Solan, November 29
A volatile atmosphere was witnessed in the office of the District Election Officer, Sirmaur, when Congressmen urged the official to register an FIR against Chief Minister PK Dhumal as his rally had led to a traffic jam at Sangarah yesterday.

The Congressmen insisted that the rally had affected the smooth flow of the traffic and the Chief Minister should be booked for the same. General Observer RN Swami, however, said there was no violation which necessitated the need for an FIR. This prompted the Congress to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission of India.

District Congress president Harshwardhan Chauhan, however, said they had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commission on this issue.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal, while condemning this act, said the Congress was baffled by its “imminent defeat” as it would have to be accountable for its loss on December 4.

Meanwhile, ITBP sleuths today confiscated bottles of liquor from the roof of a private bus on the Dadahu-Sangarah road.

Poll observers at Renuka received a number of complaints on petty issues and the day remained abuzz with such activities.

With the campaigning for the twin byelections of Renuka and Nalagarh having come to an end last evening, both the BJP and the Congress are now pinning their hopes on tomorrow’s polling.

Shimla, November 29
Alleging blatant violation of the election code in Renuka by two BJP ministers, Mohinder Singh and Rajeev Bindal, the Congress has urged poll observer RN Swamy to ensure their exit from the constituency according to the instructions of the Election Commission of India.

General secretary of the party Kuldeep Rathore alleged that the two ministers had not left the constituency by 5 pm according to the instructions and Mohinder Singh, whose personal assistant was involved in the “note for vote” scam, was camping at a temple in Haripur Dhar today, while Bindal was seen in the Rohalla area. He said he had talked to Swamy on the telephone and urged him to conduct raids in these areas.

Rathore said the clean chit given to the government by the state Chief Electoral Officer in the “note for vote” scam on the basis of the Deputy Commissioner’s report on the poll eve was not surprising as the administration had been under pressure from the ruling party. In fact, the Congress had demanded shifting of the DC and the district police chief as they were working under the influence of the government.

The fact that no action was taken on a complaint lodged by the daughter of the late Congress MLA Prem Singh, whose death led to the Renuka byelection, for the past fortnight clearly indicated that the administration was biased. An inquiry into her complaint would have put Mohinder Singh, who had made frivolous charges regarding his death, in the dock.

Even in the liquor case, the chowkidar of the Renuka rest house, who was not present, was being made the scapegoat to protect Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sukh Ram from whose room and vehicle liquor was seized.

The manner in which the BJP had thrown money and used liquor during electioneering left no one in doubt that the Dhumal government was the most corrupt in the history of the state. He said the people of the two constituencies would not be swayed by the lure of liquor and currency notes and they would punish the BJP for insulting them by trying to purchase their votes.

Renuka, November 29
Even though Renuka has remained a Congress bastion with former MLA Prem Singh being elected six times, retaining this seat has become a difficult task for it.

Though Congress candidate Vinay Kumar is riding the sympathy wave, owing to the death of his father Prem Singh, and is hopeful of winning the seat, it appears this factor will have a limited impact. With a steep decline in the winning margin of the Congress in the past elections, a decline in the party’s popularity is visible. As against the winning margin of 11,238 in 1998, it got reduced to 6,334 in 2003 and further to 3,279 in 2007, which was merely 29 per cent of what the Congress had polled in 1998.

Even in the 2009 parliamentary poll, the BJP had secured a lead of 3,885 votes from Renuka, thus indicating a visible voter shift towards the BJP.

However, all was not well for the BJP also where undercutting on account of former MLA Roop Singh having joined the Congress following the denial of the ticket is sure to have its impact and though Balbir Chauhan, another contender, is actively campaigning for the BJP, it remains to be seen how useful he proves. The Congress, too, has its share of undercutting with Roop Singh aspiring to contest the Vidhan Sabha poll next year and his chances could evolve only if Vinay Kumar fails to win this seat now.

Though the presence of an Independent, Sunder Singh, is considered insignificant, he is capable of securing some votes from his home turf of Khara Kiar which was hitherto a Congress stronghold.

Since these byelections provide the shortest stint of one year to the winning candidate, regional issues like lack of development and absence of basic amenities have made voters rethink about their choice. Voters of 11 panchayats of Ronhat, which will merge in the Shillai constituency in the next poll following the delimitation, are likely to show some shift in their leaning.

Another crucial area of Sangarah, which was a Congress stronghold, is likely to be decisive as the unsavoury incident involving CPS Sukh Ram being caught with liquor is sure to adversely impact the BJP. The last-minute shift of prominent Congress leader Tulsi Ram towards the BJP will on the other hand prove beneficial for the BJP in the Nohradhar area.

Shimla, November 29
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today said seeing the writing on the wall, the Congress had resorted to petty and cheap politics, as the party vote bank was eroding in its traditional stronghold of the Renuka constituency.

Addressing a press conference here today, Dhumal, on his return after hectic campaigning in the two segments going to the byelections tomorrow, said the BJP had sought votes on the issue of development. “In sharp contrast to our issue of development, the Congress has been on the defensive from the start of the campaigning and is now resorting to “goondaism” and cheap publicity stunts,” he said.

He said rather than indulging in hectic campaigning, Congress leaders were more busy addressing press conferences. “The allegation of distribution of money to woo voters is baseless as the amount of Rs 85,500 was meant for expenditure to be made on the polling day by booth-level workers,” he claimed.

He also lashed out at the Congress for targeting Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sukh Ram Chaudhary, who, he said, was being threatened. “He is a man who does not even touch liquor or cigarettes and the Congress targeted him simply for the reason that he has been able to make a dent in its traditional stronghold,” he said.

“We are open to any kind of inquiry and also for deployment of central forces so that the elections are fair and smooth as we are seeking votes on development and not on cheap publicity,” he said. He said the law enforcing agency should check the vehicles of all, including ministers, and ensure law and order so that the elections were peaceful.

He lamented that the Congress was once again trying to divide the people of the Renuka Assembly segment by urging people of one belt not to lose out to the people of another area. “I want to warn the Congress that it is high time it gave up the politics of divide and rule as it had done in the past by talking of old and new Himachal and upper and lower and middle belt,” he said.

He also refuted Congress allegations that he had addressed a rally on the road in Sangarah, causing inconvenience to the people. “These are all mere excuses that the Congress is looking for as its leaders know that the ground has slipped below their feet,” he said.

Dharamsala, November 29
Delivering a message for the Buddhist conclave, the Dalai Lama yesterday said, “As a Tibetan Buddhist monk, even today I consider myself a student of the Nalanda tradition. The way Buddhism was taught and studied at Nalanda University, represented the zenith of its development in India. If we are to be 21st century Buddhists, it is important that we engage in the study and analysis of Buddha's teachings, as so many did then, instead of simply relying on faith.”

He further said even amongst the various Buddhist traditions that had come about in different times and places, there were those who looked to the collection of scriptures preserved in Pali as their source and those who looked to the Sanskrit tradition.

“I believe that time has now come to communicate freely with one another, those in the Pali

tradition engaging in dialogue with those in the Sanskrit tradition. After all, all our different branches come from the same common trunk and roots,” he said.

He said until the past 50 years or so, the world's diverse Buddhist communities had only a distant inkling of each other’s existence and little appreciation of how much they held in common. As the Buddha's teaching took root in different places, certain variations

in the style in which it was practised and upheld, evolved naturally.

He said, “We should no longer talk about Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Muslim ethics, because these values are universal. Buddhism does not explain the virtue of values such as honesty and integrity in a way that is different from how Christianity or Islam or any other religious tradition explains them.”

“We can think of Buddhism in terms of three main categories, philosophy, science and religion. The religious part involves principles and practices that are of concern to Buddhists alone, but the Buddhist philosophy of interdependence as well as the Buddhist science of mind and human emotions are of great benefit to everyone. As we know, modern science has developed a highly sophisticated understanding of the physical world, including the subtle workings of the body and the brain. Buddhist science on the other hand, has devoted itself to developing a detailed, first-person understanding of many aspects of the mind and emotions, areas still relatively new to modern science,” he said.

The Dalai Lama further said, “Of course, most people feel their own form of religious practice is the best. I myself feel that Buddhism is the best for me. But this does not mean that Buddhism is the best for everyone. What is important is what is suitable for a particular person or group of people.”

Shimla, November 29
The formal inauguration of the solid waste management project here has been deferred with the local panchayat serving a legal notice on the Municipal Corporation (MC) for its failure to fulfil the mandatory requirements.

The inauguration of the newly commissioned plant at Bharyal, which was to be done today, was postponed at the last minute with officials not citing any particular reason. Chief Minister PK Dhumal, who is back from campaigning in the Renuka and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies, was to formally inaugurate the plant, which is on a trial run for the past 10 days. The cost of the plant is estimated to be over Rs 16.50 crore.

“The plant is being run on a trial basis and the High Court is closely monitoring the situation as it is keen that the facility is put to full use,” said AN Sharma, Commissioner, MC. He, however, did not specify any reason for deferring the inauguration.

It is reliably learnt that some residents of the area met the Chief Minister and requested that the plant should not be made operational till all necessary clearances were obtained. The pradhan of the Totu (Majthai) panchayat, Balraj Singh, has served a legal notice on the MC for failing to fulfill the mandatory requirements of the Solid Waste Rules - 2000 and the Environment Impact Assessment Notification - 2006.

“In case the MC does not comply with the conditions laid down by the Green Tribunal, we will knock at the doors of the Supreme Court and we are already in touch with our lawyers in Delhi,” said Balraj. He said the MC had conveniently ignored the order of the Green Tribunal for which it would be charged with contempt.

Balraj Singh said the National Green Tribunal, in its order passed on October 11, 2011, had observed that the plant was being commissioned without obtaining prior clearnces from statutory bodies like the Airports Authority of India, the gram panchayat concerned and the Town and Country Planning Department.

The setting up of a new waste management plant has been embroiled in controversy for one reason or the other. The solid waste management plant was earlier located at Darni Ka Bagicha on the bypass but the high court had directed that it should be shifted to the outskirts of the town, away from the thickly inhabited area.

Even though 2.5 hectares of land had been diverted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to the MC for shifting its plant in 2005, work could not be started as the locals had been protesting against the coming up of the plant at the new site. Following the high court directives, the Forest Corporation had even cleared the plot by felling 250 trees for which permission had been granted way back in 2005.

Shimla, November 29
The local Municipal Corporation (MC) yesterday made it clear that it will vacate the historic Town Hall building, housing its office, for restoration purpose only if a written undertaking is given that the same would be handed back to them.

The issue was raised during the meeting of the House yesterday where councillors adopted a resolution that they would vacate the MC office only after a written agreement was made that the building would be handed back to them after completion of the restoration work. The government was planning to conserve and restore the Town Hall building with the help of funds received from the Asian Development Bank. Till the time it undergoes restoration, the MC and its officers could be provided space in the United Services Club building, which had already been vacated by the PWD.

Councillors also objected to the plying of buses received for the Urban Transport System under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in the periphery of the town.

The issue came up for discussion as some more buses are to be used in the town under the same grant. A total of 75 buses have already been given and the councillors objected that these too were being used in areas like Arki and Kunihar as they were meant only for the MC areas.

They demanded that routes of these buses must be decided in consultation with councillors so that the people could get benefit.

Shimla, November 29
Chief Minister PK Dhumal today laid the foundation stones for the construction of two multi-storeyed parking lots, creating an additional facility for 1,088 vehicles at a cost of Rs 65 crore.

Addressing a public meeting at Sanjauli here today, Dhumal said it was during the earlier BJP regime that the parking facility for 2,000 vehicles was created in the capital town which stood at only 129 vehicles at that stage.

“The two parking lots are being developed by private parties while the municipal corporation (MC) would get income in the form of concession fee,” he said.

Dhumal said the parking lot near the Lift would be a six-storeyed structure with a commercial area of about 40,000 sq ft and space for parking 700 vehicles. The facility would be created at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

The parking complex in Sanjauli, with an area of 34,400 sq ft, would facilitate parking of 388 vehicles at a cost of Rs 25 crore.

He said the state government had proposed to construct parking complexes in almost all the wards of the Shimla MC, out of which three parking projects had been finalised for Chhota Shimla, Sanjauli and Lift.

Dhumal added that parking had emerged as a priority with a large number of tourists visiting Shimla and also to meet the needs of the locals.

Shimla, November 29
Opening up of the retail sector for foreign direct investment (FDI) will give a tremendous boost to the economy of fruit and vegetable growers in Himachal Pradesh, especially because its temperate climate is ideal for off-season cultivation, says Prakash Thakur, Chairman, People for Environment Horticulture and Livelihood, a non-governmental organisation involved in horticulture-related activities.

Asserting that it was a win-win situation for growers, he said the FDI was expected to roll out cool chains that brought the market closer home, reduced the number of middlemen and enhanced returns for the producer. At present the growers had to deal with a multitude of middlemen involved in the fruit and vegetable trades, who cut into their margin and also created various other problems.

Fresh fruits like cherry, apricot, peach and plum that have wide market acceptance, but are unable to tap it because of lack of “cool chain transport infrastructure”, should see a boost with the opening up of the retail sector for large investments through the FDI. An Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Agricultural Marketing Reforms, constituted by the Union Ministry of Agriculture, had recommended the creation of additional cold chain facilities with an investment of Rs 2,500 crore. It had also projected an investment of Rs 2,100 crore for upgrading the existing storage and post-harvest management facilities in the agriculture sector. Though the government has offered a subsidy of Rs 625 crore, it will be only with the support of the FDI that the private sector would be able to import technologies and funding for establishing these much-needed cool chains.

With the entry of private sector companies like M/s Adani Agro Fresh, Dev Bhoomi, the Container Corporation of India and Mother Dairy in fruit and vegetable business in the state, the change in market conditions is already perceptible as fruit growers have been striking farm gate prices and eliminating traders completely. Multi-brand retail with 51 per cent ownership will change the game completely and make the market more competitive, reduce wastage and reduce distress sales for growers.

Bilaspur, November 29
The Himachal Pradesh State Beopar Mandal has decided to join the Bharat Bandh on December 1 against the implementation of the Central Government decision of cent per cent FDI and 51 per cent FDI in single brand and multiple brands, respectively, and exhorted all traders and shopkeepers in the state to keep their shops and establishments closed on December 1. This decision was unanimously taken in the state executive meeting of the mandal held at Shimla recently, which was presided by state mandal president OP Saini and attended by nearly 60 representatives of traders from across the state.

The mandal president, vice-president Ramesh Chaujjar and organising secretary Kamaljit Singh said here that this new provision of the Centre would end the present system of trade, seriously affecting the livelihood of about 16 crore traders, shopkeepers and those connected with trade.

Kangra: Ved Prakash Sharma, district president of the mandal, said it was decided to join the all-India bandh call against the government decision regarding the FDI. He said all the shops and business establishments should remain closed during this bandh to show solidarity with the business community of the country.

He said the FDI would break the backbone of the small retailer and HP would also suffer due to this trauma in the days to come. Sharma alleged that the FDI in retail trade would affect lakhs of small traders as well as the poor and middle-class consumers.