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Temple relocation project gathers dust
Cement-laden trucks congest roads in Darlaghat area
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Alco-sensors to curb use of liquor by students
Pithead plant delay a blessing in disguise
SARAS fair a boon for rural artisans
vignettes
43 donate blood
Monkey Menace
State health services in a shambles
Himachal diary
AWWA organises Veer Nari Sammelan
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Temple relocation project gathers dust
Bilaspur, July 27
The committee wants the temples to be shifted to new township not only for preserving the heritage of this historical town which had been the capital of rajas of the state of Kehloor (old name for Bilaspur) but also for honouring the religious sentiments of lakhs of local people. It was 10 years ago that the Union government responded to this proposal and it was announced officially by the then deputy commissioner that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had decided to relocate and shift “as it is”, at least 13 temples of the old town to new Bilaspur town. A team of experts had even found these temples of extreme historical and heritage value. However, nothing was ever heard about the project thereafter. Whenever the committee took up the issue with the government, every time a stock reply was received that “a team of experts would soon visit the site and decide the site of the project”. Several teams of experts have repeatedly visited Bilaspur town for the purpose, but nothing happened on ground. The project is still in its primary stage where it was 10 years ago, reflecting badly on the working of the successive governments. Meanwhile, repeated submergence of the temples in Gobind Sagar and vandalism and vagaries of weather have all collaborated to destroy some of this precious treasure. The authorities had earlier selected a site at Jabbali on the NH-21, 7 km from the town, but it was resented by the oustees as it was far away from town. Later, the site was rejected by the ASI and now the matter is again where it was 10 years ago. Last year, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal took up the matter with the Union government which even wrote an assuring letter to him that a site would soon be decided and the project would be implemented at the earliest, but again nothing concrete came out. On May 20 this year, the committee again highlighted the matter in a meeting of the state-level Bhakra Oustees Rehabilitation and Advisory Committee and the principal secretary, language and culture, informed that the heritage temples would be relocated, for which “land is being identified and an ASI team of experts is expected to visit Bilaspur soon for this purpose.”
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Cement-laden trucks congest roads in Darlaghat area
Solan, July 27 The situation worsened after the existing unit of the Ambuja Cements expanded their capacity and set up another unit and the JP Associates too set up a new plant early this year. This had put an immense drain on the roads that often leads to traffic jams due to frequent land sliding of walls. Figures revealed that the Ambuja Cements were daily using almost 1,200 to 1,400 trucks as it had to transport 14,000 tonnes of clinker and also procure raw material from outside the state. "The JP Associates, which began its production in February, has started using 300 trucks and this number will rise to 800 by month end when the production will increase, confided KP Sharma, director, JP Cements. "What had worsened the situation was the overloading done by the trucks. An ordinary truck loads almost 12 to 15 tonnes of material as against its capacity of 9 tonnes while a multi-axle truck carried almost 35 tonnes of material far surpassing its capacity of 22 tonnes. This often causes massive damage to the roads with breast walls giving way at several places,” confided Ramesh Kumar, a local. Though the apex court had given directions to stop overloading of trucks so as to reduce damage to the roads, the authorities paid little heed to
such violations. The state government had initiated expansion of the Dharampur-Darlaghat road and planning was underway to convert the National Highway-21 into a three-lane carriageway, but it would take several months for the actual expansion work. Bridges and link roads suffered the most as trucks carrying load far exceeding their capacities were plying on them everyday. “The locals were disturbed with the pollution and dust caused by the plying of hundreds of trucks everyday and many a times ambulances were left waiting due to the long traffic jams,” observed Sukumar Singh, president, HP Petroleum
Dealers’ Association. He added that it was surprising as to why no planning was executed to expand these roads at the time of sanctioning these projects by the state government. Had some thought been given to expansion activities at that time the situation would have been much better now.
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Alco-sensors to curb use of liquor by students
Kangra, July 27 The committee of the college met the next day after the trail court granted bail to four medical college students accused of murdering Aman Kachroo, first-year student of Dr RP Government Medical College, Tanda, as the new batch of freshers was to join the college next month. The committee also recommended the college authorities not to allow students to use private vehicles during their college years as the Parent Teacher Association had already pleaded for the same. The committee also sought support of the government to curb the menace by shifting wine shops near Banner Kahd bridge just outside the college and at 53 mile location on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway. The committee asked the SDPO Kangra to curb the illegal trade of wine just at the college gate being run by a few shopkeepers. It was suggested that residence of assistant warden should be in the hostel of junior students. The committee also suggested to strengthen security arrangements so that unlawful activities by students were curbed. The committee appreciated that the college remained incident free after steps were taken to curb ragging menace since last year. It was decided to implement all steps which had been implemented after the death of Aman in the college and had resulted in controlling the ragging menace. It was suggested to take steps to keep freshers separate, but effort should be made that they do not feel isolated and the gap between them and the seniors should be bridged. The meeting was attended by the local SDM and the SDPO, besides faculty members and media representatives and was chaired by Dr Deeraj Kapoor, officiating principal of the college.
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Pithead plant delay a blessing in disguise
Shimla, July 27 With the Centre making the advanced super critical technology mandatory for all thermal plants, the state will now set up 660 MW plant based on advanced technology instead of the 500 MW conventional plant originally planned. The project, which had been hanging fire since 2006, has finally reached the implementation stage. The Himachal EMTA Power Corporation (HEPC), a joint venture of the state-owned Himachal Power Corporation and the Eastern Mineral and Trading Agency (EMTA), is all set to start work on the project. Each partner will now get 330 MW of power instead of 250 MW. The supercritical technology raises fuel efficiency of coal-fired plants significantly by making power-generating unit operate under a mix of temperatures and pressures above the critical point to help eliminate the transition of water into steam. While conventional plants operate at 30 per cent efficiency, supercritical generating units can achieve up to 46 per cent efficiency. However, the plan of the joint venture company to assign the project to a third company on the basis of the tariff-based bidding to ensure transparency has not materialised as the Centre has made it clear that coal from the mine allotted to the state could not be utilised by a third party. Thus, the project will have to be implemented by the company itself. Accordingly, it has decided to award the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the execution of the project. The earlier plan was that the joint venture company will assign the power project to a third company on the basis of the tariff-based bidding to ensure transparency in the entire operation. The successful bidder, who quoted the lowest tariff, was to bear the entire cost of setting up the power station and the company had only to provide coal from the mine allotted by the Centre. Now, the joint venture company will have to arrange its own funds. As per the arrangement worked out between the two partners, the equity share of the state will remain minimal and the EMTA will raise funds through preferential shares. The company will have to raise about Rs 1,000 as equity share for the Rs 4,000 crore project. However, the two partners will contribute Rs 50 crore each and the remaining Rs 900 crore will be raised through preferential shares, which will not have any implications as far as ownership was concerned. The coal mine in Rani Ganj has estimated coal reserve of 131.7 million tonnes, which will suffice for 30 years. The two partners will have a share of 65.85 million tonnes each in the coal reserve and the rest will be with JSW Steel Limited and its partner company which will develop the mine and supply coal for the plant on a predetermined rate.
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SARAS fair a boon for rural artisans
Chamba, July 27 The state government has identified the district rural development agency of Chamba as nodal agency to play host to the event. SARAS fair is an umbrella brand for propping up all rural products. A number of states, including Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, are participating. Around 115 stalls have been installed in Chowgan number two. According to Devesh Kumar, Chamba deputy commissioner, the Union Ministry of Rural Development organises this unique exhibition-cum-fair every year for facilitating rural artisans, craftsmen, self-help groups (SHGs) and NGOs from all over the country to exhibit and sell their range of rural products by providing them a platform on a large scale. It is due to the support of this fair that the Ali SHG Palyur of Chamba district, which had exhibited its products like herbal soaps and wooden needles at International Trade Fair of Dubai, has been receiving orders from all over the world, says the DC. People of the region, who have a great taste for handicrafts, handlooms and other artwork, could not possibly go and access these products all over the country. They also have an opportunity to see all these handicrafts at one place. This fair ensures that craftsmen and consumers are face to face with each other, without any middleman exploiting these poor artisans and making a quick buck. The fair is getting a good response from people of the area even as the International Minjar Fair of Chamba is simultaneously going on at
Chamba.
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vignettes
Kangra tea and I have a similarity-our roots are in Kumaon (Uttarakhand). While my grandfather migrated from there and settled in Shimla in 1900, Dr William Jameson, in charge of tea plantation in the hill areas, brought seedlings from Kumaon in 1850 to plant these on selected sites at Nagrota, Bhawarna and Kangra. Although the plants having travelled in the hot season had wilted, the result barring that at Kangra was encouraging.
Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India, visited the Kangra valley in 1852 and was pleased with the progress of tea plantation there. He gave permission to establish another plantation on an extensive scale. There was a tract of 1000 acres at Holta, which, due to a superstition, was a taboo for the natives. It was decided to grow tea there. W.Rogers, superintendent in one of the tea estates in Kumaon, was appointed manager. He did the job in right earnest and by 1854; 600 acres of promising tea plantation could be seen at Holta. This plantation was sold to Major Strut for Rs. 1.50 lakh in 1865. Tea cultivation in Kangra picked up when Major Edward Paske, Additional Commissioner, Jullunder Division, and P. Egerton, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, removed hurdles in the the grant of wasteland and forest for tea cultivation. These were the heydays for Kangra tea. Many private entrepreneurs had jumped into the bandwagon. Paske's report of 1869 written to his Commissioner, Lt-Col. H. Coaxe, mentions several names of both Europeans and the natives, besides those of the companies owning tea gardens in Kangra, Mandi and Kullu. Butails' contribution to tea of Kangra deserves a golden border. The gazetteer of Shimla district speaks of Mrs. Bates experimenting with cultivating tea in 61 acres of land at Thanedar in the Kotgarh area and General Innes at Salogra in Solan district. Ram Gopal Sud in 'Tea of Himachal Pradesh' mentions about a survey conducted by the Tea Board of India in 1997 that says: "A total number of 3679 tea growers represent an area under tea of 2312 hectare spread over four tehsils of Palampur, Baijnath, Kangra, Dharamsala in Kangra district and one each in Jogindernagar and Bhatyat in Mandi and Chamba districts, respectively." It means that cultivating tea in Kullu, Shimla and Solan had stopped. May I add that the tea industry in Kangra had suffered because of the earthquake of 1905 when many factories were razed to the ground, lives lost, people migrating to Assam and Darjeeling and labour dwindling in the tea gardens because of the recruitment of soldiers for World War 1914! People gradually lost interest and money in this business. The sidelined Kangra tea had the lowest yield of 132 kg per hectare as compared to the national average of 1,537 kg in 1980. The government had made efforts to keep the tea industry alive by starting a cooperative tea factory at Bir in Mandi in 1964 followed by those at Palampur, Baijnath and Siddhbari in the eighties. All these factories went in the red. A silver lining was that the Palampur factory won Chairman's Challenge Trophy for quality tea production and also for highest all-India price of Rs.300 per kg amongst the cooperative factories in 1991. The very next year a Kangra Tea Festival was organised where four brands of Kangra tea - Darbari, Bageshwari, Bahar and Malhar- were launched. Where have the brands gone? In limbo, I suppose. Though geographical indication (GI) status for Kangra tea was given in 2005, yet the present century shall be a challenging one for the brew. GI is a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin. Unmindful of the ups and downs of Kangra tea, I gift a box of it to the visitors to my home and warn them that their colour and that of the contents in the box comes only when in hot water.
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43 donate blood
Nurpur, July 27 As many as 43 persons donated blood. The camp was inaugurated by RK Mahajan, president of the local municipal council. A team of doctors from Dharamsala blood bank took blood from donors. Doctor Neerja Gupta from Civil Hospital, Nurpur, assisted the team. The chief guest, while opening the camp, exhorted youths to serve society by donating blood, as it would save a number of lives of needy patients. On the occasion, he also distributed certificates of blood donation to the donors on behalf of the Himachal Pradesh State Blood Transfusion Council, Shimla. The camp organisers extended gratitude to the donors for making the camp successful.
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Monkey Menace
Shimla, July 27 Impressed with the manner in which Himachal has tackled monkey menace more efficiently and economically through the sterilisation programme, the Centre is keen that a national training centre is set up here at Tutikandi in Shimla to train officials from other states afflicted by the simian problem including Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarkhand and parts of Western UP. "Since the funds are still awaited we will once again take up the matter with the Centre to release the money at the earliest for the centre," said Avay Shukla, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest). He said the Centre had also agreed to finance the fourth sterilisation centre at Una. Shukla said the detailed project report, including the estimated cost on various heads like building, equipment and other infrastructure had already been sent to the Centre. "We have been able to check the problem from aggravating by undertaking a sterilisation programme at three centers while the fourth one is proposed at Una," he said. The state has three monkey streilisation centres at Shimla, Sastar (Hamirpur) and Gopalpur (Kangra). Thought the Centre has agreed to fund a fourth one in Una district the fund allocation of over Rs 1.50 crore is awaited. About 19,000 monkeys have been sterilised so far in Himachal. Keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people and the experiment of setting up of primate parks not proving to be very successful, sterilisation seems to be the best available option. Monkey catchers from the Saharanpur area of UP have been engaged. The monkeys are released in the same area after sterilisation. Monkey menace had emerged as a major issue during the Assembly poll it with people demanding that major political parties include it in their manifestoes. In many parts of the state people have stopped planting maize and vegetables as monkeys devastate these crops completely.
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State health services in a shambles
Palampur, July 27 It is evident from the fact that over 300 health institutions, including rural dispensaries and primary health centres, in the state are without doctors and other paramedical staff. Even in urban areas, the situation is no better as 61 posts of specialists in medical colleges, zonal, district and sub-divisional hospitals have been lying vacant for the past three years. The state government had spent over Rs 10 lakh on purchase of ultrasound scanning unit for Baijnath Hospital, but it was lying idle in the absence of radiologists. However, the situation is same in other hospitals also. In the absence of a separate cadre for specialist doctors, no PG doctor is willing to serve here. As in the state, postgraduate doctors and MBBS doctors have the same pay scale, therefore, most of the PG doctors here were moving out either to corporate hospitals or private nursing homes, where they get higher pay and perks. This resulted in the acute shortage of specialists in the state. In the past two years, over 100 specialists appeared for interview and were selected also, but only 30 of them reported for the duty. Rest opted for private nursing homes and corporate hospitals. Though the state government is conversant with the situation, nothing has been done to create a separate cadre for the PG doctors in the state. Unless separate cadre is created or special incentives is given, no postgraduate doctor would come to serve in the state health services. Despite spending Rs 200 crore annually on the health services in the state, people still have to go to adjoining states for better medical care. The reason is that the state-owned hospitals are ill-equipped, without adequate staff, medicines and proper labs. Most of the government hospitals in the state have just turned into referral hospitals as no emergencies are attended here. Though there is an adequate staff posted in these health institutions, hardly any of them perform their duties properly. As and when accident or other emergency cases come to the hospitals, doctors straightaway refer them to other health institutions, like Medical College Tanda, CMC Ludhiana or PGI Chandigarh.
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Himachal diary The weeklong exhibition of sculptures and paintings by famous artist Shiv Singh at Shimla's Gaiety Theatre provided an opportunity to art lovers to see some of his great creations. The fascinating metal sculptures and abstract paintings (See picture) had a kind of freshness and uniqueness as there are not many sculptors who create such open and endless pieces of art using sheet moulding and metal-beating techniques. Each sculpture was unique and made with a different technique. Though primarily a sculptor Shiv Singh is also an accomplished artist and has developed his own style of abstract paintings using typically bright colours. About 25 specimens of his works on display could be best described as a "riot of colours". It was his 67th one-man show and the second in Himachal Pradesh. He held an exhibition at the same venue 26 years ago. He has held more exhibitions abroad than in the country. The reasons are not far to seek. "The element of erotica in his works has not many takers in the country, whereas these highly creative works have got him both appreciation an recognition in the West", he explains. The 72-year old master maintains that age was no bar to creativity and he was still actively pursuing his passion and creating new pieces of art with unfailing regularity. He has a collection of over 1,000 sculptures and paintings many of which adorn the prestigious art galleries across the country and abroad. Not only that he has also produced some functional aesthetic sculptures some of which have been installed in parks and used as props for children for playing. Interactive session on RTI
An interactive session on “Right to Information for a Better Society'' organised jointly by NGOs Ashadeep and SEWA (Swarn Educational Welfare Trust) brought a host of positive and some negative aspects of the RTI Act enacted four years ago to empower the common man. The event was organised in memory of two budding journalists, Jai Chand Chandel and Vikas Panwar, who died young. Chief Information Commissioner PS. Rana, who presided over the functions said more and more people were using their right to information and seek various details from government agencies. The number of applications had increased sharply from a meagre 2654 in 2006-2007 to 17,869 in 2008-2009. At the same time the rate of rejection of the applications at the Public Information Officer (PIO) level has gone down by one third. The commission was not lenient towards the PIOs, who were delaying the information. "The system is gradually evolving and we have to see that whether the information has been concealed intentionally for some vested interests,'' Rana said. The Commissioner had not only fined certain PIOs, but also recommended disciplinary proceedings against them. There were instances where below poverty line (BPL) people, who get information under RTI Act free of cost, were being used by NGOs for the their own queries. Former principal secretary, Law, JN Barowalia said that the RTI Act also allowed inspection of records and work but unfortunately, no fees had been prescribed for the purpose in Himachal. The government must incorporate these provisions in the rules under RTI in the state for better governance and transparency as it would strengthen social audit. RTI activist Debashish Bhattacharya said the law was just in its infancy and it would take some time for the government and the people to get used to it. Generally when a person moved an RTI application, the system moved even before one got the reply. He shared some of his personal experiences where he had to face difficulties in seeking information under the Act owing to reluctance in the system to part with true details on contentious issues.
BIG FM turns one
Reliance Broadcast Network radio station 95 BIG FM completed one year of successful operation in Shimla. It has during the period undertaken some great on-air campaigns and redefined the meaning of radio and its reach. On the eve of its first anniversary, BIG FM invited its listeners to be a part of the delight. It organised a celebration on The Mall where the residents shared their happiness with the BIG RJ's. Over the last one year, RJ Shalini has become a part of daily life of the residents. Siddharth Bhardwaj - Vice-President , North, said: In continuation with our tagline "Suno Sunao - Life Banao" the BIG FM has been entertaining the listeners as well as creating awareness pertaining to various issues and events. The coming year will only see more such offerings. (Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi)
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AWWA organises Veer Nari Sammelan
Nurpur, July 27 Speaking on the occasion Navedita Rai Chowdhry said that AWWA was organising such seminars after every six months to solve the problems of family members of the martyrs. “Most of the problems are redressed on the spot while others relating to the Army HQ are forwarded to Delhi,” she asserted. Lauding the martyrs, Chowdhry said their supreme sacrifice could not be forgotten. Members of the martyrs’ families from Gurdaspur district and Nurpur subdivision attended the sammelan. They raised problems relating to family pension, credit cards and CSD and medical facilities.
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The Bhakra Oustees Rights Protection Committee has been clamouring for relocating of centuries old heritage temples of the old town of Bilaspur, which got submerged in the waters of Gobind Sagar
lake.
Chamba, July 27
The weeklong exhibition of sculptures and paintings by famous artist Shiv Singh at Shimla's Gaiety Theatre provided an opportunity to art lovers to see some of his great creations. The fascinating metal sculptures and abstract paintings (See picture) had a kind of freshness and uniqueness as there are not many sculptors who create such open and endless pieces of art using sheet moulding and metal-beating techniques. Each sculpture was unique and made with a different technique.
A rally was organised by 21 sub area of the Army at Kandrori recently to pay tributes to martyrs . Named “Veer Nari Sammelan” this rally was presided over by Navedita Rai Chowdhry, chairperson of the Army Wives Welfare association (AWWA), Pathankot.
Speaking on the occasion Navedita Rai Chowdhry said that AWWA was organising such seminars after every six months to solve the problems of family members of the martyrs.
