Massive protest by UP staff against promotion quota
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, December 20
A massive protest was held by employees of the Uttar Pradesh government who are posted in the Irrigation Department here today.

Expressing displeasure against the passing of the quota Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the employees said the Bill would sow the seeds of difference among the working employees in government departments.

The employees under the aegis of the Sarv Jana Hitay Samiti yesterday vandalised the Bharatiya Janta Party office at Devpura but today in the presence of heavy deployment of police personnel, they carried out a silent march from Damkoti till the Shankaracharya chowk.

The protesters hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for keeping mum over the issue and slowly trying to pass the Bill in both Parliament houses.

Addressing a gathering, Rajkumar Sharma, convener of the Sarv Jana Hitay Samiti, said it's quite unfortunate that barring the Samajwadi Party, all political parties supported the Bill.

He lamented that the Bill was a "black Bill" which would create differences among employees as only those falling in the reserved categories would get promoted in no time while veteran employees hailing from general class remain juniors to them.

KP Singh, Executive Engineer, Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, asked all employees unions in various departments to come under one banner and stage massive protests against the promotion Bill.

Among others who were present included Rajeev Sharma, Tarsem Lal, Gyan Prakash Saxena, Pramod Mishra, Shailendra Dixit, SD Juyal and Sunil Rawat.

Staff to join duty today

Dehradun, December 20
With the winter session of the Lok Sabha having come to an end, state government employees opposing quota in promotions and boycotting work for the past few days will resume work from tomorrow.

"Our agitation against the Bill will continue, as the government is likely to bring it in the monsoon session of Parliament. However, from tomorrow, we will resume work," said Suman Singh Valdiya, chief coordinator of the Uttarakhand Adhikari Karamchari Shikshak Sangharsh Morcha. The decision came after a meeting of the morcha in the evening.

Valdiya said tomorrow, the morcha would meet again to chalk out a strategy for strengthening the agitation. —TNS

Task force to check Maoist activities
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, December 20
A special operation task force (SOTF) has been set up in two ranges of the Kumaon region in the wake of rising Maoist activities. The SOTF will be deployed to check attempts by Maoists to exploit local villagers. It will take up problems and issues of the people with the departments concerned before Maoists could exploit the issues, Ganesh Singh Martolia, DIG, Pithoragarh range, said here today.

“The task force will operate on two fronts. First, it will identify problems of people living in interior border villages and report the matter to the departments concerned before Maoist activists could lure them. Secondly, SOTF personnel will be active in the buffer zones of forest to report and comb training camps being organised by Maoist groups,” said the DIG.

He added the SOTF had been set up in the two ranges of Kumaon this time as the presence of Maoists had been witnessed in these areas. The Maoists had been organising training camps in the Terai jungles and carrying on activities in the Terai and border areas of Nepal. “We have cells of the SOTF at both district and range levels. Both cells will work in coordination with each other as well as with the Forest Department and the SSB,” said the DIG.

He gave details of the rising incidents of crime in the range and said there had been 19 per cent increase in criminal cases in the range this year. While crimes like murder and robbery had remained under control, the incidents of theft, especially of temple bells, had increased in the range this year. We have arrested the accused in 85 per cent of crime cases in Almora, Pithoragarh, Champawat and Bageshwar district ranges,” said the DIG.

Govt keen to promote sports: Aggarwal
Tribune News service

Haridwar, December 20
The state government is serious about promoting sports as several sportspersons from Uttarakhand have made a mark in various events.

Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal was speaking to The Tribune during a brief stay at the Damkoti guesthouse in Haridwar today.

Aggarwal said importance was being given to indoor games like boxing, table tennis, badminton, kabaddi and ice-related sports, which are easier to play in the hill regions.

Also, old stadiums and sports complexes in the state like the Ransi stadium in Pauri Garhwal, which is the fourth highest altitude stadium in Asia, had been earmarked for total renovation.

The minister said state-of-the-art sports stadiums were being built in Dehradun and Haldwani with a view to hosting international events. These would also provide various sports facilities under one roof.

Uttarakhand is also bidding for National Games and these stadiums will play a pivotal role in this direction. “We are also developing the Dehradun-Raipur area as a sports hub. Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh has assured of a grant of Rs 4.5 crore for laying an astro turf. Besides, a direct road connecting the Jolly Grant airport to Raipur will allow easy access to the stadium to players and spectators,” said Aggarwal.

The expansion of the parade and pavilion ground situated in the heart of Dehradun and the upgrade of the spectators’ gallery to international standards are also in the offing. The Sports Department is also contemplating on having a Doon Ice Skating Hall on the public private partnership mode (PPP) as the daily maintenance cost of the skating hall that hosted National Winter Games comes between Rs 1.5 and Rs 1.7 lakh. This is taking a heavy toll on the state exchequer.

The minister has also written to the Centre that either it should take over the skating arena or allow the state government to have a skating hall on the PPP mode. To boost infrastructure, the government is focusing on developing a sports hostel, a synthetic track, indoor sports complexes, a multi-purpose hall and a sports ground.

The government is also planning to construct a stadium in Bhilad village of Mussoorie and renovate the dilapidated skating hall in the hill town. This will attract tourists who will visit these complexes and promote sports in the region.

Govt has not issued any order on permanent residents: Panwar
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, December 20
Urban Development Minister Preetam Panwar, while talking to the media on the domicile and permanent resident issue during his visit to Mussoorie recently, clarified that the state had not issued any government order in this regard and that the Opposition was raking up the issue unnecessarily.

Panwar said there was no need to hype the issue as it had not come up for a discussion at the Cabinet meeting so far. However, he said the government had planned to provide permanent residents certificate to only those people who had been residing in the state before 2000.

On the issue of the ‘lackadaisical’ approach of officials in implementing a sewage project and a solid waste management programme under ADB in Mussoorie, Panwar said he had given strict instructions to officials to complete the work at the earliest and in accordance with the prescribed guidelines.

Panwar said the government was planning to introduce fisheries activities in Tehri Lake to provide employment to the people affected due to the construction of the hydroelectric dam and the proposal for forming local-level committees had also been approved.

He said officials had also been instructed to act on any complaint with regard to illegal construction .

On the issue of the construction of Town Hall in Mussoorie, he said the government was planning to build it under the PPP mode and so far only one bid had been received. The department would be inviting tenders again and expedite the matter soon.

He said municipalities should use the funds judiciously and for only important development projects and if they did not adhere to the instructions, the government would not clear the amount spent on such projects at any cost.

Heroin worth Rs 70 lakh seized

Dehradun, December 20
The city police and special task force (STF) are cracking down on drug mafia and breaking their nexus by swooping on them one by one.

The Raiwala police today arrested two men, Prashant Kumar and Khreshpal Pal, residents of Bijnor, Uttar Pardesh, with 500 gm of heroin and 500 gm of opium. The cost of heroin in international market is estimated at Rs 70 lakh. The STF and the ISBT police post also caught an Uttarkashi-resident Moji Ram from Mehuwala while bringing the consignment of 2 kg cannabis, costing Rs one lakh from Uttarkashi to Haridwar. Yesterday also, the STF had apprehended accused Jagat Singh Rana alias Jagdu, resident of Uttarkashi with 2 kg of cannabis worth Rs one lakh.

SSP Kewal Khurana has already given a direction to all station police officials to apprehend those involved in the drug business.

The kind of heroin consignment that was seized by the police looks like white rice. It is of superior quality which when burnt on paper gives rise to thick white smoke. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act, Section 8/20.

Khurana, while addressing the press conference, said these men were kept in dark about the true value of the drug substance they were carrying. They brought drug from Delhi and Bareilly to distribute it in Dehradun. The police is yet to interrogate the convicts about the people connected with the network. Many more revelations from them in this regard can crack the mystery around the proliferation of drug mafia in the city.

Mauji Ram, who was caught with 2 kg of opium, had been bringing the drug consignment from Uttarkashi to Haridwar. He was nabbed on the tip-off when he was on his way to Dehradun.

It was yesterday that the STF had caught another accused, Jagat Singh Rana alias Jagdu, a resident of Uttarkashi, with 2 kg of opium, from Tiparpur, Sahaspur. The accused procured the drug from Uttarkashi and brought it to distribute it in Selaqui and Dehradun. The schools and colleges in the city and industrial town of Selaqui is the main target of drug peddlers. They are introducing and distributing drugs to vulnerable students of schools and various other academic institutes. Those living in hostels are an easy prey for them. Khurana said, “It has been seen that girls are also involved in the distribution of drugs . The police is keeping an eye on them.”

The DGP has announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for the Raiwala police.—TNS

4 held with charas
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 20
The police arrested four persons, including a Nepali youth, and seized 27.5 kg of charas from their possession during raids at various places in the past 24 hours.

A Nepali youth, Hira Singh Saund, was arrested with 25 kg of charas near Purnagiri on the Indo-Nepal border. He had brought the charas from Nepal was taking it to Delhi, from where it was to be sent to international markets, said police official Naresh Chand.

In another incident, the Jaiti police, Almora district, arrested a local youth identified as Kati Ballabh and seized 1.5 kg of charas from his possession. He was going to sell it in a nearby market, said Bahadur Singh Titiyal, sub-inspector.

In yet another incident, two youths were arrested with 1 kg of charas at Haldwani. They had brought the consignment from Bhatelia village of Ramgarh to sell it at Haldwani, said the police.

Missing Doon girl found
Tribune News Service

Dehradun December 20
The daughter of a garment merchant of Indira Nagar and student of Class VIII of a local school near Darshan Lal Chowk, who went missing from the school yesterday, had been found by the city police at Sambhal, Uttar Pardesh.

The girl had eloped with a boy Bhola, who is doing a Bachelor in Business Administration from a local college. Earlier, he was studying in an IT college and was rusticated from there. The police came to know of the girl's association with Bhola whose mobile was also switched off when the girl had gone missing.

A Special Operation Team was, however, able to find the girl from Bhola's home at Sambhal but boy had fled. The girl is expected to reach the city by 10 pm. Her father, who lives in THDC colony at Patel Nagar, has lodged a complaint when girl did not return till late at night.

Drug smuggling, cyber crimes on the rise: DGP
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, December 20
DGP Satyavrat Bansal has said cyber crimes and smuggling of narcotics are on the rise in the state. The police is unable to control these due to lack of proper infrastructure and insufficient number of police personnel and equipment to tackle these crimes.

Bansal was talking to mediapersons at Haldwani yesterday. He said the state had a policy to allow only one weapon on an arms licence. “We have started scrutinising arms licences issued from Punjab and other adjoining states from where people are carrying three arms on one licence. We will not allow extra arms on one licence,” he added.

“We have submitted a police modernisation plan to the Union Government. If we get money for the plan, we will equip the police with latest weapons and gadgets to tackle cyber crimes, which are increasing in the state,” he said.

Chief Secy reviews projects
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 20
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain reviewed the works under the 13th Finance Commission at the Secretariat here yesterday.

He directed the officers concerned to present consumption certificates of all completed projects at the earliest so that the next installment of funds could be approved from the Centre.

The grant of Rs 20,308.10 crore had been allocated from the 13th Finance Commission for the year 2010 to 2015. The allocation included Rs 400 crore for 2010-11, Rs 300 crore for 2011-12 and Rs 300 crore for 2011-12.

It was revealed at the meeting that the Rural Development Department was constructing a community centre, a marketing building and offices for rural development officers and agriculture assistants in the border areas with a budget of Rs 79.05 crore. The Home Department was spending Rs 14 crore on the police training centre and Rs 35 crore for the upgradation of police posts.

The Forest Department was spending Rs 53 crore on forest maintenance, Rs 4.52 crore by the Planning Department on improvement in statistics system and Rs 1.03 crore by the Medical Department on initial constructions of nursing training centres at Pauri, Almora, Tehri, Chamoli and Pithoragarh.

Besides, the Cultural Department was spending Rs 20 crore on the construction of state-level projection auditoriums and Rs 25 crore on the state-level museum.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretaries Rakesh Sharma, S Ramaswami, S Raju, Omprakash, Secretary MH Khan, DG School Education PS Pangti and other senior officers.

CM congrats Sonia

Dehradun, December 20
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has congratulated UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the Congress’ victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election.

He said the victory was the result of her pro-public policies. He hoped that Himalayan states would set new milestone with the help of Centre. —TNS

150 senior citizens attend annual meeting
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, December 20
The annual meet of the Senior Citizen Forum, which was held at Arya Samaj Mandir, Sector 1, BHEL, concluded here today. The annual meet saw more than 150 senior citizens participating from across the district.

Presiding the meet, Sarvesh Gutpa, chief of the Senior Citizen Forum, said the senior citizens in the society needed to be given due respect and love.

Gupta also read out the resolutions passed by the Senior Citizen Forum at its Trivendrum meeting, while Umesh Chandra, secretary of the Senior Citizen Forum, said as per the census of 2011, there are 10 crore senior citizens in the country. He called for safeguard of rights and interests of this community for which the government needed to take measures. 

FRI sets up first cytogenetic lab
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 20
The Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun has successfully established its first Cytogenetic Laboratory.

Dr VK Bahuguna, Director General, Indian Council and Forestry Research and Education, inaugurated the laboratory at the Genetics and Tree Propagation Division of the institute. He said the laboratory would help immensely in finding chromosomal variations in different tree species, which could accelerate the breeding and genetic improvement programmes in the forestry sector.

Bahuguna said the laboratory would help in understanding the phylogenetics of hybrids of different forest tree species and generate possibilities in developing new varieties among them.

He promised to provide all help in the betterment of the laboratory and hoped that outcomes of its efforts would bring glory to the FRI at the international level.

Dr PP Bhojvaid, Director, Forest Research Institute, said it was the first attempt by the Division of Genetics and Tree Propagation of the FRI to establish a cytogenetic laboratory in the forestry sector. He hoped that research in the laboratory would provide new prospects with hope for future breeding programmes.

Dr Ashok Kumar, head of the Division of Genetics and Tree Propagation, said the establishment of the laboratory reflected the importance of cytogenetic studies in forest tree improvement programmes.

Senior scientists Dr HS Ginwal and Dr Sanatan Barthwal, research scholars and staff of the Division of Genetics and Tree Propagation were also present on the occasion.