Palampur, May 1
Inclement weather, unusual cold conditions and poor means of transportation have adversely affected the tourism industry in the Kangra valley this year. The occupancy in category-I and category-II hotels remained confined to around 50 to 60 per cent in April. Even HPTDC hotels failed to do good business.

Interestingly, most hotels situated at McLeodganj, Palampur and other places in the Kangra valley had registered an occupancy of around 80 per cent in April last year.

Even weekend tourism has been adversely hit this year. Not many tourists are seen on Saturdays and Sundays at major tourist destinations like Palampur and McLeodganj.

Hoteliers said the tourist inflow might be hit in May also as tourists were now preferring Jammu and Kashmir in view of the improved situation there.

Besides, the air fare from Delhi to Srinagar was also less as compared to the air fare to the Kangra valley. In the peak tourist season, the air fare between Delhi and Dharamsala went up to Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000 per person, whereas the air fare between Delhi and Srinagar remained between Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000 per person, they said. Because of this, travel agencies situated in Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat were making bulk bookings for the Srinagar circuit, hitting the tourism industry in Himachal.

State highways and national highways connecting the Kangra valley with adjoining states are in bad shape these days. The condition of the road between Mehatpur and Ranital is pathetic.

Palampur, May 1
The government is making efforts for the balanced development of the state and at the same time ensuring that the benefits of development reach the common man. During the past four years, the state government has taken various measures for ensuring effective governance to the people.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while addressing a group of Palampur-based journalists at the PWD Rest House, Baijnath, recently.

He said his government was committed to providing transparent, responsive and corruption-free governance.

In this regard, various initiatives had been taken by the government. Prominent among these were the Himachal Pradesh Public Services Guarantee Bill, 2011, and the Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of Property) Bill, 2011. The Himachal Pradesh Public Services Guarantee Bill, 2011, had been implemented and the services of 13 major departments had been notified and officials had been made liable to ensure public services to the people within a stipulated time frame, he said.

“To make it more effective, the services of other departments are also being identified. Provision has also been made to book defaulters and initiate action against them. Similarly, the Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of Property) Bill, 2011, which has been sent for approval, provides for the confiscation of property amassed through wrong means,” the Chief Minister added.

Dhumal said the IT sector was being given special thrust to ensure greater efficiency and transparency in the administration.

He said the state government had already introduced the e-tendering process for the procurement of various commodities by major departments.

“The system has proved to be error-free and transparent, thereby checking discrimination in the system,” he added.

“For the speedy redress of grievances, the Prashasan Janta Ke Dwar programme is being organised. Grievances are also being redressed through the e-samadhan programme. The state has also been one of the best states in e-governance. The Himachal State Wide Area Network (HIMSWAN) Project has been launched for providing better services to the people,” Dhumal said. 

Solan, May 1
Dr PK Khosla, Vice-Chancellor, Shoolini University of Life Sciences and Business Management, Solan, has been conferred with the Shiksha Rattan Award by the All-India Technical and Management Association (AITMA) at CII, Chandigarh, recently.

The award was conferred by Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab and Administrator Chandigarh, at the association’s first Annual Corporate Summit held in Chandigarh.

Dr Khosla was earlier conferred with the Best Entrepreneur Education Award last month, which has reaffirmed his ability as an academician par excellence. He has successfully established a private university in the emerging education hub of Solan. His efforts to promote quality education in Solan are well recognised.

AITMA is a non-government organisation for youth welfare and career building. AITMA aims to bring all services and professions under one roof to bridge the gap between the university curriculum and the latest industry requirements. It specialises in creating employment specific courses by collaborating with different educational and industrial organisations in India and abroad.

Dr Khosla, while terming it as a boost to his efforts, said it had put an additional responsibility on his shoulders to carry forward his endeavours. He said, “Maintaining quality is a continuous effort and I wish to see Shoolini University among the top 200 global universities in the next ten years, especially since no Indian University figures in this league.”

Dr Khosla, also former vice-chancellor of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishva Vidyalaya, Palampur, has an experience of serving as senior scientific advisor to the state government. He has taken a lead by establishing a non-profitable organisation, Shoolini Institute of Life Sciences and Business Management, in 2005 with a mission to provide affordable quality higher education to the youth of rural and semi-urban areas of the state. The university figures among the few UGC approved universities of the state and holds top 10 positions in India in its area of focus.

Palampur, May 1
Hundreds of tourists entering the state from Punjab and the adjoining states are allegedly being charged a higher toll fee by a contractor at one of the inter-state entry points at Bhadroya in Kangra district.

The toll fee as per the notification issued by the Principal Secretary, Excise and Taxation, Government of Himachal Pradesh, in April 2012 for vehicles entering the state is Rs 30. However, the toll contractor at Bhadroya, bordering Pathankot, is charging Rs 40 instead of Rs 30 from tourist vehicles entering the state and the receipts for the same amount is being issued to them.

A group of tourists from Punjab told mediapersons that they were charged Rs 40 as the toll fee at the inter-state entry point at Bhadroya, Nurpur. However, when they apprised the contractor that the notified toll fee was Rs 30, he refused to listen and misbehaved with them. He allowed their vehicles to move only after charging Rs 40 from them and provided the receipt of the same amount on insistence.

The toll barriers in the state are functioning under the supervision of the Excise and Taxation Department of the state government.

Meanwhile, the Kangra Valley Travel Agents’ Association had appealed to the Chief Minister to personally look into the matter and order a high-level probe. The association also demanded immediate cancellation of the licence of the toll contractor so that tourists were saved from further harassment.

Bilaspur, May 1
The Himachal State Senior Hockey Championship will be organised at Indira Stadium at Una from May 5 to 7, in which the HP team for the national championship will also be selected. This was stated by HP State Hockey Association secretary SP Dass here recently. He said after the selection of the state team, a coaching camp would also be held there.

Dass said the National Senior Hockey Championship would be held in Bangalore from May 17 to June 2.

He said Paramjit Singh, general secretary, Una District Hockey Association, should be contacted for confirmation of participation in this state championship by the district associations.

Dass also said trials for the selection of HP State Under-20 Junior Women Hockey team would be held at Bilaspur at the Luhnu Ground Hockey Stadium on May 12 and 13. The selected players would have to attend a coaching camp at Bilaspur after the selection.

This team would participate in the National Junior Under-20 Women Hockey Championship in Hyderabad from May 26. He said girls born on or after January 1, 1992 were eligible to compete in these trials. They should contact hockley coaches Ashok Kumar, Yodh Raj Sharma and Pradip Kalia at 11.30 am at the Luhnu Hockey Stadium at Bilaspur that day.

Bilaspur, May 1
The Congress will legalise all encroachments of dam and project oustees in the state, including those of Bhakra dam oustees of Bilaspur and Una districts, if it comes to power in the state.

They have rendered sacrifice for the development of the state and the nation and they deserve better treatment than others. This was stated by former Chief Minister and Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh while replying to several queries of mediapersons regarding persisting problems of Bilaspur district being ‘ignored’ by the BJP Government.

He said his government had earlier also waived all rehabilitation loans of Bhakra dam oustess; held a mini settlement in oustee colonies to save thousands of oustees from land encroachment court cases; Rs 13-crore Ali Khud bridge was constructed, work on Rs 32-crore Baghchhal bridge over Gobind Sagar was started for speedy development of backward Jhandutta and Naina Devi Dam oustee constituencies and foundation stone of the Rs 52-crore Berry-Dadollan bridge was laid to expand and develop Bilaspur, apart from plots being earmarking to the remaining oustees.

But, he said, the BJP Government stopped the construction of Baghchhal bridge, did not add a single brick to Berry-Dadollan bridge and had not allotted a single plot to any oustee and was now biding time on framing a pro-oustee policy to legalise encroachments of oustees of Bhakra dam of Bilaspur town here despite court orders.

Virbhadra Singh contradicted top BJP leaders who have been repeatedly declaring that “a leader from HP at the Centre is obstructing the inauguration of the country’s first hydro engineering college at Bilaspur because he wanted this college to be located at Rampur”. He said this was the product of a “sick and malicious mind” and was totally untrue.

“Spreading lies is a major propaganda plank of BJP leaders,” he added. He said Bhanupali to Bilaspur-Berry broad gauge rail line would be taken up as the top 
priority as it has been declared a “national priority project” and this survey would now be conducted up to Mandi-Manali and then still further to Leh.

He gave an assurance that he would look into the latest survey of the four-lane Express Highway, which is said to have been done in a hush-hush manner, now bypassing and ignoring the interests of Bilaspur town.

Solan, May 1
An alumni meet was organised at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. Nearly 400 students from various batches attended the meet to recall the college days.

The university completed its 50 years after taking into account its establishment as a College of Agriculture, Solan and Horticulture Complex, in 1962. The university was established in 1985 and since then, it has been running from its campus in Nauni.

Dr PL Gautam, chairman, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authorities, Government of India, was the chief guest on the occasion.

While addressing the gathering, he urged the scientific community to focus attention on the rising significance of horticulture in the national scenario.

He said there was a need to strength the university’s old alumni association. He said the university was playing a pivotal role in the country’s agriculture and horticulture scenario. Brig K Kumar was the special guest on the occasion. He lauded the quality of education and discipline of the university.

Dr KR Dhiman, Vice-Chancellor, chaired the function. He highlighted the contributions of DR YS Parmar, the first chief minister of the state. He also stated the contributions of principal of the Agriculture college.

The alumni of the first five batches, who were gold medalists of their respective batches, were honoured on the occasion. Dr PL Gautam, Jagdish Ram Verma, IAS and Dr DR Thakur, former principal of the Agriculture College, were among the gold medalists. 

When Thomas Gray wrote, “Full many a gem of purest ray serene, / The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear / Full many a flower is born to blush unseen / And waste its sweetness on the desert air”, he, probably, was writing for men like Kanshiram of princely state of Kunihar who fought for the freedom of the people from the bondage of the Rana (prince), but remained bereft of recognition by the state though people doted on him.

Now, Narendra Arun has brought out a book on the life of Babu Kanshiram and his struggle against the Rana of Kunihar.

Kanshiram was born at Namol village of Kunihar princely state in January 1874 from the second wife of Hazari Lal. There was no school there, therefore, Kanshiram had to go to Shimla to complete his upper primary school education from Church Mission School. That was the end of his education, but Kunihar was proud of him as he was the most qualified person there at that time. He had a good command of the English language.

How did he come from Kunihar to Shimla to settle here?

When settlement operations of land were going on in Kunihar during 1922-23, Ran Singh and Jog Raj, the blue-eyed boys of Rana Hardev Singh (1917-1964), distributed cultivable land to their favourites, mostly undeserving persons; and fallows to deserving farmers. Kanshiram raised his voice against the injustice and was supported by his wife, Shiv Devi, daughter of Ram Dayal of Khanol village. When Rana did not pay any heed to the peaceful but the strong voices, the agitation took bolder shape. It swelled from hearth to hearth under the leadership of Kanshiram. Shiv Devi buoyed up her husband (see photo). The Rana wanted to crush the agitation with might. Kanshiram was arrested, handcuffed and fettered and was compelled to face court-sittings at night. Shiv Devi was also summoned often. Ravindra Thakur, grandson of the freedom fighter, said Shiv Devi had confessed that the wife of Rana Hardev Singh, Laladi Kumari (Saaj Rani), was caring and sympathetic towards the cause for which Kanshiram was fighting and used to clandestinely send food for him in the prison. The landlords of Kunihar wrote a letter to the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Superintendent of the Hill States on December 31, 1924, an extract of which is: “During the settlement operations, certain irregularities affecting our rights of ownership of land were noticed and we submitted our objections for the same on March 5, 1923, personally as well as through our spokesperson Babu Kanshiram”.

To this, C King, the then political assistant commissioner, said the superintendent of the Hill States did not recognise Kanshiram as their spokesperson. They felt defrauded and a petition signed by 19 landlords was sent stating that Kanshiram was their spokesperson. The petition was accepted. At Kunihar, the Rana could feel the wind flowing differently and so decided to banish Kanshiram from the state. He gave him options either to go to Ambala Central Jail or to settle in Shimla with a promise of never to return to Kunihar. He went for the second option so that he could fight from Shimla for the cause of freedom for the people of Kunihar. The Rana asked him to come to Danav Dev temple near the ‘Talab’ in Kunihar at dawn and there in the presence of the ‘Devta’, Kanshiram was forced to take pledge of never to return to Kunihar and leave for Shimla that very moment. He left instantly, but continued his agitation against Rana from Shimla, while keeping his promise of not going back to his beloved village. Hard of hearing by 1947, he could read from a slate that India was Independent. Soon after, he died in peace and cremated near Bihar village in Shimla. 

Kangra, May 1
The state Association of Power Engineers of the Himachal Pradesh PWD yesterday demanded the creation of a new electrical circle at Hamirpur to avoid inconvenience to employees and associated members and for providing effective monitoring and better coordination at the field level.

The demand was raised during a state-level meeting of electricity engineers of the PWD here and other issues of the wing were also discussed threadbare.

Raghunath Sahai, state president of the association, told mediapersons here that the department had various wings, but the major expansion had been done only in the building and road constructions. He said in the electricity wing of the PWD there was only one electricity circle at Shimla established in 1973 and people and the staff associated with this department had to go to Shimla for their work, which was time-consuming, inconvenient and expensive.

He said it was the need of the hour that the electricity wing should be expanded in view of the escalating workload and inconvenience to the staff.

He said the electricity wing of the PWD, which was responsible for controlling the work of electrical installation, central heating, air-conditioning, lifts, fire-fighting, fire alarm system, LT sub-station, public address and CCTV systems in all government residential and non-residential buildings, was overburdened and needed relaxation for better and quality-oriented work.

He said the demand for establishing the circle at Hamirpur was justified as it was a centrally located place for Chamba, Kangra, Bilaspur, Mandi, Una and other districts of this hill state. He said the association also demanded that the ex-cadre posts should be made permanent cadre posts to avoid their stagnation further. 

Bilaspur, May 1
The Himachal Pradesh State Journalists’ Federation has hailed the acceptance of some demands of the journalists of the state by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The federation state executive committee meeting here under the chairmanship of state president Jai Kumar thanked the Chief Minister for making provision of Rs 1.75 lakh insurance cover to all journalists of the state under the “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna”. He also enhanced the annul revolving fund of government’s Journalists Welfare Fund to Rs 25 lakh from earlier allocation of Rs 10 lakh only. The federation also appreciated making newspaper newsprint entry VAT free in the state in this budget.

Though the state federation has been stressing on its demand for free treatment on hospitalisation of journalists, the health insurance cover would meet the demand to a greater extent, Kumar said.

The Chief Minister gave an assurance that Director, Information and Public Relations, would collect information regarding the pension scheme to scribes in other states and HP government would not lag behind in this matter.

Palampur, May 1
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal presided over the Prashasan Janta ke Dwar programme held at Baijnath last week.

Residents of Baijnath and the adjoining areas came forward to share their grievances with the Chief Minister during the programme. More than 450 applications were received and disposed of with suitable directions. Also, the necessary guidelines were issued to the officers concerned for the speedy redressal of the grievances along with sending of the compliance report to the Chief Minister’s office through the Deputy Commissioner.

Dhumal said Prashasan Janta ke Dwar was a significant programme started to redress the grievances of people on their doorstep. He said the programme enabled the people to interact with the administrative officers and discuss their problems. He said he was making efforts to hold similar camps and programmes during his tour of various parts of the state.

He also sanctioned funds for various construction works to the gram panchayats of many villages. He sanctioned Rs 75,000 for the repair of the community building, Gram Panchayat Kand, and Rs 2 lakh for the repair of roads and drains of Gram Panchayat Khadanal. For the construction of community buildings of Gram Panchayats Chaubin and Dhared, he gave funds of Rs 1.50 lakh each. A sum of Rs 1 lakh was approved for the construction of a playground at the senior secondary school, Sansal, and Rs 1 lakh for Mahila Mandal Bhawan, Thehad village. He also gave approval for the construction of two additional rooms at the senior secondary school, Bhulana.

He also approved Rs 1 lakh for the heart operation of Gaurav of Langhu village of Baijnath subdivision, Rs 3,000 for the marriage of a daughter of Rajender Chander of 
Ustehad village and Rs 90,000 for the heart operation of Shyam Lal of Deoth village.

Bilaspur, May 1
The Himachal Pradesh State NGOs’ Federation has drawn the attention of the government towards the appalling condition of National Highway No-21 (Chandigarh-Manali) between Nauni and Swarghat.

Travelling this small distance of some 32 km has become a nightmare for commuters.

Himachal Pradesh State NGOs’ Federation president Ram Singh urged the Chief Minister to take up the issue urgently with the Central government and ensure essential repairs and regular maintenance of this vital road.

An unanimous resolution said this tract of road has potholes as wide and deep as one to two feet which can overturn any vehicle.

Since thousands of trucks of three cement factories and much larger tourist traffic to Kullu-Manali and other passenger vehicles daily travel on this road, it is proving to be a death trap. An accident takes place almost daily despite all precautions taken by motorists.

The totally deplorable condition of this road since long is discouraging tourists from travelling to Himachal again.

The federation members demanded that the controlling office of maintenance of this National Highway should be located at Bilaspur. Its Pandoh and Chandigarh offices have failed to perform their duty properly, they said.

They also demanded that the cement factories should be persuaded to set up a multi-specialty hospital at Bilaspur as Government Regional Hospital here is totally insufficient to meet the challenge of serious accidents taking place in this road.

The members also urged the Chief Minister to accept the NGOs’ demands of enhancement in retirement age of Class III employees to 60 years, payment of DA installment and benefit of 4, 9 and 14 years of service. 

The folk tales of the hill state came alive at the Gaiety Theatre as local groups performed a series of plays in the last leg of the Himachal month.

All the plays were based on the tales written by Himachali writers and performed by local groups. The “Sadhu Swang”, (see photo) staged by the Swar Sangam Kala Manch and “Numberdar ka Swang” by the Bijeshwar Kariyala Kala Manch were based on Shimla district’s famous “karyala” folk tradition. The Sufi Group performed “The Ghost that Got Away” which was based on Mohna, the popular folk tale of Bilaspur region.

In all, nine plays were stage during the week and the programme will conclude with a ghazal recital to pay tribute to the famous exponent of the singing tradition, Madan Mohan.

Nurpur, May 1
Presiding over the annual sammelan of the local unit of the Himachal Pradesh Ex-Servicemen League (HPESL) at Suliali, near here, recently, the Centre was targeted for not accepting ex-Army men’s 25-year-old demand of one rank one pension.

Presiding over the sammelan, state president of the HPESL and former minister Vijay Singh Mankotia accused the Centre of cheating ex-servicemen time and again on the issue of one rank one pension.

He rued that this demand had been accepted in principle in 2009, but the Centre had failed to implement it and adopted an indifferent attitude towards ex-servicemen.

Exhorting the ex-servicemen to strengthen the HPESL and the league to fight for their rights since the strength of ex-servicemen in the country was above 32 lakh, who were striving for their cause. Mankotia also flayed the Centre for reducing the enrolment quota for young Himachalis and further increasing unemployment in the state.

On the occasion, Col NS Pathania (retd), Chairman, HPESL, Nurpur unit, highlighted the issues being faced by ex-servicemen and war widows.

He demanded a CSD canteen at Nurpur and a polyclinic for a strength of 30,000 ex-servicemen and their dependants in the area.

He also demanded the enhancment of a purchase limit from Rs 3,500 to Rs 8,000 per month for grocery items from CSD canteens for soldiers and highlighted the demand of war widows for two pensions that were entitled to their deceased husbands.

Major Puria, Deputy Director, HP Sanik Welfare Board; Col YS Rana (retd), general secretary, HPSEL, also spoke.

Speakers educated ex-servicemen about the entitlement of their pensions, allowances and other financial aids. Puria also distributed cheques worth Rs 80,000 to disabled soldiers and war widows.