Manali, March 12
The work of snow clearing on the 474-km-long Manali-Leh Highway, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, is in full swing. Col Yogesh Nair, Commander, 38 BRTF, (GREF), said massive efforts were being made to open the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul- Spiti district.

He said at present the snow-clearing machines had reached the 30-km stretch of the Manali- Leh highway from Manali side.

The snow-clearing operation started on March 1. Four independent teams were deployed for the opening of the highway.

With the help of snow cutters and other modern machines besides the help of dedicated and well organised team work of officers and jawans, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is hopeful of clearing the snow between the Manali- Rohtang pass by the second week of April, if the weather conditions remain dry.

The Manali-Leh road had played a key role during the Kargil conflict. Food, arms and ammunition for the Indian soldiers in the border district of Leh - Ladhak were carried through this road during the kargil war .

The journey from Manali to Leh is replete with adventure and thrills. In 1989, the Government of India had threw open the Manali-Leh Highway for foreign tourists, whereas the tribal belt of Spiti and Kinnaur was opened for foreign tourists in 1992.

About 70-km from Manali, at Gramphu, the highway bifurcates and leads to the Spiti valley and Kinnaur. The road from Gramphu to Batal runs along the Chandra river and then in a zigzag manner runs over the ( 4551m) high Kunzum Pass till it reaches Kaza and Kinnaur,

The early opening of the Rohtang Pass for vehicular traffic will bring a great relief to the people of Lahaul - Spiti district. 

Hamirpur, March 12
A national-level workshop was organised recently at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, on “Engineering Applications for Sustainable Development” under Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme — II ( TEQIP) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Talking about the theme of this workshop, Head of Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of the NIT and co-coordinator of this workshop, Dr Rajeevan Chandel, said the application of engineering techniques had gained significance in recent years as many useful applications of engineering in medical science were being made and several gadgets and machines were being used for treatment and to improving quality of human health.

She said since the use of biomedical electronics was also being made in medical science and had a huge potential, through this workshop an effort was made to appraise the faculty and research students about this field and attract them to work in this area besides providing them practical exposure.

The main speaker of the workshop was Dr Kanav Kahol, Adjunct Faculty, Arizona State University, USA, and Director of Affordable Health Services of PHFI, New Delhi.

In his keynote address, Dr Kohol spoke on “Engineering for Social Development Case-Studies from Public Health” and practically demonstrated the Swasthya-Slate e-equipment developed by him for human health monitoring and diagnostics for which Dr Kahol has received the Best Innovative Project Award from the Vice-President of India, recently.

Prof Rajnish Shrivastava, Director, NIT, Hamirpur, was the chief guest at the workshop who in his inaugural address talked about the importance of workshops and the role of TEQIP in transferring the technology to masses by enhancing awareness about technical knowledge in society.

Prof JS Sahambi from IIT Ropar, who was the chief guest at the valedictory function, delivered expert talk on “Wavelets and their use in Denoising MR Images” by demonstrating practical application.

Dr Rajeevan Chandel, coordinator of the workshop, deliberated on “Low Power Design Techniques for Biomedical Applications and Chip Design Issues” while Dr Gargi Khanna talked on “MEMS and Sensor Design — Applications & Fabrication”. Engineer Amit Kaul presented his paper on “Image Processing using MATLAB”.

Thirty participants from across the country participated in this workshop, which was attended by 45 postgraduate scholars. 

Palampur, March 12
The waterlogging at the local bus stand during rains has become a matter of serious concern. Despite the fact that over two crore has been spent on the construction of the new bus stand a few years ago, it is stll in bad shape.

Particularly, during rains, it becomes quite difficult for passengers to approach the ticket counters.

Senior officers of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation are well-conversant with the situation but no efforts were made to solve the problem.

Palampur bus stand is one of the important bus stands of the state and thousands of passengers board buses from here to different destinations. The construction of the bus stand was taken up in 1991.

However, in the past 18 years no serious efforts were made for the completion of this bus stand as per the original plan, which is urgently required for the fast-developing town.

The government had acquired 75 kanals in the heart of the town for the project.

According to the original blueprint, there was a plan to construct booking offices, clock room, guest house, official complex to house HRTC offices, banks along with a greenbelt around the bus stand. Besides, there was also a proposal to set up a shopping complex under the Self-Financing Scheme.

The HRTC had declared that the bus stand would be the most modern in the state but even after 20 years the construction of the bus stand is yet to be completed.

Brij Butail, Speaker, HP Assembly, balmed the previous BJP governmet for the poor condition of the bus stand.

He said the Congress government was well conversant with the problem and had already released 35 lakh for the repair of the bus stand.

An organisation of Shimla, ‘The Platform’, arranged an exhibition of traditional weights and measures, dresses of folk Himachal, conventional music instruments, etc in the Gaiety complex here.

The music instruments that were displayed in the exhibition were brought from the temple of the local deity, Harishang of Chanaug village, Sunni tehsil, in Shimla district and for doing so the deity’s necessary permission was obtained which is conveyed through the priest who, it is believed, converses with the deity. A distant replica of Harishang in shape of a mask authoritatively presiding over the instruments was also put on show. Of all the exhibits, I was drawn towards the forgotten system of weights and measures that existed in Nirmand Block of Kullu district from where Deepak Sharma had brought the gauges for measuring grains (see photo). He explained to me the traditional method of measuring grains - mutthior closed fist carries the smallest quantity of grain; parsua or open palm comes the next holding slightly more; oltu or two hands joined together further add to the quantity. Here I want to add what Mela Ram, a visitor to the exhibition, told me that while giving alms, it was a common practice among the natives that after giving a pattha (approximately 2 kg), an oltu, which in Shimla district is called annal, or two were added as extra. It was like the milk vendor giving runga (extra milk) to the customer in days gone by. Thuaru is a gauge made of bamboo and measures half kilogram while tokru measures a kilogram of grain; pattha measures two kilograms.

The containers, also made of bamboo, holding 20 and 40 kilograms of grain, are called Shakri and Bhoral or Pechari respectively. The big containers were not brought to the exhibition but there was patari, a small box made of wood that was used to store the grains. If I were at Nirmand of yore, I would have eaten my food in a bowl-shaped kaushi made of rhododendron wood; poured daal in my food bowl through metallic chatauo; added a dash of pure ghee through metal’s lotku while rotis would be kept in patarchumade of garba (bamboo grass) and had a glass of milk taken out from dugri, the wooden container, used for milking the cow.

The rich pahari vocabulary gave me an idea that I am sharing with my readers that a book ‘Pahari ki Shabd Sampada’ on lines of Dr Vidyaniwas Mishra’s ‘Hindi ki Shabd Sampada’ can be attempted by an enthusiast. A beginning has already been made by Kamal Prasad Sharma who has written a book “Costumes and Ornaments of Chamba”.

The exhibition arranged by ‘The Platform’ had replica of pahari costumes mostly designed by Bhupen Paul of Kanlog, Shimla. I am always fascinated by the costumes of Gaddis of Chamba because these are conspicuous and arcane (see photo). The topi, woollen cap, of men is of a peculiar shape with a flap and peak like formation which Gaddis presume to represent Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. A gown-like costume called chola is worn to cover the upper part of the body. It is made of pattu, rough woollen hand-spun cloth. Chola is bound by a black Doraor gatri, made of Yak wool — Gaddis call it ‘Siva-ri-Seli’ (rope) — over the waist. Originally, Gaddis wore only underwear and kept their legs bare, suthan or pajama was introduced with the coming of Sakas in India about the first century.

The female Gaddi wears ghundu (headdress) which is a dupatta. Choli, cholu or Luanchdi covers the body. Choliis made of fine pasham and is used for outings while Cholu, made of pattu, is a daily wear; Luanchdi (maxi), as shown in the photograph, is made of chintz and though utilises 12 to 20 metres of textile, yet is lighter to wear.

Dora or Gatri is the same that is used by men.

The exhibition drew men and women interested in brushing up their knowledge of different practices followed for different rituals or chores in ancient Himachal. But it reflected very little of the treasure trove of folk objects that Himachal has; more needs to come out. 

Chamba, March 12
The plan of the state tourism department to construct a unique welcome gate edifice along with a tourist information centre, police assistance centre and other departmental offices under one roof at Tunnuhatti gateway of Punjab on the Pathankot-Chamba highway for greeting tourists traversing the Dalhousie-Chamba tourist circuit has been hanging fire for the past about six years.

The main obstacle in materialising this plan is related to various government departments which have their establishments at Tunnuhatti. These departments are excise and taxation, transport, forest, marketing board, police, etc. The departments have so far failed to make a comprehensive plan by associating with the tourism department.

Moreover, there is little justification to have a tourist information centre at Dalhousie. It should be at Tunnuhatti with a welcome gate under one roof so that tourists can come out of their vehicle even in rain and get tourism-related information and have fast food, etc.

The proposed scheme of building a unique welcome gate also envisages beautifying and landscaping the entry point, which is the only gateway to Dalhousie-Chamba tourist circuit.

At present these offices are housed in shabby structures at Tunnuhatti, which are an eyesore for tourists.

If a multipurpose complex as a unique welcome gate is constructed, it can be an added attraction to the promotion of tourism of this scenic region.

Meanwhile, PS Thakur, an assistant engineer of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department Corporation, stated that Rs 32 lakh had already been earmarked by the tourism department for this scheme. 

Bilaspur, March 12
Randhir Sharma, BJP state spokesman and Naina Deviji MLA, has challenged the authority of Ram Lal Thakur to “rule over” officers of district here and elsewhere in state “as if he was a Cabinet minister”.

Talking to mediapersons here recently, Sharma said Thakur was only a “Chairman of a committee” and the Cabinet rank was given to him only to provide him the perks of a Cabinet minister. He said he had defeated Thakur in a recent election from the Nania Deviji constituency.

Sharma said Thakur did not enjoy any Constitutional authority and powers of a Cabinet minister at all and could not preside over meetings of district officers or call for files etc.

Sharma claimed that Ram Lal Thakur had started a campaign “of terrorising BJP activists and he was “misusing his committee post“ by getting concocted and false cases registered against them. He was even stopping construction work of useful projects which were started during the tenure of the former BJP government with provision of full budget.

He said this “committee chairman is behaving like an Ombudsman” and every day he was coming out with statements like holding an enquiry into the Changar Irrigation Project, installation of hundreds of hand pumps, projects implemented by Naina Deviji Temple Trust for the welfare of devotees, construction of Jeor Pattan Jetty and even the ropeway project of Shri Naina Deviji, etc.

Sharma said the government was welcome to hold a full probe into all or any of these development projects in his constituency. He said it were these and many such popular development projects which assured his victory over the Congress in this election.

Sharma also objected to stoppage of development works like construction of the long-awaited Suharghat bus stand and several roads and drinking water projects in the area. 

Palampur, March 12
Panchrukhi, a small town about 10 km from here, is crying for the immediate attention of the authorities as the town lacks basic civic amenities. Potholed roads and streets, overflowing drains and supply of contaminated drinking water tell the tale of town, which is fast turning into a big slum.

The state government has not sanction any project for the town. The parking complex project, sanctioned by the Congress government in 2005, failed to take off because of lack of “political will”.

The long outstanding demand of residents was opening of sub-tehsil here is still pending.

Almost all the interior roads and streets of the town are in bad shape. Due to overflowing drains and leaking water pipes, the water gets collected on these streets, which stink every time, thus making it difficult for the residents to move.

Heaps of garbage can be seen in every nook and corner of the town. There is no sewerage system in the town, which has further aggravated the situation. The sanitary condition of the town is unhealthy and deplorable, thus creating a number of health problems.

Captain Atma Ram, MLA for about 20 years from here, failed to bring the town on the road of development, allege the residents.

Talking to The Tribune, newly elected congress MLA Yadvender Gomma says his top priority is to lay new the sewerage system in the entire town, as the prevailing conditions are alarming. Apart from this there is also shortage of potable water in the town. There is a general complaint that drinking water being supplied to the residents carries mud and other waste material, which is not fit for human consumption.

The frequent traffic jams on the narrow Palampur- Jaisinghpur highway, which passes through this town, have become a major hazard for the residents of the town. He said he would request the Chief Minister to take up the construction of a bypass to this town. There has been manifold increase in the population of the town in the past five years thus, panchyats are finding it difficult to maintain the town with meager funds allotted to it every year.

The town is growing fast so the plan to provide basic amenities to it should be at par with other towns of the state. Adequate funds should also be sanctioned to the panchyats for the installation of streets lights and the sewerage system in all localities of the town, said one of the residents.

Nurpur, March 12
In order to educate shepherds, the State Wool Federation and Animal Husbandry Department jointly organised the second technical training- cum-awareness camp at Gangath recently. The camp was organised under the National Agriculture Development Scheme.

While inaugurating the camp, Forest and Animal Husbandry Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said the department had been organising such camps across the state with an objective to educate shepherds about the latest sheep husbandry practices and to hear their problems at the doorstep.

Addressing a large number of shepherds, he said he was well conversant with their problems and would take requisite steps to boost their confidence. Bharmouri said the government was providing Rs one lakh as loan to shepherds, out of which the government would release Rs 33,000 as subsidy, whereas the beneficiary would have to contribute only Rs 10,000.

He said shepherds were also getting insurance cover, under which shepherd families would get Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 60,000 after accidental and natural death respectively. He also distributed free veterinary kits to 400 shepherds during the camp. 

Increasing stress in daily life is taking a toll on the health of the people and making them vulnerable to a host of problems. However, it is possible to mitigate the impact of stress by proper management of life for which enough expertise is available nowadays.

As the police personnel in particular have a stressful life, a Shimla-based non-government organisation, Ashadeep, organised a stress management workshop for them at the Kaith Police lines. Dr Rakesh Sehgal, a holistic health consultant, conducted the workshop during which the participants were apprised of the factors contributing to stress and provided valuable tips to manage it in a capsule form.

He underlined the role of positive thinking, healthy lifestyle, and meditation, spiritual and social support as stress busters. Besides, three more aspects, sound sleep, physical exercise and proper nutrition, were also essential for leading a healthy and stress-free life.

Dr Sehgal introduced the participants to music therapy and the participants also enjoyed guided meditation directed by him.

Dr PC Negi, Head of Cardiology Department at Indira Gandhi Medical College, shared his knowledge about stress management and threw light on various important aspects for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He underlined the need to combat stress effectively for a healthy heart and expressed concern over youngsters falling a prey to lifestyle changes making them prone to various cardiac diseases.

He also stressed on healthy diet and regular physical activity to keep fit and staying away from tobacco and tobacco-related products, which were the leading contributors to cardiac diseases. He advised against fast food and underlined their negative impact on health in the long run and emphasised on the use of mustered oil and soybean oil, which were the safer medium of cooking as compared to refined oils.

Inspector Bhikam Ram lauded the efforts of Ashadeep and said more such workshops along with health check-ups like cardio vascular and diabetes should be conducted.

Palampur, March 12
Sant Ram (70), a resident of Multhan village ( Chhota Bhangal ) of Baijnath subdivision has been running from pillar to post for the past 15 years to get compensation for his land, which was acquired by the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department, for the construction of IPH Rest House at Multhan. However, he has failed to move the bureaucracy. Sant Ram has left all hopes and seems helpless.

Making another effort to get the compensation, Sant Ram met Chief Minister Vir Bhadhra Singh at his “khula darbar”, organised to hear public grievances at local PWD rest house last evening.

While narrating his woes to the Chief Minister, Sant Ram and his daughter were in tears. He told the CM that his land was acquired by the Executive Engineer, Palampur, for the construction of the IPH rest house at Multhan in 1997-98.

Sant Ram said while taking possession of the land, he was assured by the officials that the due compensation would be paid to him soon. Sant Ram told the Chief Minister that he had visited every office of the department for the past 15 years but all went in vain. Th situation has gone to such an extent that today officials of the department do not allow him to enter the office and treat him as “nuisance”.

Another piece of his land was also acquired by the Revenue Department three years ago for the construction of a sub-tehsil building at Multhan. However, the department has not paid him any compensation so far. He said his only daughter Santosh had gone blind as he had no money for her treatment.

The Chief Minister assured Sant Ram that the compensation along with interest would be paid within a month. He also directed the senior officers of the Irrigation and Public Health Department to conduct a enquiry into the matter and initiate action against the guilty. 

Nurpur, March 12
The Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Manufacturers’Association has submitted a memorandum seeking promotion and expansion of the ayurveda industry in the state to Chief Minister Virbhadra during his recent visit to the town.

A delegation of the association led by its general secretary Upender Gupta apprised him of a number of problems being faced by ayurvedic drugs manufacturing units in the state. Members of the delegation demanded ayurveda drugs manufacturing licensing facility at Dharamsala for Kangra, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Hamirpur and Una districts. The association rued that the existing licensing facility was cumbersome, time consuming and available only at Shimla.

The association also pleaded to enforce revised policy for procurement preference under Section 11 of the Micro, Small and Medium (MSM) Enterprises Act, 2006 (reviewed by the CM Virbhadra Singh himself when he was union minister of MSM in November 2011) in the ayruveda department and the food and civil supplies corporation of the state.

It claimed that the revised policy had laid down guidelines to procure 20 per cent annual purchases of the NHRM or central budgetary funds from the micro and small manufacturing units by waiving off annual turnover conditions of the units.

Chamba, March 12
In the wake of the ongoing protest against the proposed 180-MW Bajoli Holi hydroelectric project, an official of GMR Bajoli Holi Hydro Power Pvt Ltd has maintained that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has accorded the environment clearance for the execution of the project on January 24, 2011 and the forest clearance on October 26, 2012.

In an official communiqué, an official of GMR Bajoli Holi Hydro Power stated that these clearances had been given on the basis of a detailed justification note submitted to the MoEF on December 1, 2008 in which advantages and disadvantages for the execution of the project on the right bank and the left bank of the Ravi had been defined comparatively.

Accordingly, considering the merits of the project on the left bank of the Ravi, the MoEF had accorded these clearances to GMR Bajoli Holi Hydro Power to execute the project, the official stated.

“The MoEF is responsible for awarding the environment and forest clearances to any project as the ministry has already set various guidelines to accord these clearances,” the official said.

On the other hand, mahila mandals of the tribal township of Holi, falling in the Bharmour tribal subdivision of the district, are up in arms about the execution of the Bajoli-Holi hydroelectric project on the left bank of the Ravi as there is thick habitation near the banks of the river.

Members of the mahila mandals have already submitted a memorandum to the state government, through the local administration, stating the execution of the project on the left side of the Ravi would affect their agriculture and horticulture cultivation, including apple crops as well as the natural water sources.

The mahila mandals have assured to extend their cooperation to the hydropower enterprise if the construction of the project is undertaken on the right side of the river to avoid any damage to the inhabited environment in the aftermath of the construction of the project. 

Palampur, March 12
Urban Development Minister Sudheer Sharma said here today that the state government had planned to give top priority to health sector in the state. “All zonal and district hospitals in the state will get best equipment and proper staff,” he said.

Sudheer Sharma admitted that at present the health sector in the state needed a special attention as over 400 posts of medical officers and specialists were lying vacant in different hospitals. He said the Chief Minister had made it clear that there would be no dearth of funds and all efforts would be made to fill all the vacant posts.

While criticising the policies of the previous BJP government, he said in the past five years the situation had become worse as the BJP government discontinued the appointments of doctors through the HP Public Service Commission and switched over to contract appointments through Rogi Kalyan Samitis. — OC