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Medicine supply to govt hospitals under scanner
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Research HP agri varsity’s top agenda: VC
Water harvesting shows good results
Coop societies under lens
CPI to launch orientation camp for party workers
Himachal diary
vignettes
Man who led state during tough time
Polio-stricken youth struggles to sustain family
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Four-laning of roads to destabilise hills
Shimla, August 3 Worse, huge debris generated by vertical cutting of hills, which is mostly dumped on the slopes, destroys all vegetation downhill. Falling boulders from loose strata pose a threat to the safety of motorists. They ultimately find way into nullahs and rivers, which often get choked causing falsehoods. It is hardly surprising that even main highways like the Hindustan-Tibet Road get blocked frequently. The Theog-Rohru Road upgrading project being implemented by a Chinese company, Longjian Roads and Bridges Limited, provides a glaring example of the problems such projects create for people. Driving through the road, particularly during rains, is not less than a nightmare. Environmentalists are now worried about the fallout of the proposed Shimla- Parwanu (National Highway-22) four-laning project as it will involve vertical cutting of steep hills which will destabilise the strata and make the stretch prone to landslides. The hill ranges from Parwanu to Barog are rather fragile and only last year, a huge landslide brought down a long stretch of rail track near Koti railway station. The ongoing excavations involving huge cutting of hills near Timber Trail hotel at the point where the four-lane from Zirakpur will join the highway have provided a glimpse of destruction the project would cause. Indeed, there is not enough space for a four-lane carriageway on the existing alignment of the road as some stretches, particularly on the Shimla-Kandaghat section, involve almost vertical and at points overhanging rocks which will have to be cut up to a height of more than 100 m to widen the highway. Use of explosives weakens rocks as a result of which boulders keep falling. Early this week, a huge piece of rock blocked a road near Shoghi for almost 12 hours. Besides, thousands of green trees would have to be axed, disposal of huge debris will be a problem. It has taken more than 30 years to stabilise the road by erecting breast walls and retaining structures and planting trees.
Even now, there are some points which frequently witness landslides. The four-laning project will again destabilise the hills, which may take decades to stabilise. Executing the widening work within a fixed time frame on the busiest highway of the state is not an easy task. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has invited tenders for the widening of 40-km Parwanoo-Solan stretch on Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) mode at an estimated cost of Rs 549 crore twice, but no one came forward. Kulbhushan Upmanyu, convener of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, an apex body of non-government organisation, wants the government to explore alternatives to four-laning and carry out a cost-benefit analysis taking the environmental fallout into consideration. Hills do not have carrying capacity to support large population and the government must discourage mass influx of people. In fact, Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh has already called for a fresh look on such projects in the hills in view of environmental
fallout. The four-laning of the Solan-Shimla stretch where the highway passes through precipitous hill stretches will be much more difficult. As per the detailed project report of the NHAI for the section, 106-km length from Parwanoo to Dhalli is proposed to be four-laned at an average cost Rs 15 crore
per km.
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Medicine supply to govt hospitals under scanner
Hamirpur, August 3 After probe was ordered by the state drug controller on the issue, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Hamirpur, had rejected the consignment. The hospital authorities took action after inspecting the medicines, which were found without the mandatory print, after which about 12,000 injection bottles of Fortwin supplied by Ranbaxy were rejected as they were found without the print. The issue was raised in these columns when it was detected that some employees of a private company were printing mandatory marks here on the covers of the injections supplied to the Regional Hospital. Since these medicines are supplied for free to the public, there were instructions from the government to print the mandatory sign stating that these were government supplies and were not meant for sale.
The absence of the mandatory print and later attempt to print the same in the hospital had raised eye brows. Hamirpur CMO DS Chandel said: “We had detected a consignment of 12,000 injection bottles of Fortwin without the mandatory mark and after latest inspection, the injections without mandatory print were found not up to the mark as the mark that was printed by the employees can be erased. Hence, we have rejected the consignment received under government supply.” State drug controller N Marwaha had already asked Hamirpur drug inspector to investigate the matter and submit
a report.
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Research HP agri varsity’s top agenda: VC
Palampur, August 3 Dr Sharma said his main objective would be to supplement the income of farmers by introducing new techniques for agriculture production through polyhouse farming, cultivation of off-season vegetables, fish raring and setting of food processing units linked with the market. Besides, he would also lay stress on cash crops like potatoes and herbs in higher hills of Lahual and Spiti and Chhota Bhangal areas of Kangra district, which have great demand for seed in South India, West Bengal and multinational companies, respectively. Dr Sharma said he had asked scientists for the production of quality seeds which had utmost importance in the agriculture sector as every crop was based on good seed. Since most of the parts of the state were rain fed, therefore the university would also develop those varieties of wheat, maize and paddy suitable to lower hills of the state that remain dry during winter months. The vice-chancellor further said he would try to create discipline in all departments of the university so that scientists could devote their time in teaching, extension and research, which was the backbone of the institution. He appealed the scientists to follow all rules and regulations laid down by the university and they should act in the framework of law.
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Water harvesting shows good results
Dalhousie, August 3 Initially, one water-harvesting tank was constructed at Kanyarka village under the project. During interaction with project officials, people were motivated to operate and maintain irrigation scheme suggested by the officials instead of looking at the government agencies. They were advised to form user groups and also to contribute to the execution work in the form of labour, cash or material. Since most of the people there are from the underprivileged section, therefore they agreed to contribute in the form of labour only and all their contribution was deposited in the accounts of panchayat and user groups for future operation and maintenance. Likewise in Ghat village, water was available at about half km from the village. The agricultural land was 4.4 hectare belonging to eight families, out of which 2.76 hectare was non-arable grassland and the rest rainfed. There the people converted their non-arable land for cultivating high-value cash crops. Instead of grass yield valued at only Rs 500-1,000 per family, they are expecting Rs 20,000 per family from the sale of vegetables per year. Vegetable seeds and spices were distributed to people at subsidised rates. High-value spices like garlic, ginger, coriander, etc, were preferred over vegetables due to non-availability of ready market. People there have already Rs 21,000 in their account as beneficiary contribution and Rs 2,400 as user charges. The story of Kuther village, about 2 km from Ghat village, is almost the same where rainfed arable land is 3.20 hectares belonging to 13 poor families. Water is available in the nearby drainage line and can be carried to the village. Last year, water was channelised under gravity with expenditure of Rs 3.34 lakh, including Rs 20,000 by community in the shape of labour. People there were mobilised to form user group, make beneficiary contribution, levy user charges and form bylaws for water distribution. Chamba district collector Devesh Kumar has recently released Rs 1.30 lakh for the construction of underground water distribution in Kuther village. A project is in the process of clustering user groups of all nine villages of Nagali Micro Watershed for collective purposes. One structure on this model was constructed to irrigate 3.3-hectare in Kanyarka village. Last year, three such structures were constructed to irrigate 9.1 hectare and now 15 such structures are being constructed in seven panchayats to irrigate 28.75 hectare during the current fiscal with a cost of Rs 34.10 lakh.
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Coop societies under lens
Hamirpur, August 3 In the complaint, the villagers alleged that the societies indulged in financial irregularities, misappropriation of society funds and illegal appointment of society secretaries. The cooperative societies named in the complaint are Maharal, Kharota, Gaudi, Pahalu, Bijahdi, Maslana, Malheda and Samtana. The complainants have also alleged irregularities in appointments of secretaries in Amhedi, Malheda and Buthan cooperative societies. Targeting two inspectors of the cooperative department posted in this area, the complainants raised serious questions on the working of these government officials who were on the same post for more than 30 years. “Since both these officers are also responsible for auditing accounts of the cooperative societies, they have been trying to cover up several irregularities for financial consideration,” villagers alleged. The cooperative inspectors have also been accused of “misusing their official positions to extract money from secretaries of the cooperative societies as a of result of which one secretary had allegedly committed suicide sometime back”. The complainants have also demanded a vigilance probe in the entire affair. AL Sharma, additional registrar, cooperative societies, Dharamsala, said, “We have received the complaint in this regard and inquiry has been initiated in the matter. Action will be taken if charges are proved to be
true.”
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CPI to launch orientation camp for party workers
Mandi, August 3 Talking to The Tribune after the conclusion of the state council meeting here recently, state secretary Des Raj said the CPI would hold the camp and launch the abhiyan in August. “Both the Central and state governments have failed to provide food security to common man and strengthen the PDS system,” he charged. “The food quota has been reduced and will be given to BPL families under the Food Security Bill,” he added. Des Raj said the Central government had been giving economic packages to bail out the industry, but the agricultural sector was suffering. Lower rungs jobs in both private and public sectors are being abolished while the executives and higher jobs are continuing that in turn is breeding frustration and alienation among the jobless youth, he claimed. He also alleged that the state government has failed to protect interests of the state as natural resources had been leased out to private companies. The CPI leader said party chief AB Bardhan would visit the state in October for the organisational conference the date for which is yet to be fixed. “We need some introspection to rev up the party,” he admitted.
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Himachal diary
The seniors and the college administration left no stone unturned to accord a warm welcome to the new students to make them feel at home on becoming part of the Bedian family. The evening was perfect with splendid cultural performances and, of course, good food. The evening came to an end with both old and new students gyrating to the beats of foot-tapping music, with no issue of senior and freshers. The tradition of choosing a Miss Fresher and two runners-up was also performed after the question-and-answer round amongst the 12 finalists. Mahima Dut was the eventual winner A matter of pride
While the induction of so many leaders from a state like Himachal Pradesh into the BJP at the national level is being considered a matter of pride for the state, there are many who are reading something else in these appointments. Veteran party leader Shanta Kumar and JP Nadda, who resigned as cabinet minister to take over organisational work, were appointed vice-president and general secretary, respectively, in the national body by president Nitin Gadkari in the first phase. Thereafter, Hamirpur MP and son of Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Anurag Thakur was made the national president of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, youth wing of the party, and Mohinder Pande as persons in charge of frontal organisations. The two latest appointments are most important in this context. A former MP and president of the state BJP Suresh Chandel, who had been in oblivion after being allegedly caught in the ‘cash- for -query scam’, has been rehabilitated at the national level as vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Morcha while Hamirpur MLA Urmil Thakur has been appointed general secretary of national Mahila Morcha. These appointments at the national level are no doubt recognition of party leaders from the state but their presence in the national body might lead to new groupings in the state BJP. District-level youth festival
The district-level youth festival for non-students
was organised by the District Youth Affairs and Sports Department at Sundernagar on July 28. The youth from different parts of the district participated in the festival. The participants, including women, presented different cultural items like folk dance, folk theatre, skits, dance dramas, individual songs and ghazals and other items. The participants were from Nehru Yuva Kendras, yuvak mandals and the like. The district sports officer said that the idea behind the festival was to encourage and promote culture among the rural youth and tap their talents. After the district-level competition, the best performers would participate in the state-level youth festival to be held later in the year. 250 deodar saplings planted
As many as 250 deodar saplings were planted by Shimla-based NGO, Ashadeep, on the hill along the road leading from Boileauganj to Summer Hill. Social activist Uma Baldi and students of BSN School, Chakkar, joined the volunteers of Ashadeep in planting the saplings. President of Ashadeep Sushil Tanwar said: “2010 has been declared as the International Year of Bio-diversity and keeping this in view we decided to undertake tree plantation drives to mark the year.” “Unlike previous years, this year our endeavour is to involve school children in the campaign so that they realise the importance of environmental preservation and make a meaningful contribution on this front as they grow up”, he added. Ashadeep has been organising afforestation drives for the past few years involving college students and people from different walks of life. This year it intends to carry out tree plantation every Saturday and Sunday during August, the best time for afforestation, informs
Tanwar. (Contributed by Pratibha Chauhan, DP Gupta, Kuldeep Chauhan and Rakesh Lohumi)
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vignettes
My daughter, Shaily, was studying in Convent of Jesus and Mary in 1972 where both Uma Sinhji (Urmila), daughter of Dr. Parmar, and my wife were teachers. When Uma came to know that Shaily’s birthday also falls on August 4, she made an offer to my wife that she along with Shaily joins his father in birthday celebrations. My wife agreed. It was a homely affair at Oakover - members of Dr. Parmar’s family and the two Joshi visitors. A cake was in the middle of the room when crawling on his knees and lisping like a child ‘I will cut the cake first’ Dr Parmar entered there and played with Shaily for quite long. He presented a pictorial book on Swami Vivekananda to her, which is her proud possession. A shrewd politician, hepracticed the adage: “kill the ascent and the enemy slowly.” So sharp were his political weapons that all his adversaries could not bear their brunt and were first marginalized and then finished. He ran the state as Chief Minister for 19 years and when he could not stand the command of the unconstitutional authorities of Delhi, he resigned in 1977. Kursi till death was not his bid. Hitendra Singh, his political colleague at Nahan, had told me that even after this longish stint, he had only Rs.5,000 as savings. I have seen him travelling in a public bus, purchasing vegetable from Sabzi Mandi and walking slowly to his wife Satyavati’s home - with the bag of vegetable and fruit suspended on his shoulder. Rajender Attri in his book ‘Yashwant Singh Parmar’ gives an extract of a letter that Dr. Parmar had written to Luv, his son, in 1962. “I remember that you need a pair of cricket boots. I do not have spare money just now. As soon as I can spare I shall send you a pair. I know you are keen on cricket...” This comes from a man who had been the Chief Minister of a state for five years - honest to the core, wedded to the betterment of the backward Himachal! Where are such politicians today? I was transferred from Nahan unceremoniously. Dr. Parmar came to Jogindernagar when he was not in the chair. I, as SDM, went to the rest house for a courtesy call. He regretted, saying that “due to misinformation, I had transferred you from Nahan. My fault, I am sorry.” Only great generals like Parmar can say that to a petty soldier in the battlefield.
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Man who led state during tough time
The journey of Himachal Pradesh since it came into being as the 18th state of the Indian union saw many an ebb and flow. And the man who led the poor and illiterate people of the hill state during the times of trouble was none other than Dr YS Parmar, reverently called “Himachal Nirmata”.
He brought about exemplary land reforms and implemented them with iron hand. Roads were built as on these depended the development of the state. He encouraged and patronised horticulture as it was more remunerative than agriculture in hills. He went on banning the purchase of land by non-agriculturists in the state to protect the interests of the people. Though this law raised a lot of hue and cry, the fact remains that it saved poor Himachalis from being rendered landless labourers. As Chief Minister of the state, he had many firsts to his name. He was among the first to bring about land reforms; was among the first politicians in the country to talk about the ills of defections in Indian politics; first to introduce and pass a Bill for providing pension to members of the state assembly; and was also among the first and presumably ahead of his time to pass a legislation for providing compulsory education in the state (1953) when the state completely lacked in infrastructure for doing so. According to HK Mitoo (a confidant of Dr Parmar till his last), Dr Parmar had a “balconic view” and not a “pedestrian view” of the state and politics. Though he was not an electrifying orator who could sway crowds to his oratorical skills, he was an intellectual, who could build his point of view convincingly. A master tactician, he could maneuver situations to his advantage from hopeless situation. Despite in minority, he manipulated majority for himself both in 1952 and in 1963 when Pt. Padam Dev and Thakur Karam Singh were strong contenders, respectively. However, despite his achievements, his detractors castigated him for not doing enough for the development of the state. They continue to criticise him vociferously even today. They allege that Dr Parmar did not do enough, particularly for protecting Himachal’s share and interest in the Central projects such as Bhakra and Pong Dams. On a cursory look, it may appear to be the truth, but the reality was far removed of the same. Dr Parmar was very keen to exploit the river waters of Himachal. He went to the extent of saying that hydel generation was the key to self-reliance for Himachal Pradesh. He dreamt of a state surplus in hydroelectric generation. Very few people at that time could think that way. He had the vision to foresee the potential and got a preliminary survey done in mid 1960s to find out the exact capacity for hydel generation in the state. After statehood, Dr Parmar was in favour of taking up projects independently or jointly in partnership with some other states. According to him, harnessing of the river water resources was important not only for Himachal but also for all northern states. Since the snow-fed perennial rivers provided natural reservoirs and the region was devoid of any thermal and nuclear resources, Dr Parmar was of the opinion that the future economic progress of the region would depend upon the speed with which the these hydel power resources are
harnessed. The author is Editor of Assembly Journal, H.P. Legislative Assembly, Shimla
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Polio-stricken youth struggles to sustain family
Kangra, August 3 He said his family comprised of four sisters and one younger brother. With the help of his relatives, all four sisters got married, but unfortunately, his father Niaz Singh got a paralytic attack a decade ago and was bed-ridden, fighting for life. He alleged that he had approached Kangra deputy commissioner RS Gupta two months back requesting him to provide funds for medicines for his ailing father, but the DC refused to comply and even returned his application. He claimed that he yearned for money to sustain the medical expenses for his father and to sustain his brother’s education. He added he applied for jobs in the HPSEB, PWD and Animal Husbandry Departments for the post of clerk, alleging that he even appeared for tests for the said posts, but was not considered for the job despite his physical disability. He said the HRTC issued a free pass for his travelling, but conductors do not allow him in the buses as it takes him time to board and alight, adding that he had to pay Rs 10 to a person to carry him from Balogloa to Swar on his back, therefore, he decided to stay in Kangra till he gets a job. Moving on a wheelchair donated by the Red Cross Society last year, he now roams on Kangra roads in search of a job. He alleged that he was assured a monthly salary of Rs 3,000 by a private business house and worked there for one-and-half-month, but was paid only Rs 1,500 for the period, which he described was an exploitation and decided to leave it. He said, “I do not want to beg or borrow, but to work hard to sustain my family, I will struggle to get a job”. He sought Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s intervention in the matter so that he gets a job as per his qualification and experience and is bailed out of his current traumatic life”.
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It was once again time to welcome the school passouts into the college as St Bede’s held its Fresher’s Night (See photo) for over 150 new entrants.
Turned out in their best, the girls looked stunning in saris and traditional jewellery. The confidence with which these young girls, just out of school, walked the ramp amazed all.
On the 104th birth anniversary of the greatest son of Himachal Pradesh, tributes will be paid to him for his immense contribution to the state, which is today a forerunner among its counterparts. I am remembering the events, which I, directly or indirectly, shared with the man called Yashwant Singh Parmar who was born at Chanhalag village of Sirmaur (then Sirmur) district (then a princely state) on August 4, 1906, to Bhandari Shivanand Singh and Lakshmi Devi. He completed his secondary education at Nahan, took his bachelor’s degree from FC College, Lahore, master’s from Canning College, Lucknow, and with a thesis on ‘The Social and Economic Background of Himalayan Polyandry’ got a doctorate from Lucknow University.
When I was working as District Development and Panchayat Officer (now Assistant Commissioner) in his Sirmaur district in 1975, I could feel Parmar’s awe among the officers and his aura. The state grievances committee headed by him was an example of how prepared the officers came to attend it because the man on the chair had pulse of the people on his fingers. In none of the districts I served later, an equal seriousness was visible.