Hillside garbage

Garbage seems to be a big problem here as is the case in the plains. When we were maybe half a kilometer down hill from the building (top pic) on could make out paper, lots of it, and other material burning on the hillside. I don't know whether there is a better solution but that wasn't a very welcoming sight!

Naini Tal May 12-16, 2012

This was my first visit to Naini Tal. Our family, two daughters and their husbands and three little boys, my son, wife and myself made up a group of ten. It was great fun! I'd head about the over-crowding, the vehicular traffic - buses, two-wheelers and four-wheeler. There were lots but there was seldom a trafficjam for long. It seemed to sort itself out in no time.
There is no doubt that the hills have lost a lot of their green cover, one reason, I guess, for the landslides at several spots all the way up from Kathgodam railway station. Some of these spots looked very frightening, massive rocks that appeared ready to roll down anytime. Road repairs appear to be an on-going process. At one point on the way up there were several men looking down below the road. The taxi driver said a bus had gone over the day before. I don't think that type of news would help promote tourism in the hills!

Ingrid McLeod MP 'insulted'

Raipur:
An Anglo Indian parliamentarian has accused the Congress party and its
general secretary Rahul Gandhi of insulting Catholics and her
community after she was unceremoniously ousted from a stage.

Ingrid Mcleod has pledged never to attend Gandhi's programs again
after she was asked to get off a stage where Gandhi was seated in
Raipur on Saturday.

Mcleod, who belongs to Chhattisgarh and is one of two nominated
members of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha, lower house of
parliament. After the incident, she resigned her posts in the party's
state unit.

She described the treatment meted out to her as an "insult" for all
Catholics and Anglo-Indians across the country.

Mcleod went to the dais during a training session for Congress
functionaries. However, B K Hariprasad, who heads the Congress party
in Chhattisgarh, asked her to get off.

The 43-year-old parliamentarian did not protest, but later met Gandhi.

Mcleod's husband Rodney Mcleod said his wife complained to the
Congress general secretary about Hariprasad's "rude behaviour," Gandhi
ignored her. "Instead, he said it was he who had told Hariprasad to
tell her to get off the dias.
Georgie's Musings: I feel that Rahul Gandhi should have himself
politely told Ms McLeod that it wasn't the appropriate time/place to
meet him, however, if there were others who 'ignored protocol' as she
was accused of doing and got away with it then her anger is justified.

Snooty A-I leaders
Georgie's Musings: I have no doubt that there are 'honorable' men and
women from the Anglo-Indian community who are nominated to represent
the community but there are also those who behave rather uppish and
are hard to contact once they become members of state assemblies or
parliament.
Several years ago a community member who had a problem where police
help was required, was told by the A-I MLA : I cannot help you, I am
only concerned with education.' I know of MLAs who encourage social
meets/functions where a pic or two are taken and sent to the A-I
central 'leadership' for inclusion in the Anglo-Indian 'Review'
(magazine) that most of the community never even receive. The
so-called leader after making an appearance moves on to another party
where scotch and champagne flow...

(to be concluded)

The Band Pavilion (1890)

The Band Pavilion (1890) has crumbled. Let's hope it can be restored as it could be put to use once the surrounding grounds are made usable. The bricks are stronger than the ones used today. (May 5, 2012)

The Washies

 Friday, May 4, 2012. Happy to find clearing work is taking place behind the washies (swimming pools) that had become a dumping ground for garbage and debris over the past decades.