Encroachments mar Shimla's beauty

THE British established their camp about 170 years ago at the present-day Shimla town for about 18,000 persons. In due course this area's importance and the population increased. The present population is about 1.5 lakh regular residents and a similar floating population.

Many people have been coming and settling here without restraint. They have been coming in search of a livelihood as casual workers and soon developed roots to become, first petty hawkers, then small businessmen and then rich hoteliers. That is how the town is overflowing with population.

The labourers came and settled down in jhuggis around the sites of civil construction works, mostly bungalows, hotels and government offices. Once here they developed roots and forgot about returning to their home towns.

As a result of this trend, hutments of all shapes and sizes mushroomed on government land. The new settlers were crafty enough to "arrange for" water and electricity through the back door. For the call of nature they used the wooded areas, the nullah beds as well as roadside drains. The contractors who hired such labourers paid no attention to the essential necessities of their workmen, much less to the cleanliness of this once-regal town. The net effect is that the forests which once used to emit the scent of pines are now permeated by the stench of excreta. It is rather, difficult to pass by these unauthorised colonies.

Another effect of encroachments is that idle youngsters living in these hutments indulge in begging, hawking and even stealing. Not only that, some of the women roam about in pairs around crowded places like bus stops, banks, post offices and at the railway station, to entice youngsters.

In nutshell, if the officials concerned do not become cautious, take necessary steps and precautions to check and control, if not fully eliminate, illegal settlements in the Shimla's forested pockets, not only would the greenery disappear, but the whole town itself would become a den of vice and crime.

Social service in his blood

Social service and Brij Bhushan Midha are synonyms at Fatehabad. The man in his early thirties has carved out through social service such a place in society that no social function is considered complete unless he is present there.

Mr Midha has been honoured over 200 times for his social work, including once by a Governor. (Mr Dhanik Lal Mandal), twice by a Chief Minister (Mr Bhajan Lal) and on over a dozen of occasions by the district administration during the Independence Day or Republic Day functions. By now he has a collection of over 100 awards and trophies with him, presented to him on different occasions.

Mr Midha entered the field of social service at the age of 20 in 1983, when he joined Rotaract Club. Since then there has been no looking back for him. He remained at various posts in the Rotaract Club and then was elected to a post for Rotaract District 3090 in 1991. During his tenure he has been serving the cause of humanity in one way or the other. He would distribute books and other study material to poor and needy students and provide financial help to the poor for the marriage of their daughters. He has provided artificial limbs and tricycles to hundreds of handicapped. He has been providing blood to patients for the last one decade. For this he has developed a team of volunteers with different blood groups, who are always ready to donate blood to needy patients.

The spirit of social service is in Mr Midha's blood. Born in a rich prosperous business family, his father was a philanthropist. His elder brother works for a number of religious and charitable institutions in the town.

Rotarian honoured

Mr Manmeet S.P. Singh, art educator and head of the Art Education and allied disciplines of the Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, has been awarded the Four Avenues of Service citation by Rotary International for his outstanding achievements in club, vocational, community and international service.

The honour, which has been given recently to him, eulogised his record of 25 years of service as an art educator and 15 years of service as a dedicated Rotarian.

Mr Manmeet Singh's nomination has been favoured for matching international and cross cultural concerns, fostering the values of contemporary art education and rescheduling the art curriculum at the school level, keeping in view cultural identity.

The Rotarian has also been praised for his single-handed initiative in tapping the doors of Rotary International for forming the "Rotary reactional and vocational fellowship education — art in formation" institution to attract art educators from all over the world to share their expertise pertaining to new trends and methodologies.

Mr Manmeet Singh's efforts in organising an international exchange programme of children's art and letters between pupils of the YPS, Patiala, and others abroad have also been appreciated.

He is credited with having done remarkable work in the two pulse polio campaigns held in the country in collaboration with voluntary organisations, besides helping other clubs under Rotary International with regard to safeguarding ecology as well as the cultural heritage of the country.

(Contributed by K. L. Noatay, Sushil Manav and Jangveer Singh)