Dharamsala, Sep. 26 : Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said that he will decide when he is "about 90" whether or not he should be reincarnated, and added that China should have no say in the matter.

The Dalai Lama made the statement on Saturday in a 4200-word document issued after a gathering of leaders of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism in Dharamshala.

Dharamsala, Sep 20 : The 17th Karmapa, the only major Tibetan monk reincarnate recognised by both the Dalai Lama and China, Tuesday expressed grief over the deaths in the earthquake that hit India and Nepal and also affected parts of Tibet.

"I am extremely saddened to hear about the loss of human life and the severe destruction caused by the recent earthquake in Sikkim and other parts of north and east of India and Nepal," the Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, said in a statement here.

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), Sep. 10 : A heavy and continuous downpour has damaged roads in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh state and left its residents stranded. Normal life too has been severely disrupted by the inclement weather.

Due to roads being damaged, traffic movement was stalled and commuters faced great difficulty in traveling in the area and to other towns and cities. Some of the roads have caved in and the debris has fallen into the valley below.

Shimla, Aug 26 : The construction of the multi-billion rupee Renuka dam hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh which will provide drinking water to Delhi is yet to begin, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Friday.

"The construction of the Renuka dam has not yet begun. The National Green Tribunal in its order July 28 granted a stay on the project," Dhumal informed the state assembly in a written reply.

Shimla, Aug 24 : More than 6,000 shopkeepers in the Himachal Pradesh capital Wednesday kept their shops closed to express solidarity with fasting social activist Anna Hazare.

"We have decided to keep the shops closed for one full day to support the cause of Anna," Shimla Beopar Mandal president Ramesh Sood told IANS.

He said shops dealing with daily necessary items like medicines and eatables would be exempted from the shutdown.

The move is not associated with any political front, he added.

People sending obscene messages and making such calls will be dealt with strictly in the state of Himachal Pradesh as the government plans to tighten its grip on such people.

The government over there is planning to enforce a new legislation for making the communication of these kinds of calls and messages a serious offence.

The CM Mr. Prem Kumar Dhumal has directed the state’s police, Home department and Law department to prepare legislation for the purpose bringing such calls and messages under legislative provisions.

The BJP government will complete 3 years of its rule in HP this year. The government has been rather successful in enforcing law and order and sustaining the growth that it has achieved.

The UPA government had withdrawn certain exemptions for the new industrial units that had been awarded to them by the NDA in 2003. They were taken back on March 31 2010 which is 3 year short of the 10 year duration period as promised by the NDA government.

Now, it is time for some good news as the UPA has again decided to restore these excise duty exemptions partially. These exemptions were majorly for the regions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Shimla, Dec 17 - Food and beverage company Parle Agro will buy 300 tonnes of apple juice concentrate from the state-run Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corp (HPMC), a minister said here Friday.

The apple concentrate is used for fruit juices, nectars and drinks.

"Parle Agro has placed an order for procurement of 300 tonnes of apple juice concentrate. It's one of the major orders with HPMC," Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta told IANS.

Shimla, Dec 5 - Less than six years after she came out with her first book of ghost stories, writer Minakshi Chaudhry is penning another collection of spooky tales based on this hill town.

"Real, strange and eerie tales which were not included in my first book 'Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills', will be part of the forthcoming book that will hit the book stores by the middle of next year," journalist-turned-writer Minakshi, 41, told IANS.

The Centre government has given nod to establish a super-speciality hospital at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College (RPMC) at Tanda in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district.

Himachal Health Minister Rajiv Bindal stated that the hospital will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 150 crore.

HP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will jointly lay the foundation stone of the hospital.

The Himachal Pradesh government has recently said that it will be analyzing the impact of plantation in the cold desert of the state via the study conducted in a detailed manner from the scientific experts. It is to be mentioned here that government will be trying to judge the impact of plantation in the Lahaul-Spiti district and the decision is coming due to the fact that the natural calamity that stuck at Leh and unnatural rainfall phenomenon at Spiti.

The capital region of Himachal Pradesh is suffering from the threat of diarrhoea these days. As the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 170 in last three days with 53 new cases of the disease added on Friday.

Among the worst affected areas hit by the disease, the crowded locality of Sanjauli is the one with the maximum number of cases. As out of the 53 cases, 37 were registered at Sanjauli dispensary only while the rest seven were at IGMC hospital and nine at Rippon hospital.

The subsidiaries of SAR group, Wynn Telecom has declared that it is going to set up a mobile manufacturing unit in Himachal Pradesh. The investment for this venture is coming around Rs. 270 crore with a production capacity.

The company is looking forward to produce around one million handsets per month form this facility. This will be their first made-in-India mobile form the company. As per the company officials, by August 2011 the unit will be operative.

The heat waves across the northern and western region has taken seven lives in Shimla, at the same time recorded hottest ever day at 32.4 degree celsius.

According to the census, the recorded temperature of the ‘Queen of the Hills’, Shimla was 8.3 degrees above normal and was .7 degrees more than the earlier highest record of 31.7 degrees in May 20, 2004, said the Met officials.

Apart from dialing 100 from your phone, one can now send an SMS to the police in Himachal Pradesh for any help.

The SMS facility was launched on Thursday through which one can ask for help by sending a message on a assigned 10-digit number - 9459100100.

Acting Director General of Police (DGP) D. S. Manhas said that anyone can send SMS to the police on mobile number 9459100100 for any type of help.

He added that the SMS will be instantly forwarded to the police officer concerned for required action.

Health care services remain unutilized in Himachal Pradesh.

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) had been allocated funds to provide healthcare facilities in Himachal Pradesh but 75% of the funds remain unutilized.

The Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) said, that this health mission funds were not utilized because of the non availability of 24 hour healthcare facilities.

The effect of global warming is causing a havoc on the residents of Himachal Pradesh especially Shimla with the temperature soaring an ever-high, i. e. above normal with the Mercury level in Queen of the Hills reporting at 27 degrees Celsius.

The climatic conditions tumbled as the night temperature in the capital town was 16.9 degrees.

Areas such as Sundernagar recorded a maximum of 36.8 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar 35 degrees, Dharamsala (32.8) and Una (40.6) during this phase of the year, according to the forecasts from the Met department.

In lieu of rising demand for the natural healing techniques and treatments, Himachal Government has given an order to set-up a Centre of Excellence in herbal medicines, said a state minister. It is a step towards development when the government is gearing up for specialized institutions in the country.

With the central governments' nod the centre will start operations very soon.

It has been decided by the Himachal Pradesh government that Shimla and Hamirpur will be made solar-powered cities as part of a drive to save electricity.

"We are developing Shimla and Hamirpur as solar cities with the assistance of the central government," Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told IANS, adding that more cities and towns would be later included in the energy-conservation scheme.

A minister said on Saturday that Himachal Pradesh's Central Research Institute (CRI), whose manufacturing licence was cancelled in January 2008, has resumed production of vaccines with the central government giving it clearance.

Health Minister Rajeev Bindal told IANS, "CRI has resumed production of vaccines after the central government in its orders dated Feb 12 and 26 cleared its drug production license."

He further added that the state government had pursued the license case with the union health and family welfare ministry.