H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Mitter Milan to float party
Dhaneta (Hamirpur), March 29
Activists of the Mitter Milan, a group of BJP dissidents, will float a new political party at Dhaneta in Hamirpur district tomorrow. A meeting of senior activists of the Mitter Milan has been convened here, according to Mr Kamal Nanda, its state convener.

Helicopters make forced landing
Kulu, March 29
Three foreign tourists and two crew members on board a Deccan Aviation helicopter, which made a forced landing near Larji, about 35 km from here, had a narrow escape today.

Snow, rain in Himachal
Shimla, March 29
Higher reaches in the tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Pangi had a spell of fresh snowfall while the other higher and midhills were lashed by rain and sleet, reviving the cold wave conditions in the region.

Exchange needs upgradation
Kumarhatti, March 29
Telephone subscribers linked with the Naya Gaon exchange are a harassed lot due to the poor availability of technical infrastructure in the exchange. Nearly 250 subscribers in over 25 hamlets falling under Banasar, Pratha and Jabli Panchayats of Dharmapur block have been getting poor services for the past some time.

Parwanoo barrier auctioned for Rs 3.10 cr
Solan, March 29
The Parwanoo toll barrier was today auctioned for Rs 3.10 crore under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner, Bharat Khera on the local municipal committee premises. 

China’s decision hailed
Kangra, March 29
The KalonTripa (Prime Minister, Tibetan Government-in-Exile), Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, today welcomed the Chinese authorities’ decision to allow Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan nun serving a prison term of 21 years, to fly to the USA for treatment.

Miss Tibet for global contest
Dharamsala, March 29
The 2002 Miss Tibet, 20 year-old Dolma Tsering, will participate in the Miss Tourism Intercontinental Beauty Contest being organised at Kuching in Malaysia.

One gets life term for girl’s murder
Dharamsala, March 29
Mr P.C. Sharma, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Kangra today sentenced Naresh Kumar, Sidhpur 30 km from here to life and fined him Rs 10,000 for the murder of college student Suman Thakur.

• 6 cattle head perish in fire

• Nalwar fair concludes

• Leopard trapped

Mitter Milan to float party

Dhaneta (Hamirpur), March 29
Activists of the Mitter Milan, a group of BJP dissidents, will float a new political party at Dhaneta in Hamirpur district tomorrow. A meeting of senior activists of the Mitter Milan has been convened here, according to Mr Kamal Nanda, its state convener.

Mr Nanda said here today that all senior leaders and members of the party would meet to float the party and prepare the strategy for the next Lok Sabha elections. The party has already decided to contest Hamirpur and Mandi seats and if there is consensus among the leaders, the party would contest all four seats from the state.

Mr Nanda lambasted the national and state-level leaders of the BJP for ignoring the workers and leaders. The convener said the main aim of the organisation was to provide a third front to the people. The HVC had failed in its mission and the Mitter Milan was going to fill this gap.

Mr Nanda came down heavily on the former Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, and the state party chief, Mr Jai Krishan Sharma, for harming the cause of the party. OC

Helicopters make forced landing
Our Correspondent

Kulu, March 29
Three foreign tourists and two crew members on board a Deccan Aviation helicopter, which made a forced landing near Larji, about 35 km from here, had a narrow escape today.

Two helicopters, which had been flying around Manali with heli-skiiers, were on their way to Pinjore from Manali with three passengers each on board, besides the crew. It was learnt that they came in contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Bhuntar from where they took weather report of the Airport Meteorological Department and proceeded further. After about 10 minutes, one of the helicopters came back to the Bhuntar airport and landed at 9.30 a.m.

The Senior Aerodrome Officer at the Bhuntar airport said that the helicopters were advised by the ATC that they should land at the airfields the weather was bad.

One of them returned and landed at the airport, whereas the other could not negotiate the weather and made a “precautionary landing” near Larji, about 7 nautical miles south of the Bhuntar airfield on the riverside. Later, the helicopter returned from its emergency landing site to the Bhuntar airport at 3.30 p.m. after the improvement in weather, he added.

Snow, rain in Himachal

Shimla, March 29
Higher reaches in the tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Pangi had a spell of fresh snowfall while the other higher and midhills were lashed by rain and sleet, reviving the cold wave conditions in the region.

The twin tribal valleys of Lahaul and Spiti experienced fresh snowfall during the past 24 hours, causing a sharp fall in the mercury. The minimum temperature stayed between -8°C and -15°C, aggravating the avalanche threat in the tribal valleys.

Shimla and the surrounding resorts of Kufri, Wildflower Hall and Fagu were also lashed by rains and sleet and the sky remained heavily overcast, with icy winds sweeping the region.

Bad weather forced unscheduled landing of a Deccan Aviation helicopter with three foreign tourists and two crew members near Larji in Mandi district.

The passengers had a narrow escape as the helicopter could neither advance nor return to the base due to inclement weather and had to resort to “precautionary landing” near Larji, 7 km south of the Kulu-Manali airport.

These were two helicopters which were flying over Manali with heli-skiers on their way from Manali to Pinjore and one of them returned and landed at the Kulu-Manali airport after getting signal from the Air Traffic Control that weather was not clear.

However, the other helicopter had to resort to forced landing and it later flew back to the Kulu-Manali airport. PTI

Exchange needs upgradation
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, March 29
Telephone subscribers linked with the Naya Gaon exchange are a harassed lot due to the poor availability of technical infrastructure in the exchange. Nearly 250 subscribers in over 25 hamlets falling under Banasar, Pratha and Jabli Panchayats of Dharmapur block have been getting poor services for the past some time.

The breakdown of the exchange, poor network and long time taken to rectify the faults are the main problems being faced by the subscribers. Subscribers find it difficult to get outside numbers, lamented Mr Upendra, president of Banasar panchayat. One has to try at least 10 times to get an outside number, he rued. The authorities concerned have so far shown lethargic attitude towards the problems despite numerous complaints, he alleged.

An operator said that the exchange needed technical upgradation.

Parwanoo barrier auctioned for Rs 3.10 cr
Our Correspondent

Solan, March 29
The Parwanoo toll barrier was today auctioned for Rs 3.10 crore under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner, Bharat Khera on the local municipal committee premises. Rana and Company which got the contract for the second time and achieved revenue for collection. The barrier is the entry point to Himachal.

Eight other barriers including one each in Shimla and Sirmaur districts and seven others in district Solan could not be auctioned today as the bids were lower than the reserve price fixed by the government. The auction of these barriers has been fixed for March 31.

China’s decision hailed
Our Correspondent

Kangra, March 29
The KalonTripa (Prime Minister, Tibetan Government-in-Exile), Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, today welcomed the Chinese authorities’ decision to allow Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan nun serving a prison term of 21 years, to fly to the USA for treatment.

In a statement issued here today, Prof Samdhong Rinpoche said, “It comes as a positive signal at a time when we are making every effort to create an atmosphere conducive to dialogue for resolving the issue of Tibet.”

Miss Tibet for global contest
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, March 29
The 2002 Miss Tibet, 20 year-old Dolma Tsering, will participate in the Miss Tourism Intercontinental Beauty Contest being organised at Kuching in Malaysia.

According to Mr Lobsang Wangyal, the man behind the organisation of first ever Miss Tibet contest here last year, Dolma Tsering will leave Delhi on March 30 along with her escort to take part in the beauty pageant which starts on April 1.

The beauty queen had travelled on foot for 21 days when she was 12 years old to reach India after leaving her home in Tibet. Her father was a political prisoner in Tibet. At presently, she is studying in Delhi.

One gets life term for girl’s murder
Our Correspondent

Dharamsala, March 29
Mr P.C. Sharma, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Kangra today sentenced Naresh Kumar, Sidhpur 30 km from here to life and fined him Rs 10,000 for the murder of college student Suman Thakur.

According to the prosecution, Suman Thakur, a student of KLB College, Palampur, was returning home on September 13, 1999, when she was dragged to bushes by Naresh Kumar with the intention of raping her. He strangled her and ran away but later confessed to the crime.

6 cattle head perish in fire

Chamba, March 29
Six head of cattle perished when a cluster of three houses was engulfed in a fire at Bunhali village in the Tissa sector last evening, according to the residents of the area. Loss of property, including livestock, caused due to fire was estimated at Rs 5 lakh.

The MLA of the Rajnagar constituency, Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, has asked the authorities to provide relief to the affected families. OC

Nalwar fair concludes
Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, March 29
Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Speaker of the HP Legislative Assembly, was the chief guest at the closing function of the seven-day state-level Nalwar Fair yesterday.

Mr Musafir visited Nagaun Khud where the finals of wrestling bouts were going on.

Mr Musafir, while addressing the gathering, said that fairs are the cultural heritage of this state and should be protected.

The chief guest also distributed the prizes on this occasion. In the wrestling competitions. Johy Chaudhary (Sundernagar) and Rahmat Ali (Chamba) won the title of Suket Keshri and were given cash prizes and a gurj.

Leopard trapped
Our Correspondent

Kangra, March 29
A leopard was trapped by a miscreant in Amabri village, near Malan, in this subdivision this afternoon, the police said here today. A police party along with a team of veterinary surgeons and forest officials has rushed to the spot.