charless greetings to heros widow

The New Year started on a happy note for Brahmi Devi,the widow of Naik Kripa Ram who won the George Cross medal for bravery in 1946.

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The New Year started on a happy note for Brahmi Devi,the widow of Naik Kripa Ram who won the George Cross medal for bravery in 1946. Prince Charles,the president of Victoria Cross and George Cross Medal Association,sent her greetings. This was the first time she received greetings from Prince Charles. Till a month ago,Brahmi Devi was struggling to stop the auction of her husbands medal in London. The medal was apparently stolen from her Himachal home. The government had to intervene to stop the auction. Brahmi Devi,who had earlier asked the government to bring the medal back to India,now wants to seek Prince Charless help in getting the medal back. She was only 13 when she became a widow.

Jairam recommends World Bank funding for state

The state governments initiative regarding environment protection has been lauded by Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. The minister,who attended the Himalayan CMs conclave at Shimla in October,made a mention of the states initiatives at the Copenhagen meet. After his return,Jairam spoke to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to inform him of having recommended Himachals case for funding to the World Bank. Himachal is all set to go on fast track mode to become the first carbon neutral state of the country by 2020. Dhumal also plans to visit Costa Rica to study the concept of Payment for Environmental Services,which the state has decided to adopt in the case of Renuka Hydel project.

Split wide open ahead of Congress polls

Almost at the threshold of its organisational elections,the Congress in the state may be heading for trouble. The party already seems split vertically between supporters of Union Minister Virbhadra Singh and CLP leader Vidya Stokes. The Stokes group is keen to re-elect Kaul Singh Thakur,outgoing PCC chief and estranged Virbhadra loyalist. The rivals are toying with the names of Chander Kumar,an OBC,and Gangu Ram Musafir,former Speaker. The election is considered crucial for the revival of the party after successive setbacks and reversals in the Assembly,Lok Sabha and Rohru bypolls. The election will also decide which group has more clout within the party.

Low-key celebration marks two years of BJP Govt

The BJP government,which returned to power in 2007,completed two years in office recently. But unlike previous year when Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his Cabinet invited senior party leader Lal Krishna Advani for a function,it was a quiet affair this time. The Chief Minister did not invite any of the central BJP leaders and let the celebrations be a low key affair in the state capital. Dhumal continues to be in the good books of senior leaders like former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,L K Advani,Rajnath Singh,Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj. His detractors hardly have any door to knock in Delhi and thus Dhumal is in full control of the states affairs.