It’s been few days since we had our first ‘off-line’ gathering in Delhi and
I am still thinking about it.Eleven people from different backgrounds and
diverse professions came together, with only one thing in mind, ‘Love for
Himachal’.

The event was like a melting pot where diverse ideas, opinions, and
suggestion found invigoration in a dream that can come true, only if... The
group after discussing the state of things in Hmachal concluded that the
people of Himachal themselves need to take some strong steps (read
entrepreneurship) to improve the economic condition of the state.

The group discussed a wide range of subjects under the head - sustainable
development. A few are enumerated below:-

1 Mini Hydro projects - Around 350 MHP still available to be tapped in the
state. Small hydro project are best suited for mountain ecology.

2 Watershed management - The issue needs to be taken up seriously keeping in
mind delegating water resource. A very important aspect of sustainable
development that an help in utilising local resources in a better manner
which ultimately would lead to
prosperity.

3 Marketing of Himachali handicraft - Provide an interface between the
craftsmen and the end users by creating a suitable marketing channel.

4 IT industry still has a potential in the state.

5 The need to rope in high end tourists especially students from foreign
countries.

6 Ask Himachalies settled outside to invest in the state, especially in the
tourism sector.

7 Build a strong public opinion in favour of economic activism in the state.

8 Identify priority areas and then support them as a pressure group

I am sure our fellow participants and members of the fourth estate will have
lot of ideas to write about and thus promote the overall interests of the
state. A brief profiles of those who attended the meet:-

Especially I would like to mention about Sanjay Versain (Indian Express) who
came all the way from Chandigarh to participate in the meet. True to the
firebrand spirit of Express, Sanjay has good knowledge of the state and
“will” to write about it. I am sure I would like to pick up a copy of
express and read more of his write-ups.

Nav Qirti (Please mark the ’Q’ in Kirti) was the first to arrive at the
Venue. A civil Engg (REC Hamirpur) and an MBA from Shimla, Nav is on the
verge of starting his own venture FON (Friends of Nature) India. He belongs
to Chamba and if you meet him you are sure to get a business card. FON India
will introduce retail/supply chain concept of marketing for Himachali
hadicrafts. Nav is a man of diverse talent,one of which is poetry. Best
wishes to Nav, and I am sure hard work will create wonders for him.

Professor Gosain (Delhi) is a well-known authority on water resources
management from the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Delhi. He had come
on the request of Pratap Chandnani. He has been instrumental in arranging an
initial grant for research on
water-forest relationship and its effects on people’s livelihood though a
multi-lateral donor agency located in UK. The project also includes the
Hamirpur Engg.College and would initially focus on Chabutra watershed
project near Hamirpur. I would like to thank Professor Gosain for taking
time out of his busy schedule to meet us. His team is developing the
mathematical model for simulating climatic conditions using GIS technology,
which would be tested in Himachal. Professor Gosain also extended us an open
invitation to visit IIT Delhi to see all these things practically.
Anupam Thapa (Shimla) handles the Sports desk at “Today” and sometimes also
manages to do some crime reporting. He has some good contacts in the media
industry and if anybody in the group or your friends are interested in being
part of the industry, they can send their resumes to him.

Pratap Chandnani (Delhi)shares a special relation with the state. Along with
his US principals (eFORCE Inc.) and a group of Silicon Valley NRI’s, he is
pursuing small hydro projects in Himachal. He is also working with IIT Delhi
on a framework for integrated watershed development projects in HP. I would
like to thank him as it was he, who took the initiative and brought us all
together at India Habitat Center. Pratap has made an open invitation to
like-minded Himachalis to come and actively participate by taking up 5 to
30% stake in their mini hydro projects located in districts Kullu, Shimla
and Sirmour.
Rajeev Dhar (Code name: Dimitry) and Mrs Anuradha Dhar (Palampur and
Jwalamukhi) were the senior-most members present in the Age. A dairy
technologist by profession and IIM Ahemadabd pass-out , Mr Dhar is a widely
traveled person. He has worked in Russia from seven years and now runs a
distributorship for Pfizer in North India. One of the most jovial persons at
the
gathering, Mr Dhar is person who youngsters can emulate. Mrs. Anuradha Dhar
worked as businesswoman with her husband and now works as a “Homemaker”
,raising their kids. Our best wishes for there brightfuture.

Rachna Kanwar (Shimla), works as a Content Manager with Indiatimes.com. She
is a product of St.Beedes College, Shimla, and has been in Delhi for a long
time. She is the daughter of legendary TV actor Manohar Singh, Rachna has
some great memories of her stay in Shimla. I am sure with the leverage and
creative spirit of Rachna we would be hearing lot more of our state in TOI.

Aradhna Mallik (Dharamshala) is currently pursuing her Phd. in communication
behaviour for small kids at Denver (USA). She gave a very valuable
suggestions that we should think of some common ideas, priortise them and
then support them as a group. I am sure in the next couple of meet we will
be able to do just that.

Madhur Trehan (Dharamshala):He is an electronics and communication engineer
from Bangalore and and MBA from Indore. Currently looking for a job in
Delhi. Madhur though was very quiet at the gathering, but I am sure we will
hear more from him in the coming days.

Varun Rattan Singh (Dharamshala): Well I was there and had some great time,
met all the above mentioned people and look forward to a
beautiful,prosperous and growing Himachal. The amount of work these people
are putting in makes me more optimistic about a bright future for the state.

Few suggestions like renaming the group ‘Club Information Network’ to ‘Voice
Of Himachal’ have already been implemented. We also feel that people form
different cities should also form such bodies and think about there own
states.

For more information log onto http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clubinfonet