Landour Cantt Board meeting witnesses chaotic scenes
Mussoorie, May 3
A meeting of the Landour Cantonment Board held here today witnessed chaotic scenes as the elected ward members opposed the ongoing ‘illegal’ construction at cottage Dahlia Bank believed to be owned by Mumbai businessman Sanjay Narang, a friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Cong infighting affecting govt performance: BJP
Dehradun, May 3
The Uttarakhand BJP said today the infighting in the Uttarakhand Congress is impacting the functioning of the Bahuguna government and the boycott of Janata Milan by Congress MLAs was a further proof of anarchy prevailing in the government.

Dehradun, May 3
The office of the Chief Minister has asked District Magistrates to develop feedback mechanism to ensure the safe and uninterrupted Char Dham yatra.

Dr SS Sandhu, secretary in the Chief Ministers’ office, has asked district officials that such a step would lessen the problems. He asked them to pass on the information of inclement weather conditions and road blockages through SMS to persons concerned and also send report to monitoring cell set up at the Chief Minister Office at the Secretariat.

Dr Sandhu through a video conferencing instructed the DMs to monitor conditions of water, power supply, road, medical facilities and traffic and resolve the problems in time. He asked them to provide information about weather conditions and road blockages to the police, tour operators, roadways officers of Delhi, Dehradun and other neighbouring cities through SMS. He instructed the DMs of the Garhwal region to keep a vigil on the arrangements on the yatra routes.

Dr Sandhu asked the Secretary, Health, to ensure availability of doctors by tomorrow on the yatra routes and instructed the Secretary, PWD, Amit Negi to ensure immediate repair of damaged roads.

Stating that the places prone to landslide and accident were already identified, he advocated giving special attention to these places.

Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister and in charge Monitoring Cell Dilip Jawalkar said the DMs had been provided with email address, fax and phone numbers of the Char Dham yatra Monitoring Cell.

He asked them to inform the cell about any disturbance in the yatra through email, fax or SMS. He instructed them to resolve local problems at their levels and inform the cell.

DIG, Garhwal Range, Sanjay Gunjyal was asked to depute on the yatra route only those police personnel who were physically fit. He maintained that solutions to several problems could be found out after taking feedback from the returning pilgrims.

He said the vehicles would be allowed to ply by all means from 5 am to 8 pm. He disclosed that the police had set up 38 centres to meet emergencies. He said 58 temporary police posts had been set up for the yatra season with all requisite facilities and equipment.

He instructed all 60 Tourist Police Centres to be ready for the assistance of pilgrims.

District Magistrate, Rudraprayag, Neeraj Kharkwal said Kedarnath Yatra was going on undisturbed with all basic facilities available.

He said 100 persons had been deputed for sanitation work.

DM Chamoli Murugeshan revealed that so far 44,000 pilgrims had visited the Badrinath shrine. Eighteen doctors had been deputed on the yatra routes. The meeting was also attended by DM Uttarkashi Rajesh Kumar, DM Tehri Ranjit Sinha, DM Pauri Chandresh Yadav, DM Haridwar D Senthil Pandian and DM Dehradun Ravinath Raman.

Dehradun, May 3
The three-day strike by the Joint Rotation Yatra Committee (JRYC) ended with the government agreeing to provide a legal backing to the arrangement of rotation operational on the Char Dham route.

After a meeting with the JRYC delegation, Transport Secretary Uma Kant Panwar said: "We have agreed to provide legal backing to the arrangement and soon a government order would be issued. So far the arrangement has been in place voluntarily, but it has worked very well now in the interest of the general public. We will issue a government order to give legal teeth to the arrangement,” said Panwar.

Beside providing legal backing to the arrangement, the government has also decided to bring the private transporters, too, under the rotational arrangement. “Few private operators are operating buses under Contract Carriage Association (CCA). We would also bring them under the rotational arrangement,” said Panwar.

Dehradun, May 3
Uttarakhand’s new Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain, who took over the charge of this top position on May 1, is a Doon native. He is the first IAS officer from Dehradun to have reached the top ladder of the state bureaucracy.

Born in an old established family of Dehradun and Mussoorie in May, 1955, Alok had had his earlier education at St. Thomas College and thereafter joined St. Joseph’s Academy in class V. It was there that Alok found his bearings and showed much promise very early in his academic pursuit. He invariably figured in top three positions in every class and then reached the pinnacle of academic success by topping his school in the 1971 Senior Cambridge examination. His name stands out prominently on the Roll of Honour that is displayed outside the office of the SJA’s Principal. He was very keen debater, wining several prizes in declamation contests. He displayed considerable flair for writing and was editor of the school magazine.

By virtue of his top position, he easily got admission to Delhi’s famed St. Stephen’s College from where he did his BA (Hons) in economics and later secured a master’s degree in history. From there, his entry into IAS in 1979 was virtually like a seamless transition.

Speaking about his school days, Alok said that the pace of life in Dehradun during 1960s and even later was very laid-back. As a young boy, he lived very close to the Clock Tower and would generally walk to his school, and that is what most other children too did. He got his first bicycle when he was in his senior class. Recalling those early days, Alok said:“There was then hardly any traffic in the city and most people then walked to their schools and workplaces. Some, of course, rode bicycles and there were cycle stands in most of the schools and offices.”

His earlier experiences as a District Magistrate and Commissioner had exposed him to many challenges pertaining to development and poverty alleviation, and stood him in good stead when he later occupied other positions of importance, both in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He modestly says that his contributions in the fields of tourism and health were much beneficial. For three years, he was Director General, UP Tourism, and Managing Director of UP Tourism Development Corporation. He was instrumental in formulating a new tourism policy for UP in 1994-95 that helped give UP a new brand equity in the field of tourism.

Mussoorie, May 3
A meeting of the Landour Cantonment Board held here today witnessed chaotic scenes as the elected ward members opposed the ongoing ‘illegal’ construction at cottage Dahlia Bank believed to be owned by Mumbai businessman Sanjay Narang, a friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

The elected members alleged that on the one hand the board officials were harassing ordinary residents of the Landour Cantt area on the issue of illegal constructions, on the other they were shielding rich and powerful people. They said the officials were also taking bribes for not acting against illegal constructions in some areas.

No consensus could be reached at the meeting on the encroachment issue as the elected members demanded that equal action should be taken against all those, including prominent people, who had done illegal constructions.

Vice-president of the board CP Baloni said the nominated members comprising Army officers, who were in the majority, were taking decisions unilaterally, but the elected members would continue to oppose such an attitude vehemently.

Baloni warned that if the Army officers did not mend their ways all six elected members would oppose them in future too.

Meanwhile, Major General Ranbir Yadav, a nominated member of the board, refuted all the charges and said the board was serious about encroachment and illegal constructions and notices had been issued in all such cases irrespective of the political or economic status of the violators. If encroachment and illegal constructions still continued, the board would carry out a demolition drive without delay, he added.

MLA, Mussoorie, Ganesh Joshi was also present at the meeting as the Army officers had shown reservation at inviting his representative. The presence of Joshi’s representative at the previous board meeting had led to a controversy.

Elected ward members Jasvinder Garg, Narendar Padyar and others were present at the meeting.

Dehradun, May 3
The Uttarakhand BJP said today the infighting in the Uttarakhand Congress is impacting the functioning of the Bahuguna government and the boycott of Janata Milan by Congress MLAs was a further proof of anarchy prevailing in the government.

“The boycott by Congress MLAs from Pithoragarh district of the Janata Milan is shocking. They did not pay heed to the presence of the Chief Minister,” said Satish Lakhera, BJP spokesperson.

Beside, he said the condition of the Congress government had been best described by it’s own MLA Kunwar Pranav Champaion, who had likened the state of the present government to the ICU.

“The series of transfers and shuffles undertaken by the government has given rise to unrest among IAS officers, who are simmering with anger. The governance in the state has gone for a toss. The officers are not cooperating with the MLAs. There is a complete disconnect between the government and the people. In such a scenario, the Chief Minister should make a graceful exit,” said Lakhera.

Meanwhile, former Cabinet Minister Prakash Pant has charged the government for giving rise to instability in the state. He said the boycott by the Congress leaders of Janata Darbar held by Chief Minister in Pithoragarh was indicative of groupism in the party.

“The boycott by Mayukh Mahar, who is also the vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission, Dharchula MLA Harish Dhami, Gangolihat MLA Narayan Ram Arya and Anand Rawat youth leader has exposed the lack of unity in the Congress,” he said.

The Chief Minister has failed to win over the leaders in his favour that is being reflected in the poor functioning of the government.

“There is no end to infighting in the Congress. A section of the Uttarakhand Congress party has not been able to reconcile to Bahuguna taking over as the Chief Minister of the state and are therefore hell-bent on rocking the boat,” he said.

Mussoorie, May 3
The Rotary Club of Mussoorie gave 128 scholarships to poor students in a function held at a school today.

The students of 21 schools around the town were the beneficiaries in the function where the scholarships were distributed by the Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Dinesh Agarwal.

The total amount given in the form of scholarship was around Rs 1,90,000.

The Sports Minster, later addressing a gathering, appreciated the efforts of the Rotary Club in motivating the bright students and said it would go a long way in providing equal opportunity to the students from the poor strata in the society.

Later speaking to the media on the sidelines of the function when questioned about the findings of the Antony report which has reported infighting among Congressmen as the root casue of the lackluster performance the recent Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Dinesh Agarwal said all Congres workers were united for the cause.

Nainital, May 3
Udham Singh Nagar District Magistrate Brajesh Kumar Sant has ordered that proposals for flood-control measures be prepared immediately and submitted to his office within a week. He stated this in view of saving the low-lying areas from train-related disasters that have become an annual feature.

In a meeting held at Rudrapur on Tuesday, Sant said large tracts of fertile land were washed away every year by rivers in spate during the monsoons and there was heavy damage in terms of loss of human and animal life and infrastructure.

He asserted that concrete flood-control measures were required to be taken in the areas of Sitarganj, Bazpur, Kashipur and Khatima. He said the plans for flood control must me prepared early and must be executed timely to prevent the losses.

He informed the participants at the meeting that out of Rs 26.80 crore funded to the district for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Rs 24 crore had been utilised and the administration had allocated Rs 29 crore to the district for the current financial year.

Sant has asked District Development Officer RC Tewari and Chief Development Officer Balkrishna to get proposals prepared for carrying out flood-control measures, projects for preventing washing away of fertile tracts of land by rivers, establishing new anganwadis, repairing damaged school buildings, repairing check dams and cleaning up canals in coordination with the officials of the related departments.

He further said during the current financial year, as many as 15,000 toilets outlets would be set up through Swajal across the district under the Gramin Swachta Programme. Programme officer of Swajal Mahendra Kumar Garg has been asked to prepare a block-wise programme for the construction of the proposed toilets.

Addressing the Agriculture Protection Officer Ghanshyam Sharma, the District Magistrate ordered that proposals be prepared for land protection after a survey so that MGNREGA funds could be allocated for the purpose.

Sant related that Union Government had cleared grant of MGNREGA funds for lying down of cemented roads in the rural areas and the block development officers must tie up with public representatives to prepare proposals for the same.

He minced no words in expressing his displeasure over the failure of the officials in using funds allocated for disaster management over the past few years and has ordered that they must make use of the money by June 15.

Dehradun, May 3
Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister D.K.Kotia, CCF (Eco-tourism), Rajiv Bhartari, and several other senior officials were among those who met Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva at the Raj Bhavan here today.

Vice Chancellor of GB Pant University BS Bisht, Kumaon University’s VC, V.P.S.Arora, Ayurvedic University’s Vice Chancellor S.P.Mishra, Red Cross Society general secretary I.S.Pal, Hilton School Principal David Hilton and his wife, and Child Welfare Council general secretary Pushpa Manas also called on her. Swabhiman Kendra’s 20-member delegation visited Alva and expressed their gratitude for having set up this centre for senior citizens.

Dehradun, May 3
The Uttarakhand Brastachaar Virodhi Morcha has alleged large-scale irregularities in the working of the Horticulture Department.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Uttarakhand media in charge of the morcha Anurag Kukreti alleged that after revealing of Gujjar rehabilitation scam,it was clear that large-scale irregularities had taken place in the state under the rule of the previous government.

Kukreti alleged that the Additional Secretary of the Horticulture Department had committed irregularities in the department. He said the Additional Secretary was responsible for the Gujjar rehabilitation scam in his earlier tenure as the Rajaji Park Director.

Morcha also threatened to start a protest outside Congress Bhawan in Dehradun if action was not taken in the matter.

Dehradun, May 3
Uttarakhand Congress Coordination Committee member and former Dehradun Mayor Manorama Dobriyal Sharma has expressed concern over the slow speed of construction works under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and Asian Development Bank funds.

In a letter written to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, Sharma said the state was lagging behind in the progress of the JNNURM and the ADB-funded development works. She alleged that the previous government had completely failed to utilise Central funds.

She said Dehradun, in particular, was in a sorry state of civic affairs. She further said the city faced scarcity of potable water and traffic and power problems. Sharma appealed to the CM to intervene and ensure a prompt conduct of the construction works linked to civic amenities.—TNS