concentrate on tapping the power potential, whereas the present BJP government had created an atmosphere of competition between the HPSEB, the NHPC, the NTPC and the private sector for executing the hydroelectric projects. The functioning of the HPSEB had been improved without trifurcation, he said.

Steps had been taken to improve the economic condition of farmers of the earlier neglected areas of Sirmour and Lahaul-Spiti by opening a processing unit for ginger at Kala Amb and the other for processing of hops. The hops of Lahaul-Spiti had been appreciated by the industry, he said.

Sobriety marks New Year’s Eve
Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 1
Unlike previous years, the New Year’s eve celebration this year was largely a sober affair in Queen of Hills, thanks to the low turn-out of tourists and the elaborate arrangements made by the police to maintain law and order.

There was no untoward incident during the celebrations, which continued till past midnight, though the police arrested 12 youths for creating nuisance under the influence of liquor. New Year revellers assembled at the Ridge in large numbers and danced till the wee hours.

The atmosphere was festive but rowdyism usually associated with the winter revellers was missing. The celebrations remained confined to the Ridge and there was plenty of room for visitors to enjoy a stroll on the Mall. A large number of women were present on the Mall till late hours. Normally, groups of rowdy revellers, mostly under the influence of liquor, virtually take over the Mall and the Ridge much before sun set, giving a hard time to security men. Members of the fair sex dare not venture out as the crowds indulge in hooliganism. Brawls among groups of tourists have been a common feature. This year things turned out to be different and those

who were present really enjoyed the celebrations.

Tourists had no problems in parking their vehicles, as there was space. They were also able to find accommodation at reasonable rates due to low occupancy in hotels. There were no traffic jams.

Official figures indicate that only 974 tourist vehicles entered the town on the New Year’s eve as against 1360 last year. Overall there was a 50 per cent decline in the tourist influx from Christmas to the New Year.

The weather God did not oblige the winter revellers with a snowfall. They all returned disappointed this morning. The hotels also wore a deserted look with only a few honeymooners left behind.

In the absence of snow, Asia’s oldest natural ice-skating rink was the only attraction and it did attract good crowds over the past one week. Little work was done in the offices today as officers and employees spent most of the time exchanging greetings. Dr Suraj Bhan, the Governor, and Mr P.K. Dhumal, the Chief Minister, also exchanged greetings, with the people.

Mr Dhumal was the first to call on the Governor to greet him. Ministers, MLAs, chairmen and vice-chairmen of various Boards and corporations, vice-chancellors of universities, senior officers of the state government and common people also called on the Governor and the Chief Minister.

Rural Women brimming with confidence
Ambika Sharma

Nalagarh
When the Kandi project took up the task of organising rural women into self groups with a view to developing income-generating activities for them, the women in this tehsil had little idea how it would bring a sea-change in their lives.

The role of these women was, uptill now, confined to looking after household chores with only a small fraction of them being literate and the majority belonging to the minority community. The initial attempts of the project officials to get them to attend the meetings where the outline of the whole idea was being discussed met with only a lukewarm response, recalls assistant project director, Dr Gurnam Singh. Women presented their scepticism about the whole idea initially. It was after a series of meetings with the villages that the idea got registered with the people and they decided to extend their whole-hearted support to the project activities.

Residing in isolated hamlets of small villages like Nanowaal, Mandiarpur, Nahar Singh, Kheri etc., having barely any connectivity to roads, the region also faced the fury of seasonal torrents when the region got cut up. The problem of lack of water, firewood and pasture availability made women trudge long distances. With little or no source of income, they had virtually no say in the household and financial matters.

The project provided these women some training to take up simple income-generating activities like production of mineral bricks, raising nurseries, rope-making and namkeen-making. The emphasis was given to train women in such activities whose products found ready markets and marketing posed no problem, given the poor infrastructure of the region. A mineral brick-manufacturing machine along with the necessary training was also provided to the women. These bricks, which require easily available raw material, enhanced the yield of mulch cattle and was readily sold in the surrounding villages.

The women have also learnt to raise nurseries of plants like lucinia, kachnaar, khair, shisham, etc which are later bought by the Forest Department for plantations. The money thus earned is deposited in the revolving fund of the user groups and the profit is equally shared by the members. Two such nurseries have yielded these women as many as Rs 4500 and Rs 6,300 in the Nanowaal village development committee near here.

The acceptability of being an earning member of the family has gone a long way in boosting the morale of these women. Now they confidently sit with the menfolk discussing everyday problems. Secretary of one such group, Haleema, feels that their new role has inculcated a sense of respect for them in the family. They have also managed to instill a sense of cleanliness in their children. Awareness about educating the girl child has also caught their attention. The project, which is aided by the World Bank, often gets foreign dignitaries to these villages. An interaction with these foreign teams has become a routine with them and they feel encouraged at being acknowledged.

The project officials stated that the aim is to ensure sustainability of these activities after the project withdraws its support from them.