Shimla, October 30
While the state has been claiming a tourism boom with a phenomenal increase in tourist arrivals, the performance of the public sector Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) over the past two years tells a different story.

Out of the total 67 units of the corporation, as many as 33 units were in the red as in March 2011. Further, the profit of 19 other units dipped in 2010-11 compared to 2009-10 even as the number tourists visiting the state shot up to 1.32 crore from 1.14 crore over the period. The profits have dwindled despite the 10 per cent hike in tariffs. Worse, even hotels and cafes located on national highways are incurring losses.

The government has invested Rs 12.29 crore in the corporation which has accumulated a loss of Rs 18.53 crore. Even the transport wing was perennially in loss and the figure for last year alone was Rs 25.57 lakh.

The corporation has been presenting a rosy picture with 10 of its complexes in profit and eight in loss and an overall profit of Rs 3.08 crore in 2009-10. However, detailed information obtained by RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya regarding the performance of constituent units of different complexes reveals a dismal state of affairs. Most of the units were in the red and the overall profit had also dipped to Rs 1.58 crore in 2010-11 despite the boom and tariff revision. In fact, the growth will be negative without the 10 per cent hike in tariff effected at the start of 2010-11.

Intriguingly, the complexes located right on the national highways, including Kulu, Parwanoo, Mandi-Bilaspur and Barog, are incurring losses, whereas the complex in relatively remote areas like Rampur is earning profit. The aggregate loss of four units under Barog, including Pinewood Hotel, is Rs 10.90 lakh and two units under Parwanoo (Shivalik Hotel and Café) Rs 28.34 lakh. Similarly, five units under Kullu together incurred a loss of Rs 40.17 lakh and four units under Mandi-Bilaspur Rs 21.87 lakh.

Himachal is known for religious tourism, but the units in pilgrim centres are in the red. These include Jawalmukhi Hotel (Rs 5.31 lakh), Yatri Niwas, Chintpurani (Rs 5,30 lakh) and Yatri Niwas, Chamunda (Rs7.67 lakh), while the one at Deot Sidh, which suffered a loss of Rs 813 lakh in 2009-10 has been closed. Profit dipped even in flagship hotels of the corporation like Peterhof (Rs 1.58 crore to Rs 78.57 crore), Hotel Chail (Rs 1.30 crore to Rs 1.16 crore) and Hotel Kunzum (Rs 67.94 lakh to Rs 55.75 lakh).

Among the profit-earning complexes, Hotel Holiday Home tops with Rs 2.49 crore, followed by Manali (Rs 2.29 crore), Chail (Rs 1.16 crore), Peterhof (Rs 78.57 lakh), Rampur (Rs 76.29 lakh), Dharamsala (Rs 55.23 lakh) and Dalhousie (Rs 22.12 lakh).

However, the most economical unit is the lift in Shimla which fetched a profit of Rs 65.54 lakh last year, though was down from Rs 73.88 lakh in the preceding year.

Shimla, October 30
The Centre has sanctioned two more handloom cluster projects in the current financial year to be implemented at Tissa in Chamba and Janjehli in Mandi. Two skills upgrading centres have also been sanctioned for Chamba crafts, including the world-famous Chamba rumaal.

The projects, to be implemented by the State Handloom and Handicrafts Corporation, will benefit more than 1,000 artisans in the two districts. It has already implemented three major projects, including the Kullu Handloom Cluster, which would benefit 5,000 weavers. Two other projects are in Gohar (Mandi) and Reckong Peo with 714 beneficiaries, while a Rampur Handloom Cluster is being developed to help over 600 weavers. It is also extending pre-loom, loom and post-loom facilities to the weavers and other artisans at its 15 production centres.

The corporation has been promoting sales of handicrafts and handloom items through exhibitions. It organised 30 exhibitions throughout the country this year, where sales amounted to Rs 82 lakh as compared to Rs 45 lakh last year.

It has also introduced e-shopping facility for marketing of Himachali products.

The corporation has a network of 17 emporiums, out of which 15 are within the state in Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Dharamsala, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Keylong, Manali, Mandi, Nahan, Reckong Peo, Palampur and at furniture unit in Paonta Sahib. The emporiums are also located in New Delhi and Bangalore.

The corporation also provides training at 27 centres. Over 500 weavers and artisans are being trained every year in carpet weaving, shawl and durrie weaving, thanka paintings, wood work, dolls making, metal craft, blanket weaving and hand knitting. 

Dharamsala, October 30
Taking a jibe at the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama has said instead of questioning Tibetan traditions, it should think of finding reincarnations of its leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

“The Communist government does not believe in religion. But they want to conduct finding of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation. The Dalai Lama is not political now. If they really care, first they should believe in religion. It will be better if they think of finding the reincarnations of Mao and Deng Xiaoping,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner told reporters on reaching Japan yesterday, according to a post on the Dalai Lama's official website.

On the question of change in Chinese leadership next year, he said: “My personal view is that when (Chinese president) Hu Jintao took over, many expected positive changes. But 10 years have passed, you know better whether there is harmony in China or not now.”

"The goal of harmonious society is good, but the method being employed is wrong. Harmony must come from heart, the key factor is trust. But trust and fear cannot go together. So, it is too early to say that the next leadership will bring a big change," he said.

The 76-year-old exiled leader, who still desires to return to Tibet some day, expressed concern over ongoing self-immolation protests by monks in Tibet.

"It is a sign of deep desperation. Chinese leaders need to look into these incidents more seriously. Ruthlessness will not be good for all," he said.

The Buddhist monk will visit areas affected by the March earthquake and tsunami, offer prayers and meet the survivors. — IANS

Solan, October 30
The Drug Licensing Authority (DLA) issued show-cause notices to Paonta Sahib-based Accurate Pharmaceutical and M Sea Pharmaceutical for violating Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which pertains to lack of hygiene in the manufacturing area.

DLA Kapil Dhiman said if the replies to the notices were not satisfactory and necessary steps to comply with the schedule M not taken, the manufacturing licences of the companies would be suspended. He said since schedule M laid down specific conditions for each and every stage of manufacturing, particularly pertaining to the maintenance of controlled temperature conditions and hygienic environs, their non-compliance was a serious issue.

Though the state had attracted about 600 pharmaceutical units, the lack of field staff was acting as a deterrent to monitor their working. While two drug inspectors (DIs) were looking after 350 units in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) area, one DI was entrusted the task of looking after an equal number of units in Sirmaur and the remaining part of Solan district. With 200 sales premises in BBN and 1,000 in Solan and Sirmaur, there was little scope of effective regulation.

Even though the state government had sanctioned six posts of DI early this year, the process to fill these posts had not begun yet. A single post of the DI was advertised in March, but was withdrawn later. This speaks volumes about the seriousness of the government to regulate the manufacturing activities with barely 10 DIs.

In the neighbouring Punjab, where the number of manufacturing units was much less, 37 new posts of DI were being filled up through the National Rural Health Mission, while in Jammu and Kashmir, 70 DIs were being recruited. Even in Rajasthan, efforts were underway to appoint 70 DIs in two phases to regulate 100 to 150 manufacturing units there. In Haryana, 40 DIs were being appointed to spruce up the drug control administration.

Health and Ayurveda Minister Rajiv Bindal said nine more DIs would soon be recruited and they had increased the staff strength in the pharma hub of BBN to three. 

Bilaspur, October 30
The Himachal Pradesh State Employees Federation has urged Chief Minister PK Dhumal to order immediately a high-level inquiry into “highly objectionable destruction of thousands of trees and plants” growing at the roadside, which are not posing any obstruction to traffic at Kothipura near here.

Talking to the mediapersons here today, federation state president Ram Singh, accompanied by NGO leaders, said all these plants and trees were planted by the Horticulture Wing of the PWD and the state government had spent lakhs of rupees annually on planting and nourishing these plants and trees. All these trees were planted under a government scheme for popularising the Chandigarh-Manali route among tourists.

Ram Singh said there was no justification in uprooting these trees with the JCB machine. If cleaning of bushes from the hill side was to be done, it should have been done manually and not with heavy machines, he added.

He said on the one hand, the government has launched several schemes spending crores for planting plants and trees to protect environment, on the other such elements have been indulging in reckless destruction of these trees, which is a criminal act. They demanded immediate action in this matter in pure public interest. 

Shimla, October 30
The Shimla police today arrested Aman Chaudhary who had escaped after allegedly murdering 96-year-old retired officer Amba Dutt in Sanjauli Colony here last week from Mangheli village of Katihar district in Bihar.

The police also recovered Rs 8,89,157 cash, a gold coin and silver chain from the accused who had decamped after stealing Rs 12 lakh and some valuables from the house of the deceased. The accused hails from Navgachhia village in Bhagalpur and was hiding in his cousin’s house at Magheli. He was nabbed with the help of the Bihar police.

Aman had been engaged as a domestic help to take care of Amba Dutt.

Giving details at a press conference, IGP, Southern Range, Ashok Kumar and SP Sonal Agnihotri said, after the murder, Aman posed as the grandson of an IPS officer and hired a taxi from the Tuti Kandi bus stand for Chandigarh railway station. However, instead of boarding a train there he went to Delhi by another taxi. In Delhi he boarded the Ganga Sutlej Express to reach Bihar.

But he called up the taxi driver who had taken him from Shimla to Chandigarh on the mobile phone to know if some murder had taken place in the Sanjauli area. The driver was unaware of any such incident till that time. The police tracked Aman’s movements with the help of his mobile phone and the Railway Police up to Gusailgarh after which it lost contact.

The police managed to get some pictures of the accused from CCTV installed at the Sanjauli branch of the state Cooperative Bank which enabled the Bihar police to trace him. After being nabbed, he tried to mislead the police that he had kept the stolen cash and valuables in Varanasi. However, during search operation the cash and jewellery were recovered from his backyard hidden under a heap of garbage.

The police has decided to issue commendation letter and a cash prize of Rs 200 each to the police team which had nabbed the accused. It was an important case as the victim happened to be the father-in-law of retired DGP Deepak Baghai. 

Shimla, October 30
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has taken notice of the ongoing factional war between the rival Dhumal and Shanta camps in the BJP, which came in the open after the Kangra district unit of the party passed resolutions against the Irrigation and Public Health Minister.

Joint general secretary of the RSS Suresh Soni, who looks after the BJP affairs, had a one-to-one meeting with Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to discuss the issue in detail.

Soni was in the city on a two-day visit for the state coordination committee meeting. However, the meeting held here last evening turned out to be a routine exercise as national vice-president Shanta Kumar and national general secretary JP Nadda were both conspicuous by their absence. Shanta Kumar, who has been unhappy with the functioning of the party and the government, has been skipping all party meetings for the past almost one year.

The state factional divide is likely to widen as prominent Shanta loyalists, not only from Kangra district but the entire state, including ministers and MLAs, are likely to abstain from the state executive meeting to be held here tomorrow. Some of the leaders from Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Mandi districts, reportedly, held a secret meeting here today in this connection.

Senior leaders blame the indifferent attitude of the party high command for the infighting coming into open. Things would not have gone that far if the high command had intervened and taken appropriate measure to redress the grievances.

With the Assembly polls just a year away, these developments do not augur well for the party which is hoping to retain power in the state riding the Anna Hazare wave. The trouble had started from Kangra, the biggest and politically most important district, which has been a traditional stronghold of the BJP. 

Hamirpur, October 30
Sainik School, Sujanpur, Tihra, will host diverse activities on November 2 on the school premises to commemorate the 34th raising day and annual day celebrations.

Principal of the school Group Capt Surinder Singh said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal would be the chief guest on the occasion and local MLA Urmil Thakur the guest of honour.

He said several activities by NCC cadets, defence equipment display by various Army formations under the aegis of HQ 9 Corps, Yol Cantt, school exhibition, stilt exercises, karate and gymnastics shows would also be organised by the students.

Annual awards ceremony, OBA meeting and cultural programme would be highlights in the evening session of the celebrations. — TNS

Hamirpur, October 30
Public Works Department (PWD) and Revenue Minister Gulab Singh Thakur said patch work and tarring on the roads of the state would be completed by tomorrow.

Talking to mediapersons at Sujanpur, he said 172 black spots on the roads would be cleared by spending Rs 60 crore on the work. He added that 37 black spots on the roads of Hamirpur district would be cleared by spending Rs 1.5 crore.

Welcoming the decision of the high court on banning sale of land through the general power of attorney, except in the case of blood relation, the minister said the state government was quite happy at the decision as it would help in checking fraudulent land transactions, besides enhancing revenue from land sale registration fee.

The minister said all 229 gram panchayats in Hamirpur district had been linked with roads and 1,835 villages, out of a total of 1,836 villages, had been connected with roads and 1,550 km roads, out of a total of 1,800 km, were mettled.

He said keeping in view the temperature and environment of the state, concrete roads were also being constructed and 7-km concrete road had already been built in the Palampur region. 

Baru Sahib, October 30
Akal Academy, the flagship school of the Akal Academy, Baru Sahib, celebrated its 24th annual day today where students presented an array of programmes highlighting various problems prevalent in society.

The Trust recently crossed the milestone of laying the foundation stone of its 101st school at Chunni Kalan, Punjab. The ceremony was marked by the presence of parents, staff and a galaxy of distinguished guests which included Bikram Singh Majithia, former Cabinet minister, Punjab, and president, Youth Akali Dal; HS Hanspal, member, Minority Commission, Delhi; Bhupinder Singh, former DGP, West Bengal; and Dr Inderjit Kaur, president, Pingalwara Trust, Amritsar.

The event commenced with the inspection of an impressive parade by the chief guest. The cultural events included a 32-piece ancient instrumental orchestra by girls.

Dr Neelam Kaur, Principal, Akal Academy, Baru Sahib, in her annual report elaborated on the milestones achieved by students of various Akal Academies established in North India. She emphasised the need and importance of value-based education synthesised with the modern scientific education that is being imparted in all the academies. She elaborated on the achievements of the Akal College of Engineering and Technology, Baru Sahib, that had topped among all 19 engineering colleges of Himachal Pradesh, procuring nine gold medals in the state. Apart from 71 functioning schools, 30 more new schools were to commence in the next academic session, she said.

Toddlers presented a show on “Our journey in space station and cultural glimpses of our heritage”. An inter-Akal Academy quiz competition, sponsored by Jivo Canola Oil, tested the brilliance of future leaders. A show on “World after Ground Zero” emphasising the need to shun terrorism and heal the world with love was an apt portrayal of the scenario of the attack on the Twin Towers of New York.

Girls presented a show on “Women’s Empowerment - Road to Progress” giving an insight into the problems being faced by the girl child in attaining higher education in rural India. A skit focused on the message of universal brotherhood and oneness of Guru Granth Sahib.

The annual day celebrations concluded with an address by Baba Iqbal Singh, president of the Kalgidhar Trust.