Shimla, February 28
The Central BJP leadership is trying to convince Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) state convener and MLA Maheshwar Singh to rejoin the party. The saffron party has selected its candidates for Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra. But the decision on its Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi is still pending.

In the absence of a formidable candidate from Mandi, the party has approached Maheshwar, who has been a three-time MP from Mandi in 1989, 1998 and 1999 and is a former state BJP president.

The central BJP leadership and RSS bigwigs are pushing for an HLP-BJP merger.

Maheshwar Singh has already made it clear that a final decision will be taken by all senior leaders at a core group meeting to be held in the first week of March. It is reliably learnt that even if Maheshwar returns to the party, he may not be keen to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Mandi. He shares cordial relations with the Chief Minister and will avoid contesting the election against the CM's wife and sitting Mandi MP Pratibha Singh.

Maheshwar, in the last few days, has met senior RSS and BJP leaders, including Indresh Kumar and Suresh Soni, leading to speculation about his return to the BJP. Some other BJP leaders such as former MLA from Baijnath Dulo Ram and KD Dharmani, who had joined the HLP, could also return to the BJP.

"A decision on the candidate to be fielded from Mandi is yet to be taken though several names, including Govind Thakur, Brig Kushal Thakur (retd), Ram Swaroop and Ajay Rana, are under consideration," said state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti.

He admitted that Maheshwar had met senior BJP and RSS leaders but no decision had been taken on his return to the BJP.

As Jai Ram Thakur, sitting MLA from Seraj who was the BJP candidate fielded against Pratibha during the last elections, has declined to contest the poll, the BJP does not have a strong candidate to take on the Congress.

It now remains to be seen whether the BJP is able to woo Maheshwar and convince him to contest the Lok Sabha poll. A conclusive decision on Maheshwar's return is expected any time before March 10.

Talks underway Maheshwar has made it clear that a final decision about the HLP-BJP merger will be taken at a core group meeting in the first week of March He has met senior RSS and BJP leaders, Indresh Kumar and Suresh Soni Even if Maheshwar returns to the party, he may not contest from Mandi

Shimla, February 28
Commuters from upper Shimla and Kinnaur were trapped in a long traffic jam on the Hasan valley-Charabara stretch of the Shimla-Kinnaur national highway after a fresh spell of sleet, snow and rain today. Traffic beyond Kufri came to a standstill due to fresh snowfall.

The Met office has predicted snow or rain for the next three to four days.

“We reached Charabra at 1 pm and got struck in the traffic jam for about three hours,” says Vineet Jishtu, who was travelling from Kotgarh to Shimla. Vehicles skidded off the road due to fresh spell of sleet.

Though HRTC buses reached from Rohru and Rampur via Kharapathar and Narkanda, the Theog-Chopal road remained blocked beyond Chambi as the area experienced 10 cm snow.

Meanwhile, Shimla recorded a minimum temperature of 2.6°C while Bharmour recorded the lowest temperature of - 9°C.

Kalpa recorded 12 cm snow, Bharmour 5 cm, and Moorang 3 cm snow. Chatrari in Chamba recorded 22 cm rain, Bangana 17 cm, Kumarsain 12 cm, Kahu 11 cm and Kasauli 10 cm rain.

HRTC divisional manager Arun Sen said bus services would be suspended in the evening due to fresh spell of snow in Narkanda and Kharapathar.

“We would divert the Rampur and Kinnaur traffic on the Dhalli-Basantur road in the evening.

Director, Department of Meteorology, Shimla, Dr Manmohan Singh said the higher reaches would receive snow while lower areas of the state would receive rain at isolated places for the next three days due to western disturbances.

Solan, February 28
Acharya Balkrishan and Lalit Mohan, MD of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust’s Kehlog-based land, today appeared before the local police and joined investigations in a case of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. The case was registered against the trust on February 13.

The duo had applied for anticipatory bail in a local court where they were given interim bail and directed to join investigations. The case is now listed for March 7.

Additional SP Padam Chand said the duo had arrived in the police station around 11 am and they left around 3.30 pm. He said investigations were at a preliminary stage.

The Solan police had registered a case of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy against Revenue Department officials and representatives of Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust on February 13.

It is a case involving lease of 28 acre land at Kehlog village near Sadhupul in Kandaghat sub-division during the BJP regime in 2010.

The role of revenue officials who had executed this lease is under the scanner.

An inquiry found that the trust was earlier granted in-principle approval by the state government to give land on lease at Chaura revenue village in Kandaghat sub-division in 2008.

The trust representatives, however, had approached the DC with a letter stating the government had accorded in-principle approval for giving land on lease at revenue village Kehlog.

The location had been changed by an overwriting and the prescribed letter for taking government land on lease which was submitted to the office of the DC was undated, it is learnt.

Since the land located at Kehlog was not vested with the state government as per the Himachal Pradesh Village Community Land Vesting and Utilisation Act, 1974, it could not have been leased out as per the revenue norms and this is supposed to be in violation of the revenue norms.

The police are now inquiring into how instead of Chaura, land was granted at Kehlog and why a major irregularity in the letter of approval had been overlooked. The trust had initially failed to undertake any activity on the land for 14 months.

Shimla, February 28
Arun Dhumal, son of Leader of the Opposition PK Dhumal, today accused Vakamullah Chandershekhar of misrepresenting facts to get the Sai Kothi project.

He said he made money by selling equities of the project on premium that existed only on paper. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should come clean on this issue, he said.

He levelled the allegations at a press conference here today. He evaded a query on why the then BJP government did not lodge an FIR against the company when the BJP government was in power between 2007 and 2012, claiming that the implementation agreement was signed with the company by the Congress government.

He further alleged that Chandershekhar used his influence to get the project restored to his company by misleading government officials. He filed a misleading affidavit in the court in his reply on April 25, 2005, alleged Arun.

He charged that he did not deposit Rs 58.19 lakh with the government against the extension given to the project. He claimed he had given crores of rupees to Virbhadra Singh as loan.

Arun alleged Chandershekhar violated the MoU, claiming that the Sai Kothi project was awarded to a consortium of four companies on May 21, 2002. The MoU was signed on June 14, 2002, with Chandershekhar, he claimed.

He further claimed that the documents submitted by the company registrar suggested the company digressed on many occasions and sold shares to the tune of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore between 2003 and 2005. He claimed these resolutions violated clauses 16 and 24 of the MoU which was terminated "on merit" by the government on September 20, 2004.

Arun charged in his reply filed in the court on April 25, 2005, that Chandershekhar submitted that he had spent Rs 2.5 crore on the project whereas he had already issued equity to the tune of Rs 3.5 crore that violated clause 16 of the MoU.

M Krishna Kumar, who still owns 22 per cent shares in the company, was an NRI, but he was cited as Indian among the first directors of the company, which violated FIPB rules, claimed Arun.

Mandi, February 28
The week-long Shivratri fest commenced with a colourful procession called Jaleb today, in which many deities and hundred of devotees took part.

The procession started from the Madho Rai temple after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his Cabinet colleagues, including Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary, Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma, CPS Sohan Lal Thakur among others, paid obeisance at the temple.

The crowd enjoyed watching devotees carrying deities in palanquins as they marched and danced on traditional music from the temple to the Paddal ground. As many as 215 deities have been invited to the festival.

The CM said: “The Mandi Shivratri festival is a part of the state’s Dev Sanskriti, which has special significance to the people living in the hills. We will lose our identity of being a Himachali the day this tradition disappears.”

He said: “The state government appeals to the people of the state not to forgo this tradition.”

Talking about various welfare measures being taken up by the state government, he said: “The state government has decided to allot two and three biswa land to landless urban and rural poor, respectively, so that they can construct houses, besides giving economic help to the weaker sections.”

He said: “The government is spending Rs 270 crore annually on providing subsidised ration to every family in the state.”

The CM also announced to increase 10 per cent nazrana of deities and bajantaris (drummers).

Dharamsala, February 28
The Tibetan New Year Losar, that falls on March 2, is likely to remain a low-key affair at McLeodganj this year.

The Dalai Lama is in the US and will not be at McLeodganj, headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile. Sources said the Dalai Lama would be celebrating Losar at Minnesota, USA.

The celebrations are likely to be subdued due to reported instances of self-immolation by Tibetans. The tourism industry in Dharamsala, that was expecting good business during Losar, is dejected. Deepak, who runs a tour and travels agency at McLeodganj, said earlier, Losar celebrations used to spell good business for at least two weeks in Dharamsala. Lots of foreign tourists used to throng the area during Losar.

However, over the last two years, the Losar celebrations have remained a low-key affair as the Tibetan government in exile curtailed official celebrations due to self-immolation by Tibetans reported from Tibet. The absence of the Dalai Lama in McLeodganj is also affecting the arrival of tourists at this time, he said.

According to the Tibetan calendar, 2014 will see the 2141st Royal Tibetan Wood-Horse Losar. The Central Tibetan administration has extended its greetings to all Tibetans, inside Tibet and those in exile.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), in a message to Tibetans in exile, said, "As we celebrate Losar, it is important that we follow our religious rituals and wear traditional attire so that we can pass on these customs to the younger generation."

The CTA said, "Although this occasion entails celebration, we must also uphold our traditional values of humility, integrity and resilience. Much of the global goodwill that we enjoy today comes from our commitment to non-violence and because our cause is just."

Una, February 28
Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today laid the foundation stone of Rs 27.72 crore Beet area irrigation scheme at Amrali village, which will irrigate 1,122 hectares of land in nine panchayats of the Haroli segment.

This is the biggest medium irrigation scheme sanctioned by the Union Government for Una district and will provide irrigation facilities to panchayats located at high altitudes.

The scheme includes construction of 18-deep bore tubewells in Bathu village near the Swan. Almost 4-crore litres of water will be pumped to three collection tanks located in Singan, Amrali and Kshetran villages from where it will be distributed under gravity to more than 100 outlets to irrigate the fields. More than 3,800 famers will be benefited.

Speaking on the occasion, Agnihotri said during the last 14 months, 32 drinking water and irrigation schemes worth Rs 18 crore had been inaugurated or initiated in the Haroli segment. He said a new section of IPH junior engineer would be opened in Dulehar, while a new IPH sub-division would be opened in view of the Beet area special irrigation project.

Later, the minister handed over the keys of an ambulance to the management of Heeran Gurudwara. The religious centre provides humanitarian facilities to the people of the area. Agnihotri also initiated a project to provide schoolbags to 3,000 students of the constituency, who were studying in the Classes XI and XII in government schools.

The minister announced that a Gujjar Bhawan would be constructed at Beetan village, while a OBC bhawan be constructed in the Panjawar-Pandoga area.

He informed that a tourist information centre would come up at a cost of Rs 65 lakh at Kangar village right next to the water body constructed recently.

Former vice-chairman of the agro-packaging corporation, Omkar Sharma, DC Abhishek Jain, District Congress president Varinder Dharmani, Haroli block president Ranjit Rana and Zila Parishad member Amandeep Moni were also present.

Schoolbags for students
Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri initiated a project to provide schoolbags to 3,000 students of the Haroli segment constituency, who were studying in the Classes XI and XII in government schools

Palampur, February 28
BJP district president Vinay Sharma today said the nomination of Rajan Sushant would have no impact on the winning prospectus of Shanta Kumar from the Kangra parliamentary constituency.

Addressing mediapersons here, Sharma said it was already expected that Sushant would be get AAP ticket from Kangra. He said the main fight would be between the BJP and the Congress and AAP stands nowhere.

He said after the announcement of Rajan Sushant as the candidate from AAP, there was a vertical split in the party and no one was ready to accept him as the party candidate.

He said the Modi wave was already seen in the state and the BJP was sure that the NDA would form the government at the Centre with Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister.

The BJP was sure that people of Kangra and Chamba would vote for Shanta Kumar and he would be a senior minister in the NDA Cabinet.

He said Shanta Kumar would start his election campaign from Chamba next week and would visit every corner of Kangra and Chamba districts to woo voters in his favour.

Shimla, February 28
Taking a serious note on allotment of nautor land to government employees, the High Court has directed the Chief Secretary to inform the court that how many Class-I officers have been allotted nautor land under HP Nautor Rules.

The Court passed this order after perusing the affidavit filed by the Chief Secretary wherein he had informed the court that 5,532 employees had been allotted land, including Central Government employees, defence personnel.

A division bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary passed this order on a petition wherein a petitioner had raised this issue before the court and challenged the action of the state vide which the nautor land granted to him was cancelled by the government.

In its earlier order, the court had directed the Chief Secretary to inform the court that whether a government employee was entitled to land under the HP Nautor Land Rules, 1968.

In compliance to this order, the Chief Secretary had filed an affidavit informing the court that there was no bar on allotment of nautor land to government employees.

It was further stated that there was no separate record available regarding sanction of nautor land to employees. However, on the basis of local enquiry made through the revenue agency, the land had been allotted to 5,532 employees.

Mandi, February 28
The state unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has opposed the decision of fielding Kangra MP Rajan Sushant as the party candidate in the coming election from Kangra seat.

Expressing resentment over allotment of the AAP ticket to Sushant, the state unit of the AAP has urged the central leadership to review this decision. — TNS

Chamba, February 28
The Himachal Parivahan Mazdoor Sangh has asked the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) management to pay night and over-time allowances to its employees, as it was pending for the past 14 months.

In a statement issued here today, Sangh state vice-president Shankar Singh Thakur pleaded to give the basic pay in addition to the grade pay to newly recruited Himachal Road Transport Corporation drivers and conductors, who at present were being paid Rs 6,000 and Rs 4,000 per month, respectively.

He urged the management to promote senior conductors to inspectors and senior assistants.

He also demanded to grant two special pay increments to drivers after 20 years of service on the analogy of secretariat staff.

He requested the management to recruit mechanical staff at Himachal Road Transport Corporation workshops and abolish the 48-hour roaster system.

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation should be given the roadways status, Thakur went on to assert.

Chamba, February 28
BJP district secretary Ravinder Singh Kistwaria has opposed the construction of a bus stand on the right bank of the Ravi which is located at 50 metres from the river course.

In a statement issued here today, Kistwaria said the site along the Kasakra locality was quite unsafe and was flood-prone. — OC

Shimla, February 28
State Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu today appointed ex-MLA Surinder Bhardwaj as the new president of Chamba District Congress Committee.

Sukhu also approved the list of office bearers and members of the Executive Committee of Chamba DCC.

The new office bearers are vice presidents-Kamal Thakur, Vinay Mahajan, Janam Singh, Man Singh Thakur, Kunj Lal, Subhash Chauhan, Shubhkaran, Seema Kashyap, Ram Singh Chambyal, Madan Rawat, Parmesh Puri.

Jagdish Handa, Abdul Gani, Manav Abrol, Dharam Singh Pathania, Laxmidhar, Surinder Singh Chauhan, Sudarshan Thakur, Liyakat Ali, Naresh Kumar Mehar, Joginder Kumar, Kamlesh Kumar, Pawan Dhall, Om Chopra, Amar Chand and Parmesh Thakur were appointed as general secretaries. Tirath Singh is the treasurer. Vishal, Anuradha Tandon, Manoj Kumar, Suneet Puri, Shalu Devi, Om Parkash Chadda, Tekku Devi, Dalip Sehgal, Ashwani Handa, Om Parkash, Ibrahim, Chain Lal, Onkar, Darshan Sharma, Dev Raj, Akshay Kumar, Veena Devi, Om Parkash, Sanehlata, Karan Singh Baloria, Devender Chauhan, Gian Chand, Ramesh Poonga would be the new secretaries.

Nurpur, February 28
Jatinder Singh (26) of Khel village was attacked and brutally murdered by unidentified miscreants last night.

The police said the miscreants killed him by inflicting injuries with a sharp-edged weapon. The incident took place when the victim was sleeping at a filling station in Shekhupura under the Indora police station.

He was rushed to the Community Health Centre, Indora, and later to a private hospital at Pathankot where he was declared brought dead. A personal enmity is being considered behind the murder.

DSP Manoj Joshi said a case was registered.

He said the police had rounded up filling station owner Hans Raj, two salesmen Rohit and Sanjay and three labourers Abhay, Apdesh and Shashi Rai in the preliminary investigations.

The body was handed over to the family members after post-mortem.