Kangra, June 19
Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) workers led by former Agriculture Minister Vidya Sagar and former Zila Parishad chief Rattan Jagatamba today demonstrated against local SDM Sudha Devi and raised slogans against her when she refused to come out of her office to accept a memorandum of the BJP against the state and Central Government for transmission to state Governor V.S.Kokje.

Earlier, BJP workers carrying party flags and placards raising anti govt. and anti-Congress slogans held a demonstration in the SDM’s office premises against the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel, essential commodities, corruption and increasing unemployment.

Mr. Vidya Sagar former Agriculture Minister addressed the BJP workers and expressed concern that corruption was rampant in the state’s govt offices and alleged that officers with political patronage were indulging in corruption.

SDM Kangra Dudha Devi was not in her office so the protest continued for an hour against the government till she turned up in her office at 2 p.m. The situation turned ugly when SDM refused to accept the memorandum of the BJP outside her office. She informed BJP leaders to submit the memorandum in her court room.

Mr. Vidya Sagar informed the SDM through some party workers that they were not litigants but representatives of a national political party. He informed her it had been a precedence that the SDM accepted the memorandum in a cordial atmosphere outside the office so it was better that she should come out to accept the memorandum.

The SDM refusing to budge before the BJP leadership left her court room went back to her office. This flared up the situation and the BJP workers held a dharana and demonstration against the SDM and indulged in slogan shouting against her. The pandemonium continued for an hour and the office work also suffered.

Mr. Vidya Sagar said, it is an insult to democracy that an SDM refused to accept the memorandum of people”. He alleged that the SDM Kangra was under pressure of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and local MLA Surender Kaku not accepting the sentiment of the people against the government through a memorandum.

He alleged that Mr Virbhadra Singh who failed on all fronts has pressurized the SDM to gag the voice of the opposition party by not accepting the memorandum outside her office. He described the behaviour of the SDM as ‘ unfortunate and unbecoming’.

Meanwhile Mr Rattan Jagatamba, former Zila Parishad Chief sought the intervention of the Kangra Deputy Commissioner Bharat Khera in this connection. Mr Jagatamba told media people that he refused to intervene in this matter.

It was after anti-SDM slogan shouting rented the atmosphere and demonstration continued against her she came out up to the door of her court room and accepted the memorandum.

SDM Sudha Devi told The Tribune that there was no such precedence that memorandum be collected outside the office. She denying the allegations that she was under pressure from the Chief Minister not to accept the memorandum said that it would have been convenient, keeping in view the crowd of the demonstrators, to accept the memorandum in the court room.

Some senior citizens and visitors to the SDM office who were there for their jobs said that the situation could have been avoided had the SDM not shown adamancy in accepting the memorandum outside her office.

Reckong Peo, June 19
The Shipki la has been re-opened for Indo-China trade as the road leading to this pass has been cleared for traffic after more than six months of being closed down due to harsh weather conditions.

The border trade between India and China is conducted through Namgya Shipki-la village in Pooh sub-division of Kinnaur along the Namgya-Shipkila-Shipki Jijubu land route.

Talking to The Tribune, Captain Raman Sharma, Additional District Magistrate of Pooh, said the local police had already established its check post while a team of the Customs Department was likely to be deployed there in the next couple of days.

He said a team of senior officials of the district administration would also visit the pass on Wednesday to ensure the trade route was cleared of hurdles and the traders did not face any problems.

In order to facilitate bilateral trade, the industries department of Himachal Pradesh has opened its counter at Reckong Peo to issue trade permits to local businessmen. However, no one has come up so far to apply for the international trade permit.

Local trade experts say bilateral trade between the two Asian giants during the current year was likely to rise considerably. There was a slump in trade in the last financial year, probably because of the unfavourable conditions posed by the flash floods in the Sutlej, damaging more than 120 points on the Hindustan-Tibet road.

The trade agreements between the two nations allowed residents of Tibet (China) and the Kinnaur district living along the border areas to import-export about 30 items only.

The items allowed for export through Shipki la are agricultural implements, blankets, copper products, clothes, textiles, cycles, coffee, tea, barley, rice, flour, dry fruit, dry & fresh vegetables, vegetable oil, gur and misri, tobacco, snuff, cigarettes, canned food, agro-chemical, local herbs, dyes, spices, watches, shoes, kerosene oil, stationery, utensils, wheat etc.

On the other hand, major items of import from China via Tibet include raw silk, goats, sheep, china clay, wool, utensils, textiles (mostly readymade garments), shoes etc.

Both countries are celebrating 2006 as the year of Sino-Indian friendship. 

Shimla, June 19
Lafarge, a global cement-manufacturing giant which has 132 plants across the world, is in race along with six other companies for the Al Sindi cement project to be set up in the Mandi district.

The project was initially awarded to the Grasim Cement Company but subsequently the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was cancelled and fresh offers were invited. Other contenders for the project include Ambuja Cements, Jaypee Industries, India Cements, J.K Laxmi Cements , Sri Cements and Star Cements.

After evaluation of the technical and financial capabilities Lafarge, Ambuja Cements and Jaypee Industries have emerged as forerunners in the race for the project. The Lafarge was also among the top contenders for the Gummah cement plant, which was awarded to the India Cements last week. Another contender the Jaypee Industries is setting up cement plant at Bagha in the Solan district, while the Ambuja Company has a plant at Darlaghat. The final decision to award the Al Sindi project will be taken by government on the basis of the evaluation made by the industries department shortly.

Keen to put the cement plants on the fast track the government may cancel the MoU for the Broh-Shind plant, which was awarded to Larson and Tubro in 1995.

The company was also granted 292 hectares of land on lease for the project but before signing the lease deed it got the allotment transferred in the name of Ultra Tech company. However, thereafter it failed to take any steps to implement the project despite repeated extensions. A notice was served to the company to show cause why the MoU should not be cancelled. The reply submitted by the company recently has not been found satisfactory. A final decision to cancel the MoU is likely to be taken shortly by the government.

Reckong Peo, June 19
Reacting to the complaints of a multi-million rupees mining scam, Pooh’s Additional District Magistrate-cum-Subdivisional Magistrate of Kalpa, Capt Raman Sharma, last evening raided the main crusher site at Piwa, near Tapri, and four other sites where the crushed stones and sand were stored illegally.

Talking to The Tribune, Captain Sharma said he had sealed all the areas from where the sand was being lifted illegally. The crusher site was situated on the Sutlej bed, he said.

The other locations where illegally extracted sand and crushed stones were stored were in the Nathpa area, near Wangtoo, area No 3, near Nathpa, dam site at Nathpa and Det area in Sungra.

All the records pertaining to illegal lifting of sand and crushed stones from all these sites have been taken into custody for further investigations into the scam. Answering a question he did not give the exact figures of the total value of illegal lifting as the calculations were still in progress but he hinted that it might run into millions of rupees.

He further said the raids were carried till late Sunday night as there were reports of illegal lifting during odd times.

Shimla, June 19
Intense coldwave conditions have revived in Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kinnuar and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh with the higher-altitude areas of the tribal districts experiencing fresh spell of snowfall, while rain lashed the lower areas during the past 24 hrs.

Jhingam, Hikam, Gomik, Losar villages of Lahaul-Spiti recorded over 2 to 5 inches of snowfall, while Kunjum Pass recorded over 7 inches of snowfall.

Rohtang Pass, situated at 13,050 feet above sea level, Baralacha Pass and other mountain peaks were experiencing snowfall since this afternoon.

Reckong Peo, the district headquarters of Kinnaur, was receiving intermittent rain and official sources said the day temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees below normal for this period of the year.

A report from Kullu district said Tirthan Jot, Bisloi Jot, Lamba Lambri, Kirtan Kanda villages and Jaloori Pass in Banjar subdivision had already recorded one-and-a-half feet to 2 feet of snowfall in the past four to five days.

The region had never recorded this amount of snowfall during this month of the year, an official spokesman said.

Kinner Kailesh, Khimuphul Pass and other mountain peaks in Kinnaur district were receiving intermittent snowfall since last night, while the lower areas were lashed by light showers, plummeting the minimum and maximum temperatures in the district.

Pangi subdivision in Chamba district continued to remain cut off from rest of the state for the sixth day today due to closure of Saach Pass, which received another spell of snowfall.

Shimla and its adjoining areas received light showers in the early hours and sun played hide and seek in the latter past of the day. — UNI

Shimla, June 19
Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, today said that interests of the business community would be safeguarded while considering the proposal to increase the rent of municipal properties.

Presiding over a meeting of the Beopar Mandal here today, he said the proposal was made on the direction of the state High Court but asserted that the government was committed to protect the interests of the business community.

He suggested that the Beopar Mandal should form an action committee and discuss the issue with the Municipal Corporation threadbare so that the problem could be solved. He further said that the government would defend the case thoroughly in the High Court.

He underlined the need to formulate a rational policy for providing space to the “tehbazari” and traders who visited Shimla to sell their goods and other produce in the town.

He said the a Rs 1500-crore project under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission would not only help in strengthening the infrastructural facilities but also to beautify the town. Widening of roads, tunnels, amusement parks and strengthening of the basic amenities would be undertaken so that tourists in large numbers could be attracted.

Shimla, June 19
The first shopping malls in the hill state may soon be a reality as private builders approach the state government to grant permission for setting up entertainment facilities at Manali, Shimla and Parwanoo.

The Himachal Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) is in the process of examining the proposals. There has been great demand for malls at tourist destinations like Manali and Shimla.

After evaluating the proposals given in by the builders, they will be registered under the Apartment Act. "Despite there being a lot of interest among big builders for setting up malls in Himachal, we are being very cautious as we want it to be done in conformity with aesthetics and the hill architecture," said Harsh Mahajan, Animal Husbandry and Housing Board minister.

The need for malls is being felt as it is a major entertainment facility and will add to the attraction at places like Manali and Shimla. "In order to attract the IT industry into the state, we will first have to create better social infrastructure, which includes malls," said another official. Builders have also shown keen interest to build a mall at Parwanoo.

As per a survey undertaken by HIMUDA, there is a demand for over 25,000 houses in the industrial belt of Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh. In keeping with this view, HIMUDA will be handing over 1,000 flats to people in this area by the end of next month. This includes flats of various categories but the main thrust is on creating housing facility for industrial workers in this belt.

With great demand for houses in various towns of the state, HIMUDA has acquired a lot of land in Shimla, Solan, Kandaghat, Una, Baijnath and Palampur. "Depending on the availability of land, HIMUDA would be undertaking construction of colonies in all major towns as it will supplement growth and industrial investment," said Mr Mahajan.