Shimla, May 17
Enforcing discipline in the party had not been a tradition with the Congress in the state, but with national general secretary Birender Singh taking over as in charge of the party affairs, all this is set to change.

This has become evident from the show-cause notices issued by the Pradesh Congress Committee to leaders and workers who forced their entry into the meeting held at the party office on Sunday and indulged in rowdy behaviour.

Besides sending notices to five party men, who were identified on the spot, the party has written letters to heads of the three frontal organisations, the members of which were seen creating trouble during the meeting.

President, NSUI, Yadupati, head, Sewa Dal, Inder Lakhan Pal and president, INTUC, Hardeep Bawa have been asked to take action against all those who created a scene at the venue. Party sources said the action had been initiated against the workers with the approval of Birender Singh who wanted discipline in the party at all costs.

The workers associated with the three bodies gate-crashed into the meeting hall and when they were forcibly removed they started raising slogans. In the scuffle, two office employees were injured. The five workers to whom notices have been issued directly belong to Kumasain (1), Rampur (2) and Shimla (2).

Such incidents had been common in the past as important party meetings were often used by senior leaders to demonstrate the support they enjoyed among the party men.

Dharamsala, May 17
The arrival of senior BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani to Dharamsala today added political overtones to the ongoing IPL season here.

Advani arrived at Dharamsala in a chartered flight with Kingfisher owner Vijay Mallya. He is here in Dharamsala till May 19 and expected to see the match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore today.

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) will host a dinner for Advani at the international cricket stadium. All leading BJP leaders from the state have been invited for the dinner.

Advani is scheduled to meet the Dalai Lama at his residence in McLeodganj tomorrow. He will also be accompanied by the Chief Minister.

Sources here told The Tribune that the senior leaders of the party were likely to discuss state-related issues with Advani. They were peeved with Rajan Sushant.

Without taking the state leadership into confidence, Sushant had also floated a front to raise the issues of the state with the Centre.

The state leadership of the party was pressing for action against Sushant and the matter was likely to be discussed with Advani, the sources said.

Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the Opposition in Parliament, was also expected to visit Dharamsala for the IPL match scheduled on May 21 between Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers, they said.

The HPCA had also invited national president of the BJP Nitin Garkari. However, he did not come due to the Karnataka government controversy.

The leadership of the party would also discuss the Cabinet expansion and installation of the new state president of the party with Advani. A Cabinet berth had been lying vacant since the former Forest Minister JP Nadda resigned after being given the position of general secretary in the national party structure of the BJP.

Shimla, May 17
Having demanded the resignation of Municipal Commissioner AN Sharma, Mayor Madhu Sood today sprung another surprise as she inspected the road adjoining the controversial housing project of Bemloe Development and Infrastructure Company below Kanlog.

Sood, who heads the Congress-dominated Shimla MC, visited the construction site below Kanlog, which is in the eye of a storm as the Congress had levelled serious charges against the BJP regime for showering favours on builders. She also had some persons accompanying her on the surprise visit.

“What is surprising is the fact that my request for widening the road from Kanlog-Beerkhana to Bihargaon so that an ambulance can ply on it, fell on deaf ears in June 2007, but the request by the builders to grant them an NOC to make a road was granted in a single day on April 22, 2009,” said Sood. She added that the Commissioner granted the permission on the same day the request came without consulting anyone by keeping others in the dark.

She alleged that the builders who had committed to maintain the road for the locals allegedly caused damage to the existing road being used by the residents of Bihargaon.

“It appears that the Commissioner is far more sensitive to the needs of a construction company than to the needs of the villagers who have to carry the sick on their back as ambulance cannot ply on the road which has been existing since British time,” said an agitated Sood.

Dharamsala, May 17
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) will soon open membership for its club house. It will be the first club house of the region to provide sports and other facilities to its members.

The HPCA president and MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur gave this information while taking to The Tribune here today. He said the HPCA had hired the services of VCI, a leading company in the sector, for marketing the membership of the HPCA club house. The work for marketing the club house membership would start just after the IPL matches.

The club house has the facilities of gymnasium, spa, a world-class restaurant and bar, facilities for various indoor sports and 20-room residential facilities. Thakur further said he had requested the government to start more flights from the Gaggal airport.

Bilaspur, May 17
Roshan Lal, son of Durga Ram of Palthin village and a tipper driver at Kol Dam, was badly mauled when he was suddenly attacked by a group of monkeys at Kanichi-Mode at Barmana, 22 km from here, yesterday afternoon.

Reports said Roshan was going towards Kol Dam when suddenly a dozen monkeys surrounded him and attacked him from all sides.

Some people rushed to the spot when they heard his shrieks and the monkeys fled from the scene on their arrival. He was rushed to the local ACC Hospital and is said to be under shock but recovering. He was bitten mostly on his arms which he used to ward off the monkeys.

Local people said monkeys had become a great menace in this entire Barmana area.

They said monkeys mostly attacked women and children.

Baddi, May 17
As many as 31 domestic LPG cylinders were seized from a store at Malkhumajra near Baddi by a team of officials from the police and Food and Civil Supplies (FCS) Department today.

The officials comprising FCS Inspector Narinder Dhiman and police Inspector Uday Singh raided a store which was rented by Sunil Kumar and seized 31 domestic cylinders stored there.

SP, Baddi, Gurudev Chand Sharma said initial investigations revealed that Sunil had bought the cylinders in black at Rs 700 and he sold these at Rs 600. He managed to buy four to five such cylinders every day from drivers of various oil companies who transported these cylinders to other places.

Indane company has its gas plant at Baddi and Bharat Petroleum its depot here from where cylinders are supplied to Punjab, Mandi, Shimla and elsewhere. Initial investigations have revealed that drivers of their vehicles often sold a few cylinders to agents by refilling a few empty cylinders from the filled ones.

There seems to be a well-organised network operating in the area. Hence, Sunil, who originally belonged to Punjab, has been thriving on this trade. He resides at Jharmajri near Baddi. He has been arrested under the Essential Commodities Act.

Dhiman said such practices created a shortage of domestic cylinders in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area which was receiving barely 18,000 cylinders per month as against the demand for 33,000 cylinders.

Shimla, May 17
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today ordered an inquiry against a resident of Ropar for fraudulently acquiring an agriculturist certificate to purchase land at five different places in Manali.

It was on the basis of a complaint received from a resident of Manali that the Chief Minister ordered the inquiry into the alleged fraud by Avinash Kumar of Chhota Khera village in Ropar district of Punjab.

The inquiry will examine all land deals carried out by him between December 2007 and November 2008.

Dhumal has directed the Principal Secretary (Revenue), the Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, and the DC, Kullu, to conduct an investigation by according top priority into the alleged land deals as also to enquire into the matter relating to the issuance of the fraud agriculture certificate in favour of the person. He has directed them to complete investigations and report to his office by May 20, 2011.

The Chief Minister said the government was concerned about the alleged benami land transactions which had taken place in the state till now. He appealed to people to bring such cases to the notice of the government so that strict action could be taken against the guilty.

Kangra, May 17
Reshab Sharma, 19, a Delhi resident who was one of the two survivors of the fateful Chamba road accident which claimed 10 lives, was today airlifted to Delhi in a chartered plane by his relatives.

Reshab lost his father Deepak Sharma, mother Seema and sister Saniya in the accident yesterday when their vehicle, in which they were travelling from Khajiar to Chamba, rolled down into a 250-foot-deep gorge.

Reshab was brought to the Tanda Medical College Hospital last evening where his condition was declared to be critical. Doctors advised his relatives to shift him to Delhi for specialised medical treatment.

A chartered aircraft with two doctors arrived at Kangra airport this afternoon and Reshab was airlifted to Delhi.