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Himalayan task for Ford
There’s fresh trouble for Henry Ford and his ambitious ski village project. Now, Chipko Movement leader Sunderlal Bahuguna is rallying with activists of the Jan Hit Sangharsh Samiti (JHSS) and Jan Jagran and Vikas Manch
(JJVM), Kullu. Quote, unquote “With global warming and receding snowline, skiing will be possible for barely three months. The company will have to make artificial snow and that will permanently alter the microclimate.”
“I believe in devtas and will not allow artificial snow and skiing at sacred sites. The project will promote tourism and provide jobs. Protests at this stage are unjustified.”
— Ajay Dabra, director, Himalayan Ski Village Both fronts are opposing the $350 million Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) proposed to be set up somewhere between the Allian and Duhangan streams on over 90 hectare in the placid environs of Hampty valley near Manali. The issue ignited early this month when the state government gave its nod to the detailed project report submitted by HSV. Bahuguna urged people to support the cause pointing out that the jal, jamin and jungle were depleting fast in the Himalayas and people should oppose “big development projects like big hydro power projects, cement plants and ski village projects as they burden the local environment, ecology and natural resources. “In the long run, they will be disastrous for local people,” he said. Enthused by the support of environmentalists, opponents of ski village project announced they would never allow the ski village to come up in the valley, as it would ruin local ecology and culture. However, allaying fears, principal sectary, tourism, Avay Shukla, said that the state government had protected the interests of the people, their culture and ecology while signing the agreement. “We have ensured that the company will not make artificial snow. And in case it wishes to, it will have to submit a separate project report,” he clarified. Shukla said that the company would invest $350 million in the first phase to set up a vocational training centre at Manali in the first week of August this year. “This will ensure that 70 per cent of the 3,500 jobs created in the village go to Himachalis. Also, the company will not set up sewerage treatment plant upstream and will get the NOC from IPH department, ensuring that no local water sources are touched or effected,” he added. But JHSS president L. C. Thakur was adamant that they would never allow the foreign company to set up the ski village in Hampta valley, the seat of Athara Karlu, the 18 deities who have given rise to the devtas in the valley. “Thousands of vehicles and visitors, ski lifts, gondolas and pylons raised for the lifts will spell disaster in the eco-sensitive valley. It would render locals landless. They will get only semi-skilled seasonal jobs, as the company has not defined which jobs will be given to them,” he said. Even panchayts were never taken into confidence by the government and company, said Thakur. “We will oppose it by tooth and nail. Even if the government does go ahead with the project, we will seek justice in the court of law,” he asserted. However, allaying the fears of villagers, Shukla said that the company would submit its environment impact assessment report shortly specifying the number of trees involved and other ecological details. “The company has asked for the transfer of 90 hectares, of which just 16 hectare is forestland and the rest private land. It will give Rs 30crore in the initial year and Rs 100crore in 2012 when the project is completed. Also, the local area development will be taken up by the company, as per the plan,” he added. Himalayan Ski Village director Ajay Dabra claims that HSV is an Indian company and Alfred Ford is just one of its shareholders. “The project will set up a benchmark in eco tourism in the country and will revive the tourism boom in the state. We have two sites in mind, Palchan and Hampta. We’ll remove all doubts and fears of the people at public hearing meetings in July. I believe in devtas and will not allow artificial snowmaking and skiing at sacred sites. Our project will benefit locals, as it would promote tourism and ensure that 70 per cent employment is to people of the state. Protest at this stage is unjustified.” |
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Suicide rate among hill people increases by 27%
Life in this hill state is not what it used to be. The state, better known for its tranquility, beauty and serene environment, has in the recent past witnessed an alarming increase of about 27 per cent in the suicide rate.
And, the highest number of suicides has been reported amongst the men. The crime analysis wing of the state police in a recent study has come to the conclusion that domestic problem is a major cause for the increase in the suicide rate but the social scientists feel that the rising uncertainty of getting a job amongst the youth is another major cause. A study conducted by the state police also shows that there has been an increase of 27 per cent in suicidal deaths during the previous year. Factors such as family conflicts, domestic violence, academic failures, unfulfilled romantic dreams and mental illness have contributed to the increase. In 2005, as many as 359 persons had committed suicide and last year, the figure increased to 457 cases. There may be many more unreported cases in the remote areas. The situation is worst in the Kangra district that accounts for 22 per cent of the total population. It recorded an increase of 33.04 per cent last year. As many as 151 cases of suicides were registered in various police stations of the district. Solan ranked second with 56 deaths followed by Una where 51 persons committed suicides. In Kinnaur as many as 16 suicide deaths were reported last year as against eight cases registered in 2005. An analysis of district-wise percentage indicate that the increase in the districts of Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur, Solan and Una has remained higher than their population growth. The data compiled by the police also brings forth some startling facts the suicide rate is higher among the married persons, irrespective of their sex. The suicide rate amongst married people, which was reported at 57.11 per cent in 2005, went up to 68.5 per cent last year. Out of the total 457 cases of suicide reported during last year, as many as 311 suicide victims were married. Another aspect highlighted by the study is that most of the men who committed suicide were in service, while in the case of women, majority of the victims were housewives. The study also points out the women live under a lot of stress, caused by issues of marriage and dowry. Most of the suicidal deaths occurred in the age group of 15 to 44 years. The study also holds that the lack of education is also responsible for the rise in suicides. As many as 128 persons were either matriculate or had only studied till senior secondary. Interestingly, the data suggests that majority of the persons had committed suicide due to the mental stress caused by distress in the family or illness. In 2006, 127 persons had committed suicide as they found it difficult to cope up with their family problems. Prolonged illness was also another major cause.
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vignettes Remember Kharag Singh ke kharakne se kharakti hain khirkiyan in Fanaa? No, Dr Kharag Singh is not a figment of Prasoon Joshi’s imagination. He used to practice in Boileaugunj till 1970s and still owns a building here! It is perhaps the only bazaar in India that carries all the vowels of English alphabets in its name — BOILEAUGUNJ. Comprising about a fifty-odd shops now, it used to be the Gateway to Shimla till 1857 when the present Kalka-Shimla Cart Road was opened for ekkas and tongas and the traffic diverted. It still is the threshold for those coming from districts other than Solan and Sirmaur or from Boileaugunj owes its name to Colonel John Theophilus Boileau, an astronomer and architect. He designed the Christ Church on the Ridge in 1844 and had built an observatory house in 1840 where he established a meteorological observatory in January 1841 beside the present Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS). It is because of this that the hill is called Observatory Hill. The house that he had built is being used as the IIAS guesthouse. “A fairy vision haunts my dreams, I think I see it still; Oh why does such a lovely form My heated fancy fill?” Their father Thomas Boileau was the Chief Magistrate of Calcutta. Their family is of Huguenots descent that are the Protestants of France. Boileaugunj is a cambered bazaar along the toes of the Prospect and Observatory hills. The top of the Prospect Hill is at 2,155 metres and houses a nearly 200-year-old temple of Goddess Durga called Kaamnaa Devi because it fulfills all the pious desires of the devotees visiting it. Priesthood is hereditary here. Pandit Dhaju Ram, the great grandfather of the present pandit, Satya Prakash , started doing pooja-archanaa here in 1871. The goddess is the presiding deity of the surrounding villages. The bazaar also boasts of an 80-year-old mosque that runs a madarsa under the tutelage of Idara Islahul Fikr Society established It was officially named Tilak Nagar around 1956 in honour of Bal Gangadhar Tilak but popular Boileauganj prevailed over it. The address Tilak Nagar is not much known to the denizens of Shimla. Even the buildings of old police station and an old school adjacent to each other, identically designed in British wide timber framed-farmhouse style, report themselves as stationed at Boileaugaunj. The big and bold iron gate of the police station here leads to an open yard with barracks, rooms and family quarters of the police personnel in the first floor surrounding the yard. Its exact age could not be ascertained but K.D. Sharma, station house officer, could locate a register showing the first entry recorded on April 8, 1937. It came into limelight when Nathuram Godse, the killer of the Mahatama, was in its custody when the Punjab High Court at Peterhoff heard murder reference and appeal against him in 1948-49. The co-educational school with senior secondary classes since 2000 has risen from, probably, a 1930s middle school for boys. Bimla Kashyap, who has recently joined as the principal, appeared keen in maintaining the history of the school along with the names of the alumni who made a mark in any field. The directorates of agriculture and animal husbandry have their own buildings here and are among a few directorates away from the cluster at Shimla Development Authority Complex. Prasoon Joshi writing Kharag Singh ke kharakne se kharakti hain khirkiyan… for Fanaa has lifted the tongue twister from the oft-quoted saying of the folk of Boileaugunj because Dr Kharag Singh not only owns the top-floor windowed building (see photograph) but also used to practice here till 1970s. Bhishm Sahni, as fellow of the IIAS, wrote his last novel Nilu, Nilima, Nilofar and has broached the subject with Boileaugunj and a couple of its shops. “Most of the life is routine here, but routine is the momentum that keeps a locality going,” says Ravinder Mehta, who runs a shop at Boileugunj. Tailpiece Edward Buck writes, “There were two brothers called Boileau in Simla. They were decidedly eccentric in their habits and that they once received the commander-in-chief at a dinner party in their house, each brother standing on his head by one of the main pillars of the central porch!”
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Of human bondage
Vivek Mohan and Peter Ta -tung like to capture the day-to-day life of the
hill people
The place is Shimla, that picturesque hill station, splattered with its usual share of tourists but the camera bypasse them to enter the shops of two individuals, each of them working hard to eke out a living, each having a family and compulsions, bot of them good, simple folks. Vivek Mohan’s Spot the Difference? is about how once you label human beings, the conflict begins.
As part of The Open Frame series of Doordarshan (made for the PSBT and Ford Foundation) Spot the Difference? is a simple, straightforward narrative of a day in the lives of these people. Lobsang opens his antiques shop, put his favourite plant across the road and waits for customers. A Hindu lady buys a beads necklace and at lunchtime, hi son and daughter-in-law come to relative him. Peter Ta-tung is the other one. He owns a shoe-shop and is much younger than Lobsang and more athletic (we find out later that he has won gold medals at skiing at the Winter Olympics). May be shoes are more popular but both of them have their own families and the camera cuts ot these folks at their homes. The children, cute, hungry and busy taking in life as thousands of others do in busier, more urbane settings. There’s nothing glamorous about their lives— they are Mr Everybody. But even though there is nothing spectacular happening, director Mohan manages to evince interest in little peripheral things, small ancedotes, good shots and apt cutting and editing. In doing so he captures the ambience of that quaint place and that is where his heart is. It is only towards the end that one finds out that Lobsang is a Tibetan Buddhist while Peter Ta-tung is a Chinese Roman Catholic. Though political they are poles apart, humanly they are alike as two peas. This is Mohan’s third film set in Himachal, the first Malana (1998), which dealt with the first seat of Parliament in ancient times but also mentions its current infamous tryst with drugs. Hi second film White Christmas (2003), also set in Shimla, is nostalgic end eco-friendly, Spot the Difference)? (2007) is a film with a message and that’s what Mohan truly believes in. Ask Mohan how is he faring in life and he’ll tell you he’s satisfied with his dal-roti. “My satisfaction comes from achieving something mentally, being able to put back into society what I got out of it,” he concludes happily. So carry on Vivek Mohan. We’re waiting for more. There’s nothing glamorous about their lives— they are Mr Everybody. But even though there is nothing spectacular happening, director Mohan manages to evince interest in little peripheral things, small
ancedotes, good shots and apt cutting and editing.— Vivek Mohan
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Empower civic body to check pollution
Under the Panchayati Raj system, civic bodies should be provided with more power to initiate stern action against the erring industrial units, private hospitals and hotels, which often indulge in using water bodies to dispose off their waste.
To check water pollution, dumping of wastes in public places, the local government should amend the Panchayati Raj and Muni-cipal Act to strengthen these institutions with the power to impose fine. The local self-government will be able to play a pivotal role in preventing the communicable diseases, encroachment on river banks, illegal sand mining and going ahead with the sanitation drive launched by the government. Strict vigils should be made by the revenue, health and police departments. There have been complaints by institutions and social workers about sewerage connections to rivers and lakes going unchecked. “The act on merging the municipal and Panchayati Raj would pave the way to optimum utilisation of funds allotted for the envisaged purposes.
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With the district already boasting of 164 ayurvedic health centres catering to the rural population, the region is all set to yield the benefits of Ayurvedic Panchkarma treatment soon.
District ayurvedic officer B.K. Sud said the TB wing was being relocated in the hospital and the premises were being renovated for the ayurvedic hospital. “Soon, the patients will be able to avail the Panchkarma treatment. Besides, they will also get treatment for other diseases like piles, joint pains, diabetes and asthma.” Sud said the ayurvedic hospital would on function on the premises of the zonal hospital. Ayurvedic doctors claimed ayurvedic treatment was gaining popularity as certain ayurvedic medicines were even used effectively for jaundice and hepatitis. “The reason is that ayurvedic and homoeopathic drugs have no serious side-effects as compared with the allopathic drugs,” they said. Sud said the ayurvedic hospital in Jogindernagar was already functioning.— TNS
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Shimla Diary
Hand-pulled rickshaws may be banned on the Mall,but the pram service is fast
becoming a lucrative business here
For more than a century the hand-pulled rickshaws rolled on the sealed areas like the Mall where vehicles were not allowed. They were taken off the road in the late 1960’s on the plea the practice of a man puling man was inhuman. Four decades later, a new mode, quite similar but smaller compared to the discarded of transport, has emerged, albeit for the children. Over the past two years a large number sleek prams have made appearance in the erstwhile British summer capital. These days a large number of men with prams could be seen lined-up near the lift on the Mall.
It all started when some porters started using prams to help tourists in carrying children while strolling on the Mall, the Ridge and other sealed and restricted areas. As it turned out to be rewarding vocation, more and more porters, mostly from the Sirmour district, started providing pram services to tourists with small children. With competition growing the quality of prams and service is improving. The prams have also been fitted with musical keyboards and toys to ensure that the kids find the mode of transport interesting and remain engaged in some kind of activity. A good pram along with accessories like keyboards cost anything between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 and during the short tourist season it helps earn a porter Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, says Sudesh from the Shilai area who has just passed the matriculation examination. The tourists are charged at the rate of Rs 50 per hour. Indeed, pram services have opened a new avenue of earning for porters. The increasing number of prams has forced the municipal corporation to introduce licensing system to restrict their number. Pram service providers are being registered for an annual fee of Rs 120. Already more than 60 prams have been registered and a good number of unregistered prams are also in operation. Mayor with a mission The new mayor of the local municipal corporation, Narinder Kataria, has got down to serious work immediately after assuming charge. The regular inspection of various localities being carried out by him has done the trick. The roads and drains are being cleaned regularly and in a welcome departure from the past the nullhas, which get choked due to the dumping of garbage and debris, have been cleared before the onset of monsoon. The blocked nullahs played havoc during rainy season as storm water flooded roads and streets. At times they changed course inundating houses and causing landslides. Further hawkers have been removed and unauthorised encroachment by shopkeepers vacated from the crowded Lower Bazar, which has suddenly looks much cleaner and spacious. Kataria maintains that the drive will continue and shopkeepers will not be allowed to display their wares on road as it hinders free movement of pedestrians. With a tenure of just 30 months at the helm to restore the clean looks for which the hill resort was known till two decades ago, Kataria has to be on over drive all the time. The term of the corporation is five years but the mayor gets only 30 months under the reservation roster being followed. Politics of cricket The ‘politics of cricket’ being pursued by the Congress and the BJP is proving a boon for the sports enthusiasts in the hill state. The race for one-upmanship between the two parties has ensured that the state which did not have any international cricket stadium for years will have two. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh laid the foundation stone of a-Rs 40-crore stadium at Katasani, near the Jabbar Hatti airport early this week. It is being seen as the Congress reply to stadium built at Dharamsala during the previous BJP regime. In fact, the stadium was built by the state cricket association headed by Anurag Thakur, a son of former chief minister P. K. Dhumal. The Congress leaders took it as challenge and made the construction of a stadium in Shimla a prestige issue. As the BCCI has given funds for the construction of the stadium only through the state cricket association, the government had no option but to spend its own funds for the execution of the project.
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Temple of a lesser god?
While the centre is busy restoring Cambodian temple Angkor Wat, the
historical temple at Masrur is dying a slow death
As the Indian government is busy restoring the Angkor Wat, nobody seems to be aware of the fact that a great temple built about 400 years before the Cambodian temple in the state is dying a slow death. India, Japan and France have joined hands to restore the Angkor Wat temple. However, there is no move to declare Masrur a world heritage site although it is undeniably a superb piece of art and architecture in the world.
Though smaller than Angkor Wat, its sculptures and carvings as well as the unique single rock cut character make it much superior to the Cambodian temple. An in depth research on the monument and extensive photography bringing out the micro details of the carvings has shown that it needs to be accorded the world heritage status. Archeologists and historians have voiced for this time and again but it has not caught the media attention. Neither its historical past has been explored. In India, there are only four single rock-cut temples as this style originated around the seventh–eighth century. The other three include Kailasa-Ellora, Mamlapuram and Dhamnar in Rajasthan. But unlike the other three, Masrur stands on the top of the hill which gives it distinction of only single rock cut hill-top monument. The folklore says it was the Pandava who had built it during their agyatwas. The scholars, however, says it was built around the eighth century. The temple complex has nine shrines today. Six or more have vanished, thanks to the vagaries of nature and vandalism of man. There is a huge water tank carved out of the rock with perennial natural water supply. Beyond the tank one sees the majestic the Dhauldhar range of the Himalayas. There is no habitation around this desolate place, except a small village. A reference to the temple appears in a list of monuments prepared in 1875 by the Panjab Government where it was mentioned “Thakurdwara temple in the village of Masrur, Tehsil Dehra. In good order. Not photographed, said to have been built in the time of the giants. The second revised list of objects of Archeological interest in the Panjab 1891 records—“The ridge of the hill has been cut through in two places and the intervening ridge has been cut into nine temples. Only one was excavated but nine towers were sculptured in bands but no further progress was made. It undoubtedly a very ancient place but it has no inscription…” For 25 years after this, no one visited the site and it remained open to all man-made and natural calamities. It was only in 1914 that Hargreaves visited it and noticed its unique character and prepared a report for its restoration. When he visited the temple, it was buried under mud and also the Pujari had destroyed it by converting a part of it to a cattle shed. The monument was now not ‘in good order’. It is a pity that much destruction took place in the intervening period. The magnificent structure built with a cruciform design bears resemblance with Angkor Wat. According to some scholars–Masrur is a rock-cut shrine in which four subsidiary chapels are used with the main shrine in a cross-shaped ground plan, a concept which is found in Paharpur (Bengal) but more commonly outside India, in old Java and Khamer sanctuaries. Professor Michael Meister of Penn University states in his findings that Masrur could probably provide exciting historical link, hitherto unrecognised, as forerunner to the temple of Cambodia. It’s time we should invite the world to come and help India to restore Masrur to its glory. (The writer is ex- chairman, Airport Authority of India and ex-adviser,
UNDP)
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A dispute in the Anjuman Islamia, an organisation of the Muslims, came to the fore during its organisational elections of the district body held yesterday. Dildar Ali Shah was re-elected president of the Chamba District Anjuman Islamia in its election held at Shalimar ground, near Rajpura village, in Chamba district.
However, a parallel body of the Anjuman Islamia organised a meeting at Chamba town and rejected the elections held at Shalimar ground. Moreover, they also elected Mohd Saleem as their president. However, the district authorities denied having any information about the dispute in the elections of Anjuman Islamia. —
OC
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War Heroes
In Hamirpur, every other family has its own set of heroic stories to tell their next generations. The tradition of joining the Army goes on and the land continues to be called Veer Bhoomi. Even after retirement, the ex-servicemen keep up the good work in far-flung areas by opening new fronts against social issues.
Located on the Sandhol road, 35 km from Hamirpur, Jangal is one such village where almost every family has been sending its sons to serve the Army since the days of the British Raj. The marble plaque on a six-feet war memorial in the heart of the village is a reminder for the locals that 121 brave men from the area took part in the World War II and of these eight had laid down their lives. Naik Subedar (retd) Kalyan Chand Rana, secretary of the War Memorial Society, says, “Many British and Indian Army officials have visited our village to pay tributes to the martyrs at the memorial and it is a matter of pride for all of us. The village has got an identity only because of its people’s services to the armed forces over the generations,” he says. He rues that the cutting down of the recruitment quota for Himachal Pradesh has come as a bolt from the blue for many enthusiasts who have always dreamed of joining the armed forces. “In our times there were not many vocational avenues and youth found it easy to join the forces but today they are driven by passion to serve the country, though many prefer to join the lucrative private sector,” he says. Capt J. C. Katoch, OSD, Department of Sainik Board, Hamirpur, says there are several families in Hamirpur town and villages where the third or fourth generation is now serving the Army. As per his department’s records, in district Hamirpur, there are a total of 17,141 ex-servicemen, 159 war widows and 6,046 other widows, as of December 31, 2006, which is the highest in Himachal Pradesh. According to a rough estimate, more than 22,000 persons from the district have served in the Army. There are a total of 96,125 ex-servicemen in the entire state, besides 1,056 war widows and 23,636 other widows. Lt Col J.K.Sharma (retd), father of Sena Medal awardee Late Capt Mridul Sharma, says it is with an aim to inspire youth of the area that he has set up a museum in his house, which displays the belongings of his son, from his uniforms to every small thing of daily use. The state government has already set up a small memorial and a park outside his house on the Sujanpur road as a tribute to the brave soldier and there is a proposal to name a school after him. Capt Sharma joined the 51 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (Mahar) on July 15, 2002 and was posted in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, 80 km beyond Rajouri, where he showed his valour by playing a key role in eliminating and capturing militants. He had even changed his look in order to look like a local so that he could gather information from the militants during his stay of one and half years. “He had gone back from a vacation on December 14, 2003 and on January 1, 2004, he made the supreme sacrifice for the country at the age of 26. On December 31, while carrying out a search and destroy operation in general area Chhana and Udhampur, his column came under heavy fire. Capt Mridul led his men from the front and sustained multiple injuries,” says Lt Col Sharma. “Many people from Hamirpur have served at the high ranks of the Army and it is undoubtedly a very good career and we hope that the tradition continues,” he adds. The HP Ex-Servicemen’s League, has been raising the demand for increasing the recruitment for youth from Himachal Pradesh in the armed forces in view of the fact that there are so many decorated soldiers from the state and many more who want to follow in their footsteps.
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Nature forgone, forgotten
With scores of palatial houses, flats and hotels coming up in virtually every nook and corner along the Dharampur-Kasauli road, the ecology of the area has emerged as a silent sufferer.
Builders, mostly from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, have bought land along the road and are constructing their houses. The demand for owing a house in this area is so high that the builders haven’t even spared the nullahs. A multi-storey building is coming up over a nullah at Mandhodhar, blocking the flow of water
Often, the hillsides are indiscriminately cut down to pave way for the buildings. Scores of trees are sacrificed in the process and the side drains maintained by the PWD get chocked. This creates an unsavoury situation, whereby the gushing rainwater damages roads due to little space to flow safely. During the last rains, the road was inundated at many places where drains have been blocked by the debris. Unmindful of the impact on public property, these influential builders are also indulging in boring water without seeking any permission from the IPH department. While unscientific and excessive boring of water can adversely damage the water table, these builders care two hoots for any norms that have been laid down “ The water table has gone down so low this year that despite having a boring system, we have faced shortage of water this year. Though we had found water at around 240 feet when we constructed our resort, now it’s hard to be found even at 400 feet” confided the manager of a known resort in the region. There has been a sharp decline in the green cover and its first casualty was the higher summer temperature this summer. “We sold almost 600 fans in a fortnight. People also want coolers and ACs,” said a dealer in
Dharampur.
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Saving trees through scriptures
The forest department at Hamirpur has started a unique awareness campaign to urge people to plant trees through couplets from our ancient scriptures. The department has not only popularised the efficacy of planting trees, but has also displayed some of these couplets at public places, after collecting them from the holy books.
The children’s park of Hamirpur is a living example of this practice, where about 10 signboards, depicting these quotations, have been displayed conspicuously. One such quotation taken from Uma Samhita of Shivpurna reads “ Jo Viran aur Durgam Sathano Par Vriksha Lagatey hain who Apni biti aur aney wali sampuran pidiyon ko tar deteyen hain” (those who plant trees at secluded and distant places, not only spin their past but entire future generations). Another quotation from Matsya Purana goes on “ Dus Kuoan ke brabar a bavdi, dus bavdiaon ke brabar ek talaab, dus talaalboan ke brabar ek putra aur dus putron ke brabar ek vikrsha” (one Baoeli is equivalent of ten wells, ten Baoelis are equivalent of one pond, ten ponds are equivalent of one son and ten sons are equivalent of one tree). Similarly, quotations from Shirmad Bhagvad Gita, The Mahabharat, Varah and Agni Puranas have also been depicted on signboards, talking about the utility of planting tress. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Hamirpur, Sanjay Sood, who has collected these quotations from our scriptures after much research, says, “ Our ancestors had useful knowledge about efficacy of planting the trees. This knowledge is found in our ancient scriptures and we have tried to popularise tree plantation by creating awareness by using these quotations at prominent places.” In the present times, while these quotations are being used by the forest department for its aforestation drive, they’re also familiarising our young generation with the ancient scriptures.
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Never say die
He might have touched eighty but the zeal and spirit with which he waged the famous Chipko Movement is even stronger today as Sunderlal Bahuguna is more than willing to travel to any part of the country to save the environment and eco-system.
Currently heading the Himalaya Neeti Abhiyaan, he is traversing across the country to lend support to the locals and help generate awareness about protecting environment and more specifically the Himalayas. Living at Koti, the dam site near Tehri, he is involved in a number of issues concerning the community. Few know that the acclaimed environmentalist, who was honoured with the alternative Nobel Prize in 1987 for his initiative to save trees by hugging them, started his career as a journalist at the age of 13. He would secretly file stories in publications by the name of Hindustan and Karam Bhoomi to evade arrest by the watchful British regime in the pre-independence era. His passion, as he calls journalism, also landed him in jail for more than five months when he was just 15 years old. Even today, at the age of 80, he is a stringer for the UNI and yes he does file stories as and when he gets time from his busy schedule. Both his sons too are journalists as he feels media is the most powerful way of giving voice to the oppressed and the suffering. “Unfortunately, for majority today journalism is a profession rather than a passion,” he regrets. Having become an inspiration for people all over the world, while he was able to save trees in the Tehri, Pauri, Chamoli and adjoining areas from being axed, there have also been times when he has not been so successful in his mission. “I feel my biggest achievement has been the public awareness that I have been able to generate on the issue of environment and that too decades back when it was hardly talked about,” he says. Based on the legendary Chipko Movement he led, the BBC made the film Axing of the Himalayas in 1981. “It was after a long battle we waged against the authorities to save the trees in the Hiyul forests in Tehri from 1973 to 1981 that we were able to convince them about protecting forests, on which the livelihood of the locals is dependent,” he says. Having led a frugal life, Bahuguna says it is essential to save water, especially in view of the depleting Himalayan glaciers and receding water level.
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Dharamsala boy brings laurels
Known as the land of brave soldiers, Himachal has once again produced a courageous army officer - Assistant Commandant Paritosh Pathak. This Dharamsala resident was awarded sword of honour by the Director General, Indian Costal Guard for his excellent and outstanding performance.
Paritosh had his first encounter with water during training. The award was conferred at the passing out parade of 46th Assistant Commandant course of Indian Coastal Guard, for his outstanding performance in the autumn term ‘03 training course organised for the induction of new costal guard officers, at an impressive ceremony held on Coast Guard Ship, Varuna, Naval Base at Kochi. Paritosh hails from a family of defence officers. He was selected for the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard but opted for the latter where responsibility of an officer stretches along a coastline of 7,500 km and over a sea area of 2.01 million square kilometers in the Indian Ocean. Remembering his first encounter with the deep ocean Paritosh said, “It was a thrilling experience. I was trained by my father to live an adventurous
life.
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