Mandi, March 24
Congressmen in the district today urged new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sukhvinder Singh to act against “black sheep” in the party, who had tried to mar their winning prospects in the November 2012 Assembly poll.

Congress leaders gathered along with their supporters from all the 10 constituencies of the district here today to discuss the outcome of the last Assembly poll.

However, the interactive session turned out to be a stormy affair.

Mandi Sadar MLA and Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma said many party men worked against him to dent his wining prospects.

The party should take action in all such cases, even where the party had won, he said.

When former Seraj MLA Shiv Lal talked about the “black sheep” in the Seraj Congress, supporters of Chet Ram Thakur, a Virbhadra Singh loyalist, snubbed him and termed him the “biggest black sheep of Seraj”.

Dharampur leader Chander Shakher said the list of certain black sheep submitted to the party should be considered for action.

Former minister Rangila Ram Rao, who lost for the second time in a row from Sarkaghat, also highlighted the role of black sheep in the party.

Excise and Taxation Minister Parkash Chaudhary said the party would work as a team to take on the BJP in the coming elections.

After receiving volleys from party men, Sukhvinder later assured them that the party would not tolerate indiscipline and would take action against those who had harmed the party.

Sukhvinder Singh cited his personal example of how he lost to a BJP candidate at a time when the Congress was on its way of forming the government.

Sukhvinder Singh said the party would not tolerate dissidents trying to weaken the party.

Mandi, March 24
Pradesh Congress Committee (PPC) president Sukhvinder Singh today accused former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and his son Hamirpur BJP MP Anurag Thakur of “degrading politics in the state and turning it into a tool of trade for promoting family fortunes”.

Sukhvinder got a rousing reception here from Congress workers, including former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram, Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, Animal Husbandry and Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma and Excise and Taxation Minister Parkash Chaudhary, Sohan Lal Thakur, Mansa Ram, Rangila Ram Rao, Chander Shekhar, Prof Vir Singh Chauhan and others.

He was on his first visit to the Mandi region after the party high command appointed him the PCC chief after Virbhadra Singh became the Chief Minister.

Addressing party workers and leaders at a concluding interactive session of the party here, Sukhvinder attacked the Dhumal regime. “Dhumal and his family have degraded politics and public life by turning politics into a tool of trade to further family interests,” he said.

He alleged that the BJP had degraded public life and politics in the state and dishonesty had crept in.

He said the party was working as a team under the guidance of senior leaders Virbhadra Singh, Sukh Ram, Kaul Singh Thakur and Vidya Stokes. “We will accomplish the mission of winning all the four Lok Sabha seats strengthening the Congress under the leadership of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi.”

Sukhvinder said the party would not only ascertain the reasons behind the defeat of each Congress candidate, but would take disciplinary action against those who indulged in anti-party activities during the last elections.

Palampur, March 24
Regular flights between New Delhi and Dharamsala will operate from the first week of April 2013. Spice Jet airline will operate on this circuit with two flights daily.

Urban Development Minister Sudheer Sharma said here today that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had already given clearance after a trail landing of the 72-seater aircraft.

He said certain formalities were yet to be completed and the state government was in touch with the DGCA.

Sudheer said there would be a direct flight between Delhi and Dharamsala in the morning, while the second flight would also pick up passengers from Chandigarh. He said the time table for the flights would be announced by Spice Jet soon.

He said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had taken a keen interest in the restoration of air services to the state.

Meanwhile, the Kangra Valley Hoteliers’ Association thanked the Urban Development Minister for taking interest in the resumption of air services to the valley. The restoration of air services will give a boost to the tourism industry in the region. 

Manali, March 24
At a time when the plains in the country have started becoming warm, Manali and its adjoining areas experienced a fresh spell of snowfall today. The snowfall in Manali town was mild.

The entire upper areas of the Manali region was covered with a white blanket today . Tourists, who have come to Kullu-Manali on a week-end holiday, were in for a surprise to see upper areas of the Manali region donning a white mantle. Snow-covered deodar trees, apple trees and both sides of the hills presented a picturesque view to the tourists.

Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists rushed to the Solang valley and Kothi to view the fresh snowfall. Tourists were seen enjoying skiing, sledging, riding on yaks, making snowmen, throwing snow balls at one another and having photo sessions.

The higher reaches in the Kullu valley, including the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district, Marhi meadows, Gulaba, Kothi, Brighu ski slopes, Beas Kund, Dhundi, Hamta slopes, Chanderkhani Pass and Pir Panjal ranges also had snowfall.

The fresh snowfall in the Rohtang region has brought cheers to those associated with the tourism industry. They feel that it will boost tourism and usher in a long summer seasons in Kullu-Manali. 

Kangra, March 24
The super-specialty hospital building at the Dr Rajender Prasad Government Medical College (DRPGMC), Tanda, a Rs 150-crore project, the foundation stone for which was laid by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on November 24, 2010, will be dedicated to people in September this year.

Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said this while addressing a press conference at the DRPGMC guest house this evening. He was here as chief guest on the Connexus Students annual day programme. The Health Minister said the six super-specialty departments would include radio oncology, cardiology, cardio vascular thoraxic surgery, nephrology, gastroenterology and neuro-surgery departments.

He said the process of appointments of super-specialists too had started. Some doctors working at the DRPGMC, Tanda, had already got super-specialisation in some specialities and would help the hospital to be functional by June next year, he said.

He said the DRPGMC recognised by WHO recently was expected to get a nod for the Nursing College of Excellence shortly by the GOI.

He directed Principal Anil Chauhan to get the ICU operational immediately.

He said Rs 1 crore was granted for the maintenance of the Tanda hospital by the present government.

The Health Minister said 300 doctors, 350 nurses and 840 male health workers would be appointed and efforts of the government were to provide specialist facilities at every first referral unit in the state.

He said a sarai for patients’ attendants would be constructed at Tanda.

Shimla, March 24
The Indian Medical Association organised an awareness rally in collaboration with the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) to mark the World TB Day here today.

The theme for the year was “Stop TB in My Life Time” to help meet the target of 90 per cent detection and successful treatment by 2015. A series of events were organised in which MBBS and nursing students participated.

Shimla, March 24
The BJP has ridiculed the statement of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh demanding pardon for Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, whose conviction and sentence in the Mumbai bomb blast case has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Spokesperson of the party Ganesh Dutt said here today that the Congress should not try to undo the justice delivered by the apex court and instead, ensure that it was carried out in letter and spirit. He said Sanjay Dutt had been involved in a serious case and granting pardon to him would send wrong message and would only encourage anti-social elements. He said the law of land applied uniformly to all the citizens. 

Solan, March 24
Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department detected large-scale irregularities and tax evasion in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt and imposed a fine of Rs 54.55 lakh on tax evaders on Friday.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer Rajiv Dogra said three buses, which had been evading passenger tax for the last four years, had been directed to pay Rs 29.17 lakh, which included outstanding tax along with penalty. A special team of officials today descended on the premises of a home appliance manufacturing unit on the Nalagarh-Bharatgarh road and on random checking of records of two buses found that they had not paid passenger tax after 2007 and 2008.

Three canteens, too, have been imposed penalties worth Rs 13 lakh for non-payment of VAT. A pharmaceutical unit has been raided where irregularities in payment of tax were detected. The unit has been fined Rs 12.38 lakh.

Nurpur, March 24
The local Nurpur Press Club and the Yuva Shakti Sena jointly organised “An Evening for Martyrs” on the occasion of the Martyrdom Day here last evening.

A candlelight march was first taken out from Chogan to Wazir Ram Singh Memorial in which hundreds of people from all walks of life took part. Holding lighted candles and banners, the marchers raised slogans to pay tributes to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Ex-Capt Baldev Singh Pathania, surviving freedom fighter of the area and an associate of Subash Chander Bose, lit the lamp to start the celebrations.

The organisers first honoured Kewal Singh Pathania, a former minister and successor of first freedom fighter of the country Wazir Singh Pathania, and then honoured 12 family members of the martyrs hailing from lower Kangra district. Apart from this, Vir Chakra winner ex-Lt Col RS Samyal and ex-Capt Baldev Singh Pathania were also honoured. 

Solan, March 24
Illegal mining appears to be an unending problem in the industrial belt of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN).

The gravity of this illegal activity can be gauged from the fact that mining officials have collected as much as Rs 19 lakh by compounding vehicles which were found indulging in this illicit trade from January 1 to March 15 this year in the district. The BBN area contributes about 90 per cent of this amount. Not only this, the officials also generated an additional revenue worth Rs 30 lakh by auctioning illegally stacked quarry material in BBN alone in March itself.

Though illegal quarrying has been going on for decades in the BBN area, the trade picked up momentum after mining was banned in neighbouring states about a year ago. With a plethora of housing and commercial complexes coming up in Zirakpur, Mohali and areas surrounding Panchkula, the demand for cut stones and quarry material has gone up sharply.

With transporters earning a quick buck through this trade, the fear of being challaned has failed to act as a deterrent. Even after being caught, truckers continue to indulge in this trade.

The situation in the bordering areas of Kala Amb and Paonta Sahib is even more grim where there are reports of truckers being provided armed escorts during late evenings to indulge in this illegal trade. The situation can aggravate into a major law and order problem if corrective steps are not taken, say locals.