Chamba, February 17
With the restrictions to go up on the highland pastures for grazing the livestock in the border forests of Churah and Salooni tehsils of Chamba district, monad gujjars, shepherds and locals are forced to embrace extreme poverty. These areas now present a picture of grinding poverty and sheer neglect.

This borderland has been declared as hyper-sensitive in the wake of militancy conditions in bordering Jammu and Kashmir for the past about 10 years and security forces have been deployed to combat militancy.

Though the forces have succeeded in maintaining normalcy and infusing confidence of safety amongst the locals, the nomad gujjars have been deprived of their grazing rights by non-issuance of permits by the forest department, which forced them to sell their livestock.

Similarly, locals are not allowed to scale the timberline for extracting medicinal herbs which they have been collecting and selling since long. The extraction of herbs has been the main source of livelihood for the people of this alpine woody region.

Besides, there is a problem of footpaths and mule tracks in the area. The farmers in the area are not getting fertilisers in time during the sowing season.

Besides, the construction activities of mini-hydroelectric projects in the area have resulted in drying up of streams, stalling the functioning of a number of watermills and irrigation channels, which has marred the prospects of good harvest of agro-horticulture produce.

People of the area describe the animal husbandry, horticulture and agriculture departments as “while elephants”. The fate of primary education is no better and health services exist only in name.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the main disease affecting the poverty stricken people of this region. Surveys are being carried out under centrally sponsored health programmes, but nobody seemed to be bothered about the eradication of this disease.

The authorities, however, invariably deny these facts and maintain that everything is going on well.

Chamba deputy commissioner Maneesh Garg says, “The union ministry of rural development has recently presented the national award for excellence in the implementation of schemes under NREGA to Chamba district for the effective implementation of schemes”.

Chamba is among the 22 districts from 13 states which has been identified and selected for this award owing to their successful execution of NREGA, he says, adding that Chamba is the only district from northern states to receive this award.

Shimla, February 17
Unmindful of the harmful effects of mobile towers
in thickly populated residential areas, the local
municipal authorities rather than enforcing the
laid down guidelines for their installation are more
keen to rake in money into their coffers.

With no agency seriously enforcing the policy
for setting up of mobile communication towers,
various cellular companies have installed their
towers in thickly populated areas in different
localities of the town, atop houses.

As a result, those living in the adjoining houses
are being exposed to harmful emissions, besides
blocking their view.

The sudden strictness shown by the municipal corporation (MC) in this regard now is not to regulate the installation of towers but to generate income.

The MC has directed that all those installing their towers within the corporation area would have to pay Rs 20,000 per annum to it or else the towers would be removed.

Even though the MC does not have the exact figures but roughly there are over 300 such towers in the state capital.

The companies on the other hand are installing their towers at any location of
their choice, giving a complete go by to the problem it creates for the residents
of those areas.

Shimla being a hilly area, the towers in some areas are virtually obstructing the view and causing disturbance to those living in adjoining houses.

Certain areas of localities like Khalini, Sanjauli, Chotta Shimla, Kaithu and Kasumpti are clogged with these towers.

It is only in stray cases like the Engine Ghar Society that the residents sought
the intervention of the court on two occasions against the installation of towers
in their locality.

“When we failed to get relief despite raising the matter before the authorities concerned, we were left with no option but to knock the doors of the court,” admitted the residents of Engine Ghar in Sanjauli.

Residents rue that with the homeowner getting a good amount by allowing
installation of tower on his house, people are more willing to offer their
rooftops for the purpose.

“The fault lies with the MC authorities who should go by the guidelines and more importantly ensure their implementation and regular monitoring,” they remarked.

Taking advantage of the situation, the cellular companies are also oblivious of the inconvenience that these towers are causing to those residing in the nearby areas.

“It is not that we are not sensitive towards the problem of people, but we can follow some norms only if the government agencies bother to enforce,” commented a senior functionary of a cellular company.

As per the policy framed for setting up of the towers by the Information Technology Department, first preference should be given to commercial areas and if this is not possible then open spaces or community buildings must be used.

“Having the tower on the rooftops is best suited to the companies as they don’t have to engage a watchman and have other structures for installing the tower,” point out people.

Even though the MC has suddenly woken up to ensure that it gets Rs 20,000 earnings from the mobile companies as installation charges and Rs 10,000 per annum as renewal charges but is anybody bothered for the convenience of the residents.

Hamirpur, February 17
The forest department has taken a unique initiative to set up a Navgrah Vatika at Hamirpur which would not only provide a place to people to worship plants countering planetary effects, but would also help conservation.

The vatika in Hiranagar is the first of its kind to be set up by the forest department. Divisional forest officer Sanjay Sood, after collecting information about planetary effects of a few plants from ancient scriptures, has initiated the idea of setting up of the vatika.

The Navgarh worship, which has a special significance in performing any ceremony according to the Hindu religion, can also be performed through worshiping a few distinct trees devoted to these planets, tell the sacred books.

He told The Tribune "old scriptures like all of our Puranas, especially Matsaya and Vishnu Puranas, the Vedas and Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta, have many references about the efficacious effects of certain trees."

"With the establishment of the Navgrah Vatika in Children’s Park, people could now carry worship in the Vatika and also set up their own Navgrah Vatikas," Sood said.

To popularise these plants among the people according to their efficacies, the forest department has been telling people to plant these tress for their planetary effects which can go a long way in conserving forests and tree plantation.

The plants which have been planted in Navgarh Vatika are: aak (calotrasfisprosera) for sun sign, plash (buteamanospeema) for moon, khair (acacia cactechu) for venus, putkai (acaranthuspra) for mercury, pipal (ficus religiousa) for jupiter, gular (ficus glomerta) for venus, shammi (prosopis cinnercia) for saturn, drub (cynodon dectylon) for dragon head (rahu) and kusha (desmostaicia bipaerata) for curing effects of dragon tail ketu.

The forest department is also distributing these plants from its nurseries to people to popularise their plantation.

Shimla, February 17
Rising numbers of the two-wheelers, poor road conditions, lack of knowledge about the vehicle technology among drivers and poor maintenance coupled with the fragmented approach towards the management of the transport system have been making the transport services in the hill state increasingly uneconomical, inefficient, unsafe and unsustainable.

Bureaucrat RN Batta, who has conducted an in-depth study of the economics of the road transport, stated this recently.

Roads are indeed the only mode of transport in the hill states where rail network and air services are insignificant.

In the absence of an integrated policy, the ever-increasing share of vehicles in recent years has created a plethora of problems.

The rapid expansion of the road network, entry of new range of vehicles and availability of easy finance has led to phenomenal growth of the vehicle population.

From an average growth rate of 2.7 per cent during 1980-85, the annual growth rate of vehicle population increased to 7.8 per cent in 1995-2000 and crossed 12 per cent after 1998.

However, the most alarming finding of the study that has been published in the form of a book “Economics of Road Transport” is that accidents have been growing at a rate of 12 to 15 per cent and the casualties at an even higher rate of 18 to 20 per cent per annum.

On an average, over 2,900 accidents take place claiming about 850 lives.

The intensity of damage due to accidents in the state is 30, which has been far higher than the national accident severity index of 10.

Over 35 per cent of these accidents occur on the national highways, followed by 31 per cent on the state highways and 34 per cent on the rural roads.

The analysis carried out by Batta, who had a long stint as additional commissioner of transport, reveals that 83 per cent of the mishaps are caused due to the human error, mechanical fault and the bad road conditions.

While the drivers have little knowledge about the technology and maintenance of the vehicle, the vehicle owners are not aware of their competence.

The owners and drivers do not know about the conditions of the roads. Selection of ill-trained drivers to save on wage costs, poor maintenance of vehicles and tendency to overload are responsible for four out of five accidents.

Thus, over 80 per cent of the accidents could be avoided just by improving the availability of information to all the players.

Accidents on roads are the major cause of death and disability making the transportation system unsustainable and justifying an urgent policy intervention.

Two wheelers and cars comprised 82 per cent of the total of over 3 lakh vehicle population and commercialised vehicles accounted for only 15 per cent. This has been aggravating the problems of congestion, accidents and pollution.

Hence there is the need for encouraging the use of public transport, which
utilises much less road space and causes less pollution as compared to the
personalised transport.

The roads are also managed in a fragmented and uneconomic way with inadequate funds for maintenance.

Decisions on the management, expansion and maintenance of the road networks are generally taken by a gamut of agencies ranging from the State Public Works Department to local urban bodies, block development office and the panchayats.

The budget allocation for the maintenance of the roads in the central sector has only been 40 per cent of the requirement and the position in the state sector has been still worse.

Batta said the transport services should be upgraded and suggests setting up of a dedicated road development fund and putting in place a strategy to include planning and reservation of space for transportation infrastructure, introduction of sound maintenance management systems supported by sustainable flow of resources, appropriate traffic management and demand management systems based on the full cost realisation.

Town planners should also take care of transport planning and consider sustainability of the urban transport system, a critical part of the total urban system.

The tax system must encourage efficiency, minimise environmental fallout, discourage personalised transport and encourage public transport.

Shimla, February 17
The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) being set up at Chheb in Kangra will help introduce and popularise the designs of rich traditional costumes and exquisite jewellery of the hill state in the international fashion world.

The institute, the first to be set up in the region, will also provide necessary training to local youth to hone their creative skills in the emerging high-profile world of fashion technology which requires well-trained professionals.

Such institutes have been playing a vital role in fashion designing, research and development of fashion technology, training and consultancy.

The institute being set up with an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore would have state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment to impart both practical and theoretical training.

Aesthetically designed spacious buildings would house fully equipped lecture rooms, design studios and laboratories, resource centres and hostels.

Classrooms will have facilities for using advanced teaching methodology and
interactive sessions.

The NIFT campus would have ample space to host events, allowing students to pursue individual interests related to their studies and work towards social concerns.

This institute would provide opportunity to youths throughout the country to have skills and allow them to easily blend into the global fashion network on one hand and on the other have greater appreciation of local trends.

The multi-disciplinary approach will help in all-round development of students.

In a sharp contrast to the “cool tempers” of the Congress during the winter session at Dharamshala, the opposition members are trying to keep the budget session an animated one this time by staging walkouts every now and then.

It is probably with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections that the Congress has decided to lock horns with the government on every issue.

Right from the day one, the Congress opposed the holding of a truncated 11-day budget session of the assembly, the shortest till date.

The Congress demanded that either the government should extend the budget or else present a vote on account rather than a regular budget.

All the senior Congress leaders, including Vidya Stokes, Virbhadra Singh and Kaul Singh Thakur, echoed their concern over the brief session, which would not provide sufficient time to the members to discuss the budget proposals.

In the state, the problem is that the hospitals have to face acute shortage of blood, especially during winter months.

Tanvar said free medical camps would be organised at Bhunti village, besides more blood donation camps to meet the blood requirement of the hospitals.

The first available reference of India Coffee House (NT 6) is of August, 1944
that had to put its shutters down in 1987 when it could not compete with Indian
Coffee House (NT 1) started in 1966. The Indian had won in the tug between
India and Indian.

He ridiculed the harsh provisions of MC bylaws in a letter dated 2.2.1920, “I see that by having a wooden partition put up in my office, I have placed myself within the letter of the law. I can only express my regret at having erected a building without the previous sanction of MC”.