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Save Ganga from quarrying, Matri Sadan to Sonia
New plan for Jogiwala crossing lessens traffic pressure
Mussoorie sewerage project could face rough weather
The newly constructed manhole near the Kingcraig road, Mussoorie, in poor condition. |
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SSP transfers SIs, Head Constables,
constables
Commuters inconvenienced as autos remain off road
Mussoorie all set for Christmas celebrations
Panipat team romp home
Congress legislator Rajkumar plays a shot to inaugurate the Banke Lal Shah Memorial Cricket Tournament in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
State employees take out candlelight march
UP IN ARMS: State government employees hold a protest against quota in promotions in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
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Save Ganga from quarrying, Matri Sadan to Sonia
Dehradun, December 16 Already Swami Poornanand Saraswati of Matri Sadan has started a fast since December 10 at Haridwar against quarrying on the Ganga riverbed. Swami Nigmanand Saraswati of Matri Sadan had died after observing a long fast against the quarrying on the Ganga riverbed in June 2011. After his demises and a huge hue and cry by the media and then opposition Congress, the quarrying in the Ganga was totally stopped. Matri Sadan in its letter charged that several Congress leaders, including Harish Rawat, came to Matri Sadan frequently to assure that the Congress would not allow mining in the Ganga. But soon, quarrying was restarted during the previous BJP regime focing Swami Shivanand, the chief of Matri Sadan to again start his fast for 11 days. On December 5, 2011, a government order was passed to stop mining in the Ganga till the submission of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. Interestingly earlier, former Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh also wrote two letters to then CM of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in which an intimation was given to the state government to stop illegal mining. Matri Sadan further wrote that mining had been illegal in the Ganga because no stone came from upstream to downstream and lifting a boulder means nothing but destroying islands, agricultural land, wildlife, greenery and bank of the river. The letter stated that 22 stone crushers were operating just within 6 kms on the one side of the bank of the Ganga doing irrepariable damage to the river. Matri Sadan alleged that the present Congress government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, ignoring all constitutional norms and superseding the previous government order, passed a new order dated November 27, 2012, and lifted the ban on mining and crushing in Bishanpur and Bhogpur in the Ganga. Matri Sadan criticising Union Minister Harish Rawat alleged that while the Haridwar MP gave an impression that he had nothing to do with the state government but in fact had joined hands with Chief Minister Bahuguna on the issue of quarrying in the Ganga river. The letter charged that the Chief Minister had given the nod to quarrying without getting any Environment Impact Assessment done to cater to the vested interests. Matri Sadan called upon Sonia Gandhi to remember that it was her husband Rajiv Gandhi who started the Ganga Action Plan to clean Ganga but his own Congress government had been playing with the life of the river. The letter requested Sonia Gandhi to immediately intervene in the matter to save the life of Swami Poornanand Saraswati who had started a fast since December 10 at Haridwar against quarrying on the Ganga riverbed.
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The letter charged that the Chief Minister had given the nod to quarrying without getting any Environment Impact Assessment done to cater to the vested interests. Matri Sadan called upon Sonia Gandhi to remember that it was her husband Rajiv Gandhi who started the Ganga Action Plan to clean Ganga but his own Congress government had been playing with the life of the river.
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New plan for Jogiwala crossing lessens traffic pressure
Dehradun, December 16 The traffic police has closed the use of right turn, while the left turn
has been rendered free. The road on U-turn for being narrow in width is posing problems for the commuters. SSP Kewal Khurana said he would supervise the feasibility of the new plan for three-four days and would make changes, if required, accordingly. The cumulative traffic plan has been uploaded on the website of the Uttarakhand police. The suggestions from the public, too, have been sought on this. The traffic police has been provided a mobile crane, which is towing the wrongly-parked vehicles. The Traffic Department has sent a list of motor workshops and garages, which are operating close to the roads in the city to shift them to Transport Nagar.The strength of the local police and the PAC force is being increased at T-points and crossings. The traffic situation has certainly improved with this. In order to streamline the traffic, the controversial Pir Baba Mazaar, which was situated close to Chakrata Road, has already been shifted without any problem. The traffic has now got smoothened on this busy road. Electricity/telephone poles and
transformers still pose hurdles in traffic on roads. The Police Department has also sent a list of such poles to the concerned departments for their removal. The opposition to closing the cuts given in between dividers on the roads, too, has ceased, and the traffic on these roads is progressing well. The police is considering to close more such cuts. It is coordinating with various departments on this. The next busy area on target is
Vasant Vihar. SSP Kewal Khurana said: “Senior citizens dwell mostly in Vasant Vihar. The long jams and heavy traffic make it difficult for them to commute on the roads in the area. Besides this, the blockade of unnecessary cuts and a few changes here and there will also provide relief to other commuters as well.” An anti-encroachment squad of the police, led by Inspector MS Negi, is removing vendors and hawkers, who stand near roads and crossings on everyday basis. In this drive, Dehradun Municipal Corporation is also collaborating with the
police. At the time of opening and closing of schools, the traffic on the related roads is turned one-way to ease the traffic movement on the roads. The traffic police is also organising lectures in various schools to educate children about traffic rules and their importance. The movement of vehicles in Paltan Bazaar is prohibited from the morning till 10 at night. Similarly, the new regulation regarding loading and off-loading of stocks by retailers in Adat Bazaar from 10 at night till 6 in the morning continues unabated. The traffic has vastly improved in this region. Similarly, the cuts blocked from Clock Tower to Bindal Pul and Hanuman Crossing have regulated traffic flow to a large extent in these pockets.
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Mussoorie sewerage project could face rough weather
Mussoorie, December 16 The residents of the town are anguished at the concerned authorities assigned to lay down the sewerage pipelines along with the construction of 9 STPs at an estimated cost of around Rs 61.73 crore. According to Jal Sansthan Executive Engineer GP Gairola, the waste water generated in the town in 2011 was around 8.9 MLD and would go up to 9.63 MLD in the year 2026 and 11.74 in 2041. On the other hand drinking water requirement of the town is around 14.4 million litres per day (MLD) and the department is only able to provide 7.67 MLD to the town, resulting in shortage of 6.75 MLD on a daily basis. "The town that is already facing a water crisis would be under immense pressure once the sewerage project is completed in Mussoorie if arrangements for additional water supply are not made soon," added GP Gairola. He also said that a proposal for constructing a lake at Kandi Ghat, which could increase the water availability, was also submitted for approval but no action had been initiated so far. The former MLA, Mussoorie, Jot Singh Gunsola, when contacted said that during his tenure a water supply scheme from Hardy Falls near Hathipaon was formulated at an estimated cost of Rs 7.54 crore, which was later increased to around Rs 16 crore in 2005. The department received 50 lakh, out of which Rs 3 lakh were spent on the project. However, in 2011, due to the opposition of the villagers downstream, the project has been shelved for the time being. Senior citizens from the town, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, speaking to The Tribune, said that they had written letters in this regard to Harish Rawat, Union Minister for Water Resources, and Mantri Prasad Naithani, State Cabinet Minister for Water Supply, drawing their attention to the urgent need to sanction funds for the Peyjal Nigam's scheme to pump water from the Jamuna. Captive power plants to ensure the effective functioning of the STPs must also be in place before the new system was implemented. Moreover, in these earthquake-prone mountains, adequate precautions must be taken to ensure that raw sewage did not pollute drinking-water pipes where these two systems had been laid in the same trench. The Gantzers questioned the way in which the project had been formulated and said that the whole scheme seemed to have been designed by people out of touch with local realities. They further said that the present over-burdened sewerage system laid down by the British, but still serving Mussoorie, used septic tanks in which the sewage is effectively digested by bacteria, leaving the non-toxic effluent to be absorbed by soak pits. This gravity-fed system required virtually no maintenance or power supply, unlike the modern STP system relied upon by the Peyjal Nigam. "Any breakdown of the STP process could result in untreated sewage seeping into the porous limestone mountains, thereby polluting the drinking water springs on which this busy tourist town depends," added Gantzer. When contacted a Peyjal Nigam official, without being named, said that they were aware of the acute water shortage in the town and a proposal amounting to Rs 18, 223.75 lakh titled 'Mussoorie Source Augmentation Pumping W/S scheme (PPR)' to draw water from the Yamuna had been sent to the state government, and the authorities were waiting for clearance. The official also said that the available amount being used for sewerage presently was enough to run the 9 STPs. However, The Tribune has learnt through sources that presently the department had no plans to reuse the treated water from the proposed STPs in Mussoorie. The spokesperson of the Mussoorie Hotels Association Sandeep Sahni said that the callousness of the Peyjal Nigam could be gauged from the fact that the recently constructed manholes had been damaged already. "If the same nonchalant attitude is shown in the running of the STPs, the town could face serious environmental and health hazard," added Sahni.
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SSP transfers SIs, Head Constables,
constables
Dehradun, December 16 The decision was taken after Kewal Khurana called a meeting of all Station House Officers in the morning, where he also rewarded the first three who reached earliest within the directed time limit of 20
minutes with cash prizes. After holding deliberations with them about the duty charts and their subsequent requirements of manpower, the SSP made the requisite changes. Many more such transfers are in the offing, he indicated, while saying: “It has been seen a large number of policemen are sitting in Police Lines and offices doing bare minimum work. These people have now been appointed in various police posts/stations. Many more who are working in traffic office and police control room will also be shifted to police stations soon.” He reasoned that not much workforce was required for office work while police stations suffered due to shortage of staff. On the matter of crime, he said he had intensified police
patrolling. Cheeta police had been directed to increase patrolling in the lanes of localities, whereas police pickets had been sounded to be on the alert. Patrol cars, too, had been stationed on the main crossings of the city such as Dila Ram crossing,
Dharampur crossing, Clock Tower crossing and Ballupur crossing. Kewal Khurana said: “Earlier, no one knew about the locations of these patrol cars. But now they are stationed on the main crossings of the city, from where they can easily move on any given call. They are more visible and are also contributing in streamlining the traffic and keeping a close watch on suspicious elements.”
— TNS
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Commuters inconvenienced as autos remain off road
Haridwar, December 16 This posed problems for the commuters who had to resort to
tongas and pedal rickshaws. On December 11, autorickshaws had carried out a day-long symbolic strike, wherein they had warned of major strike on December 16. Now the autorickshaw unions are contemplating an indefinite agitation if the state government does not call them for talks and curtail high taxes levied
on them. The strike was called on by the Panchpuri Autorickshaw Union, which was supported by the
Haridwar-Taxi-Maxi Joint Union, Autorickshaw Chalak-Malik Kalyan
Samiti, Taxi Union, Sumo Union and Travel Agent Union also support the strike. Chief of the Autorickshaw Kalyan-Chalak Kalyan Samiti Shankar Sharma said commercial vehicles were already perturbed at numerous taxes and
now the state government had once again disappointed thousands of people associated with the
business.
Panchpuri Autorickshaw Maha Sangh head Ravi Dutt said they also did not want to create problems for local people, devotees, pilgrims, tourists and foreigners but were forced to as a hike in the taxes had affected their earnings. Sumo Union chief Balbir Negi lamented that the state government, without taking consideration of the already existing high rates of taxes and shoddy condition of roads, had taken the decision in haste. “The government or auto drivers were looking at their own interests.
It’s the commuters who are facing the problem because of the strike,” complained Umesh Dimri, a corporate employee, who relies upon auto services to commute to
his Bahadrabad-based company.
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Mussoorie all set for Christmas celebrations
Mussoorie, December 16 Community members gathered at Methodist Church at Kuri Bazaar early this morning where Pastor Nand Kishore blessed the devotees and highlighted the importance of the festivities. He read out verses from the Bible and emphasised on leading a peaceful and non-violent life as purported by Jesus Christ. Plays were staged by Sunday school depicting the birth, life and actions of Jesus Christ ended with the singing of hymns and carols. The child dressed as Santa Claus was the main attraction of the function as he wished Merry Christmas to all and distributed sweets on the occasion. Soni, a devotee said for them Christmas was the most important festival of the year and the festivities would go on whole week till December 25.
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Panipat team romp home
Dehradun, December 16 Chasing the target, the Railgoan team was all out at a score of 96, thereby ensuring a 68 run win for Panipat. Sidhant scored the highest 28 runs. As of Panipat bowlers, Shubham, Amit and Atul took 2 wickets each. Earlier, Congress MLA from Rajpur Rajkumar inaugurated the tournament, which is being hosted by Little Master Cricket Club, Dehradun. A total of 12 teams are taking part in
the tournament.
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State employees take out candlelight march
Dehradun, December 16 Employees' leader GS Bhakuni, who led the candlelight march, asserted that there would be a complete lockout of government offices tomorrow as they would never accept the quota in promotions. He said the quota in promotions for SCs/STs would hurt the career prospects of general, backward and other classes. Bhakuni also held that after the Monday lockout, they would decide on the future strategy for the agitation, depending on developments in Parliament.
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Mussoorie, December 16
Dehradun, December 16
Dehradun, December 16
