Dehradun, December 25
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has asked the Centre to reconsider its decision to establish the headquarters of Pancheswar Dam in Mahendranagar, Nepal.

During his interaction with Union Water Resources Secretary UN Panjiyar, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister reminded that the 70 per cent of the submerged area of the dam falls in Uttarakhand region and thus the project should be headquartered in Uttarakhand.

However, Dr Nishank said while Uttarakhand honoured the international treaty, it also aspired greater participation of the state in the project taking into account the issues linked to submerged areas.

The Chief Minister sought 13 per cent of about 6,000 MW of power generating from the dam to Uttarakhand free of cost. He also felt the need of taking locals into confidence while progressing on the project.

Dr Nishank also held that he would also been meeting the Prime Minister over the issue shortly.

Panjiyar said the Pancheswar project was part of 1996 Mahakali Treaty sighned between India and Nepal.

He said the project to come on the confluence of the Kali and Saryu rivers would be spread over Pitthoragarh and Champawat districts of Uttarakhand and Nepal areas and was expected to generate power to the tune of about 6,000 MW apart from irrigation and flood control benefits.

Chief Secretary NS Napalchayal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Subash Kumar and Principal Secretary Amrendra Sinha were also present on the occasion.

Tribune News Service

Pitthoragarh, December 25

Secretary in the Union Water Resource Ministry UN Panjiyar has said a joint authority to facilitate the construction of Pancheswar Dam between India and Nepal will be finalised by January next year. Panjiyar, who conducted an aerial survey of the Pancheswar site today, was talking to mediapersons in Lohaghat town. “The Union Water Resource Secretary, who reached here by a helicopter, was accompanied by Irrigation Secretary with the Uttarakhand government Amrendra Sinha and Power Secretary Shatrughan Singh,” said Avanendra Singh Nayal, District Magistrate, Champawat.

Panjiyar said the 5,600 MW electricity generated by the dam would be equally distributed between India and Nepal and talks about resources for its construction as well as the rehabilitation policy were being held by officers of both countries.

“The rock-fill dam to be constructed at Pancheswar, at the confluence of the Kali and Saryu rivers will have a reservoir of 120 sqm and will absorb three-forth part of India and one-fourth part of Nepal land,” said Panjiyar.

“A team of officers also inspected the Rupali Gar and Purnagiri areas where the second phase of dams would be constructed according to the proposals,” said Nayal.

After a long wait, the Indian and Nepalese governments agreed on November 22 to constitute a joint authority consisting of officers of India and Nepal. The aerial survey by the officers of the union government and Uttarakhand was a follow up of that meeting. 

Dehradun, December 25
The Scheduled Castes Officers and Employees Association held a meeting today to discuss issues related to their educational, social, financial, employment and promotion rights.

Surender Rakesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator, said: “As per the 85th Amendment Act 2001, SCs/STs employees of Uttarakhand should get benefits like those given by other states. We had sent many memorandums to the state government since 2002 in this regard, but nothing happened. It is hoped that the present government will do something about it.”

Another ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Ajay Tamta said: “We have been demanding to fill vacancies of SCs/STs which are lying vacant in the Public Service Commission, State Information Commission and a head of the SCs/STs Commission. These constitutional positions should be filled immediately. Similarly, vacancies of SC/ST spokesperson and reader in many colleges and university were pending for a long time”.

People of this category are not getting benefits meant for them. Dalip Chand, provincial president of the body, said: “Even on reserved positions, SCs/STs employees are not given promotions on time. The employees feel discouraged. In such a situation, the people responsible for not giving promotions should be punished.” There is a lot of anomalies as far as recruitment is concerned. Dev Singh said: “As per the roaster system, the reserved seats along with backlog should be filled by starting a special recruitment drive. Such issues should not be handled with leniency”.

JR Lapar, organisation’s patron, said: “Under the SC sub-planning, a huge sum of money has lapsed over the years. It needs to be stopped by putting in place an effective planning.

For this a planning committee should be created which will see the planning and implementation of policies related to SCs/STs with precision.” Chandan Nam Das, Secretary, Vidhan Sabha, Joga Ram Tamta, MLA, Gangoli Hat, Ganga Ram and Chander Singh participated in the meeting. 

Dehradun, December 25
A seven-day NSS camp began today at Government Girls Inter College. The main aim of this camp is to spread awareness about environment, cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation.

The camp will also focus on eradication of different types of pollutions and diseases through right education and alertness. The volunteers and members of NSS will also organise health camps related to the awareness of AIDS, malaria, diarrhoea and bringing up of healthy kids. Apart from these camps, they will go door to door to explain people about the importance of education.

The opening ceremony of the occasion began with their slogans followed by Saraswati vandana. The programme was a coalition of songs, poems and dances performed by the volunteers. The NSS camp will continue till December 31. 

Pitthoragarh, December 25
An area measuring 40 km between Dharchula and Jipti on the Tanakpur- Tawaghat road has been declared landslide prone in a preliminary geological study by a geologist of the Uttarakhand government Rajendra Shukla, who submitted his report to the District Magistrate, Pitthoragarh, recently.

“The villages of Tankul, Mangti, Jumma, Ghimirgaon, Katodiya, Bungbung, Syankury and Suvagaon, which fall in this area, are highly sensitive from landslide point of view as the rocks there are made of joints inside and therefore weak,” Shukla told The Tribune here today.

“According to my study, this area is not able even to bear more than 150 mm of rainfall and cloud burst that frequently occurred in this area during monsoon,” said Shukla.

“The preliminary study of this highly landslide-prone area has been ordered by the state government after the Chetalkot landslide in February. Further studies will be done by the landslide wing of the Geological Survey of India or the Wadia institute of Himalayan Geology,” said NS Negi, District Magistrate, Pitthoragarh.

“The study, which comprises separate studies of each villages in this area, suggests the mode of road construction in this area should be changed as it can cause extra havoc during monsoon being on zone 5 of earthquake line,” said Shukla, who has earlier done this type of studies in the Kapkote area of Bageswar district.

“Besides, the report suggests conduct of mass plantation schemes to stop the top soil from sliding and construction of check dams as well as the treatment of various rivulets which become active during monsoon in this area,” he said.

Shukla is at present working as assistant 
geologist and based in Almora. 

Dehradun, December 25
Om Gairola started the recording of the first song of Garhwali comedy audio-video album “Bhondu” at the local Bigboss recording studio here today. It is the first video album launched under the banner of Himalayi Arts. The album has eight songs based on Garhwali culture. The album has been dedicated to late lyricist Vinod Uniyal.

Mani Bharti, one of the artistes of the video album, said: “Bhondu is a comical musical video expressing the culture and tradition of the Garhwal region. We are also expecting a great response across Uttarakhand as the video targets the common audiences.

Anil-Vinod Uniyal are music directors of the album while Om Gairola, Vastika and Sangeeta are the singers. The choreographer of the album is Ajay Bharti.

Ravinder Jugran, vice-chairman of the State Youth Welfare BJP, Uttarakhand inaugurated the programme by breaking a coconut outside the recording studio. He wished the artistes and the maker of the video a good future and business in the industry. Other guests present at the function were Mani Bharti, Vijay Bharti, Madan Mohan Duklan, Sanjayu Barthwal and many more.

Dehradun, December 25
Sizzling hot models dressed in khadi raised the mercury level on the intense chilly night of Thursday in the city.

Local models walked on the ramp donning the outfits of the Blue Burans brand on the smoggy Christmas Eve. Models draped in sarees, jackets, kurtis, lehengas, skirts, shirts, coats, pants, stoles and scarves looked absolutely elegant and chic in the fashion show.

Blue Burans is the first self help group (SHG), a label of Uttarakhand that manufactures khadi clothings, accessories and decorative things.

The garments label displayed the Indian as well as western outfits but the fusion avatar stole was the limelight of the show. The dresses were encrusted with motifs, embroideries, embellishments and other decorative works. The whole line of clothing was inspired by the dressing culture of hilly regions and their traditional functional art form.

The outfits were very well combined with caps, stoles, scarves, mufflers, bags, shades, belts and jewelleries. The Khadi Village Industries Board sponsored the event while the show was managed by the Dev Rishi Educational Society (DRES).

CEO of DRES Sharad Sundriyal was the director of the show, event manager was Sanjay Singh, the show was choreographed by Anup Banerjee and Harmeet Narang was the designer and coordinator of the show. 

Dehradun, December 25
The state government has announced a ban on the usage of polythene. The move comes as part of anti-pollution drive in the state and environment-friendly initiative of the government.

Announcing this at a foundation stone laying ceremony of a road in Dehradun, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said if needed, the government would also go for a punitive action to ensure that the state was made polythene free. He said it was all important that people’s cooperation was sought for ensuring successful anti-pollution drive.

Addressing the gathering, Nishank announced re-naming of Jogiwala Chowk-Badripur Manjari Nawada Road after Kargil martyr Sanjay Gurung.

The 3.30-km-long road has to be widened and strengthened at the cost of Rs 271 lakh.

Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the local populace would be extremely benefited from the new road.

The ceremony was held today to coincide with the birth anniversary celebrations of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh Rawat started a drive aimed at banning the use of polythene by distributing cloth bags to vegetable vendors in the Dharampur vegetable market under the Devbhumi Development Committee.

He urged them to use the cloth bags instead of polythene ones.

He said it was a matter of great fortune that the drive was started on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Vir Chander Singh Gadhwali and educationist and social worker Madan Mohan Malviya.

He also requested political parties to unite above party lines on this issue and save

the Earth from destruction. He stressed the need for a massive campaign to bring awareness among masses living in localities on polythene ban. He said polythene polluted water and became dangerous for Ozone layer and atmosphere when burnt.

On this occasion, Padamshree awardee Leela Dhar Jaguri said polythene reduced the capacity of water conservation and fertility of soil. He appealed people to get free from its clutches. On this occasion,

Pankaj Gupta, president of the Industries and Trade Association, regional councillor and many other representatives were present. 

Dehradun, December 25
Tourists’ rush to Corbett has reached all-time high with New Year revelers flocking the park in big numbers. The bookings at the park are almost full till January 8.

The famous Dikhala Zone is already booked for VIPs, who are visiting the park in big numbers this year. Everyday visit bookings in different tourism zones of Bijrani, Jhirna and Durga Devi are full till early January next year.

Over two lakh tourists visited Corbett in 2008-09.

“For those who are fed up of hectic pace of life, celebrating new year at Corbett continues to be the best choice as it comes as best means to get themselves refreshed,” Piyush Rautela of Wild Adventure, Ramnagar, said