Badhukhar (Dharamsala), November 5
The former Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today claimed credit for releasing money for the Shah canal project in Kangra. While addressing an election rally at Badhukhar, the native village of BJP candidate Baldev Raj Chaudhary, Capt Amarinder Singh said it was during his stint as the chief minister that the Punjab government released money to the Himachal government for construction of Shah canal.

He also claimed that the BJP was at a declining stage across the country. In Punjab also the BJP despite being an alliance partner of the SAD had failed to stop fundamentalists from raising their voice.

The Congress government under him had not allowed the fundamentalists to function in Punjab, he claimed.

On a demand of the Congress candidate from Jawali assembly constituency, Sujjan Singh Pathania, Capt Amarinder Singh announced that the he would construct a bridge connecting the Badhukhar area with Talwara township of Punjab. During his speech Capt Amarinder Singh harped more on the failures of the Punjab government than the Himachal government.

Capt. Amarinder Singh came to campaign in Jawali assembly constituency with a large barrage of former and sitting MLAs from Punjab. The large cavalcade of about 40 luxury vehicles that accompanied the cavalcade amazed the simple residents of the area.

Later, when asked during a press conference if he was not averse to giving Punjab waters to Himachal, Capt Amarinder Singh said after he annulled the water sharing Act in the Punjab assembly, no other state has any future right over Punjab waters.

Pathania, the Congress candidate, alleged that the BJP had been misleading the people of the constituency. In the last assembly elections the top leaders of the BJP claimed that they would get the Supreme Court ban on felling of green trees lifted from the area. However, nothing of this kind happened. He also claimed that the popularity of the BJP candidate from the area had been dwindling.

Chander Kumar, a former Congress MP and in charge of Congress campaign from the area, alleged that most of the development works going on in the state were centre- sponsored. The state government has failed to innovate on its own.

The president of Himachal Youth Congress Manmohan Katoch, former Congress minister Sat Mahajan, his son Ajay Mahajan and Congress MLA from Baijnath Sudhir Sharma were among other prominent leaders of Congress present at the rally.

Shimla, November 5
The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress looked vulnerable in their respective strongholds as campaigning for the prestigious by-elections to Rohru and Jawali constituencies came to a close today.

The stakes are high for both Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal and the Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh who spearheaded the campaign of their respective parties. The seats fell vacant after the sitting legislators Rajan Sushant (Jawali) and Virbhadra Singh (Rohru) got elected to Parliament in May last. The two parties had a bumpy ride during electioneering as denial of ticket to spouses of the MPs triggered off revolts. The poll managers had been engaged in damage control since day one and even on the eve of polling the spectre of undercutting haunts the BJP in Jawali and the
Congress in Rohru.

The outcome of poll in Rohru will have implications for Virbhadra Singh who is under pressure to ensure victory of the party after the denial of ticket to his wife Pratibha Singh. The manner in which he has campaigned for party candidate Manjit Singh after initial reluctance makes it evident that he is well aware of the implications for his political career. In a last-ditch effort to regain the lost ground the husband-wife teamed up to address a joint public meeting along with PCC chief Kaul Singh at Rohru to conclude the campaign. The purpose was to end confusion among party men and send a clear message that Pratibha Singh was extending full support to the party candidate.

Apart from the bickering in the Congress the BJP candidate Khushi Ram Balnatah is hoping to cash in on the sympathy vote as it will be his last outing from Rohru which has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes during delimitation of constituencies. He has been taking on Congress supremo Virbhadra Singh since 1990 and his vote-share had been improving with each election. It is indeed his best chance to make it to the Vidhan Sabha as the BJP is in power and Virbhadra Singh is no longer in the electoral arena.

Similarly, the stakes are high for the BJP in Jawali , which falls in its traditional stronghold of Kangra. The open revolt by Madan Sharma, a brother of party MP Rajan Sushant and his entry into arena as an Independent, has been causing concern to the BJP all through. The party fielded a new face Baldev Raj who is locked in a triangular contest with the old war horse of Congress Sujan Singh Pathania and rebel Sharma.

The party has decided to field Manjit Singh, though Harinder Rawat, son of prominent Congress leader Nehar Singh, was also in the race. Besides being chairman of the local block development samiti , Manjit is also a distant relative of Uttar Pradesh Congress leader late Jitender Prasad. The party has cleared the name of Sujan Singh Pathania, a former minister, from Jawali.

Fatehpur (Dharamsala), November 5
The BJP election campaign on the last day was marred with adverse remarks made by its Kangra MP Rajan Sushant against his own party.

Rajan Sushant who is known for severe tempers at times, surprised everybody, including national vice-president of the party Shanta Kumar, at the last electoral rally at Fatehpur. He alleged that certain party leaders were working against the interests of the BJP in the Jawali Assembly constituency by-election.

He went to the extent of alleging that the state government was not functioning in a smooth manner and he would take the issues before people after the by-election. He referred to an Independent MLA supporting BJP as ‘Hanuman’ and challenged the top leadership of the party to choose between him and the Independent MLA.

The top leadership of BJP, including Shanta Kumar and IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi, that was present at the rally was left red-faced at the comments made against its own leadership by Rajan Sushant.

Rajan Sushant earlier also, during a rally of the Chief Minister in the Jawali constituency, had openly accused Independent MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania of working against the interests of the party. Pathania had reacted and accused Sushant on similar account.

Shanta Kumar during his address to the rally, choose against referring to the allegations levelled by Rajan Sushant against the party leadership. He instead concentrated on development carried out by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the present BJP government in the state.

Shanta Kumar, peeved at the adverse remarks made by Rajan Sushant, left the venue immediately in his vehicle after the rally without talking to anybody.

The comments of Rajan Sushant have created a stir in the party with seniors baffling on how to tackle the situation. A section of leaders alleged that the move of Rajan Sushant might be calculated.

The entire imbroglio left the workers at the rally confused. Earlier in the day, venue of the BJP rally on main road near Fatehpur brought them at loggerheads with Congress workers. The Congressmen alleged that the rally was organised on the main road to block the path of their workers who were going on a rally to Badhukhar.

Mandi, November 5
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) today shut down its loss-making hotel Mandav to make way for housing IIT Mandi here for the next academic session. The shutdown will cost the corporation an annual business of Rs 19.43 lakh and comes as a setback to tourism in the Mandi region.

The hotel Mandav’s last client was a marriage party that had booked the hotel yesterday. The hotel had stopped online booking from October 30 after the HPTDC decided to hand it over to the IIT, sources said.

The hotel had been in losses over the years and suffered a loss of Rs 7.24 lakh till September this year. A visit to the hotel today revealed its pathetic condition, as it had no maintenance budget due to losses over the years. However, the hotel with a bar and restaurant increased its business from Rs 16.5 lakh in 2008 to Rs 19.43 lakh till November this year, claimed managers.

Residents said the shutdown would hit arrival of tourists in Mandi town, as Mandav was its sole venture here providing good accommodation to tourists round the year.

“But the hotel has been recording below average occupancy rate of 40 per cent over the years, which is cited as the main reason for its loss as it needs 90 per cent occupancy rate to make it a profit-making venture,” the mangers claimed.

Meanwhile, last year a team of the HRD Ministry and the state government had inspected the Mandav hotel, besides PWD rest house and new buildings of Vallabh Postgraduate College for transit accommodation to house IIT Mandi till its own campus comes up at Kamand. MD, HPTDC, Subhasish Panda, said, “The hotel has been shutdown and staff and infrastructure in the hotel are being shifted to its other units at Pandoh, Bilaspur and Manali.”

Panda said 20 staff members of the hotel had been transferred to different units in Shimla, Mandi, Bilaspur and other places. “It has been done to house the IIT till its own campus comes up at Kamand. We have sent a proposal to compensate the HPTDC for this,” he added.

Mandi, November 5
The police today registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the IPC against husband Sardaru Ram after the police identified the body of his wife, Reli Devi, which he had allegedly dumped in the fields.

The accused was absconding after committing the crime and the police has yet to ascertain motive behind the murder.

Acting on the complaint, registered in Jogindernagar police station filed today by vice-pradhan of the gram panchayat, Bhararu, Joginder Singh, the police said Satish Kumar, a resident of Gaduhi, today spotted the body lying in the fields of Bhandari and informed him. When they went there along with the brother of Sardaru they identified the body and informed the police.

The pradhan Yash Pal told the police that he had provided lift to Sardaru Ram and his wife Reli Devi at 10.30 pm from Lodharu nullah to Gaduhimore and dropped them at 11 PM. He suspected she was murdered by Sardaru Ram as he had been absconding since last night.

The police is also probing the role of the pradhan as to why he dropped them in pitch dark. 

Mandi, November 5
Students of Vallabh postgraduate college, Mandi; RKMV, Shimla; Government College, Dharamsala; and Government College, Rampur; enacted excellent plays on the second day of the Himachal Pradesh University youth festival here today.

The team of nine artistes of the host college comprising Medhavi, Bhavana, Bhikham, Balbir, Neeraj, Yashpal, Jitender, Pankaj and Rahul championed the “cause of fallen women” by staging a satire on “male chauvinism”. The young artistes deftly highlighted the shallow outdated social mores perpetuated by society.

The RKMV artistes chose a different theme -- vicious lust and desires. They wove the play around the desires and vanities in today’s self-centric world that ultimately leads to the end of human beings. The play put forth the message that lust for power did not result in any gain.

College artists from Dharamsala in their play “Antatte” brought alive the holocaust of Partition and message of the Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. They showcased a satire on religious bigots, “whose gospel of hatred is defeated before pure humanity”.

The college artistes by enacting plays on different themes relevant to society drove home the point that students were alive to the problems around them and wanted that something should be done to tackle them. 

Hamirpur, November 5
The Sarva Kalyankari Sabha at Hamirpur has decided to organise a free health check-up camp at the PHC Toani Devi on November 8.

A team of doctors from the PGIMR, Chandigarh, and medical college, Chandigarh, headed by orthopaedician Dr Raj Bahadur would examine patients in the daylong camp registration for which would be held from 8 to 11 am.

Besides Dr Raj Bahadur, cardiologist Dr Yash Pal, child specialist Dr Dhammi, ENT specialist Dr Vipin Pramar and around 150 doctors would attend the camp.