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Nomination of Anglo-Indian member to House sparks protest
MC member accused of damaging hand pump
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Dist units of BSP dissolved
Ordnance Day celebrated
Two killed as bus falls into gorge
Doon Civic Blues
Dairy board holds camps in Haridwar
Eurokids mesmerise
Nainital Diary
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Nomination of Anglo-Indian member to House sparks protest
Dehradun, March 18 On getting wind of the Congress government’s decision to nominate a member of the Anglo- Indian community as a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative assembly to shore up the numbers, senior BJP leader Ajay Bhatt lambasted the Bahuguna government for trying to surreptitiously induct a member of the Anglo-Indian community even before the formation of the Cabinet. “Unmindful of the past precedence and propriety, the Bahuguna government is taking up one controversial decision after another. Now, we have been told that the file pertaining to the appointment of the Anglo-Indian member to the Uttarakhand Assembly has already reached the Governor. Propriety demands that the matter should be first brought before the Cabinet for discussion and then be passed after careful examination. The Chief Minister has not even formed his Cabinet, his MLAs are yet to take oath, he is trying everything to increase the number of MLAs,” said Ajay Bhatt. The angry BJP leaders even lodged their protest with the Governor Margaret Alva. With three Congress rebels making to the Vidhan Sabha and extending support to the Congress along with the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) MLA, the Bahuguna government is keen to further strengthen its position. Therefore, it’s keen to nominate one Anglo-Indian as Vidhan Sabha member. The practice was started by former Chief Minister ND Tiwari, who had nominated the first Anglo-Indian member to the house. Later, the BJP government too nominated Karen Mayer as member of the Uttarakhand Assembly. Significantly, while former Chief Minister BC Khanduri ensured all major decisions went through the Cabinet route, ND Tiwari on several occasions bypassed the Cabinet while taking several important decisions.
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MC member accused of damaging hand pump
Mussoorie, March 18 The public hand pump that was installed 10 years ago near the Tehri bus stand was only a source of drinking water for hundreds of residents around Landour Bazaar, Woodstock School and Tehri Bus stand, especially in summers when the water was scarce in the town. Bhandari, however, conniving with the land mafia, allegedly uprooted the hand pump and damaged it by filling it with cement so that it becomes unusable and then they can usurp the adjacent land. Residents and members of social organisation Sarva Bahvantu Sukhina, while protesting against the alleged involvement of the local MC member and land mafia, gathered at the site and raised slogans against him. They demanded an immediate repair of the hand pump. Director of the organisation Amit Bhatt alleged that the local MC member earlier had usurped public land around the hand pump and transferred it to his name dubiously. He used personal clout in the mutation department of the Mussoorie Municipal Council. He even constructed a temporary two room tin shed illegally that would later be converted into a guest house and sold to a land mafia. When the local MC member saw that the area in which the hand pump existed was being used by general public, he conspired to uproot and damage it so that people stayed away from his alleged property. Bhatt said today when the women around the area arrived to fetch water were aghast to find the hand pump damaged. A shopkeeper at the Tehri Bus stand, Rai Singh Aswal, also alleged that since the past 50 years, the area around the hand pump was public and was used for parking the public transport buses heading towards Dhanaulti and Chamba, but as soon as the alleged MC member was elected in the council, the whole area came under his control under mysterious circumstances, revealing the nexus between the officials and the land mafia. He also said it was worth pondering over that if the area where the hand pump was installed was a private property, then how come the department concerned did the mistake of installing it there in the first place. Adding to that, the MC also passed the tenders for erecting sidewalls worth Rs 32 lakh in the same area using the public money to benefit one individual who also happens to be an MC member in the same council. The social organisation members have demanded immediate inquiry in the matter and the restoration of the hand pump. They are also planning to visit Dehradun DM and apprise him of the whole situation. When contacted, Bhandari refuted all allegations against him and said he also wanted the hand pump to function properly so that the people in ward were able to receive water. Responding to his land-grabbing techniques, he said it had been done according to the existing guidelines and their was nothing dubious about it.
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Dist units of BSP dissolved
Dehradun, March 18 President of the state unit of the BSP Surajmal said acting on the directions of party supremo Mayawati, all district units of the BSP had been dissolved. “Only the state executive of the BSP will continue to function”, he added. He said new district committees of the BSP would be formed soon. — TNS
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Ordnance Day celebrated
Dehradun, March 18 Addressing the employees at the Ordnance Factory, Dehradun ground, OFD General-Manager R Rajashekaran said the Ordnance Factories across the country were today celebrating the 211th anniversary of its inception. He reminded that OFD was playing a crucial role in protecting the security interests of the country. Rajashekaran asked the employees to ensure quality in the manufacturing of defence equipment. He said the OFD was facing challenge from the private sector and OFD employees should work with dedication and commitment. He also flagged off a run in which large number of OFD employees took part. In the exhibition here, manufactured arms and other defence equipments were also put on display. Night vision equipment, telescope and other sighting systems of MTB Arjun Tank, T 72 and T 90 tanks were the main attractions.
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Two killed as bus falls into gorge
Dehradun, March 18 The Tehri Garhwal Motors Operators Union bus UA 07 3720 on way to Borare from New Tehri fell into a gorge some kilometres ahead of Borare town around 1 pm today. While two passengers died on the spot, three were injured seriously. The seriously injured have been referred to Doon Hospital, Dehradun, for treatment. The Tehri district administration has started relief operations. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has expressed grief over the Borare road mishap. He has directed the Tehri district administration for immediate relief to the injured. The Chief Minister has announced ex gratia of Rs 50,000 for the families of the deceased, Rs 25,000 for seriously injured.
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Garbage in open drain blot on Yamuna Colony
Seema Sharma/TNS
Dehradun, March 18
Another resident, Rama Gupta, said: “Earlier, the park in the locality was in a bad state. Residents had taken up this issue several times with former councillors, but to no avail. But after Sachin Gupta was elected the councillor of the area, he took up this issue with the authorities. With his efforts, the park has now become a recreation centre for people who come here for morning walk and yoga sessions.” Suresh Kumar, a resident of Kumhar Mandi which falls under the ward, said: “We faced an acute shortage of water for many years. But now the authorities have laid down 35 new drinking water pipelines from Kumhar Mandi to Sayyad Mohalla. New tubewells have also been installed. Residents now get water supply for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening.” The problem of erratic power supply due to load shedding and phase problem has also been solved. Shweta said: “Ever since four new transformers of 250 KV have been installed in the area, the problem of erratic power supply due to excessive load has been solved. It is a big relief for us." The councillor, Sachin Gupta, said: "I have solved almost all problems in the area. But the one pertaining to garbage is yet to be undertaken. People dump garbage on vacant land. A big chunk of land in Sayyad Mohalla has become a dumping ground. I have given an estimate of Rs 35 lakh to the DMC to build a community hall so that the land could be better used for functions.” Gupta said he also took the help of former Speaker Harbans Kapoor in getting all damaged roads and drains repaired. He further said he had spent Rs 10 lakh on the maintenance of two parks --- one in Yamuna Colony and another owned by the PWD. Besides this, he had got Rs 35 lakh sanctioned from the DMC to repair the houses which had got damaged during monsoon. The councillor further said he was trying to solve the problem of the dumping of garbage into an open drain in the locality. “The issue is on top of my priority list,” he added.
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Dairy board holds camps in Haridwar
Haridwar, March 18 The board is organising milk-checking camps in various colonies. At a camp held here yesterday, board officials tested the presence of various ingredients like soda, water, urea, starch, hydrogen peroxide, formalin etc in milk samples. Senior milk inspector Sunil Sharma said unless people get aware, the menace could not be checked. He pointed out that even mixing water with milk was adulteration that consumers could check through lactometer. For further checking, they could either come to them or buy a test pad slip through which the presence of urea or hydrogen peroxide in milk could be checked. Anurag Somani, a resident of Brahampuri, said though the sample she had brought was found to be pure, the presence of sodium was detected that was due to the uncleaned
milk vessel. — TNS
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Eurokids mesmerise
Dehradun, March 18 Tiny tots presented rhymes, dances and plays on the occasion, which left the audience spellbound. They also participated in a fancy dress competition titled, "A visit to the fairy land". Based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, a play was staged by students of nursery. A graduation ceremony of the passing-out students of the play school was also held. School Principal Sona Kukreti appreciated the efforts of the faculty in inculcating confidence and a spirit of competitiveness in tiny tots. The Principal also gave away the prizes and certificates to the students for excelling in academics. The programme culminated with a vote of thanks by the coordinator of the show.
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Jokes on political uncertainty doing the rounds in Uttarakhand
The hangover of the Holi celebrations, accompanied by the continuing uncertainty with regards to the formation and functioning of the Congress government in the state, has provided enough fodder to the people of Kumaon to ponder over hows and whys of the state politics. Politics continues to dominate life and this has been going on ever since the poll was announced in the end of December. The winter and that too an extended one has given ample opportunity to political buffs to come up with their theories with regards to the state and direction of Uttarkhand politics. Very often the analysis being done and discussed at street corners and tea stalls ends on a humorous note. For an observer that is an addition of at least one political joke or anecdote on a daily basis. There are a series of such jokes that are being enjoyed by the people with an undercurrent of skepticism. The latest one to do the rounds that Uttarkhand should learn from the former Chief Minister and divide the state into four parts. “Why not have Char Khands (four parts) in accordance with the number of aspiring Chief Ministerial candidates we have,” narrated a political enthusiast. Then there is another joke that suggests that the Congress must offer the post of Chief Minister to all aspirants and let them run the office for a period of a six month each. Who says the semester system does not work ? If it can work in education it can also be tried in politics. The third suggestion doing the rounds is that the Cabinet in the state should be re-designated. The joke suggests, “Everyone should be made a Chief Minister and given different portfolios. We can have a Chief Minister (Home), a Chief Minister (Finance) or after a consensus a Chief Minister having independent charge. The celebration of Holi in Kumaon too saw a lot of pun intended for the political class by the revelers. The Swangs performed by women during the Holi celebrations that were laced with a lot of proverbs and sayings in Kumaoni dialect were a site to watch. In Nainital, a group of women came up with an excellent enactment of the Baba Ramdev episode in the Ram Lila Maidan in New Delhi. The actors not only dressed up in the garb of the Yoga guru but went on to demonstrate how he teaches Yoga on television sets. They then enacted “Rajneeti Asanas” (political asanas) and went on to show how Ramdev had tried to flee from the spot only to be nabbed by the police. Then there was a Swang enacted in Almora where the women made fun of the candidates who had offered liquor to the voters to lure them into voting in their favour. The women enacted how the allurements came and how the tipplers had been excited at the prospects of their candidate winning the poll. The actors had come up with interesting slogans to spice up their performances. There were slogans like “xyz (name of the candidate) aaya hai Botal pauvva laya hai” (the candidate has arrived and he or she has brought a bottle or pints with him or her). Then there were also Swangs hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), particularly the tenure of former Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank that was marked by a series of controversies. There were also Swangs on the loss suffered by former Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri from the Kotdwar seat. The Swang actors did not spare the media on the issue of paid news and tried to depict that how media houses would be the most happy at the political instability in the state as this would mean a mid-term poll anytime and thereby an opportunity to earn some extra revenue in the form of paid news and advertorials. Kumaoni Holi is known for the classical singing Baithaks that precedes the festival. Artistes who are known in the field of classical singing come up with their mesmerising performances at these Baithaks that are not organised on a mass scale. A couple of days prior to Dulhandi or what is known as Challeri celebration in Kumaon. Nainital saw a unique presentation at one of the Baithaks organised by the cultural organisations Yugmanch and Ram Sevak Sabha. The presentation made by Bhai Subhag Singh was a rendition of a classical Holi in Pashto language. Sung after an explanation of its content and context, the rendition mesmerised the small group of listeners present at the Baithak on the cold evening of March 6. Having been Huzuri Ragi at Gurdwara Sheeshganj in Delhi, Bhai Subhag Singh is an exponent of classical singing and has performed in several countries. He is currently based in Kashipur. He narrated the legend that once a learned man had come to the court of Mughal Emperor Aurangzab and had sought that the learned men in his court interpret the portions of Koran that he spoke. Much to his dismay, none of the learned men in Aurangzeb’s court could come up with a satisfactory explanation. The emperor announced capital punishment for them. It was one of his sons who went to his Guru named Nand Lal and narrated everything to him. Nand Lal told him the interpretations but told him not to tell the emperor who had interpreted these for the Prince. The prince narrated the interpretations thus managing to save the learned men in the court from capital punishment. But he gave away Nand Lal’s name when the emperor promised to give riches to the boy’s teacher. But the moment Aurangzeb came to know that the person who had come up with the correct interpretations was a non-Muslim, he wanted him to convert to Islam. Legend goes that Nand Lal was helped by his Gurubhai Nasir Ali to escape towards Afghanistan where he took refuge under Guru Gobind Singh. Bhai Subhag Singh narrated that Nand Lal asked Guru Gobind Singh to make him a Sikh which the latter refused and told him to be what he was. It was in the praise of the tenth Guru that Nand Lal had written Holi that Bhai Subhag Singh presented. “The tune was composed by me and when I had sung this rendition before a group of Afghan Sikhs in London, their joy knew no bounds,” he disclosed.
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After taking the Bahuguna government to task on the appointment of pro tem Speaker, the Uttarakhand BJP has again crossed swords with the Congress.
The uprooting and damaging of the public hand-pump located near the Tehri Bus stand in Mussoorie by land mafia in connivance with the local Municipal Council member Ramesh Bhandari has invited the wrath of social organisations and the residents alike.
Amit Bansal, a local resident, said: "In comparison with other areas of the city, the condition of roads in this ward is good. The authorities immediately repair the roads whenever they get damaged."
