Rahul blows poll bugle in Uttarakhand
SMA Kazmi/TNS

Dehradun, December 23
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Uttarakhand BJP government over corruption at a massive party rally held at the historic parade ground to kickstart the election campaign for the coming Assembly elections in the state.

Countering the campaign of Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri, who has been harping on curbing corruption, Rahul Gandhi compared Uttarakhand with Karnataka in corruption. “Both states are in competition in corruption and the competition is which of the two can loot the most,” he said.

Talking about the various alleged scandals that took place during the present BJP rule, Rahul Gandhi said a lot of money was sent by the Union Government to the state for the Mahakumbh mela held in 2010 but the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had indicted the state government.

Similarly, he pointed towards the scandal in the allotment of hydro-electric projects where a single company was allotted 14 projects. He also mentioned about the Citurgia land use change scandal in Rishikesh, a decision which was taken back by the state government due to the fear of adverse decision in the high court.

He said after his removal as Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was made a national vice-president of the BJP.

“There is no dearth of money in the country as seen in the past and the Central Government has been pumping in money to the state government but there are ‘thieves’ around,” he said. “The money does not belong to Central or the state governments. It is peoples’ money. Is it reaching the common people?” he asked.

Rahul Gandhi said the opposition parties were talking about corruption but it was the UPA government that brought the path-breaking Right to Information Act.

“Earlier, only a few, including the Chief Minister, MPs and bureaucrats, were privy to the information but after the Right to Information Act, each and every citizen has the right to get information,” he said.

“It is through the Right to Information Act that corruption is being exposed in the country,” he claimed.

Highlighting the achievements of the UPA government, the Congress leader said it was the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that had launched a guaranteed employment scheme like MANREGA for the poor of the country.

He also mentioned about the Right to Education Act for each and every child in the country and the Food Security Bill being introduced in Parliament to provide cheap food to a majority of the population.

He said during the previous Congress rule, the state of Uttarakhand made rapid progress and was number one state in the country but it had now slipped to the third place.

Mentioning about Uttar Pradesh where he is spearheading the party’s election campaign, Rahul said Uttar Pradesh was backward but Uttarakhand had been bestowed with all bounties of nature and resources. “Some of the best educational institutions are here, the best human resource is available here and has the potential to become an education hub like California,” he added.

He said having everything in the state, the people only lacked a proper government. He appealed to the people of the state to vote for the Congress so that a government that could work for the “Aam Aadmi” could be formed in Uttarakhand for overall development of the state.

Senior state Congress leaders, including state Congress chief Yashpal Arya, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, Party MPs, Satpal Maharaj, Vijay Bahuguna, Pardeep Tamta and KC Singh Baba, was present at the rally along with Birender Singh, Congress general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand affairs.

‘Graft charge against BJP baseless’

Dehradun: The Vice-Chairman of the State Media Advisory Committee, Ajender Ajay, has termed the corruption charges levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the BJP Government at a rally here today as baseless.

Lashing out at Rahul Gandhi, Ajender Ajay said the charges were baseless and the Congress should first try to address the corruption charges against its two ministers.

Meanwhile, with the Assembly elections nearing, the state BJP will set up a separate media cell soon. The party has already taken a bungalow on rent and the media cell of the party will function from the rented premises. “This arrangement was in place during the last elections also and we will be doing the same this time too,” said BJP spokesperson Deepti Rawat. — TNS

Pain for cops, gain for tea sellers

Dehradun: While Rahul Gandhi took centre stage at the parade ground Congress rally, the police had tough time managing the arrangements even as chaotic situation were seen on roads leading to the venue.

The vehicles were stopped on the roads leading to the parade ground from early morning hours and the police even resorted to forcible picking up of vehicles that were parked on these roads.

The police had put up metal detectors at the parade ground but large turnout of crowds made it impossible for the policemen to frisk each and every individual.

Intelligence officials too had tough time amid disruption threats by members of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal.

Sleuths, who were on their toes, were searching for UKD leader Pramila Rawat who, they apprehended, could resort to some form of protest at the rally.

On other hand, there were others like tea sellers who did brisk business. The rallyists took to these tea shops in good numbers in order to keep themselves energised for the event.

Interestingly, most of the rallyists had placards that had photographs of Congress’ contenders from various Assembly seats in the state. Each contender tried to outdo the others in terms of bringing the number of participants to the rally, a reason behind the success of the rally. — TNS

Cold wave kills two in Kumaon
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 23
Two persons lost their lives on account of the prevailing cold weather conditions in the Kumaon region over the past 24 hours. The deaths took place in the Dineshpur and Berinag areas of the region.

In the first instance, the body of an unidentified person was found in a field near the Bhakhra bridge in Dineshpur. He was not wearing any woollen cloth.

People informed the police that the deceased, who appeared to be in the early 40s, had been roaming in the area for the past four days. The police assumes that he probably died because of severe cold.

In another instance, a body was found on the Hospital road last morning. The deceased has been identified as 40-year-old Bihari Lal of Uprada.

He used to work as a cook with a company carrying out road construction activities in the area. In this case also, the police assumes that he died because of cold.

The region of Kumaon has been experiencing severe cold weather conditions for over the past fortnight. Despite the fact that the days are clear and sunny in the hilly areas, the nights witness a dip in the temperature that is accompanied by the blowing of fast winds. In the Terai areas, there is a thick fog that has been engulfing the plain areas. This fog has been resulting in several accidents and hampering the smooth and timely flow of road and rail traffic.

Rabi crop affected in Pithoragarh, Champawat
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 23
Cold wave conditions and no rain in the districts of Pithoragarh and Champawat have hit the rabi crop.

“The rabi crop and seasonal vegetables need water at this time. If rain does not come, the crops of wheat, barley, pea and other seasonal vegetables will start decaying,” said Dr SK Singh, agriculture scientist and in charge of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pithoragarh.

“The rabi crop in some areas has already started decaying,” he added.

According to the District Agriculture Officer, Pithoragarh, the district has more than 36,000 hectares of land under the rabi crop and only 7 per cent of it has irrigation facility.

“Those areas that have no irrigation facility are dependent on winter rain, which should have occurred by now. In its absence, the rabi crop has started decaying,” the agriculture officer said.

In Champawat district, out of a total of 43,902 families, 39,040 are dependent on agricultural activities for their livelihood. However, due to no rain this year so far, they are facing many problems. “We are trying to persuade the farmers to initiate new methods of farming to be able to become self-sufficient. But due to no rain so far, our efforts are bearing no fruits,” said Dr Prakash Phondari, agriculture scientist, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Champawat.

“In this district where out of a total of 43,902 families, 20,250 have land less than half hectare per family, how one can imagine sustainable agriculture?” asked AK Upadhya, District Agriculture Officer, Champawat.

State gets 2,000 acres from UP
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 23
The state has received State Industrial Development Corporation Limited’s 2,000 acre land that was in possession of Uttar Pradesh.

Uttarakhand chief secretary Subhash Kumar held that the state would now develop this 2,000 acre land into an industrial estate. He said a meeting of top Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand officials took place sometime back where it was agreed upon to hand over the land presently to Uttarakhand as a part of assets distribution process.

The chief secretary directed SIDCUL to follow its norms while allotting the newly acquired land for the development into an industrial estate.

State principal secretary of the industrial development Rakesh Sharma said while SIDCUL had been entrusted with the task of industrialisation both in hills and the Terai regions of the state.

He said the government aimed to come up with a favourable industrialisation policy for the state. He also disclosed the SIDCUL’s new office was expected to come up at the Information Technology Park, Dehradun, in March.

State Additional Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain, principal secretary of Planning S Ramaswamy, additional secretary of finance Sharad Chandra Pandey, SIDCUL General- Manager K Sharma and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

Swami Nigmanand Death Case
CBI questions doctors, nurses
Tribune News Service

Haridwar December 23
A special team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out an investigation in the Swami Nigamanand death case for the second consecutive day.

Today, the CBI team questioned the medical doctors and nurses who were on duty during the medical treatment of Swami Nigamanand in general hospital when he was forcefully shifted from Matra Sadan ashram on medical grounds on the 69th day of his hunger strike against illegal quarrying being done on the Ganga river bed in Haridwar.

The medicos were questioned for more than two hours by the apex investigating body sleuths.

Saints from Matra Sadan ashram were also called on at the hospital during the investigation to make sure they identify the doctors and nurses who were present during the medical treatment of Swami Nigamanand.

No official briefing was made about the outcome of today’s development. Media was also restricted from entering the inner gate.

Notably, the state government had ordered a CBI probe after the saint’s death at Jolly Grant hospital on June 14 this year. Matra Sadan saints- Swami Shivanand and Swami Dayanand, had alleged that saint was poisoned by a nurse at district hospital prior to shifting him to Jolly Grant hospital.

Violations of PNDT Act
Almora admn orders raids on clinics
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 23
The district administration in Almora has ordered officials of the Health and the Revenue Departments to carry out surprise checks across the district to check the violations of the Pre-Natal Determination Test (PNDT) Act.

The officials of these two departments have been told to ensure that ultrasound machines in various medical establishments are being used for identifying the sex of the unborn children.

At a meeting held in Almora on Friday, the acting District Magistrate Rajiv Shah said legal action would be initiated against those found using ultrasound machines without proper registration. He made an appeal to the common people to complain about the pre-natal tests being carried out for determining the sex of the unborn child to the office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

He gave the clearance for renewing the registration of ultrasound machines in government hospitals in Almora and Ranikhet.

He called upon the officials of the Health Department to carry out an awareness drive on the PNDT Act across the district. He also ordered that proper vaccination drives should be carried out for the expectant mothers, particularly those in the rural areas.

CMO RS Shahi apprised those present about the steps being taken for ensuring better health of the expectant mothers. He said such women would be registered at the block level and a code number would be given to them. This would be helpful in tracking the mother and child in view of the PNDT Act.

He further stated that special public meetings would be held on the issue of maintaining a healthy sex ratio in the district.

Irked at agents, farmers threaten protest
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 23
Agitated over the continuing exploitation by the middlemen, deciding the development works to be done in the rural areas, farmers of the Bhabar area of Kumaon have threatened to take to roads.

The farmers of Gaula Par and Basantpur near Haldwani will be organising a mahapanchayat on the Mandi Samiti premises in Haldwani.

The farmers are agitated over the fact that there has been no intervention of the government on the issue of the continuing exploitation by the middlemen and commission agents. They have questioned why open auction of cash crops is not being allowed?

The agitators say that the commission agents are charging 8 per cent on their income whereas they cannot charge beyond 3 per cent. Similarly, the commission agents are indulging in malpractices in weighing the produce being brought for sale and are charging enormous amounts in the name of carriage of agricultural products.

It has been pointed out that the Mandi Parishad, it is involved in constructing metalled roads to the houses of the influential people.

The farmers have further charged that spurious seeds and insecticides are being sold with impunity in the open market and there has been no initiative by the authorities to check the practice.

Champawat villagers getting unsafe water
Damaged water lift schemes yet to be repaired
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 23
Villagers of the interior parts of Champawat district are forced to drink contaminated water as the water lift schemes, damaged following the disastrous rains this year, have not yet been repaired.

“We are collecting drinking water for our family from a nearby pond as the drinking scheme feeding our village, which has gone damaged in August, has not been repaired yet,” said Ram Dutt Kharkwal, a villager in Bangari village of the Koirala valley in the interior parts of the district.

According to the Jal Sansthan, Champawat, out of a total 331 drinking schemes in the district, 66 schemes have been damaged due to heavy rain occurred between August 14 and 19 this year and out of these damaged schemes, the process of tendering for 33 schemes has been completed recently.

“We are on the process to start work on these schemes and the work on the remaining schemes will be started after the tendering of these schemes completes,” said Vishal Saxena, an engineer of the Jal Sansthan.

The villagers, in a memorandum sent to the District Magistrate, alleged that the department had been claiming to have made temporary arrangements for potable water for the affected villages but they had not seen a single water tank in their village till date.

“Our women have to go to distant places to fetch water. The repair of drinking water schemes seems impossible in near future as no tender has been floated for the repair of these damaged schemes,” said a villager from Gagar village.

Power panel misleading public: Jan Manch
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 23
The Uttarakhand Jan Manch (UJM) expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) fixes electricity tariffs without exercising transparency, thus misleading public.

The UERC has been conducting a public hearing before deciding on the new tariffs these days. In a letter written to the Chairman, UERC, by leaders of the UJM, they made some demands with regard to sharing the important information with public before levying new tariffs.

The letter read, since the state is full of villages, the villagers at every possible level should be heard out and informed about their rights and amenities as electricity consumers by holding seminars and workshops in these villages time to time. The UERC should also share information about pending electricity bills of industries as well as public.

It must also reveal about illegal power connections and power loss. In the published information regarding tariff imposition, the detailed information factorwise was not published so it must include information regarding the increase in salary structure as per the 6th Pay Commission recommendations and burden of extra expenditure due to this.

The members also demanded action against those officials of the power departments who were held responsible for incurring financial losses to the departments. The UERC must also elaborate on the detail of various loans taken by the power department under various plans and the payment of interests on them.

The members included founder members Pushpa Dobhal, Kuldeep Bahukhandi, Ashok Bahukhnadi, members VK Devrani, Surender Nautiyal, Manish and Bijender Prasad.

70 more ambulance workers sacked
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 23
The GVK Emergency Research and Management Institute (EMRI) 108 emergency ambulance service management today terminated the services of 70 more striking field employees.

“Today we held talks with the striking employees who had come to the office and around 30 per cent have agreed to rejoin duties. But we will have to wait till tomorrow to see the effect of the back-room talks,” said Manish Tinku, head (Uttarakhand) of the 108 emergency ambulance service.

The call centre of the GVK EMRI received a total of 2,630 calls, of which 192 were emergency.

“In Dehradun alone, there were a total of 18 cases related to pregnancy. Of these, three were attended by the 108 ambulance service and 15 by ‘Khushiyon Ki Sawari’ vans,” added Tinku.