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Guv cuts short address amid Oppn ruckus
Women quota Bill will bring political revolution: Alva
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Women’s Day:13 extraordinary women get Tilu Rauteli awards
Women’s struggle for education not new
One killed in road accident
UTI, Graphic Era Institute win matches
RPCA defeat Little Young by six wickets
International yoga festival begins
Grand Peshwayis begin
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Guv cuts short address amid Oppn ruckus
Dehradun, March 8 As soon as the House assembled this morning and the Governor stood up to deliver her maiden address to the Uttarakhand Assembly, uproarious scenes were witnessed forcing her to sum up the 46-page address document within 10 minutes. She completed the formality by reading out the first two pages and the last page of the document to culminate her address. Alva’s address was her first one ever since she took over the charge of gubernatorial assignment in Uttarakhand. Listing out the achievements of the Nishank government, Alva said the state government had pledged to give new impetus to all sectors of development while simultaneously taking the public concerns as its top-most priority. She said the state was strictly following Vision 2020 to achieve its development targets. The government had announced as many as 14 development schemes on its last State Foundation Day, she added. The Governor said the Uttarakhand government had been the first in the country to provide the highest support price for sugarcane to the farmers even while giving topmost priority to the development in rural sector. As many as 670 Nyaya Panchayats had been identified for the Atal Adarsh Gram Yojana as part of a rural development initiative. The government had sanctioned agriculture investment centres at the Nyaya Panchayat level. On power front, she said the state so far had power projects of total 3,143 MW capacity while works were in progress to establish more projects generating 14,820 MW in the state. Further power projects till the capacity of 25 MW had so far been allotted to private sector and efforts were on to further allot power projects above 1000 MW capacity to private players. On the Pancheshwar project coming along the Indo-Nepal border, efforts were in progress at the Central level. Referring to state government’s commitment for industrialisation, the Governor said the state government was repeatedly urging the Centre for extension of industrial package till 2020. She said the efforts were being undertaken by the state government to create an industry-friendly atmosphere in the state. Reiterating government’s commitment for welfare of state agitationists, the Governor said provisions of pension and medical facilities were being made for those state agitationists who were not interested in government jobs and also those who had been rendered disabled. On disaster management, she said training programme for engineers, masons, architects and Vastu experts are being regularly conducted to promote quake-proof constructions. She said further a state-level disaster management centre and district-level emergency centres were being strengthened to better performance of disaster management wings. The Opposition members, mainly those from the Congress, who protested in the well of the House as the Governor was about to begin her address included Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat, Congress MLAs Kishore Upadhyaya, Tilak Raj Behad and Dinesh Agarwal. They resorted to sloganeering against the state government alleging that governance has taken a back seat in Uttarakhand and it was the corruption that had the final say. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister while interacting with the media revealed the Governor’s displeasure over the happening. “The Governor had done ample preparation to deliver the address in Hindi, but was unceremoniously interrupted by the opposition legislators,” Nishank said quoting Alva who is stated to have said the Opposition should have at least maintained dignity of today’s occasion of the International Women’s Day.
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Women quota Bill will bring political revolution: Alva
Dehradun, March 8 “The presence of 180 women MPs participating in the business of legislation will automatically have a far-reaching impact on the policies of the country. The results of reservation for women in gram and nagar panchayats have already begun to bear fruits. We have more than one lakh women representatives at the grassroot level,” said Alva. She said the Bill was conceptualised under the stewardship of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. “I was then a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet. We knew then that the Bill would be a landmark in empowering women politically. For the past so many years we have weathered quite a storm and determined we have all rooted for the Bill,” said Alva. Alva was speaking today on the occasion of the International Women’s Day celebrated at Raj Bhawan, jointly organised by the Department of Women Empowerment and Child Development and Health Department. In her address, she also made a fervent appeal to the society against deification of women instead asking them to accord respect and equality. Earlier Chairperson of State Women’s Commission Sushila Baluni said women needed to take control of things and should be aware of their rights. While Dr Meenakshi Uniyal, Director AIDS Control Society, delivered an informative presentation on HIV/AIDS and asked women to be conscious about their health. Padma Shri Avdhesh Kaushal, Chairman of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra said in Uttarakhand women continued to be denied control on assets, and cases of female infanticide were also being reported in the state. Later a small skit on “Nari Kab Hogi Azad” was presented by a local theatre group.
Parties observe Women’s Day
The political parties held several programmes to mark Women’s International Day today. The Uttarakhand State Congress Committee thanked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for tabling the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament. Sarojini Kaintura, President, Congress, said the Bill would strengthen women politically. A similar function was held at Nagar Nigam. Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the government had initiated several programmes in the state for the allround development of women. “We were the first state in the country to give 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayats and several programmes are being undertaken for increasing accessibility of health care facilities to women,” he said.
Support pours in from all over
Haridwar: With history in the making as Upper House of Parliament goes for voting late in the evening on the Women’s Reservation Bill, positive reactions poured in Haridwar at several seminars and programmes being organised on the International Women’s Day. Enormous support to the Bill is being witnessed, especially among women, whether they are political leaders, social activists, service class, students or housewives. All are elated at the prospect of the Bill getting light after more than a decade since the Bill was introduced in Parliament. State Women Congress chief Sarojini Kaintura has welcomed the shape women’s Bill is taking, but added that if in real terms the right to equality for women is to happen, the thinking of men towards women has to change. “Implementation of law is imperative, but it’s also necessary that men realise and give womanhood the due respect and recognition,” said
Kaintura. Echoing her views All-India Women’ss Committee president Sudesha Jain said bringing politics in between women’s rights and Bills is totally wrong. She urged political parties to rise above the mean political game when it comes to giving women their due rights and status. Pointing to the necessity of the Bill, former Uttarakhand Women Commission chief Dr Santosh Chauhan reminded that the representation of women in the Parliament and state legislatures is very low in comparison to women’s population. “Just 59 women are in Lower House of Parliament and it itself speaks of the necessity of having quota for women,” she said. Women being a President, a Speaker or a Chief Minister being a women isn’t sufficient. We need more women representing the parliamentary constituencies to make Indian democracy much stronger,” said Dr
Chauhan. The chief guest at a seminar in Kankhal Dadoo Bagh on Women Empowerment, the Leader of Opposition in state legislature Dr Harak Singh Rawat termed the voting on quota Bill as a historic one and according to him this will change the face and social status of women in India. Giving an example of positive effect of women’s reservation at panchayat levels, a Congress leader said women elected at this level were performing brilliantly and there was no reason why they could not replicate this in Parliament and state legislatures. While Geeta Joshi, Principal, Kanya
MahaVidyalaya, opined that now girls had another career option of politics through which they could make and shape the country’s fortunes. “This Bill opens politics as a career option too, but the sole motive for these girls and women should to be to eradicate social evils and put country on the path of development,” said Dr Joshi.
Cong wing celebrates womanhood
Dehradun: To celebrate women’s prowess and struggle, the mahila wing of the state Congress organised a small ceremony on the occasion of the International Women’s Day at their office on the Rajpur Road here today. Women members of the party were also honoured for their contribution to the party. Apart from this, several competitions such as mehndi, rangoli and dance were held. Sarojini Kainthula, president of the wing, congratulated the women in the state and country. She also spoke about the achievements as well as efforts of women and encouraged others to set an example for the rest of the nation by doing something for the society. Eminent Congressmen Dinesh Aggarwal, Hira Singh Bisht, Vivekanand Khanduri, Mamta Gurung and others were present at the occasion.
UKD holds function
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) held a celebration on the occasion of the International Women’s Day at their state head office in the city here today. The party organised a small ceremony to celebrate womanhood and Pramila Rawat, state’s president, UKD, addressed the gathering at the event and congratulated women in the state. She also spoke encouraging words in support of women and promised to come up with productive schemes as well as welfare programmes for women here.
Assn submits memo
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the All-India Democratic Women’s Association protested outside the Vidhan Sabha here today. Agitated at the rising prices of commodities and reservation policies pertaining to women, they shouted slogans and submitted a memorandum of their demands to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister. Leading the protest, general secretary of the association Indu Naudiyal said in spite of 100 years of Women’s Day, there were several demands and needs of women, which were not addressed on time. With the construction of hostels for working women, old age and handicap pension, equal wage system, they demanded an easy procedure for caste certificate and implementation of laws pertaining to the social security of women. Surgi Chauhan, Prema Bhatt, Prabha Pundir, Saroj, Indu Kashyap and other members of the association were present at the time of protest.
SASA home for poor women
The Serve and Share Association (SASA) in collaboration with the Anugrah Trust, the Karuna Social Association declared the launch of their collective project, My Daughter’s Home, on the International Women’s Day amidst a glitterati who came to attend conference on the theme, “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress to All”. Talking about the project, Dr SN
Mishra, convener, said, “We have already adopted 30 such girls in Delhi and Allahabad branches. One maid takes care of four girls. They are sent to English-medium schools. Later on, they will be helped to achieve their respective career goals. The purpose is to give them good upbringing instead of rearing them in the bad atmosphere of orphanages.” He said the organisation was in the way of chalking out similar plans for Uttarakhand also. Speaking on the occasion, Razia
Begh, president of the Dehradun Bar Council, said, “Despite legal provisions, women do not get justice in three to four years which they should have got in three-four days. Therefore, educated women should work further to emancipate rural womenfolk and bring them on an equal pedestal. The enhanced status of women will instinctively raise up the bar of men also.” She sought condemnation of those political parties who were obstructing the Women’s Reservation Bill. Sushila
Bluni, president, State Women Commission, highlighted the sacrifices of women and their own regression in the pursuit of making such sacrifices. She said, “Women need to unite against those injustices which have constantly been meted out to her. At the moment, they require to put their act together to get 33 per cent reservation passed in Parliament”. Vouching from her experience, Kamla
Chauhan, block head of Kalsi region, informed that the reservation in Parliament would not do women much good unless they learnt to own their responsibilities. It was men who were holding the fort of women sarpanches in villages. She also recited a poem describing the pathos of women’s lives. Two exemplary women, Chandra Singh, visually challanged, who did remarkable work for uplifting poor and blind children, and Savitry Kala, noted poet and writer for contributing in social service.
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Women’s Day:13 extraordinary women get Tilu Rauteli awards
Dehradun, March 8 Asha Rawat of Suddhowala thwarted a leopard attack in January. Asha, along with her friend Meena, were on their way to collect fodder when suddenly a leopard pounced on her friend. Asha used a stick to hit the leopard and forced it to retreat in the nearby jungle. “I had to save my friend at any cost and the thought galvanised me into action,” said Asha while talking to The Tribune.
Working in remote corners of Pitthoragarh district, Renu Thakur has initiated a mini-revolution of sorts among women by making them aware of their legal, economic and social rights. “We are spreading awareness about domestic violence and provisions in the Act. There is a general tendency among officials to give a go-by to the provisions in the Act, but continue to monitor the implementation of the Act,” said Renu, a social activist, who hopes to take their fight to the next level through the Saja Manch, a joint front of NGOs in the state. Almost frail now, Heera Devi of Bageshwar was at the forefront of many a social campaign in Bageshwar district. “I took up weaving to supplement my family’s income. People used to laugh at me, but it did not deter me. From here I moved to taking up causes that concerned my village, be it water-connection and electricity,” said Heera, whose failing health has restricted physical movements, but she still continues to be high in spirit. Ritu Mittal of Nainital has consistently raised her voice against female infanticide, girl education and nutrition. While Basanti Bisht a traditional “jagar” singer, hailing from Chamoli and nearing 71, was honoured for her efforts to revive this art form. She has been working on several projects in tandem with cultural organisations. Tilu Rauteli Award recipients include Prabha Fartyal from Almora (for her contribution in the area of education and social awareness), Heera Devi (for social awareness), Basanti Bisht from Chamoli (for reviving Jagar singing), Asha Rawat of Dehradun (for bravery), Deepti Mishra of Haridwar (for singing, literature and dance), Kamla Vidyarthi of Pauri Garhwal (for social works, teaching and writing) Renu Thakur of Pitthoragarh (for advocacy), Jeevanti Devi of Rudraprayag (for advocacy), Mamta Rani Chhabra of Udham Singh Nagar ( for family welfare and advocacy), Vidya Negi of Tehri Garhwal (for social work and anti-polythene drive), Ritu Mittal of Nainital (for female foeticide and education), Sulochana Gaur of Uttarkashi (for blood donation and awareness building) and Urmila Chand (for earthquake relief). Anganwadi workers who were awareded included Vimla Bijalwan of Dehradun, Hansi Ethani of Bageshwar, Sangeeta Devi of Pauri and Mohini Bisht of Udham Singh Nagar.
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Women’s struggle for education not new
Dehradun, March 8 “Uttarakhand saw a glimpse of the women’s movement in India from its very inception. During my compilation of the ideological progress of women in colonial India, many pages of apathy from the past have turned up,” said Panjaniya. In his research, Panjaniya has clearly mentioned that Acharya Ramdev, founder of Kanya Gurukul in Dehradun, located at Rajpur Road, had to leave his house in Punjab because he dared to introduce his wife to his friends. Earlier, he was expelled from his college in Lahore for supporting the cause of women’s education. Mahatma Munshiram, founder of Gurukul However, the women’s education was being propagated by British missionaries with Indian social reform organisations like the Brahmo Samaj in East India, Prarthana Samaj in West India and Arya Samaj in North India. Conservative eyebrows continued to rise for supporting women’s education. There was a case in western India when a woman called Rakmabai refused to go to her husband’s house as her father thought him to be not worthy of his daughter. The husband filed a case in the court for restriction of conjugal rights. The case was contested and gave an opportunity to the conservative section of Indian society to discredit women’s education. The argument was that by giving education to women would result in social disharmony. While turning through pages from the past, women made efforts to promote women’s education, undaunted by criticism of the conservative society in the beginning of the 20th century. In Dehradun, Mahadevi, wife of local lawyer Jyoti Swaroop Bhatnagar, started a school for girls in her own home. Later on, 80 bigha of land was donated at the New Road, where the institution, Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala (MKP), still stands. The woman who laid the foundation of the girls’ school, Mahadevi passed the entrance exam of Calcutta University. In 1911 high school classes were started at MKP. In North India this was the only second institution to do so after Kanya Mahavidhyalay in Jalandhar. In fact, Annie Besant established a college for girls in Allahabad later on. The MKP in 1917 acquired a hostel and girls from all over North India attended the institution. Hukma Devi, resident of Dehradun, also joined the movement against mix-matched marriages. This movement was being carried on through Stri Darpan, women’s journal published from Allahabad. Hukma Devi published a book on this subject. The funds for publishing this book were raised by readers of Stri Darpan. Acharya Ramdev founded the Kanya Gurukul for girls in 1923 in Delhi, which was shifted to Dehradun in 1927. Acharya Ramdev was then able to monitor the institute from Haridwar. In addition, Panjaniya said, “Woman has always marked her presence in every era. Her significance has to be treasured and this is what I am trying to incorporate in my project through my work”.
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One killed in road accident
Dehradun, March 8 Consequently he fell on a stone, which injured his head fatally. The police said he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Meanwhile, a case has been registered in the Rajpur police station.
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UTI, Graphic Era Institute win matches
Dehradun, March 8 It succeeded in scoring its first goal in the 23rd minute of the match through Shalesh, who took a powerful kick to the goal to beat the goalkeeper in all-corners. After the first goal the UTI team came close on scoring in the 32nd minute of the match, but missed directing the shot. At the end of the first half, the UTI team was ahead by 1-0. Meanwhile in the second half, the UTI team yet again dominated the proceedings. It scored its second goal as soon as the game began. Shalesh gave his team a 2-0 lead by scoring a goal in the 45th minute of the match. In the end, the UTI team won the match with ease. Meanwhile, in the second match, Graphic Era Institute defeated DIT by a solitary goal. Both the teams were equally posed in the match in the first half. The Graphic Era Institute team played in a coordinated manner and created some sharp moves but failed to convert them into a goal. The team came back strongly in the second half and scored a solitary goal in the 40th minute through Rohit. The team maintained the lead till the end, thereby winning the match with ease.
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RPCA defeat Little Young by six wickets
Dehradun, March 8 The Little Young team opted to bat first and piled 106 runs. The team had a flying start scoring at a brisk pace up to the 12th over and had made 102 runs. Thereafter, things started changing and wickets fell wickets fell like a pack of cards. The Little Young team was all out for 106 runs. Sagar and Anil gave a flying start to the team. Sagar smashed 18 runs off 14 balls, whereas Anil scored a half-century. He smashed 54 runs off 33 balls. Lower order batsman Ankit made 20 runs. For the RPCA team, Virath was the pick of the bowler with three wickets, whereas Mukesh took two
wickets. In reply, the RPCA team had a steady start to the match. Opener Vipin scored 6 runs, whereas another opener Virath made 14 runs. After the opener got out it was Mukesh and Ankush who accelerated the run rate for the team and scored runs at will. Mukesh scored 42 runs off 47 balls and Ankush made 29 runs off 20 balls. For the Little Young team, Raman took two wickets. Anil, Vishal and Ankit took one wicket each.
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International yoga festival begins
Haridwar, March 8 A large number of foreign delegates from Russia, Germany, America, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Bhutan, South Africa, Ghana, Myanmar, Argentian and Afghanistan are taking part in the event. Earlier, the global event was inaugurated today by noted Vedantic scholar Swami Dayanand Saraswati with lighting the lamp in a ceremony. Dayanand Saraswati lauded the Gayatri Pariwar movement initiated by Dev Sanskriti University and Shanti Kunj and shed light on importance of the Indian culture. While presiding over the inaugural session, Dr Pranav Pandya stated that Yoga was not only an art of healthy living, but also a way of life. “It is not only confined to postures, pranayama and cleansing process, but its essence also lies in equilibrium, excellence and selfless service,” said Dr Pandya. Pt Sri Ram Sharma Acharya and Dr Pranav Pandya have revived the forgotten knowledge of Gayatri Mantra, which is the core of the Indian culture and spirituality. “Practice of yoga and pranayama is incomplete without the power of Gayatri Mantra and all these together pave the way for the holistic and spiritual uplift of a person,” they said. A yoga festival souvenir was also launched on this occasion. The international festival continues till March 13.
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Grand Peshwayis begin
Haridwar, March 8 Now, the Peshwayis are being carried out by the remaining six akhadas and will continue till March 14. Today a Peshwayi was taken by Digambar Ani Akhada. Contrary to the earlier Peshwayis, this one began at 1 pm amid religious rituals and chants. It began from the Shri Mata Vaishan Bhawan Bhoopatwala and passed through Khadkhadi Chowk, Har-Ki-Pauri, Upper Road, Main Bazar, Valmiki Chowk, Shivmoorti Chowk, railway station, Devpura Chowk, Mayapur Police Line, Tulsi Chowk, Damkoti, Shankaracharya Chowk, Iyrish Pull, Bairagi Camp and finally culminated at Punjabi Bhagwan Nagar Khalsa. The procession had all elements associated with a Peshwayi and as it was after a gap of a month, a huge crowd was witnessed all through the Peshwayi route. This Peshwayi was led by Khalsa Rajkumar Das Maharaj and had Maha Mandaleshwars and prominent saints of the Digambar Akhada. Showering of flower petals from a helicopter also lifted the spirit of the gathering. Meanwhile, a tight security and traffic arrangement were in place. Entry of heavy traffic was prohibited and specially mela parking lots were used to lessen traffic chaos on the Peshwayi route. Late in the evening, as soon as the procession moved on from Iyrish Pull to Bariagi Camp, entry of vehicles on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway re-started.
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Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva was forced to cut short her address on the opening day of the budget session of the state assembly today even as Opposition members created pandemonium asking the Governor to go back.
On the occasion of 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day, Governor Margaret Alva said once the Women’s Reservation Bill goes through Parliament, it would usher in a political revolution for women.
Dehradun, March 8
Haridwar, March 8
