Dharamsala, December 28
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh arrived here this evening for the first phase of his winter sojourn. It was a show of the VIP culture in the state in contrast to the swearing-in ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party as the Chief Minister of Delhi who displayed austerity.

The Chief Minister arrived at the police ground from Delhi in a helicopter. About 50 cars were waiting for his arrival. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Transport and Technical Education GS Bali and Minister for Urban Development Sudhir Sharma and independent MLA from Kangra Pawan Kajal were present for his welcome.

Other government functionaries, who were also present included vice-chairman of the Forest Corporation Kewal Singh Pathania and Chairman of the Kangra Cooperative Bank Jagdish Singh Sapehia.

The Kangra Deputy Commissioner, the Additional District Magistrate, the Additional Deputy Commissioner and the Civil Surgeon were also present with garlands and bouquets to welcome the Chief Minister, leaving their respective offices vacant.

The Chief Minister headed straight to the Dharamsala Secretariat while Congress workers followed him.

At the Secretariat, he met some delegations. He also listened to the grievances of the people in the Secretariat. Responding to queries of newspersons, he said the Lokpal Bill would be made more stringent in Himachal so that the corrupt could be brought to book, he said.

He also said the Congress would organise an ex-servicemen rally at Hamirpur to counter Narendra Modi's rally planned for February.

Virbhadra said laws would be amended so that farmers got the reasonable price of their produce. The Chief Minister cancelled the programme in the Shahpur Assembly constituency as he arrived late from New Delhi.

Sources said he would stay in Kangra district for four days till December 31. During his stay here, he would lay the foundation stones of various development schemes and also inaugurate many schemes across the district.

He would again come to Kangra district from January 5 to January 15 for the second phase of his winter sojourn.

The winter sojourn practice was started by Virbhadra Singh to counter the allegations of regional bias against him. Leaders of the BJP used to accuse Virbhadra of ignoring the lower areas of the state.

Shimla, December 28
With the Meteorological Department predicting a snowfall on December 30 and 31 here, Manali, Dalhousie, Dharamsala and other hill stations, tourists are planning to visit these spots to usher in a snowy New Year 2014.

Though a heavy rush of tourists witnessed during Christmas has subsided in the Queen of Hills, tourists continue to throng city to celebrate New Year, bringing cheer to hoteliers whose sagging business has reversed in the past five days.

Director, MeT, Shimla, Dr Manmohan said the western disturbance was expected to hit the Shimla region on December 30, which would result in snow on that day and on December 31.

The Rivoli ice skating rink, ski slopes of Kufri and Narkanda on the outskirts of Shimla have become new haunts for revellers coming from Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab and Haryana as these spots have experienced snow on last Sunday and Monday.

“We have come to watch snow and will stay on till it snows here as the weatherman has forecast it in the coming days,” said Dipankar Amit Shah, a tourist from Mumbai.

The minimum temperature in the town plunged to 0.2°C while the maximum was 11.9°C recorded today by the MeT office. Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district shivered at -8.5°C. Una district recorded the maximum temperature of 19.8°C in the state.

Bilaspur, December 28
The fate of the Congress was sealed when the BJP decided to field Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. This was said by former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while addressing a concluding session of the state-level two-day conference of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha here yesterday.

Dhumal said, “The country likes a strong leader like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but now we have a weak-kneed government at the Centre.”

The cowardly attitude adopted by the UPA government had dented its image in the eyes of masses who wanted a strong leader such as Narendra Modi.

Dhumal claimed that with strenuous efforts of the youth, Modi would become the next Prime Minister.

Dhumal said it was the youth who could change the face of the country and rout the Congress, but this was not possible through mere rhetoric. He said this resolve had to be converted into practice by working hard in every village and adding as many votes as possible to the BJP.

Dhumal said neither the BJP government nor he himself conducted a political vendetta against any opponent. Not a single case was ever registered against anybody by his government.

Shimla, December 28
Municipal Corporation (MC) Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar today demanded that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should order an independent probe into “acts of commission and omission in the lease granted to the Lalpani Cricket Academy, run by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), without the mandatory permission from the MC”.

On the other hand, the HPCA submitted its 11-page reply, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, to the notice of demolition of illegal structures issued by the Municipal Commissioner. The HPCA claimed that they had got a no-objection certificate (NOC) and that since the case was pending in the high court, the corporation should withdraw the proceedings and give its approval to the HPCA academy as per its direction.

But the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor furnished the copies of documents to mediapersons at a press conference here wherein they showed that the HPCA had no permission under the Municipal Act and from the House. “The permission and NOC from the House and the MC is mandatory as the Lalpani cricket academy area falls in a restricted area of the MC, they asserted.

They charged that the action should be taken against the then officials concerned in the MC as both House and the Single Umbrella Committee of the MC and the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department had rejected the NOC to the HPCA’s proposal to run the academy.

They claimed that the issue of the NOC came up before the House for leasing out 2555.34 sq m area on August 29, 2011, while the HPCA had obtained it for the same on July 15. It smacked of a real estate racket allegedly carried out in connivance with then officials and should be probed into by the state government, Chauhan and Panwar alleged.

Secondly, the area falls in the green belt for which the HPCA had to get permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the NOC from the MC committee, they said.

But HPCA vice-president Surender Thakur said they had got the NOC from the House and got the clearance from the MoEF by paying it Rs 7.6 lakh for diversion of forest land on April 20, 2009. But the MC rejected the HPCA map on September 15, 2011, and submitted the documents and drawings for the approval to the MC, he claimed.

Municipal Commissioner Amarjeet said the HPCA had filed its reply and the case had been fixed for January 6.

Palampur, December 28
Despite a complete ban on the sale and use of polythene bags in the state, polythene can be seen littered in markets of Kangra district.

In the absence of any check from the state government, the ban on the use of polythene is being flouted openly. In public fairs, small gatherings, marriages and other functions, polythene is openly used.

Besides fruit and vegetable vendors, general merchants and small traders are using polythene bags without any hesitation.

Milk and bread is supplied in polythene pack from adjoining states. In the present scenario, it looks as if the ban on the use of polythene has remained confined on papers.

Sources said in the past six months, only a few offenders were fined by the state agencies.

Though the state government has given powers to various low-level officials to conduct frequent checks on its use, hardly any official bothers to exercise their powers.

It was also observed that for the past few months, the administrative machinery has virtually adopted a casual approach and failed to initiate any action against the defaulters.

The Palampur Welfare and Environmental Protection Forum and People’s Voice have urged the state government to take steps to keep the state pollution free and implement the ban effectively.

Bilaspur, December 28
Thieves struck at the house of Major Lekh Ram Sharma (retd) at Naal village in Raghunathpura panchayat, near here, and decamped with jewellery worth several lakhs last night.

Reports said thieves broke the locks of almirah and decamped with the jewellery.

The theft was detected in the morning.

A case has been registered further investigations are on.

Shimla, December 28
BJP MLA Suresh Bhardwaj and BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt today dared Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Congress president Sukhwinder Singh to order a CBI probe into the chargesheet rather than terming it a “bundle of lies”.

Addressing a press conference here today, Bhardwaj and Dutt alleged that Cabinet Minister GS Bali bought a shamlat land for Rs 1.81 crore as the land belonged to different ‘kastkars’ rather than Patiala House alone as he had claimed. The BJP would neither tender an apology nor withdraw the charges against Bali as no shamlat land could be sold or bought, Dutt claimed.

Rejecting Congress president’s plea, they charged that Sukhwinder bought the ‘nautaur’ land from a widow near Fagu, who was rendered landless as she now owned less than five bighas.

Sukhwinder should face probe before making baseless claims and counter charges against former Chief Minister PK Dhumal that he had benami property as he had no evidence, they claimed.

BJP leaders dared Chief Minister to order a CBI probe into the chargesheet to unveil truth before the public instead of terming it a bundle of lies. “His explanation is unsatisfactory,” they claimed.

Shimla, December 28
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) members, including schoolchildren, today took out an awareness-cum-save Shimla heritage walk from the statue of Indira Gandhi to the Shimla Heritage Museum highlighting importance of heritage in the town.

State convener, INTACH, Malvika Pathania, and writer and co-convener, INTACH, Shimla, Raja Bhasin, led the heritage walk with the children. This was a first walk as part of a series of heritage walk to be undertaken in each district in the state, said Pathania.

She said INTACH had completed the restoration of the Bhootnath temple in Mandi while other five more projects in the state were going on. “The heritage property in the town needs immediate attention of the government,” observed Raja Bhasin.

On the other hand, Capt Ved Sud, convener, INTACH, Shimla chapter, and architect Rajesh Mehta of the Creative Consortium abstained from the heritage walk as they said they were being ignored by the state body.

On this, Pathania said the INTACH, Shimla chapter, was a part of the state body and would take up projects if they send the proposal in writing. “We are there to assist them if they send us proposals,” she added.

Kullu, December 28
While the growing information technology has been a boon to many, some miscreants find ways and means to turn it into a bane.

A woman has alleged that she received a call on Tuesday where the caller duped her to disclose details of her bank account on the pretext of verifying her credentials.

In a complaint lodged with the police on Wednesday, she mentioned that her bank account statement revealed that the culprits had made an online purchase of over Rs 18,000 from Patna and Mumbai, soon after the call.

A cyber crime gang might be active in the region as off-late many residents have complained of receiving such hoax phone calls. Even the involvement of an inter-state cyber crime gang cannot be ruled out.

Another similar complaint has been lodged with the Kullu police on Tuesday. Banks have repeatedly warned their consumers not to reveal their bank details, especially the PIN to anybody and that no bank shall ask for such personal detail over phone or e-mail.

Nurpur, December 28
The state government has formulated a strategy to diversify its commercial activities to make the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Corporation (HPSFC) financially viable.

Disclosing this at a press conference here yesterday, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri said officials of the corporation had been directed to enhance the production of refined quality of resin and turpentine in the corporation’s units.

“The corporation has started the production of modern wooden furniture in its Shamshi (Kullu) unit and launched its marketing by fulfilling the demand and requirement of government furniture. After the success, the corporation will launch private marketing of this furniture. Apart from this, the corporation has set up wooden tile manufacturing unit in which tiles will be made through Lantana weed,” he asserted.

Bharmouri said the government had set up seven out of 10 proposed monkey sterilisation centres across the state in the current year. These centres were functioning, he said.

“The Forest Department, after undertaking a census, has identified around 3 lakh simians in the hill state and reduced their strength by 80,000 by performing sterilisation of 76,000 simians so far. The department has been asked to plant saplings of fodder and fruits on forest land so that monkey can stay in forests,” he informed. He said the government had revived forest plant nurseries closed during the BJP regime.

Asked on encroachments on forest land, he said the department would not allow fresh ones.

Kullu, December 28
In comparison to the previous financial year, an additional sum of Rs 4 crore, totalling to Rs 35 crore, will be spent under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Kullu district during this financial year.

This was stated by Anil Sharma, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, at the annual function of Senior Secondary School, Jagatsukh, about 40 km from here, yesterday. Earlier, the minister also laid the foundation stone of a veterinary dispensary to be constructed at a cost of Rs 9.57 lakh in Jagatsukh. He also announced to approve Rs 5.4 lakh for the building of Jagatsukh Gram Panchayat and said the Panchayati Raj Institutions would be provided with broadband facility to accelerate development works being carried out by these institutions.

In his address at the school, he urged teachers to be dedicated to their role of nation building and constructively mould students to become better citizens. The minister also announced to provide Rs 1 lakh to the school for the purchase of computers. He also awarded Rs 5,000 to students who participated in cultural presentations.

Earlier, Principal Tashi Amo welcomed the chief guest and presented the annual report and informed about achievements and activities of the school.

BJP district president and MLA from Manali Gobind Singh Thakur and president, Zila Parishad, Kullu, Hari Chand Sharma, also addressed the gathering.

Kullu, December 28
Project officers of DRDA, Block Development Officers (BDOs) and officials of the Rural Development Department of various districts of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana participated in a state-level workshop on convergence of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) here today.

While addressing the opening session of the two-day workshop, Vinay Singh Thakur, ADM, Kullu, said convergence of these two schemes would not only ensure financial stability of rural folks but also augment cleanliness and hygiene in villages.

He said the implementation of various schemes of the government could be improved by pooling them with MGNREGS so that rural folks could secure employment at their doorstep and also the departments concerned could ensure better implementation of the schemes.

He said the participation of the general masses and their representatives besides cordial relation between the Panchayati Raj Institutions and the Department of Rural Development was most important for the success of NBA. He appreciated the efforts of Department of Rural Development to arrange this workshop and said that it will help boost up the implementation of the NBA.

Jitender Sanjta, Joint Director, Rural Development Department, welcomed the present members and presented outline of the workshop. Additional Director, Rural Development Department, Haryana, Dr Puran Singh Yadav, presented a detailed report on the convergence of the NBA and MGNREGS. Those who were present on the occasion included project officer, DRDA, Kullu, Dr Sanjiv Dhiman, project officer, DRDA, Panipat, Ajay Kumar, project officer, DRDA, Kurukshetra, Bhushan Pal, among others.