Shimla, June 14
Tourism industry in the hill state will get new thrust with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, promising funds for developing eight to 10 new tourist destinations.

Keen to take advantage of the PM’s offer, the state government has prepared a plan to open unexplored areas and expand the tourism industry, hitherto confined a few established hill stations, to the interior. Besides, it also plans to strengthen basic facilities in the existing tourist centres like Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala and Dalhousie.

The Centre, in principle, agreed to fund three such projects involving an expenditure of Rs 23 crore submitted last week. These projects will enable the state to create new tourist circuits, one of which take care of Chamba and the other cover districts of Mandi and Bilaspur so far neglected from tourism point of view. The third project envisages development of Chanshal and Rohru as adventure and leisure destinations. The state has been asked to prepare detailed reports so that funds could be released.

The first project will put far-flung areas like tribal Bharmaur, Kehar and Bhandal on the tourism map by developing a Chamba tourist circuit at cost of Rs 8 crore. The focus will be on handicrafts for which Chamba is known. Besides, basic amenities will be strengthened in established tourist towns of Chamba, Khajjiar and Dalhousie.

A new tourist circuit will be developed in Mandi and Bilaspur districts to promote interior places Janjheli , Karsog and Barot as tourist destinations. These areas have vast scope for tourism but lack infrastructure. The Centre has agreed to provide Rs 8 crore for this circuit too.

The Chanshal and Rohru will focus on adventure activities like river rafting, angling, mountaineering and Skiing.

Some more projects are being prepared to create facilities for pilgrims visiting various shrines in the state as a part of the plan to promote religious tourism. Besides, a separate plan is being prepared for the beautification of temples of archaeological and historical importance which do not attract devotees. It will cover shrines like the Churasi temple of Bharmour, the Raock temple at Masrur and Hatokti temple.

Dalhousie, June 14
The Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Mr Ashok Ganguly, has denied the news report appeared in a section of the Press that a probe had been initiated in the recent incident of leakage of question paper of the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and those found guilty would be dealt with stringently.

Mr Ganguly said that he had not spoken these words at a press conference held at Dalhousie recently, stating that there was neither any leakage of AIPMT question paper nor any probe or action initiated against the guilty. As such there had been no instance of leakage of any AIPMT question paper of the CBSE anywhere in the country so far, Mr Ganguly affirmed.

In his statement over the phone, Mr Ganguly clarified that his reply to the query during the press conference was that the “CBSE had taken effective steps for the smooth conduct of the all-India entrance examination for the professional programmes like AIPMT and AIEEE, thereby avoiding any problem to the candidates”.

Shimla, June 14
The state unit of the National Coordination Committee of electricity employees and engineers has warned the government that any move to unbundle or privatise the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board would be opposed tooth and nail.

The committee, which held an emergency meeting here yesterday, in the wake of statement issued by Mrs Vidya Stokes, Power Minister, that the board would be unbundled over the next six months, pointed out that it was not the stand of the state government or the Centre. While granting six months’ extension for the board to continue in the unbundled form ,the Centre promised to review the provisions of the Electricity Act pertaining to restructuring of the boards. Moreover , it was nowhere mentioned in the Act that the unbundling was mandatory.

Only recently addressing the power secretaries, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had stated that unbundling was not a goal in itself and the goal was efficiency, economy and enhancement of power generation and to ensure that a competitive environment prevailed. Besides, the Chief Minister had emphatically stated that the board would not be dismantled, the committee further said.

Reforms had been initiated in the board much earlier and major milestones envisaged in the national power policy had been achieved. All the villages had been electrified and the household coverage was around 98 per cent, highest in the country. There was 100 per cent metering and the transmission and distribution losses at 19 per cent were the lowest in the country. As such unbundling and corporatisation or privatisation as envisaged in the Act was not called for.

Dharamsala, June 14
Two Tibetan boys settled in McLeodganj tied the knot with girls from France and England here this week in the court of the Subdivisional Magistrate. While Saifi from France married Vasol Gyalstro, Kaitherina, an English, accepted Geden Repge as her husband. Both brides said they had fallen in love with both the natural beauty of Dharamsala and the Tibetan culture.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Rakesh Kumar, SDM-cum-Marriage Registration Officer, said more than 150 such cases had come to his office in the past one year. “In 70 per cent of the cases, the couple consists of a Tibetan groom and foreigner bride. Most of the Tibetans eventually migrate to their brides country after spending some time here,” he said.

A closer look at the cases of Tibetans going in for marriage with foreigners reveals that most of them come from humble backgrounds, working as daily wagers or scrap pickers in McLeodganj and desperately need someone to fall back on.

“The lawyers coming to us are of the opinion that such marriages have nearly 90 per cent success rate and most of the foreigners do call the Tibetan grooms to their country with citizenship. Even in cases of Tibetan girls marrying foreigners, the couple eventually migrates. That is why the trend has recently picked up,” he said.

Tenzin, a Tibetan youth, admitted that most of his friends were on the lookout for foreign girls with whom they can tie the knot and then settle abroad. “You will not find many Tibetans getting married to Indians because foreigners are preferred for the financial security and better lifestyle they can provide,” he said.

The SDM added that the lack of job opportunities in McLeodganj is another reason why most Tibetan youngsters have started thinking that marriage to a foreigner is the only way to move out and make a better life.

However, there are also cases of foreigners, both men and women, who have settled in the nearby areas of McLeodganj after marrying someone from the Tibetan community and have transformed themselves to become a part of the local community.

Ms Passang, secretary of the Tibetan Women’s Association, said very few Tibetan girls were open to marrying foreigners and the trend was more to do with Tibetan boys. Also, she added, this was confined to McLeodganj only because of the large number of foreigners pouring in and it would be difficult to find such cases in the Tibetan settlements in other parts of the country.

An official of the Central Tibetan Administration said since most of these marriages were successful, the community was slowly accepting this new trend. With so many foreigners coming here and spending time with the local community, it is natural for some of them to like each other and eventually get married,” he said.

Palchan (Manali), June 14
The joy ride flights aboard choppers operated by the Himalayan Heli-Skiing(HHS), a private company here has triggered a major row as the Manali-based NGO, Himalayan Paryavaran aur Prani Suraksha(HPPS) today decided to file a public interest litigation(PIL) in the Supreme Court citing “hazards to locals and the wildlife”.

Though the HHS and the tourism officials claim that they have no documented proof of damage done to environment, the HPPS and villagers, including schools located in the periphery of the base of the HHS’ choppers, are up in arms against the company.

For the tourists the heli-ride is a high thrill flight. The villagers call it a constant hazard in the air. For operators it is a jackpot, marketing Manali in the world. And for fund-starved state’s coffers the chopper flights are a source of dollars.

After the crash of the HHS chopper at Aloe village, 8 km from here, three years ago, we live in fear, complained Ms Lata Devi, a housewife here. “Our two children came out to see the chopper flying and they fell and got injured last year,” revealed Mr Ratan Dorjee, a local resident.

The villagers told The Tribune that patients develop hypertension while the newborn babies woke up in panic whenever the helicopter flew over the villages. Most affected villages were Palchan, Kothi, Ruar and Kulang. During the heli-skiing season, most affected villages were Prini and Aloe, the winter base of the helicopters, they said.

Students were also disturbed. Teachers at Saraswati Vidya Mandir School and Government Middle School rued that the two schools were located just over 100 metres aerial distance from the leased base of the HHS chopper. “We have taken up the matter with the company and the panchayat, but the company takes them for a joy ride and silences them,” they revealed.

But for tourists the heli-rides over Rohtang is a thrill of lifetime. “We have come to Manali for joy rides as Manali and Kashmir are the only places in India where you get helicopters’ rides,” said Mr Dhaneshwar Shah, a businessman who along with his six family members took joy rides.

The director, HHS, Mr Kisan Lal, said they were filing the PIL in the Supreme Court as the helicopter skiing was damaging the environment in the valley. “It is a hazard for the wildlife as animals in the high altitude die of high-decible noise caused by the helicopters. We worship mountains as the abode of gods. The helicopters are interfering in the Himalayan environment he explained.

The manager, HHS, Mr Bhiwani Singh, said that they were promoting tourism and had sought permission from the state government. “We have not received any written complaint from the villagers so far”, he claimed. He said they charged Rs 15,000 per person for 10 minutes of joy flying and operated heli-skiing from January to April.

The Commissioner, Tourism, Mr Tarun Shridhar, said he had deputed the District Tourism Officer, Kulu, to visit the villages. “The HHS is charging $ 250 per seat per person for heli-skiing, which is a major attraction for high-end tourists. But we have not received any complaint on this so far,” he added.

Dharamsala, June 14
Counselling regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases can now be had by dialling toll-free number 1051 from a landline phone.

The facility has been launched by the Urban Tribal and Hills Advancement Society in collaboration with the State AIDS Control Society.

Mr Ramesh Mastana, director of the society, said a computerised tele-counselling centre had been set up in their office in Jawahar Nagar. As per the figures available till 2004 end, a total of 1,130 HIV positive cases had been identified in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla, Bilaspur and Mandi. In Kangra district, there are 251 cases of HIV positive and 45 of AIDS.

In case the caller is not satisfied, he or she can seek counselling in person at the centre. The society will also launch a programme in schools aimed at putting the doubts of students to rest.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Bharat Khera, speaking at a function organised by the Tibetan Health Institute Men-Tse-Khang yesterday, stressed on the need for launching an aggressive condom promotion campaign to stop the HIV virus from spreading.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr K.L. Gupta, said as many as 903 AIDS awareness camps would be organised throughout the district.

Solan, June 14
Even as the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, has announced austerity measures to reduce wasteful expenditure on petrol, a senior bureaucrat’s son studying in a dental college here is being provided the luxury of a chauffeur-driven government vehicle to commute between his college and residence daily. This, besides putting an extra strain on the departments has also put several officials in an inconvenient position.

The fact that the senior officer in question is the Principal Secretary, Welfare and Cooperatives, at least three different departments have joined hands to facilitate his son’s stay here. The foremost is the state SC/ST Cooperative here, the guest house of which has been occupied for the past almost a year ever since the senior officer’s son got admission to the dental college. The guest house has two rooms and out of which one has been occupied by the officer’s son. Though Rs 30 is being charged per day, it could not be ascertained despite several calls whether the facility was being provided free of cost or not. The General Manager of the SC/ST Cooperative, Mr K.R. Chandel, said the room was used only when the senior bureaucrat was in the town.

Mrinal Thakur, son of the officer, is being provided a government vehicle alternatively by the Jogindra Cooperative Bank and the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Society, here. Of the two drivers employed with the bank, one daily goes to drop Mrinal at the college around 9:00 am and then fetch him back around 3:00 pm.

Inquires revealed that on occasions when the vehicles were away on official duty a taxi was arranged for Mrinal.

It was further learnt that the expenditure thus incurred was shown as maintenance cost of the vehicle under different heads by the departments concerned. The Chairman of the Jogindra Central Cooperative Bank, Mr Mohan Mehta, while agreeing that the practice was in progress, said he had directed his department officials not to oblige Mrinal but the practice could not be discontinued. He, however, added that it was not a daily practice. When informed that the bank’s vehicle No. HP-14-1600 had gone to drop Mrinal at Tatul today he feigned ignorance and said he was out of station.

The MD of the bank was also on leave. The in charge of the bank, Mr R.S Verma, said he had joined only in January this year and had no clue as to how the vehicle had gone to leave Mrinal this morning. He said his work was to deal with arbitration and not such matters.

Interestingly, it was the turn of the Assistant Registrar’s vehicle to fetch Mrinal this afternoon and a white Gypsy bearing No. HP-14-4669 was seen performing the duty. All the officials tried to conceal information and hesitated to say anything against their senior officer but admitted tacitly that they were under tremendous pressure. 

Baddi, June 14
Even as the state has recorded a high increase in employment in the last fiscal, the engagement of contract and benami labourers in this belt continues to be a serious problem.

Investigations by The Tribune in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh and Parwanoo belts reveal that some 600 workers are being deprived of the EPF and ESI benefits. The labourers are not recorded in attendance registers or wages registers. The law of minimum wages is thus being flouted.

As per the norms under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition Act) 1970, contract labourers are permitted in solid waste units, 100 per cent EOUs, IT units, BT units and non-core activities like cleaning, security, 
gardening and loading/unloading. The permission is subject to providing a minimum wage of Rs 1,950 per month.

The state government can also consider employment of contract labour where 10 to 20 per cent of the total labour employed on permanent basis is that of bonafide Himachalis and double and triple wages are paid. The Act also allows 50 per cent contract labour from among bonafide Himachalis on payment of five times of the minimum wage. However, in practice most of the labourers are being employed irrespective of the classifications in the Act.

However, it is seen that the average minimum wages given to the contract labour vary between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,800 per month. Mr Jagdish Bhardwaj, state president of AITUC, alleges that some 20 per cent of a total labour force of over 50,000 working in the Baddi area is employed through benami records in different units.

Mr Wangiyal, Deputy Director, ESI Regional Office at Parwanoo, told this corresponded that in recent raids conducted at Baddu, two units were found depriving their 48 workers of ESI benefits. The Industry Minister, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, was not available for comments as he is away on a tour.

Palampur, June 14
There is an acute shortage of bitumen as the Himachal Pradesh Agro Industries Corporation, a government undertaking which is a sole distributor of bitumen in Himachal Pradesh, has failed to make available bitumen to HP Public Works Department this year. The Public Works Department and other government bodies are bound to buy bitumen from the corporation under a notification of the state government.

Official sources told The Tribune that in the absence of bitumen, the Public Works Department has failed to achieve its targets of metalling the roads this year. It is also learnt that almost all the divisions of the HP PWD have deposited over 3 crore in advance with the HP Agro-Industries before the onset of summer but no bitumen was supplied till date.

A senior officer of the PWD told The Tribune on the telephone that despite repeated requests no bitumen was provided to the department bringing the entire metalling and tiring work to a grinding halt. He said private contractors were getting bitumen easily from the refineries but the government undertaking unit had failed to get the same. He said after June 15, pre-monsoon showers are expected in the state, thereafter no metalling of road could be taken up.

It may be recalled that earlier the PWD was directly purchasing bitumen from different oil refineries but under a state government notification directed the public works department to buy entire bitumen from HP Agro- Industries Corporation. Later the corporation collected advance payment from all divisions of PWD but it failed to supply the bitumen affecting development activities in the state.