|
|
|
|
Lack of medical facilities leaves patients in lurch
Illegal mining in riverbed
CEPI certification to hit industrialisation |
|
|
Home stay scheme gains momentum
Himachal diary
vignettes
Ban fails to check mining in Neugal
Gurmit Bedi, a writer of many facets
|
|
Lack of medical facilities leaves patients in lurch
Dharamsala, January 25 They still are on mercy of hospitals in
Ludhiana, Jalandhar or Chandigarh in case of medical emergencies. Data collected by The Tribune revealed that in the last one year, 859 patients were referred to other hospitals for treatment in case of medical emergencies. Interestingly, the medical college has also referred 110 ortho cases to the private hospitals in the last one year. The reason for that as per the authorities is that the operation theatres are not functional due to non-availability of sufficient manpower and anesthetic equipments. The ortho cases are generally referred to comparatively small private hospitals in Kangra town. Interestingly, these small hospitals have developed the facility that is lacking in medical college like the Tanda Medical College. According to authorities, the ophthalmology cases were referred as
vitreo-retinal facility was not available at the hospital. Interestingly, the Rotary Eye Hospital at Maranda in Palampur that is comparatively a small institution being run by a private society has got the facility for conducting
vitreo-retinal operations. The matter also came up during the recently concluded winter session of the Himachal Assembly. The members of the Assembly rued the fact that, despite the fact that crores were being spent on bringing up the health institutions, they were just ending up as referral hospitals. The Union Ministry of Surface Transport had earlier proposed to bring up trauma centre in Kangra district. However, the project has now fizzled out. In case of accidents due to non-availability of
super-specialised facility, the patients are at nature’s mercy from 6 to 8 hours as they have to be transferred to hospitals at
Chandigarh, Jalandhar or Ludhiana that are equipped with super-specialised facilities. The poor patients, who are referred to private hospitals, also have to shell out a large amount of money for treatment in the private hospitals. The government has recently introduced health insurance scheme for the poor people. The beneficiaries covered under the scheme could get an insurance cover of up to Rs 3 lakh for medical treatment at empanelled hospitals. However, since the poor people, especially those residing in the rural areas are generally not aware about the insurance scheme, they scheme has not been reaching the people for which it is intended.
|
|
Illegal mining in riverbed
Nurpur, January 25 Led by its president Kirpal Singh the CBSS alleged in its memorandum that unabated mining had been going on in the rivulet by stone crusher units in the rivulet in connivance with the police was causing havoc to ecology in rural areas adjoining the rivulet. It also demanded a permanent police check post in the river to curb this menace. The CBSS also rued that a number of such memorandums to the administration had spurred no action and warned to launch a stir if the government agencies failed to curb this menace. The memorandum lamented that the illegal and unscientific mining had led to a drastic fall in the underground water level and made fertile land barren. Even fodder was becoming scarce in the adjoining villages due to this menace, they rued. The Nurpur SDM has forwarded this memorandum to the local police and the Kangra district mining authorities to take steps to check mining in Chakki river. Meanwhile, the Lower Khanni gram panchayat has passed a resolution demanding a complete ban on mining in the river. It is pertinent to mention that the IAF and the Civil Aviation Department had also written letters to the authorities concerned against the adverse effects of mining in the riverbed. According to information, 35 illegal stone crushers are operating in the Chakki river. Apart from this, 200 such units in bordering Punjab are adversely affecting ecology.
|
|
CEPI certification to hit industrialisation
Shimla, January 25 The industrial townships of
Baddi, Kala Amb and Parwanoo, where most of the industry has come up since the grant of central package in 2003, are among the 32 hubs declared as “critically polluted” on the basis of the Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index
(CEPI). A survey of major industrial hub was carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board in association with the
IIT, Delhi, to work out the CEPI. While no new industry could come up in 44 areas with an index of 70 or above, environment clearance is unlikely to be given for new projects in the three industrial townships which are on the threshold with an index of 69.07
(Baddi), 68.77 (Kala Amb) and 63.77(Parwanoo). These indices are, in fact, a reflection on the functioning of the State Pollution Control Board. The index reflects the quality of air, water and land and also takes into account the pathways and receptors that determine the sensitivity and impact of the pollutants. The manner in which the government allowed even power intensive and highly polluting induction and arc furnace based steel units, which are placed in the negative list, provides a glaring example of its way of functioning. Apart form contributing air-polluting suspended particulate matter, these units consumed huge power and hardly generated any employment for local people. Clearance was given for such units even though the state electricity board was not in a position to provide power. As a result the board ended up purchasing
expensive power from outside the state and supply it at almost half the cost to such units. In such a situation it is hardly surprising that the government has even allowed a thermal plant to come up in the private sector. The environmental fallout apart, the indiscriminate industrialisation virtually reduced the Baddi-Barotwala-Nalagarh belt into a huge industrial slum. The numerous instances of mass death of fish in the streams like Sirsa downstream had provided enough indication of the state of water quality. The various agencies in Punjab have also been complaining of industries in Himachal polluting its rivers. Only recently Chief Minister Parkash Singh. Badal has brought the problem to the notice of his counterpart, Prem Kumar. Dhumal, urging him to ensure that requisite measures were taken to control the pollution being caused by units in Una, which were contaminating
the Sutlej. The red signal to new industries in the three industrial hubs could not have come at a worse time. The state has been lobbying for extension of the industrial package, which is expiring in March, up to 2020. The Union Ministry of Commerce has already made a recommendation for its extension up to March 2013. However, not many investors will be willing to set up units in interior areas. There are still some border pockets around Panota Sahib, Una and Sansarpur Terrace where industries could still come up but in the past the investors had been reluctant
to go to these relatively underdeveloped areas.
|
|
Home stay scheme gains momentum
Kullu, January 25
Kullu-Manali being a favourite tourist destination has also earned the number one place in having 56 out of the total of 170 home stay places in the state. Rajeshwar Goel, SDM-cum-district tourism development officer (DTO), said the scheme launched by the state government last year has received an overwhelming response from household owners. As many as 56 private houses were registered in Kullu district and were ready to welcome the clients looking for enjoying the rural tourism in a homely atmosphere, he added. Goel said: “We had been monitoring and checking the houses registered under the scheme for the services being provided to the tourists and found that the tourists had more inclination to stay in the homely atmosphere”. The department was also imparting training to the entrepreneurs for better results. He revealed that the accommodation was exempted from luxury tax, besides electricity and water was provided at the domestic rates. He said the Department of Tourism would help promote such establishments by advertising through website and also floating documentaries. He further revealed that a directory of all such approved establishments would be compiled. Sham Sunder Sharma, a retired block education officer, converted a part of his house on the Manali-Kaniyal Road for the tourist accommodation naming it Chandan Cottages. After experiencing for a short while, he said: “The scheme has proved a blessing for me after retirement where my son too joined me and is able to earn a living after remaining unemployed for three years after his studies”. He said the response was good, besides the experience in the tourism gave him extreme satisfaction. The response of guests for the services provided to them brought pleasure in working. He said the scheme was not only a good source of income, but also was a better media to develop contacts throughout the country. Sunita, another home stay unit owner of Manali meadows at Karjan near Manali in Kullu district, said the scheme had opened up the third option of economic growth in the rural Himachal after agriculture and horticulture. She said the tourists stayed with them expressed excellent experiences of stay and personal advertisement had given her good business. She further added that she had not only spared and renovated a part of her house for home stay accommodation, but also added charms by keeping pet animals and birds in the premises. She opined that birds, honeybees and rabbits had become additional attraction to the tourists at her place. She further said she had also grown vegetables within the premises and the guests were given free hand to choose fresh vegetables of their choice from the garden. Swaroop, another entrepreneur at Katrain, claimed that he was the first to adopt the scheme. He, with his long time experience, said the government should revise the stipulation of three rooms to at least five rooms as one or two additional persons were given employment by every home stay unit and part-time labour was not available in villages, hence the unit becomes defunct. Reship of Gandhidham Kachh, Gujarat, a tourist who visited Manali with his family at the year end termed the rural home stay as a marvellous experience. He said the stay remained comfortable, safe and secure. “We will keep coming to enjoy the homely holidays every year,” he added. Kuldeep Sandhu, another tourist from Punjab, said: “Though Himachal Pradesh is a safe destination for tourists coming with families, the additional benefit we saw in the scheme was the elimination of the fear of safety and security”.
|
|
NGO’s good work goes down the drain
Nahan Paryavaran Samiti, an NGO, has been doing a real good job in the princely city. Its work is visible on the ground. It did an excellent job of cleaning the dirty, smelly and filth-laden Kalisthan Tank in 2001. It took a year and a half to clean it. Right from the Deputy Commissioner to the Army and civil society joined hands to turn the ugly joint into an environment-friendly beauty spot. About 200 trolley-trucks of garbage were removed from the tank and a protective railing fixed on its boundary. The NGO spent about Rs 90,000 from its own donations raised from its members. The samiti also improved the adjacent circular road round the government offices, including that of the Deputy Commissioner. It got erected barricades on the two sides of the road to ensure that vehicles did not intrude into the walkers’ preserve and the people have pollution-free air to breathe in. However, some interested persons have now gone to court against the barricading and the NGO is one of the defendants. The tank has started returning to its old state due to the apathy of the authorities concerned. The Municipal Committee which had done a good job during the initial cleaning of the tank now tries to wash its hand of the dirty water on the pretext that the tank has been adopted by the Nahan Paryavaran Samiti. The samiti, on the other hand, has little resources to maintain it. Whose baby is the tank? KVIC workshop
A state-level workshop-cum-orientation programme to promote the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) was organised in the state capital by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in association with the Department of Industries. Gopal Prasad, State Director of KVIC, said the scheme to generate employment opportunities through the establishment of micro-enterprises in rural as well as urban areas was launched in August, 2008, but the actual implementation started in January, 2009. In all, 316 new units were assisted by providing a subsidy of Rs 3.92 crore during 2008-2009 to help provide employment to 3,165 persons. In the current financial year, a subsidy of Rs 4.52 crore was being provided to 377 units to generate 3763 additional jobs. As many as 616 applications with a subsidy provision of Rs 6.00 crore had so far been forwarded to banks. Paramjit Singh, principal consultant, Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (RCED), said subsidy ranging from 25 per cent to 35 per cent was available to the beneficiaries for starting industrial and service units in the rural areas and 15 per cent to 25 per cent in the urban areas. The promoters were required to contribute only 5 per cent to 10 per cent in a project costing Rs 25 lakh. R P Bhardwaj, CEO of the State Khadi Board, assured the support of his department to all implementing agencies while KVIC deputy director Baldhari Singh made a presentation on new schemes to promote khadi and village industries in the state.
Students depict hill culture
The 11th prize distribution function of Him Academy Public School, Hamirpur, on January 17 was a unique affair this year. It was for the first time that any dignitary from abroad graced the occasion. Helen Warned, principal of Campbell Victoria School, Australia, was the special guest in the annual function of the school. Students and the school management had made special preparations to make the function memorable. The programme was finalised after giving much thought and the visiting dignitary was served a feast of Himachali culture. The colourful costumes, folk songs with rustic flavour and the beat of rustic and folk instruments left him captivated (See photo). The students got ample opportunity to show their talent during the programme. Apart from cultural items, they had also put up exhibitions.The foreign guest evinced a keen interest in ‘Himachal Darshan’ as it provided a glimpse of other aspect of hill culture, particularly food and traditional attires, of the state. Warned lauded the students for their talent and skills in organising the event. She was highly appreciative of Indian culture, which was unique and highly regarded across the world.
(Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi and DP Gupta)
|
|
A man of many parts
by Shriniwas Joshi At the age of 87, he walks straight, sits straight and talks straight. Harish Chandra Rai, an adroit user of knife to paint in oil colour, or brush to make scenery in water colour, of fingers and pastel colours to draw human portraits plus all splendour under the sun, is 'a freak of nature' as the great artist Asit Kumar Haldhar, grandnephew of Tagore, had described him. His sketches show his genius. Some of the sketches, including that of Swami Sivananda that he did in 1946 as a student, were alive as if breathing. No wonder MR Acharekar, acclaimed for his portraits and art direction with Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt, had once admitted that Harish was better than him. Bireshwar Sen, who found place in Indian art history for his ultra miniature landscapes with bijou quality, had said: "I have seen many artists doing sketches; Harish is the best". And Harish bluntly told me that he did not believe in 'interviews' because it was always his work that had spoken for him. Knowing that he had declined to accept the National Award for 'veteran artist' twice in 1995 and 2001 because, he felt, that the word 'veteran' depicted that it was being given to him for his age and not for art. While accepting Kala Puruskar by the State Arts, Language and Culture Academy, he had doubled the award money and returned it to the Chief Minister for relief works. Rais are originally Kannauj Kaisthas whose names used to start and end with 'Rai' like Rai Mohabbat Prasad Rai, Rai Daroga Prasad Rai etc. Their names, interestingly, showed a mix of Hindi and Urdu words. HC Rai's ancestors switched over to Lal. His father, Chandra Behari Lal, was also an artist and mother Leelavati, a singer. Their family then shifted to Bareilly and Harish Chandra was born there. He traced his ancestry and decided to start the clan of Rai. His son, Sharat Rai, is an architect of repute in Bhopal and his daughter, Amla Rai, has earned name in doing and teaching theatre in Mumbai. When I reached his home in Chota Shimla adjacent to the re-done Darshan Villa, HC Rai was nursing his septuagenarian bed-ridden wife Nirmala, who a deft craftswoman had served as teacher in government schools. It was for the first time that I saw him off-canvas; otherwise he kept himself busy in painting and had the stamina to do about a hundred paintings every year at the age of 85. He had come to Himachal Pradesh in 1962 as Principal of the College of Arts and since then the State has been his 'karmabhumi'. Rai is an excellent violin player. He has learnt violin from the world-famous and Padma Vibhushan Late VG Jog. Rai says, "About two years back, he came under a spell and started writing 'Krishna Kavya' - a lyric on Krishna- in Brij Bhasha and completed it in nine months. He further wrote about a hundred 'Rasiyas' in shringar rasa (beauty style in Hindi literature), a short form of poetry like Haiku of Japan." The remarkable poetic works await publishing. Many may not know that Rai is the architect of Ram Mandir at the Ganj and drew sketches for 'A Simla Story', a book by OC Sud. I was surprised to know that he had spent a good time at Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh where he had rubbed shoulders with Swami Chinmayananda, who later established the Chinmaya Mission, and Swami Chidananda, who was the President of Divine Life Society created by Swami Sivananda. He says he being a Kaistha knows Urdu by birth but had learnt Sanskrit after superannuation to deliver a lecture in that language on a Sanskrit Day and memorised 800 shlokas of Bhagwadgita at the age of seventy-nine. Am I not justified in dubbing him as a man of many parts?
|
|
Ban fails to check mining in Neugal
Palampur, January 25 The situation is alarming in the Palampur sub-division as over 7,000 hectares of land has been affected by mining, quarrying and other construction activities resulting in drastic reshaping of the landscape. The reckless mining in the Neugal khud has caused a huge loss to the environment and various environment groups have time and again lodged their protest with the government but to no avail. The large-scale illegal and unscientific mining and quarrying in this region is also causing a huge loss to the state exchequer every year. In the absence of any stringent law, the government has no check on such activities. The increasing political interference in the functioning of the state mining departments has made the matter worse. This way, the state is losing crores of rupees every year in revenue. According to information gathered by The Tribune, in most of the cases, the persons involved in this activity have no legal rights to extract sand, stone, bajri and other raw material from these khuds and quarries. But because of political protection and links, these persons manage to get no-objection certificates from various departments. Officials later issue them causal permits charging a nominal royalty causing a huge loss to the state exchequer. A senior officer of the state industries department said the mining department granted five to 50 years lease for quarrying and mining on the recommendations of ministers and MLAs keeping aside all rules and regulations laid down for such allotments. He admitted that in most of the cases they have to obey the orders of ministers and MLAs because of the fact that the grant of mining lease in the state has become a quite sensitive issue since huge money is involved in this trade. It was also revealed that not only the state mining department, but also various divisional forest officers have been issuing no-objection certificates for the grant of lease under pressure from ministers and MLAs for the extraction of stone and sand from quarries and khuds without looking into its long-term effects. Mining and quarrying has also posed threat to the existence of over 36 irrigation and drinking water supply schemes. The existence of Kirpal Chand Kuhl feeding over 20 panchayats comprising of 100 villages of Palampur, Bhawarans and Daroh blocks and Charnamati and Lower Baijnath Kuhls feeding 15 panchayats of Baijnath block are in danger because of the continuous mining in their catchment areas. The irrigation and public health (IPH) department has time and again requested the mining department to initiate serious efforts to check illegal mining, but nothing has been done so far. A senior official of the IPH department said if no timely action was taken, over 12 drinking water supply schemes would go dry in the next five years which get water from the Neugal and other khuds. Because of the reckless and unscientific mining, water level of the Neugal and other khuds like Binwa, Gaj, Baner, Awa, Bathoo, Mol and Bhiral has gone down in the past five years. These khuds are the major source of drinking water for 200 water supply schemes of Kangra district. During the last summer, residents of the region have experienced drought-like conditions with most of these khuds having gone dry as early as in April and May.
|
|
Gurmit Bedi, a writer of many facets
Hamirpur, January 25 His spirit to fight the terrorism became quite cogent, when as a true Sikh he decided to continue in the newspaper while many of his colleagues had decided to leave the organisation after a parcel bomb killed two people in the newspaper office leaving behind blood and human flesh. He started his career as a journalist when terrorism was on its peak and compiled a poetry book titled ‘Khamoshi Pighalati Rahi’, containing poems of over 60 eminent poets of North India in 1986 at a young age of 23 only.
|
|
||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Kullu, January 25
Nahan Paryavaran Samiti, an NGO, has been doing a real good job in the princely city. Its work is visible on the ground. It did an excellent job of cleaning the dirty, smelly and filth-laden Kalisthan Tank in 2001. It took a year and a half to clean it. Right from the Deputy Commissioner to the Army and civil society joined hands to turn the ugly joint into an environment-friendly beauty spot.
At the age of 87, he walks straight, sits straight and talks straight. Harish Chandra
Rai, an adroit user of knife to paint in oil colour, or brush to make scenery in water
colour, of fingers and pastel colours to draw human portraits plus all splendour under the sun, is 'a freak of nature' as the great artist Asit Kumar
Haldhar, grandnephew of Tagore, had described him. His sketches show his genius.
Some of the sketches, including that of Swami Sivananda that he did in 1946 as a student, were alive as if breathing. No wonder MR
Acharekar, acclaimed for his portraits and art direction with Raj Kapoor and Guru
Dutt, had once admitted that Harish was better than him.
Despite the fact that the state government has banned mining and quarrying in the Neugal river passing though this town in November last, large-scale mining is going on unchecked.
The government had imposed a ban on mining and quarrying in three rivers of the state, the
Neugal, the Chakki and the Sheer Khud. In the absence of a political will, most of the implementing agencies of the state have become silent spectators.
Hamirpur, January 25
