Shimla, February 14
Major organisational changes in the dissension-ridden BJP are on the cards, notwithstanding the bold front put up by the two-member review team comprising JP Nadda and Shyam Jaju, who maintained that “all is well within the party”.

While the two central leaders made it clear that the next Assembly poll will be fought under the leadership of Chief Minister PK Dhumal, they also obliquely hinted that organisational changes, if necessary, will be made.

Sources in the party said state party chief Khimi Ram may finally be replaced by some young face. However, there will be no changes in the government for now.

The names of Satpal Satti from Una and Randhir Sharma from Bilaspur are being considered. Earlier, Rural Development Minister Jai Ram had emerged as the front runner as Gadkari himself proposed his name after the rival leaders Dhumal and Shanta Kumar failed to evolve a consensus on the issue. Some leaders of the rival camp are also likely to be accommodated in the organisation. The moot question is whether such changes will satisfy the dissidents as Shanta Kumar had himself proposed the name Khushi Ram Balnatah, MLA from Rohru, for the top party post.

Nadda and Jaju asserted that they would not hold any talks with the leaders who had deserted the party and floated the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP).

Today, Dhairya Sushant, son of party MP from Kangra Rajan Suhant, joined the HLP at a public function organised to celebrate the birthday of its president Mahewshwar Singh. The development has given much for the party bosses to think over it as it could be a trend-setter.

The grievances of Shanta Kumar and his supporters apart, many well-meaning party leaders, though ostensibly in the Dhumal camp, told the review team to take immediate corrective measures to save the party. The team is likely to submit its report within a couple of days after which the high command is expected to take some action.

Manali, February 14
After a heavy snowfall in the entire upper Manali region for the second consecutive day, the sun appeared in the afternoon today, after which local people got some relief from the cold conditions. But again dark black clouds overcast the sky and the higher reaches experienced fresh snowfall.

The district administration has sounded an avalanche alert and advised local residents not to venture out in avalanche-prone areas.

SDM, Manali, Balbir Thakur said in the wake of heavy snowfall in the upper Manali region, the threat of an avalanche loomed in the avalanche-prone areas like Nehru Kund-Kulang village, Kothi village, Solang valley and Dhundi areas.

He further said according to an advisory by the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a high-danger avalanche warning had been issued in the areas at an altitude above 2,500 m in the upper Manali region.

SASE also advised local residents in the region to clear snow from rooftops of their houses to avoid any eventuality due to roof collapse during the heavy snowfall, he added.

Meanwhile, the Manali-Kullu national highway was opened for vehicular traffic today. But all the local and long-route buses had to stop near Aloo ground, about 5 km from here, said an HRTC official.

All the buses remained suspended on the Manali-Naggar (left bank) road and the Manali- Kothi and Solang roads.

Life remained hit in the upper Kullu valley due to the heavy snowfall.

Chamba, February 14
Normal life has been badly affected and commercial activities have come to a standstill in Chamba district due to inclement weather. The entire region has been lashed by widespread rain accompanied by thunderstorm on the third day today, according to reports pouring into the district headquarters town of Chamba.

Heavy snowfall has also been continuing for the past consecutive three days on the highlands of this district, thereby putting the region in the grip of chilly winds and crippling normal life of inhabitants in the region.

The reports revealed that link of several outlying parts of the region with main highways had been cut off due to landslides and heavy snowfall on the roads following incessant downpour.

Normal activities had been hampered in the tribal areas of Hailing, Dharni, Garouda, Baroh, Bajol, Bhadras, Mandha and Samta falling in the tribal Bharmour subdivision of the district where snowfall had been recorded at more than 100 cm.

About a dozen public transport buses had been stranded in different isolated terrains of the district as a result of landslides and snowfall on the roads, the reports said, adding that it would take a few days to bring normal life to its smooth functioning.

However, officials had swung into action to undertake the restoration of roads, water and power supply which had been interrupted in the tough terrains of the district, the reports added.

Meanwhile, more reports about snowfall on the hills had been reaching the district headquarters town till the filing of the story.

Shamshi (Kullu), February 14
The Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) got a shot in the arm during the 65th birthday celebrations of its founder president Maheshwar Singh when Dhairya Sushant, son of BJP MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant, today joined the party as the chief of the Yuva Sena, its newly formed youth wing, amid the beating of drums.

Maheshwar Singh, who deserted the BJP after serving it for 35 years, said a wave of change was sweeping Himachal and the HLP was fast emerging as a third political alternative in the state.

The BJP had become the party of “a father-son duo” and veteran BJP men like him had been sidelined, he alleged, while addressing his supporters, who had come in good numbers here in his support despite bad weather.

He said the people’s response to the HLP was positive as they wanted to oust the “corrupt BJP regime” from power and were disillusioned with the Congress.

“The BJP has lost its morality and the tag of a party with a difference. The Renuka byelection is an example in which the party dumped 300 liquor bottles in the sacred Renuka lake and defiled its holy waters,” he alleged.

Attacking the BJP, Maheshwar Singh said Shanta Kumar would join the HLP’s fight against corruption one day.

Dhairya Sushant’s entry into the HLP is being considered significant as Rajan Sushant has been launching his anti-BJP tirade in public forums in the state.

“More leaders, including Shanta Kumar, will join the HLP,” Maheshwar claimed.

Defending Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala, a pro-Shanta Kumar supporter, Maheshwar Singh claimed that Dhawala had been demanding action in the Rs 150-crore pulses scam, but the “guilty enjoyed protection from the top”.

Radha Raman Shashtri, former Education Minister, predicted a “political change” in the state. HLP spokesperson Mohinder Sofat attacked the Health Minister alleging that he had amassed huge property in the state.

HLP co-convener Shayama Sharma from Nahan, KD Dharmani, former MLA from Bilaspur, Naveen Dhiman and Balbir Chaudhary from Kangra, Pratap Tomar, whose father had defeated the late YS Parmar once in an election, Ninju Ram, former MLA from Rampur, Parkash Thakur from Hamirpur, Jagat Singh Negi from Kinnaur, Mohan Thakur from Kullu, Paro Devi from Sarkaghat and Anil Kapur, Manvinder Kapur and Yashodanand from Mandi were among those who participated in the birthday celebrations.

Shimla, February 14
The BJP will soon hold review meetings in all 68 Assembly constituencies to get a feedback from grassroots workers and galvanise the party machinery for the next Assembly poll.

This was stated by JP Nadda and Shyam Jaju, central BJP leaders, while interacting with mediapersons before retuning to Delhi after their three-day review visit to the state during which they met about 400 leaders and workers, individually and in groups.

They said the review meetings to get a feedback directly from party men was a worthwhile exercise and by and large they were happy with the functioning of the government and the party.

Similar meetings would be carried out at the constituency level for which 35 leaders would be deputed. Thereafter the district party unit would organise workers’ conference to prepare them for the elections.

The two leaders downplayed the growing dissension in the party and the revolt which saw the exodus of some senior leaders and categorically stated the party would have no truck with the breakaway Himachal Lokhit Party. They were also at pains to convince mediapersons that Shanta Kumar had not dumped the state BJP.

Asked about the issue of corruption raised by the dissidents, the two leaders asserted that there was no evidence to support the charges levelled by them and there was nothing of substance to take cognisance of. Jaju even advised the dissidents to obtain information under the RTI Act and approach the Lokayukta to get the charges probed, making it obvious that the party would not take any action in the matter.

Nadda maintained that some leaders had left the party in undue haste even as the high command was in the process of sorting out the issues raised by them. He had been in touch with them and had advised them to wait till the Assembly poll in Punjab and Uttarakhand were over, but they went ahead with their pre-meditated plans and formed a new political party. They left the party for extraneous reasons and not because of lack of response from the high command.

Dharamsala, February 14
After the blast outside the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, the Dharamsala police has issued an advisory to Israeli tourists visiting the area. The police has advised them against venturing into crowded places.

They have also been advised to keep vigil in their surrounding areas and inform the police in case of any kind of suspicion.

Kangra SP Diljeet Thakur said the police officials concerned had been directed to increase patrolling in the McLeodganj and Dharamkot areas which received the maximum Israeli tourists. Hoteliers had also been directed to inform the police regarding the arrival of Israeli tourists so that vigil in those areas could be augmented, he said.

Dharamsala and the surrounding areas receive a large number of Israeli tourists during the summers. The maximum Israeli tourists visit the place from March-end to September.

Dharamkot, a small village located 2 km from McLeodganj, is so popular among Israeli tourists that it has come to be known as “little Israel” among the locals. Wall writing in the Hebrew language and Chabad House in the village illustrate the popularity of the village among the Israeli tourists. Some Jew priests (Kohens) are now permanent residents of McLeodganj.

Many Israeli tourists even solemnise their marriage in the Chabad house located in Dharamkot. There are eating joints that serve exclusive Israeli food in the village.

Cheap guest houses that offer rooms at amounts ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 300 per day even during the peak season and serene and isolated locations of Dharamkot attracts Israeli tourists to the area. Besides, Israeli tourists are fond of trekking in the hills and Dharamsala offers many challenging treks to them.

According to police sources, the Israeli tourists account for 15 to 20 per cent of the total foreign tourists visiting Himachal.

However, enquiries from hoteliers and locals in McLeodganj and Dharamkot revealed that the number of Israeli tourists coming to these areas has decreased in the past two years.

Solan, February 14
The much-awaited exercise for the rationalisation of boundaries of the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary has been finally approved with a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Wildlife Warden RK Sood today approving the recommendations made by the Deputy Commissioner.

As per the approval, of 108.53 sq km of the notified sanctuary area in Chail, 92.53 sq km will be excluded and the sanctuary area reduced to 16 sq km.

The area housing the cheer pheasant breeding project near the Chail Palace hotel has been excluded so as to ensure that the project is not disturbed.

The exercise is being carried out as per the directions of the Supreme Court that has told the state to issue a notification regarding the inclusion of new areas before coming up with a proposal of exclusion of inhabited areas from protected areas. This is for 24 wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the state.

Areas will be excluded from 13 sanctuaries and included in 11, but the overall protected area will go up from the existing 7,160 sq km to 8,409 sq km.

Sood said in case of the Chail wildlife sanctuary, the market area had been excluded from the sanctuary along with villages lying within the precincts of the town.

He said efforts had been made to ensure that the wildlife was left undisturbed in the sanctuary area comprising a contiguous stretch.

He said cases of two national parks and 16 wildlife sanctuaries were approved in today’s meeting, while the remaining would be looked into on February 16.

Besides, in the Renukaji wildlife sanctuary where 4 sq km area was notified, a stretch of 0.63 sq km was to be excluded and an area of 0.5 sq km included, thus reducing the area after rationalisation to 3.87 sq km.

Sood added that an issue relating to adequate compensation to land owners in the Renukaji wildlife sanctuary had been referred to the Deputy Commissioner for appropriate award.

In the Simbalbara national park, an area of 8.88 sq km is to be included, thus increasing the total area to 27.88 sq km from the earlier 19 sq km. In the Darlaghat wildlife sanctuary, an area of 5.33 sq km will be excluded, thus reducing the total area to 0.67 sq km from the earlier 6 sq km.

Bilaspur, February 14
Congress state general secretary and former Law Minister Ram Lal Thakur has taken a strong exception to the restoration of this popular shrine of Dholera temple to its pujaris once again and said this step was against the interests of people of the state and smacks of favouritism due to reasons best known to the government.

Talking to mediapersons here last evening, Thakur said this temple was taken under a trust on the long-pending demand of people of the district by the former Congress government after due consideration of all its aspects. The trust was doing a commendable job as it was providing a number of facilities to lakhs of devotees visiting the temple.

But last year the BJP government, after about three years of its successful functioning under the temple trust, suddenly bowed to the pressure of certain handful of individuals and betrayed a wide majority of people by restoring this popular Dholera temple to its pujaris once again and thus choosing to benefit a few individuals by ignoring interests of the vast majority of people here.

He said this step had raised a sort of storm of protests and then the government declared that this temple had been taken away from the trust only for one year and would be restored back to the trust next year.

Thakur added that the Congress would once again restore the temple to the society.

Solan, February 14
The Kalgidhar Trust will organise a one-day blood donation camp at Akal Charitable Hospital, Baru Sahib, on Thursday in association with the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla.

A press note issued here today, said SK Bhardwaj, SDM, Rajgarh, would inaugurate the camp where an effort would be made to collect more than 500 units of blood for the IGMC, Shimla, where several surgeries had been held up due to lack of blood.

The Akal Charitable Hospital, an initiative of the Kalgidhar Society, is already providing free healthcare facilities to underprivileged rural people of Sirmaur district. It is able to arrange for basic and speciality healthcare, surgeries and trauma intervention relief for rural poor through its charitable hospital and through various free medical camps.

Akal Charitable Hospital also organises free medical camps, including plastic surgery camps, four times a year, where specialists from the USA and several states of India volunteer their services. About 2,000 patients attend these camps where more than 100 operations are carried out.

Shimla, February 14
A special meeting of the Executive Council of Himachal Pradesh University was held here today under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai. The meeting discussed the issue of increasing the fee structure as recommended by the Resource Mobilisation Committee (RMC) and decided to apprise Chief Minister PK Dhumal about the financial position of the university.

It decided to request the state government for enhancement of the annual budget allocation for the university to Rs 75 crore.

It was also decided in the meeting that Prof Dhani Ram Sharma would head the implementation committee to decide the service changes and tuition fee. The council also decided to give an opportunity to the Principal Secretary, Finance and Education, along with the Director, Higher Education, to share their views on the proposed fee structure in the next meeting as they were occupied in the annual plan discussions in the Secretariat today.

The council decided to give two additional chances to those Shastri degree pass candidates who required 50 per cent marks as eligibility to appear in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET). The last date to fill the forms will be March 15 and they will be given two chances in April 2012 and September 2012.

These chances will be available only to those candidates who have completed Shastri degree in May 2001 and after that.

The council also approved the Annual Accounts Report for 2007-08 and the Annual Report of the university for 2010-2011.

Kangra, February 14
The Kangra police today recovered the body of a 28-year-old mother of a two-year-old kid from the Banner khad. It arrested her husband for abetment to suicide and torturing her physically and mentally.

SDPO, Kangra, Dinesh Kumar said the police was today informed by the pradhan of Thanpuri village that a woman’s body was lying under a bridge on the Banner khad. He said the police rushed to the spot and recovered the body and sent it for autopsy.

The SDPO said the victim was identified as Saroj Devi, who originally belonged to village Rajot Baijnath village and was married to Sagar, alias Gyian, in Kohala village six years

back. The DSP said, according to the statement of the victim’s father Dela Ram, she was being tortured physically and mentally by her husband.

The DSP said last night the couple had some altercation and Saroj Devi left her home.

Meanwhile, the police arrested Sagar, alias Gyain, the victim’s husband, under Section 498-A and 306, IPC. Kangra district police chief DS.Thakur also visited the spot where the body was recovered.

Bilaspur, February 14
The district police here has started a special campaign to trace missing persons from this district and succeeded to a great extent in recovering and restoring these persons, including children and women, to their families.

SP Santosh Patial said here today that last year 100 persons, including 21 men, 58 women and 21 children, were reported missing and the police till now had succeeded in restoring to their families 84 of them. They included 14 men, 51 women and 19 children. He said the remaining 16 persons, including seven men, seven women and two children, were being searched. — OC