Dehradun, February 10
It has been a harsh and losng winter for the homeless in Uttarakhand. They had lost everything in the heavy rain that had hit the state in August-September last year.

While a majority of them continues to stay in tents, a hundred families have got somewhat lucky. Last month, they had moved into temporary shelters that provide a semblance of protection from the cold and prowling animals.

The construction of temporary shelters is part and parcel of relief and rehabilitation operations. However, such a response did not come from the government, but a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

The refuge of the poor and homeless villagers, these pre-fabricated temporary shelters have been constructed in different parts of the state by the Peoples Science Institute (PSI), an NGO, in association with the Dorabji Trust.

Though a total of 984 families have been declared homeless by the Uttarakhand Government, the PSI could reach out to 100 families only.

“We are surprised as to why the government did not build temporary shelters for the homeless. These pre-fabricated shelters can be used for two years and will stand in good stead till the time the villagers get their homes ready,” said Dr Ravi Chopra of the PSI.

Satisfaction writ large on her face, Pyuri Devi, an old woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste and a resident of Salud village in Chamoli, said, “My house was swept away in the September rains. I took shelter at the house of my daughter, but how long could I stay there? Thankfully, I moved into this temporary shelter. It has not only provided a roof over my head, but also much needed security and privacy”.

The unprecedented rain in August and September had caused widespread loss of life and damage to property in Almora, Tehri Garhwal and Haridwar districts, though several areas in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Dehradun too were affected.

“The plastic tents provided by the government could not withstand the chilly winds. There was always a fear of wild animals and passing dogs tearing the tents open. I feel safe here in this temporary shelter,” said Hari Singh of Takula village in Almora.

Banking heavily on its past experience during which the PSI had undertaken extensive rehabilitation work in Uttarakashi and Chamoli districts in the aftermath of earthquakes, building shelters was easy, but before that, transporting construction material to Munsiyari and other snow-bound areas was not without its share of problems.

“Since most of the selected villages in Munsiyari and Kapkot blocks of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts are situated at a high altitude, the transportation of material was difficult,” said Puran Bartwal, a PSI functionary.

But these problems did not deter the team from setting up the shelters in a month’s time. All of these were ready by January 5.

While the state government has gone to town claiming how meagre the Rs 500 crore aid provided by the Central government for carrying out the rehabilitation work was, the PSI, with the support of locals, has managed to construct 100 houses with a small budget of Rs 25 lakh.

“It does not cost much. The government could have provided houses for a majority of the affected families. According to conservative estimates, if the cost of a single shelter is pegged at Rs 75,000, then the state government could have done a lot with the funds it got from the Centre. But I am surprised that they did not do anything, expect for trading charges,” said Dr Ravi Chopra.

Mussoorie, February 10
Farmers of Mussoorie, who have been persuaded to engage in floriculture, lament the fact that their farmland, that is situated in Mussoorie, does not fall in the “hill category”, according to the Horticulture Department of the state. Thus, they are unable to avail the additional 10 per cent subsidy provided under various schemes.

According to floriculturist Gaje Singh Rawat, located at Kyarkuli, “Even a layman can say that Mussoorie falls in the hilly terrain and, more so, it is ranked as one of the most beautiful hill stations in the country. But the bureaucracy in the Horticulture Department thinks otherwise”.

Gaje Singh, elaborating the anomaly prevalent in the department, says the cost of establishing the floriculture unit at Kyarkuli, Mussoorie, is the same as in any hilly terrain, but they do not get the subsidy as promised by the government. He further lamented the fact that due to this inequality, the other farmers were not keen on taking up floriculture in the region.

He further informed that to promote floriculture in Uttarakhand, horticulture technology mission was initiated with the help of the Central Government in the state. Under the scheme, the government provided floriculture production inputs at a subsidised rate. In addition to that, the government financially assisted the farmers in building floriculture set-ups like polyhouses and water harvesting tanks in the state. It was under this scheme, he thought of changing his produce from traditional wheat and rice to flowers.

Gaje Singh Rawat, speaking exclusively to The Tribune, said he was fond of flowers since childhood, and due to this interest he researched further and interacted with other farmers involved in floriculture. Seeing the amount of profit they were reaping from the business, he contacted the Horticulture Department, and from there he was sent for the training at Pune in Maharashtra.

For establishing the floriculture unit, the state provided a subsidy of 50 per cent. He bought a nursery of carnation flowers from Bangalore (now Bangluru) as it was best suited in accordance with the climate of Mussoorie. The state government assisted him in setting up a polyhouse and, after hard work and adequate techniques, his first consignment of carnation flowers, that was sent to Delhi, fetched him a windfall profit last year.

Buoyed by the profit, he had now planted roses according to the market demand. This expansion had forced him to establish two more polyhouses to increase his revenue.

However, Gaje Singh was of the view that the initial setup cost was much higher as their region falls in the Mussoorie hills, but due to the incompetent thinking of the department, the area of Mussoorie had been has been excluded from the “hill category”, whereas Chakrata, that has the same terrain, has been included in the said category.

Gaje Singh further said the cost of establishing a unit here was much more than in the plains. It amounted to Rs 3 lakh for just constructing the walls, but the department only provided Rs 70,000 for 1,200 per square feet. That forced him to to take a loan of Rs 13.5 lakh at 11.5 per cent interest rate from the bank. “The amount of subsidy under the ‘hill category’ is around 60 per cent, but as Mussoorie has been excluded from it, they receive only 50 per cent subsidy. Thus, they lose out to the other areas in the cut-throat competitive market,” added Gaje Singh. He demanded a subsidy of 60 per cent as being provided to farmers of Chakrata hills.

He further opined that floriculture was a business best suited for farmers of the region. If the policies were implemented properly, keeping the interest of farmers foremost, the industry could grow at a phenomenal rate. This would assist in stopping the distress migration from the hills and provide a boost to economy in big way.

When contacted, the DHO, Horticulture, was not aware that the government had increased the subsidy amount to 60 per cent and said that the entire hill region was kept under the same slab of 50 per cent.

Horticulture Department Secretary Vinod Fonia was not available for comments.

Dehradun, February 10
These days love can be felt in the air of the Doon valley as every nook and corner of the town is wearing a lovey-dovey look to celebrate the ongoing Valentine week. Today, on the fourth day of the Valentine week, a large number of youth thronged shops to buy cuddly soft toys for their near and dear ones.

When asked about the significance of the teddy day, a majority of the youth said presenting soft toys were the best way to convey soft feelings to the beloved. “Though nobody gave me a teddy today, I bought a red-coloured heart-shaped soft toy for myself,” quipped Anju, a student of DAV PG College.

To be in sync with the demand on the occasion, gift shops in the city are decked up with an array of attractive and elegant products. From jewelleries to flowers, from dresses to soft toys, everything is very much in demand for the upcoming V-Day. “To express affection and love to the loved ones, a large number of youngsters are thronging my shop. I’ve a vast range of Valentine goodies at reasonable prices, but cards, photo frames, bracelets and soft toys are much in demand,” said Sangeeta at Art Home gift shop.

However, young enthusiasts prefer to buy pink and huge-sized teddy bears for their ladyloves, irrespective of the costs labelled on these.

Shop owners are also doing brisk business on the occasion. “This is the only season when these V-Day goodies are very much in demand. We don’t charge anything extra. The prices offered by us are very genuine unlike other branding outlets in the city,” said Mahesh, a soft-toy seller outside the Gandhi Park.

College campuses, in particular, witnessed exchanging goodies, chocolates and flowers among enthusiastic youngsters.

Teachers are blaming the V-Day celebrations that are keeping students preoccupied. “I can see thin attendance in the classes these days. Youngsters fervently wait for this occasion every year and when it arrives they choose to bunk classes or hang around with friends instead,” said a teacher.

However, it is needless to say that the occasion has no taboo on the aged population. Many married and aged couples were seen exchanging flowers and gifts today. “We have been married to each for four years, but the affection and bond between us has grown older and older. We have come for a lunch together and also to rekindle the love as it was during our college days,” said Sheetal and Mahinder, a couple at KFC.

Dehradun, February 10
The Sardar Gurucharan Singh Memorial Fourth National Debate Competition was organised at the Sardar Bhagwan Singh PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research here today.

Around 14 colleges, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Aligarh Medical University, Aligarh, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, IIT Roorkee, Deen Dayal Upadhaya Gorakhpur University, Meerut College CCS University, Meerut, Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, Faculty of Law, Delhi University, TERI, University Delhi, Sushila Tiwari Mediacal College, Haldwani and Sardar Bhagwan Singh PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research, Dehradun, participated in the competition.

The topic for the debate was “India- a rising power in global economy: myth or reality”. The speakers from different colleges expressed their views on the issue. The audiences were enthralled by the verve, wit and vivacity of the participants.

Vice-Chancellor of Doon University, Dehradun, Prof Girijesh Pant and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Uttarakhand Technical University, Prof HC Nainwal appreciated the efforts of the participants. The winners of the competition will be announced tomorrow.

Nainital, February 10
As a precautionary measure for the ensuing summer, the district administration in Udham Singh Nagar has ordered proper upkeep of fire-fighting facilities, particularly in industrial hubs of Pantnagar and Sitarganj.

At a meeting held with representatives of the industry at Rudrapur on Wednesday, District Magistrate (DM) BVRV Purshottam ordered that fire stations in the industrial hubs be updated with all requirements.

Dr Purshottam ordered regional manager of the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal (SIDCUL) NC Pant to ensure that these fire stations were fully functional. In addition to this, he also ordered the setting up of a police post in the Sitarganj industrial area.

Talking to officials involved in industrial development, Dr Purshottam said they must maintain a constant dialogue with industrialists and entrepreneurs. He called for the immediate redressal of the latter’s concerns so that there was an increase in industrial production.

While addressing the industrialists, the District Magistrate said they must abide by the norms laid out for them and employ the local population as per their qualification.

He disclosed that work on the Sitarganj-Chorgaliya road would start soon and Rs 12 crore had been sanctioned by the state administration for the project.

He asked representatives of the Public Works Department (PWD) to work on a war footing for repairing the roads leading to the industrial hubs so that there was no problem in the transportation of raw material and finished goods.

The DM also asked the industrialists to get involved in social welfare activities and asked them to adopt schools and provide study material and other facilities like medicine to the students. He said the industry had come forward to adopt 33 schools in the district. He appealed to the industrialists from Kashipur to participate in the endeavour.

Chairperson of the Kumaon Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCI) Darbara Singh highlighted the problems faced by the industrialists to the District Magistrate. Referring to the gas pipeline being laid in the district, he urged Dr Purshottam to write to the state administration for doing away with the value-added tax (VAT) on the gas that was to be supplied through this pipeline.

He raised the issue of delay in increasing power load of industries by the Power Department, the applications for which were lying pending.

The industry has called for repairs of roads and drains in the Bazpur industrial zone and requested for bus stands at places from where industrial labour can take buses for their homes and factories.

It has also sought more security in industrial areas and asked for more police patrolling in these zones.

Dehradun, February 10
The Saxena Committee has registered strong reservation to the comments of the Director General of Forests, India, in the recently released report of the committee on the Forest Rights Act, describing the comments as based on selective misreading and ignoring the key recommendations.

“The Director-General Forests (DGF) in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given a preliminary response to the report of the FRA committee. While the engagement with the report is welcome, much of the response is based on some misreading of the report and its recommendations,” said committee member Roma.

She argued that apart from misreading the report, the DGF did not respond to several other key recommendations where the MoEF had to take the lead. He did not respond to the recommendations of the report on the obligations of the MoEF to act against the illegal evictions and fresh encroachments, ensure the implementation of the Act in the proposals related to diversion of the forest land and further ensure that the forest officials do not obstruct the implementation.

Taking measures to make forest-dwellers the primary beneficiaries of the non-timber forest produce by de-nationalising them and ensuring that critical wildlife habitats were declared and the protected area management reoriented through due democratic process, were also not touched upon by the DGF.

As per the Forest Rights Committee, the explanation of the DGF that the villagers have not claimed the community forest rights (CFR) because they already have such rights flies in the face of widespread evidence collected by the committee, especially the lack of information and deliberate misinformation, including those by the forest officials, is the main reason for the inadequacy of the CFR claims. Similarly, the FRC pointed out that the DGFs continued advocacy of JFM is contrary to the requirements of the Act that all such institutions would be replaced by the committees set up by the gram sabha, empowered to manage and protect the forests.

The DGF had also questioned the suggestion in the report that this clause of prior occupation of other traditional forest dwellers should not be insisted upon was a matter of serious concern and could not be accepted, as it would open a floodgate to parcelling out unbroken forest land for private uses, defeating the very purpose of the FRA.

“In fact, this may well grow to become a land scam of gargantuan proportions, dwarfing the biggest scams we have seen in this country, given the growing pressure of the commercial forces in the country,” the DGF said in his immediate response to the report of the committee.

Dehradun, February 10
Two days are left for the 34th National Games 2011 to commence at Ranchi in Jharkhand, but the Uttarakhand state contingents are all in disarray. The Games begin on February 12.

Usually, teams from other states leave about a week ago for practice at the venue and for the arrangement of boarding and lodging.

However due to their lackadaisical attitude towards sports, it seems that the Uttarakhand sports authorities are yet to wake up for the nationals.

According to the Uttarakhand Olympic Association (UOA), 200 players from 11 disciplines will take part in the Games, but they have not left yet for Ranchi.

General Secretary of the UOA Nirwan Mukherjee said, “Some teams have left and will reach by February 11 while others are still in Uttarakhand.”

Surprisingly, when just two days are left for the event, the association still expects the number of disciplines that Uttarakhand will be participating in to increase.

“Though we have confirmed participation in 11 disciplines, more are expected,” Mukherjee added.

“I am amazed at the attitude of the federations and the UOA. Reaching the venue a day before the Games wouldn’t be of much use.

“In a day, they will not be able to find a room at the venue, what to say about practice and other aspects,” rued a member of the UOA, preferring anonymity.

“Plus, the players have not been given track suits, shoes and kits by the associations/federations. I doubt whether they will take part in the championship or will come back after a picnic,” he quipped.

Despite the fact that no trials, no coaching camps and no state Games have been held, Uttarakhand has chosen teams for the nationals at Ranchi.

The preparedness of the state for the Games can be gauged from the fact that most of the teams have been named without any trials and the sports federations did not conduct any coaching camps.

What is more surprising is that the Uttarakhand Olympic Association (UOA) is not aware of how the teams have been selected. In turn, it has blamed the state government for no financial assistance.

As per rules, trials are mandatory before sending teams for the nationals. Setting aside all norms, some federations are following an easy and quick practice.

Some federations have selected teams on the basis of the players’ last performance. This means that new comers would get left out.

“I had performed well at the local level, including school and clubs levels, and wanted to try my luck at the nationals. It has come as a shock for me and my friends that no trials are being held for the Games,” said a talented young athlete.

Sandeep Sharma, general secretary, state Athletics Association, “We didn’t have time to conduct trials as we were informed a few days ago. We selected the players on the basis of their last performance.”

In volleyball, due to a dispute between the UOA and the state volleyball association, two teams are being sent. The sport is likely to embarrass the state at Ranchi.

Nirwan Mukherjee told The Tribune, “I think all federations have conducted trails. Maybe, some selected teams on the basis of their last performances.”

The general secretary blamed no financial support from the state government for the dismal preparedness for the nationals.

“We wanted to conduct state Games a month before the nationals, followed by a week-long coaching camp. But we got no financial help from the state government despite writing to them several times.”

Dehradun, February 10
Legendary footballer Shyam Thapa feels that the standard of football has fallen in Dehradun over the years and a lot needs to be done to bring back the lost glory of the Doon valley in the sport.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the final of the 19th Narayan Gurung Zics Memorial Football Tournament on Mahindra Ground, he said the standard of the game in Dehradun is not what it used to be earlier.

The state government needs to spend money to promote the sport. “People in Kolkata asked me what had happened to football in Dehradun,” he stated.

“Football here should have been upgraded, but it has not happened here,” he said. Thapa opined that a football stadium should come up in Dehradun and state-level football tournaments should be organised.

On the lack of good players, he said, “To get talented players, we need to find them from local tournaments. Selectors should scout for talent in local championships.”

The former Indian team player is scheduled to give a day’s coaching at Maharana Pratap Sports College on February 14.