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Restoration of tribal rights
PCC spokesperson removed
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No change, BJP high command tells rebels
Study finds rampant adulteration in food items
Fallout hits auto-loans
Govt doctors demand NPA
ITBP celebrates Founder’s Day
Gorkha Rifles gears up for celebrations
Extra precautions required, says DGP
Models walk the ramp at Thomso-08
Heart check-up camp begins today
Traditional ‘gharats’ to take over
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Restoration of tribal rights
Dehradun, October 25 Van Gujjars gathered at Gandhi Park and proceeded in a procession towards the Chief Minister’s residence. When prevented by a strong contingent of policemen from marching on to the Chief Minister’s residence, they resorted to sloganeering against the state government and staged a dharna on Hathibarkala road. In one of major protests in the recent times, Van Gujjars demanded a check on the atrocities bring hurled on them by forest authorities at Rajaji Park. Avadhesh Kaushal of Rural Litigation Entitlement Kendra, a voluntary organisation working for betterment of Gujjars, accused the state forest authorities of adopting an insensitive attitude towards Van Gujjars. “It is strange that Uttarakhand that has over 65 per cent forest cover was still to implement the Forest Dwellers Act,” Kaushal observed. In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, they sought the constitution of a committee headed by a district magistrate for the peaceful resolution to the rehabilitation problem. The agitated Gujjars also demanded a rehabilitation package in tune with the Tribal Act 2006. They also sought a judicial probe into the forcible eviction of Gujjars from forest areas in close vicinity of the park. While seeking immediate withdrawal of cases on Gujjars at Ramgarh range of Rajaji National Park, Praveen Kaushal of Sophia, an NGO working for the rights of Van Gujjars, asserted that the cases were false. “Van Gujjars are being forcibly evicted from the forests for no fault of theirs,” he said. Meanwhile, Rajaji Forest authorities today denied inflicting atrocities on Van Gujjars. “We are only removing those who are forcibly entering Rajaji Park. Any encroacher, including Gujjars, found entering the park premises would be checked,” the Rajaji Park authorities said.
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PCC spokesperson removed
Dehradun, October 25 Being afraid of annoying any factions of the party, Yashpal Arya had not done any reshuffle in the office-bearers of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) since he took over as president of the state unit. The office-bearers were appointed by former state party Chief Harish Rawat and they owe their loyalities to him which has made Yashpal Arya uncomfortable. The situation went out of control for Arya, when a tug of war started between various office-bearers to control the functions to be organised for Rahul Gandhi in the state. There were exchanges of hot words and allegations of physical assaults between senior Congress leaders on issuance of entry passes for these functions. Yashpal Arya playing safe did not wanted to invite people from the rival Harish Rawat camp due to fear of ruckus by them. Earlier, during a visit of general secretary in charge R.K. Dhawan, rival supporters had clashed with each other. But the denial of passes annoyed Harish Rawat supporters particularly spokeperson Surinder Aggarwal and former mayor Manorama Sharma. Both protested outside the venue of Rahul Gandhi’s function much to the embarrassment of Yashpal Arya. They also gave statements against the state party leadership for ignoring senior party leaders and denying them passes for the PCC meeting with Rahul Gandhi. The open rebellion of the party spokesperson against state party president led to his removal. Yashpal Arya in an order today dissolved the media committee and removed Aggarwal and his deputies in the cell. “The media cell would be constituted soon,” Ram Sharan Nautiyal, PCC, general secretary said. Arya is said to have consulted party general secretary in charge R.K. Dhawan before taking action. “This is a conspiracy against Congressmen as they were humiliated during Rahul Gandhi’s visit and I would keep on fighting as a humble Congress worker,” said Surinder Aggarwal. Infighting in the Uttarakhand Congress has been on since the formation of the state. Former state unit chief Harish Rawat who missed the opportunity to become the first elected Chief Minister of the state became a rebel, following selection of veteran Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari by the party high command after the success in the assembly 2002 poll. Tiwari was able to manage his five-year term despite opposition from Harish Rawat camp. After the defeat of Congress in the assembly 2007 poll, Tiwari was adjusted as Governor of Andhra Pradesh but Harish Rawat was removed as PCC chief. To rub salt on his wounds, Yashpal Arya, a former speaker of Uttarakhand assembly and a protege of Tiwari was made the state party president. The tussle between the two factions that started with the formation of the state in 2000 continues unabated. |
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No change, BJP high command tells rebels
Dehradun, October 25 Rebels legislators, who had raised a banner of revolt against Chief Minister Maj Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) for the second time in the past two months, this week were summoned by senior leaders to the national capital for talks. According to party sources, Chief Minister Khanduri and leader of the rebels and former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari met senior leaders including L.K. Advani and Venkaiah Naidu separately. Since the party high command has thrown its weight behind Khanduri and ruled out any change at this point of time, efforts were on to persuade the legislators to fall in on the party line. According to party sources, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari along with Beena Mahrana, a minister, and two other legislators met Venkaiah Naidu and L.K. Advani. Earlier, Chief Minister Khanduri had called upon both leaders. On October 20, media reports about the submission of resignation by 17 BJP legislators to party president Rajnath Singh had again put the politics of the state on the boil. In September, 24 party legislators had gone to the party high command to complain against the style of functioning of the Chief Minister. They were told to wait till Panchayat elections in the state got over. The rebels again put the pressure on the party leadership on October 20. As per party sources, the rebels have been told to mend fences with the Chief Minister. Khanduri has already taken 23 positions of chairpersons of various cells and committees out of purview of office of profit to placate the dissatisfied legislators.
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Ganga statue row resolved
Haridwar, October 25 The compromise was reached after two rounds of hectic discussions between representatives of Katyayni trust, Ganga Sabha, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, religious leaders and local leaders of political parties. Ganga Sabha had objected that the statue should not merely be a showpiece but it should be a worshipping idol and there should be a priest to perform puja daily. Also the cleanliness and maintenance of the statue is essential. These demands were agreed to. Also it was felt that when the Ganga will reopen, it will be difficult to reach the statue. On this, trust members informed that that a proposal has been sent to IIT Roorkee to make a bridge to access the statue. Ganga Sabha’s president Ram Kumar Misra told The Tribune, “We had reservations only because we wanted the rituals and proper maintenance of the statue. As our demands were met, we agreed to letting statue work move on instantly.” Present at the meeting were Rajendra Das, Rishiwaranand, Bhagawan Das, Ganga Sabha’s Virendra Kirtipal, BJP’s Ashutosh Sharma, Satpal Brahmachari, UP Irrigation Department’s officials and various other local leaders.
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Study finds rampant adulteration in food items
Dehradun, October 25 A study undertaken by a local NGO, SPECS (Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists) in conjunction with Department of Science and Technology has brought to light the massive adulteration taking place in most of the food ingredients that are being sold locally. The study was undertaken between June and September on Char dham yatra route that is frequented by pilgrims during the yatra season of food products. “A total of 2332 samples were collected from 45 different places, out of which 1968 samples were found adulterated,” informed Dr Brijmohan Sharma, secretary SPECS. Their faith may receive another knock, as even the ghee that is being said to be the food for God is also adulterated. “Our study indicates that the ghee may contain other fatty substitute that the devotees would be willing to avoid at all costs, if they come to about it,” informed Sharma. “For adding colour in tea, Chromium dye is used in abundance and tamarind seeds provide powdered chalky brown colour to coffee and chilli sauce has malachite green to impart that dark colour to the sauce that is eaten with great relish,” said Sharma. Further, out of 600 salt samples collected, only 50 samples contained Iodine. And from 101 samples collected of mustard oil, 100 were found adulterated. Between Badrinath and Kedarnath yatra routes, SPECS collected 557 food samples from 23 places out of which 438 were found to be adulterated. Meanwhile, out of 279 sample collected between Narinder Nagar and Gangotri, 202 samples were adulterated. According to Dr Brijmohan Sharma, places away from road head have high rate of adulteration. “We found out that packets of coriander contain mixture of mud and wood, mustard oil was heavily adulterated with mobil oil, rampant use of acetic acid, boric acid, and starch can give rise to several diseases related to stomach”. Further there is no system being set up in the hills where monitoring and testing of goods coming from outside can be undertaken. In any case the shop keepers would be held accountable for the adulterated stuff being sold while the real culprits go scot free, Negi added.
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Fallout hits auto-loans
Dehradun, October 25 As the first casualty of the raging global financial storm, the financial arm of the automobile manufacturer has, with effect from October 18, stopped funding loan cases of vehicles other than manufactured by the parent company. Its regional office here catering to entire Uttarakhand and Saharanpur district of UP has been instructed to limit its operations till further orders. “The decision has been taken in view of the unexceptionally tight liquidity situation. The partial lending arising out of funds crunch has been done to keep the sale of the company-manufactured vehicles afloat,” said a senior company official requesting anonymity. The development is significant as it has taken place ahead of the Diwali when the sale of vehicles, both new and used ones, was expected to double. Market watchers believe the decision will definitely impact their sale graph. The situation is already showing sure signs of this as sources said the ICICI, which also funds two-wheelers, has drastically curtailed its lending operations. Other big players like Magma, Tata Financial and HDFC too have significantly lowered their scale. “We were expecting bumper sales due to important festivals like Id, Dussehra, Bhaiya Dooj and Diwali this month but the reverse has happened due to the unexceptional reluctance shown by private financial institutions as well as the nationalised banks,” said Vineet Barthwal, senior manager, Rohan Motors, a licensed user of Maruti True Value. The share of Maruti in the used cars segment in Dehradun is around 150 cars per month. But it has come down to almost half in this month. The same impact is being seen in the case of new vehicles. About 450-500 cars being sold every month at Maruti showrooms has also come down to half.
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Govt doctors demand NPA
Dehradun, October 25 Raising a collective demand under the aegis of Prantiya Chikitsa Evam Swasthaya Sewa Sangh, the doctors were unhappy with the attitude of state Pay Commission headed by Sushil Tripathi that has failed to include their demand. “When this region was still part of Uttar Pradesh, the Samta Samiti had given its recommendations in this regard in 1986 which are still valid. Further as per the Financial hand book Vol 2 Part 2-4, Fundamental rule 9(21), NPA has been declared as ‘pay’ hence Tripathi Commission was requested to include NPA in the first part of its recommendations.” “However, Tripathi Commission did not include the recommendations, putting into doubt the sincerity of the commission”, stated Dr D.P. Joshi, general secretary of the organisation. “We are worried that a substantial amount of our arrears would be slashed if NPA persists in its present form. Further with the implementation of Sixth Pay Commission, a new system of running pay band is in force.” “In the new system, time-bound scales have been withdrawn on the pretext that a wider range of pay band would reduce the problem of stagnation which doctors experience,” said Dr T.K. Pant, member of the organisation. Dr Joshi said that the state government doctors should be compensated by time bound promotion as it is being done for central government employees who benefit from Dynamic-assured Career progression scheme (DACP). |
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ITBP celebrates Founder’s Day
Mussoorie, October 25 Addressing the jawans, Negi said since the creation of the ITBP after the Indo-China war in 1962, the force had played a significant role in maintaining peace and security at the Indo-Tibet border. “We have also played an active role in various other spheres like emergency aid in times of disasters and natural calamities, promotion of martial arts, mountaineering, skiing and river rafting,” he
added. Negi urged the jawans to continue to serve the nation with dedication. Cultural programmes for the families of jawans were also
organised. |
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Gorkha Rifles gears up for celebrations
Dehradun, October 25 It is worth mentioning that Sixth Battalion, The Eighth Gorkha Rifles (Naughan) was raised on February 4, 1948 by Lieut Col J.D.Nadirshaw (Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra). During the past 60 years, battalion has participated with distinction in almost all the wars/operations that Indian army had fought. The Battalion participated in “Operation Amar” at Ambala in 1958-59 and for his distinguished services, the then Prime Minister of India, Late Jawahar Lal Nehru presented the battalion with an “Operation Amar” trophy. Apart from participating in various other operations, the Battalion moved under an Infantry Division in Jammu and Kashmir in June 2006 for its field tenure in High Altitude Area. Thereafter, the Battalion was deployed in Siachen Glacier under Operation Meghdoot from January 2007 to July 2007.
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Jay, Praveen recount trek to Siachen
Dehradun, October 25 After getting acclimatization at Nimu, the group comprising of RIMC cadets, Rashtriya Military School Cadets, DRDO persons, mediapersons, Ministry of Defence persons, Navy, Air Force and Army men visited Sachi Stupa, Hall of Fame, Magnetic Hill, Pattar Saheb, Sangam Point, Pangong Iso Lake, Chanagla Pass and Kali Mandir. The trekking party spent eight days in the Siachen glacier. “We went from base camp to Camp-I, Camp-II and Camp-III. The trekking party could not go beyond Camp-III due to hostile weather and hence failed to go upto ‘Kumar’ post”, said Jay Kant Mishra and Praveen Kumar Singh, while sharing their experience with The Tribune. They said that trekking to Siachen glacier was the experience of their life. “We saw snow for the first time and trekking in minus 35 degree celsius temperature was a great experience. The visit to the war memorial and Siachen Battle School added to our knowledge”, said Mishra and Singh, while adding that they wanted to go up to Kumar post but were told that weather was not good to go further. Mishra asserted that terrain at Siachen was extremely tough and the threat to life looms large. He learnt the lesson of life that nature could be harsh at places, good at places but with strong bonding, one can overcome all hurdles. “After every two-three hours, we had to check our feet to see they are safe from frost bite or not. I must salute the armed forces personnel, who stay for months in Siachen”, he remarked. Mishra also said that his mother was very apprehensive to send him to Siachen and he made lot of efforts to convince her for getting permission. “When I told my mother that it is lifetime opportunity, she agreed”, he added.
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Extra precautions required, says DGP
Dehradun, October 25 During the meeting, DGP directed all the police officials to ensure that elaborate security arrangements are made in the wake of Diwali. “Considering the fact that recently there had been terror attacks in different parts of the country, extra precaution is required”, he asserted. The ADGP, CID, Vijay Raghav Pant, issued strict directions to the anti-narcotic cell to remain active and to make the masses aware about the ill effects of the drugs. Pant also directed officials of the anti-narcotric cell to initiate strict action against anybody found involved in narcotic trade. Other senior officials present in the meeting included IG (Law and Order), M.A. Ganapathy, IG Intellegence/Security Anil Raturi, IG Garhwal Ashok Kumar, IG Provision and Modernization R.S.Meena were present in the meeting. |
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Models walk the ramp at Thomso-08
Roorkee, October 25 The “Vogue” ramp where pros like Sushmita
Sen, Annie Thomas and Himanshu Malik have sizzled in earlier seasons turned out to be a great entertaining event withthe spectators asking for more. The other programmes earlier in the day included paper cutting competition in which 35 teams participated. The first two positions in this event were bagged by students of Thapar, Patiala, in which Srivatsan and Udit were declared winners while Harsh and Smile were the runners-up. In another event “Footloose” — the dance competition - as many as 380 students in 40 different teams participated Student groups also displayed their theatrical skills through an enthralling performance at the “Nukkar Natak” attacking the social evils that continue to prevail in modern Indian society. As many as 120 persons participated in the preliminary rounds of Mr and Ms Thomso held last night. |
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Heart check-up camp begins today
Dehradun, October 25 “Uttarakhand Health Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank would inaugurate the camp in presence of Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli,” disclosed Kamal Bahuguna Executive Director HIFEED here today. Heart check-up camps across Garhwal and Dehradun were a part of the same series of HIFEED. Bahuguna said that changing lifestyle is leading to rise in cardiac problems in the society and emphasised on the need of such camps. Elaborating upon the other public welfare programmes being undertaken by HIFEED, Udit Ghildiyal, director, HIFEED, also mentioned that from the last 13 years, the organisation is working on programmes related to the livelihood options for villagers in hills of Uttarakhand. |
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Traditional ‘gharats’ to take over
Dehradun, October 25 The watermill has been set up at the initiative of HESCO, a voluntary organisation that has been working for the revival of Gharats (traditional watermills), in Uttarakhand. The inaugurated watermill apart from grinding would help generate as much as 3 KW of power. Dr Anil Joshi of HESCO, said that it was his endeavour to ensure that the traditional Gharats were revived across the hill states of the country. |
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Dehradun, October 25
