Nathpa (Kinnaur), May 19
The 1,500 MW NJPC project, which today gives an income of Rs 15 crore daily to the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), has spelt doom for 127 homeless tribal families of Nathpa and Kandar villages in the Bhawanagar subdivision in this district. Landslides and falling boulders from the blast-hit shaky hillsides threaten villagers, which have already killed three women - Padma Mani, a five-year-old girl and a newly wed woman - in the past two years, the villagers alleged.

Death stares them in the face from the blast-hit shaky steep mountainsides almost round the clock, as the fragile rocky slopes have been rendered unstable by the project blasting over the years. “Nathpa and Kandar villages have been declared unsafe by geologists in 2008, but the government and the SJVNL remained apathetic as ever,” they rued.

Out of 127 project-affected families, 45 families have been shifted and rehabilitated at Ronni colony after the SJVNL, which runs the project, gave them Rs 2.45 lakh per family as compensation for the construction of houses in 2008.

But, 82 families of Nathpa village, located at three hours steep trek from the SJVNL dam site, still shiver in tents in the freezing Himalayan temperatures at Sarkanda, about six hours long steep trek from Nathpa, the villagers rued.

“There is no help except tents given by the nigam in the name of resettlement,” they said.

“We have never heard from our forefathers that landslide ever occurred in the village,” said Dev Saran and Basudev, the elderly villagers. “The blast by the NJPC is main culprit. We grow peas, potatoes and apples here, but the SJVN has not built the road even as the project was completed three years ago,” the villagers rued.

Jai Ram, pradhan, Nathpa panchayat, said boulders had killed the three women recently. “The SJVNL has promised Rs 3.5 crore for road and resettle 82 affected families, but the work on the road has been stopped and the villagers are shivering in tents,” he charged.

PK Sekri, DGM (Environment), SJVNL, said the nigam had deposited Rs 2.5 crore for the construction of the Nathpa road with the PWD and Rs 1 crore had been allocated to 12 affected panchayats for rehabilitation. “The relief and rehabilitation works are done as per the demands of panchayats from time to time. I am not aware about 82 families in Nathpa,” he claimed.

The district officials, including PWD engineers, remained tightlipped pleading that the matter has not been brought to their notice so far. The resettlement plan for the project-hit villagers is in progress, they added.

Dharamsala, May 19
High cement prices in the state is a contentious issue. The price of a cement bag in the state ranges between Rs 267 and 270 per bag whereas, in neighbouring states like Punjab and Haryana, it is available between Rs 235 and Rs 250. The price of a cement bag at retail selling point in the state is about Rs 15 to Rs 30 costlier than the adjoining states.

The ACC representatives justified the higher cement prices in the state to higher transportation costs. They alleged that the transportation cost of cement in the state was about Rs 5.72 per km/MT. Whereas, in Punjab or any other plane state was 2.79 per km/MT. This amounts to the additional cost of about Rs 10 per bag here. They maintained that the cost of Rs 267 to Rs 270 in the state includes delivery cost to the customer by the retailer.

However, the residents of the state are crying hoarse. Some of the residents said cement companies were mining limestone from the state. In addition to that, they were taking the benefit of cheap and uninterrupted power in the state.

Fly ash that was another ingredient in the manufacturing was being brought by cement companies free of cost from Ropar Thermal Plant that was just over 150 km from the Barmana area where cement plants had been set up in the state.

So the prices of cement in the state should at least be equal to other state if not cheaper.

The ACC representatives said though limestone was mined locally and power was cheaper in the state, they had brought gypsum and coal from other states. They said locally available limestone and cheap power does not help in reducing price of cement in the state.

Further investigation by The Tribune revealed that the transportation costs in the state were higher due to the monopolistic tendencies of various truck unions. These truck unions had established their base in the areas where cement industries had been set up.

The operators of the unions, who were generally supported by politicians, do not allow any truck from outside the area to operate under the industry areas. The result was that the cement industry companies were forced to pay extra transportation costs to the union members.

However, the cost was being transferred back to the customers by the companies. The companies were charging extra transportation costs of cements from the customers resulting in higher costs of cement bags in the state.

Shimla, May 19
While a good crop does not always bring remunerative returns to fruit growers, a poor outturn invariably fetches good price for the produce. This has been proved true even for cherry that usually brings high returns due to relatively small scale of production.

A lean crop this season has ensured high prices all through for both black cherry and red cherry. Last year, the price of 1 kg box of black cherry hovered around Rs 120 per box in Delhi, whereas this year, a few lots have been sold out at Rs 310 per kg. Similarly, red cherry is fetching Rs 120 as compared to Rs 50 per kg last year. The production is likely to be almost 50 per cent of the normal. The total area under cherry crop has increased to 374 hectare with a potential to produce 850 tonnes of fruit. However, it is not likely to touch the 400-tonne mark this year.

The short duration of the crop, along with highly perishable nature of the fruit and the quantum of production, plays a decisive role in the determination of market price. Once the market falls, there is little time for recovery. Last year, the prices of cherry crashed at the very start of the season. A bumper harvest left the growers disappointed. The growers preferred to sell their produce in Shimla and other nearby markets in view of the down swing in Delhi and some of the growers had to contend with an average return of Rs 40 per box.

It is emerging as an alternative fruit crop in the high hill areas, as the growers look for diversification and rejuvenation of the old apple orchards.

More and more growers are taking to cherry cultivation and the area under the fruit, which remained stagnant at a meagre 240 hectare for years, is fast increasing and new plantations are coming up in the Kotgarh area in Shimla and Naggar in Kullu.

Being a low-volume high value crop, cherry fits in well in the overall diversification plan. It is more remunerative than apple and also requires much less care. The trees occupy almost the same space making it ideal as a replacement for apple. Further, it is harvested towards the end of May and the beginning of June when no other fruit is available. The cherry plantation requires minimal maintenance, as the trees are less susceptible to diseases. The growers only have to protect the crop from birds.

The main reason for the growers not taking to the cherry cultivation in a big way has been the non-availability of suitable rootstock. However, things have changed with the entry of imported rootstock like Colt and F 12/1 that have paved way for the cultivation on a commercial scale in the recent years. Besides, improved cultivars like Stella, Sue, Lambert, Bing, Triumph Domini and Bella Italia are also available.

I was a child but I still remember the chimes of the bells that used to ring in Bharatpur ki Kothi whenever the Maharaja of Bharatpur visited Shimla and stayed there. Horses and the colourful uniformed horsemen taking rounds of the complex presented an awesome sight for children. This kothi, about 1 km from Bharari, had actually shaped up by dismantling two houses, “Petersfield” and “Cloverly”, the names that still figure in all old maps of the town. The recorded history of Petersfield is that it existed in 1892 where there was a fowl run being managed by GeV Townly. In 1896, he had constructed a water tank 20’X20’X14’ to store rainwater. This biggest open tank in Shimla existed till the 1950s. Its water was used to keep the complex green and fruity. I confess that I, as a child, had stolen apples from orchard here and stand witness to the phrase “stolen apples are sweeter”. One of the celebrity tenants of the Petersfield complex was Sir Harold Stuart who had said, “This estate is one of the largest and the most open in Shimla.”

A settlement between Maharaja Sir Kishen Singh of Bharatpur and the owner of the building had reached in 1923 that paved a way for Petersfield and Cloverly going in the favour of Bharatpur. Major Balbir Singh, military secretary to the Maharaja, wrote a letter to WJ Litster, president MC, in June 1923. “This property has been purchased by the HH, but we had to delay the usual legalities till now pending sanction of the Punjab government.” Her Excellency Lady Reading and her highness Maharani Rajendra Kaur, wife of the Maharaja, were good acquaintances and the former had agreed to inaugurate the building as the residence of the latter. I found no records to disclose that Lady Reading actually did it. The estate was renamed as Brajmandal by Sir Kishen Singh who had acquired the property on 25.6.1923, the date on which the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India issued sanction. Brajmandal, before its total renovation in 1926, had a summer house at Petersfield and a kennel with innumerable dogs had replaced the fowl run. In 1926, the Maharaja, without obtaining a licence, had started a private cinema hall here for the members of his family and the higher staff. The secretary MC, immediately objected to it, “I find nothing in the Cinema Act to waive the rules laid down for the safety of an audience. Licence is required under the act.” The new complex had everything in it that gave solace to the physical body and the spiritual, a gravelled tennis court, a billiards room, a small summer house, a polo pit, a squash court built in 1943 and a temple of Lord Krishna built in 1946.

The military secretaries of the Maharaja had the habit of just ignoring the directions of the Municipal Committee in constructing the infrastructure within the complex. The Deputy Commissioner took notice of it and in 1923 he wrote a strong-worded letter to the committee, “He (the Maharaja) cannot be treated any differently from the other citizens of Simla. We have just fined Raja Harnam Singh (of Kapurthala) Rs 500 for a glaring breach of the by-laws. Unless the committee is strict, buildings in Indian compounds have a way of going up in the night.” The Maharaja was fined Rs 500. He felt peeved and appointed B. Bevan Petman, a bar at law, as the agent of his estate.

The entire complex was transferred to the Police Department in the 50s where they have raised a big ground, the only open space where the youth satisfies its urge for playing cricket anywhere in the town. New buildings for the police have come up and the last remnant of the old estate called Mandal building used as guard hut was made to kiss the dust in the beginning of 2009.

Palampur, May 19
The reckless felling of trees in the state, particularly in Kullu, Shimla, Bilaspur and Kinnaur districts, in the past 10 years has caused serious concern among environmentalists in the state.

Information gathered from official sources revealed that to make way for the execution of over 24 power projects and six cement plants in the state, over 20,000 green trees were axed. Even the reserve forests have not been spared. However, in papers its number has been shown much less.

Despite the fact that there is a complete ban on the felling of green trees in the state, still in the number of areas forest lands have gone barren and no tree is seen on various hilltops. The power projects and the cement plants set up in the state in the past few years have also played havoc with the forests and wildlife centuries. The regular extraction of limestone from various forests for these cement plants has further caused extensive damage to the green cover of the state.

If one goes through the recent reports and official records of the state Forest Department, the illicit felling has also gone up in the state. In the past five years, over 100 cases of illicit felling and smuggling of timber were registered in different police stations and with the forest authorities in the state. If the state government failed to come out with a policy in the regard and no early measures were adopted, the situation would become alarming. It is on the record that in Kullu district forest officials have registered cases under the HP Forest Act against many companies executing power projects who were found involved in the illicit felling.

The proximity of our political leaders with the owners of cement plants and power companies had caused heavy loss to the environment.

The life struggle of Harivansh Rai Bachchan was brought alive on stage by artistes of Tarkash, a theatre group of Mandi, who preformed “Mein Ekaki”, a play based on the autobiography of the eminent writer, at the Kali Bari Hall.

It was a laudable effort by the artistes who did justice with the script and managed to depict colours of all “navrasas” (nine emotions), which Bachchan experienced during his long-drawn struggle on way to becoming a celebrated writer. The play, directed by Abhimanyu Pande, took the audience though the ups and downs of Bachchan’s life. The main character of Bachchan was played by Gladwin John with aplomb.

The play was organised by the Northern Zonal Cultural Centre in collaboration with the state language, art and culture department. Director of the department Prem Sharma said such theatre performances not only provided opportunity to the young artistes to display their skills but also inspired the audience to face the odds in life with determination and composure.

The dramatic activities in the state capital will get a boost after the reopening of the more than 150-year-old Gaiety Theatre, which had undergone major restoration.

Hamirpur, May 19
Women voters, who outnumbered men in polling in the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency, played an active role in this whole election process and turned the tide in favour of the winning candidate.

Though their number is less than men voters, their role in electioneering, voting and the final outcome made a significant impact.

Women voters exceeded in nine Assembly segments out of the total 17 Assembly segments, as their number was 5,84,131, higher than the number of men voters i.e. 5,78,048.

During the campaigning, their presence was sizeable despite the sweltering weather and peak hours of their daily chores.

With high literacy rate among women in Hamirpur district and other areas, women turnout was impressive on the polling day as well.

Enthusiasm among women voters, who comprised 52.88 per cent of the total voters in the Hamirpur constituency, was quite remarkable.