The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Cong playing petty politics, says media advisory panel
Dehradun, June 29
Uttarakhand Media Advisory Committee’s vice-president Ajendra Ajay has accused the Congress of resorting to negative politics. In a statement issued today, BJP leader Ajay said the Congress never believed in politics of development, and asserted that the Central Congress party was solely responsible for the rising inflation in the country.

Industrial package imperative for U’khand, HP: BJP Yuva Morcha chief
Haridwar, June 29
The demand for an industrial package for hilly states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh by the respective Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state governments is gaining momentum, with both state governments getting united to pitch for the demand from the Central government.

Harish Rawat’s spokesman accused of duping villagers
Haridwar, June 29
An allegation has been put up by Lal Dhang area villagers against spokesperson of the Haridwar Congress MP Harish Rawat for cheating them in the name of providing employment. The villagers also alleged that they were harassed when they demanded their money back when no jobs were provided to them. Residents of Lal Dhang and Laundra areas protest in front of the SSP office against Rajesh Rastogi, spokesman for Haridwar MP Harish Rawat in Haridwar

Residents of Lal Dhang and Laundra areas protest in front of the SSP office against Rajesh Rastogi, spokesman for Haridwar MP Harish Rawat in Haridwar on Tuesday. A Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Mussoorie Palika clears 50 proposals
Mussoorie, June 29
At a board meeting of the Nagar Palika, more than 50 proposals were passed of which the cost of a proposed project of laying premix (patch), installing railings and doing paint work on the road stretch from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy (LBSNA) to the Polo Ground was increased by 5 per cent from Rs 7,01,200 to Rs 7,36,260.
A ward member makes a point at a board meeting of the Nagar Palika in Mussoorie

A ward member makes a point at a board meeting of the Nagar Palika in Mussoorie on Tuesday.

Illegal LPG refilling leads to fire at Rajiv Nagar
Nainital, June 29
The township of Lal Kuan in Nainital district was the centre of commotion late last evening on account of cylinder blasts in a shop that was allegedly involved in the illegal refilling of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.

Roadways staff seek better facilities
Dehradun, June 29
Seeking better service facilities, members of the Uttarakhand Roadways Employees Union today staged a dharna at the Gandhi Road-situated Roadways office. Employees submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Manager (Technical), Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, accusing the management of failing to honour their earlier agreement. Uttarakhand Roadways employees hold a demonstration in Dehradun

Uttarakhand Roadways employees hold a demonstration in Dehradun on Tuesday.
A Tribune photograph

60 women panchayat representatives get tips on micro planning

Dehradun, June 29
Altogether 60 elected women panchayat representatives comprising pradhans and kshetra panchayat members from Uttarkashi, Tehri, Bageshwar, Haridwar and Dehradun participated in a workshop aimed at sharpening their micro planning and accounting skills.
Elected village panchayat women members participate in a training programme held at RLEK in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Founder’s Day of Wadia institute celebrated
Dehradun, June 29
The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, observed its Founder’s Day today. A lecture programme was held to mark the occasion. Addressing the gathering of scientists and other dignitaries, PK Bhowmick, Executive Director, ONGC, said the region has high hydrocarbon potential and a comprehensive exploration was needed to tap underground resources.

ASHA workers hold protest
Dehradun, June 29
Accredited Social Health Activist/worker (ASHA) workers undergoing training in emergency life-saving techniques raised a banner of revolt against the NGO imparting the training for withholding payment.

3 die as bus falls into gorge
Nainital, June 29
Three members of a family were killed while six other persons were seriously injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling fell into a gorge near Nainital this afternoon.

10 drinking water schemes sanctioned
Dehradun, June 29
Potable Water Minister Prakash Pant has given a go-ahead to the 10 rural drinking water schemes under the Sector Wide Approach Programme (SWAP) underway in the state, supported by the National Rural drinking programme and the World Bank.

Delegation from South meets Guv
Dehradun, June 29
Members of the Krishi Utpadan Evam Mandi Samiti from South India on a tour of Uttarakhand called on Governor Margaret Alva today.

Governor Margaret Alva interacts with agriculturists from South India in Dehradun on Tuesday.

	Powerless villagers block traffic at Selaqui Tribune News service Dehradun, June 29 Commuters had a harrowing time at 8 am today when hundreds of residents of Selaqui, Sahaspur, Rampur and shopkeepers of these areas blocked the traffic on National Highway-72 near Selaqui village for two hours to express their anguish against daily power cuts of 8-10 hours. It was only after they were assured by officials of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited of reducing the power cuts to two hours that they lifted the blockade. Vijay Pal, Pradhan of Selaqui village, said they had been tolerating long power cuts for the past four months. Life in the village had come to a standstill not only due to shortage of electricity, but also of water. “We are getting very little water because of power cuts. Life has become miserable due to snapping of electricity and water in the hot summer months. Not only this, our children can neither study nor sleep at night. People are getting sick because they do not get relief from the hot weather as light remains off for three hours in the morning and five hours in the afternoon. Even at night, it dodges for one to two hours,” he said. The residents had to resort to traffic blockade as their pleas to officials working at the Selaqui power substation went unheard, said Shahida, Rampur village Pradhan. “We had met officials of the Selaqui power sub-station on June 17 to air our grievances with regard to power cuts. The officials in return blamed overloading for the problem and assured us that a normal power supply would begin in next five days, which did not happen till date. Out of compulsion, we had to take to this tough measure to make stubborn officials understand our plight.” It was the commuters who got punished unnecessarily and remained stranded for hours as it took much longer for traffic jam to loosen up and get smooth. AK Johri, Director, Project Operation, said the long power cuts were taking place due to overloading in the area. “To solve this problem, a new feeder will be installed in the area in the next 15 days,” he said. Later, a resident of Selaqui, Indu Kumar, confirmed a smooth power supply in those areas throughout the day and felt that officials would stick to their promise of reducing power cut duration to mere two hours a day.
	Congress councillors hold protest on DMC premises Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 Along with Congress councillors, Ashok Verma, leader of Opposition in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), raised slogans against appalling conditions of various projects undertaken by the DMC administration and gave a memorandum to Assistant Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (AMNA) Harak Singh Rawat as neither the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) nor the Mayor was present on the premises at that time. Though Verma lauded the MNA and the AMNA for their competence, but pulled up engineer Dinesh Verma for deliberately sitting over the tenders of the Congress councillors despite orders from the MNA. Sharma defended himself saying that he had been overburdened due to census work for the past two months and could not clear the tenders overriding rules and regulations. Sharma said, “I can not pass 100-200 tenders in one go. It will take time”. Ridiculing the state government, the City Development Minister and the Mayor for their slackened pace, the Congress councillors criticised them in satirical note. Verma said, “The patch work on the road is yet to be done. The biggest park of the city is crying for sanitation service and proper maintenance. Town Hall, the place on the DMC premises where religious, social and cultural programmes are held, is in a pitiable condition due to broken furniture, torn seats and lack of proper lighting and air-conditioning. The tall promise of making Asia’s first biggest water park is still waiting to take off. The ward offices which were to be built for all 60 wards are getting perpetually delayed. Heaps of garbage all over the city is self-explanatory. Even the DMC premises is not spared of stink. Streetlights are few and far between. Stray animals are becoming the reason of several accidents everyday. No one takes the authority to dispose off dead animals. The publication of tender takes ages to complete. The problem of water logging during rains in the city has become horrendous for residents and passer-by. Vehicles to carry dead ones to the crematorium are very few and that too in bad condition. Several lakhs spend on digging a tube well in the Gandhi Park which did not have water under the ground showcase the efficiency of people of corporation which hardly see officials sitting here to attend to people.
	Cong playing petty politics, says media advisory panel Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 Uttarakhand Media Advisory Committee’s vice-president Ajendra Ajay has accused the Congress of resorting to negative politics. In a statement issued today, BJP leader Ajay said the Congress never believed in politics of development, and asserted that the Central Congress party was solely responsible for the rising inflation in the country. “The Congress must talk of development rather than resorting to politics of accusation,” he pointed out. Ajay in particular criticised Union State Minister and Haridwar MP Harish Rawat’s statement linked to Hema Malini’s participation in the Sparsh Ganga programme. He said Hema Malini had been made a brand ambassador for the Sparsh Ganga programme taking into account her stature as a film star and not just a BJP MP. He said the Sparsh Ganga campaign was receiving applause and it was only the Congress that was criticising the campaign. “While the Congress is resorting to unmindful criticism of the state policies and programmes, the party has maintained a studied silence over the issue of rising inflation,” he observed.
	Industrial package imperative for U’khand, HP: BJP Yuva Morcha chief Tribune News Service Haridwar, June 29 The demand for an industrial package for hilly states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh by the respective Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state governments is gaining momentum, with both state governments getting united to pitch for the demand from the Central government. With Chief Ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Prem Kumar Dhumal even terming the non-extension of industrial packages to their states as politically motivated, Member of Parliament from Himachal Pradesh and newly appointed national President of the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJPYM) Anurag Thakur has termed the industrial package issue as his foremost priority and said for the twin neighbouring states, the extension of the package was imperative in ushering in an industrial revolution in the twin states. Thakur met a delegation of the Haridwar unit of the BJPYM at a felicitation function in New Delhi. They urged the newly appointed youth wing chief to visit Uttarakhand soon to see the work being done by the wing activists. Motivating Uttarakhand youth wing activists for the forthcoming district panchayat elections in the state, Thakur said he would be extensively visiting Uttarakhand to see that the BJP emerged victorious in these elections which would pave way for the 2012 Assembly elections. The youth wing president was also given holy Ganga water brought from Har-ki-Pauri and wished a successful tenure by executive members of the youth wing. Among others who were in the delegation were Ujjwal Pandit, Pranav Shikhola, Sandeep Saini, Pankaj Chabra, Sunil Prajapati, Sanjay Malhotra, Anil Puri, Rajesh Lakhera, Manoj Tyagi, Naresh Sharma, Milan Saini and Harjit Singh.
	Harish Rawat’s spokesman accused of duping villagers Tribune News Service Haridwar, June 29 An allegation has been put up by Lal Dhang area villagers against spokesperson of the Haridwar Congress MP Harish Rawat for cheating them in the name of providing employment. The villagers also alleged that they were harassed when they demanded their money back when no jobs were provided to them. In a written complaint to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haridwar, dozens of residents of Laundra and Lakshar areas alleged that in the name of providing employment Rajesh Rastogi, an advocate in Haridwar Judicial Court, who is also a spokesman for Haridwar MP Harish Rawat took thousands of rupees from several people and now was harassing them. Pappu Singh Azad, who is Jila Panchayat member, complained that he had given Rs 50,000 to Rastogi as per his demand on providing government job to his son, but on June 26 when Azad approached Rastogi to an seek explanation, he was physically assaulted by Rastogi and his aides. Complainants also alleged that due to his political reach, local police stations were not filing their complaints which forced them to come to Roshanabad-situated SSP’s district office. “He has duped money from many of us citing his political reach, but after taking money he backtracks from taking any such thing and even threatens us with dire consequences if we seek any explanation,” alleged Vikas Singh Saini, Congress organisational member, and Mohammed Islam, block president, Laldhang area. Giving the issue a different touch, the complainants said most of those who were cheated by Rastogi belonged to the Dalit community and police inaction would only add to exploitation of the Dalits in the state. They warned that if proper legal action was not taken, they would be forced to start a mass agitation. To this district police official assured them of proper action to the complaints of the protestors. Meanwhile, Rastogi has refuted the allegations terming these as a politically motivated conspiracy and warned of taking legal action as the allegations were harming his political, social and professional image.
	Mussoorie Palika clears 50 proposals Ajay Ramola Mussoorie, June 29 At a board meeting of the Nagar Palika, more than 50 proposals were passed of which the cost of a proposed project of laying premix (patch), installing railings and doing paint work on the road stretch from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy (LBSNA) to the Polo Ground was increased by 5 per cent from Rs 7,01,200 to Rs 7,36,260. The amount of the tenders was raised to Rs 35,31,400 through a proposal vide 741 dated September 29, 2009, and after amendment which was more than the previously approved amount of Rs 27,95,140 in the name of frequent visits of VIPs by the road. The academy is a premier administration institution which is visited with important dignitaries from around the country year around. Palika President OP Uniyal said the immediate construction of the road had become a necessity due to frequent arrival of the important dignitaries by that road. However, many raised eyebrows at this abrupt increase in the amount for the road tender which was in a better shape in comparison to other roads in the town. Former Palika President Manmohan Singh Mall lamented the fact that the Palika had additional money for the so-called VIP road, but was neglecting other important roads on which the common man tread daily. The Palika also issued a call for global tenders in national newspapers for constructing an auditorium under the PPP mode. A proposal for buying vehicles for keeping the town clean was also passed. Uniyal said instead of buying new vehicles for garbage dumping, it would be better to construct one carrier behind the already available tractor for the purpose. A proposal for the widening and connecting the road to Khatta Pani at a cost of Rs 18,15,500 was also approved. Most of the proposals passed at the meeting pertained to the construction of roads and nullahs at Bhadraj and Roselyn Estate, etc. The board also deliberated on the salary for the advocate hired for the High Court cases. It was decided that instead of a monthly salary he would be paid on a case basis. Ward members Kedar Singh Chauhan, Shushil Agarwal, Shubasini Bhartwal, Kanta Bisht and others were present.

	Roadways staff seek better facilities Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 Seeking better service facilities, members of the Uttarakhand Roadways Employees Union today staged a dharna at the Gandhi Road-situated Roadways office. Employees submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Manager (Technical), Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, accusing the management of failing to honour their earlier agreement. The agreement has prominently called for construction of a daily checking dug, making arrangement for loading vehicles for ferrying heavy assemblage vehicles and improving quality of workshops. The protesters alleged that they had been repeatedly putting their concerns before the management, but the latter had so far failed to react to their concerns. They also raised their promotional issue. MK Uniyal, branch president of the depot workshop, and Balesh Kumar, secretary, were signatories to the memorandum. Anil Upadhyaya, Sardar Kisan Singh, Dal Chandra, Mahendra Singh, Bhuweshwari Ratudi, Jeewan Prakash Mishra, Parvinder Singh and Naresh Verma were among prominent participants at the protest.
	60 women panchayat representatives get tips on micro planning Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 Altogether 60 elected women panchayat representatives comprising pradhans and kshetra panchayat members from Uttarkashi, Tehri, Bageshwar, Haridwar and Dehradun participated in a workshop aimed at sharpening their micro planning and accounting skills. The members from Uttarkashi, Tehri, Bageshwar, Haridwar and Dehradun were present today and learnt about issues like planning at the gram panchayat level, proposals for development works at the gram panchayat level and finance and accounting. Dr Vijay Shankar Shukla, Publicity and Training Officer, Uttarakhand Vikas Sansthan, gave talk on micro planning and why it is important for members to learn about micro planning. A high-level delegation of Auditor and Comptroller General of India from New Delhi will interact with the elected women panchayat representatives during the training programme tomorrow. The workshop was organised at the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK).
	Founder’s Day of Wadia institute celebrated Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, observed its Founder’s Day today. A lecture programme was held to mark the occasion. Addressing the gathering of scientists and other dignitaries, PK Bhowmick, Executive Director, ONGC, said the region has high hydrocarbon potential and a comprehensive exploration was needed to tap underground resources. He said vast resources of natural gas had been revealed from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Bhowmick admitted little infrastructure at time proved to be a hindrance in the conduct of exploration works. He also appreciated the efforts of the Wadia Institute in glacier studies. Director of the institute Dr AK Dubey revealed that as many as 95 research papers of the Wadia had been released so far. He said the establishment of a glaciology centre at the Wadia institute would further strengthen the glaciology works in the state. Wadia’s Hindi souvenir was also released at the function. Five scientists were also awarded at the function. They were Dr AK Mahajan, Dr VK Mukherjee, Dr Naresh Kumar, Dr Pradeep Kumar Srivastava and Dr R Perumal.
	ASHA workers hold protest Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 29 Accredited Social Health Activist/worker (ASHA) workers undergoing training in emergency life-saving techniques raised a banner of revolt against the NGO imparting the training for withholding payment. Samarpan, an NGO, is imparting training to ASHA workers in emergency care, and for the training the ASHA workers are paid an honorarium of Rs 250. But the ASHA workers undergoing training alleged that the NGO did not pay them the full amount despite getting their signatures on vouchers. As a protest the workers did not report for work and instead held a protest at the centre. Some semblance of normalcy was brought after the NGO decided to look into the matter.
	3 die as bus falls into gorge Tribune News Service Nainital, June 29 Three members of a family were killed while six other persons were seriously injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling fell into a gorge near Nainital this afternoon. Eight members of a family residing in Labour Colony of the Civil Lines area in Rampur were on their way to Nainital for a holiday in a hired vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Sobhan Singh of Seraghat in Almora, is learnt to have lost control over the vehicle near Baldiakhan due ot heavy fog and the vehicle plunged into the gorge. Sources say those killed include 60-year-old Victor, his 28-year-old daughter Veronica and son-in-law Amit Kumar. The injured have been referred to a Haldwani hospital.