Palampur, August 30
Despite orders of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and subsequent notification by the state government regarding removal of encroachments from highways, neither the local administration nor the PWD or the NHAI has initiated steps in this regard. While there are over 300 encroachments in different parts of the town, 80 per cent are on the roads maintained by the PWD.

In fact, differences between PWD officials and revenue authorities over the removal of encroachments have made the matters worse. A senior officer of the PWD said in the absence of proper demarcation, the department was helpless to remove encroachments.

However, a revenue official said time and again they had visited different points and proper demarcation was done in the presence of the junior engineer and other staff of the PWD. Thereafter, a number of persons in Ghuggar and SSB Chowk removed encroachments.

Asish Singhmar, SDM, Palampur, had also visited various areas and directed the PWD authorities to initiate steps to remove encroachments. However, the reluctant PWD officials failed to remove encroachments, the officer added.

Encroachments on the government land, particularly on the state and national highways, have become a matter of concern. State highways like Dharamsala-Palampur connecting the town and the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway passing through the town are getting narrow day by day because of the encroachments.

The HP Roadside Land Control Act prohibits any construction within five metres of the state highways and the national highways on both sides, but it seems that PWD officials are ignorant about the law.

At Ram Chowk and other parts of the town, the width of the road has been reduced by three metres as a number of shops on both sides of the road have come up in gross violation of rules in the past few years. The PWD had served notices on the encroachers a number of times, but no follow-up action was taken.

On the Mandi-Pathankot National Highway, which is one of the busiest roads of the town, over 50 fruit vendors and vegetable sellers have encroached upon the road and there are frequent traffic jams as the vendors have occupied one-forth portion of the highway.

The local Municipal Council, the SDM and the police are well conversant with the situation, but they too have failed to initiate any action. The number of encroachers is increasing day by day. Most of the vendors enjoy the patronage of local politicians.

Palampur, August 30
The 200 km-long Pathankot-Mandi National Highway, which is considered lifeline for the northern region of the state, is in bad shape as the HP Public Works department has failed to maintain this strategic road as per the norms fixed by the Government of India.

This is one of the most significant roads of the country, which links Jammu-Pathankot with Leh- Ladakh via Manali. Because of the disturbed conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, this road has attained importance since the Army has been using this highway for moving supplies and other defence equipment to Leh and other border areas.

Dalhousie, August 30
The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) which has created colossal reservoirs by constructing prestigious dams for the purpose of generating electricity for the progress and prosperity of the nation are undoubtedly favorable for boosting tourism opportunities.

The vision in this direction will go a long way benefiting residents living on the fringe of the reservoirs to embark on money-spinning tourism business, especially relating to water sports. The trips of tourists visiting the hills and the lakes like the Chamera Lake in Chamba district could be a pleasant experience for them. The Chamera Lake is surrounded by a delightful narrow valley endowed with scenery and greenery.

The NHPC is contemplating to promote tourism in a big way on the Chamera Lake. It is generating power for the development and growth of the nation, and may also be used to add to the prospects of tourism, NHPC Region-II Executive Director SC Sharma revealed recently. The scope of picnic spots to be developed at various places around the lake was also vast, he added.

The reservoir of the Chamera dam cannot by itself be an independent tourist attraction. It can, of course, serve as an additional charm for tourists visiting Chamba and Dalhousie. The Chamera Lake has come up on the Ravi with the construction of the 540-MW Chamera hydroelectric project, stage-I way back in 1994 when the project was officially commissioned and started producing additional capacity of power to the nation.

The Ravi flows through deep valleys and the major tributary meeting just upstream of the dam is the Siul river. The dam site is at Chaurah and the two tails of the reservoir extend up to Sundla on the Siul and Kiyani on the Ravi. The tail of the Chamera Lake stretches out in the Ravi and its tributary the Siul rivulet.

For a long time, people of this region have been thinking in terms of tourism, which is the only alternative left for them to earn a decent living. For this, the thriving tourism industry in the gorgeous valley of Chamba replete with vast tourism potential can transmute the economy of the locals. Thus, with a view to exploiting the tourism potential around the Chamera Lake and paving the way for employment generation in the region in a big way, the NHPC had provided all possible help to the Himachal Pradesh Government for setting up a water sports complex at Taleru on the fringe of the scintillating Chamera Lake which has been made functional in February last with the inauguration by Himachal Chief Minister PK Dhumal. 

Solan, August 30
With the HP Forest Corporation (HPFC) failing to sell rosin despite limited storage capacity, it has now slowed down its production to nearly 45 to 50 per cent at its two plants at Bilaspur and Nahan.

This is not only leading to losses as the market showed a downtrend but the stacking up of rosin in the open has been leading to spoilage and pilferage. Stock worth Rs 9.5 crores has piled up and the FC is now running its two plants at lower capacities.

The rates of rosin are directly governed by US dollar and the prices in the international market have come down from $3360 per tonne to $2150 per tonne. The rate of rosin manufactured by the HPFC in Mumbai (without excise duty) is Rs 107 per kg while the one imported from China is priced at Rs 140.50 per kg. The difference is Rs 33.50 per kg and hence, the consumers preferred to import the cheaper Chinese rosin.

The FC produces about 5,000 tonnes of rosin annually whereas the annual production of China is around 5-6 lakh tonnes. China thus plays a key role in regulating its prices in the international market.

Market experts opine that the Chinese experts are apprehending a further fall in the prices by 15 per cent on the basis of $ 2,150 per tonne to boost their exports. An accurate scenario would emerge after a meeting of the Pine Chemical Associations which would be held in mid-September in China.

RK Gupta, principal chief conservator of forests, who holds the FC’s charge, said they were waiting for the rates to go up in the international market and a designated government committee was keeping an eye on the rates. He said selling rosin at this time would lead to losses and they could earn more by waiting for some more time.

Though rosin trading in the state is now done through open sale, its auction is considered a better option by the experts. This is evident from the fact that an increase of 33 per cent in the rates was recorded when rosin was auctioned in 2006. The increase in the auction rates was as high as 74 per cent in May and June alone in 2006. This led to an increase in the revenue of Rs 9 crore to Rs 11 crore in the period between November 2005 and March 2007, thus proving how the earlier consortium system led to losses worth crores to the state exchequer.

This system, however, failed to work as the FC started fixing the administrative price of rosin without making any concrete study about the market and merely fixing it on the higher side. This led the buyers to boycott auction and switch over to private manufacturers whose rates were lower. The FC instead of making serious efforts to sell rosin started stocking its material thus leading to losses by way of pilferage and degradation of quality. This led to losses of nearly Rs 50 lakh as the inventory was held up for almost a year.

The option of auction at this time when the demand has declined would however fail to fetch a good price and the FC should instead compare the market rates and endeavour to sell its stock by fixing realistic prices. Auctions fetch better prices when demand is high and buyers are eager to buy rosin at the beginning of each season from the FC as its quality in unmatched, the experts opine.

Dharamsala, August 30
Keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people, the administration has made special arrangements for them to take a holy dip in the historic Dal Lake on the occasion of Radhashtami. The authorities claim that all arrangements have been made for Radhashtami celebrations on September 4 and 5.

According to the administration, the water level in the lake, which has been undergoing restoration work for the last three years, has been measured more than 12 ft which would be suitable for devotees to take a dip on Radhashtami between 11:53 am (September 4) and 10:35 am (September 5), the auspicious time according to priests.

Known as tourists’ paradise and “chhota Manimahesh”, the lake has been one of the major tourist spots of Dharamsala. But the restoration work going on here from quite sometime has turned the lake into an eyesore.

However, thanks to a good monsoon this year, which has brought up the water level in the lake, that devotees would be able to take a dip on Radhashtami.

Subdivisional magistrate Kumud Singh disclosed, “All necessary arrangements like electricity supply, sanitation, security, health and hygiene have been made at the lake premises”. She said as per the belief, taking a dip in the lake was considered equivalent to the Manimahesh pilgrimage, therefore the administration had made special arrangements and marked separate sites for males and females to take a dip. The provision of temporary public convenience had also been made.

With heavy rains this monsoon, the water level in the lake had increased to more than 12 ft for which arrangement of divers and boats had also been made to handle emergency situations, said the SDM. Directions had been issued to various departments like health, traffic and police. The Health Department had been directed to check the quality of food at stalls set up by different groups to avoid food allergies among devotees which was common in this weather.

However, the condition of the roads around the lake had turned bad due to heavy rains and the restoration work. Frequent traffic jams were common in the area and might pose trouble for visitors on the Radhashtami day, said locals. 

Permit me to start with a brief of the popular play “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. Two men wait for Godot who does not come. A boy comes and tells them that Godot will come tomorrow. They waited again the next day, but Godot did not turn up.

Raaja Bhasin told me that his book “Simla-The Summer Capital of British India” (see photo) would be sent to me by the publisher and I need not purchase it. Like Godot, the book remained an illusion despite assurances from Raaja that the book would be delivered to me at home. And I did not purchase the book though my philosophy is: “The money spent on a book is an investment”. Why didn’t I purchase the book? Because I believe that a book gifted and signed by the author adds value to its content and price. Unlike Godot, the book, after all, did come to me but through a route other than the prescribed one.

The 2011 edition is a revised and fatter version of an earlier book of the same title by the same author published in 1992. The present one, published by Rupa and Co., is in paperback costing Rs 395 and is a must on the shelf of each Shimla lover.

Raaja has described the rise and fall of “Simla” from Raj to Swaraj with choicest words laden with historical facts that have fallen on 375 pages dew-fresh and glossy. History, when it comes out of Raaja’s quill, gives two tastes - of history itself and that of good and lucid English. His despair about Shimla of today appears in the words with which he has closed the book, “The years after 1947 have been cruel to Simla; a gracious lady who has aged and wrinkled long before her time, she still wears the worn mantle that no matter what, will always be her own.”

Raaja Bhasin was baptised as Raja Bhasin and that is what the first version of the book declares. Then he was taken by the fashion of adding an extra alphabet to the name with a view to achieving numerical compliance under the Chaldean Numerology system: Jailalitha became Jailalithaa, Shobha De became Shobhaa and Raja became Raaja. He chose a wrong time to come to the world - the winters of 1961 when Shimla had witnessed one of the heaviest snowfalls. His parents decided to deliver the child in Chandigarh instead of Shimla, which throbs in his heart.

A soul is a part of “jiva”, the limited being, which is subject to the laws of karma. Raaja’s soul must have done good karma that is why he was born in the family of academics. His grandfather Sardari Lal was one of the first Indian Professors of mathematics and astronomy in Panjab University at Lahore in 1900. His grand uncle Bihari Lal was a friend of Satynand Stokes, the apple-man of Himachal, and had started a school at Harmony Hall, residence of Stokes at Kotgarh, in 1920s. His mother Dr Kuntal was the first woman PhD (Hindi) of Himachal Pradesh and remained vice-principal of St Bede’s, an eminent institution for girls in Shimla, for a number of years. His father, Amrit Lal, was a freelance teacher of physics and mathematics and at one time, was teaching in six different prominent institutions of Shimla. Raaja himself is a postgraduate in history from Panjab University, Chandigarh, while he completed his schooling in prestigious Bishop Cotton School, Shimla.

Let me come to the brawny from the brainy side. His slim and trim wife Indiraa (again two a’s) is a descendant of Bakshi Bir Singh, who was Commander-in-Chief in Patiala army and actually took over Shimla from Jhind Rana in 1815 when the British decided to hand it over to Patiala for their assistance in war against the Gurkhas. Congratulations Raaja for panning and penning our beloved ‘Simla’. 

Nurpur, August 30
The water released from the overflowing Pong dam reservoir by the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorities into the Beas river has damaged roads connecting around 20 villages in the low-lying Mand area in the Nurpur subdivision. It attributed to water logging in the affected areas causing a lot of problems for the locals.

In some villages, the inhabitants have lost connectivity with the state and they are now forced to travel via the neighbouring Punjab areas to approach their destinations in Himachal Pradesh.

A team of the Public Works Department (PWD) led by BS Thakur, the Superintending Engineer (SE), Nurpur circle, recently visited the affected Mand area villages to inspect and review loss incurred to the road connectivity.

The team found that the 7 km-link road from Paral to Bhogarwan, where a number of villages have lost road connectivity, was the worst affected. The Beas water has spread in villages like Bella, Riyali, Milwan, Miyani, Tanda Pattan, Ludhiarcha, Thakurdwara, Sanor and Gagwal damaging the internal road connectivity. In some villages, causeway and culverts have also been damaged due to flood water. The team also inspected the Tanda Pattan and Riyali Pattan bridges under construction on the Beas river in the area, where the ongoing construction had been hampered.

Thakur admitted extensive damage to the road connectivity in the villages due to the flood water. He said a loss to the tune of over Rs 40 lakh had been estimated. He asserted that the roads could be repaired only after stopping of water discharge from the Pong dam reservoir by the BBMB. 

International Institute of Fashion Design, Hamirpur, has taken a step towards digitisation of fashion education by launching the latest computer-aided designing tool, the Design Pad, at a function held in the state capital. A fashion show was also organised to mark the occasion (see photo).

The Design Pad software can be used not only to design and manufacture sewn products but also for furniture design. It reduces costs, improves efficiency and productivity and enables designers to explore new realms of creativity.

“The institute is one of the first in the country to take this kind of initiative. The design pad will come in handy for the students and new technology will revolutionise fashion education,” said director of the institute Satpal Sharma.