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Power company wreaks havoc
Contraband crop mafias thrive in Parbati valley
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Taking to polyhouse for prosperity
To make them ready for future
Pong Dam
Vignettes
Road construction
Day-night T-20 tourney in school
Animal adoption to be extended
Himachal diary
Akhandchandi Palace losing its majesty
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Power company wreaks havoc
Palampur, May 4 Almost the entire population of the village is suffering from diseases like TB, asthma, etc.. The two local organisations of the town, “Save Palampur” and “Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum”, who had been concentrating on the protection of environment in Dhauladhar hills of the Kangra valley, have adopted this village for health care. Miseries of the residents begun four years ago when Om Power Corporation, a Hyderabad-based company, started the construction of this project. The villagers told that a ‘kutcha’ road leading to the powerhouse site passes through their village. Hundreds of heavy and light vehicles use this road daily. Entire dust and emission from vehicles pollutes the atmosphere of the village resulting in fatal disease. If the administration fails to initiate any action, the entire village would be forced to migrate to safer place soon abandoning their houses, cattle and fields. Time and again, the villagers made request to the general manager of Om Power Corporation either to metal the road or construct a wall to check the inflow of emission and dust, but nothing was done. The villagers have paid a number of visits to the offices of the SDM and the DSP, Palampur, seeking their assistance to get rid from the problems. They also called on local MLA Parveen Sharma, but despite assurances he did nothing. The company had also not paid any compensation to the villagers on account of damages caused to their houses two years ago because of blasting and cutting of hills. However, a project official said they had already paid Rs 40,000 per family as compensation. But the villagers refuted the claim and said they had not received even a single penny. Water source and water tank of the village have also been damaged by heavy boulders and debris felling from upper hills because of reckless cutting done for the construction of the road to the tunnel site. At present, residents of the village are spending sleepless nights in terror as heavy boulders and debris could struck at any time. The “Save Palampur” has decided to approach the Human Rights Commission and Himachal Pradesh High Court in this regard as the villagers had lost their faith in the local administration. Ratten Gautam, SDM, Palampur, said the matter is already in his notice. Several meetings were held with the project authorities in the past one year to sort out such problems. He said the Corporation had paid only Rs 9 lakh to the IPH Department till date in lieu of the damages caused to their property. The department has claimed damages over Rs 3 crore.
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Contraband crop mafias thrive in Parbati valley
Kullu/Kasol, May 4 Though Vinay Tandon, principal chief conservator of forests, has claimed that the department would dispatch its field staff to check illegal felling in the forest areas, the mafias continue to cut trees in the remote areas of Tosh Kotla, Ougal Thatch, Pinsu, Malunder in Parbati and Rasol and Malana valleys in Kullu district. The story is no different in other areas in Shimla, Chamba, parts of Kangra districts, reveal sources. Earlier, charas mafias were involved in cutting down thousands of trees to grow cannabis in Tosh Kotla in 2005, but the matter was hushed up with the police declaring the culprits untraced. Even the forest department did not care to take stock of the damage done to forests in Malana and Parbati valleys, the sources add. The recent seizure of 376 kg of charas by the Mumbai police was also traced to Kullu valley after the police arrested two kingpins, Rakesh Awasthi and Gagan Awasthi in connection with the case. Enforcement officers say the cannabis crop in more than 200 bighas was needed to produce 376 kg of charas. “The crop is cultivated in the Naggar forest range and is controlled by the gang of smugglers led by one commando, wanted by the Mumbai police in the case,” they reveal. The smugglers hire Nepali labourers who also earn quick money ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per kg from hashish. “But smugglers make most of the kill, ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh per kg depending where they sell it,” add the enforcement officers. The smugglers also encourage needy villagers to grow hybrid cannabis on the forestland. “This is done to avoid detection and registration of cases under the NDPS Act against them,” the police says. Experts say cannabis crop cannot be detected by satellite imagery. “We can, however, detect opium cultivation as it emits ultraviolet rays,” they say. Even forest and revenue field staff never bothers to report illegal cultivation on private and forestland to the higher authorities because most of them are locals and fear the wrath of mafias or connive with them. The hybrid cannabis seeds are thrown in the open areas and these grow naturally needing no care, no fertilizers and no terracing, says a cultivator. “Nepali labours are involved in sowing, harvesting or rubbing of hashish. This way they earn Rs 500 per day”. There is no check or detection of cultivation in the remote inaccessible forest areas. “It is difficult to go alone in the forest, but we do take help of male members whenever we get complaints,” quip three women guards at
Kasol. The scale of illegal cultivation is vast and growing. “It involves 3,553 villages in 592 panchayats in the state,” observes OP Sharma, a former superintendent,
NCB, in his field survey in these areas. Sharma headed anti-cannabis drives in the state from 2003 till 2006. He is now chief adviser, Malana
Vikalp, the cooperative society which is trying to convince Malana villagers to shun illegal cultivation and opt for alternative cash crops. Besides Parbati valley, cannabis is detected in Churah-Tissa in Chamba, Khanag-Bishlidhar in Ani subdivision and Mashiar-Glingcha in Batahar belt and Sainj valley in Banjar subdivision, Thatchi-Chamaj-Karsog belt in Mandi, pockets in Chota and Bara Bhanghal in hills of Kangra, reveal sources. Anurag Garg, DIG central range, says joint operations involving the revenue, forest and police departments are launched every year to destroy illegal cultivation in the region. The forest has to report illicit felling and revenue has to detect cultivation of illegal crop on private land, he adds.
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Taking to polyhouse for prosperity
Bilaspur, May 4 This enterprising youth has sold flowers worth Rs 22 lakh till now and set up another polyhouse on 2,500 square meters of land without raising any loan. He has sold flowers worth Rs 1 lakh from this polyhouse till now. Sukh Ram says it was a virtual dream come true for him . Yes, it did require hard work and persistent care and all-time attention . But then who gets wealth without sweat and strain. Sukh Ram has constructed his own link road to the polyhouse and sunk a tubewell with assistance under Swajal Dhara Yojna. He imports cow dung from Chandigarh to turn it into Vermi- compost, essential for a polyhouse. He says he is not the only one in the district to adopt this modern technique of polyhouses. He exhorts unemployed youths to avail government assistance of 80 per cent finance under the “Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Kisan- Baghwan Smridhi Yojna” for the setting up of a polyhouse to change their fortunes.
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To make them ready for future
Hamirpur, May 4 The literacy mission was undertaken by three NIT students, Aseem Kapoor, Ashish Choudhary and Amit Sharma, in 2005 to empower these unprivileged children who did not have access to even basic education. These children used to waste their time on construction sites while their parents worked from dawn to dusk. With continuous persuasion and motivation a few children responded to voluntary teaching, a full-fledged voluntary activity, which now has more than 100 volunteers who are involved in teaching and generating resources for education and medical assistant to about 150 children. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had lauded this activity and interacted with these children during his visit to the NIT campus some time back. To generate resources for this activity and to provide a platform for these children the NIT students also organise an annual charity function-Prayas--in April every year. The programme comprises daily evening classes for slum children to prepare them for various state and national-level entrance exams like AIEEE, school entrance, combined medical entrance tests, besides arranging funds for poor children for school fees, clothes, books, pencils and notebooks etc and and also providing them computer education. A few students who have excelled after this effort are Joshi Sureen-currently pursuing bio-informatics at the Bhopal NIT and Lata, who topped in the regional board. Four-year-old Prince, suffering from a serious cardiac problem, was successfully treated at ESCORT, Delhi. Arpita, suffering from multiple cysts in her kidney and Aarti, suffering from a complicated genetic disease, had also been provided successful treatment.
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Pong Dam
Nurpur,May 4 According to information, the BBMB had acquired 30,729 hectares of private land from residents of Dehra, Jawali and Nurpur subdivisions about four decades back to build a man-made water reservoir for Pong Dam hydropower project. The water level of the acquired land had been earmarked 1,410 feet at sea level, but actually the existing reservoir had covered only 28,271 hectares of land leaving the rest acquired land on the mercy of locals. A number of land encroachers had also received enhanced compensation decades back, but encroached upon the BBMB’s land. They not only constructed pucca houses and shops but also have been cultivating the fertile land since a long under the nose of the concerned authorities. The executive engineer of the reservoir management at BBMB Talwara was not available for comments. No other senior official was ready to speak on the issue.
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Vignettes
Bharari is a spur of Elysium Hill. Its bazaar is a sleepy potpourri of over 10 shops and a temple built in 1940s. Bharari, on the north of Shimla, was in the princely Koti state till Himachal was formed in April, 1948. Punjab transferred Kotgarh and Kotkhai to Himachal on January 25, 1950, and took Bharari and Sanjauli in lieu thereof. It was, therefore, the fate of Bharari to remain a neglected and forgotten suburb of Shimla in Punjab then. Till 1914, there was a 3-km kutcha road called Bharari road (now upper road), which connected it with the main town. The 1903 map of Shimla and Jatogh shows Petersfield (now police complex) as the first house from Bharari side but that of 1914-15 shows Brance Peth as numero uno. It still is Kothi No.1 of Ward No.1 of the town. Most likely, it was constructed in 1911-12. The original owner's grandson lives in Canada, who visited Brance Peth in 1992 and was informed that his grandfather ran a school for orphanage in the building. The old-timers, however, deny of having ever seen such a school.
The name Brance Peth appears strange but probably was christened by the owner coming from Durham in Saxon, England. The popular Brance Peth in Durham had acquired the name from Brawn's Peth, an area frequented by a notorious brawn (wild boar) centuries ago. But quite a few say that it is corruption of Brandon's Path, the path to St Brandon's shrine. Brandon was an Irish saint. In 1930s, M. Iverson and V. Valla, two women Norwegian missionaries came to reside in Brance Peth and used to take Bible classes on Sundays. Possibly, it was mistaken as the school for orphanage! The attendants were generally children from Bharari and surrounding areas whose motive was to grab chocolates, sweets and fruits distributed after the classes. The missionaries visiting private dwellings used to show the life of Jesus Christ through a magic lantern. They had also established a church where exists the Daily Needs shop today. JD Joshi taught them Hindi for 14 months at Brance Peth. During this period they did pick up the language but left for Landour on July 1, 1931, to join a school there for earning proficiency in Hindi. They returned after a year to stay at Brance Peth till 1940s. Amin Chand, father of Vidya Stokes, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was a Minister in Koti state. He took the building on lease and lived there for about four years. Amin Chand then left for Mashobra and Brance Peth was abandoned. The government started a primary school in a half of the building in 1948. The entire complex of 2333 square metres with a built-in area of 950 square metres was then purchased in 1974-75 by Shiv Charan Kishore, a superintendent in the office of the Deputy Commissioner. The complex further exchanged hands when an enterprising couple, Dr Ran Singh and Dr Meera Singh, purchased it in 1990 to start a school. The first job for the Singhs was to erect a building for the government school so that it vacated Brance Peth. It could be possible in 1995. Laureate Public School was started in 1993 in the available portion of the building as a high school affiliated to the CBSE. Since then Brance Peth has got such a facelift and development that any resident of Bharari, nay Shimla, should be proud of it. Laureate started the +2 classes in 1995; B.Ed in 2006; BCA in 2008 and the two extra education facilities that Brance Peth has is a full-fledged bank branch and the only private dialysis centre in Shimla started on August 16, 2009. The school has an aesthetically designed complex with pots of flowers and foliage (see photo). Proud of its alumni that have earned name and fame for it, Laureate has been the national champion in under-19 judo tournament for the past three years. The dedicated staff are an asset to the school and the college.
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Road construction
Bharmour, May 4 The road continues its story of destruction and callousness on the other side of the hill as well. A lot of debris has been dumped into the Ravi. The recent rain has brought the debris down into the river and worse is expected during monsoon. All this is indicative of the fact that contractors and the authorities are working with common interests while norms regarding conservation of ecosystem are being flouted. There is a fear that this road might pose a threat to the prestigious Chamera hydropower projects operating downstream the Ravi. PWD officials, however, claim that since roads are indispensable for the development of the area, their construction is undertaken only after clearance from the Central government under the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act. So far as muck disposal is concerned, the contactors executing the work have been stringently directed to dispose it of at identified sites, they add.
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Day-night T-20 tourney in school
Solan, May 4 This was the first-ever Invitational Day-Night T-20 Cricket Tournament to be played under floodlights for boys in any school. Teams representing some of the reputed residential schools participated in the tournament. These included Daly College, Indore, Mayo College, Ajmer, Sherwood College, Nainital and the host Pinegrove School, Solan. AJ Singh, headmaster of the school, said the whole game and its format were experiencing a significant change where glamour and fashion had come to associate themselves with it. For schoolchildren, it was an extravaganza where players attired in colourful apparels amidst the glare of floodlights and jazzy music appeared before cheering crowds. At this crucial juncture, Pinegrove had given yet another opportunity to budding cricketers to be a part of this game which was a passion among the people. While providing a perfect opportunity to hone their cricketing skills, it would ensure the best platform to tap the talent at this crucial stage. The tournament concluded with Mayo College, Ajmer, walking away with the title. Mayo warriors trounced Daly College, Indore, by a margin of 110 runs to romp home the trophy.
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Animal adoption to be extended
Shimla, May 4 It is the result of the persistent efforts of the wildlife wing to seek financial assistance for rearing of animals housed in its nature parks at Kufri through adoption that a sum of Rs 11 lakh has already been raised for the current year. It is mostly big public sector undertakings, corporate houses and hydro power companies which have come forward to show their concern towards wildlife even though in captivity. “Considering the encouraging response and the sensitivity shown by various agencies as well as individuals, we are now keen that people come forward to adopt animals at Gopalpur and Renuka in Sirmour,” said KS Thakur, conservator (wildlife). He said lions, black bear and deer at Gopalpur and Renuka could be adopted by anyone. As a gesture of thanks to the agency which adopts animals, their name would be displayed outside the enclosure of the animal. “This is something new that we have decided to do so that other people too can be encouraged to adopt animals and make their contribution,” said Thakur. The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board has taken the lead by agreeing to provide Rs 5.40 lakh to meet the expenditure of the majestic snow leopard, the main attraction at Kufri, for the next three years. Ambuja Cements too has agreed to adopt three-month-old brown bear cub, born under the breeding and conservation programme for the highly endangered animal residing in very high altitude. It has provided Rs 2.50 lakh for brown bears at Kufri. Other companies like Lafarge India, setting up a cement plant in Himachal, has also agreed to pay Rs 1 lakh. HP Sorang Pvt Ltd has also given Rs 1.26 lakh as adoption money for barking deer and black bear. Efforts of the Wildlife Department have borne fruit as even the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation has agreed to pay Rs 1 lakh for adopting some animals at Kufri. With the adoption of animals scheme launched here at Kufri giving good results, now the animals at Gopalpur and Renuka are also open for adoption. Officials point out that thought the government provides funds for animals, additional financial assistance not only reduces the burden on the authorities, but also makes it easier for them to provide better facilities. They say since individuals cannot meet huge expenditure, they can adopt small birds like the highly endangered western tragopan, which has now been declared the state bird instead of monal. The annual cost for adopting a bird would work out to be about Rs 12,000.
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Himachal diary
It was not the music that renowned Bollywood composer Bappi Lehri produced over the years but the glittering gold he wears on his body that dominated the interaction with mediapersons during his visit to Shimla early this week.
The focus on jewellery did upset the music director who was here to release the new video album--"Rangoli"--comprising Himachali folk songs of Vicky Chauhan (See photo).
He did make all those present on the occasion realise that behind all expensive jewellery lay years of hard work and sent the subtle message across that one has to toil to acquire good things in life. He said he had put in 36 years of relentless effort to reach the pinnacle in the world of popular music. Without hard work the gold loses his shine, he asserted, driving home the point that one should not aspire for big things without putting an earnest effort. He said the latest trend was to have a video of every song and visualisation required added effort to produce a real good video album. However, a positive aspect was that unlike yesteryears, when new artists had to struggle to make entry into their respective fields, the reality shows on various television channels were providing a platform to newcomers to exhibit their talent. He also promised to launch a talent hunt in the hill state so that talented Himachalis could also get the much-needed platform to enter the highly competitive entertainment industry. He was all praise for Vicky Chauahn whom he described an extremely talented folk singer, adding that he would give Chauhan an opportunity as a playback singer in Bollywood.
New Shimla lacks basic amenities
With buildings on both sides of the road, smooth flow of a two-way traffic is a problem. Roadside parking of vehicles makes things worse. The residents welfare association has been for long demanding alternative roads to ease traffic congestion. The entire area is virtually bereft of greenery. There is no government health institution as a result of which residents face problems. The association has been unhappy over the manner in which the Lion's Club opened a specialised eye care facility in an area which needed basic healthcare services more urgently.
Tal pond
beautification
The Hamirpur district administration has taken an initiative to beautify the historical Tal pond (See photo) in Sahnvein panchayat of the district at a cost of Rs 38 lakh. This work would be executed by PWD division, Bhoranj, in collaboration with the IPH and Tourism Departments before the onset of the coming rainy season. The pond with rich historical value was built by erstwhile ruler Sansar Chand Katoch. The beautification activities would include erecting railings around the pond and construction of steps, footpaths and sitting arrangements around the pond, besides fixing solar lights. A wrestling ring, filtration gallery, rain shelter and boating facilities would also be created near the pond. Before start of the beautification work, the Fisheries Department would make arrangements to shift fish from the pond to the nearest check dams. Many government departments would work in tandem to check degradation of the area near the pond and take steps to protect ecology of this area. (Contributed by Rakesh
Lohumi and DP Gupta)
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Akhandchandi Palace losing its majesty
Chamba, May 4
In the continued construction process, Darbar Hall and Zanana Mehal were added to the huge structure in the reign of Raja Bhuri Singh. Subsequent additions and alterations clearly betray the Mughal and British influence. This mansion reflects a unique style of architecture. In 1958, the beautiful building was handed over to the state government's Education Department for the purpose of starting a government college and a district library. Like many other buildings of yesteryears, this graceful citadel is swiftly parting with its pristine glory. The huge edifice of the palace with a number of rooms and halls is ill-equipped to house the college. The palace, which is reported to have been a monumental landmark of art, is not being managed properly. Walls are crumbling and cracks have developed as a sequel to intermittent earthquake. Beautifully coloured windowpanes have been broken and doors are fallen apart, while wooden floor has given way in many rooms. An elegant structure that was famed for its glass work and painted walls is in decrepit condition due to the lack of proper maintenance. Ceilings with delicate carpentry reveal the artistic excellence of craftsmen. Chamba town was founded in the 10th century by Raja Sahila Varma (920-940 AD) of the Bharmour Kingdom and there are a number of monuments for which Chamba is known all over. However, many of such monuments can now be seen in photographs as the town has lost much of its cultural heritage in the recent past. The authorities of the state government as well as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are overlooking the Chamba's heritage. The edifice of the palace, which is a real focal point of the historical background of the town, is facing an imminent danger of tumbling down due to the neglect of the authorities. Presently, it is being utilised as an ordinary old structure for government postgraduate college and district library. The area below the palace has now been built up accommodating numerous multi-storied structures that are really an eyesore. Scanty funds are spent annually for the upkeep and renovation of this structure, says ML Shama, principal of government postgraduate college. Amazingly, no funds have been provided for the past two years, though Rs 30 lakh have been spent on its renovation as deposit work by the PWD during Chamba's Millennium celebrations. To give a new lease of life to the gigantic structure, a special project should be drawn up for the renovation and upkeep of this palace making a provision of one engineer with staff and adequate funds. It could then be declared as a part of national heritage and could be used as a museum by the State Archaeological Department or the ASI.
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Though the 15MW Om Power Project being executed on the Neugal near Palampur would bring prosperity to owners and provide 12 per cent free power to the state government, it has proved a curse to poor residents.
Bilaspur, May 4
Hamirpur, May 4
Bharmour, May 4
It was not the music that renowned Bollywood composer Bappi Lehri produced over the years but the glittering gold he wears on his body that dominated the interaction with mediapersons during his visit to Shimla early this week.
The focus on jewellery did upset the music director who was here to release the new video
album--"Rangoli"--comprising Himachali folk songs of Vicky Chauhan (See photo).
Chamba, May 4
The residents of New Shimla are facing all sorts of problems because of lack of amenities, traffic jams and increasing commercial activities. The modern township which came up only during the past two years has not been planned well as a result of it has become extremely congested within a few years and the solitary road leading to it has become the bane of its residents.