Relief period over, power to 22 hotels in McLeodganj cut

Lalit Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 6

As a week relaxation given to 29 hotels, which had raised construction in violation of norms by the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, ended a day before, officials on Friday ordered power disconnection of 23 hotels. However, the list was pruned to 22 hotels as one hotel reportedly got stay order from the court.

Power disconnections of 29 hotels, which had raised illegal constructions, were ordered by the corporation by June 28. However, on the same day the order was put on hold for one week by the corporation on the request of hoteliers on the plea that the tourists staying in hotels would suffer in case powers connections were cut.

During the one-week relaxation, the affected hoteliers lobbied hard against the corporation decision and also had a meeting with Minister for Town and Country Planning Sarveen Chaudhary at Dharamsala. The list of hotels that was forwarded to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd authorities for power disconnections included Hotel Mount View, McLeo Restaurant, Chhaya Guest House, Black Magic, Hotel Lhasa, Arjun House, Hotel Villa Inn, Starwood Cottage, Him Queen hotel, Hotel Vaikunth, Jogibara road; Ekant Lodge, Sood Guest House, Pink House, Hotel Surya McLeodganj; Krishna Guest House, Hotel M, Pehelwan Dhaba, Sai Cottage, Verma House, Building of Tejinder Singh, Welcome House and Holiday Home.

Additional Commissioner Dharamsala MC, Sukhdev Kumar, when asked as to why the list of penalised hotels had been pruned from 29 to 23, he said as some hotels had made amends in their buildings they have been given relaxation. He also said revised orders had been issued against power disconnection of McLeo Restaurant due to stay order from the court. Till the filing of this report the power department was continuing power disconnections of the hotels.