Shimla, October 15
The Forest Department has imposed a ban on the plying of vehicles as golf carts will be pressed into service so that no disturbance is caused to the rare wildlife found here.

The ban on the vehicles in the 10 sq km area has come into force from today. The department has already initiated a process of acquiring a golf cart which will be pressed into service to ferry a limited number of tourists in the thick deodar forests in the vicinity of the capital.

“Keeping in mind the importance of the catchment area and keep it completely free of sound or air pollution, we have decided to only allow battery operated or solar-energised golf carts in the area,” said Tarun Sridhar, Principal Secretary, Forest and Revenue.

In fact, Chief Conservator Forest (Wildlife) Lalit Mohan has asked the DFO to stop the entry of all vehicles from today. “We have initiated the process for getting a battery operated golf cart so that there is minimum possible disturbance to red jungle fowl, cheer pheasants, leopards, musk deer, barking deer, goral and sambar found in the catchment area,” said Mohan.

The wildlife wing of the department was allowing restricted number of vehicles inside the sanctuary after charging a fee of Rs 250 per vehicle. The vehicles and visitors were allowed inside up to the Forest Rest House only during the day time as night stay is not allowed here.

The Shimla Water Catchment was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary under a notification issued by the state government under Section 26 A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, on October 23,1999, and later re-notified on June 7, 2013. This is probably one of the few sanctuaries in Himachal which is free from habitation and has been preserved since the last century as the catchment area providing water to Shimla.

Nine perennial streams flow from this area, the main ones being Churat Nulla and God Ki Nulla.

Green Steps Battery-operated or solar-energised golf cart to be allowed Only restricted number of vehicles allowed in the sanctuary after charging a fee of Rs 250 per vehicle They can't go beyond Forest Rest House Night stay banned in the sanctuary

Shimla, October 15
The government today appointed Additional Chief Secretary P Mitra, senior-most IAS officer in the state, as the officiating Chief Secretary.

The need for appointing Mitra, a 1978-batch IAS officer, as the officiating Chief Secretary arose following the ill health of Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy, also from the same 1978 batch. Mitra is currently handling the Home and Vigilance Department.

Roy had suffered a major brain haemorrhage here on October 12 and was rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, the same day. He underwent a surgery and is admitted to the intensive care unit of the Neurosurgery Department. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had visited the PGI yesterday to enquire about Roy's health.

With Roy’s condition continuing to be critical, it was being expected that the government would appoint an officiating Chief Secretary to facilitate government functioning.

Shimla, October 15
Chairman of the state 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee Ram Lal Thakur today demanded that the lands given on lease to the HPCA at various places must be taken back as these had been given by the government to a society and not a company.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said Dhumal and his sons instead of replying to the queries raised by Congress leaders were blaming Virbhadra Singh for unleashing political vendetta against them.

"If you have done no wrong, then cooperate in the inquiry and you will come out clean," he said.

Ram Lal said Dhumal had got several inquiries conducted against Virbhadra and he had got a clean chit not just from the CBI but also from the court. "The same allegations cannot be re-investigated by the same agencies again," he said.

He said the land given to the HPCA at Dharamsala, both for stadium and hotel, 4.31 hectare at Nadaun in Hamirpur, 1.61 hectare at Gumma in Kotkhai and 9,265 sq mts at Lalpani in Shimla must be taken back.

He also questioned the legality of both company and society co-existing with the same office-bearers and presenting their balance sheet and accounts at the same time.

"The HPCA must come out clean on the fact whether players from outside the state played for Himachal or not and some of them even got jobs which should have gone to Himachali cricketers," he said.

Ram Lal also raised questions over the fact that the registry for the land given to the HPCA for the construction of accommodation for players was made on June 23, 2012, while the money for it was deposited in December 2012.

It was on this land that Pavilion Hotel was raised by the HPCA.

Dharamsala, October 15
As the alleged hawala case, in which the name of Karmapa was involved, is again hogging the limelight, Anurag Thakur, BJP MP, has demanded a CBI inquiry into the case.

Talking to newsmen at Una today, Anurag said, "The case was investigated earlier by the Enforcement Directorate. However, since the Congress is trying to defame me, I request the government to order a CBI inquiry."

Congress leaders are alleging that a fabricated case was registered against Dharamsala businessmen to grab the 51-kanal involved in the case. The allegation has been levelled by senior Congress leader and Chairman of the 20-point programme Ram Lal Thakur.

An amount of Rs 1 crore was recovered from the vehicle of a Dharamsala man at the Mehatpur barrier in Una district on January 26, 2011. The Una police, after registering the case, linked it to the Karma Garchen Trust of Karmapa based at Dharamsala.

It was alleged that the money involved pertained to a land deal between private owners, including the businessmen, and the trust of Karmapa. The police raided the Tibetan monastery where Karmapa was staying and recovered about Rs 6 crore in 25 foreign currencies.

The case was investigated by various central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate. After inquiries, the police removed the name of Karmapa from the list of the accused. The case against other accused, including the businessmen and officials of the Karma Garchen Trust, is still going on.

Now the case has again hogged the limelight. The Tribune collected a data regarding the land.

As per the data collected from sources, the 51-kanal land is owned by three persons from Dharamsala in the ratio of 28.5 kanals, 18.5 kanals and 4.5 kanals. They initially planned to develop a housing colony over the land. The plan was got approved from the Revenue and Town and Country Planning departments.

Later, they entered into an agreement to sell the land collectively to the trust. The trust paid Rs 25 lakh as advance for land to them. The total cost of the land was decided at Rs 2.5 crore. As per the agreement, the trust applied to the Himachal Government for permission under Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Land Tenancy Act.

It was agreed by the two parties that the sale deed would be carried out if the government gave permission. Otherwise, the landowners were to return the money to the trust.

But before the government permission, Rs 1 crore was confiscated from one of the owners of the land and the deal could not materialise.

Dharamsala, October 15
The district police has warned the Tibetans against providing accommodation to foreign tourists in their houses in the Bir area. A police warning has been issued on a complaint of Bir area hoteliers who are alleging loss of their business due to the practice of Tibetans allowing foreigners to stay in their houses. The hoteliers are expecting good business during the organisation of the pre-World Cup Paragliding Championships being held in the area from October 26-29.

Balbir Thakur, SP, Kangra, said they had been receiving complaints that Tibetans were allowing foreign tourists to stay in their houses in their settlements in the district. "This is an illegal activity and violates the provisions under which Tibetans have been registered as refugees in India. We have also asked Dolma Gary, Minister of Home in the Tibetan government in exile, to issue an instruction in this regard to all the Tibetans staying in the area. In case any Tibetan was found to be violating the orders their registration will be cancelled," the SP said.

A large number of foreigners coming to Dharamsala and other parts of Kangra district prefer to stay in Tibetans' houses. The practice is more prevalent in McLeodganj.

However, many Tibetans are also running hotels and other commercial establishments after registering themselves with the relevant government departments. Sources here said the Tibetans had been allowed to register under the Companies Act and do business in India.

However, many establishments of Tibetans are illegal and even encroachments on forest land.

Gohar (Mandi), October 15
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur had misused the office and grabbed the government land leased out at Re 1 at Dharamsala.

Virbhadra declared war against corruption and BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ahead of the coming Lok Sabha poll, asserting that when Modi was in charge of Himachal, the Congress was elected to power in the state.

Addressing a public meeting at Gohar, he said the BJP unleashed political vendetta against him twice, but he emerged clean. "The wrongdoers in land deals will be brought to justice as the HPCA is an example how it was deceptively registered as a Himalaya society at Kanpur and then was later turned into the HPCA to grab the government land at Dharamsala," he alleged.

Accompanied by Mandi MP and his wife Pratibha Singh, IPH Minister Vidya Stokes and Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, Virbhadra also inaugurated a police station building at Gohar , a PWD office, science lab and laid the foundation stone of the two IPH schemes in Seraj and Nachan.

Virbhadra said card holders would get subsidised ration next month. Each depot would be monitored every time the complaint was received and the subsidies and pension would be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries and card holders, he added.

He said the economic slowdown had affected Europe and the USA, still India was stronger under the welfare policies of the UPA under Sonia Gandhi.

The Chief Minister said the BJP government derailed the finances and transport in the state, which were being put back on rails. "The Mandi bus stand has no facilities and buses bought during the BJP regime were a rejected lot, now we have bought 1000 buses," he added.

He announced 50-bed hospital at Gohar and gave Rs 3 lakh for the Press Club at Gohar.

Kullu, October 15
The protracted feud between the two major devtas — Shringa Rishi of Kothi Chehni and Balu Naag of Kothi Shikari — is set for a mutual settlement as kardars of both devtas have mellowed down and left the matter to the assembly of devtas to decide.

Setting aside their petty ego, the kardars now root for an acceptable solution to the dispute.

Devotees of Shringa Rishi have moved the high court, seeking legal action against the Kullu Dasehra Committee (KDC) for denying them the right to participate in the Raghunath Yatra. The court has directed the district administration to settle the dispute and allow them to participate in the yatra.

DC-Kullu-cum-president of the KDC Rakesh Kanwar said the revised petition was pending in the high court and they had no option other than confining them to their camps invoking Section 144, CrPC.

On the other hand, the kardars have shown signs of compromise. "We have now left it to the assembly of devta to decide the matter. It will be binding on us all", said Virender Singh, kardar, Shringa Rishi, believed to be the avatar of the guru of Lord Raghunath. "We feel both devta committees soon sit down and find a solution after the Kullu Dasehra is over," he added.

Positive signals have come from devotees of Balu Naag, believed to be the avatar of Laxman, the younger brother of Raghunath.

"The dispute is not between the two devtas, but among the certain sections of devotees. We will sit together and settle the dispute", said Khyali Ram, kardar of Balu Naag.

As major Dashera deities remain confined to their camps in the Dhalpur Maidan every year under police security, the entire community of the Dev Sanskriti of the valley feels degradation of cultural values.

The devotees and kardars of other devtas also want an amicable solution to the dispute.

The chief representative of Lord Raghunath Maheshwar Singh, who is also Kullu MLA, said they hoped that the dispute would be resolved after the festival.

Solan, October 15
A split in the family of former BJP MLA HN Saini in Nalagarh is all set to divide the party cadre in the constituency. His wife continues to align with the BJP while his younger brother is all set to join the Congress tomorrow.

The Nalagarh constituency has been the stronghold of the BJP since 1998 and Saini had won the seat for three consecutive terms. But the Congress won it for one-year term following a byelection after his death in 2011. The seat was, however, won by the BJP in last year's Vidhan Sabha poll.

Gurnam Kaur, wife of Saini, asserted her resolve to stay in the BJP while Saini's brother Avtar Saini will join the Congress tomorrow with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh dedicating a Rs 84-lakh bridge constructed at Mandiarpur by the Saini family.

Gurnam Kaur said since her late husband had directed the family to stay with the BJP, she would respect his last wish and continue to work for the party.

Trouble had started brewing within the Saini family when Gurnam lost the byelection by 1,599 votes and Avtar Saini started nurturing the desire to contest the Vidhan Sabha poll. He was, however, denied ticket and after conciliation from senior BJP leaders, his family had decided to support BJP nominee KL Thakur.

The decision, however, did not please Avtar and after having failed to get respect within the party, he finally decided to join the Congress.

With the Saini family holding sway over a large chunk of voters, the split in the family will not augur well for the BJP whose sitting MLA does not see eye to eye with the Saini family. Though the BJP had procured the highest lead of 8,200 votes in the last poll, this margin is sure to suffer.

BJP state president Satpal Satti said they would ensure that Gurnam was given due respect in the party as the contribution of Saini for Nalagarh and the party could never be forgotten. He agreed that a split in the Nalagarh BJP would affect the poll outcome.

Hamirpur, October 15
An inquiry by taxi operators and the Excise and Taxation (ET) Department in the alleged embezzlement of tax funds by an office-bearer of a local taxi union has detected a large amount siphoned off from the money deposited for tax purposes.

Members of the Taxi Operators Union, after verification of their tax papers, have found that tax collected during the last three years has not been fully deposited with the ET Department.

Tax for nearly 175 taxis was being collected from taxi operators, but the full amount was not deposited in the ET Department concerned. The amount not deposited with the ET Department could be between Rs 18 to Rs 20 lakh.

A taxi operator said, “After verification of records, it has been found that Rs 20 lakh collected from operators was not deposited with the ET Department.”

“Efforts are being made to realise this money and Rs 2 lakh as pending tax has been deposited,” he added.

The accused office-bearer of the union had been depositing a small portion of the tax collected from operators and issuing forged receipts to them.

The ET Department officials, which had also started verification of records of all commercial vehicles after the report of the embezzlement surfaced, had checked records of nearly 75 taxi owners and detected that only partial payment of the tax had been made.

Officials said, “Since only a partial payment of tax dues was being made, the taxi operators will have to pay a penalty on the pending tax and we are sending notices to them to deposit the tax along with the penalty.”

Shimla, October 15
The work on the 42-km Ghumarwin-Sarkaghat road repair project, which has been hanging fire for over two years, will finally get under way with the World Bank (WB) granting approval for the award of work for a 24-km stretch after re-tendering.

The project was split into two parts due to a problem in the acquisition of land, and fresh tenders were invited only for the 24-km section of the road from Ghumarwin to Jahu. The work on the remaining 18-km stretch from Jahu to Sarkaghat will be taken up after sorting out the land issue.

The project will be awarded to Panchkula-based MG Construction.

The contract will be awarded after seeking the approval from the state Cabinet. The company will be given two years to complete the project which involves the construction of five bridges and upgradation of all culverts. The cost of the remaining portion has been estimated at Rs 63 crore, though the exact amount will be known after tenders are invited.

Originally, the entire 42-km stretch was assigned to Harish Balech and Co for Rs 95 crore in April 2011. However, the company failed to execute the work and the government was forced to rescind the contract in May last. The company completed 2.5 per cent of the work for which it was paid Rs 3 crore. Thus, the total cost the project has now increased to Rs 160 crore.

Engineers of the PWD maintain that the company backed out of the project as it had quoted a very low rate.

Meanwhile, the work on the Theog-Rohru road was set to resume by middle of the next month. The Cabinet has granted the approval for awarding the two packages of Rs 321 crore to C and C firm on the basis of fresh tenders after rescinding the contract awarded to Ling Jian Road and Bridge Construction Company, a Chinese company which failed to complete the project. The company will be required to complete the project within 30 months.

With this only the Sarkaghat-Jahu section has been left under the project covering 10 major roads. So far, Una-Badsar (45 km), Ranital-Kotla (39.17 km) and Bhawarna-Junga Devi (26.28 km) roads have been completed. Badsar-Jahu (46 km) and Jahu-Kalkhar (15.30 km) roads were in final stages and likely to be completed by December.

Three more roads will be completed by March next. However, Mehatpur-Amb, Theog-Rohru and Ghumarwin-Sarkaghat roads will be completed only by March 2016.

Solan, October 15
A 17-year-old minor girl, who is studying in Class X plus I, was raped by two youths at Barotiwala last evening while her parents were away for work.

Baddi SP S Arul Kumar said two youths Rajinder and Karan, came to the victim’s house at 8 pm last evening and allegedly raped her. They also intimidated the girl not to disclose about it to anyone.

The girl was initially silent, but then informed her parents who lodged a complaint with the police today.

The police registered a case and arrested the duo today. The youths hail from Kalka and are students of a local college there.

Solan, October 15
Two youths were killed and two others were injured, one of them seriously, when the Chevrolet Cruze (CH-01-AM-6467) car they were travelling in fell into a 25-ft gorge on National Highway No. 22 near Cosmo Industries around 7:30 pm last evening. The driver, however, fled the spot after the accident and was yet to be traced.

The police said all occupants of the car were in an inebriated state and the car was being driven at a high speed with two youths hanging out of the sunroof.

The driver could not negotiate a curve and the car fell into a gorge before hitting a sign board erected on the road by the Forest Department.

Two youths, Prateek and Shubhdeep, were killed on the spot, while the other two Amit and Harshdeep sustained serious injuries. They were rushed to the ESI Hospital at Parwanoo from where they were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. Their condition was stated to be normal by evening today. Harshdeep and Shubhdeep are bothers.

DSP, Parwanoo, Shushil Sharma said a case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A, IPC, and Section 187, Motor Vehicles Act, was registered against driver Raman.

Prateek is a resident of Sector 19, Panchkula, while Shubhdeep and Harshdeep were staying in a rented accommodation in Sector 25, Panchkula, but hailed from Bhud village of the Baba Balkala area of Amritsar district in Punjab. Amit too was staying in Panchkula.

They all were students of ITI, Panchkula, and did not seem to be the owners of the car.

Shimla, October 15
Gearing party workers at the grassroots, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) today held a meeting of observers deputed for the 68 Assembly constituency units to get feedback on their functioning.

The observers presented their reports during the meeting presided over by PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and also held discussions on various issues which came to their notice. The initiative to appoint observers was appreciated by all as it would help in ensuring the proper functioning of primary organisational units. They all were of the view that the focus should now be on galvanising booth-level committees for the impending 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing the meeting, Sukhu congratulated all the observers for successfully holding meetings in their respective blocks and creating awareness among party workers about the people-centric policies of the Congress-led UPA government and the state government.

He said the initiative would be taken further down to the panchayat level and ultimately to the booth level. He personally toured the state and interacted with workers at the block level under the Karyakarta Jagrukta Abhiyan (Workers'-Awareness Campaign). In the next phase pamphlets would be distributed to the people to highlight the government policies.

He said the party would ensure the presence of Congress and Youth Congress office-bearers, ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, MLAs, ex-MLAs, Mahila Congress, Sewa Dal, NSUI, INTUC and party's frontal organisations at the block-level meeting.

The meeting was attended by CPS Nand Lal, Vinay Kumar, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, HPCC general secretary Geeta Negi, spokesperson Naresh Chauhan, along with block-level observers.

Nurpur, October 15
Ravi Kumar (19), son of Balkar Singh of Manwal, who was driving motorcycle (HP38C 5478) died on the spot and his pillion rider Vikram (17), son of Prem Singh of Kattal, was injured seriously in a road accident near Gangath on the Jassur-Indora road last evening.

According to the police, the deceased lost his balance while negotiating a curve and the bike skidded. The injured was rushed to the Gangth Community Health Centre from where he was referred to the Nurpur Civil Hospital.

The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304 (A) of the IPC. The body of the accident victim was handed over to the family after a postmortem examination today.