Shimla, December 23
The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today rejected the demand of the BJP leader, Mr P.K. Dhumal, of holding the Budget session of the state Assembly at Dharamsala.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the duration of the Budget session is very long and holding it outside the state capital would dislocate the entire government set up. “Unfortunately, Mr Dhumal is in the habit of criticising the government for the heck of it,” he remarked.

He said no compromise had been made with the quality of construction and the building was fully ready for holding the session. “As announced by me last year that the next winter session would he held in the Vidhan Sabha building, we have met the deadline,” he said.

Regarding Mr Dhumal’s statement that the BJP, when voted to power, would hold the Budget session in Dharamsala, he said his coming to power for the first time in 1998 was a historical mishap and a man of his stature must not make irresponsible statements.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said during the winter session the government would bring a bill authorising the Chief Minister to appoint chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) and parliamentary secretaries (PS). “We have tried to remove the hurdles which the High Court had pointed out while terming the appointment of CPS and PS as illegal and unconstitutional,” he disclosed.

He criticised the previous BJP regime for failing to protect the interest of the state by not demanding state equity in the 800 MW Kol Dam and 2051 MW Parbati project. “This blunder by the Dhumal government will result in a loss of Rs 80,000 crore to the state during the next 40 years,” he said. He said though his government had taken up the matter seeking equity participation with the Centre, since the MoUs for these two projects had already been signed, the matter was still pending. The centre, he said, had ensured that in all future power projects the state would get equity participation.

Shimla, December 23
Even though the continuous rise in temperature can belie the wishes of those hoping to celebrate a white Christmas and New Year in the “Queen of Hills,” there is a heavy rush of booking in government as well as private hotels.

With the highest number of tourists visiting the town between Christmas and New Year, the Tourism Department and the HP Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) have made elaborate arrangements for the occasion. All main hotels of the HPTDC at Chail, Fagu, Shimla, Kasauli and Barog are fully booked for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

With a light snowfall in and around the town on December 11, people are hoping that this year there will be some snow unlike last year when Shimla had practically no snow. Private hoteliers are hoping that there is snow as it is only then that there is a rush of tourists.

With the maximum temperature in the town being 17.6 degrees yesterday, there is little chance of snow. “With both maximum as well as minimum temperatures in the town being almost 6 degrees higher than normal, there is no chance of snow at least in the immediate future," said Mr Manmohan Singh of the local Meteorological Office.

He further said seeing the northerly position of the western disturbances, there could be a mild drizzle in the next two days, but chances of snow were bleak. The highest temperature recorded in the month of December this year was 20 degrees on December 15. Though there had been heavy repeated snowfall in Dalhousie and Manali last year, the town here had no snow, adversely affecting the tourism industry.

Officials of the Tourism Department have started inspecting the hotels. "The four tourist information centres in the town are being kept open till 8 pm so that tourists can be guided properly," said Mr Surinder Justa, District Tourism Officer.

Special police force is being deputed to guide and assist the tourists. "In order to keep Lakkar Bazar and areas adjoining the Mall congestion-free, we will ensure that there is no wrong parking for which recovery vehicles will be pressed into service," said Mr A.P. Singh, SP, Shimla.

Nurpur, December 23
The local police on Friday evening arrested Ranjit, husband, Bachitar Singh, father in-law, and Brahmi Devi, mother in-law of Asha Devi, all residents of Mamooh Gurchal in this subdivision, for harassing Asha Devi for bringing insufficient dowry. The report was lodged by the parents of Asha Devi who hail from Bhanal in Shahpur tehsil. It is alleged that the victim who got married to Ranjit in December 2005 was continuously being harassed by her in-laws for bringing insufficient dowry from her parents. The accused had started beating her after a few months of her marriage.

According to Asha Devi’s mother, Soma Devi, she and her daughter were thrashed by the accused when she visited her on Wednesday. She revealed that they were saved by a village chowkidar. Interestingly, the complainants along with their relatives had submitted the complaint on Thursday night but the police lodged an FIR after 12 hours following the DSP’s intervention. The Asha Devi’s parents had yesterday approached the DSP who immediately intervened and got the FIR registered under section 498 (A) in this connection.

Shimla, December 23
The district administration along with the Municipal Corporation and the Tourism Department has made arrangements for the convenience of Christmas and New Year revellers who throng the town in large numbers.

Addressing a press conference here today, Deputy Commissioner Tarun Kapoor informed that all four tourist information centres in the town had been provided with relevant information regarding hotel booking and vehicle parking.

“These centres would be kept open till 9 pm for the convenience of the tourists,” he stated. He informed that temporary parking lots had been made available to avoid traffic congestion.

Mr Kapoor said an orchestra would entertain the tourists at the Ridge Maidan from December 24 to December 31. A bon fire would also be put up so that the tourists could enjoy and listen to songs on request.