SHIMLA, April 23: Himachal Pradesh government today decided to extend its support to the Press Club here for developing it as a premier institution of the town.Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the club and assured that its dilapidated building would be completely renovated soon. He appreciated the proposal that the club planned to extend its activities and take up issues pertaining to social justice and human rights.Responding to views expressed by Ajay Srivastava, secretary general of the club, the CM said the government would provide more space for the club and would order handing over of a full floor of the `Litten' block of the Grand Hotel to it.He issued instructions to the Deputy Commissioner and PWD engineers to start re-construction and renovation of the building immediately.SCRIBES HONOURED: The CM today honoured two journalists Jyoti Mahajan, local correspondent of the Pioneer and Prakash Chand Dhiman, editor of literary magazine `Bagar,' for their writing on literary and cultural subjects.The state-level Ram Darshan award, instituted by Shimla Press Club, were presented at an impressive function at the Press Club. The award carries a cash amount of Rs 100 and a memento. Veteran writer-cum-journalist Satyendra Sharma had donated Rs 10,000 to the club for the annual awards.The chief minister later announced in his speech that he would contribute Rs 25,000 to make the award more attractive.
