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Professional institutions elude Chamba
Stadium construction a distant dream
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LS Polls
Voters indifferent as politicians busy in mudslinging
vignettes
shimla diary
RTI exposes unauthorised constructions
Spurt in mishaps
NIT functioning under a cloud
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Professional institutions elude Chamba
Chamba, April 21 But no tangible result has so far come out in this direction. It remains to be seen whether the issue will have any impact on the voters in this Lok Sabha polls slated for May 13. The issue related to education, particularly professional education in engineering and medical is basic and important for the people of Chamba. The district has always been a victim of neglect and remained deprived of institutions of higher education such as universities, engineering and medical colleges etc. In order to lay stress on the facility of professional education in Chamba region, many prominent citizens having experience in the professional field, on condition of anonymity, opine that there is a lack of awareness among the majority of people, including students and parents, regarding the professional education in engineering and medical field. They say most of the districts in the state have almost been provided with engineering and medical colleges, besides universities. There is a lack of information and communication in this regard. Many people do not even know how to apply for these professional courses. The main reason for this is the non-existence of any professional institutions. At the moment, Chamba has been provided with only a polytechnic institute. Chamba, too, is also deprived of a university centre for conducting combined entrance tests (CETs) for engineering and medical disciplines. The nearest institutions of these disciplines are in Dharamsala and Hamirpur districts that are almost more than 200 km away from Chamba district. There are many good and brilliant students who are totally ignorant about the procedures and methods how to get admission in the professional institutions. Taking into account the tough geographic conditions, there is an urgent need of setting up of professional institutions or at least a university in the district so that people of the area could have a direct and easy access to these institutions. Leading NGOs of the area, including the Chamba Welfare Association, the Citizens Progressive Council and the National Forum of Awareness and Development, have been making representations to the government for the past few years in this regard.
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Stadium construction a distant dream
Nurpur, April 21 Former minister and ex-local MLA Sat Mahajan, who made efforts for about 19 years for the fulfillment of his dream project, partially succeeded when in 2007 the construction of the stadium started. The then government had earmarked Rs 1.83 crore for its construction. Intriguingly, with the change of government, the construction was stopped at the instance of local MLA Rakesh Pathania. He took the plea that the previous government had in spite of constructing a proper cricket stadium had proposed only a 400 metre-athlete track that would not serve the purpose of the sports lovers waiting for a stadium since 1990. Talking to The Tribune, Pathania clarified that the sanction for the new stadium was in final stages, which could not be granted due to the enforcement of the model code of conduct in the wake of the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. According to official information, the present state government has been proposing a 65- metre radius cricket stadium for which the final nod is still hanging in the balance. Owing to sudden stoppage of the construction work of the track, resentment has been prevailing among the sports lovers, as the ground cannot be used as a playground due to obstruction from partially built athlete track. Inquiries reveal that former chief minister Virbhadra Singh had laid the foundation stone of the proposed stadium on January 16, 1990. At that time it had to be built at a cost of Rs 14.84 lakh. That stone fell into prey of the land encroachers, who allegedly grabbed some part of the proposed stadium site. Again on August 13, 1996, the former Chief Minister visited the stadium site and a fresh foundation stone was installed with a new plaque with the old foundation stone with the date inscribed on it.The Virbhadra Singh government in 2006 had sanctioned Rs 1.83 crore for the construction of the already proposed 400-metre track stadium.
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New cages to trap leopards
Shimla, April 21 The new sleeker cages have been designed so that the animals can be deceived to walk into them as these are camouflaged. “With the demand for a cage to trap a leopard being received frequently by our office, we thought of switching over to smaller, lighter and better cages which would be easy to transport and would give better results,” said DFO, Shimla Territorial Division, Rajesh Sharma. He said the task of designing the new cages had been undertaken by an NGO, Wild Life Trust of India. The problem of man-human conflict has now become too common especially in case of leopards whose number had grown substantially in Himachal Pradesh. As per the last census conducted almost five years ago, their number was 972. However, in the next census the number came to a little over 600 but this figure remained disputed and the wild life authorities said that the earlier figure was inflated. Since then, a fresh census has not been undertaken. Even though in terms of the cost there is not much of difference in the cages, it is expected that the new ones would help in their easy transportation and the animals would walk into these easily. Forest officials admitted that there had been several instances when a leopard did not get trapped in the cage as they were familiar with the thick iron like rods. The new cages have a mesh all around which is lighter and can be camouflaged with creepers and leaves so that the leopard can be deceived into walking into these. Earlier, the problem of leopards or other wild animals foraying into inhabited areas was more common during the winters but now with an increase in their population the animals venture towards villages in search of food at any time of the year. It is for this very reason that the human-animal conflict is on the rise and interventions are necessary. In the past, there have been instances when leopards have turned man-eaters and have attacked not just animals but also human beings. At one point of time, professional shooters had to be summoned to kill a man-eater. The problem was more in areas like Jogindernagar in Mandi, Baijnath and Palampur in Kangra. The latest census of leopards in Himachal is yet to be undertaken but considering their frequent spotting it is expected that the number would have increased substantially.
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LS Polls
Shimla, April 21 While all prominent leaders tasted defeat in the parliamentary polls, Sultanpuri maintained an unblemished electoral record by winning six elections in a row from the Shimla (reserved) constituency. Virbhadra lost the LS polls in 1977, Sukh Ram in 1989, Shanta in 1996 and 2004 and Dhumal in 1984 and 1996. However, Sultanpuri won all six elections from 1980 to 1996. It was the 1984 LS elections held in the wake of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination which saw Sultanpuri securing a record 79 per cent of votes to defeat his nearest rival by 1,96,291 votes, the highest margin of victory recorded in the state till date. In the same election Sukh Ram entered the LS from Mandi winning by a margin of 1,31,651 votes. It was an election in which all Congress candidates posted victory with a margin of over 1 lakh votes and the party polled 67.58 per cent votes as against 23.27 per cent secured by the BJP. The next highest margin of victory in a general election was secured by Sukh Ram who got overwhelming support from people for bringing the telecom revolution in the state in the 1996 polls. He defeated Maheshwar Singh by 1,53,223 votes. The highest margins of victory have been recorded during waves for or against a party. An analysis of the data reveals that traditionally the Congress has a wider permanent support base in the state compared to the BJP. The percentage votes polled by the Congress never dwindled below 38.5 per cent even when it was routed at the hustings, losing all four seats. The party polled the highest vote percentage of 75.79 per cent in 1971, followed by 67.58 in 1984. Its candidates have been winning with larger margins compared to the BJP. The BJP’s vote share rarely crossed the 50 per cent mark only once in 1998 when it secured 51.43 per cent of votes. However, its percentage votes plunged to as low as 10.64 per cent in 1971 when it contested as the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. Its lowest vote share as the BJP was 23.27 per cent in 1984. The party’s support base has widened over the past two decades and its vote percentage has fallen below 40 per cent only once in 1996 when it polled 39.62 per cent. Interestingly, the Congress has also managed to maintain a vote share in excess of 40 per cent since 1977 and it polled the lowest of 39.52 in 1999 when the BJP-HVC combine swept the poll in the wake of the Kargil conflict. It is quite evident that the gap between the two parties have narrowed down significantly but it is also obvious that the BJP has gained more due to virtual disappearance of the smaller parties from the scene. However, the gap still persists, as the BJP has till date not won the Shimla seat even once. The only time when the Congress lost all four seats in the recent past was in 1999 but the BJP had left the Shimla seat for its alliance partner HVC.
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Voters indifferent as politicians busy in mudslinging
Mandi, April 21 There is no enthusiasm among the voters as they remain indifferent to the claims and counterclaims of the parties. Top leaders of the main political rivals, the BJP and the Congress, have trained their guns on each other to secure their political fortunes while engaging in blame game within their own parties and outside. Meanwhile, no major election issue has emerged so far. Both Congress stalwart Virbhadra Singh and BJP’s PK Dhumal are focusing on the Hamirpur and Mandi seats to create a broader space for themselves in the state politics. BJP’s stalwart Shanta Kumar has kept himself out of this new power struggle as of now. For Virbhadra Singh, it is the “survival of his big name” because after the 2008 Assembly poll debacle, he finds himself somewhat politically aloof, but kicking. For
Dhumal, the victory of his son, Anurag Thakur, and the defeat of Virbhadra Singh matters the most. Both Dhumal and Virbhadra Singh are playing the “Sukh Ram card”, with the former blaming Virbhadra Singh for Sukh Ram’s fall and the latter praising Sukh Ram’s “telecom revolution”. Sukh Ram still holds ground in
Mandi, Karsog and Balh. He was a key player, who brought Dhumal to power in 1998.
Virbhadra Singh has targeted Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur, by favouring Narinder Thakur as Congress nominee from
Hamipur. Virbhadra Singh has opened front against Dhumal, accusing him of targeting his political opponents in false vigilance cases and went on record charging Dhumal of getting kickbacks in the “multi-crore CFL bulb scam”. On the other hand,
Dhumal, in a press conference in Mandi recently, said Virbhadra Singh saw scams in everything since he himself was neck-deep in them as “currency notes worth crores were recovered from the CMO office when he was the
Chief Minister”. Virbahdra Singh also said certain Congressmen were hand in glove with
Dhumal. The obvious names doing the rounds include Vidya Stokes, Viplove
Thakur, Sukhwinder Sukhu and GS Bali, reveal insiders. Apart from this, the Hamirpur seat has also triggered a “cold war” within the
BJP. The party hardliners have become wary of Dhumal’s secret agenda to promote his son. Dhumal has been propping up non-hardliners in his camp, giving a cold shoulder to the hardliners who come from the Sangh
Parivar, reveal insiders. This is clear from the fact that Anurag is addressing workers and rallies not only in Hamirpur but also outside his constituency. The contest is low key in Shimla (reserved) and Kangra as old warhorses Dhani Ram Shandil and Chander Kumar (both Congress) are facing Virender
Kashyap, a 10-time loser, and Rajan Sushant (new entrant), respectively. Meanwhile, voters have so far given a lukewarm response to poll campaigning and the spirit that generally marks the panchayat or state Assembly polls is missing this time. The rainy weather is also playing the spoilsport, making the matters worst for politicians. In fact, the “politics of opportunism” played by alliances has kept the voters guessing. “Most of voters know it will be ‘khichadi’ at the
Centre. It is difficult, but voters know who has done what for them,” says a cobbler in Mandi town. The Third Front and the fourth front has added to voters’ confusion in taking a decision to elect the 15 Lok
Sabha, comment workers engaged in a village road project under NREGA. “We will vote for the party which has started
NREGA,” they said. “Voter is more educated today and cannot be carried away by leaders. Who cares for the common man? Today, they ask for votes, but forget all promises when in power,” comments Panu Ram, a farmer, who has lost 90 per cent of his peas crop due
to drought.
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vignettes
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shimla diary
The plan to relocate the Tibetan market has not been pursued by the local municipal corporation in the right earnest all these years. Two years ago, the corporation had identified a site near Vikasnagar, but no final decision was taken in the matter. The corporation seems to have developed cold feet on the proposal as shopkeepers are not willing to shift because they feel that the new site is not conducive for business activity. Thus, the people will have to put up with the inconvenience for more time. Earlier, there was a move to push back the shops, which, at present, cover three-fourths of the road width by a few feet beyond the drain on the hillside so that it became wide enough for plying of ambulance and other light vehicles. Municipal commissioner AN Sharma says the proposal has not been given up and efforts are on to find a suitable site for relocating the market. The main market of the state capital, Lower Bazar, is also in bad shape. Moving thorough the market during peak hours is an ordeal as shopkeepers cover a good part of the road displaying their wares. Unauthorised vendors make sure that any open space still left is readily occupied. The municipal authorities have issued only 163 “teh bazari” permits but the actual number of vendors is manifold.
Fun time for orphans
In a gesture aimed at making the orphans feel part of society, a local NGO, Ashadeep, arranged joyride on the toy train for inmates of the Kasturba Gandhi Ashram at
Durgpur, near here. Members of the 22 families of the organisation spent the whole day in company of 52 inmates. The joyride started from Shimla and ended at Kaithlighat where breakfast was served. Thereafter, they all visited two local temples, trekked through forest to reach the famous Baba Balaknath temple at Diharigaht. Then they had a community lunch hosted by one of the members of Ashadeep. The orphans also performed a cultural programme. President of the NGO Sushil Tanwar said the idea was to create awareness among people about the emotional needs of
the orphans.
Parties put onus on councillors
While MLAs are hard-pressed for securing lead for the party candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, with a close contest on cards in the Shimla seat, the ruling BJP and the Congress have made the councillors of the municipal corporation responsible for the performance in their respective wards. The Congress has 15 councillors out of the total 25 and the BJP 8, while CPM has two. The BJP has assigned two wards each to its councillors and they have been asked to carry out door-to-door canvassing and organise
corner meetings. — Rakesh Lohumi
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RTI exposes unauthorised constructions
Mandi, April 21 The Town and Country Planning (TCP) department has served notices on owners of the buildings. RTI bureau, Mandi, convener Lawan Thakur said the TCP department was not taking action against unauthorised construction activity in the town. “Influential persons are the main
violators. Two private petrol stations in the town, a shopping complex on a site of the old Krishna Talkies, Kiran Emporium and a private hotel of the local MLA are a few private buildings which have no approval of the TCP department”, he said. The TCP department had issued notice to the PWD and the District Sessions Judge, Mandi, under Section 39 of the H.P TCP Act, 1977, on October 19, 2006 to stop the unauthorised construction of the new court complex. But the PWD did not take any action and now the building is complete. The TCP department has refused NoC for electricity and water connections on the ground that the building does not have its approval. The RTI Bureau says it will move the court seeking proper implementation of the TCP Act and municipal bylaws. It has also sought action against erring officials. The MCM, the TCP and district officials say all government constructions are executed by the PWD. “We have moved the cases for approval with the TCP and it is awaited”, say PWD officials.
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Spurt in mishaps
Palampur, April 21 Despite the tall claims made by the state government from time to time, nothing worthwhile has been done to ensure the passenger safety. Though the state government is well conversant with the situation that 96 per cent of the total population of the state is dependant on the road transport but the passenger safety has completely been neglected. The government has been granting bus permits for the passenger transport on the political considerations without looking into the conditions of the roads where the buses are to be plied. Despite increase in the light and heavy vehicles in the state and interstate traffic, the width of most of the roads is the same as it had been 20 years ago. The government has taken steps for the widening of the roads but very little improvement has been made in this field so far. The condition of the internal roads in the state is worst. The state witnesses a high rate of accident cases because of its difficult topography and narrow roads. In an interaction with The Tribune, a senior official of the state transport department said 75 per cent of the total accidents in the state occur because of the human failure while the remaining 25 per cent are attributed to other reasons like mechanical failure, landslides and bad roads. Another factor responsible for the sharp increase in the bus accidents in the state is attributed to rampant corruption prevailing in the licensing wing of the government. It is alleged that Rs 3,000 to 4,000 are being charged for the grant of driving licenses for the heavy vehicles in the state. Almost after every accident, the state government orders the enquirer to find out the cause of the accident, but no follow up action is taken on such reports.
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NIT functioning under a cloud
Hamirpur, April 21 Though the institute had earned quite a good reputation in the country during the past few years by becoming one of the few top institutes having high academic standards and best managed institutes, the CBI raids has definitely lowered its prestige. The CBI raid is significant since a section of the teachers of the institute have been raising the issue of adoption of “pick and choose policy” in the recruitment and promotion of the teaching faculty. Not only this but also the NIT Teacher’s Association has been demanding vigilance probe against the authorities feeling aggrieved for not having uniform recruitment and promotion policy, decrying “favouritism in appointment and promotions.” Since the association had taken up the issue at various forums by submitting demand charters and even threatened an agitation, they were invited for the talks by chairman of the Board of Governors (BOG) of the institute Dr RL Chauhan and an effort was made to mitigate them by ordering an inquiry through a committee. The role of the institute authorities, especially NIT director, was never appreciated by the aggrieved teachers since he never made any sincere efforts to hold talks with them and the teachers even accused him for scuttling the inquiry by delaying the formation of the inquiry committee. While charges of alleged “nepotism” in recruitment and promotion remained unanswered due to lack of proper inquiry by the authorities, a few insiders even talked of “financial and other irregularities” in hushed tones demanding high-level probe into these. Under this background the CBI raid in the campus has not come as surprise as there were many in the institute who were smelling rat in its affairs. The real truth in the charges of “favouritism and irregularities” would only be made clear when investigations are complete in the matter but it is a hard fact that prestige of the institute has definitely lowered after the raid.
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Politicians misleading voters
Every other day, we hear about one politician or the other breaking the model code of conduct. How can these famous personalities play with the sentiments of the people on communal grounds and mislead them? On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, LK Advani tried to play with the emotions of Dalits. Earlier, actor Sanjay Dutt tried to play with the sentiments of Muslims. No doubt, their key objective is to woo an illiterate voter, which is unfortunate. Why can’t these politicians talk on development and other important issues? Anshoo Kanotra, Bilaspur
Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at himachalplus@tribunemail.com or write in at: Letters, Himachal Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030.
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The Shimla Amateur Garden and Environment Society arranges a nature walk once a year. Last week, a group of about 100 women, men and children footed their way from Kennedy House to Annandale enjoying all bounties that Mother Nature had given to Shimla. The walkers witnessed the Army Museum at Annandale opened in 2005 that gives due military honours to Gen Wazir Zorawar Singh Kehluria with his portrait there along with other great soldiers of the country. Zorawar was an illustrious military strategist from Himachal Pradesh whom Shakti S. Chandel in his magnum opus credits with, “The techniques of mountain warfare employed by him are considered textbook examples of military science even today.” G.C. Smyth in his book, “Gulab Singh” recognises that he was the finest soldier that India had produced in the nineteenth century and admits that he was an intrepid commander gifted with considerable political ability. Zorawar had marched his army six times over the snow-clad ranges of Ladakh and Baltistan. Smyth writes, “To have conquered that country after successive campaigns and reduced it to a peaceful province is an exploit for which there is no parallel. His greatness will shine through the pages of Indian history as that of a great and noble warrior.”
There are various claims on his birthplace and the year of birth. Is it Bhalloon village in Nadaun or Ansar in Hamirpur or Beri Darol in Bilaspur? The last named comes from Chandel who assigns it after thorough research and cross-checks, so it deserves acknowledgment. Zorawar, according to Chandel, was born in the year 1784 to Sardaru Kehluria, who was appointed as wazir of Kehlur (present district Bilaspur) for a short period. The others claim his date of birth as April 13, 1786 and are lost on the name of his father. Zorawar spent the first 16 years of his life in Bilaspur when a family feud took him to Hardwar where he met Rana Jaswant Singh of Doda (Kishtwar) Jammu who sent him to his son, Fateh Singh, at Kishtwar to join his army. The 20-year lad mastered the skill of archery and swordsmanship here and also got initiation in moral values from a yogi. Having served his master well, he joined the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Lahore in 1817 but left it soon to fight against the Sikhs siding himself with Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra. The Sikh soldiers caught him and chained him in the fort of Dehra Gopipur. The shackles were too weak for this man of destiny and so one night he fled from there to join the forces of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu. He was placed under the commandant of the Reasi fort (Bhimgarh). Complete honesty, even transferring all gifts and tributes to his master, was his hallmark and so he disclosed to the Raja the financial waste occurring in administering the fort and presented his own plan of possible savings there. Impressed by his sincerity, Gulab Singh initially placed all forts north of Jammu under his charge and then made him the wazir of Kishtwar. A drought here resulted in revenue-loss thus forcing Zorawar to raise money through wars. In the spring of 1835, he defeated a large Ladakhi army and marched towards Leh. The Gyalpo agreed to pay a hefty sum as war-indemnity and also as annual tribute. He won the region of Baltistan that falls to the north of Kashmir before bravely fighting against the Tibetans supported by the Chinese. Ultimately, he lost not to the manpower but to the powers of the nature, the frost and the snow, when in the severe winters of 1841, he made yet another attack on Tibet. His frostbitten soldiers disarrayed and he himself got a gun-shot on his right shoulder on a wintry 12th of December. He grabbed a sword in his left hand and attacked the enemy when several Tibetan horsemen fell upon him and one of them thrust a lance in his chest. The little Napoleon of India died there and has the samadhi ‘Sing-ba-ka-Chortain’ at a height of 16000 ft outside a sleepy village of Toye in
Ladakh.
Walking through the congested Tibetan market from the Rivoli Road, which connects the bus stand with The Mall, is becoming increasingly difficult. The residents and tourists have to jostle through the road that has been virtually reduced to a narrow footpath by the long row of shops on the hillside.