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Kangra stinks as garbage piles up
Reckless excavation by PWD hits water supply schemes
Slow progress in ragging cases |
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Apple growers await trucks to transport produce
Finding no takers, admn uses MNREGA funds in apple orchards
Vignettes
ASI seeks to bring Nurpur fort on tourism map
T.R. Sharma, superintendent, ASI, hands over a bank draft for ` 20,000 to the MC president
at Nurpur: Photo by the writer
Ban sought on animal slaughter at shrines
Matrishakti Bima Yojna makes rural women feel secure
2 ultrasound scanning units sealed
Flash floods, landslides
Letter
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Kangra stinks as garbage piles up
Kangra, August 31 Heaps of garbage lying at different places of the town emit foul smell and had made walking on roads difficult. Garbage keeps lying for days together with no one to redress the people from the trauma. Heaps of garbage keep lying on the Dharamshala road at different places like entrance gate of Government Polytechnic College, near the bus stand and outside the industrial estate which is the entrance to this temple town. People throw garbage in the dustbin kept outside the college gate which overflows and results in the choking of the drain that passes in front of the gate. It results in flooding of the college almost every time during monsoons. SC
Verma, principal of the college, said he had approached the local municipal authorities time and again to remove the garbage bin from outside the college gate and clean up the chocked drain, but all in vain. Pilgrims and local residents suffer due to the stinking atmosphere outside the Sabzi Mandi near Gupta Ganga and the situation near the historical Virbhadra temple is also no better. Rakesh Kathuria, spokesperson for the local Sanatan Dharams Sabha, said: “It is painful and shocking that pilgrims who arrive at Gupta Ganga or other religious spots of the town get disgusted here due to poor sanitation and stinking atmosphere and leave this temple town with bad taste.” He said it was also hurting the religious sentiments of pilgrims. Kathuria said people of the town would move a PIL against the authorities before the Himachal Pradesh High Court shortly for the redressal of the problem. The Local Municipal Committee, which has to take care of cleanliness and sanitation of the town, looks to be
in a shambles. Executive officer Sanjay Kumar was transferred in June this year without any regular officer to look after the town. RS Verma, executive officer, Dharamshala, has been assigned the job to look after the Kangra Municipal Corporation as an additional charge. According to Municipal Committee sources, the executive officer visits Kangra in case of an emergency. The sources said: “If and when required, we call the officer from Dharamshala”. They confessed that working of the municipality gets affected in the absence of a regular executive officer.
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Reckless excavation by PWD hits water supply schemes
Shimla, August 31 The huge debris being dumped on slopes is ultimately finding its way into various khads and streams, raising the level of silt to such an extent that the Irrigation and Public Health Department is forced to stop pumping of water during the monsoon. Not only that big boulders in the debris often roll down with great momentum causing extensive damage to pipelines. The increasing problem of silt is frequently leading to situations where people have to cope with water shortage not only during the dry summer but also during deluge in the monsoon. The state capital is one of the worst-hit areas in this respect as even a scanty rainfall forces the closure of one or the other water supply scheme feeding the city. The debris generated due to excavations being carried out for the construction of the Kufri bypass road is polluting the main sources in the Dhalli catchment area which was so far the least affected out of the half-a-dozen sources from where water is pumped. The repeated shutdowns of pumping stations during the current monsoon prompted the Municipal Corporation to take up the matter with the PWD. The Municipal Commissioner has written a letter drawing attention of the department to the problem and urged it to take the necessary steps to prevent pollution of water sources and damage to water supply schemes due to improper disposal of debris. The corporation has been facing problems because of the dual control of the water supply scheme as pumping of water from various sources is with the IPH Department whereas distribution is with the civic body. The disruption of water supply on account of excessive silt, power problem, breakdown of pumping machinery or any
other reasons creates problem for the corporation which has to face the ire of residents who are denied adequate supply of water. With the Centre sanctioning Rs 72 crore for the rejuvenation of the Shimla water supply scheme under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, the corporation wants to take over the entire system, including pumping stations at various sources to end dual control. The funds are being provided to the corporation mainly to improve the distribution system and replace the old pipelines to plug leakages due to which almost 30 per cent of the water goes waste. However, the corporation authorities feel that the problem faced by residents could be addressed only if the pumping stations were also handed over to it so that it could take care of everything from pumping to leakages in the bulk supply lines from the pumping stations to reservoirs. The people faced problems due to erratic functioning of the pumping stations, leakage and power supply and it invariably led to a blame game among the authorities concerned --- the corporation, the IPH Department and the state power utility. Moreover, if pumping stations were under its control the corporation will be able to inform the people well in advance about the water shortage in case there were problems in pumping due to low voltage, silt or any other reason, senior officers of the corporation assert.
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Slow progress in ragging cases Our correspondent
Kangra, August 31 This was stated by Dr Rajender Kachroo, father of ragging victim Aman Kachroo. He said bureaucrats in the HRD Ministry were still working in an old fashion like sending a letter by ordinary post after two or three months to a college principal that a ragging case was reported in your college etc. He said the court had made it clear that there should be a “crisis hotline” to deal with ragging cases. Dr Kachroo said the day bureaucracy started working with seriousness on the comprehensive plan of the Supreme Court, ragging would be eradicated. He said the court had focused on the prevention plan with four components. Some of the components were initiated by the HRD ministry, but some remained non-starter. He said, “It is strange and unfortunate that planning tools are available, but it is bureaucracy that is moving very slow”. Expressing concern, Dr Kachroo said there was no major improvement in the scenario when 350 serious ragging cases were registered between June 2009 and January 2010. He said, “It is shocking that we have not been able to follow each of these 350 cases or any one of them up to its logical conclusion in the past six months”. Dr Kachroo said meanwhile, the number of such cases had touched 450-475 during the past six months and would grow to thousands when the colleges would start for the new session. He said the magnitude of ragging in India could be measured that the helpline (18001805522) received 1.5 lakh calls during the last six months of 2009. He described ragging a serious problem and said there were 26,000 colleges in India, but the message to curb ragging had not gone across to all. He said major changes were seen in colleges of Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, but in rural and other colleges it continued unabated. Dr Kachroo alleged that the college administrations were trying to cover up ragging cases. They spoke lies and even shielded people that he described was unfortunate.
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Apple growers await trucks to transport produce
Kullu, August 31 Truckers are not interested in transporting apple from the valley to Delhi as they get Rs 50 per carton whereas they get Rs 90 per carton from places like
Chopal, Rohru etc. Even as the Kullu administration pressed into service 128 trucks after holding a meeting with transporters, the farmers rue that they need more than 170 trucks daily to lift the backlog from the
roadsides. Prem Sharma, president, Upper Kullu Valley Apple Growers Association, says apple cartons are piling up on roadsides and in godowns as growers are not able to arrange for their transportation. At present, there are 100 trucks in the valley, whereas we need more than 170 trucks,” he adds. What is worrying growers is that markets are coming down in Delhi as there is no mechanism to stabilise prices and check the connivance of commission agents and wholesalers in manipulating the markets. Earlier, hailstorms damaged the crop and then rains and cloudbursts damaged roads and now it is shortage of trucks that is causing problems, rue growers. A 50-m stretch between Khanag and Ani at Kot Nala has been damaged in a landside, which has cut off Ani from the district headquaters for the past few days. A cloudburst near Kullu also washed way a village link road. The apple season is at its peak in the upper Kullu valley and in areas of
Manali, Beasar, Naggar, Patlikuhal etc. The growers also rue that the market committee is charging Re 1 at the Bhuntar barrier from the growers. “They have no notification and we object to this surcharge,” the growers resent. BM
Nanta, Kullu DC, says they have pressed into service over 128 trucks. “We have availed 28 more trucks from Barmana and 52 truckers have been directed to lift the fruit from the Manali area first,” he adds. He says the PWD has been asked to restore the roads. “We are plying bus services from Banjar side to Khanag and further towards Ani so that people do not have to face problems”.
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Finding no takers, admn uses MNREGA funds in apple orchards
Keylong, August 31 As there are no takers for the scheme seeking 100 days’ employment in this tribal belt, the district administration of Lahaul-Spiti has targeted Rs 3-crore project to plant over 1.25 lakh apple plants in the valley. This initiative is aimed at boosting the flourishing tribal potato and peas economy. The response to the project is encouraging as farmers are getting plants free of cost. With the climate shift, the farmers have already raised apple orchards in Sasha, Kukumseri and other areas in the Pattan valley and apple plantation can be spotted in the higher Bhaga and Chandra valleys as well. As per the MNREGA Act, the entire tribal district is covered under the Act regardless of the economic status of the scheduled tribal. The administration has now planned Rs 3-crore MNREGA project to distribute 1.25 lakh apple plants to the farmers in the valley as per their requirement. With the support of the Horticulture Department, the administration is involving people in utilising MNREGA funds. There are no job seekers for the MNREGA as the average farmers are relatively prosperous in this tribal belt, said farmers. Not only this, the administration will also fence the community land, including private land, by raising eco-friendly fencing of indigenous species of plants using 40 per cent of MNREGA funds for the purpose. This will achieve the double purpose of greening the area and proving protection and fodder and fuel wood to the villagers, officials said. The experts however have kept their finger crossed. “It takes 10 to 15 years for traditional apple varieties plants to yield fruits in the other side of Rohtang Pass, but apple trees in cold desert may take longer time in snow-bound cold desert as it has shorter summer season and longer cold season,” they said. Ritesh Chauhan, deputy commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, who has taken this initiative, said, “We have already distributed 37,000 apple plants free of cost last year. We are giving 1.25 apple plants to farmers in May next year for plantation on their private land”. He said they were buying apple plants from certified nursery raised in Kullu and other parts of the state. “We are taking the advise of the Horticulture Department and giving apple varieties which are recommended for the cold desert area,” he said. When asked about the success rate, the DC said the response so far was good as farmers were getting fencing and varieties of their choice. “We will make job cards and distribute apple and other plant materials to the farmers using MNREGA funds,” he added.
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New varieties of HP apples
by Shriniwas Joshi I often receive telephone calls on Vignettes immediately after Himachal Plus is read here. The response of Dr VK Sharma, a horticulture expert, on 'Apple varieties of Himachal' (August 11) was: 'At least you have catalogued the varieties at one place - it is compact information, but, today, new varieties of apples have been introduced in Himachal and those too need to be catalogued.' I asked him if he could be helpful in giving me the information. He readily agreed, hence Vignettes of the day. Sharma informed that the foreigners who came to Kullu to start apple farming there were actually fugitives from the plains where the blow of the War of Independence in 1857 was harsh comparative to the hills standing composed. These foreigners, however, gave apple to the hills, which changed the economy of the folk. I had mentioned Bannons, Johnsons, Roerichs to which he added the name of Col Rannik of Manali, whose two sons were still living there. Satyanand Stokes had brought the delicious varieties of apples from Louisiana, Missouri, where Stark Brothers Nursery was set up in 1816 when James Hart Stark moved there from Kentucky. The nursery had grown a variety there called Starking delicious and was the patentee of it. Stokes brought it here, which grew well in the Thanedar-Kotgarh area, and was differently named as royal delicious. Royal delicious, therefore, became a variety that only India produced. KC Azad, a former Director of Horticulture, is credited with bringing new varieties from the USA and propagating those at the Anu government farm near Sawra in Shimla district. Top Red is a mid-season variety and also suited to mid-hills (5000 to 8000 ft.). Oregon Spur, Vance Delicious, Red Spur, Well Spur and Red Chief were other prominent varieties that were developed at Anu. The difference between the delicious varieties and these ones is that the fruit bearing is at the end of a branch in the former while it grew in spurs in the latter (See photo). Himachal also grows Royal Gala Fuji apple, native to Japan. It is a cross between two American varieties, red delicious and old Rawls Genet. Its tree is small and the fruit is of medium size. The best part of this tree is that its bearing is regular in contrast to alternate high and low of the delicious group - bumper crop in a particular year is followed by low crop next year. Are there any apple varieties that can be grown in lower hills (below 5000 ft.)? Yes, there is anna. Anna apple tree is an Israeli selection with a remarkably low chill requirement. It is large and has light greenish-yellow skin with a slight red blush. Anna apple is sweet, slightly tart, and crisp with a creamy white flesh. It existed in the state but, today, the interest of fruit growers towards this apple has vanished. Another low-hill variety of apple, which is grown in Kasauli and Bagthan in Sirmaur is mollies delicious. It is a low-chill variety with good size, a very attractive finish. It has red blush on a yellow background. Its tree is vigorous, productive and a great polliniser. I will not be doing justice if I do not mention ambri apple here. Ambri cultivar of apple is indigenous to India and is grown on a large scale in the Kashmir valley where it is respected both as polliniser and dessert fruit. It has an attractive shape, colour and sweetness. In Himachal Pradesh, it is grown in Jubbal area. Himachal Pradesh had tried to develop varieties that were cross between delicious and ambri but the encouraging results were not appreciated by the powers to be counted and the varieties dwindled. Our appreciation, however, is there with the words of Martin Luther, "Even if I knew the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."
Tailpiece
Children were lined up for lunch. There was a large pile of apples on the table on which the teacher's note was displayed:" Take only one. God is watching." At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolates. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."
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ASI seeks to bring Nurpur fort on tourism map
Nurpur, August 31 He said following recent amendment in the ASI rules (March 2010), the construction or repair within 100-m radius of the fort had been strictly prohibited, whereas any alternation, repair and new construction could be undertaken within 200-m area of the fort only after getting requisite approval from the ASI headquarters in Delhi. He said the ASI would soon undertake demarcation of the limits of Nurpur fort with the assistance of the local administration. On the occasion, he also returned a bank draft of Rs 20,000 to the president of the Municipal Council, RK Mahajan, who had deposited this money to the ASI as fee to celebrate Janmashtmi fair in the historical Brij Raj Swami temple situated in the premises of the fort. He informed that the ASI had waived off the fee keeping in view religious sentiments of the people of the area. “I was impressed to know that Mahajan has been celebrating Janmashtmi and Dushera as pubic fairs in the fort premises since a long time which motivated me to take up the issue of waiving the ASI fee to the higher-ups in Delhi,” he pointed out.
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Legal education planned at school level
The State Legal Services Authority has brought out a book “Lessons in Law” to impart legal education at the school level. The initiative was taken by Himachal High Court Chief Justice Kurian Joseph, who strongly feels that legal education is necessary and should become an integral part of the school curriculum. The book, which was formally released early this week by Justice Altmas Kabir, Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (see photo), will be taught to the students of Class IX and Class XI under the legal awareness programme. Students in all 3111 schools of the state will be provided legal education with the assistance of eminent legal experts and lawyers. Justice Altmas hinted that if the experiment of Himachal Pradesh proved successful, the National Legal Service Authority would introduce such programmes throughout the country. Laws pertaining to women and labour have been specially included under the programme. Mr Justice Kurian believes that legal awareness among young generations will make youth appreciate their responsibilities towards society and help improve governance. Not only that it will develop respect for law and inculcate basic values in them. He appealed to the lawyers to adopt a school for imparting one hour legal education in a week. Initially, a one-hour teaching programme will be conducted in a week. The state government is also taking this initiative seriously and is ready to cooperate with the State Legal Services Authority. Himachal has become the first state in the country to introduce legal education at the school level. Rainwater harvesting need of the hour
Widespread rain during the current monsoon season have brought quite a few miseries for people in some parts of the state but the normal monsoon after almost a decade has brought cheers to one and all. It is a real delight to see greenery everywhere with water flowing on hills from springs, even from those that had dried up. Recharged water sources, dams and water reservoirs are full to the brim, giving a look of plenty, more so as the monsoon failure last season and scanty rain for quite some time had left people quite worried about the drying up of water sources and the depleting water table. Since a large amount of rainwater just flows down the drains, streams and rivers and just goes waste, many feel that harvesting and channelisation of this water is very important to check floods. It is high time that government agencies and people came forward to harness rainwater in a big way to help meet perennial shortage of water. (Contributed by Vijay Arora
and DP Gupta)
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Ban sought on animal slaughter at shrines
Bharmour, August 31 In a statement issued here yesterday, Swami Virendrananda Giri, president of the samiti, said,“Lord Shiva is always merciful to all beings of the universe and never seeks sacrifices of living beings. But every year, I see the slaughter of sheep by certain pilgrims believing it as the prashad (food for god) of Lord Shiva which is a superstition,” Virendrananda regretted, seeking a ban on the sacrifice of animals at all religious places in future too. In order to keep Manimahesh lake clean, he advised that the langars, shops and the stay of devotees should be prohibited around the lake. “The shoe shops which are stalled on the premises of sacred Chowrasi Sidh temple at the Bharmour historic township desecrate the sanctity of the holy place and hurt the feelings of pilgrims and devotees,” he lamented, asking the state government to prohibit such shops and stalls at the worship site. Giri appealed to the government that the Manimahesh pilgrimage should be open for at least three months, i.e. from June 15 to the final bath of Radhasthmi.
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Matrishakti Bima Yojna makes rural women feel secure
Hamirpur, August 31 The scheme has been launched by the state government for poor rural women, keeping in view geographical and economic difficulties prevailing in the state. Women in the rural areas living below poverty line and falling under the age group of 10 to 75 years are being covered under MSBY. While the government is bearing all expenses under the scheme, formalities for filing claims are made by project officer rural development through block development officers. Claim received through this scheme for Reena Thakur of Makkad village under Bijahad block proved a big support to her family after the death of her husband in a road accident. With insurance claim of Rs 1 lakh, Reena is not only meeting expenses of her children’s education but also her aging in-laws, besides running the household. Similarly, Neelam Devi from Bhoranj block also got the insurance claim of Rs 1 lakh after death of her husband. Ajeet Bhardwaj, project officer, District Rural Development Agency, said, “Eligible women from this category are covered for all accidents, death from any surgery within seven days, death during pregnancy and other natural calamities like earthquake, cloud bursts etc”. He said, “Women and her husband are insured for Rs 1 lakh against death and Rs 50,000 against 40 per cent disability or losing an eye, limbs or other vital organs”.
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2 ultrasound scanning units sealed
Palampur, August 31 Dr Dogra told mediapersons said that there was no qualified radiologist in both hospitals to run the ultrasound scanning units. As per law it was mandatory to have a qualified radiologist to run an ultrasound scanning unit. He said all private nursing homes had been directed to install CCTV cameras in their ultrasound rooms so that its misuse could be checked. In future all sonography would be done under surveillance of CCTV cameras and health department would check it from time to time. Besides, other specifications like size of rooms, electric installation etc had also been given to the nursing homes. There were complaints that a number of private clinics in the region had been indulging in pre-natal sex determination test followed by unethical termination of pregnancies. It may be recalled that the sex ratio in some parts of the Palampur region has come down to 870 women per 1000 men though the health authorities claim that figures has gone up from 870 to 880.
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PH schemes suffer loss of Rs 1.5 cr in Nurpur
Rajiv Mahajan
Nurpur, August 31 According to official information gathered from the divisional office of the Irrigation-cum-Public Health (IPH) Department, 30 out of the 60 DWS and 15 out of the 40 irrigation schemes have been badly damaged due to flash floods and landslides here. Three gravity pipelines of DWS schemes at Kopra, Samula and Letri were also washed away due to flash floods in rivulets. The IPH Department has, however, restored DWS schemes by making alternative arrangements so that inhabitants should not suffer. Significantly, underground water resources have been recharged satisfactorily after a gap of a few years. In this connection, SD Chowdhary, executive engineer, Nurpur division, told that a loss to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore had been estimated to the DWS and irrigation schemes in the Nurpur division. He informed that a detailed loss report had been submitted to the government. “The department has temporarily restored DWS schemes by making alternative arrangements, but the affected schemes will be repaired only after sanctioning of funds by the government,” he added.
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Wake up, HIMUDA
Residents of Blocks 1, 2 and 3, (KL Malik, Ranbir Datta, Ravinder Kaul, Sanjay Bhatt) HP Housing Board Colony, Shoghi, have been facing a number of problems and despite writing to HIMUDA, no solution seems to be in sight. An open dustbin facing Block 1 is a health hazard for residents. Besides acting as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, it emits foul smell all the time. The residents have many times urged HIMUDA to clean the spot as people can conveniently use dustbins located in Blocks 4 and 5. Besides, road connecting Blocks 1, 2 and 3 is in a dilapidated condition. It is difficult for even pedestrians to use the road. Our repeated requests to the authorities have fallen on deaf ears. All this even after we have submitted in writing that we are willing to contribute funds for the construction of the said road. The stairs connecting Block 2 were left uncemented by the contractor when the colony was built in 2001. Their sinking state poses a threat to residents. Streetlight facing Block 2 is also out of order for the past many months, which further adds to the misery of residents. Since HIMUDA is a public body and receives maintenance charges from residents for the upkeep of the locality, one wonders as to why it has failed to discharge its duties. This is a clear case of deficient service. Satinder Kapur, Shimla Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at himachal@tribunemail.com or write in at: Letters, Himachal Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030.
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Nurpur, August 31
Himachal diary
