Dehradun, October 31
The Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), which had been sleeping over the issue of charging tax from the company that is involved in the profitable business of putting advertisements on traffic booths or pickets of the city, has finally woken up to the reality.

It has sent a notice to a media company from Chandigarh, which had been putting advertisements on 41 traffic booths of the city without paying a penny to the DMC for all these years. The company, however, has deposited Rs 50,000 initially but Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar told them that the amount of advertisement tax would be worked out on an annual basis and charged accordingly.

Ashok Kumar said that he would ascertain the number of booths and the companies which had been installing advertisements on them. He said rules and regulations about fixing advertisement revenue on traffic booths would be framed under DMC Act.

Daggers may now get drawn between DMC and the Police Department after Manhar Sharma, owner of the company, revealed that the Police Department had asked him to instal sound system and CCTV cameras on prominent traffic booths and police lines canteen. Ashok Kumar said if the Police Department made the advertisement company instal all these gadgets, then the department would have to pay him for making these demands.

Quite interestingly, it was the Police Department, which had been selecting the company to build traffic booths and maintaining them for it till now, about which the DMC remained negligent.

Deputy Inspector General, Dehradun Range, Sanjay Gunjiyal, however, said when the Police Department gave the contract to the company, it directed them to instal CCTV cameras and sound system, which it never did.

He admitted that advertisement revenue was the DMC’s right about which the police had no complaints, and also maintained that whomsoever the DMC gave the contract to, should be made to instal CCTV cameras, as it had become a necessity in the wake of rise in criminal activities in the capital city of the state.

The management of the company came running to DMC after the advertisements put by it on traffic booths were noticed by two court commissioners, appointed by the High Court, who came to inspect the status of advertisements put up on hoardings on buildings and even on trees in the city. Indeed, the hush-hush booming business of the company is under risk.

Manhar Sharma was completely grounded and prepared to give any amount of tax. He urged the MNA to stop the drive to remove the

advertisements. The, MNA, however, made it clear to him that he could place advertisements of his company but not of others, which they had been doing and earning huge money from it.

BJP leader Vinay Goel said the company initially just spent Rs 25,000 in building each of these booths but had been reaping rich dividends running into several lakhs by putting advertisements on each booth every month.

Dehradun, October 31
The Dehardun Municipal Corporation (DMC) will kickstart a 15-day cleanliness and fogging campaign from tomorrow as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of dengue in the city. Mayor Vinod Chamoli held a meeting of the Health Department of the DMC today in this regard where Chief Health Officer Gurpal Singh was also present. Chamoli said there was no impending threat of dengue in the city as of now. However, people afflicted with the ailment were coming to the city hospitals for treatment.

He gave strict directions to maintain cleanliness in the city." The supervisors of each ward will have to ensure that all the places have been properly cleaned and the garbage has been lifted. They will report whether proper fogging is going on or not. If they find any spot filled with stagnant water, they will report the matter to the Health Department," said Chamoli. He said the negligent supervisors would not be forgiven and punitive action would be taken against them. Singh gave a report to Chamoli about the fogging going on for the past one week in various wards of the city.

Chamoli has called a meeting of the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA), the Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari and the Deputy Mukhya Nagar Adhikari tomorrow to discuss about further measures to be taken to keep the city safe from dengue.

Haridwar, October 31
As the nation remembered the lone woman Prime Minister, people paid homage to the great leader on her death anniversary here today. Various functions were held in Haridwar today while simultaneously the iron man and first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, was paid floral tributes on his 137th birth anniversary.

At Alaknanda ghat, prayers were held, while at the city party office, a similar function entitled Shraddhanjali was organised, where, apart from Congress workers, common citizens, too, participated in large numbers. Addressing party workers, city Congress unit chief OP Chauhan highlighted the personality of Indira Gandhi as PM and national party chief, as well as the impact she made at the national and international levels. Terming her as one of the most powerful women prime ministers in the world, Chauhan referred to several events which were instrumental in shaping not only her political career but also of India.

"She was instrumental in the bifurcation of East Pakistan from Pakistan in 1971, and led India to a comprehensive victory. She tackled international pressure diplomatically. She also took strong international political decisions and was admired by international media for her charisma, forthrightness and dynamism, stated Santosh Chauhan, former Women's Commission chairperson. Terming Indira as a politician of the masses, the one having futuristic vision, Gandhivadi Ekta Manch founder Sanjay Chopra said that she had shown her leadership skills in pre-Independence time itself. "She joined the Independence movement when she had returned from Oxford University and assisted her Prime Minister-father Jawaharlal Nehru."

State Kisan wing woman chief Poonam Bhagat said that from being Minister of Broadcasting in the Lal Bahadur Shastri government, she was elevated to Prime Minister's post four times, and despite the turmoil of the Emergency, she returned to power with a landslide victory in 1980, which showed her popularity as well as sheer determination.

With Indira being the lone female PM till date, social activist Kiran Singh linked her success to empowerment of women in India. "She was and is the symbol of feminism in India, which is a predominantly male-dominated society. Still in rural and urban areas people, specially women, think of Indira when the Congress is referred to," Kiran added. Along side, with today being the birth anniversary of former Home Minister and Deputy PM Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, people remembered his contribution in the unification of India. "It is quite unbelievable today that Patel united around 500-odd princely states and used aptly diplomacy with force as the last resort," said veteran literati PS Chauhan.

MUSSOORIE: Congress workers paid floral tributes at the portrait of Indira Gandh at Congress Bhavan near Shaheed Sthal here today.

The Congress workers terming the late Prime Minister as iron lady said she was was committed for the inclusive growth of the country.

They also appreciated her decision taking abilities which changed the course of the country, be it nationalisation of banks or introducing poverty alleviation programmes.

The Congres workers also garlanding the statue of Indira Gandhi at Jhoola Ghar on the occasion. Anuj Gupta, Megh Singh Kandari, Amit Gupta and others were present on the occasion.

Mussoorie, October 31
Local historians and residents of the town today remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 28th death anniversary. They said Indira had a close relationship with the town and had saved it by banning limestone quarrying.

Gopal Bhardwaj, speaking on the occasion, said Indira first visited the town when she was only one-year old. She frequently visited the town before and after Independence along with her grandfather Motilal Nehru and father Jawaharlal Nehru to enjoy a horse ride on Mall Road.

She first visited Mussoorie in 1920 when the British were having talks with an Afghan delegation at hotel Savoy. Motilal Nehru, who was also staying at the same hotel, was thrown out of it as the British considered him a threat to the talks going on with the Afghans. Indira, who was only one-year-old then, had to spend a few hours out in the cold night, added Bhardwaj.

He said Indira later visited Mussoorie with her children Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi on several occasions. She also visited the town in 1974 to rename the National Academy for IAS trainees to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.

She played a pioneering role in banning limestone quarrying at Chuna Khala and Lambhidar mines in 1980s. The limestone quarrying had defaced mountains to such an extent that it jeopardised the ecology of the town. When Indira was apprised about the situation she immediately summoned the files from the Ministry of Environment and directed the state government to ban all limestone mining in the area. She was also responsible for the formation of an Eco-Task Force for the greening of the areas that had become barren due to mining.

“It is due to Indira’s efforts that we are today able to inhale pollution-free air in the town,” added Manmohan Singh Mall, state organising secretary.

He said Indira was always ready to address public grievances on priority. 

Dehradun, October 31
Development projects worth Rs 40 crore were approved at a meeting of the District Planning Committee, which was chaired by State Minister for Revenue Yashpal Arya here today.

District Magistrate Ravinath Raman said proposals for projects worth Rs 74.61 lakh were proposed, of which projects worth Rs 40 crore had been approved by 
the minister.

Meanwhile, BJP councillors had a spat with Congress MLAs over the approval of projects. BJP councillor Amita Singh alleged that Congress MLAs tried to block the approval of proposals made by BJP councillors saying since the proposals had not been cleared by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation Board, they could not be placed at the DPC meeting.

She said BJP councillors also mentioned about a provision in the DPC Act, whereby councillors could place their proposals straightway at the DPC meeting without getting them approved by the DMC Board.

Arya asked members of the committee to not to indulge in politics on the issues of development. MP Tarun Vijay said all proposals that were kept at the meeting should be cleared with a consensus among members.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli said it was the moral duty of public representatives to give a momentum to development works.

Dehradun, October 31
Anu Sinha and her Kathak troupe performed on the fourth day of the Virasat-2012 cultural festival on Tuesday evening.

The troupe consisted of six members, Anil Kumar, Anu Sinha, Subhash Kumar, Shruti, Naveen Kumar and Virendra Kumar. They performed on various songs and started the evening with Ganesh Vandana, followed by namami which is a Shiv Stuti, Ravishankar Tarana, Krishna Radha Nritaya, Vishnu Vandana Shantakaram and fusion.

Anu Sinha is a multifaceted Kathak dancer and exponent of Hindustani music. Her passion for dance, music, arts and social work is well-known. The choreographer of the troupe, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, is one of the most brilliant exponents of the Indian classical dance today. Endowed with a magnetic stage presence and a complete command over his art form, Rajendra is a rare artiste who gives his art new directions.

The fourth evening of the fortnight-long extravaganza was also attended by Ustad Kadar Khan. Ustad Kadar Khan was born in Rajasthan into a family of professional musicians. His ancestors, for generations, have served as royal court musicians for the rulers of India.

Kadar Khan began his musical training at the age seven under the strict guidance of his father and guru Ustad Reheman Khan. It was Ustad Reheman Khan who passed on to Kadar Khan the four traditional styles of tabla playing, the Delhi, Ajarada, Lucknow, and Farukhabad gharanas, or “schools”.

It is the tabla repertoire of the great ustads that Kadar Khan possesses and preserves. He possesses an extraordinary wealth of knowledge on the history of traditional tabla and the material or compositions that come out of this history.

Dehradun, October 31
Uttarakhand Police defeated Himalayan Cricket Academy by 53 runs to enter the semifinal of the Youth Cup Cricket played at Rangers’ College ground here today.

Uttarakhand Police won the toss and decided to bat first. The police team made 191 runs all out in 31 overs. Neeraj Saini was the top scorer with 81 runs, while Ashih Joshi scored 30 and Narender 25 runs, respectively. Shekhar Arya, Keshav Negi and Manish Singh took two wickets each.

In reply Himalayan Cricket Academy scored 138 runs all out in 29 overs to lose the match by 53 runs. Kuldeep was the top scorer with 30 runs. Manish Singh scored 29 runs while Keshav Negi scored 27. Dhanraj took three wickets for 23 runs.