Construction of flats at slum colonies yet to begin
Dehradun March 26
The funds for the Chakshah city slum colony, the Brahampuri city slum colony Phase II and the Khala Basti city slum colony had been released by the Union Government long ago but the work has not been started in these localities.

Drainage cleanliness drive from April 1
Dehradun, March 26
Mayor Vinod Chamoli reviewed the performance of the Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) company at a meeting held at the premises of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation today.

Theatre festival begins today
Dehradun, March 26
The 12th theatre festival is being organised by Dehradun-based Uttar Natya Sansthan (UNS) in collaboration with State Culture Department to celebrate the Vishwa Rangmanch Divas, which falls on March 27, at Survey Auditorium in the city. This 10-day festival will have 10 main theatre groups of the city staging one play each day from 7 pm for two hours.

Bahuguna hopeful of support from Centre
Dehradun, March 26
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said here that he was hopeful of full support of the Centre to the state.

Dehradun, March 26
Hounded by the Forest Department, the Gujjars (forest dwellers) residing in the Rajaji National Park (RNP) today narrated their woes to the Chairman of National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah, demanding a life of dignity for their future generations and also according Scheduled Tribe (ST) on them.

He is here in Doon on the invitation of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), an NGO engaged in the welfare of the members of nomadic tribe. Around 180 Gujjars who have been residing in Uttarakhand for several decades said they were at the receiving end of the high-handed attitude of the officials of the Forest Department, “Though the Rajaji National Park has only been proposed, the officials have used this excuse to hound us out of the forest. Those of us who were pushed out of the park and made to settle at Gaindi Katha and Pathri areas were never given entitlement rights.

Now in the name of expansion of the airport, move is afoot to again move us out,” charged Talib Hussain, who resides in Mohand (Rajaji National Park).

Besides the Gujjars made a strong pitch for according them the status of Scheduled Tribes, as is the case with the Gujjars residing in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir, “We belong to the same family of Gujjars. While the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir have already accorded them the status of ST, successive governments in Uttarakhand have failed to do so,” said Qasim, a Gujjar.

While recalling the role played by the forest dwellers in protecting the forest wealth, the chairman said the Forest Dwellers Act was especially passed by Parliament to provide protection to the communities living in the forests. “More than the Forest Department, it is the members of these communities who have protected the forest for centuries and should be given their due,” he said.

In fact the Chairman said a pubic hearing would be held with the officials from Dehradun being invited to Delhi and the Gujjars, while still in Dehradun linked up through video conferencing.

“We will hold a public hearing shortly to thrash out matters. The commission would take cognizance of the complaints lodged by the Gujjars against the Forest Department,” said the Chairman.

Earlier, the Chairperson of RLEK, Avdhash Kaushal, said the though the National Human Rights Commission in it’s order has stated that the Gujjars cannot be forced to leave the forest, they continue to be harassed by the authorities.

Pithoragarh, March 26
Govind Singh Kunjwal, a Gandhian and sarvodaya worker, has become the fourth Speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly. Born on May 25, 1945, and resident of Kunj village of the Jaiti area of Talla Salampatti of Almora district, Govind Singh was influenced by his elder brother Kedar Singh Kunjwal, who was a sarvodaya worker and Gandhian who had devoted his entire life at a Sarvodaya Ashram at Jaiti in Almora. The ashram was established by his Kedar Singh Kunjwal at Jaiti.

Govind Singh was a handloom worker in Almora and also worked in Pithoragarh and Nainital. He also organised khadi spinners and weavers of the area to create more employment in the khadi sector in the region before becoming a block pramukh in 1982.

Kunjwal was also involved in various anti-liquor movements and Gram Dan Andolan of Sarvodaya leader Vinoba Bhave in the area along with his brother before 1980, said Ganesh Pandey, a local journalist at Jaiti town. Kunjwal became block pramukh of Lamgara block and won the election consecutively for two terms.

He unsuccessfully contested for the membership of the UP legislative council in 1993. Kunjwal made it to the UP Assembly in 1993 in a byelection from Almora, but lost in 1996.

“After the state came into being in 2000, Kunjwal successfully fought the elections from Jageshwar and retained the seat till this elections.

“A cool Gandhian, Kunjwal has a clear image in the area and lived a simple life which is evident from the fact that he still visits the ashram at Jaiti, which has been established by his brother," said Pandey.

Dehradun March 26
The funds for the Chakshah city slum colony, the Brahampuri city slum colony Phase II and the Khala Basti city slum colony had been released by the Union Government long ago but the work has not been started in these localities.

These three slum colonies are among the nine colonies which have been undertaken under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BUSP) project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission (JNNURM). Others are Brahampuri Phase I, Ram Mandir Kusht Ashram, Shanti Kusht Ashram, Rotary Kusht Ashram, Ramnagar Colony and Kath Bangla.

In case of the Chakshah slum colony, 160 flats are to be built at the cost of Rs 860.2 lakh of which Rs 215.05 lakh has been released. On the recommendation of the Additional Secretary, Union Government, the estimate of the cost has been proposed to be increased up to Rs 900 lakh.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli said the tender process has begun for the construction work but the slum colonies which have encroached upon the land in the area are yet to be removed. The residents of the slum colony have been desisting the endeavours for their removal. They have held many protests on the premises of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) in this regard.

In case of Brahmpuri-II, 421 flats are to be built at the cost of Rs 1667.31 lakh of which Rs 416.82 lakh have also been released in the first instalment but the construction has not yet taken off till date. The DMC has not been able to select the land to build the flats.

The Central Government has approved the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam as working agency for this project.

In case of Khala Basti, where 80 flats are to be built at the cost of Rs 372.83 lakh , the first instalment of Rs 93.21 lakh has been released but the work in this case has not progressed at all. Many residents at Shitla Vihar where these flats are to be built have approached the court as they claimed the land where the DMC has proposed to build the flats are theirs. Though the Central Government has also approved the amended cost of this project of Rs 470 lakh, the DMC has not been able to resolve the crisis till date.

The first instalment of the Brahmpuri city slum colony, Phase I, which had been withheld by the Central Government in May last year, was later released. The DMC learnt its lesson well in this case and picked up good pace of work which has been completed upto 30 per cent. Some 240 flats are to be built here at the cost of Rs 1114.6 lakh out of which Rs 278.67 lakh had been released and Rs 50 lakh has been utilized till date.

Dehradun, March 26
Mayor Vinod Chamoli reviewed the performance of the Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) company at a meeting held at the premises of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation today.

The company has been given the project worth Rs 24 crore to collect the waste material from the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

At present, the company, which was hired more than a year ago, is covering 28 wards out of a total of 60 wards.

The meeting was attended by Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat, Chief Health Officer Dr Kailash Joshi, supervisors and representatives of the DVWM.

The Mayor said the workers of the company were not collecting waste material from all slum colonies. The cases of overcharging from slum dwellers were also brought up. It was also seen that the company vehicles were not reaching on time to the housing colonies. He said the work for further wards would not be allocated to them unless they showed improvement in their work. The supervisors of the DMC had been authorised to check their work on regular basis.

The dustbins, which had been placed on main roads, will now be shifted to other lanes. The DVWM, which was supposed to dump the garbage at the Shishambara Scientific Land Fill (SLF), is under construction. Now it has been given the instructions to carry the garbage at Transfer station built at the Haridwar road, where the garbage from small trolleys would be shifted in bigger vehicles and taken to SLF Shishambara.

The Mayor also announced to kick start the drainage cleanliness drive from April 1.

Mamgai said the government was spending liberally on other cultural events. He rued the fact that it also did not devise a separate culture policy till date whereas they had relentlessly been raising their voice for it.

While enlisting a number of requirements which theatre groups in the city needed to strengthen this important form of art, secretary, UNS, Roshan Dasmana, said: “There is not a single theatre auditorium in the city. So we need a good auditorium on the lines of National School of Drama, which should be equipped with light and sound system of advance technology and have a seating capacity for at least 2000 people. The place can also be well-utilised for rehearsals for the plays as there is no such place in the whole town.” He also stressed on the need to float Sangeet Natak Academy, as other states in the country have, to promote music and theatre.He elaborated upon saying that since the state government did not support art & culture in the state, quite a few aspirants were opting for a career in theatre, which reflected upon the quality churningout from here. Those who were involved did not have much exposure as the organisation did not have funds to take them to the theatre festivals held in other states or invite theatre groups from outside in the city.In a bid to remind the state government about the significant contributions of the theatre groups, he said: “The role of theatre groups, especially street plays, during struggling period for the creation of the state cannot be wished away. They inspired and filled vigour in people to fight for their state. The state government has some responsibility towards them. It has been 11 years since we are trying hard to survive.”

Haridwar, March 26
Giving message of saving the environment, dozens of tiny tots yesterday planted saplings at the ancient Sati Kund religious place. Such was the enthusiasm of these kids that their parents and people living in the vicinity of the Sati Kund also came forward to make sure they too make efforts to protect the greenery of the region.

The Winning Edge foundation, boosted by the enthusiasm of these young kids, has decided to carry more such tree plantation drives in Haridwar.

Children of kindergarten and primary classes participated in this drive and were quite curious to know from gardener when would these trees grow up.

In view of this noble cause, several social organisations also came forward to lend their helping hand. School principal Vibhooti Rajlaxmi emphasised the need to generate environment awareness from an early age as at tender age, children inculcate these things quite easily.

“We were quite surprised when we saw children asking their parents to also plant saplings at their homes and were keen to come again to water these saplings” said Dimple Chaudhary a schoolteacher.

Among others who helped in plantation drive were Vivek Yadav, Pushkar Sharma, Rachit Kumar, Kritika, Sapna, Saloni, Anupama, Priyanka and Nishu.