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Cong rebel Mehra set to join BJP
Governor confers D Lit on Dalai Lama
Dangerous trees pose threat in Shimla
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Targeting youth through social media
Medicinal plants being exploited in state
Ruheja Power
Project
Solan police question Acharya Balkrishna
108 service ambulances
Rahul to give tips to workers today: Sukhu
Youth killed by friend’s uncles,
3 arrested
Illegal sand mining from Beas riverbed continues
One killed, three hurt in road accidents
Doors open for rebels, says Shanta
Religious heads ‘to decide’ on 15th Dalai Lama
Clear stand on hosting IPL matches, HPCA to govt
Errors in cost accounting paper: B Com students
Children of Tibetan refugees can vote
Cong leaders on toes on rally eve
2 killed as truck overturns Briefing for new batch of forest guards Cong appoints in charges at booth level
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Cong rebel Mehra set to join BJP
Dharamsala, March 19 Today, he was touring the constituency to prepare his supporters for joining the BJP. Arun Mehra told The Tribune that he would join the BJP with thousands of supporters. The BJP had not been able to put up a fight from Nagrota Bagwan for the past more than a decade as the Congress leader and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Transport and Technical Education GS Bali had converted the area into his citadel. However, now with Arun Mehra joining the BJP, the position of the party will be strengthened. Arun Mehra was also considered close to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. It was also being alleged that Arun Mehra contested the last Assembly poll against Bali with the tacit support of the CM. Since the Congress government came to power in the state, Bali blocked the entry of Mehra into the Congress. Mehra was also feeling isolated. When asked as to why he had decided to join the BJP, Mehra said he needed a platform to fight against Bali against whom he had contested last election. "I was ousted from the Congress before the last Assembly elections. Though I had replied to the notice of the block Congress regarding allegations against me, the party decided to oust me under the influence of Bali," he said. Mehra claimed that he was the leader of the Mehra community and would work for the
BJP. Shot in arm
Arun Mehra Kuka, who contested as an Independent from Nagrota Bagwan in the last Assembly elections and got about 23,000 votes, will join the BJP on March 25, along with his supporters. |
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Governor confers D Lit on Dalai Lama
Shimla, March 19 Addressing students on the occasion, the Dalai Lama urged them to use knowledge acquired through years of hard work and dedication for larger interest and betterment of the entire humanity. “India is a nation with rich ancient traditional knowledge and I myself have been a follower of the Nalanda school of thought,” he remarked. He said India with a vibrant and successful democracy had produced great philosophers and thinkers. The three big civilisations -- Indus Valley, Indian and Chinese civilisations -- all lying in the Asian sub-continent had influenced the world in a bigger way, he said. He advised the students to have a global vision and broader outlook which would improve life of humanity. “The Buddha was an Indian and we consider him our guru; so in that respect we Tibetans are India’s 'chelas',” he remarked. He advocated paying greater attention towards the study of traditional knowledge which could be blended with modern knowledge. “The science of the mind and traditional knowledge was not a religious subject, but an academic subject which must be studied extensively,” he said. He said there was a need to spread love, compassion and warmth to make world a better place to live in. As many as 123 gold medals and 194 doctorate degrees were conferred on meritorious students by the Dalai Lama. The Governor emphasised upon developing an ideal atmosphere in educational institutions which could provide equal opportunities for the growth and development of every student. She said youth could play a significant role in building the nation and added that they should actively participate in social activities as responsible and aware youth would not only empower the society, but the country as well. Underlining the importance of teaching community, she said the role of teachers in shaping the destiny of students was vital as they were looked upon as role models and could make lasting impression on young minds. They had a huge responsibility towards the society and therefore, should set up examples through their good conduct and learning, she added. Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor ADN Bajpai said every effort would be made to follow the path shown by the Dalai Lama. He said the ancient traditional knowledge was invaluable and must be blended with modern knowledge for a perfect combination. |
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Dangerous trees pose threat in Shimla
Shimla, March 19 The Forest Department, which is in a quandary over the issue since it is the Mayor of who heads the Tree Committee, has sought the directives of the Principal Secretary, Forest, and the Principal Chief Conservator Forest (PCCF) on how to move about with respect to the pending applications. With the forest land now being given back from the MC to the Forest Department, the Mayor has reportedly taken the plea that the matter is outside his purview. It is the Tree Committee which grants approval for the removal of all trees which are posing a threat to any house within the municipal limits. Since it was in November 2013 that the entire 1880.13 hectares of land was returned to the department for better management, the Mayor has refused to chair the meeting of the committee. Besides the Mayor, who is its chairman, other members of the committee include the MC Commissioner, a Divisional Forest Officer and one nominated councillor. Mayor Sanjay Chauhan could not be contacted despite repeated requests, Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar said the transferring of the land back to the department was wrong. “We will shortly move court, seeking return of the forets land back to the MC as urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of the ecology is entrusted to the Urban Local Bodies under Chapter 20 of the HP Municipal Corporation Act, 1994,” he said. “There are more than 100 applications for removal of tree that are pending with us but with the Mayor refusing to chair its meeting, we do not know what to do,” said a forest official. He added that the with the transfer of the forest land back to the department, a change will have to be made in the Municipal Act to appoint a forest official as the head of the Forest Committee. Though it is mandatory for the Tree Committee to meet once in every two months, this time it has not met since June 2013, giving sleepless nights to those who are awaiting the nod from the committee. The entire 1880.30 hectares of forest land was handed over to the Forest Department, keeping in mind the paucity of the staff and funds with the MC. However, it was in October 2011 that 843.91 hectares were returned to the MC, which wanted the remaining forest land also to be handed back to it. However it was again in September 2013 that the government decided to return the entire forest land to the department for its better care and management. |
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Targeting youth through social media
Solan, March 19 Political parties are specially targeting them as it comprises a large chunk of impressionable minds which are spontaneous in exchanging views and getting influenced. The Congress has chosen to make use of voice calls where it has hired the services of a company to invite people to Rahul Gandhi’s rally which is being held tomorrow at Dharamsala. Party spokesman Naresh Chauhan said a company had been hired to target people who were being invited in the voice of state president Sukhwinder Singh. Since the company had a ready data base, its services had been hired to target the maximum people. Chauhan said the mode of communication, including use of short message services, mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, etc would be increasingly used to reach out to the voters. BJP leaders have been making use of caller tunes carrying the message of their prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Each time a person called up a BJP leader, one was greeted by such messages. Anurag Thakur, national president, Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, terming the use of mobile and social networking sites the most vibrant mode of communication, said the youth wanted to express views and also gauge other’s opinions on issues and in order to reach out to this significant section of the voters, one had to communicate through such modes. He said the BJYM website though initiated much after the website of the Indian Youth Congress had gained much more popularity and was used by lakhs of youth to air their views. Hi-tech campaign
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Medicinal plants being exploited in state
Dharamsala, March 19 Large piles of uprooted kashmal plants were found along the Baijnath-Mandi road. The areas in which extraction of plant was being carried out fall along the borders of Kangra and Mandi district. The area has rich growth of kashmal herbs that is now threatened by over exploitation. Since the roots of kashmal plants are of medical value, people dig it from roots and sell these to pharmaceutical companies. The people also allege that the illegal extraction of the plant from along the roads is leading to landslides. They say people dig about five-foot-deep pits on the hills to extract the roots of the plant. These pits loosen the earth leading to landslides. Senior forest officials said earlier the DFO issued export permits of the plant. However, due to over-exploitation of the herb, the Forest Department had banned its extraction and export. Since the residents had not taken to commercial cropping for medicinal plants, the demand of pharmaceutical companies for the plants was being met from the forest areas. The locals are untrained in collecting medical plants from the forests. There unscientific collection leads to more destruction rather productive gathering of medical plants. The data collected by the Institute of Himachal Bio-resource Technology (IHBT), a CSIR centre at Palamapur, reveals that the demand of the medicinal plants is growing. The demand of amla in 2001-2002 was 22,729.5 tonnes. It grew by 22.5 per cent per annum. Its demand increased to about 41,782 tonnes in the next two years. The demand of ashok species of plants was 7051.3 tonnes that are growing by 15 per cent per annum. The demand of ashwagandha was 7028.7 tonnes in 2001-02 and is growing by 9.1 per cent per annum. The other major medicinal plants found in the forest areas, the demand for which is growing, are atis by 18.4 per cent per annum, bael 9.6 per cent, bhumi amalaki 10.5 per cent, brahmi 20.5 per cent, chandan 19.1 per cent, chirata 10 per cent, giloe 9.1 per cent, daru haridra 15.5 per cent, guggal 19.2 per cent, jatamansi 8.7 per cent, kalmegh 3.1 per cent, kuth 8.9 per cent, mulethi 15 per cent, pippali 16.3 per cent, sarpgandha 11.6 per cent, senna 21.8 per cent, shatavari 15.1 per cent, Tulsi 17.9 per cent and vatsnabh 30 per cent. The experts at IHBT told The Tribune that different herbs grow and pollinate at different times in a year. One needs expert knowledge to pluck different parts of plants to make the optimum use and maintain their population in the wild. However, it has been observed the locals collecting herbs from forest pluck the entire plants even in the flowering season that is adversely affecting their population. |
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Panic grips residents as tank
bursts
Project authorities did not pay heed to SDM notice for repair Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, March 19 Budhi Singh, an ex-panch of the village, said the incident occurred yesterday morning. A large amount of water from the storage tank of the power project created cloudburst-like conditions in the area, he added. No loss of life was reported while the water that rushed out destroyed crops and damaged certain houses. Some houses in the region had developed cracks, he
said. Kishori Lal, a village resident, said they had been complaining regarding illegal constructions by the power project authorities. The district administration or the government did not act accordingly. "As now it has been proved that the water storage tank of the power project was dangerous for local habitations, we will not allow the company to reconstruct it,” he
said. Ruheja micro-hydel project company had constructed a water storage tank that used to receive water from the Gajj overhead project. The water released from the Gajj project is brought through pipes to the water storage tank. The water from the storage tanks is released into penstocks of the turbines of the 10-MW project. People from the area alleged that spill way of the water storage tank had not been designed properly. The water from the spill way was being released into the forest, that set off landslides in the region. Locals had complained to the district administration and the Forest Department against discharge of water from the spill way into the forest area. Following pressure from the authorities, the power project authorities allegedly raised the height of the water storage tank by about 1
metre. However, the old walls of the tank could not sustain the pressure of the increased water and it thus collapsed yesterday. Sources here said the project authorities were yet to deposit the amount for change in land use of forest over which it had been constructed. Like many other micro hydel projects in Kangra district, the project did not come up on the land originally allotted for it. Project manager of Ruheja power project, Parveen
Kohli, said the accident was caused due to excessive rains in upper regions of Dhauladhars in the last few days. "We were carrying out repairs in the storage tanks in the wake of repeated complaints from locals that water from spill way of the tank was causing damage to neighbouring habitations. While the repairs were being undertaken, sudden increase in water level in the tank led to the accident, he said. The project manager of the company admitted that due to collapse of the water storage tank, crops and houses of villagers had been damaged. The company would compensate the locals for the loss, it was stated. The power project is said to have suffered a loss of about Rs 4 crore. Due to damage, the project would not be able to generate power for the next four to five months, he said. Dharamsala SDM Harish
Gajju, who visited the project site after the accident, said, "I had directed them to repair the water tank. A notice was issued to them under Section 118 of the IPC for carrying out repairs of the tank. They did not care about the notice." He said a criminal case for negligence had been registered against the project authorities and orders had been issued for closure of the power project. |
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Solan police question Acharya Balkrishna
Solan, March 19 The duo had applied for anticipatory bail in a local court where they were given interim bail. The case is now listed for March 29. Acharya Balkrishna, talking to mediapersons, said they had adopted all procedures laid out to take lease after duly submitting a project proposal to the state government. He said they had not violated any norm and had not indulged in any property transaction. They had rather rapidly constructed their centre which, after its completion, would have benefited the people. The duo arrived here at 11 am to join investigations following directions of a local court. Additional Superintendent of Police Padam Chand, who is the investigating officer, interrogated them on various aspects of grant of lease of 28 acre land at Kehlog village near Sadhupul in Kandaghat sub-division which was granted to the trust during the BJP regime in 2010. The police had prepared about 32 questions pertaining to this case. An inquiry had revealed 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 inquiry had further stated that the trust representatives had approached the DC with a letter stating the government had accorded in-principle approval for giving land on lease at revenue Kehlog village. The location had been changed by an overwriting and the prescribed letter for taking government land on lease which was submitted to the DC's office was undated, it
is learnt. Since the land located at Kehlog village 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. This is supposed to be in violation of the norms. |
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High Court notices to Himachal, GVK
Legal Correspondent
Shimla, March 19 Apart from the state government and GVK, the court issued notice to the Mission Director of the NHRM and ADECCO India Private Limited, Bangalore. A Division Bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan directed the respondents to consider the petitioners, taking into consideration the experience they had gained while working on the post in question. The court passed this order on a petition filed by the HP 108 Contract Workers Association wherein it was alleged that for running 108 service ambulances, the state government had entered into an agreement with the GVK and the state had purchased many ambulances under the NHRM for providing efficient pre-hospital care to the patients. It was further alleged that youngsters in the state were recruited on contract basis through an outsourcing agency ADECCO India Private Ltd, Bangalore, in the staff of the said ambulances, but many were removed from their services on false allegations without any notice being given notice to them as per the contract agreement. It was alleged that freshers were being recruited in their place despite the fact that trained and experienced persons were available.
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Rahul to give tips to workers today: Sukhu
Kangra, March 19 He said Rahul would launch the Congress website from Dharamsala. HPCC chief said the Congress high command announced the name of Rajinder Rana from Hamirpur despite his recommendation for Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who was reluctant to contest the poll. Sukhu said some party workers had reservation for Rana, however, everything would be set right. He said AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would visit different places in the state in days to come to address Congress rallies to defeat the alleged communal forces. He said the main poll plank would be corruption, performance of the UPA government during its two terms, besides one-year performance of the Congress government in the state. He said some local issues too would be part of the campaigning. He said the contribution of Rahul regarding one-rank, one-pension would also play great role in the coming polls. Regarding Vijay Singh Mankotia's reluctance in attending the ex-servicemen programme of Rahul at the DRPGMC, Tanda, Sukhu refused to comment on the issue. Transport Minister Bali and Nikhil Rathore were present on the occasion.
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Youth killed by friend’s uncles,
3 arrested
Una, March 19 Superintendent of Police (SP) Anupam Sharma said about two months ago, Sukhwinder had married his maternal uncle Nirmal Singh’s sister-in-law, who was already married to another person. Consequently, Sukhwinder’s relations with his
maternal uncles Nirmal Singh and Sadhu Singh were strained. The deceased Daljit Singh had reportedly rendered help and security to the couple after their marriage, which was the reason why Nirmal and Sadhu nursed a grudge against him. The SP said on March 18, Sukhwinder was invited by his maternal grandmother to their residence in nearby Baliwal village. He reached there in the evening, accompanied by Daljit and another friend Bubby. After some time, Nirmal and Sadhu reached there too and a squabble ensued, forcing Sukhwinder and his friends to leave the house. It is reported that Nirmal and
Sadhu, accompanied by their driver Ramesh, a resident of Haripur in Sansari district of Nepal, followed Sukhwinder and his friends on their motorcycle. At about 8.30 pm, near the Baliwal Government School, the assailants reportedly attacked the trio with sharp-edged weapons, including sickles. While Sukhwinder and Bubby managed to escape, Daljit died on the spot. The SP said all the three accused had been arrested and a case under Sections 302, 323 and 34,
IPC, had been registered at the Haroli police station. The body of the deceased
had been handed over to his family members after a postmortem. |
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Illegal sand mining from Beas riverbed continues
Thalot (Mandi), March 19 Hundreds of JCBs and tractors have been engaged by local contractors to extract sand from the Beas riverbed along the national highway No. 21 near the Larji hydel power project. The Tribune correspondent witnessed a large-scale extraction of sand in the Beas and hundreds of trucks loads of sand dumped on the national highway along the river and even in ducts of the Larji power project. A local resident said, “A few contractors are extracting sand from the Beas and selling the same at Rs 12 per square feet at the Parwati hydel power project and in the market.” People engaged in illicit mining had not obtained any lease from the state government, but were plundering sand to mint money, he added. Interestingly, the area along the Beas in Mandi district is a forest area and mining here has been strictly banned. As per mining norms, sand mining in riverbeds falling under the forest area is banned, but people here have constructed roads at many places from the national highway to the riverbed for extracting sand. The JCBs are digging sand near the flood protection wall of the Larji project posing a danger to the project. The Supreme Court observed? sand mining on either side of the rivers, upstream or in-stream, is one of the causes for environmental degradation and also a threat to biodiversity. The SC had directed the state government to take strict measures to check it. District Mining Officer Kulbhushan Sharma said, “Mining is banned in the Beas since lease cannot be given because the area falls under the forest area.” Deputy Commissioner,
Mandi, Devesh Kumar said, “I had received complaints in this regard and had directed the Mining Department to take action and would instruct them to take action again.” |
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One killed, three hurt in road accidents
Nurpur, March 19 Traffic in charge Dilbag Singh, who reached the spot, intimated local military authorities. The body of the deceased biker was handed over to his family after a postmortem examination at the Nurpur Civil Hospital. The Indora police has registered a case under Sections 279, 304-A and 337,
IPC. In another road accident, Ritu Bharti, wife of Harpal Singh of
Talara, and her nephew Neeraj Kumar were injured seriously when a speeding car hit them at Bhadroya on the Kandwal-Lodwan link road last evening. They were rushed to a private hospital at
Pathankot. The accident victims were stranded on the roadside after attending a function at their relatives' at
Bhadroya. The Nurpur police through Kandwal police chowki has impounded the car as the driver fled after the mishap. A case under Sections 279 and 337,
IPC, has been registered against him. |
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Doors open for rebels, says Shanta
Kangra, March 19 He denied infighting within the BJP and said doors were open for even those who had left the party earlier. He said his priority was for a broad-gauge railway line from Pathankot to Leh which would help in developing tourism, besides bringing Kangra and Chamba on the global tourism map. He said the Congress was in a pathetic condition and would not even win 100 seats. He said the third front was shattered. Shanta said AAP was not a party, but a movement with a message. When AAP could not rule Delhi, how it could rule the country. He said, "We don't take AAP seriously." Earlier, he was accorded a rousing reception by party workers here. He also attended a party meeting at Jwalamukhi.
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Youth Congress, NSUI gear up for Rahul rally
Kangra, March 19 A meeting of workers of the Youth Congress, the NSUI, INTUC and the District Congress Committee was held today which was addressed by Panday and Bali who urged party workers to accord a rousing reception to Rahul Gandhi from the Kangra airport to DRPGMC, Tanda, the venue of ex-servicemen's meeting. Bali said efforts were on to bring at least 5,000 Youth Congress and NSUI workers to attend Rahul's rally. Bali, who was an aspirant for the ticket to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Kangra, told the workers, "We have to give our best contribution to make Prof Chander Kumar, Congress candidate from Kangra, win." Booth-level committees were formulated for the Kangra and Nagrota Bagwan Congress blocks. Ajay Verma, HPCC secretary, Suman Verma, Kangra DCC president, Sanjeev Gupta, Kangra city Congress Committee chief, Goldy Choudary, senior general secretary, HP Youth Congress, and Neetu Choudary were present. |
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Religious heads ‘to decide’ on 15th Dalai Lama Shimla, March 19 “It will depend on the circumstances 10 years down the line whether my reincarnate or the 15th Dalai Lama would be born inside Tibet or outside,” he said. Knowing that the time was running out for finding a solution to the problem of Tibet during his lifespan, the Tibetan leader (79) admitted that his life was passing through a difficult stage and it was in the ancient Indian knowledge that he found solace. He said the issue of continuing with the institution of the Dalai Lama or ending the tradition was being constantly deliberated upon by Tibetan spiritual leaders. Keeping in mind the fact that the 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest religious and political leader in Tibet recognised by the Dalai Lama was imprisoned by China, the next Dalai Lama could be chosen outside Tibet, which is under Chinese control. To avoid a controversy on his own successor, the possibility of finding his reincarnate outside Tibet seems imminent under the present circumstances. The Dalai Lama, meaning “Ocean of Wisdom”, has in the past said that his successor could even be a woman or someone from outside Tibet. The Dalai Lama also said there have been times when there was no Dalai Lama but the Tibetan Buddhist tradition still continued.
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Clear stand on hosting IPL matches, HPCA to govt
Dharamsala, March 19 Since voting for parliamentary elections in the state will be over on May 7, the BCCI has asked the state government if it will provide security for organising two IPL matches at Dharamsala. Sanjay Sharma said the BCCI had once again offered to host IPL matches at Dharamsala as the HPCA had offered world-class facility at the stadium. The state government should now make its stand clear if it wants to host the IPL matches at Dharamsala or not. In case the state government decides against providing security for IPL matches, it would hit the tourism industry of Dharamsala and its surrounding areas that gets flip during IPL matches. |
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Errors in cost accounting paper: B Com students
Kangra, March 19 Some students here today said question number 4 (d) in the cost accounting paper of the annual university examination of B Com third year had mistakes. They alleged that in the question, 20,000 was wrongly printed as 2,000, while there was a mistake in the Hindi part of the same question, mentioning Rupee in between unit and amount. In the face of these mistakes, they said, it was difficult for them to solve the question. They said the HPU Vice-Chancellor should intervene to provide succour to the students. The question, it is stated, carries 15 marks for regular students and 18 for private students. |
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Children of Tibetan refugees can vote
Shimla, March 19 He further said the applicant should be residing in the constituency in which the application for enrolment was made. He said as per Section 3 (1) (a), Citizenship Act, 1955, children born to Tibetan refugees in India would be treated as Indian citizens based on their birth during the mentioned time period. Hence, the Electoral Returning Officers concerned should not deny enrolment to children of the Tibetan refugees after verifying the facts. |
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Cong leaders on toes on rally eve
Dharamsala, March 19 Later addressing a press conference here yesterday, Bhajji said the rally would be historic. The youth were enthusiastic about the rally. Rahul represented the youth. About 1,000 buses would be hired to ferry workers for the rally, he said. Congress leaders are holding meeting across the district to muster strength during the rally. The rally will be compared with the rally of Narendra Modi at Sujanpur held last month. The rally of Modi was attended by about 1 lakh people and mustering equal numbers is a challenge for Congress leaders.
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A prominent OBC leader and Congress rebel from Nagrota Bagwan is all set to join the BJP along with his supporters.
Arun Mehra Kuka, who contested as an Independent from Nagrota Bagwan in the last Assembly elections and got about 23,000 votes, will join the BJP on March 25, along with his supporters.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today awarded gold medals and doctorate degrees to 317 students at the 21st convocation of Himachal Pradesh University
(HPU).
Dharamsala, March 19
Thalot (Mandi), March 19
“It was for the first time in 1966 that I for the first time said that it is up to the people of Tibet to decide whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should come to an end or there should be my successor,” the Dalai Lama said here today. He said the issue was open for discussion but a final decision on it will be taken only when he attains the age of 90 as there was no urgency to take an immediate call on it.