silentwood

2006-07-30T09:13:00.000+05:00

Forest Dept in a fix over incorrect enumeration
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, July 29
Failure to identify correctly the forest area to be diverted for the Kol Dam project has landed the Forest Department in an awkward situation. The department has not included some thickly-wooded forest areas with standing trees worth over Rs 2.5 crore, which will be submerged due to the construction of the dam, in the diversion plan while seeking the mandatory forest clearance from the Centre.
The department has obtained permission for the diversion of 954 hectare of forest land for the project but the area which will be actually submerged is about 100 to 120 hectare more on which 40,000 to 45,000 trees are standing.
The faus paux has virtually made the forest clearance granted by the Centre for the project redundant, as trees could not be felled without permission.
More importantly, the left out forest areas formed part of the Majathal wild life sanctuary, which provides habitat for a host of species particularly birds like the cheer pheasant. The diversion of protected wild life areas is allowed only if equivalent area is included in the sanctuary. This has not been taken care of in the environment management plan.
The issue was discussed at a high-level meeting between the Kol Dam Project authorities and the Forest Department. Mr Ashok Thakur, Principal Secretary (Forests), said the Principal Chief Conservator of forests had been asked to look into the matter and find out how such huge area was left out of the diversion plan.
Whatever be the reasons the department will have to seek the forest clearance afresh otherwise permission to fell the trees will not be granted and it will also not able to claim the value of the trees from the project authorities.
Discrepancies have also come to light in the implementation of the catchment area treatment plan. In Shimla division only, 1,100 trees per hectare have been planted as against the normal 1,500 per hectare. Last year, 200 hectare was planted under the plan which means that 80,000 less trees were planted. In monetary terms it will cause a loss of Rs 9-10 lakh to the department.

2006-07-24T09:10:00.000+05:00

"I believe that if an individual is not on the path to transcending his society and seeing in what way it furthers or impedes the development of human potential, he cannot enter into intimate contact with his humanity. If the tabus, restrictions, distorted values appear „natural“ to him, this is a clear indication that he cannot have a real knowledge of human nature."ERICH FROMM

2006-07-24T09:01:00.000+05:00

Three arrested in Dakog killing case
Our Correspondent
Chamba, July 23
The Himachal Pradesh police has arrested three persons wanted in connection with the Dakog killings in which three CITU leaders were murdered on June 11 at the construction site of the Chamera hydroelectric project, stage-III.
According to police sources, the arrested persons were Brijveer, Jain and Dhillon who had fled immediately after the carnage. They were nabbed by the police in Pathankot (Punjab) on July 20.
The sources said these persons were allegedly stated to have been involved in masterminding the conspiracy of murdering three activists of CITU.
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) was executing the project.

2006-07-24T08:50:00.000+05:00

2006-07-15T13:39:00.000+05:00

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2006-07-15T00:18:00.000+05:00

"I believe that man is the product of natural evolution that is born from the conflict of being a prisoner and separated from nature, and from the need to find unity and harmony with it" ERICH FROMM

2006-07-15T00:10:00.000+05:00

2006-07-14T13:15:00.000+05:00

"I believe that one can and must hope for the collective regaining of a mental health that is characterized by the capacity to love and to create; by the liberation of man from incestuous ties with the clan and the soil; by a sense of identity based on the experience that the individual has of himself as the subject and agent of his powers; by the capacity to affect reality inside and outside of himself and bring about the development of objectivity and reason." ERICH FROMM

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2006-07-13T17:54:00.000+05:00

Nothing stirs soul as qawwali does and nobody does it better than Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

2006-07-13T17:21:00.000+05:00

2006-07-13T14:57:00.000+05:00

HP equity participation in hydro projects soon: CM
Tribune News Service
Rampur Bushahar, July 8
Equity participation of Himachal Pradesh in the 2051-MW Parbati Hydro-electric Project being executed by the National Hydro Power Corporation and the 800-MW Koldam project being executed by the Nation Thermal Power Corporation has been reiterated at the highest level of Government of India.
This was revealed by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while addressing a public gathering at Bahali village in Rampur Bushahar area last evening.
The Chief Minister said that his government was keen to get maximum benefits for the state and its people from the hydel power projects being executed by public sector undertakings of the Union Government and joint ventures in lieu of the long-term use of the natural wealth available in the state.
He said that both Parbati and Koldam projects were allotted by the previous government to the Union Government undertakings wherein no equity participation and other rehabilitation packages were ensured for the state.
He said that 1500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project was executed during his regime wherein 25 per cent of equity participation had been obtained while the Parbati and Koldam projects were allotted much later and no condition of equity participation had been imposed. This was likely to deprive financial benefits accruing to about Rs 40,000 crore to the state in the coming years.
He claimed that his government had been raising the issue at various platforms to obtain the state’s legitimate right in these hydro power projects.
He said that during his recent visit to New Delhi, he had reiterated the equity participation in both the projects to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde who had assured correction in the agreements and a positive outcome was expected in the coming days.
He said that his government was committed to exploit the entire identified hydel potential in the state so that power could be supplied to the neighbouring states while safeguarding the interests of the state and its people.
He said that effective steps were already underway to check price rise in essential commodities and the same were being imported and made available to the consumers through the public distribution system outlets all over the state at much cheaper rates.

2006-07-13T14:53:00.000+05:00

Dam at Khab a strategic necessity
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, July 9
The 275-metre-high storage dam, proposed to be built at Khab in Kinnaur district on the Sutlej, has assumed strategic significance in view of the construction of a barrage on the river across the Zada gorge in Tibet by China.
Conceived with the objective of protecting downstream hydroelectric projects from damage due to excessive silt and floods, the dam’s construction has now become imperative for the country.
The sudden release of water has been causing flash floods in the river, paralysing life in downstream and causing huge economic loss by way of damage to power projects roads and other infrastructure.
The main river has a hydroelectric potential of 6,000 MW from Khab to Kol Dam.
While the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project is already operational, projects with aggregate capacity of 2,900 MW are under implementation. With a barrage in place, flash floods can be triggered off at will by China.
Over the past five years, Himachal Pradesh has twice suffered disastrous consequences of the sudden release of water from lakes, formed due to blockage of rivers by landslides in Tibet.
The flash flood in the river on August 1, 2000 caught the state and its people unawares, as a result of which over 150 persons lost their lives and property worth Rs 1,100 crore was destroyed.
The Parechu lake kept people along the banks of the river on tenterhooks for more than a year and when the blockade breached last year, low-lying villages and bridges on the Hindustan-Tibet highway, the lifeline of the tribal areas, were washed away.
There was no loss of life as the government had taken preemptive measures.
The Sutlej Jal Vdyut Nigam has been facing operational problems at the Nathpa Jhakri project due to excessive silt in the river, a result of massive construction activity, particularly roads, in the Tibet region.
As three-fourths of the catchment area up to Nathpa falls in Tibet, only a dam at Khab can provide a permanent solution to the problem of flash floods and excessive silt.
Precisely for this reason, engineers of the nigam want the Khab project to be materialised at the earliest.
The dam, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore, will have a storage capacity of 500 cubic metre.
It will be the second highest concrete gravity dam in the world after the 285-metre-high Grand Dixiens Dam in Switzerland.
Currently, the 261-metre-high Tehri dam is the highest in the country, followed by 225-metre-high Bhakra dam.

2006-07-13T14:46:00.000+05:00

Reckong Peo, July 10
Alleging non-implementation of the Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services Act 1996 and labour laws in letter and spirit, hundreds of migrant construction workers, including women, raised slogans against the district administration and held a protest rally at the mini-secretariat here today.
Led by activists of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the protesters marched to the mini-secretariat, where they held a demonstration against the administration.
Demanding proper representation to all trade unions in the welfare board, constituted by the state government, Mr Manohar Lakra, district president of the Construction Workers Union, said the welfare board needs to be reconstituted in accordance with the Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services Act-1996 in letter and spirit.
He said temporary ration cards should be given to all construction workers whether they belong to any part of the country or Nepal.
Mr Bihari Sewagi, member, state working committee, CITU, alleged that the workers in Kinnaur were being deprived of even basic rights like overtime when they work for more than eight hours, provident fund, pension, insurance, economic assistance in case of accident, loan for the construction of house and education of children.
The CITU leader alleged that the recent price rise of essential commodities had made it impossible for them to make both ends meet.
They also demanded identity cards to be provided to all construction workers, construction of a labour hostel and designate places as labour chowks in major townships of the tribal district for construction workers.

2006-07-13T14:43:00.000+05:00

KIBBER (KAZA): Providing education in Kibber (14,583 ft), the world’s highest motorable village on record (now there are claims of a higher village having been connected by road), is no mean task, especially considering the fact that the village is cut off from the outside world during winters, which are pretty long here, besides a few teachers willing to get posted here.
The government has, on its part, ensured that education is taken to the doorstep of even those living in inhospitable areas, where only the fittest can survive.
This is corroborated by the fact that in the Kaza area there are two primary schools which have just a student each, according to the Kibber High School Headmaster, Mr Kishan Lal. The primary school at Gete has one student and two posts of teacher. Similarly, the primary school at Tashiganj has one student and a teacher.
According to Mr Kishan Lal, the high school in Kibber, besides the village, feeds four other villages — Chicham, Kye, Gete and Tashiganj. While Chicham and Kye have a middle school each and two primary schools each, Gete and Tashiganj have a primary school each. Kibber High School has 43 students, 30 of them being girls. Interestingly, a primary school was set up in Kibber as early as 1953, which was upgraded to a high school in 1991.
Government teachers blame the poor strength of students on Munselling Public School at Rangrik, which provides education free of cost, including board and lodging. They say most villagers prefer to send their children to this school.
Teachers posted in the high school in Kibber remain cut off from their families for a large part of the year. Many consider it as a punishment posting, while others feel it is true service to society. The winter temperatures here dip to as low as -40°C. Besides, the oxygen level is always low and headaches are common. Locals, however, are acclimatised to the weather conditions.
Not many teachers prefer to come here, and most do everything possible to thwart a posting here. This explains why besides the Headmaster, Kibber High School has just one regular teacher. There are five teachers in all — a para teacher, two on contract and two PTA teachers (they work without salary).
Still worse, students here are not too enthusiastic about education, clearly indicated by the results of board examinations of the past few years. Of the 16 students who took the matriculation examination this year, only four managed to pass. The result of the middle school was no different. Only five of the 10 students managed to clear the examination.
Though the school has introduced computer study, there is no one to teach. A teacher who had joined the school left because of the paltry sum offered.

2006-07-13T14:31:00.000+05:00

Baddi, July 12
Tension prevailed in the premises of Baddi-based MNC Cadbury’s India Limited with about 150 workers striking work in support of their demands. Shouting slogans outside the unit, about 150 workers united under the banner of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh struck work for the third day today.
According to the BMS leader Mela Ram Chandel, the company which had been operating for the past one year, has not paid any attention to their demands. He said they were made to work in inhospitable conditions with temperatures surpassing 60 degrees and no fan facility. This had caused severe skin problems to them.
He further alleged that facilities like provident fund, EFP, etc., were not provided to them. The company had even failed to provide the mandatory identity cards to them.
A group of Himachali workers had met the Chief Minister yesterday. Company had done little to diffuse the issue, alleged the striking workers. The Labour Inspector, Mr Rajinder Chauhan, said he found the workers at fault as they had failed to issue a demand charter before proceeding on strike.
He added that talks were underway with the management and workers to end the stalemate. He, however, could not explain if workers from Haryana and Punjab were working in the unit and said it had not been brought to his notice.
The BMS, however, asserted that they had duly issued a written letter to the management on July 5 and had warned them that if their demands were not met they would proceed on strike. They further alleged that the management had been deploying workers from Haryana and Punjab which had been brought by the contractors. The company which did not give them even a weekly off and paid nothing for overtime was now getting work done during the night hours.

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People's Democracy

June 18, 2006

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CITU Leaders Killed by the HCC Management Goons

THE Himachal Pradesh state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the killing of three CITU leaders by the management goons of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). HCC is doing the construction work of Chamera-III Power Project at Chamba District. CITU had organised one-day protest at Dakog Dam site of the Project on June 11, 2006 demanding the implementation of the labour laws for the construction workers working in the company.

The management of HCC had threatened the workers of dire consequences, if they protest under the banner of CITU at the Dakog Dam site. Subsequently, the armed goons hired by the management of HCC attacked CITU leaders Babu Ram, district president Chamba, CITU, Vijay (Sirmour district), Dhan Singh (Uttaranchal) and Pramod Kumar (Sirmour district) killing three of the four leaders. Pramod Kumar was injured and managed to escape.

The CPI(M) knew that the private construction companies executing work of the power projects in the state are seriously violating the labour laws and exploiting workers. These private construction companies do not adhere to even the basic rights of the workers like minimum wages, medical facilities, compensation for injures and deaths during work and other facilities provided in labour laws. It may be noted that the same company i.e. the HCC, while executing the infamous 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydel Project had used similar kind of tactics killing Dev Dutt by hiring goons at one of the construction sites.

The CPI(M) has stated that the state possesses immense potential of generating hydel power. A large number of companies are entering the state for exploiting this potential. The state electricity board has enough resources to harness such a huge potential. But, going by the dictates and policies of the monetary agencies, the state government led by the Congress party is handing over such projects to private companies that too at a meagre 12% royalty. These private companies bribe the state officials to unprecedented heights in order to get such construction projects. As is the universal law no capital especially the industrial one can generate profits without exploiting the workers. The more it does more is the profit. It is this very reason that the managements of a large number of such companies are inherently against the formation of any union. Because they know once the union is formed the workers shall not only demand minimum wages but also several other associated rights. To get rid of all this, a practice of hiring goons from outside if locals do not agree, is a common trend followed by the managements and is what happened on June 10 where the CITU leaders were killed. After holding several rounds of meetings they were planning to organise the workers and form a union. They were even warned and threatened by the management to stop organising the workers or face dire consequences. As the leaders named above were coming back to their office, they were ambushed and attacked with knives and iron rods. Somehow one of the activists of CITU managed to escape and it was he who informed about the attack otherwise the reality would have never been disclosed as the site of the project (Chamera III) is in the interiors of Chamba district where the communications system is quite poor.

It is quite shocking that when the local administration was contacted over telephone from Shimla they were not even aware of the attack. The government so far has not come out with any response though the local MLA has expressed sorrow over the incident. As per the reports in the newspapers, the administration is trying to potray it as a quarrel among some individuals. At the time of writing this report, there was no information whether the bodies, which have been thrown in the Ravi river, have been brought out or not. Though a delegation of the party and kisan and trade union leaders has reached the spot but due to the poor communications no more information could be gathered.

However one thing has come to the fore that almost a mass of more than 3000 people have rounded up the office of the HCC and totally picketed it. Angry people, since the district president of the CITU, was a native of the area, have burnt a dozen vehicles of the company and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.

Immediate protests followed the next day. Thousands of workers in the hydel projects (as almost 90% of projects have unions affiliated to CITU) stopped their work on June 11 and the national highway leading to Manali was blocked for several hours by the workers of Largi. Similarly work was stopped in Barshani, Parvarti and in almost all the hydel projects. Thousands of workers in Rampur project where the work has just begun have brought to the work to a stand still and the national highway leading to Kinnaur was blocked. A militant protest was organised in Shimla town where workers from hotel industry, construction work, porters joined demanding the arrest of the culprits. On June 12 the hotel industry came to halt from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. because of the strike call given by the CITU. Hundreds of workers later joined the protest from the Deputy commissioner’s office to Naaz.

The party demanded that culprits and management of the Hindustan construction company be arrested immediately for brutal murder of three CITU leaders. Compensation of Rs. 5 Lakh to the families of the leaders killed in the attack be given immediately. The state government should initiate action against HCC and blacklist this company and all the construction works given in various projects in the state should be taken back immediately. Keeping in view the seriousness of such anti working class attitude of private companies in different projects, the state government should seriously implement labour laws to protect the interests of the workers in the state particularly in power projects. Failing which, the CPI (M) would launch a state-wide agitation to press these demands.

Ps The two bodies have been brought to Chamba and the postmortem is being conducted. The third one is still not traced. It is indeed ironic the party has stated that when the govt. has made cateforical assurances that nearly 70 per cent of the workmen would be from the state and preferably from the effected part, no way near this figure is the actual reality. Moreover, professional goons have been hired by managements to see that the unions are not formed. (INN)

2006-07-11T16:45:00.000+05:00

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2006-07-11T16:12:00.000+05:00

RWH mandatory in HP urban areas The Himachal
Pradesh govt has decided to make rainwater harvesting
mandatory in towns and areas covered under the state
Town and Country Planning Act. Hence forth no
building plan will be approved without provision of a
proper RWH structure in these areas. It would be
ascertained before issuing the completion certificate
that RWH structure has indeed been provided as
planned. (The Tribune 231105)

2006-07-11T16:08:00.000+05:00

Protest against Karcham Wangtoo HEP The Union

Ministry of Environment and Forests have issued a

clearance letter to the 1000 MW Karcham Wangtoo

HEP on Sutlej river in Kinnaur district in Himachal

Pradesh on Nov 9, ’05 in complete violation of the

environment norms, in face of bad quality EIA and

putting aside the concerns of the local people. The local

people continue to protest against the project. The

people of Sapni village started protests against the

project as soon the company started work after the

issue of environment clearance. The district

administration was forced to ask the company to stop

work till the issues raised by people are resolved. The

gram panchayats of Kacham, Tapri, Sapni and other

nearby villages have already denied permission to the

project developer Jaypee Karcham Hydro Corp. The

amended Himachal Pradesh Transfer of Land

(Regulation) Act 1968 makes it mandatory for the

private investors to get consent of panchayats/ gram

sabhas concerned before seeking clearances from the

departments of the state govt to start work on the

project. The NOC’s granted by the Union and the state

govts are illegal. (The Tribune 221105, 231105)

Foundation stone of Malana 2 The Chief Minister of

Himachal Pradesh laid foundation stone of the 100 MW

Malana 2 HEP, to be developed by Everest Power

Company. The Rs 663 crore project in Beas valley in

Kulu district is to be built upstream from the existing

Malana 1 of Bhilwaras. It was claimed that the project

will generate 428 MU power, but this is unlikely to be

case, the project is likely to generate about half that

amount. There were serious violations in the public

hearing of the project and the EIA of the project was of

very poor quality. In spite of representations to the

authorities by SANDRP and others about the violations,

the project was given clearance. (Dainik Bhaskar 231105)

2006-07-11T15:53:00.000+05:00

Hydroelectric Projects, Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh, situated at the foot of the Himalayas is a picturesque state with abundant water resources. The state is almost entirely mountainous with altitudes ranging from 460 to 6600 metres above sea level. Agriculture and tourism drive the economy of the state. The major river systems of the region are the Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and the Yamuna. According to the 11th Quarterly Survey of Projects Investment conducted by Projects Today, as of 30 June 2003, the state had 145 projects worth Rs.47,479 crore in various stages of planning and implementation.

Given the rivers that flow through the state, the HP government has undertaken several projects to exploit the hydroelectric potential of the state. Most of the proposed investment is in hydel power projects. This is borne out by the table below which lists HP's top ten projects. While state and central government agencies are largely concentrating on mega- hydel projects, the private sector is being roped in to execute the mini and micro hydel segment.

Project
Company
Industry
Nathpa Jhakri Hydel Power Project
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd.
Hydel Based Power
Koldam Hydel Power Project
NTPC
Hydel Based Power
Karcham Wangtu Hydel Power Project
Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd.
Hydel Based Power
Parbati Hydel Power Project Stage II
NHPC
Hydel Based Power
Parbati Hydel Power Project Stage III
NHPC
Hydel Based Power
Rampur (HP) Hydel Power Project
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd.
Hydel Based Power
Chamera Hydel Project Stage II
NHPC
Hydel Based Power
Baspa Hydel Power Project Stage II
Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd.
Hydel Based Power
Nathpa Jhakri Transmission Line
Power Grid Corpn. of India Ltd.
Power Distribution
Chamera III, Hibra Hydel Power
NHPC
Hydel Based Power

Funding for these projects has come in from the World Bank, private banks like ICICI, nationalized banks like Central Bank of India, various State Banks, and institutions like IFCI and PFC.

These projects have serious environmental and social impacts like most mega-hydel projects. In May 1999, ten square kilometers of the Great Himalayan National Park – part of an important endemic bird area – was denotified for the construction of the Parbati project. The 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project, which received a $485million WB loan in 1989, was twice suspended by the MoEF in 2001 for “serious and continuous violations” of both the Forest Conservation Act and the Environment Act. Projects such as Baira Siul and Chamera-I have been experiencing serious geological problems and resettlement & rehabilitation (R&R) is another crucial issue in these projects. In Dec 1999, people affected by the Chamera project went on a 18-day hunger strike protesting the lack of compensation for their losses. The Chamera-I project has contributed to deforestation and has even been criticized by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), one of its funders, that the Uri I dam will seriously impact fisheries on the Jhelum river. In practice, the NHPC does not seem to follow any social or environmental policy.

2006-07-11T12:55:00.000+05:00

China quietly builds a barrage on Sutlej
Hindustan Times[Friday, June 30, 2006 11:33]
New Delhi, June 29: China may be controlling the flow of the Sutlej into India — making no noise, breaking no treaty.For the past few years, Chinese authorities have been building a barrage on the river in a remote part of west Tibet. Located across the Zada (Tsamda) gorge, an important crossing point, the barrage is probably intended to generate power for Zada town.Satellite images of the gorge, which is also the access point to the ancient Toling monastery and Tsaparang (capital of the ancient Guge kingdom), show the barrage distinctly. Though the images suggest work on the barrage has been completed, it could not be confirmed. China has not sought publicity for it — as it did for the Three Gorges Dam.Whatever be the stage of construction, the idea of a barrage over the Sutlej — which enters India near Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh — is bad news for the country. Given the wide body of evidence showing the drying up of lakes, streams and rivers on the northern side of the Himalayas, the barrage raises concern that China may finally be controlling and regulating flow of water into India.Such constructions could also lead to disasters. In 2004, an artificial lake on the Parichu stream (a tributary of the Spiti in Tibet) caused floods after a landslide, leading to heavy loss of life in the Sutlej and Spiti valleys. In 2005, flash floods in the Sutlej Valley at Kinnaur again turned the attention towards the artificial lake.The construction of the barrage at the Zada gorge forms a much larger reservoir on the river, and a possible breach has potential for massive damage. Several large tributaries feed the Sutlej with melted glacial waters above the point where the barrage is being built. Officials at the Ministry of External Affairs refused to comment on the existence of the barrage.Not that India can do much about it. India cannot even accuse China of breaking a formal water-sharing treaty — because none exists between the two countries. This is partly because the actual border between the two remains to be determined.A proposal for joint hydrographic studies on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh was mooted during the visit of Chinese premier Zhu Rongji in January 2002, along the lines of the information-sharing mechanism for the Brahmaputra. An MoU was signed on April 11, 2005, during the visit of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, for sharing of hydrological information of the Sutlej/Langqen Tsangbo (the Chinese name for the river) in flood season by China to India. The arrangement entails building of a hydrological station by the Chinese on the Sutlej. But this construction on the Zada gorge was in existence before that — in 2002.The construction had aroused the interest of several tourists when they visited the region back in 2002. They were denied permission to photograph the construction, though they took snaps of the bridge across the river close to the site.One of the tourists, Manosi Lahiri, who has a doctorate in Urban Geography, went on to record her observations in a book, 'Here Be Yaks'. A fellow traveller, Indu Lal, and another senior official, also confirmed the existence of the barrage construction.China is wary of granting visas to expeditions by scientists who wish to visit the region. Everest hero and adventure traveller Major (retd) M.S. Ahluwalia, who traversed the Silk Route, has been seeking permission for a joint expedition to trace the origins of the Sutlej, for three years now.

2006-07-11T12:36:00.000+05:00

Police lathicharges Kol Dam workers, 35 hurtOur Correspondent
Sundernagar, July 27More than 35 persons were injured as the police resorted to lathi charge today on the left bank of the Kol dam site about 35 km from here. The site is situated on the border area of Mandi and Bilaspur districts.
As per information received here, the confrontation between the agitating workers and police personnel started as the workers did not allow the work to start on the left bank of the project site.
Meanwhile, the agitation by the workers’ union affiliated to the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh entered its 15th day. The workers have been demanding higher wages, which is not acceptable to the Kol dam authorities.
Today the authorities concerned tried to get the work started with help of other workers’ unions but the agitating workers tried to stop this. The police intervened and lathi- charged them in which more than 35 workers were injured a few of them seriously. Two policemen were also injured.
Two police vehicles were also damaged. As many as 25 workers were detained by the police.
The representatives of the agitating workers have demanded the immediate suspension of the police officials involved. They further accused the state government of siding with the Kol dam authorities.
Interestingly, the Kol dam authorities have denied the incident and claimed that work was going on peacefully. The strike has been declared as illegal by the state government. The situation is still tense and work on the spot has been stopped.

2006-07-11T12:29:00.000+05:00

object of the blog is to bring people from the hills together, primarily the local communities to form a society to protect the enviorment around them. the area of focus will be himachal pradesh one of the states in the indian himalayas, the time is very important considering the kind of dam buliding which is being undertaken by the government in the state. the focus will on the consequences of this kind of devlopment