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New equations in state Congress
Commercial centre to stabilise sinking Ridge
Now GPS to track winged visitors
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Wool federation to help sheep-rearing entrepreneurs
Central team lauds anti-polythene campaign
vignettes
Religious leaders vow to help HIV patients
No speed post, this!
Book on Pahari painting released in Mumbai
State focuses on employment generation in rural areas
Using tissue culture for making apple rootstocks
Himachal diary
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New equations in state Congress
Hamirpur, February 1 The two leaders recently worked out a winning strategy to foster the victory of Congress-supported candidate in Shimla zila parishad elections by snubbing the move of the BJP, which was hoping to win the seat by taking advantage of differences among Congress leaders. While the two leaders are claiming that they had worked as a team during the elections, people who know about their past “cold relations” are reading much more to their meeting at Virbhdra Singh’s residence in Shimla. Some people are linking this move to counter the influence of the group represented by HPCC president Kaul Singh Thakur and Union Minister Anand Sharma. A section of Congress leaders was also feeling concerned after the defeat of Congress-backed candidates in zila parishad elections despite having majority at a few places and the reported “alliance” between the Congress and BJP at some other places. Kaul Singh Thakur, who had enjoyed immense power in the government headed by Virbhdra Singh, had been facing latter’s ire after becoming the HPCC chief, especially after the denial of ticket to his wife, Pratibha Singh, to contest the Rohru byelection last year. Similarly, supporters of Vidya Stokes are reportedly also not maintaining cordial relations with the HPPC president and had been mounting pressure on her to have closer ties with Virbhdra Singh. It has also been learnt a few leaders had been working for quite some time to bring the two leaders together. In this situation, HPCC Chief Kaul Singh would also be forced to rely more on the support from the Anand Sharma group.
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Commercial centre to stabilise sinking Ridge
Shimla, February 1 With the Ridge continuing to sink, experts had suggested construction of a structure which would fill up the gap and provide stability to the portion of the Ridge next to the Amateur Dramatics Club (ADC). The MC, in fact, held the first round of preliminary talks with some private property owners in the area so that instead of raising a small structure, a bigger building, which would rise from the Lakkar Bazaar Bus Stand, could be made. "Since the experts have suggested construction of a structure which will help sta
bilise the sinking Ridge, we are keen that the private property owners are taken into confidence so that we can attain the twin purpose of beautifying the entire region and at the same time attain stability to the sinking zone," said AN Sharma, commissioner, MC. The Department of Urban Planning is keen that a multi-purpose complex is made at the site so that the bus stand could be better planned with basic amenities. "We will request the private property owners in the area to agree to get the project executed under the private-public participation (PPP) mode so that all stand to benefit or else they will be asked to share the cost of construction," said Sharma. The MC has received about Rs 18 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to undertake strengthening of the Ridge and beautify the Ridge and the Mall. A portion of this money could be used for undertaking stabilisation measures for the Ridge, which in the recent past sunk, by almost six feet. Though the MC has taken some temporary steps but some permanents measures will have to be taken sooner or later. The MC has been keen to shift the Tibetan Market to a new place and beautify that portion. The experts too had pointed out that it was due to inadequate drainage of water from the Ridge, which was resulting in the sinking of the Ridge. In case the MC is able to convince the private land and building owners in the area, a commercial centre can come up in the area which will also be a source of income and provide better space to all.
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Now GPS to track winged visitors
Shimla, February 1 After tracking a full-grown female leopard on the outskirts of this city, the state's wildlife wing is now going to monitor the movement of feathered guests through the GPS - and these three species are the first in line. "For the first time, the department is going to track the migratory routes of the birds with the help of GPS. For this, the department will install radio tags on birds at the Pong wetlands in the first week of March," Chief Wildlife Warden AK Gulati told IANS. Crossing national and international boundaries, millions of migratory birds of several species descend on various water bodies and wetlands in the region to avoid the extreme winter chill in their native habitats. Gulati said the department in association with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) would initially install satellite telemetry chips on two birds each of three regular visiting species - bar-headed goose, ruddy shell duck and mallard. The basic concept of satellite telemetry is to attach a radio transmitter to an animal or bird and track the signal to determine its movements. The Pong Dam wetlands in the Kangra Valley are among the prominent favourite winter grounds of migratory birds in northern India. Currently, the Pong wetlands are home to over 120,000
migratory birds of more than 85 species. The largest influx is of bar-headed geese, coots, common pochards, pintails, cormorants and spotbill ducks. BNHS assistant director S Balachandran, who will install chips on the birds, said satellite telemetry would help identify specific migratory routes, stopover points and non-breeding areas of the birds. "Each chip costing around Rs.250,000 will be installed under the wings of birds. It will send signals for four years and their batteries will be recharged through solar energy," Balachandran told IANS over the phone from Mumbai. The BNHS has already installed such chips on various birds in Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam. Earlier, bird banding and ringing was the popular method used by ornithologists worldwide to know the migratory routes of birds. Balachandran, who did bird banding at Pong in 2004, said the BNHS would again install bands around the necks of birds in February. "This time, more than 1,000 bands would be installed on bar-headed geese, mallards, pintails and common teals," he said. The Pong Dam reservoir is the only place in the country after the Bharatpur sanctuary in Rajasthan where red-necked grebes descend every year. Similarly, the bar-headed goose, the world's highest-altitude migrant, is a regular visitor here. —
IANS
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Wool federation to help sheep-rearing entrepreneurs
Nurpur, February 1 The federation has divided the state into seven sheep-rearing zones, Nurpur, Dehra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Nalagarh and Dhoulakuan (Palampur). Trilok Kapoor, chairman of the federation, along with the experts of the Animal Husbandry Department, had visited these zones to educate shepherds about a number of schemes launched by the state government during the past three years. In the maiden camp initiated recently from here, Kapoor said he himself was a sheep rearer having a flock of 500 sheep and was conversant with the problems being faced by nomadic shepherds. They were being apprised of the recently launched Shepherd Samridhi Yojna (SSY) and the Shepherd Insurance Scheme (SIS), he said. Kapoor informed that under the SSY, the government was providing Rs 1 lakh as loan to shepherds in which Rs 33,300 would be released by the state government as subsidy, whereas the beneficiary had to contribute only Rs 10,000 as margin money against the sanctioned loan. “Under this ambitious scheme, the maximum loan limit has been fixed for Rs 25 lakh in which Rs 8.33 lakh will be the part of the government subsidy and Rs 6.25 lakh as margin money of the beneficiary. This loan will assist any entrepreneur to start self-employed avocation and has been aimed at reviving the confidence in sheep rearing,” he asserted. Talking on the SIS, he revealed that shepherds would get insurance cover in which beneficiary families would get claims to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 60,000, respectively, after their accidental and natural death. “For this insurance cover, the Life Insurance Corporation and the Central Wool Development Mandal, Jodhpur (Rajasthan), will, respectively, contribute Rs 80, Rs 100 and Rs 150 as annual premium,” he added.
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Central team lauds anti-polythene campaign
Mandi, February 1 The PWD tarred 33.6 km of road length with 300 quintals of polythene out of the 3,110 quintals collected under the campaign in the state. Government agencies challaned 559 offenders and collected Rs 4.4 lakh fine from them. In Mandi, they collected Rs 90,000 as fine from the offenders. Chief Minister PK Dumal, while administering oath to the newly elected pradhans and up-pradhans across the state, said the Central team had appreciated the campaign. He urged the pradhans and up-pradhans to make the campaign a mass movement as they have the power to spread its message and punish the offenders. The inputs gathered by The Tribune from the State Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (SEPPCB), the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment Council (SCSTE), school eco-clubs, and other stakeholders in the campaign revealed that the state has miles to go before the campaign becomes a mass movement. Talking about Mandi district, deputy commissioner Amandeep Garg said they had roped in 21 scrap dealers in Mandi, Sundernagar, Sarkaghat and Jogindernagar who buy polythene from their own network of rag-pickers at Rs 3 per kg and then sell it to the PWD at the rate of Rs 4 per kg. “We collected 147 quintals of polythene, 22 quintals from Mandi town, through the network of collection centres in all 473 panchayats. We have linked seven school eco-clubs to the campaign in the town”, he added. Dr Nagin Nanda, member secretary, SCSTE and SEPPCB, who gave his presentation to the Central team, said they had collected 3,110 quintals of polythene since December 2009 and used 300 quintals in tarring 33.63 km of road length in the state. “We have linked 76 eco-clubs to the campaign in urban centres. We have identified 2,755 waste hot spots in the state for constant surveillance under the campaign as it is a continuous process. But the potential of school eco-clubs have not been tapped fully as just 100 eco-clubs out of the 2,500 in the state are reporting back to the SCSTE,” he said. Tek Singh Parmar, in charge, Monal eco-club, Government Senior Secondary School, Makreri, in Jogindernagar, said: “We have collected one quintal of polythene in the Makreri panchayat in the past two months. The SCSTE should encourage voluntary spirit and give more incentives to the eco-clubs to make the campaign a mass movement,” he observed. BD Joshi, chief engineer, PWD, said the department had tarred 5.5 km of road length by using polythene in Mandi and Kullu and about 32 km in the state. “We save Rs 1,700 per km by using polythene in place of bitumen in tarring and need four quintals of polythene in tarring one km of road. We save the environment and its use is economical,” he added.
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St Bede's — a college with a difference
by Shriniwas Joshi St. Bede's college, Shimla (See photo), has once again bagged A grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) which visited the college recently. The NAAC is an autonomous body established by the UGC in 1994. Its major work is to assess and accredit the institutions of higher learning, universities and colleges. It is saddening that HP University has slid down to B position but one of its constituents, St. Bede's, kept the education-flag of the state flying high. The Gazetteer of Shimla district 1904 says: "Attached to the Convent of Jesus and Mary (founded in 1864) are three schools-a boarding high school for girls with an average of 80 pupils, under the direction of Reverend mother St Clementine and St. Francis' Military Orphanage, with 110 girls. Both institutions are under the patronage of the Archbishop of Agra. The third institution is St. Bede's Technical College for the training of teachers, and higher education of women is also conducted by the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, and is aided by the Punjab Government." Mother Clementine wrote a letter on November 19, 1902, to the Secretary, Municipal Committee (MC), saying that permission to start a training college be granted to her as "it has been approved and sanctioned by the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab". Permission was also sought for felling 19 small poplar trees that were planted on the ground where the building for the college would be raised. The MC gave the sanction within a month on December 4, 1902. The architect who designed the building was A Craddock, sent a revised plan to the MC on July 31, 1903, saying that the management that intended to have a separate building for the technical school now desired that the two, the technical school and the training college be combined together and hence the necessity for the modified building plan. The MC sanctioned the revised plan in August, 1903. And thus started St. Bede's Training College in 1904. A tennis court measuring 100 ft by 85 ft was ready in 1903. What apt name for the college could have been thought of? St. Bede (672-735) was not only a venerable monk, who was made a doctor of the church, a position of theological significance, but also a scholar, linguist, historian, and translator and his works with the Latin and Greek writings of the early church fathers contributed substantially to English Christianity. His 'The Ecclesiastical History of the English People' had earned him the title 'The Father of English History.' The archival records disclose that all principals made contributions to improve the college. The plans for the new building of the college were submitted by Sister Agatha on June 30, 1973, and the design for the building was readied by architect Kashinath Warade. It was done in the name of science and home science college, St. Bede's College. There were 118 cedar, 72 oak and 11 other trees on the spot where the building was to be constructed. The government gave the sanction in September, 1973, for felling 241 trees provided the college authorities planted three saplings for every felled tree. Has it been done? Sanction was given in October, 1973, for the construction of the new building and that for raising the hostel for girl students was given in September, 1975. The works were completed on April 29, 1978. The college is living a second life. The college authorities had decided in 1967 to close it down. Dr YS Parmar, the then Chief Minister and other local bigwigs made an appeal to His Lordship Bishop Alfred for its continuation. The college stayed. And St. Bede's has not belied the trust of the denizens and is splendid in academics, sports and extra-curricular activities. May it rise further under the able guidance of Sister Molly Abraham, the present principal.
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Religious leaders vow to help HIV patients
Dharamsala, February 1 Twenty eight representatives of various religions and faiths, including Hinduism, Islam, OSHO Commune, Radha Swami, Bramha Kumari, Satya Sai Baba Sangathan and Buddhism, made a commitment in which they vowed that discrimination against people living with or affected by HIV is unacceptable. They called for the respect and dignity of every human being. The leaders also called for a massive social mobilisation to support services for women to eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child. They appealed to the community at large that patients should be treated with love and care. They should not be isolated or judged. The participants also shared the message of hope that people carrying the virus should continue to live a productive life and receive regular medical attention. “Appropriate information concerning HIV/AIDS is vital in maintaining the current low rate of the disease in the region. It will help combat the stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) currently experience and which often prevents them from revealing their status and from getting treatment,” said Dr RK Sood, district AIDS programme officer. Chander Kumar from Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC), Nurpur, shared information about the free and confidential HIV testing facilities, 1029 toll free helpline, community care centre, anti-retroviral therapy centre (ART) and other facilities provided under the National AIDS Control Programme. “The religious leaders will use their influence for changing the attitude of the public towards HIV/AIDS patients. By promoting community solidarity, they can prevent new HIV infections and ensure that people living with HIV are treated with dignity and respect,” stated Vijay Kumar, a local social activist.
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No speed post, this!
Bilaspur, February 1 The envelope sent through speed post from Chandigarh to Bilaspur took seven days to reach its destination. Dr Surender Suman, father of Akash Gauttam, said,” My son, who is taking coaching at a private institute in Chandigarh, sent the form for my signature on January 8 from Chandigarh main post office through speed post. The letter was delivered here on January 15”. “As a result, my son could not apply for admission on time and lost a golden chance of his career, thanks to the delay by the Department of Posts”. Normally, a speed post mail should not take more than two days to reach Bilaspur from Chandigarh as it takes four-and-a-half hour journey on bus from Chandigarh to Bilaspur. Sources say the department is actually carrying all posts away from the direct destinations with a view to saving cost. The speed post from Chandigarh is not sent directly to Bilaspur even as scores of buses ply on the route. It is rather sent through Shimla, resulting in avoidable delay. Dr Surender Suman has urged the authorities of the department to look into the matter and take suitable action against those responsible for the delay.
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Book on Pahari painting released in Mumbai
Chamba, February 1 Authored by Vijay Sharma of Chamba and Harsha Dehejia, professor at the Carleton University, Canada, the book entitled "Pahari Paintings of an Ancient Romance: The Love Story of Usha-Aniruddha" is concentrated on the eternal love story of Usha and Aniruddha. The profusely illustrated book, which contains some 168 pages, underscores the romance of Usha, a beautiful and gifted daughter of Banasura, who fell in love with Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumana and grandson of Krishna.
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State focuses on employment generation in rural areas
Shimla, February 1 During 2009-10, a total of 12 SDIs were sanctioned to five NGOs for which they were given a financial assistance of Rs 9.77 lakh. In the current financial year, as many as 24 SDIs covering activities like making ladies bags from leather, jute, cloth and plastic, traditional shawl weaving, Lahauli socks, scarfs, stitching and tailoring and for avocations like beautician and computer education have been sanctioned so far. The total financial assistance of Rs 20.06 lakh has been granted for the purpose to 11 NGOs in Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Solan, Hamirpur and Shimla districts to train about 600 persons. As marketing plays a crucial role in the development of any rural non-farm sector, soft loan assistance is being given for the setting up of “haats” to the beneficiaries. Last year, five rural “haats” covering Mandi, Una and Sirmour districts were sanctioned for which an assistance of Rs 23.74 lakh was provided. All these “haats” are under construction and will become operational by March 31. The possibility of setting up more such “haats” in the state is being explored. The rural “haats” will provide marketing linkages for artisans making handicrafts and agro-based products. So far, 18 rural “haats” have been sanctioned to the Self-Help Groups which are playing a vital role in promoting income-generating activities. The main products being marketed through these marts are milk and milk products, soft toys, pickles, jam, jelly, sauce, chutney, plant fibre handicrafts, handbags, mobile covers, table mats and handmade paper. The Institute for Skill and Entrepreneurship Development, a joint venture of PNB and Ambuja Cement Foundation (NGO), has been set up at Darlaghat in Solan for conducting training programmes and during the current year, 20 programmes have been completed. Under the scheme for Skill Upgradation and Design Development for Handloom Weavers (SUDHA), a programme was sanctioned to Himbunkar, a Kullu-based organisation, for training weavers in design development, product mix, quality improvement and marketing.
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Using tissue culture for making apple rootstocks
Bilaspur, February 1 Vinod Soni, like all other youths of the area of his Dhadhole village near Ghumarwin, here, first tried his luck at various places, but was not successful to get what he desired. Then he thought big and went for two-week training at the IHBT Wing of Agriculture University at Palampur and studied the development of plant rootstocks through the advanced method of tissue culture by developing plants first in laboratory in bottles rather than in fields. The Horticulture Department came to his help and provided him a grant of Rs 10 lakh for setting up of a laboratory at his village, which he named as Rajat Biotech Lab in 2006. Since then, he never looked back. This is the only lab equipped with this latest technique for producing apple rootstocks in the private sector in the state, while two such labs are also functioning at the Horticulture Department at Palampur and Chail and two in the universities at Solan and Palampur (IHBT). Today, Soni has about one lakh sophisticated virus and disease-free rootstock apple plants in his 12 bighas of lab fields ready for dispatch to the areas of upper Shimla, including Kot Khai, and even Jammu and Kashmir. He already has his hands full of orders to supply these apple plants. He says that each plant sells from Rs 30 to Rs 50 as these have been prepared from American rootstock supplied to him by the State Horticulture Department in the first stage. He said last year he sold 20,000 apple plants to Uttranchal, 10,000 to Jammu and Kashmir and 50,000 plants to Kot Khai. He also supplied 3,000 apple plants in Bilaspur district after giving special treatment to them called as "low-chilling grafting" for ensuring success here in this hot zone. Soni said last year he earned a net profit of Rs 5 lakh and this year his net profit after deducting all expenditures would be Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh. He said he had provided employment to 23 local youths, including 15 women of his village. A tissue takes at least four months to develop into a plant and each tissue has the capacity to develop some 20 to 25 plants. The protocol is mixed with the media and then kept in bottles in the lab and then tissue is introduced into it which further develops into plants. Soni is all praise for the advice and the practical help provided to him from time to time by the scientists of both universities at Palampur and Nauni, Solan, and the Horticulture Department.
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Kangra teacher gets Best Principal Award
Kangra, February 1 This is his seventh award, including one international one bestowed for his contribution in the field of education. Earlier, Sukhvinder Singh was teaching at Lawrence School, Sanawar. He visited Craw Shah School, Leeds, UK, last year and introduced kabbadi and kho kho there. He taught Hindi to middle class students of Craw Shah School as a part of the global education partnership organised by the British Council, New Delhi.
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Commuters suffer as bridge caves in
The road users were put to great inconvenience as the temporary bridge on the Lakkar Bazar-Auckland road in Shimla caved in due to the bursting of water pipes. The bridge was constructed on the western portal to pave the way for the widening of the Auckland tunnel which has been under way for past more than three years. The pedestrians continued to use the bridge even after it was closed for repairs (See photo). Already behind schedule by about two years, the Rs 11-crore Auckland tunnel and bridge project is not likely to be completed by its revised schedule of March. The widening work of only up to 42 metre of the 72-metre tunnel has been completed though excavation for another 20 metre has been taken up. Initially work was held up for more than 18 months due to a dispute over private land. Heavy rain during the protracted monsoon last year also affected progress. Superintending engineer Naresh Sharma said efforts were being made to complete the tunnel work by July next. He said progress was slow as the entire work could not be undertaken in one go as big buildings stood on both sides of the tunnel and excavations had to be carried out to a depth of 18 metre. The narrow temporary bridge on the Circular Road on the IGMC portal has become a traffic bottleneck and potholes on its approaches are causing much inconvenience to both motorists and pedestrians. The tunnel and bridge together will together help reduce distance by about 1,100 metre and also improve the gradient of the road to ease traffic congestion. State golfers end up runners-up
Golfers from Himachal made their mark at the national level by their good performance in the ACC Golf Tour, 2011, held early this week at the Noida Golf Club. Headed by Harish Janartha, Deputy Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation, the team had outstanding golfers from the state in Prithvi Vikram Sen, Arjun Lal Sood and Dr.Arun Sirkaik. The team ended up as the runners-up with the second highest card in the tournament in which 27 teams from different parts of the country and a few from abroad participated. The Amrapali Group of Builders team bagged the title while the Ansals Group of Builders got the third position. Prithvi Vikram Sen won the second best card and nearest to the line while Arjun Sood won the longest drive. Prithvi Raj,IGP, won the nearest to the pin. The tournament also saw participants from from Malaysia, Thailand and Switzerland. The efforts put in by the ACC organising committee in making the event a success will go a long way in promoting the game and also help establish a healthy connect between the corporate sector and society at large, the participants felt.
Freedom fighter passes away
The death of DD Gulzar, a veteran freedom fighter, a revered teacher and a writer, was deeply mourned by people from all walks of life. It was just a coincidence that the freedom fighter, who hd been ailing for some time breathed his last at Nadaun on January 26, when the entire country was celebrating the 62nd Republic Day. Born on April 30, 1929, Gulzar had played an active role in the Quit India movement. He joined the Quit India movement during his student days while studying at Lahore in 1942 and later became an active member of the Student Congress in 1946. Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Union Minister Virbhadra Singh, Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur, several MLA's and other prominent people of the area morned the death of Gulzar and appreciated his contribution to the freedom struggle. Hundreds of people, including politicians, joined his funeral procession to the and paid tributes to Gulzar. (Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi and DP Gupta)
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Shimla, February 1
Nurpur, February 1
Mandi, February 1
St. Bede's college, Shimla (See photo), has once again bagged A grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council
(NAAC) which visited the college recently. The NAAC is an autonomous body established by the UGC in 1994. Its major work is to assess and accredit the institutions of higher learning, universities and colleges. It is saddening that HP University has slid down to B position but one of its constituents, St.
Bede's, kept the education-flag of the state flying high.
Bilaspur, February 1
The road users were put to great inconvenience as the temporary bridge on the Lakkar
Bazar-Auckland road in Shimla caved in due to the bursting of water pipes. The bridge was constructed on the western portal to pave the way for the widening of the Auckland tunnel which has been under way for past more than three years.
The pedestrians continued to use the bridge even after it was closed for repairs (See photo).
Already behind schedule by about two years, the Rs 11-crore Auckland
tunnel and bridge project is not likely to be completed by its revised
schedule of March. 
