Shimla, May 5
Masrur temples located in Kangra district are one of the only four rock-cut temples in India, which are also known as the “Ajanta of Himachal”.The government will be moving the case for seeking UNESCO world heritage site status for the exquisite monolithic temples.

This will be the third site in Himachal after Kalka-Shimla and a stretch of the Kangra rail line, which will make it to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in case all conditions are fulfilled. A high-level meeting was held here recently to make preparations for moving the case of the temples, presently with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Masrur is located 32 km from Kangra on the Nagrota Surian link road and is famous for rock-cut temples. There are only four rock-cut temples in India, including the famous “Rathas of Mammalapuram”, “Kailashas at Ellora”, “Temple-complex at Masrur in Kangra” and “Dharmnatha temple at Dhamnar” in Rajasthan.

The complex at Masrur is a group of 15 monolithic rock-cut temples in the Indo Aryan style, which are richly carved and date back to the seventh-eighth century. “The temple complex at Masrur is a precious heritage site and we are making preparations to approach UNESCO for seeking the status of world heritage site for the place,” said Prem Sharma, director, Language, Art and Culture.

He said, besides the ASI, expertise of other organisations like INTACH, National Mission of Monuments and Antiquities and the Institute of Urban Designer was also being sought. Sharma said efforts were also being made to promote Masrur as an international tourist site with the help of the Tourism Department.

These richly ornamented cave temples at Masrur are the only rock shrines in the northern part of India. The main shrine contains three stone images of Ram, Laxman and Sita, but the presence of the figure of Shiva in the centre of the lintel affords a strong presumption that the temple was originally dedicated to Mahadeva.

Even though the influx of tourists in the state has grown tremendously, keeping in view the aloofness and relative remoteness of Masrur, the place is not visited by many people. The endeavour now is to promote the site at the international level and in case it is granted the status, it will automatically make it to the world tourism map.

The main shrine at Masrur dominates the centre. The remote location of these temples protected them from the invading army of Mahmud Gazni and their stone construction prevented severe damage in the 1905 earthquake.

Though rock-cut caves are common in South India, the temple is the only one in North India. Cutout of freestanding rocks, archaeologists and art critics pointed out that there were only four of these in India. Carvings and ornamentation at Masrur were of a much superior order and the temple group was on the top of a 2,500 ft high hill range, making it even more imposing.

The rock-cut style started in the reign of the Pallava king Narsingha Varman- I Mahamalla (630-668 AD) during the first half of the seventh century. It reached its climax in Kailasha temples at Ellora, which is one of the wonders of the world.

Hamirpur, May 5
Jumping of two daughters- in- law of BJP stalwart, the late Jagdev Chand Thakur, in the campaigning for the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency has created an interesting situation here.

Both of them are seeking votes separately for the BJP and the Congress.While the elder daughter-in-law Urmil Thakur, who is sitting BJP MLA from Hamiprur is seeking votes for BJP candidate Anurag Thakur, the younger,Archna Thakur, wife of Congress candidate Narinder Thakur, is garnering votes for her husband.

Interestingly, both the daughters-in-law of Jagdev Chand Thakur, who was one of the founder- members of the BJP and a prominent leader of the party for several decades, are trying to capitalise on the legacy of their father-in- law and are trying to woo the voters by using his name.

Urmil Thakur is trying to convince the voters that since Jagdev Chand Thakur always stood for the policies of the BJP and nourished the area, it is natural for the voters to vote for the BJP candidate.

On the other hand, Archana is saying in her campaign that the “present BJP government under P.K. Dhumal has always tried to harm the political interests of their family.”In her campaign, she is saying, “it was BJP leadership who tried to finish the political career of her husband Narinder Thakur and time has come to vote for the Congress since it is this party which has restored the honour of Jagdev Chand Thakur’s family by giving his son the party ticket.”

Urmil Thakur is till now restricting her campaign in the Hamirpur constituency, but Archana is campaigning in other assembly segments too.

Dharamsala, May 5
Mary Bartnikowski, a portrait and art photographer from California in the USA, is in Mcloedganj these days. She is sharing her experiences with the local children and teaching them tips of photography gathered from her travels across the world.

Mary said besides all other places she had developed special love for India. “Diverse culture and spirituality in India was feed for any photographer. I had travelled to various parts of India, including Rishikesh”, she said.

She is now staying at Dharamsala where, according to her, two different cultures, Tibetan and Indian, have entered a state of fusion. “I am going to stay here for one more month and gather different colours of the area in my photography,” she said.

Mary has led programmes at Stanford University, Intel, Apple Computer and globally for foundations, schools and non-profits in Colombia, Argentina, Nepal and India. She has travelled to South America, Asia, Europe, the Himalayas and the Andes and has photographed saints, CEOs, yoga masters, families, babies, authors and over 700 weddings in different cultures.

Mary is also a yoga enthusiast and claims to have been practicing it for the last 25 years. “It keeps me fit for my world adventures,” she claims.

Dharamsala, May 5
The poor condition of almost all roads leading to the hottest tourist spot of the district, Mcleodganj, is a peril for commuters. It is hazardous not only for vehicles but also for the life and limb of tourists.

Due to the poor condition of the roads and the lack of embankments, just 2 km from the district, a taxi driver failed to negotiate a turn and fell into a deep gorge leading to his death recently.

Mcleodganj, Bhagsunag and Naddi are three most favourite spots for Indian and foreign tourists coming to Kangra district. High profile tourists, including Hollywood actors, also visit Mcleodganj to meet the spiritual head of the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama.

Presently, two roads lead to Mcleodganj from Dharamsala. These include a single lane 4-km road that passes near the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The road is very steep and has sharp curves. The PWD guesthouse and the Tourism Department hotel is also located on the road. However, the condition of the road is very poor. The bitumen layer over the entire road has peeled off.

The local municipal council and the PWD had reportedly received funds for the maintenance of the road. However, the condition of the road is such that it seems that no money has been spent on it since long.

The other 10-km road leading to Mcloedganj is double lane, though at many places it has been reduced to single lane due to landslides in the last monsoon and the lack of repairs. The road was widened to double lane when a cricket match between Indian and Pakistan took place at the Dharamsala cricket stadium.

The repair work being carried out along the road is so slow and tardy that it seems the PWD has not fixed any time limit for the completion of the works.

From Mcleodganj a 2-km single lane road goes to Dharamkot, another famous tourist destination, which is often referred to as mini Israel due to the influx of huge numbers of Israeli tourists here. The condition of the road is so poor that it is dangerous to travel on it at night.

The PWD officials, when contacted, blamed excessive rains in the region for the poor condition of the roads. However, it seems that it was not just rains but the poor quality of works that was responsible for the condition of the roads.

Palampur, May 5
While the BJP had consolidated its Gaddi vote bank by according tribal status to the entire community in the state when it was in power from 1998 to 2003, “disillusioned” other backward classes (OBCs) may upset its applecart in the politically sensitive Kangra-Chamba parliamentary constituency.

Resentment prevails among OBCs here over the indifferent attitude of the successive governments towards their demand for 27 per cent reservation in government jobs.

Vidya Sagar, a former minister in the BJP government from Kangra, had resigned in 2002 in protest against the failure of the Dhumal government in increasing the OBC quota in government jobs to 27 per cent.

Keeping this in view, the Congress has fielded an OBC candidate, Chander Kumar, from the Kangra-Chamba seat while BJP candidate Rajan Sushant is a Brahmin.

OBCs, which constitute about 20 per cent of the state population, are mostly concentrated in the merged areas, comprising Kangra, Una and parts of Hamirpur district. They can tilt the electoral scales in as many as 18 Assembly constituencies, where they account for 20 per cent to 70 per cent of the electorate.

The highest percentage of the OBCs is in Kangra and Nagrota Bagwan (about 70 per cent), followed by Shahpur, Guler, Paonta-Doon, Nadaun, Jwalamukhi, Chintpurani, Gagret and Santokhgarh. Other segments where OBCs have a sizeable presence include Jaswan, Nurpur, Jwali, Una, Dharamsala, Sulah and Palampur.

The OBCs became a significant political force following the Mandal Commission row during the VP Singh regime. The impact was more severe in the lower parts of the state, which saw a prolonged anti-Mandal agitation. The BJP, which was in power at that time, lost the support of the OBCs, and it was routed in the 1993 Assembly elections.

The Congress, headed by Vir Bhadara Singh, which came to power subsequently, made all efforts to please this community. Initially, it reserved 10 per cent jobs for the OBCs and set up a commission to decide their exact quota on the basis of population. It raised the quota to 18 per cent on the recommendation of the commission.

However, despite this, it was not able to keep its OBC vote bank intact and a sizeable chunk of the community voted in the favour of the BJP in the last Assembly elections.

A section of the OBCs in Kangra district is undecided on which party to vote for. It was the OBC factor that led to the defeat of Shanta Kumar in the last parliamentary election from the Kangra-Chamba constituency.

Mandi, May 5
The worsening condition of roads has become a major election issue as the BJP’s promise to repair these on a priority basis remains to be fulfilled even though the party has been in power in state for 14 months.

The BJP accused the previous Congress regime of neglecting roads and told voters during the last assembly elections that the party would repair these on a priority basis, if voted to power.But after 14 months, the condition of the main roads across the state has turned from bad to worse,rue villagers.

The roads have potholes and craters and boulders lying there are posing difficulties for daily commuters as well as tourists.

The 105- km-long Mandi-Chail Chowk- Gohar-Janjeli road is in bad shape. “Potholes and boulders are its hallmarks”, rued Jagdish Chand, a resident of Janjeli.

The condition of the Mandi Chail Chowk-Rawanda-Karsog- Chindi road, a major tourist point on the Shimla-Tatta Pani-Shikari Devi tourist circuit, is in a dilapidated condition at several places. The Mandi Sarkaghat road and the Mandi-Ner Chowk-Nalsar-Baldwara-Jahu-Hamirpur route ,in the home district of Chief minister PK Dhumal, are in a pathetic condition, complain commuters.

The Shimla-Naldehra- Tatapani-Karsog road, which is the main tourist link to Karsog and Chindi is also in bad shape between Karsog and Churag and between Naldehra and Shimla, rue tourists. Apart from having potholes, it has dangerous curves, they say.

Travelling in the interiors of the Kulu, Mandi and Shimla regions, this correspondent discovered that roads had become a daily test of the commuters’ endurance.

The 45-km- long left bank road from Manali’s heritage Naggar village to Kullu has become a nightmare for villagers and tourists. Those visiting Banjar, the Great Himalayan National Park in Tirthan and the Sainj Valley endure potholed roads, boulders and plumes of dust daily on the Aut-Bali-Banjar-Sai Ropa-Gushaini road.

“ The roads in the state are in bad shape and travel is hazardous for tourists”says Paul,a tourist from London, who has come to visit the national park.

The Banjar-Ani-Dalash -Rampur road that crossed through the Jalori Pass became almost unmotorable due to rains and landslides last year.

Due to the widening of the Mandi-Shimla and Shimla-Kotkhai-Rohroo highway, the commuters face plumes of dust and potholes daily. The Rampur-Pulzara, Rampur-Sungri-Rohru road has not been repaired for years, rues Rajiv Machhan, an orchardist from Rohru.

The Sainj-Pulwahal, Chopal-Bamrahar-Jhiknipul-Bamta and the Chopal-Shantha-Dewat roads in Shimla district have not been maintained by the PWD,allege growers in the apple belt.

While the Congress leaders have been attacking the BJP government on the issue, leaders of the ruling party are on the defensive and remain tightlipped on the issue.

On the other hand, PWD engineers maintain that they could not take up the repair and maintenance work due to prolonged rains. The work would resume during the summer, they claim.

Shimla, May 5
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh faces the litmus test as he leads the party in an election for the first time after taking over the reins of the party. As the party is still grappling with internal dissensions, the Congress president has a daunting task at hand.

He talked at length about various issues and the party’s poll prospects during an interview with Rakesh Lohumi.

Q: Factionalism led to the defeat of the Congress in the assembly poll but party leaders seem to have not learnt any lesson and they continue to pull in different directions.

A: I will not claim that the party is totally free from dissensions but things have certainly improved. The party is united as never before. I have tried to take everybody along and made a sincere attempt to bring forward young leaders to rejuvenate the party.

I have travelled over 35,000 km over the past nine months with the sole objective of strengthening the organisational base and establishing rapport with the workers, real soldiers who fight the rivals on the electoral front.

Q: Will the differences among senior leaders over the choice of the party candidate from Hamirpur affect the party’s prospects?

A: Now that the strongest contender, Narinder Thakur, is in the fray the party is on the ascendant in the BJP’s stronghold. There has been a groundswell of support for him and it will be no surprise if he floors Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s cricketer son, Anurag Thakur, in the electoral arena.

Q: The BJP is claiming that it has fulfilled 90 per cent of the promises made during the assembly elections.What is your take on this?

A: The popularity graph of the Dhumal government has nosedived within a short period because of the dismal performance of the BJP government. It has taken decisions contrary to the promises and scrapped the state administrative tribunal only to ensure that the employees got no relief from vindictive transfers.

Over 39,000 employees have been shifted so far. As many as 187 schools have been closed and the public distribution system has virtually collapsed.

Q: Chief Minister PK Dhumal has made discrimination by the Centre its main poll plank. How far it will work?

A: The double-tongue of Dhumal on the issue of development has done his image and credibility no good. The ploy to slam the UPA government has landed him on slippery ground.

All mega projects he has been trying to take credit for were sanctioned by the Centre but instead of being grateful, he is indulging in blatant falsehood to mislead the people who are fully aware of the significance of a central university, an IIT, a national institute of fashion technology, the Bhanupali-Bilaspur rail line and the Rs 4,000 crore Asian Development Bank assistance for hydropower development.

The impact of the Rs 72,000 crore farmers’ loan waiver, the national rural employment guarantee programme and the Right to Information Act is already visible.

Q: What are the core issues of the Congress campaign?

A: The party is banking on the achievements of the UPA regime at the Centre and the poor showing of the Dhumal government in the state. Rampant corruption and indifferent governance under BJP rule have created chaos in the state. The Aman Kachru ragging murder case and the rape of deaf and dumb girls are only indicative of the rot that had set in. 

Shimla, May 5
Often referred to as a nausakhia (novice) and an immature politician not because of his actions but owing to his age, state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur is pained at the “mudslinging” and “personal attack” in the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha elections by the main opposition party, the Congress.

Confident that his party will improve its tally from one seat (Hamirpur) to four by wresting the other three from the Congress, Thakur has been roughing it out by mainly concentrating on his home constituency of Mandi.

Q. What are the main election issues that your party is raising?

A. Despite the fact that these are Lok Sabha elections, the electorate especially in rural areas is more concerned with basic facilities like drinking water, power, education and health. The Dhumal regime has done remarkably well on all these fronts along with landmark decisions like enhancement of daily wages and social security pension. Besides, the failure of the UPA regime in tackling terrorism, price rise, corruption and providing able leadership will swing the votes in favour of the BJP.

Q. The Congress is claiming that most of the major projects and schemes that have come Himachal’s way are because of the UPA regime while your party has raised the issue of discrimination with the hill state?

A. The credit for any development work goes mainly to the state government as it is due to their efforts that central schemes are approved. I want to ask my friends in the Congress as to why did they not get all these mega projects for the state when they were in power both in Himachal and at the Centre. Till date not a single penny has been received as relief money despite the state Assembly adopting a unanimous resolution seeking Rs 2,000 crore central assistance to undertake restoration works.

Q. Will the absence of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the campaign affect the BJP’s prospects especially in Himachal?

A. We are all pained at his absence from the campaign on health considerations as he had a special bond with Himachal. However, it will not affect the party’s prospects as he has given his blessings and full support to our prime ministerial candidate LK Advani.

Q. What are the main factors that may ensure the BJP’s victory in Himachal?

A. We are seeking votes in the name of development and history is witness that the electorate in Himachal has always given its verdict in favour of the party which is in power in the state. The fact that this time we have 42 MLAs and the support of three Independents makes our position very strong.

Q. Questions are being raised about resentment among your party workers and their slackness in campaigning?

A. The entire leadership and workers are putting up a united front and have launched an aggressive campaign that will ensure Congress defeat on the lines of the last assembly election. Irrespective of the outcome of the poll, the campaign during this election has touched a new low with no end to personal attacks by Congress leaders in their desperate bid to win the elections. By stooping so low, the Congress has sounded its own death knell.

Palampur, May 5
Kaya Kalp, a naturopathy centre being run by the Vivekananda Medical Research Trust (VMRT) here, has proved a boon to the people of the northern region of the country.

The centre has 86-bed health retreat set amidst 60 acres of landscape in the foot hills of the Himalayas on the Pathankot-Manali Highway, 2 km from the town. In Sanskrit, kaya means the body in its physical and sublime state, and kalp means transformation.

The healthcare unit, which is known as Himalayan Research Institute for Yoga and Naturopathy, has several offerings, including yoga, pranayam, meditation, naturopathy, panchkarma, acupressure, magneto therapy, chromotherapy and diet therapy. It also has a gymnasium. The institution is being run by a private charitable trust and treatment for the ailment is quite cheap within the reach of common man. The trust also provides free treatment.

Shanta Kumar, chairman of the trust, said the centre was started about two years ago and it had received whelming response from the people. 

The administration of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) has come out with a novel idea to reduce the risk of accidents on the road leading to the main Viceregal Lodge building. The institute has imported a huge convex mirror from China and installed it on the blind curve to enable the motorists to view vehicles approaching from the opposite direction.

It is not a conventional mirror made of glass. It is made of synthetic material. A thin sheet of very light plastic-like has been curved to give the shape of lens and coated with nickel.

Traffic-wise it is not a very busy road, but with a large number of tourists visiting the heritage complex, accident hazard has been increasing. Such an innovative method to prevent mishaps has not been used in the state anywhere.

A few years ago a simple rectangular mirror was fixed on a blind curve near Talland on the Circular Road, but it did not serve much purpose, as being flat surface the viewing range was limited. Now that the IIAS has shown the way, similar lenses could be affixed at accident-prone sharp curves.

Sundial on the back of the main structure has also been repaired. It has been render useless due to the loss of the pointed piece of metal at the centre of the shadow which moves as the sun moves to give the exact time.