Shimla, November 7
Severe cold grips the state following widespread snow in the tribal areas and other high reaches over the past 48 hours.

The snow cover extended further to the lower areas in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, affecting normal life. Keylong in Lahaul, Chitkul and Raksham in Kinnaur had 5 cm to 15 cm of snow, while higher reaches such as Kunzum Pass, Rohtang Pass, Baralacha Pass, Hatu Peak, Churdhar and the Dhauladhar ranges had 15 cm to 35 cm of snow.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh could not visit the tribal areas as bad weather made helicopter flight impossible. He made two attempts, one from the Kullu side and the other from Rampur, but had to return from half way.

The mercury plummeted across the state with Keylong recording 1.1°C and Kalpa 1.8°C. Manali shivered at 5°C and Shimla had a low of 7°C. The lower areas were having intermittent showers accompanied with biting cold winds. Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Dharamsala, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali received mild rain.

According to the local Met office, the current spell of snow and rain will continue for the next 24 hours and, thereafter, the weather will start clearing. 

Dharamsala, November 7
The HPCA today took over Pavilion hotel at Dharamsala. HPCA officials had taken over the international cricket stadium last evening from the district administration.

In a press note here today, the HPCA officials said all matches, scheduled to be held in Himachal, which were threatened by the takeover of the stadiums by the district administration, would be held.

The HPCA also announced that it had taken over the assets in Dharamsala, Hamirpur and Shimla as directed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The stadium in Dharamsala has started its routine activity after being handed over to the HPCA by the administration. The maintenance of the outfield had also been started, an HPCA spokesperson said.

The HPCA had also informed the BCCI about the restoration and now the calendar of matches to be held at various venues in Himachal would be issued.

"The restoration of activities has come as a big relief to cricketers, cricket lovers, administrators and all stakeholders of the HPCA. We are committed to the expansion of the activities and provide world-class facilities to players of the state. The academies as promised by Yuvraj and Harbhajan Singh will now be taken up expeditiously and all efforts will be done to make these operational by this year-end," the HCPA spokesperson said.

Shimla, November 7
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has summoned Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur for questioning over the affairs of the sports body on November 11 at its office in Dharamsala.

Anurag could not appear before Vigilance officials on October 31. The BJP MP chose to appear before the Vigilance Bureau on October 24, which also happened to be his birthday. With Vigilance officials not being available, Anurag could not be questioned.

The Vigilance Bureau had earlier sent a questionnaire to him regarding certain queries on the HPCA and its affairs to which he had already replied. However, with the investigating agency looking into the alleged revenue and forest violations, some more facts have come to light. HPCA officials said Anurag is likely to appear before the Vigilance Bureau on November 11.

"We have asked Anurag to appear before the Vigilance Bureau on November 11 so that we can ask him questions on the new facts that have come to light during investigations," confirmed AP Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The Vigilance Bureau has collected some more evidence regarding felling of trees and razing a building of the Education Department to pave way for the stadium and Hotel Pavilion.

Shimla, November 7
The Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) has issued the schedule of vacations for the year 2014 as per the notification issued by Registrar General AC Dogra. The High Court will remain closed for the winter vacation from January 13, 2014, to February 22, 2014, and for summer vacation from June 9, 2014, to June 13, 2014.

The office will remain open during the vacations and will receive from parties and persons such petitions and other documents as they may choose to present.

The court has also issued the calendar for 2014 for the subordinate courts. The vacation in the winter zone in subordinate courts will start from January 20 to February 15, whereas the vacation in the summer zone in the courts will be from June 23 to July 19.

Hamirpur, November 7
As uncertainty has set in on the continuation of Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU) at Hamirpur after rejection of land allotted to the university by the previous government, residents of Dahudi panchayat, where the HPTU campus has been proposed, have threatened to launch an agitation over this issue.

Technical Education Minister GS Bali had reportedly rejected the land allotted to build the campus after inspecting it and had asked the HPTU authorities and the district administration to identify suitable land.

The HPTU, which was started in 2010, was allotted about 200 kanals in Dahudi panchayat near the town and stone of the proposed building was laid in September 2011 by then Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Initially, about 15 kanal land was transferred to the HPTU and process was started to seek clearance from the Forest Department to transfer the remaining land as land fell in the forest area.

Since the HPTU was to pay several crores for the conversion of the forest land to utilise it for building the HPTU campus, the present government had reportedly shown its reservation on the land selected and the minister had asked the authorities to look for some other land.

The residents of Dahudi panchayat have threatened to launch an agitation if the university campus is not built here.

President of Dahudi panchayat Usha Birla said, "The residents will start an agitation if the HPTU is not constructed at the place where its foundation stone was laid."

Manoj Kumar, Registrar of the HPTU said, "We are trying to identify land for the HPTU campus but there is no proposal to shift the university from here."

Dhadhal (Una), November 7
Small, sleepy and remote Dhadhal village of Una district was abuzz with activity today. People were sitting in small shops and talking about Shalini Agnihotri, daughter of the village, who yesterday was awarded the best trainee award at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. A school teacher and Shalini's distant relative, who was sitting at the tea shop, proudly guided The Tribune team to her house located on a small hillock.

The village panchayat, proud of her feat, had freshly repaired the bad patches in the concrete street leading to her residence at Dhadhal village as she arrived in her paternal house today.

As Shalini had arrived today with her parents from Hyderabad, she was greeted by relatives and locals.

Her father Ramesh Agnihotri, a bus stand conductor at the Dharamsala bus depot of Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HPRTC), was overwhelmed with emotion. His eyes became moist with joy as he talked about his daughter. He said, "I am very happy as my children have made me proud. My eldest daughter Rajni Agnihotri is a dental doctor. Shalini has made it to the IPS and my son Ashish, who is youngest of all siblings, is presently undergoing training at the NDA. I cannot ask for more from life. Watching my daughter receive the Prime Minister's baton and the Home Minister's revolver in Hyderabad yesterday, was the most proud moment in my life."

Though Dhadhal is the paternal village of Shalini, she did not have many friends here. "I seldom used to visit Dhadhal as my father was posted at Dharamsala. Most of my friends are in Dharamsala or Palampur," she said.

"I did my schooling from DAV School, Dharamsala, and BSc agriculture from Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University, Palampur. Palampur is my favourite place and would like to settle there," Shalini said.

She said she had dreamt of joining services since childhood. "However, I did not take any special training for appearing in the IAS. I made an attempt at the IAS examination while pursuing MSc agriculture at Punjab Agricultural University at Ludhiana. I prepared for about 18 months and bagged the 250th position in the 2011 IAS examination," she said.

"During training, topping was never my agenda. I simply gave my best in every field and topped. My most memorable moments during the training were meeting Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer, who had come to the academy to give a lecture, and meeting President Pranab Mukerjee face to face," she said.

When asked if Kiran Bedi was her role model, Shalini said, "I have the now philosophy. Though the feats of others can influence me, I would like to chalk my own way."

Shalini has opted for Himachal cadre. She said being the parent state, Himachal was always her first preference. "I feel tackling the problem of drug peddling and making people feel safe will be my primary objective as a police officer," she said.

Shalini is on a 10-day leave after which she will again join her training programme in Delhi for another two months. She said during this leave she would help her parents prepare for her elder sister's marriage scheduled in Delhi.

Besides bagging the award for the best all-around trainee of the 65th batch of IPS officers, Shalini also bagged the Vandana Malik Trophy for the best all-round female officer trainee, the LB Sewa Trophy for the best female officer trainee in outdoor subjects, the Alakh Sinha Trophy for investigation, the GS Arya Trophy for the best officer trainee in co-curricular activities and the Home Ministry's Trophy for the best essay writing on "Communal harmony and national integration".

Chamba, November 7
In a series of state government’s commitment to renovate old forest rest houses, a remote forest rest house at Garolla in the mountainous Swai range falling under the Bharmour forest division here was thrown open to trekkers, tourists and visitors by Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri today.

The rest house, constructed in 1965 by the Forest Department, was in a dilapidated condition and unfit to be occupied by tourists and visitors. A sum of Rs 16 lakh has been spent on the renovation of the rest house.

ARM Reddy, Chief Conservator of Forests, Chamba, said after Bharmouri had taken over the forest portfolio, Chamba, the forest-rich district of Himachal Pradesh, which boasted of 37 per cent forest cover, had seen a lot of development in the forest infrastructure.

In less than a year, more than 25 out of 52 rest houses had been renovated so far. More than Rs 1 crore had been spent on these. The repair of forest staff accommodation up to the level of range officers had been carried out on priority during the year, said Reddy.

The other rest houses repaired were based in Garolla, Tallie, Ghararoo, Chabaroo, Rhunukoti, Gehra, Sahoo, Holi, Tikrigarh, Chanju, Kalhel, Saloh, Surkhigala and Dalhousie, he said.

The Forest Minister was accompanied by his wife Savitri and son Amit, who is also a member of the Zila Parishad.

Addressing a gathering, Reddy appreciated the pace and quality of work shown by the forest staff who had completed the work in six months.

With this, the trekkers, tourists and visitors to Chamba district could stay in forest rest houses comfortably and enjoy the serene environment, as most of the rest houses were located in the midst of forest areas, Bharmouri said. 

Bilaspur, November 7
The government will spend Rs 2.14 crore on the construction of 28 water tanks in as many spots for removing acute drinking water scarcity in these areas. A sum of Rs 7 crore will be spent on 70 more tanks which will be constructed in the second phase of his “Provide Drinking Water Campaign” through MLA priority. This was stated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Rajesh Dharmani while addressing a large gathering after laying the foundation stone of this campaign at Lahot village under the gram panchayat of Bharaadi, 65 km from here, today.

Dharmani said in the first phase a total population of 13,746 would get sufficient drinking water in 38 villages of this area.

He said the government was aware of the fact that monkeys had made the lives of farmers and orchardists a hell and that was why a monkey sterilisation centre was being set up at Chokhna village at a cost of Rs 50 lakh for solving this problem.

He announced grants of Rs 40,000 for Lahot school ground, Rs 35,000 for school path, Rs 70,000 for cement concrete path for Badsaain village and Rs 60,000 for a cremation ghat of the village, Rs 35,000 for Sanwaadi concrete path, Rs 50,000 for repairs of Lahot bowali and Rs 25,000 for Barote cremation ghat from his MLA Development Fund. He said 18 solar lights would be installed in this area soon.

Dharmani said 21,344 needy persons were getting a social security pension of Rs 500. Out of them, 3,220 elderly persons above the age of 80 years were getting Rs 1,000 per month in the district here. Till now, the government had disbursed Rs 3.87 crore for these pensioners out of the Rs 13.46 crore allocated for this purpose this year, he said. 

Solan, November 7
Evasion of tax from various areas continues as the Excise and Taxation Department has failed to erect barriers at various places in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area. This was despite the fact that entry tax barriers had been erected at some places.

This has come as a setback to the department which is devising new strategies to check tax evasion.

In Shahpur, Suncity and Kalujhinda, where toll barriers had been erected and vehicles coming from other states were paying entry tax, the department has not erected any barrier and traders use this route to evade tax.

Though raids these areas led to tax collection worth lakhs in the last few days, one wondered why the department had turned a blind eye to erecting barriers here.

Sources in the department said the staff shortage was acting as a deterrent and in some cases, truckers trying to intimidate officials were also coming to light.

It was also learnt that truckers bringing material from other states carried two sets of documents and when being caught they produced documents of goods having been purchased from local firms. Though a few such cases had come to light and they were levied penalty of over Rs one lakh but the it was a common practice in the industrial area. 

Shimla, November 7
Governor Urmila Singh today stressed the need for channelising the energy of youth towards nation-building activities as they play a significant role in the progress of the country.

She was speaking at the Flag Day celebration of Bharat Scouts and Guides held at the Raj Bhawan here today. The Governor is patron of Bharat Scouts and Guides.

Speaking on the occasion she said the youth could bring about effective changes in society by taking an active part in various awareness campaigns which included health, education, literacy and environment protection. “Children are the future citizens of the country, therefore they should be aware, sincere and responsible citizens,” she said.

She said the Bharat Scout and Guides Movement should be strengthened further by associating more children and youth as it was contributing towards making them independent, self-reliant and also inculcating the spirit of patriotism.

The Governor lauded the role of the Bharat Scout and Guides Movement as its activities were aimed at developing the full potential of youth, besides broadening their vision. She added that cultural exchange programmes of the organisation were promoting harmony in society and strengthening national unity. She said Bharat Scout and Guides was also inculcating values like discipline and sense of responsibility among youth and inspiring them to work selflessly for the nation.

Earlier, the Governor visited a flower show exhibition put up by the Scouts and Guides. She also gave away prizes to the participants of various cultural programmes on the occasion. Neeraj Bharti, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, RD Dhiman, Principal Secretary, Education, and officials of the Education Department and Bharat Scouts and Guides were present on the occasion.

About 300 Scouts and Guides from Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Una districts participated in the celebrations.

Bilaspur, November 7
Farmers should adopt the latest technologies in farming and take full advantage of the scientific information so easily available to them on all subjects and all problems of any kind through a network of scientists spread in various Krishi Vigyaan Kendras and the Agriculture University and the Agriculture Department itself.

This was stated by Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman, state Planning Development and 20-Point Implementation Committee, while addressing as chief guest a Krishi Jagrookta camp organised jointly by the Agriculture Department, Krishi Vigyaan Kendra, Kandaghat, Solan, and Dr YS Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni, Solan, at the Vinayak Ghat (Brahmpukhar), 17 km from here, today with a view to help farmers grow a better variety and get bigger produce of tomatoes here.

Ram Lal said while Solan, Shimla and Mandi districts had earned a name in the state in vegetable production, Solan, Sirmaur and Bilaspur districts were ahead in the state in the production of tomatoes. He said 68,000 hectares of land was under vegetables in the state producing 13,56,600 metric tonnes of vegetables annually. He said tomatoes were being grown in 10,144 hectares of land in the state producing 3,83,824 tonnes in the state annually.

Ram Lal said the Nauni university had recently developed a new tomato variety named "Solan Lalima" which was red, round, juicy and medium-sized. It could be grown from 750 quintals to 800 quintals in one hectare. Recently, this variety proved to be successful as it was grown in Bilaspur, Solan and Sirmaur districts and the results were very encouraging. He exhorted farmers to go in for this variety of tomatoes.

He also wanted farmers to adopt mix farming to save their crops from various types of diseases as this pattern avoided several disease hazards.

Subject specialists Dr HR Sharma, Dr Upendra Singh, Dr Arti Shukla, Dr Des Raj Sharma, Dr DD Sharma, Dr GC Lakhanpal, Dr LR Dhiman and Dr Albel Singh Thakur also addressed the camp. Some 300 advanced farmers growing tomatoes attended the camp and 23 of them were given cash prizes for their produce. 

Kangra, November 7
MP Rajan Sushant today announced that a bachat bhawan and a shopping complex would be constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh on the land of the panchayat samiti in the Donga Bazar locality here from his MP fund.

Sushant was addressing the officers and public representatives during an assessment and analysis meeting of developmental works in the BDO office here for which he had provided funds. He announced a body-carrying vehicle fitted with an AC for the DRPGMC, Tanda, so that bodies were saved from decomposition while being carried by their relatives.

Sushant also announced a ventilator ambulance for the Tanda medical college for carrying critical patients for treatment within and outside the state. Such an ambulance was not available at the IGMC, Shimla, as yet, he said.

He said an OBC bhawan would be constructed at Gaggal, 8 km from here, at a cost of Rs 15 lakh from his fund.

He sought an explanation in writing from the IPH authorities for their failure to carry out a majority of the developmental works for which he had sanctioned funds. He said out of 20 works of development, 18 works were not done by the IPH authorities and sought an explanation from them to fix the responsibility and take appropriate action against the guilty.

Sushant, however, expressed satisfaction over 100 per cent works done by the PWD and Rs 48 lakh spent by the Forest Department in public interest developmental works.

He said he had visited Kangra Assembly segment 14 times during his tenure as MP with an eye on the overall development of the area. He said he had provided 14 ambulances to 14 Assembly segments of his constituency and two more would be announced in the remaining two Assembly segments soon.

Sushant expressed concern that Himachal Pradesh was under debt of Rs 30,000 crore and 10 lakh youth were unemployed.

Solan, November 7
The Tripura government finally registered a case against Kala Amb-based Vardhman Pharma which had been supplying spurious drugs manufactured without any valid licence.

According to sources in the state Drugs Control Administration, the action follows testing of these drugs by the Tripura government and a report confirming their substandard quality.

Assistant Drug Controller Ravinder Chowdhary confirmed that the Tripura Government had sought documents pertaining to the unit, including its licence validity, about 10 days ago.

Information about the drugs having been supplied on fake documents was also sent to the Tripura government after a team of Drug Control Administration during a raid in September had found that the unit was running without any valid licence. Its licence had expired in 2009.

A case of cheating and production of spurious drugs under various sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act had subsequently been registered by the police on Sepetmber 29.

The consignment was to be sent to Tripura. Various labels of drugs manufactured at industrial plots like 32 Industrial Area, Kala Amb, 43-B, Industrial Area, Kala Amb, Himalayan Laboratories, etc, had been seized. The police had, however, failed to arrest the Ambala-based couple which owned the unit.