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Politics mars Bir Billing paragliding event
State emerges as flourishing floriculture hub
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Use of JCB machines ‘triggering’ landslides
Chamba’s Gandhi Gate on its last legs
HPTDC taxis for tourists
Ex-servicemen League to watch interests of widows
‘Sufficient food stock stored for winter’
Abattoir project may slip out of MC hands
Maranda town sans basic amenities
Book on Kangra paintings released
Probe against officials for 'misusing' powers
vignettes
Himachal diary
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Politics mars Bir Billing paragliding event
Dharamsala, November 2 However, over a couple years, the sport has been marred by politics and fatal accidents. This year, the Tourism and the Sports and Youth Affairs Departments are organising a paragliding tournament in the Bir Billing area. Initially, it was to be organised from October 29 to November 2. Now it is scheduled to start from November 11. The Bir Billing Paragliding Association that had been holding pre-world cup of the sport is, however, not being associated with the event, which would be a government show. Sudhir Sharma, president of the association, who is also Congress MLA from Baijnath, said the association was not associated with the event. “The tournament being organised by the government will be of local level. It will not have any significance while we had been organising pre-world cup in Bir Billing,” he said. Last year, the government denied permission to the association to organise pre-world cup here citing security concerns for participants. However, sources said the other reason for the denial of permission was political. The local paragliding association had contacted Virbhadra Singh, Union Minister of Steel and former Chief Minister, for sponsorships. The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) had agreed to sponsor the event and Virbhadra Singh was to be the chief guest at the main function. However, this move of the association did not go well with the government functionaries, who finally denied permission. The concerns regarding security raised by the authorities were also not unfounded. Earlier, two Russian pilots had died after losing their way in higher reaches of Dhauladhar mountains while paragliding in the area. Many other pilots had also suffered injuries. Sudhir said, “This year, we did not apply for organising paragliding event due to the apprehension that the government would not give the permission. The security concerns on the basis of which we were denied permission still persist. We have professional experts who even participate at the international level while the government has no such expert.” However, officials busy making preparations for the event claim that all security concerns have been taken care of. The Aero Club of India would be providing technical guidance for the event, they said. However, sources said time period in which paragliding event was being organised was not ideal. “At this time, the temperature is low and right kind of thermal air currents would not be available for pilots to take off. This might also increase the risk,” they said. The pilots doing paragliding from the Billing ridge here are at the risk of being swayed towards higher reaches of Dhauladhar that are full of deep gorges and wilderness. Once a pilot gets trapped there it is very difficult to rescue the victim without the help of expert mountaineers. Though paragliding event has brought prosperity to the area in the form of increased tourism, the sports event needs to be organised in a more professional manner sans politics to make it a success.
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State emerges as flourishing floriculture hub
Palampur, November 2 The flowers being grown here are in great demand in the Delhi markets and several other parts of the country as well. This has been possible only with the government’s encouragement due to which an unprecedented surge has been witnessed with an increasing number of farmers getting involved in floriculture. Commercial floriculture has grown and farmers are fetching remunerative prices. Soon after launching the Horticulture Technology Mission Project in the state, farmers had started switching over to the setting up of poly-houses and floriculture became popular. Several technical inputs and the financial assistance has helped the growth of floriculture in the state. The Department of Horticulture made a humble beginning in 1993-94 by initiating floriculture. Today, the estimated turn over of floriculture produce is Rs 27.33 crore. The first Model Floriculture Centre was established at Mahog Bag near Chail in Solan district.The centre has one unit for handling post-harvest handling of flowers and three cooling chambers for the storage of planted material. The centre is acting as a nucleus for proliferation of commercial floriculture and has been trying to improve germ plasm in commercial flowering and nurseries and providing training to commercial floriculturists. This centre has also manipulated scientific facilities for the production of post-harvest management of the floriculture produce. The department has established seven floriculture nurseries in different zones of the state. These include Nav Bahar, Chharabra, Mahog Bag, Parwanoo, Bajaura Dharamshala and Bhatoon in Kangra district where training and demonstration is being imparted to commercial flower growers. Departmental extension staff and nurseries are also source of motivation to the flower growers to improve their socio-economic status. Other activities like introduction and multiplication of planting material, bulbs, seeds of improved flower varieties are also made available to the growers at these nurseries. The department has also been handling post management facilities for floriculture and has set up three cool chambers with a storage capacity of 4 lakh bulbs and 10,000 cut flowers at Mahog Bag. Providing technical inputs is one of the important areas being handeled by the floriculture wing of the department to promote floriculture. The department also organises short-duration training programme for farmers keen to take up floriculture as a major source of income. Study tours for flower growers from the state are also being arranged from time to time to create awareness among growers regarding new trends and technologies in floriculture. Under the technical assistance programme, free technical advice is also made available by the department.
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Use of JCB machines ‘triggering’ landslides
Solan, November 2 Although the state government had banned the use of JCB in the riverbeds, there was no restriction on its use for other purposes, including clearing hill slopes for construction and this was being used as a convenient way to lay roads in the hills. However, an official of the PWD Department said its use for clearing slopes with steep gradients led to massive landslides. Its impact was visible on many roads where landslides caused massive damages to the roads. Since its use leads to vibrations in a hillock and leaves the structure shallow following which subsequent seepage of water due to rains causes heavy landslides. Such cases have come to light where the road alignment has been disturbed often by private builders while clearing land. For instance, the Kumarhatti-Sultanpur road has suffered massive damage at Sultanpur, where the use of JCB machines by builders on land adjoining the main road has caused landslides. While terming the use of JCBs as a better alternative than blasting for clearing hillsides, state geologist Arun Sharma said its use for slopes with steep gradients could cause landslides and should be adapted with care. He added that its use in the riverbeds had been banned. With cases of illegal clearing of hill slides for laying roads by surreptitiously use of the JCBs coming to the fore in the restricted areas, including reserve forests like Chail, the state government should devise a policy to check their illegal use. Since the damage caused by clearing any hill could not be repaid back, the government should regulate its use by private builders. In the absence of any such regulations, these machines had become a potent tool for inflicting irreparable environmental damage.
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Chamba’s Gandhi Gate on its last legs
Chamba, November 2 The heritage monument, which today stands desolate and in a state of neglect, urgently needs protection from the vagaries of weather and wild growth, otherwise it will crumble. Gandhi Gate, earlier known as Delhi Gate, was built in 1900 to welcome Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy. Situated adjacent to the Hari Rai Temple on the northwestern corner of the historic Chowgan, the structure has been coated with saffron colour. The massive gateway, which leads to the famous landmark Akhandchandi Palace, is neither protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) nor by the state Archaeological Department. Residents of the area have been hoping for an improvement which seems hard to come by. Temporary wooden structures (khokhas) that have sprung up on its western slope give the monument an ugly look. Regrettably, this gate, which is dotted by wild growth causing fissures and peeling off the brick paint, has escaped the attention of the authorities. Meanwhile, officials maintain that a scheme for the conservation and preservation of Gandhi Gate is in the pipeline.
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HPTDC taxis for tourists
Shimla, November 2 Disclosing this here yesterday, managing director of the HPTDC Vineet Kumar said this would lead to revenue generation without making any additional expenditure. “The HPTDC has its own transport wing and now we have decided to provide taxis to tourists on demand and also for those keen to avail LTC,” said Vineet Kumar. He said the HPTDC was already running Volvo and deluxe buses. “The addition of taxis to the existing fleet of buses will further strengthen our transport wing,” he said. He added that trained drivers in uniform would drive the taxis and the tourists would be provided with literature on tourism in Himachal. The MD said the taxis would stop at restaurants and hotels of the HPTDC where good food and other facilities were available.
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Ex-servicemen League to watch interests of widows
Hamirpur, November 2 The IFSL, which has been fighting for the rights of ex-servicemen and their welfare throughout the country, has taken up this task to pay homage to ex-servicemen and help their wives and families who have been facing several problems in their day-to-day official work in Defence Pensioner’s, Sainik Welfare Department and government offices. It was being felt by the IESL that due to official apathy and lack of staff in the Sainik Welfare Department, Defence Pensioner’s offices and non-appointment of regular director and deputy directors of the Sainik Welfare Department, several issues pertaining to widows, along with ex-servicemen, are getting piled up for years. The problems with widows are quite serious due to the lack of awareness and knowledge of official procedures among rural women. Office-bearers of the IESL said: “Several times, even routine matters like revision of pensions, inclusion of enhanced DA and such other dues are not paid in time due to the casual approach of the people dealing with such cases due to the lack of information among widows”. Citing an example they said: “Many widows are not getting benefits of revision of their pensions after the Sixth Pay Commission and they have to visit these offices several times even for routine matters”. Telling about the initiative, Col (retd) SKS Chambial, senior vice-present of the IESL, Hamirpur district, said: “Since the number of widows in the district is more than 10,000 and their problems accumulating with each passing day, the IESL has decided to start an awareness campaign by organising conferences at the block, tehsil and panchayat levels”. The IESL has also directed its members involved in welfare activities to rope in former officials who have administrative experience working in defence services to help settling official works of widows in various offices.
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‘Sufficient food stock stored for winter’
Chamba, November 2 The Speaker said as the tribal valley remained under snow for about seven months, it was indispensable to store essential commodities for the inhabitants of the valley in advance. The Speaker said Rs 39 crore were being spent on various development works in the valley under the tribal area sub-plan and asked the officials concerned to complete the works expeditiously undertaken under the plan. The Speaker hoped time was not far when the Pangi tribal valley would have an adequate share in terms of development as compared to other areas of the state.
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Abattoir project may slip out of MC hands
Shimla, November 2 While the people of Totu and adjoining areas have been up in arms against the coming up of the slaughterhouse, the MC in its meeting here on October 30 passed a resolution for shifting the project to a new site close to the Krishnanagar Nullah above Lal Paani. The Union Urban Development ministry has already sanctioned a sum of Rs 19.66 crore for the coming up of the project at the site near Totu. Interestingly, though the government has yet to take a final decision on the MC request for shifting of the site from Totu to Lal Paani, the MC has already provided a sum of Rs 5 crore to the contractor for the execution of work. The Centre has already made it clear that in case the MC fails to start work by November, the entire amount will be diverted to another state. Now, in case the site is shifted the MC can end up not only losing the project but also suffer a loss of Rs 5 crore as the contractor will put the entire onus on the MC for causing delay in handing over the site to it which led to delay in the execution of work. Some of the officials in the Urban Development Department here pointed out that the site selected near Lal Paani was mush closer to the town than the earlier site. “What is the guarantee that there will be no public outcry against the project at Lal Paani, so it is not advisable to even consider shifting the site at this advanced stage when Rs 5 crore has already been given to the contractor,” an official explained. The official added that the contractor on his part would go into arbitration and the MC would end up losing money. The MC proposal for setting up of a solid waste management project in Bharyal village, close to Totu, could also meet the same fate as the slaughterhouse. A petition was filed in the high court against the coming up of the project by the locals in February 2010 which was now pending before the Green Bench. The petitioner, Balraj Singh, who is also vice-president, gram panchayat, Totu (Majthai), has now urged the court to direct the MC to stop work, which started recently.
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Students display talent in Hill Fair
Hamirpur, November 2 The annual festival was a bit special this year since it was the silver jubilee year of the institute. About 5,000 technical students from different universities of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttrakhand took part in the festival. On the inaugural day, the students performed group dances, play and solo songs, besides various other musical programmes. The second day of the festival started with Ganesh Vandana, followed by presentations by a music club. A skit by the college dramatics club and various folk dances were also performed. Mahabharti, a presentation by a renowned theatre group from Mumbai, was the main attraction, followed by a musical night. On the third day of the fair, both English and Hindi language clubs organised events like Aap ki Adalat, Shipwreck, Chakravyuh and an English play ‘No Smoking’. Western dances, jugal bandi, tattoo and rangoli competitions were also organised. The first performance in the theatre was by SIET College, who presented a colourful music and dance programme followed by performance of dance club Saiya-re. A fashion parade with the models of the institute walking the ramp was lauded by the audience.
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Maranda town sans basic amenities
Palampur, November 2 Almost all interior streets of the town are in a bad shape. Due to overflowing drains, water collects on these streets which stinks every time, thus making it difficult for residents to commute. Some of the paved streets have been damaged because of regular overflowing drains and leakage of drinking water pipelines. Garbage can be seen littered in every nook and corner of the town. There is no sewerage system, which has caused insanitary and unhygienic conditions giving invitation to various health problems. The condition of internal localities is worst. To get rid of the residents' grievances, sewerage system must be laid on a top priority, as the prevailing conditions are alarming. Apart from this, there is also a shortage of potable water in the town. There is a general complaint that drinking water being supplied here carries mud and other waste material, which is not fit for consumption. In the absence of a proper bus stand, buses stop on the road, therefore the narrow Pathankot-Mandi National Highway, which passes through the town, has become a major problem for the residents because of frequent traffic jams. Despite repeated requests, the government has not cleared any project for the construction of a bypass in the town. At present, the town is being governed by the panchayat, which has no funds to keep it clean. There has been a manifold increase in the population here in the past five years and the panchayat is finding it difficult to look after the town with meagre funds allotted to it every year. The residents want that with the passage of time, this small town is expanding very fast, therefore a plan should be drawn up to provide basic amenities to them at par with other towns of the state. Liberal funds should also be sanctioned to the panchayat for the installation of streetlights in all localities. The panchayat should also be permitted to charge toll tax from vehicles and tax on the sale of liquor so that it could raise its own resources for the development of the town.
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Book on Kangra paintings released
Shimla, November 2 Dhumal said the book would be of immense use to art lovers and also help promote the Kangra school of painting at national and international levels. He said the state had rich and vibrant culture which had been attracting art lovers from all over the world. He said it was for the first time that a publication on Kangra paintings had been brought out in Hindi which would enhance knowledge of all Hindi-knowing art lovers. Srinivas Joshi, a renowned litterateur and a former bureaucrat, spoke on various facets of art and the contents of the book and said Sharma had done a commendable job. Dr Tulsi Raman, secretary, Art, Language and Culture; and editor of Vipasha highlighted aspects of forms of art in Himachal Pradesh, especially Kangra paintings. He also spoke in detail about the contents of the book.
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Probe against officials for 'misusing' powers
Shimla, November 2 Taking a serious notice, the court directed the secretary (home) to conduct an enquiry on the conduct of CB Acharya, district attorney, Solan, and police officers responsible for the incident. The court has also ordered inquiry against some judicial officers involved in the case. A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Kuldip Singh, also quashed the FIR under which Menon was kept in police custody from July 1 to July 20 and ordered an investigation against the erring officers. The petitioner has alleged that he was unnecessarily kept in custody since the complainant was the son of a high-ranking judicial officer. He remained in "illegal" detention for a period of 20 days for the sake of a consumer product of about Rs 2,000. The mother of the complainant, Abhinay Sharma, had booked an order for a vegetable cutter "Nicer Dicer" by paying its cost and postal charges using a credit card. As per the complainant, the parcel sent by the company contained an old magazine instead of the product. The company agreed to replace the parcel with the cutter. However, the complainant got an FIR u/s 420 registered against the company at Police Station, Solan, on June 30, 2009. The police visited company's office in Mumbai on August 29, 2009 for investigation where the company officials explained that it could be a case of theft during transit. The company sent the vegetable cutter through the police and it was received by the complainant's mother on September 15, 2009, but the police again visited Mumbai on June 29, 2010, and brought Menon to Solan. The petitioner was kept in police detention from July 1 to 6 and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. The court remanded the petitioner to judicial custody up to July 17. The petitioner finally got bail on July 20. Menon alleges that everything was done at the behest of the then Additional District and Sessions Judge who happened to be the father of the complainant. The FIR showed that one witness in the FIR was a judicial magistrate and second the district attorney, Solan. The petitioner and his company had been implicated for an offence, which they had never committed, he alleges. While quashing the FIR, the Bench observed, "This is the case where apparently the power of investigation and the process of court was misused for a veiled object. The innocent in the process was subject to persecution and humiliation in a wholly untenable prosecution. Hence, the ends of justice require the intervention of this court. We have already held that the apprehension of the petitioner regarding fairness of investigation is not wholly unfounded. The case is fit to be enquired on administrative side regarding the involvement and conduct of judicial officers. The home secretary to the state shall conduct an enquiry on the conduct of the district attorney and the police officers concerned".
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The majestic Kangra fort
by Shriniwas Joshi Hutichison and Ph Vogel write in 'History of the Panjab Hill States': 'The people of Kangra have a very exaggerated idea of the strength of their fort in former times, which they firmly believe to have baffled the power of the greatest kings. The idea found expression in the following popular saying: - He who holds the fort holds the hills." The Kangra fort (See photo), however, was all along a witness to fierce battles, conquests and betrayals. In 1009 AD, Mohammad of Gazni ransacked it and the temple of Ma Bajreshwari and took away from here '700,000 golden dinars 700 mans of gold and silver plates, 200 mans of pure gold in ingots, 2000 mans of silver bullion and 20 mans of various jewels, including pearls, corals, diamonds and rubies'. The value of looted coins only, was 1,750,000 pounds, according to Cunningham. The next incursion was of a short duration by the army of Muhammad Tughlaq in 1337 when Raja Prithvi Chand was ruling Kangra. Rup Chand succeeded to the throne in 1360 and was reigning when the fort was besieged by Firoz Tughalak about AD 1365. Manik Chand, a bard, of the time, writes: "Rup Chander barker charho Dileshwar Sultan/ Bahut hetkar pag paro pith hath lai Shan." (Rup Chand went forth to meet the Sultan, Lord of Delhi, and bowed low down to his feet; Sultan with pride put his hand on his back.). Firoz Shah returned to Delhi after a siege of six months. A short period of peace was followed by another attack. Waquiat-i-Mushtaki reads: "Khawas Khan, who was ordered by the Sultan (Sher Shah Suri) in 1540 AD to march towards Nagarkot in order to bring the hill country under subjection, succeeded in conquering it." The other historians are silent about it and Hutchison believes that the fort remained in the possession of its own chiefs from 1043 AD to 1620. It was Jahangir who captured it in 1620. Sultan writes in his memoirs: "On this day (29th. November, 1620) the joy-enhancing news of the conquest of the fort of Kangra rejoiced our mind." Sansar Chand II was only 10-year-old when he got the throne of Kangra in 1775. His ambition was to capture the Kangra fort, the home of his ancestors. His first attempt had failed so he took the help of Jai Singh Kanheya, a Sikh chieftain, and laid siege to it in 1781-82. The fort was surrendered in 1783 but to the Sikh chieftain. Sansar Chand felt betrayed and disappointed. "Four years later he obtained the aid of other Sikh leaders, and in 1787 Jay Singh was reluctantly obliged to surrender the fort into the hands of Sansar Chand." Then started the encounters with Gurkhas. They had besieged the fort too. When nothing was left in the fort to eat and there was no hope of relief, Sansar Chand approached Maharaja Ranjit Singh and offered the fort as the price for his assistance. He grabbed the opportunity and captured it in 1809 but in 1846 the Kangra fort fell into the hands of the British. A devastating earthquake in 1905 caused much damage to the fort. The fort, today, is the property of the Archaeological Survey of India. The description of the fort by Sir A. Cunningham is: "The fort of Kangra occupies a long narrow strip of land in the fork between the Manjhi and Banganga rivers. Its walls are upwards of two miles in circuit, but its strength does not lie in its works, but in the precipitous cliffs overhanging the two rivers, which on the side of Banganga rise to a height of about 300 feet." He then describes the three temples and the eight gates that were there in the fort. Who built the fort of Kangra? It was Susarma Chand of Mahabaharat times, the 234th chief in lineal descent from Bhum Chand, the first, who was supposed to have been born from the perspiration off the brow of the Goddess of Kangra. The fort had many names Bhimnagar, Nagarkot and Kot-Kangra. Centuries later, the fort is majestic and has certain aura about it.
Tailpiece
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Thalassaemia can be managed
Medical specialists from Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, provided valuable information about the management of thalassaemia at an interactive workshop organised by Shimla-based NGO Umang Foundation for the parents of children infected by the incurable disease (see photo). Dr M.Joseph John and Navin Kakkar impressed upon the parents that the disease can be managed by proper medical treatment and cited the example of the USA and other western countries where such patients had a normal lifespan. In India, they hardly survived up to 25 years. Cyprus, which had a large thalassemic population, had been able to eradicate the disease by making a pre-marriage medical test to detect thalassaemia mandatory. No marriage in the country is registered by church or the court without the test. In a big country like India with diverse population, such legal remedy may not possible but creating awareness could help deal with the disease. A bone marrow transplant, if carried out between the age of 2 and 8 years, provides a permanent cure. It costs Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh and the success rate in the country ranges from 60 to 80 per cent. The sooner one opts for the transplant the better it is as complications increase with age and the success rate comes down. The patients could secure Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the purpose and Tata Foundation has signed an agreement with the CMC to provide Rs 3 lakh to every patient for undergoing transplant. They also told an interesting fact that the footprint of disease is found along the route Alexander took, making it obvious that it spread through his soldiers who settled in the region and did not return. Umang chairman Ajay Srivastava said the parents of the thalassemic children had been made members of the foundation to encourage collective efforts to deal with the disease. BSNL subscribers face billing blues
The billing woes of landline BSNL subscribers will continue for some more time as the problems plaguing the new system introduced after outsourcing of the billing process are not likely to be sorted out before January. There have been a host of problems in the bills ever since the billing work was assigned to Tata Consultancy early this year. The amount already paid is being carried forward in the next bill, making it obvious that the company has not yet finetuned its software. This error has been continuing for the past several months. There has also been delay in issuing bills and this month 8,500 of the total 24,000 subscribers were not issued the bills. Further, there have been glaring errors in over 10,000 bills forcing subscribers to visit the BSNL office repeatedly. The subscribers have now been asked to ignore the amount being carried forward as the previous balance and only pay the current amount. The last date for payment of bills has also been extended to November 15.
Purchasing power up
With Himachal Pradesh taking long strides in every field, the people here are not lagging behind in any sphere of life. With the substantial increase in the per capita income, the purchasing power of people has gone up significantly even in the rural areas. A large number of villagers in the state, who barely managed to secure the necessities of life till recently, now have enough money to for purchasing expensive modern gadgets to make their life comfortable. A resident of Chhatar in Hamirpur district recently purchased an LCD TV costing Rs 1, 22,500 from a Samsung dealer in Hamirpur, who said it is the first LCD TV to be sold in the state. (Contributed by Rakesh
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Paragliding started as an adventure sport in the panoramic Bir Billing area of Kangra district in 1985. It began with a few foreign pilots choosing the steep Billing ridge for adventure. Later, the state government stepped in and slowly the Billing became famous among pilots from across the world for professional paragliding.
The rampant use of JCB machines for digging earth and clearing hill slopes is causing damage to roads by disturbing its alignment leading to massive landslides.
Although the state government had banned the use of JCB in the riverbeds, there was no restriction on its use for other purposes, including clearing hill slopes for construction and this was being used as a convenient way to lay roads in the hills.
Gandhi Gate, the one-time splendor of Chamba, has now been confined by odd structures, and hanging electrical and telephone wires. The incinerators kept on both sides of the gate look like garbage bins and are an eyesore to tourists. Besides, a parking lot along the gate too has added to the chaos.
Shimla, November 2
