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Pinnacle Academy students showcase dresses in fashion show
Tirah Lines tragedy: Scientific warning was ignored
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Illegal mining on rise, administration helpless to initiate action
Ground water level declines in wells of Sirmaur, Kangra
BJP to oppose Cong's vindictive attitude: Bilaspur MLA
Govt school conducts district-level disaster management competitions
Himachal diary
Forest Minister tells officials to plant more saplings
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Pinnacle Academy students showcase dresses in fashion show
Hamirpur, August 12 In the fashion show, top models from different parts of Himachal Pradesh, students of the academy and budding models from Hamirpur town, displayed a variety of dresses on the ramp. The fashion show, “Uttakarsh”, drew a good gathering from the town and Divisional Forest Officer Sangeeta Chandel was chief guest of the function. The show began with a spring and summer round in which dresses designed with traditional Sindhi embroidery, mirror work and patchwork, suitable for the season, were displayed. In the next round, party wears, drawing inspiration from the Angles, were showcased. The Indian lehnga choli, famous from the era of the Mughal period, especially popular as Awadhi costume, was the theme of next round, titled “Nazakat”. While different designs were displayed by the models, Indian dresses like Saris, Punjabi suites etc were of special attention in the show. In the fun and frolic round, children also displayed designed dresses. Telling unique features of the fashion show, Managing Director of Pinnacle Fashion Design Academy, Raman Sharma, said, “Through this fashion show we have tried to provide exposure to our students, who had been working very hard throughout the year to design dresses.” “Though fashion shows are generally focused on western dresses but we had tried to portray Indian dresses in their true sense by depicting Indian dress designs and dresses. Models had been out focus in the show,” he added. The chief guest of the function, Sangeeta Chandel, in her address said, “There is a vast scope in the field of fashion designing and lauded the opportunities provided by the Pinnacle Academy.”
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Tirah Lines tragedy: Scientific warning was ignored
Dharamsala, August 13 Besides the houses of villagers, 12 quarters of the Army came down about 100 feet as the hill sunk. Another about 25 houses were rendered unsafe due to the sinking hill. The incident should be considered as a harbinger that illustrates that ignoring scientific warnings regarding constructions in geologically sensitive zones can cause natural catastrophes. Interestingly the area in which the landslide took place had been declared as an active sliding zone in a study conducted by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. The study had stated that the area had a rotational slide involving debris, with moderate slopes at the top and steeper slopes at the toe level. Clay and small angular fragments of sandstones are the main constituents of the over burden material in the area. The active sliding zone in the area has active slide zone and affected area of about 108 sq kilometres. However, nobody cared about the scientific finding and the Army and private people carried out unabated construction in the area that finally led to catastrophe in which the entire area has now started sinking. The slide has now affected the lower areas also as the people are being evacuated from Sudher village downhill from Tirah Lines amidst fears of sinking of a hill side. The scientific study that was conducted by Dr AK Mahajan of Wadia institute of Himachal Geology had put many zones in Dharamsala, including Tirah Lines, Barakoti, Kajlot, Jogiwara, Dhial, Gamru and Chohla, under the category of active sliding zones. However, all these areas now have multi-storey buildings and are thickly populated. Like Tirah Lines, these areas could also witness landslides. According to the study, main factors for the areas being active sliding zones are geology, topography, high slope gradient, thick loose soil deposits made of clay material mixed with non-uniform cobbles and blocks. The study states that Dharamsala town is located between two major thrusts. These tectonic thrusts have developed number of splays that cause a lot of tectonic material in the area. Due to tectonic movement, rocks in Dharamsala are highly deformed, folded and fractured. The fracturing of rocks and presence of loose material coupled with high seepage leads to very high landslide hazard, Dr AK Mahajan's study states. Interestingly the campus of Central University Himachal Pradesh was now also proposed to be constructed in Gamru and Chohla villages that are active sliding zones according to the study. All the inhabitants of Tirah Lines village were families of ex-servicemen. About 23 families of former Gorkha Soldiers had settled there. The state government was now considering allotting plots to affected families in Khaniara village. However, it would take years for the affected to cope up with financial and displacement losses. History of Tirah Lines village Dharamsala was the regimental centre of the 1st Gorkha Rifles from 1860. From here the Gorkha Rifles went for action in North West Frontier Provinces for the Tirah Campaign in 1897. On August 17, 1897, news was received of an attack by 10,000 Afridi Lashkars on the British Khaibar Rifles post at Tirah. The Gurkha Rifles was dispatched from Dharamsala. The campaign was successfully concluded and the battalion marched back to Dharamsala by 17th and 18th April 1897. The 1st Gurkhas was awarded the battle honour "Tirah" which they still carry till date. The new lines then under construction at Dharamsala was named, Tirah Lines, to honour the great feat. After Independence, the Gorkha Centre was shifted out of Dharamsala and finally to Subathu. The first and fourth Gurkhas were in the process of disposing of their property. Then Honorary Captain Kaluram Thapa, a celebrated Gorkha Officer and resident of the Ramnangar area of Dharamsala, purchased the said property from the Army. According to his great grand daughter, Jyoti Thapa, who has authored a book on Gorkha rifles, her great grandfather gave the purchased land to the families of a Gorkha soldier who continued to stay there. The residents continued to reside in these Army-style houses paying a nominal rent till finally they could buy it from Kaluram Thapa. The Gorkha families at Tirah have been living there for the past more than a 100 years till now when they were forced to leave the area due to massive landslide
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Illegal mining on rise, administration helpless to initiate action
Palampur, August 13 It is not only creating environmental imbalances but also causing huge loss to the state exchequer every year. The local administration seems helpless to initiate action against the defaulters who enjoy political shelter. It is on record that illegal and unscientific mining in Kangra valley has resulted in large scale deforestation, land slides and flash floods. Situation is alarming as over 20,000 hectares of land has been seriously affected by the mining, quarrying and other activities, resulting in drastic reshaping of landscape. Illegal mining has posed serious threat for the existence of dozens of irrigation and drinking water supply schemes which get water from the small rivers. The existence of Kirpal Chand Khual feeding over thirty panchyats comprising 100 villages of Palampur, Bhawarans and Daroh blocks and Charnamati and lower Baijnath Kuhals, feeding fifteen panchayat of Baijnath block, is in danger because of continuous mining in the catchments of Neugal and Binwa rivers. Despite extensive loss being caused to drinking water supply schemes, mining department has failed to check the illegal mining. The issue relating to illegal mining in Kangra valley is already under consideration before the HP High Court. A senior official of the IPH Department said if no timely action was taken, number of drinking water supply schemes will go dry in next three years. In the past three months, Palampur SDM Bhupinder Attari has conducted number of raids, seized tractor trailers carrying mining material and also imposed heavy fines, still it has not deterred the mining mafia.In Bindravan, Bundla and Mehanja areas, hundreds of tractor can be seen in the river in early hours, extracting mining material illegally on everyday bases. It may be recalled that the persons involved in the illegal trade have no legal rights to extract the sand, stone, bajri and other raw material from these khuds and quarries. But because of political protection, the mining mafia manage to extract stone, sand and other raw material without paying any royalty to the However, the mafia is regularly charging illegal cess from hundreds of tractor trailers and trucks, lifting material from these rivers daily. An official of the BBMB said large scale deforestation, reckless mining, cutting of hills, quarrying and grazing in the catchment areas of the Pong Dam was responsible for large scale inflow of silt decreasing the water holding capacity of the dams year after year built at very high cost. Besides, construction of hydel projects have further worsened the situation. Kangra District Mining officer said in the absence of manpower, department is helpless to check the illegal mining. He said Kangra was the largest district of the state and there were over three hundreds points prune to illegal mining here which needs special task force to check the illegal mining.
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Ground water level declines in wells of Sirmaur, Kangra
Solan, August 13 As many as 67 per cent wells in Solan district and 50 per cent in Una have also witnessed a decline in the water level, according to the annual ground water report. Fall in the water level by more than 2 m has been observed in five wells in Kangra district, three in Sirmaur, two in Solan and one in Una while rise in the level ranging 0-2 m has been observed in all districts. The ground water scenario in the wells is, however, worrisome as about 11.29 per cent wells are showing rise in the water level in the range of 2-4 m and 9.67 per cent show rise of more than 4 m. About 29 per cent wells are showing a decline in the water level out of which 25.80 per cent wells are showing a decline of less than 2 m. The stage of ground water development is 58 per cent in the state with the Kala Amb valley in Sirmaur witnessing more than 100 per cent development, thus implying that the annual ground water consumption is more than the annual ground water recharge. In Una district this is as high as 98 per cent, while in the rest of the valley, areas in different districts of the state, this rate was below 70 per cent. Thus, the industrial districts of Sirmaur and Una have witnessed excessive exploitation of water. Of the eight assessment units in the state, six fall in the safe category, one in critical and one is over-exploited which include the Kala Amb valley. The Una valley falls in the critical category. The major source of ground water recharge is the monsoon rainfall and the higher exploitation is restricted to the western part of the state in the Kala Amb and Una valleys. The Net Annual Ground Water availability is 0.53 billion cubic metre (bcm) and the annual replenishable ground water resource of the state has been assessed at 0.59 bcm. The annual ground water draft of the state is only 0.31 bcm which indicates the amount of ground water used. Thus, barring the Kala Amb and Una valleys, the ground water availability in the state was comfortable and even the replenished amount was much more than the usage.
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BJP to oppose Cong's vindictive attitude: Bilaspur MLA
Bilaspur, August 13 Addressing as chief guest largely attended meeting of BJP Naina Deviji Mandal committee here at Circuit House recently , Randhir Sharma said that government has wasted its eight months in hounding BJP leaders and concocting totally false and unfounded cases against them . Randhir alleged that BJP activists were being victimised in all ways possible. "BJP-supporting traders and contractors are being harassed , challaned and being denied any construction work. Even tractor-trolley owners are being hauled up and challenged on flimsy grounds." He said this tit-for-tat campaign had resulted in the entire police force wasting its time in concocting false cases and framing BJP leaders. The result was that the law and order situation was deteriorating with criminals having a field day. Sharma said they would not tolerate it any longer and they had decided to expose “these foul tactics of the ruling coterie”. The MLA said there was no check on rising prices. He declared that the BJP would protest against this situation and a state-level demonstration and dharna would be held in Shimla on August 23, in which thousands would participate.
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Govt school conducts district-level disaster management competitions
Nurpur, August 13 The participants were selected and shortlisted in the zonal level competitions.
On the occasion, the school students also learnt techniques of disaster management and rescue. They were educated about how to act during calamities. A team of fire brigade station, Nurpur, led by its in-charge Ashok Bhardwaj, presented a mock drill of launching relief and rescue operation during any disaster. The students were given special tips for relief and rescue during any disaster. The district disaster management coordinator, Sunil Dhiman, and the assistant district physical education officer, NS Minhas, educated the students about safety and rescue measures in the wake of any disaster. In order to create general awareness of disaster management among the masses, the students and members of NSS and NCC unit of the school took out a rally at Raja Ka Talab which was flagged off by the school principal, Umesh Rana.
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Himachal diary
There are about 140 public toilets in the city, a majority of which are in a bad shape. The corporation has outsourced as many as 102 toilets to the Sulabh International for operation. Many of these toilets were in a state of neglect and not being maintained properly. Some required major repairs or even complete overhauling. The Sulabh International has been maintaining that it faced problems in operating the toilets as these had not been constructed properly. It wants new toilets to be constructed as per its design which it asserts are more hygienic and easy to operate and maintain. Tikender said the corporation would seek funds either under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission or approach the German Agency, GTA, which prepared the city sanitation plan. Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar said the corporation was also keen to introduce the state-of-the-art e-toilets which did not require any manpower for operations. The biggest advantage was that they were made of pre-fabricated steel structure which could be put up anywhere instantly; all that was needed was sewerage connection. It has electronic sensors which facilitated automatic opening of the door and flushing. Further, a big plus was that it used much less water than the conventional toilets. Such toilets had been introduced in Kerela and the corporation will soon invite the private company for a demonstration. The cost of the e-toilet was around Rs 4 lakh, including operation and maintenance for five years. The company also had modern She-toilets, specially designed for women, which were ideal for colonies requiring community toilets. Electronic eye at IGMC
The staff, patients and their attendants will be constantly under watch at Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital, the state's apex health institution, as the government has decided to install CCTV covering the entire complex. The electronic eye will be focused on all important areas involving public dealing right from the registration counter, cash payment counters, outpatient departments and corridors. The decision was taken in view of increasing complaints of neglect by patients, frequent clashes involving attendants of patients and doctors, cases of thefts and other such problems. The video-footage data generated by the integrated network of cameras will come in handy in pin pointing those responsible in case of clashes. The hospital has seen several violent incidents in the hospital and on every occasion the attendants and the staff of the hospital blame each other, with no concrete evidence and inquiry into such matters remains inconclusive.
Staff in CM's office
The staff in the Chief Minister's office, in the HP secretariat, enjoy such an important status that any visitor to this office, whether a minister, a top politician or a top mandarin, everyone behaves in the most polite and respectful manner while meeting the staff members. This is a bit obvious since meeting the Chief Minister and getting many things done depends largely on persuasion of the Chief Minister's end. More so, since every file and paper is routed through them, a good rapport with the staff matters for being in the good books of the Chief Minister. Even a junior official working in this office is revered by the visitors. Surprisingly, there was an exception to this. A few days back, when a high-ranking police officer entered the Chief Minister's office, he inquired about a member of the Chief Member's staff in a typical policeman's tone by calling by the name of the staff member. While such behaviour by the officer was startling, those in the know of things were not surprised. The police officer concerned had interrogated the officer during the previous regime in connection with a case registered against him. (Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi and DP Gupta)
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Forest Minister tells officials to plant more saplings
Bharmour, August 13 Bharmouri planted a well grown ban oak plant during Vanmahotsava in Kundli village last week. He said the areas which were barren and prone to erosion, be closed immediately by planting broad-leaved species in mixed plantations. He also directed that any planting done should not be at the cost of livelihood of the shepherds who had the traditional rights to graze in the areas and had desired to obtain concurrence before taking up any area for planting. Bharmouri stressed upon the engineering staff particularly the executive engineers of Public Works Department, Irrigation and Public Health, present on the occasion, to plant maximum number of plants in their jurisdiction alongside the roads and barren lands. He also directed the forest officials to provide plants as per their demand. In addition, the Forest Minister directed the officials of forest department to take stern action against all those who were using the river Ravi as a place for dumping muck generated from the road construction and the building debris. He exhorted the revenue officials to deal stringently under the law with those who had dumped building debris on the revenue land near Karian project area. The forest officials had been asked to take up 2,173 hectare tract for afforestation in Chamba forest circle during the year and plant 28 lakh saplings of different species in the area earmarked for the purpose.
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The hundred-odd public toilets in the state capital will be replaced by modern ones shortly under the city sanitation plan prepared by the Shimla Municipal Corporation.