Shimla, December 11
Mr Virbhadra Singh, chief minister, has underlined the need for extensive use of information technology (IT) to provide efficient services to the people.

Addressing the conference of deputy commissioners and superintendents of police here today, he said the upgradation of technology must lead to better services.

He directed deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to raid health clinics which had been undertaking sex determination tests illegally and deal with those firmly.

It was the prime duty of deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to listen to public grievances, find remedial solutions to their problems and ensure the proper implementation of every programme in the state.

He said minor cases of partition, mutation and demarcation, minor law and order problems, allotment of two biswa of land each to the homeless for house-building required to be addressed on priority and monthly reports should be submitted to the government regularly in this regard.

He said the process for the identification of homeless families should be carried out expeditiously and below poverty line and Integrated Rural Development Programme families should be selected impartially.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said with the merger of vigilance and enforcement departments, the investigation process had been geared up.

He said no innocent person should be harassed while the corrupt, irrespective of political status, must not go scot-free.

He directed heads of departments to make departmental vigilance officers more active and assign them duties of investigating minor departmental cases.

He said there should not be any let-up in law and order and each case should be handled with firmness.

He said a special programme was needed to clean and maintain traditional water sources, adding that irrigation schemes should include the cost of distributaries and channels up to farms.

He said the relief and rehabilitation policy needed to be implemented effectively and the best package delivered to the parties affected, adding that such families should also be given preference in employment.

Town and country planning officials should accord top priority to permission cases of the areas brought under the Shimla municipal corporation with the merger of the special area development authority.

Reckong Peo, December 11
The district police has nabbed Mr Shyam Sunder Negi, president of the Karcham-Wangtoo Sangharsh Samiti, Mr Sushil Sana, president of the Khab-Shasho Sangharsh Samiti, and many other tribal leaders in an effort to maintain the law and order situation, as a result of which the situation remained normal and under control today.

SP Arvind Sharda said the police had also arrested Mr Vinay Negi and Mr Ranjit Singh Negi, both environmentalists, and their associates Raj Kishore Negi and Sanjiv Kumar.

All of them were produced before the chief judicial magistrate at Rampur Bushahr this morning, who sent them to judicial custody till Friday.

A spokesman said they would soon file bail applications of their leaders in court, which might come up for hearing on Friday.

The SP said the police would also arrest Mr Yoginder Singh, Mr Veer Singh and Mr Bhagat Chand, who were injured in the clash between the tribals and the police.

They were presently undergoing treatment at government hospitals in Shimla and Rampur Bushahr.

They were booked for causing hurt to policemen, disturbing peace, instigating innocent people to violence and breaking prohibitory orders of the district administration.

Two other persons were arrested, but they were released on bail out by the police as there were no serious charges against them.

Following the crackdown on tribal leaders, no one tried to protest against the 1000-MW Karcham-Wangtoo hydroelectricity project today.

The district administration banned protests, agitations and public rallies on the Hindustan-Tibet road to keep the highway clear for smooth traffic.

The BJP announced its support to the agitation.

Shimla, December 11
The tourists and the locals were delighted as the weather god finally obliged Shimla and its adjoining areas with a snowfall this afternoon.

The town had a snowless winter last season and it was only in 1990 that it experienced snow during December.

Hopes of a good snowfall were raised last evening, but the weather cleared subsequently. The residents woke up to a clear sky with only Jakhu, the highest peak of the city, donning a white mantle. However, dark clouds appeared as the day progressed and it started snowing in the afternoon. The feather-like flakes spread a soft white layer within minutes transforming the landscape into a fairyland. By the evening 5 to 10 cm of snow fall had been recorded in various parts of the city.

Braving extreme cold, the tourists came out of their hotels to experience the thrill of falling snow. A large number of them thronged the nearby tourist resort of Kufri which recorded 25 cm of snowfall. The minimum temperature dipped to 0.4°C but that did not deter winter revellers from having fun in the snow.

Khara Pathar and Narkanda had 30 cm each, while the Hatu peak wore an impeccable white mantle with 50 cm of fresh snow. The road to Baghi and Khara Pathar was blocked and Rampur and Kinnaur-bound buses were diverted via Basantpur.

Dhundi recorded the highest snowfall of 60 cm during the past 24 hours, followed by Solang Nullah 45 cm and Kalpa 15 cm. The tourist towns of Manali and Dalhousie also had moderate snow.

RECKONG PEO: Residents of Reckong Peo on Monday woke up to witness a white blanket of snow all around the hill township. Many other parts of the tribal belt including the tourist attractions of Sangla and Kalpa, also received moderate snowfall during the past 24 hours. As a result of which, normal life was paralysed in the high and mid-hill areas.

Earlier, a storm that swept higher areas of Kinnaur on Sunday drenched the tribal district with rain followed by snowfall. The day-time maximum temperature has come down below the freezing point in almost all the residential areas of the high and mid-hill areas of the district.

Most parts of the Sangla valley recorded snowfall between 15 cm and 25 cm at various places. Chitkul village was cut off from Sangla, according to official reports here.

SOLAN: The hill stations of Chail and Dagshai received the season’s first snow snowfall on Monday, while weather remained chilly in Kasauli. This led to an influx of holiday revellers to these places with hotels at Chail and en route to Sadhupul registering 100 per cent occupancy.

Nurpur, December 11
The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to revise the existing relief manual of the state so that poor and needy people could be benefited. Addressing a press conference at Satya Sadan here yesterday, Revenue Minister Sat Mahajan said that he was holding a meeting of all the Deputy Commissioners of the state at Dharamsala on soon to review proposals for the revision of the manual.

"The Revenue Department is also studying the relief manuals of other states before giving final shape to the new manual of the state," he added.

Mr Mahajan threw open Satya Sadan for hearing public grievances. He pointed out that he would regularly visit the office during his stay in his Assembly constituency but in his absence the state Congress general secretary and Director of HPTDC, Mr Ajay Mahajan, would attend the office daily and solve public grievances.

The minister said the Patwari Training Institute, Jogindernagar in Mandi district, was being upgraded and it would be one of best revenue institutions in the country. He said the institution of lamberdars in gram panchayats was being strengthened.

Talking on the ongoing pace of development activities in his native Nurpur assembly constituency, Mr Mahajan said the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, would lay the foundation stones of Rs 2-crore OBC and ST hostel near the Civil Hospital and ITI building during his winter sojourn next month.

Kangra, December 11
Two persons, including a woman, were killed and six others injured in two different road accidents in this district during the past 24 hours, the police said today.

According to police reports, Sudharshana Devi of Surajpur was killed on the spot and six others, including two women and a child, were injured in a road accident at Damtal today when a truck (PB-04-F-9613) hit two maruti cars (PB-08-A-7260 and PB-54-9210) and a motorcycle (HP-38-7458) due to rash and negligent driving.

The police said a case under Sections, 304-A and 279, IPC, was registered against the driver, who was arrested, and truck impounded.

In another accident, Ashok Sharma of Bhramnagar was killed on the spot in a hit-and-run case at Kolwala falling under Jawalamukhi police station when a truck going from Pragpur to Amb hit him. The police was informed about the accident and the truck (HP-68-1126), involved in the accident, was intercepted and the driver was arrested.