The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sanitation mess in Kangra Ashok Raina Kangra, September 20 The town popularly known as Kangra Nagarkot Dham, which attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year for its world-famous temples, is facing a serious problem of insanitation. Heaps of garbage can be seen at different places of town. The resulting stink forces people moving in the area to keep their mouth and nose covered. Garbage keeps on accumulating for days together with no one to address the issue. The problem is acute on the Dharamshala Road mainly opposite the Government Polytechnic College, near the bus stand and the Industrial Estate, which is also the entry point to this temple town. The filthy surroundings of Sabzi Mandi, near Gupt Ganga, give a tough time to the locals as well as tourists. The situation near the historical Virbhdra temple is in no way better. The compound in front of the Mandi Committee office stinks badly. ML Sharma, spokesman for the Senior Citizens Forum, says, “It is regretful that the pilgrims who come to pay obeisance at the historical temples here turn away due to poor sanitation in the town”. He adds that the locals are the worst sufferers. The Municipal Committee, which is responsible for the cleanliness and sanitation of the town, appears to be in a shambles. The executive officer, Sanjay Kumar, was transferred in June last year, leaving the MC without a regular EO. Des Raj, EO of Nagrota Bagwan, has been assigned the job to look after the Kangra MC as an additional charge. According to MC sources, the working of the municipality certainly gets affected in the absence of a regular executive officer. They, however, claim that cleanliness is being maintained in the main town. Des Raj says a contract for the disposal of solid waste and garbage was allotted in April this year, but since the work was not satisfactory the contract was canceled and a new contract will be allotted shortly. The Kangra MC had 22 sweepers to maintain the cleanliness of the town, but following the retirement of most of them, only four of them are left. The executive officer said, “We take the help of nine sweepers working with Sulab International in case of the emergencies. There has been no regular appointment of sweepers, which has added to the problem”.
	Manorville Bapu’s address in Shimla Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, September 20 It is hard for anyone not to notice the elegant brick and white Georgian style mansion, Manorville located on Summer Hill, but few would know the history associated with it and the fact that it remained the address of Mahatma Gandhi during his several visits to the erstwhile summer capital of the British, shortly before the Independence. It was the close association that owner of this house, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur had with Bapu that brought him here. Gandhi stayed at Manorville during his visits to the town during 1939, 1940, 1945 and 1946. During his stay here, he sang bhajans and interacted with many people, including prominent national leaders who visited the hill station to hold talks with the British The room used by Gandhi has been preserved the way it was and remains locked. It is on rare occasions and on special request that it is opened. Besides Gandhi, the building had another illustrious occupant, although only a student at the Himachal Pradesh University then, Hamid Karzai. The President of Afghanistan, Karzai too spent some time at Manorville after it had been converted into a guest house of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). It was during her frequent stay here at Manorville, that Kaur is believed to have edited Gandhi’s paper, Harijan in 1942. She actively participated in the freedom struggle and became a member of the Indian National Congress. She was imprisoned by the British for taking part in Dandi March in 1930 and later in Quit India Movement. She led an austere life in Bapu’s ashram after 1934 and served as one of Gandhi’s secretaries for 16 long years. As such, Manorville holds special significance and finds mention in several books as it was while staying here that Bapu went to Viceregal Lodge, the residence of the Viceroy of India to discuss various issues related to the freedom struggle. Rajkumair Amrit Kaur, despite being from a royal family and having aristocratic background remained closely associated with the freedom struggle after her return from England, where she studied at Oxford. Several letters written by Bapu to her from Wardha in September-October 1935 find mention of the building, Manorville. Kaur, daughter of Raja Harnam Singh of Kapurthala, owned Manorville with her brother and after the Independence donated it for setting up of a guesthouse of AIIMS. After becoming the first lady cabinet rank minister for health under Nehru, she was the motivating force behind the creation of AIIMS. Karzai during his visit to Himachal Pradesh University, where he came to do his postgraduation while his country was embroiled in political upheaval, four years ago, he reminisced having stayed at Manorville. “Since I had some of my friends studying at AIIMS, I requested them to get me a place close to HPU when I arrived here, so my initial days in Shimla were spent at Manorville,” he said. He studied here for four years between 1979 and 1983 and did a postgraduation in political science. Manorville is one of the buildings which finds mention in the list of places the Father of the Nation visited and spent some time. In fact, Gandhi’s grandson, Gopakrishna Gandhi, who was the chairman of the subgroup of the Gandhi Heritage Committee, had demanded that all such places should be developed as heritage sites.
	Baru Sahib educational trust sets example in energy conservation Ambika Sharma Solan, September 20 The Baru Sahib-based Kalgidhar Educational Trust has set an example in conserving the environment by utilising solar energy for meeting its in-house arrangements. Explaining the idea behind installing solar energy gadgets, MP Singh, institute’s adviser on solar energy, said, “Having a strength of 2,000 students in its hostels and an equal number in its 2,000-bed hospital, the trust was daily utilising a large amount of fuel in the form of LPG and kerosene, which in turn let-out the unhealthy carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.” Heating up of 15,500 litre per day of water for the hostels meant a huge drain on the electricity every month. Therefore to offset the adverse impact of fuel usage, it was decided to approach the Ministry of Renewable Energy to help put in place a solar energy power plant. A detailed project report of Rs 8.7 crore was prepared, where the ministry pooled in Rs 5.4 crore and the state’s HIMURJA gave the tenders to a private firm, Moserbaer, for supplying the required infrastructure. This helped to build a solar energy-based power plant of 200 KW which is dependent on 6 to 7 hours per day of good sunshine. This helps create a battery bank which is converted into AC through an inverter and this helps meet the power demands of the trust to a large extend. MP Singh, a former BHEL official, and SJS, a solar energy consultant, helped prepare the detailed project report after assessing the availability of sunshine in the campus. This has helped trust make savings of Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per annum as power generated through solar energy is used to meet the in-house requirements. Since it requires no transmission lines, the system has no dependence on the state power board. It helps save power and is a versatile option for far-flung areas where supplying power is a difficult proposition, explains Singh. With low maintenance cost, the trust plans to expand its scope in the future keeping in view the in-house needs. The Kalgidhar Trust has not only set an example of conserving the environment, but has also emphasised the need for other educational institutes having huge power demand to invest in this clean source of energy.
	Postal Dept told to pay Rs 5,000 to complainant Jai Kumar Bilaspur, September 20 The District Consumers Complaints Redressal Forum, headed by Justice BS Chandel and members Shyam Lal Thakur and Manorama Chauhan, has found services of the Postal Department here faulty, irregular and deficient and punished the department by ordering it to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 and an additional Rs 3,000 as the cost of litigation to complainant Ram Krishan Sharma, District President, Small Savings Agents Association. The forum ordered that these amounts be paid to Sharma within one month, failing which an interest of 9 per cent will have to be paid till the date of final payment. Earlier, Sohan Lal Sharma, counsel for the association president, said the Postal Department had committed “either calculated mistakes or organised conspiracy” using official position to manipulate the returns to the sender without making these reach their destinations in Shimla. These complaints were against Head Post Office personnel here regarding repeated lapses and mistakes of accounts of 10 per cent deductions of TDS of Small Savings agents. It was ensured that no complaint reached the higher officers of the department or even the Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Shimla. The counsel supported his allegations with documents and conclusive evidence. The complaint pertained to the maintenance of accounts of TDS of agents working here, supply of Form 16-A very late despite repeated requests, failure to keep up-to-date accounts of the same and not recording full deducted amounts in their pass books etc. The complainant went to the district forum after he exhausted all lower channels of complaining to the local higher authorities and their total failure to listen to the grievance and take action to amend the situation.
	Quackery thrives in Nurpur Rajiv Mahajan Nurpur, September 20 Thanks to the delay in the enforcement of the Clinical Establishment Act in the state, the subdivision is in the grip of quacks. The menace has assumed alarming proportions in the past few years. The situation has come to such a pass that some of them are even conducting caesarean and normal deliveries by establishing ill-equipped clinics in the area. It is shocking that in some clinics, even non-specialists and unqualified doctors are performing surgeries. The state government’s much publicised “Janani Suraksha Yojna”, which aims at ensuring free deliveries in government institutions, has proved a damp squib as people in the rural areas are falling prey to these ill-equipped treatment vends run by quacks. To promote their business, most of the quacks have appointed agents who keep on touring remote areas to convince and fetch patients. There are also reports of a nexus between quacks and staff of government health institutions where the staff refers patients to such illegal clinics. Interestingly, an NGO has to seek prior permission of the director, Health and Family Welfare Department, Shimla, for organising a free medical camp in the state. And the permission is given only if the NGO ensures that the camp will be conducted by well-qualified doctors belonging to hospitals of repute. However, a quack sets up his shop or an ill-equipped clinic wherever he likes without any permission or authorisation. The state government had enacted the Clinical Establishment Act, 2008, to keep a check on quacks and ill-equipped hospitals, but it has not been enforced so far. In the absence of any government monitoring mechanism, the menace has been flourishing, putting to risk the lives of innocent people. Jamwal, director, safety and regulation, Health and Family Welfare Department, when asked, said the department was awaiting the enforcement of the Central Clinical Establishment Act enacted in February this year. “The Union Government is in the process of framing rules under this Act. It has also sought comments of the state government in this connection. The process of notifying these rules is in the advanced stage and the state government will adhere to the rules in the establishment of private health institutions,” he added. Jamwal admitted that in the absence of the enforcement of such law, the department had no control over the thriving unregistered private health institutions or quacks. He also admitted that the enforcement of the state government’s Clinical Establishment Act had been stalled as it had to follow the Central Act. Meanwhile, Dr Vipon Kumar, president of a local NGO, Free Thinkers Club, resented the apathy of the state government in checking the menace of quacks. He said the club had been raising voice against this menace for the past several years. He appealed to the government to take this issue seriously as it was linked with the health of the people.
	vignettes Teachers, teach thyself by Shriniwas Joshi The Bible puts “Teachers, teach thyself” in a question form. World English Bible asks, “You therefore who teach another, don't you teach yourself? Webster’s Bible translation questions, “Thou therefore who teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” Barnes’ explains it: “He who is a teacher of others may be expected to be learned himself. The form of a question is chosen because it conveys the truth with greater force”. I, recently, had an opportunity of addressing a gathering of about 90 teachers of four to five years of standing from different parts of Himachal Pradesh at the Laureate Institute of Education and Training in Bharari. I asked three questions from them and their replies had disillusioned me. My first question was: “How many of you are teachers by choice and how many by chance?” Only five hands rose in favour of “by choice” teachers. I appreciated the candidness of those present and asked: “If they had no interest in teaching, then why were they here?” The reply in unison was that because they could not get any other job. The third question was: “How many of you come out of the class and announce that you enjoyed teaching today?” Again only four to five hands showed positivity. What esteem the teachers had in our country? “Guru, Govind dono khare, kaake laagoon paaye?/Balihari Guru aapki, Govind diyo bataaye”. “My teacher and the God are at one place, whose feet should I touch? I touch the feet of my teacher first who has shown me the path to the God’s abode”. I was pensive comparing the past with the present when I received a telephone call from Kalpana Sharma, vice-principal at BSN School, Chakkar requesting me to support her yet to be formed organisation “Guru Darpan” that would basically work for the empowerment of teachers. I readily agreed. “Guru Darpan” started with a bang when it recently arranged a two-day seminar entitled “Romance with Self” at The Gaiety. Dr Dev N. Pathak and others from Delhi addressed the participants - teachers and B.Ed students mostly. The cameo of the seminar, however, was the presentation by Brother Kevin Ward of St. Columbus, New Delhi. He said a child joining a school bore three pressures “those of the parents and the peers besides that of the syllabus. These pressures could drown him but then there is the buoyant support of the teacher that always keep him afloat”. That, Kevin says, is the role of a teacher. He describes that a child needs ATTENTION. Attention from a family comes in the shape of affection. When a child gets affection from a family, he develops “I matter” sort of feeling. That boosts his confidence. The child goes to the school and meets friends “friends who are not worried about his family background or clothes, branded or not, or about his lunchbox and its cuisine. They just accept the child. This acceptance gives the child a feeling of “I belong”. He enjoys this “never ever compare” attitude. Then there is attention of the teachers towards the child. It is in the child’s achievements. And a teacher always eager to listen to the achievements of a child gives it a feeling of “I can”. I matter; I belong and I can, thus, become the language of a child and that makes the child progress in the world. Does it mean that the three are compartmentalised and one cannot step into the boundary of the others? It is not true. To make the child learn the language of “I matter” is the primary duty of a family by giving him all affection but the secondary duties towards acceptance and achievements of the child are not to be ignored. This way each of the three components has a primary duty and two secondary duties towards the development of a child. How I wished that teachers from many schools from Shimla attended it but then those in the private schools had to “mind their own businesses” and those in the government schools required government orders even for “romancing with self”!
	CMO assures better facilities at Bilaspur hospital Our Correspondent Bilaspur, September 20 Several steps are being taken to improve the services at the Regional Hospital here. The change will be visible in the next two months. This assurance was given by chief medical officer Sudershan Sharma while addressing a meet the press programme under the chairmanship of additional district magistrate Darshan Kalia here recently. Dr Sharma said a number of improvements were on the cards. “All wards will have a suggestion box to facilitate visitors to give suggestions. A home guard will be appointed to operate lifts in the OPD. Besides, several counters for reception, cash collection and registration etc are being set up. All staff members, especially those deputed at the labour room, have been given special instructions regarding polite behaviour with patients. A ‘sarva dharma pooja sthal’ is also being set up”. “All condemned articles and vehicles will be disposed of. No expired medicine would be allowed in the store, and apart from being particular regarding general cleanliness and hygiene, all lavatories will be ensured clean while special arrangements for the scientific disposal of biomedical waste are being made. “Seating arrangements will be enhanced outside OPDs, better lighting will be arranged and 24-hour supply of drinking water will also be assured.” The CMO said the report of enquiry regarding an unattended death of a woman in the maternity ward on August 4 would be out within a few days. Besides, the work of relaying the hospital floor had been stopped after people objected to it on the plea that better floor was being replaced by low-quality flooring to oblige the contractor.
	Raising social issues through paintings Pratibha Chauhan/TNS Shimla, September 20 He is a self-taught artist. His imaginative creations are inspired by human behaviour, the intricacies of materialistic world and various stages of life, leading to the final goal. Vivek Sood, deputy registrar of Central University, Kangra, is currently holding an exhibition of his exquisite creations at Gaiety Theatre here. “Painting for me has not just been a hobby but a passion, food for soul which keeps me going,” says Sood. His exhibition was inaugurated by Furquan Qamar, vice-chancellor of the Central University. There are 24 paintings on display, mainly in the acrylic medium. Though an amateur who is barely able to find time for his passion, the artistic creations of Sood are breathtakingly beautiful. His paintings reflect social problems and how an individual mind perceives these complexities of life and deals with it accordingly. One of his paitnings “Moon-headed Man” depicts a distorted body with a moon for a face. “Every individual, howsoever negative or wicked, has a positive aspect to him and is beautiful like the moon,” is the Sood’s way of looking at the brighter side of life. “With a full-time job and other responsibilities, I barely get time to paint and this is precisely the reason why I am holding an exhibition after a span of four years,” he says. Having started with water colours, he graduated to oils but considering the damp conditions in Dharamsala, he found acrylic to be the most suitable as it dries up fast. His other paintings depict the loneliness faced by the elders and the growing gap with the younger generation. “It is through my paintings that I want to send a strong social message and compel people to ponder over serious issues like poverty, deprivation and the loneliness faced by the people and do something about it,” he opines. His paintings will be on display at Gaiety Theatre for another one week. “I just hope I am able to take out more time and hold an exhibition earlier than the four-year-long hiatus that I took this time,” he says on an ever optimistic note that has become his hallmark.
	Himachal diary Shimla lad to join under-19 Indian cricket team Nikhil Gangta, an emerging cricket player from Shimla, has been selected for the under-19 Indian team probables (see photo). He will be undergoing coaching at Bangalore shortly. His selection is being seen as a major achievement for the state cricket. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association President Anurag Thakur is pleased that a youngster from the state has been chosen to represent the country. He is confident that with the improvement in cricket infrastructure, more players from the state will emerge and prove their mettle at national and international levels. The impact is already visible and the state team has been performing consistently. Secretary of the association Vishal Marwah said, “The day is not far when more people from Himachal would be donning the national colours. We are building good cricketing facilities, stadiums, academies and recruiting good coaches for the proper grooming of the abundant raw talent available and the state would soon be one of the leading states in the game.” Nikhil Gangta is very excited to join the national team and keen to make the best for the opportunity. Bullfights continue despite protests Despite the hue and cry being raised by animal rights activists, bullfights continue to be organised during village festivals in some parts of the state. Early this week in the traditional Sair Mela at Mashobra on the outskirts of the state capital, hundreds of people saw a bullfight (see photo), the main attraction of the celebrations. The only difference made by the campaigns being carried out by organisations like the Nature Watch India (NWI) for stopping the brutal sport is that politicians are keeping away from such events. Some states have already banned bullfights, which is certainly an act of cruelty to animals, after animal rights activists moved court. Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi had been spearheading the campaign. Convener of the NWI Rajeshwar Negi, who is also a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), laments that bullfights continue unabated. The advisories from the AWBI, the apex agency, and representations from animal welfare organisations across the country have failed to move the government. This is highly deplorable and deserved to be condemned as such brutal acts leave an unhealthy impact on the minds of the people, particularly the youth. The effort should have been to encourage empathy with the animals for healthy perspective. The animals are being needlessly subjected to cruelty in the name of tradition, particularly in Shimla and Solan districts, where many such fairs are held. The bulls are charged up with a heavy dose of alcohol and induced to fight in front of huge crowds during the fair. Rajeshwar wonders why the state government, which makes tall claims on the environment front, is turning a blind eye to all such activities. On one hand, it issues an advisory to schools across the state to desist from wearing leather shoes made from the hides of dead cattle to prevent cruelty to animals and on the other, allows animal fights which are recognised as social evil and have been either discarded, banned or curtailed voluntarily or by the judiciary in many states in India. The NWI and other animal welfare organisations will shortly move the appropriate judicial authority to seek a ban on such practices. Festival revives folk arts The organising committee of Hamir Utsav took an initiative by organising a folk festival during the evening cultural programmes and devoted the second night of the festival to the Himachali folk. The administration had invited artists from eight districts of the state to present traditional folk dances and performance of musical instruments of their areas. The artists from Mandi, Chamba, Kangra, Kinnaur, Shimla, Sirmour, Kulu and Bilaspur gave entertaining performances, but it was the colourful attire of different regions which stole the show. By organising the programme, an effort has been made to revive the fading folk tradition and the vanishing musical instruments. Education Minister ID Dhiman, who was the chief guest of folk festival, appreciated the district administration’s initiative to invite traditional folk dancers and said it would help preserve the vanishing folk art. The idea behind the folk festival was to showcase the cultural diversity of the state, says Rajinder Singh Thakur, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman of the organising committee. (Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi)
	Kangra man wins laurels in weightlifting Rajiv Mahajan Nurpur, September 20 Pradeep Sharma, who hails from Kardiyal village under Jawali subdivision of Kangra district and is known as national fame in weightlifting, has brought laurels for the hill state in the national and international championships. Recently, he has qualified an all-India test for national weightlifting referee conducted by the Indian weightlifting federation. A postgraduate in economics, Sharma is working as school lecturer in government senior school at Matlahar. He was fond of weightlifting since childhood and won several gold medals in inter-university weightlifting championships. He was declared HP university gold medalist in the national-level weightlifting championships held during 1987 to 1990 and won three gold medals from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in the same championship. He was also declared the best weightlifter by the SAI in 1989. After joining government job, he had represented as team official of his state in the senior national weightlifting championships in 1997 at Chennai. Later he was selected as a coach on behalf of the state for school-level national games competition held at Delhi in 2009. He has represented his state in the capacity of university team official in the all India inter-university weightlifting championships held at Udaipur, Zoharat (Assam), Delhi, Chennai, Vishakhapatnum and Banaglore. He was also honoured by representing as VCC operator of the state in the Commonwealth Games held at Delhi in 2010. In February this year, he represented the state as contingent official in the 34th national games held in Jharkhand. He is also vice president of the Himachal Pradesh Weightlifting Association. Being in teaching profession, he is inspiring his students for taking keen interest in weightlifting and allied sports.
	Termination of service ‘Van rakhas’ up in arms Our Correspondent Nurpur, September 20 The termination of the services of “van rakhas” by the government has evoked a sharp criticism in the lower areas of the state. The Himachal Pradesh Van Rakha Association has taken a strong exception to the move. Chaman Singh and Jai Raj, president and general secretary of the association, respectively, said over 400 “van rakhas” were working in Kangra and Hamirpur districts since generations, getting 7 per cent shareholding, locally known as “van chuharam”, on the sale of forest produce. After the ban on green felling, they were getting the same on dry felling in lieu of their services in assisting forest guards in the protection of forests. “The Congress government had initiated a process to declare them as daily wagers, but the present government has annulled their services which will ultimately render hundreds of van rakhas out of their age-old jobs and affect the protection of the green cover in the state,” they claimed. Ajay Mahajan, general secretary, HPCC, also resented the termination of “van rakhas” and asked the government to revoke this decision. Terming the move as a discriminatory against the lower areas of the state, he underlined the need to formulate a policy to declare them daily wagers and claimed that their services were significant for the protection of forests.