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Bhuntar airport expansion hangs fire
Pong wetland abuzz with migratory birds
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'Polythene hatao, paryavaran bachao' campaign launched
Tourism potential of Masrur temple remains untapped
A view of the monolithic rock-cut temple of Masrur. Photo by the writer
Vignettes
Stray dogs sterilised
Pong Dam to be tourist place
Lavi fair loses its traditional charm
Chamurthi horses on display at Lavi. Tribune photo
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Bhuntar airport expansion hangs fire
Kullu, November 9 A team of experts from IIT, Roorkee, was appointed to examine the feasibility of the extension. The team submitted its report to the state government, according to which extension by a length of 1,010 m and a width of 200 m was feasible by bridging over the Beas. The team estimated the cost of construction at Rs 117.2 crore. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the extension project in 2002, besides Rs 30 crore for infrastructure development of three state airports. Later, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel during the inaugural flight of Air India in 2008 confirmed that the runway would be extended by more than a 1000 m. Unfortunately, the moment political pressure on the AAI diminished, things began to change. Piyush Joshi, general manager (planning), AAI, said the IIT had revised its opinion and feared that bridging might not be possible due to the strata on the riverbed. He, however, said the widening of the airstrip could be done provided the government of Himachal Pradesh allocated land to the AAI. Another cheaper and feasible option to extend the airstrip was to straighten the Beas at the southern end (16 end) of the airstrip (see picture). Flood protection and diversion of the river is possible taking example of the Beas-Satluj Link where the Beas was diverted through a 13-km tunnel and linked with the Satluj from Pandoh to Slapper. The major part of land required for the flow of the river after diversion is government land and about 20 per cent has to be acquired from villagers. The state government has already assured the AAI that the land would be provided.
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Pong wetland abuzz with migratory birds
Dharamsala, November 9 Bar-headed geese, rudy shelduck, coots, cormorants, pochards, mallards, grebes and moorhen are some of the important water birds that visit Pong. This year, 25,000 birds of 37 species arrived here in which 10,000 are pochards, 4,000 rudy shelduck, 2,200 northern pintail, 2,100 coots and 550 are bar-headed geese. This is just the beginning of the season and the number is expected to increase, believe officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Fertilisers and pesticides have been proving harmful for the winged guests and it becomes difficult for the department to save the birds from chemicals which fall into the lake,” said Sameer Rastogi, wildlife conservator. The department, however, agrees that there are some other reasons for the deaths of these birds. “Poisoning by locals, nets of fishermen and sometimes becoming prey to other birds are some of the main reasons of deaths of birds. However, no case of avian influenza was reported after samples were sent to a lab in Jalandhar,” said DS Dhadwal, range officer. He also said 20 cases of poising of birds came to light this year, out of which eight had been registered. “We have now asked locals not to touch the dead birds as the cause of death could be anything and there could be chances of spreading diseases,” Dhadwal added. It has been identified that the Pong wetland environment supports 366 species of avi fauna, which belong to 56 families. Bar-headed geese here constitute more than 45 per cent of the world population. A large congregation of bar-headed geese in close association with rudy shelduck can be easily located feeding on sprouted wheat and gram in the nearby areas. The shore species of gulls such as black-headed and great black-headed are common at Pong Dam Lake, indicating the expansion of their habitat to such remote areas.
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Bringing difference to lives of special children
Bilaspur, November 9 Dr Mallika Nadda, a social activist, founded the organisation in 1999 with its headquarters in Bilaspur. A function was organised to celebrate its 12th foundation day where performances by special children were the main attraction. It was a proud and satisfying moment for the parents who had turned up in good numbers to see their children perform. Dr Nadda said Chetna had been running various services for special children with specially trained staff. Its daycare centres at Bilaspur, Ghumarwin and Jhandutta have 130 children and steps are afoot to provide them facilities like physiotherapy, medical rehabilitation, speech therapy, behaviour modification, vocational training, sports and games, cultural activities and parents counseling and training etc. Other activities of Chetna include community-based rehabilitation programme, home-based programme under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, care giver cell, women empowerment, setting up of self-help groups, environment protection, rehabilitation through training of home industries and crafts, women awareness against domestic violence and an old-age home. Some of the Chetna trainees like Sanjiv, Gurdev, Omparkash and Geeta, have even married and settled in life, a dream they themselves or their parents could never thought would come true. Last year, five of Chetna’s special children passed class V examination along with other normal children and one Nishant Thakur passed class VIII examination and is presently studying in polytechnic at Sunder Nagar. Many children, who could not earlier sit or stand or walk without parents’ assistance, have now started walking or even running without help. In 2003, Gita, a special child, won gold medal in bocce during Special Olympics held in Ireland. She was given a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. Other achievers include Vikram Chauhan, who won gold medal in volleyball during Summer Olympics in 2009 in Shanghai and Rajender who got bronze medal in snow boarding in Winter Olympics. Sushil Kumar and Pawan Kumar have been selected by the National Olympics Committee for participating in Summer Olympics to be held at Athens in Greece in 2011. They are presently attending a national coaching camp in Hyderabad.
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'Polythene hatao, paryavaran bachao' campaign launched
Palampur, November 9 The phase two of the campaign was aimed at achieving "zero tolerance strategy for plastic/polythene waste management". Till date, 1757 hot spots were being cleaned of the plastic waste in the state. As a part of phase one of the campaign, the use of polythene and plastic carry bags was banned. Under phase three of the campaign, efforts would be made to seek mass awareness after which, a legal provision would be considered. Initially, people would be persuaded to check open disposal of plastic waste and the defaulters would be prosecuted. The state government would be authorising its law and order maintenance enforcing the agencies to challan the offenders. Henceforth, the responsibility of the concerned traders and house owners would be fixed for littering. The government would also mull over decentralisation of the challaning powers. The campaign has provided the opportunity to the society to introspect on the objective of making the state plastic free. The government has been motivating consumers to store the plastic waste. The waste can be sold for use in road construction and generate income for them as the PWD would be purchasing waste plastic at the rate of Rs 3 per kg while Rs 1 would be given to the Municipal bodies as handling charges. The Eco-Monitoring and Environment Auditing Scheme was also launched in the phase three. This scheme supplemented the campaign through educational institutions under the supervision of the Department of Environment, Science and Technology,the State Council for Science Technology and the Environment and Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board. The Eco-Monitoring Scheme would be aimed at creating awareness among students. It would be carried out through the educational institutions in the state. As many as 75 eco-clubs would be constituted in 12 local urban bodies including Bilaspur, Nainadevi, Dalhousie, Hamirpur, Dharamshala, Palampur, Mandi, Shimla, Nahan, Poanta Sahib, Solan and Una at the time of launch of scheme. The Eco-Monitoring contingent was flagged off to discourage the use of plastic and polythene carry bags throughout the state. The phase three entails incorporating school students in the anti- polythene drive. As an incentive for making the campaign effective, the students will be awarded for contributing in implementing of the scheme. The prime objective of the campaign was to make students aware of their role in the protection of environment. The students have undertaken the Moral Policing Assignment and will fulfill their responsibility towards maintaining an ecological balance. Under this campaign, schools performing exceptionally well in curbing the use of plastic bags and promote the correct disposal of plastic waste, would be given the Green Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 would be given to schools being adjudged at the second and third respectively.
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Tourism potential of Masrur temple remains untapped
Dharamsala, November 9 The rock-cut temple located in small and remote hamlet Masrur in Kangra district has been an enigma for historians and archeologists. Even Archeological Survey of India (ASI) officials, who are maintaining the site, are not sure about the history of the temple. However, Prof NK Singh’s book ‘Coronation of Shiva-Rediscovering Masrur temple’ has tried to resolve the mystery of the Masrur temple. NK Singh is a former Chairman of the International Airports Authority of India. The Masrur temple is one of the four monolithic rock-cut temples in the country. Two such temples, including Kailash of Ellora and Mamlapuram in Deccan, are famous across the world. The third is at Dhamnar in Rajasthan and the fourth is the Masrur temple located in Kangra district of Himachal. While the other three temples are in a pit or on the ground, the one at Masrur is unique located as it is on a hilltop at a height of about 2500 feet from the sea level. Some are of the view that the temple is similar in design to the Angokar temples of Cambodia. As per local mythology, like many other temples in the region the Masrur temples were also built by the Pandavas. However, Prof NK Singh in his book has opined that the temple was perhaps built during the 6th and 8th century AD. He has based his opinion on the fact that before this period there was no evidence of rock-cut temples in the country. Most of the rock-cut temples in the country were built during this period. After 8th century there was chaos in the region and the rulers did not have resources or time to take up such huge projects. He has studied various kings who ruled the area during the 6th and 8th century AD, including Harshvardhan, who ruled Jalandher state during the 6th century, Yashoverdhan, Lalitaditya, ruler of Kashmir; Jayapal and Prithvi Chand. By deliberating on the fact that the king who built the temple was Lord Shiva devotee and had huge resources, NK Singh has concluded that most likely it was Yashoverdhan, who got the Masrur temple built. He has, however, said that the issue is still open for research by historians and archeologists. The Masrur temple is believed to have been cut out of a single rock measuring 160 feet in length and 105 feet in width. Shuttleworth was the first British civil servant who mentioned about the rock-cut structure of the Masrur temple. The large water tank facing the main temple is also cut out of a rock and has regular water supply from a spring. The temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva as is indicated by his image on the doorway. The entire theme of carvings revolves around festivity and coronation of Lord Shiva who is at the centre of all Gods and Goddesses. NK Singh told The Tribune that though he had spent two years on researching facts regarding the temple much needed to done. It can be a world heritage site if the government makes sincere efforts to project it.
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Beautiful ladies of Kangra Paintings
by Shriniwas Joshi The female figures in Kangra paintings are no less than those in Ellora and Ajanta. They are the embodiments of youth, beauty and emotive sentiments. Ashtnayika (eight heroines) formed in words by Kesavdas in 1591, a ritikaal Hindi poet, in his 'Rasikpriya' were made alive later by the Kangra painters. They are physically ideal - slender and elegant, radiating infinite charm, sensitive and refined. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the great art historian, has this to say about her:" The heroine's eyes are large as any lotus, her tresses fall in heavy plaits, her breasts are firm and high, her thighs are full and smooth, her hands are like rosy flowers, her gait as dignified as any elephant's and her demeanour bemuse." Our Chief Minister recently released a book 'Kangra ki Chitrankan Parampara' (The traditions of Kangra paintings) by Vijay Sharma, an hill artist to be reckoned with. The book in Hindi is first of its kind on Kangra paintings having 221 coloured portraits and images in 180 pages printed in a coffee-book style. The book has a poem on Kangra paintings written by Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1951. I am giving its first para only that describes the art: "Lalit Kangra kalam kalit ke rasik-sujan chalane walo!/ Dekh tumhari rekhaon mein/ Jo chiknahat, chatak, safai,/ Gher, ghumao, kasav, dhalavat,/ Loch, latak, bal, mor, nikai/ Soch nahin pata hun kitni/ Sahlai hogi jeevan ki/ Kaya tumne, bhar hathon mein pyar, kala ke naam nihalo!" (O passionate drawer of elegant, graceful Kangra painting!/ Seeing the soft, bright and tidy,/ Full, meandering, attractive, tilting,/ Supple and stylish; rippling and twisting and orderly/ Contours drawn by you,/ Can I imagine not/ The level to which/ You ought have caressed life with hands loving/ To behold the creative upshot.) Vijay Sharma has given prominence to the graceful female faces in Kangra paintings by publishing nine of them in an earmarked page. The female faces are generally depicted in profiles in Kangra paintings because the profile pronounces the beauty of the nose, the right cut of the chin and accentuates fish-like eyes of the figurines. Vijay, in his book, has given a folio from the Devi Mahatmya series that stands displayed in Himachal Pradesh State Museum. It is dated 1552 AD and depicts a Virahini Nayika, she who pines for her lover. There was a strong prejudice that the Mughal School of painting was solely responsible for the origin of Pahari painting and the beginning in this field of art was made only in the second half of the 17th century. Says Dr VC Ohri, an art historian of repute, "The discovery of an illustrated manuscript of Devi Mahatmya of the 16th century from the Kangra area and its connection with the Pahari region in view of some inherent evidence in it, is significant; this discovery has upset the previous hypothetical suggestions." The author of the released book states that Devi Mahatmya was written at Jaisinghpur in 1575 AD. The first three chapters of the book are important; the author believes that it is the scenic beauty of Kangra that inspired the painters to take to the art; the other attractions were the patronage given to them by the princes and the beauty of the females of the area. The second chapter is on the contents of the paintings and here the author, besides other finer points, discusses the portrait-drawings of the princes. A portrait painting of Sansar Chand (1765-1823), the great patron of Kangra art, done in 1820, has been procured from Boston Museum of the USA. Sansar Chand is shown in it in all regalia smoking a hookah. The third chapter is on the romance - the amorous play of Radha and Krishna, Bhagwat Purana and Geet Govind by Jaidev were the predominant themes of the time, which became the base for visual expressions. The author in other four chapters has given the pahari-traditions existing in different states of Kangra region. The book dedicated to late Pandit Anant Ram Sharma, father of the author, is artistically designed, written in simple Hindi and has been published by Chamba Shilp Parishad.
Tailpiece
An artist is one who butters his toast with fingers to feel its texture.
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Stray dogs sterilised
Kangra, November 9 Dr YV Bhardwaj, in charge of the central animal house of the college, said the department of the animal husbandry with the collaboration of Himalayan Nature Society, Dharamshala, an NGO, launched a four-day animal birth control and anti-rabies vaccination camp at the college following rising dog bite cases. Dr Bhardwaj said, “We were left with no option but to catch them and sterilise and vaccinate them to avoid such incidents”. He said during the camp nearly 100 dogs were sterilised and vaccinated. He said this would help in controlling their population and reduce dog bite cases. Bishan das, Sanjay Kumar and Surinder Kumar, volunteers of Himalayan Nature Society, helped the animal husbandry personnel in catching dogs on the campus, besides assisting them in surgical procedures. A team of doctors, comprising Dr BN Sharma, Dr S Sharma and Dr Atul Puri, performed the surgeries. Last year, a foreign NGO with the help of Himalayan Nature Society caught a large number of dogs and sterilised them at Tanda Medical College.
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Pong Dam to be tourist place
Shimla, November 9 The ADB has already approved the fund and the agreement will be signed early next month for giving Rs 150 crore to the Tourism Department for infrastructure development. The survey will ensure that there is community participation and the benefits of the project accrue to the locals. The department will entrust the task of the survey to consultants and its own community development officers and environmental safeguard specialists will also be involved in the exercise. “Before we embark on the project, we want to undertake exhaustive spadework so that the locals benefit” said Arun Sharma, Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Pong Dam is a popular destination but the place has failed to come up for want of adequate tourism infrastructure. The place has a water sports centre and thousands of migratory birds flock here from Siberia and Russian during winters. It is also one of the biggest fishing sites in the state, besides Gobindsagar lake in Bilaspur. The department proposes to set up an information centre, develop trekking routes on the island, re-development of the three forest rest houses at Raainsar, Nagrota Suriyan and Dhameta and creation of camping sites. There is also a proposal to have a bird watchtower in the area to facilitate the sighting of rare migratory birds. There is also a proposal to have a souvenir and handicraft and handloom product shop to showcase the Himachali culture. “We are keen that rather than the Tourism Department or any other government agency running the information centre and other facilities, it is the local people, panchayat concerned, NGOs and societies who should come forward to manage the show and make it popular tourist destination,” said Sharma. Even though Himachal has immense tourism potential, it is lack of basic infrastructure that has come in the way of certain places gaining prominence. In fact, Pong Dam has a locational advantage as it is close to Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and can attract a lot of weekend tourist, which is very minimal at the moment.
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Tiny tots keep audience spellbound
It was a glittering performance by Junior School of Loreto Convent Tara Hall at the annual function with the concert "Peace Child" symbolising the relevance of virtues like forgiveness and peaceful co-existence. The tiny tots right from nursery performed with great elegance and perfection (See photo), ensuring the performance of each and every student. The item presented by the students also provided a glimpse of the cultural diversity of India with dances and costumes of every state displayed with perfection. However, the highlight of the show was the musical concert "Peace Child" where two warring tribes bury their rivalry and animosity with the birth of a child. It is the birth of a child to the tribal king, which helps in burying the generation-old antagonism between the two tribes. Speaking on the occasion Principal Sister Anita Braganza stressed the need for inculcating the right values of forgiveness, caring and compassion in children so that they grow up to be harbingers of peace in a world torn with stress and conflict. "It is very essential for every child to have compassion and forgiveness so that they grow up to understand the value of peace and harmony which would make the world a much better place," she said. She said the endeavour of the school was to help every child in character building, inculcating the right values and to bring out the best in every child, be it in academics, sports or cultural activities. MC plan to outsource
construction work
Plagued with perennial shortage of financial resources and manpower, the Shimla Municipal Corporation, the only corporation in the state, plans to outsource the construction work as part of the administrative reforms to be undertaken under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. The corporation will be given funds under the mission only if it implements the reforms in toto. The corporation has already implemented some of the reforms in respect of sanitation by setting up a society to undertake the work. The construction of three big parking being carried out in the public-private-partnership mode will save the corporation the bother to raise resources or recruit manpower to implement the projects involving an investment of over Rs 65 crore. The next in line for outsourcing is sewerage and water supply. The corporation has not been able to deploy staff or provide the basic civic amenities in the peripheral areas merged into it seven years ago due to a shortage of resources. The residents of the merged areas have been refusing to pay municipal axes on the plea that they were not being provided basic services like streetlights ,
proper water supply, sewerage and road connectivity. Outsourcing of services has become a compulsion for the fund-starved local body.
Move to honour blood donors
The Health Department has decided to provide master donor cards to those donating blood on a regular basis on the pattern of the PGI, Chandigarh. The master card will enable them to get blood when needed. Volunteers who have donated blood 10 or more times will be eligible to get the master card. The blood bank at Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital alone has over 300 such donors. The step is aimed at encouraging voluntary blood donations. The hill state has been free from professional blood donors, unlike many other states, but there is at times a severe shortage of blood in various hospitals. In all, over 25,000 units of blood is required annually. So far only NGOs have been organising camps to help meet the requirement of blood. It is for the first time that the Health Department is taking steps to encourage voluntary blood donation. The master donor card will be honoured by the department for providing not only blood in times of need but also giving the holder an identity. (Contributed by Pratibha Chauhan and Rakesh Lohumi)
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Lavi fair loses its traditional charm
Shimla, November 9 In return, they take home items of daily use such as salt and other general merchandise, which are not available under the barter system. The fair is held at Rampur - which was once a major trade centre on the old silk route connecting Afghanistan, Ladakh, Tibet and Kinnaur - every year from November 11 to 14. It is preceded by a cattle fair, the main attraction of which is the world famous Chamurthi horses bred in Spiti. However, the character of the fair has undergone a sea change in the recent years and the traditional items have quietly given way to readymade garments, electronic gadgets, fridges, television Of late, the auto manufacturers have also made an entry into the fair selling bikes, cars and other light vehicles. The traditional items have now been confined to only a small corner of the fair called the Kinnauri market. The reasons are not far to seek. With the road network penetrating the remotest corner of the hostile mountain ranges, the business activities have spread far and wide right down to every village. All items of daily use, which the tribals require, are available round the year in the local markets and there is no need for bulk procurement in one go. Further, the barter system no longer exists. More importantly, the tribals are no longer dependent on traditional avocations for livelihood and as such the production of raw wool, dry fruits, hand woven woollens, spices, jewellery and livestock is declining with each passing year. In fact, Lavi literally means The tribals have now been reduced to buyers and the traders from northern Indian plains and lower hills make a fast buck at fair selling all sorts of modern items and general merchandise. The volume of trade now runs into crores of rupees. The tribals sell small quantities of traditional goods like wool, pashmina and chilgoza, which are still much in demand not only within the country but also abroad. Traders from Kinnaur come to the fair along with their families and stay in the mela ground. Trading at the fair starts with the livestock fair held in the first week of November. It is now held from November 4 to 6, but this year it was advanced by three days in view of Divali festival. Like every year Spiti’s Chamurthi horses were the main attraction of the fair. This year over 450 horses were part of the cattle fair out of which about 150 were sold. The official participation was 360 and the maximum rate was Rs 35,000. Unofficially, some horses were sold for even Rs 42,000. After brisk trading during the day, huge bonfires are lit in the evening, and the fair turns into a cultural fest with tribals indulging in singing, dancing and merrymaking. However, these days Bollywood and Punjabi singers dominate the show and the folk dances and songs are only used as fillers in between the performances.
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Dharamsala, November 9
Shimla, November 9
