Mandi, June 21
Facing acute water shortage and intermittent drought, villagers in Barswan panchayat have started conserving water from its traditional “baolis” in water-harvesting structures built by them under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.

“The villagers are now using water from these structures,” says Prem Sagar from Barswan. “It is not a cure at all, but it can surely meet water shortage in summers,” add villagers. In fact, Mandi district has shown a way out of the water crisis in the state. It is using an array of over 10,397 traditional water sources by converting them into water-harvesting structures.

The villagers are thus left with sufficient water to feed their cattle and irrigate their fields. The initiative has also given employment to poor villagers nearer home who are now generating extra income by utilising the out-flowing water which otherwise would have gone waste downstream. However, they are still miles to go before achieving the long-term target.

“We work, earn and then get the benefit of the work done by us,” says Banti Devi. “We need not go out for work and money. MNREGA is a programme for poor,” adds Hemant Kumar. Barswan is not the only village using wastewater from traditional water bodies like baolis (tank), nalu (tape) and naun (pond). In fact, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) has made over 250 wastewater harvesting structures in different blocks downstream that villagers are using for different purposes.

There is no shortage of MNREGA funds as Himachal has a budget of Rs 1,000 crore. The cost of each water structure ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh depending upon the size.

These water conservation structures, however, need local species of trees, which help recharge water bodies and help percolate down the rainwater, say ecologists.

But the success story has its own problems. There are some examples where influential villagers allegedly corner MNREGA funds as a cover-up exercise like in the Paddar area where water

ponds have been constructed, but these hold no water in them due to seepage. Dr Amandeep Garg, deputy commissioner (Mandi), says, “Mandi Sakarshta and Jan Vikas Samiti (MSJVS), an NGO, conducted a survey in the district last year. It identified 10,397 traditional water sources and made an action plan using MNGREA funds successfully. The BDOs monitor the water structures while the IPH Department ensures whether the water is fit for human consumption.” He says the IPH chlorinates water sources and sees that it is not infected by sewage or dirty inflow. “Now no concrete structure or paths are allowed around the water sources,” he adds. BS Bhandari, project director, DRDA, says, “Around 250 water structures are in place and are being used by villagers. The action plan to conserve the rest of the water sources is ready for approval”.

Shimla, June 21
Born into a conservative Aggarwal business family of Ellenabad village in Sirsa district of Haryana, choosing to become a magician was not an easy task for Samrat Shankar, who is today one of the top magicians of the world.

Shankar, who has been enthralling audiences, especially children, for the past 22 days in the Queen of Hills, says it was at the age of 14 that he saw the first magic show of his life in Srikaranpur, Ganganagar in Rajasthan, where his family had moved from Sirsa. “I was so captivated by the performance by a renowned magician, Dev Kumar from Kolkata, that I decided that very moment that I will follow in his footsteps,” he reminisces.

Being a magician is no mean task, considering the hard labour and dedication that is required, but for Shankar it was the stiff opposition from his father which made the going tough for him. “While I trained under the renowned PC Sarkar and later his son BN Sarkar, I continued my M.Com studies so that my father did not get to know that I was training to become a magician,” he recalls. In fact his father threw all his stuff he used to captivate people with magic out of the house.

Finding a bride for him too became a major problem for his family as no one wanted to marry their daughter to a magician. “People had all kinds of misconceptions those days as they thought I was dabbling with evil spirits, but my father-in-law was a rare exception and appreciated my art and agreed to the marriage proposal for his daughter,” says Shankar. He, however, gave a taste of his art at the wedding mandap where he made his bride disappear even as she was sitting right next to him.

Having organised over 28,000 shows all over the world, the 61-year-old juggler wants to set up an academy where he can pass on the art to the younger generation. “Today, the art of magic is fast fading out so I am keen to train youth so that the tradition can carry on and they can acquire a means to earn a livelihood,” he says. He is keen to set up an academy in Shimla as he feels it is a famous tourist destination where he can spread his magical world.

Honouring the wishes of his mother, Geeta Devi, he has done more shows for charity than to earn, although he has a entourage of almost 70 people who travel with him on all shows. “I have done over 22,000 shows for charity as my endeavour is to give a strong social message on problems like dowry, female foeticide, alcoholism and above all to dispel superstition which I feel is still deep-rooted in our society”.

However, what pains Shankar the most is the misuse of the art which according to him is a combination of high level of art and deep concentration attained through yoga and rigorous training.

“I am very particular in choosing trainees as several so-called sadhu-mahatmas have learnt the art from me, but misused to hoodwink people, which is really sad,” he regrets.

For the past one decade, the magician is working to perfect the Indian rope trick where the body parts of a boy fall from a 600 feet rope which he puts together to make the boy come alive.

“It is a challenge which I hope to perfect in two years, besides being able to walk on water,” he says talking about his professional growth.

Hamirpur, June 21
Work on 66 MW Dhola Sidh, the first hydro-electric project coming up in Hamirpur district on the Beas, would take some more time to commence as forest clearance for the project would have to be applied again by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN), the executing agency.

The case submitted by the SJVN early this month to seek clearance from the principal chief conservator of forest was referred back with a few observations. As approximately 8,000 large and small trees (mainly khair) would be uprooted during the construction of this project, the Forest Department is concerned about the proper implementation of the catchments area plan to compensate the loss by felling of trees. The commencement of the project on ground level would only begin after getting techno-economic clearance from the state government and other clearances from the Centre.

Sanjay Sood, conservator of forest, Hamirpur circle, said, “For implementing CAT plan, the department will have to undertake a massive afforestation drive to compensate for the loss of flora during the construction of the project. For composite plantation, we will have to create land bank since we need a large chunk of land in every forest division affected by this project. We have already identified one such land bank in Dehra division having about 25 hectare while the process is on in other divisions”.

After clearance from the Forest Department, approval of the Ministry of Forest and Environment from the Centre would be obtained. Senior DGM Dhola Sidh (hydro-electric project) SK Mahajan said, “We would submitting the case for forest clearance again within a week and all other clearances are also in the pipeline and every effort is being made to commence the work at the earliest”.

Dharamsala, June 21
Despite heavy tourist rush, visitors give the local Kotwali Bazaar a miss and head straight to Mcleodganj as the market has nothing much to offer to them. Also, the biggest reason of its unpopularity is the lack of enough parking space. The market has not shown much development in years, except the opening of three or four branded showrooms. The number of vehicles have increased manifold, but the authorities failed to make sufficient provision for parking.

Worried due to lack of business in the market, Roshanlal Narula, president, vyapar mandal, says, “Unavailability of parking space keeps tourists away from our market. Even locals prefer to go to other markets which provide them sufficient parking.” The work on a proposed parking lot has been going on for years. The business community is bearing the consequences of the tardy pace of work, he says.

The plan of a multi-storeyed parking at community hall and at another site have not seen the light of day, which has been causing huge losses to local businessmen. The market has been facing slowdown since the area has been virtually turned into a no parking zone. The private parking here remains full, rues Narula, adding that the ongoing work at the bus stand is also acting as a hindrance.

Markets at Kangra and Palampur have expanded in years, but no such change has been seen in Kotwali market. Answering to this, the president mentions that due to slowdown, local businessmen do not have enough sources to invest and take risk.

“Another reason for the poor business at the market has been the Monday market where vendors sell cheap and low quality items which attracts low-spending customers. The authorities must take a stern action against them as they don’t pay taxes and cause traffic hazards,” he adds. Another local businessman with a different view supported the vyapar mandal president. He believes that Kotwali market is not tourist-oriented, but caters to local customers only who also stay away due to no parking.

Palampur, June 21
The area under tea is squeezing year after year following the large-scale sale of tea gardens in the valley. The shortage of labour, non-availability of subsidy on fertilisers, inputs and other assistance from the state government have also led to abandoning of tea farms by a number of tea growers, which has resulted in a sharp fall in the production of tea.

This year, there is a sharp fall in the production of green tea leaves as compared to the previous year. In most of the tea gardens, the production of green tea leaves was recorded at 50 per cent as compared to the previous year. It may be recalled that quality tea leaves are plucked in March-end and April, but that too remained much below the expectations of the growers, which otherwise give them maximum returns.

Official sources say the production of green leaves has come down to 30 to 50 per cent in the valley. Small growers are the worst hit where the fall in the green tea leaves production has been recorded up to 60 per cent. The long spell of winters this year and cold weather conditions in April further aggravated the situation as it damaged tea bushes in many gardens. In April last year, the total production of green leaves were 7,80,000 kg whereas this year, it has come down to 5,55,000 kg. Likewise, the production of made tea in April last year was 25,000 kg, which has come down to 18,000 kg this year, resulting in huge losses to the growers.

The total loss to the local tea industry so far has been estimated at Rs 5 crore. However, experts and scientists working at HPAU estimate the loss to be more than Rs 5 crore. The Palampur Cooperative Tea Factory, which is already in the red, has been adversely affected because of poor inflow of green leaves this year. Its production has come down by 30 per cent.

Palampur, June 21
Thanks to the lack of administrative and political will, illegal mining has been increasing in various water bodies in and around the town. Hundreds of tractors, trucks and vehicles can be seen in the Valley carrying stones and sand from Neugal Khud and its tributaries daily. The mining is now affecting agricultural and forest lands.

According to the Kangra district mining officer, mining in Neugal and its tributaries is completely banned for the past one-and-a-half year. A notification to this effect was issued by the state government in 2009. Subsequently, no mining permits were issued for the 40-km-long stretch of Neugal Khud between Palampur and Alampur. Besides, mining is also not allowed in private land or forest land as per law.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that Neugal Khud had not been put to auction since 2009, as the matter was pending in the apex court. Despite a ban imposed on mining, there was none to implement the orders of the government. Even there is none to check those collecting lakhs of rupees daily as royalty on behalf of the government. Nobody even knows who was pocketing this money.

The Kangra mining officer says in the absence of manpower and field staff, the Mining Department has been unable to check this menace. There are hundreds of spots from where stones and sand are being extracted daily. It is difficult for them to keep a watch on all these points. He admits that it is in his knowledge that illegal mining is going on in Mehanja, Bindravan, Paror, Alampur Thural, Shiv Nagar, Kangain and Jaisinghpur, but due to the shortage of staff no action can be taken.

The government has also given powers to the SDM, DSP, executive engineers of the PWD, IPH and DFO to check illegal mining, but these officers hardly move out of their offices despite the fact that a huge loss is being caused to the Forest, PWD and IPH Departments because of this illegal trade.

The mining has damaged various irrigation and drinking water supply schemes, roads, forests, and agricultural fields. Water level in Neugal has also gone down. The bed of the river has been dug more than 15 ft deep at various places due to which animals fall into these ditches and die.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar, during his visit to Palampur in October 2010, had ordered an enquiry into the matter. For a few days, various officers, including SDM, executive engineer, PWD, SDOP, launched a joint operation and tried to control the menace, but later under political pressure the campaign was left halfway.

In fact, political bosses never wanted to stop illegal mining. Therefore, the entire operation had to be left halfway. Neither the police nor Mining Department officials dare to impound vehicles extracting material illegally from these khuds because of the pressure from high-ups. Several contractors have pressed JCBs and other bigger machines for extracting stone and other material. Even royalty on behalf of the government was being charged by the persons involved in this illegal trade.

The establishment of a regional centre of the Lalit Kala Academy in Shimla will go a long way in promoting visual arts in the state. This becomes evident from the quality of works of artists displayed at the art gallery of the academy in the Gaiety Theatre Complex here.

It was the first exhibition of paintings in the newly set up centre. About 24 artists from the northern states participated in the two workshops. It was for the first time that artists from schools of paintings associated with the state, like the Kangra Miniature painting and the Buddhist Thangka paintings, were invited for such a workshop.

Apart from the works of well-known artists like Surjit and Him Chatterji, the paintings of upcoming artists like Suresh Chaudhary, Pawn Kumar and Vivek were also appreciated. The works are the property of the academy and will be subsequently displayed in other parts of the country.

Nurpur, June 21
The state police in the first phase has established special units to check human trafficking at Shimla and Kangra districts which will do three jobs under one roof.

The human trafficking units will launch concerted efforts to recover missing persons, especially women and children, from the district, keep a strict vigil on child labour and human trafficking and curb immoral trafficking in the district.

However, this unit started functioning at the District Headquarters, Dharamsala, a few days ago, but its independent and equipped office with separate police wing started functioning on Monday.

This unit will prepare a computerised comprehensive data about the reporting of these crimes and their present status and to share that data with other police stations within the district. This data will also be submitted to the state crime record in Shimla. This unit will also disseminate data information to police stations in neigbhouring states.

According to information, in the second phase, such units are also being set up in Chamba, Solan, Sirmour and Kullu districts.

In this connection, Kangra SP Daljeet Thakur said this unit had been established with the objective to ensure the implementation of Anti-Human Trafficking Act, Bonded Labour Abolition Act, Children Care and Protection Act, Anti-Immoral Trafficking Act, Child Marriage Restrain Act and recover missing persons from the district.

“Since crimes under these acts are of sensitive nature having social repercussions, hence they require proper monitoring and this unit will achieve that goal,” he asserted.

Thakur said a special police wing headed by a police officer of the inspector rank and 10 police personnel (with female) had been deputed in the well equipped unit office.

He called upon the people to pass vital information, if any, relating to these crimes to the unit office.

Palampur, June 21
The Mini Secretariabuilt at the cost of Rs 6 crore, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in March this year, lacks basic amenities, causing inconvenience to hundreds of visitors who come to this complex daily to meet different officials.

Over 12 offices of the state government, which were recently shifted to this five-storyed complex, have been facing a lot of difficulties as till date the complex is yet to get drinking water supply connection and phone cables. In the absence of water supply to the newly-built complex, all toilets are non-functional. Officials have to use the toilets of adjoining buildings which are at a distance of at least 100 m. Before making the new complex functional, no provision was made for proper entry and parking of vehicles.

Enquiries made by the Tribune revealed that the building was inaugurated in haste without making provisions for water supply, internal telephone and Internet lines. It seems that the office of the CM was misguided by the district authorities that building was fit for inauguration, thereafter GAD approved the inauguration schedule of the CM. Landline phones are also yet to be installed in this building as no phone cables were laid till date. In fact, there were a number of shortcomings in this building and it never deserved inauguration.

A local municipal council official said the PWD had applied for a water connection for the new complex but there were no water supply lines fitted till date.

Officials of the PWD and revenue are blaming each other for the problems being faced by the visitors. A senior officer said the PWD had no funds for the installation of water supply lines and water pumps to lift the water. He said initially no provisions were made in the original plant for the installation of water supply lines and pumping sets. 

Solan, June 21
Dr SS Sen, principal of Greenhills Engineering College, Kumarhatti, has been awarded the “Best Principal Award 2011” by the National Institute of Technology and Management, New Delhi, recently.

Being the first Ph.D holder in mechanical engineering from Himachal, Sen has many credits to his name, including the Best Teacher award in North India in 1986 and Bharat Jyoti Award in 1997 by an international organisation.

His dedicated approach and vision has earned the college second ranking in the category of emerging engineering colleges for the year 2010 by the CSR GHRDC survey of engineering colleges in India. “This will make the college eligible for an aid of Rs 10 lakh to upgrade research, teaching and infrastructure,” said Sen.

Having spent 42 years in the profession, where he handled both teaching and administrative responsibilities, Sen has carried forward his vision in shaping the GHEC.

The college was awarded the Best Engineering College 2007 in Himachal Pradesh by the Himalayan Research Scholar Association. GHEC is also ranked 45th by CSR-GHRDC in All India Engineering College Survey and first in Himachal Pradesh.

Aiming to equip the staff with the latest technological advancements, chairperson Kirpal Singh observed that regular faculty trainings are the need of the hour and the college envisages continuous and comprehensive upgradation of its faculty and staff members.

The faculties are sponsored for various QIP Programmes, short-term courses, conferences and seminars.

The college has organised various events of repute and two national conferences on Lean Manufacturing Implementations-2009 and REMET-2011.