Dharamsala, February 5
This year also the Pong Dam lake, an internationally recognised wetland, has received maximum migratory birds in the entire north India.The wetland received 1.23 lakh migratory birds. However, despite such a spectacle of nature, the tourism potential of the lake has not been exploited.

The previous BJP government gave wide publicity to an Asian Development Bank loan for promoting tourism at the Pong Dam lake.

The first phase of the plan was to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure as a tourist destination, using the funds sourced from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It, however, drew criticism from oustees living in the vicinity of the Pong Dam lake. They were sore at not being taken into confidence while chalking out the plan.

The government has planned to spend Rs 10 crore in the initial phase to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure for attracting tourists. Sources told The Tribune that according to the plan worked out by the Department of Tourism authorities at Shimla, most of the amount was likely to be spent in the area near the Pong Dam structure.

The department has planned to spend about Rs 2 crore on constructing a parking place near the Pong Dam structure for tourists. The move was termed as wastage of money by the people from the surrounding areas.

Rajiv Sharma, who lives in the area along the Pong Dam lake, said till date few tourists came to visit Pong Dam. The government should first create infrastructure around the lake that attracts tourists rather than creating a parking facility. Besides, there was ample open parking place on the banks of the Pong Dam lake and so there was no need to construct a concrete parking.

According to the plan, the Department of Tourism had also planned to bring up a tourist reception centre at a cost of about Rs 1.5 crore near the Pong Dam structure. The people of the area are, however, saying that the tourist reception centre should be created at the Gaggal airport or any other place where the tourist land so that they can be guided to visit the Pong Dam lake area.

The stakeholders also lodged their protest against the initial plan chalked out for spending Rs 10 crore for developing tourism in their area, at a meeting held at the district headquarters.

Some participants said developing the entire infrastructure for tourism near the Pong Dam structure would be a waste of funds. Due to security reasons, there were restrictions on the tourists visiting the Pong Dam structure. In the near future, the security of Pong Dam was likely to be handed over to the CISF. That was going to make things more complex.

The government should, in fact, provide basic infrastructure to private entrepreneurs who want to create places for attracting tourists to the area. The much-celebrated village tourism should be promoted. There are many landmarks as the rock-cut Masroor Temples, the heritage properties of former Guler state and Kangra art centres that can attract tourists to the vicinity of the Pong Dam lake.

If the government involves the locals, it can help generate employment and increase tourism in the Pong Dam area.

Now with the new Congress government in power, it remains to be seen if it takes the suggestions of locals living on the banks of Pong Dam into consideration before spending the amount generated as loan from ADB for developing tourism around Pong Dam.

Manali, February 5
The five-day national-level Winter Carnival-2013 begins in the tourist town of Manali from February 9 to 13. The carnival begins from Hadimba Devi temple at Dhungri near here with the worship of Goddess Hadimba and a cultural procession by the participating teams that terminates at Nehru Park, popularly known as Ram Bagh.

The four-tiered pagoda temple of Goddess Hadimba is not only famous among visitors but it is also associated with many religious ceremonies and festivals that take place in Kullu Valley.

The carnival is aimed at showcasing the rich Himachali culture which would attract domestic and foreign visitors. Besides, a large number of local people from remote villages also visit the carnival. To ensure direct participation of tourists and the local people, the Mall road from Ram Bagh to Ibex Chowk will be covered to host different cultural activities during the carnival.

The carnival is a unique youth festival in which teams drawn from various youth clubs, colleges and universities from all over India participate and compete in many events. The performance is assessed by a panel of judges.

The carnival has proved a major source of entertainment to the tourists and local residents who otherwise were forced to remain indoor due to biting cold. More often than not, a thick sheet of snow used to force tourists to remain indoor after the sun set. But the carnival festivity attracts them to Ram Bagh, the venue of the carnival, and entertaining programmes keep them glued to their seats till the end.

This year about 15 teams will take part in the carnival and enthral the crowds that are expected to gather at the carnival. The carnival plays host to a number of cultural troupes, folk dancers and singers who come from all parts of the country.

The salient features of the carnival are Himachali food festival, a local band, craft bazaar, local folk dances, film and folk songs, skits, personality contests, fancy dress competitions, fashion shows, rangoli, jhankey (cultural procession), etc.

However, the main attraction of the Winter Carnival will be the “ Winter queen” selection.

Cases of misuse of industrial plots for commercial activity had been especially noticed in Parwanoo where instead of indulging in industrial activity, lessees were undertaking commercial activities like trading.

Being the state’s commercial hub where several industries have their warehouses or carrying and forwarding agencies, there was a huge demand for commercial space in the town.

The plots, thus, allotted had been conveniently converted into commercial centres.

The department was now tightening its noose to check such misuse and the process to take back such plots after issuance of notices was also under way.

Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has directed officials to step up their efforts to recover such plots from various industrial areas of the state so that these could be allotted to the other investors.

Even such cases had come to light where industrial units set up initially had stopped working, but lessees were using these for housing after having constructed residences on the remaining floors. Chauhan said such blatant misuse of industrial plots was now being dealt with strictly.

He added that the lessees who had not paid their infrastructure development charges and lease money were being served with notices to recover the dues.

Chamba, February 5
The Ambedkar Mission Society, Churah, Chamba district, passed a resolution requesting Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to appoint Surinder Bhardwaj, an ex-MLA of the Congress, as the chairman of any corporation or board so that the development of the Churah region, which is one of the most backward regions of the state, could be accelerated.

Through the resolution, the society has tried to explain the rationale behing the backwardness of Churah by comparing Pangi and Churah regions. It said that some 25 years ago, the tribes of Pangi used to come to Churah in search of labour work in summers.The society further stated that within these 25 years, the then remote and inaccessible Pangi developed to such an extent that now it was one of the most developed regions of Chamba. The society said in contrast to Pangi, Churah lacked development.

The society further said earlier Churah used to meet most of the needs of the Chamba state with regard to food grains, ghee and honey but now the malnutrition level of the Churahis, especially those of women and children, had reached to an alarming level.

KL Shah, founder member-cum-chief advisor of the society, said the speedy development of the region was the need of the day and this could be achieved only by strengthening the hands of the government by nominating Surinder Bhardwaj as the chairman of any corporation or board.

Solan, February 5
Shoolini University has placed 15 of its MBA students in Reliance Life, a private sector insurance company, at a salary of Rs 30,000 per month, a press release issued by the university said.

A regular sprint MBA programme has been designed for the students to enhance the managerial and business skills of the management graduates. Besides, brushing up management knowledge, the students in this programme get an opportunity to interact with some of the top corporate personnel occupying senior positions in national and international companies.

Dr PK Khosla, Vice-Chancellor, Shoolini University, regular placements for the students shall commence in March this year where the remaining students would also find due placements. 

Nurpur, February 5
The Pathankot-Mandi National Highway-20, state highways and link roads in the lower Kangra district are in a bad shape. Almost all the key link roads in Jawali subdivision such as Jawali-Kukher-Batees Meel, Jawali-Pharian, Jawali-Guglara, Jawali-Pragor, Jawali-Bharmar and Jawali-Dehra, a state highway which is connecting the two subdivisions of Kangra district, are in a deplorable condition. The roads have developed big potholes. Driving on these roads has become a nightmare for commuters. The Public Works Department (PWD) had undertaken patchwork of some of these roads but it didn’t help as the roads returned to the old shape within two months.

Ravi Kumar, pradhan of the Jawali gram panchayat, lamented over the neglect of the roads during the previous government. “The panchayat will pass a resolution for improving road condition and approach local MLA Neeraj Bharti on the issue as people of the area are facing a lot of problem due to poor roads, especially during rainy season,” Ravi Kumar said.

Nanak Chand, executive engineer of the Public Works Department, Jawali subdivision, claimed that during the last monsoon, rains followed by landslides had played a havoc with the link roads. “The department removed debris of landslides from the damaged roads and carried out patchwork. The tarring of the damaged roads is possible only after winter,” he said.

The NH-20 stretch, from Kotla to Batees Meel, has virtually turned into a death trap, especially during night. Big pits and uneven road lacking tarring and has made driving risky as the stretch passes through the deep gorges of Dehar Khud. Intrestingly, the Congress had made the bad comdition of roads as its election agenda during the assembly elections and its top state leaders targeted the previous Dhumal government for poor roads in the state. 

The present is the right time to revisit Amrita Shergill on her birth centenary. Born on January 30, 1913 at Budapest (Hungary) to father Umrao Singh Shergill of Majithia (Punjab) and mother Marie Antionette Gottesmann Baktay of Budapest (Hungary), she was named Amrita Dalma Shergill at birth; five years later she was baptised a Roman Catholic as Amrita Antonia but she rose to prominence as ‘one of the first feminists in India, celebrating the beauty and power of women through her paintings’ as Amrita Shergill.She had a one- year younger sister, Indira, with whom the childhood bond of friendship and love, she carried to the last (see photo).

In April 1921, Umrao Singh and his family purchased and settled in a large home named ‘The Holme’ at Summer Hill in Shimla. Marie wanted to make her daughter a musician but Amrita had other designs. She started learning nuances of Art in Shimla from an artist, Major Whitemarsh. He was a perfectionist; his style of teaching did not suit free and independent Amrita. By then an acclaimed name in arts, Hal Bevan Petman arrived in Shimla from London. He was immediately engaged as her tutor. Highly impressed by the talent of her pupil, he recommended to the parents that Amrita deserved to be trained in the finest art schools in Europe. In January 1924, the family left for Florence and Amrita found herself in Santa Annunziata School of Art run by Roman Catholics known for strict discipline. Amrita disliked regimentation and wrote that it was an ‘enormous, elegant but hateful school’. Five months later they were back in Shimla.

She was admitted to Convent of Jesus and Mary for general education. Here, too, Amrita faced the same strictness. She wrote a letter to her father that she was an atheist; did not believe in God and, therefore, the Roman Catholic Church had no function for her. The letter fell into the hands of Mother Superior who expelled Amrita from the school. She spent the next five years in Shimla doing paintings. Erwin Baktay, Amrita’s maternal uncle, came to Shimla in 1927. He was an artist himself. Baktay liked the style of Amrita and counselled her to use live models for her drawings and paintings and this stayed with her for life time. Baktay advised her sister to send Amrita to Paris and let her acquaint herself with modern trends in painting. In 1929, they were in Paris where Amrita spent the next five formative years of her life. Paris was Mecca of the Art World and a cultural melting pot for artists, writers, performers who had modern and imaginative ideas. The Shergills returned to India in 1934. Amrita did not come to Shimla with others but stayed in Punjab. She decided to immerse herself in the culture of India and started wearing sarees (see photo).

Her style of painting also became more fundamentally Indian. She returned to Shimla in the summer of 1935 and set up her studio in annex named ‘The Studio’ to the main building.There was a Fine Art Society functioning in Shimla in those days. Amrita sent 10 of her paintings for the September 1935 opening of an exhibition by the society.

The committee formed for screening rejected five of these and one of the accepted paintings ‘Conversation Peace’ was awarded HH Raja of Faridkot’s prize for a portrait. Amrita, however, was upset from the rejection of paintings and wrote a sarcastic letter to the society refusing to accept the award and the cheque.

Amrita married her maternal cousin, Dr Victor Egan, in 1938 and the next year the couple came to Shimla with the intention of staying here forever. Their stay was brief; Amrita could do only one painting ‘Resting’ and then went to the ancestral home. Bored, the couple decided to move to a more happening place, Lahore, where they started living in 23, Gangaram Mansions.

Here Amrita fell ill and suddenly died. Her mortal remains were consigned to flames on December 7, 1941, on the bank of the Ravi. She has gone long back but her legacy is with us forever.

Solan, February 5
In a bid to provide employment opportunities to the students, a recruitment drive was launched by the Waknaghat-based Bahra University, where students from various educational institutes, including Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, and the host university got placed in Tommy Hilfiger.

As one of the world’s leading premium lifestyle brands, Tommy Hilfiger delivers superior styling, quality and value to the consumers worldwide. The company officials selected students of MBA and BBA.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr SK Bansal, motivated the students to handle such interviews with confidence.

As many as 89 from the Rayat Bahra group and 56 from other colleges of the state participated in the placement drive.

President, Tommy Hilfiger, Rohiet Singh, was highly impressed by the quality of students and infrastructure created by Bahra University and students were offered to join immediately with a starting package of Rs 16,000 a month.

Apart from this, management students were also selected by Axis Bank on the Bahra campus. The students had to go through various rounds, consisting of a written test, group discussions and interviews before being chosen for the job.

Palampur, February 5
Palampur is crying for the immediate attention of the authorities. An important tourists spot, Palampur is also called the tea town of the state.

Major Som Nath (PVC), Capt Vikram Batra (PVC), Capt Sorbah Kalia and Major Sudheer Walia (Ashok Chakra) are the latest in the series from this town who had sacrificed their lives for the nation. But it is a sad state of affairs that successive governments who ruled the state have failed to recognise their supreme sacrifices and rather extended stepmotherly treatment to this town.

Residents of this town are devoid of basic amenities and living in hellish conditions. Potholed roads, overflowing drains and contaminated drinking water tell the tale of the town that is fast turning into a slum.

Despite the fact that there has been a manifold increase in the population, the state government has failed to extend the municipal limits of the town. At present, only 10 per cent area of the town, comprising population of 4,000, comes under the municipal limits. Over 50,000 persons live outside the municipal limits.

The town has become the victim of dirty politics. Almost all interior streets are in a bad shape. Due to overflowing drains in the rainy season, water gets filled on streets creating hardships for commuters.

The two busy roads leading to Lohana colony, Ram chowk, Cinema road and the inter-state bus terminal are in a worst condition.

Heaps of garbage emitting foul smell are also visible in every nook and corner of the town. In many areas it is not removed for days together. The situation in internal parts of the town is no better as panchayats have no resources to maintain cleanliness resulting in huge garbage dumps on the roadsides at Ghuggar, Aima, Bundla and Chokki Khalet.

Unplanned and haphazard construction of housing colonies in the town has also become a common view here.

Since these colonies have been coming up in panchayat areas, the same lacks basic amenities like.

Stray animals are also causing inconvenience to commuters in the town. Complaints made to local administration regarding the issue have yielded no results. 

Chamba, February 5
With a view to safeguard the rights of the employees of the State Electricity Board working in Chamba district, the Chamba residents have appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for the restoration of the Survey and Investigation (S&I) circle of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL) and the office of the deputy general manager (DGM) of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) in Chamba district.

In the recent past with the trifurcation of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB), three offshoots were created namely the HPSEBL, HPPCL and HP Power Transmission Corporation Ltd(HPPTCL).

Soon after the restructuring of the HPSEB, the oldest and the only survey and investigation circle in the state based at Chamba, which was the HPSEBL’s key wing and played a pivot role, had been disbanded by the previous BJP government relocating its staff numbering about 120 personnel thereby overlooking the interests of Chamba district.

The S&I circle included its two divisions based at Chamba and Bharmour with six sub-divisions.

The Survey and Investigation circle and its other offices were having valuable assets including the land and the buildings at Chamba since 1964 and had already been engaged in the most important activity of investigating and exploiting the hydel potential of the state; and at the same time these buildings were also being utilised for housing the offices of the DGM of the HPPCL.

Moreover, Chamba district is endowed with the vast hydel potential of about 2,325 MW available in the snow-fed river waters of the Ravi and its tributaries in the mountainous terrains of the district.

Out of this, about twenty mini hydel schemes in the range of 6 to 70 MW having power potential of over 400 MW are all set to be harnessed.

The restoration of the HPSEBL S&I circle and the office of the HPPCL DGM would go a long way in harnessing the hydropower potential thereby earning huge revenue to the state exchequer as well as opening ample avenues of employment and making extensive development of the district, the residents feel. 

Chamba, February 5
To avoid unnecessary delay in development activities, the state government has directed the Forest Department to hold a review meeting with departments like Pubic Works Department, Irrigation and Public Health Department, HP Power Transmission Corporation Limited, HP State Electricity Board Limited, Welfare Department, Education Department, etc on the fifth of every month at the district level so that the latest status of each pending proposal could be ascertained and resolved.

The decision came in the wake of the matter concerning the delay in getting approval of the Government of India under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, raised at the recent meeting of MLAs chaired by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to discuss budget priorities for the ensuing fiscal year. The Chief Minister asked the Principal Secretary (Forests) to review the status of the pending proposals in the state under the FCA every month.

The first meeting in this regard was scheduled to be held at Chamba on February 5, the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Chamba, ARM Reddy, said.

The CCF said from 2005 onwards, there were 303 development proposals received by the Forest Department in Chamba district out of which 215 had been approved, adding that during the current fiscal year, 11 such cases had been received afresh so far.

“The main hindrance in getting approval is in the case of roads being constructed by the PWD, as in many cases a small stretch of the road, at times from 100 to 300 metres, was found to have been started by the user agency, which the Central team from regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests inspected during June last year in Churah and Chamba divisions.

The objections raised by the team had been taken up with the Principal Secretary (HP PWD) in July last year to fix the responsibility,” the CCF further revealed.

“Another reason is now the cases are sent back for getting a certificate from the Deputy Commissioner concerned regarding the no-objection certificate for the claims under the Forest Rights Act,” the CCF said, adding that if the certificate was attached in the first instance by the user agency, the delay could be further reduced. Now, competent forest officials will personally inspect the areas to be diverted, where more number of trees were required to be felled, and had proposed alternate arrangements to minimise damage to the forests, which might delay the process for a couple of days, the CCF said.

Claiming that there was no pendency pertaining to the diversion case as of today, the CCF pleaded with the user agencies to move the file to avoid unnecessary delay and objections, and also deposit the mandatory dues prescribed by the Government of India and the SC for a fast disposal of the cases. 

Despite a delayed start, Asia’s oldest natural ice-skating rink had a reasonably good season due to timely snowfall in January which brought down the ambient temperature.

The season came to a close on February 3 after a western disturbance brought heavy rain which melted the ice on the rink. Clear weather would have extended the season up to February 10. However, still 68 sessions were possible during the season and it was better than last year when only 56 sessions were held.

More importantly, the Shimla Ice-Skating Club, which manages the rink, was able to host the national ice- skating championship. But there was no winter carnival as unfavourable weather conditions continued during December. January was good and evening sessions were also possible on a majority of days as a result of which the overall season turned out to be better than last year.

Three decades ago 90 to 110 sessions was the norm and the season started around mid-November and continued till mid- March. It has been curtailed to half due to change in the climate and felling of trees on the hill side which provided shade to the rink. Now a large portion of the rink has been exposed directly to sun rays as a result of which only few evening sessions are not possible.

Bilaspur, February 5
All suitable steps will be taken to popularise Jaddu Fishing Centre of Gobind Sagar to develop it as a popular tourist attraction and also as a centre for provision of various facilities for families of fishermen working in this area.

This was stated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Forests) Rajesh Dharmani while releasing into the Gobind Sagar lake a new fiber-glass modern motorboat built at a cost of Rs 44.22 lakh at Jaddu in Jhandutta constituency, about 80 km from here.

Dharmani said a detailed project report would be prepared to get sanction from the Central Government for this “tourist project” at the earliest with special reference to its becoming a focal point for a visit to the world-renowned pilgrim centres like Naina Devi and Baba Balak Nath of Shah Talai around Gobind Sagar.

Dharmani said the motorboat would not only help the department in swift patrolling of the entire Gobind Sagar for checking and controlling any illegal fishing, but would also be very helpful to fishermen and others at the time of emergencies like storms or threat of drowning as it can travel at a tremendous speed of 10 nautical miles per hour while consuming only 10 litres of oil per hour. He said apart from two drivers and a guide, the motor boat had a seating capacity of 15 persons.

Dharmani said the Fisheries Department should spread more awakening among villagers by holding regular camps for rearing fish in tanks with government assistance, so that it helped in supplementing their family income.

The state Director of Fisheries, Dr Gurcharan Singh, gave details of facilities being provided to some 2,000 families of fishermen working under 26 co-operative fishing societies in Gobind Sagar. Present on the occasion were SDM Rajiv Kumar, Assistant Director of Fisheries Tapesh Chauhan, Jaddu Fishing Cooperative Society president Karam Chand, among others. 

Bilaspur, February 5
Shabad Manch, a Hindi fortnightly being published by the Himachal Pradesh State Journalists Federation, on Thursday declared the results of its third Hindi Poetry Competition and the first prize of Rs 3,000 was won by Dr Satya Narayan ‘Snehi’ of Sonthal, Shimla district, for his poem titled “Internet Per Mera Gaaon”, while two second prizes of Rs 2,000 each were won by Dr Dev Kanya Thakur of SJVN, New Shimla, for her poem titled “Akhbaar Ki Khabar” and Krisan Chand Mahadevia of Mahadev, Sundernagar, for his poem titled “Chooha”.

Three third prizes of Rs 1,500 each went to Hari Priya of Mandi town for “Bazar Mein Bahte Log”, Dr Shashi Goyal of Jawahar Nagar road, Agra (UP) for “Maan” and Jagdish Chander Sharma of Gilund, Rajasthan, for “Pita”.

Five consolation prizes of Rs 1,000 each went to Vivek Vatsyayan of Fagog, Jhandutta, Bilaspur district, for “Jai Jai Vasundhre”, Hans Raj Bharti of Basantpur, Sarkaghat, Mandi district, for “Ek Kavi Ki Kavita”, Ram Bhawan Singh Thakur of Bhairon Ganj, Madhya Pradesh, for “Aranya Sanskriti”, Vijay Kumar Puri of Padra, Hangloh, Palampur-Kangra district, for “Pehchaan” and Bhoop Singh Baldodiya Bharti of Khaletta, Rewari, Haryana, for “Vah Bharat Desh Hamara”.

As many as 59 Hindi poets from 11 states participated in this competition. The winners would get their prizes and honours at a state-level function from the Chief Minister at Bilaspur town soon.

Palampur, February 5
The state government has agreed to set up a municipal corporation at Palampur. A proposed notification to this effect has already been issued by the HP State Urban Development Department.

The government had asked Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, C Pal Rasu to send a detailed proposal in this regard so that the matter could be placed before the Cabinet soon. The move would help check the environmental degradation of the town.

Official sources told this correspondent here recently that the proposed municipal corporation at Palampur would be the second in the state after Shimla. At present, the town is governed by a municipal council that was set up 100 years ago and since then its area was never extended.

It was also learnt that there was a proposal to include 12 panchayats, including Ghuggar, Bundla, Lohana, Bindravan, Maranda, Banuri, Rajpur, Bharmat, Aima, Khalet and Tandain, in the proposed corporation. Besides, HP Agriculture University and Institute of Himalayan Biotechnology complexes will also come under its jurisdiction.

If the proposal is finally cleared by the state, this beautiful hill station, which is also known as the tea town of the state, will usher in a new era as developmental activities will be geared up and the town would get funds from the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Mission (JNUM). Besides, it will witness planned development.

Till date there was only one municipal corporation in the state at Shimla, which was availing funds from the JNUM. Meanwhile, several social and political organisations of the town have welcomed the decision of the new state government to set up a municipal corporation at Palampur.

The Save Palampur and Palampur Welfare Forum have thanked Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, HP Assembly Speaker Brij Behari Lal Butail and Urban Development Minister Sudheer Sharma for accepting the long-standing demand of Palampur residents.

Nurpur, February 5
Comet Mensa Senior Secondary Public School, Dehri, near here, celebrated its 10th anniversary recently with immense fanfare.

After Ganesh Vandana and Saraswati Vandana children showed their acrobatic skills in roller-skating and Tae kwon do.

A humorous English play, “Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture”, was also enacted. It was followed by cultural dance performances of Rajasthan and Himachal.

A song based on the social evil of female foeticide was also staged to spread awareness against the same.

Principal Ravinder Pathania read the annual report and former government college Principal VK Sharma, who was the chief guest, exhorted students to work hard to attain their goals. He stressed that students should take part in extra curricular activities along with their studies. Later, prizes were distributed among students.