Manali, December 15
Inclement weather in the upper Kullu valley for the last couple of days intensified this morning as the entire upper Manali region received a fresh spell of snow and lower parts were lashed by rain, lowering temperature substantially.

Hundreds of tourists who arrived from neighbouring states for the weekend made a beeline for Nehru Kund and Solang valley to see fresh snowfall. The influx of tourists, mostly newlyweds on honeymoon, enjoyed snowfall this morning.

There was a jovial environment in places between Bahang, Nehru Kund Palchan and Solang valley as hundreds of visitors enjoyed skiing, yak-riding, throwing snowballs and photo sessions.

Vehicular traffic on the Manali-Rohtang road was disrupted near Nehru Kund due to the snowfall. Hundreds of tourists going to the Solang valley had to stop at Nehru Kund in the morning. There was a long queue of vehicles on the road.

The cold wave tightened its grip in the upper Kullu valley. Most local residents of the upper Manali region remained indoors as icy winds lashed the area.

Higher reaches, including the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass, the Pir Panjal range, the Marhi meadows, Gulaba, Kothi, Dhundi, Bhrigu, the Hamta ski slopes and the Chanderkhani Pass, received snowfall.

Dharamsala, December 15
Kangra Cooperative Bank today launched core banking services. It has become the third cooperative bank in the country and first of North India to have the core banking and RTGS fund transfer facilities. The other two cooperative banks that have their own core banking include Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank and Mumbai Cooperative Bank.

Sandeep Kumar, MD of the bank, while talking to newspersons here today, said though the state cooperative bank was also having the RTGS facility for fund transfer, it was using the Indian Finance System Code (IFSC) of Yes Bank. However, Kangra Cooperative Bank had been allotted its own IFSC by the RBI.

He said many customers had shifted to other banks due to lack of RTGS facility in the cooperative bank. “However, as now the facility is available in Kangra Coop Bank, we will be able to win back our customers,” Sandeep Kumar said.

The MD further said the technical base for the core banking system in Kangra Cooperative Bank had been established with the help of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in a record time of one and half years.

Chairman of the bank RS Mankotia, who was also present on the occasion, said the ATM card holders of the bank would be able to withdraw cash from any ATM bank machine in the country in the next seven days.

The top management of the bank also signed an agreement with the LIC for selling its insurance products.

The MD of the bank when asked about the pension scheme that had gone defunct depriving many retirees of the pension benefit said presently the bank had about Rs 10.5 crore in its pension fund.

The bank was consulting experts on managing the pension funds to formulate a scheme that could be sustainable for serving employees as well as retirees. He said the interests of the retired employees of the bank were also being taken into consideration.

Kangra Coop Bank has about 13.5 lakh customers and is a leading cooperative bank of the state.

The MD also said the net banking would also be introduced in Kangra Cooperative Bank very soon.

Solan, December 15
A team of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau today raided the residence of Kapil Dhiman of the Drug Licensing Authority here and recovered property documents and partnership deeds pertaining to various investments by him.

A team led by DSP Ramesh Sharma raided his Chambaghat-based residence this morning, with simultaneous raids being conducted at his office and four other places — Chandigarh, Zirakpur, Kullu and Paonta Sahib.

The sleuths continued to search his Solan residence till the time of the filing of this report. Around Rs 1.5 lakh was also seized. Partnership deeds in various businesses were also seized.

Bureau ADGP KC Sadiyal said the raids were being conducted after an inquiry found evidence pointing to the official possessing property and investment disproportionate to his known sources of income. He added that a case was registered today under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

He has a 5-acre farmhouse at Kot in the Ramgarh area of Haryana, a farmhouse at Aut in Mandi, two apartments in Solan — one each in Dev Bhumi and Sugandha Apartments, a flat at Baltana in Zirakpur and rented property at Deoghat in Solan.

Papers pertaining to the property were seized. Electronics items, including several high-end mobile phones, and jewellery worth lakhs were also seized.

Shimla, December 15
The state has been adjudged ‘Most Attractive Investment Destination State’. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the award to Chief Minister PK Dhumal at a function organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in New Delhi today.

The award winner was decided on the basis of data collected by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Industrial investment in the state increased by 116 per cent in 2011-12, which was the highest as per the data.

Dhumal said the economy of the state grew at an average rate of 8.3 per cent in the last four years, taking the GDP up from Rs 33,963 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 63,084 crore in 2011-12.

He said investment of Rs 19,099 crore had been approved by 5,775 industrial enterprises since 2008, which had the potential to provide employment to 2,17,000 persons.

He added that during this period, a total of 4,450 industrial enterprises with a total investment of Rs 10,555 crore and employment to 59,665 persons were established.

He said the Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority had held 37 meetings in the last four years and approved and monitored 247 new investments and 157 expansions with an investment of Rs 23,777 crore.

He said the state government had provided incentives to promote the setting up of new industries in the post-incentive package regime.

Shimla, December 15
A two-day national workshop on DNA profiling for human identification concluded at the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL), Junga, near here today.

The event marked the entry of the institution into its silver jubilee year. The workshop was organised by the SFSL.

Addressing participants, Arun Sharma, Director, SFSL, said the laboratory had taken the lead in the field of DNA profiling by independently introducing DNA forensics way back in 2008 without any technical assistance from other institutions.

Inputs were provided by Dr DS Negi from the Institute of Life Science, Bhubaneshwar, on DNA technology in human identification.

Dr Vivek Sahajpal, Assistant Director (DNA) and Dr BR Sharma, founder director of the SFSL, spoke on the occasion.

Shimla, December 15
“Literary festivals not only provide an ideal platform for launching books and promoting authors, but also help revive interest in reading and creative writing among the younger generation,” said advertisement executive-turned-creative writer Prajwal Parajuly today.

“Organising launch functions in key cities to promote books has become the order of the day, but it is better if those takes place during a literary festival,” he said during an interaction with The Tribune.

He is here for the launch of his book “Gurkha’s Daughter”. The book will be launched tomorrow during the two-day Shimla Literary Festival, being organised by the Guru Kalp, a local non-government organisation. The fest began today.