Will the TCP amendment bill serve any public cause?

The HP Governor has acted as a saviour...so far

Politics does indeed make strange bed fellows. Those in power and those who are in the  opposition shout and fight with each other almost tooth and claw in the assemblies and the parliament. But we have all seen sudden and an unbelievable bonhomie and mutual cordiality between them when a bill raising their salaries, pensions and perks is to be passed. With what incredible speed such bills are passed  is only too well known to all of us. A similar instance of the same has been in evidence over the controversial Town and Country Planning Amendment Bill passed by the HP assembly in the monsoon session this year. With an eye on the vote bank the bill seeks to regularise as many as 25000 unauthorised structures in the state. This also includes constructions in the 17 green belts of Shimla and many illegal buildings  in our would-be smart city Dharamsala. Shedding all scruples and propriety (does this elite class have any, anyway?), the party brass from both sides of the divide have been reported to be knocking on the doors of the Raj Bhawan and trying to woo the governor to give his nod.   

What makes this unholy exercise so disgusting?

       1. Passing of such a bill would be against the spirit of law as the HP high court has already decreed that the proposed amendment is unconstitutional. Can the executive be so arrogant as to overrule the court of law? Yes it can be when it is a matter of self-interest.

        2. The bill doesn’t serve any public good. On the contrary it goes grossly against it. How?

i. While these towns are already so congested and choked by jungles of concrete, this ill-conceived move will only compound the mess and aggravate ecological degradation.

ii. It would be a slap in the faces of the law-abiding citizens who, in deference to the law, have avoided such encroachments and unauthorised expansions of their buildings/structures. On the other hand, those who flout rules would rejoice at their cost. What message would this step send to the aam aadmi? What lesson would he/she draw?

     3. Authorising such constructions would greatly imperil the lives of lakhs of people in the wake of a major natural calamity, mainly an earthquake as Shimla and 16 other districts of Himachal Pradesh fall in high seismic zones(iv and v). Thus as rightly emphasised by the eight-member committee of experts appointed by the NGT, a tragedy worse than the catastrophes that visited Kathmandu and Uttrakhand could not be ruled out. More unplanned, unsafe buildings potentially imply more deaths…more destruction.

      4. Frantic efforts to push through the bill by the political class do not stem from any holy or noble ideas but are aimed at obliging the high and mighty in the well-known practice of you-scratch-my-back-I-will-scratch-yours. After all it is the powerful people who have the necessary clout and therefore the licence to violate law and get away with it. And who knows even the law-makers themselves of all hues, or their parties, may be seeking to get their own buildings regularised through the proposed amendment? Their desperation suggests so. तो फ़िर क्या इस हमाम में  सब नंगे हैं ?

The whole matter can be better understood and appreciated  by recalling the rather hackneyed but very apt saying: अगर बाड़ ही फ़सल को खाने लग जाए तो फिर बेचारा किसान क्या करे?  In other words, if the lawmakers themselves become abetters and connivers in flouting rules and regulations, what will the poor law-abiding citizen do?

But, let’s take pride and solace in the fact the governor hasn’t buckled under the pressure so far. Let’s all therefore stand up, applaud and salute him, who, with the court ruling to back him, has stood firm. The people of Himachal Pradesh would be eternally grateful to him for this great act of preventing ecological disaster, safeguarding the lives of millions, giving a moral boost to those who respect law, and a snub to those who don't, even if powerful.

Also, there was but one single politician who has stood tall on this issue.

Guess who?

…

 Perhaps time for me to change course. 
So, here are a couple of  pictures of our beautiful Dhauladhar lording over our Kangra valley- to savour and relish with  a few lines scribbled to go with it...

           देखो तो कितनी सुन्दर है यह पर्वतमाला धौलाधार 
           इस घाटी की जीवनरेखा, जनमानस की पालनहार 
           कलकल बहते  नदियां नाले, हरियाली, और बारिश की कभी रिमझिम  बौछार 
           यह सब कुछ देती धौलाधार, हैं इससे मेरे जीवन में सब खुशियां और बहार 

Quotes

 "A special place ought to be reserved in hell, I thought to myself, for                  planners who build with such reckless disregard for their                                    surroundings."
                              - Amitav Ghosh in 'The Great Derangement'

 "Being a woman is a beautiful thing."
                                 - Vidya Balan, Bollywood actress

 "Whom should I follow, the people or politicians?"
                                 - Bihar CM Nitish Kumar about his support for demonetisation

 "I am too shy to educate my children about sex."                                                              - Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood actor

 "Ranbir Kapoor is a better kisser than Ranveer Singh."(Koffee with Karan)

 "Castration only way to deal with those sexually assaulting women."
                                        - Meera Jasmine, Indian actress
      

News clips

• Australian woman locks 14 cats in house until they ate each other
• Police stop bus carrying 120 live cobras in central Vietnam
• 4 in every 10 women in India face harassment before attaining age of 19
• Pune: Six-yr old girl gang raped by four minor boys(aged 14,13,13 and 10) in a slum in Chinchwad (The Indian Express)
• 1.4 billion jobs depend on pollinators:report (About 1.4 billion jobs and three quarters of all crops depend on pollinators[such as bees, birds and butterflies]
• Hrithik Roshan (Indian actor) polled as third world's most handsome face
• Depression may affect stomach, and anxiety the skin (The Indian Express)
• Beware: Repeated jet lag may increase liver cancer risk (Economic Times)
• Protein-carbohydrate combo good for gut health
• ज़मीन के नीचे उगने वाली सब्ज़ियां ना धोने पर मिरगी का ख़तरा (Amar Ujala) 
• Scientists step closer to halting spread of lung cancer

                                                              ***

                         Bye  for now, see you next week!

                         Love and regards...take care

The eye sores

Do we need temples or more green zones?

In my last post I spoke about why I love the SSB chowk-Neugal cafe stretch of road for my morning walks. But, sorry to say, there are ugly eye sores too to greet you all along, right after the tea nursery at Differpat up to the ITI building. The first sight that assaults your  senses is a pile of about a dozen cement pipes lying and rusting there for years. Next, you will see weed-invaded dumps of rubbish, worn-out and torn sacks with waste spilling out, kitchen leftovers, plastic, and construction debris on the road's Neugal-side flank that some unscrupulous fellow citizens think nothing of disfiguring it with. I once saw with horror and anger a 'suited-booted' person come in his car, alight and toss off a sizeable poly-bag stuffed with home/kitchen waste towards the side and driving off - apparently without any scruple or a thought about the ugly criminality of his action. And once when I politely requested a habitual rubbish-thrower with whom I had a nodding acquaintance to stop doing so, he got angry; and that brought to an unceremonious and abrupt end our mutual formal familiarity. 

And what would have been an idyllic spot to attract the passersby to have a little rest or just sit and enjoy the magic and wonder of a sunset with nothing but a few simple, comfortable benches facing south-west put in place, a Hanuman temple has sprung up attracting pesky simians instead! And it is - slowly and quite steadily  - expanding its boundaries on this precious, virgin piece of government land. How warped are the ways we give expression to our religious sentiments! Though personally not religious in the conventional sense, religion is fine when observed and practised in private. Problems arise when religion is radicalised and used wholesale for mass consumption. Worse, religion turns offensive and insane when it is used by the wily politicians as a tool to garner votes; and  by the fake babas and other self-appointed agents of god to exploit the religious feelings of gullible people and serve them superstition - instead of providing them any real enlightenment - and get rich in the process. Indian women are particularly vulnerable to the skewed ideas of religion thereby falling an easy prey to the lust of many such babas. Isn't it mostly superstition bordering on religion rather than religion bordering on superstition? Sadly, developing a scientific temper is still a far cry in my beloved Bhaarat.  
Sorry for this digression, and now getting back to the point, a kiosk that has come up on this stretch  has further marred  the tranquillity of this favourite walkers' haunt.  But happily, as a counterpoint, and what provides the saving grace, there is  a small grove of young tree plantations  along this very flank in a strip of about 600 m x 8 m bordering the road. The saplings were planted by the Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum (PWEPF) a few years ago and as a result  of dedicated follow-up and aftercare,  these are coming up well. This Palampurwalla's thanks and salutations  go to the PWEPF president Ajit Baghla and his team.

(Pics uploaded on top and below are self-explanatory)

                                                          

                                                         

The plantations provide hope

The tea garden abutting the road provides a soothing touch

                                                 ***

Post demonetisation

1.34 billion of my dear countrymen continue to be in grip of the demonetisation fever. Not being an economist, it is not for me to expound on the merits or demerits of this initiative by the Modi government. (But personally I do endorse the step.) Even among the top economists the opinion is divided. But my sense is that most of those who had stashed the now defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes under their mattresses or in suitcases might well have managed to 'adjust' it here and there . Thus the small fish might after all get away with their cash  and thus escape the net. As regards the bigger fish, let's keep our fingers crossed.

But while the big currency turned into scrap overnight, sending the cash-strapped common man into tizzy, the rich and powerful mining baron of Karnataka, Janardhana Reddy, brazenly splurged eye-popping amounts (500 crore) on his daughter's wedding, unashamed, unaffected and unconcerned about the demonetisation. And politicians of all hues without shame and qualms made their participation in the wedding a must-do. 
Ours is of course a land of stark  contrasts and great extremes.
But hats off  to the aam aadmi for putting up with the hardship stoically all in the hope that this big and bold step will do the country a good turn. 

                                                  

                                                   ***                                                               

Quotes of the week

                     " My religion is nobody else's business."

                            -Mr Justice T S Thakur, CJI

               " There's less space now for a moderate politician. It's sad."                                                                     -Writer Jeffrey Archer after Trump's victory

                                    

                " I know that better than any body else. I am the most romantic hero in                                      the world."                                          

                            -Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan

                 " Humans will not survive another 1000 years on Earth."                                                                        -Renowned Astronomer Stephen Hawking

News clips

• Mental depression high among Keralites: survey
• Lavish spending brings taxmen to Reddy's (mining baron Janardhana Reddy) doorstep
• All around the world, nationalists are gaining ground (The Economist)
• Countries are shifting from the universal, civic nationalism towards the blood-and-soil, ethnic sort (The Economist)
• People crave more for wi-fi than sex, chocolate, alcohol: study
• Happy love life could mean healthy teeth
• Docs reconstruct tongue with flesh from thigh
• HIV vaccine closer to reality: scientists                                                                                     ***

Palampur in autumn

Palampur is at its festive best in early autumn: late September, October and even early November. The sun is warm, balmy and resplendent, the air crisp. The monsoon-soggy earth fast turning green looks inviting  and it is sheer delight to go for walks and savour the beauties that mother Nature has generously bestowed on this valley. This is the time of the year when Bougainvilleas are in full bloom…and so vibrantly red. And whose heart wouldn’t dance with joy at the sight of the beautiful marigolds with their  balls of pure yellow or gold? Then chrysanthemums now begin to stir and wake up to the calls of autumn hastening to blossom into clusters of varied hues. Pansies, Antirrhinums and Petunias- thanks to easy availability of hybrid varieties - are there to be a part of the autumnal glory to add to our aesthetic joy.

As for my walks, I prefer the road from SSB chowk to Neugal café. (Of course the other road right from Hotel Tea-Bud to the café or straight up north that leads to Kandi is equally nice.) Walking up, I love listening to the persistent hiss of the Neugal river meandering down far below on the left. A lovely sprawl of tea bushes, and clumps of Pine trees with their green, bristly foliage on both sides of the road - standing in calm contemplation of nature or swaying gently - add to the solitude and ethereal calm that pervades all around in those fleeting moments. 

I, the Palampurwalla, loves it all!

But sadly, this otherwise beautiful stretch of road that I speak of has an uglier side to it too (of course all man's doing)… About that next time please.

        

                                                                         

News clips

• One looming  consequence of climate change: small island nations will cease to exist (Los Angeles Times)
• A New search for life on Mars: Scientists at the University of Texas have zeroed in on a depression that could possibly support life (R&D magazine)
• It's sometimes called the 'winter blues':With winter approaching it's not uncommon for  people to feel sad and moody. Those symtomps are typical of someone experiencing seasonal affective disorder(SAD) (Arizona Daily Sun)
• Regular intake of sugary drinks may cause diabetes:study
• While diabetes once used to be the disease of the old, it has now become a disease affecting people in their youth. India is home to 6.5 crore diabetics and 5 crore pre-diabetics (Daily News & Analysis) 
• New wearable device may help treat diabetes (The Hindu)
• Action star Jackie Chan wins an Oscar after 200 films and  56 years in film industry.  

Who said what:

       "Indian cinema is serving junk to its viewers at present."

                                 -Eminent actor and theatre personality Nasseruddin Shah during                                              his visit to Dharamsala for the just concluded International Film                                              Festival

   

         "The game has just begun."

                                                 -Arnab Goswami, the former Newshour anchor and editor-in-chief                                           of Times Now after his resignation from the channel

                         

            "In India a significant rise in sea level could lead to the loss of some 6000                             square kilometers, including some of the country's most fertile lands; many                           of  the sub-continent's low-lying islands, like the Lakshwadweep chain, may                         disappear."

                                     -Noted writer Amitav Ghosh in his                                                                                      recent book 'The Great Derangement'

         

        "हिमाचल की मिट्टी में खुशबू है" 

                                                   -Sufi singer Jasbir Jassi
           "नोट तो बदल जाएंगे लेकिन नीयत..."
                                            -A comment in a vernacular daily 
                

               

A Palampurwalla writes...

At Last... 

Being a Palampurwalla, I have for long nursed a strong desire to share my thoughts with friends about our beautiful valley, Palampur: its beats and rhythms, its changing landscape, its rapid urbanisation, its shrinking green cover, and also about those who people it. And what better way to speak your heart out unhindered and untrammelled  than through a blog! That's why here I am, alive and kicking and quite excited about the potential and promise that this platform so tantalisingly provides...although this perhaps may not be the right time to kick off, with everyone's attention riveted on ATMs, banks and 500 rupee notes in their wallets and closets! 
Lest this blog should get too insular and narrow by confining it to just Palampur, Kangra or my hill state alone, I would like to  have the  windows open for small whiffs of fresh air from the country and the world and keep it broad, dynamic, interactive, chatty and cheerful. And I shall endeavour to return with a fresh post about once a week or so. 

Hoping for  exciting times and vibrant exchange of thought- and view-sharing with you all...

But before I close my first and introductory post, here's a picture of the Dhauladhar- a blend of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur - as it looks from a few kilometres down the road that forks out from the NH near Paror to Dheera-Naura. As you glance at it, a thought might criss-cross your minds as it does mine: with the mindless depredation, destruction and mining of Himalaya's fragile ecology and resources going on unabated and the glaciers melting, how long is it before the  bewitching beauty of our hills and vales is gone for ever?  

Love,

Subhash