Haridwar, June 19
With the acquisition of farmers’ land becoming a major issue, peasant leader Chaudhary Narendra Tikait has demanded vital amendments in the Land Acquisition Act, citing it as a “tyrant” that is affecting farmers drastically.

Chaudhary Narendra Tikait, son of legendary peasant leader late Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait, was addressing the farmers on the concluding day of the ‘Kisan Mahakumbh’ here in Haridwar.

He pointed out that the government was occupying agricultural land of farmers at will which had led to mass resentment among farmers as well as made them poor. “Amendments should be made in this Act and the rights of farmers should be protected. Till date vested interests are being given preference which is posing problems of livelihood and self-respect for the farmers’ community which feeds the nation,” remarked Tikait.

Speaking on Swami Nigamanand’s martyrdom, peasant leader Sanjay Chaudhari said the death of the agitating saint did not indicate good governance as no one cared for the saint who fasted for months, ultimately giving his life for the cause of the Ganga. The government, be it Union or state, has risen now which is quite late.

“If exploitation of farmers continues, we, too, on the lines of Swami Nigmanand will have to resort to agitation. This seems the only option against insensitive governments,” said Chaudhari.

This is the first farm convention that is held annually by the BKUthat is not being presided over by Mahendra Singh Tikait who made it an annual feature in Haridwar. 

Dehradun, June 19
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Harak Singh Rawat today observed a one-day fast demanding the dismissal of the state government in the aftermath of Swami Nigmanand’s death.

The fast was observed at Gandhi Park, where a large number of Congress leaders were also present.

Addressing a gathering, Rawat alleged that the BJP was plying into the hands of quarrying mafia.

He said the BJP leadership was not “concerned” about the health of 
Swami Nigmanand.

He claimed that the people of Uttarakhand would teach BJP a lesson in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Uttarakhand Women’s Congress President Sarojini Kainthura said the state government had crossed all limits of corruption.

Former Mayor Manorama Sharma, former Dehradun Mahanagar Congress chief Lalchand Sharma, Surendra Kumar and many prominent leaders were present. 

Uttarakhand Media Advisory Committee chairman Devendra Bhasin has described the fast observed by Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat at Gandhi Park here today as an election stunt.

In a statement issued here, Bhasin said there was no purpose in observing a fast particularly after a CBI probe had been ordered into the Nigmanand episode. He said while Harak Singh Rawat observed a fast at Gandhi Park, other Congress leaders celebrated the birth anniversary of its National General Secretary Rahul Gandhi at the State Congress Headquarters some metres away from Gandhi Park.

He accused the Congress of politicising Nigmanand’s death. Bhasin said the Congress was worried about growing popularly of the BJP in the state and was resorting to such misleading acts. 

Mussoorie, June 19
A lineman of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), distribution division, died while repairing a faulty electricity line at a pole near Avalon Resort here yesterday.

Circle Officer, Mussoorie, Shweta Chaubey rushed to the spot and sent the body for a postmortem. Speaking to mediapersons, Chaubey said the incident took place when lineman Gajendar Singh Panwar, son of Bhaktawar Gram Kimoda, after receiving a complaint climbed the pole to repair a fault.

The ladder on which he was standing snapped, following which Panwar lost balance. To save himself from falling, Panwar caught hold of a high voltage wire, following which he received a shock and he fell on the road. He died on the spot.

The negligence of the department can be gauged from the fact that the lineman was provided with a rickety ladder that could snap any moment. Besides, he was not wearing any safety gear such as helmet, which could have saved his life. SDO Mussoorie AK Singh said he was out of station and could not comment on the incident without ascertaining the facts. He, however, was quick to inform that the lineman was working on contractual basis. The Tribune had recently carried a news story on March 13 titled “Exploitation of labourers continues” in Mussoorie. The report had clearly highlighted the risks under which the employees were working due to absence of any safety measures adopted by the department. The UPCL, despite such warnings, failed to provide any safety gear to the employee. — OC

Dehradun, June 19
The BJP and the RSS today organised a Bodh Mahasammelan convention for the first time in the city, where prominent followers of Buddhism and monks were given mementoes and statues of Lord Budha.

Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Mayor Vinod Chamoli, who were also invited, could not make it to the occasion.

Chief guest Indresh Kumar, senior RSS leader, addressed the public and denounced the miasma of untouchability. He advocated full rights to people belonging to the lower caste and also spoke on conversion.

He said: “If somebody wants to convert to other religion out of his own sweet will, he/she is welcome. However, to lure people with money to convert to other religion is totally unacceptable. Hindus embracing Buddhism is not conversion as both belong to the Indian culture. Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar adopted Buddhism, but not Christianity, which is a message for the rest.”

Expressing concern over the increasing corruption, black money, inflation and violence, he said values such as humanity and regard to women were degrading in comparison.

He held Pt Jawaharlal Nehru responsible for inserting Article 370 in the Constitution to give exclusive privileges to Kashmir.

On being questioned about his alleged involvement in the Ajmer blast case, he said: “Aseemanand, the main accused in the case, who named him first, retracted from his statement later, which proved that perpetrators pressurised Aseemanand to name him. Had I been terrorist, I would not have been participating in public functions openly. Terrorists like Osama bin Laden are addressed with regard and Azahar Masood was never hanged till date. All this shows the mentality of a particular section/party. Media should probe into that.”

State BJP president Bishan Singh Chufal threw light on the life of Lord Buddha and Baba BR Ambedkar. He too advocated implementation of strong anti-touchability laws in the country.

Others who were present on the occasion included minister Khajan Das, vice-president of the Anusuchit Morcha Geeta Thakur, organiser of the convention Joginder Pundir and president of the Safai Karmachari Ayog Bhagvat Prasad Makvana.

Dehradun, June 19
To celebrate its 46th foundation day, the Shiv Sena Yuva Morcha organised a blood donation camp here today.

The doctors from the Doon Hospital collected around 40 units of blood at the camp.

Talking to the media, Gaurav Kumar, state president of the morcha, said: “We want to make sure that the poor people get blood easily.” 

Pithoragarh, June 19
The BSF (Jalandhar) won the All-India Football Tournament defeating the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, by 2-0 in the final match played at DS Bisht Stadium here today.

The winners were awarded a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1.50 lakh while the runners-up team was given Rs 75,000. State Cabinet minister and local MLA Prakash Pant was the chief guest on the occasion.

The first goal was scored by Inova Tula Singh in the 75th minute which was followed by another goal by BSF striker Bunty Singh in the 86th minute of the game. A total of 14 teams from across the country participated in this tournament, which started 
on June 11.

The teams came from Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Benaras, Lucknow, Udaipur, MP and Dehradun, said Vinod Singh Waldia, secretary of the District Sports Promotion Committee.

Sports lovers of Pithoragarh had collected Rs 14 lakh from voluntary donations to host the tournament.

Dehradun, June 19
The Uttaranchal Tennis Association will be organising the All-India Talent Series Tennis Tournament, the third tournament of the year for boys and girls under 12 and 14 age groups, at Shanti Tennis Academy, Dehradun, from June 20 to June 24. The upcoming tennis players from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP, Tamil Nadu, MP, AP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, HP and Uttarakhand are expected to participate in the tournament.

The qualifying rounds for the main draw were played on June 18 and June 19 and the main draw matches will start from June 20 onwards. The tournament will be played on a knock-out basis. In the main draw for boys under 12 years, Utkasrh Bhardwaj and for boys under 14 years Dhruv Pal of Uttarakhand got first seed, according to Avinash Kunwar, tournament director. 

Dehradun, June 19
Adhoiwala Boys and Wills XI teams won their respective matches in the Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League played at pavilion grounds here today.

In the first match, Adhoiwala Boys defeated Gorkha Boys 1-0 in a closely fought match.

The lone goal of the match was scored by Ashu of Asdhoiwala Boys in the 13th minute of the game. The Gorkha Boys did try hard to score the equaliser, but did not succeed till the long whistle.

In the second match, Wills XI defeated Yankees XI by 6-2. Arpan of Wills XI scored three goals while Robin scored twice to help their team take a comfortable lead. Wills XI started with a bang by scoring the first goal through Robin in the 10th minute. Robin again netted the second goal two minutes later.

Arpan scored the third goal in the 30th minute while Deepak scored the fourth goal in the 32nd minute.

It was in the 47th minute that Prashant scored the first goal for Yankees. Ten minutes later following a melee near the goal post, Yankees earned a penalty, which was converted into a goal by Prashant in the 57th minute.

However, again, Arpan scored two goals in 59th and 61st minute to make it 6-2 win for Wills XI.