Generating jobs is Dhumal’s priority
NEW DELHI, Jan 7 — The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today said his Government had emerged stronger after the recent Baijnath byelection results and that the coalition Government was working in complete harmony.

Snow, rain hit life in Himachal
SHIMLA, Jan 8 — Normal life in the state was thrown out of gear as rain and snow continued to lash the region for the second day today.

TYC favours forceful stir
DHARAMSALA, Jan 8 — Tibetan youth feel that apart from resorting to a forceful agitation, there is no other way to realise the Tibetan cause as China seems to have closed all doors for negotiations on the issue.

Railways okays HP Govt proposal
SHIMLA, Jan 8 — The Ministry of Railways has approved the Himachal proposal for constructing a spacious double-storeyed car parking on its potato godown lying idle for many years.

Notices to 4 Hamirpur Cong leaders
HAMIRPUR, Jan 8 — The disciplinary committee of the HP Congress has issued show-cause notices to four prominent leaders of the district for their alleged anti-party role during the last assembly elections.

Australian convicted
KULU, Jan 8 — Mr P.S. Samyal, Judicial magistrate, Manali, has sentenced Printoli, an Australian National, to 25 days' imprisonment with a fine of Rs 500 under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

One dead as truck falls into khud
SOLAN, Jan 8 — One person died on the spot and one was seriously injured when a truck (HIS 7047) fell into a 400 ft deep gorge near Vaknaghat, 35 km from here, on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway at about 9 pm yesterday.

Generating jobs is Dhumal’s priority
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 7 — The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today said his Government had emerged stronger after the recent Baijnath byelection results and that the coalition Government was working in complete harmony.

In an informal conversation with correspondents, Mr Dhumal said here that his Government was stable since day one and the BJP-HVC combine was functioning with complete understanding.

Having tackled political tasks, Mr Dhumal has now turned his attention towards development with the primary task being the generation of jobs in Himachal Pradesh by promoting the tourism and power sectors.

“Not only will we be able to generate more employment but with greater power generation through identified hydel projects, the State can sell energy to north India and thus become self-sufficient,” he said.

With this end in view, Mr Dhumal has taken upon himself the task of attracting investment in this sector as well as other areas.

Mr Dhumal said he would address leading industrialists at the CII conference in Jaipur. H P seeks investment in areas which can fulfil three requirements — give employment to local people, generate revenue and are non-polluting industries, he said.

The Chief Minister said HP had an identified hydel power potential of 20,241 MW, of which work on some 4,000MW worth projects is on.

In order to give a boost, the State had invited applications for the development of 319 mini-micro projects, for which the response was good.

“The applications are being scrutinised and soon the Government shall be finalising the projects which vary between 1MW and 15MW,” he said, adding that the Government was also encouraging young engineers to form a cooperative.

Similarly, the Government had decided to develop new tourist resorts and adventure sports and also provide greater facilities for pilgrims.

Himachal Pradesh was also developing a new skiing resort at Kufri, Mr Dhumal said, adding that the State Government had recently given a 30-year lease to a company for heli-skiing. Two helicopters will be in position at Bhuntar airport to carry the users to different spots.

Snow, rain hit life in Himachal
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Jan 8 — Normal life in the state was thrown out of gear as rain and snow continued to lash the region for the second day today.

Parts of upper Shimla, Kinnaur and Kulu districts were cut off from the rest of the state as snow blocked roads. Residents of the Jubbal, Kotkhai, Rohru, Chopal and other areas had to go without newspapers, vegetables and other daily necessities as the Hindustan-Tibet road was blocked beyond Theog.

Vehicular traffic in and around Shimla remained disrupted till afternoon and a number of bus services originating from the state capital were either cancelled or delayed. While no bus arrived here from the upper Shimla area, the HRTC plied buses to Rampur via Vasantpur.

Even local bus service was affected due to snow. Traffic moved at a snail's pace due to slippery road conditions.

The power supply to many areas broke down, adding to the woes of the people who were reeling under severe cold. While some areas like Shankhli and Grand Hotel remained without power for six to eight hours, the power supply was erratic in other areas. In some localities taps remained dry due to the freezing of water pipes. Telecom services were also hit.

There were no flights to and from Shimla airport which remained enveloped in heavy fog.

The tribal areas and upper reaches of Shimla and Chamba had snow.

The sky remained heavily overcast throughout the day in Shimla. But that did not deter winter revellers, who have arrived here in large numbers to enjoy snow. Hordes of tourists could be seen at the Ridge and Kufri hurling snowballs at one another or having a photo session.

More tourists were likely to descend here in view of the weekend holidays.

The tourist resorts of Wildflower Hall, Naldehra and Narkanda in Shimla district and Manali in Kulu district also had snow.

Mandi, Dharamsala, Solan and the twin valleys of Kangra and Kulu were also under the impact of a cold wave.

According to reports received here, the Chandertal (15,500 feet) and Suraj Tal (16,000 feet) lakes in Lahaul Spiti district have frozen following a steep fall in the temperature.

The mercury dropped to —9°C at Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, following snow.

The MET office has forecast a light-to-moderate snowfall or rainfall at a few places in Himachal and a light-to-moderate rainfall at isolated places in Punjab and a partially cloudy day in Haryana.

Virbhadra probe "motivated"
From Our Correspondent

PALAMPUR, Jan 8 — Thakur Kaul Singh, a former Speaker of HP Assembly and a senior Congress leader has said that the CBI probe against the former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, is nothing but a political vendetta against him.

Talking to this correspondent he said the present government, headed by Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal was making all efforts to tarnish the image of the Congress leader. He said popularity of the BJP-HVC Government had eroded. It was trying to divert the attention of people by launching a campaign against the Congress leader. The former Speaker regretted that Mr Dhumal was playing in the hands of the HVC leader, Mr Sukh Ram, who himself was facing a number of corruption charges.

Thakur Kaul Singh said the charges levelled against the former Chief Minister were politically motivated and related to those decisions which were approved by the State Cabinet. He said if the State Government continued its adverse campaign against the Congress leaders and workers of the state, the party would not remain a silent spectator.

The Congress leader alleged that all development activities had come to a standstill in the state since the HVP-BJP alliance had been voted to power. Most of the development agencies like the PWD and IPH had no funds to execute work and for making payments to contractors. He said all announcements made by the Chief Minister were confined only to files and nothing was being implemented in practice. He said Mr Dhumal had sanctioned funds from his discretionary budget about four months ago but these funds were yet to reach the beneficiary panchayats.

He denied that there was any move to form government in the state with the help of Mr Sukh Ram in the state. He told mediapersons that the AICC had clarified that it would not admit any person facing charges of corruption to the party.

He strongly criticised the BJP-HVC Government for extending stepmotherly treatment to constituencies of opposition MLA in the state. He said no funds had been released in these constituencies even for making the payment of wages. Likewise, panchayats were also starving for funds. He also quoted number of examples where construction of roads, paths and panchayat bhavans had come to a standstill in the absence of funds.

TYC favours forceful stir
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Jan 8 — Tibetan youth feel that apart from resorting to a forceful agitation, there is no other way to realise the Tibetan cause as China seems to have closed all doors for negotiations on the issue.

Reacting to the burning of the Chinese flag by some Tibetan youth in the Chinese Embassy at Delhi yesterday, the general secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Mr Pema Lhundop, said here today: "We do not feel that there is anything wrong in resorting to such acts to express resentment." In view of China's rigid stance, it was now up to the Tibetan people to launch a movement to strengthen their freedom struggle.

Mr Pema hinted at more acts of protest by the TYC activists in the near future. It was felt the Tibetan youth had to act on their own to resolve the Tibetan issue. He regretted that despite Mr Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, expressing concern for the Tibetan cause, the Tibetans themselves had failed to raise the matter at the UN Assembly.

Mr Pema did not feel that yesterday's incident at Delhi was a deviation from Dalai Lama's path of non-violence."On the contrary, we are being compelled to resort to such acts as nobody has paid serious attention to our cause", he explained.

The TYC leader was critical of the Tibetan Government's policy of having compromised on the issue of complete independence. "Our government's policy to accept autonomy has not paid any results and we feel that nothing short of complete independence should be accepted".

He said members of the regional TYC reached Delhi on January 5 to hand over a memorandum addressed to the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin. The memorandum contained demands put forward earlier at the time of the TYC hunger strike in Delhi some time back. The members got agitated as no one from the Embassy came out to receive the memorandum. They forced their way inside and burnt the Chinese flag.

Mr Pema said on March 10 the TYC planned to demonstrate in a big way all over the world. "We plan make it a big event so that the attention of the international community can be drawn towards the Tibetan cause".

The Tibetan government-in-exile, in a carefully worded reaction to the happenings at Delhi, said: "We cannot condone the incident as it is symbolic of the growing desperation among the Tibetan youth."

"The Tibetan Government can only request the TYC to desist from such acts," it added.

Railways okays HP Govt proposal
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Jan 8 — The Ministry of Railways has approved the Himachal proposal for constructing a spacious double-storeyed car parking on its potato godown lying idle for many years.

The approval was conveyed by Mr S.C Mittal, Senior Divisional Superintending Engineer of Northern Railway, to Mr Ram Subhag Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, here today.

The DC said the parking lot would be operational before the next tourist season. This would solve to a great extent the problem of car parking faced by tourists. The two existing car parkings are inadequate to accommodate the vehicles of tourists particularly during the summer and snow.

Mr Ram Subhag Singh has been taking a keen interest in the creation of additional car parking places in the town as most of the roads have restricted the entry of vehicles.

Mr Narendera Bragta Minister of State for Horticulture had recently met the Minister for Railways and other senior officers to allow the use of the godown for the parking of vehicles.

The Deputy Commissioner had recently submitted a plan for development of parking places on the railway land here.

The terrace of the potato godown will be used for the parking of two wheelers, while the ground floor will be used for four wheelers.

He has identified many places, including the existing outward goods shed on the valley side which has an area of about 700 square metres. This shed has been abandoned for the past many years as it was not being utilised for storing potato. The entry and exit to both these parkings on the rooftop and below shall be from near the garage of the Postal Department on Cart Road.

The proposal has also identified another parking area which was constructed by the Railways at the main bus stand. However, it was not being used at present because of the lack of proper entry and exit points which have been covered by the main bus stand.

He has also proposed takeover of the land on the valley side belonging to the Railways which was being used as coal godowns by local traders. The lease of the land has since expired.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation is also constructing a large parking lot below the High Court on Cart Road. Many other places have also been identified for car parking in the town.

Notices to 4 Hamirpur Cong leaders
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Jan 8 — The disciplinary committee of the HP Congress has issued show-cause notices to four prominent leaders of the district for their alleged anti-party role during the last assembly elections. These leaders are: Mr Bhagat Ram Karohta, DCC chief, Mr Munshi Ram Dhiman, senior vice-president of the DCC, Mr Rakesh Handa, a former district Youth Congress chief, and Mr Suresh Kumar, a former joint secretary of the HP Youth Congress.

Party sources said here today that the defeated candidates had lodged strong protests against these leaders. Interestingly, both youngsters are close to former HP Youth Congress chief Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former MLA and confidant of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

These leaders have been asked to file their replies soon.

However, all four leaders denied having indulged in any sort of anti-party activities during the assembly elections. They said the allegations had been levelled against them just to harm them. They had been made victims of intra-party politics, they added.

Australian convicted
From Our Correspondent

KULU, Jan 8 — Mr P.S. Samyal, Judicial magistrate, Manali, has sentenced Printoli, an Australian National, to 25 days' imprisonment with a fine of Rs 500 under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

In another case of theft the same court sentenced one Lot Ram to the imprisonment for three months under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code. The Additional Attorney, Mr M.K. Sharma, appeared on behalf of the prosecution in both the cases.

One dead as truck falls into khud
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Jan 8 — One person died on the spot and one was seriously injured when a truck (HIS 7047) fell into a 400 ft deep gorge near Vaknaghat, 35 km from here, on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway at about 9 pm yesterday.

The deceased could not be identified. The injured, Mr Mohinder Singh, was rushed to the District Hospital with serious injuries.

The truck was carrying a consignment of 300 bags of cement from Chandigarh to Jhakri in Shimla district.