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Testing times for devout
While all natives of Kinnaur have been accorded scheduled tribe status, a few families of Ramni village in the Nichar sub-division are paying a heavy price for being scheduled castes. What began with their social boycott in 2003 by the dominant upper caste Rajput families, also enjoying scheduled tribe status, has now turned violent.
A scheduled caste youth was allegedly abducted and tortured for entering a village temple to offer prayers. Suresh Kumar (19) was picked up from outside the same temple on January 27. “I was coming out of the temple after offering prayers when some Rajput men of my village took me away. They brought me back to the same temple, stripped me, tied my hands and feet and hung me upside down from a pole. Through the night they beat me up with rods and sticks. Some of them were drinking and smoking in the temple and they touched cigarettes butts all over my body… even on my private parts. I passed out a few times because of the pain. Early in the morning, they threw me outside the village in a semi-conscious state,” alleges Suresh. Family members of Suresh Kumar and their supporters met Raman Sharma, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Kapla on January 31, and demanded that a criminal case be registered against the alleged culprits under the Prevention of Civil Rights Act. Incidentally, Sharma was the only senior civil administrative official present at the district headquarters that day. The SDM marked their application to the Deputy Superintendent of Police Prem Kumar asking him to conduct a thorough inquiry into all the incidents. Kumar told TNS that neither the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act nor the Prevention of Civil Rights Act would apply. Finally, a criminal case under Section 341 of the IPC was registered against the three alleged accused, who have since been bailed out. The victims have alleged threat to their lives and demanded security. Suresh Kumar’s case is not the only one. Tara Chand, Sukh Dass and Arvind Kumar – also residents of Ramni village — allege that Suresh’s father Mal Chand was also beaten up last year. A criminal case was registered against some persons in the Bhavanagar police station too. Bhaginar, Dharam Sukh, Jatan Sukh and their families have also been traumatised for the past three years but the local administration has not responded sensitively.
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The Centre has sanctioned Rs 7.8 crore to promote the state’s temple circuit, writes Pratibha Chauhan With the Rs 7.8 crore sanctioned by the Centre, the state is keen to develop the Manimahesh Yatra in Chamba on the lines of Vaishno Devi. Other famous pilgrim destinations like Bhimakali temple at Sarahan, Naina Devi in Bilaspur and Jwalamukhi in Kangra will be developed and given a facelift as the Union Ministry of Tourism has granted Rs 7.8 crore for promoting the different pilgrim circuits in the state.
With a large number of tourists from all walks of life visiting famous shrines in Himachal the Tourism Department is keen to popularise religious circuits. During important festivals the department will offer special facilities and packages to suit everyone’s pocket.
Special attention will be paid towards developing and preserving the ancient monasteries in Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti as part of promotion of tribal and cultural tourism. “Since the foreign tourists take keen interest in the tribal culture and the old monasteries, we are keen to develop this circuit,” said a senior official. Belief holds that Lord Shiva resides on the holy mountain of Manimahesh Kailash and pilgrims in large number take this yatra in the month of August-September to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.
There are no permanent structures or facilities as arrangements are made for the yatra only. Now with the Centre approving the proposal for developing pilgrimage tourism in the state, the arduous Manimahesh Yatra in Chamba district could become a little more comfortable. The department will undertake the construction of a Yatri Niwas besides proper garbage disposal arrangement, water facility and proper paths along the entire stretch of the trek to the shrine.
“Since the 14-km-trek from Hudsar to Manimahesh is very arduous, we will create rain shelters all along the route so that the pilgrims have some place to rest in case of inclement weather conditions,” said an official. The temple at the famous Prashar Lake at Chamba will also be developed to attract more pilgrims. The department will undertake beautification, landscaping, illumination and creation of basic facilities like water, sewerage and setting up toilets.
In order to facilitate the growth of pilgrimage tourism to the state, some of the other shrines like Hatkoti in Jubbal, Deji Dahiba temple near Poanta Sahib, Naina Devi, Chintpurni, Brjaeshwari, Jwalamukhi and Chamunda in Kangra will be developed. |
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vignettes
Dawk is how the British used to spell dak or post. The post to Shimla was ceremoniously transported by Dawk Gadis (post carriages) pulled by Kabul ponies in two relays on the 58-mile stretch between Kalka and Shimla after 1857 — the year in which the present Kalka-Shimla road, then called New Cart Road was thrown open for the tonga or ekka. A portion of the present Shimla-3 Post Office (Accountant General Post Office) served as the stable. But what was the mode of dawk delivery till 1857? Development began in Shimla around 1830 and it is hard to believe that there was a communication blackout in Shimla for 27 long years! The route to Simla prior to 1857 was shorter. A 43-mile stretch via Kasauli, Kakkarhati, Hurreepore, and Syree covered by jampans – a sedan chair slung on poles borne by bearers and largely used by women and children while the men rode ponies. Coolies or mules carried luggage, mail, packets and parcels up. The trickiest maneuver for the dawk to Shimla was crossing the Ghaggar River between Umbala (Ambala) railway terminus and Kalka, a treacherous 38 miles. Bullocks would pull the gadis on the sandy riverbed. When the river swelled up in the monsoon, elephants were used to carry the mail across. Legend has it that after a particularly heavy downpour the water level in the Ghaggar rose so much that the ‘postal elephant’ developed cold feet. It stood in the water for 14 hours — hungry and very angry — till the water receded. The Indian Postage System came into operation on October 1, 1854. It boasted of a centralised control of subcontinent post offices under a Director General and issuance of the first postage stamps of half, one, two and four annas carrying a profile of Queen Victoria released by the East India Company. The stamps were valid for postage throughout India. In 1919, a stamp of one-and-a-half anna with the profile of King George was issued but was replaced in 1921 by one of one-and-a-half annas! So much for the Queen’s English. The first Indian on India’s stamps was Mahatma Gandhi but Indians had to wait till November 21, 1947 to see the stamp with the national flag and Jai Hind on it. Returning to Shimla Dawk, a Mountain Car Company was formed in 1878 to carry passengers, goods and mail to and from Ambala through a tonga-service. The service, under the superintendence of Rai Bahadur Daulat Ram, C.I.E., earned a reputation of transporting men and mail with clockwork precision to and from Ambala in just three hours. Not surprisingly, it was called ‘the world’s finest wheel posting service’. The Mountain Car Company did yeoman service till October 1904 when steam and petrol engines replaced the real horses. The GPO The General Post Office opened for the public on July 1, 1883 at the same place where Conny Lodge once stood. Mr Peterson, proprietor of a tailoring concern Messrs Enjalbert and Co. and later manager of Shimla Bank, owned the Conny Lodge building in the heart of town. The wooden, red tin roofed, three-storey building of the General Post Office was destroyed in a fire that broke out in the first floor of the building on September 23, 1972. But the building was marvelously repaired and maintained its old-world charm. Its façade and, to a great extent the interiors, still sport heritage features. The six huge hollow iron pillars around which the building was constructed stood as they were though their outer surface had been plastered white. Each of these pillars housed a fireplace. The heat was conducted in the pillars and kept the entire building warm. The practice was stopped in 1920. And since 2000 when the post office was computerised electric heaters are being used. When the train began to chug in with the mail, a Railway Mail Service office was set up near the station. Mail was brought to the GPO in red colour ‘Mail Rickshaws’ pulled by four men. TR Sharma, a retired member of the Postal Services Board, emphasises the importance of mail in a manner that says it all – if a Mail Rickshaw and the rickshaw carrying the Governor General came face to face on the Mall, the latter would stop to give pass to the dawk. The sahibs in Shimla would anxiously wait for the dawk from England and other European countries. Till the thirties, a red flag would be hoisted on one of the towers of the GPO indicating the arrival of vilayati dawk. Foreigners living nearby would collect the mail personally. Mail was delivered to far off places by a peon of the GPO. He would carry a hand bell and ring it in the nearby postal colony and all postmen would be on their feet to distribute the dawk immediately. Jeeps replaced Mail Rickshaws after Independence. It was in the summer of 1978 that the Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary ordered a ban on the entry of mail vans on the Mall. Postmen refused to carry mailbags from the Railway Mail Service office. Mail was not distributed in Shimla for three days and the impasse ended after the Chief Minster interfered. PIN The PIN code was introduced on August 15, 1972. But even after 34 years of its introduction, local post offices receive about half of the letters without the PIN number! Still they are delivered on time. Several postal and financial services are being offered by post offices including Speed Post. Surely, Shimla Dawk has come of age. Tailpiece A friend from Chandigarh is having a tough time negotiating the narrow roads of Shimla. “Back home I drove on the left of the road. But here, with cars parked on one side and people walking on the other, I drive on what’s left of the road!” he grumbles.
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Water from Giri to quench Shimla’s thirst
Environmental degradation due to unregulated expansion of Shimla has made adequate supply of water for the residents a big challenge for the Irrigation and Public Health Department. The fast depleting water resources and the ever-increasing demand has forced the municipal authorities to tap more dependable water sources like the Giri River.
Recent scheme by the Department will fetch water all the way from Giri River at the cost of Rs 40 crore. Its completion later this year could bring respite only for a short while to the capital. However, to find a lasting solution to the problem the authorities will have to find a bigger and more reliable source to take care of the growing requirement for at least next 50 years. It is for the seventh time that the water supply scheme, which was originally executed in 1875 by tapping the local springs, is being augmented. The water of Giri River will be lifted up 1237 m in two stages from Baylog, about 48 kms away from Shimla. It will make an additional 20 mld (million litre per day) water available. With a total availability of 47 mld against the peak summer demand of 42 mld the situation can ease only for sometime, reveal sources. The newly augmented scheme can suffice only up to year 2016. Given the declining snow and rainfall, there can be further shortage before that. Earlier, numerous natural springs sprouting from all sides of the thick hill woods catered to the water supply requirements of the town. The source of these springs was the mount Jakhu, the highest peak in the heart of the town where the seven spurs met. Its impeccable green mantle consisting of majestic deodars, oak and rhododendron arrested every drop of water, which percolated into the rock crevices through the highly pervious topsoil. The Giri river water will not suffice for a long time and the government is already exploring the possibility of bringing water from the Chansal area in Rohru by laying a 180 km gravity line. The Rs 600 crore project may provide a permanent solution to the problem.
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Scientists fetch laurels
Three scientists of Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Dr Rakesh Sharma Dr B. B. L. Kaushal and Dr P. C. Sharma, have done the university proud by bagging two prestigious national-level awards in New Delhi recently.
The trio were honoured with the N. N. Mohan Memorial Award-2005 for the best research paper, published in the Indian Food Packer. This award was conferred by the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries at the 62nd Annual Conference of the All-India Food Processor’s Association held in Mumbai. The panel of judges comprised eminent persons like Mr K. L. Radhakrishnan, Chief Editor and Chairman, and members - Dr A. K. Bhatia, Dr M. M. Krishna and Dr Rajat Basiya. The paper titled ‘Refinement of Oil Extraction Technology for Maximizing Yield and Quality of Olive Oil’ which was authored jointly by the three scientists, was published in the November-December issue of their journal. Commenting on the paper, the panel said that the authors had made attempts to refine the existing mechanical olive oil extraction process by using enzymatic treatment. This was aimed at maximizing the yield and quality of oil. Enzymatic treatments also yield oil with higher
antioxidants, better clarity of oil and sensory quality, lower values of free acids and peroxides. The process was also cost effective over the conventional method of oil extraction. The trio was also conferred another award by the same association —Dr J. S. Pruthi Memorial Award-2005—for their paper on the Development of New Product/New Process /New Machinery in the area of Fruit and Vegetable Technology which was published in the Indian Food Packer. While selecting the paper, the panel observed that the authors had worked out an innovative process of foam mat drying, specially suited for drying of heat sensitive materials like fruit juices.
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On a trip down memory lane
Alumni of the Sainik School, Sujanpur, took a trip down memory lane last Saturday as 30 members of the sixth batch of ‘Sujanians’ converged on the small town of Hamirpur, accompanied by their spouses and children to be a part of the re-union. Old classmates met after a gap of 15 years.
“As only a few of us were in touch, the old-boy’s meet began with an extended round of introductions, with each us of us boasting of his achievements after passing out from the school in 1990,” said an alumni. “After that, it was time to recall interesting moments from the six years that the batch spent in the historic town of Sujanpur. The credit for making the re-union possible went to Sanjeev Sharma, who took the initiative of tracing the alumni to bring them together for the re-union. In an emotional speech he said how the idea came to him. Sanjeev, who heads the logistic section in a Delhi-based firm, met another batch-mate in Delhi on the Internet, whose office was located close-by. They began looking for contacts and even floated a site. Some ex-students called in, as they could not make to the function. Parveen an Army officer of the same batch, called in from Siachin. His batch mates pepped him up, reminding of their School motto “Pursuit of Excellence”. The introductions were followed by dance by couples and kids. All this while the spouses were busy trying to get some more insights into the past of their hubbies, who most of the times preferred to project themselves as the gentlemen cadets of the school. The event concluded with Anil Ganpati, an aircraft engineer from Dubai, recalling the adolescent days and describing how he postponed his sister’s wedding so that he could attend this event. “Let’s have the next re-union in Dubai, let me arrange for all your visas and the traveling tickets,” he offered. There was a round of applause, but finally the venue was settled for Shimla on August 15, 2008.
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shimla Diary
The new Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr Pankaj Khullar, plans to decentralise the functioning of the department to ensure optimum utilisation of the Army of officers at the headquarters.
The general impression is that the department was rather heavy at the top and there was not much work for senior officers from conservator upwards. All the powers are virtually concentrated in the head of the department. Dr Khullar wants to rectify this by assigning ample responsibilities to various officers to keep them busy and ‘stay free’ himself to address the more important policy issues and interaction with the government to pursue matters concerning the department. He is also aware of the fact that over the years the field duties have been neglected by officers who seldom visited the forest areas. The senior officers have not been carrying of field inspections regularly, their tours have been mostly confined to urban areas. He maintains that it is important for officers to inspect the forests, particularly the new plantations, as it helped in checking irregularities and illegal fellings. During his very first interaction with the officers he made it clear that they will have to spend at least a week in the filed every month, preferably staying in remote forest houses which have fallen in disuse. Dr Khullar was the topper of the 1973 IFS batch at Indian Forest College. Even after joining service he continued his academic pursuits to develop expertise in various areas of forestry. He undertook courses in plantation research in New Zealand in 1984 and forestry planning and management from Melbourne University in 1995. In between he also did a course at the Oxford Forestry Institute in United Kingdom. Finally, he completed his doctorate in forestry from the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. The assignment has afforded him an opportunity to put all his expertise into use, particularly in improving the joint forest management programme which has not achieved the desired level of success in the hill state. The participation of people continues to be far below the acceptable level to achieve the objectives of the programme. Pre-paid taxis
The ‘Queen of Hills’ is preparing for starting the pre-paid taxi service. The taxi operators have all through opposed the scheme and its was only after the intervention of the High Court that the government managed to put a scheme to introduce the service in important tourist towns like Shimla, Manali and
Dharamsala. The district authorities have after carrying out a survey notified pre-paid taxis stands in various areas. Since there is very little room for parking vehicles at these points, the maximum of number to taxis to be stationed in each of these stands had also been notified. While only 4 to 8 taxis will be allowed at stands in congested localities like main Bus Stand, Chhota Shimla, Kusumpti Bazar and Tutu, the spacious areas like St Bede’s Road and Tara Hall 15 to 25 taxis will be permitted. The administration also proposes to fix the maximum number of vehicles, which could be parked in various parking lots in the city to avoid congestion. The BJP wants Chail, the famous tourist place resort and birthplace of Bhalku, the man behind the Shimla-Kalka rail track, to be put on the national rail map. Mr H. N. Kashyap, Secretary of the party, has in a letter urged Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav to extend the narrow-gauge rail track from Kandaghat to Chail as a tribute to Bhalku without whom the project would not have been possible. Chail and Shimla are both 29 km from Kandaghat and a rail link up to Jhajha will reduce the distance to about 16 km. What to talk of rail connectivity, the tourist resort is not being provided even reliable bus services. The state road transport corporation has withdrawn four out of six bus services it operated on the Kalka and Shimla sections over the past four years. Following suit the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has discontinued its only bus service and the PEPSU has withdrawn one out its two services. The private bus operators who have managed to get permits to ply buses on these routes using their political connections are not operating the services regularly. The situation is worse during holidays and marriage season when the number of bus services is reduced half. As a result not only the local people face inconvenience in commuting, the tourists also find the beautiful resort difficult reach. |
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Going herbal
With farmers in Hamirpur district fast turning to cultivation of medicinal herbs by setting up nurseries on small chunks of land, the Sub-Tropical Herbal Nursery of the Ayurvedic Department in the Neri area of Nadaun sub-division is playing a significant role in helping them choose the right plants.
Farmers, who were limiting their cultivation to only tulsi and amla till now are going in for a whole range of medicinal plants. These include herbs like ashwagansha, shatawri and sharparni, which are used in preparation of ayurvedic tonics, besides punarnawa, an ingredient in medicines for treatment of jaundice and patol patra known to be an effective anti-acid. Even though the area has the potential to sustain a regular supply of herbs, there is still no organised market for the raw material and the farmers are hesitant to take up cultivation of herbs as a whole-time vocation. Mr Madan Lal, in-charge of the Sub-Tropical Nursery, said one solution could be that ayurvedic pharmacies in the state, which are presently buying raw material from outside, should give preference to locals so that farming of medicinal herbs develops as a lucrative business. The nursery has been organising regular training programmes for the farmers of the area, to inform then about cultivation of herbs and also guide them about how to improve the efficacy of the medicinal herbs. The nursery is one of the only three such herbal nurseries in the set run by the Ayurvedic Department. The other two are at Jogindernagar and Rohru. As part of a project of the National Medicinal Plant Board, a unit for drying and storage of herbs is also being set up in the area, where the local varieties of medicinal herbs would be processed and supplied to the ayurvedic pharmacies and dispensaries in the state. Farmers in the area are being taught how to identify, conserve and multiply more than 70 varieties of herbs by using different agro techniques. “More and more farmers are showing interest in the cultivation of herbs, especially those with high medicinal value. All they want is a bigger market which can promise them a regular income,” he said. Rajinder Kumar, a youth from the area, said the barren areas of district Hamirpur were ideal for the cultivation of herbs and the government needed to take effective steps to bring together different departments to promote herbal farming.
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Dry spell spells doom for rabi
Farmers’ hope to harvest a good Rabi crop has been dashed this year. The two-month-long ‘dry winter spell’ in the state has damaged over 25 per cent of the Rabi crops like wheat, barley, vegetables, oilseeds and pulses in Mandi.
But the dry spell has not damaged fruits and apple crop to that extent as February may bring in a bounty of snow or rain-fall as it has happened in 1998, say scientists. The damage has been done mostly in non-irrigated pockets in Mandi and Kulu. If drought-like situation continues, the damage can be cataclysmic for fruit and apple crops, hitting farmers’ economy. The horticultural scientists say the required 1,200 ‘chilling hours’ have been fulfilled by and large, but not in the lower altitude. The rise in temperature will trigger early sprouting and can be damaging if weather plays truant. They explain that December and January months are generally dry if one goes by the record for the past 10 years. Snowfall in February is expected as it happened in 1998, they add. The Irrigation and Public Health Chief Engineer, Mandi Division, Mr D.K. Gupta, says the water sources have not yet receded to that level as temperature has not risen due to the prevailing weather condition. But farmers say that the dry spell has reduced the drinking water sources to mere trickles and have destroyed the fodder for the domestic cattle. The dry spell has hit the snow-fed rivers, Beas, Ravi, Satluj and Chandra-Bhaga and Pabbar-Yumuna in the state, which has hit a new low this time. The dry spell, in turn, takes its toll on the glaciers, which are fed by the spells of snow in winter, comment scientists. Farmers here depend mainly on agricultural produce for their bread and butter. They have hoped for a good harvest this year sowing high-yielding wheat varieties in the Mandi district. But the dry spell has dashed their hopes as there has been no rain in December and January this year, they rue. The agricultural officials say the dry spell has already damaged over 25 per cent of Rabi crop worth Rs 28.37 crore so far in the Mandi district. But farmers put the loss more than 30 per cent, which will be increasing every day as dry spell has been showing no signs of relenting since November 22. In the Talyar-Rilwasar belt in Mandi Sadar the dry spell has damaged wheat and barley crops. “It rained here in November last. We had hoped to harvest a good crop this year as we have sown high yielding wheat variety as weather was perfect around Divali. But the drought has dashed our hopes,” rues Mr Hari Ram Thakur, a farmer at Taliar. The scene is no different in other parts of the district. Since irrigation facility is available in 18 per cent of area mainly in Balh and Jogindernagar and some other pockets in the district, the dry spell has damaged the crop in the rest 82 per cent of non-irrigated areas. The drought has either dried up water sources like nallahs, khuds and rivers that feed the catchments or these have been reduced to trickles for want of rains,” farmers point out, seeking compensation for the loss. The agricultural scientists say the frosting has damaged the Rabi crops. The harvest will be poor and early as the yield will be less as grains do not develop to the desired size and quality. “The grains also drop premature from the plants,” they explain. According to the Deputy Director, Agriculture, Dr S.K. Katoch, The department has submitted the report to government and has prepared a contingent plan in case rain is further delayed by a week or so. “We are advising farmers to sow the ‘mash-moong’ combination before April 15 to compensate the loss. They can sow main kharif crop. The farmers are being given the sorghum and bajra seeds to sow fodder. But a lack of rains remains a problem,” Dr Katoch adds.
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Power crisis hits industry
At present the state has shortage of 10 to 12 lakh units of power per day. The HP Electricity Board Division office, Parwanoo, supplying power to border belt is getting 75 MW power everyday as against the requirement of 145 MW. To handle the crisis the Parwanoo office earlier imposed power cuts every third day. However, the office has managed to get an additional 10 MW power supply from the State Electricity Board. Though the office has allotted 5 MW power to Parwanoo and Baddi industrial areas but the problem continues to dog the industrial circles. To fill up the deficit the office is presently supplying power every alternate day to furnace units besides imposing power cuts for 4 hours for the rest of industrial units. Highly placed officials of the Electricity Department inform that besides the dry weather, the power shortage in state was also largely due to Haryana’s failure to provide power to the state. Sources also reveal that Punjab was also to be blamed for adding to the severe power shortage in state. As per banking system provisions, from the months of April to October, Himachal provides power to Punjab and Haryana and in turn Punjab and Haryana provide power to the state from November to March. To fill up the deficit to some extent the HP power board had to purchase power at a very high rate of Rs 9.70 per unit from THE open market. The industrialists on the other hand accuse the Board for the current power crisis. The power cuts are unprecedented in the state rue senior members of the Parwanoo Industries Association (PIA). The PIA has also shot a letter to the state’s Power Minister, Ms Vidya Stokes, seeking her intervention into the matter. All eyes were now on the forthcoming summer season as with the rise in temperatures and melting of snow the water reservoirs could fill up to help power generation and ease the power shortage in the state due to a long dry spell.
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With thousands of pilgrims thronging revered shrines like Jwalamukhi and Naina Devi all through the year, the Himachal government is all set to promote temple tourism in a big way.
With temples like Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh practically sustaining the tourist inflow into the state, the government is keen to roll out a red carpet to the devout visitors wanting to pay obeisance at the famous shrines in the hill state.
Power crisis in the industrial belt of Baddi - Barotiwala - Nalagarh and Parwanoo has come as a major shock for the industrialists in this winter season. Unprecedented power shortage has virtually crippled industrial work. Though shortage of power was a common affair during winters in the state but prolonged dry spell causing negative impact on power generation has badly affected the power availability for the industries in the region.