The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Life on canvas Two young and upcoming Tibetan artists showcase their sensitive perception of life around them Kulwinder Sandhu An exhibition of paintings by two young and upcoming Tibetan women was organised in the main museum of the Tibetan government-in-exile at McLeodganj last week. The occasion was the World Refugee Day, showcasing their sensitive perception of life around them. Focusing on the plight of the Tibetan refugees, with the central idea of ‘Refugee Being’, the artist-duo Sonam Lhamo and Kalsang Dekyi, both passouts from the South Delhi Polytechnic, had tried to communicate the reality of being a refugee without any frills. The exhibition allows one to understand the pains and sorrows of the people who have been away from their homeland for the past five decades. In the words of Sonam, “Tibet seems far more away than the moon, many youngsters of my age have seen their motherland only through the media. It is more like a fictitious land.” As many as 28 vibrant and strikingly exotic artworks were displayed in the week-long exhibition. Sonam, who had used oil colours on canvas, described her paintings as being realistic expression while on the other hand Kalsang, who had used acrylic colours, said her paintings were more of decorative form. Since their early school days at Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) School at McLeodganj, the two had entered together in the field of art. Kalsang modestly acknowledges that she imbibed her passion in painting from Sonam. “Sonam is such a talented artist right from her school days and I was inspired by her artistic skills,” remarks Kalsang. No matter, for both Sonam and Kelsang, this was their first real journey into the world of professional art but they were already looking confident and well versed with the artwork they had chosen. The artworks of both these young women will also be exhibited at Kalstrad University in Sweden from August 15 to August 24 and in Paris from September 1 to September 14, this year. Professor Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile who honoured the two artists, congratulated them on behalf of his Cabinet for their artistic contribution towards their homeland. “We are a small Tibetan community with a disturbed political history and without outspread cultural works. But our cultural exhibitions and paintings representing the Tibetan culture can now be spotted in different parts of the world,” he said. “With unique and rich cultural heritage, mostly unexplored, aspiring Tibetan artists with proper understanding of it can have a vast opportunity to harness the richness of their artworks,” he added. Gyari Dolma, deputy speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, also appreciated their works and said the advancement in one’s artwork should progress as steadily as the spontaneous flow of water.
	DELHI in for long wait Sheila Dixit’s hope of getting drinking water from the Giri before the Commonwealth Games may not be fulfilled S. R. Pundir During her recent visit to Shimla, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit had expressed hope that Delhi would get drinking water of the Giri river from Renuka, well before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. However, experts feel that it may not be possible keeping in view the undecided issues among Himachal, Haryana and Rajasthan—like their claim on sharing the 40 M.W. electricity to be produced on the dam site and the pending environment clearance—which are the main hurdles in early commencement of the construction work. In fact, the government for the past six months had shown seriousness towards the construction of the dam. For its speedy execution, the government had placed the project under Pabber Valley Power Corporation Limited with postings of several officers, including a superintendent engineer at Renuka recently. Preparatory works on the site are going on war-footing. Now it is decided by the government to call open tenders for the commencement of the project from reputed companies. Experts say if things move smoothly and according to schedule of the detailed project report, preparatory activities shall take at least one year and further four or five years for the completion of dam. “So in the nutshell, it is certain that in 2010, players and guests from the Commonwealth countries will not get the highly valuable cool water of Giri Ganga and will have to drink Yamuna water,” say experts. In fact, the Renuka Dam project is hanging fire for the past 20 years, which had been a main election plank in the Renuka Assembly constituency. Local residents see this project as a big booster for business and employment in this backward area. As per the report prepared for the construction of the life, a reservoir is to be constructed on the Giri river at RenukaJi in Sirmour. Delhi will get 23 thousand litre of drinking water every second from this scheme through a gravity pipe line that will cross through Haryana. Experts estimates that in 24 hours time, the Capital will get nearly 20 crore litre of additional drinking water through a day and night undisrupted water supply. Project designers feel that after the completion of this project the drinking water problem in Delhi would be solved permanently. In the wake of demand raised by the Renuka Dam Visthapit Sangharsh Samiti for conducting of fresh survey of families to be displaced and fresh counting of trees and assessments of their properties to be submerged under water, the dam authorities had ordered a fresh survey recently. A team of officers was going from village to village to record the number of claimants as per Panchyat and revenue records. This exercise will take some time as fresh counting in 17 affected villages was not an easy job in an area where the land was undivided in the revenue records. Sources says that after completion of this survey a detail report would be prepared for the environment clearance mentioning total number of trees and land etc to be submerged under the water. The dispute on the share of 40 MW hydroelectric power project is still undecided. From the very beginning Himachal Pradesh had taken a clear stand saying that power would belong to the state as all resources being used for the production belong to Himachal. However, Haryana and Rajasthan have objected to it and are demanding their share saying that they are part of the four states dam project agreement.
	vignettes The Babus’ Citadel by Shriniwas Joshi One of the finest and imposing buildings in Shimla constructed with liberal use of iron and façade raised with Dharampur cut stones in cement is Ellerslie, the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat, which had completed its one hundred years in May 2002. Lt. Col. H.E.S. Abbott, R.E., had prepared its design in April 1899. This ‘handsome building’ was to be constructed after dismantling an old one of the same name situated at the same place that housed the Military Department of the Punjab Government till 1886. A letter in the Archives of Shimla Municipal Corporation shows Abbot seeking permission for the construction of the new building from the then secretary of the Municipal Committee Major W. P. Larson. He had written, “You are aware of the intention of the Punjab Government to pull down the house ‘Ellerslie’ and build on the site a new set of offices to accommodate the whole of the Punjab Secretariat.” The permission was granted on June 28, 1899, and the construction started. The inside of Ellerslie is made of stones quarried from Sanjauli and Barnes Court (present Raj Bhawan) and stuck together using lime mortar. The brickwork too has lime mortar cementing. Colonel Abbott and Major H. E. Chesney, both Royal Engineer Officers of the Punjab Province Public Works Department supervised the building work and completed it in May 1902 when the offices of the Punjab Government moved into it. The total cost of the structure was Rs 3 lakh. Initially Ellerslie did not have the third storey. The construction of the third storey started on October 7, 1921, and was completed in 1922 raising the total cost to Rs 4.25 lakh. The committee room in the ground floor and the waiting rooms in the first floor of Ellerslie were 1930s additions. It, as the Secretariat of the Punjab Government, had the privilege of celebrating the grand moment of Independence when the national flag, for the first time in Shimla, was unfurled on the flagpole on the main road just outside Ellerslie. And thousands of people who had assembled there had a long session of joyous dancing and singing. With the development and growth of Chandigarh as the forthcoming capital of Punjab, Ellerslie started losing its glamour. The Secretariat gradually moved away to Chandigarh and a few Directorates of the Punjab Government occupied Ellerslie. In 1966, on reorganisation of Punjab state, when Shimla was allocated to Himachal Pradesh, these Directorates also left for Chandigarh. The Himachal Pradesh Secretariat inhabited it in the summers of 1967 with Dr Y.S. Parmar and Major M.C. Sharma as the first Chief Minister and the twelfth Chief Secretary of the state, respectively, to sit on the exalted chairs in the building. The month of July 1972 added historicity to Ellerslie when Summit Hall, where the Cabinet meetings are held these days, was spruced up and was given the name because the initial summit meetings for Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan, later signed by Indira Gandhi and Zulifiquar Ali Bhutto at Barnes Court, were held here. The offices of the chief minister and the chief secretary were extended in the 90s and fortunately the construction work was so deftly done that the old ambience of the building remained undisturbed. This building with sub-basement, basement, and three floors, now, has 143 rooms and 31 rest rooms. It covers an area of about 8663 metres. It is more of the ‘ministeriat’ today than the Secretariat because barring the chief secretary; most of the Secretaries have offices in another building Armsdale connected to Ellerslie through a walkway. Ellerslie, the seat of several eminent administrators and ministers and the birthplace of numerous policies for the States of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, passed off the hundredth year of its existence ‘unsung and unhonour’d’ though it is as pious to a Babu as Lumbini, Kushinagar and Gaya are to a Bodh. The Babu is initiated here; realises here and then gets nirvana or retirement from here. Punch, in 1919, portrayed the powerful babu of Shimla Secretariat as: He sees the misty depths below, Where plains and foothills meet, And smiles a wistful smile to know, The world is at his feet.
	shimla Diary Queen of garbage? Rakesh Lohumi The scenic beauty of the ‘queen of hills’ has not only been marred by concrete structures, the green slopes are also being defaced by garbage. There is hardly any colony in the capital city where hill slopes had not been littered by garbage. The local municipal corporation has, over the past decade, implemented a number of schemes for the collection of garbage from every household and its proper deposal but without much success. The result has been that the residents continue to throw the domestic waste on the nearest slope. It not only spoils the scenic beauty of the hills but also pollute and at times choke the drains. The entire litter on the slopes is washed down into the drains which contaminate the sources of water catering to the villages located down stream. In a bid to find a permanent solution to the problem, the corporation is exploring the possibility of installing garbage chutes along the precipitous slopes. The Central Public Works Department has already provided chutes in the Grand Hotel complex which carry garbage from the hill top right down the Circular road. Mayor Narinder Kataria says he will conduct a survey along with the municipal health officers and other officials to locate possible sites where chutes could be installed. The biggest advantage of chutes is that they will enable collection of garbage from areas inaccessible by motorable roads. Meanwhile, a process is on to built a garbage disposal plant. The existing plant at Darni Ka Bagicha has been virtually defunct. The project has been approved by the Centre as part of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and an amount of Rs 21 crore had been sanctioned for it. He also plans to minimise the parking of vehicles along important link roads like the Sanjauli-Lakkar Bazar and Marina-St. Edward School by developing suitable parking spaces. Long stretches of these narrow roads are lined with cars, which hinder movement of vehicles. BSNL wakes up At last the Bharat Sanchar Nigam seems serious about retaining landlines phones which are facing stiff competition from the mobile phones. Close on the heels of the Rs 200 and Rs 375 plans, the Nigam has come out with a pre-paid plan for the fixed-line subscribers. The Fixed Line Pre Paid (FLPP) service has been introduced for basic phone subscribers in Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala and Mandi. The existing subscribers could also switch over to pre-paid service. The FLPP offers remote access and express access facility and the account can be frequently attached to and detached from a basic phone any number of times by the customer. Even Sulabh customers can also use FLPP like basic phone users to control calls. The twin plans introduced two months ago have been a great success. About 5,000 out of the total 19,000 subscribers in the city have switched over to the new plans. Under the Rs 200 Plan, all local calls to other landlines are free and under the Rs 375 plan calls made to landlines in any part of the state are free. Meanwhile, the number of Airtel mobile phone subscribers in the state has crossed the 6 lakh mark. Early monsoon The monsoon arrived three days in advance, much to the relief of the Forest Department, which has to cope with the menace of forest fires every summer. Not only the monsoon has kept the date, even otherwise it has been a good summer for the forests as frequent spells of rains kept forest fires within control. There were about 290 fire incidents in the state till June 25 in which 2,382 hectare of area was affected causing a loss of Rs 15 lakh. Last year over the same period over 5,000 hectare was affected in as many incidents and the total loss came to Rs 45 lakh. In all over 8,267 sq km, 19 per cent of the total forest area of the state is prone to fire. The pine forests spread over an area of 1,46,000 hectare, virtually turn into a tinder box during the peak summer. The preventive measures taken by the department are hardly adequate to control forest fires. Divine assistance, particularly form the weather god, is a must. This time the god has obliged.
	A tale of timber woes Timber stacked in Nurpur’s roadside depots gets spoilt Rajiv Mahajan The apathy of the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Corporation (HPSFC) has resulted in the degradation of valuable timber. Stacked in roadside depots of the corporation at Bindravan and Jonta in the Nurpur sub division, this timber has to be shifted to the corporation’s sale timber depot at Nurpur for its auction. But the authorities concerned have failed to provide vehicles to carry timber from these depots for the past four months. Inquiries reveal that there are about 3,000 sleepers of chil, 5,100 logs of khair and sheesham and 2,400 bags of charcoal stacked in these depots. A visit to these depots reveals that the stacked timber spoiling and its ‘A’ grade quality has started degrading, causing huge loss to the HPSFC. Moreover, there is no proper security in the depots. Only two watchmen have been deputed to watch round-the-clock. To make matters worse, there are no power connections or fire extinguishers. In case of an emergency, the watchmen would not be able to do much. HPSFC Nurpur’s assistant manager Anil Sexena admitted that timber could not be shifted so far due to non-availability of trucks. “I have been asking the Fatehpur divisional manager for the vehicles for the past three months. I’m aware that the timber stacked in roadside depots is getting spoilt. I’ve also brought the matter to the notice of our director.” Meanwhile, the Fatehpur divisional manager has clarified that there was shortage of space at the Nurpur depot, but now he would be sending a truck to take the timber to the main sale depot. He denied any deterioration in the quality of timber.
	Girls empowered Dharam Prakash Gupta The unarmed police combat training provided by the police to young girls have not only trained them in self-defence but also has gone a long way in building self-confidence in them. The Hamirpur district police had started giving unarmed combat training to young girls in schools and colleges in 2002 and so far have trained 3,312 girls. At present, students of class XI, X and Plus one and Plus two have been given this training. The police has deputed four women instructors and few others are also coming from the police line, says a trainer. Sunita, a Plus two student who has joined the unarmed combat training says, “This training has given me confidence to deal with any awkward situation and now I can lead my life without any fear.” Meenakshi, another girl who has passed out her school, feels, “unarmed combat training is a must for every girl since there is an increase in crime against young girls. This training teaches them self- defence in a fun way.” Deputy superintendent of police K.G Kapoor says, “The police have started this training under the community policing scheme and we intend to train every young girl in unarmed combat and senior officers are involved as they often interact with the girls.”
	Devotional stopover Jagmeet Y. Ghuman This temple along Kalka-Shimla national highway is more than a place of worship. The Prachin Shiv Temple at Patta Ka Mour near Kumarhatti serves as a refreshing break point for hundreds of motorists who are on the way uphill. It sees a number of visitors everyday who pay their obeisance and also get chilled water from a natural source at the temple. The beautifully built temple is a place for main worship for the local people and for others it is more of a devotional stopover. A queue of trucks, mini trucks, buses, cars and two-wheelers stopped for a break is a common sight. The main portion in the premises houses Bhole Baba temple. One can see rare small rocks in the main temple and water seeps through these rocks throughout the year. Also inside the premises are small temples of Durga Maata, Kaali Maata and Baba Baalak Nath. After paying a visit to all the temples, one can quench one’s thirst with fresh water outside the premises. The water is chilled during summers and turns a little hot in winters. It is the location of the temple and availability of water that sees more motorists than local people here. Also, it is believed that paying obeisance at the temple ensures the safety of those travelling on the deadly highway.
	CITIZEN FIRST Gaiety’s unending renovation The renovation cum restoration of Gaiety Theatre is putting tourists and residents through great inconvenience. The route to the Ridge via Scandal Point is temporarily shut and traffic is being diverted via Mall road. To make matters worse, progress is abysmally slow. Neither the Municipal Corporation nor the state government seems keen on hurrying things up. Gaiety Theatre and its role in the theatre movement in town needs no introduction, but its renovation should not be carried out at the cost of public convenience. — Anuj Sharma, Summerhill, Shimla
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	Tailpiece Imagine a doctor prescribing ‘rest or government service’ to a convalescent person!