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Governance
Mandi, July 1 The recent collapse of the Bhuntar Bailey Bridge on the Beas should be an eye opener. A “trala” carrying hydropower machinery of the Allian-Duhangan Company in the Kullu valley tried crossing the bridge without prior permission and damaged the bridge beyond repair. As a result, the main lifeline to the left bank of the Kullu valley and Manikaran in Parbati valley was breached, causing hardships to the public. This incident, in turn, exposed many missing links in the PWD department and the traffic police. The PWD never bothered to install a billboard mentioning the carrying capacity of the bridge. The traffic police has no knowledge as to whether the big trucks or “tralas” be allowed to cross the bridge as the police remain ignorant about the carrying capacity of bridges. Moreover, the police and the PWD have no coordination in this regard. The plight of the Ghagus bridge on the Ali Khad is worse. The bridge lies on a junction of two major highways-National Highway-88, Shimla-Dharamsala and Kiratpur-Manali Highway-21. This bridge is overburdened with heavy traffic as the NTPC, NHPC and AD hydro, JP, Ambuja and ACC cement companies ply heavy trucks carrying machineries and raw materials to their project and plant sites. The small bridges at Dadour and Bijni, between Mandi and Sundernagar, are in bad shape as their crust is corroding. Even the abutments of old and new bridges are giving way. Chakki bridge, Kotla bridge, Gaggal bridge, Mataur bridge, all serving as the lifeline on the busy Pathankot National Highways, are in a state of neglect. Chakki bridge, which was the main link on the Kangra-Una highway, was washed away by the flood recently. The Chakki and Kolta bridges were built by the British over 100 years ago. These bridges ran out of their carrying capacity as the HP PWD department remained in slumber till they were washed away, rued residents. Engineers suggest that the government should charge toll tax from the cement and hydropower companies and money collected should be used in the maintenance of the roads and bridges. These companies make money but pay nothing for the damage they do to the roads and bridges, they pointed out. Engineer-in-chief, Rajpal Singh, said all bridges on the highways are designed as per rules, carrying a maximum load of 15 tonnes. And all the companies, which carry excess load, have to take special permission from the department. He said the department carries out routine repairs of bridges in the state. “We are building a new bridge at Ghagus at a cost of Rs 5 crore for which the work has started. The Bhuntar bridge has been repaired after the “trala”, which had no permission to cross the bridge, damaged it and would be opened for the traffic soon,” he added. Rajpal said the department had issued letters to all district administration to ensure permission for the heavy vehicles. The PWD will ensure the placements of billboards, specifying the carrying capacity of the bridges, in the state soon.
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Shimla Convention Anniversary
Shimla, July 1 In an attempt to attract international attention towards the much-debated drawing of the McMohan Line, dignitaries from world over will attend the function, where BJP leader Lal Krishan Advani will be the chief guest. A historical event that saw the drawing of the demarcation line on the map attached to the Shimla convention, has been deliberated upon on several occasions with conflicting views being expressed by the concerned nations. It was here in Shimla that the McMohan Line was drawn between India, China and Tibet and was named after Sir Henry McMohan, foreign secretary for British India and the chief negotiator of the convention. Even though the McMohan Line is considered illegal by China, India considers it as a legal national border with the Central Tibetan Administration of the government-in-exile also conceding it as the line as the official border. The event is being organised by the Trans Himalayan Parliamentary Forum and the Himalaya Parivar, with an effort to bring together people to focus world attention on the drawing of the McMohan Line. “We can’t change the McMohan Line as it is the international boundary and whatever falls on either side of that line is the territory of either India or, as of now, the People’s Republic of China,” said the Tibetan officials. “After making a start to hold the anniversary of the historical event from Shimla, where the line was actually drawn, functions will be held every year on July 3 in other states with a grand function to mark the centenary celebrations in 2014,” said Mallika Nadda, state convener of the Himalaya Parivar. People from various states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Assam are expected to be part of the anniversary celebrations. She said the objective of holding the function was to raise the issue of Tibet on the basis of the McMohan Line that was drawn 94 years ago at an important convention. It is a historical fact that the McMohan Line was drawn in Shimla but the venue where the final decision was taken is not known. Some of the possible venues for the holding of the important discussions in connection with the drawing of the McMohan Line include a building in US club or the Cedar house, opposite the Oakover, the Chief Minister’s official residence and now the guest house of the Punjab government. Some of the other locations could be an old building called Winterfield. The organisers are now trying to collect all possible evidences by scanning old documents and papers to find the exact location of the venue for this event. “We will try and get information in this regard even from The Tribune and other papers who covered the important happening,” said an organiser. Old records at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study are also being looked into to find the venue of the event.
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Off-season vegetables, a hit with farmers
Shimla, July 1 With broccoli, lettuce, capsicum, peas and other off-season vegetables being in great demand, farmers in the state have taken to their cultivation in a big way, depending on the suitability of the agro-climatic zone. With organic products being the mantra for the health freaks, more than 10,000 farmers have already been registered by the agriculture department to cultivate vegetables in a natural way. Even though the holdings are as small as 85 per cent of the farmers, yet the production area has gone up from 3,000 hectares in 1951 to 52,000 hectares this year. The returns from off-season vegetable cultivation is very high as compared to the cultivation of traditional food crops and the returns vary between Rs 60,000 to Rs one lakh per hectare. “If the vegetables are grown under green-house conditions, the productivity and duration of crops increase manifold, thereby increasing income of the farmers,” explained an official. For systematic diversification of crops, the department of agriculture has chalked out a plan for introduction of high-yielding hybrids of vegetables, popularisation of micro irrigation system and protected cultivation. There is also a project to encourage seed production through seed village programme. However, with all the growers not being able to afford the cost of setting up green houses, most of the farmers are making the best of the natural suitability of agro climatic conditions. The conditions in most parts of the state are most suited for production of vegetables like tomato, capsicum, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, cucumber and beans. Besides supplementing the income of the farmers, the off season vegetable sector has great potential for providing on farm employment to the rural youth. Large number of farmers in districts of Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Kullu, Chamba and Kangra have taken to cultivation of off season vegetables. To ensure proper sale of vegetables, marketing yards are being set up through market committees at focal points keeping in mind the convenience of the farmers. The private sector is also being encouraged to set up efficient marketing infrastructure and also to go in for contract farming. The government is also extending financial assistance for creation of water sources like wells, ponds, check dams, tanks, sprinklers and drip irrigation. For transfer of technology, training programmes are being organised, especially for women as 70 per cent of the farm operations are undertaken by them.
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Early monsoon prevents fire
Kumarhatti, July 1
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Shimla diary
Shimla, July 1 The complaints of overcharging are a common feature, particularly in major parking lots near the lift and the High Court. Not just the tourists, the attendants do not spare even the local vehicle owners. Overcharging leads to frequent altercations and many of the victims have taken up the matter with the local municipal corporation. Obviously, the fund-starved corporation, which earns over Rs 65 lakh by auctioning these lots to the contractors, is more concerned about the money. The rates on the display board had been rendered illegible by pasting handbills or scratching. The tourists are invariably overcharged and more often than not, they have to put up with it, as parking space is not easily available. An employee of the health department S.K.Goyal was charged Rs 20, double the amount fixed by the corporation, for his motor cycle for just 30 minutes. He has submitted a complaint to the municipal commissioner along with the receipt. Commissioner of the corporation admitted that complaints of overcharging were being received. It proposes to make stringent panel provision for taking action against contractors. One of the measures being considered was to recover double the amount charged as penalty from the contractor in case of overcharging. The option of computerised billing could also be considered for bigger parking lots. Workshop held
A workshop on the status of young children in the state organised by Jan Abhiyan Sanstha and Forum for Crèche and Child Care Services, expressed concern over the dwindling female sex ratio. The participants stressed that problem of the state should be considered in an absolute context rather than making a comparison with other northern states and terming it favourable. Attention was also drawn to imbalances that existed in budget allocations in which the expenditure on small children had been minimal. Most of the spending was on the 6-14 age group and the main component was education, followed by child health and child development. The integrated child development scheme was the only programme for those under six years but the state lacked requisite infrastructure and training facilities for anganwadi workers for implementing it effectively. Research papers presented during the workshop revealed that traditional foods in tribal and non-tribal areas prevented malnutrition and played a positive role in maintaining the health of the children.
City to have more branded stores
Big brands have been making a beeline to open their exclusive outlets on the Mall of the “queen of hills”. Some more new showrooms have come up in the past few days. These include Woodland, Wrangler and Koutons. Business-wise, opening a showroom in the hill station is not a very attractive proposition, particularly on the posh Mall where the rents of commercial space are exorbitantly high. Irrespective of the low potential for sales, the companies are keen to set up their shops. They see the elegant Mall, which still retains its British aura, as a platform to flaunt their products. After all lakhs of tourists who throng the city from all over the country and abroad, spend most of their time window-shopping on the Mall.
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Toyota Trans-Himalayan expedition
Chamba, July 1 Rajesh Charak, an eminent trekker, mountaineer and photographer of Chamba, who participated in this arduous rally said a group of 16 members hailing from different parts of India, participated in the event. The main objective of this expedition was to create awareness among the public about polio eradication from the society and about thalassaemia. School children were enlightened en route through audio and video aids to achieve the purpose. This expedition was flagged off from Ahmedabad on June 8 and traversed through Gandhinagar, Himmat Nagar, Udaipur, Jaipur, Panipat, Chandigarh, Manali, Rohtang Pass (13200 ft), Bara Lacha Pass (16000 ft) Naki La, Lachung La, Tanglang La (17585 ft) and in the last Khardung La (18,380 ft) which has the highest altitude in the world connected with motorable road. Narrating his experience, Charak said it was a different experience but pleasant in snowy mountainous terrains and passes. “We had to pass through the large ‘cold deserts’ of the north-western Himalayas where camels were seen used by the hilly people to carry their luggage on its hunch. The car rally passed through the Hunder village located in the fertile Nubra valley, which is a forbidden area for the tourists,” Charak added. Eventually, the rally returned via Leh, Kargil, and then on to Namkee La and reached the Zojila Pass and thereafter reached its final destination to Ahmedabad.
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Patients in lurch
Dharamsala, July 1 However, before she could receive the petty amount, the government changed. Now she, along with her son, has been making rounds of the district administrative complex to get the grant approved . The officials tell her the new government has stopped all the grants sanctioned by the previous government. However, unable to understand the bureaucratic intricacies, she shows the officials the letter she received from the deputy commissioner of Kangra that a grant had been approved for her. Kamla’s son, while talking to The Tribune, said he rang the office of the CM to know about the status of their grant on advice from the local officials. However, the officials asked them to move a new application for the grant. “We are in a fix as all the original bills of the medical treatment of my mother were attached with the application moved earlier,” he rued. Kamla Devi is not the only one who had been denied the grant sanctioned by the previous government under the CM’s relief fund. The Tribune has a list of 14 patients from poor families who also met with a similar fate. The total grant sanctioned to all these patients amounts to just Rs 87,000. Government sanctions the grant under the CM’s relief fund after a thorough scrutiny and recommendation by the officials of the district administration. To expect the poor patients to undertake the entire exercise once again is an ordeal. The patients alleged that they had undertaken the exercise to get the medical treatment citing poverty as reason rather than alliance with any party.
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