Eight-Day Winter Session of Himachal Assembly to Begin in Dharamshala on November 26

Schedule advanced to avoid inconvenience to tourists during Christmas and New Year rush

Shimla, November 4 || Diary Times News Service

The eight-day Winter Session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly will be held in Dharamshala from November 26 to December 5, Speaker Kuldeep Pathania announced on Monday.

Unlike previous years when the session was held toward the end of December, this year’s schedule has been advanced to the last week of November to avoid inconvenience to tourists visiting Himachal’s hill stations during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Speaker Pathania said the decision was taken keeping in view the fact that Himachal Pradesh is a major tourist destination and large numbers of visitors flock to Dharamshala, McLeodganj, and nearby areas during the festive season.
“When the Assembly session is held in Dharamshala, there is naturally heavy movement, traffic restrictions, and strict security arrangements, which can cause inconvenience to tourists,” he said.

The Speaker informed that this year’s Winter Session will consist of eight sittings, making it relatively longer than the usual four- or five-day sessions held in previous years. With this, the Assembly will complete its target of 35 sittings for 2025, fulfilling the annual requirement. The Monsoon Session earlier this year had already recorded 12 sittings, making it one of the longest sessions in recent times.

Pathania added that all necessary arrangements were being made to ensure the smooth conduct of proceedings, and he plans to personally visit Dharamshala soon to review the preparations.

The Winter Session in Dharamshala has become an established tradition since 2005, when it was first held at Tapovan during the tenure of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. It was also Singh who, in 1994, introduced the concept of the “Winter Sojourn” of the state government, during which the Chief Minister, ministers, and senior officials would temporarily shift the entire administrative machinery to Dharamshala for about two weeks.
The move aimed to bring governance closer to the people of lower Himachal, including the districts of Kangra, Chamba, Una, and adjoining areas.