New Delhi, January 3
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today he had not “applied his mind” to the BJP complaint against Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The BJP’s senior leader Arun Jaitley had written to the PM saying the government must act in the “most glaring case.”

“I did not have the time to apply my mind about what the truth in the allegations against Virbhadra Singh is. I received a letter from Arun Jaitley on December 29 but am yet to apply my mind to it. I have read about it in newspapers," he said, responding in his press briefing today to question on the issue.

The Congress backed the Chief Minister with top leaders saying Virbhadra Singh was categorical about his innocence in the matter. “This is not a hit-and-run case as being made out to be by Arun Jaitley. BJP leaders can’t just hold a press conference, sully the reputation of our leaders and expect us to respond. The Chief Minister has denied involvement in the matter. The fact is the BJP has not learnt to live with Virbhadra Singh’s victory in the last elections,” a senior AICC leader told TNS.

The Congress leadership also indicated that they would stand behind Virbhadra. “Anurag Thakur, president of BJP youth wing, is facing a Lok Sabha election. Naturally, the charges against Virbhadra have something to do with that fact,” said a senior Congress leader.

Virbhadra has, in his reply to Ambika Soni, Congress general secretary in charge of Himachal, explained that the project - 15 MW Saikothi Hydro Power Project in Chamba - allotted to Venture Energy and Technology owned by Vakamulla Chandrasekhar -- was cancelled on November 12 this year after the firm failed to pay penalty that was due and there was thus no quid pro quo as alleged by the BJP.

The BJP has accused Virbhadra Singh of granting extension to the company earlier this year after his wife allegedly accepted Rs 60 lakh in the form of a loan from Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and he accepted another Rs 1.2 crore. The Chief Minister has denied the allegations threatening to file a defamation suit.

Anurag Thakur questioned the PM’s silence on the matter and asked Virbhadra to declare the total money he and his family had received from the firm, shares he and his family held and the relationship this firm had had with a company called Maple, 100 per cent owned by Virbhadra Singh’s children. The BJP has alleged that Maple extended Rs 1.99 crore to Chandrasekhar, indicating deeper business ties between him and the company.

Una, January 3
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today dared his bête noir Prem Kumar Dhumal and his sons to file a legal case against him on allegations of corruption levelled by the trio against him and members of his family. He was addressing a public meeting at Daulatpur Chowk in Gagret Assembly segment today.

Virbhadra Singh continued to fire salvos at Dhumal, while showering praise on former CM Shanta Kumar, saying the latter always used civilised language and never stooped below a certain level in politics. He said during the Dhumal regime, development had come to a standstill, while the government machinery was misused to settle political scores at all costs.

As he arrived in Daulatpur Chowk, local MLA and AICC Secretary Rakesh Kalia had arranged a massive reception for the CM and his Cabinet colleagues, which included IPH Minister Vidya Stokes and Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri. The dignitaries were taken in an open jeep through the bazaar amid the beat of drums and sloganeering.

Earlier, the CM laid the foundation stone of a sewerage scheme for Gagret town. The outlay for the scheme is Rs 13.68 crores and it is estimated it would benefit a population of 4,236 persons living in the seven municipal wards of the town.

Panchkula, January 3
In a major twist to the Jyoti murder case, father of the victim, Buti Ram, who had turned hostile, resumed his battle against Doon MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary today, saying he was held at gunpoint while he was on his way to Panchkula on the day of evidence for him to say he did not know Chaudhary.

Buti Ram deposed before the Commissioner of Police Rajbir Deswal and submitted a CD of the recording of the men pressurising him and offering him money to keep mum else he would be eliminated.

Buti Ram, in his application, referred to the threats and torture he constantly received, particularly from December 1 to the day of turning hostile. He said Chaudhary's wife also came to his residence offering Rs 21 lakh.

Buti has named certain men in his application to the police, requesting security and registration of case against all those who threatened him, including the MLA's wife.

The allegations by Buti Ram in his complaint stated, "A Ludhiana resident contacted me and said Chaudhary had asked the police too not to investigate much and had "bought" the police as well. On December 1, 2012, the Ludhiana resident and his wife took me in a car to a nearby tea stall. They threatened me badly and being helpless, I switched on my phone and did a recording, thus making a CD," said Buti in his complaint.

Buti and his family constantly received threats for them to keep mum in the court and on December 6, he submitted a medical certificate saying he wasn't well. Finding serious threat to life, Buti submitted a complaint in the local police post in Bhunga, but surprisingly, no action was taken.

On December 22, when Buti Ram, his daughter Ishu, a local advocate and driver reached Manimajra and made a halt at a hotel to testify in the case on December 23, Buti received a call from Jyoti's maternal uncle that Buti's wife was seriously ill. When all reached Hoshiarpur late at night, they saw everything was okay - Buti and his family were threatened with elimination, said the complaint.

"Chaudhary's wife came to our premises offering 21 lakh. She said though Rs 1 crore was to be offered, because about 45 witnesses were already in their favour, they would be giving just Rs 21 lakh. She said they had already won the case and if I didn't listen, the entire family would be eliminated," said Buti.

Not losing hope, Buti moved on with his advocate in the wee hours, when his car was forcibly stopped and four persons reportedly thrashed him, held him at gunpoint and asked him to say he did not know Chaudhary and the other accused.

Buti was followed by the MLA's men to the court.

Following allegations by Buti Ram, Panchkula Police decided to lodge an FIR against those he named. They have asked Buti's advocate to move the security application in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Buti was temporarily given a gunman on the spot for returning home.

Shimla, January 3
The Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) today criticised the state government for using force against its activists who were protesting against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

State BJYM president Sunil Thakur accused the police of using force to disperse the activists who were peacefully demonstrating against the Chief Minister and the state government.

He said no action was taken against the activists of the Youth Congress who too held a protest at the same time.

He claimed that some activists received injuries as they were taken to Boileauganj and Sadar police stations. “The government cannot crush our voice as we will continue demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, who must step down in wake of the serious corruption charges levelled against him,” he said.

The activists on their release burnt the effigy of Virbhadra Singh outside the Boileauganj police station. They warned the Congress regime not to misuse its power to crush demonstrations which were the right of the people in a democracy.

Shimla, January 3
The House of Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) today proposed a mix of unit area method (UAM) and the old system of annual ratable value (ARV) for which the corporation would conduct a public hearing on January 16 and 17 in Bachat Bhawan before it takes up the matter for framing bylaws to implement the tax system in the city.

The councillors expressed concern in the special session of the House today called to discuss the Unit Area Method (UAM), saying if it was introduced as such, it would shift the burden from rich tax-payers on to the poor ones. “We have suggested a mix of the ARV and UAM, so that non-rich segments of traders, house owners and shopkeepers are not burdened unnecessarily,” said Sanjay Chauhan, Mayor, Shimla, who chaired the special House meeting today.

The SMC will lose a substantial amount of tax collected from the rich tax-payers in prime locations in the city if it introduces UAM as proposed by the SMC’s consultant to bring every household under the new tax net, revealed councillors.

“We expect the SMC tax collection to zoom to Rs 28 crore from Rs 8 crore at present, if they bring about 48,000 owners — 28,000 households and 20,000 business establishments - under the UAM,” said Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor. But it is not happening as the tax collection will increase marginally to Rs 12 crore or so, he added.

As of now, tax collection covers just one-third of total household owners in the city, revealed a survey conducted by PRUDA, a consultant hired by the SMC to propose UAM of tax for the city. Under this, the city has to be divided into five different zones for tax evaluation, considering factors like location, usage, type, rent value and structure, said SMC officials.

The SMC is caught in a dilemma as the previous government had amended Sections 86 and 88 of Municipal Act and abolished tax exemption given to owners having 100 square metres area in February 2012. The corporation will lose funds it is getting under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) if it does not come up with the implementation, said the officials, adding the House has to expedite its implementation.

As the House stands divided over the proposed system, it has called a public hearing on January 16-17, seeking objections on the UAM, said Assistant Municipal Commissioner, SMC, Naresh Thakur. The House will suggest bylaws and factors on the proposed system on January 22, he added.

Shimla, January 3
Former Chief Minister and Opposition Leader PK Dhumal today said the last 10-year rule of the UPA regime has been the most disappointing period, a reflection of which was evident from the press conference of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

In a statement issued here today, Dhumal said the Prime Minister's interaction with the Press was very unimpressive and disappointing.

"It was against all norms of decency, the manner in which the Prime Minister targeted Narendra Modi," he remarked. He said targeting Modi clearly reflects the sense of desperation and frustration in the Congress camp.

Dhumal said while lashing out at Modi, Dr Manmohan Singh even forgot the dignity of the post of the Prime Minister.

"As for the stand taken by the PM during his visit to Raipur, a person holding a responsible position should speak with dignity and a sense of responsibility - The PM spoke very differently," he said.

The BJP leader said the 10-year-rule of the UPA would go down as a dark period which was nothing less than a nightmare for the country's people, especially the common man. "The PM completely failed to deliver, as he did not reflect any leadership qualities or any concern for even the riot victims," he said.

The BJP leader said the most glaring inadequacies of the Prime Minister were weak leadership qualities, wrong economic policies, indecision, corruption by his ministerial colleagues and failure to check price rise.

Shimla, January 3
Having got the backing of Cabinet ministers and Pradesh Congress committee chief Sukhvinder Singh, the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the HP State Agriculture Marketing Board and corporations today launching a counter-attack against Opposition leader PK Dhumal and his son and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur.

In a joint statement to the media here today, chairman, HP State Agriculture Marketing Board, Dr Subhash Manglate, vice-chairman, State Industrial Development Corporation, Atul Sharma, vice-chairman, Himachal Pradesh Forest Development Corporation, Kewal Singh Pathania, chairman, State Building and Other Construction Workers Board, Bawa Hardeep Singh and Chet Ram Thakur, chairman, Milk Federation, Chet Ram charged that BJP leaders were levelling false and politically motivated allegations against Virbhadra Singh. The BJP leadership has become directionless and issueless and is making baseless statements for fulfilling its political motives, they claimed.

They said Dhumal and Anurag should analyse their misdeeds before levelling false allegations against anybody. They said Anurag Thakur was misguiding the honest people of the state and was minting money by making false promises of promoting cricket as it is run by businessmen from Jalandhar in the state, they charged.

The BJP under Dhumal set a new record in corruption in Himachal Pradesh as they sold lands to outsiders and tapped phones of even the common man during the previous BJP regime, they alleged.

They further alleged scam worth Rs 2,800 crore took place in the name of HPCA with the support of the then BJP Government. Land worth Rs 250 crore at Dharamsala, Shimla and Lal Pani was given to HPCA at a lease of only one rupee and later, the HPCA had illegally been converted into a company, they alleged.

Shimla, January 3
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) has proposed a marginal hike in tariffs for consumers ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as the ruling Congress government does not want to give any fresh "bijli, pani or sarak" issue to the Opposition BJP this time.

The board is treading cautiously as the BJP and the CPM had slammed 
the Congress over the hike of about 15 per cent 
for domestic consumers previously.

HPSEBL officials are tight-lipped over the hike being proposed in its petition to be filed before the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) soon. The commission takes the final call on the proposed power tariff.

The hike averages from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, depending on the expenditures incurred by the board over one year, said Subhash Negi, Chairman, SERC. The board has yet to send its petition on the hike to the commission, he added.

The industry, which consumes 70 per cent of power, has witnessed a slowdown in terms of load growth. In the industrial sector, it declined from 5 per cent in 2012-13 to about 4 per cent 2013-14 and may plead with the regulator to watch the interest of the industry as well, said HPSEBL officials.

Although domestic consumers account for about 70 per cent of total consumers, the industry accounts for 70 per cent of the total electricity consumption, yet it accounts for 30 per cent of the total number of consumers.

The Government Subsidies Bill to domestic consumers stands at Rs 320 crore and it may go up if the government maintains the status quo. The revenue gap has come down from Rs 925 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 453 crore in 2013-14.

The regulator has declared a tariff of Rs 2.85 per unit for domestic consumers in 0-40 units Rs 4.70 per unit in the 40-250 units consumption slab, but the government is giving subsidies charging Re 1 and Rs 2.83 per unit from consumers.

Managing Director, HBSEBL, PC Negi said, “The board has yet to freeze the proposed tariff for 2014 which will come into force since April 1. The demand and supply these days is evenly placed. The expenditures and revenue will be balanced judiciously and the hike will be marginal for 2014 power tariff."

Kangra, January 3
Sewerage system project, which was being initiated a decade ago in Kangra town, is yet to be completed.

Sewerage pipes rust by the roadside in Kangra town

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had laid down the foundation stone of the Rs-9.28 crore sewerage scheme on January 17, 2004. However, even after almost a decade, the pipe laying is yet to be completed.

PR Agnihotri, a retired PWD Executive Engineer, said the town was in dire need of this facility, which had not been provided to the residents here due to the alleged callousness of different governments.

He said in the beginning, delay in finding a site for three treatment plants and paucity of funds led to the completion of the project being put off.

He said the scheme had no proper planning and even the layout plan for sewerage pipes was yet to be finalised despite 75 per cent of the work being completed. The delay in the completion of the scheme was proving a burden on the state exchequer due to escalation in prices of material.

Rajeev K Puri, a local resident, said pipes were laid in some parts of the town but the pipe-laying work was yet to be completed The work on the scheme was going on a snail’s pace.

The cost of the project had escalated from Rs 9.28 crore to Rs 13 crore in 2011, which had further escalated now.

A tussle within the local BJP leadership during the previous Dhumal government and now dissensions within the Congress has been pushing the sewerage scheme to a dock.

Nahan, January 3
A complaint of molestation and rape of schoolgirls by a drawing teacher has come to light at Shirikyari Government Middle School falling in the Shillai block of Sirmaur district.

The police, which were initially reluctant to register a case, finally registered a case under Sections 376 and 354 of the IPC after the villagers staged a protest in front of the Shillai police station. The teacher is yet to be arrested.

Yogesh Rolta, DSP, Paonta Sahib, confirming the news, said the case came to light when a group of villagers lodged a complaint and also pressed for the registration of an FIR against the teacher, who had been working in the school as a para teacher.

He said the police were investigating the matter.

According to the complaint, a girl residing in a nearby village refused to go to the school and on being questioned by her parents, she said the drawing teacher had molested her. Her father reported the matter to the school management committee (SMC) where cases of two more girls also came to light.

According to information, at least three cases of rape had come to light involving the teacher, while eight girls in total were molested or raped. However, others were yet to come forward and lodge a complaint.

Shimla, January 3
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau can soon file a chargesheet in two cases registered against the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), headed by Anurag Thakur, MP from Hamirpur and son of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Senior officials of the CID and the Vigilance Bureau today held a high-level meeting with Acting Chief Secretary P Mitra, who is also the Principal Secretary (Home), to discuss the matter. Senior Vigilance officers, including the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Prithvi Raj, were present at the meeting.

The chargesheet is likely to be filed next week in a case against the HPCA for converting it into a company from a society. A case was registered against the HPCA on August 1, 2013, under Sections 406, 420 and 120 of the IPC in this regard.

Anurag Thakur, who heads the HPCA, is likely to be named in the FIR along with other office-bearers of the cricket body. “It is almost two-week back that we have completed the formalities. Now, after getting proper legal opinion, it will be filed in a court anytime,” said sources.

The other case, in which the chargesheet is complete, concerns the grant of land to the HPCA for the construction of high-end hotel Pavilion and its commercial use.

Two IAS officers, Deepak Sanan and RS Gupta, who have already been charge-sheeted on July 26 last year, are likely to be named in the FIR, along with other officials who were associated with the process.

However, the issue of seeking the prosecution sanction from the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) in the Centre before naming the two officers could come in the way of filing the chargesheet in the court.

The sources said it was felt that if the request for seeking the prosecution sanction was moved now, the FIR could get delayed. “We are still contemplating whether to first seek the sanction and then register the case or make a passing reference of the two officers' role in the chargesheet and include them by name later when the permission is received,” he said.

During investigation it was found that a company, the Himalayan Players Cricket Association (HPCA), was registered at the office of the Registrar of Companies, Kanpur, on July 14, 2005. Later, on August 31, 2005, its name was reportedly changed to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and later it was merged with the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association without following the procedure under the Society Act.

Manali, January 3
Local BJP MLA Govind Singh Thakur today said Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, ignored him and he had to boycott all programmes of the carnival.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Govind said the winter carnival was being politicised and its stage was used for political speeches by Congress leaders in the presence of the Chief Minister and he was left with no option rather than boycotting the official functions.

He said local talents were being ignored in the carnival and mahila mandals and self-help groups had also been discouraged. Thakur said he had given a courtesy call to the Chief Minister at Hadimba temple on Thursday before the start of the cultural procession.

He further said for the development of the area, the Manali Development Authority should be founded whose chairman should be an IAS officer. Talking about the inauguration of a bridge at 17 Mile, Panchayat Bhawan and fire station building in Manali by the CM, Govind said stones were laid by the BJP government. He alleged that the CM had announced nothing new in Manali.

Govind said local folk artistes should be given special space in the carnival to encourage local art and culture.

Shimla, January 3
The death of two tourists - Ved Bala, 30, and Rohit, 10, in a road accident yesterday at Kufri has exposed the rampant lack of warning signs for commuters travelling on the frozen road track of Shimla-Kufri-Narkanda stretch of the National Highway-22.

According to police, the vehicle carrying 16 tourists from Hissar, Haryana, failed to negotiate a turn at Kufri as it skid off the road and plunged 20 metres down on to the Kufri Bypass from the Old Road. Ved Bala and Rohit were declared brought dead while 14 other tourists sustained injuries and were reported to be out of danger at IGMC.

DSP city Pankaj Sharma said the accident occurred due to over-speeding. The driver has been booked for negligence in driving, he added. The police today lodged an FIR on the complaint of Vinod Sangroli, resident of Baggi, stating the tourist Swift Dzire (HR99-RN Temp 4581) hit his vehicle (HP03-4291 Temp) at Kufri.

PWD engineers claimed they had spread the earth material on the icy layer on the road after snow was cleared. The layer was eroded due to the high traffic flow on the highway, it was stated.

Shimla, January 3
Taking a serious view of the issue of throwing of municipal solid waste (MSW) into the Beas, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Executive Officer of the Mandi Municipal Council to file an affidavit explaining a complete mechanism of the collection of the solid waste in Mandi and its disposal.

It further directed to explain whether the solid waste was being thrown directly or indirectly into the river or any other stream. It also directed to furnish information on the status of environment clearances pending before the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority for the establishment of the Municipal Solid Waste Plant at Mandi and steps taken in this regard.

While holding a circuit court sitting, the NGT, headed by Justice Swatantar Kumar, observed that it was a case of complete neglect on the part of the MC.

Bilaspur, January 3
All members of the Rishi Markandeya Ex-Servicemen Transport Sehkari and Kalyan Samiti staged a dharna at Kharsi Chowk, about 45 km from here, today. Led by their president Surender Singh, general secretary Jogender Singh Thakur, vice-president Subedar Daulat Ram and treasurer Krishan Lal Thakur, they held a five-hour-long protest against alleged injustice done to them by the state Ex-Servicemen Welfare Corporation, Hamirpur, regarding deployment of trucks in cement loading work at JP Bagha Cement Factory in the district.

They also raised slogans against the corporation.

Addressing the rally, their chief adviser and INTUC state general secretary Bhagat Singh Varma alleged that the corporation was not implementing orders of the High Court, which had asked it to deploy 70 trucks of the society in the cement loading work.

He alleged that the corporation had only employed 31 trucks of the society, while 39 other trucks were still standing on the road since the last six months without any work and their owners, ex-servicemen, were suffering as they had purchased these trucks after taking loans from banks.

Varma said the corporation must obey the orders of the High Court, failing which suitable action would be taken against it. He said the society would intensify its agitation from January 7 to force the corporation to deploy the remaining 39 trucks of the district.

Shimla, January 3
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will preside over the Annual Plan meeting for the financial year 2014-15 to be held on January 14 and 15, with legislators in the capital here.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the state government said the priority demands of the MLAs would be considered at the meeting so that these could be incorporated in the budget.

The meeting with MLAs of Solan, Sirmour and Shimla districts will be held in the morning session on January 14, while views of the legislators from Mandi, Kullu and Bilaspur would be held in the afternoon.

He said the meeting with MLAs of Kangra, Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts would be held on January 15 morning while a meeting with legislators from Chamba, Una and Hamirpur districts would be held in the afternoon.

He said priorities of MLAs regarding roads, bridges and small irrigation and drinking water supply schemes had been invited at the Annual Planning meeting of the state.

He said issues such as generating more resources, better administration and steps for containing expenditure on various heads would also be discussed with the MLAs at the meeting.

Chamba, January 3
It is not only common people who wish to join the AAP in this region but former member of the Congress Shiv Sharma has resolved to join it along with his well-wishers.

Shiv said he would decide his future course of action soon after meeting top AAP leaders in New Delhi. “I have a tangible plan to launch a mobilisation drive strengthening the AAP and gear up its activists for the Lok Sabha elections slated for May this year,” said Sharma. — OC

Bilaspur, January 3
Led by their Action Committee Chairman Ram Singh, hundreds of villagers including a large number of women staged a slogan-shouting demonstration through town bazaars and later held a three-hour “dharna” outside the Deputy Commissioner's office under the aegis of “Four Lane Express Highway Visthapit Punarvaas Samiti” here this afternoon.

Drawn from all areas where this highway is being constructed from Kainchi Mode to Bhagedh in Bilaspur district here, these villagers raised vociferous slogans, stressing their demands and warning the government against inordinate delay in addressing their grievances.

Addressing their rally, their leaders strongly criticised the ruling political leadership for its utter failure to protect their interests and said its silence was raising several doubts in their minds regarding their sincerity in helping their cause.

They said these leaders must come forward to help them and solve their demands immediately as charges are already being hurled on them that they have been silenced by so-called “favours” showered on them by the construction authorities.

Demonstrators were sore and worried regarding their proper rehabilitation and expressed resentment that they were being uprooted by the state government without any agreement on their rehabilitation before uprooting them and taking over their ancestral lands, houses and all properties without their consent or without ever consulting them at all.

A number of their Action Committee leaders said they were running out of patience and they would have to decide to resort to “direct action" if the district administration, state government and local ruling party leaders do not step in to ensure that they sign an agreement with oustees and solve their problems. They urged them to end their “considered silence" at the earliest.

They declared that now, general house of oustees would be held at Auhar on January 7 to decide their next course of action. They said a memorandum of demands and grievances had already been submitted to the district administration and the state government and they must wake up in time “before the situation deteriorates further and things go out of hand”.

Dharamsala, January 3
Congress workers, led by vice-president of the Forest Corporation Kewal Singh Pathania, today burnt the effigies of BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Anurag Thakur at the Kachehri crossing here yesterday.

Addressing people on the occasion, Kewal Singh Pathania, a Virbhadra Singh loyalist, alleged that Congress workers would not take allegations against the Chief Minister lying down.

In case the BJP leaders did not stop levelling corruption allegations against Virbhadra, Congress workers would take to the streets and confront the BJP leaders. This could lead to a law and order problem in the state, he said.

Kewal Singh Pathania also addressed a press conference and alleged that all allegations being levelled against the Chief Minister and his family were false and frivolous.

With the BJP leaders upping the ante against Virbhadra and his family over the alleged loan taken by him from a promoter of Hyderabad-based power company, loyalists of the Chief Minister have also decided to take to the streets.

Shimla, January 3
The 10th National Ice Skating Championship got off to a spectacular start today at Asia’s oldest natural ice skating rink in the queen of hills with over 200 participants, including four foreigners, vying for ranks.

The two-day event is being held in novice, sub-junior, junior and senior categories for both boys and girls in speed and figure skating and ice skaters from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Delhi are competing in the event.

Ice Skating Association president Bhuvnesh Banga said Shimla was hosting the championship for the fourth consecutive year and the standard was improving. “The response is good as the number of participants have increased from about 150 last year to more than 200 this year,” he said.

The first three rank holders would be given coaching to participate in international events, he said.

Shreya (15) from the US, who had come here to participate in junior girl figure skating, said, “I came to India to pay visit to my grandparents living in Kolkata but could not resist the urge of participating in the championship and landed in Shimla on January 1. The atmosphere here is ideal, in the US, we have indoor rinks, but the feeling of performing at a natural ice skating rink is beyond everything. Moreover, I feel at home and can associate with the language better”.

Anup Yama, the first Indian to win the world roller skating championship, also participated in the championship. The highlight of the evening session was the Torch Light Tattoo, formation of tattoos with ‘mashal’ by the members of the Shimla Ice Skating Rink.