On meet eve, slums obscured by screens

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, April 18

The Kangra administration extended a warm welcome to G-20 delegates on their arrival here today. In an attempt to present the brighter side of the city, administration officials had put up screens to cover slums located en route to Radisson hotel, where the delegates would be staying, from the Gaggal airport.

The slums that have been covered are located on private land and are inhabited by rag-pickers from Rajasthan.

Besides, the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation (MC) removed most of the stray cows from city roads. Dheeraj Mahajan, who runs an NGO, in a written complaint to Dharamsala Municipal Commissioner Anurag Chander Sharma alleged that stray animals were removed from the city because of the G-20 conferences.

The Municipal Commissioner said, “We routinely shift stray cows to a sanctuary in Sarah area near Dharamsala. Due to the G-20 conferences, the exercise was carried out at a large scale.”