Present imperfect

Once the capital of King Subahu of  Mahabharata era after whom the name of Subathu has been derived, the place which gave birth to Shimla after 1814, now the abode of Gorkha Training Centre, is crying for attention of the HP government and Ministry  of Defence.

The Sondhi Road where the Father of Asian Games, Late G D Sondhi, resided, still remains unrepaired. The Cheel Chakkar Road has been made out of bounds for civilians by the Army.

Earlier full of roses and greenery, the Salaria Park constructed during the 60s in memory of martyr Capt Salaria now looks like a dried up crater. The Cantonment Board charges Rs 40 lakh per annum from the public but has not spent even Rs 40, 000 on maintenance of either the park or the road.

Business is zero here where once direct trade was done between Tibet, China and India. Subathu was an important link between two countries before Shimla’s discovery.

There is no direct bus service to any of the bigger towns and cities like Chandigarh and Delhi. There are no medical facilities in the absence of any hospital or dispensary. Politicians term it as cantonment area and the defence authorities blame the state government for its plight. It is high time public representatives and the central government took notice of the deteriorating situation of a glorious historic town of Himachal.

MADAN GUPTA SPATU, Chandigarh

Simla Pact relevant

PR Chari’s write-up  “Relevance of Simla Agreement” ( July 2) portrayed the scene of the Simla meeting when it took place in 1972 after the war between India and Pakistan and emergence of Bangladesh as an independent entity in the Eastern Pakistan amidst overwhelming enthusiasm on both sides. Indira Gandhi chose Shimla as a cool place in the sweltering sun of July so that the bilateral talks could be held in conducive ambience to end the stalemate that appears generally after the wars.

Had this agreement been implemented in a phased manner, the Line of Control would have been demarcated to define the border. Pakistan is responsible for the mess whose leaders did not abide by the one-on-one commitment made by Indira Gandhi and ZA Bhutto. Benazir Bhutto who accompanied her father was liked by the people of India some of whom recommended here appointment as Pakistani High Commissioner to India. Later on, she also could not pick up the thread left by her father when she became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Time is a major factor in guiding destiny and in this case too the opportune time did not come on either side resulting into the lingering on of the implementation.

The emergence and dominance of fundamentalists in Pakistan with the civilian government simply a stooge in the hands of the army, has led to one decision of today getting nullified the following morning. India should insist upon the implementation of Simla pact in its talks that take place in future.

GURMIT SINGH SAINI, Mohali

In national interest

North India is in the grip of an acute power crisis. There is tremendous power potential available especially in J&K, Himachal and Arunachal Pradesh, besides many other parts of the country which should be tapped for the benefit of the country.

While addressing  the seventh International Hydel Power Convention  in  Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah  said that  Kashmir possessed an enormous hydel  potential of about 20,000 MW of which only 2,458 MW  is being    harnessed and   to harness the full hydro-electric  capacity of the state over Rs 2 lakh crore is needed.  Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, there is a capacity to  generate power to the tune of 20,000 MW and just about 7000 MW  has been harnessed so far.  

SK KHOSLA, Chandigarh