Nurpur, November 28
The local ex-MLA and former Chairman of the HPTDC, Mr Rakesh Pathania, while reacting sharply on the joint statement of Revenue Minister Sat Mahajan and Transport Minister G. S. Bali that they were ready to debate with former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on the issue of development in Kangra district, dared Mr Mahajan to debate with him on the development of his Nurpur assembly constituency before debating with Mr Dhumal.

He said the people of Nurpur were aware that Government Degree College had been opened and drinking water supply scheme of the town approved during the Dhumal regime.

“The Dhumal government had opened a timber depot, an ADC office in Nurpur and allocated crores of rupees for development works in gram panchayats in the Nurpur assembly constituency,” he added.

Mr Pathania alleged that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had laid foundation stones of mini secretariat and Brij Raj Swami stadium more than once but the present government had failed even to lay a single brick on them.

Dharamsala, November 28
To ensure that tourists no longer miss a shopping mall in McLeodganj, an essential attraction at all hill stations, a detailed plan has been finalised to streamline traffic flow so that a no-vehicle zone could be created through the heart of McLeodganj, which would be identified as the mall.

For this, two multistoried parking lots would come at the two ends of McLeodganj — near the khara danda road and the bus stand — so that the tourists find a place to park their vehicles the moment they enter the tourist spot. Once this happens, the temple road would be declared the mall and would be open only to pedestrians.

Talking to The Tribune, District Tourism Officer, Mr Vikas Labru, said land for the parking had already been identified and the issue had been taken up with the forest department for clearance.

“The multistoried parking lots would be constructed and maintained by the municipal committee. They would be spacious enough to ensure that there is no haphazard parking along the narrow roads of McLeodganj,” he said.

The project would be funded from the Rs 6 crore package sanctioned for the development of tourism in the Kangra circuit. The district administration would need to issue notifications under the Motor Vehicle Act to have a pedestrian zone, he said.

Deputy Commissioner Bharat Khera said the attraction of McLeodganj for tourists would increase once the mall comes up, with shops showcasing stuff related to the Tibetan cultural heritage lining it.

The work on the project was being done at a fast pace and it would also take care of the parking needs in McLeodganj. Even though parking lots have already been specified at some places and a drive has been launched to stop haphazard parking, there is need for spacious parking lots at the entry points to save tourists from inconvenience.

Traffic bottlenecks have become a common feature in McLeodganj and even padestrians have a tough time negotiating their way on the narrow streets during the peak hours, he said.

Baddi, November 28
In the absence of speedy legal action, the use of domestic LPG cylinders by various commercial users has become a common site in the area.

With roadside “dhabas” aplenty in the area, the use of domestic LPG cylinders has seen a sharp increase at these places. This is despite the fact that the Ministry of Petroleum has strictly directed the Food and Civil Supplies Department to keep the misuse in check, especially after the recent shortage of domestic LPG cylinders.

The driving force behind the practice is the cost. While a domestic LPG cylinder weighing 14.2 kg costs Rs 294, a commercial cylinder weighing 19 kg costs Rs 842. Also, the easy availability of domestic cylinders compounds the problem.

A random survey of various “dhabas” and sweet shops here revealed that domestic cylinders were being used with impunity.

District Food and Civil Supplies Controller Yadvinder Pal said they conducted periodic inspections to keep a check on such misuse.

He said two cases had recently been discovered in the area, which were referred to the SDM at Nalagarh for confiscation of cylinders.

He, however, rued that tardy legal process hampered further action in both cases. He said they could either register a case against the wrongdoers or present the case before a Collector under Section 6 (A) of the Essential Commodities Act.

It was the Collector’s prerogative to order confiscation of such cylinders.

Lamenting lack of action in such cases, he said one such case had been lying pending with the Deputy Commissioner for the past one year.

Such delays acted as a deterrent to pursuit of more such cases, he added.

With a recent shortage in the availability of domestic cylinders, dealers have now made it mandatory to procure gas cylinders after making entries in the booklet issued by them.

The dealers are supposed to hand out receipt of payment received at the time of delivering the cylinders.

The method has been adopted to ensure check on the misuse of domestic cylinders, added Mr Pal.

Kumarhatti, November 28
A jawan of 14 Gorkha Training Centre (GTC), Subathu, was allegedly murdered by his colleague on November 26 night.

Hav Pawan Bahadur was found dead along the road at Thari village, near Subathu, yesterday morning. The deceased and Nk Madan Gurang had gone with Sepoy Narinder Singh on a scooter to his rented accommodation at Thari.

There they consumed liquor. After some time arguments ensued among them. Narinder Singh thrashed Pawan Bahadur.

Madan left for Subathu to call his friends to save Pawan Bahadur from Narinder. In early morning when he returned along with his friends, he found Pawan Bahadur body lying along the road. Narinder Singh had fled. A case has been registered.