The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Ministers misusing govt vehicles: Virbhadra Our Correspondent Hamirpur, January 11 Former Himachal Chief Minister and Senior Congress leader, Virbhadra Singh today said his party would sweep Vidhan Sabha elections in the state. He said there was pro-Congress waive in the state. Talking to reporters here this afternoon, he said that people of the state wanted to get rid of the BJP. Mr Ram Lal Thakur, MLA and Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, HP NSUI chief were also with him. The former Chief Minister said that all senior state-level and national-level leaders of party would tour all parts of the state. He claimed that the party was united under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Mrs Gandhi will also address a several meetings in the state during elections. Mr Virbhadra Singh who was made convener of the party’s campaign committee for the elections said that all sitting legislators would get ticket and the remaining would get ticket according to loyalty to the party. The former Chief Minister urged the Election Commission to ensure that elections were held in fair and peaceful manner. He also demanded the enforcement of Code of Conduct issued by the Election Commission of the state. He alleged that despite this order, ministers were touring various parts of the state in government vehicles thus misusing power and position. The Congress leader blasted the Chief Minister for trying to frame false cases against Congress leaders and workers and added that the people of the state would pronounce judgement in elections. He said that Modi card would not click in Himachal. He asked the BJP leaders and workers to refrain from playing communal card in elections. He said that this gimmick would not work in this peaceful state. The former Chief Minister was given warm reception on his arrival here today from Chandigarh. Congress men and others garlanded him at the Jai Prakash Narain chowk and raised slogans his favour and the Congress party. He was brought to the Circuit House in a procession.
	Nadda gets 23 claims for party ticket Our Correspondent Nahan, January 11 Among the raising of slogans supporters of BJP leaders of all five Assembly segments of the district, Mr J.P. Nadda, Health Minister and party observer for the district, received claims for party ticket from more than 23 persons in the Circuit House here yesterday. Mr Nadda along with party leader R.S. Mankotia was here to assess the ticket claims and receive applications for the same. While talking to the mediapersons last night Mr Nadda said the chances of the claimant to win would be the sole criterion for allotting the ticket. He said all claims received by him would be forwarded to the party high command for deciding on the candidates. Earlier, ticket claimants arrived at the Circuit House, along with their supporters. From Shillai constituency ticket claims from former MLA, Jagat Singh Negi, District president of the BJP, Daleep Singh Tomar and Inder Singh were received, while from Paonta Sahib Sukh Ram, Vijendera Chaudhary, Raja Ram, C.M. Bhardwaj, Sudhir Kumar, Naresh Khapra and Sushil Gupta filed their claims. From Nahan constituency Ms Shyama Sharma, Chander Mohan Thakur, O.P. Saini, Pradeep Vij, Viney Gupta, Pratibha Kaushik and her son Sandeep Kaushik applied for the ticket. From Pacchad constituency applications from Ram Prakash and Kali Dass and from Renuka constituency claims were received from former MLA, Roop Singh, Bal Bir singh and Mohan Lal Azad.
	Snow eludes ski lovers Our Correspondent Manali, January 11 Snow continues to elude winter sports lovers in the Manali region. The famous Solang ski slopes, 13 km from here, which offers one of the most spectacular ski slopes in the western Himalayas and used to play host to national winter games on many a time in the past are presenting a deserted look this year. The Solang ski slopes with normally used to have 4 to 5 feet snow are totally devoid of snow and bare which has disappointed ski lovers. This year the entire higher reaches in the Kulu valley experienced the first snow fall on December 19, but the slopes had only about 4 inches of snow and due to high temperature snow melted next day. Even the entire higher reaches of the Pir Panjal range, including the Rohtang Pass, the Bhrigu ski slopes with Hamta ski slopes and the Sari ski slopes at the base of Deotibba, which are at an altitude ranging from 10,000 feet to 15,000 feet received very less snow this year. The Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, which used to conduct many skiing courses during winter months at the Solang ski slopes every year had to postpone special skiing course and 14-day basic skiing course. According to Mr H.S. Chauhan, Director of Mountaineering and Allied Sports here, the first ski course which was to commence from January 11 had to be postponed till the fresh snowfall. This year the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass, the gate way to Lahaul-Spiti, experienced the season’s first heavy snow fall on December 19. But due to the rise in the temperature snow melted very fast. According to taxi operators sources, the Manali-Leh highway has become accessible by light vehicles till Rahla fall, about 30 km from Manali, which is quite unusual at this time. The Manali-Leh highway between Manali-Keylong usually remain closed for vehicular traffic officially from November 15. But to dry spell it remained open for vehicular traffic till December 18, but on December 19 due to heavy snowfall the pass was closed. However, according to sources the Rohtang Pass again opened for vehicular traffic during the day time. According to some of the private tour operators, Manali who used to conduct many skiing courses at the Solang slopes every year had to cancel or postpone many course till fresh snowfall. Similarly, the fate of many ski courses starting from January 20 also hangs in the balance.
	Beas-Sutlej Link Project bane of Balh valley Kishori Lal MANDI: The gigantic Beas-Sutlej Link Project executed 25 years ago linking the two mighty rivers and ushering in an era of prosperity in the beneficiary states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan has ironically left a trial of misery on the land where it was executed. The grandeur of Mandi town has been gone after the diversion of the entire water of the Beas into the Sutlej on July 7, 1977. In the winter the town gives a deserted look when the Beas goes completely dry. Despite this the people of this district were happy that one of Asia’s five big projects with the largest water-conductor system in the world was being constructed here. While getting evacuated from their lands and homes for the construction of the BSL project, people had hoped that the project would herald prosperity here. But their hopes have been dashed to the ground. The BSL project has diverted 4716 million cubic metres of Beas waters into the Sutlej through a 38-km long water conductor system comprising two tunnels and an open hydle channel. The Pandoh-Baggi tunnel terminates in a big reservoir from where the water gets into the Sundernagar-Slappar tunnel. The fall of the water into the Sutlej has been utilised for generating 990-MW hydle power in the Dehar power plant which is generating 1.5 crore units of power daily catering to the needs of the entire region. The daily income is in crores. The people of Himachal are intrigued to realise that their state is not a partner in the project built on their land and financed up to 90 per cent by the central government. They blame the Centre for this gross injustice to a state which is not economically viable because Himachal was a union territory at the time when the BBMB conceived power projects and constructed the Bhakhra and Pong dams in Himachal. All that came to Himachal from these projects was a trail of misery to the poor people of this backward state. People were rendered homeless and landless. The problems of Bhakra and Pong dam oustees have not been solved even after 30 years. Mandi district is the worst victim of the BSL project. The fertile Balh valley, the granary of the district, is fast turning into a veritable desert due to the silt being thrown out of the hydle channel and the open reservoir. The fertile valley has gradually been ravaged since the completion of the project in November, 1977. In fact, the problem of the disposal of a huge quantity of silt had not been conceived at the time of the designing the project. What is the worse is that the BBMB authorities had been evading a permanent solution to the menace of silt for the past 25 years as a result of which large areas of the valley are being rendered unproductive year after year. The problem has been examined by various agencies and also debated in the Vidhan Sabha and Parliament a number of times, but no permanent solution has been found so far. Some compensation has been paid by the BBMB, but it betrays a solution to the permanent menace caused by the silt ejection. The National Engineering Institute of Nagpur had been assigned the job of recommending a solution to the silt menace. It has sent a preliminary report last year identifying the seriousness of the problem and stressed that a solution must be found. It recently submitted a 14-point final report suggesting short-term and long-term solutions. It has held the BBMB responsible for causing huge loss to the farmers the institute has categorically recommended that the only lasting solution to the problem was the construction of a tunnel to drain out the silt into the Sutlej. The Himachal Pradesh Pollution Board had recently imposed a ban on ejecting silt into the Balh Valley which created a panic in the BBMB as the Dehar power plant was virtually on the verge of closure which would have caused a daily loss of crores to the BBMB in addition to the incalculable loss to the power consumers of all sectors in the neighbouring states. The ban was, therefore, lifted in the national interest with the hope that the BBMB would take up the construction of the proposed tunnel without further delay. Farmers lament that the BBMB authorities are evading the permanent solution. It is surprising that despite a huge income from the project, the BBMB is delaying the construction of the silt-ejecting tunnel. Another devastating effect of the BSL Project is that all irrigation and drinking water supply sources in dozens of villages beneath which the tunnels of the project pass have gone dry. People argue that the BBMB is legally and morally bound to restore all that which has been destroyed due to the construction of the project. People of Mandi town also demand that a lake should be constructed to compensate the loss of water in the river and regain its centuries-old beauty. Some lawyers are planning to take up this matter with the Supreme Court. The residents of 35 houses of Khiuri have their own tales of woe to tell. It is here that the 13.10 km Pandoh-Baggi tunnel falls into the open hydel channel with a bang these people live in panic in their houses which shake due to the tremors caused by the strong currents of water which strikes against a 10-foot-high RCC wall at the opening of the tunnel. Visiting journalists saw cracks in the houses of the people located over 100 metres away from the opening of the tunnel. The BSL authorities have repaired some cracks but they insist that these had not been caused by the vibration of gushing water.

SFI activists burn CM’s effigy
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, January 11
Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students’ wing of the CPM, today burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, on the Anoo campus of the college to register their protest against the anti-students policies of the Himachal Pradesh Government and HP University, Shimla. The local unit of the SFI had given a call for today’s protest.

SFI activists were raising slogans against the Chief Minister inside the college campus. They criticised the Chief Minister for harming cause of the students and resorting to lathi charge twice on them at Shimla.

The college Principal, Mr L Lalit Mohan Sharma, also became the target of the ABVP activists. He was the pushed by them a number of times. The ABVP activists also raised anti-Principal slogans on the occasion for allowing the students of other factions to burn the effigy of the Chief Minister inside the college campus.

NSUI activists handed over a number of lathis to the Principal which they had recovered from the SCA room of the college. The college was closed for the day immediately after the incidents took place.

The Principal described today’s incidents as most unfortunate. He said the SFI had taken his permission for talking out the procession, but not for the burning the effigy of the Chief Minister.

He added that the college administration would hold an inquiry into the recovery of lathis from the SCA room of the college. A spokesman of the police claimed that the situation was under control.

BJYM to ‘thwart’ Jan 15 strike
Our Correspondent

Chamba, January 11
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) has decided to thwart the strike on January 15 called by certain unions on the 300-MW Chamera Hydroelectric Project (Stage-II) and gherao their activists.

President of the morcha Jia Lal addressing reporters here today said such unions were “outsider” unions and the least concerned with the project and were not concerned with the interest of the project workers and staff.

The morcha threatened to gherao these “union activists” if they went ahead with the strike on January 15.

Mr Parminder Singh, General Manager of the project, stated that the payments of financial package as agreed for the ousted families of the Chamera project would be released soon only after a meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the near future. He added that the money to be paid to the oustees would take some days.