Ramdev revives stir against black money
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 19
While Anna Hazare was addressing people at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, yoga guru Ramdev took out a rally in Haridwar reviving his “black money” campaign and urged people to change the corrupt system affecting the whole country.

After two months since Ramdev started his satyagraha in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, he came out in open lashing at the Centre for failing to take a bold stance on bringing black money put in the foreign banks and declaring it as a national asset.

Taking a cue from Anna, today’s rally was youth- oriented with over 5,000 young activists taking part in the rally. Youths from Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Rajasthan ,Delhi ,Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other states actively took part in the rally treading more than 9 km on foot.

Throughout the procession, Ramdev waved to the crowds addressing the gathering at vital intersections. The mass participation of the activists could be gauged by the fact that it took more than five hours for the rally to reach Har-ki-Pauri.

Ramdev urged people to come out in open against the tyrant policies of the Central government, which is not serious over issues of corruption, black money or the degradation of moral values in the government officer bearers.

Ramdev said the youth hold vital importance in pressuring government to bring back black money, drafting a strong Lokpal Bill and maintaining high moral ethics among the elected representatives.

Owing to the procession, traffic jams were witnessed in the city.

Residents of hilly areas face shortage of essential goods
Rajeev Khanna

People try to get to the other side of a road covered with debris near Bhawali on Friday.

Nainital, August 19
The supply of essential commodities, particularly perishable ones, to the hilly areas has been badly hit due to incessant rain in Kumaon region.

With road connectivity to the majority of hilly areas yet to be restored, people are facing a shortage of essentials goods even as the administration claims to have made all arrangements of rations in these areas.

According to reports from the remote areas of Nainital, parts of Bageshwar, Champawat, Almora and Pithoragarh districts, the supply of milk, vegetables and fuel has been badly hit.

Certain villages that have been cut off from the rest of the world due to landslides and the debris are facing a shortage of kerosene that is the most viable fuel available in such times.

Officials said the administration was trying to take kerosene to such areas as wood stored by villagers has been rendered useless on account of it getting wet in rain.

The prices of vegetables that are available are very high. The local production of milk at the village level is not enough to meet the existing demand in these areas.

In Nainital district, efforts are on to restore the Bailey bridge at Niglat near Bhawali. It is being expected that the bridge connecting Bhawali to Khairna will be functional in a couple of days. The original bridge that had been devastated during the last monsoon had been replaced by a Bailey bridge last year and this time around, two ends of the bridge were once again damaged in rain.

Traffic flow on the Nainital-Bhawali road has been fully restored. PWD officials are working overtime to clear the debris in the Pines area. District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has himself inspected both Pines and Niglat areas.

In Almora district, District Magistrate DS Garbyal has ordered officials to take of situation regularly and inform the district control room after every three hours.

He has also asked the officials to ensure that they provided constant information for the updating of the NIC website. The officials have also been asked to maintain a constant touch with personnel of the ITBP and the SSB.

Officials of the Education Department have also been asked to be extra cautious with regard to the safety of children while coming and going back from school.

With the rain not ceasing in the hills, large tracts of land in Terai remain inundated. Many areas are waterlogged in parts of Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts, including areas like Ramnagar, Kashipur, Jaspur and Sitarganj. 

Chukam village faces monsoon fury once again
12 families living near the Kosi have been shifted to a safer place
Rajeev Khanna

Nainital, August 19
Chukam village near Ramnagar has once again been cut off from the rest of the world owing to incessant rain. However, this time the administration claims to have been well-prepared for the annual challenge posed by the monsoon. District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli said ration supply for four months had been provided to the village in advance.

Sources said 12 families living near the Kosi river had already been shifted to a safer location.

Ramnagar SDM AK Nautiyal said his team was awaiting recession in the water level of the Kosi so that they could approach villagers with further supplies, including kerosene, the only viable fuel in the present circumstances.

Nautiyal has assured that the administration would definitely reach the stranded villagers by Saturday.

The relocation of Chukam, a small village on the border of Nainital and Almora districts, stands as a contentious issue. Residents have been constantly demanding relocation and freedom from the annual misery that surrounds them during the monsoon every year. Last year, 15 houses were destroyed by the Kosi river that also washed away a large tract of fertile land. People have taken to agitation claiming that various promises made to them by the government have turned out to be mirages over the years.

However, the administration claims that efforts are on to find an appropriate place to relocate villagers.

Officials claimed that they had also written to two forest divisions apart from the Corbett National Park that existed in the area, but even they had not been able to come up with a solution till now. The administration says that it is willing to provide land that villagers want on the Patkot road, but they are adamant on having an equivalent of government land which is at present available to them, though this land also remains submerged during the monsoon.

Chukam has remained among the most underdeveloped villages of the state. In the absence of a bridge linking it to the main road, the village remains cut off from the rest of the world during the monsoon. Interestingly, Lok Sabha member from Pauri Sat Pal Maharaj was the first parliamentarian to visit them after over 60 years of Independence. He visited the place when the rainwater had subsided last year. State Cabinet minister Bansidhar Bhagat took a cue from him. Both leaders made tall announcements which people say are yet to see light of the day.

Creation of New Districts
Financial constraints ‘overlooked’
Neena Sharma/TNS

Dehradun, August 19
After declaring Didihat, Almora,Yamnotri and Kotdwar as separate districts, the Nishank government has opened a Pandora’s box causing unrest and dissatisfaction. The tremors can be felt in several tehsils that have been left out, while a tussle of sorts has also begun for declaring district headquarters for new districts.

While the Nishank government is hopeful of reaping political dividends, essentially, the Independence Day announcement has thrown cold water on the aspirations of those looking for declaring Kashipur, Purola Chakrata, Narendernagar, Pratap Nagar (Tehri), Dhumakot Beronkhal in Pauri, Ramnagar in Nainital and Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar and Gangolihat in Pithoragarh as districts.

Even as the Nishank government grapples with the immediate problem of fulfiling its promise of notifying the districts in a month’s time, providing financial resources cannot be overlooked. More districts means more offices and more money.“We will require at least Rs 1,000 crore for setting up the infrastructure in the four new districts. The financial aspect has to be discussed with the Finance Department. We will be needing another Rs 100 crore for spending on the establishment,” said PC Sharma, Chief Revenue Commissioner. His department has been entrusted with the task of the notification and demarcation of the boundaries of the new districts.

Despite the conservative financial estimates, top officials say the government is already saddled with weak financial health and instead of restorative measures, the announcement will only worsen the condition of the state. “The government does not have the resources to pay for the four districts. The announcement has helped the government politically but financial constraints have been overlooked,” said a top official.

To top it, a tug of war has already started between residents of Purola and Barkote, each demanding that their tehsil should be made the district headquarters of the new Yamnotri district. Similarly, for Kotdwar, too, leaders are demanding that their choice should be taken into consideration.

“The headquarters of a district should be a place that is both accessible and fulfils the people’s aspirations. There has been a demand to make Dugadda the headquarters of Kotdwar district, so also Dandamandi, but nothing has been finalised,” said Vijaya Barthwal, Uttarakhand Culture Minister.

Those familiar with the geography of Uttarakhand will welcome the bifurcation of large districts like Uttarkashi and Pauri. The largely inaccessible areas make commuting difficult. A large part of their time is spent on commuting to and from the district headquarters. Small districts are usually seen as a panacea.

So, keeping these problems in mind, in 1997 the districts of Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Champawat were created. Almost 17 years have passed and 11 departments in Rudraprayag have still not begun functioning in the absence of officials. Just two years ago, work on the Bageshwar collectorate was completed but the community health centre that was upgraded to a primary health centre does not have medical officers. 

Medicine supply to Pithoragarh hospital hit
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 19
Owing to landslides at Makrau, Dharai and Panar on the Almora-Pithoragarh highway, the supply of medicines has been hit at Government Hospital, Pithoragarh.

Chief Medical Officer, Pithoragarh, HC Pant said the hospital had also stopped routine operations due to a shortage of diesel to run generators and other essential equipment in the hospital.

He said: “Though the administration has allotted emergency quota of diesel, it is insufficient to run even emergency vehicles.”

Meanwhile, the prices of vegetables have also gone up as no fresh supply is reaching the town owing of the blockage of roads from Haldwani and Tanakpur mandis. “The prices of potato, tomato, cabbage, capsicum and brinjal have gone up three times in the past five days,” said Bhure Main Ansari, a wholesaler.

Pithoragarh District Magistrate MC Joshi has appealed to local retailers to keep the prices of the essential commodities under control. “We have received complaints that some businesses men were overcharging. We will take action against them,” Joshi added.

Black rust attacks bean crop
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, August 19
Incessant rain has wrecked havoc on the red kidney beans (rajma) crop in Harsil Valley of Uttarkashi district as the crop has been attacked by black rust. Areas near Harsil, Dharali, Sukki, Jaspur, Purali and Jhala villages that are known for the production of the crop have lost most of the crop to the disease.

Farmers have incurred a huge loss on account of this as they could have earned Rs 120 per kg according to the present market price. According to agricultural experts, black rust or bean rust disease destroys the entire crop if conditions are unfavourable early in the season. It is more severe in areas having a humid atmosphere. It can cause defoliation early in the season, which reduces yield. 

Mansarovar Yatra
Landslides make pilgrims’ journey longer
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 19
Landslides caused by incessant rain has made the journey of 37 pilgrims of the 14th batch of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra longer by 80 km. They had to cover more distance to reach the base camp at Dharchula as roads from Haldwani to Almora and Pithoragarh and Dharchula are blocked for the past five days due to landslides.

“The batch that reached Haldwani from New Delhi on August 18 had to take the Ramgarh route to reach Almora, thus travelling 40 km extra,” said DK Sharma, manager (tourism), Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam.

Later, the batch was diverted from Almora to Bageshwar on its way to Pithoragarh due to road blockages at many places on the highway.

“The pilgrims reached the base camp, Dharchula, seven hours late as they had to travel 80 km extra,” said Sharma.

Meanwhile, the returning 10th batch of the yatra today left the Dharchula base for New Delhi from the Bageshwar route. These pilgrims will also have to travel 80 km more to reach Haldwani.

Meritorious students felicitated
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 19
Kirby firm situated in Integral Industrial Estate organised a function to felicitate meritorious achievers in educational filed.

The firm, which has been contributing to the social causes in various ways in the district for past few years, gave trophies, certificates and gift hampers to over 20 students. Two special awards were given to Harsh Shandilya for securing second rank in Haridwar district in the ICSE and Bhoopendra Kumar for getting merit in Class Xth of the CBSE.

General manager Sudhir Mehta assured the meritorious children of constant support if they performed brilliantly in the future. Vice president Savinder Pal Singh acknowledged the role of parents and teachers in providing children with better environment to excel.

Shailesh Kumar, an industrial worker, whose son was also awarded, said, “ Due to low income, it becomes tough for me to cope up with the educational expenses. But such appreciation makes up for that.”

UKD (Panwar) to hold rally on Aug 23
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 19
General secretary of the UKD (Panwar) Jay Pakash Upadhyaya has drawn attention of the media to the indefinite fast being observed by vice-president of the Garhwal section of the party Shakti Shail for the last three days in Pauri town in protest against the government’s move to revoke domicile certificate criterion.

He said if Shail’s health deteriorated, the state would be responsible for it. The party would have no option but to stir a movement against it, he added.

The party would hold a protest rally on August 23 in the city, he said.