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Manali Gets Ready for PM's Visit MANALI: The hill station is gearing up for the visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is expected to arrive here on Friday for a four-day visit. He owns a house here In view of the ongoing tense situation at the border, policemen have been deployed in all parts of the town in full force. A clean-up drive has also been launched. During his visit, Vajpayee will lay the foundation stone for Rohtang tunnel, which will connect Kulu valley with Lahaul and Spiti valley. The tribals of Lahaul have arranged a traditional Lahauli 'Dham' ( feast) in his honour. -ANI Heat Wave Claims 400 Lives NEW DELHI: Several states across northern India are reeling under the worst spell of heat wave in four years.Till now, more than 400 people have died. Temperatures have soared to 46 degrees Celsius in several parts of the plains. Heat stroke and dehydration on account of excessive heat has claimed 178 lives in Andhra Pradesh during the past seven days. Temperature in the state's worst-hit district along the Bay of Bengal coast hit a high of 48 degrees Celsius in recent days compared with an average of 40 to 45 Celsius. Twelve people have died in heat wave that has been sweeping Jodhpur city for the past few days. Hospitals there have opened special wards to treat victims of heat. Day temperature on Thursday soared to 48 degrees Celsius in Jodhpur. Hot winds forced people stay indoors during the day. Severe heat wave has claimed at least six lives in Chhattisgarh. The hospitals are flooded with cases of heat-stroke and dehydration. Hardly anyone goes outdoors during day time and even if they do, heads and faces are carefully covered for protection from the sun. -ANI Rohtang Pass Cleared for Six Months SHIMLA: The Border Roads Organization has cleared the treacherous Rohtang Pass, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, in northern Himachal Pradesh and declared it open for the annual May-to-October period. The strategically important pass, located at a height of 13,500 feet, runs close to the Indo-Tibetan border across dizzy Himalayan heights. With the help of ploughers and bulldozers, the BRO moved 18,000 tonnes of snow in two months. At some points, the deposits were as high as 60 feet. The weather changes unpredictably, and temperatures dip to as low as minus 40 degrees Celcius. The Manali-Keylong highway, located 51 km from Manali, has also posed a threat to BRO personnel as Kashmiri guerrillas have often tried to disrupt work. The Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Shimla-Manali-Leh roads are the only two links with the northern region of Ladakh bordering Pakistan and Tibet. -ANI Hotelier MS Oberoi Dead NEW DELHI: The doyen of Indian hotel industry, Padma Bhushan MS Oberoi, passed away on May 3. He was 104. Born in Bhaun in undivided Punjab, he had his studies in Rawalpindi.
Patience and perseverance were his unfailing ualities,according
to his biographer. Started as a clerk in a Shimla hotel, Oberoi came
to own about 40 hotels around the world. He had been a member of both
the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) and the Lok Sabha (Lower
House).
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