Dehradun, June 22
Several BJP leaders led by former Chief Minister BC Khanduri courted arrest at the office of the District Magistrate here today as part of the jail bharo andalon against inflation, including recent hike in petrol prices. Former Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor, general secretary and in-charge of Uttarakhand affairs Thawar Chand Gehlot and president of the city unit of the party Puneet Mittal were among other leaders to have courted arrest. They were, however, later released.

Former Chief Minister BC Khanduri being taken away in a police van in Dehradun on Friday; and (right) BJP leaders, including Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, being arrested by the police in Haridwar. Tribune photos: Vinod Pundir and Rameshwar Gaur

Earlier addressing the party workers at the BJP office in the city, Mittal said the UPA government at the Centre had failed to control prices of essential commodities. “The prices of vegetables, cereals and pulses are shooting like never before, so much so that they are beyond the reach of the common man. The unjustified hike in petrol price has worsened the situation,” he said.

He added the fall in rupee against dollar had dented the image of India as an emerging super power. “Most of the UPA government rule has been spent in inaction and corruption,” he said.

Kapoor criticised the state government for failing to provide relief to the people of Uttarakhand who were facing power and water shortage. “Instead of finding a solution to the problems of the people, the Bahuguna government is engaged in the blatant sale and purchase of BJP MLAs. After the gram pradhan of the Shaktifarm exposed the machinations of the Congress leaders, the Bahuguna government was needlessly targeting BJP workers,” said BJP leader Suman Kant Dhyani.

Later the BJP leaders and workers held a procession that passed through Rajpur Road, Paltan Bazaar and culminated at the District Collectorate office.

It proved to be a harrowing time for commuters who were caught in traffic jams in sweltering heat on the busy Rajpur Road. Long queues of vehicles blocked the parade ground in the morning.

However, the Congress leaders said the protest by the BJP was unjustified as the state government had already provided relief to the people by waiving VAT on petrol.

HARIDWAR: As part of the jail bharo andolan of the BJP in the state, a large number of BJP activists courted arrest at the tehsil office here on Friday.

Led by former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank a protest was held on the tehsil office premises against anti-poor policies of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

Addressing the protesters, Nishank lashed out at the UPA government saying it was a bunch of self-centered parties the prime motive of which was to safeguard their political interests and accumulate money from companies.

Nishank referred to 2-G, Commonwealth and Adarsh Society scams and the controversy surrounding the former Army General and the failure of the UPA government to control inflation. He said the Congress-led government had failed miserably on all fronts and had led the country to anarchy.

He said the Central government had performed poorly on the economic front despite eminent economist Manmohan Singh being the Prime Minister of the country.

“This UPA government under Manmohan Singh is no match to the NDA government led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. While the BJP-led NDA government controlled inflation, brought many pro-poor schemes and implemented them with clarity, the UPA government is least concerned about the common man. The time has come for BJP workers to work hard to take this message to voters so that the party could return to power in the 2014 parliamentary elections and address the problems of the people,” said Nishank while leading the party activists.

District BJP unit president Sushil Chauhan also criticised the Uttarakhand government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna saying its 100 days in power had been 100 days in ‘dilemma’.

He termed the horse-trading of former BJP legislator from Sitarganj Kiran Mandal as a low in politics in the 12 years of the formation of separate state of Uttarakhand. This was being done to garner a majority in the state Assembly and ensure Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna got a vacant Assembly seat as his party legislators were not willing to leave a seat for him.

Poonam Jha, state secretary of the Mahila Morcha, said crime in Haridwar had increased at an alarming rate since the Congress came into power. This was not the case when the BJP government under BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was in power.

Dehradun, June 22
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has stated that his government was committed to conservation of tigers and directed the officials to prepare a concrete policy in this direction. He directed the officials to stop construction works going on at Kalkhand and check illegal constructions going on near the Corbett corridor.

Chairing a meeting of the officials of Corbett Tiger Reserve at Ramnagar today, the Chief Minister directed the park officials to improve the facilities and food quality to attract more tourists. He said to strengthen the reserve, Rs 10 crore had been sanctioned for landscaping. He advocated chalking out a special tourism policy for the Corbett Park and wider publicity on websites. He directed the officials to make separate arrangements for the peak and off tourist seasons.

The Chief Minister laid emphasis on increasing the revenue of Jim Corbett National Park by charging foreign tourist five times more than the Indian tourists. He directed the park authorities to charge foreign tourist in foreign currency so that there would be an increase in foreign currency in the country.

Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) SS Sharma said 80 per cent income of the CTR went to state revenue and remaining 20 per cent was utilised in running the park. He urged the Chief

Minister to increase the budget for the CTR and fill up the post of workers lying vacant.

Bahuguna said a seminar would be organised on August 8 to commemorate foundation day of the CTR in which wildlife photographers would be felicitated.

Corbett Park Director Ranjan Kumar Mishr elaborated on the activities of the park through a presentation and apprised the Chief Minister of various problems. He said owing to the shortage of vehicles, the works were getting hampered. Also present at the meeting were Dr HS Bargali from Corbett Foundation, Samanta Kundu from the Wildlife Trust of India, Principal Secretary Ramaswami, Commissioner Hemlata

Dhaundiyal, DIG Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal and Nainital District Magistrate Nidhimani Tripathy.

Dehradun, June 22
A few workers at the under-construction Srinagar hydropower project today reached the residence of eminent environmentalist Bharat Jhunjhunwala at Lachmoli, Tehri Garhwal district, and tried to blacken his face.

According to Tehri administration sources, some pro-Srinagar power project dam supporters barged into the residence of former IIM Bangalore professor-cum-economist Jhunjhunwala and tried to blacken his face. They also resorted to vandalism at his residence.

Confirming the incident, Tehri District Magistrate Ranjit Sinha said he had ordered an adequate inquiry into the incident.

Jhunjhunwala has been waging a legal battle against big dams in the state and has also been a strong opponent of the Srinagar hydropower project on the Alaknanda river in the state.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Janmanch that has been favouring the construction of the hydropower projects in the state, has welcomed the incident.

Janmanch held that it had decided to public honour youths involved in the incident.

In a statement issued today, Uttarakhand Janmanch general secretary Rajen Todaria said, “We have been demanding the exit of Jhunjhunwala from the state since the beginning, His residence at Lachmoli has become a hub of anti-Uttarakhand activities.”

Todaria also accused Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati and environmentalist Rajendra Singh for misleading the people of hills and instigating them to attack GD Agarwal. He said the UJM sought the arrest of both Shankaracharya and Rajendra Singh under the National Security Act.

On the other hand, organisations opposing the hydropower projects in the state have strongly condemned the incident.

Matu Jansaghatan Vimal Bhai, who has been at the forefront in the anti-Tehri Dam agitation and is presently opposing the hydropower projects on the environment count in Garhwal, said the attack on Jhunjhunawal by Srinagar Hydropower Project employees was an act of cowardice and must be condemned in strongest words.

Dehradun, June 22
Aerie Backcountry Medicine and the Nanda Devi Institute (NDI) conducted an emergency medicine and disaster response course here.

Students included six state policemen trained in search and rescue along with an instructor from the Disaster Mitigation Management Cell and two American students.

The course took place on the newly-developed NDI campus located in the Kuflon village near Uttarkashi from June 10-19.

Aerie Backcountry Medicine, based in Montana, USA, has been working with the NDI to train local guides and police in disaster management. Aerie and NDI provided the funding to train six Uttarkashi police and a disaster management instructors.

“I am excited to see local police trained in emergency and disaster response,” said Ted Morrison, the lead instructor of the course. “The best way to respond to a natural disaster is to have trained care providers at the local level.”

Sunil Kainthola, founder of the NDI notes, “This course helps develop trained medical providers who are able to respond to emergencies both on the job and as citizens. The initial hours of an incident are critical to save lives.”

Rajiv Swarup, the Uttarakashi SSP said, “This course is the first major step in training people who can act as first responders in emergency situations such as trekking accidents, automobile collisions or natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or landslides.”

“Along with basic life saving medical training, the WFR focuses on how to manage an initial response to a mass causality incident that is often found with natural disasters,” said Morrison.

The Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is designed for outdoor professionals and enthusiasts, preparing them to care for injuries and illness in remote, challenging environments.

The WFR has become the industry norm for guides, rescue workers and initial disaster responders in Europe and North America.

Aerie Backcountry Medicine is based in Missoula, Montana, USA. Aerie provides wilderness and rural medical training as well as disaster response courses throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, Africa and India for doctors, nurses and emergency responders as well as outdoor enthusiasts.

Dehradun, June 22
The National Students Union of India (NSUI), Uttarakhand, has expelled its state general secretary Ritesh Chetri for his role in anti-orgnaisation activities.

NSUI’s national secretary and in charge for Uttarakhand Amit Singh today announced Chetri’s expulsion at a press conference held at Congress Bhawan here.

He said Chetri had been expelled for a period of six years for his role in working against the NSUI candidates in the students’ union elections and also against the Congress in the recent Assembly elections in the state.

He said the NSUI never compromised with discipline and would take seriously any anti-NSUI act by any of its member. He also held that the NSUI also planned to start a membership drive in the state.

Haridwar, June 22
A workshop on extra-curricular activities concluded today at Bal Bhawan.

More than hundred children participated in the concluding day programme of the workshop that began on June 15.

The children were given free training in classical dance, yoga, physical training, vocal-instrumental music, crafts and fine art.

The children were accorded certificates and the top performers were also given souvenirs.

Host of the camp SK Aggarwal and Anil Jain of Education Management Board Society said primary aim of the camp was to inculcate good habits and hobbies among children.

Noted Hindi littérateur Dr Naresh Mohan gave children a refresher course in Hindi language.

Dehradun, June 22
Ahead of Asia Women’s Cricket Twenty 20 Cricket Tournament, slated for October in China, six members of the Hong Kong women’s cricket team are practising at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy (ACA) ground here these days.

Interacting with mediapersons today, coach of the team Charles Burke said the team had come to the ACA because of the excellent cricket ground at the academy. He said the floodlights at the ACA stadium helped them practise for day and night matches.

Connie Wong, captain of the Hong Kong women’s cricket team, said the team members were rigorously practising. He said Hong Kong would be taking on India, Pakistan, Thailand and China teams.

Mariko Hill, vice-captain of the Hong Kong team, said cricket was fast gaining popularity in their country. She said their government was promoting the sport.

Referring to the Indian Premier League, Mariko said the IPL was interesting and they also enjoyed watching it.

She said apart from an excellent cricket ground, the ACA had the best of other infrastructure that included good accommodation.

“We would definitely like to come here for practise on annual basis,” she added.

Manoj Rawat, BCCI level B Coach at the ACA, said the Hong Kong team members were slated to practise at the ACA for one week as a part of the preparations for the Asia Women’s Cricket Cup.