Hamirpur, December 31
Former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has demanded resignation of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh after fresh revelations about the CM and his family members over the alleged acceptance of shares from a “controversial businessman”.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Dhumal said, “After fresh charges of alleged corruption against Virbhadra Singh and his family members, he has no right to continue as the CM of the state and should resign immediately.”

He said, “After Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s assertion of zero tolerance on corruption made at New Delhi a few days ago and Virbhadra Singh sitting beside him, it has become imperative for him to resign and if he fails to do so, Congress leaders should seek his resignation.”

Dhumal further said, “It is after resigning from the post of the CM that Virbhadra could reply to the allegations against him and his anger and tone cannot make his position clear in the case.”

Clarifying his government’s position on awarding power project to Venture Energy Technology Firm, Dhumal said, “It is true that the Sai Kothi power project was given to the firm during his government in 2002, but when it came to the notice of his government that the firm had concealed some facts to the Centre, his government had issued a show-cause notice on the firm in December 2002 to cancel the MoU.”

“The Congress government had cancelled the MoU with the firm in 2004, but the project was again awarded to the firm in 2007 by the then Congress government against recommendations of a high-level power committee,” Dhumal said.

He alleged, “Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, and his family members had secured 9.8 lakh shares at the rate of Rs 10 per share from Vakamulla’s company, which amounts to about Rs 98 lakh."

After fresh charges of corruption against Virbhadra Singh and his family members, he has no right to continue as the CM of the state and should resign immediately
—PK Dhumal, former chief minister

Dharamsala, December 31
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said about Rs 21 crore was being spent on converting roads in Dharamsala to concrete roads. These roads are being proposed in Dharamsala as coal tar roads generally get damaged due to heavy rains in the region.

He said 48 roads measuring 29.758 km would be upgraded to cement concrete roads in Dharamsala by spending Rs 20.94 crore. The town has been bifurcated into three parts under the project which includes 11 roads having a length of 10.267 km in Mcleodganj, 24 roads of 8.724 km length in Dharamsala and 13 roads of 10.767 km length in Ramnagar and Shyamnagar area.

He said a detailed report of the project was sent to the Government of India by the State Urban Development Department on 27 May, for which an administrative approval was granted by the Government of India on October 22.

The Chief Minister said Dharamsala receives maximum rains in the state, which causes heavy damage to the roads and tarnishes the beauty of the town. The state government was making efforts to provide better road facility in the area to facilitate the local people and tourists visiting the hill station, he said.

Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the data centre of Kangra Central Co-Operative Bank (KCCB), Dharamsala. He said since its inception, KCCB had made tremendous progress.

Food and Civil Supplies and Transport Minister GS Bali, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, MLAs Sanjay Rattan, Pawan Kajal and Yadvinder Goma, and MP Chander Kumar were also present on the occasion.

Manali, December 31
While the world is celebrating the New Year, the upper Kullu valley is celebrating Diyali by burning pieces of pine and deodar woods on small slabs of rock in their houses.

This unique festival, which is observed only in the valley, lasts for three days and ends with throwing abusive phrases to evil spirits. Diyali is celebrated on the night of new moon in the Poush month and villagers illuminate the valley by burning small stacks of wood on rock slabs.

The first torch is lighted at holy Jagti Pat, a huge stone slab in Naggar village, the ancient capital of Kullu. Jagti symbolises the assembly of deities where they decide the future plans for the welfare of the people. The Jagti is believed almighty and, therefore, the first torch of Diyali festivity is lighted here. The villagers, after seeing the burning of Diyali at Naggar, start burning small Diyalis in verandahs of their houses and offer prayers to Jagti.

Like the Diwali festival, puja is performed in all houses for the peace and prosperity. Diyali will be burnt for three days. As most of the parts of the valley are covered in fresh snow today, burning of pieces of pine and deodar makes the valley glitter like gold.

Like Diwali, guests are invited for special feasts and are served with special dishes such as aksalu, giche, bade and many other traditional dishes.

On the last day of Diyali, hundreds of people of the village accompanied by drummers and trumpeters visit every house where walnuts and peanuts are thrown on them. Before this, villagers sing abusive phrases to keep the evil spirits away from their village.

Shimla, December 31
Refuting BJP charges of seeking undue favour of land exchange, Social and Justice Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil today said he would initiate legal action within three weeks if the BJP failed to prove the allegations contained in the chargesheet against him.

Addressing a press conference here, Shandil said he was pained at the false allegations levelled against him. “The land was initially allotted to me in 1971 as part of the policy to provide land to landless people. Since I did not get the mutation done, a cremation ground came up next to it, so I sought exchange,” he said.

The BJP, in its chargesheet against the Virbhadra government, had accused Shandil of taking undue benefit of land exchange by misusing his position. The chargesheet had been submitted to Governor Urmila Singh on December 25.

He said the process for seeking land exchange of two bighas and one biswa was started in 2006. “It did not start after I became a minister. It is only under compelling circumstances that I sought the land exchange and that too at a disadvantage as the land is fragmented in three parts and not a consolidated chunk,” he said.

Shandil said it was totally wrong on the part of the BJP to say that he had got the land with greater commercial value as he had got it in the same khasra number and adjoining to the previous land given to him in 1971.

“I served in the Army for three decades and never got time to get the land transferred in my name after demarcation, but even after I initiated the process in May 2006, it has taken exactly seven years for the process,” he said.

He said the exchange of land had taken place with a due approval from the government. “It is clearly mentioned in the law that the Deputy Commissioner can order the land exchange after an approval from the government, so everything has been done as per law,” he claimed.

He added that when he applied for exchange, he even made it clear that he would pay any extra amount if the value of the land exceeds the previous one,” he said.

The minister said the BJP had levelled false allegations against him only to tarnish his image.

Replying to a query regarding contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Shimla seat, he said, “I am an obedient soldier so whatever orders are given by the party high command, I will abide by these.”

Shimla, December 31
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has termed the allegations levelled by Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley a conspiracy to taint the image of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

In a statement issued here today, Agnihotri expressed surprise that a senior BJP leader had made an attempt to sensationalise the issue and mislead the people by hiding some facts, to suit political convenience. He said the misdeeds of the Dhumal family would be exposed soon.

The minister said the Sai Kothi hydro-power project was allocated to Bentore Energy and Technology by then Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2002 which he was not telling to the media and people of the state. “The Dhumal government gave extension to this project
twice in 2009 and 2010 for 21 months and 15 days,” he stated.

He said Jaitley also tried to hide the fact that the state government led by Virbhadra Singh had cancelled the allocation of the project and memorandum of understanding with this company because it failed to deposit Rs 58 lakh during the stipulated period.

He said Jaitley had also concealed the fact that the Congress government had rejected the proposal of the company to renew the project between April 2003 to 2004 thrice. The company had filed a petition in the court which ordered to give this project to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. Later, the company went in appeal in the Supreme Court which directed to reconsider the matter. 

Dharamsala, December 31
With the BJP launching a fresh tirade against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the fight between him and the family of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has intensified.

Virbhadra today ordered the removal of a plate inscribed with the name of Dhumal at the headquarters of the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCC) at Dharamsala.

After inaugurating a data centre at the head office of the bank at Dharamsala this morning, the Chief Minister noticed Dhumal's name on a plate. Virbhadra said installing such huge inscriptions at the cost of public money was a wastage of funds.

Virbhadra asked bank officials to reduce their non-performing assets as it had increased due to certain loans given by the bank last year during the previous BJP regime.

Bank officials urged the Chief Minister to implement a new pension scheme for them. Virbhadra said he had no objection to implement it if it would not impact the bank financially.

Earlier in the day, he visited the Dharamsala Press Club. Talking to newsmen, he said the BJP had launched a personal attack against him as he had initiated an inquiry on the chargesheet of the Congress against the former BJP government.

Asked if the CBI was inquiring into the allegations against him, Virbhadra said nobody had approached him so far.

The Chief Minister left Dharamsala after his four-day winter sojourn this afternoon. Sources said after reaching Shimla, he left for Delhi. He is likely to counter the allegations being levelled against him by the BJP in the media at Delhi.

Una, December 31
BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti today said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should quit politics on the moral grounds after revelations of corruption charges against him.

Addressing mediapersons here, he asked the Congress high command to take action against corrupt leaders and not to befool the people by taking credit of the Lokpal Bill.

Satti said the BJP had submitted a chargesheet against the state Congress. He said Congress ministers, who have contended that the chargesheet was false and fabricated, were free to approach any court against the BJP.

The BJP chief said deliberations for finalising the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections will be held on January 10 and 11 during the meeting of the state Core Committee and Extended Core Committee meetings.

He indicated that while the candidatures of Anurag Thakur from Una and Virender Kashyap from Shimla seat were almost final, discussions for the Kanga and Mandi seat would be held during these meetings. He, however, said, if Shanta Kumar was interested from the Kangra seat, the party would have no objection to it.

Bilaspur, December 31
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has sanctioned Rs 1.02 crore for the Regional Hospital here. This was stated by local MLA Bambar Thakur here today.

Bambar said the Chief Minister had visited the hospital last month and took round of the hospital. He then ordered the officials concerned to prepare an estimate of the expenditure for the improvement of the hospital.

Bambar said the amount would be spent on improving the condition of laboratories and setting up of a ‘sulabh shauchalaya’ on the hospital premises.

He said the newly constructed trauma centre building would also be connected with the operation theatre. Two-side walls would be constructed for providing enough space for the parking of vehicles.

The MLA thanked the Chief Minister and expressed confidence that he would provide necessary funds for other necessities in the town. He said the Deputy Commissioner had made arrangements for Rs 10 lakh for providing more facilities on the hospital premises. 

Shimla, December 31
Even as thousands of tourists visited the “Queen of Hills” to celebrate the New Year, cold wave conditions in the state intensified with the higher reaches, including the tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti receiving a fresh snowfall and lower areas being lashed by rain.

With the Met Department predicting snowfall during the next 24 hours, the hopes of celebrating a white New Year still remain alive. Today the town was lashed by a downpour. Shimla and the surrounding areas experienced the first snowfall of the season a day before Christmas.

Tourists made a beeline to Shimla, Kufri and other tourist destinations. Most of the hotels in Shimla and the vicinity are packed to capacity as thousands of tourists descended on the city from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Folk artistes regaled tourists as well as locals on the Ridge.

With heavy turnout of revellers, the traffic condition has been chaotic since yesterday as haphazardly parked vehicles obstructed vehicular movement in the absence of adequate parking space. The city was full of people as there is an air of festivity with functions being organised everywhere.

The local Meteorological Centre has predicted snow at isolated places in the region of the state during the next 24 hours. The weather is expected to clear after January 2.

During the last 24 hours, Kalpa received 3 mm and Keylong 4 mm of snow. The temperature dipped further with icy cold winds blowing across the state.

The vehicular movement beyond Mashobra and Kharapatthar has been disrupted due to snow and traffic was disrupted at several places on the National Highway-22. Traffic has been diverted via Basantpur for Rampur and Kinnaur. Buses of the Himachal State Roadways Corporation and hundreds of smaller vehicles have been stranded in snow at many places.

The mercury in most parts of the state has plummeted with Shimla recording 2.5 degrees Celsius.

Solan, December 31
Hundreds of revellers thronged Kasauli and Chail in the hope of white New Year.

With the temperature hovering around 4 degree today, tourists were hopeful of experiencing some snow later in the evening. The cloudy sky and a chilly weather kept the hopes of the tourists alive as the roads were swelling with the increased traffic influx.

Receiving visitors from the National Capital Region and Chandigarh and its periphery, Kasauli appears to be the hot favourite of those planning to celebrate the New Year far from their cities.

Power remained suspended from 2:30 am last night to 1:30 pm today in Chail, leading to inconvenience at a time when the temperature had dipped.

Devinder Verma, a hotelier from Chail, said they were hopeful of waking up to a white New Year as the overcast conditions appear to be the perfect setting for a snowfall.

The policemen had a tough task in managing the high traffic inflow with tourists arriving in large numbers since yesterday.

The narrow potholed roads, however, have disappointed the tourists who were caught in frequent traffic jams at Garkhal enroute Kasauli.

Holiday revellers were also seen enjoying music on the roadsides and partying with liquor in the quiet and cold environs of this hill town.

Snow attracts tourists to Dalhousie

Dalhousie: A heavy snowfall on the highlands of Chamba district has attracted tourists to Dalhousie.

As per the reports, the high-altitude mountainous tribal regions of Bharmour and Pangi have been experiencing heavy snowfall since yesterday.

Several roads, including Deol-Nayagran, Hadsar-Kugti, Tissa-Satrundi, Salooni-Langera, Chamba-Chowari via Jot and Dalhousie-Khajjiar had been blocked due to heavy snowfall, the reports said.

Meanwhile, as per the information, a loss of more than Rs 1 crore has been caused to public and private property due to snowfall in different parts of the district. — OC

Kangra, December 31
As a heavy snowfall lashed the Dhauladhar ranges, the plains in the Kangra valley received rain today, plunging the temperature considerably. The inclement weather continued the entire day.

While Bagsu Nag, Naddi and Dharamsala cantonment areas received rain, snow flakes were seen with rain in McLeodganj.

Naddi, however, received a mild snowfall. The meteorological department has predicted snowfall for today. Meanwhile, Jwalamukhi, Haripur, Shahpur, Dhraman, Nagrota Bagwan, Icchhi, Gaggal, Mallan, Palampur and Ranital received rainfall the entire day.

Mandi, December 31
The weather forecast, predicting widespread rain and snowfall in the region, has revived hopes of good crops here.

While sporadic drizzle and cloudy sky have revived cold wave in the region, it has also cheered up farmers and orchardists.

Since a majority of the population is dependent on agriculture and horticulture produce, rain and snow are very crucial in the winters.

As per the weather forecast, the region is going to experience extensive rainfall and snow during the entire season.

Agriculture and horticulture experts are terming the present spell of rain and snow as beneficial.

Dr Harsh Jamwal, Deputy Director, Agriculture, said, “The present spell of rain and snow is beneficial for all crops and moisture will boost wheat, mustard, gram and rabi crops.”

He said, “This is also good for vegetable produce and farmers can now put fertilisers after the rains.”

Horticulture deputy director Prem Singh Chauhan said, “Since plants are in non-dormant conditions and moisture definitely revitalises plants, rain and snow is good for orchards.”

“Continuing cold wave will help in getting 1,600 to 1,800 chilling hours to apple plants and if plants get good moisture during the flowering season, we can hope for a good apple crop,” he added. 

Solan, December 31
The Churdhar peak, the highest peak of Sirmaur district, received about three-foot snow today.

The area wore a white mantle dipping the temperature in the district. Rain also lashed various parts of the district, including Nahan.

Being a religious place, the Churdhar peak presented an enchanting and panoramic view of the valley with snow having covered the entire area, halting the movement of vehicles and forcing the people to confine themselves to their homes.

Roads leading to the peak from Nohradhar, Sarahan, Chopal, Pulwahal, Haripur Dhar, etc received snow. Power supply was partially disrupted due to load shedding in parts of the district. 

Una, December 31
Poet and author Gurmit Bedi has been nominated by German-based The Poets Society to represent the country at the World Poetry Festival to be held in Berlin on May 13. The decision was conveyed to Bedi by Rosevita, a spokesperson for the society, on the telephone.

Bedi, who is posted as District Public Relations Officer at Una, is a recipient of the Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan Sahitya Academy Awards. He has authored six books and three novels, besides a collection of poetry and short stories. He has a flair for satires and compiled them in three volumes. Bedi has been honoured by a number of literary organisations.

Bilaspur, December 31
The District Rajput Kalyan Sabha has expressed resentment over the caste-based reservations.

After a sabha meeting at Auhar-Rahiyan here today, Hukam Singh Thakur, sabha press secretary, said the policy was mooted only for the removal of caste system, but it was, instead, dividing the society.

The meeting was presided over by president of the sabha Prem Lal Thakur.

“The present policy has had its free play for more than 63 years and it is important to revise it. The economically backward families should be covered under this policy. The caste-based divisions will end only when resentment among members of the higher castes, who are facing difficulties on account of the present policy, is removed,” he said.