Rains recede, but not problems
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 19
Despite the rains having receded in Kumaon, the people of the region are still facing the aftereffects of the last month’s above average rain and subsequent landslides as the shortage of essential goods is surfacing from different parts of the region.

In Bageshwar district, villages of the Malla Danpur area are still cut off from the main highways. Villagers are dependent on hilly pedestrian paths to reach the district headquarters which is 60 km away from their area even for essential purchases.

“Due to landslide debris still lying on more than 12 link roads of the area, the people are not only facing the shortage of rations, kerosene and LPG but also facing problems in carrying patients in palanquins on these dangerous terrains,” said Shreesh Kumar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and in charge of the disaster management department of the district.

According to the local people, the people of Kapkot subdivision will face starvation, if the connectivity was not restored within a week. “As the PWD staff are waiting for the complete withdrawal of monsoon, the roads will not be opened before next month,” said Keshav Bhatt, a social worker in the district. The 14,000 population in 42 villages of Munsiyari subdivision, between Gini bandh to Quati, is also facing an acute crisis of cooking gas as trucks carrying LPG cylinders have not reached the area for the past two months.

“Due to heavy rain and subsequent landslides on the road, we could not supply the LPG cylinders to the area since July. The supplies will be possible only after the road gets cleared,” said PS Pokharia, in charge of a Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) gas agency at Didihat.

”The reconstruction of road linking Thal to Munsiyari at Haradia is taking time because villagers have refused to permit the staff concerned to cut the road from hill side as they fear the weak mountain will slide down if more cutting will take place.

According to an information received from the Dharchula subdivision office, the pace of the Indo-China border trade has gone slow due to the damage to the track route near Nazang Nullah on the route. The mules and horses carrying imported goods from Tibet were not been able to cross the track. Due to this blockage on this main track route to Tibet, we are forced to dump the imported goods at Gunji mart,” said a trader.

”Nearly 18 local and one main road in the district are still closed rendering discomfort to the people living in remote villages of the district,” said RS Rana, District Disaster Management Officer of the district. 

Jan Lokpal Bill can strengthen Lokayukta Act: Kejriwal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 19
Arvind Kejriwal, close aide of Anna Hazare, said today that Uttarakhand could take the lead by using the civil society’s version of the Jan Lokpal Bill as a model to make the Lokayukta Act in the state more powerful and this would even help it reap the benefits in the Assembly elections.

“There is an overwhelming support for the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill. After Bihar, the Uttarakhand Government has shown interest in it. We are here to hold discussions on how the provisions of the Bill could be incorporated in the state’s own Lokayukta Act. We even sent a copy of the draft of the Bill to the Bihar Government a few months ago. While the Nitish government has failed to act on it so far, the Uttarakhand Government can take the lead by incorporating the provisions in its Lokayukta Act,” said Kejriwal.

The members of Anna Hazare’s team, who were at the helm of his anti-corruption campaign, were in Doon today on the invitation of the Chief Minister to discuss the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

Kejriwal, who is in the inner circle of Team Anna, said the Congress government at the Centre, too, could have walked away with the credit of introducing the Bill at the Centre and thereby winning the goodwill of the people. “We do not mind political parties taking the credit and later winning the elections. The BJP in Uttarakhand, too, has a golden opportunity to do the same,” he stressed.

When asked why instead of allowing the political parties to reap the benefits of Anna Hazare’s campaign wouldn’t it have been appropriate for them to field their own candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections, Kejriwal said: “We are satisfied with their role as members of the civil society and the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of Parliament continues to be on the top of our agenda,” he said.

He said they were still working on the constituencies where a referendum on the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill would be carried out in Uttarakhand. “We would use it to support our case and ask the people to vote against the candidates who oppose the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill,” he said.

Kejriwal said they had already launched a campaign in Hisar where a byelection would be held in October.

When the members of the civil society were asked what should be the next course of their action, Prashant Bhushan said they should constitute people’s tribunals and take up cases against corrupt officials backed by evidence and hold public hearings.

Rlys ‘developing’ infrastructure in Kumaon
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 19
The Railways claims to have undertaken several initiatives aimed at developing infrastructure in this part of the country.

According to General Manager of the North Eastern Railways KBL Mittal, the Railways had been introducing new trains while extending the routes of the existing ones and putting in place new infrastructure.

He said to deal with the increasing influx of visitors to Kumaon and adjoining areas, the Railways had added 4,626 additional coaches to various trains and run 1,274 special trains till July this year.

On the issue of the security of passengers, he said during the last year, 80 unmanned level crossings were converted into manned ones.

Six railway overbridges (ROBs) were also built over these crossings.

He said this year there was a plan to convert 139 unmanned level crossings into manned ones. During the current financial year, the Railways wanted to build eight ROBs.

Mittal further said 33 stations under the North Eastern Railways had been developed into Model Stations while work was on at the Kayamganj station.

He further said 12 stations had been developed into Adarsh Stations while one more, Bilaspur Road station, would be developed by December 31.

Meanwhile, work was on for gauge conversion on the Anand Nagar-Badhni and Bareilley-Lal Kuan stretches.

The Railways has also launched a drive to maintain sanitation along railway tracks. Officials said a special waste disposal equipment was being used for the purpose.

To a query on the commercial use of land belonging to the Railways lying vacant at Kayamganj in Bareilley, Mittal said the land had already been transferred to the Indian Railways Land Development Authority. After a survey of the land determining its feasibility, it would be used for commercial purposes to enhance the earnings of the Railways. 

3 held for Dy Jailer’s murder
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 19
The Roorkee police, in hot pursuit of the assailants of the slain Deputy Jailer, Roorkee, Narender Singh Thapa, who was shot dead at point-blank range on September 12, have achieved a breakthrough in solving the case with the arrest of three criminals who, it claims, had played a vital role in the murder.

The Gangnahar police, under the charge of inspector Kuldeep Singh Aswal and a special task force headed by Kailash Pawar, has arrested Vipin Jain, Vicky and Mohit Saini from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

During interrogation, Vipin Jain revealed that gangster Sunil Rathi was the “mastermind” behind conspiracy to murder. Vipin had come in contact with Rathi in 2003 when he was in the Haridwar prison serving a sentence under the NDPS Act. Vipin recently met Rathi at the Tees Hazare Courts in Delhi, where Rathi allegedly contracted him to kill the Roorkee Deputy Jailer. He was told by Rathi that his contacts would meet him in Roorkee with further details.

The motive behind the murder, as revealed by Vipin, is a revenge that Rathi wanted to take on the Jailer of the Roshanabad prison, Mohinder Singh Gawal, who is the brother-in-law of the slain Deputy Jailer. Since Roshanabad is a highly secure jail, Rathi allegedly ordered the killing of Thapa who was closely related to Gawal.

The other accused, Vicky, told the police that there were four persons, Yogesh, Pawan, Satish and Monu, who had stayed with him on the night of September 11. On the day of the incident, September 12, Satish was driving a stolen motorcycle having the registration number of Delhi with Yogesh and Pawan as pillion riders while another motorcycle, UP- 07J-1413, was being driven by Vicky with Monu as a pillion rider. Monu is related to Sunil Rathi.

Vicky and Monu kept surveillance on the movement of Thapa and informed Satish, Yogesh and Pawan about his exact location, who was walking towards his home after seeing off her daughter to school. The assailants arrived on the scene and Yogesh allegedly shot Thapa at point-blank range. They were equipped with five pistols, three of them countrymade.

The third accused, Mohit Saini of Muzaffarnagar, also confessed to the crime and said he used to give information about the victim’s daily routine to one Anubhav. Following this, Anubhav and his partner, Sonu, had allegedly planted a countrymade bomb under the victim’s car on August 31, 2011, in which Thapa escaped unhurt.

Mohit had close links with criminal Anubhav, who had taken money from Sunil Rathi, with whom he was acquainted since 2007, for allegedly planting the bomb under the victim’s car. Mohit used to get information about the victim’s whereabouts from his uncle, Arvind Saini, a constable, lodged at the Roorkee prison. “Since we have identified the criminals involved in Thapa’s murder, we have launched a manhunt to arrest the absconding criminals,” said Roorkee SP Roshan Lal Sharma.

Haridwar: Haridwar SSP Kewal Khurana has said that additional security will be provided to Mohinder Singh Gawal owing to threat to his life as Sunil Rathi has been lodged in the district jail. The SSP further said the Provincial Armed Constabulary had already been deployed on the premises of the prison.

Assembly Poll
Congress forms state parliamentary board
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 19
Birender Singh, general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), has announced the constitution of the state parliamentary board for the coming state Assembly elections to be held in February, 2012.

The members of the board are Yashpal Arya, President of the Uttarakhand Congress, Harish Rawat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs, Vijay Bahuguna, Satpal Maharaj (both MPs), Harak Singh Rawat, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Indira Hriyadesh, Ram Singh Saini, Pritam Singh, Tilak Raj Behad (both legislators) and Justice Irshad Hussain (retd).

The name of Justice Irshad Hussain (retd), former Chairman of the State Consumer Form, has been included with the aim of influencing the Muslim voters in the state.

Nitin Gadkari’s visit cancelled
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 19
The visit of BJP (national) President Nitin Gadkari, who was slated to visit Uttarakhand on September 22, has now been cancelled.

The BJP Chief, who had undergone surgery recently, has been advised to rest for a week.

The BJP State Chief BS Chufal said the president was to hold rallies at different places in the state in view of the coming elections. “We will plan new dates for him,” said Chufal.

The two days brainstorming session in which RSS leaders were also present, concluded today.

Sources claim that the meeting in which General Secretary (national) Ram Lal and State Incharge Thawar Chand Gehlot were present was held to discuss the possible role that the RSS could play in the forthcoming elections.

“The issues that would be exploited by the BJP during the elections would be taken up at the meeting of election committee,” said Chufal.

He said the party is also thinking of assigning a new role for former Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at a national level in the party.

Students showcase talent at Sabrang Fest
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 19
Teams from various schools of Hisar, Mussoorie and Nainital showcased their talent at the Sabrang Fest organised here by All-Saints’ College on Monday.

Declamation, creative writing, power point presentation and painting competitions witnessed a large participation. A fusion dance competition and performances by rock bands entertained the audience.

In her address, principal of All Saints’ College KE Jeremiah, said it had become vital for educationists to harness the potential present in the younger generation. “To facilitate this, Sabrang was conceptualised and it has become a platform for students to showcase their talents and achievements. ,” she stated. The theme for this year’s fest was ‘Street Splendour’, emphasising the presence of beauty in everything.

The ceremony began with the presentation of two popular Kumaoni songs by the host college. In the declamation contest, the participants spoke on the topic ‘Examinations have made a mockery of the education system’. 

Brazilian delegation pays tributes to Nigmanand
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, September 19
In a rare gesture, a delegation from Brazil visited the Matra Sadan ashram at Jagjeetpur, Laksar, 3 km from here, to pay tributes to Swami Nigmanand who had laid down his life for the cause of the Ganga on June 14 after being on fast for 115 days.

Fortyeight Brazilians, from different professions, are members of a sub-branch of the Matra Sadan ashram in Brazil, which was formed in 1998, after former sub-legal adviser in the Brazilian President’s office, Grauben, came into contact with the Matra sadan saints. Quite impressed with the spiritual as well as social aspects of the ashram saints, particularly Swami Shivanand, head of the ashram, Grauden formed Matra Sadan-Brazil to spread the spirituality, sadhna and awareness on social and environmental causes.

She also visited the city during last year’s Maha Kumbh with other fellow countrymen and since then has been involved with ashram’s causes and movement too. She has changed her name as per Hindu customs from Grauben to Gyan Vati.

Matra Sadan-Brazil has become a sub-movement in that country where environment awareness is quite high. The first Earth Summit was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and also another global Earth Summit is scheduled to be held in the same city in 2012.

Grauben termed Swami Nigmanand as a true saint and fighter who laid down his life for the cause of the holy Ganga. His sacrifice is quite unbelievable for many not only in Brazil but also in other countries as today materialistic approach has blocked the social contribution that human beings should made, she said.

Calling for maintaining the sanctity of the Ganga, she said the government and people should look beyond the monetary benefits being derived from it, as the Ganga is not just a river but a lifeline for billions of people.

Swami Shivanand thanked the delegation for their impromptu visit to the ashram. A special prayer was held at the place in the ashram where the Swami Nigmanand was cremated.

To better know about the religious-spiritual aspect of the holy Ganga, the delegation will be visiting the shrines of Badri Nath and Kedar Nath in the Garhwal hills. 

Noted writer Shailesh dead
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, September 19
A pall of gloom descended on the town as the news of death of eminent literary figure Dr Haridutt Bhatt Shailesh reached here today.

Dr Bhatt, aged 85, was suffering from kidney problem and breathed his last at Jolly Grant Hospital near Rishikesh around 10.10 am, said his son Himanshu Bhatt.

Dr Bhatt was a well-known literary figure and resident of Mussoorie. Eminent Bollywood artiste Himani Shivpuri, his daughter, also arrived at his Dehradun residence where the body will be kept.

Eminent authors from the town Ruskin Bond, Ganesh Saili and Sudhir Thapliyal have also extended their condolence to the family and termed this as immense loss for Uttarakhand, especially Hindi literature.

Mussoorie Municipal Council President OP Uniyal, ward members and CPI leader RP Badoni expressing their grief said Mussoorie had lost not only a great writer, but an exceptional human being. They prayed for the departed soul and solace to the bereaved family.

Senior BJP leaders like Rajya Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Ravinder Jugran, Roop Singh Kathait and Vijay Ramola also expressed grief and extended their condolence to the bereaved family. Dr Bhatt's several books on the Himalayan life and culture in Hindi had received accolades and he was also honoured with the Uttarakhand Bhasha Samman.

He also served at Doon School as a teacher and the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was among his students in the school.

The caretaker of the house said the cremation will be held tomorrow.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri in a message has mourned the death of Haridutt Shailesh.