This includes the PMT scam and allegations of irregularities in recruitment of pharmacists, forest guards and other jobs.

Shimla, December 31
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said today that his government would work without prejudice for speedy development of the state.

Talking to mediapersons soon after assuming office he said he was taking over on the eve of New Year to start a new innings.

He said the government would not indulge in political vendetta and devote all its time and energy towards the service of the people.

He appealed to all employees and officers to forget the past, look forward and rededicate themselves to the service of the people.

Later, addressing employees in the secretariat he said the government could not deliver unless political bosses, officers and employees worked in tandem.

Without proper coordination it would not be possible to effectively implement the policies and programmes of the government.

The objective, he said, was to make Himachal Pradesh a model of development not only for hill states but also for the entire country.

He said the employees must fight for their rights but at the same time they should also discharge their duties efficiently and serve the people. He assured that the government would do all that was within its means for the welfare of the employees.

Dhumal said he had invited NRIs to invest in the state. Earlier, Dhumal was given a rousing welcome on his arrival at the secretariat.

Greeting the people of Himachal on the New Year eve he assured them that the government would give a renewed momentum to the development and welfare activities.

“The promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto would be fulfilled in letter and in spirit,” he said.

During his second tenure as Chief Minister Dhumal said he would want to make Himachal the leading state in all areas.

Shimla, December 31
With a clear mandate in favour of the BJP, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal faces a bigger challenge as he assumes office for a second term.

During his first stint at the helm he enjoyed full patronage of the friendly-Vajpayee government, but this time he will have to contend with the Congress regime at the Centre.

For a fund-starved state like Himachal Pradesh liberal financial support of the Centre is essential to speed up development activities.

Further, there will be no excuses for failure to deliver as, unlike the previous term, the government is no longer dependent the crutches of Sukh Ram’s HVC.

The financial position of the state has improved after the implementation of the 12th Financial Commission but the new government may find it difficult to provide adequate resources for the numerous colleges, schools, health and veterinary institutions and other projects started by the outgoing regime.

Moreover, the financial burden will increase sharply as and when the Pay Commission report is implemented.

Aware of the fact that Centre’s support was vital, Dhumal made it a point to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the first opportunity.

He lost no time and went to Delhi soon after taking oath and discussed all pending issues with him.

Apart from financial problem providing clean, corruption -free, transparent and efficient government will be an enormous challenge.

The BJP came to power by promising a “bhrashtachar mukta, vikaas yukta” (corruption free, accelerated development) government to the people.

It will not be an easy task. However, it is the problem of growing unemployment which needs to be tackled on priority.

The jobless youth have been mainly instrumental in throwing out successive government and their expectations from the new regime are really high.

But providing jobs to over 7.65 lakh youth registered at employment exchanges is indeed a tall order for any government.

The immediate challenge before Dhumal is the constitution of the ministry. Unlike last term, he does not have the luxury to have a king-size ministry.

He has only 11 ministerial berths to give representations to all districts, castes and, more importantly, striking factional balance.

A large number of senior leaders, who have been ministers earlier are in line and it will not be possible to accommodate them all.

Further, the BJP had vehemently opposed appointment of chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries made during the Congress government.

It fought a protracted but successful legal battle to get these appointments annulled. As such it will not be in a position to exercise this option to accommodate ministerial aspirants.

It will be a tight-rope walk for Dhumal as one wrong step could sow the seeds of discontent in the faction-ridden party.

Shimla, December 31
Chief minister P.K. Dhumal today announced the adoption of the BJP election manifesto as a policy document of the state government.

Addressing the first meeting of secretaries and heads of department here today he directed that the manifesto should be implemented in letter and in spirit and the compliance report be sent to the government.

He also said there would be zero tolerance towards corruption and inefficiency. “We will review all decisions taken by the previous regime during the past six months and any transfer ordered during this period should not be implemented,” he directed.

He, however, added that the government would not act out of political vendetta and cases would be decided solely on merit.

“Public redressal cells would be set up by all public sector-oriented departments right from the panchayat level up to the Chief Minister’s office,” he announced.

He said that consolidated monthly reports would have to be filed to the CM office through the respective deputy commissioners.

This, he added, would have to be followed up by the secretaries and heads of departments concerned.

He added that the officers would be answerable in case there was any delay in redressing the grievances of employees.

He also emphasised the need for carry out regular inspection of the implementation of the policies and programmes of the government to ensure optimum utilisation of public money for the benefit of the targeted groups.

Kullu, December 31
The Congress needs overhauling and the ‘dead wood’ should be given the back seat. This was stated by almost all leaders of the party, who were contenders for the party ticket for the assembly elections and now recommended by the Constituency Congress Committee for expulsion.

They said the state, district and the constituency-level Congress committees should be reorganised to strengthen the party. The “Bhai Bhatija Vad” in the party has to be shunned so that the party is considered above an individual.

Arun Sharma said the statement given by Viplove Thakur, president of the HPCC, that the ‘recent defeat in the elections was of the government and not the party’ was ridiculous. He said the Congress had faced defeat and onus was on the president of the party, who was not even in a position to field all 68 candidates in the election fray.

The Gangath failure was hers, where the Congress did not have the candidate to contest. Sharma said Viplove should have resigned on moral grounds instead of putting the blame on the government.

Devender Negi, member of the board of directors, HRTC, said the allocation of the party ticket to Raj Krishan Gaur in Kullu was a blunder, while the eight senior Congress leaders had written to the state president that they would not work for him. Viplov was adamant and faced a “shameful defeat” there.

He said “We were never contacted during the elections by the Constituency Congress Committee even after a ‘patch up’ meeting was held in the presence of the party central observer Mahabal Mishra. He demanded that the total reshuffle of the constituency Congress was needed and the people responsible for making the Congress a mockery should resign on moral grounds.

He expressed his anguish over blaming many party leaders by the Constituency Congress Committee, whereas, the party had faced defeat in all polling booths in the cabinet minister’s village and area. He questioned, “Who was responsible for that?

Chander Sen Thakur, member, Board of Directors, HPTDC, said the cabinet minister was in “puttar moh” and could not maintain contact with the grass-root workers.

He got his son nominated as the president of the Constituency Congress Committee and tried hard to get him the party ticket as well.

The organisation in the constituency remained confined to a few people like a “private limited company”. The resentment among the workers resulted in revolt against the sitting MLA and the constituency Congress workers shifted to the BSP. He said the Congress votebank was intact but the resentment cost the party very dear.

Ses Ram, chairman, zila parishad, said the caucus in the constituency Congress fabricated a conspiracy to sideline a few senior Congress leaders having mass followings so that they could pass on the buck of defeat on to the others.

He said the conspiracy was clearly exposed while he himself visited many villages with the constituency president during the election but he had been recommended to be expelled from the party.

Chander Kiran Prarthi, chairman, Kullu and Lahaul Spiti districts marketing committee expressed surprise for the recommendation of expulsion of a few senior Congressmen while Gaur, being the cabinet minister, could get lead only in 13 polling stations out of the total of 126 in the constituency.

He said the Congress was responsible for this as wrong distribution of party ticket was done. He said the party should stick to the Panchmari resolution and go for young party workers instead of the people who are power hungry.

He said Gaur faced the “shameful defeat because of his son” and not due to the expelled party workers. He also expressed surprise over the statement of Viplove.

He said that brother of Viplove won “by chance” by about 150 votes and she had considered that to be the victory of the party and all other lost seats were due to the government.

He said that she should resign on moral grounds for such a shameful rout the party has faced in the state.

The present political scenario in the district is grim and the party high command will have to take care and put the party back on track.

Shimla, December 31
The 10 janpath nominee from Arki assembly constituency Prakash Chand Karad, who performed poorly in the poll, today blamed outgoing Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for his defeat.

“He (Singh) was to a great extent responsible for my defeat from Arki Vidhan Sabha in Solan district,” Karad, son of Padam Ram, a cook of Sonia Gandhi, told reporters.

Karad, who came third behind the winner Govind Ram of the BJP and Independent Dharampal Thakur, said the outgoing Chief Minister deliberately came late to address an election rally at Arki in his support on December 15.

“Instead of scheduled 3 pm, he came to address the rally at 8 pm, when half of the audience had returned,” Karad added.

“Moreover, he praised Dharampal in his address which went against me”, he said.

Karad, who had elbowed out Dharampal to get the Congress nomination from Arki seat, said former Chief Minister said “Dharampal is my friend and will remain a friend in future also.”

Besides, he said, Dharampal, who was the deputy speaker of the dissolved 10th Vidhan Sabha and who had won consecutively three times from Arki before this election, had carried all developmental works in this part of the state.

Dharampal, who rebelled and contested as an independent, prepared the CD of the speech and circulated it among people to convince them that he was the real nominee of the Congress and Singh (the outgoing Chief Minister), he said. Karad said he will inform the party high command about the role of Singh in his defeat.

Gap between Karad and the winner was over 13,000 votes and between him and Dharampal was about 8,000. — PTI

There was a scuffle between them. Arjun Singh attacked Raju Rai with a knife and run away. Raju succumbed to his injuries on his way to the hospital.

Solan, December 31
With the cellular services of BSNL going from bad to worse in the region, the subscribers are having a harried time.

The number of dropped calls has increased substantially and this is a major reason leading to poor services.

While trying to call a subscriber of the Himachal Pradesh Government Plan, one encounters maximum traffic and one has to keep trying several times. The problem is more acute for intra-plan calls.

Though the scheme was devised to facilitate government employees but it appears to have exceeded its capacity adversely affecting the quality.

The first plan under this scheme had nearly 38,000 subscribers though it was devised to cater to a lesser number.

More problems are faced by those commuting even on roads like the NH-22. Not only have the number of shadow areas where the connectivity is low increased but the signal is also bleak inside buildings.

One has to come out in the open to take a call and worst still the calls are disconnected in the middle of a conversation.

All these factors have made the otherwise widely popular cellular service a problem for the users.

With no customer care service available, it is another problem to communicate one’s problems to the BSNL.

One is virtually left at the mercy of the authorities, who fail to provide quality services. The worst suffers are subscriber of Kasauli and its surrounding areas, who fail to receive any signal in the evenings.

Despite these problems plaguing the BSNL time and again nothing substantial is being done to improve the services rue subscribers, who have also subscribed to other services alongside.

With the New Year around the corner, messages have further increased the traffic, making its services even poorer.

Kangra, December 31
Owning moral responsibility of the BSP’s defeat in the Assembly elections, state convener of the party Major Vijay Singh Mankotia (retd) today resigned from the post and sent his resignation to BSP supremo Mayawati.

Mankotia declared this at a press conference at Dharamsala. He said the party could not achieve the desired goal under his leadership during the recent elections and owning the moral responsibility for the debacle, he had sent his resignation to Mayawati.

He made it clear that he would continue to work for the BSP as he had faith in the party’s principles and the leadership of Mayawati.

He, however, greeted BJP leader P.K. Dhumal for assuming the charge of the Chief Minister of the state. He said he would have to face many challenges.

He reiterated the charges of corruption against the previous Virbhadra Singh government. Virbhadra Singh took the state to the level of financial bankruptcy besides making it morally and spiritually defunct.

About reasons behind BSP’s defeat in the elections, he said the people’s support for the party was evident in every constituency.

He said the Congress and the BJP misused money power to achieve the result. Meanwhile, Naresh Thakur, vice-president of the Kangra unit of the party, has approached Mayawati for inducting him into the party’s state cadre as the state president as the post had been lying vacant following the resignation of Balwant.

Solan, December 31
Faced with a sharp decline in the youngsters desirous of joining the armed forces, a one-day exhibition showcasing latest weapons, war time documentaries and a demonstration of war tricks, was organised by the local Army unit of Solan.

As a special attraction a whole range of weapons, including the 7.62 mm light machine guns, 5.56 mm INSAS, AK-54, 81 mm mortar, 9mm pistol, telescopes, etc., were not only displayed along with the complete information about their firing capabilities but also the youths were allowed to get a feel of these weapons.

The exhibition drew a good crowd from the youngsters who took keen interest in these weapons.

Explaining the significance of these weapons an official said, “It could give youngsters an idea of what type of weapons are used in actual warfare and how the soldiers defend the country’s barriers. Since all that a common man knows of weapons is what he sees in movies or documentaries an actual feel of these weapons could inspire them to join the Armed forces.”

Interestingly, the Indian weaponry appears to have undergone a sea change ever since the Kargil War of 1999 and a number of imported items from Germany, Belgium, France, etc., have been added to the list of weapons.

The most inspiring aspect was a 30-minute documentary on four wars which India has fought against its arch rival Pakistan.

It displayed original clips of war, including launch of attacks, how rescue work is carried out, how soldiers work in extreme cold conditions, their successful ouster of enemy from Indian territories, etc., drew maximum crowd.

Such was the impact of the documentary that not only girls were drawn to it but youngsters saw it a number of times.

Adding spice to the whole show was a live Mithun Band which churned out popular Hindi movie numbers. Also available was the entire information on the different options available for joining the three armed forces - Army, Air Force and the Navy.

Making the whole show realistic was a corner, which provided an opportunity to the people to fire using a gun. Though the bullets were substituted for pellets but the thrill of shooting a makeshift target remained a popular part of the whole exhibition.

A corner displaying how enemy is weakened by exposing him to set-up targets also found eager visitors. Depicting the popular theme of unity in diversity in the armed forces were Naga and Gorkha dances displayed on the occasion.

Nurpur, December 31
Like the previous winter season, frost has started playing havoc with the mango plantation and vegetable crops in the subdivision. The area has been witnessing frost for the past four days.

According to an unofficial estimate, there has been around 30 per cent damage to the fresh plantation of mango so far.

Mango growers in the lower Kangra area had to face losses during the past winters also. According to official information, over 3,300 hectare area is under mango orchards.

The frost is also damaging vegetable crops, especially peas, tomatoes and cauliflower. The damage had over 50 per cent.

According to D.P. Singh, horticulture development officer, Nurpur, initially the frost had damaged only fresh saplings of mango, but the prevailing conditions might damage even the old plantation.

He admitted that frost was playing havoc with pea and tomato crops in the region. He said the department had started assessing the losses due to frost. Farmers are also being guided to tackle such situations, he added.

The growers of the area have been pinning their hopes on the new BJP government for solving their longstanding problems and strengthening the Horticulture Department keeping in view the enhanced requirement of better fruit production.

Mandi, December 31
Hoping to witness snowfall tonight or tomorrow, New Year revellers, most of them youngsters and honeymooning couples, made beeline to the Mandi-Kullu-Manali tourist circuit today.

Tourists have being pouring in from all across North India and other parts of the country to celebrate New Year.

The hotels have been spruced up and special arrangements put in place to hold dance parties.

The Mandi-Kullu-Manali highway witnessed heavy traffic tricking in from Chandigarh, Ludhiana, New Delhi and other places, including South India. Hope to see snowfall is the common desire of almost all of these tourists.

“We decided to celebrate New Year at Manali with a desire to see snowfall, but the weather god had remained unpleased so far,” said Mritunjay and Saskhi, tourist couple from Chandigarh.

Members of the Manali Hoteliers Association said the occupancy had gone up to 60-80 per cent. “Youngsters, who drive down to the hill station in their private vehicles, prefer to enjoy in the open or in discos the whole night and return to their places the next morning.

“But the honeymoon couples do stay on for a couple of days,” they added. Even the government-run HPTDC hotels are running a packed house. “All hotels are packed to capacity,” said HPTDC manager.

There have been frequent traffic jams on the highways between Sundernagar and Mandi, Kullu and Manali.

More than 10,000 vehicles entered the tourist circuit today, according to traffic police officials.

“We are trying to ensure safety and checking drunken driving,” they added. Although tourists hope to usher in White New Year, weathermen say it will remain clear even tomorrow.

He said his government will take care of women, youth, employees and all other weaker sections.