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IT not cool about HP
Govt schools in need of a lesson
HIllside view |
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CITIZEN FIRST
Grassroots
Shimla Diary
Village women take water from the receded baoli at Kango.
— Photo by Chaman
High court awaits appointment of six judges
50 years of misery about to end
Road to nowhere
Video documentary by the UFO
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While software units have a negligible presence, the lone call centre in Shimla has closed operations. In contrast, the Jaypee University of IT takes pride that its students have been picked up by big names, reports Pratibha Chauhan Notwithstanding the findings of a study by Nasscom that Himachal Pradesh has a potential of attracting Rs 20,000 crore investment in the IT sector, today there are only a few industries manufacturing hardware, while the software units have a negligible presence. The lone call centre of the state located in the Capital closed operations six months back as it failed to get business, making the running difficult. With the ambitious government project of having IT parks failing to take off for the past five years, there hasn’t been much headway. The proposed IT park at Vaknaghat, about 35 km from Shimla, has yet to take shape. But the Jaypee University of Information Technology located there is not just attracting students from all over the country but also NRIs. It offers graduate courses in computer science and engineering, IT, biotechnology, bioinformatics and civil engineering and M.Tech. The Software Technology Park of India (STPI) has been set up here by the Union Ministry of Information Technology with the objective of providing infrastructure, network connectivity and other facilities to entrepreneurs engaged in software export-oriented activities. Out of the four companies that opened offices here, three have already wound up, sending a negative signal to prospective entrepreneurs, a fact that the officials concede. Six years after the Department of IT came into being, there are about 50 hardware industries, mostly engaged in assembling based on screwdriver technology, and a handful of units of software manufacturing. One of the few power-surplus states in the country which guarantees cheap and uninterrupted electricity supply has not been able to attract the kind of investment that Bangalore, Hyderabad or for that matter Chandigarh is lately attracting. In sharp contrast to this is the Jaypee University of IT, a full-fledged university which within four years of its existence can take pride in the fact that the students from its first batch have been picked up by big names in the field like Infosys, Wipro, IBM, Connexant, Accenture, NIIT and Satyam. “Frankly speaking, I too was very apprehensive if there would be takers for the passouts from a very new university like ours,” says a beaming Ruchi from Patna, who has brought laurels to the institute as she has been picked by Wipro. The university has students from abroad and there is a waiting list of 100 students wanting to join the institute. Ruchi says that the entire first batch of 360 got jobs through campus placements while 60 per cent of their juniors who still have a year to go have been picked up by big names in the IT industry. “I have now set my eyes on cracking the CAT to join an IIT, while I gain work experience at Wipro,” is how Ruchi intends shaping her career. In fact, it has taken five long years for the state government to finally invite the expression of interest for the setting up of about nine IT parks at Vaknaghat, around the Nalagarh area, Dalhousie and Raja-ka-Bagh area in Nurpur. The Department of IT has also been making efforts to woo entrepreneurs to make investment in the hill state as they tried to sell Himachal as the next big IT stop at three big IT meets, including IT India and Convergence India at Delhi and Bangalore IT.com. While highlighting the USP of Himachal, officials point out that one must not forget Himachal has one of the highest telephone density in the country and an 8,000-km network of optical fibre cable in a total of 11,000 kms of metalled road in the state. “All these factors put together make Himachal an ideal location for IT sector, but the absence of a social infrastructure like multiplexes and amusement parks a, must for having top IT professionals in the software industry, is practically missing,” they admit. Poor air connectivity with very few and erratic flights worsens Himachal’s case. Another problem that entrepreneurs encounter is the non-availability of quality skilled manpower, even though the government keeps harping that HP has the second highest literacy rate in the country. “Even though our boys and girls passing out from engineering colleges and ITI’s are qualified but due to lack of exposure and experience, they are not too much in demand.” As per the state IT policy made in 2001 and updated in September last year, a number of incentives like excise duty exemption and complete tax holiday for 10 years after the unit comes into production have been offered but more needs to be done to get some big names of the IT world. “The complete lack of infrastructure in the industrial belts and a weak government policy are to be blamed for the IT sector virtually bypassing Himachal,” says Major Balbir Singh (retd), Registrar of the Jaypee University of IT. He says in the dust-free environs of Himachal the software companies do not require the AC facility and despite this there haven’t been nay major investments in the IT sector. Entrepreneurs lament that even the basic infrastructure like proper roads at the industrial belts of Baddi-Nalagarh-Barotiwala are missing. “When you wish to get big IT names into your state the least you can do is to provide basic infrastructure and simplify land transfer procedures,” they point out. Even as passouts from Jaypee University join big names in the IT sector, the companies are not willing to invest in the state which is ideally suited for the IT sector.
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Govt schools in need of a lesson
While the hill state has been doing exceedingly well in the field of literacy and education, the dwindling enrolment in government schools over the past couple of years is causing serious concern. More and more parents are opting for private schools, putting a big question mark over the quality of education in government institutions.
With a network of 10,613 primary and 3,752 upper primary institutions the government has made elementary education accessible to all. However, the quality of education has indeed been questionable as revealed in the nation wide survey conducted by the NCERT in which Himachal Pradesh was placed in the lowest bracket after Bihar. The random testing carried out under the survey the achievement level of the Class V children was found to be 35 per cent in environment science, 35 per cent in mathematics and 50 per cent in Another quality-related survey conducted by a non-government organization, PRATHAM, recently found that 28 per cent of the children studying in Classes II to V could not read properly a small paragraph with short sentences of standard I level. The percentage increased to 52 for reading story text with some long sentences of standard II level. Further, 30 per cent of the students could perform simple two-digit subtractions and 63 per cent faltered in simple divisions. It is, thus, hardly surprising that the enrolment in government institutions is declining. The latest educational statistics indicate that number of students in the state both at the primary and upper primary levels has further declined over the past one year. The irony is that more schools are being opened even though the teacher student ratio which is one is to 22 in 2004-05, further improved to one is to 20 as against the norm of one is to 40 in government schools. In the case of Lahaul-Spiti, there is a teacher for every six students, while the highest ratio of 26 students per teacher was in Una district. It provides a
clear indication that far too many schools than the actual requirement have been opened, putting an unnecessary burden on the state exchequer. The downslide has started even in districts like Shimla and Kinnaur which registered a marginal increase last year. In all, nine out of the total 12 districts showed a declining trend, while there was no appreciable change in two districts. The enrolment in government schools came down form 5,89,741 in 2003-04 to 5,67,734 in 2004-05 and to 5,43,805 last year. The decline for all schools, including private institutions, was marginal from 6,66,941 to 6,60,960 over the three-year period. An indication that more and more parents are
opting for private schools. Similarly, in the case of upper primary schools, the enrolment for government institutions declined from 3,81,582 in 2003-04 to 3,13,597 in 2005-06. For all schools it decreased from 4,19,878 to 4,10,860 over the period. The Sirmour district has been recording maximum decline with enrolment coming down from 65,334 in 2001-02 to 54,276 in 2004-05. This further declined to 52,923. Similarly, the figure plunged from 1,03,615 in 2002-03 to 98,021 in 2004-05 and further to 96,789 last year for Mandi. In Kangra, the biggest district for he state, the number came down from 143,467 to 1,40,331. The same trend was visible in the sparsely populated tribal areas with enrolment declining from 3,204 in 2001-02 to 2,903 last year in Lahual -Spiti. In Kinnaur , which recorded a slight rise last year, the enrolment declined from 8,940 to 8888 within a year. In the tribal Lahual-Spiti the number of students came down from 3,204 in 2000-01 to 2,872 last year and in Shimla district from 74,069 to 71,434 within a year. Hamirpur was the only district where the enrolment increased marginally from 39,979 in 2002-03 to 41,477 in 2004-05 and to 41,895 in the last session. However, Mr B.S.Nanta, Director of Elementary Education, insists that the overall enrolment cannot go down as both population and literacy rate have been increasing. While the government schools have been sending complete data there could be some deficiency in information pertaining to private schools. From the available data one thing is quite clear that enrolment in government institutions has been definitely declining. The obvious reason is that the people prefer to send their children to private schools. This is despite the fact that most of the private schools which have come up during recent years in the rural areas do not have proper staff and other infrastructure. The people find the quality of education in private institutions better than the government schools, which is not a good sign for a state where over 85 percent of children study in government schools. The declining enrolment should open the eyes of the government. It has much to ponder over why private schools with minimal staff and other infrastructure are considered a better option for schooling. It takes more than qualified and highly paid staff and other facilities to ensure quality of education. The abject lack of work culture, commitment and discipline coupled with frequent transfers of teachers, mostly on political considerations, are some of the known evils that plague the government institutions. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, recently announced that at least one college in each district will be developed into a centre of excellence in a phased manner. The need to transform schools, particularly in the rural areas, into centre of excellence is more pressing for laying a sound foundation for higher education. There is no point in opening more institutions when the student-teacher ratio is already very low. The emphasis should be on improving the quality of education.
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HIllside
view
Our boys and girls are second to none — whether in talent, sincerity or hard work. I can say this with authority, having taken part in preparing them for the big bad world beyond Parwanoo for over 15 years. In the ruthlessly competitive environment of Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai etc, their performance continues to win laurels for Himachal.
While folks from certain states in the cow-belt are known for their aggressive, street-smart ways, our young ones are known as rather shy but dedicated, uncomplaining workers. Above all, they are reputed to be totally trustworthy. Their success has begun to inspire others too. The craze for jobs with the lal batti gaadi (vehicle with a red light) like the IAS and HAS begun to ebb now. I am told only about 12,000 candidates applied for nine posts in the state administrative services last year. “Managing” a sarkari naukri (with “job-security”) for their offspring was the parents’ major dream in life. Till a few years ago, a parent would proudly introduce the son — “form bhara hai “ (has filled in the form for IAS or HAS) or “taiyyari kar raha hai “(preparing for the competitions). Medicine, engineering and management were the next preferred careers, in that order. You were supposed to be impressed by such sheepish-looking aspirers, and utter a few words to cheer them up. I had many stock expressions: “ That’s wonderful, beta, I too will sit in your lal batti wali gaadi” and “kyon nahin, aakhir aapka beta hai!” etc. The concerned boy would flash a coy, coy smile and slip away with another wastrel hovering in the shadows ... I once asked an aspirant: “Which is the capital of Madhya Pradesh?” He answered “Nagpur “ with an all-knowing smile. Another was sure that Feroze Gandhi was Mahatma Gandhi’s son. I learnt my lesson and stopped quizzing such worthies only after a girl informed me that our President’s name was Abdul Kalam Azad. I met many boys who exploited this parental ambition and had a good time — expensive shoes, branded clothes and special food (meaning pizzas and the like in swanky joints on The Mall). After all, eventually if he made it big one day, the doting parents would be able to speak of their own share in the effort. All this may sound cynical — but the human mind, in whatever relationship, is not entirely above calculations. Parents tried to realise their own unfulfilled dreams of entering the administrative services through their children. What a mess, when four or five years of primetime is squandered, and a demoralised young life gropes for livelihood, desperately. Thank god, things are changing for the better, though slowly. Good pay and rapid rise are becoming more important than “job-security”. Unlike a few years ago, private sector jobs are not shunned in preference to “sitting for competitions”. Augurs well for Himachal, in the long run.
Lost treasure on Summer Hill Very few today know that during the fifties, the wooded slopes above the rail-tracks lining the historic Summer Hill glowed in the halo of great artists of the country. The famous Punjab School of Art and Crafts was set up in 1951 in what is now the campus of the Industrial Training Institute. It was redesigned as the Government College of Art and shifted to Chandigarh in 1959. Led by its Principal and eminent artist Sardari Lal Parasher, scores of the then budding artists like Satish Gujral , M.F. Hussain and P . N. Mago drew inspiration from both the landscape and people’s lifestyles while evolving their own individual approaches to art. Old-timers tell us how some of them wore breaches, rode horses, dressed fashionably, and argued fiercely about issues of life and art, as they took long walks. Quite different from the romantic tales of art issuing from hungry stomachs! Innumerable paintings and sculptures of that period give us a rich flavour of not only Simla (then spelt like this) of those halcyon days — but also of various big and small places like Kulu, Narkanda, Naldhera, Mashobra, Mahunag, etc. While the association of artists like Roerich and Shobha Singh with Himachal has been institutionalised, Summer Hill remains ignored. An occasional noise is heard about giving its due importance to the studio of the legendary artist Amrita SherGill also on the same hill. Heritage is best preserved in creative impulses frozen in time and other frames. Preserving brick and limestone (and naming them monuments) alone is nothing but a poor short cut.
Copycats! Who is the Miss World? In a screening test in Shimla for recruiting constables in 2003, a dozen candidates wrote “Malini Gupta”. The examiners were puzzled. They quizzed them in the interview. Finally, a candidate answered frankly: “Sir, I didn’t know who the Miss World was. So I wrote my girlfriend’s name!” Pakda gaya, copycats!
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CITIZEN FIRST
This is regarding a news item published in The Tribune on Feb 21 under the headline ‘SC relief for HP on JBT teachers recruitment’. In this case, senior advocate M.N. Rao, appearing for HP, along with Additional Advocate-General (AAG) J.S. Attri, plead in the Supreme Court on the ground that the enrollment of candidates for the JBT training was in fact an exercise of recruitment as the selected persons were given direct appointment on the completion of training.
Besides, the training was only conducted by the government when substantial number of vacancies of primary teachers had occurred and it was not merely a general academic course. Mr Rao said, “It is a guaranteed employment process under the policy of the state government and the courts have limited scope to interfere in any policy matter as laid down by the apex court in its various judgements.” Accepting the plea of the state’s counsel, the court, while granting the interim relief, the apex court virtually paved the way for the Himachal Government to go ahead with the interview process and that is already over and 1700 candidates selected after conducting interview, in view of shortage of primary school teachers. Almost three months have passed after the judgement, but the state government has not yet started the course. So, I request the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh to start the JBT course immediately, as soon as possible in view of the shortage of primary teachers. Mangal Singh Jaryal
Water woes The recent decision of the Himachal Government directing hydro power projects in the state to release a minimum of 15 per cent of ‘inflow’ water in view that the aquatic life is not destroyed due to water scarcity in the river beds, is no doubt welcomed step. However, the practical application of this decision is a matter of debate. The decision will surely help the rivers in saving their traditional ‘face’, which have been fast losing their ‘look’ for the want of water. The shortage of water in the riverbed not only destroys the marine life, but also causes serious health hazard in the adjoining areas, least to say about the ecology of the area. Earlier, the power projects were under an obligation to release 10 per cent of minimum inflow water on the lean season. Having understood this, the static ratio of releasing water ‘down stream’, is a matter of realistic concern. It has been observed that where the ‘down stream’ river bed is vast even release of 15 per cent of water is not proving sufficient, on other hand in some cases the ‘down stream’ river bed is so narrow that the 15 per cent water released is proving to be more than requirement, this excess water can very effectively be used for power generation. The government should have surveyed all power projects and a decision relating to the release of water should have been taken in accordance to need of the riverbeds, instead of the static release of water for all projects.
Vikas Vasudeva Possession problem I have a grievance against the HP Housing Board, Shimla. I am an allottee of plot no. 26, category III at Shingla Rampur. As per the requirement of the board, I made full payment of the tentative cost of the plot. In 2005, the CEO-cum-Secretary, HIMUDA, informed me that the development work in the Housing Board colony has been completed except for availability of water. It was also said the board was considering an alternate scheme which would be complete by the end of September 2005. Hence, the board did not hand over the possession of the plot at that time. I have written two reminders to the board but to no effect. Prof P.K. Gupta Pay pension I am one of those aggrieved Himachal pensioners, who prior to November 1966 were Punjab employees on the re-organisation of Punjab state and whose services were later allocated to Himachal Pradesh. Although the Re-organisation Act, 1966, protects all minority benefits which they would have got, had they continued to serve in Punjab, yet the following pensionary benefits which the Punjab Government has already given to their pensioners, have not yet extended to us by the Himachal Government despite of repeated requests: An increase of 5 per cent and 10 per cent in pension on attainting the age of 65 and 75 respectively. Travel concession equivalent to one month’s pension after every two years. Revision of pension of all pre-1996 pensioners equal to 50 per cent of the minimum pay fixed in the revised pay scales of the post the employee was holding at the time of his retirement. Grant of fixed medical allowance of Rs 250 per month against Rs 40 per month which is being paid by the Himachal Government. S. L. Gupta
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Grassroots
It’s a new life for a group of street children from the shanties in Dharamsala. The Tong Len, a charitable trust, is helping such under-privileged children to dream again—to make it big in life. It all started with Lobsang Jamyang (Tharchin Gyaltsen), Director of the trust, a Tibetan monk, realising that his philanthropic deeds of supplying food and clothing to the underprivileged would offer no long-term solution to make them self-reliant. That is how the idea of educating these children to come up. So in 2003, Jamyang began convincing the parents of street children, living in a makeshift colony in Churan Khad, to send their children to schools instead of chasing tourists in McLeodganj and devotees outside Chamunda Devi temple. The response was far from encouraging. “In the first year, parents of only three children agreed to send their children to study. Everyday, these children would be picked from their shanties, taken to Dayanand Public School and dropped back in the evening after giving them lunch. But things did not work out as planned,” he says. The children had no inclination to learn and soon the school authorities also started complaining that the kids were highly unhygienic and posed a serious threat to other students. “That was when we decided to set up a hostel for these children so that they get the ideal environment to study, stay clean and complete their home work in time away from the evening altercations in their families. Presently 20 girls and 20 boys are staying in the hostel, studying in different classes,” he says. The children belong to migrants from Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In every family the male members play cards all day while the women and children go begging. In the evening the day’s ‘earnings’ are snatched by the head of the family so that he can go and hit the bottle. “Initially, even the children were extremely tough to handle. They would lose their books, school dress and were always late for school. But over a period of time, they have become disciplined and some of them have now got up to 90 per cent marks in school,” he smiles. The trust has its office at McLeodganj and the hostel is located in Depot Bazar, Dharamsala. It also runs free tuition classes to give the students the initial training before they are fit to join a school. There are 60 registered students in the nursery section and 40 in the primary section. Besides the regular staff of teachers and two caretakers, the trust keeps getting volunteers, including foreign tourists, who offer to teach these students. “We have no political or religious motive behind the project and the children are free to practice their religion and culture. We want to help them till the time they graduate. Who knows eventually one of them will becomes the head of this very school and help many more underprivileged children,” he says. Initially, the children wanted to run away to the streets of McLeodganj because they were so habitual to begging but now they talk of become police officers, teachers and actors. The children go to meet their family every weekend and their parents can come to the hostel and stay with them every second Saturday. “When they go to their family, they teach their younger siblings and ask their parents not to fight and work on improving their lifestyle. Their lives have undergone a sea change. For me, helping them achieve their dreams is just like mediating,” says Jamyang.
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Shimla
Diary
While the Raja is flying high after the dismissal of the “Sagar Katha” case instituted against him by the previous Dhumal regime, the embarrassed BJP leaders are engaged in a bitter blame game. The party had made a determined bid to pin down the indomitable Raja and when the lower court discharged him. Mr Randhir Sharma, spokesperson, and Mr Baldev Sharma, a former spokesperson, moved the apex court against the verdict.
Having lost the plot, the party tried to wash its hands off with Dr Rajiv Bindal, the BJP spokesperson, stating that the party had nothing to do with the petition. It was a little too much for Mr Sharma, who relentlessly attacked Mr Virbhadra Singh as the BJP spokesperson, to digest. He retaliated in his typical style and added insult to the injury by stating that the petition was dismissed due to an unholy “nexus” between the top leadership of the BJP and the Congress. The petition was dismissed because of “deliberate mishandling” by the party managers. The “clean chit” to the Chief Minister from the apex court will also take the steam out from the campaign of disgruntled Congress leader, Maj Vijay Mankotia, the central theme of which was corruption.
A relief for DC Posting as Deputy Commissioner is an important and prestigious assignment in the career of an IAS officer. However, Mr Sushil Negi, Deputy Commissioner of Shimla, was quite relieved when he was posted as Excise and Taxation Commissioner. The longest serving Deputy Commissioner has been waiting for a change for long. A 1985 batch officer Mr Negi has put in eight years as Deputy Commissioner of Bilaspur, Kangra and Shimla in three stints, which is long enough for a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Mr Negi had himself sought a change, as his batch mates had become secretaries long ago. Mr Virbhadra Singh, the longest serving Chief Minister in the country, is particular about having experienced officers as deputy commissioners at least in big districts like Kangra, Mandi and Shimla. He has chosen another senior officer, Mr Tarun Kapoor, (1987 batch) to replace Mr Negi. After all Shimla is the home district of the Chief Minister.
Home for big cats Even after being trapped prowling leopards who have been giving sleepless nights to villagers across the state continue to create problems but of a different kind. Some highly virulent big cats trapped from different places have virtually transformed the animal rescue home at Tuti Kandi, here, into a breeding centre much to the chagrin of the wild life officials. Over the past two weeks four new cubs have been born at the centre taking the number of leopards from 12 to 16. The number would have been more but for the fact that two animals died and a female escaped from the centre. The rescue centre was set up to provide shelter to the old, infirm and dangerous animals who are trapped by the Forest Department or the villagers and breeding is the last thing that should happen. |
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The disappearing act
Gayatri Devi from Bari village in Sarkaghat, Nirmla of Chalokharin Bhoranj, Sunita Devi of Dharbhagera in Sujanpur block and Rada Devi of Ani in Kulu have to face an uphill task daily; they have to climb a steep km carrying a pitcher of water on their head to meet the water requirements of their families.
This ordeal is new for them. Come summer and the residents face the twin crisis— of water shortage as well as water-borne diseases. The Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) and the Health Department have constituted a joint team to monitor the situation on a weekly basis. But they have no interaction among the local urban bodies and pardhans, as they are a divided lot. The villagers of Samoha and Dharbhaghera in Sujanpur block have to walk for a kilometer to fetch water as they have no water supply scheme there, says Ms Sunita Dhiman, who is the Chairperson of the Zila
Parishad, Hamirpur.
In fact, the residents are up-in-arms against the IPH in several villages in the water-starved areas of the Sarkaghat-Sundernagar-Nachan– Dharampur areas in Mandi and Ani-Nirmand in Kulu, Bhoranj block in Hamirpur and Bilaspur Sadar, Swarghat, Naina Devi pilgrimage centre and Ghumarwani block in Bilaspur. Even the freak showers that lashed the region this week and the construction of the link roads have compounded the crisis as the runoff carry silt and muck and contaminate the khatis, the storage tanks and the IPH schemes. As a result, it triggers water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and typhoid, say health officials. The drought has hit the water re-charging of the IPH water sources, which have either dried up or have a little water to meet the demand. The worst hit is Bhoranj block in Hamirpur, where over 14, 850 persons face an acute water shortage. The villagers are getting rationed water supply after four to six days, particularly in Chalokhar and Vakli and 10 other villagers in the block.
In the Bari-Brachuar area in the Sarkaghat sub-division, the water sources have dried up. The IPH department has started supplying water through tankers there. Several villages like Ahan, Sanihan and Ropa in the Sundernagar subdivision the villagers complained of shortage of drinking water as the 800 MW Kol dam construction hast hit the water supply, complain villagers. In the Hamirpur-Bilaspur, the IPH department has installed over 2,794 hand pumps out of which 317 hand pumps are unfit for human consumption due to an excessive presence of iron content, turbidity and silt.
In Bilaspur, of 410 IPH scheme, the 27 IPH schemes have been registered a drop of over 25-50 per cent, in 11 other IPH schemes a drop of 50-75 per cent, and one scheme has registered over 75 per cent drop in their water sources, hitting water supplies in over 354
habitations in the district.
In towns of Naina Devi and Bilaspur and its surrounding areas, the IPH is rationing water. These towns have no water complaint help-line for residents, complain the ward members. The IPH Superintendent Engineer, Hamirpur-Bilaspur circle, Mr R P Tandon, says the department has installed over 20 hand-pumps in the affected areas and the tankers are being pressed into service in Bhoranj block and in Naina Devi town meet the emergency. The IPH Chief Engineer, Mandi central zone Mr R.P. Gupta says the hydrologists identify the sites through the remote sensing agency and would install over 100 hand pumps in Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Mandi district in the water-deficient areas till May 31. Over 200 hand-pumps will be installed soon this year to meet the water shortage,” he added. The IPH engineers reveal the department will install over 500 hand pumps worth Rs 5 crore in the water- affected areas in the state on priority basis. “The state underground water sources are yet to be tapped and can meet the crisis situation,” they claim.
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High court awaits appointment of six judges
While over 23,000 cases are pending adjudication, the state high court is waiting for appointment of judges. At present, six out of the total nine posts of judge are vacant. The Centre is learnt to have forwarded the four names recommended by the state to the collegium of the Supreme Court. However, the entire process will take some time.
The names of Mrs Aruna Kapoor, Registrar-General of the high court, and Mr D.D.Sood, senior advocate, were unanimously recommended by the collegium in December last. However, there was delay in forwarding the names due to differences between the government and the high court. The government had referred the panel back for reconsideration on the plea that it did not reflect the overall caste profile of the state. The high court refused to review the panel and stuck to its original recommendations, which were a binding on the government.
— TNS
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50 years of misery about to end
Thousands of villagers, displaced during the construction of the Bhakra dam, will now get the basic amenities and proper rehabilitation. It’s not only for those facing problems after being resettled in Himachal, but also those villagers of Bilaspur, who had earlier been rehabilitated in Haryana.
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pardesh, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has constituted a high- power committee to review the development work done for those whose properties had been submerged in the Bhakra dam reservoir and resettled in Bilaspur and other areas in Himachal. The committee will find out the problems being faced by the villagers and work needed to be done to settle them properly. After 50 years of their displacement, a committee will also visits in Haryana to check the conditions of the villagers of Bilaspur who had been rehabilitated there. The high-power committee will submit its report to the Chief Minister. Besides, the state government will provide plots and also houses in the colony to be built by a housing society in Bilaspur district. On May 3, the Himachal Plus had carried a story on how even after 50 years of displacement residents of Bhakra and Khulmi villages were still waiting for the basic amenities like potable water and proper heath care. Giving details about the step initiated by the state government, the State Forest and Sports Minister and a local MLA, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, during his visit to Bhakra village on this Friday said this was first time that committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Singh to provide all facilities to the villagers rehabilitated. The committee after studying the conditions of those rehabilitated in Himachal and also Hisar in Haryana, a report would be submitted to the Chief Minister. Mr Thakur who is also a member of the high-power committee said it was the first time that the Himachal Government also took up the matter with the Haryana Chief Minister to provide facilities for the uplift of the people. As many 330 plots will be allotted. Besides a site has also been identified in the district where housing society will build a colony. After inaugurating a water supply schemes worth Rs 29.50 lakh for the villagers of Bhakra, he said another scheme worth Rs 5 crore would soon become functional. He said in addition to it the government had also decided to establish more educational institute and health center. The state government had ordered for the carpeting and maintenance of the roads passing through the villages.
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Cure for medical college
Good news for the people of Kangra! Dr Rajender Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) at Tanda is all set to operate from a 500-bedded modern building with the latest diagnostic and other facilities. It is going to be operational by the beginning of September this year.
The British Government, in order to accommodate the prisoners of the World War II, had built some wooden hutments at the picturesque hillock surrounded by pine trees but after the Partition and repatriation of the POWs the then Punjab Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon got established a 200-bedded sanatorium on October 24, 1952. It was Chandu Lal Trivedi, the then Governor of Punjab, who laid the foundation of the new sanatorium building in 560 kanal stretch of land donated by Rai Bhadur Jodhamal Kuthiala on October 28, 1952 and Dr Rajender Prasad, India’s first President, dedicated it to the nation on May 21, 1958. The location of the sanatorium, which had lost its efficacy for various reasons, made Chief Minister Virbhdra Singh to conceive an idea to establish a modern medical college in order to provide the best health care. It started with 50 MBBS students in 1996. The zonal hospital of Dharamshala was attached to this medical college for teaching and training as well as patient care. After Virbhadra Singh government was voted out of power and the BJP government was forced to provide funds for it despite the fact the then Health Minister J.P. Nadda of the BJP described it as an ill-conceived baby of Virbhdra Singh. This college remained under the Medical Council of India (MCI) for the recognition purpose and the first batch suffered during the process. Finally the MCI permanently recognised the college in January last year. The financial crunch at times during the last decade put stumbling blocks in its speedy completion. Now the 500-bedded hospital building is almost ready and according to Mr S.C. Garg, Senior Manager and Project In charge HSCC (India) Ltd, Noida, the agency, which constructed this Rs 55 crore building, the hospital will have 17 operation theaters (OTs), including seven minor OTs. Mr Garg said in the government sector this would be one of the best medical colleges in the country with OPDs of major departments having infrastructure of fire fighting, fire detection, controlled air-conditioning and lifts. Dr N.K. Kaushak, Principal of DrRPGMC, said this was the first medical college in the country with a blood bank facility with separate blood component center. He said different components of blood as per the requirement of the patient could be transfused in this college. Dr. Kaushak said this medical college is equipped with an advanced trauma centre keeping in view the accident-prone hill roads of the state. He said the facilities of MRI, CT scan, Fluoroscopy, Gama camera, dialysis, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), colour Doppler, besides maternal and child health care with child care ICU. Spread over 40 hectares of land, a total Rs 115 crore project will have air-conditioned auditorium first of its kind in the state besides a seminar room and a guest house. Dr Kaushak said the college would produce 50 doctors annually and would provide post-graduation in anesthesia and radio diagnosis besides PG in surgery under the inspection of the National Board of Medical Education. He said the State Resource Center for Handicap Care and Mental Health Care programme were also would be parts of this institute.
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Road to nowhere
Despite attracting investment worth crores the roads of the industrial areas of Baddi and Barotiwala have received little attention from the state government. In the absence of timely repair and upkeep, the condition of roads has gone from bad to worse.
With a drastic increase in the number of vehicles in the past three years, the roads have been facing excessive wear and tear. The road from Baddi to Nalagarh is the worst. A facelift was however given by the PWD to this road some days ago ahead of the Chief Minister’s visit. Figures procured from the Baddi barrier reveal that on an average about Rs 1.25 to Rs 1.5 lakh are collected daily from vehicles entering the area. With such a heavy influx of traffic the Baddi bridge has been facing the worst ever wear and tear. Hundreds of trucks remain stationed over it throughout the day for seeking various clearances from the barrier. This has weakened the concrete structure and the iron has started protruding out at various places. In addition to the thousands of cars entering the area heavy vehicles, including about 2,000 heavy loaded trucks, 400 tractors carrying construction material, about 400 utility vehicles, etc, visit the area daily. The absence of side drains has added to the bad condition as rains corrode the roads adversely affecting its condition. The PWD has only been able to repair patches of roads, which too have eroded in the absence of quality work. The worst suffers are scores of MNCs, including Cipla Pharmaceuticals, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Glenmark, Alchem and Dr Reddy, who have set up their units in villages where proper roads have not been laid. With virtually no tarring in the link roads connecting various industries at Malkhumajra, Harraipur, Kishenpura, Malpur, Shitalpur, Bhud, etc, to the main road the region presents a very gloomy picture to a visitor. A section of investors who have invested here said despite taking up the issue with the government several times little had been done. They rued that the situation became embarrassing when foreign executives heading these MNCs visited the region and came across mud and slush on the roads. With little planning, the roads had been reduced to mere passages. The unavailability of adequate space at the Baddi barrier is a major hurdle to the smooth flow of traffic, opines Arun Rawat, general secretary of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh-Industries Association. Executive Engineer of PWD K.K. Malhotra, however, said Rs 2.62 crore had been approved under the NABARD for the upkeep of various roads in the region though not much could be done to maintain link roads.
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PASSING THROUGH
A drastic shift from the traditional sustainable farming to the modern unhealthy agriculture practices is mainly responsible for the woes of the farming community in the Himalayan region, according to Dr Samuel B. Moser, an expert from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland, world’s leading information and documentation centre for organic agriculture.
“The switchover to latest farm technology, which requires a host of inputs like chemical fertilisers, insecticides and sprays has been disastrous as soil in the marginal hill lands is not deep like in the plains. Persistent use of such inputs over the years makes the soil calcareous and deficient in organic matter, which holds micro-organisms and helps in retaining moisture. The adoption of modern know-how has, thus, led to faulty soil management and agriculture practices and it is primarily responsible for the declining productivity of main crops like apple,” Dr Moser told this correspondent after visiting the apple growing areas of Shimla, Kulu and Kinnaur districts. The regular use of chemical inputs led to the neglect of organic manure, which in turn affected animal husbandry as a whole. The livestock, a vital component of the traditional system, also languished. As a result, the hill region has not been able to attain self-sufficiency in milk production. Further, the modern system, unlike the traditional family-based farming, required more manpower, which was not available in hills and the growers were forced to hire labour to look after orchards. A situation has reached where despite all the costly inputs an effort the yield, instead of increasing, is declining. The phenomenon is not confined to this state but to the entire Himalayan region and if the trend is not reversed, apple cultivation, which is the mainstay of the hill farmers, may become unviable, Dr Moser cautioned. The only solution, he asserted, was to revert to organic farming on which much research had been carried out over the past two decades. It was not confined to manure, but a whole range of organic products, including the latest biodynamic formulations, were available to take care of plant diseases, pests and insects. The agro-climatic conditions in Himachal Pradesh were very similar to Switzerland where farmers have taken to organic farming on a large-scale. While 10 per cent of the farmers were carrying out only organic farming, the remaining were using the mixed model with a substantial organic component. He was surprised to see that some apple growers in Himachal Pradesh had been able to pinpoint the reasons for the downslide in apple production and they had already switched over to organic farming. He came across such farmers in Amarbagh in Kulu and Guara in Rampur. The trees in their orchards were healthy and he was informed that the yield had also started increasing. Currently more than 31 million hectares of farmland were under organic management worldwide. A major increase of organic land had taken place in China, where nearly three million hectares of pastoral land were recently certified. As far as the share of organic farmland as compared to the total agricultural area, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian countries lead the way. It was time for the hill state to follow suit, Dr Moser said.
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Spice up the salad
Spice up your salad plate by adding that extra bit with a pink-fleshed radish. Developed by the CSK Agricultural University, Palampur, this new open-pollinated variety called Palam Hriday not only looks decorative; it also scores high on taste and Vitamin-C content.
The unique variety of radish has already captured the imagination of the big hotel owners and tourists, besides local residents knocking at the doors of the farm university’s Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture to buy its seeds for their kitchen gardens. But the success story of Palam Hriday had a rather dismal start. The farmers who had sown the variety for the first time were taken aback by the oblong shape of its roots. They also found the thought of a sweet tasting radish a bit strange. But once the produce hit the market, it sold for double the price of regular radish. Dr N.K.Pathania, Head of the Department, says once presented on the dining table, this radish variety is sure to be an attraction. “It looks pink even from the inside and tastes sweet-two unique traits for a radish. Moreover, it is very juicy and free from pithiness as in case of regular varieties, even after a fortnight of storage,” he says. The variety is characterised by strap-like leaves, oblong roots and creamish white glow on the surface. It comes with a diameter of 6-7 cm, with heavy roots and a smaller top. The HP State Seeds Sub-Committee has recommended the variety for cultivation in the state. If it tastes good, the variety also has high nutrition value, with total soluble solids at 7.7 per cent, 19.53 per cent ascorbic acid and only 190 ml nitrate, high amounts of which is considered harmful. So, besides having it in the salad, it’s an ideal material for stuffing in paranthas. “It is so relishing that whoever has tried it once has asked for the seeds to make it a part of his daily diet. We have been getting demands from five-star hotels in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. The farmers also find it easy to cultivate as the oblong roots do not break in the soil,” says Dr Pathania. The university has the exclusive rights of the seeds and also sells it on demand. For a 400 sq feet field, 200-250 grams of seeds are sufficient. The average yield of the variety is 30 tons per hectare and is comparable to the recommended variety of ‘Japanese White’ and is ready in 50-60 days of sowing. The right time for sowing it in mid-hills is August end to October. In lower hills, it should be sown by mid October and the sowing season in May to July in high hills. In plains, however, untimely cultivation could lead to a pungent taste in the radish and it is recommended that the variety be sown in October-November in Punjab.
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Mandi
Diary
The UFO, a group of tribal youth in Lahaul, has made a video documentary on the valley’s presiding King God Ghepan and his triennial yatra in the snowbound valley. The documentary has recorded how he meets the local gods in the valley during the winter months.
The founder members of the UFO say the documentary is the first attempt to record live the yatra of Ghepan. During winter the valley is isolated from the outside world. Ghepan meets local gods, traveling from village to village in
procession. The CD of the yatra is available in the market and records the tribal culture of the gods in its purity, says Ajey Kumar, one of founder
members. The UFO has planned to make another documentary on the folk culture of Lahaul soon. Beware of migrant labourers The Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), Central Range, Mr J. R. Thakur has said the surveillance of the migratory labourers, including the labour employed by the private contractor from outside is mandatory as
“most criminals operate their network under its shadow’ in the state.
Giving tips on how to expedite investigation of cases booked by the police
for both SHOs and police constables, Mr Thakur says the criminal elements enter the state as labourers and vanish after they commit the crimes.
He asks the contractors should register the names and addresses of the labourers with the police station of the area. of hard crimes is committed by the Gorkhas, who work Shift liquor shop The residents of Bhiuli and Gurudwara localities demand that the district administration should shift the liquor shop as it is located nearby a temple and gurudwara.
Ms Krishna Tandon, Chairperson, State Woman Commission, who lives in the area, says she has written to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Subhasish Panda and requested him to shift the shop to other place in the town. Online kavi sammelan The Hindi poets have proved that critics who claimed poetry is dead today, wrong. As many as many as five Hindi poets invented a new mode of reciting poetry through video conferencing after they hold a live online mobile kavi Samelan recently on their mobile phone sets for the first time in the country.
The five poets located in five different and distant locations in India and Russia hold a live mobile kavi samelan.
The poets were linked with each other with their mobile phone sets through Internet on website based in Mumbai and recited their poems.
The five poets recited their poems from as varied
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