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High-Security Registration Plates
State fails to attract PG doctors
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Corneal problems ‘on the rise’
Power cos, villagers at loggerheads in Kangra
Study to assess Pandoh Dam’s impact on ecology
Gearing up for Assembly Poll
Virbhadra finds govt shaky
Virbhadra urged to contest poll from Palampur
Kesh Pathania joins Himachal Lokhit Party
Farmers oppose new land evaluation norms
vignettes
himachal diary
Preserver of Pahari culture
Dr Gautam Sharma 'Vyathit'
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High-Security Registration Plates Ravinder Sood
Palampur, April 10 However, the district administration is unconcerned with the situation and no steps have been initiated to streamline the system so far. Since the Supreme Court has set a deadline of June 30, 2012, for the issuance of HSRP all over the country, people start reaching in the offices of the SDMs as early as 6 am to deposit the documents so that they could get the number plates before June 30. Sources told The Tribune that the Director, Transport, Himachal Pradesh, had assigned the job to a private company of Delhi to issue HSRP. The company had neither any machines to print the number plates nor manpower to collect the documents. Before awarding the contract, Director Transport failed to verify the credentials of the company and awarded the contract. Till date, the company had deputed only one person in each station to collect the money and documents. However, no machines have been installed so far. In the absence of adequate manpower, people have to stand in long queues and wait for hours in scorching heat to deposit the documents. Only 100 to 150 vehicles are registered per day. Many a times, the collection window is closed without any prior notice causing inconvenience to the visitors. But there is no one to attend the public complaints. There are over 35,000 vehicles registered with Motor Licensing Authority, Palampur. Besides, 500 new vehicles are registered every month. UC Verma, a senior citizen outside the office of the SDM, told The Tribune he had deposited the fee and documents on February 8, 2012, but despite repeated visits to the SDM office, he had not received the number plate till date. There were hundreds of vehicle owners all over the district who had been waiting for the number plates for the past three months despite paying fee in time.KB Ralhan, a senior citizen and spokesman of the Palampur Welfare Forum, has appealed to the Himachal Pradesh High Court to intervene and save the people from hardships. He said the role of office of the Director, Transport, should be probed how he assigned the job to a company who had neither manpower nor equipment to issue the number plates.
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State fails to attract PG doctors
Palampur, April 10 In the past six months, the state government conducted walk-in interviews for the recruitment of specialist doctors six times, but only 12 responded. Finally, only six took up the job . At present, the state needs over 200 postgraduate doctors to fill up the vacant posts in different hospitals. Last week, the state Cabinet had given its approval for filling up 125 posts of PG doctors in the state on a priority basis. Official sources told The Tribune that because of the defective recruitment, no PG doctor was willing to join the state services. Besides, poor infrastructure in the state hospitals has also forced the PG doctors to leave their jobs. According to sources, the state government was making appointments of PG doctors only on a contract basis and was paying a salary of Rs 40,000 per month only, which is a cruel joke with these doctors, whereas in the private sector and corporate hospitals, the minimum salary of PG doctors is Rs 1 lakh. It is surprising that the doctors appointed on contract by the state government are not given any compensatory, medical and travelling allowances. They are also not given earned leave and they have to proceed on leave without pay. Because of the shortage of PG doctors, health services in the district as well as sub-divisional hospitals in the state have gone from bad to worse in the past one year. Sub-divisional hospitals in Chamba, Rohru, Palampur, Baijnath, Kangra, Nalagarh and Dehara-Gopipur, Ghumarwarin and Joginder Nagar have no gynaecologists for the past one year. Likewise, over 24 hospitals have no medical specialists. Similarly, there are no surgeons in 20 hospitals.
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Corneal problems ‘on the rise’
Nurpur, April 10 After attending the camp, which attracted a large number of patients, Dr Charanjeet Singh advised people not to take eye problems casually and always consult a doctor it they had any problem. Dr Charanjeet Singh, who has so far attended over 400 eye camps in Punjab, Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh, asserted that corneal and eye allergy problems were on the rise in the hill state which got aggravated during the harvesting season. He said cataract was an aging change which could appear after crossing the age of 50 or even before in the case of those with a genetic or diabetic history. “The person who has a vision problem due to cataract should get operated on in time. But glaucoma is a serious disease which leads to blindness and its occurrence is 3 to 4 per cent in the northern states.” The free eye camp was organised by the local Press Club in collaboration with Help Age India. Apan Bharti, programme officer (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) of HelpAge India, said the NGO was working in 41 countries and 21 states in the country. He said HelpAge India was providing mobile medical units for aged persons, helpline services and running physiotherapy centres in its area of operation.
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Power cos, villagers at loggerheads in Kangra
Palampur, April 10 In several areas like Baijnath, Jiya-Gopalpur, Kandwari and Khanyara, villagers even stopped the execution of projects. It may be recalled that over 12 small hydel projects are coming up in different rivers in the Dhauladhar hills of the Kangra valley. Most of the companies executing power projects are from outside the state. In the absence of any legislation, the government had left these companies free to illegally encroach upon the valuable agriculture land of farmers. There are general complaints that these companies had occupied the land but had not paid the compensation to the farmers till date. Whenever farmers lodge their protest and demand money, these companies call the police to disperse the agitated villagers. Till date, a number of cases have been registered against the villagers at the Palampur and Baijnath police stations. Instead of protecting the rights of local people, the police and administration was openly favouring the power companies. Tension prevails in the Subhash Power Project at Kandwari, 10 kilometres from where the villagers are on staging dharna, forced the company to stop the project work. All efforts of the police to disperse the villagers failed as more and more villagers joined the agitation. They are demanding a release of compensation. It is alleged that in this village, the project management had already acquired the land but had not paid any compensation. Recently, the situation turned violent when on the complaint of the company, the police arrested Tilak Raj, a Zila Parishad member. Here also the company had encroached 15 kanal land of Tilak Raj for the setting up a project. Tilak Raj had already moved the court against the company. The villagers alleged that the police, without verifications of facts, had put Tilak Raj behind the bars. Later, hundreds of villagers came out and marched to the police station. They also staged a dharna against the illegal arrest of Tilak Raj. In another instance, hundreds of villagers in the Jiya Gopalpur area also staged protest against the non-cooperative attitude of company and for not providing employment to local youth. Since there is no check on the part of the state government, these companies have played havoc with the nature. These companies have failed to follow the environment laws.
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Study to assess Pandoh Dam’s impact on ecology
Mandi, April 10 The study has been recommended by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The EAC has pulled up the state Department of Multipurpose Power for allotting power projects without bothering about the impacts of the same on rivers. The state has been groping in the dark as there is no study available on the adverse impact of hydropower projects on ecology, lifestyle and social and economic life of people living downstream along the affected rivers in the state. The EAC had chosen the Pandoh Dam on the Beas as the fit area of study as the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB) had commissioned the 990-MW Beas project in 1978. The study would be conducted by the accredited agency which had a field, sources said. The Pandoh Dam has spelt doom for the breeding ground of mahaseer fish, which once used to thrive in the river. The riverbank from Pandoh till Mandi town reeks of piles of silt dredged out from the Pandoh Dam and the balancing reservoir of the project. The tributary of the Beas and the Suketi had bore the brunt of the silt pumped in every year from the balancing reservoir. The silt had not only eliminated the fish from Suketi, but also turned the fertile Balh valley along the river into a silt zone, farmers said. The BBMB has diverted the Beas from the Pandoh Dam taking it through the Sundernagar canal to generate power at the Dehar powerhouse where river merges with the Sutlej. The Bathing Ghats, the symbol of religious life of residents in the town, are also clogged with silt. Though the government had made it mandatory to release 15 per cent of water in lean months downstream, it was nothing over a trickle, said YN Vaidya, president, Mandi Citizens’ Council. The study on impacts of Pandoh is important as local residents have been demanding construction of a small dam to revive the ecology and bathing ghats. Sources in the directorate of energy told The Tribune that that government had agreed in principle to carry out the pilot study as recommended by the EIA.
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Rajiv Gandhi sangathan to hold conventions
Tribune News Service
Hamirpur, April 10 Through these conventions, the sangathan would activate the activists and give them tips to oust the BJP government in the state in the next Assembly elections, scheduled this year. Sharing this information with the mediapersons here recently after holding the meeting of the state office-bearers of the organisation, Ranjeet Singh Verma, state chairman and a former Industries Minister, said: “The main purpose of organising these programmes is to gear up our organisation to bring back the Congress government in the state after the next Assembly elections and top Congress leaders i.e. HPCC president Kaul Singh Thakur, Union Ministers Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma, Leader of Opposition in HP Vidhan Sabha Vidya Stokes and other leaders will attend these programmes”. He said the schedule for 40 such conventions had been finalised and the organisation would also expose the present BJP regime in the state through pamphlets and other material. The state office-bearers of the sangathan had also passed resolutions urging the Congress high command to induct Ranjeet Singh Verma in the state Election Committee, to allot the Congress tickets to those activists of the organisation who had been working diligently in the organisation and Panchayati Raj Institutions and condemning alleged anti-people policies of the state BJP government.
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Virbhadra finds govt shaky
Bilaspur, April 10 He said the Congress should take some lessons from the recent Punjab elections. He stated that the time has come when everyone in the Congress must unite. While addressing mediapersons at the Circuit House here recently, he further said that all those who had either left the party or who were shown the door due to any reason, must be called back to the Congress. Also, he said the Dhumal government was only propagandist and termed it as a “misleading” government. “ The BJP government should come out with its own achievements during all these years. All schemes and projects being implemented in the state at present are financed schemes of the Central Government led by the Congress,” averred Virbhadra Singh. He said the BJP government could not even maintain and repair those roads which were constructed by the former Congress governments. “It has not opened any new school. In fact, it is depriving lakhs of poor children of basic education by having closed down 725 primary schools and proposing to close down 2,500 middle schools in the state. This was the way of the BJP to bring HP on the road to progress”, he said. Virbhadra Singh said that the Himachal Lokjit Party (HLP) was a party of BJP dissidents and it was for the BJP to worry about it as the HLP would certainly further damage any prospects of BJP in the next Assembly election. Earlier, the Central minister was welcomed by hundreds of the Congress leaders and activists. State party general secretary, Ram Lal Thakur, MLA Rajesh Dharmani, former parliamentary secretary Kashmir Singh Thakur and top leaders including former MLAs Dr Babu Ram Gauttam, Dr Biru Ram Kishore and District President Santosh Dhiman were among others present on the occasion.
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Virbhadra urged to contest poll from Palampur
Palampur, April 10 In its emergency meeting held here, the Congress Seva Dal unanimously resolved that since the home constituency of Virbhadra Singh, Rohru, had been reserved because of delimitation process conducted by the Election Commission, therefore, the Seva Dal wished that Singh should contest Assembly elections from Palampur this time. While briefing the mediapersons, senior Congress leaders Atma Ram Thakur and Harinder Parwana said that Virbhadra Singh would visit Palampur on April 14 to preside over the closing ceremony of the state-level workshop of the Congress Seva Dal. The party workers would request him to contest from Palampur for the betterment of the residents of this region. Recently, after the defeat of the Congress in the Punjab Assembly elections, Sonia Gandhi had hinted the return of Virbhadra Singh to the state politics. Since then, political activities in the state have geared up. Singh had a huge mass base in the state and had the capacity to bring back the Congress in power in the state. In past one week Virbhadra Singh held rallies at different places to boost the morale of the party workers and to oust the BJP from power in the state. He would also address rallies of the party workers at Mandi Palampur and Baijnath on April 13 and 14.
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Kesh Pathania joins Himachal Lokhit Party
Bilaspur, April 10 While addressing the mediapersons at the Circuit House, Pathania stated that the newly formed political party can provide a third alternative to the BJP and Congress, which had lost confidence of the people due to corruption. Also, he said that some of the leaders of these parties were guilty of providing protection to these corrupt partymen. It would be recalled that since his retirement from the service, Pathania had been active in highlighting the problems of the common masses and farmers of the state. He had also highlighted the partiality of the BJP government in the matters of development and progress of Bilaspur district. Recently, he has been actively taking part in the anti-corruption campaigns of both Baba Ram Dev and Anna Hazare. District Lokhit Party President Daulat Ram Sharma, who is a former member of Bar Council of India and a senior advocate, said that Kesh Pathania has been appointed as the District Spokesman of the party. He said that the party has started a membership campaign in the district and has registered more than 2,500 members during last one month. He said that the party was ensuring at least 25 members along with a 5-member booth committee at every booth. He added that HLP was receiving tremendous response among the general masses.
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Farmers oppose new land evaluation norms
Bilaspur, April 10 This has also resulted in heart burning in certain sections who fear that this notification is the result of “inexperience and little knowledge” of field facts by those who have fixed these new norms after giving total go-by to established norms. Former forest minister and now party state general secretary Ram Lal Thakur, accompanied by party leaders who are also farmers, objected to these new norms. It would seriously and directly affect lives of farmers and land owners, he opined. He said that the subject requires wide discussion and consultation among all concerned quarters and there should be sufficient time for taking a final decision on this matter. He categorically rejected the government’s procedure under which a notification has been issued and objections invited within a small stipulated period of time and then enforcing it in the state. He stressed that land was a valuable asset of the farmers. The notification was also opposed by top BJP leaders including district vice-president Dr Ashwini Dogra who led a deputation of farmers to the Deputy Commissioner and urged the government to follow proper procedure before land price is fixed. A deputation of a dozen village elders including women representatives of Auhar areas met Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan and presented him a detailed memorandum objecting to “very low fixation of prices of their land” under a government notification. The deputation contended that the price of their land on the roadside has been fixed at Rs 4.62 lakh per bigha while it should actually have been Rs 60 lakh per bigha. The farmers insisted that the entry of their land should be corrected according to facts and old obsolete entries in revenue records be changed.
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vignettes
The Pagog panchayat on the periphery of Shimla invited me to speak on the subject and make people aware of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), in force in India for the past nine years. An assembly of nearly 150 persons was there and their chief interest was the construction of village roads or the availability of water or ration cards or who should be on the BPL list and out of it.The item that brought death closer to them, i.e. tobacco use, was sixth on the agenda (see photo). When I asked how many of them had previously heard about COTPA, only one male health worker of the area raised his hand. It shows how low our priority is in making people aware of such social and beneficial legislation. It is unfortunate that the government believes that the mere publication of an Act or a scheme in the official gazette and two newspapers means that the public is aware of the intentions of the government. Legally, it may serve the purpose but is far from the ground reality. I clarified to the audience that the Act is more about the controlling of second-hand smoke and so our first and foremost job is to see that people do not smoke at workplaces and public places. “What is second-hand smoke?” was the query. I told them that when a person smoked in the presence of others, the other persons, though not smoking, inhale the smoke released by the smoker and were said to be second-hand smokers. “How does this type of smoke affect the inhalers?” A second-hand smoker suffers from the same diseases which the actual smoker suffers. I gave them a few statistics: 31 per cent of children in India die of second-hand smoke; and fathers smoke in the presence of the families and the children die because of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). I asked them, “Do you know that a child lags behind in his studies because he is a victim of second-hand smoke? Do you know that there are 22 crore children in India who find it hard to cope with the syllabus because they have been smoked at by the parents or guardians?” It was a new awakening for them. A survey of adult smokers conducted in Shimla revealed that 80 per cent of them had started smoking when they were at school. Another survey of students of Shimla speaks of 31 per cent students of private schools and 29 per cent of those in government schools either smoke or chew tobacco. Yet another survey conducted by an NGO reported that 55 per cent of the schoolboys and 29 per cent of the schoolgirls had, at least once, enjoyed smoking or tobacco chewing. Schools or colleges, therefore, are the nursery of smokers. The Act, therefore, pays adequate attention to student smokers. Its important provisions ban 1.smoking in public places so that second-hand smoke is checked; 2. direct or indirect advertisement on smoking; 3. selling of tobacco products to a person below 18 years of age; and 4. sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards from an educational institution. Recently, a few students from SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, and those of HP University jointly conducted a survey here and their observations were: in Manali, Mandi and Bilaspur vendors were found selling tobacco products openly to school students; in Shimla, food places near Bishop Cotton School had ash-trays on tables; and the 100-yard signage in school areas was missing. It is time that we strictly enforce the Act.
Tailpiece
On an average 2,500 Indians are quitting cigarette smoking every day by dying prematurely.
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Map on hydropower potential prepared
The Directorate of Energy in association with the Aryabhatta Geo-informatics & Space Application Centre (AGISAC) has prepared a GIS (geographical information system) based hydropower potential map of Himachal Pradesh which will serve as a ready reference tool for various government agencies and independent power producers involved in the planning and execution of projects.
Explaining the utility of the new tool, Chief Engineer, Directorate of Energy, Subhash Gupta said in future monitoring would be done using the GIS map tool. An exercise was already on to identify the total hydropower potential of the state for which a study had been entrusted to Lahmayer International and the report was expected by June-end. It would give an assessment of the total exploitable potential. The state has been divided into five river basins, Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Yamuna, for preparing the GIS map tool to cover the entire hydropower potential of the state. A Cumulative Environment Impact Assessment Study (CEIAS) will be carried out for all basins so that mitigation measures can be undertaken and the projects executed with the minimum implications for the local people, flora and fauna. Simultaneously, work on the formulation of a comprehensive CAT (catchment area treatment) plan was also being carried out for the Sutlej basin.The project had been awarded to the Naik Environment Research Institute. Promoting Pahari paintings
In a new initiative to promote traditional Pahari miniature paintings the Kangra Arts Promotion Society (KAPS) has joined hands with the United Kingdom-based Five Benches Society, a non-profit organisation. In their first joint venture an exhibition featuring works of students of the Chitera School run by the KAPS in Himachal Pradesh was organised in the heart of London at the Nehru Centre with the assistance of the State Bank of India. Lord Matthew Evans, a former Chairman of the Royal Court Theatre and a former Vice-Chairman of the British Film Institute, inaugurated the event. Anuj Kapoor of the Five Benches Society, who hails from Mandi, says his organisation is working towards expanding the scope of literary and cultural discourse in Himachal and helping promote the Himachali culture in different parts of the world. It decided to associate with the KAPS, which has been working to create a new generation of artists of Pahari miniature painting style. Lord Evans has been supportive of such initiatives. The traditional Kangra paintings represent one of the finest miniature painting styles from India and the exhibition will give a much-needed boost to the new generation of artists who have adopted the vanishing art form.
Medical camp organised
The Residents Welfare Society of New Shimla organised a special medical camp in collaboration with the local DAV School. Apart from a routine check-up and tests relating to blood sugar, nerve conduction studies and the bone density test , physiotherapy was also carried out during the camp inaugurated by the Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation Madhu Sood. She came with her team which included the Health Officer, the Executive Engineer and other officials so that matters pertaining to the municipal body could be addressed on the spot. Senior doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College, Dr SS Minhas, Dr Kuldeep Maria, Dr Asha Maria, Dr Rajesh Bhawani, Dr Dinesh Rana, Dr Ramesh Chand, Dr Payal Jyoti, Dr Ragweshwar Jyoti and Dr Sunder Chauhan provided their services for the camp. Lectures were delivered by the doctors to explain the implications of the tests being conducted. Over 150 residents benefitted from the camp. (Contributed by
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Preserver of Pahari culture
Kangra, April 10 Dr Gautam Sharma(74) recently submitted an anthology of Himachali traditional love songs of all regions of the state to the National Book Trust of India, which was accepted as his fifth contribution to the preservation of the culture and traditions of Himachal. ‘Vyathit’, born in Nerti, near Kangra, recently completed a project financed by the Union Ministry of Culture regarding the documentation of floral and wall drawings by women folk of the Kangra region on festive occasions and compiled a book and presented it to the ministry. The work was aimed at the promotion and conservation of Himalayan tribal folk art. ‘Vyathit’ said a Sangeet Natak Academy project, the video documentation of traditional songs sung by the women folk of this region on the occasion of the birthday of the male child along with their notations, too, had been completed. ‘Vyathit’ rose from a primary school teacher to a college lecturer, taught MA classes and guided MPhil and PhD scholars at Government College, Dharamsala. He joined as guest faculty member of the HPU Regional Centre at Dharamsala as lecturer. Simple in his tastes and having more than two dozen books to his credit, ‘Vyathit’ has become a distinguished folklorist of Himachal. In 1973 ‘Vyathit’ founded the Kangra Lok Sahitya Parishad of which he was Honorary Director. Jamakara, a folk dance which he composed, attracted audiences in West Germany and England and when telecast, got immense popularity even in Pakistan. ‘Vyathit’, Editor of Baneshwari, a fortnightly, has authored books in Pahari and Hindi, including monographs and books on folklore and literature. He has edited four books and written books for children. Some of his important works are “Chette Pungrasan” (poetry), “Garasse Hath Pujane Kiyan” (collection of ghazals), “Dhiyana”(collection of plays), “Gitlu” (collection of essays), “Pahara de Atthroo” (collection of folk stories), “Kangri Lokgeet and Jhoome Dharati Gaaye Lok”(collection of folk songs). He has collected and published Pahari folk songs,including ”Himachali Lokkaavya Baarahmaasa and Dholaroo---Chaiti Gaathaye”. His important works in Hindi are “Kangra ke Lokgeet”, “Himachal Pradesh Lok Sanskriti aur Sahitya”, “Himachal ki Lok Natya Parampara Bhagat” and “Himachali Grameen Rangmanch Yatra”. He has written monographs on Baba Kanshiram and Lal Chand Praarthi. Recipient of state and national awards, ‘Vyathit’ received the Sahitya Akademi Award Bhasha Samman for his exemplary contribution to the Himachali language and literature in 2007. He has also received the Sahitya Sodh Samman, the Himachal Kesari Award, the Rashtra Bhasha Rattan Samman, the Rambruksh Benipuri Janamshatabdi Samman and the Maha Punjab Sanskriti Samman.
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Students display technical skills
Hamirpur, April 10 Students of the Civil Engineering Department displayed projects relating to a low-cost retaining wall, paper bridge, snow melting, fly ash and arch truss. The retaining wall designed by students using bamboos was a special attraction. Students from the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department put up an SMS-based canal irrigation project. By using the system farmers sitting at home can irrigate their fields by just sending an SMS. The other devices on display included an automatic typing system, RF remote-controlled robot, dynamic tower and slow sand filters, bike power generator and mechanical juicer. OSD of Uttarakhand Technical University RK Singh, who was the chief guest at the festival, announced a student and faculty exchange programme between the MIT and the Uttarakhand university. Chairman of the MIT institute Vinod Thakur said the institute would open more polytechnics in the state.
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vehicles in Kangra district has become a difficult task as the company to whom the job was assigned has failed to deliver the number plates in the past three months despite collecting documents.
The state government has agreed in principle to carry out a “pilot study on the adverse impact of the Pandoh Dam on ecology and social-economic life of residents of this town and fish life in the Beas after the 990-MW Beas project was commissioned in 1978.
its folk culture and dedicate their lives to this cause.One name that figures among the top is that of Dr Gautam Sharma ‘Vyathit’.
Dr Gautam Sharma(74) recently submitted an anthology of Himachali traditional love songs of all regions of the state to the National Book Trust of India, which was accepted as his fifth contribution to the preservation of the culture and traditions of
Himachal.
It is heartening that the Director, Panchayati Raj, has shown his concern for the increasing habit of consuming tobacco and smoking in the rural areas of the state and also among school students there. He, therefore, issued an order on March 16 to all District Panchayat Officers directing them to get an agenda item, “Smoke-free Himachal and bad effects of smoking,” included in the Gram Sabha meetings to be held in all 3,243 panchayats of the state on April 1.
Principal Secretary, Power, Deepak Sanan presented a hard copy of the map to Chief Minister PK Dhumal early this week
(see photo). With the exact location of power projects and the necessary information available on the map the hydropower potential can now be superimposed on any configuration such as district and constituency boundaries for planning and to take care of issues like the Local Area Development Fund.