Shimla, January 8
Hoping to get assistance from the new Congress regime in Himachal, a cash-strapped Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) has placed its demand charter, listing 11 main problems before the state government, with the thrust being on resource generation.

The Mayor, Sanjay Chauhan, and Deputy Mayor, Tikender Singh Panwar, apprised Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Minister Sudhir Sharma of the problems confronting the MC. They also placed their 11 main demands before Principal Secretary, Urban Development.

With the issue of regularisation of thousands of houses in the state capital pending for the past quite some time, the Mayor, Sanjay Chauhan, has sought redress of this problem first and foremost. He pleaded that on the basis of a one-time settlement policy, these houses should be regularised on as it is basis.

The status of these houses, majority of which do not confirm to the rules of the Town and Country Planning Act remains unauthorised. The maximum number of these houses are located in the three merged areas of Dhalli, New Shimla and Totu. It is only under a one-time settlement that these houses can be regularised as these will not qualify under any retention policy even if maximum relaxation is given.

Another main problem being faced by the MC is the non-charging of the Property Tax because of the proposed switch over from the present system to the unit area method. The Mayor has pointed put that the MC has lost an income of almost Rs 10 crore this year as the MC house has not approved the switch over to the unit-area method for working out the tax.

The MC has also sought that the entire portion of the forest land which had been transferred to the Forest Department be returned to it as only a portion of it has been returned so far.

Considering the poor financial health of the MC, Chauhan has sought a special capital grant from the state government. “Being not just the state capital but also a popular tourist destination, we need to undertake many works to restore the lost glory of the town and for this we require a lot of funds,” the Mayor said. The MC has had a tough time even arranging funds to pay salaries to its employees.

They also pleaded that funds be provided to the MC to make the water supply system of the town smooth and effective. The previous BJP regime had decided to hand over this task to private hands but the MC house rejected the move.

As a means of resource mobilisation, the MC has also sought that powers for issuing permits for plying of vehicles on sealed and restricted roads be given to the MC. It also demanded a share from the HRTC for plying its taxi on the MC sealed and restricted roads. They also demanded that the MC be allowed to run taxi service on the pattern of HRTC on these roads for the convenience of the public.

The MC also raised various issues relating to the employees, including their regularisation, filling of vacant posts and setting up of pension and gratuity fund.

Palampur, January 8
Despite a ban on the sale and use of polythene in Himachal Pradesh, it is still in use in many parts of the state. In the absence of administrative and political will to tackle the situation, there is none at the district or sub-divisional level to implement the notification issued by the state government in this regard.

Although the government has banned the use and sale of polythene in the state, yet several markets in the region are flooded with polythene. Fruit and vegetable vendors , general merchants and small traders are still using polythene bags without any hesitation. Official sources revealed that in the past six months not even a single offender was fined by the state agencies for the violations.

It may be recalled that the state government had received a number of awards from many agencies for the eradication of polythene from the state but in realty a little had been done as officials are not serious about this. They had conveyed wrong facts and kept the state government in dark .

It is on record that after assembly elections in November 2012, the sale and use of polythene in the state has gone up as administrations failed to initiate action against the defaulters.

S R Kapoor, secretary of Palampur Welfare and Environmental Protection Forum, said the situation has reached to this level due to the lack of initiative by the Deputy Commissioners and failure of agencies like SDMs and tehsildars. Although SDMs has been made responsible for the implementation of the ban, yet hardly any officer bothered to take interest in the cause.

Bharmour, January 8
The work of art on the walls of the ancient temples of Bharmour is decaying due to the vagaries of weather. The state must take elaborative preventive steps for the conservation and preservation of the antique art through chemical devices to protect the glittering façade. Once called Brahmpura,the capital of the State of Bharmour, the town still retains its ancient temples and monuments, some of which dates back to the seventh century. The existence of these temples proves that even at that early period the state possessed resources.

The most important of the existing temples are Manimahesh (Suryamukhling temple), Lakshna Devi, Ganesh and Narsingh. These temples are beautifully carved with human figures and floral designs. The Manimahesh shikhara-style temple is one of the most ancient and beautiful temples in Himachal Pradesh.

Lakshna Devi is represented here as Mahishasuramardini (slayer of the buffalo demon), her brass idol have been executed by Yugga, the master artisan of King Meru Verman. This temple needs special attention.

The Narsingh temple was erected by queen Tribhuvan Rekha as it is evident from an inscription carved on a copper plate. Queen Rekha was Prince Yogkar’s wife, who was King Sahil Verman’s son. He ruled during the 10th century. The temple was badly damaged in an earthquake on April 4, 1905.

Tucked in the snowy mountains, Bharmour township, a tribal sub-divisional headquarters, is 65-km away from the district headquarters of Chamba and is linked with a vehicular metalled road. The place is famous for its ancient temples, which were erected when King Meru Verman was ruling over the state in the seventh century.

A chronological inquiry reveals that 84 yogis visited the place during the reign of King Sahilla Verman. Pleased with the King’s hospitality, the yogis rewarded him with ten sons and a daughter Champavati. It is on account of the visit of these yogis that the compound where the ancient edifices are situated is called “Chowrasi” and is held in high esteem by the local people.

Simultaneously, it is believed that the souls of human beings, who have committed evil and wicked actions, after completing the punishment awarded by the Dharamaraja- the king of justice- pass through the 84 “yonis” of living creatures in this universe during their journey of birth and rebirth and then come to Bharmour to Lord Shiva for taking rebirth in the form of human being. So the place is called “Chowrasi”.

Nurpur, January 8
A two-day open state-level weightlifting championship for men and women concluded at Government College, Dehri, near here, recently. The State Weightlifting Association organised the championship, which was the 12th for men and sixth for women. The event saw the participation of 80 participants from Kangra, Chamba, Una, Solan and Sirmour districts.

In men’s competition of eight weight categories, from 56 to 105 kg, was held with two senior and junior categories. The overall trophy for men was won by Kangra district. In senior category, Raj Kumar from Kangra was declared as the best weightlifter of the state, whereas in junior category, Harjeet Singh from Sirmour was adjudged as the best weightlifter of the state.

In women’s championship, the participants competed in four weight categories, 53 to 75 kg. The overall trophy was won by Chamba district. In senior category, Shivali from Chamba was declared the best weightlifter of the state whereas in junior category Sudesh Kumari from Kangra was adjudged as the best.

The winners, first runners-up and second runners-up of the championship were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals respectively, along with certificates by the association. 

Nurpur, January 8
In order to assist industry to adopt HIV/AIDS prevention policy at the workplace with the consent of the internal committee and management of the industry, Himachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society recently organised a special workshop for trainers in the industrial area of Sansarpur Terrace, 50 km from here. Presiding over the workshop, Vijay Kumar, the member secretary of the state industry department, said the workplace had a vital role to play in the struggle to control AIDS epidemic. He asserted that the HIV and AIDS had been recognised as a threat to the development of a healthy workforce.

Dr RK Sood, the Kangra district AIDS Programme Official while addressing trainers working in the industrial area Sansarpur Terrace stated that in order to provide an environment that was conducive to the prevention of HIV among employees in workplaces, it was important that enterprises should establish and implement HIV prevention programmes and policies under the National Policy on HIV/AIDS. ‘‘The HIV/AIDS epidemic is now a global crisis, and constitutes one of the most formidable challenges to our development and social progress. It affects the most productive age group of 15-49 years”, he added.

Deputy Director HP State AIDS control Society, Shimla Vishal Acharya in his address informed that the HIV prevalence among migrant population was 3.6% which was 10 times more than the HIV prevalence among general populace. This workshop was also aimed to integrate HIV in regular programmes of the industries having employees as the HIV/AIDS nodal person, establishment of an internal HIV/AIDS committee and their sensitisation. The workshop was organised in collaboration with the state industry department and local NGOs- Youth Development Centre and Plan Foundation. 

We are living in an era of Knowledge Society. Knowledge has always been a factor of production and a driver of economic and social development. The earliest economy depended upon the knowledge of how to farm thereafter the knowledge of how to build and manufacture structured society, then came the times of information society. Abdul Waheed Khan of UNESCO says: “Information society is the building block for knowledge societies. Whereas I see the concept of ‘information society’ as linked to the idea of ‘technological innovation’, the concept of ‘knowledge societies’ includes a dimension of social, cultural, economic, political and institutional transformation, and a more pluralistic and developmental perspective.” Records and archives are at the heart of the knowledge society. The job of archives is to establish communication between the heritage knowledge and the eager to know people.

The state archive was established in Shimla in 1984 but it could not attract many scholars towards it for several reasons - the apathy of officials manning the archive being on the top. The archive in a private rented building was shifted in March, 2012, to a new building owned by the Department of Language and Culture, which controls the Archive. There is, now, a well-lighted room for the scholars who can sit in ease and study around almirahs of books (see photo). I am suggesting a few steps that are still to be taken by the State Archive to attract scholars towards it: 1. to increase the general public's awareness of archival materials and archival centre, 2. to focus upon materials in the archival centre with a broad appeal, 3. to inspire persons and organisations with records of enduring value to properly preserve those materials for posterity, and 4. to strengthen ties with regular archives users and to introduce new and potential users to archival centre and the documentary heritage there. The archive has 1,014 files that were brought from the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, 168 from Bilaspur, 640 from Mandi, 1,411 from Kangra, 54 from Rampur Bushahr State, 981 from Punjab Hill States, 1,203 from HP Secretariat, and a lion’s share of 2,326 files from the Municipal Corporation, Shimla. It also has numerous files on minutes and proceedings of various offices, 347 rare books and 1,222 books relating to history. It has a fumigation chamber; preservation, conservation and lamination of old manuscripts are done scientifically here. I may not be wrong if I say that the archive has rich heritage material but awareness about it is lacking.

A wise step that has been taken is to spread the ‘tales from the archives’ through a newsletter named ‘Shimla Dak’ whose five volumes have already been in the hands of the readers (see photo). Its volume 2 brought out in April 2012 is on a custom of Reet which has been defined by Surat Singh, the then General Secretary of Himalaya Vidiyarabandhani Sabha in a letter written to The Superintendent of Hill States on the 12th June, 1924; “This is a form of marriage, without any ceremony, contracted by paying her price, varying according to beauty generally from Rs 100 to Rs 500 and has recently been as high as Rs 2,000, with a woman already legally married. There is no limit to such marriage, and as is evident from their nature, can be easily dissolved as they are freely undertaken.” The sabha had wanted the British Government to pass an Act ‘The abolition of Reet custom Act.’ The Editor of the newsletter had thrown the subject open before the readers for giving expressions to various dimensions of this custom: “Cultural practices are rooted deeply in the societies where these originate. An outsider cannot understand the logic of these customs. Reet may look abominable from one angle but looked from another perspective it was a custom that put individual and individuality above everything else. These petitions also reflect the attitude towards morality and women. “I have experienced that such appeals and requests generally die in the pages of newsletters and I do not know what the response of this appeal was because the next three volumes of Shimla Dak are silent about it. I wish Shimla Dak continues and reaches more hands.

Mandi, January 8
The incidents of rape of minor girls are on the rise in the state as about ‘one-fourth’ of the rape victims, on an average, are minors. The cases of molestation and kidnapping for marriage and eve-teasing are also on the rise for the past 10 years in the state, reveal sources.

Every fourth girl is kidnapped and raped with the intention of marriage, mainly in the Kullu-Mandi region, where traditional marriage by kidnapping is still alive in remote villages.

Even as rape cases were registered, the police failed to produce challans in court in about one third of such cases.

In all, rape cases have registered a rise of about four per cent in the last 10 years in the state. In 2002, 137 victims were raped while the number of cases in 2012 touched 165 till November.

In Mandi district, 28 cases of rape were lodged this year, out of which three victims were minor. Seven victims were raped with the intention of marriage as per police version, but police have no data whether the accused married the victims or not.

In 10 cases, police have yet to put up challan in the court, while challans of 18 cases have been presented. The police booked 16 cases of elopement this year.

As per the police data, the cases of molestation of women have declined by about 16 per cent for the last ten years, from 347 cases booked in 2002 to 230 cases registered in 2012 till November last.

Though the police have launched a helpline for women, only a few women victims turn up at the police station to lodge the complaint as they ‘fear social stigma and ostracism’, say victims.

Similarly, the cases of abduction or kidnapping showed a marginal increase of four per cent in the last 10 years. In 2002, 119 women were kidnapped while their number was 147 till November 2012. They were abducted or kidnapped mainly with the intention of marriage as tradition of marriage by abduction still continues, say analysts.

In 2002, 11 victims of eve-teasing dared to report the matter to the police. But in 2012, their number went up by more than 5.6 times as 61 women lodged their complaints.

Chamba, January 8
In Himachal Pradesh, particularly in Chamba district, development happened at a snail’s pace till the 1970s. There were times when vehicles had to move in convoys on the Pathankot-Banikhet road and the vehicles from the opposite side had to wait for hours for further journey. At that time Dalhousie used to be a sleepy town in winters with hardly a few shops open and travellers visiting the town.

Construction of various projects generally expedites the development process anywhere and this is what happened in Chamba district because of the construction of major hydroelectric projects, including the 198-MW Baira-Siul Hydroelectric Project on the Baira-Siul rivulets, by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

Some years ago, the commissioning of the 300-MW Chamera project stage-II on the Ravi had opened up a new era of development in the region. Last year, the commissioning of the 231-MW Chamera stage-III on the Ravi had given an impetus to the development of the region.

The shape and appearance of the Pathankot-Banikhet road has improved due to the efforts of the NHPC as the road was widened for the construction of the Chamera project in the 1980s. The road is one of the excellent roads in Himachal Pradesh. There used to be hardly any access to areas like Khairi, Simbleu, Baggi and Sherpur and even during the investigation stage of the project, helicopters were used for transportation of men and material. But now these areas have been linked with double-lane roads. Trailers, buses and all kinds of vehicles ply on these roads all through the day.

More development activities had come up with the construction of the Chamera stage-II and III. The prestigious hospital at Chamba, Shitla Bridge, Baloo Bridge, four other major bridges at Dunali, Battihatti, Gehra and Durgathi across the Ravi and have been constructed besides the road from Chamba to Kharamukh and Garola have also been widened with a tunnel, including environment management plans at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

In addition, the NHPC has also been spending adequate funds continuously on the well-being and uplift of the local people and other development works. 

Palampur, January 8
The Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum (PWEPF) has demanded a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles in the town to avoid frequent traffic jams. The forum said without the ban on the entry of heavy vehicles, there could not be any solution to the rising traffic problems.

At a meetig, which held recently, the PWEPF asked the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, to issue a notification regarding this immediately. The forum said the traffic situation in the town had gone from bad to worse in the past one year because of manifold increase in heavy and light vehicles.

KB Rahlan, spokesman of the PWEPF, said the narrow Mandi- Pathankot National Highway, which passes through the town, had become a major traffic hazard, therefore, all heavy vehicles should be diverted via the Holta byepass to reduce the inflow of traffic in the town . Moreover, long-route buses should also use the Holta byepass- Kalu Di Hatti road to reach the local bus terminal, Rahlan added. He also demanded to remove all roadside encroachments in the town.

Rahlan said it had become difficult for pedestrians to move in the town due frequent road accidents. He regretted that the district authorities were well versed with the situation but no steps had been initiated to improve the traffic system so far. He also demanded shifting of the taxi stand outside the town as it was causing congession. He said the present taxi stand should be converted into a parking for light vehicles. 

Nurpur, January 8
With the enforcement of one-way traffic rule effective from this month, the town has started showing positive results in traffic management. The system has not only controlled frequent traffic jams but also eased traffic bottlenecks in the markets of the town.

The newly elected local MLA, Ajay Mahajan, had directed the police authorities to enforce the one-way rule effectively in the town in view of the burgeoning traffic and its attendant problems. Intriguingly, this rule had been notified by the district administration in 2002 following a demand of the local Municipal Council that had passed a resolution in this connection.

DSP Rajinder Jaswal said according to the one-way traffic rule, entry of the vehicles was allowed in the town from Chogan side and exit from Niazpur and Court Road sides. He said entry from Niazpur and Court Road and parking of vehicles on the roadsides of the markets had been prohibited strictly and offenders would be challaned. 

The first half of the ice-skating season was lost due to unfavourable weather conditions but the second half commencing from the New Year has been good so far.

The weather god a been in an obliging mood and as a result even evening sessions have been possible. Clear skies and a freezing cold temperature have created ideal conditions for water to freeze naturally at Asia’s oldest natural ice-skating rink in the state capital. The rink has been abuzz with activity and during the past one week, it hosted the national ice-skating championship successfully. There have been only 25 sessions so far but if the current spell of favourable weather continues, there could be 60 sessions by the end of the season which is not bad.

However, the Shimla Ice-Skating Club has not been able to organise the annul Carnival which is mostly held between December 20 and 31 when the conditions are most suitable and most of the school and college students, boys and girls, are in the city. Honorary secretary of the club Bhuvanesh Banga said it was not possible to hold the Carnival even in favourable conditions as students mostly leave for spending winter vacations in plains or go out for coaching.

Nurpur, January 8
Parvej Akhtar, Chief Engineer, Irrigation-cum-Public Health (IPH) Department, recently inspected the ongoing construction of the tunnel of the ambitious Rs 205-crore Phina Singh Irrigation Project and also reviewed the problems of locals being raised in the wake of the construction.

Talking to mediapersons here after visiting the site, he said the construction was going on satisfactorily, but needed to be expedited for which requisite permission for blasting for excavation had been taken. He said the construction of the Rs 45-crore project tunnel would be completed within the next three years and the department would undertake construction of other fractions of the project simultaneously.

“The tender process of Rs 13.50-crore diversion weir to shift water of the Kalam rivulet to the Chakki rivulet and intake channel is in the final stage. The IPH Department has been directed to submit land acquisition documents for acquiring land for the construction of the main dam of the project within a fortnight. The IPH Superintending Engineer, Nurpur, will review the ongoing progress of the project construction after each fortnight, and I will do the same once a month,” he said.

Akhtar said he had directed tunnel builders to employ locals keeping in view their requirement and asked department officials to outsource requisite staff to the expedite the project work.

Solan, January 8
With increasing incidents of human-bear conflicts in the state, the Wildlife Wing of the State Forest Department has geared up to devise strategies to deal with the situation.

According to the assessment made by officials, widespread loss of habitat coupled with poaching for trade are the major threats faced by bears in the state. The expanding human population and encroachments on the forest land have led to loss of habitat for the bears and increased proximity between humans and wild animals leading to increasing incidents of conflicts between the two.

As many as 293 cases of bear attacks have been witnessed in the state from 2004 to 2012, with the highest number of 55 attacks taking place in 2009-2010 and as many as 49 being reported during 2012. As many as 19, 43, 28, 37 and 33 cases were reported respectively in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The gravity of loss caused by such attacks can be assessed from the fact that 19 deaths have occurred during the past nine years due to such conflicts and nine cases of people permanently incapacitated, 126 cases of grievous injuries and 139 cases of simple injuries have been reported in the same period. This has led the government to disburse compensation worth Rs 22.36 lakh in the past nine years to the victims of such attacks.

A maximum of 38 cases have been reported from Shimla district followed by 13, 10, 7 and 6 respectively from Chamba, Kullu, Kangra and Mandi districts while Sirmaur has reported four cases.

Since among the two bear species found in the state Himalayan Black Bear falls under the vulnerable category there was an urgent need to devise strategies to minimise conflicts and ensure preservation of their habitat.

SB Islam, Principal Chief Conservative of Forests cum-chief wildlife warden, said efforts were being made to enhance the compensation amount as grievous injuries were being reported.

He said a state level Bear Action Plan had been formulated which had also been made part of the National Bear Action Plant and it would soon be implemented to help reduce animal-human conflict.

He added that people were being educated to burst crackers in places where such attacks were high and not move about on solitary basis especially at night so as to avoid such conflicts.

Palampur, January 8
Despite increase in the population in this region of the state, the government is yet to enhance the strength of the police force in the local police station.

The inadequate police strength in the police station has given rise to crime in the area. The strength is the same as it was in 2001.

Even the government has failed to provide the sanctioned number of police personnel. At present, the police force is almost half the sanctioned strength.

Despite a large jurisdiction, the station has only one jeep and one motorcycle.

Eighty litres of diesel for the jeep and 20 litres of petrol for the motorcycle are provided to it by the government. There is a large-scale increase in cases of theft. Over 12 vehicles were stolen in the past one year. Besides, 36 cases of thefts were also reported from the area.

A senior police officer admitted that most of the thefts and burglaries in the region were being committed by criminals coming outside the state, but inadequate police force was a major hurdle to check the same.

He said the present strength of the police in the station was only 21, including a driver, a cook and a munshi. As per the directions of the higher authorities, woman constables could not be deputed on late night duties.

In the present scenario, these police personnel had to work for extra hours everyday and no overtime is being paid to them. The police staff posted in Palampur were living in hellish conditions.