New industrial policy on cards
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 11
7Under pressure from industrialists, the Uttarakhand Government has begun an exercise for framing a new industrial policy aimed at improving the industrial climate in the state.

Almost a year after the special industrial package came to an end in 2010, it was expected that the state government would announce a new industrial policy that would help the home-grown industry stand on its feet and also offset the losses resulting due to the withdrawal of the excise concessions. But such a move has only come at the fag end of the BJP government’s rule.

“On a directive of Chief Minister BC Khanduri, we have begun holding consultations with industrialists and their associations, including the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the Association of Uttarakhand (IAU),” said Rakesh Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries.

As of now, the successive governments had been giving extension to the Industrial Policy of 2003 that was framed during the erstwhile regime of former Chief Minister ND Tiwari.

Besides, the BJP government during the first tenure of Khanduri had also come up with a Special Integrated Policy for the hills. This was aimed at bringing investment in the hills and also ensured the balanced development in the state.

However, the policy failed to attract investment. Now with Khanduri once again back in the saddle, the government is also giving a re-look to the policy.

“We have already provided a list of problems being faced by the industrialists in the hill districts and also given our suggestions for overcoming these. Besides, we have also asked the government to strengthen the District Industries Centres by opening up business facilitation centres,” said Panakaj Gupta, president of the Industries Association of 
Uttarakhand.

Ruckus at maternity home
Pvt docs strike work in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 11
Local private medical establishments remained closed today after the doctors of private maternity homes and members of the Indian Medical Association went on a strike in protest against “misbehaviour” with a woman doctor, Dr Manpreet Kaur, of a maternity home, by a patient’s kin yesterday.

An expectant mother had died during delivery at a maternity home at Aryanagar yesterday. Her baby, a girl child, could also not be saved. Accusing doctors of negligence while operating upon the victim, Deepti Arora (22), her kin allegedly damaged the maternity home’s infrastructure and misbehaved with the doctor, Dr Manpreet Kaur, under whose supervision the deceased had been taking treatment.

Dr Manpreet Kaur had, however, refuted the allegations yesterday.

The issue has rocked the city for the second consecutive day today as hundreds of people, chemists and those affected by private doctors’ “negligence” joined hands and staged a protest in the city.

The deceased’s husband, Vinod Arora, also lodged a complaint against the maternity home for carrying out delivery without proper tests. On the other hand, Dr Manpreet Kaur also filed a complaint against him fearing threat to her life. Following this, the police has arrested the deceased’s husband.

Earlier, both groups staged protests at Chandracharya Chowk with just 40 m of distance from each other’s pandals. Heavy police force was deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident. However, people supporting the aggrieved family tried to barge into the pandal where the doctors were staging the protest.

Private doctors have also launched an agitation at Chandracharya Chowk demanding security from the administration and the passing of the Security Bill for medical practitioners. Memorandums was also submitted to Chief Minister BC Khanduri, who was in the city to attend a religious function, by both groups.

Honorary secretary of the IMA, Uttarakhand, Dr Sanjay Shah said though the doctor tried her best to save the life of the patient, everything was not in the hands of a doctor.

“For the past few years, our fraternity is being targeted by anti-social elements. It’s unfortunate that a majority of people who create ruckus are chemists only,” said Dr Shaw while addressing doctors at the agitation spot.

Meanwhile, Chemist Association chief Amit Garg has accused the doctor of negligence that led to the death of both mother and baby. On behalf of the association, he demanded the arrest of Dr Manpreet Kaur and said till the arrest was made, all chemist shops would remain close.

Gram pradhans hold protest march
Tribune News Service

Members of the Pradhan Sangathan stage a protest near the Secretariat in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, October 11
Demanding empowerment of panchayats, the Uttarakhand Pradhan Sangathan held a protest march in the city today. Gram pradhans from all over the state gathered at the Parade Ground here and held a protest march to the Secretariat. Led by president Surat Singh Negi, Gram pradhans raised slogans against the state, questioning its intentions towards empowering the gram panchayats in the state.

The protesters, who were stopped by the police some metres ahead of the Secretariat premises, staged a dharna on the very spot and also submitted a memorandum to the District 
Magistrate.

The memorandum accused the state government on going back to its earlier agreement with the agitating gram pradhans.

The pradhans are demanding implementation of the Panchayat Raj Act.

Negi said the gram pradhans in the state had been demanding implementation of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act but the state government had not responded to the demand. They have also been demanding appointment of Gram Panchayat Raj Vikas Adhikari at every gram panchayat. Similarly, they have demanded ensuring presence of gram pradhans in the District Planning Committees.

He said as a further course of action, Gram Pradhan Sangathan would also start an indefinite dharna outside the Uttarakhand Assembly building.

Yoga camp in Delhi a strategic mistake: Ramdev
Youth Cong to protest against yoga guru
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 11
Yoga guru Ramdev has said his plan to stage a yoga camp at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on June 4 is a strategic mistake. ”Before that incident, I had faith in the democratic tolerance of the Congress but after that in which they had tried to kill me, it has been completely shaken,” said Ramdev while talking to reporters on his visit to Bageshwar district headquarters on the third leg of his tour of hill districts of Uttarakhand to held a series of yoga camps today.

Ramdev denied of having any understanding with LK Advani’s Rath Yatra or Anna Hazare’s proposed campaign.

The Bharat Swabhiman movement is enough to bring about a change into the nation through moral values,” said Ramdev.

Talking about the Lok Sabha byelection in the Hisar parliamentary constituency, Ramdev said although he was not directly involved in the campaign, but he wanted that the Congress candidate should be defeated.

”The Congress is solely responsible for the rampant corruption in the country, therefore the voters of Hisar should be the trendsetter in this fight against corruption by defeating the Congress candidate,” said Ramdev.

Answering a question, Ramdev said by using raw material of herbs grown in the hilly region of Uttarakhand, he was creating more prosperity for the people of the state than the government at the Centre.

”We are using 99 per cent raw material in our factory at the Patanjali Trust, Haridwar, from the hill districts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh,” said Ramdev.

Meanwhile, Congress MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta alleged that Baba Ramdev was playing in the hands of the RSS and the BJP and he had no right to speak on corruption as he had not named the minister who demanded Rs 2 crore from him.

”He has not named the Uttarakhand minister whom he accused of demanding Rs 2 crore from him. How he can talk about corruption,” said Tamta.

The youth wing of the Congress has decided to go on protest against Ramdev when he enters Pithoragarh on October 12 at Berinag.

”The baba is touring the hills at the instance of the BJP and promote the party’s interest, therefore, we will oppose him at various places on his route from Berinag to Pithoragarh,” said Mahendra Lunthi, president of Pithoragarh District Congress Committee.

Haridwar needs facelift: CM
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 11
Acknowledging for the first time since assuming the charge as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, BC Khanduri has said the city needs a facelift, particularly the area of Har-ki-Pauri, despite hundreds of crores spent in the name of Kumbh funds.

This statement comes at a time when former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had once again got a pat from party national chief Nitin Gadkari, who recently hailed the successful completion of Mahakumbh as one of the flagship works of the Nishank government.

Nishank had termed the works done under the Kumbh budget as historic and also put it as one which deserved the Nobel prize, which Khanduri had termed as not feasible, stating that no such parameters for an event hosting were cited in the Nobel Prize criteria.

In Haridwar for first time since becoming the Chief Minister exactly a month ago, Khanduri said whatever happened was a thing of past and now he would focus on making sure that Haridwar retained the charm that it needed to be as an ancient pilgrim city.

“The image with which millions of pilgrims come to this city is not matched by the infrastructure and cleanliness that one witnesses in reality. Now efforts will be made in this regard to ensure the city lives up to its tag of a world renowned religious city” said Khanduri, who was the chief invitee at the 160th birth anniversary of renowned religious guru Swami Prakashanandji Maharaj.

Stating that the BJP in the state as well as in parliamentary poll will be fighting the election on two vital issues: corruption and inflation. BC Khanduri said he would be visiting all 13 districts of the state to make sure his stringent steps regarding corruption benefited the people and also expose the bad governance of Congress at the Centre.

When asked on former BJP Parliamentarian from Pauri Garhwal Tejendra Pal Singh Rawat, who has now formed a separate Raksha Morcha, Khanduri praised him for his honest image.

During the function, revered guru Jagadguru Shankaracharya Raj Rajeshwaram termed armed force personnel as bigger than a saint. He said since Khanduri assumed the charge of Chief Minister, the whole working of the present state government had changed. Both had a discussion on levying of commercial tax on buildings. The Chief Minister said only those religious establishments, ashrams, dharamshalas being used for commercial purposes would be taxed.

Scientists forecast potato prices
Tribune News Service

Nainital, October 11
Scientists at the Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar have predicted price of the potato grown in the plains for the forthcoming season. According to them, the wholesale price of potato in the Haldwani market will be between Rs 400 and Rs 600 per quintal in January 2012, while in February 2012 the wholesale price is expected to be Rs 350 to Rs 500 per quintal.

The scientists have stated that in March 2012, the prices are expected to be in the range of Rs 450 to Rs 550 per quintal.

However, the traders of the market said the prices would be in the range of Rs. 350 to Rs 600 per quintal during these months.

Based on the above results, the wholesale prices of the potato are expected to be between Rs 350 to Rs 600 per quintal from January to March 2012. Hence, the scientists have advised farmers who wish to cultivate potato in the coming season to decide the area under crop, considering forecast prices of potato as well as other prevailing conditions.

A university spokesperson said: "These forecasts are being made by the scientists under a World-Bank funded the National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, named ‘Establishing and networking of market intelligence centres in India’, which is operational at the Pantnagar University. The main objective of the project is to release price forecasts of selected agricultural commodities before sowing and harvesting. Project team of Pantnagar centre had conducted market survey of the Haldwani regulated market, a major market for the potato grown in the plains in Uttarakhand, and analysed the wholesale price data that had prevailed for the last 21 years. The econometric analysis indicated these results."

Potato is one of the most widely grown vegetable crops in the country.

The area under potato cultivation was 1.82 million hectares with total production of 34.39 Metric Tonnes (MT) in the year 2008-09.

Major potato growing states are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Karnataka, which together account for about 86 per cent of India’s production. As far as Uttarakhand is concerned, very less area is covered under potato in the plains during the season.

However, the markets witness arrival of potato from adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh.

Ban acceptance of gifts by govt staff: UKD
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 11
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal president Trivendra Singh Panwar has appealed to the Chief Minister, Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd), to issue strict orders against the acceptance of Divali gifts by the government servants.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, Panwar said costly gifts in large numbers were accepted by the government servants, particularly during Divali. He described this practice as a corruption-promotion activity. “As Chief Minister BC Khanduri has promised to give the people of the state corruption-free governance, he should also take notice of this large-scale exchange of black money through the means of Divali gifts and issue directives for a ban on the acceptance of any such gifts by the government employees,” Pawar said.

Referring to the Rudrapur riots, the UKD president held the Congress, the BJP and the BSP equally responsible for the riots. He, however, in particular questioned poor administration which had failed to tackle the riots. “By holding camps in favour of the BJP, Ramdev was acting as an agent of the saffron party,” he added. He has demanded a probe into the assets amassed by Ramdev. He also disclosed that the UKD would begin its campaign to expose both the BJP and the Congress on October 16 which will conclude on October 23.

100th Birth Anniversary of Founder of Shantikunj
Dalai Lama, Anna Hazare to attend celebrations in Haridwar
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 11
Buddhism spiritual guru the Dalai Lama and Anna Hazare will be sharing the dais in the city during the the centenary birth celebrations of Shantikunj Gayatri family founder Pandit Shri Ram Sharma Acharya in November.

They will be present during the festival starting from November 6 till November 10. They will also participate in the 1551 kundiya yagna at Laljiwala and later address the gathering.

Talking to TNS, Dr Pranav Pandya, head of the Shantikunj family, said the Dalai Lama had accepted their invitation to attend the celebrations. Anna Hazare whom Pandya had met at the Ramlila Maidans during his agitation had also confirmed his first visit to Uttarakhand.

He said Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar would also be present, adding that only those were being invited who had faith in Shantikunj philosophy and association.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, LK Advani and Mayawati have not been invited for political reasons, only a general invitation has been sent to Ramdev.

“As Ramdev’s programmes are fixed in advance, it is difficult for him to attend all functions. We have sent a simple invitation of participation only,” he added.

A discussion session will also be organised on the occasion which will be attended by state Chief Minister BC Khanduri, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda.

Get roads repaired soon, CM tells DMs
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 11
Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri today directed for conducting road repairs soon, making all types of pension online, curbing vehicular accidents and imposing a complete ban on overloading and overspeeding and strict implementation of the Right to Public Service Act.

The Chief Minister gave these directives while presiding over a meeting of District Magistrates in the state and heads of departments through video-conferencing at the Secretariat.

The Chief Minister, while reviewing the roads, disclosed that Rs 80 crore had been released for road maintenance and Rs 5 crore for the national highways. He said all District Magistrates must get the works related to maintenance and reconstruction completed on a war footing.

He said in view of the difficult geographical situation in the hills, all works related to hot mixing must be completed by the first fortnight of December.

Khanduri also directed to complete preparations towards making all types of pensions online, such as old-age, disability and widow pensions. The Chief Minister said the system of extending basic public services such as ration cards, driving licences, income caste certificates, among others, within a prescribed time-frame, which had been made possible through the implementation of the Right to Public Service Act, should be put into practice.

He directed that strict action should be taken against those officials and employees who were careless in complying with the provisions.

In view of the rising vehicular accidents, Khanduri said actions such as intensive check and fixing up of responsibility should be brought into practice. He directed that in the event of any mishap, the approved financial assistance should be immediately made available to the victims as per provisions in the 2007 Government Order.

The Chief Minister said all district-level problems should be resolved in the districts alone. He said a detailed record of problems coming in from the districts was being maintained at the Chief Minister’s office.

Tibetans stage protest against China
Tribune News Service

Nainital, October 11
Members of the Tibetan community carried out a candle light march in Nainital yesterday to protest against the ‘authoritarian’ rule of the Chinese and human rights violations in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The march had been organised by the Tibetan Youth Congress.

The members of the Tibetan community gathered at the local Tibetan market and marched through the Mallital market and the Mall Road before returning back, holding candles in hands and chanting slogans. The protestors carried placards highlighting their demands.

A spokesperson of the community said: “Since the beginning of the year, seven monks, two laymen and one woman from eastern Tibet have immolated themselves to bring forward their demand of human rights and self dignity for Tibetans under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese communist government in Tibet. Their demands were genuine and legitimate. Therefore, it is our moral duty as Tibetans in exile to give peaceful support to our grieving compatriots inside Tibet and to let the world know the plight of Tibetans under the Chinese rule.”

The purpose of the march was to show solidarity to the ‘fallen martyrs’ and make the Indian ‘brothers and sisters’ aware of the grievances that Tibet is facing.

The marchers also distributed a translated copy of the pamphlets distributed by the immolators before they had taken the extreme step.

The pamphlet read, “Rise up and fight for your race, religion, language and conscience. We have no human rights of any kind. So everyone should fight for freedom through the path of truth. We demand freedom of
faith, speech, using our own language, living and traveling and authoring and publishing books. Tibetans must enjoy all the freedoms enjoyed by other human beings.”

Odissi dance mesmerises
Tribune News Service

Nainital, October 11
A performance by renowned dancer Kavita Dwivedi in Odissi held the audience spellbound at All Saints’ College here today. The event was organised by Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth (SPIC MACAY).

She explained the finer points of the classical dance form before giving a presentation. She was provided vocal accompaniment by Prashat Kumar Behra while Praful Kumar Maharaj played the Mridang and Gopinath Swami accompanied on the violin.

Dwivedi explained various rasas and their enactment in the dance form. She performed part of Krishna Leela on “Jai Jai Dev Hari” song from the epic Geet Govind.