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	Geoinformations: Beyond 2000 (February 27, 1999) Leopards create terror in Garhwal hills (February 22, 1999) REACH to preserve Garhwal's ancient monuments (February 21, 1999) CAPART calls for documentation of rural technology (February 17, 1999) The Switzerland of the East (February 16, 1999) Renaissance of a lost heritage (February 15, 1999) Dhanolti: the coming of winter (February 14, 1999) Teachers on strike over beating up of official (February 11, 1999) Habitat evaluation of migratory waterfowls completed (February 10, 1999) Doon Valley to honour Ruskin Bond (February 10, 1999) `Sharadotsav' brings colour to cold Mussoorie (February 4, 1999) Heavy snowfall in Shimla, Mussoorie (January 29, 1999) Wildlife population drastically reduced in India (January 26, 1999) Reforms sought in U.P. Reorganisation Bill (January 26, 1999) Dehradun civic body issue still hanging fire (January 14, 1999) Stone laid for motor road to link Hemkund (January 14, 1999) Badrinath shrine cases get political (January 11, 1999) Committee fails to solve Udham Singh Nagar issue (January 10, 1999) Hill Secretariats wear deserted look (January 3, 1999) Uttaranchal: Sadhus oppose Hardwar's inclusion (January 1, 1999) Pvt airlines to get finance from Uttaranchal state (January 1, 1999)		`Geoinformations: Beyond 2000' UNI - Saturday, February 27 1999 Doon to host conference on geoinformatics DEHRA DUN: The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehra Dun and the Netherlands-based International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences have jointly organised an international conference on geoinformatics in the Doon valley to discuss the role of this subject in sustainable development. The IIRS, functioning under the National Remote Sensing Agency, Government of India, is the premier institute in the sub- continent in the sphere of remote sensing. Since its inception in 1966, the IIRS has significantly contributed in the field of human resource development for natural resources inventory, monitoring and sustainable development using remote sensing and geoinformatics technology. According to Dr PS Roy, dean of the IIRS, ``Geoinformatics: beyond 2000'' had been organised to be held in the Doon valley from March 9 to eleven next keeping in view the tremendous potential of geoinformatics application for sustainable development and further prospects of the technology and its application. Dr Roy said sessions at the conference will include ``Geoinformatics: Opportunities in the next millennium'', ``geoinformatics in disaster management'', ``geoinformatics- trends'', ``natural resource management and monitoring'' and `spatial modelling'. According to Dr RC Lakhera, a senior scientist at the IIRS, more than 250 participants from India, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, the USA, Poland, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Indonesia will attend the three-day global meet from India, Dr Lakhera said. Representatives of the departments of space, state mining departments, state forest departments, department of ocean development, will also attend the meeting, he added. Geoinformatics technology provides an effective tool for integration of information on natural resources and ancillary information and generation of an action plan for sustainable development having realised the importance of integrated approach for sustainable development. The department of space, Government of India, in collaboration with the state governments, has taken up a national project the project is called IMSD (Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development) and has been functioning since 1992. Under the IMSD locale-specific action plans for sustainable development of land and water resources are generated on watershed basis by integrating natural resources information generated from satellite data with collateral and conventional information and socio-economic inputs. Multi-spectral satellite data are being used for generation of base-line information on mineral resources, soils, and crops, ground and surface water, land use and land cover and forests, at scales ranging from regional to local levels. The focus of the conference would be on he futuristic applications of geoinformatics in the areas of natural resource assessment, monitoring and management. The meeting will also hold two workshops -- one on ``operational remote sensing'' and the other on ``environmental modelling using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) for sustainable development.'' The second workshop will be chaired by Dr DP Rao, director, National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad. Distinguished space scientist Dr K Kasturirangan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, will be chief guest at the conference. Dr Karl Harmsen, rector, International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, the Netherlands, will be the guest of honour. Leopards create terror in Garhwal hills 22 February 1999 The Times of India News Service DEHRA DUN: Dozens of people have been killed or maimed by maneating leopards in Chamoli and Pauri districts of Garhwal hills during the past five months, according to reports reaching here. In January alone, at least a dozen people were attacked by the big cats in these districts. Latest reports from Rudraprayag and Pauri said that leopards killed five women and and a boy in the Jakholi block of Chamoli district last week. Leopards killed one girl in Dwarikhal block of Pauri district on Sunday while another was killed by a maneater last week. Terrified people have sent several SOS messages to chief minister Kalyan Singh and National Human Rights Commission to protect their lives and demanded adequate safety. Reports reaching here from Chamoli said the attacks by maneaters have paralysed normal life in the rural areas. At some places, panic-stricken villagers are reported to be reluctant to venture out of their houses even during the day. In the first week of this month, Uttarakhand development minister Ramesh Chandra Pokhriyal had ordered the killing of maneating leopards and deputed teams of hunters to do this. Over the past few years, reports of leopard attacks on human settlements in the sub-Himalayan Uttarakhand region have increased substantially. These reports often go unnoticed and it is only when there is a sudden spurt in the killings that the government begins to take notice of the seriousness of the situation. Dozens of poor villagers in the hills have reportedly been falling victim to the maneaters every year for the past many years. Wildlife experts here attribute this to an alarming decline in the number of animals the big cats preyed upon. Due to stringent provisions of the Wildlife Act, it is not easy for authorities to pass orders for elimination of the suspected maneaters, according to officials. ``A peculiar situation prevails in these areas as to whether to protect the lives of the animal or the pepole,'' says Kailash Chandra Khanduri from Rudraprayag. REACH to preserve Garhwal's ancient monuments UNI - Sunday, February 21, 1999 DEHRA DUN: A massive effort is being made here by the Rural Entrepreneurship for Art and Cultural Heritage (REACH) to protect and preserve the ancient monuments of the Garhwal Himalayan region to keep alive the cultural heritage of these hills. According to Mr RK Singh, general secretary of REACH and former national chairperson of the SPIC Macay, a ``Himalayan Heritage Centre'' would soon be set up to provide the pre-requisites for the conservation of the traditions that have sustained the communities in this region. Eminent personalities like Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Vandana Shiva, Ruskin Bond, Allan Sealy, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan and Dr Komal Kothari have consented to be associated with the `mammoth' effort of setting up the heritage centre, said Mr Singh. REACH will take all possible measures to protect the tribal culture found in some parts of Garhwal as well as the temple architecture of remote Himalayan areas of the Uttarakhand region, he said. REACH was initiated as a result of a firm resolve of several like minded people from diverse fields to preserve the unique Garhwali culture including folk art, crafts and monuments. REACH has undertaken documentation work on the Garhwal School of Painting, rare examples of which can be seen on the walls of the famous Gurudwara of Shri Guru Ram Rai in the Doon valley. This Gurudwara was built in the latter part of the 17th Century under the orders of Aurangzeb and resembles the tomb of Jahangir in Sikandra (Lahore). Paintings on the walls of this gurudwara are in the Garhwali style and done by Tusli Ram, the last of the great painters of the Garhwal School of Painting. Many of these historical paintings have been spoilt by visitors to the darbar over the years. They can be restored to an extent with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), members of the REACH feel. Another issue taken up by the REACH is that of the George Everest house and estate in Mussoorie. An extremely important site historically and architecturally, this estate must be declared as a centrally protected monument under the ASI, REACH says. Preserving these monuments would also go a long way in promoting organised `historical tourism' in the Garhwal region, giving a boost to its tourism based economy. In fact, if these are brought within the tourist circuit, it would be in the interest of all to conserve them. CAPART calls for documentation of rural technology UNI - Wednesday, February 17 1999 DEHRA DUN: The Council for Advancement of People's Action in Rural Technology (CAPART) has called upon the several NGOs working in the Garhwal and Kumaon hills to begin documenting rural technology in this region. Mr Ranjan Dutta, director general of CAPART who was recently in the Doon valley, said here that the report would also prepare a database on the rural resources of the Uttarakhand region. Mr Dutta stressed the need to patent the rare herbs found in the Himalayas. Mr Dutta visited the Himalayan Environmental, Social and Cultural Organisation (HESCO) office and training centre where HESCO volunteers provide training to rural women and men in the techniques to manufacture furniture from the Lantana weed. He expressed appreciation for HESCO's efforts to market a new mosquito repellent made from Lantana. The CAPART is an autonomous body funded by the Central Government. It supports around 15,000 NGOs in the country to carry out rural development work. Every year, about Rs fifty crore is distributed by CAPART for development of rural areas. CAPART, established in 1986 to promote and assist voluntary organisations in the implementation of projects for sustainable development in the rural areas, is now adopting new guidelines for functioning to facilitate people's participation and to ensure increase in the capacities of rural people. Based on this new approach, CAPART will now establish a system of grading voluntary organisations based on their commitment, reputation and performance. It has also taken up a programme to strengthen its evaluation and monitoring system through enlistment of professionally qualified project evaluators. NGOs as development partners are the arms and brains of CAPART. Recipients of CAPART funds will be termed as `partner organisations' of CAPART to symbolise the relationship of equality with them. The NGOs of the Garhwal and Kumaon hill region require support from bodies like CAPART in order to carry out their various projects in remote hill areas of this fragile ecosystem. Development of human resource in this hill region is of extreme importance and has so far been neglected. The Switzerland of the East ANI - Tuesday, February 16 1999 AULI, (ANI): In the foothills of Garhwal Himalayan ranges in Uttar Pradesh lies the Auli ski resort, which is slated to become the Switzerland of the East. A survey conducted by Austrian and French experts rated the resort among the best in the world. Situated at a height of 3000 meters amidst mountainous region of the state, the resort is attracting ski lovers from across the country and abroad. ``Of all the snow resorts in the country it is one of the most popular among Indian and foreign tourists because it has natural slopes. Also better facilities give more scope for skiing and other sporting activities'', said Kuldeep Kumar, national ski player. ``As far as skiing is concerned people are very eager and most of them head for Auli'', said Pradeep Rawat, skiing instructor. The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam which is involved in the developmental work for the resort has spent nearly Rs 10 crore in constructing the 4.15-km ropeway, believed to be the longest in Asia. The Auli ski resort, some 11,000 feet above sea level, is fast being developed as a venue for winter sports of world standard. ``The process of acquiring Auli land is almost complete and we are working towards providing latest facilities to the resort. ``In this context we are going to host the National Winter Games here and will bid for the Asian Games as well'', Devender Bhasin, Chairman, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, said. He said information about the resort has been put on the internet to attract overseas sports lovers to Auli. Mr Bhasin said a 500-meter-long lift imported from France has been set up here. There is a 800-meter-long chair lift as well which connects lower slopes to upper slopes of the region. He said the resort is not only a battleground for amateurs ski- enthusiasts but also a training ground for expert players. Renaissance of a lost heritage ANI - Monday, February 15 1999 BHEEMTAL: A man in Uttar Pradesh has established a museum which houses a personal collection of prehistoric artefacts. What started as a hobby for 59-year-old Yashodhar Mathwal is now a sacred mission. Mathwal is the owner of `Lok Sangrah' or a museum housing folk artefacts, pillars, manuscripts, victory pillars and cave- paintings believed to be thousands of years old. He said the inspiration was from some museums at Pune which he visited many years ago and decided to make public the artefacts most of which date back to the prehistoric period. ``I wanted that there should be one organised exhibition of the remnants of Stone Age and people should know that it was not one period of time but one in which many divisions took place. So, in this museum many prehistoric artefacts from across the country are kept'' , said Mathwal. Mathwal said he considers it criminal not to preserve ``monuments'' of ancient heritage if one recognises their importance, adding that creating the museum was just a realisation of that sense of duty. Situated at Bheemtal, some 15 km from Nainital, the museum was established in 1983. ``The museum has an amazing collection of ancient folk art culture and after coming here one feels great that many aspects of this fast fading art is being preserved'', said a visitor to the museum. Mathwal's efforts have not yet been formally rewarded by the government but he does not feel remorseful. He feels it is gratifying enough that he had been able to put together the remnants of a lost heritage in one place, visited and appreciated by people from across the world. Teachers on strike over beating up of official The Times of India News Service -Thursday 11 February 1999 DEHRA DUN: The primary and junior high school teachers of Dehra Dun went on an indefinite strike on Tuesday in protest against the beating up of the basic school adhikari (BSA) by zila panchayat chairman Ram Saran Nautiyal in the former's office. According to a report lodged with the Dalanwala police, Mr Nautiyal allegedly forced entry into the office of the BSA, C. Singh, and started shouting at him. After some altercation that ensued, Mr Nautiyal lost his temper and allegedly assaulted Mr Singh. A lady teacher, who was present in the office, received injuries while trying to intervene. The slogan-shouting teachers sat on dharna in the office of the district magistrate, demanding the arrest of Mr Nautiyal. They were joined by a group of BJP workers and other staff members of the BSA (Mr Nautiyal is also a member of the BJP). Interestingly, Mr Nautiyal reportedly lodged a complaint against the BSA and other members of his staff for having misbehaved with him when he went to the office of Mr Singh for some official work. He also alleged that his mobile phone was snatched by the BSA. Differences between the zila panchayat chief and some of the functionaries have been hotting up for some time over the issue of transfer of teachers from the hilly region of Chakrata tehsil to the plains. Mr Nautiyal was not even on speaking terms with some of his party colleagues, it was learnt. Dhanolti: the coming of winter Date: 14-02-1999 :: Pg: 32 :: Col: a Do you come down from the mountains in winter? `No,' said - UGH and COLLEEN GANTZER, `because it's easy to live in a christmas card when you are comfortable.' IT'S eight o'clock on a wintry Himalayan night. The Christmas cards are up and we've been playing carols all today. We might, with a little bit of luck, have snow in the festive season: the conifers draped in cloaks of white, icicles glittering from the caves, the comfort of our antique electric heater glowing red. But even if it doesn't snow in Mussoorie, it'll be cold and it will certainly snow in the mountains and villages a little higher up. Mussoorie is at 2,000 metres above sea level. From about 2,500m they're certain to have snow before March warms into Spring. For years our readers have asked us, ``Do you come down from your mountains in winter?'' And when we tell them that we usually spend December and January in our high ranges, they say: ``How wonderful! The mountains must be very beautiful then. How does it feel to live in a Christmas card?'' We know how we feel, in the snug comfort of our cottage in the oak woods. Today, however, we drove out of our urbanised hill station to discover how others felt about winter in our mountains. It doesn't take long to leave Mussoorie. Fifteen minutes out and we were winding along a road that was laid like a white ribbon along oak-and-scrub covered hills. The terrain varies dramatically. It is generally barer on the southern, plains- facing, slopes. Dehra Dun spread like a vast relief map at our feet, hemmed in on the left by the Ganga and its tributaries, on the right by the Jamuna, on the south by the old screen mountains of the Shiwaliks. Beyond the Shiwaliks stretched the sun-baked plains of our land. Consequently, the southern face is the warm side of our mountains. The northern slopes are different. They face at least three successive layers of rising ranges terminating in the aloof, white, peaks of the eternal Abodes of Snow: the Higher Himalayas. It is beautiful to see, difficult to farm, but tough Garhwali families have adapted to this rugged terrain. At places where springs bubble out of the ground, or where they can tap ice-melt mountain streams, they have contoured terraces into the slopes to cultivate hardy cereals, a few fruit trees, and a patch of vegetables for themselves. Every house has a cowshed and the clong-tink! of cowbells is one of the familiar sounds of rural Garhwal. One settlement on a ridge is a favourite of ours, and of many tourists who drive on this road in the summer. We have never, however, risked climbing down its precipitous goat track into the valley, and scrambling up to the ridge on the other side. Nor for that matter have any tourists we've ever met. But there were no tourists on this road today. We left the warm, southern, slopes, turned left at a little collection of huts and were now on the other side of the mountains. Here we got our first view of the ranges that marches into Tibet. Conifers and rhododendrons matted the nearer slopes in dense, cold, damp forests. Much of the road, now, was in shadow and the air was so cold that it felt like the draught from a high-powered air- conditioner. We huddled into our anoraks and put up the windows of our little car. We began to drive cautiously: three times we felt the stomach-churning slide of a skid on black ice. We stopped once and Judy Ann, the youngest in our family, chortled when she touched the frigid bite of a dome of ice at the edge of the road. For Judy it was a delightful discovery. Then we saw two little boys walking up, diffidently, and putting plastic buckets under the drip of the crystalline mass. ``What are you doing?'' we asked. ``Where are you from?'' ``We're collecting water for our family. Our village is an hour's walk away.'' ``Don't you have taps ... or springs?'' They shock their heads. ``The nearest taps are in Dhanolti, two hours, walk from here. And this ...'' they pointed to the mass of ice, ``this is our spring. It will be like this for the whole winter.'' Some of the cheer of the trip left us. Dhanolti lay at the end of the road: a slow, half-hour, drive away. It was a little settlement hugging both sides of the road and had started life as a potato-loading stop for truckers. There are still potato fields in Dhanolti. Later it was discovered by tourists fleeing the urbanisation of our hill station. Now it has two hotels but one closes down when rain or hail, landslides or snow-drifts, deter tourists form coming. There were no other cars on the road today: Dhanolti, and its towering deodhar forests, belonged to its people. It looked very vulnerable, hemmed in by its dark, whispering, forests. The boy presiding over the tea-and-grocery shop smiled at our question, and said: `Yes, bears come down in the winter. Leopards, too ...'' ``But they don't worry us,'' asserted a bystander. ``Bears are very noisy so we can avoid them. And we lock up our dogs. Leopards eat dogs ..'' ``What do you do in the winter?'' ``We attend to our fields and our fruit trees, if the ground is not too hard with frost. We look after our cattle. Sometimes, when we have nothing else to do, we do what he's doing.'' ``He'' stood in front of a green door hung with girths for packhorses. He held a bobbin in his right hand and a fistful of sheeps' wool in his left. As we watched him, he raised his leg, rolled the bobbin on his thigh and twirled it so fast that his hand blurred. He fed the wool into the whirling bobbin, spinning it into fine yarn. The bystander explained, ``His wife will weave it into a shawl.'' ``It must be very warm.'' ``Not very warm. Not as warm as your `jerkin' will be on a snowy day.'' He laughed to take the sting out of his words. Up in the deodhar woods, where picnickers feasted in summer, a horse cropped grass. His owner said, ``Tomorrow we will go down to the plains. There is no work here and riding horses need a lot of grain and jaggery in the winter. It is very hard for us to survive.'' The shadows of the deodhars had begun to lengthen and our breaths were puffing white when we drove out of Dhanolti. On the way, a little past the frozen spring, we met two men and a pack-pony trudging down the road. The panniers of the pony were filled with cooking utensils, a jerrycan of kerosene, two blankets, packets of salt, yellow bars of soap, a coil of rope and the blade of a new shovel. ``Where do you live?'' we asked. ``Far away ..'' and he described the picturesque settlement on the ridge across the valley. ``We said, ``We have seen it. It is very beautiful.'' He looked at us disbelievingly for a moment. ``It takes me a whole day to walk from my hut to Dhanolti and back; but we need all this before the snow comes.'' Then he asked, ``Would you like to live in our village when it is covered in snow?'' We thought for a moment, and shook our heads. He nodded and said, ``You are very wise.'' The other man slapped the pony on its flanks and they began to trudge down the road again. The goat- track would be hazardous after dark. It's nice to be back in our hill-station now, warming ourselves before an electric heater. It's easy to live in a Christmas card when you're comfortable. But not everyone is dreaming of a White Christmas. Habitat evaluation of migratory waterfowls completed UNI - February 10, 1999 DEHRA DUN: Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) in the Doon Valley recently accomplished the task of evaluating the habitat of migratory waterfowls in the valley using remote sensing techniques. Dr Arun Kumar, a senior scientist of the ZSI and Dr MC Porwal of the forest and ecology division of the IIRS undertook this project in October last. The study area was the Asan Reservoir in the western part of the valley which is a suitable man-made habitat for waterfowls. It supports as many as 47 species of waterbirds (17 species of waterfowls) constituting about 37 per cent of 127 water bird species known from North India. Ducks, geese and swans, commonly referred to as waterfowls, constitute a family of about 145 species of birds of which 41 are found in India. Waterfowls create a lot of interest and are of great value due to their mass seasonal movements, spread over all types of inland waters throughout the country. One of the important functions of wetlands is to provide suitable habitat for the breeding of residential as well as wintering grounds for migratory waterfowls. Since the migration is essential for the survival of the species, availability of wintering sites is critical to these waterfowls, says Dr Arun Kumar in the project report. It was found during the course of the monitoring that the peak winter population of waterfowl at Asan was during the months of January and February. Altogether these birds are present at the reservoir predominantly between November and March. Brahminey duck, pintail, redcrested pochard, common pochard, wigeon, mallard, gadwall, coot, tufted duck and shoveler can be seen by visitors to the Asan Reservoir during these winter months. According to the report, several factors are responsible for the degradation of the ecological status. The problem of soil erosion in the catchment areas of both Asan and Yamuna rivers is acute and the reservoir silts rapidly. For desilting and maintenance, the irrigation department drains the reservoir indiscriminately, at times during winter leaving thousands of migratory waterfowls helpless. This results in their dispersal to unsuitable sites and mass poaching by local residents. Excessive use of motor boats and paddlers by tourists in the lake also cause disturbance to the birds besides the heavy traffic comprising inter-State movement of trucks, buses and tractor trolleys on the Doon Paunta route. Boating activity must be restricted and an alternative road arranged for the heavy vehicles, the scientists recommend in the report. The report also says, eco friendly tourism should be promoted at the Asan Barrage. The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam should train their staff in nature conservation and awareness campaign on the waterfowls of Asan. Doon Valley to honour Ruskin Bond UNI - February 10, 1999 DEHRA DUN: Proud residents of Mussoorie and the Doon valley are organising several functions to felicitate Ruskin bond, the benevolent author of these hills, on his receiving the `Padma Shri'. Fans and admirers of Mr Bond are visiting him in large numbers to congratulate him on his achievement. Preparations are underway for several functions to be held in his honour including a special evening to be organised on February 16 at the Doon Club by members of the Lions Club in the Valley. The Padma Shri was conferred on Mr Bond just after his latest autobiographical book, titled The Lamp is Lit: Leaves from a Journal, was brought out by Penguin. Born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in 1934, Mr Ruskin Bond has become, over the past four decades, a living legend, especially for the people of Dehra Dun and Mussoorie which has been his home for more than 30 years. An extremely modest man Mr Bond lives in a quiet little cottage (Ivy Cottage) in the picturesque Landaur area of Mussoorie with his adopted children and grandchildren. If one visits the beautiful ``Char Dukaan'' area of Landaur, one can come across this extremely friendly writer, ``the Bond of the mountains'' on his morning or evening strolls. Mr Bond, a great walker, has written about the pleasures of walking. In his recent book he speaks about his old friends in Delhi. ``In the consensus of opinion in my friend's house is that I am a little mad. They have never heard of anyone in Delhi walking by choice. They prefer to wait long periods for overcrowded buses and hang on ... As in big cities the world over, the people of Delhi are rapidly losing the use of their legs.'' ``The Green Bookshop'' in the Doon Valley, which has the widest range of Mr Bond's works , organises special evenings twice a year to enable students of the valley as well as book loving tourists. To meet this popular author whose books are prescribed in most English schools and whose child characters have fascinated young readers. For the past several decades. A special function will be organised by the bookshop this week to honour Mr Bond. Mr Bond also won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize for his first book in 1957. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in India. He has written more than a hundred short stories, essays and novels and more than 30 books for children. Shyam Benegal's famous film Junoon was based on Mr Bond's novel titled A Flight of Pigeons. `Sharadotsav' brings colour to cold Mussoorie UNI - February 4, 1999 MUSSOORIE: In the midst of a quiet and severe winter season here, ``Sharadotsav '99'' came as a welcome burst of colour and entertainment for the citizens of this hill resort in the Garhwal Himalayas. Organised by the Uttar Pradesh (Hill) Tourism Department, the winter festival as well as the ``summer festival'' are annual features and provide an opportunity for local artistes to perform at an impressive platform. Many theatre groups from various parts of Garhwal and Kumaon participated in the winter festival which concluded over the weekend. Inaugurating the three day event, Mr Kalyan Singh Rawat of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said that cultural festivals like this winter festival should be held more often in tourist towns as they are a source of entertainment and provide knowledge about local customs to visitors from various parts of the country. Mr Jot Singh, chairman of the Mussoorie Municipal Corporation, said that such efforts had been made in Mussoorie for the past several years and it was hoped that more such programmes would be held in the future. Despite the severe cold conditions following the second spell of snowfall this winter, people attended the gala function in large numbers. Mussoorie's ``Akashwani Club'' and Srinagar's artistes presented a variety of entertainment programme on the inaugural day of the festival. Himvani cultural organisation also presented one-act plays and folk songs of Garhwal and Kumaon artistes from the IPTA and ``Navjyoti club'' also participated in the fest. The IPTA presented a play titled ``Roti Ki Keemat'' which was highly appreciated by the audience. Jaunsari, Haryanavi, Garhwali and Nepali folk songs were sung by singers of the ``Navjyoti club.'' Very few tourists could be seen at the festival as tourism is at an all time low in ``The Queen of hills'' these days due to lack of proper supply of water and electricity. Schools and colleges have not yet reopened and the town appears almost deserted. The few tourists who came to see the snowfall did not choose to stay for long after having enjoyed the beautiful sight. Next month will see Mussoorie coming back to life with the arrival of the spring warmth and the town will begin preparing for the peak summer tourist season of May and June. Heavy snowfall in Shimla, Mussoorie The Times of India News Service - January 29, 1999 SHIMLA/DEHRA DUN: Just when it appeared that the harshest of the winter days were over, the weather Gods struck disrupting normal life in most parts of the Himalayan belt in north India. Residents of Shimla and Mussoorie woke up to find a thick blanket of snow even as severe cold wave conditions swept through Himachal Pradesh and the foothills of Uttar Pradesh. While the snow was a foot thick in the upper reaches of Shimla, the upper regions of Mussoorie hills such as Laltibba and Gunhill were said to be buried under two feet of snow. Reports from various parts of Himachal said there had been snowfall in almost all the higher reaches. Manali, Rohtang, the Pangi valley in Chamba district, the tribal pockets of Lahaul and Spiti and the Dhauladhar ranges were covered with snow. The waters of the Chandertal, a lake situated at a height of about 15,500 ft, and Surajtal, at a height of over 16,000 ft, froze as the mercury plummeted. Khangsar in the Todh valley in Lahaul and Spiti recorded a minimum temperature of minus 9 degrees Celsius. While Nainital was lashed by only a mild snowstorm till Thursday afternoon, other parts of the Garhwal and Kumoun hills of the Uttarakhand region experienced moderate to heavy snowfall during the past 24 hours. The adjoining Doon valley was also reeling under a spell of a severe cold wave as were many other towns in the Garhwal-Kumoun foothills. Reports from other parts of the Uttar Pradesh hill region said there had been moderate to heavy snowfall in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Almora, Nainital, Champawat, Bageswar and Pithoragarh districts. In many places in both states, roads were also said to be blocked. In Himachal Pradesh, the Hindustan-Tibet highway was closed at Kufri and Narkanda due to the heavy snow. In the Rohtang Pass region, warnings were issued against heavy snow and avalanches. The Mussoorie-Chamba-Tehri road was also reported to be blocked due to snow. The heavy snow has, however, brought a cheer to the Himachal orchardists who were looking forward to the second heavy snowfall of the season after the first on January 8. ``The snow we got earlier had almost melted and it was extremely good for the apple trees. We were keenly looking forward to this second heavy snowfall as this snow lasts and gradually melts to irrigate the orchards, resulting in a good apple crop,'' said Surender Chauhan, an orchardist from Kotkhai. Reforms sought in U.P. Reorganisation Bill Date: 27-01-1999 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: b By Our Staff Correspondent TEHRI, Jan. 26. Drastic reforms in Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill (for creation of Uttarakhand/ Uttaranchal) introduced in Parliament at the fag end of the winter session have been sought by senior politicians and citizens at a `Jan Sansad' (people's Parliament) held here yesterday. The Jan Sansad marks the beginning of the Congress offensive in the hill region which returned BJP candidates from 17 of the 19 Assembly segments and all the four Parliamentary constituencies in the last elections. As things stand now, the BJP's credibility has sunk to near zero level and the Congress(I) is making rapid inroads into its former bastion. Local parties like the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal or action groups like the Uttarakhand Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti which led the Uttarakand agitation a few years ago have so far failed to attract votes. Describing certain sections of the Bill as anti-Uttarakhand, the Congress(I) leader and former MP, Mr. Harish Rawat, said that the BJP was not interested in creation of the hill State and was trying to hoodwink the masses by raking up controversies over Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar. Former MLA Mr. Shurvir Singh Sajwan said the BJP-led Government's hoax could be understood with the provision of Rs. 50 crores only for the creation of the capital of the new State while creation of a district alone needed over Rs. 200 crores. Former MLA, Mr. Balbir Singh Negi wanted the Government to announce the amount to be spent on creation of the initial infrastructure of the proposed State. Mr. S. S. Pangti, a former IAS officer, felt that the new State would stand to loose if the Ganga, Yamuna and Sharda Board were formed as mentioned in the Bill with representation of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The new State should have total rights over its water resources and others cannot be allowed to decide on what has to be done with waters of Uttarakhand, he said. The participants wanted the need for development and not population to be the basis of appropriation of assets between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Wildlife population drastically reduced in India UNI - Tuesday, January 26 1999 DEHRA DUN: Over the past century, the combination of land clearing, uncontrolled slaughter, habitat destruction by livestock and disease have drastically reduced India's wildlife population which was one of the world's greatest wildlife populations in the 19th century. The cheetah is extinct in India, the last having been shot in 1951. The great Indian rhinoceros, which was hunted in the Indus Valley by the Mughals as late as 1519, survives only in a few isolated sanctuaries in India and Nepal and the population of Kashmir stag has been reduced to fewer than 250. These and many other interesting facts come to light in ``the deer and the tiger: a study of wildlife in India'' by George B Schaller published in India recently for the first time by the Doon Valley's Green Bookshop. Mr Schaller is a doyen of nature writers and one of the leading wildlife biologists and thinkers in the world today. He is director of science for international programmes for the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. The book is concerned largely with the ecology and behaviour of the major hoofed animals in the Kanha National Park, not far from the locale of the famous adventures of Mowgli, the fictitious wolf-boy created by Rudyard Kipling early this century. The book also covers the life history of the tiger, the most important predator in this park. About the history of hunting in India, the author says that the western world was largely unaware of the variety and abundance of the mammals in India till the 19th century. The Mughal emperors from the 13th to the 16th century were famous as hunters. Akbar is said to have kept three thousand trained cheetahs with which to hunt antelope, and his son and successor Jahangir shot, among other animals, a total of 889 nilgais. With the advent of the British rule, many hunters penetrated all parts of India. Habitat and behaviour of the chital, barasingha, sambar, blackbuck, gaur, tiger, leopard, jackal and sloth bear in the Kanha National Park have been discussed in great details by the author who won the 1997 Tyler Prize for environmental achievement. In his chapters on the tiger, he quotes Jim Corbett in the conclusion ``tigers, except when wounded or when maneaters, are on the whole very good-tempered...occasionally a tiger will object to too close an approach to its cubs or to a kill that it is guarding. The objection invariably takes the form of growling, and if this does not prove effective it is followed by short rushes accompanied by terrifying roars. If these warnings are disregarded, the blame for any injury inflicted rests entirely with the intruder.'' This first Indian edition of the wildlife classic of the 60s will go a long way in providing vital information about various species in the wildlife in the country and showing how much research needs yet to be done if the large mammalian fauna in India is to survive in appreciable numbers. Dehradun civic body issue still hanging fire Dehradun, January 13 (HT Correspondent) NEARLY TWO months after the notification for the Dehradun Municipal Corporation there are no signs to show that the BJP Goverment is in a hurry to follow it up. But the fact is that the members of the Dehradun Municipal Committee who have become non-entities after the notification are cursing the BJP for doing things in such a hurry. Now the local leaders have started talking about the ensuing elections to the Corporation and some names for Mayor's post have also started being mentioned in newspapers. When asked about this, the MLA from Dehradun, Harbans Kapoor, who belongs to the BJP, denied any dilly-dallying on the issue although he admitted that so far the 18 gram-sabhas which were to be dissolved have not been done so. Similarly , he admitted that the delimitation process for the Corporation had not been started but he does not hold the UP government responsible for this. I think the BJP is very keen to contest the election for the Corporation and there is no question of joining hands with anyone else because there is no alternative to the BJP at present. I think that Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has started making a very good impression by his actions and we will easily sweep the elections whenever they are held, he said. Former MLC of the Congress Nav Prabhat said that he had been reading about the names of various candidates being mentioned in the Press but it is too premature to talk about this right now. The delimitation map has not yet reached the District Magistrate of Dehradun who has become the Administrator in the new set-up. Secondly, the process for the administrative set-up needed for the Corporation has not yet been set in motion, he pointed out. Asked about the position of the Congress when the elections are held for the Corporation, he said let us see what the party decides about this. For quite some time the Congress has not been fighting the elections in Dehradun on its party symbol. Let us see if this policy is changed now. In any case, I don't see elecitons to the Corporation in 1999. The Samajwadi Party whcih has been quite on the defensive for some time has also thrown in its gauntlet by saying that it would contest the election for the Mayor and not leave the field open for the Congress and the BJP. Says Vinod Barthwal, National Secretary of the Samajwadi Party 'We have deicded to contest all the 60 seats of the Corporation in Dehradun because we feel that the people are quite fed up of the Congress and the BJP and are looking for a third alternative.' He said that the SP was quite strong in Dehradun because it had launched a number of agitations taking up the cause of the common man in the city. Asked about the contentious stand of their party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on the issue of Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar, Barthwal said we know that this is going to be an embarrassing problem for us. But in the Etawah conference of our party I appealed to the party president to change the party stand on the inclusion of these two districts in Uttarakhand if the party has to survive in the Hills. Stone laid for motor road to link Hemkund By Paripoornanand Painuli The Times of India News Service - Wednesday 13 January 1999 DEHRA DUN: The Shiromani Khalsa International Foundation has undertaken to build 30 km long motor road, connecting Govind Ghat, an important midway station on way to Badrinath, with Hemkund-Lokpal, an important Sikh pilgrims centre in the central Himalayas. The foundation stone of the motor road was laid recently by former Punjab chief minister Rajendra Kaur Bhattal, at Govind Ghat, according to a delayed report received here. Costing Rs 50-crore, the road will be constructed by U.P. Public Works Department in three phases in a span of three to five years. Situated at a height of 4,329 metres above the sea level, Hemkund-Lokpal has attracted pilgrims since time immemorial. Guru Govind Singh is said to have done penance here in his previous life. It was here where the epic hero Lakshman, younger brother of Lord Ram, is also said to have done tapasya. A small temple in the name also stands there. Apart from construction of the serpentine road in the in hospitable an ideologically difficult terrain, the foundation has undertaken to build a dharamshala with well furnished 500 rooms, and a 25-bed indoor hospital for the pilgrims. Sant Pritam Pal Singh, president of the foundation, has said that expenditure on the construction of the road and hospital, and dharamshala would be borne from donations collected through Sikh organisations from India and abroad. The last lap of the journey, leading to the shrine, is six km which the pilgrims will undertake on foot, he added. Environmentalists have, however, expressed concern over the road in the fragile mountain range falling within the Valley of Flower. Those opposed to the construction, particularly by using blasting explosives, include Sunder Lal Bahuguna and Chand Prasad Bhatt, who have argued that due to the use of explosive material in the construction of roads from Rishikesh to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Jamunotri, Garhwal hills, have suffered much damage And the ecology has been disturbed. Soil erosion is the order of the day and water sources in hills have since been dried. Badrinath shrine cases get political Joshimath, January 10 (HT Correspondent) THE AFFAIRS of the 10,300 ft-high Badrinath shrine, the highest for religious merit, have become bogged down in court cases, as a result of BJP attempts to use its rich revenue of crores of rupees in pilgrim offerings for the benefit of its organisations and also that of the RSS. The Allahabad High Court last month dismissed the new Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, nominated by the BJP-led Government of UP by its notification of September 2, 1998, on a writ petition filed by members of the previous committee, whose term was to run until August 26, 1999. The High Court in its order of December 1, said the previous committee was given "no opportunity of hearing" before its term was cut short. The new committee, set up by the BJP-led state Government, went to the Supreme Court, against the Allahabad High Court ruling but the highest Court on December 18, rejected its petition, according to Mr Kushla Nand Sati, a member of the previous committee and a petitioner in the High Court, who is a resident of Joshimath. The new committee, loaded with low-level RSS and BJP workers, in a month of its appointment, began doling out funds from the pilgrim-offerings to deities of Badrinath-Kedarnath temples, to functions and institutions of their own organisations, according to Mr Sati. The new committee allotted Rs 21,000 from these temple-offerings to a RSS workers' camp in Meerut in October and Rs 5,000 to each Saraswati Shishu Mandir (children school in the region, manned mainly by the RSS cadre), Mr Sati said in a statement issued here. The new committee promoted a number of its employees including one to the post of its Chief Executive, in violation of rules of their appointment. They bought a new car for Rs 5 lakhs which Mr Sati said, "Was placed at the disposal of the wife of the Chairman of the new committee, Mr Vinod Nautiyal of Pauri, to take her to Dehradun for the delivery of their child and remain there for her use." Mr Nautiyal is a Pauri RSS worker. The old committee, the term of which was abruptly cut short last year was headed by Mr Romesh Bhandari, the former UP Governor. Mr Sati, who was in that committee which is supposed to take charge again, unless the UP Government issues a fresh order after giving a hearing to its members on why their three-year term needed to be cut short, said here today that the committee office located in Joshimath had become a den of corruption, with some of its employees including the Superintendent, remaining drunk all the time. The irreplaceable and invaluable Kedarnath temple pinnacle, of gold and reported to be 5,000 years old, was stolen in 1996. Till then, no serious efforts have been made by the committee to recover it or trace the culprits. The rumour in this area is that the theft was committed with the knowledge of some committee employees. In 1994, the committee bought five buses for Rs 36 lakhs and in three years lost Rs 11 lakhs on running them. The committee officials' telephone and travelling bills run into thousands of rupees and are allowed without serious scrutiny, ignoring the fact that the money comes out of the offerings of poor pilgrims, according to Mr Sati. He called for the appointment of a High Court judge to inquire into the mismanagement of the Badrinath Temple Committee funds and said that the management of these highest temples in the north should be patterned of that of other rich shrines of India. These were contributing to the education and welfare of not only the people living around them but also of others all over the country. "Badrinath shrine and the town that has grown around it, must be the most mismanaged one in the country," Mr Sati said. Committee fails to solve Udham Singh Nagar issue REDIFF -- January 9, 1999 The solution to the contentious Udham Singh Nagar issue has eluded the high-level three-member committee that met in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Defence Minister George Fernandes. At the end of an hour-long meeting in the South Block, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who is member of the committee, along with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, told the media that they would meet again. He refused to elaborate on the deliberations. He also did not specify when they would meet again. Badal also chose to keep mum on the issue and said only the chairman of the committee could say anything. But Akali sources said though Badal's party stand is that the Punjabi-dominated plains of Udham Singh Nagar should be retained in Uttar Pradesh, respecting the sentiments of locals. He was also ready for a face-saving formula by which more plain areas from UP could be included in the proposed state to create a demographic balance between the hill and plains. On the other hand, sources said, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh did not want to leave the district out of the proposed state for political reasons, and have repeatedly assured the hill people the party's commitment to create an economically viable state. The Kalyan Singh government had already supported the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 1998, introduced in the last session of the Lok Sabha, making Udham Singh Nagar an integral part of the new state. - UNI Hill Secretariats wear deserted look Umesh Raghuvanshi (Nainital, January 2) A deserted look and locked doors of the Secretary (Finance) office speak of the functioning of the two hill Secretariats. The two Secretariats have not been able to work in full strength from the day one, as the order to shift them to hill region was termed "tughlaqui'' by the authorities in Uttar Pradesh. Even as all eyes are set on the Bill tabled in Parliament for the creation of Uttaranchal, two secretariats tell a tale of pitiable conditions of functioning and concern of the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership towards the region. Gauging the public mood the State Government though has made the two hill secretariats situated at Nainital and Dehradun functional, they have not been equipped with adequate staff. All the files requiring major decisions or the opinion of finance, personnel or Law Departments are still being sent to the State Capital. The shuttling of files between the hill secretariat and the State Capital is causing unnecessary delay and hampering the development work. The Nainital Secretariat though now has a secretary rank officer, the post of Secretary (Finance) is vacant at present. There is no other Special Secretary, Joint secretary or a Under Secretary. The sections are functioning without section officers and files are being dealt by a skeleton staff which has been made available in the hill secretariat. Secretary Raja Ram, who has been recently posted in the Nainital Secretariat, when contacted, agreed that there was a shortage of staff. He said the Nainital Secretariat has only two Upper Divisional Assistants. Lower Divisional Assistant, Personal Asssitant besides three others. The secretariat under the existing rules should at least have four section officers, 16 UDAs, 16 LDAs, a joint secretary, a under secretary and a deputy secretary. With a staff strength of seven, he was coordinating the functioning of the 11 departments. The Hill Secretariat he said, deals with the plan and budget of these departments. The review meetings of these departments are held every month. The meetings are attended by the district magistrates of the Kumaon division. He said the secretariat needs representatives of Finance, Law and Personnel departments. The files relating to these matters were being sent to Lucknow. The representative of the Finance Department has also been withdrawn. The setting of the secretariat has also failed to make any impact in the hill region. As the main secretariat of the hill development is still functioning in the State Capital the decision making powers vest only with the officers posted in Lucknow. A senior officer said there was a paucity of staff at the Dehradun Secretariat. There was no full-time secretary posted there. Two senior officers posted in the Garhwal region have been asked to look after the work of the Secretariat as the ex-offico Secretary. The decision to set up the two Secretariats was taken by the then Governor, Mr Moti Lal Vora. The offices of the Uttaranchal Development Department were shifted from the state Capital and were asked to join their duties at the two Secretariats in the hill region. However soon after Mr Vora was shifted from the post of State Governor, the two Secretariats virtually ceased to function there. The staff and officers posted there were also subsequently withdrawn as the order to shift the secretariat was termed as 'taughlaqui' order by the authorities. Uttaranchal: Sadhus oppose Hardwar's inclusion Umesh Raghuvanshi (HARDWAR, December 31) Will the gateway to the land of gods be separated from the 'Devbhumi'? Even as the issue of exclusion of Hardwar is being debated by the people and the organisations representing them, the various Akharas have decided to take up the issue if the Union Government failed to make amendments in the Bill for creation of Uttaranchal. The Bill as tabled in Parliament proposes to include Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the new State. The issue has provided an occasion for politicking in this holy city. It was debated by the sadhus at a meeting held recently. The sadhus and Mahants expressed their anguish over the moves to include Hardwar in the new State. The contention being put forward by them is that the new state may not be able to protect the interest of the sadhus of the holy city. The new State may also not have enough funds to finance the organisation of the Kumbh Mela which is considered to be the largest conglomeration of people in the world. The president of the Akhara Parishad, Mr Shankar Bharati talking to The Hindustan Times said the 'Sadhu Samaj' would take up the fight of the people if the Union Government refused to exclude Hardwar from the new State. He said the sadhus may consider holding demonstrations and organise other agitations if the demand to exclude Hardwar is not met. He said the State Government had allocated a sum of Rs 125 crore for the organisation of the 1998 Kumbh Mela. The new State may not be able to provide even a smaller sum owing to its financial constraints. Another Mahanta, Mr Jagdish Giri, when contacted said the sadhus would not tolerate the inclusion of the district. He said the issue was discussed at a meeting of representatives of akharas and Ashrams on Monday. Those who participated in the meeting had said that the move to include Hardwar in Uttaranchal would be opposed tooth and nail. Even as the fate of the bill for creation of Uttaranchal hangs in the balance, the people here are banking upon the pressure being mounted by the allies of the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led Bharatiya Janata Party coalition Government at the Centre. The moves of the Akali Dal over the issue of inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar are being watched with keen interest. The reported statements of the progressive alliance leader, Ms Mamta Banerjee, have lent weight to the contention that the Union Government may finally agree to the demand for exclusion of Hardwar. Meanwhile, a joint coordination committee has been formed by those opposing the inclusion of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed State. Mr Ambrish Kumar, a local Samajwadi Party MLA, who has been spearheading the campaign for exclusion of Hardwar, said a delegation of the local people would soon meet the President to apprise him with the feelings of the local population. He hoped that the BJP leadership would consider the demand before the issue is debated in Parliament during the budget session. He said Hardwar has never been a part of the hill region. Instead, Dehradun was a part of Saharanpur district in 1824. He demanded that instead of including Hardwar in the new State, Dehradun should be separated from the Uttaranchal region. He said a movement would be launched if the Union Government decides to go ahead with its move to include Hardwar in the new State. While party politics remains one of the major factors behind the moves to oppose the inclusion of the district, the General Secretary of the District Vyapar Mandal Mr Kailash Keshwani said traders had participated in the bandh organised to oppose the inclusion of the district. The issue was debated by the traders also at a meeting held recently. The district traders organisation though has favoured the proposal to include Hardwar in the new state, but the city unit has opposed the move. The issue is also being linked to the demand of setting up a bench of Allahabad High Court here. Meanwhile, the advocates of the district have demanded that the High Court of the new State should be set up at Hardwar. Mr Rajesh Rathore, a young advocate, said division persists among the members of the bar over the issue. Although a section of the advocates have favoured the inclusion of Hardwar in the new state, others have opposed it on the ground that the interests of the region would be harmed if the district is included. Pvt airlines to get finance from Uttaranchal state HT Correspondent (Dehradun, December 31) Private airlines linking Lucknow to Delhi will be given financial assistance to help boost tourism in Uttaranchal. This information was given by Dr Ramesh Pokriyal 'Nishank', Minister for Development in Uttaranchal, in a talk with this correspondent on the eve of 1999. Nishank said that all air-strips in Uttaranchal would be developed in the near future and in this connection he mentioned that a sum of eight crores had already been sanctioned for constructing the air-strip at Chinyalisor while the air-strip at Pithoragarh was nearing completion. He said that tourism activities in Uttaranchal would get 1,107 lakh in the year 1998-99. Besides this, an amount of Rs 1,253 lakh would be spent on facilities for tourism which includes provision of 144 beds in Government accommodation and 1,620 beds in night shelters. Giving details of other development activities in Uttaranchal, he said that 100 new buses would be purchased by the Uttar Pradesh Transport Corporation and these buses would ply in the Garhwal and Kumaon region. "Rs 300 lakh had been sanctioned for this," he said. He also disclosed that in the coming year the expenditure on medical facilities had been increased to 4,506 lakh from 1,166 lakh in 1996-97. An amount of Rs 17 crore, 44 lakh had also been sanctioned for the year 1998-99 for setting up 95 new Ayurvedic dispensaries in the region. Giving his reaction to the proposed dissolution of some of the districts created during the tenure of Mayawati including Udham Singh Nagar, 'Nishank' said that these districts were proving uneconomical and that is why there was a rethink about them. Reverting to his favourite game of taking pot-shots at the Congress, he said that the Congress showed its real colours when instead of supporting the Bill on Uttaranchal the party staged a walk-out from Parliament when the Bill was introduced.