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Nomads move downhill, so do their numbers
BD Kasniyal
Tea-kiosk owner does his bit for environment
T20 too demanding on cricketers: Ali Irani
Rainbow Friends’ rally flagged off |
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Discus throw: Adesh bags silver at Singapore meet
People’s mindset needs to change: Expert
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Nomads move downhill, so do their numbers
BD Kasniyal
Pitthoragarh, October 9 The Bakarwals of Kashmir, Gaddi and Gujjars of HP, Tolcha and Marcha of Garhwal, Shauka and Rangs of Kumaon and Mengurs of Nepal - all have their winter abodes in lower valleys. However, due to several reasons, the population of such tribes in the higher Himalayas has been steadily declining. The annual migration, called ‘kuncha’ in this part of the tribal belt, generally starts in the first week of October in Darma valley and in the last week of October in Vyas valley. Darma valley consists of 14 villages while Vyas valley has six villages that migrate to Dharchula every year during winter and return to their original high Himalayan villages in March. “This year, more than 1,000 families of Darma valley have started for their lower valley residence situated from Dharchula to Galati with their 10,000 livestock on October 8,” said Krishana Singh Firmal from Filam village in Darma valley. Residents of 12 villages of Johar valley will migrate to Thal Nachni, Bageswar, Didihat and Berinag. “It used to be a migration for business purposes in Garhwal and Kumaon before 1962. when the Tibet trade ended. “Bhotias from almost 50 villages of the high Himalayan region in Uttarakhand used to migrate to lower valleys to collect goods of use for Tibetan people and bartered these for salt and woollen goods,” said Lalit Pant, a researcher on tribal trade. “In old times, the migration was very useful for people from Johar valley. They used to carry all essential goods including salt, wool, jaggery, cloth and edible oil to parts of Tibet, Nepal and Kumaon on the backs of their sheep or yaks. At present when the Tibetan trade has finished, the sheep are reared either for wool or for their meat,” said SS Pangti, who had worked on the trade and other aspects of life of Shaukas of the mid-Himalayan region. “The Shaukas of Johar valley used to cross three big Himalayan passes - Utadhura, Jayanti and Kungri-Bingri - more then 18,000-feet high in a single day after traveling 82 km from Munsiyari. “Then, they used to gather cereals from lower valleys during this migration of seven months,” said Pangti adding that even during World War II when cotton cloth was not available, traders from Johar successfully managed a quota of 9 lakh metres for export to Tibet. “Even today in Darma valley, some parts of the border villages beyond Dar village are not connected by motor roads. Weight-carrying sheep are used to carry essential goods for the people who live there after March when these migratory people return to there original villages,” said Sher Singh Duktal (75) from Duktu village of Darma valley. Duktal remembers the trade and prosperity of his village before 1962 and said that until the new economy puts this migratory practice to financial use, the economy of Bhotia people cannot be restored. The Tolcha and Marcha of Chamoli and Jads of Uttarkashi migrate to lower valleys during the first week of October. The 26 villages of Niti, Mana, Ghansali, Malari and Drongri migrate to Dyolibegar, Ghirran, Gopeswar, Karnprayag, Magroli and Naro villages while the Jad of Harsil in Uttarkashi migrate to Dunda. “Due to the closure of the Tibetan trade, the woollen business is just 10 per cent of what it had been in 1962. In the next one or two generations, this migration will completely cease,” said Harish Makhury, a journalist based in Gopeshwar in Chamoli district. “The pastures in the higher Himalayan region are very rich for cattle feeding whereas in lower valleys, grazing has become very difficult due to various forest laws. This is one of the reasons that the sheep herd has dwindled from 15,000 in 1960 to 1,500 at present in Darma valley,” said Lato Singh Bonal from Bon village of Darma valley. “Before 1962, every household used to have 100 to 500 sheep and goats, but now only 10 out of 800 families have a sheep herd that is used only to extract wool,” added Bonal. When the Tibetan trade was on, these Bhotia traders used to go up to Taklakot Gyanima mart in western Tibet, but now, neither they collect cereals from lower valleys nor jaggery and sugar candy from Tanakpur, Haldwani and Kotdwar. “They just go to the lower valleys to rear their cattle for seven months and return to their places to extract wool for their own use,” said Duktal. The increasing tendency among tribesmen of the higher Himalayan region to prefer government jobs over their traditional businesses has dwindled the migratory population as they are permanently settling in cities. “If alternative use of the higher Himalayan livestock is not charted out and their grazing problems are not sorted out, the 1,000-year-old annual migration of Himalayan tribes will very soon become a part of history,” feared Sher Singh Duktal (75), a veteran of Tibetan trade before 1962 in Duktu village of Darma valley.
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Tea-kiosk owner does his bit for environment Dehradun, October 9 Bhopal Singh runs a tea kiosk on the Bijrani gate of the park. But, it’s not just selling tea that he does, but is rather working for a bigger cause. He is cleansing environment even as he encounters tourists every day who flock to the park in big numbers. These visitors, both from India and abroad, are high-value tourists and often leave behind a big bulk of mineral water bottles and other packaging materials. While providing tea to visitors, Bhopal takes back empty mineral water bottles from them. He never uses these empty bottles as mere junk but utilises them for potted plants. He even takes away discarded boxes and other throwaway substances. His residence in nearby Aamdanda Khatta can be seen full of these plastic bottles carrying plants. Thousands of such discarded plastic bottles are now his pride possession. Apart from putting up flowering plants, he also grows herb species in these bottles in substantial numbers. He even encourages others to take to such an initiative. His bottle plants can even be seen at some of government offices. An unsung hero, Bhopal never finds a platform in the environment workshops that are a routine in the Corbett region. But, that does not deter him from continuing with the good job. Interestingly, forest officials keep a hostile attitude towards Bhopal. They rather want to remove Bhopal’s makeshift kiosk. However, forest officials do admit that works done by Bhopal was certainly laudable. “An initiative by a petty businessmen certainly needs praise,” said a forest official, who though refuses to comment on a move by the forest authorities to remove Bhopal’s makeshift kiosk.
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T20 too demanding on cricketers: Ali Irani Dehradun, October 9 “Gone are the days when one use to witness five test matches in a year and some 20 one-day match. In the present world people want to see more of their favourite players inaction, the game has become more demanding on the player,” said Irani who is presently working as president of India Association of Physiotherapists. Irani said with the advent of T20 cricket, players are more injury prone, and in the coming years cricket would become even more demanding for the players. Therefore, in-order to cope up with physical and mental pressure Indian team players need to devote more time working on their fitness with the help of the therapy. He said over the years the physiotherapy has evolved itself into a complete science that has a treatment for virtually every problem. “When I started the therapy was mainly concerned with massage and few exercises, but today it has multiple treatments for prenatal to geriatrics. It could be used for treatment of various problems. The common problems that a human being faces in day-to-day life is that of disorder, blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, slipped disc, spondylitis, cervical and others and therapy has the cure for all these problems,” said Irani. Irani is of the view that mechanical problems faced by humans should be dealt mechanically. He thinks that medicine in turn creates other complexities in ones body. He also demanded from the state government to form a physiotherapy council in the state as is in Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Maharashtra. He revealed that today in India there are 160 physiotherapy colleges, with eight colleges offering PG degree and five colleges offering research in the subject. Therefore, in the upcoming time there is a greater scope for interested candidate in the field.
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Rainbow Friends’ rally flagged off Dehradun, October 9 The rally comprises an eight-member team was flagged off by social activist Dr SM Tandon. The rally will be visiting various parts of the state. It will be taking to Almora, Bageshwar, Pauri, Dehradun and Haridwar areas before reaching Corbett. Ireland Dennis, Vivian, James and Mary and Indiam Gaurav Kumar, Navin Tiwari, Prashand Kumar, Nilam Tiruva, Purnima and Vivek Rawat are participating in the rally. Bachchi Singh of Rainbow Friends said the rally is aimed to generate awareness about the importance of forest and wildlife.
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Discus throw: Adesh bags silver at Singapore meet Roorkee, October 9 As many as 10 countries, including Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and host Singapore, took part in the meet at Bukit Gombak stadium. India won the team championship title by aggregating the maximum points. As many as 32 athletes from the country participated in the event. Roorkee-based Dr Adesh Kumar made podium finish in discus throw in which Malaysia's Genul Abidin bagged the gold and a Sri Lankan athlete pocketed bronze. Dr Adesh also led the Indian team in 4x100m relay race in which India finished third. Dr Adesh, who is a cabinet member of the Master Athletics Federation of India, along with Indian team manager Chander Shekhar, received the winning trophy.
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People’s mindset needs to change: Expert Dehradun, October 9 Health authorities said poor infrastructure and lack of awareness is making things difficult in the districts of Chamoli, Bageshwar and Champawat. During the eye-donation campaign held last month, only 21,000 people pledged their eyes. Dehradun district had the highest number of donors (762) and Champawat was at the bottom with two pledges. There were no donors in Chamoli and Bageshwar districts. “In the hills, we have poor eye-care infrastructure. To fill the gap, district hospitals require upgrading. The District Blindness Control Society has been asked by the government to take steps for the appointment of eye-surgeons and optometrist in all district hospitals,” said Dr Harish Chandra who is heading the State Blindness Control Programme. “However, we also need to change the mindset of the people who still believe that donating eyes may make them blind in their next birth,” said Dr Chandra. According to the NSSO survey on population, the total number of blind persons in the state are 84,668 (rural area 66,804; urban area 18,884). Dr Harish Chandra said that the sight of corneal-blind persons can be restored through corneal transplantation. “The only way to obtain this invaluable cornea is through donation. We will be organising awareness campaigns and motivating people to pledge their eyes so that these live long after they die,” Dr Chandra added. As per the Human Transplantation Act 1994, all donations are monitored through the Eye Bank Association of India, Hyderabad, is the representative of all eye banks.
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As winter dawns in the Himalayas, people living in higher Himalayan region - right from Jammu and Kashmir to Nepal,
Sikkim, and Bhutan to Himalayan parts of Arunachal Pradesh - migrate to lower valleys
Former physiotherapist of Indian cricket team, Ali Irani, has advised Indian team to attend proper fitness camps in-order to keep them fit. He said present day cricket is all about fitness. He has given treatment to famous personalities like Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and others. Irani was in Dehradun to give his discourse on physiotherapy to young aspiring physiotherapists.
