Shimla, October 31
The state came in the grip of severe cold following a fresh spell of snow in higher reaches and widespread rain in mid-hill and lower areas. The snow and rain, accompanied with strong icy winds, which started last night was still continuing causing the mercury to plummet sharply.

The higher reaches in tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur, Dhauladhar and Churdhar ranges and Rohtang, Saach, Kunzam and Chansel in the upper Shimla region were having intermittent snow. The Churdhar ranges had recorded 20 cm of snow by evening and devotees in the temple on the top of the hill had left, said priest Kamla Dhar Brahmchari.

The state capital and surrounding areas were lashed by a storm in the wee hours of the day which was followed by a heavy downpour. Strong icy winds brought down the minimum temperature to 7.1°C and the maximum day temperature also dropped to 17.1° C.

Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, had a mild snow and as a result the mercury dipped to the freezing point. Kalpa recorded a low of 2.8°C and Manali 4.2°C. Bhuntar, Solan and Sundernagar recorded minimum temperatures at 7.8°C, 9°C and 9.3°C. Una was hottest with a maximum of 28°C, followed by Sundernagar (26.1°C), Dharamsala (25.2°C), Bhunter (24.2°C) and Nahan (20.2°C).

Tissa in Chamba recorded the highest rainfall of 26 mm, followed by Chamba (10 mm), Dalhousie (7mm), Kahu, Kasauli, Bangana and Una (5 mm each) and Bharmaur, Kheri, Dehra Gopipur and Mashobra (4 mm each).

Dharamsala, October 31
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the democratic set-up would be established not only in cricket, but in all sports bodies of Himachal Pradesh. Addressing a press conference here this morning, he said the state government would introduce a sports Bill that would outline the term for elections in each sports body and ensure the right to vote for each member.

He said the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) was the only sports body in the state where only life members and patrons could vote and general members did not have the right to vote.

He said the state government would soon conduct free and fair elections of the HPCA by granting all members the right to vote. He said the state government had no intention to forcibly occupy any HPCA property.

The property would be handed over to the HPCA as soon as free and fair elections were held to elect new office-bearers of the association.

He asserted that they did not want sports bodies to become the personal property of individuals. He further said the HPCA had flouted rules by constructing a five-star hotel on land given on lease for a sports hostel.

Asked how cricket matches would be hosted in Dharamsala after ousting the HPCA, he said the BCCI had not objected to the move of the state government, but assured it that cricket matches would continue.

The Chief Minister claimed that Kings XI Punjab had assured the state government that they would conduct their matches in Dharamsala.

He denied that the district administration or the state government had done anything wrong in taking over the HPCA property in the middle of the night. He said all actions had been taken as per the law.

The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction at the pace of development work in Dharamsala. He said he had recently inaugurated many development projects in Dharamsala.

These included the regional centre of Himachal Pradesh University, he said. Two more wings of the university would be set up in Dharamsala, he added.

The Chief Minister said the proposal of expanding the three airports in the state was being taken up with the Centre. A proposal to expand the railway network was being taken up with the Railway Ministry, he added.

Minister for Housing and TCP Sudhir Sharma, Minister for Agriculture and Power Sujjan Singh Pathania and forest corporation vice-chairman Kewal Singh Pathania accompanied the Chief Minister.

Bilaspur, October 31
The Chief Minister has said he has nothing personal against the HPCA, but is against any state sports body becoming the personal property of only one family.

He was addressing a rally organised by the Congress to honour him for his benevolence towards Bhakra Dam oustees of Bilaspur at the college ground here after inaugurating the five-storey Rs 1.54-crore Sanskriti Bhawan of the Language and Culture Department here today.

The Chief Minister said he was in favour of encouraging all sports and games, including cricket, but wanted to ensure that state associations were run on sound democratic norms and according to rules and regulations with office-bearers be duly elected by voting.

The Chief Minister said he would not allow any individual to capture permanently any state association and make it personal property.

He expressed surprise that the BJP government had scrapped the law to streamline functioning of sports bodies, which his government had earlier adopted, to fulfil their personal HPCA agenda.

He said all HPCA land was government land and the HPCA had taken possession of the land after committing several irregularities and then changing the society into a company.

State Congress general secretary Ram Lal Thakur raised the question of Saraswati Vidya Mandir schools getting allotted five plots for constructing school buildings in the town.

The Chief Minister said this 'land grab' would not be tolerated. He said the town was being built for rehabilitating dam oustees and the land of all schools except one would be taken back.

Shimla, October 31
Stepping up its attack on the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), the Congress today asserted that Anurag Thakur must explain to the people of the state the reasons for converting a registered society into a company and make public the identity of its directors.

In a joint statement here today, Harsh Mahajan, Gangu Ram Musafir, Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, Kuldeep Singh Pathania and Naresh Chauhan, office-bearers of the state Congress, said Anurag, the HPCA president, had admitted that it was no longer a society and was functioning as a company and he must tell the reasons.

They asked who were the directors of this company and how many of them belonged to his family and other states. They said Anurag must give full particulars of all lifetime members of the HPCA who had been bestowed voting rights.

They said cricket fans had the right to know how much money Anurag had invested in the HPCA and how much money was given by the BCCI and MPs for the construction of the stadium and the hotel. They said the earnings from IPL matches in Dharamsala should be made public.

They said the state government had given 450 kanal worth Rs 200 crore on Re 1 lease to the HPCA. They said Anurag had constructed a five-star hotel on the allotted land by flouting rules and without taking permission of the Cabinet for using the land for commercial purposes.

Dharamsala, October 31
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed another case against Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur and others who accompanied him to the Vigilance Bureau office here in connection with a protest on October 24.

Sources said the police might take action against three BJP legislators, Vikram Thakur from Paragpur, Varinder Kanwar from Kutlehar and Vijay Agnihotri from Nadaun, and BJP spokesperson Parveen Sharma.

The Vigilance Bureau had registered a case under Section 186 of the IPC against Anurag and others and forwarded the complaint to the Kangra police for further action.

Section 186 of the IPC amounts to causing disruption and preventing a public servant from performing his duty. Vigilance SP Bimal Thakur said they had registered a case and sent it to the police for further action.

The Vigilance Bureau called Anurag on October 24 for questioning in a case registered against him for converting the HPCA society into a company.

The date for questioning was later changed to October 31. Anurag alleged that Vigilance was harassing him and deliberately called him on his birthday.

He insisted that his questioning should be held on October 24 as he had cancelled all his birthday programmes to keep his date with the Vigilance Bureau.

Anurag addressed a rally in Dharamsala on October 24, accusing the government of unleashing political vendetta against him.

While Anurag and the BJP legislators met the Vigilance SP at his office on October 24, their supporters outside raised slogans against the government.

Palampur, October 31
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the state government was committed to the promotion of adventure sports, which could give a big boost to the tourism industry.

He was presiding over the closing ceremony of the week-long Paragliding Pre-World Cup Championship at Bir, 30 km from here, this evening.

He said the state government would provide every possible assistance to the Bir Billing Paragliding Association. He lauded the efforts of the association in conducting the championship.

He announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the association. He said the issue of setting up a national institute of paragliding and adventure sports at Bir would be taken up with the Centre.

The Chief Minister said efforts would be made to acquire and develop land for a golf course at Bir. He announced an award of Rs 50,000 for the Tibetan students who presented a cultural programme.

Sudhir Sharma, Urban Development Minister and Bir Billing Paragliding Association president, welcomed the Chief Minister. Over 200 paragliders participated in the championship.

Jamil Messanger of the UK bagged the first position. He was given Rs 2.5 lakh, a gold medal and a trophy. In the women's category, Klaudia Bulga Kow of Poland won first prize. She was given Rs 75,000 and a trophy.

In the Indian category, Ajay Kumar Sharma was adjudged best. He was given Rs 1.1 lakh. The new talent prize was bagged by Kamal Kishore of India. In the sports class category, Jim Mallinson of the UK was given Rs 75,000 
and a trophy.

Mandi, October 31
Villagers in the panchayats of Khola Nal, Nalbagi and Kasaud in the Seraj block of the district, who were on an indefinite fast under the banner of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), called off the protest today.

They were protesting against the failure to provide road connectivity and a bridge on the Beas near the Hanogi temple to connect the area to National Highway 21.

They ended the protest after three days when Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur and Mandi DC Devesh Kumar assured the protesters that the government would take up their demands on a priority basis.

The detailed project report of the bridge and road had been prepared, but it had been gathering dust in PWD files, said Jivan Singh, Jiva Nand and Sesh Ram, who were on indefinite fast at the Hanogi temple.

“We ended the hunger strike on assurance from Kaul Singh Thakur,” said Des Raj, AAP coordinator for Mandi. The DC called the meeting today and assured the villagers that they would take it up on priority. The joint action committee of 21 members warned the government that they would resume the protest if no action was taken within a month.

The villagers resented that three panchayats, which had a population of 15,000, had been demanding motorable road since the 1980s.

“The road will connect the three panchayats, Kalhni and Bhatkidhar and the tehsil headquarters at Thunag,” they added. The committee would monitor the progress till the objective was achieved, said Des Raj.

Shimla, October 31
Taking serious note of the issue of non-compliance with its judgement, the high court has ordered non-release of salaries of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar of the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur, without seeking liberty from this court.

Passing this order, a Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Rajiv Sharma observed, “We find that despite sufficient opportunities afforded to the respondents, they have not complied with the judgment passed on September 15, 2011, vide which this court had directed the university authorities to release retirement gratuity, death gratuity and arrears of pension with dearness allowance to the pensioners within six months. The time to comply with the judgement was extended by this court on request of the respondents. Despite this, respondents failed to comply with the judgement.”

The Bench further said there was no explanation forthcoming as to why the amount had not been released to the members of petitioners’ society or the judgement had not been complied with in letter and spirit. It further observed, “We are of the considered view that the respondents are in gross contempt of this court.”

The court passed the order on a petition filed by the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University Pensioners’ Society, alleging that the university administration had failed to comply with the judgement passed by this court on September 15, 2011, vide which it had directed the university authorities to release retirement gratuity, death gratuity and arrears of pension with dearness allowance to the pensioners within six months.

Shimla, October 31
A fruitful apple season officially came to a close today, with the state recording the second highest production with over 3.22 crore standard boxes transported to various markets.

Over 72,000 trucks of apple have been sent out till today and about 34,000 tonne of fruit was procured under the market intervention scheme (MIS).

With 12 lakh boxes kept in various cold stores by fresh fruit companies, the total production will come to 7.34 lakh tonne after taking domestic consumption into account, says Gurdev Singh, Horticulture Director.

The highest production of 8.92 lakh tonne was recorded in 2010 when 4.46 crore boxes were exported and 1.1 lakh tonne apple was procured under the MIS.

A noteworthy feature was that the produce was marketed smoothly due to advance arrangements made by the agencies concerned.

The decision to set up a 24x7 apple harvesting monitoring station in the Directorate of Horticulture to promptly address the problems of growers helped. It was for the first time that such an arrangement was made and it had proved very useful, Gurdev Singh maintained.

Further, the pains taken by the Shimla district administration in regulating the movement of apple trucks also helped and there were far less traffic jams compared to previous years.

Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Malhotra said GPS (geo-positioning system) based vehicle tracking system was installed on some trucks on an experimental basis to monitor traffic movement and closed circuit TV cameras were also provided at six places.

The mobile numbers of departments like the police and the Public Works Department along with drivers of earth movers deployed for clearing landslides at various palaces were widely circulated and put on the website.

A traffic regulation plan was prepared and effectively implemented by the team of Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dular and Additional District Magistrate DK Rattan.

The movement of big trucks (having 10 or 12 tyres) with a capacity of 850 to 1,000 boxes (compared to 450 to 500 boxes carried by normal trucks) was largely restricted to night hours in narrow stretches.

The growers had a bumper crop after a gap of two years. Last year, 4.12 lakh tonne of apple was produced while 2011-12 was the leanest, when the production plunged to 2.74 lakh tonne.

Solan, October 31
Exhorting students to excel in academics and extra-curricular activities, Maj-Gen (Dr) Sunil Chandra, Additional Director-General, Education, Army Headquarters, today urged students of Pinegrove School, Subathu, to scale new heights by improving their performance.

He was presiding over the annual function of the school. The students presented a variety of cultural items, including Indian and Western music. A Hindi play, "Neelami", showcased the importance of communal harmony in society.

The annual report, which highlighted the achievements of the school last year, was presented by the students. A dance performance by girls depicting the five elements of the earth was a feast for the eyes.

Parents had the opportunity to witness the creative skills of their wards at an art and craft exhibition.

Ravyansh and Nikunj Garg were awarded gold medals, Vaibhav Sood and Ayush Bansal silver medals and Pradeep Chanda and Aayush Grover bronze medals for their exemplary performance in the Class XII CBSE exams this year in science and commerce, respectively. Students from Class X were awarded medals for proficiency in academics in the CBSE exams. Deepanshu Singla was awarded Diamond Star for his impeccable behaviour.

Oak House lifted the trophy for proficiency in academics and became the champion house for 2013.

The chief guest appreciated the efforts put in by the management in maintaining high standards in 
the school. 

Kangra, October 31
A pharmacovigilance centre will be set up at the DRPGMC, Tanda, with the support of International Pharmacovigilance, Ghaziabad, where the brand of medicines prescribed by doctors can be verified.

GS Bali, Technical Education Minister, announced this during the inaugural function of a continuing medical education (CME) on the National Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (NPPI) organised at the Sobha Singh auditorium of the DRPGMC, Tanda, today.

Bali, who inaugurated the function by lighting the lamp, stressed the need for making medicines safer and affordable for the population of Himachal Pradesh. He suggested that doctors should prescribe generic medicines instead of branded ones to protect the patient from adverse effects.

Kalai Selwan, Chief Scientific Adviser, Indian Pharmacopoea Commission, informed the participants that the Tanda college had been selected as the first Adverse Drug Events’ Reporting Centre from the state.

Dr Bikas Medhi, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, said now with the help of Adverse Drug Events Reporting Centres, data would be generated for proving the harmful effects of medicines and if a medicine was found more toxic, it would be banned. He urged the clinicians, pharmacists and nurses to report all adverse events associated with medicines.

Those who spoke included Dr Dinesh Badyal, Head, CMC, Ludhiana, Dr Punit Dhaneja, Assistant Professor, AIIMS, Rishikesh, and Kalai Selwan, Chief Scientific Adviser, Indian Pharmacopoea Commision. 

Mandi, October 31
Health and Revenue Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today said the sanctioned strength of doctors had been increased from 1,597 to 1,797 to strengthen health services, mainly in rural areas.

He announced this while addressing the gathering on the state-level National Voluntary Blood Donation Day here today. The Health Minister urged donors and other organisations to increase the percentage of voluntary donation from 38 per cent as the government was promoting voluntary donation.

He said the increased strength of doctors and paramedics would strengthen health services. He said there were 15 blood banks and six blood component separation units providing 32,000 units of safe blood for transfusion.

He honoured voluntary blood donors and organisations promoting voluntary blood donation. He flagged off a rally to celebrate the day and inaugurated a blood donation camp.

Mandi DC Devesh Kumar urged donors to donate blood as accident victims and major surgeries needed more blood. Mandi CMO Dr Hemant Kapur, state AIDS Control Society project director Dr PC Sharma and district AIDS Control Society programme officer Dr Joginder Thakur were present.