Rs 5.50 cr ADB loan for 6 cities of U‘khand
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
An agreement for Rs 5.50 crore million loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the second tranche of the Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development Investment Programme has been signed in New Delhi today. The programme will support rehabilitation and expansion of basic urban infrastructure in five major urban centres of the state and ensure sustainable municipal service delivery.

The documents were signed by Dr Anup Wadhawan, joint secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, on the behalf of the Government of India; Hun Kim, Country Director of the ADB’s India Resident Mission, on the behalf of ADB; and MH Khan, secretary, Urban Development, on the behalf of the government of Uttarakhand. Radhika Jha, Project Director, and Dr Anwar A Khan, Deputy Programme Director from the Uttarakhand government, were the part of loan signing team.

The project will supplement the urban infrastructure programme already initiated under the first tranche in Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital. It will be extended to cover in addition Haldwani, Roorkee and Ramnagar towns, especially for improving the water supply infrastructure that will benefit about 800,000 residents. A comprehensive sewerage system will also be developed under the project, which will provide improved sanitation facilities to about 100,000 residents of Roorkee town.

Dr Wadhawan said it was important for urban infrastructure to keep pace with population levels and its future growth. “The project will address this objective and help alleviate infrastructure deficiencies, tap economic potential and improve the living environment,” he said.

“The project will improve the quality of life and employment opportunities for the people living in the five project towns. It will also improve the ability of participating institutions to manage sector reforms and deliver better services,” said Hun Kim.

He said the contribution of tourism in the state economy was significant. Upgrading key infrastructure would also help draw visitors and generate more employment opportunities, he said.

The second tranche loan from the the ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources has a 25-year term, including a grace period of five years, commitment charges of 0.15 per cent and interest rate to be determined in accordance with ADB’s LIBOR-based lending facility.

MP: Only BJP can take nation on path of development
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 31
Taking on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre and the Congress government in Uttarakhand for it's "anti-poor and failed policies," Tehri Garhwal parliamentarian Rani Mala Raj Laxmi said that only Bharatiya Janata Party can take the country back on the path of development.

The Tehri parliamentarian, who hails from the royal dynasty, on a brief stopover in Haridwar, expressed optimism that under the able leadership of newly elected national party president Rajnath Singh, the party will be able to replicate the 1999 Lok Sabha election performance, when it formed a coalition government at the Centre.

Exuding confidence that her victory in last year’s bypoll was just an indication of the public-voter mood, Raj Laxmi said that she will replicate the win in 2014 election, too.

“People of Uttarakhand feel cheated in just nine months' tenure of the Congress-led state government. Be it hilly or rural plain regions, development has taken a back seat. We will surely up our party's performance in other four Lok Sabha seats of Pauri, Almora, Nainital and Haridwar,” said Laxmi, who is the third MP from the Shah Tehri lineage.

On the Jan Lokpal Bill, Raj Laxmi said that such laws were imperative, considering that corruption was now getting deep- rooted in society.

While on issues related with the rehabilitation of people affected due to Tehri Dam, Mala Raj Laxmi assured that she was taking up the issue at both the Central and state levels to make sure all families were included in the rehabilitation package.

Violation of rules, adhocism hit MGNREGS
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
Blatant violation of rules and adhocism continue to guide the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Uttarakhand, often at the cost of wastage of funds that continue to remain unaccounted for due to the indifference of the state government.

More than anything else, the successful implementation of MGNREGS depends on preparing the District Perspective Plans (DPPs) for each district. According to the operational guidelines of the scheme, plans have to be chalked out in advance for a period of five years but in Uttarakhand, due to the complacency of MGNREGA state cell, the district perspective plans were never approved for the districts.

It is not as if no effort was made for preparation of DPPs. The MGNREGS state cell had issued instructions for the same in 2007 for which Rs 1.30 crore was allocated.

According to officials of the Department of Rural Development, out of the total of Rs 1.30 crore, a sum of Rs 10 lakh was earmarked for each district for preparing the DPPs and Rs 75.96 lakh was paid to the agencies, whose help was sought for preparing the plans. While Rs 13.3 lakh was utilised, Rs 28.72 lakh remained unutilised, as out of the 13 districts, only six districts submitted the perspective plans.

But as these were submitted late, they were not approved. Even if they are approved they would have no relevance now, as the financial year is about to end.

As the MGNREGS is a demand-driven initiative, the works have to be granted within 15 days, for which advance planning is required so that the employment cycle is not broken. Road maps have been chalked out for each district in advance.

A major portion of the funds have now been wasted, as the DPP plans have no relevance in the fag-end of the financial year and the period for which the plans were made. Besides, the MGNREGS state cell has so far not initiated any action against the district officials for recovering the funds.

While the MGNREGS chugs along in the state without the DPPs , there have been no lessons learnt and no preparations under way for preparing the DPPs for the next five years.

10,000 benefit from Rasayan Mela
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
The Society for Protection of Environment and Conservation Studies organised Rasayan Mela, chemistry in daily life at number of places in Uttarakhand today that included Rishikesh, Gairsain, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Mussoorie and Pauri.

More than 10,000 students, 1,000 teachers from 55 various schools of Uttarakhand were benefited by Rasayan Mela.

At Bharat Mata Mandir Inter-College Rasayan Mela, Dr Brij Mohan Sharma of SPECS told the participants that the main aim of organising Rasayan Mela was to connect social outlook with a scientific approach. He appealed to the masses to come forward and get the advantage from this awareness programme. “Rasayan Mela aims to demonstrate the use of chemistry in daily life”, Sharma pointed out.

He said there was a need to sensitise children and masses about the use of chemistry in daily life. He said the mission of the Science Fair is to increase public awareness in science.

“We believe that every school has the potential to shine in science and, therefore, we encourage every school to share their experiences, talents, and abilities with other schools through this unique platform”, he said.

The mela is comprised of various stalls like food adulteration, water testing, communication through puppetry, explaining weather monitoring through low cost weather station and free distribution of science magazines like Vigyan Pragati.

The mela was held in assistance with the Union Department of Science and Technology.

Ways to address parking blues discussed

Mussoorie, January 31
A review meeting was held here today to discuss ways to address parking problem during the tourist season.

The meeting was chaired by SDM, Mussoorie, NS Dangi who outlined several areas which could be used for parking additional vehicles arriving in the town during the tourist season beginning from April.

He said a joint inspection involving the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority, PWD, Municipal Council and police officials was conducted to earmark the probable parking zones in the town and this meeting was to finalise all such areas, so that tourists do not have to suffer due to the non-availability of parking space here.

It was also decided at the meeting that temporary open spaces near the Civil Hospital, Kingcraig and Masonic Lodge could serve as parking lots during the tourist season. — OC

Support pours in for Kamal Haasan
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 31
With the controversy and legal battle involved in releasing of the multi-crore budgeted Hindi-Tamil bilingual "Vishwaroopam", a film produced by Kamal Haasan, people have come out in his support of Hassan here.

Movie buffs, theatre artistes and activists of the Uttarakhand Vikas Manch today called on political leaders to refrain from using movies as a tool to create hatred among religions in view of taking political mileage.

Chopra also demanded strict implementation and revision of the Cinematograph Act-1952 as off late similar controversies have been arising, creating barrier for the movie release.

Activists also condemned the Samajwadi Party announcement of not allowing “Vishwaroopam” to get released in Uttar Pradesh until there was a final decision on it in the courts and the controversy surrounding it settled down.

Lashing out at Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for trying to settle scores with his bête noire K Karunanidhi, the protesters demanded instant lifting of ban on the film and giving final say to the Censor Board only.

Bhoopendra Rajput, city coordinator of the manch, said Kamal Haasan is a legendary figure in Indian cinema, having the largest number of national awards in his kitty. But now when his ambitious film "Vishwaroopam" is set to release J Jayalalithaa has banned it from screening in the state only to settle political score with Karunanidhi.

“It’s a shame for us that an actor of the international fame and caliber (Hassan) is being troubled, forcing him to think on lines of leaving India like late artist MF Husain. Is this what we are giving to our artists and cultural ambassadors,” questioned Dhruv Pathak - a film buff.

Social activist Sanjay Chopra lamented that Jayalalithaa, being a film star of a yesteryears and follower of legendary MG Ramchandran, founder of the ADMK, seems to be oblivious of freedom of expression and right of audience to watch the movie.

At Tulsi Chowk, the activists burned the photos of Jayalalithaa in which a large number of tourists from South and Kamal Hassan fans also joined.

Gram panchayat status demanded for border Dharchula villages
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, January 31
Residents of remote March and Philam villages, near the China border in Dharchula subdivision of the district, today staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Pithoragarh District Magistrate demanding relaxation in parameters for the creation of gram sabhas. They also demanded that Marcha and Philam villages be declared separate gram panchayats in the Dharchula block so that migration from these villages could be checked.

“Though villagers have repeatedly demanded the creation of a separate panchayat of Marcha village from the Sipu panchayat and a separate Philam panchayat from the present Bon gram panchayat, the administration has refused to do the needful. This has led to migration of villagers from the area as the villages lack basic facilities of road, education and healthcare,” said KS Phirmal, who led the demonstration

The villagers also handed over a memorandum to the District Magistrate. They said as their village is 90 km from the Dharchula subdivision headquarters and 200 km from the district headquarters, they needed a separate rural body to create basic infrastructural facilities for 153 families living there. Already most of villagers of the Dharma valley had permanently migrated to lower valleys. “We are only 40 km from the Tibet border but despite being situated in such a sensitive area, over villages have not been linked with a road. The main road is 45 km from our villages,” said Narayan Singh Dariyal, a social worker of the area.

The protesters said if these remote villages were given the status of gram sabhas, businesses based on tourism and local herbs could be developed as the local Himalayan herbs and snow peaks could generate employment for local youths. “But since they are part of big gram panchayats, these villages are not able to get enough attention and proper infrastructure,” said Phiramal.

“Considering the present pace of work on the road being constructed by the CPWD in the area, it will take 25 years to link the villages with it. But if these villages are covered under the provisions of the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna by declaring these as separate panchayats, road and other infrastructure facilities could be made available speedily,” said the protesters.

“Whenever we meet government officials, they tell us not to leave our villages. But when we demand that our villages be given the status of gram sabhas so that basic facilities could be created, we do not get a positive response. In such a situation how can we live at a cold place in the absence of jobs, medical and educational facilities,” said Dan Singh Bonal, another leader of the demonstration.

Food Safety Act to reduce monopoly of Excise Dept
Neena Sharma
Triune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
As the alcoholic drinks have been included in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006, much to the consternation of the state department of excise, its monopoly has been reduced.

The Food Safety and Standard Authority India (FSSAI) will now be directly concerned with the safety aspects of alcoholic drinks and even issue of licences to the food business operators.

In the state, the distilleries and Food Business Operators (FBOs) will have to apply for licences with the state Food Safety and Standard Authority. “It will now be directly concerned with the issues of health pertaining to the production and sale of alcohol,” said a senior official.

However, Rishikesh-based Doon Valley Distilleries has moved the court stating that liquor is already covered under state laws, manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and import of liquor and as such it will not be feasible for applying for licences from other authority, thereby challenging the inclusion of alcoholic drink in the definition of food under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The Act also says anything consumed will be considered as food. Officials in the state Food Safety and Standard Authority say the central authority has already issued a clarification that there is no clash of interest with the state Excise Departments. The move has the potential to impact the sale of alcohol, a major revenue earner for the state. Liquor manufacturers are resisting any move from the food regulator to set standards on alcohol content and scrutinize their every move.

Earlier, the government acted tough only if there was drop in revenue collections, but under the new regime, the liquor manufacturers will have to follow the safety standards and even pay licence fee depending on the production capacity of the product.

Further for the first time, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the apex food regulator, has finalised draft standards for all categories of alcoholic beverages like wine, beer, whisky, rum, gin and vodka to set the maximum permissible limits of alcohol in these drinks and thus, mandate safety standards.

Pakistan trying to divide Hindus, Muslims: UKD
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 31
Various outfits in the city have criticised Pakistan for trying to sow seeds of division between the Hindus and the Muslims who have been living in the country in harmony and peace since Independence. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal at a meeting held at Ranipur sought an apology from Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik for demanding security for Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

Central secretary of the labour cell of the UKD Uday Ram Semwal said Malik’s remarks were uncalled for and he instead of worrying for Shah Rukh’s freedom and security should give protection to the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Christians and other religious communities living in fear in Pakistan.

Semwal also demanded an apology from Shah Rukh for expressing his sense of insecurity to a magazine instead of approaching the police or the government in this regard.

While UKD youth wing city chief Lalit Mamgain demanded that all diplomatic and economic ties with Pakistan should be snapped as Pakistan Foreign Minister Hinna Rabbani Khar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and even terrorist Hafiz Saeed had been trying to defame India’s secular credentials.

The Samajik Sena also staged a march-cum-protest at Chandracharya-Bhagat Singh Chowk and demanded that the cross-LoC bus service be stopped in the wake of Pakistan soldiers’ continuous intrusions into the Indian side.

District party chief Sanjay Kumar Sharma said while the Congress ministers were shaking hands with Pakistan Foreign Minister Hinna Rabbani Khar, army soldiers of that country were beheading our soldiers. State president of the youth wing of the party Prakash Sharma termed the Indian government policies as weak and called for stern measures and policy decisions against Pakistan.

“We have restarted the bus service to Pakistan at a time when two Indian soldiers had been beheaded by the army of the neighbouring country. This is in violation of human rights and international war norms and is also a blot on humanity. But still the Indian government is happy to resume the bus service to Pakistan,” said Rana Ranbeer Singh.

90 police inspectors take part in workshop
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
A two-day workshop on ‘Qualitative improvement in police investigation’ was concluded in the Intelligence Headquarter here today.

The workshop was held for the inspectors and sub-inspectors where over 90 inspectors and sub-inspectors were present. On the last day, 50 DSP were also called and apprised of the manner in which they could examine the works of their junior investigators.

DGP Satyavrat Bansal, who was present on the concluding day, said a large part of the state police comprised of youth, who lacked the sufficient knowledge of investigation. He expressed hope that with this workshop, the inspectors and sub-inspectors would have gained beneficial information regarding investigation and advocacy of cases in courts. He said the DSPs would have learnt better about the examination of investigation of cases undertaken by their juniors and also the right way to guide them about such cases.

He said the improvement at all level would help improve the quality of investigation and increase the number of accused getting punished in courts.

The police officials present on the occasion included Anil K Raturi ADG, Intelligence and Security, Ram Singh Meena, IG, Law and Order, Deepam Seth, DIG (PAC), Sanjay Gunjiyal, DIG, Dehradun Range, Pushpak Jyoti, SP, Security, and Vimmi Sachdeva, SP, Law and Order.

Dharchula villagers to be made aware of earthquake safety steps
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 31
An extensive awareness campaign programme on the safety measures at the time of earthquake has been prepared by the District Disaster Management Office, Pithoragarh, to educate the villagers of Dharchula subdivision of the district. The subdivision has been hit by medium density earthquakes 12 times last year, RS Rana, District Disaster Management Officer of the district said.

“According to our programme, which is under approval from the higher authorities, we will take all 72 villages and schools of the subdivision to make villagers aware about the safety measures as these villages had been frequently hit by earthquakes last year,” said Rana.

He said these were immediate programmes for the villagers so that they could save themselves at the time of earthquake but the medium term programmes of first aid training would be followed thereafter. “In this three-month campaign, we are targeting safety from the earthquakes below 5.5 at Richter scale", said Rana. According to the disaster management office, the centre of most of the earthquakes felt in Dharchula,” said Rana.

According disaster management office, last year same programme was adopted in 30 sensitive villages of the subdivision which made the villagers aware about the safety measures at the time of crisis but this year this would be started in all villages.

“Our teams of trained volunteers are ready. We will contact experts from various departments as soon as we get the approval. We will start our campaign in remote villages of Dharchula in the next three months,” said Rana.

ANMs’ stir continues
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 31
The striking Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives (ANMs) have decided to continue with their stir after talks with Principal Secretary, Health, Ramaswamy remained inconclusive.

“While the government has agreed to pay the pending arrears for the period of 1979-1995, it has not accepted our demand of payment of arrears from 1979-2010 (June),” said Guddi Matuda, president of the Uttarakhand Matar Shishu Evam Parivar Kalyan Mahila Karamchari Association.

The ANMs have been on a strike since November 1 last year and are demanding the payment of pending arrears from 1979-2010 and the creation of 257 new posts of workers. The ANMS have been holding a protest outside the Directorate of General Health and Family Welfare.

3 crime incidents reported from Pithoragarh region
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 31
Three incidents of crime have been reported from different parts of the Pithoragarh range last week. “These are minor incidents.We do not regard these as cases of human trafficking. Despite this, we have sounded an alert,” said GS Martolia, DIG of the range.

In one such incident, the Bageshwar police is looking for a woman and her minor daughter who were allegedly abducted from Uttarayani fair last month. “The 30-year-old Hansa Devi, who put up a shop at Uttarayani fair which began at Bageshwar from January 13, is missing from her house from January 21 with her 7-year-old daughter,” said the Bageshwar police.

According to the police, the woman had been living with her husband in a house at Sinaula village. “Though the police has been looking for the woman, it does not seem to be a case of abduction as the matter was reported to the police after 7 days of the incident,” said Nivedita Kukreti, SP, Bageshwar.

Besides this incident, another incident has also been reported from Bageshwar in which a 14-year-old student of class IX escaped from being kidnapped on way to Haldwani.

According to the student, when he was returning from his tuition, he was forcibly put in a jeep by three persons. He, however, managed to escape from the clutches of his kidnappers on the way to Almora. “This also does not seem to be a case of abduction,” said Gopal Ram, investigating officer of the case in Bageshwar police thana.

In the third incident, the Didihat police is looking for a 13-year- old girl who is missing from her home at Bhagichaura village since 23 January 23. “According to a report lodged by her father, Manju, daughter of Kaman Singh of Bhagichaura village, had gone outside her home for some work. She did not return by the late evening on that day. Her family members lodged a report with the revenue police, which is looking for the girl,” said Mohan Singh, Naib Tehsildar of Didihat subdivision.

Meanwhile, three persons, including a woman, residents of Hathras, district of UP, have been arrested by the Pithoragarh police from a remote village of Nishni when they were trying to settle the marriage of one of their companions with a local girl. “The family of the girl refused to marry her off girl with the boy. The villagers took the suspects hostage and handed them over to the revenue police,” said Suresh Giri, a revenue police officer.