Illegal liquor racket busted in Haridwar
210 bottles of country-made liquor seized
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 1
An illegal liquor racket was busted near the bus stand, 700 m away from the city kotwali, here today. According to information, a passerby saw people buying liquor from the rooftop of a shop near the bus stand. He informed the matter to SP (City) Kiran Lal Shaw, who sent a police team to the spot.

The team seized 210 quarter bottles of country-made liquor from seller Vikki, who tried to run away but was arrested. Seeing the police, the buyers managed to flee.

According to information, despite a ban on the sale of liquor in the 5 km periphery of Haridwar, it is easily available in nearby places of religious importance like Har-ki-Pauri. Liquor is also being sold illegally at markets of the railway station, the bus stand, Ranipur, Tibdi, Rishikul and other parts of the city right under the nose of the district administration.

SP Shaw said as the liquor was being sold in the prohibited area, surprise checks would be conducted and action would be taken against the offenders.

He said the religious sanctity of the pilgrim city would not be allowed to be maligned and urged local people to inform the police about the sale or consumption of liquor in the prohibited areas.

Teerth Maryada Raksha Samiti chief Sanjay Chopra said the administration should look into the matter and take action accordingly.

On the other hand, UKD (P) youth wing's chief Lalit Mamgain has demanded a ban on the running of liquor shops from residential establishments, near school and colleges and at places beyond the 5 km periphery of the city.

Most dry June in Kumaon after ‘65
Region recorded 21.6 mm rainfall last month
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 1
The month of June recorded 21.6 mm rain in Kumaon this year, breaking the record of 1965 when it rained only 2.6 mm in June. After that year, the region had never seen less rain, an agriculture scientist from Pant Nagar university said.

According to Dr HS Kushwaha, meteorologist at the university, June this year witnessed only 21.6 mm of rain, which is 160.3 mm less than the average rainfall of the month of June.

"Though, after 1963, the month in some years has also witnessed less than 100 mm of rainfall, 2012 has broken all records of the lowest rainfall in the last 47 years, which is a dangerous for the agriculture," said Dr Kushwaha.

The Pant Nagar university meteorologist said the dry condition in June this year has pushed back the monsoon. As the pre-monsoon rain is not good, their is less hope from the monsoon. "This situation has not only affected the agriculture in the water-starved hill region of the state, but also in the water-rich Terai belt of the state," said Dr Kushwaha.

According to the Meteorological Department of Pant Nagar University, the average rainfall rate of June in the Kumaon region is 181.9 mm, after 1963, the rainfall was 47.8 mm in 1987, which was lesser rain in the month of June after this year.

"Due to lack of sufficient rain in June this year, the main rivers of the region, the Gaula, the Koshi, the Sharda and and the Saryu, have gone dry affecting the water supply to the nearby towns which depend on these for their daily needs," said the meteorologist.

Meanwhile, Dharchula, the base camp of Kailash Mansarovar and the Indo-Tibet border trade, has recorded 38 degree Celsius on last day of June this year.

"Till last year, it used to pour heavily, but this year it was sultry. Residents of Dharchula, Baluakot, and Jauljibi had not seen such souring temperature before," said Gurujan Singh Gunjyal, a senior citizen of Dharchula.

Sashastra Seema Bal team scales Mt Satopanth
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
Governor Aziz Qureshi received a team of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) which scaled Mt Satopanth recently at Raj Bhavan, Nainital, today. The Governor congratulated 18 members of the team and quoted the lines (in Urdu) which were often recited by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru "Iss tarah tay ki hain manzilen hamne/gir pade, gir kar uthhe, uthh kar chale."

Addressing the gathering at the flagging-in ceremony, the Governor said the entire nation was proud of its soldiers who protected the glory of the country, showing exemplary courage.

He said representatives of various communities were part of the expedition, making it an example of national integration.

Hearing of great difficulties that the team faced, the Governor said struggle was the synonym of victory. He wished the team all the best for the Mt Everest expedition it proposes to undertake next year.

Earlier, team leader Somit Joshi gave a brief account of the expedition which began on May 28 and culminated on June 19. He said Subodh Kumar Chandola and Vinod Negi hoisted the national flag and the SSB flag atop Satopanth peak (7075 ft) in Gangotri.

He said this was a prelude to the Mt Everest expedition in 2012.

Somit Joshi handed over the national flag and the SSB flag to the Governor who then handed them over it to SSB Academy Director S. Bandhopadhyay.

The Governor also presented mementos to all members of the team. He also inaugurated an exhibition of photographs taken by the team during the expedition.

Build dam or give special package to state: UKD
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 1
With Union minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal handing over an assurance letter to Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sharda Dwarka Pithadheeshwar Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati over stalling and review of 39 hydropower projects being built on the Ganga in Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Progressive) has come out openly against this move.

The UKD termed the move as anti-development having no broad vision and if the Central Government had any apprehension about these hydro projects, it would not have been started.

The Haridwar unit of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal yesterday staged a protest at the Chandracharya-Bhagat Singh Chowk stretch demanding a time-bound review report by the inter-ministerial review committee set up for this purpose.

Central secretary of the UKD Uday Ram Semwal said Uttarakhand had limited revenue generating resources at its disposal of which hydro projects had emerged as the vital one. But due to shortsightednesss of some organisations and laxity by the Central and state governments, the people of the state were going to suffer.

Semwal also urged anti-hydro project organisations and saints to first look into their background where tonnes of sewage, garbage and filth was being poured into the Ganga in Haridwar and it's not only the continuous flow of the Ganga that mattered, but also purity which was being affected by the untreated sewage.

Mamgain said be it the Bhakra Nangal dam or even the Tehri dam, the nation was meeting its power demand to quite an extent so why fuss was being made about hydro power projects on the Ganga and its tributaries.

"We demand from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Environment Minister Jayanti Natrajan and the saint community to look into this aspect on a priority basis and if hydro projects were stalled, then the Central Government should provide a special relief package to Uttarakhand", said veteran party leader Anil Pokhriyal.

Big power projects detrimental to ecology: NGO
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
The issue of building mega hydropower projects on the Ganga and other rivers is catching heat day by day in the state. The Ganga Aawahan, an Uttarkashi-based NGO, which is against creating big hydro projects, held a peaceful protest wearing black strips on their mouths outside Gandhi Park today.

Hemant Dhyani said it was unfortunate that no legal action had been taken against those who forced Swami Sadanand to leave and tried to blacken the face of environmentalist Bharat Jhunjhunwala and damaged his property.

Dhyani said big hydropower projects were detrimental to the ecology and those dependent on it. He said, “The projects which had already been started such as Maneri Bhali I and II, Tehri Dam, Koteshwar project and Vishnu Prayag on the Alaknanda are witnessing severe harmful results. The rivers are drying up at many places, flow of water has slowed, mountains are sliding, the jungles and pastures have receded and the culture of the localities is facing extinction. Now all five Prayags too is under threat due to the proposed hydro-power projects.”

He said these projects such as Maneri Bhali and Tehri were generating 30 pc less than their capacity because of the accumulation of silt.

Dhyani was of the view that the natives of those villages where the construction on these projects were either under way or proposed had no option but to oppose those who spoke against these projects.

“The land of these people which was a means of livelihood for them had been taken away to build these projects. As a result, their water sources have also depleted. After having lost everything, they are painfully dependent on jobs by the companies constructing the dams,” he said.

He also stressed that the state government must explain the term ‘development’ which it often used to advocate big hydropower projects in the state. He stated, “The big power projects will be run by big companies based outside the state. The electricity thus generated will also be used for the multiplexes or other premises in Delhi or other metropolitan cities. The cost of such projects always runs in hundreds of crores which gets doubled or tripled during the overstretched construction time. A sizeable sum is siphoned off by politicians and bureaucrats involved in them, which is why they are clamouring for big projects.”

He also contested the logic of completing those big ones which had been built 50-80 pc. He said, “Thework on these dams must be stopped as they will destroy the ecology in future. We should rather built small hydropower projects which will also not affect the environment.”

Villagers demand bank branch
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
Villagers of four villages- Pangriyana, Bagar, Badyar and Sarpoli, in Tehri district, are demanding a bank branch for their area. These villages have a peculiar identity as a record number of youths from these villages have made successful careers as chefs and cooks in Japan.

A group of villagers was in Dehradun with their demand to get a branch of nationalised bank in their area.

With no national bank branch around, the local people have no other option except to travel 35 km to Ghansali for their banking related work. The villagers are demanding opening of a nationalised bank branch in their locality as Hindo Patti, under which four villages fall, boasts of having a large number of NRIs.

Ramesh Prasad Semwal, the Bhona village head, said, “A branch of the State Bank of India is located in Ghansali. Fourteen gram panchayats come under the Hindo Patti, which is a large area and our villagers have to spend a lot of money and time to go to Ghansali for banking works. Considering the high number of NRIs and government pensioners, a nationalised bank should start operating in our area.” The villagers are making a genuine demand as it is estimated that about 400 NRIs alone hails from Pangriyana, Bagar, Badyar and Sarpoli villages. A survey needs to be conducted in 14 gram panchayata of Hindo Patti for accessing the actual number of NRIs from the region.

Fathey Singh, a resident of Pangriyana, rues, “We have to spend Rs 100 (both way fare) on transportation for going to Ghansali. We have requested the banks to open a branch in our village many times, but so far we have received no positive response.”

After serving as chefs, many youths from Pangriyana, Bagar, Badyar and Sarpoli own their own restaurants in Japan.

“It is estimated that one person from each family from Pangriyana, Bagar, Badyar and Sarpoli is working abroad at present. Opening a bank branch in our area also makes a lot of commercial sense. The bank will not be here as a part of their social commitment,” said Dilip Singh Negi, a native of Badiyar village.

150 attend check-up camp in Doon school
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
One hundred and fifty patients came for free check-up, medication and cancer tests at free cancer and medical camp organized by the Guru Nanak Cancer Care Trust (GNCCT) on the premises of Doon International School here today.

The CMI Hospital too joined hands with the GNCCT and offered different diagnostic tests, which were not included in the camp, to be conducted at their hospital at a discount of 40 per cent which was appreciated by all patients.

It has also agreed to let GNCCT to run its OPD from a room of the hospital. The camp was inaugurated by Sardar Harchand Singh Mann of local Nanaksar Gurdwara.

A panel of doctors, who came forward for this noble cause, included chairperson of the trust Dr Rajender K Saggu and ENT specialist Dr Vivek Gupta. Both are cancer surgeons at IP Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, Dr Sukhvinder S Saggu, laparoscopic surgeon at Fortis hospital, New Delhi, and Dr Ashish Girhotra, pain management expert.

Dr Sukhwinder S Saggu said the majority of those who came at the camp had oral and breast cancer. He held the habit of tobacco chewing responsible for oral cancer.

Dr Vivek Gupta found the awareness level among patients quite low. He said, "The patients carried a number of medical reports of different doctors. They lost a precious time in the detection of symptoms and treatment to be followed after that. Many of them were at the last stage of the disease".

He also found fault with the shortage of specialists and the facilities available in the treatment of cancer in the city.

He has offered free services once or twice a month through OPD which will be conducted at CMI. He said patients could also come to him regularly at Delhi after the diagnosis was completed in the city. The trust is, however, in touch with local doctors also to hire their services for the free OPD.

Apart from cancer, many patients also came for treatment of gastro, ENT and common medical problems. General medicines, nutritional supplements and tonics were also distributed to the needy patients. Dr Rajender Kaur Saggu said Nanaksar Gurdwara and Delhi-based GNCCT were keen on holding more such periodic and

follow-up camps at different places in the state so that the maximum number of patients could be served.

The organising committee comprised chartered accountant Manoj K Goyal and Sweety Goyal from Delhi, volunteers from Nanaksar Gurdwara and managing director of Doon International School Gagan Jyot Mann, were present on the occasion.

Murder case of Haryanvi folk singer Binu solved; lover held
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 1
The Haridwar police has arrested three persons in the Binu Chaudhari murder case. Chaudhari, a Haryanvi folk singer, was allegedly murdered on May 29 in Haridwar. The mastermind behind the murder, Sandeep Kumar of Haryana, was arrested from BHEL sector-1 today by a special investigating police team. Sandeep and Binu reportedly had an extramarital affair.

During the investigation, it came to light that Binu got married to Jitendra Singh of Rohtak in 1999. However, due to some differences, they started living separately after a few years of their marriage.

During this time, she came in contact with her schoolmate Sandeep Kumar and they got into a relationship.

As Binu was a singer and fame and money followed, Sandeep’s demands for money started increasing and then Binu left him.

According to information, Bino later entered into another relationship with Haryana-based singer Sonu Kumar, which irked Sandeep.

On January 21 last year, Binu had also lodged a complaint against Sandeep, accusing him of rape and demanding Rs 17 lakh.

On January 27, Binu married Sonu Kumar. Later, she contacted history sheeter Sandeep Kohad of Haryana to kill Sandeep Kumar as she feared threat from him.

An attempt to life was made on Sandeep Kumar, which he escaped. The incident compelled him to hire sharpshooters to kill Binu.

He gave Rs 2 lakh to notorious criminals Bittu, Sumit and Ravi to kill Binu. Sandeep Kumar confessed of his involvement in the case.

Talking to the TNS, Haridwar SSP Arun Mohan Joshi said Binu’s murder mystery was a major task for the state police. Joshi also announced that in view of solving the case, state DGP had announced reward of Rs 10,000 and DIG Dehradun range Rs 5,000 to the police team that cracked the case.

Minister raids Food Corp godown
Irregularities found, officials taken to task
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 1
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Preetam Singh today conducted a raid on the State Food Corporation godown here and took FCI officials to task on finding many irregularities in the management of the godown.

The news of minister’s arrival at the FCI godown created panic among the officials as they were seen maintaining register and cleaning the godown. Two employees were seen doing last-minute face-saving changes in the registers.

On checking the register data of the total food grains procured and distributed, mass irregularities were found by the ministerHe thoroughly checked every detail.

An inquiry has been ordered by the minister in this case. He said stern action would be taken against officials who were found engaged in such cases.

Apart from moisture-detecting equipment, no other required equipment, including weight bars, were found during inspections.

On this, Preetam Singh checked the sacks of rice and wheat which were found to be less in weightage.

In view of the Cabinet Minister’s visit, labourers who ferry the grain stacks alleged of less payment by godown officials as per the government’s rate which is 50 paise per grain sack.

CPM to launch agitation on food security
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
Member of Parliament and senior leader, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Tapan Sen, who was in the town to attend a meeting of the state committee, has announced to launch statewide agitation on the issue of food security.

He said the party would also protest before Parliament in New Delhi on four other issues, which were the implementation of universal distribution system by annulling the difference between BPL and APL section, the 35 kg grain given to each family to be sold at Rs 2/kg,change in the parameters of the Planning Commission on poverty and implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in favour of giving higher price of crops to the farming community.

State secretary Vijay Rawat, senior leader Bachram Konswal, Vardrajan, Kiti Menon and Deepankar Mukherjee were also present.

Meanwhile, member of Dalit Sub-committee, Uttarakhand, and CPM leader Lekhraj slammed the state government for not clearing complications related to issuing domicile/caste certificate.

He said their party had been advocating that those who had been living in the state at the time of its formation

should be held eligible for these certificates. He said both BJP and Congress had been dithering on this issue despite the clear directions from High Court to settle it.

Training camp on disaster management
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 1
The local study centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University today organised a one-day training camp for representatives of 135 gram panchayats of the Bin, Moona Kot and Kanalichina blocks of the district.

District disaster management officer RS Rana said the camp aimed at preparing the representatives to minimise the effects of natural disasters during the monsoon.

Rana said the district of Pithoragarh was prone to landslides, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes.

"The IGNOU team provided training to the representatives with the help of slide shows on various forms of natural disasters, their on-the-spot management, how to keep information network active and coordinate between works and capacities of different agencies," said Rana.

In charge of the IGNOU team and local coordinator of the study centre Girish Chandra Pant said the representatives were also informed about available help contacts during the time of any natural disaster.

"We also distributed literature to the participants and informed them about control room numbers," said the IGNOU study centre in charge.

Rotary Club holds blood donation camp in Doon
Doctors’ Day
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
The Rotary Club, Dehradun, celebrated Doctor's Day in a unique manner by organising a blood donation camp and distributing saplings besides honouring doctors here today. A large number of Rotarians gathered this morning at Anand Industries in Patel Nagar Industrial Area for the blood donation camp held in association with IMA Blood Bank.Those who donated blood were factory workers and Rotarians.

Later, Anuj Singh, Rotary president Jyoti Dhawan and secretary Sandip honoured the doctor members of the club with flowers, saplings and appreciation cards as a token of appreciation for their contribution to society at large and Rotary Club in particular.

Anuj Singh said the professions of educationist and doctor were among the most noble and crucial in the world as the teacher ''shaped the life'' while the doctors "saved the life".

The doctors who were honoured included Dr M C Luthra, Dr Savita Luthra, Dr KK Sinha, Dr S Farooq, Dr Aditya Arya, Dr SL Gupta, Dr Arun Kumar, Dr Amardeep Singh and Dr Endlay.

President Jyoti Dhawan thanked the doctor members of the Rotary for always taking time out of their busy schedules and tirelessly extending their invaluable services for the needy during various Rotary-sponsored health camps.

100 ex-servicemen attend camp
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1
An outreach health check-up camp was organised at Military Hospital, Roorkee, on the occasion of Doctors’ Day for ex-servicemen and their families by the Bengal Engineering Group and Centre. The day is celebrated on July 1 across the country to honour the legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy.

The camp was inaugurated by Brig Manomoy Ganguly, Commandant, Military Hospital, Roorkee. The patients were provided facilities that included examination by male and female doctors, surgeons, medical specialists, paediatrician and dentists. The camp also included a lab where blood tests were conducted. The camp also included a yoga and wellness session.

The camp was attended by over a hundred people.

Speaking on the occasion, Brig Ganguly, emphasised the need to bring about a synergistic change in the mindset of the populace towards the medical fraternity as a whole. He reiterated the commitment of the hospital towards providing evidence-based holistic treatment to people.

A symposium-cum-interactive session was also conducted on the occasion. The target populace was made aware of various new and advanced equipment procured by the hospital.

All doctors of Military Hospital were facilitated by Col Mukund Sharma, officiating Station Commander, Bengal Engineering and Centre, Roorkee.

4 killed in accident

Dehradun, July 1
Four persons were killed and four others were injured when a van in which they were travelling met with an accident on the Ramraj road near Bazpur in Udham Singh Nagar district last night.

According to officials, a van carrying eight passengers met with an accident in which four persons died on the spot. The four persons injured were taken by the 108 ambulance service and admitted to Bazpur hospital. — TNS