Local bodies’ employees call off strike
Admn gives assurance that demands will be met within a week
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
The local bodies’ employees, under the banner of the Uttaranchal Swachkar Karamchari Sangh and the Nikaya Karamchari Mahasangh Sanyukt Morcha, ended their strike late Thursday evening after the state administration assured them that it would fulfil their demands within a week.

The employees all over the state were on protest since September 5 in order to get their 11 demands accepted. They held a meeting with the Principal Secretary (Urban Development), Dr Ranveer Singh, yesterday. The administration assured them that it would issue orders related to their demands within a week. The employee leaders wanted that the orders be released on the spot but the administration sought seven days’ time, which they agreed to.

The demands included permanent status for all the employees and pension to retired employees along with the dearness allowance.

The members of the Swachkaar Karamchari Sangh have demanded an increase in the strength of sanitation employees and the immediate filling of vacant posts. They have also asked the state government to stop outsourcing man power. The employees have also sought the 1800 grade pay scale and Assured Career Progression (ACP) facility.

All the employees said they had just postponed the protest but if the administration failed to release the orders pertaining to their demands within a week they would go on protest again.

Landslides again force villagers to leave Nayabasti
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, September 9
People of Nayabasti village of Pithoragarh district have again been compelled to shift their homes due to recurring landslides in the area.“We had shifted years ago when our ancestral homes at Bhanskot village were buried under landslides but here also we are facing the same fate and are forced to be shifted from here again as stones fall from the mountain peak during every monsoon, making it dangerous for us,” said Dev Ram, (70), a resident of Nayabasti village which has been devasted by a major landslide on August 29 this year.

During a visit to the village, this correspondent witnessed empty homes, some locked and some deserted as the villagers have not returned to the village.

The villages of Nayabasti and Gat Gaon near Nachni town were vacated by villagers on August 29 when big boulders started falling from a mountain peak posing a threat. “It was 8 am that day when after a loud sound I saw a big boulder coming towards the village from above. I screamed loudly and the entire village left their houses,” said Narayan Ram, a resident of Nayabasti now living in the local Panchayat Ghar.

All 17 families of Nayabasti, the Dalit village, have been shifted to escape “death”, but the villagers do not want to return there even after the monsoon. “All our agricultural land has perished in the landslides that have continued for the past 10 years. From this year, the mountain has also developed cracks and in such risky conditions, we cannot risk the lives of our children,” said Narayan Ram.

Not only the Dalits of Nayabasti but also the upper caste residents of Gat Gaon which is situated near the mountain peak, which has developed cracks, do not want to live in the village. Some of the upper caste families living on a temple campus told this correspondent that they were left with almost no land to support their families and therefore they want to shift permanently.

“After our land got buried under landslides, our lives are also in danger as the mountain has started cracking,” said Pushkar Singh of Gatgaon, who is living in a tent provided by the ITBP . “After we shifted here, our relatives have been giving us meals daily as government officials did not pay a single penny as relief,” alleged Pushkar Singh.

“The BJP state chief Bishen Singh Chufal also visited the village after the disaster but gave only assurances to rehabilitate us,” he said.

Meawhile, The People’s Right Society, a voluntary group, today distributed relief material among 29 disaster-affected families of Nayabasti and Gat Gaon villages of the Nachni area in Munsiyari subdivision. These families were displaced from their homes following the landslides on August 29.

“We have given 10 kg of grains to each family besides cloths for children and young members of the families,” said Sunita Devi, chairperson of the voluntary group.

The relief material was distributed among the families by JS Rathor, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Munsiyari, at a function held at Nachni Intermediate College, near Munsiyari town, today.

“This is for the first time that any voluntary group has come forward to assist the poor people of Nayabasti who have lost their fertile landholdings to landslides and are forced to live in tents,” said Rathor.

The material was donated by the students and the staff of Asoka Hall Girls Residential School and Chaitanya Montessori School, Mazkhali, in Almora district. “The families include 22 from the Naya Basti and seven from Gat Gaon villages,” said Shekher Diwevedi, liaison officer of the voluntary group.

NSG commando, friend held for Bhawali double murder
Police in search of two of their accomplices
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 9
The police claims to have solved the double murder case that had been reported from Bhawali a couple of days back. Two persons, including a commando of the National Security Guards (NSG), have been arrested in the case pertaining to the murder of two youths, Amit Arya and Raju Pargain of Haldwani, whose bodies had been discovered in a car on the outskirts of Bhawali in the Shyamkhet area of the town.

The double murder, according to the police, is linked to a case pertaining to the murder of Yogesh Sunauri of the Bareilly Road area of Haldwani last year in which both Pargain and Arya were accused. Hridayesh was a friend of Sunauri and had been fearing for his life after Pargain and Arya were released from prison. It was Pargain in particular whom he feared and just to save himself, he allegedly planned Pargain’s murder. Arya was killed just because he happened to be with Pargain at the time of the incident

Those arrested have been identified as Lakshman Singh, alias Lucky, an NSG commando, and Hridayesh Kumar. Both are residents of Haldwani. A couple of more arrests are likely to be made in the case. Referring to Lucky, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Anant Ram Chauhan, said: “He is with the NSG and is posted in Gurgaon”.

The double murder has links to the case pertaining to the murder of Yogesh Sunauri of the Bareilly Road area of Haldwani last year in which both Pargain and Arya were accused. Hridayesh was a friend of Sunauri and had been fearing for his life since Pargain and Arya were released from the prison. It was Pargain in particular whom he feared and just to save himself, he had allegedly planned Pargain’s murder. Arya was killed just because he happened to be with Pargain at the time of the incident. Hridayesh had allegedly decided to get rid of Pargain with the help of his friend Lucky.

Lucky had been on leave. According to the plan, Hridayesh allured Pargain on the pretext of getting him a pistol from Chandigarh. Arya, who was involved in making “Pahari” films, was also allured with the talk of being introduced to some producers and directors in Chandigarh.

On the given day the four came towards Bhawali instead of moving towards Chandigarh. Lucky, who was driving the car, had told Pargain and Arya that they would go to Chandigarh after sorting out a land deal in Shyamkhet. Sources say two accomplices of Lucky and Hridayesh followed the car. It is learnt that both Pargain and Lucky took liquor on the way. It was around 1 am that the two along with their accomplices murdered Pargain and Arya.

Investigations have revealed that Lucky did not know the two accomplices. While he was arrested on Thursday evening, Hridayesh was arrested on Friday. Further investigations are on in the matter and efforts are on to nab their accomplices.

CM: Over 2 lakh people getting benefits
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today said that more than two lakh people were getting benefits due to the strengthening of van panchayats in Uttarakhand.

Addressing the first anniversary celebrations of the Van Panchayat Strengthening Scheme in Dehradun, Nishank said van panchayats were benefiting more than two lakh people in the rural areas through the generation of employment.

He announced the institution of the Best Van Panchayat Award from next year.The first three van panchayats that show an excellent performance will be given the award. He also declared the institution of an award for Women Self-help Group Nurseries in the state.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the Green Building of the state Forest headquarters. He also released the logo of the Forest Department and honoured some of representatives of van panchayats for their performance.

Forest Minister Govind Singh Bisht reiterated the state government’s commitment to work towards minimising the man-animal conflict by ensuringe protection to both wild life and humans.

Earlier, Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat admitted that the villages on the periphery of forests do not get full benefits of their hak hakook rights. He said a survey conducted by him revealed that only 20 to 25 per cent of these rights were being exercised by villagers.

He said the forest authorities were sensitive to man-animal conflict issues. All pending cases of compensation linked to human deaths in wildlife attack cases had been cleared till June 2011. He said compensation in cases of injuries was also being released speedily. Vice-President, Forest and Environment Advisory Committee, Anil Baluni, Forest and Rural Development Commissioner Rajeev Gupta and Additional PCCF, Van Panchayats, SS Sharma were among the speakers. Representatives from all 1,289 van panchayats in the state attended the programme.

Alva extends greetings on Onam
Tribune News Service

Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva lights a lamp on the occasion of Onam in Dehradun on Friday.

Dehradun, September 9
State Governor Margaret Alva today greeted the people of the state on the occasion of Onam. A delegation of Malyalis from Dehradun also made a rangoli with flower petals at the main entrance of Raj Bhawan.

Lighting a lamp, the Governor welcomed Malyali New Year and wished happiness for all.

She said: “It is through these festivals that unity in our cultural diversity is nurtured generation after generation.” 

GAIL to set up power plants in state
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
Executive Director, GAIL, Rajeev Mathur said today that GAIL was doing a business of Rs 500 crore in Uttarakhand, where it was promoting the usage of natural gas, CNG, and GAIL’s telecom infrastructure for connectivity across industrial estates. It had also convinced 20 top state industries for the purchase of 28 million cubic meter gas from it.

He was speaking at a conference, “Bringing green energy to your doorstep”, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today. Mathur said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had also been signed between Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) and GAIL Limited on June 20 for a joint development of power plants in Kashipur and Haridwar (both of 350 MW each).

He further said work to lay gas pipelines was also under way in the state. He said the Moradabad-Kashipur-Rudrapur pipeline would be laid down in the state soon. The Roorkee-Haridwar-Dehradun gas pipeline and the Saharanpur- Haridwar-Roorkee pipelines would be laid down by next year.

The Principal Secretary (Energy), Dr Umakant Panwar, has given an assurance to extend all possible help to GAIL projects.

Among those who were present on the occasion were Suresh Mathur, Chairman of the Hydrocarbon Committee, PHD Chamber, VS Bajwa, General Manager, RBI, Dehradun, Additional Secretary (Power) Dilip Jawalkar, Dr Ranjeet Mehta, Secretary (PHD Chamber) and Anil Taneja, Resident Director (PHD Chambers), Uttarakhand.

Legislator for implementing RTE in totality
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 9
Public representatives and officials supervising the implementation of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan in Almora district have underlined the need for providing the toilet and water storage facilities in all schools of the district on a priority basis.

The need for these facilities was underlined by the local legislator,Manoj Tewari, while chairing a meeting of the Implementation Committee. He said the Right to Education (RTE) that called for blanket education coverage for children in the age group of six to 14 years needed to be implemented in totality. He called for a campaign for getting children from the marginalised sections admitted to 25 per cent seats in private educational institutions under 
the RTE.

A budgetary allocation of Rs 48.42 crore was cleared at the meeting for the current financial year out of which Rs 27.74 lakh is to be disbursed as salaries. Monetary allocations were also made for the construction of boundary walls and the repair of 19 and 23 schools across

the district, respectively. Tewari said electricity must be made available to the schools for which computers had been allocated.

District Magistrate DS Garbyal, who is also a member of the committee, asked Block Development Officers to ensure that no school remained roofless on account of the recent rain-related devastation. He also pulled up officials of the Education Department for failing to address the concerns of people regarding education that were aired during the recent Atal Chaupal programmes launched by the state government. He asked every Block Education Officer to submit an interim report on the action taken with regard to the concerns of the people. At the same time he gave directions for imparting special academic training to those 116 children in the district who had been identified as being outside the purview of the education system.

Urban BPL families to be covered under health scheme
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
BPL families living in the urban areas of the state will also be included in the Rashtriya Sawasthya Bima Yojana.

As of now, 3.33 lakh BPL families living in the rural areas are covered under the scheme. With the inclusion of urban BPL families in the yojana, the government will further cover 12.60 lakh additional families under the scheme.

In this scheme, 75 per cent of the contribution is made by the Central Government and 25 per cent by the state government. In the first phase, the yojana was launched in Pauri, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Haridwar and Nainital.

Chief Secretary Subash Kumar said the urban poor identified by the Social Welfare Department, the Rural Development Department and the Urban Development Department would be included in the scheme.

He said the Urban Development Department had categorised those living in Malin bastis (slums) as BPL. Even those persons who have been registered by the Uttarakhand State AIDS Control Society under a high-risk group will also be covered under the scheme.

BSP releases list of candidates
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
The state unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has released a list of its candidates for the forthcoming Assembly polls. State BSP president Suraj Mal has said the candidates who worked hard in their respective fields and have no criminal record have been given tickets.

The candidates included district presidents, members of state committee and other active members.

Thousands bid adieu to Goddesses Nanda, Sunanda
Fest ends with the immersion of their idols in Naini Lake 
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 9
Thousands of people came out in the Lake City to bid adieu to Goddesses Nanda and Sunanda, thus marking the end of the 108th Nanda Devi Mahotsava. The idols made from banana shoot were immersed in the Naini Lake in the evening amidst the presence of hundreds of devotees to the beats of drums and traditional instruments. Slogans glorifying the goddesses also reverberated at the venue.

With the day being sunny, the entire town wore a festive look. People thronged the venue of the ongoing fair at the Flats Grounds. The day having been declared a local holiday in schools and a half working day in offices, a big rush was seen. On The Mall there were stalls set up by the devotees offering eatables to those accompanying  the “Dola”

The day began with people from all walks of life thronging the Nayna Devi temple. They had come from every locality of Nainital as well as the villages located in the vicinity of the town. 

They joined the procession or the “Dola” as it came out of the temple premises amidst slogan-shouting and the beats of the drums and traditional instruments. Many devotees had tears in their eyes as they watched the procession moving. The “Dola” of the idols moved at a snail’s pace from the temple in Mallital to Tallital via the Mall Road and back.

The idols were preceded by groups of women singing hymns in praise of the goddesses and other figures of Hindu mythology. Thee women were followed by troupes of Chholia dancers presenting the traditional martial dance of the region. These dancers were followed by brass bands and finally the “Dola”.

With the day being sunny, the entire town wore a festive look. People also thronged the venue of the ongoing fair at the Flats Grounds. The day having been declared a local holiday in schools and a half working day in the offices, there was a great rush to be seen all over.

On the Mall Road there were stalls set up by the devotees offering foodstuffs to those accompanying the “Dola”. A team of youngsters from an akhara in Ramnagar also enthralled the people with daring acts displaying extreme physical and mental grit.

The state Minister for Culture, Vijaya Barthwal, had also come to the town to witness the cultural spectacle. She said: “We are doing our best to promote the culture of the state.”

Thursday evening, the town had witnessed a grand display of fireworks at both Tallital and Mallital, the two ends of the Naini Lake. This display was enjoyed both by the locals as well as the tourists who had come from outside Nainital district and the state. 

Tributes paid to Govind Ballabh Pant
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 9
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has paid rich tributes to Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant on his birth anniversary.

In his message, the Chief Minister said Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was a dedicated freedom fighter, powerful orator, accomplished parliamentarian and committed nationalist.

The Chief Minister called upon the people to follow his ideals set by him.