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Tourists throng Shimla
BJP suspends Shahpur party unit
Government not to regularise
encroachments, says CM
ULFA activist involved
in vehicle thefts in state
HPMC to lease out property
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Proposal to hike hospital user charges
10-year RI for attempt to burn wife
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Snowfall in higher reaches
Shimla, December 30 According to reports here, snowfall continued in the districts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmour and Pangi valley areas of Chamba districts this
afternoon. Light to moderate snowfall was reported from these areas and the lakes including Chander Tal, Suraj Tal and Manimahesh continued to remain frozen. Springs and natural water resources in these areas were also frozen as temperatures fell to below minus 10 to 15 degrees
Celsius. Patsio in Lahaul and Spiti district, the minimum temperature recorded was minus 13.0 degree celsius, and Dondi in Kullu district recorded 1.0 degree
Celsius, according to the Metrological Director, Dr Manmohan Singh, here today. There were also reports of fresh snowfall in the Dauladhar ranges over-looking the Kangra valley. There were also reports of fresh snowfall at the 13050 feet Rohtang Pass, Kunzum pass and other passes in the tribal areas, Icy winds from the snow-covered peaks swept across the Manali and Kullu valleys. However, the vehicular traffic for Kullu has been diverted via Karsog-Chailchowk-Sundernagar, following Ani-Banjar-Gaghi road blocked at Jeolori areas due to heavy snowfall
there, a report from Nirmand said. Meanwhile, locals and tourists who have come to celebrate New Year in the state capital waiting time to come when snowfall could occur. The minimum temperature of Shimla rose 11.1 degree celsius and Sundernagar 5.1, while Bhutar it recorded 2.0 degree celsius, according to met office here. The weathermen forecast heavy rain or snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours. |
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Tourists throng Shimla
Shimla, December 30 With almost 1,000 vehicles entering the town today itself, the estimated number of tourists in Shimla could be anywhere above 20,000. Tourists made a beeline to the ski resort of
Kufri, on the outskirts of the town to see snow as the hill town is yet to be greeted with snow. More than 625 vehicles visited Kufri yesterday. The district administration is busy making arrangements to keep the law and order and the traffic position under control. Special squads have been deployed at various points in the town. Certain sealed areas of the town have been thrown open for parking of vehicles to accommodate the inflow of tourist vehicles. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Virender
Kanwar, more vehicles were being expected tomorrow as large number of visitors come here only to celebrate New Year Eve. “We have made elaborate arrangements to keep the situation under control and tomorrow we are expecting another 2,000 vehicles,” he said. The one-week period between Christmas and New Year is one of most busy time of the year from tourism point of view. The Tourism Department is keeping its information centres near the bypass and on the Mall open from 8 a.m to 9
p.m, to guide visitors about hotels, parking and other information. In view of the large-scale cases of brawls and eve-teasing cases, the police has deployed five gazetted officers, 40 Head constables, 210 constables and 40 lady cops to check any hooliganism at the more crowded places like Mall, Ridge and the popular destinations like
Kufri, Naldehra and also along the Kalka-Shimla highway. |
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BJP suspends Shahpur party unit
Shimla, December 30 Mr Bhardwaj has suspended the party unit of Shahpur with immediate effect after consultations with state general secretary, Mr Chandersen Thakur, who is in charge of Kangra district. The president of the Shahpur party unit has been directed to file a reply within 10 days, explaining as to why this indifference was shown. The Kangra BJP chief has been asked to make alternate arrangement in the wake of the suspension of the party unit. Even though the BJP candidate, Mr Harbans Rana, emerged victorious in a bitterly fought byelection but there were allegations from both the Shanta as well as Dhumal camp, accusing leaders of staying away from campaigning intentionally. The names of Ms Shraveen Chaudhary from Shahpur, Mr Rakesh Pathania from Nurpur and Mr Ravinder Ravi, MLA from Thural, figured in the list of those who showed disinterest in campaigning in Guler. With action being initiated against the Shahpur unit, some other leaders could also face the party wrath. This could once again lead to factionalism and bickering intensifying between the two factions in the coming days. Names of certain leaders, especially those belonging to the Dhumal camp, were on the hit list for showing disinterest in campaigning for the party candidate, Mr Harbans Rana, considered close to former union minister, Mr Shanta Kumar. Some of the staunch Shanta loyalists had even demanded action against certain leaders for trying to work against party interest. Interestingly, the action has been taken against the Shahpur party unit for its negative role not just during the Guler byelection but also during the Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP stalwart, Mr Shanta Kumar, had lost to the Congress nominee, Mr Chander Kumar.
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Government not to regularise
encroachments, says CM
Mandi, December 30 Talking to the reporters here today, Mr Virbhadra Singh said that the BJP created history by promising regularisation of the encroachments in the country. The encroachments hit the common man as it was only the powerful who had encroached on the land. “We will not regularise encroachments. The government employees involved in encroachments will be charge-sheeted and suspended from service”, he Mr Virbhadra Singh alleged that while Mr Dhumal’s government played regional, religious and casteism card to enhance its vote bank, the Congress government had always worked to bridge the gap between the people of all regions and religions and to develop all areas as a unit. Referring to the winter sojourn to Dharamsala, which begins on January 6, Mr Virbhadra Singh said: “It was the Congress government which first shifted the winter capital from Shimla to
Dharamsala, the town which has the second largest employees population after Shimla. Mandi and
Dharamsala are central regions in the state and his government has been developing all regions equally.” Mr Virbhadra Singh said that Mr Dhumal hardly stayed at Dharamsala for three days, but the Congress government stayed there for the entire month. “The government would shift its headquarters to Dharamsala on January 6,” he said. When asked about the Guler Assembly bypoll debacle of the Congress, Mr Virbhadra Singh said that over confidence of the Congress workers, sympathy wave for the BJP candidate and the internal anti-party activities were the major factors for the defeat. The Chief Minister directed the district administration to speed up measures to restore investors’ confidence in the Urban Cooperative Bank Mandi. Mr Virbhadra Singh promised the delegation of the Action Committee of the local investors, who met him at the circuit house last evening, that he would put all efforts to put the bank back on the rails so that depositors did not suffer further. Even the IPH Minister Thakur Kaul Singh, also pleaded their case, requesting the CM to take measures to speed up the recovery of the defaulters. |
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ULFA activist involved
in vehicle thefts in state
Solan, December 30 It is learnt that one Attabai, a Godhra carnage accused, who owned a band shop in Anand, had close links with the gang and also used the vehicles stolen from the state. The sources said he was booked in various cases of possessing fake currency and murder in Gujarat. His involvement in the vehicle thefts has been established after one Mahender, arrested earlier by the police here, had confessed to his involvement in the deal of stolen vehicles. Another ULFA activist Raju Datta also had close links with this gang. Booked under Section 302 of the IPC for murder in the North-East, he was known to be a hardcore terrorist of the ULFA, the sources revealed. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Gianeshwar Singh, while admitting the involvement of such miscreants said it had made the task of recovery of stolen vehicles difficult. He said the two vehicles — a Tata Spacio, stolen from Kotkhai region of Shimla and Mahindra Max, stolen from Sundernagar were recovered, respectively from Tundla and Bharatpur in Rajasthan by a team of district policemen. As many as four vehicles were earlier recovered by the Barotiwala police early this month from Gujarat. Some members of the gang, who were arrested by the Barotiwala police during a routine checking, had revealed the names of their accomplices. Pramod and Abhay, who are the other main members of the gang, used to sell the stolen vehicles to north-eastern states, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi. The gang used to lift new vehicles and their links at the regional transport office at Bharatpur enabled them to get new registration papers for the stolen vehicles, which were later sold to these states. A police team, which had gone to Bharatpur was, however, not able to trace either of the two despite taking help of the local police. |
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HPMC to lease out property
Shimla, December 30 The decision was taken at the meeting of the board of directors of the HPMC here today. Presiding over the meeting, the Horticulture Minister, Mr Singhi Ram, said that the regional and branch offices of the HPMC must make concerted efforts to promote the products, which had no added sugar in them. A decision was also taken at the meeting to get cold storages on HPMC land constructed at Chennai and Kolkata on build-transfer-operate (BTO) basis by engaging experienced consultants. The Managing Director of the HPMC, Mr C.R.B. Lalit, said that a proposal for restructuring the corporation had been approved and this would be done by assigning the task to a reputed consultancy company. The establishment of a mini branch office at Dehra Dun was also taken. This would be done by bifurcating the Lucknow branch. Gratuity enhancement from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3.50 lakh was approved along with a medical reimbursement facility for the HPMC employees in Kolkata region at par with other regions.
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Proposal to hike hospital user charges
Shimla, December 30 While a nominal increase in rates of diagnostic tests like X-ray, blood, urine, ultrasound and other specialised tests is being proposed, it is those admitted to special wards will be made to bear the major burden of this proposed hike. The proposal, which has already been submitted to the Chief Minister, includes nominal increase in diagnostic tests, admission charges to special wards and non-medical charges. The admission charges for special wards is likely to go up to Rs 200 at Indira Gandhi Medical College, while the rates for food is to go up from Rs 14 to Rs 100 in these wards. Similarly, the rates for X-ray, which is presently Rs 15 is likely to be made Rs 40, not from profit point of view but to meet the cost of the X-ray film. Sources in the Health and Family Welfare Department said the revenue generated from this increase in user charges instead of going to the government treasury would directly be deposited in the Hospital Kalyan Samiti for upgradation of facilities and better services. In fact, Himachal has taken a lead in the country by being one of the state which has formed the kalyan samiti, where the revenue generated at a particular hospital will be deposited. A nominal increase in the rates of non-medical charges is also contained in the proposal drafted by the health department. There is likely to be a slight increase in the rates for the use of ambulances at various hospitals. The government recently got the rate for an MRI test fixed at Rs 2,700 at a diagnostic centre in Chandigarh as the state still does not have this facility. The sources pointed out that the increase in hospital charges had been overdue since 1974. “It is being felt by the government that continuing with the same charges is not viable and a nominal enhancement is the need of the hour,” said a senior official.
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Don’t use fertile land for mining: Virbhadra
Sundernagar, December 30 He said Congress governments in the state had played a major role for the development of the state. He praised Ms Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief, for her leadership. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Rangila Rao, Excise Minister, Ms Pratibha Singh, MP, Mr Tek Chand Dogra, MLA, Nachan, and Mr Sohan Lal Thakur, MLA, Sundernagar. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a bridge at Ghangal. The bridge, which was located on the old Shimla-Mandi road, will help residents of four villages. Mr Virbhadra Singh also addressed a gathering at Jugahan village after inaugurating a bridge in the Balh Assemble segment.
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10-year RI for attempt to burn wife
Hamirpur, December 30 The judge has also sentenced Om Parkash to further undergo two-years rigorous imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 3,000 for harassing his wife. This incident had taken place on the night of July 7. |
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