Haridwar, August 29
The controversial statement by Home Minister P Chidambaram given earlier this week at a conference of all chiefs of police forces on terrorism referring to “bhagwa” (saffron) terrorism as a new phenomenon of terrorism uncovered in investigations into terror blasts seems to have shaken the pilgrim city.

Hindu outfits and saints have been holding mass protests and seeking apology from Chidambaram terming the statement as a derogatory remark which maligns the saffron colour which is part of the national flag.

Yog Guru Swami Ramdev termed the Home Minister’s statement as derogatory and sought an instant apology from Chidambaram saying that the statement was uncalled for and had hurt the sentiments of people deeply.

Jagad Guru Shankaracharya Swami Rajrajeshwarashram Maharaj took strong cognisance of the Union Minister’s remark and demanded an explanation from Chidambaram as to how was an Indian wearing a ‘bhagwa’ dress or saint a terrorist? The Jagad Guru also cited that never in history had Hindus attacked any other country first with the Hindu religion seeing God in even animals, be it an ant or an elephant.

“If anyone wearing a saffron outfit is a terrorist, then first Chidambaram should remove saffron colour from the Indian national flag and also from the Congress flag, otherwise he should apologise publicly,” said Shankaracharya while speaking to the media.

The Shiv Sena too has sharply reacted to the remark. It carried out a rally and burnt an effigy of the Home Minister at the Chandracharya Chowk. District chief of the outfit Devendra Prajapati said the Congress was playing only a political card, but seemed to forget that playing with the sentiments of billions of Hindus would have serious repercussions, which they would realise in the coming elections.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student outfit of the BJP, held a meeting at Devpura in this regard and later burnt an effigy of the Home Minister. Addressing the meeting, Garhwal division convener Naveen Pant said saffron was not only the colour of the Hindu religion, but also an identity of India, so Chidambaram had questioned the very identity of India which was equivalent to an anti-nationalist act.

Dehradun: Shiv Sena activists burnt an effigy of Chidambaram at the Clock Tower here on Sunday.

Led by their district in charge Rahul Chauhan and general secretary Varun Pundir, the Sainiks said the Congress leader by linking terrorism with the Hinduism had only revealed his narrow mindset.

Describing Chidambaram as the weakest ever Home Minister of the country, Chauhan said the the Union Home Minister was resorting to misleading statements by linking terrorism with the Hinduism. The Shiv Sena members also sought his resignation.

Mahanagar Shiv Sena in charge Sushil Bisht, Manoj Arora, Rakesh Bansal, Pankaj Chandana were among prominent protesters. 

Dehradun, August 29
Getting a new LPG connection may be difficult for those who have shifted to Dehradun recently but the residents here are also facing lot of difficulties in getting their LPG cylinder refill. The shortage of LPG cylinders, which begun during the Kanwad Mela, still continues. Although an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) representative deny any shortage of Indane gas supply but agencies pass the buck on IOC.

According to the sources the dealers here use to get two to three trucks having 288-306 LPG cylinders but now they are getting only one or two trucks per week. And this is the reason that people are forced to buy LPG cylinders on black market in the city that could range anything from Rs 550 to Rs 600 per cylinder.

Although the District Food and Civil Supplies officer has out rightly rejected any black marketing of LPG cylinders but in reality this business is mushrooming and consumers are forced to refill their cylinders in black.

Vijay Shah, Manager Himani Gas Agency claimed that there is acute shortage of LPG cylinders from IOC at most of the gas agencies and it normally takes 15-20 days or may be more for delivery. Ditto for MC Joshi, owner of Jagdamba Gas Agency, who reiterated that there is an acute shortage of LPG cylinders at various Indane Gas agencies in the district.

He affirmed that the agencies were not getting the requisite supply of LPG cylinders to meet consumers’ demands for the last one-and-a-half month. “Normally we supply LPG cylinders to customers within a week, but for the past one-and-a-half month customers have to wait for 15-20 days to get their LPG refills,” Shah mentioned.

Few of the sources alleged that the district supply department has failed to penalise shopkeepers who frequently use domestic gas cylinders for commercial purposes at their shops. “Shopkeepers don’t mind getting the cylinder for more bucks and this could be a reason that they get cylinders on time but not the residents,” they claimed.

Customers are charged Rs 345 for a 14 kg domestic gas cylinder whereas the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder is Rs 1,000. “The situation may turn worse if the short supply continues for a long,” sources added.

Shaguna Rastogi, a resident of Laxmi Nagar mentioned that she had booked a refill 20 days ago but was yet to get the supply. “It is very difficult to buy a cylinder from market as it is available at Rs 600 per cylinder in black,” she claimed.

This has raised doubts if the gas agencies were getting short supplies then how LPG cylinders are easily available in black market.

When asked about the prevailing crisis of domestic gas cylinders District Food and Civil Supplies Officer (DSO) MS Bisan said, “The shortage of gas was due to the Kanwar Mela. We have written to the IOC regarding the same and hope to get the supply on time in future.”

Regarding the black marketeering of cylinders he mentioned, “We have not received any complaint regarding black marketing of LPG cylinders so far and we will act once we get complaints in this regard.”

Talking to The Tribune Bisan affirmed that the requirement of LPG per consumer in the city is more than 10 kg but the actual supply is only 7 kg per connection.

While on the other hand Sanjay Khanduri of Bharat Gas Agency said there was no shortage of LPG cylinders in their agency as these were being supplied from Roorkee.

Denying the shortage RK Pandey, Area Sales Manager for Dehradun said the agencies are able to provide the cylinders well in time and there is no shortage.

Nainital, August 29
The district administration has started gearing up for the forthcoming Nanda Devi Mahotsava. One of the most prominent annual events in the entire Kumaon region, the mahotsava is scheduled to be held from September 12 to 19.

Taking stock of the preparations, District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has underlined the need to maintain proper sanitation in the town during the event and asked officials of the Nagar Palika to ensure the required levels of cleanliness.

In a meeting held here on Saturday, Bagauli asked the officials to ensure that the road going up to the District Sports Association (DSA) parking was repaired well in time and other roads be also made up to the mark. It was related that the parking arrangements during the event would be made in the Hotel Metropole compound. The compound was recently acquired by the administration on the orders of the office of the Custodian of Enemy Properties after it was declared an enemy property.

The organisers of the event from Ram Sevak Sabha informed that the event would start on the afternoon of September 12 and 13. Tableaux would be displayed by students from various schools in the town.

Scouts and guides from various institutions would help the local administration in maintaining order during the event. A series of cultural programmes would be presented 
by various troupes during the one-week event.

Bagauli has instructed the officials of the Jal Sansthan to ensure a proper supply of drinking water and proper cleanliness in all public toilets in the town. The Palika officials have been told to lay emphasis on maintenance of the streetlights and it was related that there would be an uninterrupted power supply across the town during the event.

The police authorities have been asked to deploy an appropriate number of personnel for maintaining proper law and order during the mahotsava and the Public Works Department (PWD) has been instructed to level all roads that have been damaged in the recent rain.

Apart from the cultural events and setting up of stalls for selling different items, a health camp would also be held during the event.

Pitthoragarh, August 29
A three-day Aanthon fair, the festival of worshipping Gaura and Maheswar, will start in the Sour Valley tomorrow.

“It is for the first time that an ancient festival is being organised by the Pitthoragarh Ramlila Committee publicly, which has been organising Ramlila for the past 113 years,” said Bhupendra Singh Mahara, chairman of the committee.

According to the programme of the festival, in which Cabinet Minister Prakash Pant will also take part, women from a nearby village will prepare the statue of Goddess Gaura with grass and after sanctifying by a priest, establish it at a common place to be worshipped by women who traditionally consider worshipping Gaura for their happy family life.

The main ritual of the festival will be organised on September 1 when a grass statue of Lord Maheswar will be prepared and a wedding ceremony of Gaura and Maheswar will be organised. A grand festivity will be celebrated by women on that day in which the statues of Gaura and Maheswar will be worshipped flavoured with folk songs and other rituals,” said Padma Dutt Pant, member of the committee.

After the wedding ceremony, the statues will be immersed at a holy place on September 3.

Haridwar, August 29
In the midst of ongoing anti-encroachment drive, the responsibility of traders’ leaders has increased as on one hand they have to protect the interests of their community while on the other support the administration in improving city’s infrastructure.

Keeping this aspect in mind, the newly elected members of the executive working committee of the Jwalapur traders vowed to safeguard the traders’ interests. At the same time they said they had to cooperate with administration in making city nullahs and roads free of encroachments.

The elections for the executive working committee were held under the banner of the Nav Durga Vyaapar Mandal in which consecutively for the third time Ravi Dhingra was elected the chief of the committee. Praveen Kumar, Ranjan Maheshwari were elected to the posts of general secretary and treasurer, respectively.

After taking the oath, Dhingra addressed the traders affiliated to the City-Industrial Trade Representative Mandal, Jwalapur, Uttaranchal. He assured the traders that development of the area market was his priority so that the Jwalapur market became an ideal market in the area.

General secretary Praveen Kumar said traders’ problems would be raised effectively at various platforms with the government. These three elected office-bearers will be appointing the rest of the working committee members.

Present on the occasion were Ravi Pahwa, Anil Sharma, Vikki Taneja, Swadesh Chaudhari, Sanjay Verma, Bunty Chaudhari, Pawan Jain, Sunny Sharma, Sandeep Bhatiaya, Sanjeeev Duwa and Bhargav.

Dehradun, August 29
As part of its preparations for a nationwide stir on September 7 against pro-privatisation policy of the Centre, members of the Uttaranchal Bank Employees Union staged a dharna at the Gandhi Park here today.

The protesters that included former minister Hira Singh Bisht amongst others pledged to strongly oppose the pro-privatisation policies of the Centre. The protesters, while appealing to the employees to take part in the protest in a big way, alleged that the government sector was being intentionally weakened.

“Merger of banks followed by outsourcing were forced upon the banks and most of the work was being done through contractual employees,” said Jagmohan Mehndiratta, secretary of the union.

He said it had become a tendency of the Central government to make up for the financial loses through disinvestments of the public sector establishments.

They alleged that even in Uttarakhand, the state government was taking to the public private partnership mode in most the works.

Virendra Bhandari from CITU, KR Kashyap from AITUC, Sohan Singh Rajwar, RK Gairola and CP Naithani were prominent participants in the meeting. 

Mussoorie, August 29
The Mussoorie Palika facing flak from several quarters over the increasing incidents of canine bites is planning a drive to remove stray dogs from the streets of Mussoorie.

The stray dog bite incidents have increased this monsoon and after several complaints the Palika has called in the help of animal activists in clearing the town of canine rogues and saving the lives of tourists and residents alike.

According to Palika President OP Uniyal, two animal rights organisation have been given the task of removing the dogs and putting them in safe shelters located at two different areas of town.

The People For Animals (PFA) and the Save Earth Society have been provided areas near Gaddi Khana and the civil hospital where they will keep the dogs under supervision.

The drive will start from Monday at Gaddi Khana as the room has been vacated for the PFA, and the Save Earth Society has given the permission to make a makeshift shelter for the dogs till a permanent structure is constructed.

The residents have welcomed the move and said a permanent solution has become essential to provide relief from the menace. 

Mussoorie, August 29
Rajya Andolankari Samman Parishad president Ravinder Jugran during his visit at Mussoorie Shaheed Sthal said late DSP Uma Kant Tripathi, who laid down his life on September 2 during the agitation, should also be given similar respect as provided to the Uttarakhand agitators.

Jugran was of the view that DSP Tripathi had died saving lives of many at Mussoorie where six 
persons were killed by police bullets. He said a police medal in his name should be constituted and his family members given due respect.

He was speaking on behalf of the agitations who had not received any assistance till date. He said he was in Mussoorie to speed up the identification process. He said the government was committed to solving the pending issues of the Uttarakhand agitators, including the inauguration of the memorial at Shaeed Sthal in Mussoorie.

Ashish Gupta said his father late Padam Prakash Gupta had been thrown in the Bareilly jail during agitation, but did not receive any citation, pension or any assistance till date despite having all credentials and documents as prescribed by the government. Gupta said they demanded that his father should also be considered an agitator like others.