Palampur, December 13
The tea industry in Kangra Valley is passing through serious crisis these days. Tea growers are finding it very difficult to maintain their tea plantations as there is no buyer for their produce.

The prices of input and labour components have almost doubled in the past three years but the prices of tea in the national and international markets have come down by 30 to 50 per cent ever since the Government of India singed WTO agreement.

The tea produced in India has failed to compete with that coming from Sri Lanka, China and African countries. In those countries, the production cost of tea is much less than that in India. Though in the past few years, tea growers in the valley have made efforts to improve the quality of tea manufactured to compete in the international market, because of the high production cost only few buyers had come forward to buy the Kangra tea.

Because of the crisis in the tea industry, the area under tea is decreasing day by day. Thanks to the apathy of the state government who had failed to initiate any steps for the revival of century old Kangra valley tea industry, a number of tea growers in the Baijnath, Bir and Chauntra area have abandoned their tea gardens as there is buyer for their green tea leaves.

The cooperative tea factories set up by the state government in cooperative sector at Bir, Baijnath, Sidhwari and Palampur have failed to save the interest of small tea growers. Though the state government provided adequate financial assistance to these units, these units could not come out of red and faced losses in crores. The cooperative tea factories set up in Bir, Baijnath and Sidhwari in this district have been closed.

The areas which were under tea till yesterday are being replaced with housing colonies, hotels, tourist resorts, shops and other religious places, etc. The state government had become a silent spectator. In paper, the total area under tea is 2,060 hectares with a total production of 1.3 millions kg of tea. The average production is 578 kg of tea per hectare as against of 800 kg in Assam-Darjeeling.

The tea has been cultivated and manufactured in Kangra Valley since the middle of last century. It was first introduced between 1830 and 1840 by the European Tea Planters, known as Nissan Tea Company. The valley grows the hybrid China tea known to be rich in flavour and compares favourably with the tea grown in other parts of the world.

In the early years, the tea industry flourished very well in the valley because of the suitable agro-climatic conditions and the availability of plenty of land for the tea cultivation. The tea seed imported from China responded well in the valley’s grey soil with PH of about 5.4.

Perhaps few people knew that the Kangra tea was awarded gold medal at an exhibition in London in 1886. Until 1905, the Kangra tea was rated finest in the world for its flavour and quality.

The Kangra earthquake of 1905 proved fatal for the Kangra tea when it destroyed large number of tea gardens. Several tea factories were raised to ground and a number of tea planters were killed. The then British administration declared the valley as unsafe zone and almost all European tea planters left the valley after selling their plantations to Indians.

This is not the end of miseries of Kangra tea industry. It received another set back in 1914 after the outbreak of the First World War. Many people joined the Army and labour availability further adversely affected and tea prices started falling which further discouraged and demoralised the surviving tea planters.

After 1971, the Himachal Pradesh government made little efforts for the revival of Kangra tea industry but it yielded no fruitful results in the absence of political and administrative will.

Though the state government set up four tea manufacturing and marketing units in cooperative sector at Bir, Baijnath, Palampur and Dharmshala, today only one unit is functional while the remaining three units have been sold to private parties because of incurring losses year after year.

The capital employed over Rs 10 crore by the state government had come down to zero today. Lots of irregularities have been reported in the functioning of these units and a number of its employees and directors have been facing criminal cases today.

She said the environment impact assessment report submitted by the SJVNL to the environment ministry failed to carry out a fair and detailed assessment of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project, especially in the wake of constructing two large tunnels.

"The tunnelling of the river has led to the drying up of the riverbed, causing soil erosion, landslides and changing climatic conditions. This will further affect livelihood activities like apple cultivation," the NGO report said.

It said nearly 80 villages located above the head race tunnel had been omitted from the list of project-affected families by the project authorities.

"The environment impact assessment does not take into account the cumulative impact of the project on the Sutlej river basin, which again has not been studied in detail by the project proponents," it added.

Asher said a communication from the environment ministry on their report was yet to come. "If we do not get the response, we will use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to get the ministry's observation on our report," she added.

SJVNL deputy general manager Vijay Verma said the company would provide suitable economic benefits to the project-affected families on the pattern of its earlier projects.

Taking note of a report on the fallout of hydropower projects in the state, environmentalists last year shot off a letter to then Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh, demanding a temporary moratorium on environmental clearance to new projects in the state.

According to the Forest Department estimates, over 9,000 hectares of forest land has so far been diverted for non-forest uses. Of this, 7,000 hectares have been used for hydel projects. — IANS

Manali, December 13
After the season’s first snowfall in the entire upper Manali region, Solang Valley, 13 km from north of Manali town, has become the biggest winter attraction with hundreds of tourists thronging it everyday to have fun in snow.

Solang Valley is not only famous for its scenic beauty and one of the most spectacular ski slopes in the western Himalayas but also has attained popularity for different adventure-related activities and ropeway-cum-Ski centre.

Manali- Rohtang road was closed for vehicular traffic in the wake of fresh snowfall at 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti Valley. On account of this, the Solang valley has nowadays become a magnet for tourists.

Although Solang Valley gets tourists throughout the year, paragliders, nature lovers, trekkers and mountaineers flock this valley frequently. With the onset of winter, the craze for skiing, sledges and riding on snowmobiles is on the increase.

With winter’s first snowfall, a number of small kiosks have come up at different places on the Manali-Rohtang Road, Kanchnikoot, Bahang, Nehrukund, Kulag, Palchan, Solang and Kothi, offering woollen garments, snow shoes, overcoats and caps to tourists. This has become a source of livelihood to the local residents.

The ropeway-cum-ski centre at Solang Valley has also become the biggest attraction with hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists thronging everyday to enjoy it. The ropeway connects the main ski slopes to the top of Mount Phatru at an elevation of 3,200m from where one can enjoy the extensive views of the mighty Pir Panjal ranges. Today, it is also a popular venue with all tourists who visit this enchanting valley both in winter and summer seasons.

The Solang valley also has the distinction of hosting a number of national and state-level ski competitions. Many local boys and girls have taken to this winter sport with enthusiasm and have risen to fame on the national as well as international arenas.

The Solang valley also becomes a big draw for paragliders both in winter and summer. Professional paragliding outfits operate out of Manali areas and possess the latest equipments and trained pilots.

A normal tourist is tempted to try his hand at this safe and thrilling sport. Well-trained local professional instructors ensure that tourists are given a good time during their visit to Kullu -Manali, even through for a short while.

Paragliding, besides being a big draw for adventure lovers and tourists, has also been instrumental in boosting adventure tourism and generating employment for local youths.

The Solang valley, which was once a sleepy small village, has now become a paragliders’ paradise offering excellent facilities to the adventure lovers.

Chamba, December 13
Chamba Senior Citizens’ Cricket Team beat Senior Citizens Cricket Team of Kullu by eight wickets in Twenty20 cricket match played at the Dhalpur historic ground of Kullu on November 27. Chamba Deputy Commissioner Sharabh Negi felicitated the Chamba Seniors team for their triumph over Kullu.

The match was played on the newly laid turf wicket constructed under the patronage of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.

The Kullu team was led by Kamlesh and Chamba team by Major SC Nayyar. Kullu captain won the toss and elected to bat.

Chander and Harbhajan opened the innings. Both gave a good start and at one stage, Kullu were 40 for no loss. But Naresh from Chamba got the wicket of Chander when he was at 11 runs. Naresh got the second wicket of Harbhajan when he scored 17 runs. Kamlesh and Ashok Bhapa played well and scored 20 and 23 runs, respectively. Vijay Sen got two wickets.

Later on, no batsman of the Kullu team could face the spin bowling of Maj Nayyar and Kullu was all out for 110 runs. Maj Nayyar got three wickets.

In reply, Chamba made a good start with opener Surinder Bhandari and Sunit Puri. At one stage, Chamba were 60 for no loss. But due to injury, Sunit Puri retired hurt at 12 runs. Surinder Bhandari scored 34 runs with 4 fours. Narinder Puri was out for 13 runs.

Later on, Vijay Sen and Pawan played well and reached the target of 112 runs without further loss.

Scores:

Kullu team: 110 all out

Chander: 11, Harbhajan: 17, Kamlesh: 20, Ashok Bhapa: 23, Maj Nayyar: 3 wickets for 15 runs, Vijay Sen: 2 wickets for 24 runs, Naresh: 2 wickets for 18 runs.

Chamba team: 112 for 2

Sunit Puri: 12, Surinder Bhandari: 34, Narinder Puri: 13, Vijay Sen: 14 not out, Pawan: 14 not out, Vinay and Kamlesh from Kullu got one wicket each.

Maj Nayyar, convener of the Chamba Senior Citizens’ Cricket Club, said this was their fourth victory in succession. Chamba team had already defeated Mandi, Sundernagar and Nahan during the previous years.

Maj Nayyar said for the next year, the Solan team had invited the Chamba team to Solan to play one-day cricket match.

Nurpur, December 13
Around 21 years ago, a cricket stadium was proposed for the sportspersons of the town. It is yet to see the light of the day. This is the pace of development in the state. The then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh laid the foundation stone of the stadium at Chogan in January, 1990. Again in August 1996, Virbhadra Singh visited the stadium site a few months before the Assembly by-election in Nurpur and the PWD installed a new foundation stone with a new plaque.

It was former minister and Lok Sabha MP Sat Mahajan’s dream project. Due to his efforts, ownership of the Chogan Army camping ground was transferred to the HP government in January 1998.

Encroachers removed the foundation stone and grabbed some portion of the ground meant to be a part of the cricket stadium. Over two decades later, people are still waiting for the stadium.

The former chief minister Virbhadra Singh sanctioned funds for the cricket stadium and earmarked Rs 1.83 crore for its construction in 2006. Construction of the stadium started but with the change in the government in the state in December 2007, construction work stopped.

It raised a political storm in the area. The local MLA Rakesh Pathania took a plea that the previous government had proposed only a 400m-athletic track.

He claimed that the ground on which this track was to be built is in the name of Kangra Deputy Commissioner which needs to be transferred to the name of Youth Services and Sports (YSS) department.

He said the land transfer proceedings are in the final phase. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and YSS department to pave the way for a modern cricket stadium-cum-shopping complex to be built at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore.

The cricket stadium would be named after Mehar Chand Mahajan, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, who hailed from Nurpur, he asserted.

The local youth have their fingers crossed.

Kangra, December 13
Duraga Dutt Shastri, one of the most illustrious Sanskrit scholars of the country, will be remembered on his 4th death anniversary on December 24. It is scheduled to be held at his native village Naleti. An award by his name “Durga Dutt Shastri Bal Puraskar” will also be introduced on the day.

The scholar contribute tremendously for the preservation and promotion of Sanskrit. Born on August 28, 1917, at Naleti, a nondescript village near Dehra, Shastri’s life was an enduring saga of struggles, trials and tribulations that he stoically took in his stride.

After schooling, he studied at Sanatan Dharam Sanskrit College in Hoshiarpur and obtained his Shastri degree in 1936, specialising in Alankar, Vyakaran and Jyotish Shastra in order to keep the family tradition alive.

He started his teaching career with Shri Krishan Sanskrit Pathshala at Nadaun and in 1944, he joined Moti Ram Arya High School at Churhmunda (now in Pakistan). In 1947 after partition, he returned and joined DAV High School here.

Shastri, also referred to as Guruji by his pupils, remained fiercely committed to the teaching of Hindi and Sanskrit. He embarked upon the literary horizon and finally blossomed when the first edition of his book “Raksha Sanskrit Vyakaranam” was out in 1948. The book was well-received by scholars and students of Sanskrit literature. It has already been published in 12 editions.

He authored “Rashtra Path Pradarshanam” (1967), written in a poetic style with student unrest as the guiding theme. Tarjani (1970) is a psychoanalysis of the dowry menace. Madhu Varshanam (1972), a rare compendium on patriotism, is prescribed for various degree classes of HP University.

The master author had made the work of budding prose writers easier by coining new usages, similes and metaphors in this innovative venture.

Recipient of the first award from the Maharaja of Guler, Shastri was conferred on Mahakavi Shri Vanbhatta Award in 1989 by the UP Sanskrit Academy. Brihatsaptapdi (1991), a collection of seven short stories on variegated themes, including the evils of prostitution, child marriage, bride burning, polygamy and the collapse of our legal machinery, earned him the Vanbhatta Award from Sanskrit Academy of UP.

Sanskrit Kalptaru, was prescribed for various Himachal schools. He translated Mahakavi Bhasa’s Swapana Vasavdatta and Vikramovashiyam, works of Mahakavi Kalidasa, into Pahari dialect. Sanskrit Kavya Kunjam, an anthology of 27 poetic compositions of high literary excellence on varied themes, including the Kargil battle, had received rave reviews.

He received the Teachers’ National Award from the GOI in 1968, the Honoris Causa degree of Vidyalankar and Sahitya Ratna in 1995, the Vashishth Viduwan Award from the UP Sanskrit Sangathan, the "Certificate of Honours" award from President RR Venkataraman. Murli Manohar Joshi honoured him for his contribution. Scholars of Sanskrit from Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and UP were doing intensive research on his work. He had donated 1 kanal and Rs 50,000 for raising an ayurvedic dispensary at Naleti.

Palampur, December 13
The state government has decided to strengthen the network of HRTC in far-flung areas of the state. Chief Minsiter Prem Kumar Dhumal has taken the initiative to provide transport facility in those areas where private operators do not provide bus facilities to the rural people.

Under the programme, the state government has approved “Mukhya Mantri Parivahan Yojna” to ensure that people residing in the state get the facility of transport nearer to their homes. This scheme will not only strengthen the transport facilities in the rural areas but also ensure employment to the people.

Under the scheme, 120 focal points have been identified up to which the HRTC buses will ply. From the focal points, the buses of private operators will carry passengers to villages.

The government will give a monthly amount of Rs 1,000 for 17 seater, Rs 1,500 for 22 seater and Rs 2,000 for 29-seater bus. Permits under the scheme will only be issued to unemployed youth and cooperative societies of drivers and conductors. Age to obtain permit has been fixed between 18 and 45 years and applicant should be a bona fide resident of Himachal Pradesh.

For providing better & efficient transport in Shimla town, 75 buses are being introduced in Shimla town under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme of the Union Ministry of Urban Development.

The ISBT Tutikandi, Shimla, has been operationalised with unique special features consisting of three-floor parking to accommodate 150 small vehicles, crew rest room, canteen and office space besides two floors of modern shopping mall, two multiplexes, hotel and food court.

Seven more modern bus stands at Baddi, Dhalli, Manali, Chintpurni, Baijnath, Bilaspur and Rohru are proposed to be constructed on design-build-operate and transfer (DBOT) basis.

The Corporation has a fleet of 15 Luxury buses on the Shimla-Delhi, Shimla-Gurgaon, Manali-Chandigarh, Dharmsala-Delhi, Jogindernagar-Delhi, Manali-Delhi and Shimla-Haridwar routes on deluxe fare. The corporation has introduced 21 AC buses on the Shimla-Delhi, Shimla-Gurgaon, Manali-Chandigarh, Dharamsala-Delhi, Jogindernagar-Delhi, Manali-Delhi and Shimla-Haridwar routes. HRTC has been plying its buses even in the difficult terrain of the state and the recent revamp will further strengthen the state-run transportation services.

Shimla, December 13
An employee leader and member of the executive council of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Waryam Singh Bains, recently demanded that more funds should be provided to the university to meet its financial liabilities on account of revised salaries, arrears and pension bills.

In a statement issued here, Bains said the government must increase the grant-in-aid from Rs 50 crore to Rs 62 crore as the revised pay scales of both teaching and non-teaching staff had been notified with effect from January 2006.

“The HPU has a strong case for additional fund allocation as it intends to introduce many new courses for which infrastructure and teaching staff are required,” he said.

Bains said the HPU must be given an additional grant of Rs 25 crore so as to wipe out its liability on account of arrears, pensions, DA and other payments of employees.

“The government must ensure timely release of dues to retired employees,” he said.

He also stressed the need for follow-up action on the recommendation of the resource mobilisation committee so that there were additional funds in the varsity as in the coming days the financial health of the HPU was likely to worsen if no help came in from the government.

Bains also demanded that all vacancies be filled and instead of making appointments on contractual basis, these should be made on a permanent basis.

He said a sub-committee appointed to look into the anomaly in the scales of university administrative officers had favoured the existing UGC pattern, which had been on a par with teachers.

“De-linking of pay structure was opposed by one and all in both teaching and non-teaching staff because a departure from the past practice had led to several complications,” he added.

The School Health Programme at various government schools in Himachal Pradesh has been continuing for donkey’s years. It was more or less a formality and, somehow, the doctors did not find time to visit the schools or the schools did not show interest in giving dates to the doctors.

The government, at one time, decided to allot schools evenly to the allopathic and ayurvedic practitioners in the field so that the burden is shared by both type of doctors. It also could not bring the desired results.

All the while, the government was alive to the fact that most of the leading causes of disease and disability can be significantly reduced by preventing behaviour initiated during childhood and adolescence, through health education and checkups and by motivating students to follow healthy living. However, taking care of health is one’s own responsibility. It all depends upon how one eats, lives, exercises, sleeps and socialises. The health provider comes into the frame when the damage is already done.

So, any school health programme should not be confined to checkups only, it should include telling the students to care for themselves and others, ill effects of sedentary lifestyle, harmful effects of tobacco, drugs and alcohol, effects of junk and fast foods and that health-related behaviours should be inculcated.