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Deserted 'wives' at the receiving end in tribal areas
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Mid-Himalayan project starts bearing fruit
Purchase of high mast lights under scanner
Sacred deodar stands documented in Chamba's Kugti area
Biocontrol lab to help farmers
Depleting rhododendron trees raise concern
Indira Market cries for attention
Doc chosen for best research paper award
Vignettes
Himachal Diary |
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Deserted 'wives' at the receiving end in tribal areas
Shimla, December 22 Some of these women, who in the local setup are considered the wives of these government employees serving a hard posting in the tribal belt, are now approaching the authorities concerned to seek justice. Even though legally they are not on a firm footing as the marriage is not registered, the matter is being looked into by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. Several cases of such government employees and now even some of those working in private companies or hydel projects are being reported. The women too get lured by the fact that these men are well paid and, moreover, in most cases they are ignorant of the reality that a majority of these men are already married. "The matter has come to my notice and some of these women met me but since legally we cannot do much I have tried to help them at my own level," said Sarveen Chaudhary, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. She says in fact in some cases she has posted the government employee concerned back to the village where his deserted wife stays so that there are chances of reconciliation. However, with little awareness and problem of accessibility as far as these women are concerned the problem persists. The fact that more and more private companies are venturing into the remote areas for setting up power, cement, mega road construction projects makes these women more vulnerable to such overtures. The fact that a majority of these employees are already married and have families living either in their native villages or in urban areas makes it difficult for the government to do much. Since the marriage is not registered in a court or done through a proper ceremony the police or any other government agency can do little. There are several instances where the man literally goes missing after he gets a transfer out of the tribal areas. The women who, in most cases, are not even aware of their husbands' native places or their places of posting are left to fend for her children and herself with no other source of income. Police sources point out that in some cases these employees said in front of such women that they had not duped them but entered into contract marriages with their consent. As such their contention is that the women were aware of the consequences but still they willingly agreed to enter into a kind of marriage arrangement with them. The endeavour now on the part of the social organisations is to create awareness among women that they should not marry any government employee till they ascertain whether he is single or married. For this they are being told to check his status with the government department in which the employee concerned is posted.
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Mid-Himalayan project starts bearing fruit
Chamba, December 22 Initially, the project is being implemented in two blocks, Bhattiyat and Saloon, of the district besides other parts of the state. The project is going to make Himachal Pradesh as the ‘carbon neutral’ state. Irrigation facilities provided by the project to Kuther, Ghat and Kanyarka villages in Tapper panchayat by harnessing water from small streams, which was going waste earlier, has proved a boon for the local economy. Six such schemes have already been providing irrigation in the adjoining areas and considering the zeal of the villagers, three more schemes have been proposed in the next two years. The project has also supported and motivated people for growing vegetables and spices on this land, which was either fallow land or rain-fed agriculture. Amazingly, the pradhan of Tapper panchayat is a lady named Kaushalya Devi whose strenuous efforts led the project to yield pragmatic results by organising joint camps educating and guiding the people about the optimum use of water of streams flowing in the area for boosting their economy. According to PK Gupta, divisional watershed development officer (DWDO), the project is operational in 46 panchayats of Bhattiyat and Salooni blocks of the district. More than 200 self-help groups and user groups are working in the project for livelihood activities and maintenance of assets created by the project. An amount of about Rs 3 crore is being spent by the project for watershed development and livelihood activities during the current fiscal year. During his recent visit, Devesh Kumar, deputy commissioner, Chamba, who inspected the progressing villages of Tapper panchayat, eulogised the perseverance and hard work put in by the villagers in making the project a success in their area under the supervision of DWDO project coordinator Dr AK Singh and facilitators of the project Ravindra, Reena and Nisha. The credit for achieving success of the project goes to Kaushalya. Devesh assured that no financial handicap would be allowed to come in the way of execution of the project and funds would be provided even if there is no such provision in the project. He impressed upon the officials working on the project to hold monthly block-level coordination committee meetings of all departments to complement development schemes and also to avoid the duplicity of similar schemes of different departments, adding that progress of these meetings would be reviewed in bi-monthly meetings at the district level. The project would also explore the possibilities of livelihood plans for dairy, floriculture and storage of vegetables at the larger scale. District-level officers of departments concerned would provide technical input in this respect, the DC emphasised; stressing other departments, particularly block development offices, to replicate this model in other areas too.
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Purchase of high mast lights under scanner
Hamirpur, December 22 The inquiry entrusted to the additional magistrate, Hamirpur, in this regard is almost complete and the report is likely to be submitted in the next few days to the Chief Minister. The purchase of high mast lights had drawn the attention of the government when the differences in the rates of these lights were reported. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had ordered an inquiry into the purchase of high mast lights after the issue was raised in the media and a few opposition leaders had pointed a finger of suspicion in the purchases made. The decision to install high mast lights was taken by the district administration when Hamirpur district was allocated about Rs 6 crore for beautification and creation of facilities to promote tourism under the tourist circuit plan from the Centre. The administration had sanctioned Rs 6 lakh each to the Nagar Parishad, Hamirpur, besides Nadaun, Bhota and Sujanpur Nagar Panchayats. These lights were also installed at a few other towns under different beautification schemes. Suspicion was raised on the purchases as this had drawn the attention of public when it came to light that there was a difference of over Rs 1 lakh in the lights purchased by the Nagar Parishad, Hamirpur, and order placed by the Nagar Panchayat, Sujanpur. Interestingly, while the lights purchased from the company were purchased at a higher cost, on the other hand contractors had offered to supply the similar lights at much lower price. The lights installed at Hamirpur were purchased for Rs 4.77 lakh while in the tender invited by the Sujnapur Nagar Panchayat one contractor had agreed to supply the same for Rs 3.30 lakh. When this issue was raised in the media and Congress leaders had demanded an inquiry into the entire purchase of these lights, the purchase ordered by the Nadaun Nagar Panchayat was cancelled. However, the authorities making the purchases are maintaining that the lights were purchased on the rates supplied by the company and the rates of the lights could vary from company to company as per the quality. Even similar purchases in Kullu were also questioned as the same were purchased at a quite low rate in Shimla. Later on, taking cognisance of this matter, the Chief Minister had ordered the Hamirpur deputy commissioner to conduct an inquiry into this purchase which was entrusted to CP Verma, ADM, Hamirpur. While Verma would be submitting his report to the Chief Minister, people are also questioning if the purchases of these lights are breeding corruption?
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Sacred deodar stands documented in Chamba's Kugti area
Shimla, December 22 A 12-member expedition of the trust led by Aman Bhalla, which returned yesterday after carrying out the heritage and biodiversity resource mapping of a large portion of the undocumented area on the other side of Mani Mahesh came across rare stands of very old trees, temples, crystals and peculiar wildlife. However, what struck the team most was the presence of huge deodar trees, with ages ranging between 1500 to 2500 years in the yet undisturbed picturesque settings. It documented about 100 such sacred trees over an area of 10 sq km near Kugti village. These valuable trees needed immediate attention of the Forest Department not only for proper preservation but also for research on the genetic stock for raising future plantation. Bhalla also documented crystals and saw good possibility of sapphire in the glacial riverbed of Budhil stream. He said all this geological wealth could be explored only by carrying out proper resource mapping and research for which his organisation would extend full support to the government agencies concerned. The vultures with a white band around the neck were bigger in size and other animals like ibex also had peculiar features. The expedition yielded a rich haul of evidence of Shiva and Vishnu cult so far away from the town of Chamba. The Earthstation team was able to discover and document a series of old temples, dating back to the 10th century, near Devi Ki Koti in Tissa subdivision. These temples are being now brought to the notice of the state and the central authorities concerned for their conservation and research. Notable among these is the ancient temple of Shiva and Vishnu lying abandoned along with precious stone sculptors dating back to the 10th - 11th centuries. According to Earthstation chief Executive Officer Aniel K Bhalla the trust is going to make all endeavours, both at the state and central levels, to preserve the rich historical, archaeological and cultural wealth of the western Himalayas. The team documented the complete details on ground as mentioned in the Chamba Gazetteer 1904 of the Legend of Kalihar Nag, popularly known as Kelang Wazir. The focus was on ancient stone image in the Padamasan posture, which is now lying in totally insecure environ at this remote temple. Bhalla suggested that the new documented part be included in the ongoing efforts to develop sustainable infrastructure in the area with a big potential for development of tourism. He was all praise for Chamba DC Divesh Kumar for taking keen interest in heritage mapping and providing the much-needed assistance for the expedition.
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Biocontrol lab to help farmers
Nurpur, December 22 The laboratory building, which was inaugurated on Sunday by Horticulture Minister Narinder Bragata, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.26 crore under the Horticulture Technology Mission and it comprises three subunits, Biocontrol, Plant Health Clinic and Leaf Tissue Analysis Laboratory. With the spurt in population growth, the requirement of growing more food (cereals, fruits, vegetables, etc.) has also increased manifold. This has exerted enormous pressure on dwindling land resource which required generating more yield compared to what was required in the past. This involved intensive cultivation of crops with the higher application of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The indiscriminate use of these chemicals has led to environmental pollution, besides affecting flora and fauna. The teething problem of residues in food commodities has attributed to health hazards in human beings and other animals. The use of excessive chemical fertilisers has caused serious salinity problems in certain regions. According to Ranjit Bhatiya, senior entomologist, RHRS, Jachh, this Biocontrol lab will minimise the use of insecticides on crops by promoting the use of natural enemies (NEs) of serious pests like parasite and predators. “These NEs will be identified, mass multiplied in the laboratory and released in the fields to perpetuate natural control. Similarly, Plant Health Clinic will assist in diagnosing causal organisms of serious plant diseases and suggesting effective control measures against them,” Bhatiya said. “Likewise, Disease Forecasting Unit will help the RHRC to predict in advance the possible occurrence of diseases in various crops based on adverse weather factors. Another subunit, Leaf Tissue Analysis Lab will facilitate to study the nutrient status of fruit and vegetable crops and suggest measures to reform nutrient deficiencies,” he revealed.
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Depleting rhododendron trees raise concern
Dalhousie, December 22 Unfortunately, in India, the beauty of rhododendron tree has not been fully appreciated. It also does not hold much significance due to government's half-hearted efforts to try and plant them and make it a part of local cuisine. Whereas in a lot of countries, there are special rhododendron trails for trekkers, clubs and societies have been formed in the appreciation of this beautiful tree and to promote its beauty and uses. In the state, trekking up to Triund above Dharamsala in March-April or walking towards Shaheed Samarak at Panjpulla in Dalhousie, one can see beautiful rhododendron trees full of red flowers. The commonly known rhododendron (rhododendron arboreum) is called "buransh" in pahari or "chiun" in Chambyali. Any hill person can tell its consumption is good for anaemic patients (maybe, because of its red colour). One can always find its use in pahari cuisine. Although, there are many varieties of rhododendron, but rhododendron arboretum, found at the altitude of 1,500-3,600 m, remains the tallest among them growing up to a height of 12 m. Kalatop-Khajjiar and Dalhousie hills, including Jot, are replete with rhododendron trees. Beguiled by the beauty of rhododendron flowers, while locals pluck it for their daily use, tourists are also lured to see them and capture them in their cameras. While not proven for sure in the annals of medical research as good for anaemic patients, it has, however, a number of other medicinal properties. Its leaves can be made into a paste and then applied to the forehead for treating headache. The juice of its bark is said to be used to treat cough, diarrhoea and dysentery. A preparation made from rhododendron flowers is used to check a tendency to vomit, especially if there is also a loss of appetite and also for the treatment of menstrual disorders. The flowers are also said to be useful in cases of headache, cataract, wound and rheumatism. Nepalese use its dried flowers fried with ghee to cure dysentery. "It has also been reported in various studies that the plant has anti-inflammatory and hepato-protective functions. Most of the medicinal uses of this plant, which were known in Ayurveda and traditional medicine, have been lost over the time and only traces of this knowledge remain in the local beliefs" discovers Alok, a member of the Society for the Protection of Forests and Wildlife in his recent study. Among other uses, the sap of its leaves is spread over cots and beds to get rid of bed bugs. Its wood makes very good fuel as it burn well with a long-lasting heat.
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Indira Market cries for attention
Mandi, December 22 The old railings that provide protection for market visitors on the first floor and on the roof of the complex have collapsed at several points, posing danger to the visitors. Even two accidents have taken place after railing collapsed a few years ago, but the MMC has not learnt any lesson yet. The roof has become all the more vulnerable to accident as it leaks profusely during rains at several points, complained citizens. Since the weak roof is being used as a parking lot at three different points, there is an open invitation to accidents as it can give in anytime under the load of vehicles, warned members of the Citizens Council. The certain influential shopkeepers have removed the pillars and beams under the roof to extend the area of the shops underneath, playing with the life of visitors, charged residents. Even certain ambitious shopkeepers have allegedly removed the railings to give their shops a better view from other sides of markets. Most shopkeepers have encroached on to the corridor. They have extended their shops, which is hampering the free moment in the market, rued residents. Even shortage of parking plagues this town. The overambitious businessmen and building owners around the Indira market are running their basements as business centres for making fast bucks. The original plan shows the parking lots which are nowhere to be seen, charged sources in the MMC. The toilets stink and emanate foul stench in the market. Only the two toilets out of four are in usable condition. The remaining two have been shut down as MMC have failed to maintain and repair them, claimed shop shopkeepers. The council spent a couple of lakhs on the lighting in the market but most of the lighting system does not work, shopkeepers charged. The recently created "lotus pool" at the centre of the Sunken garden within the market complex has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and dirt, complained visitors. Its maintenance remains poor, they added. President of the Indira Market Association Rajinder Puri blamed the mess on the mismanagement on the part of the council. They have brought this to notice of the council as market gives lakhs as rent, but nothing has been done to solve the problems, he claimed. The council has been claiming of taking up the repair works and blame the association for not cooperating in keeping the corridor free for moment of visitors
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Doc chosen for best research paper award
Nurpur, December 22 Scrub typhus is a dreaded disease transmitted by contact from wild rodents to human beings. This disease was first detected in Shimla and Solan districts during 2003-2004. It is pertinent to mention that this disease now has been reported in almost the whole of Himachal Pradesh barring its snowbound areas during the rainy season (July to October). Earlier, during 2006 he had got a national award from GAPI for his research paper on stroke at moderate altitude in Mumbai. Again in January, 2008, he was conferred with a national award for his research on acute reversible hearing loss in scrub typhus in Kochi by GAPI. In May, 2008, he got the international ASR Travel award in Marsielles (France) by the American Society of Rickettsiology (ASR) for his research paper on scrub yyphus. Presently, he is working on developing a rapid diagnostic kit for early detection of scrub typhus in collaboration with American research company INBIOS. As many as 35 research articles written by Dr Sanjay Mahajan have been published in various national and international journals of repute. He is also a member of the review panel of national and international journals.
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Vignettes
Do you know that the Young Men's Christian Association has two abbreviations - YMCA and Y? I confess I was ignorant about 'Y'. The YMCA is a worldwide movement of more than 45 million members from 124 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs.
In 1844, the Industrial Revolution threw many young men out of their rural abodes to settle in the cities. George Williams was one of them, a young man of 23 who had joined the drapery establishment of M/s Hitchcock and Rogers in London. He saw that 12 of his colleagues were ruining themselves by spending time in taverns, brothels and other temptations to sin. He founded the YMCA in London on June 6 of that year in his bedroom with a view to developing a healthy spirit, body and mind among young Christians. Today, after 165 years, YMCAs are open to all, regardless of faith, social class, age or gender. The first YMCA in India was started at Kolkata in 1857. In fact, it was the first in Asia. The National Council of YMCAs of India was formed at Chennai in 1891 which was shifted to Kolkata in 1902 and finally to Delhi in 1964. The story of the Shimla YMCA starts from St. Marks, a building next to the State Bank of India, where also existed the Union Church of India. The house owner was an Irish dentist who agreed for starting the YMCA there in 1908. JM McPherson and WT Wilson were the first president and general secretary (GS), respectively. The present building consisting of two four-storeyed blocks adjacent to Ritz Theatre took 10 years to be completed in 1930. It was formally opened by Lord Edward Frederick Wood Irwin, Viceroy of India, with Sir George Rainy, ICS, as president and F. Sutherland as the general secretary. "Should a heritage building be such garish red? I wonder at the recent coat of paint. The lounge and the Birdwood lecture hall in the YMCA have been presented by WC De Noronha, president of the All-India Cantonments Association, Kanpur (then spelt as Cawnpore,) to commemorate the services to India by Field Marshal Sir William Riddell Birdwood, Commander-in-Chief of India. There is an interesting episode associated with Birdwood. He remained Field Marshal in India till 1930 and then King George V wanted him to be the Governor-General of Australia but the Australian Prime Minister's candidate was Sir Isaac Isaacs and the King had to bow to the wishes of the PM. The King was displeased and so the official proclamation on such appointments "The King is pleased to appoint..." was replaced by "The King has appointed Sir Isaac Isaacs..." The first Indian president and the first Indian general secretary of the Shimla YMCA were CL Suri in 1948 and S. Dayal Chand in 1950, respectively. The reins, at present, are in the able hands of Xavier Harold as president since 2007 and Naresh Scott as general secretary since 1980. During Scott's tenure, networking with various NGOs for public welfare, women entrepreneurship, youth and health issues, environment and heritage, human rights etc. has strengthened considerably. The YMCA provides neat and clean budget hostel facilities in the heart of the town, supported by the facilities of gym, billiards and snooker tables plus table tennis. On the spiritual side it provides ecumenical church service and Bible classes in Sunday schools. Though the attendance in these schools is limited, yet the cleansing of the souls is there. May it be made known that there is a YMCA at Mashobra too! To relive the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the YMCA movement, Naresh Scott and Sukhdev Singh gave a facelift to the entrance to the YMCA building here and the stone fixed there reads: "Love is touchstone of virtue." How true?
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Himachal Diary At a time when most people are virtually running after money, a few teachers from Him Academy Public School in Hamirpur have come forward to help poor students from their personal resources. Moved by the plight of poor children these teachers formed the Umeed Welfare Society about a year ago to rendering financial assistance and other help to such students. They are contributing to the society from their salaries. Last year the teachers contributed about Rs 25 000 for needy students. This year the society gave woollen clothes to seven students in memory of Sumit Thakur, who was a member of this organisation. President of the society Vinod Sharma Shashtri said all members were teachers who had come together with the sole objective to help the needy students. This organisation is now planning to adopt a few needy students to help them pursue technical education in the local Industrial Training Institute. Less snow setback for
ice skating
The first half of the winter has turned out to be a great disappointment for the ice-skating enthusiasts. The hopes for a good ice-skating season caused by early snow in the middle and higher reaches of the state have been belied. The skies have mostly remained overcast making it impossible for water to freeze under natural conditions. Consequently, only three sessions have been possible during the season so far as against the normal 25 to 30. Worse while weather has been cloudy there has been no snow. The ambient temperature has remained relatively higher and it so far has been a repeat of last year when the state capital experienced virtually a snow-less winter and only 27 ice-skating sessions were possible during the season. The farmers and fruit growers have been both anxiously waiting for snow and rain as the last rabi and the recent kharif crop had been severely hit. A third crop failure will spell doom for them. Rain or snow is desperately required as the moisture content in the soil has been very low. The lack of snow, considered as a white manure for apple, brought down the production from 2.56 crore boxes last year to 1.42 core boxes this year. One or two good snowfalls in the first half of the season are considered ideal. However, snow after January 15 does not help much as it melts away quickly. Global warming apart, it is the unregulated development which has transformed lushgreen hills into a concrete jungle, particularly in Shimla and Solan districts, that has contributed the most to the climate change. Shimla and even nearby Kufri, where winter games used be held until the early 1980s are out of the snowline. Of late the region has been receiving snow only towards the end of January and early February and that keeps the hope of farmers live, though it will not have the same benefit as the snow received in first half of the winter.
Inadequate bus service
Despite acute traffic congestion and a large fleet of private and HRTC buses on the road, local services in the state capital are far from adequate. The city has spread in all directions and most of the new localities have come up in peripheral areas in the radius of 15 to 20 km like airport road, Dudhali, Puabo, Bhatt Kufer, Maili, Shoghi Kufta Dhar, Mashobra,Kufri and Fagu. However, most of these areas lack adequate bus services, particularly during the early morning and late evening hours. Even within the city hardly any buses are available on the Victory tunnel, Lakkar Bazar and Sanjauli route after 7 pm. People living in peripheral areas have to change two or three buses to reach their offices in new Shimla and Kusumpati. There are no properly designated numbered routes like Delhi or Chandigarh as a result the commuters are at the mercy of private operators who do not follow the timetable. The administration has now decided to ply buses up to 10 pm but in the past it had miserably failed to enforce such orders. There is urgent need for carrying out a traffic survey for plying buses on directional routes (with assigned numbers) so that residents could commute from one part of the city to other without changing many buses. Besides there is need for widening and upgrading some existing roads serving the peripheral localities and constructing new radial roads to link the core area with a bypass road. (Contributed by D.P.Gupta and Rakesh Lohumi )
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Shimla, December 22
Dalhousie, December 22
Mandi, December 22
