BSP candidate launches campaign in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, December 29
The Congress, during its tenure, committed 56 scams while the BJP with 54 scams perpetrated during its regime in the state is not far behind. Both the parties have mislead the innocent people of the state and if the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is voted to power in the state, the new home of many leaders from both the parties, including Nishank, will be Sudhowala Jail.

Dehradun, December 29
The tough stance of Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) officials and no relief from the district courts compelled freehold shopkeepers, facing demolition of their shops, to budge and accept the allotment letters. With the district courts deferring their case filed against demolition of their shops till January 12, these shopkeepers had remained in a tizzy till evening and finally gave in.

The MDDA has remained steadfast on its decision to remove all remaining shops by January 2. Finance Controller, MDDA, PC Khare said: “Since the district courts have not given any stay order, the MDDA is free to continue with its demolition drive. Even if the freehold shopkeepers do not accept the allotment letters, we are not under any compulsion to put the demolition on hold,” he said, adding that the issues could be sorted side by side as was done during the first drive.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers have decided to mention their objections in the MoU to be signed with the MDDA. Variner Rawat, president of the Freehold Shopkeepers Association, said: “On the suggestion of our lawyer, we will mention about our objection in the MoU which will help us in the court case”. As a face-saving exercise, the Vice-Chairman, MDDA, had assured them in case they won the case, each one would be provided area equal to half a shop on the second floor of the new shopping complex.

The freehold shopkeepers had been demanding preferential treatment for having the status of freehold against nazul shopkeepers and tenants. They initially demanded double the area of shops in the complex and then relented to some extent. They also asked to be allotted shops first which was not accepted by the MDDA. The Vice-Chairman, BVRC Purushottam, had been assuring these shopkeepers of providing them with extra space, provided there are surplus shops in the new shopping complex. He did not agree to give his word in writing.

It was when the MDDA policy on the Chakrata road widening was released, these shopkeepers were aghast to find that the promises made to them were not included in it. They had staged a dharna from December 1 to 11. It was ended after the CM assured them that their interests would be properly considered. By then, these shopkeepers had already filed a petition in the District Courts, which today deferred the case till January 12. 

Dehradun, December 29
The process of distribution of Allotment letters began today for the third phase of demolition on the Chakrata road.

Letters regarding 18 allotment on right side and 19 on left side were distributed at the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority office. The drive is expected to start on January 1 for two days.

Meanwhile, a building of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), situated in the Clock Tower area, which was vacated, caught fire. It was caused by a short circuit sparked off from the ATM machine installed in the adjacent building yesterday.

The entire paraphernalia burnt in the incident. The cash stacked in the lockers and documents in fireproof almirah, however, remained safe. It was in the morning when the smoke was seen billowing out of the shop, the bankers were informed. The fire brigade personnel too reached in time and controlled the fire which remained confined to the bank premises. The entire ceiling came down. The wall papers burnt so did the furniture. 

Mussoorie, December 29
The official vehicle of the executive officer of the Mussoorie Municipal Council (MC) has been stolen under mysterious circumstances from his residence in Dehradun. Several files related to the council, that were said to be kept in the vehicle, are also believed to be missing.

This is the second instant that a vehicle belonging to the Municipal Council has been stolen in the past two years, raising several questions on the working of the officials of the council. Earlier, a vehicle belonging to the council was stolen from Meerut two years ago and that has remained untraceable till today.

According to the MC President, OP Uniyal, executive officer Rohitash Sharma had gone to Dehradun for some official work on Tuesday. After completing the work Rohitash headed for his residence at Nehru Colony in Dehradun for overnight stay and parked the government vehicle (Bolero UK07AF- 9770) in front of his house from where it was stolen at night.

A complaint about the stolen vehicle was filed by the executive officer with Patel Nagar police station on Wednesday morning. It is also believed that few important MC files along with the mobile phone of the executive officer are also missing.

Former MC President Manmohan Singh Mall alleged that as MC working was being probed by the CBI in connection with charges of corruption and financial embezzlement against officials and if the important files were being kept in the vehicle it is gross violation of the work code of the government and the matter needed to be investigation.

President of the Mussoorie Traders Association Rajat Agarwal said this was the second car of the MC that had been stolen and it was also a strange coincidence that both the vehicles were Boleros and were stolen from the places away from Mussoorie. The notable part is that both the vehicles were driven by the officers themselves.

Leader of the BJP Amichand Mangla and social activist Pradeep Bhandari were of the view that using government vehicle for work outside the town had been prohibited under the norms of the municipal council and the administration should institute an inquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, Rohitash Sharma dispelled the speculation that MC files were kept in the vehicle that had been stolen from his residence. He said only a few correspondence-related documents were missing. However, the residents of Mussoorie are not buying the argument and are viewing the whole issue with suspicion.

Mussoorie, December 29
The Congress, during its tenure, committed 56 scams while the BJP with 54 scams perpetrated during its regime in the state is not far behind. Both the parties have mislead the innocent people of the state and if the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is voted to power in the state, the new home of many leaders from both the parties, including Nishank, will be Sudhowala Jail. This was stated by Manoj Sharma, BSP candidate from the Mussoorie Assembly seat, during a door-to-door campaign that began here today.

On the first day of his campaign, Manoj visited several Dalit colonies of the town and was delighted to find open opposition to the sitting Congress MLA Jot Singh Gunsola. Sensing the mood, he assured the people that if he was voted to the Assembly from Mussoorie his priority will be to provide housing for the poor as being done in Uttar Pradesh by the BSP supremo Mayawati.

Manoj Sharma also went to Ambedkar Colony in Library bazar where several houses were damaged during the monsoon fury last August. He assured the residents of the colony that his first task after becoming the MLA would be to undo the alleged wrongdoings committed during 10-year tenure of the MLA.

He said Gunsola, sensing his slim chances this time, had resorted to cheap means of enticing the voters by distributing blankets among them for which he was also reprimanded by the Election Commission. 

Nainital, December 29
Airing the sentiments of the people of Kumaon over the emotive issue of either upgrading the status of Kumaon University to a central university or establish a new central university in the region, the Kumaon University Teachers’ Association (KUTA) has a wish-list ready for the parties in fray for the forthcoming Assembly polls.

Besides holding a meeting pertaining to its demands, the KUTA has brought its demands to the notice of both the Governor Margaret Alva and Chief Minister BC Khanduri. “We want a regional balance with regard to the higher education. We will be taking up the issue of the central university with all the parties contesting. We simply want that the additional funds that come for the creation of a central university help the students from the Kumaon region,” KUTA secretary Dr Lalit Tewari told The Tribune on the sidelines of the general meeting of the association today.

The residents of Kumaon have been disillusioned with the political parties for being quiet on the issue of a central university status for Kumaon University so that it comes at par with its counterpart in Garhwal which got the status a few months prior to the Parliamentary polls in 2009.

The residents feel that while Khanduri and his government favoured Garhwal University over the Kumaon University when they were asked to select one of the two in 2009, the Congress leadership too has not done anything to get the anomaly removed.

The students, teachers and the local intelligentsia feel that somehow their right has been denied to them. The issue has become such an emotive one that the entire Kumaon region had witnessed a complete bandh on November 12, 2008, in support of the demand. The movement for getting the central status has been going on in fits and starts since then.

In the last parliamentary polls, the contestants from all parties were held responsible for not making this a prominent issue in their campaign and trying to down play the issue to appease their seniors in respective political parties.

It was during the Chief Ministership of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna that both Garhwal and Kumaon universities had been sanctioned in the year 1973 to cater to the needs of the two distinct regions of the state. Thereafter, both the universities were treated at par by various governments of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh and now Uttarakhand. However, when it came to giving a central university status, it was Garhwal University in Srinagar that was granted the benefit.

When the Centre was approached, the then Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Arjun Singh had conveyed that his ministry could give the status to only one of the universities and the recommendation was to come from the state government.

State Congress President Yash Pal Arya during a recent visit to the university had said the university deserved to be upgraded to a central one.

The other issues aired by the KUTA at its meeting pertained to raising the age-limit of teaching staff to 65 years, a bring about of statutes that would clear way for their promotions etc.

Mussoorie, December 29
Arshad Warsi and Cyrus Sahukar are in Mussoorie to celebrate New Year. As promised, Arshad is back in Mussoorie along with his family is to celebrate and welcome the New Year. This year he has brought along his friend Cyrus Sahukar of MTV with him. Arshad, speaking to the media at the mansion just above the town in Landour Bazaar, yesterday, said the visit to the Queen of Hills helped him relax and rejuvenate and was a perfect getaway from the tinsel town. “I wish I had a piece of land here so that I could come back to this beautiful and peaceful place often,” said Arshad.

He, revealing his passion other than acting, said had he failed as and actor, he would have been a chef. He also said he had no favourite dish but he always enjoyed cooking fish and fried rice. Speaking about the year 2011 in terms of business for the film industry, he said films had done brisk business and many films had fared more than they expected, so the year had been good for the industry. On his upcoming film, Arshad said he was looking forward to “Zila Ghaziabad” in which he was in a role of a villain for the first time. It would be released next year, he said. The other films scheduled for the release next year are “Jolly LLB” and “Hai Rabba”. They are based on big fat Punjabi wedding. He also informed the press that the shooting for the sequels of “Munna Bhai” and “Ishqiya” would begin next year. Cyrus, who accompained Munna Bhai’s “Circuit”, said it was his first visit to Mussoorie but he had fallen in love with its sublime beauty at first sight itself. He said it was a good decision to have chosen the town for celebrating the New Year.

Dehradun, December 29
With their traditional rights denied, the forest dwellers residing in Uttarkashi and Tehri have decided to start a campaign urging the government to ensure that the forest rights committees at block (development) level, as mandated under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, are formed. Raising their concerns at a workshop organised on the Forest Dwellers Act (2006) by the Himalayan Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan, the members belonging to the SC/ST communities and traditional forest dwellers said the Act had become redundant in the state.

“Since the implementation of the Act in the country, a total of 12 lakh cases have been disposed off and 18 lakh hectare land has been given to the forest dwellers. But in the state, not a single case has come, as no block-level forest rights committee has been created,” said Suresh Bhai of Raksha Sutar.

He also pointed out that in the last couple of years, a total of 15,000 hectare forest land had been used for development activities and the majority of the land belonged to the members of SC/ST communities and now they do not possess any land. “The government should allow the people to use the forest land for earning their livelihood instead of making them landless and homeless,” he said.

In several districts of the state, the meadows, agriculture land and chaanis fall under the forest land where the villagers are denied access.

In Uttarkashi, the Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary is a case in point. However, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RB S Rawat, who was also present at the workshop, said to make things easier for the villagers living inside the sanctuary, permission has been granted by the Forest Department to allow them to practice their traditional rights in the villages falling outside the boundary of the sanctuary.

“We are not declaring new sanctuaries recently as we are aware of the fact that it brings untold misery to the villagers. Recently, there was a talk of creating a sanctuary in Ramnagar, but the matter was not pursued as we had already pointed out the difficulties,” he said. He also said he was in favour of simplification of rules and regulations pertaining to the forest, so that these could be understood better by the people.

Dehradun, December 29
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva said here today that the younger generation could benefit greatly from the wisdom and experience of the elderly and should learn to care for them.

“Also the institutions for the care of the elderly can play an important role in providing facilities to a large number of senior citizens in the country,” said the Governor while addressing a gathering of senior citizens during the inaugural function of Anugraha’s Swabhiman Kendra in the cantonment.

She said 80 per cent of the senior citizens resided in the rural areas and faced several financial and emotional problems. She appreciated the efforts of Anugraha, an NGO, to look after the needs of senior citizens by setting up facilities like Swabhiman Kendra.

“Senior citizens can avail several facilities related to entertainment, health and counselling there,” said the Governor. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. The Governor said such centres should be set up in each district. “ Support from the Central Government and NGOs can be sought for doing this, ” she said. She wished all those present a happy New Year and gave a TV set and a water purifier to the centre. Among those present at the function were more than 150 members of the Swabhiman Kendra, Brig Kamal Kumar, chairman of the Dehradun Cantt Board, Dr Aabha Chaudhary, chairperson of Anugraha, Rajkumari, vice-chairperson of Anugraha, and Rakesh Dhawan, founder member of Anugraha.

Dehradun, December 29
The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) has set up a task force to work on revision of forest types in the country.

According to the Director-General of the ICFRE, Dr VK Bahuguna, the ICFRE has established a task force with a primary aim to revisit the forest-type of India and assess the changes, if any, due to climatic changes and other factors. He said the main objective of the exercise is to understand the impact of climate change on forest ecosystems and also to provide the field foresters a forest classification based on field management imperatives.

Headed by the DG, the task force will have Senior ICFRE official Sandeep Tripathi as its member secretary and Dr MS Swaminath, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka, as the co-team leader. Other important team members include Dr Manoranjan Bhanja of Andhra Pradesh, Dr GS Goraya of Himachal Pradesh and Dr Krishan Kumar from the ICFRE. The team will finish its field work by June.

It is noteworthy that India Forests were classified for the first time in 1935 by Sir HG Champion and later on revised by Champion and Seth in 1968, dividing India's forests into 16 types and about 221 sub-type groups. Now, after about 45 years, Champion and Seth's classification is still used for forest management purposes while India's forests have gone under tremendous change owing to anthropogenic and other types of changes. 

Dehradun, December 29
Vijay Cantt. Football Club and Doon Star Football Club won their respective matches in the 44th Amar Shaheed Kharag Bahadur Bisht Memorial Football Tournament being played at Nehru Gram here today.

In the first match, the Vijay Cantt team got past Garhwal Sporting Club by a solitary goal.

In a evenly poised match, it was Arzoo who scored the lone goal for Vijay Cantt in the 45th minute. He also won the man of the match award.

In the second match, the Doon Star defeated Chanderbani XI by 4-0. Rohit scored two goals in the 4th and 22nd minutes while Abhishek scored two more goals in 24th and 45th minutes in a one-sided game. Rohit was declared as the man of the match.

Sunderwala Boys will take on the Bajrang Dal Football Club while the Akranta Football Club will clash with Raipur XI in tomorrows’ matches. 

Dehradun, December 29
The Khalsa Cricket Academy defeated the Vikasnagar Club by 70 runs in a match in the 60th Dehradun District Cricket League being played at the Survey Stadium here.

Batting first, the Khalsa Cricket Academy scored 121 runs losing all its wickets in process. Manu scored highest 33 runs for the Khalsa Cricket Academy. Vishal contributed valuable 16 runs. Neeraj of the Vikasnagar Club took 4 wickets.

Chasing the target, the Vikasnagar Club could just pile up 59 runs losing all its wickets in the process, thereby ensuring a 70-run victory to the Khalsa Cricket Academy. Tajvar of Vikasnagar scored highest 19 runs. Gaurav of the Khalsa Cricket Academy took 4 wickets.