Haridwar, June 21
Finally, the Municipal Corporation has begun declaring vending zones, with street vendors/hawkers being urged to remove their temporary establishments from the declared vending free zones.

As per new vending zone policy, the stretch from the city police station till Bhimgoda via Har-ki-Pauri has been declared vending-free zone owing to the congested market area and falling in core mela zone.

This stretch leads towards Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, and is the busiest stretch as pilgrims, devotees and tourists use this stretch only with numerous hotels, ashrams, lodges and dharamshalas falling in this region.

To make sure this region is cleared ahead of the Kanwar mela, the district administration is urging vendors to clear their belongings themselves and relocate towards specified vending zones, otherwise police action will be resorted to.

Rodil Belwala has been declared as the new vending zone, where vendors falling in this stretch as well as those putting up near CCR towers, Shiv Setu ghat, are also being given vending lots in this zone.

Today small-scale vendors and traders protested at Municipal Corporation office, alleging disparity in allocation of vending lots to vendors.

Led by state chief of Small-Scale Vendors/Hawkers' Association Sanjay Chopra, vendors said that many of them who had been operating as vendors for the past 30 to 40 years had been not been given preference during allocation of vending lots at new vending zones, while many influential small-scale traders had got plum vending lots in prime vending zones.

"We will not be mute spectators as it is concerned with our day-to-day livelihood. Most of us have vending identity cards issued by the then municipal committee, but influential traders having approach with political parties and legislators are easily getting preference over poor vendors," said Chopra, while leading the protest at the Municipal Corporation office.

Assistant Town Officer Prahalad Singh Rawat refuted preferential treatment being given in allocation of vending zones, though, he added that if vendors had any problem, then they could directly meet him as the procedure of identifying vendors/hawkers operating for a long time at a certain spot was not easy.

Dehradun, June 21
Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways C.P. Joshi has directed the officers of national highways to convert 1463-km-long single-lane national highways in Uttarakhand into double lane, and to convert the double lane ones into four lanes, wherever possible. He said that development of national highways in Uttarakhand was amongst the priorities of the Union Ministry.

Chairing the meeting of officials of the national highways here today, Union Minister Joshi said that so far the progress of work on the national highways in Uttarakhand was slow and coordination amongst various departments was necessary to expedite the work. He directed the officers to constitute a monitoring committee headed by the Chief Secretary.

Joshi said that the administration should maintain a humane approach towards farmers and other land owners while acquiring their land and provide them justified compensation so that they would be totally satisfied. (Continued on p2)

He suggested establishing a unit comprising retired and experienced experts to look into the matters related to land acquisition, compensation and to redress their other problems. Joshi maintained that this would help in completing the work at a faster pace. He advocated setting a time frame for various works. Stating that there would not be dearth of funds for the projects, he said that it was necessary to ensure timely completion of targeted work from state government's side. He said that necessary steps would be taken to improve condition of NH-72 near Chhutmalpur.

Joshi said that not only the works should be completed in stipulated time frame but also the quality in works ought to be ensured.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, expressing his gratitude towards the Union Minister, said that as the Centre was all supportive towards state government, the state government would also extend all possible support to it in view of the comprehensive development of the state. He said that the authorities of national highways could meet him directly in case any problem arises. He directed the officers to maintain coordination with the Central Ministry.

Also present in the meeting were Chief Secretary, Alok Kumar Jain, Principal Secretary, PWD S. Raju, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister DK Kotia, Principal Secretary, Revenue, Om Prakash, and other senior officers.

Mussoorie, June 21
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said here today that a consortium of hill states was necessary for their holistic development as most of them were facing similar problems that required similar solutions. Omar stated this while speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of his brief interaction with the phase IV IAS trainees at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.

He said efforts had been made in the past on the issue and the matter had been discussed with other hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and he had found that these states too were keen on forming such a platform where the problems could be addressed adequately.

“The talks on the issue with other hill states are on and I am hopeful that with the formation of a consortium of hill states the problems can be addressed jointly by the respective states,” said Omar.

The J&K Chief Minister was critical of Pakistan for breaching the ceasefire in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch district and said the neighbouring country should maintain peace on the Line of Control and the border.

Omar, while speaking on the issue of terrorism, said the terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir was different from Naxalism and the two should not be looked at from one angle.

“Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was more of a political problem while the Naxal problem was an economics-driven problem,” he said. However, he added efforts should be made to control terrorism, be it in any form. He commended the Andhra Pradesh government for making efforts for tackling Naxalism effectively.

Asked about the possibility of the revocation of the Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state, Omar said the talks were on and he was keeping a positive approach towards the issue.

Asked about tourist flow to Kashmir this year, Omar said he was keeping his fingers crossed as the season was still on. He declined to comment on the issue and hoped that more tourists would visit the state this year.

Omar once again reiterated support of his party to Pranab Mukherjee for the post of President. He later left Mussoorie driving the vehicle himself.

Haridwar, June 21
As less than a fortnight is left for the commencement of the northern region's biggest Kanwar fair pilgrimage in Haridwar, Commissioner of Garhwal division Kunal Sharma inspected today the 44-km-long Kanwar stretch, popularly known as Kanwar patri, and also presided over a meeting of all the departmental officers concerned with the conduct of the fair.

After taking stock of the kanwar stretch, preparations and inputs from various departments and nodal agencies, the Garhwal Commissioner set June 30 as the deadline for completion of all works, preparations and facilities to be provided to the kanwariyas.

Making sure that post June 30, any work found pending or laxity paid in the ongoing works will be the sole responsibility of the concerned departmental officer. Kunal Sharma made it clear that taking into account the magnitude of the Kanwar fair, which is expected to touch 1.50 crore mark this year, time is less and work is more, for which, if needed, resources and manpower should be pitched in round the clock.

On the terrorist threat that looms large on Kanwar fair, the Garhwal Commissioner, earlier in a review meeting of preparations at CCR tower, said that in this regard a separate meeting of police officials headed by DGP, Uttarakhand, will decide but assured that as the Kanwariyas enter Uttarakhand border, it will be the sole duty and responsibility of the state police to provide them security and ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of this piligrimage.

Responding to a query from TNS on restrictions on Kanwariyas beyond Haridwar, particularly going towards Gaumukh-Gangotri region, the Commissioner said that though "we can't fully stop them to venture ahead, still in Kanwar attire, fetching Kanwars, plastic bottles, sticks, musical DJ systems will not be allowed with ban on two-wheeler movement by Kanwariyas, barring Haridwar and Rishikesh (Neel Kanth temple)."

DM Haridwar, Sachin Kurwe, apprised the Commissioner that on the Kanwar stretch, 40 handpumps were being put in place while 10 were being installed in the coming days and round the clock water, power and garbage-disposal facility was being ensured on this stretch.

Dehradun, June 21
District Magistrate, Dehradun, Ravinath Raman, refused to consider the list of 379 applicants, who also included former Chief Minster Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, to be designated as statehood

Mussoorie, June 21
The two Nepali labourers buried under the debris that fell from above were rescued miraculously while they were working at a construction site near Mackinon pump house in Mussoorie today.

The duo was digging the earth from below to make way for a sidewall at the construction site when the mound above them collapsed and they were buried under it.

The fellow labourers hearing the cry of their companions immediately rushed to the spot and found that one was half buried in the debris, while other was completely submerged in the mud with only small opening left for him to breathe.

The police and the rescue departments were informed immediately, who along with the help of locals dug the two out from the debris alive after a struggle of two hours, much to the relief of other companions.

The two identified as Thagendar, s/o Radha Krishan, and Gajendar, s/o Parmanand, both residents of Nepal, have been admitted to hospital and are undergoing treatment.

According to the doctors, both have received multiple injuries but were out of danger.

However, due to the appalling condition of the road leading to the site, rescue vehicles could not reach the site on time and both injured had to be carried on foot till the vehicles a few kilometers away.

The Pey Jal Nigam officials cited the ban on the construction work during peak season as the main reason for leaving the road unattended here.

The local MLA Ganesh Joshi hearing about the incident rushed to the site and the hospital to enquire about the well-being of the injured. He also directed the officials to extend ex-gratia relief amount worth Rs 5000 for the treatment of the two labourers.

Ganesh Joshi also showed his dissatisfaction at the absence of a radiologist appointed at the hospital. 

Dehradun, June 21
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appealed to the general public to remain aware of any fictitious offers and not to get trapped in such monetary offers. The best way is to avoid such mails or telephone calls from unknown persons.

According to the RBI, cases of people from the state getting trapped in fictitious offers of money from abroad is on the rise. The RBI is receiving a lot of complaints from the people who are the victims of fictitious offers of money from abroad. 

Dehradun, June 21
To encourage eye donation in the state under the National Programme for Control of Blindness, the state nodal office has tied up Mahant Indresh Hospital for establishing the first eye collection centre in Dehradun that would begun functioning from next month.

In the coming days Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in Dehradun and Baba Nirmal Eye Hospital in Rishikesh too would be roped in for establishing eye collection centres. "To give impetus to eye donation, eye collection centres have to be set up at hospitals so that those patients who have pledged their eyes could safely donate their eyes. Due to paucity of doctors a collection centre at Doon Hospital could not be set up," said Dr R.P Badoni, nodal officer for National Programme for Control of Blindness.

Significantly the state has been given a target of 300 eyeball collections for this year, which the nodal office expects to achieve with the help of private hospitals.

"Each hospital would be given Rs 1 lakh for establishing the collection centres. These would fulfil the needs of the patients of Garhwal region," said Badoni.

Significantly, the only eye bank in the Garhwal region at Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) too has begun functioning where four donations have ulready taken place.

After strengthening the eye donation in the Garhwal region, the nodal office would focus on Kumaon where a eye bank would be set up at the Haldwani Medical College along with collection centres. 

Dehradun, June 21
The Himalayan Cricket Academy, Dehradun, won the Third Shyam Dutt Joshi Memorial Cricket Tournament by defeating the Excers’ Cricket Club, Lucknow, by 55 runs in the final match played at the Survey stadium here today.

The Excers’ Cricket Club won the toss and invited the opponents to bat first.

The Himalayan Cricket Academy, with the help of some explosive batting display by opener Vijay Singh, scored 225 runs for nine wickets in 30 overs.

Vijay Singh scored 85 runs in 52 balls with the help of 17 hits to the fence and a towering six.

Hari Shankar also scored 43 runs in as many ball.

Mayank took three wickets for 42 runs.

In reply, the Excers’ Cricket Club team was all out for 170 runs in 30 over.

Ankit was the top scorer with 47 runs. Vijay Singh, Shekhar and Shubham took three wickets each.

Aftab Ahmed, a former state-level cricketer, gave away the prizes to the winners and the runners up team of the tournament.