Bowled over by HP experience
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Scenic beauty, high snow-clad mountains, simple hilly people, all were enough to tempt Noman Mohammed and his friends to stay in Himachal Pradesh forever, but personal engagements and situations are taking them back to the USA.

Noman Mohammed is part of the team, which undertook a tour of Himachal Pradesh after being selected by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New York, for a “Bharat Darshan “programme organised by it for its students. Underlining his experiences in the valley and its natural beauty, Noman said he was highly impressed with the state and felt satisfied with his journey. He wanted to settle down in the ‘valley of peace’ forever.

“I had never imagined that it would turn out to be an out-of-the world experience which he would not forget”. Noman and his eight companions had ‘won’ the tour in an essay competition on the topic,” India of my vision,” organised by the New York-based Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan.

All visiting students are of Indian origin, but have been living in the USA along with their relatives for the past many years. The team members, headed by Dr Jayaraman, Director of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New York, during their 10-day stay in the hill state visited a number of stations such as Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Manali, and Dharamsala. They were sharing their experiences during a chat with media persons here today.

Saluting the spirit of hospitality they found among locals, team members said nowhere in the world they were able to experience the same thing.” In the USA, there is an ever-increasing urge and race to acquire money, evaporating the warmth of mutual relationships. In India, and particularly Himachal Pradesh, there is a thread of confidence and love for each other.

“Our visit has wiped out a number of misunderstandings from our mind, including the one that India is a backward country. Rather, a lively and rich culture is to be seen and adored. As it was a first-hand experience, we will strive to remove such thoughts from people’s minds after going back,” said another little visitor. At the same time, most of the students were a bit depressed to notice the level of education and quality of life here,”

“During our visit to countryside, we felt sad to find that there were no basic facilities in most of hospitals and schools compared to number of people going to to these places for treatment and to get education. The per capita strength of doctors and teachers is pinching so is the deplorable state of poor patients in the hospitals”, said Rahul Bascho, a student, adding that it was not a case in the USA as medicare and basic education was a right of everybody and modernisation was a continuing process in these fields.

On the condition of women in India, Piali Roy, another student said there was a misconception in the USA that Indian women was a suppressed lot. We have found that this was baseless as they were fairly independent, dynamic and as efficient as their male counterparts.

Eatery rooftops, basements misused
By Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Open air kitchens on rooftops of eating joints, additional unauthorised rooms on the roofs of some hotel sites, a booth constructed on land in Ram Darbar that was never allotted to anyone, guest houses in residential areas, basements that have been extended several feet outside the plot area. These are just a few examples of the "profitable encroachment ventures" in the city by skirting the law or using the loopholes.

Some eating joints, including halwais and small dhabas, have shifted their kitchens to the roof while using the allocated kitchen area for sitting purposes by modifying it.

All cooking is done in the early morning or late night hours. This becomes irritating for the residents nearby. Some have even dug out earth by four to five feet and created a depression with stairs that are used as the ground floor while a roof is added in the middle to make an additional floor, thus creating an additional area out of the same booth or site.

A source said some hoteliers have built additional rooms on the roof. These are used as stores, or as sleeping arrangements for the labour. Not only has this spoiled the skyline of the city but also made it embarrassing for neighbours as their privacy is threatened.

Some hotel sites have been resumed under various violations.

There is a case of two booths that have been built on government land in Ram Darbar. In the past three years, orders to demolish them have been issued but nothing has happened. The order says that the land on which the booths were constructed was never allotted to anyone.

Another aspect is the extension of basements by several feet outside the plot area. The land belongs to the government but the rent or profit from any venture run from the basement of the building is pocketed by the owners. Basements are allowed only within the covered area.

The issue of guest houses in residential buildings is being presently debated in the high court and several sites have been resumed for "misuse" of premises. However, wherever sites have been resumed in the city under any commercial or residential violation, business continues. Eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (eviction of unauthorised occupants) Act, 1971, are very slow.

And after all this, the occupant can go to court. The case will then drag on for some years. The process starts when some one defaults on payments or commits some violation. A notice is served and the person is asked to appear before the estate officer who takes action.

On the other hand, genuine purchasers, whose property has been resumed, want that the estate office should collect the dues from them. The law does not permit the estate office to collect payments against resumed property. An official source said that a middle path needs to be devised so that resumptions carried out for violations are not misused by anyone.

(Concluded)