Himachal Govt cancels lease of HPCA stadiums, hotel

Cracking the whip on Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), the state government has cancelled the lease of land of its stadium and hotel.
In a swift operation late last, Himachal Pradesh government cancelled the lease of lands given to HPCA by previous BJP government and tookover the International Stadium and Hotel Pavilion, Dharamsala.
The decision was taken in a marathon meeting of State Cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Saturday to cancel the land lease.
The state government directed the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra to take necessary action for taking over the properties of HPCA, which is headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur.

A team of district administration officials comprising Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rohan Chand thakur, Additional District Magistrate, Rakesh Sharma and Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Harish Gajju broke into the stadium, as the security guard refused to handover the keys.
District Sports Officer, Mahender Pratap Bharadiya was given the charge of the stadium.
HPCA spokesperson, Sanjay Sharma, who claimed that the cricket body was not informed about the action on time, was told by the authorities that no activity could be undertaken in the stadium without the government's permission.
Later, the authorities also took over "The Pavilion" hotel another stadium of the cricket body at Nadaun in adjoining Hamirpur district in the wee hours today.