Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal plans to replicate Israel's success in apple cultivation in his state. "With no snowfall and much lesser rain than us, they produce 50 tonnes of apple per hectare.We produce one-fifth of it, " he says. Apple production dropped almost to half in the last season while prices rose to around Rs 100 per kg.
For most women in Punjab, dinnertime means heading to the kitchen to begin making chapatis. But things have changed in Fazilka. At dinnertime, they dress up just that little bit and are out of their homes with kneaded flour as they head for the neighbourhood chulha. Here, they bake their bread even as they talk and gossip before going back home with hot chapatis.
For a state that walked the path of development and industrialisation far later than its neighbouring states, Himachal Pradesh has done fairly well and has set high standards for itself for the future. "It's been a tough terrain," says Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. "We have progressed inch by inch, rock by rock."
History has a way of repeating itself. The adage gains special significance in case of Punjab, which, thanks to the seeds sown over the time, is reaping rich dividends today. With Punjab emerging as the best overall state since 2003, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal attributes its repeated success to Punjabis being "aggressive and progressive by nature".
The commissioning of Bathinda's Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, whose letter of intent was issued nearly 15 years ago, is still five months away, but it is already embroiled in a controversy.
