Dharamsala, September 19
The National Highway Circle (Shahpur) has finalised an ambitious plan to reconstruct the inter-state Chakki bridge in Nurpur sub-division at a cost of Rs 21 crore. The bridge on the Pathankot-Manali national highway connects Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Talking to The Tribune, Superintendent Engineer K.K. Kampani said tenders had been invited for the project and three companies had shown interest in taking up the project.

He said the prime concern with the existing structure was the inability to bear the growing load of vehicles. “Over the years, the load has increased and there is also a need to take seismological factors into account,” he said.

The 515-metre long and 7.5-metre wide bridge would be made as part of this year’s plan of the department. He, however, said it was yet to be decided whether the new bridge would also be simply supported like the existing one or it would be of integral type.

He added that the new bridge would be double-lane, and would have provision for pedestrians. The existing single-lane bridge was built in 1889 at a cost of around Rs 14,000.

Experts believe that the existing bridge has outlived its utility, despite being repaired several times, and cannot bear the load of heavy traffic.

Owing to poor condition of the bridge, the authorities have allowed safe loading of 8 tonnes and ultimate loading of 12 tonnes on it. The piers supporting the bridge have eroded over the years. Illegal mining in the Chakki khud has also taken a toll on the condition of the bridge.

In 2002, the bridge had to be closed for traffic to carry out repairs after a large portion of the railing and wheel contour of the bridge had got damaged.

Another official of the National Highway Circle said the bridge was a lifeline of the state as a large chunk of tourists took this route to enter Himachal Pradesh from Punjab. It was also crucial from the security point of view as movement of defence vehicles to and from Yol Cantonment, near Dharamsala, also passed through this bridge.

Mandi, September 19
Professor of Japanese painting Kokyo Hatanaka today said the world’s multi-billion dollar industry of chemical colours and dyes for use in textile designs and other fine arts had spelt doom for the once rich ancient Indian arts, textile designs and paintings.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Professor Hatanaka from the Kyoto University of Art and Design who has already visited 200 art museums in the country for his research on Indian arts and designs, said the trend of use of chemical colours and dyes was universal as natural colours had disappeared along with native traditions of arts in India.

“Still, India is sitting on a goldmine as it has a rich variety of ethnic fine arts and textile designs and the tradition of using natural colours,” he noted, adding that “it offers a vast market in the world if exploited by textile designers and fine artists”.

Professor Hatanaka, who was accompanied by Makiko Iseki, a textile designer and weaver from Japan, is in Mandi for his research on Indian paintings and textile designs. He has visited almost all museums, including Roerick Art Gallery, Naggar, and has done his research on Chamba rumals, Kasmiri pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls.

Professor Hatanaka said patronage of the arts stopped after the rule of kings. “With this, artists and designers switched over to cheaper chemical colours and dyes in their designs, which is now a multi-billion dollar industry around the world,” he observed.

He highlighted the hazards of chemical colours for the environment and human skin.

“Today, people prefer cheaper clothes. Even “kimno” (a Japanese sari) costs $1000, unaffordable for the common man, and so is the case with pashmina, Kulu shawls and Indian textile sarees,” he pointed out.

Professor Hatanaka, who has written five books, including “Textile Arts of India”, published by Superbook House, Mumbai, said only Jaipur, Jodhpur and Marwar in Rajasthan were good markets for ethnic designs and arts.

Kangra, September 19
The Himachal Pradesh Government should impose ban on the entry of undesirable elements visiting the state and a proper mechanism of screening of the visitors should be evolved to stop the entry of militants in the peaceful state.

The demand was raised by Mr Gulzar Mohammad Bharti, Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board and Himachal Pradesh Minority Financial and Development Board, while talking to mediapersons at the local Kisan Bhavan last evening.

He said there was no check on the entry of undesirable elements, including militants, in the state and asked the state government to take the issue seriously.

Mr Bharti said, “Under the garb of industrialisation, miscreants and militants can sneak into the state and the government must view the issue seriously.”

He said a foolproof mechanism of registering the labourers, shawl venders and other outsiders should be developed in order to save the state from terrorism.

In reply to a question, Mr Bharti said the local Muslims of Himachal Pradesh were in no way in connivance with the terrorists.

He said he had conveyed it to the Muslims of the state that they should in no way help any militant who sneaks into the state and if anyone was found harbouring militants, he would be dealt with under the law of the land.

He said the national security and integrity was on the top priority of the Muslims of the state.

He alleged that there was tampering of revenue records as differences between the survey report of 1970 of the Waqf Board and the present position were detected.

He said the graveyards of the Muslims had been given on lease by the Punjab Waqf Board, so the Muslims of the state were concerned about these leased-out graveyards. He said the state government had directed the departments concerned to settle the matter with it.

Chamba, September 19
The inhabited areas on the fringe of the Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary in Chamba district would be excluded from the sanctuary area. These areas included Rinda, Auda, Dradda and Khajjiar gram panchayats. The Khajjiar panchayat in fact includes the Khajjiar Lake and its glade area.

Speaking at a function organised on the occasion of upgradation of Government High School, Khajjiar, Mr Harsh Mahajan, Animal Husbandry and Urban Development Minister, said these panchayat areas had been included during the previous BJP regime.

Mr Mahajan said the case to exclude these panchayats from the periphery of Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary had been recommended by the committees constituted by the Himachal Vidhan Sabha and the Union Government and now the issue was waiting its final clearance.