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Assembly elections
Passing of Women’s Reservation Bill and Lokpal Bill
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14 die in mishaps in US Nagar
Poachers set afire high Himalayan meadows
Baithaki Holi commences in Kumaon
Delay in Master plan
‘Link Express to start soon’
Kushwaha Samaj honours students
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Assembly elections
Nainital, December 18 After having come out with the list of seven candidates earlier, the party has now declared its candidates for the Lal Kuan, Bhimtal, Kitcha, Khatima, Sitarganj and Bazpur seats. The candidates from these seats are Sanjay Kumar Singh (Lal Kuan), Iqbal Quereshi (Kitcha), Amarjit Singh (Sitarganj), Virendra Danai (Bhimtal), Gavendra Singh (Bazpur) and Kunwar Jaywardhan Singh (Khatima). Talking to The Tribune, party general secretary and candidate for the Haldwani seat Abdul Mateen Siddiqui claimed that: “We are confident of winning 10-15 seats in the Assembly elections. The next government in the state will not be formed without the help of the party.” He said the start campaigners of the party would be travelling in Uttarakhand to garner support for the candidates. The party had already started organising corner meetings for getting support for its candidates. The party, while knowing that it is nowhere close to getting a majority, wants to win a number of seats which can help it have a say in the formation of the next government in the state. According to sources, the new delimitation of constituencies has provided the SP with some openings where it can win by working hard. The party leaders want to have a say in the formation of the next government. The seats being referred to mainly fall in the districts of Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar, where the party manages to have a hold over the electorate in certain pockets in the plain areas. Even in the past while the SP had managed to win from the Haridwar seat, its candidates had been close contestants in seats like Haldwani and Jaspur. It is a well-known fact that the SP has not enjoyed public support in the hill districts of the state with its supremo Mulayam Singh being vilified as a leader opposed to the formation of Uttarakhand. Even in 2004, the party had won the Haridwar seat on the plank of its exclusion from the state. However, senior party leader Azam Khan during a visit to Haldwani a couple of days ago maintained that the party wanted to remove the misnomers regarding its role in the past with regard to the creation of Uttarkhand. He said the party was working hard to win the hearts of the people of the state by making them understand the truth. |
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Passing of Women’s Reservation Bill and Lokpal Bill
Haridwar, December 18 Smriti was here today to attend a convention of the morcha, which is being held in all the five parliamentary constituencies of Uttarakhand, in the buildup to the coming Assembly elections. She pointed out that had the UPA been “serious” and “honest” about the two Bills they would have constitutionally been in effect now, but as the Congress high command is not in favour of them it is adopting “delaying tactics”. “When it comes to women empowerment the Congress wants to take the credit but in reality when it comes to women’s reservation it backtracks on its word. This is when it has a woman as party national chief, Despite the BJP openly supporting the quota Bill, the Congress just plays the delay game,” said Smriti, who is a known television actress too. Appreciating the strict but honest governance in the Khanduri regime, Smriti said his ability was well reflected during the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when Khanduri was the Union Minister of National Highways and Surface Transport. It’s politicians like him (Khanduri) that people look up to and us (the BJP), the party they want at the Centre and for that you (party workers) will have to work hard within public, she added. It’s the BJP only that has implemented 33 per cent reservation for women activists in the party structure, several beneficiary schemes during the NDA regime as also many schemes in Uttarakhand such as Gaura Devi Kanya Dhan which are proving to be of immense help to women in hill regions, said Smriti. The gathering was also addressed by Uttarakhand BJP chief BS Chufal, state women’s cell chief Mamta Palaria, Kusum Kandwal, Poonam Jha, Sanjana Sharma and Kusum Gandhi. |
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Low turnout at rally embarrasses BJP leaders
Haridwar, December 18 If this is any indication then the state BJP leaders have to review their election campaign strategies. If a national leader couldn’t draw substantial crowds, then one can just imagine gatherings at election meetings of the local BJP leaders. Even Smriti’s speech lacked the enthusiasm that is almost her forte, which can be attributed to the two-thirds empty seats at the venue of the rally on the BHEL complex. Coordinator of the rally Kusum Kandwal, who is member of the women’s cell executive working committee of the party, said the crowd was sizable and all were loyal to the party. No one was brought in lure of ‘money’ or ‘ticket allocation quotient’. State general secretary of the women’s wing Poonam Jha termed the Haridwar leg of the rally successful, adding that it’s the message given by Irani which matters more. “It ultimately boils down to people’s verdict. We have been working with the people for the past five years and in door-to-door campaigns we are getting tremendous response,” said Jha, a ticket aspirant from the Ranipur-BHEL segment. Chilling climatic conditions prevalent in the region were also taken as an excuse by the organisers for a low turnout at the rally. “Such is the impact of the dipping temperatures that it’s affecting even daily chores of life in Haridwar, so much should not be looked into the crowd presence at today’s rally,” said Sanjana Sharma, district coordinator of the rally. On the other hand, the low turnout at the BJP rally has given rival parties, particularly the Congress a good opportunity to rub salt into the wounds of the BJP. There has never been such a low turnout at any national-level politician’s rally in the city in recent times. The BJP should better accept its defeat today itself and not wait for the Assembly elections, commented Poonam Bhagat, a Congress leader. |
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CM praises bhojan matas
Dehradun, December 18 Addressing a gathering of bhajan matas drawn from all over the state, the Chief Minister said bhojan matas, without resorting to any agitation, had sought better wages and their demand had been conceded by the state government. He claimed that the hike would benefit more than 30,000 bhojan matas who prepared mid-day meals for students of government school. Khanduri, having a dig at the Congress-led Central Government, alleged that the Union Government had failed to check rising prices in the country making it difficult for the common people. |
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14 die in mishaps in US Nagar
Nainital, December 18 The accident took place on late Saturday night on account of heavy fog. According to sources, there were 36 persons in the vehicle that broke the railing of a bridge and fell into the river near Sardar Nagar Chakki locality. All of them were residents of the Bishanpur Jahangir area of Bilaspur in Uttar Pradesh. They had gone to Bhagwanpur in the Pipli area of Kuruskshetra district, Haryana, to participate in a religious congregation and were returning home when the accident took place at 10.30 pm. The deceased include one child and six women. The injured were rushed to Rudrapur and Haldwani for treatment. Hearing the screams for help coming from the river, local residents reported the matter to the police. They assisted the police in rescue operations and taking 17 persons to the Community Health Centre, Gadarpur. Police personnel from Dineshpur and Bazpur also reached the spot to help in the rescue operations. In another accident, a couple was killed when they were run over by a dumper near Rani Nangal village in the Bazpur area of Udham Singh Nagar district. The deceased have been identified as Harpal Singh (26) and Amarjit Kaur of Harduliya village near Khatima. Swaran Kaur of the Shakti Farm area was seriously injured. They were going on a motorcycle to meet their relatives in Jagatpur village when the mishap took place. It is learnt that the motorcycle was dragged for some distance by the speeding dumper. The accident was followed by a massive public protest that resulted in a traffic blockade. The agitated people once again raised the issue of checking the over speeding dumpers that transport mined material in the area. These dumpers have been involved in several fatal accidents in the region. |
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Christmas celebrations begin in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, December 18 Gifts were also distributed to the children by Santa Claus on the occasion. Father Chaman Comfort in his message blessed the community and prayed for the peace and prosperity of the town on the occasion. Addressing the congregation, he said the Christmas was the festival of love and peace and people should try to incorporate teachings of Christ in their daily lives so that they could serve humanity irrespective of any caste or creed. The special hymns were sung in the praise of Jesus Christ and a skit of nativity depicting the birth of Christ was also presented by the tiny tots of the community. Father Chaman Comfort said the prayers and festivities would go on till December 25. He also said on December 24, a bonfire would be organised at the church compound where the community members would gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ the whole night. The prayers were also held at other churches such as Christ Church, St Peters, and St Paul, etc of the town where the community members prayed in praise of the lord. |
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Poachers set afire high Himalayan meadows
Pithoragarh, December 18 The high Himalayan pasture lands, also known as bugyals, of Ralam, Chipla Kedar, Panchu in Pithoragarh district and that of Harsil in nearby Chamoli district have been set on fire by these poachers who intend to catch the animals who are now escaping the dry cold of this part of the Himalayas. According to Forest Department source, the Himalayan animals, mostly musk deer and Himalayan thar go to lower valleys in winter just after snowfall in the higher areas, their habitat in summer months. But owing to a lack of snowfall this year till date, the high Himalayan animals are sheltering at these bugyals. Owing to no snow this year in these Himalayan heights this year even in mid-December, which is unprecedented, the poachers have scaled heights of more than 12,000 feet to look for these animals and are setting these dry pastures on fire in order to trap the endangered animals. The Forest Department, after being informed of these incidents, came into action and has decided to send a team of forest officials accompanied with armed guards to these pastures to nab culprits. “We are sending a team of local forest officials to these heights to arrest the poachers if they are actually active there and killing the innocent animals,” said DTG Sambandham, Divisional Forest Officer, Pithoragarh Division. |
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Baithaki Holi commences in Kumaon
Nainital, December 18 Staring from this day, the celebrations last till Dulhandi in spring. In Nainital, a session of Baithaki Holi was held on the premises of the Ram Sewak Sabha where Holiyars came up with one rendition after the other based on classical ragas. These renditions revolved around the mythological characters, particularly Lord Krishna to whom Holi celebrations are linked in several ways across the country. There were even references to Lord Rama in the presentations. The presentations talked about the romance that has often been symbolised by the relations between Radha and Krishna. In one of the renditions, the lyrics went, “Bahut dino ke rothe piya ko, Holi mein mana laoongi” (I will make up with my angry lover during Holi). There were also songs like “Mann kyun firat hai?” (why is the heart so restless) that dealt with the philosophy of contentment in life. The Holi celebrations that begin from Pausa month are known as Nirvan Holi which is followed by Khadi Holi that commences from the festival of Shivratri. This is again followed by Shringar Holi from the festival of Basant Panchmi. After this comes the Rang Bhari Holi that starts from the day of Rang Bhari Ekadshi. According to veteran functionary of Ram Sevak Sabha Ganga Prasad Sah, the climate and topography has had an impact on the culture of the region which has led to the evolution of typical Holi celebrations in Kumaon. “Baithaki Holi has always been very popular across the region. With the extreme cold climate allowing very little work to be done during the winter months and there being hardly any source of entertainment, the baithaks used to be organised in one corner of the huge houses where classical compositions were sung throughout the night. The corner where these sittings were organised were known as gammaj. The best of the food was offered to those attending these baithaks. The traditional offering marking these sittings were alloo guthkas and gujiyas,” he related. Holi celebrations in the region date back to the reign of Chandravanshi Kings in the tenth century which saw evolution of different forms as more and more people migrated to the region from other places. Interestingly, a major contribution to Baithaki Holi came in the mid-19th century when renowned musician and singer Ustad Amanullah Khan brought classical singing to it in a big way. He introduced this form to Almora from Rampur somewhere in the decade of 1850-60. A woman named Rampyari had played a very important role in taking forward Ustad Amanullah Khan’s legacy. The songs that are rendered in Baithaki Holi include the verses composed not only by Surdas, Meera, Kabir and Tulsi but also Charu Chandra Pandey and Maheshanand Gaur. |
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Delay in Master plan
Haridwar, December 18 On a petition filed by this core group, the apex court has served a notice on the state government asking it to submit its reply as to why in the past 10 years the infrastructure and basic amenities have been not upgraded in proportion to the rise in population. The state government has sought two-week time to submit its reply. The next hearing has been slated for the first week of the next month. Talking to The Tribune, litigant Upendra Dutt Sharma said the world-renowned city lacked even the basic infrastructure and owing to apathy of the government the city residents were living in shoddy conditions. “The way the population and traffic has increased in the city in the past decade, the local residents as well as pilgrims are facing severe inconvenience. Be it health, drinking water, power, roads, sanitation, cleanliness, solid waste management, sewerage, traffic, streetlights and other basic facilities, the city lacks in planning, which compelled us to take legal recourse to the problem,” said Anurag Tomar, who is pursuing the litigation in the apex court. Social activists Rajesh Singh, Babu Ram Saini, Shiv Kumar and Vinay Gupta, who are also involved in this initiative, pointed out that it’s every citizen’s right to be provided with basic facilities. “Now, we are also creating awareness among the local residents to come together and fight for basic facilities. We will also hold meetings with the local organisations to make sure the master plan applies to all the related subjects which make city life smooth,” said Upendra. |
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‘Link Express to start soon’
Dehradun, December 18 Maharaj said Budhalakoti had even assured him to take up the matter with the Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal. He pointed out that former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had in the Railway Budget 2011-12 announced the start of Haridwar-Ramnagar Link Express.
— TNS |
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Kushwaha Samaj honours students
Haridwar, December 18 Additional district education officer Ramendra Kushwaha lauded the social efforts of the society, particularly in supporting the meritorious students who, due to financial restraints, couldn’t complete their studies. |
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