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Games states play
Clouds of uncertainty continue to loom large over the much-awaited Renuka Dam Project. Being constructed to fulfill the drinking water requirements of Delhi, the project was expected to be completed before the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi. However, Haryana has come up with the demand of an equal share in water and power to be generated by the dam. Experts feel that this controversial demand comes as a big blow to this project and now it’s almost certain that Delhi would not get the Giri River water from Renuka by 2010 The project is hanging fire since the last 20 years. In the initial stage, the then Rajasthan chief minister had raised similar demands of a share in water and power and refused to sign the five- state agreement. This delayed the project agreement by almost 10 years. Ultimately, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Delhi and Haryana governments signed the agreement in 1994 However, Haryana has demanded a lion’s share in the project, when it is at a crucial stage (Delhi government already having spent Rs 12crore on the dam). In a meeting of the five states convened at Delhi by the Union Ministry of water resources, Haryana has rejected the 1994 agreement and demanded that the project must be made as a shared project between the co-basin states and the state is ready to pay its share. Haryana irrigation minister Ajay Singh Yadav has announced that Haryana would not allow to pass any pipeline or canal from Renuka to Delhi if its demands are not met. A spokesperson of Himachal government has made it clear that the state will move as per the agreement signed earlier and the project report of the dam. From the very beginning, Himachal Pradesh had taken a clear stand saying that power generated on the dam site would belong to Himachal as all the resources being used for the production of electricity belong to the hill state. He warned that if the project is delayed due to hackle raised by any state, Delhi would face acute water crises during the Commonwealth Games. In fact the state government, for the past six months, had placed the project under Pabber Valley Power Corporation Limited with postings of several officers at the Renuka site. Preparatory works on the dam site were going on at war footing. Many local residents were seeing this project as a big booster for business and employment in this backward of Himachal. But, there is another side of this issue as a section of the residents has several unanswered questions regarding the security of their families. These are thousands of residents spread over 12 villages of Renuka valley, including residents of village Seiun, Sheou, Bagh, Banol, Khech, Anu, Khurkana, Malan, Mathana, Mand Bagh, Jaincha Majhai, Chaminana, Motu, Lohara, Tikkri and Tanoshi, whose villages would submerge under the water of the dam and they would be displaced from their native villages. President of the Renuka Dam Outsees Sangharsh Samiti Yogender Kapila said that they have demanded that every affected family must get atleast 10 bighas of agriculture land at the new settlement to earn bread.
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Respite for Nahan jail inmates
The state department of prisons has immediately ordered shifting of 50 inmates of the overcrowded Nahan Model Central Jail to Kanda Jail in Shimla. Last week, Himachal Plus had carried a story on over-crowding in the jail, which is being managed by 50 home guards. Subsequently, frantic activity was witnessed in departments working on jail development projects throughout the week. Work on the 18 feet high and around 400 m long security wall have reached near completion now. A high-level team of officers of the State Housing Board led by chief engineer Satish Sood visited Nahan Jail on Saturday along with superintending engineer Ghanshyam Mishra,
executive engineer Vipin Kaul and a large number of junior officers. The team took stock of the situation and finalised the plan for the construction of the new When contacted, Kaul said the work on the new project, which is worth of Rs 2.5 crores would commence within one week and keeping in view the urgent need of the jail, the construction work would be taken up on a war-footing. Sources said it was a rare occasion during the past one decade that a senior officer of a rank of chief engineer had paid a visit to the complex and ordered to start the construction work, which was awaited for the past two years. The sources said even after shifting 50 prisoners, nearly 360 inmates were still lodged the jail having a capacity of 198. The Nahan jail played a leading role in introducing jail reforms as per recommendations of human right bodies working under the UNO. During the conference of inspector generals (Prisons) held in Mumbai in 1960, this jail found a place in the list of few Indian jails declared as Model Central Jails by the Government of India on the basis of infrastructure available to implement the reforms. The jail has a printing press, khaddi weaving and carpentry units, besides producing vegetables. This jail came into lime light during Emergency as top Jansangh leaders, including former chief minister Shanta Kumar were put in this jail. After taking over as the chief minister in 1977, Kumar had introduced Jail Sudhar Divas here. On this occasion he announced a number of jail reforms for the welfare and rehabilitation of prisoners, which were implemented in all the jails of the state in a big way. At that time Himachal became first state in the North and second in the country after Kerala, which implemented minimum wages for its inmates. The minimum wage was fixed at Rs 1.50 for unskilled, Rs 2.25 for semi-skilled and Rs 3 per day for skilled workers involved in the productive works, which has now become Rs 80 per day. Ceiling fans were put up in the barracks and serving of two-time tea was ordered with many other improvements in the jails for the first time.
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Barnes Court turns 175
It is celebration time in Shimla as the historic edifice of Barnes Court completes 175 years of its existence next month. A series of events have been planned for October 25; a celebration which will be nothing less than a tourism festival.
Besides cultural programmes, there will also be a band display on October 25. A postal stamp will also be issued to commemorate the occasion. Arrangements are being made for floodlighting the Raj Bhawan complex, which is a heritage site. The language, art and culture department will bring out a souvenir to highlight the natural heritage of the erstwhile summer capital. A committee to plan and organise the celebrations has been constituted under the chairmanship of Ashok Thakur, principal secretary, department of language, art and culture. Currently housing the Raj Bhawan, this oldest heritage building of the British era is a fine specimen of colonial architecture. It was built on a piece of land bought in 1828 for Rs 14,500 by Lord Edward Barnes, the then Commander-in-Chief. In 1832, a small single-storeyed structure with slate roofing was constructed, which, over the years, developed into a palatial complex. The Punjab Government purchased the property in 1878 and converted it into a double-storeyed building at the cost of Rs 3,02,257. Barnes Court remained the residence of the Lt Governor of Punjab till 1947 and after Partition, it was made the summer Raj Bhawan of Punjab. In hWhen the Peterhof was gutted in a fire in 1981, the Raj Bhawan was shifted to the Barnes Court. The Peterhof was built afresh and the Raj Bhawan was duly shifted back in 1993. But the new premises were too spacious for it and the government finally decided to house the Raj Bhawan in the Barnes Court itself. Peterhof was then made the state guesthouse. Teak woodwork and ‘dhajji’ walls in the building are a masterpiece of British colonial architecture. The location and orientation of the building is such that every nook and corner of the building gets fresh air and sunlight all through the day. It also gives a view of the South, East and West. The heritage building that stands out for its greens has four lawns and a terrace garden. On the eastern side of the building lies the grave of a faithful dog that served his masters for 12 years. The government has maintained the building very well and it still retains the glory and charm of the pre-Independence days. In 1994, a fire escape staircase and a lift were added to the building. The surroundings of the building were also given a face-lift. The grandeur, serenity and history of the place make it a favourite destination for tourists all through the year.
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On a Roll
A new high-yielding and disease-resistant wheat variety HPW-251, developed by the wheat scientists of Palampur’s Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, has been identified at the All India Wheat Workshop held at Pune a few days back. According to the director of the research Dr S.C. Sharma, the new wheat variety has been found suitable for cultivation under the early-sown, rain-fed conditions of the northern hill zone of the country.
This new wheat variety has a high-grain yield potential, with average productivity of about 34.43 quintal per hectare. This is the first wheat variety, which has been developed and identified under the early-sown, rain-fed conditions. Dr Sharma said that the variety is suitable for areas where maize-wheat rotation is predominant since this variety can make use of residual moisture immediately after the harvest of maize crop. He claimed that the variety has a higher degree of resistance to yellow and brown rust. It provides replacement of VL-616 and HS-277 and an alternative to VL-829 varieties of wheat. It also possesses higher degree of tolerance to karnal bunt disease and is responsive to the fertilizer applications. HPW-251 variety has also exhibited a complete resistance to flag smut disease. The new variety possesses protein content of 10.93%, with better chapatti-making quality and possesses highest iron content and bread load volume among the best varieties available in the country. Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Tej Partap has appreciated the scientists for developing this new wheat variety for the rain-fed areas as around 82 per cent farming area in Himachal is rain-fed. The new variety has been developed jointly by the scientists S.C. Sharma, K.S. Thakur, S.C. Negi, S.K. Rana, Shyam Verma, S.L.Gartan, Dhirender Singh, Vijay Rana and Dhanbir Singh of the wheat and rice research station of the university. So far, the university has released 115 varieties of different crops, since its inception. In May this year, the university scientists had developed three varieties of wheat—- HPW-211, HS-420 and VL Gehun-829. While the HPW-211 is suitable for cultivation in sub-mountain low hills and sub-tropical zone, under timely sown irrigated conditions having an average grain-yield of about 46.3 quintal per hectare, the HS-420 (Shivalik) is for the late-sown, restricted-irrigated conditions in the low and mid hill areas of the state, having mean grain yield of 26.7 quintal per hectare. And the VL Gehun-829 is suitable for cultivation for the early-sown, rain-fed conditions in the low and mid hills of the state, having an average yield of 25-35 quintal per hectare.
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STEP OUT
You can go to Leh, Ladakh’s main town by three ways. If you fly into Leh, you will see K2, the world’s second highest mountain, and the distinctive three-pronged Trisuli massif from the air. If you go by bus or car from Manali (two days, one night), you will see the green Beas valley on one side of the mist-shrouded Rohtang Pass and the alpine meadows of Lahaul on the other, gradually giving way to stony, barren landscape and then the windswept “moonscape” of Ladakh along with lakes and some of the world’s highest mountain passes (one is over 17,000 feet) along the way. The third mode becoming increasingly popular is to ride by motorcycle from your home, wherever it is in India, to Leh. It is a marathon trip but memorable beyond words. You can also go by a mountain bike but for that you have to be an experienced rider. En-route, you can stay in tourist tents (pay more for those with cots and electricity) or in the Ladakhi version of roadside dhabas (a giant tent made with a discarded parachute canopy and wind-buffering walls of flat stones). Food? Well, there is dal, rice, chapattis, vegetable curry, Maggi, thukpa, momos, soup, butter tea, and stronger beverages as well (inadvisable on the way up). If you are travelling directly from the plains, you could feel very cold. So, layer up. It is equally important to eat well and to hydrate so that your body makes blood to acclimatise to the lower oxygen level in the air as the journey takes you higher (Leh is at 11,000 feet). For your first trip to Leh, and if you don’t know when you will visit again, it makes sense to go by road and return by air. You get to sample both versions of the journey and the road journey gives you time to acclimatise en-route. However, if you go by air, it is best to spend the first day resting. Leh flights are in the morning (when the weather is at its clearest) and this gives you time to acclimatise in the hotel on the first day. The first sign that you are unacclimatised is lethargy and lack of appetite. There is nothing to worry about. Rest and have juice and soup if you are unable to eat. In some cases, a headache occurs but usually does not persist into Day 2. Spend the second day seeing the famous monasteries in and around Leh. You will be travelling by car and doing some walking up and down stairways in the monasteries, which will be the right amount of exertion for the second day. From the third day, even if you have never been exposed to such altitude before, you will be ready for adventure activities. As winter nears, Rohtang Pass becomes a tricky crossing. Border Roads Organisation keeps the road open but even if it has issued its travel advisory indicating the end of the season, you can follow the locals’ rule — make the return crossing of Rohtang by Diwali. Juley. For those of you mystified by this term, it is the Ladakhi word for hello as well as goodbye; once you have been to Leh, it will be part of your vocabulary forever. Next fortnight: Adventure activities in Ladakh The writer has authored India’s first handbook of adventure sports
and is available at y.bey@excite.com
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VIGNETTES
If
I start telling you a story of a kingdom whose capital was in a wintry place where there was no electricity, no regular water supply, and no proper roads or heating arrangements, you will zero in on a location in a long lost era. Could it be one of the Roman cities that you had seen in Hollywood films where the guards used to light the torches on the walls at the fall of darkness? And when I tell you that it was Shimla, the capital of India also called the abode of white godlings, you will start scanning the pages of history. The year 1864; the governor general and viceroy Sir John Lawrence wrote to Sir Charles Wood, the secretary of state for India, that it was impossible for him to work in hot and sticky Calcutta in summers and he wished to spend the ‘season’ in Simla or else he resigned and returned to England. The secretary of state apprehending losing a hard taskmaster agreed with the proposal thus opening the gateway for the members of the council also to join their Lord at Shimla. A tiny hill station becomes the summer capital of India. There was no electricity in the town. A small hydroelectric station built at Chaba utilised the waters of a perennial rivulet Naoti to electrify Simla on the 15th July 1913. Prior to that, important buildings were lighted through their own generators. There were seventeen baolis – spring water sources and several bhistis -water carriers for supplying water at houses. The principal baolis were at Combermere Bridge and the Ram Mandir Complex near the bus stand. Attempts to offer piped water supply began in 1884 with construction of water storage tanks at Sanjauli and then installing pumping engines at Cheroot Nallah. The water tax was first levied in 1900-01. Properly dressed roads started coming up after the declaration of Shimla as summer capital though Combermere’s legacy of the bridge and Jakhu round was ready by 1828.
How could people live in Shimla in such conditions? People, who? Yes, the superior Englishmen. Poor natives made their lives comfortable. Dane Kennedy says in The Magic Mountains, “Roads and bridges had to be constructed, land cleared and dwellings erected, provisions produced and marketed, visitors and their baggage brought up, fodder and fuel and water provided, and a myriad of domestic drudgeries carried out. These tasks the British relied upon Indians to do, and in large numbers. Hill station censuses suggest that at least ten Indians were necessary to support each European. Much of the initial labour force came from the surrounding hills, coerced in many cases to work without pay.” If Lord Amherst required the services of a thousand hill men to carry his entourage to Simla in 1827, Auckland needed fifteen hundred plus to take him up to the hill station in 1838. A decade later, nine thousand local men were conscripted to transport Lord Dalhousie and his party. According to Charles Dilke, a “small family” in Shimla required the services of “three body servants, two cooks, one butler, two grooms, two gardeners, two messengers, two nurses, two washermen, two water-carriers, thirteen jampan-men, one sweeper, one lamp-cleaner, and one boy . . . or thirty-five in all.” The Times war correspondent William Howard Russell and a friend rented a house in Shimla and employed thirty servants, including ten wood-cutters. How was this labour obtained? Dane says that in the early years, much of it was coerced and the most notorious instances occurred when the British got manpower through the system of begar, or forced labour under the garb of labelling it as a practice followed by the native princes. We record that Charles Pratt Kennedy constructed the first pucca house in Shimla. Victor Jacquemont reported that “some hundreds of mountaineers were summoned, who felled the trees around, squared them rudely, and, assisted by workmen from the plains, in one month constructed a spacious house.” It was through forced labour. Our forefathers surely transformed Englishmen into Godlings.
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A 1903 vintage clock at Dharampur station lies dumped in the store
Even as UNESCO is considering the Kalka-Shimla narrow-gauge railway tracks for the heritage status, a vintage wall-clock of 1903 make is lying unattended at Dharampur railway station since long. The railway staff is unmindful of its importance and has dumped it in the storeroom after it developed a snag.
After the matter received media attention, the staff now plans to display it again at the station. Nobody knows when the clock stopped working. In the early nineties, the clock was displayed at the stationmaster’s room. But it did not function at that time too. In the past 15 years, the station staff tried to repair the clock but with no result. Finally, the watch was dumped in the storeroom. The clock manufactured by J. W. Benson, London, was believed to be put up at Dharampur railway station in 1903 when the track was thrown open for the public. The clock is a mute witness to the growth of the track that once carried only three bogies with a steam engine and slowly graduated to deluxe trains like Shivalik carrying honeymooners. During the British period, the Dharampur railway station was a crucial point for the railways. In the absence of road network, the goods from Britain were used be ferried through the railways till Dharampur which later used to be carried by small trucks to nearby Subathu, Kasauli and Dagshai cantonments. Army personnel from these three cantonments used to board the train from Dharampur. The station had also housed a rotator device to change the direction of the engine manually. The clock used to be handy for the staff to perform their duty as per schedules.
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Baddi entrepreneur awarded
A small sector industry in Baddi, Riddhi Packages was conferred with a Special Recognition Award (SSI) by the ministry of MSME last month for excellence in the industry. The award has come as a major boost for the unit, which was started in 1994 with a modest investment of Rs 40 lakh.
Said unit’s director Dinesh Jain,” In the early 1990s, provision of benefits like income tax exemption, cheaper power and labour availability under the industrial policy helped attract investors to the state, which was industrially backward at that time.” Riddhi Packages at that time established a place for itself and had esteemed groups like Oswal Group, Proctor and Gamble and Coca Cola as its clients. A major boost came for the unit in 2003 with central industrial package that led to the coming of a number of MNCs to the region. “This added to the business of the unit, which managed to enhance it’s sales turnover from one crore to Rs 18 crores and its investment to 2 crores at the end of the last financial year,” said Dinesh. The company has progressed steadily under the able guidance of its chairman Dev Raj Jain and his sons
Mukesh, Dinesh and Rajnish. The company’s list of clientele includes Oswal Group, Wigley, Coca Cola, Godrej, LNJ (Bhilwara) group and Cadburys. The unit is into a variety of packaging including pet jars, bottles, cartons, and chemicals. It was the firm conviction to establish itself as a brand name in the field of packaging that won the unit this coveted award. Says Dinesh, “I toiled hard to prove myself and my perseverance and determination paid me in the form of this award.” The family has opened other ventures like Dev Resins, Mahavir Polymers and plans to venture into offset printing as well. The Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area, which has brought Himachal on the industrial map of the country, however leaves much to be desired. “The commuters from Chandigarh and other towns face a lot of problem in commuting due to potholed roads and poor infrastructure,” quips
Dinesh.
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shimla diary
The digging up of narrow roads in the hills for the laying of cables can be quite a pain, especially when work is done at a snail’s pace.
The residents of the town have been facing a lot of inconvenience these days because of haphazard digging up of roads. The chaos at Cart Road is a good example. Commuters are stranded for hours on this road as the work has made it single-laned at several points. The problem gets aggravated as the entire traffic movement of the town is on this stretch, which is also known as Circular Road. The work on this road has made it accident-prone. Open trenches, combined with slippery roads, have caused several mishaps in the past few days. This is not for the first time that the residents of the town had to face such a problem as every now and then, the roads are dug up. There is big talk of coordination between various departments, but when it comes to the digging of roads, everyone does it at their own convenience. Local lad
honoured Major Dheeraj Modgil, a local lad stationed at Jammu and Kashmir, has been honoured with the Sewa medal for his role in fighting militancy. His name was recommended for the honour after he gunned down three militants in an encounter. Hailing from Gondpur Banhera village in district Una, Major Modgil completed his law degree from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). He joined the Army in October 2000 and was appointed Second Lieutenant in the 7th Maratha Light Infantry. Major Modgil was promoted to the rank of Major in 2006 and has since been serving in the militancy torn state of Jammu and Kashmir. New act against deforestation In yet another endeavour to check the felling of green trees in the state capital, the government has introduced a new legislation against it. Known as the “Tree Preservation Act of Shimla”, the Act prescribes a fine of Rs 50,000 and a one-year jail term for persons found cutting trees without prior permission. Even though the government had imposed a complete ban on the felling of green trees, people had been found violating it. There have been instances where acid was injected into the root of a tree so that it dried up quickly, forcing the administration to grant permission for it to be cut. Hopefully, the new Act will deter people from cutting trees so that the forest cover of the ‘Queen of Hills’ is not depleted.
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Technology untapped
The implementation of the geographical information system (GIS) technology in forest management is facing hurdles. Says director general, Forest Survey of India (FSI), Devender Pandey, “A mismatch between notified forest land and existing boundaries, lack of standards, protocols for interoperability of digital maps and shortage of trained manpower are the main hurdles hampering the adoption of the technology.”
Although the map policy has been amended, there is the need for it to be liberalised. “At present, contours are not digitised by any department or agency other than the Survey of India, which severely restricts the use of technology, which is based on global positioning system (GPS). Thus, various agencies particularly the forest department are not able to put the technology to full use,” explains Pandey, on his visit to Shimla. Pandey was in the city for a workshop on Land-use planning and GIS application, held at the Himalayan Forestry Research Institute. Digitisation of maps, their interoperability, developing standards and a validation process are the issues that need to be discussed urgently. The technology must also be made cheaper and customised for easy operability, besides setting up standards and protocols for interoperability of digital maps. Although a lot of work in GIS has been done in the country, the full potential of this technology has not been utilised. It is therefore essential to create awareness among political leaders and top decision-makers to gain maximum benefit from the technology. FSI has already taken up the issue with the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, and hopefully action would be initiated in the matter. Neverthless, a few states have already made commendable use of the technology. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, the technology was used to study the updating of forest atlases, fire monitoring, change analysis in select areas, degrading forests, coastal zone vegetation mapping, digitisation of boundary stones and pillars of forest areas, watershed delineation, species specific habitat studies and disaster management in respect to calamities. In Andhra Pradesh, it is being used for forest cover assessment and change analysis, establishing patrolling camps, mapping road networks for protection, site suitability for setting up water harvesting and eco-tourism, wildlife habitat mapping, bio-diversity characterisation and mapping of the non-wood forest resource. The digitisation of districts, divisions, ranges, block and beat boundaries has already been achieved in six states. Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh have also prepared fire risk zonation maps at the state level. The technology is very useful for the state as well, as 67 per cent of the state is under forest area. But, since the states do not have adequate funds for the purpose, FSI has urged the government to provide funds for the setting up of GIS centres in every state. Pandey informed that the FSI, which had been providing reports on the status of forest cover every two years, had decided to include every type of forest in the report to provide more detailed information. And in order to provide an accurate assessment of the raw material available for industries dependent on forests, the forest outside the tree cover will also be included in the report.
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Fine dine with aunty
Even food connoisseurs would swear by the authentic Chinese food being served at the town’s oldest Chinese eating joint, Aunty’s Dhaba. This joint, which opened 32 years ago, is still the same and hasn’t changed much in terms of its authentic cuisine or ambience.
With practically no experience of running a business, young Shirley Chung, a Chinese from Kolkata, decided to open a joint and dish out her home recipes of authentic Chinese cuisine. Married to a Chinese, who owned a shoe shop in the town, Shirley opened her joint in 1975 and named it ‘Aunty’s Dhaba’. Although Shirley passed away five years ago, her daughter-in-law, Kim, runs the business with the same efficiency and success. Those who know the town well always prefer to walk down to Middle Bazar, where the joint is situated, and have Chinese soup, momos or spring rolls. Although the place is small, it is very neat and has Chinese decorations adorning the walls. With not too much fuss over doing up the place, it still retains the old look and, of course, the mouth-watering delicacies. “Manchurian, chopsuey, garlic schezwan chicken and momos are extremely popular here,” says Kim. Kim, who loves cooking, learnt the tricks of the trade from her mother-in-law after her marriage to John in 1992. The place is always packed throughout the day with young boys and girls who hang around, as the food is affordable and of good quality. “Although we have retained the place the way it was when my mother started it, we want to shift to another place which is bigger and conveniently located,” says John, who runs the family shoe business and manages the shop ‘Hopson’. “Getting such a place around The Mall is not easy,” he adds. Kim brings most of the authentic Chinese ingredients from Kolkata, where they are easily available due to the presence of a large number of Chinese persons. Even though John’s shoe business faces stiff competition from the less-expensive factory-made footwear, but when it comes to good authentic Chinese cuisine, most people rather dine at Aunty’s Dhaba than at plush hotels or restaurants.
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United we plant
The objective of this World Bank-funded project is to uplift the socio- economic condition of the rural populace as well as to conserve natural resources in the identified areas. In Nurpur agriculture sector, this project is promoting growing of high valued cash crops with the concept of organic farming. The beneficiaries are being provided with farm inputs like seeds and organic fertiliser only at 25 per cent of the market cost and technical know-how free of cost. Apart from this, 45 farmers have been imparted special training for floriculture. Similarly, in horticulture, families of below poverty line are being given fruit plants at very low price only to develop new orchards in the area. Under the project new plantation of fodder and medicinal plants is being promoted. According to Rahul Sharma, range officer of the project, Himachal is the first state in Asia where Carbon Financing Concept has been launched to conserve environment. “Under the new concept user groups of the villagers are being formed to protect new plantation for next 30 years and each group will be given remuneration of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 per hectare per year,” he added. He informed that in Nurpur sub-division three gram panchayats had been identified for this unique concept. In order to encourage water harvesting roof rainwater harvesting structures are being provided and traditional old water bodies are being conserved by undertaking necessary repairs. To conserve natural resources the project is promoting afforestation and sustainable water harvesting. For soil conservation the project is raising crate wire structures with top to bottom approach in catchment areas. This project has also started showing its results in this region. One Ashwani Kumar, a resident of Khel gram panchayat, who was serving in a private company in Chandigarh, left his job after getting inspired from the assistance and technical know-how being imparted under the project in agriculture and horticulture sectors. He has become a progressive grower in the area. In this gram panchayat two daily wagers Sanjiv and Subash have also inspired from Ashwani,s progressive farming and started growing seasonal vegetables to earn their livelihood. The project is also assisting in improving breeding of milch cattle and promoting backyard poultry farming in the area. In watershed areas, the project is also imparting veterinary guidance as well as free veterinary medicine kits to the nomadic gaddis who used to migrate from the tribal area of Chamba to lower Kangra district watershed areas in winter with herds of cattle.
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‘Seabuckthorn needs special attention’
Seabuckthorn (SBT), locally known as charma has attracted global attention of scientists, environmentalists and industrialists due to the presence of vitamins in its fruits, leaves and bark. The medicinal values of this plant were discovered by Tibetan doctors in early 8th Century. However, the industrial utilisation of this plant was started in former Soviet Union, when Russian scientists discovered its rich vitamins values in 1940.
With the opening of Soviet Union in early 1980, the Chinese spies discovered in the USSR that SBT food products and drugs helped in improving the immunities of astronauts. Later, a Chinese scientist translated a Russian book on SBT into Chinese and research work on various aspects of SBT was started in several universities and other institutions in China. Developing her own indigenous technology as well as transferring the Russian know-how today, China has established over 300 industries based on SBT in 19 states, producing a range of health protection food products, life saving drugs and cosmetics. Learning from the experiences of Russia and China, active research and plantation of SBT orchards was started in 40 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. Besides, a number of other small countries have also taken up research on this plant. In India the anti-cancer quality of SBT was discovered in 1971 by an Indian scientist. It was most unfortunate that since then there have been no follow-up. Seabuckthorn grows naturally in riverside and slopes in Lahual and Spiti, Chamba districts and other parts of the state. Only in January 1994, India came to know about the great importance of this medicinal plant when a Chinese scientist delivered a note on the importance and high medical values of seabuckthorn, in the first consultation meeting organised by the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment at
Shimla. Thereafter, the state council created lot of awareness about the potential of the SBT in the tribal areas of the state. With an aim to develop and protect the SBT, the State Council of Science and Technology set up a task force on this plant involving the scientists of the state’s universities. Later, the research work on the SBT was taken up in the Regional Research Station of HPKVV at Kukamserri in Lahual and
Spiti. It is high time that the state government gives special attention to the scientists working on the research of seabuckthorn. The state government in consultation with the vice-chancellors of HPKVV, Palampur and Dr Y. S. Parmar University for Forestry and Horticulture, Solan, should constitute a high-level team of scientists to work on the various aspects of
seabuckthorn. There should be study for the economic utilisation of this plant. Otherwise, our country will have to pay heavy price as happened in case of
neem.
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