Shimla, December 23
Senior BJP leaders will meet Governor V.S. Kokje to make a formal request to him to dissolve the Assembly at the earliest after the process of counting of votes is completed on December 28.

Addressing a press conference here today, Satya Pal Jain, in charge of BJP affairs in Himachal, said though the Chief Minister would have no other option but to resign after the counting was over, senior BJP leaders would meet the Governor in this regard within two or three days.

Senior BJP leaders, including the state BJP chief and many sitting MLAs, today held a meeting here to assess the political situation.

“The BJP will make a formal request to the Governor to dissolve the House at the earliest and, if need be, we could also approach some higher authority in this regard,” he said. He added the BJP was confident that Virbhadra Singh would resign on his own after the mandate in favour of the BJP.

Jain announced that the BJP legislature party would meet on December 29 to formally elect its leader so that the process of formation of a government could be started. “Under Section 17 of the Representation of People’s Act, the Election Commission of India will have to notify the election results in the gazette so the question of the present 11th Assembly continuing its term does not arise,” he stated.

Jain said it would be in the interest of Virbhadra Singh himself, the Congress and, above all, democracy that the Chief Minister resigned if the poll results went against the ruling party.Jain said that the BJP legal cell would oppose the petition filed by revenue minister Sat Mahajan for postponement of the counting of votes. “First of all we will move an application for being made a party in the case and the party has authorised state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur to sign all pleadings so that the necessary formalities in this regard can be completed,” said Jain.

On the issue of holding a Cabinet meeting, Jain said the government could hold a Cabinet meeting to look into routine matters but it could not take policy decisions as its status had been reduced to that of a caretaker government after the announcement of elections.

PTI adds: BJP's chief ministerial nominee Prem Kumar Dhumal said today that it would launch an agitation if Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh did not quit the post after the losing of the mandate by the Congress.

The BJP leader said that he and his party hoped that the Congress high command would ask Virbhadra Singh to resign after December 28 and pave the way for the formation of a new government.

"Besides, I wish the chief minister, who has played a long innings in politics, would not let his name get sullied in an unwanted controversy," he said.

"But, if it did not happen the BJP, which is sure to register a thumping victory after December 28 counting, would launch a state-wide agitation to force the Congress to give way to new rule in the state," Dhumal said. 

Mandi, December 23
Taking advantage of the fluid political situation in the post-poll phase, the influential plot owners in the industrial area phase-III have pressed into service JCBs and other machineries in the controversial sites that in turn has damaged sewerage line and blocked the road drainage along the road in the industrial area under the nose of the Industry Department.

Not only this, even the cutting of slopes along the national highway-21 near Saulikhad poses danger to the sub-station located just few yards above these plots more particularly during rains as the plots have been carved out from a precarious slope by the Industry Department. “The plots have been transferred to the influential individuals allegedly in connivance with the key officials in the district industry department”, sources said.

Though the Industry Department has announced the cancellation of the controversial three plots few months ago, but the sources disclosed that the influential persons have cornered the plots in the controversial area at the entrance to the phase-III. The area had been earlier kept as a green area and the Forest Department had planted trees there at‘vanmahotsav”, industrialists said.

The influential plot owners have pressed into service the JCB right on the retaining walls raised by the department to protect the plots located on the upper side of the road, which has damaged the sewerage lines and blocked the drainage along the roadside connecting to main highway, alleged industrialists.

They alleged the “ongoing free for all construction work was being carried out by the influential individuals who were allegedly hand-in-glove with the key officials of the Industry department”. The auto stores, auto service stations, show rooms and other non-industrial activity had come up in the industrial area here, making a mockery of the industrial policy, pointed out industrialists.

One owner has got the plot on lease by paying a hefty amount to build a stove station but the fact is that structure is being raised to turn into a gas station and go-down for gas cylinders, revealed insiders.

The plots were hurriedly allotted to the influential owners, while genuine applicants, who had furnished all documents and drafts for the past one year had been rejected, rued the applicants.

General manager DIC, Mandi, Satish Chaudhary said: “The four plots have been transferred to the plot owners by the government. We have asked the owners to plug the lines and remove the debris. We have issued notices to the plot owners who are not setting up units”.

Chaudhary said one plot owner has sought to develop printing press, manufacturing unit of gas stoves, ready made garment units there. “The department has given them time till April, 2008. If they do not set up these units, we will cancel the transfer lease. There is no green area in the area as such”, he claimed, denying allegations.

Nurpur, December 23
Acting DC K. D. Lakhanpal today inspected counting centres at Nurpur, Jawali, Dehra and Kangra where counting of votes would be carried out for the assembly elections held on December 19.

Talking to mediapersons here after inspecting counting centres set up for the Nurpur and Gangath assembly segments he informed that a meeting of all returning officers from Kangra, Chamba and Una districts had been scheduled at Dharamsala on December 25 which would be presided over by the secretary of the Election Commission (EC) of India, Ritvik Pande, who would apprise them of the directions and guidelines of the EC to be adhered to during the counting of votes.

Expressing his satisfaction over the ongoing preparations for the counting of votes, he said that as per the direction of the EC one micro observer had been appointed at every counting table and media centre would be set up at every counting centre.

Kumarhatti, December 23
In an effort to peep inside the hearts of Himachalis, a NRI NGO, held an open debate here recently, in which people from all over state took part. Those who participated in the debate were keen to see the state as a major IT destination.

Praveen Chaudhary said, the state government should device measures to insure cent per cent literacy in the state, particularly in the rural areas. The state should have enough engineering colleges which has IT as the main discipline.

Sanjay Sharma had different views. He said, “I don't think our MLAs and politicians need to visit Bangalore or any other state or city to develop IT sector in the state, what they need right now is to hard sell the facilities available in state like availability of uninterrupted power supply.

Vinay Jamwal feels, “We need someone who understands both politics and economics. We have seen that the old leadership of both the Congress and the BJP is plagued with same issue of non-vision, nepotism and corruption. I understand that it can not be done in one-shot but at least we should make some-effort for the change. It is quite similar to the fact that if a company is driven by a CEO who is corrupt and only has vision for himself rather than company as a whole, then that company is surely going to go-down. And as a stakeholder it’s our duty to bring change in the top-leadership.”

“The state is almost on the verge of economics bankruptcy because of our leadership. I still can not believe the fact that even after 50 years of Independence and 35 years of the state creation we don’t have a broad-gauge rail line in our state. This is how strong our leadership is. If we don’t take such corrective steps right now, forget about being software giant, we might end being a bimaru (ill) state”, fears Jamwal.

Avnish Katcoh says, in my views a right consultant with right marketing skills is required by the state government. I think government machinery lacks right individual to market the state's potential.” “The politicians need to take popular decisions, I understand, but development, job growth is always popular, whoever will do that will get voted. But the political and regional issues are major reasons behind lack of growth in certain areas.

Vineet Chauhan said, in the apple belt the farmers had organised themselves by forming co-operatives to manage their affairs with out any help from the government. Had the successive state government been more proactive, responsive and imaginative, this region would have been on par with the best in India. But the basic infrastructure here (health, education and employment) was in shambles perhaps worse than other states.

Palampur, December 23
Bhisham K. Agnihotri, chancellor emeritus in the University of Laws, USA, has come to Palampur to have naturopathy treatment for his wife at the Himalayan Institute for Yoga and Naturopathy here. The institute is run by the Vivekanand Medical Research Trust (VMRT). The doctors in the USA have disappointed him and he had come to India with a new hope.

Agnihotri had his early college education at Dharmsala.

He said he was impressed with the service being extended by the institute. He said his wife was suffering from a disease for which he could not get any good treatment in the USA. He was advised by doctors to consult yoga or naturopathy experts, so he planned to come to Palampur. In the USA very few people knew about this institute as it was set up only recently. He said naturopathy has cured his wife.

He said the people were losing faith in allopathy, not only in India but also in the USA because of its side effects. Naturopathy and yoga were emerging as alternatives that could cure even chronic ailments related to the digestive system, joint pain, arthritis, rheumatism, paralysis, allergy, skin diseases, asthma, migraine and depression.

Bilaspur, December 23
Kesh Pathania, a retired employees’ leader and member of the BSP’s state executive committee, has criticised the government for its failure to look into long-pending grievances of about 90,000 retired employees of the state. He has demanded that the government should look into their genuine demands and remove their difficulties.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Kesh Pathania said these pensioners had spent the best part of their lives in the service of the government and society and during their old age they should not be ignored. Most of them were experiencing financial difficulties and handicaps, he added.

He said there were hundreds of cases where pending bills of medical reimbursement had not been cleared by various department for several months. He said the pensioners should be given financial benefits on the pattern of Punjab Government pensioners.

They should be given 5 per cent and 10 per cent increase in their pensions on attaining the age of 65 and 75 years, respectively, and all district heads of departments should be ordered to release their medical bills every month and government should make available sufficient funds for these regular disbursements.

Nurpur, December 23
A question mark has been put on the quality of reconstruction and resurfacing of roads in this subdivision. The bitumen surface of the newly laid Jassur-Pongdam-Talwara highway had started eroding some time ago and now a 3-km stretch of the National Highway (NH)-20 has started eroding. It was laid just a month ago.

Tenders were invited for the road construction work. A Pathankot-based contractor had bagged the contract by quoting the lowest cost of Rs 24 lakh. Now, the repair work is being undertaken by the Department of National Highways itself.

SDO, NH, Nurpur subdivision, S.D. Sharma admitted that the road surface had eroded at a few place. It was due to underground dampness, he added. He said the department was repairing the damaged portion of the NH and would deduct the expenses from the contractor’s dues. He said a sum of Rs 20.50 lakh had been released to the contractor out of Rs 24 lakh. 

Shimla, December 23
The Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti today expressed concern over the fact that the government spending on the agriculture sector had been on the decline as a result of which agriculture, especially for the marginal and small farmers was no longer profitable.

The samiti which organised a function along with some other organisations on the occasion of ‘Kisan Diwas’ here today, lamented that with the agriculture sector looking grim, the unemployment scenario was bound to worsen. “The most disturbing fact is that the budget allocation by the government on agriculture has come down from 15.76 in the fifth five-year plan to 7.59 in the 10th five-year plan,” said Dr Om Prakasah Bhureta, spokesperson of the samiti.

He said with the holdings being small, the agriculture sector contributes only 22.7 per cent to the state gross domestic product (GDP). “The farmers are facing problems right from getting good quality seeds to taking their produce to the market,” he said.

He regretted that while the cost of agriculture inputs had gone up, the subsidies and other concessions provided by the government earlier were being withdrawn. He added that the farmers had to bear the brunt of natural calamities like drought and floods and then they did not get good returns as the middlemen and traders made most of the profit.

He said some effective steps would have to be taken to ensure that the contribution of the agriculture sector did not shrink further. “This is necessary to ensure that the 10 lakh figure of unemployed in a small state like Himachal does not go up further,” he stated.

Palampur, December 23
The tea industry in the Kangra valley has been passing through a serious crisis as tea growers are finding it difficult to maintain plantations in view of few buyers for their produce. The cost of production has almost doubled in the past three years but the prices of tea in the national and international markets has come down by 30 to 50 per cent since the signing of the WTO pact by India. Tea made in India has failed to compete with the that made in African countries, Sri Lanka and China. In these countries the production cost is mush less than in India. Though the tea growers in the valley made all efforts to improve the quality of tea in the past few years to compete in the international market few buyers came forward to buy Kangra tea because its high cost.

As a result the area under tea cultivation is squeezing day by day. Thanks to the apathy of the state government to initiate any steps for the revival of century-old Kangra valley tea industry, a number of tea growers in the Baijnath, Bir and Chauntra areas have abandoned their tea gardens as there is no buyer for their green tea leaves.

The cooperative tea factories set up by the state government at Bir, Baijnath, Sidhwari and Palampur have failed to watch the interest of small tea growers. Political interference, rampant corruption and continuous irregularities had virtually ruined these cooperative units in the valley. Despite the state government having provided adequate financial assistance, these units could not come out of red and faced losses in crores. The cooperative tea factories set up at Bir, Baijnath and Sidhwari have now been taken over by private owners.

The state government had imposed a complete ban on the sale of tea holdings in Himachal Pradesh as the big tea growers had availed the benefit of retaining land in excess of the prescribed limit of 30 acres under the Act. It is strange that the state government has also imposed a ban on the sale of tea holdings less than 30 acres. In the hours of crises these tea growers are helpless and cannot sell even an inch of tea holding without permission of the government. While big tea growers have succeeded in getting permission for the sale of their tea holdings small tea growers who had not availed any benefit under the Land Sealing Act have been moving from pillar to post to get the nod. Tea growers with political links are getting permission for the sale of their land under tea cultivation.

The areas which had tea plantatation are being replaced with housing colonies, hotels, tourist resorts, shops and other religious places etc, with the state government being a silent spectator.

Tea was introduced between 1830 and 1840 in the Kangra valley by the European Nissan Tea Company. The valley grows hybrid China tea known to be rich in flavour and compares well with the brew grown in other parts of the world.

It flourished in the valley because of suitable agro-climatic conditions and availability of plenty of land for cultivation. The imported from China responded well in the valley’s soil. It was no wonder that Kangra tea was awarded the gold medal at an exhibition in London in 1886. Until 1905, Kangra tea was rated finest in the world for its flavour and quality.

The Kangra earthquake of 1905 proved fatal for Kangra tea as it destroyed a large number of tea gardens and tea factories, besides killing a number of tea planters The then British administration declared the valley as an unsafe zone, making almost all European tea planters leave the valley after selling their plantations to Indians. Kangra tea industry received another setback in 1914 after the outbreak of the First World War. The two Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971 further hit Kangra tea as it lost its Afghanistan market in the wake of hostilities among the two countries.

After 1971, the state government made some efforts for the revival of Kangra tea industry which yielded no fruitful results in the absence of a political and administrative will. Though the state government set up four tea manufacturing and marketing units in the cooperative sector at Bir, Baijnath, Palampur and Dharmshala only one is functional with the remaining three units having been sold to private parties because of recurring losses year after year. A lot of irregularities were reported in the functioning of these units and a number of its employees and directors are facing criminal cases today.

Bilaspur, December 23
DC Devesh Kumar here has drawn attention of all district officers towards prevention of fire accidents and untoward incidents in the offices with the view to save and protect precious government record kept there.

In an order passed here today, the DC said that all offices should form watch committees of officials which should daily ensure the safety of records and offices.

Nahan, December 23
The police has arrested Vinay Kumar, son of Congress MLA from the Renuka Assembly segment in Sirmour district on the charge of attacking Prithvi Singh, BSP candidate from the constituency.

He was arrested in connection with a case registered under Sections 323, 506 and 341 of the IPC.

The BSP candidate had suffered severe injuries and had to be hospitalised. — UNI

Shimla, December 23
A 26-year-old person was killed ;ast night after being allegedly run over by a vehicle at Sanjauli, a saburb of the state capital.

The deceased, Sandeep Nathan, belonged to Kotkhai in Shimla district. He died on the way to hospital.

According to the police accused Kuldip deliverately remmed his car into Sandeep after a roadside feud.

Kuldeep was taken in custody after the incident. A case under Section 302, IPC, was registered against Kuldeep. — UNI