Shimla, January 14
Acting on the directions of Rahul Gandhi to finalise the candidates at the earliest, the Election Committee of the Congress will meet here on January 21 to deliberate on the probable candidates for the Lok Sabha poll from four constituencies in the state.

Barring the Mandi Lok Sabha seat where the candidature of Pratibha Singh, sitting MP and wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is being considered a foregone conclusion, the decision on candidates for the other three seats is yet to be taken.

The meeting is likely to be attended by all senior leaders, including the Chief Minister and state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

The committee consists of 17 members, including ministers Kaul Singh Thakur and GS Bali, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary, and MLA Asha Kumari and former ministers Chander Kumar, Gangu Ram Musafir and Ram Lal Thakur, will finalise the panel of candidates.

The panel of names of candidates for the four seats will be forwarded to the Central Election Committee.

So far, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee has received 17 applications from candidates keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections. This includes Pratibha Singh from Mandi and former minister Chander Kumar from the Kangra seat. Another applicant is Raghubir Bali, son of Transport Minister GS Bali, who is keen to make his electoral debut in the Lok Sabha poll. He had unsuccessfully contested the election for the state Youth Congress president against Vikramaditya Singh, son of the Chief Minister, last time.

From the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, Vinod Sultanpuri (Shimla), who had lost the Assembly election from the Kasauli segment by a narrow margin of 23 votes, has applied for the party ticket. In fact, his father KD Sultanpuri remained Lok Sabha MP for seven terms and he could find favour with Rahul Gandhi, who is keen to field the youth.

Ram Lal Thakur, a former minister, has applied for the ticket from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. However, he is unlikely to be fielded by the party as he has lost the Lok Sabha election twice earlier and Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to field such leaders.

However, some prominent names which could be discussed by the panel included Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Rajinder Rana, an independent MLA from Sujanpur, for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. Mohan Lal Bragta, MLA from Rohru, could also find favour as he is being considered from Shimla. 

In the race

* The committee has received 17 applications

* This includes Pratibha Singh from Mandi

* Former minister Chander Kumar and Raghubir Bali, son of Transport Minister GS Bali, keen to contest from Kangra

* Vinod Sultanpuri, who had lost Assembly election from Kasauli, has applied for the ticket from Shimla. Mohan Lal Bragta, MLA from Rohru, is also in the race

* Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Rajinder Rana, an independent MLA from Sujanpur, are probables from Hamipur

Shimla, January 14
The maximum day temperatures stayed above normal in most parts of Himachal even as tribal areas had another spell of mild snowfall and mid and lower hills had scattered rains.

The minimum temperatures increased marginally by one to 2 degree C, while maximum temperatures stayed three to seven degrees above normal even as the sky remained overcast and strong winds accompanied by drizzle swept the region.

Kalpa received 5 cm snow while Keylong recorded 2 cm of fresh snow. Manali received 15 mm rain while Banjar had 8 mm rain, followed by Rampur 5 mm, Gohar 3 mm, Jhandutta, Bhuntar, Sundernagar, Seobagh, Pandoh and Rohru 2 mm each.

Bharmaur recorded a low of -13.1°C while Keylong and Kalpa recorded minimum temperature of 5.1°C and -0.6°C, a rise of three degrees since yesterday. Manali recorded a minimum temperature of 1.6°C while Nahan recorded a low of 5.2°C, followed by Shimla, Bhuntar and Dharamsala, 6.2 degree C, four to five degree above normal, Sundernagar and Una 6.8°C, Palampur 7.4°C and Solan 7.6°C.

Sundernagar, Una and Solan recorded a maximum of 20.7°C, 20.2°C and 20°C, Nahan 17.3°C, Bhunter 16.2°C, Dharamsala 13.6°C and Kalpa 4°C. Shimla recorded a high of 16°C, 8°C above normal.

The local Met office has predicted dry weather in mid and lower hills over the next two days and rain or snow in higher reaches tomorrow as well as on January 17 and 18.

Shimla, January 14
The non-teaching employees of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) today decided to launch an agitation over the non-acceptance of their demands and formed a joint coordination committee of representatives of all four employees unions.

The representatives of all unions decided to hold a gate meeting tomorrow and serve a notice on the university to accept their demands.

Hitendra Thakur, who was elected president of the coordination committee, said employees could adopt the path of agitation for which the authorities would be responsible. A 26-point demand charter had been prepared and announcement about the detailed agitation programme would be announced tomorrow, he added.

The major demands of the employees included implementation of the decisions of the Executive Council in letter and spirit, the benefit of Secretariat allowance to retiring employees, filling of vacant posts, strengthening of the pension corpus, scrapping the policy of outsourcing of services, creation of more posts of non-teaching employees and computerisation of all sections.

Tattapani, January 14
More than 1.5 lakh pilgrims today took a holy dip in the hot water springs of the Tapobhumi of sage Jamadgni, believed to be a confluence of hot sulphur springs and the icy cold water of the Sutlej on the occasion of Makar Sankranti festival.

A large number of pilgrims came here from all over the state to have the last dip as the hot bath springs will be submerged in the 800 mw Kol Dam project executed by the NTPC. The crowd was so large that the Sunni-Tattapani-Shimla road was choked by vehicles up to 6 km across the Tattapani bridge.

But the pilgrims believe that the hot water springs will sprout on the higher level of the dam. They also performed tuladaan along the river to ward off the bad omens. The pilgrims started taking a dip at 3 am. The rush picked up and bathing ghats wore packed to capacity. After bath, they weighed against foodgrains and donated it to priests.

Though the NTPC has decided to relocate the hot water springs at a higher spot, the government has yet to construct a structure for hot baths, said pilgrims.

“We have got Rs 14 lakh for developing new sites from the NTPC and the construction is on”, said Vivek Chauhan, SDM, Karsog. “We have a company of policemen to keep traffic flow smooth but the crowds were unexpected”, he added.

Women police personnel were deployed for the safety of woman pilgrims. “We had ensured enough parking for pilgrims along the roads so that traffic was noit affected,” he added.

NPTC spokesperson Praveen Kumar said the new sites had been located at the higher level of the dam. The water in the dam was being discharged in a phased manner.

Shimla, January 14
The state has proposed an annual plan of Rs 4,400 crore for 2014-15 which is Rs 300 crore (7.4 per cent) more than the current year’s plan of Rs 4,100 crore.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, while chairing the district-wise meetings of MLAs, said the focus of the plan was on the overall development of the state and implementation of the Congress manifesto which the government had adopted as its policy document.

The Chief Minister said the government departments were preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of various developmental projects and making efforts to get them sanctioned at an appropriate level.

He said the government would try to fund the priorities of the MLAs, firstly from the grant-based schemes of the Government of India like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), Central Road Funds (CRF), Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and externally-aided projects. “Those priorities which are not covered under these will be sent to NABARD for funding through loans,” he added.

The CM said government educational institutions would be provided in the state with their own buildings in a phased manner.

A project would be prepared to channelise the Pabbar from Sandasali up to Hatkoti on the analogy of the Swan and the PWD. Forest rest houses at Khadrala would be maintained, repaired and renovated, he added.

Referring to the problem of stray animals, the Chief Minister said it had become a social problem and micro chip would be fitted in their bodies, containing all the data of the owner of the animal to check the menace.

The Chief Minister held meetings with MLAs of Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi and Bilaspur districts and Cabinet Ministers Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh Thakur, Prakash Chaudhary, Dr (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil and Anil Sharma also gave their suggestions.

The main thrust of the MLAs was on the construction and maintenance of roads, water supply schemes, irrigation schemes, opening of health institutions and filling of vacant posts in health and education institutions.

Gobind Ram Sharma from Arki, Krishan Lal Thakur from Nalagarh, Dr Rajiv Saijal from Kasauli, Suresh Kashyap from Pachhad, Rajiv Bindal from Nahan, Baldev Singh Tomar from Shillai, Balbir Singh Verma from Chopal, Anirudh Singh from Kasumpti, Suresh Bhardwaj from Shimla, Mohan Lal Brakta from Rohru, Vinod Kumar from Nachan, Jai Ram Thakur from Seraj, Inder Singh from Sarkaghat, Bamber Thakur from Bilaspur and Randhir Sharma from Naina devi participated in the meetings.

Dharamsala, January 14
People from lower areas of Himachal are facing problems in getting passports. The only Passport Seva Kendra is located in Shimla and people have to visit from far-off areas for passports.

Lt Col HS Minhas (retd) from Dharamsala, who wanted a passport for his daughter, got to know that the only Passport Seva Kendra is in Shimla and appointment had to be taken online.

Minhas said he went to Shimla after taking an online appointment, but the passport application was not accepted due to a minor mistake. Now he had to undergo about 8-hour journey back to Dharamsala to get the mistake rectified.

The new system for passports is more cumbersome for people residing in Kangra, Chamba, Mandi, Hamirpur and Una districts, as earlier they submitted the applications at the DC’s office.

The other affected people said they were given appointments at Passport Seva Kendras around 10 am. People from lower areas have to travel overnight to reach in time at these centres. If they miss any document, they have to go back home to complete the formalities.

People are demanding that the facility for the submission of passport applications at the DC's office should be resumed as the journey to Shimla from various parts of the state is difficult, time consuming and costly.

Sources said since the Ministry for External Affairs had outsourced the passport services to a private company, the facility at the DC’s office could not be resumed. As per the new system, people had to go to Passport Seva Kendra as their photos were now clicked there through web camera.

However, in other states, Passport Seva Kendras have been opened at various places. In Punjab, Passport Seva Kendras are also available in Jalandhar and Amritsar, besides Chandigarh.

The sources also said the Passport Seva Kendras could not be opened at various places in Himachal due to lesser business.

If more Passport Seva Kendras cannot be opened, then the old system of submission of passport applications at the DC's office should be revived for the facility of people of hill states, said people.

More pain for some gain

* The only passport centre is in Shimla

* If applicants miss any document, they have to go back home to complete the formalities

* Demand to restart the facility of submission of passport applications at the DC's office 

Chamba, January 14
Officials of the Chamba forest circle will get tough with sand and bajri collectors who are extracting these materials from the Ravi and its tributaries of Siul and other local streams in Chamba, Sahoo, Pukhri, Sundla, Tissa, Bharmaur and Lamu forest blocks. A ban in this regard was imposed by the National Green Tribunal.

Revealing this here today, a senior forest official told reporters that the Forest Department had taken cognizance of 24 incidents of mining of sand and stone from the riverbeds and also dumping muck generated from the construction activities by hydropower projects.

Those involved in these activities were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Forest Act and a compensation of Rs 1,53,433 was realised from them in December, he further said.

Despite this, the illegal muck dumping was continuing in the surroundings of Chamba town and forest officials were still keeping track of offenders who would be brought to book soon, the official claimed.

He said during the past nine months 89 cases had been apprehended and a total compensation of Rs 4.64 lakh had been realised. 

Una, January 14
Having finally decided to grapple with the issue of increasing drug abuse amongst local youth, the panchayat of Dulehar, a far-flung village of Haroli block, that borders Punjab, has solicited the intervention of the police and district administration. At its meeting held on January 12, the gram panchayat passed resolution number 3, urging the authorities to help them fight the social evil, which has taken alarming proportions.

Villagers complain that at least four illegal liquor vends were operating in the panchayat, selling open spurious liquor to the locals. Besides, it is alleged that banned narcotics such as smack, hashish and poppy husk were conveniently available to the youth.

The nefarious activities are adversely affecting social, moral and health standards of the residents, it has been alleged.

Panchayat Pradhan Subhash Chand and Up-Pradhan Randev Singh, while giving a copy of the resolution to The Tribune, said a number of youth from adjoining panchayats were also coming to Dulehar for sinister reasons.

He said some residents were in favour of registering a protest with the local MLA and Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, but the action was put off.

In his address during the inaugural function of the camp, local Zila Parishad member Amandeep ‘Moni’ had requested the minister to intervene in the matter as more and more youth of the area were getting into the drug trap. Local activists Munish Rana and Randeep Thakur have also formed a pressure group in the village.

The panchayat has demanded that the district administration take strict action against anti-social elements and put an end to the lawlessness that reportedly prevails in the village.

Palampur, January 14
The entire Emergency staff of the Primary Health Centre (PHC), Khaira, was found absent from duty yesterday. On the directions of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Block Medical Officer (BMO), Bhawarna, Satinder Sood paid a visit to the Khaira hospital and found that a doctor and other para-medical staff were absent from duty. The health institution was also found locked.

It may be recalled that during the visit of the Chief Minister last week, local residents had complained of not getting Emergency services at the hospital, despite adequate staff and doctors appointed by the state government.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh took a serious note of the incident and directed the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kangra, to look into the matter and send a report to his office immediately.

Sources said the Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, had recommended a disciplinary action against the erring employees.

A detailed report has been sent to the higher authorities for further action. 

Shimla, January 14
The government has failed to provide necessary facilities to tourists in Shimla and tourists spots in the peripheral areas of the “British town”.

Tourists grapple with the problem of parking as soon as they enter the city, and coolies and guides surround them, vying with each other to take them to the hotel of their choice. As the State Tourism Development Corporation has developed tourist complexes and constructed hotels and restaurants, the Department of Tourism has focused more on publicity rather than creating amenities. There is not even a single toilet from Kalka to Kufri constructed by the department. Tourists have to buy coffee or snacks just to use the toilet.

While the main town lacks proper parking facilities, regular water supply, hassle-free traffic and standard civic amenities, the major tourist spots around Shimla have not been able to attract the attention of the Tourism Department. The tourist trade in spots like Crignano, Kufri, Glen and Green Valley has been neglected and the business has been monopolised by agents, taxi drivers and guides. “Nothing significant has been done to promote tourism in the state. It is just the natural beauty and weather that get the tourists to come to Himachal,” says Joint Secretary, Tourism Industry Stakeholders Welfare Society, Rahul Chawla.

According to the data compiled by the state Tourism Department, on an average, about 1.5 crore tourists have been visiting the state during the past five years. These include tourists visiting famous temples and foreigners who visit Buddhist monasteries or those interested in trekking.

Ritika, a tourist from Punjab, said, “Ever since we entered Shimla, we heard from agents, guides, taxi drivers and coolies about Kufri and rides, but little did we know that we were in for commission agents pitching for these at every step."

"Visiting Kufri, full of filth, was nothing less than a nightmare," she said.

Shiwani, who was accompanying her sister Reetika, said they ended spending Rs 4,000 per person for seeing the apple gardens, Ski Point where no skiing was visible and not to forget seeing Badrinath and Kedarnath through the telescope.

General secretary, Travel Association of Shimla, Manu Sood, said, "We need a single window system to address all grievances. Better infrastructure like roads and toilets should be provided by the government." Additional Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Manoj Sharma said some proposals to create amenities for tourists around Shimla were under consideration, but concrete plans were yet to be formulated.

Dharamsala, January 14
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh laid the foundation stone of various development schemes in Dharamsala on Saturday. He said the state government was ensuring planned and systematic development of the urban areas with special focus on strengthening essential civic amenities and infrastructure.

He said housing units were being developed in major towns of the state and 18 projects worth Rs 406.32 crore had been sent for approval to the Union Ministry of Urban Development for small and medium towns under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for construction of 328 dwelling units at Lower Barol in Dharamsala under Integrated Housing and Slum Development Project (IHSDP).

He also laid the foundation stone of a faculty house-cum-college canteen for the Government College of Teachers Education in Dharamsala, which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 3.10 crore.

The CM earlier laid the foundation stone of a multi-purpose building of the District Red Cross Society, Kangra, at Dharamsala to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 582.80 lakh. The building will have the facility of a guest house, creche, conference-cum-training hall, space for commercial activities and parking for 40 vehicles.

The CM lauded the efforts of the District Red Cross Society in serving the suffering humanity in times of distress and undertaking various welfare activities for the needy, poor and weaker sections of the society. He said all district units of the Red Cross Society had been rendering valuable services and efforts were being made to expand their activities with people's participation.

Una, January 14
Lok Sabha MP Anurag Thakur today inaugurated three schemes financed from the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds at Fatehpur, Jankaur and Bangarh panchayats of the Una Sadar Assembly segment.

He announced a grant of Rs 5.5 lakh for carrying out minor developmental activities in the three panchayats.

The MP said CM Virbhadra Singh should come out with the truth on the alleged purchase of a farm house in New Delhi, owned by his son, Vikramaditya. He said the bank details and transactions of Vakamulla Chandershekhar, with other companies also needed a thorough probe. Amid charges of corruption, the CM had admitted of securing a personal loan from Chandershekhar.

The MP accused the Congress-led UPA government of failing to check inflation. He charged that the Centre had recently increased the cost of LPG cylinders, which would affect the poor and middle-class households.

BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti said during the past one year of the Congress rule in Himachal Pradesh, developmental activities had come to a standstill.

He said the exchequer was being robbed of crores of rupees in the name of making fresh ration cards under the Public Distribution System. He alleged that the only addition in the ration card forms was the photographs of some Central and state Congress leaders, while the other particulars remained the same as in the old forms. 

Mandi, January 14
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma said the state government had launched a programme to elevate the financial condition of poor families by involving a Kerala-based NGO under MGNREGA.

The minister said the project was being implemented under the public private partnership (PPP) mode and the NGO would coordinate with the panchayats for the amelioration of poor families and selection of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list.

He said, “All roads in the Mandi constituency have already been covered under various schemes. Besides the Rs 83-crore Uhal drinking water scheme for Mandi town, 14 other drinking water schemes are also under way.”

“A parking complex project under PPP mode, the Rs 14-crore bypass scheme and the Rs 28-crore scheme for the channelisation of drains and laying underground cables etc are also being implemented in Mandi,” he said.

Solan, January 14
Undertrial Mohammed Usman, facing charges of attempt to murder, robbery and theft, gave two constables the slip and fled from Baddi yesterday. He had been brought to attend court hearings.

Two constables, Praveen and Dheeraj, who belong to 2nd IRB Battalion, Dharamsala, had brought Usman, a Jammu and Kashmir resident, to Baddi on January 9 for court trials which were to take place on January 10, 13 and 14.

Baddi SP S Arul Kumar said Usman escaped when they were coming back from the Nalagarh court in a bus last evening. Though the constables tried to look for him, they failed to do so and reported the matter this morning to the Baddi police.

Arul Kumar said a case under Section 223 of the IPC had been registered against the policemen and information sent to the Commandant of 2nd IRB Batallion, Dharamsala, for initiating action against them.

The police also registered another case against Usman. He was believed to be part of a gang which had been indulging in such incidents in the industrial area of Baddi. 

Kullu, January 14
A Nepalese woman (26) alleged that she was raped by two persons near Chalal village, 30 km from here, on January 8.

In a complaint to the police today, she alleged that the duo forcibly entered her house and raped her. Both accused hailed from Nepal. While one was a resident of Kasol village, the other was residing at Rampur village in Shimla district.

Firoz Khan, SHO, Kullu, said the medical examination of the victim had been conducted and a case registered.

The police have launched a hunt to nab the accused.