"From such crooked wood
as that which man is made of, nothing straight can be fashioned."
—Immanuel Kant (German,
1724-1804)
Word for the day
Gormless (adj)
Lacking in vitality or
intelligence; stupid, dull, or clumsy.
Malice towards none
The socio-economic
disparities, racism, sectoral hatred and corruption has been rising in India
ever since independence.
Emotions and prejudice
apart, we can at least have a national panel to assess whether there is a need
to set up a assembly for reviewing the Constitution!
First random thought this morning
The precipitous decline of the Congress party started with poor
performance in 2012 UP assembly elections. Since then the party has seen
material erosion in its strength and status. It has consistently fared poorly
in various elections held in past four years. Many strong regional leaders have
deserted the party. 2017 UP elections are critical for the party.
A good performance in UP-2017 may reverse the trend, whereas a
poor performance there might lead to accelerated desertions and intense
internecine infighting. This time, PK has a do or die battle at hand!
Shimla: An epitome of unsustainability
I decided to extend my Punjab trip and travelled through Solan and
Shimla districts of the adjoining Himachal Pradesh - a decision I seriously
regretted just half an hour into the State.
This is supposedly peak tourist season for the State. A large
number of vehicles enter the State from Chandigarh via NH-22; the highway that
is being widened. The people at the job were poorly trained and had little
regard for safety of the travelers using the road. There was no planning and
huge traffic jams were caused. A 45km distance from Parwanoo to Solan took
nearly three hours, and the drive was bumpy, dusty and risky. At least on three
occasions monstrous construction machines threatened to overrun my tiny
vehicle.
The ordeal did not stop there. entering Shimla city was a
nightmare. It took over an hour to cover the last mile. It was shocking to see
that there are traffic signals on the steep inclining streets of Shimla city,
where the wait period sometime extends to 10-12minutes. A large part of the
city resembles an urban slum.
After a struggle of almost two hours, I could manage to get out of
Shimla city on the way to Naldhera, a popular golf resort, 15miles north of
Shimla. I stopped at Mashobra for a cup of tea, where I met this Couple from
Chennai. They were coming from the popular tourist point of Fagu in Kufri. and
were in a state of deep shock. The lady was categorical in her laments -
"If there is Hell anywhere, it is here". Their experience prompted me
to drop my plan to visit Naldhera and take a left turn for the famous Fagu
tourist point, just a few miles from the summer resort of the President of
India.
Let me assure you, Hell is a gross understatement for this place.
1500 mules, their attendants and tourist riders jostle with each other
perilously on a dusty, narrow, badly stinking and extremely dangerous path to
travel 1.5km to reach the tourist point. It is almost impossible to walk on
this path. There are no disaster management arrangement there. Just four
indifferent policemen are posted to manage an average 5000/day tourist flow
during season. The in-charge district commissioner sits in Shimla and occasionally
visits the place. The worse part you are required to pay Rs500/person for this
ride to the Hell.
I feel compelled to write this bitter experience since I found
Shimla an epitome of unsustainable economic development. The city in my view is
a harbinger of the disaster in the making. While media, ecology activists,
judiciary and experts are diligently focused on the pollution levels in Delhi,
the real time bomb is ticking elsewhere.
I suggest NGT and/or the Supreme Court take suo moto
cognizance of the situation and order (a) immediate shifting of the capital of
the State out of Shimla to some non-tourist place in plains like Hamirpur; (b)
immediately ban the construction of any new concrete structure in the city; (c)
limit the number of vehicles and tourists that can enter the city at any given
point in time.
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