Modern Himachal Trip

¤ Government & Politics

Himachal Pradesh has 12 administrative districts and three divisions. The divisions are Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala, while the districts are Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Kinnaur, Bilaspur, Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur and Chamba.
Himachal was granted full statehood in 1971. Following the Chinese takeover of Tibet, McLeodganj in Dharamsala has been the capital of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
HP has a single-chamber legislative assembly with 68 seats. The state sends seven members to the Indian National Parliament – three to Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and four to Lok Sabha (Lower House).
The Bharatiya Janta Party came to power in 1998 under the leadership of Prem Kumar Dhumal who is the present Chief Minister.


¤ Agriculture

The economy of HP is predominantly agricultural. Due to a wide range of agro-climatic and topographical conditions ranging from flat lands in the lower hills to the cold deserts, many different crops are grown here. Rice and wheat in the lower valleys; tomatoes and other vegetables in the middle hills; apples, plums and other fruits in the higher regions and dry fruit and potatoes in the cold deserts.
Tea, ginger and mushrooms are some of the important cash crops. Due to the difficult terrain, barely 11% of the total geographical area is under cultivation.
To gain more cultivable land, terrace farming is commonly practiced. At higher elevations, farming is often supplemented by the raising of livestock.

Wild olives that were once cultivated rather hap-hazardly are now being planted with the necessary know-how from Italy. The middle height districts like Mandi and Kullu are ideal for this and the state is now hoping to increase its share of olive oil in the world market to 5 million tons.


¤ The Rare Chenopod

Today there are about 20 crops that feed the human population. But our ancestors had real variety – they had some 3000 species to choose from! Needless to say, most of them have been lost in the world of hybrids.
The Chenopod grain is one such forgotten old crop which is still grown in certain parts of Himachal like Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi and Chamba. Locally called bathu, it is extremely rich in protein. It is used to make roti (a kind of bread), porridge, subzi (a dish of vegetables) and even a fermented drink called thara or ghanti.


¤ Forest Produce


As stated earlier the state has a large forest cover that can be ideal for a trip in Himachal Pradesh. Though there’s a ban on felling trees, HP Forest Corporation extracts commercial timber from dry, fallen and damaged trees.
Other material gains from the forest are resin (from chir pine tree); kattha (which gives that red stain while chewing paan or betel leaf) from the wood and root of the Khair tree (Acacia catechu); chilgoza (pine nut or Sultanas); medicinal herbs like Dioscorea (oil of deodar) and blue pine; cane and bamboo. Deforestation and the resulting soil erosion are now being combated with several reforestation programs.


¤ Horticulture

Luscious fruit-laden orchards are a delightful sight in the valleys of Himachal. The town of Pawanoo has the largest fruit processing plant in Asia.
The hills grow sub-tropical fruit like mango, litchi (a juicy berry), guava and citrus fruit; stone fruit like peach, plum, apricot, pear and pomegranate; temperate fruit like cherry, walnut and chestnut; and dry fruit like chilgoza (pine nut or sultanas), almond and grape raisin. and most important of all, many varieties of apple.


¤ Industry

Due to the persistent effort of the state government, a broad-based industrial structure has slowly developed in the state.
There is small-scale mining of slate, gypsum, limestone, barite, dolomite, and pyrite. The main industries include iron foundries, resin and turpentine factories, fertilizer plants, breweries and electronics plants.

Woollen garments and handicrafts make up the main small-scale industry. In fact, the annual turnover from the shawl industry alone is estimated at around six crores rupees! Spinning and weaving of wool (which is locally produced) is mainly a winter occupation when there is time to spare from the fields.


¤ Hydroelectricity

Himachal Pradesh abounds in rivers, lakes and glaciers and is therefore extremely rich in water. A number of hydel projects have been constructed on the Satluj, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Yamuna basins. Some of the more important are the Bhakra Project, the Kot Dam Project, the Beas Satluj Link Project, the Beas Power Project and the Pong Dam.


¤ Tourism

Well, this is where HP is far, far ahead of other states in India. Its great natural splendour explains why tourists should make a trip to this destination. Apart from good hotels and transportation, there are excellent facilities for adventure sports like trekking, rock climbing, skiing, heli-skiing, river rafting and kayaking which attract enthusiasts from all over the globe. Some of the important tourist centres are Shimla, Solan, Chail, Renuka, Kalpa, Nako, Sangla, Kullu, Manali, Baijnath, Dharamsala, Kangra, Palampur, Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Chamba.


¤ Communications

Roads are the most important transport link in a hilly and mountainous state like HP. The state road network consists of four national highways and is constantly being extended. Kalka (in Haryana) and Pathankot (in Punjab) are the two nearest railway stations on the broad gauge network, if you are trying to reach Himachal.
There are two exciting toy train routes, though: Pathankot-Palampur-Jogindernagar and Kalka-Solan-Shimla.
The three airports in the state are at Shimla, Kullu and Kangra (closed these days) while two are coming up at Spiti and Banikhet (Chamba).
STD and ISD facilities are available in most places, even small. The Internet too is making its presence felt at an amazing speed. There are cybercafés in Shimla, Manali and McLeodganj.
Surprisingly, notwithstanding the hilly terrain, radio has penetrated to the remotest corners of the state (100% as against the national average of 96.89%).