|
|
|
|
|
Teerath Singh Rawat new state BJP chief
Winning all LS seats his priority
Samajwadi Party eyes 3 LS seats in state
Protest against delay in hospital construction |
|
|
|
Genetic system for tiger count on cards
Lakhs take dip in Ganga on Mauni Amavasya
No complacency about poaching, says Corbett Director Mishra
Admn to publicise ordinance on crimes against kids
Tiny tots of Bachpan school enthral audience
47 villagers examined at health, eye camps
Rahul to meet CM, state Cong chief on Feb 15
|
|
Teerath Singh Rawat new state BJP chief
Dehradun, February 10 By putting his weight behind Rawat, national president of the BJP Rajnath Singh acquiesced to the demands of BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal and a section of senior leaders who had been solidly behind his nomination in January. It was assumed that the elevation of Rajnath Singh as national president of the BJP would augur well for BS Koshiyari or his candidate Trivender Singh Rawat, but the party sources say this move would have proved unpopular. “The national president was apprised of the ground reality and the circumstances that had led to the withdrawal of nomination by Teerath Singh Rawat, whose nomination had received support among members and non-members of the electoral college,” said a senior party leader. Beside, by appointing Teerath Singh Rawat, who hails from Garhwal, the BJP high command has managed to balance the caste and regional issues. The party has already appointed Ajay Bhatt, a Brahmin and a leader from the Kumaon region as the leader of the opposition in the Uttarakhand legislative Assembly. Earlier the BJP central leadership had intervened to avert a contest between Teerath Singh Rawat and Trivender Singh Rawat in January, instead nominating the central leadership to appoint a leader. A student leader, Teerath Singh Rawat has his task cut out for himself and would have to go an extra mile to bring the warring factions on one platform. The BJP president is expected to strike a balance and ensure the party workers who have been nursing a grudge are also given an important role. The support of Khanduri and Nishank means, he would never be short of advice and consultation process in forming his new team. At the same time, he will also have to reconcile the conflicting interests of his senior colleagues to present a united, more cohesive face to counter the Congress. In the immediate future, Teerath Singh Rawat faces the local bodies and panchayati raj election tests and the big test in 2014 when the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held. Rousing welcome for president Newly appointed Uttarakhand BJP chief Teerath Singh Rawat today said his priority would be to gear the party for the upcoming local and national
elections. The leader, who was given a rousing welcome at the party headquarters today, said, “I will hold a meeting with the party leaders and try to chalk out a plan for the party for the upcoming election. We will also try to strengthen the party at the grass roots,” he said. Teerath Singh Rawat began his career as a ‘pracharak’ in the RSS and then entered student politics in 1988. He became the organising secretary of the Uttarakhand wing of the ABVP in 1991. He was also elected member of the national executive of the youth wing of the BJP in 1997. In 2000, he became Cabinet minister in the interim BJP government. He lost the Assembly poll in 2002 and 2007 from Pauri but in 2012 Assembly election,
|
||
|
Winning all LS seats his priority
Haridwar, February 10 Teerath Singh Rawat stated that helping the party win all five parliamentary constituencies of Uttarakhand is his primary objective. For this, he will be touring all constituencies in the coming days, strengthen the party cadre, induct more youth and give more responsibilities to veteran party office-bearers. Refuting inner factionalism hampering the party's prospects, Rawat said there was no such rift, though added that he would make sure that there was a balanced approach in taking decisions or giving responsibilities in the organisation structure. Thanking party national chief Rajnath Singh, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for lending him support , Teerath also mentioned Bhagat Singh Koshyari in his thank giving speech. "Koshyariji's vision and blessings are needed as he is a father-like figure in the state politics. I met him in New Delhi yesterday where he wished me on my appointment, so there is no question of rift between us," said Teerath, currently a legislator from the Chaubathakal segment in Pauri Garhwal. On the upcoming three-tier panchayat elections, a confidant Teerath said his first major opportunity is these elections for which he would draw a strategy with party organisation office-bearers and hold specific meetings with district units. Teerath Singh Rawat is a close aide of BC Khanduri and both share political relationship since 1991 when BC Khanduri entered politics by contesting the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency. Teerath helped Khanduri in making a foothold both in party and public. Though in 2007, Teerath Singh Rawat had lost the Pauri seat to independent Yashpal Benaam, in 2012, he took revenge by winning the Chaubathakal Assembly seat defeating
Benaam. |
||
|
Samajwadi Party eyes 3 LS seats in state
Haridwar, February 10 As an observer, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Sahib Singh Saini held various party meetings in Haridwar district today. Saini claimed that the Samajwadi Party would emerge as the third largest party and would be playing a pivotal role in forming the next Union government. He claimed that the remote control of naming prime minister would be in the hands of the Samajwadi Party so the fuss being created by the BJP (referring to Narendra Modi) was inconsequential. "Even party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav can become Prime Minister if he wants. But for this, we need to have the maximum Lok Sabha seats from UP and Uttarakhand. Both Congress and BJP have failed to cater to the problems of the common public and seeing the good governance of Akhilesh Yadav-led state government, people want the same governance at the Centre too," said Saini. The UP minister also announced that soon Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav would be visiting Uttarakhand with his wife Dimple Yadav, who hails from Pauri Garhwal district. The Samajwadi Party is eyeing Haridwar, Nainital and Tehri Garhwal constituencies where the party is confident of being in the winning position. As a result, the party has held six conventions in these constituencies. On March 3, in Kotdwar, Pauri Garhwal, the party will be holding a state party worker convention to reach voters in the hilly districts of Garhwal. Uttarakhand Samajwadi Party chief Shiv Charan Sachan pointed out that as per party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's directives, the party is making its base wider in Uttarakhand. |
||
|
Protest against delay in hospital construction
Pithoragarh, February 10 The construction work on Base Hospital in Chandak village was suspended after spending Rs 1 crore. The land for the hospital was allotted by the former BJP government. “The cost of the entire project is Rs 32 crore. Of this, Rs 2 crore had been released by the former BJP government for preliminary civil work at the site,” said Prakash Pant, former Cabinet minister. “If the government failed to resume the construction work by February 15, people from various organisations will start an indefinite dharna at Gandhi Chowk,” said Govind singh Mahar, a statehood activist and BJP leader. Those who participated in the demonstration today belonged to the Uttarakhand Civil Society, the Udhog Vyapar Mandal, the Pithoragarh Lok Manch and the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat. “If the government does not want it to be constructed at this site, it should allot some other land so that the construction work could be started,” said Govind Singh Bisht, coordinator of the Uttarakhand Civil Society. On the other hand, BJP leaders alleged that the MLA of the Pithoragarh Assembly constituency had deliberately got the construction stopped, so that the hospital could be shifted elsewhere. “After long deliberations and continuous agitation by the people, the land and money for Base
Hospital in the district was sanctioned by the former BJP government. But the present Congress MLA has objected to the construction of the hospital at the present site due political reasons only,”
alleged Mahar. Congress MLA Mayukh Singh Mahar said the present site of the hospital was far from the district
headquarters. “We want it to locate near Daula village, which is near to the district headquarters,” he said.
|
||
|
Genetic system for tiger count on cards
Dehradun, February 10 Tiger census in the country has began since the start of first tiger estimation exercise. From being mere a census exercise done through pugmarks more than a decade back, the tiger census witnessed a big change with the introduction of camera traps in 2007. The pictorial evidence stood more credible and also checked the problem of overlapping that was quite common in case of pugmarks as the tigers from pictures taken through camera traps were now identified through stripes. But being in an evolving phase in the country, the genetic-based tiger census exercise that further increases its accuracy. The process involves collecting tiger scats and subsequently putting this scat into DNA test. Scat provides a unique DNA signature that helps to accurately identify every individual tiger. Bivash Pandev, a senior scientist of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and presently engaged in the tiger census in Corbett does not rule out the genetic-based census as one of alternatives in future for accurate tiger census in the country. However, Pandev admits that the DNA-based tiger census has its limitations. He said it was certainly an expensive exercise and further needed a DNA laboratory at disposal. "It could cost three times more than the present camera traps technique and moreover it is still in experimental phase and still to be become hundred per cent error free", Pandev Significantly, the Bangalore-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has already taken a lead by taking to scat sampling to get to the exact number of tigers in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka through DNA analysis. As part of study, the WCS collected 58 tiger scats in Bandipore and then analyzed their DNA. Tiger populations were then estimated using sophisticated computer models. "We see genetic sampling as a valuable additional tool for estimating tiger abundance in places like the Russian Far East, Sundarban mangrove swamps and dense rain forests of Southeast Asia where camera trapping might be impractical due to various environmental and logistical constraints," said WCS tiger scientist K Ullas Karanth, who was recently at the WII Dehradun to preside over a training workshop on wildlife census techniques. |
||
|
Lakhs take dip in Ganga on Mauni Amavasya
Haridwar, February 10 Elaborate security arrangements were in place to prevent any untoward incident. SSP Arun Mohan Joshi and SP (City) Kiran Lal Shah personally monitored the proceedings. A special traffic plan had been made keeping in mind the flow of traffic on NHs-58 and 72. Traffic personnel were deployed at congested intersections to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. |
||
|
No complacency about poaching, says Corbett Director Mishra
Dehradun, February 10 Addressing a press conference here today, Mishra said the Corbett authorities had been taking effective measures time to time to check poaching in the Corbett and had even arrested a number of poachers in the process. He said recently on February 4 they arrested Dariya, an alleged notorious poacher and a resident of Panchkula, who has been involved in a number of poaching incidents in the Corbett. “On June 5, 2012, we had nabbed inter-state tiger poachers Ramesh, Tarachand and Gina. Later, poachers Priya and his accomplice Gopi were arrested, amply revealing our commitment to curb poaching in the reserve,” Mishra pointed out. He said proper wildlife security was being maintained at the Corbett with special protection force strengthening the security that had been enhanced since nine electronic watch towers were installed along the southern boundary of the reserve. Referring to the Bijrani tigress intestine incident last year, Mishra denied that he ever wanted to hide the Wildlife Institute of India report that identified the portion of intestine seized from the Bijrani zone of the reserve to that of a tigress. “I have nothing to hide. I was the one who sent the intestine sample for a DNA test and as soon as coming to know that the intestine was that of a tigress, we took immediate action and arrested the poachers involved,” said Mishra. It was noteworthy that a burnt body of an animal and a portion of an intestine was found in Bijrani on June 2 last year. The intestine was subsequently sent for a DNA analysis to the Wildlife Institute of India. There was much of furor after the People of Animals, Uttarakhand, revealed that the WII report confirmed that the intestine belonged to a tigress. Mishra also held that the tiger number had reached 171 in Corbett Tiger Reserve which was optimum for 288 sq km area of the reserve. He said tigers were now spilling over to other territorial forest divisions. |
||
|
Admn to publicise ordinance on crimes against kids
Pithoragarh, February 10 The ordinance that helps the victim children right from the stage of reporting of the sexual abuse against them to investigation has come into effect from November 14 last year,” said CMS Bisht, Pithoragarh District Magistrate. According to the
District Magistrate, the matter has been informed to the district magistrates by the Under Secretary,
the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Government of India, for its effective implementation and
wider publicity.
|
||
|
Tiny tots of Bachpan school enthral audience
Haridwar, February 10 The function was titled ‘Wonder Moments’. Apart from cultural programmes, an open fun fiesta was also organised for parents of the children. Inaugurating the function, Director, Operations, Bachpan-AHPS Group, Ajay Gupta, said such events gave a platform to children to showcase their talent. He said interaction between children, parents and staff members
also generated good bonhomie, which ultimately helped in overall development of students. UKG kids were appreciated for their performance on ‘O Womaniya’ and ‘Holiya’ while LKG kids presented a dance on ‘Oh My Friend Ganesha’. Two dance dramas, ‘Mahishahsur Mardan’ and ‘Ramayan’, were presented by senior students of the school. Students also presented dances on ‘Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale’, ‘Singh Raja’, ‘I Wanna Be Everything’, ‘Naina Teri Morni’ and ‘Give Me
Freedom’. Several stalls were set up for amusement of children and their parents. School Principal Arpita Deuri, Sachin Ahluwalia, Nitin Ahluwalia, Sandeep Rathi and Konika
Arora coordinated the whole event. |
||
|
47 villagers examined at health, eye camps
Dehradun, February 10 The health camp, especially focussed on women's health, was organised by the Bella Health Charitable Trust. which is a Dehradun-based NGO run by Colette N. Smith, a research specialist from the USA. The eye camp was held in collaboration with Drishti Eye Centre, Dehradun, for providing free screening and eye medication to the needy while the funding for the eye surgeries has been received from the Rotary Foundation, which has its head office in the USA. Forty seven villagers of all age groups got their health check-up done and eyes screened. Three villagers have been diagnosed for free cataract surgery. It is an online club of Rotary International which consists of busy professionals of all age groups who want to be involved in serving the community. Club members have weekly online meetings and
a physical meeting once a month. Its current initiatives focus on eliminating barriers to health care by bringing health care to
the under-served rural population. The members present on the occasion were Anurag Sangal, Anuradha Sangal, Dr Gaurav Luthra, Dr Saurabh Luthra, Gagan Jyot Mann, Vikas Dewan, Ambuj Oberai, Nimit Berry, Manpreet Gambhir, Harinder Juneja, Manish Dora and Sanjog Berry. They pressed for the need for more volunteers and said membership to the club was open for anyone and the details are available at www.rotaryeclub doon3080.org. |
||
|
Rahul to meet CM, state Cong chief on Feb 15
THE organisational and working of the Uttarakhand Congress government will be in focus this week when Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and state Congress chief Yashpal Arya meet newly elected vice-president of the
party Rahul Gandhi on February 15.
It will be the first formal meeting of the state Congress leaders with Rahul Gandhi to discuss the party affairs in the state. According to party sources, Rahul Gandhi will be meeting the senior leaders, Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states and state party presidents to get first-hand knowledge about the ground realities in each state. The exercise is aimed at preparing the party and the Congress-ruled state governments to prepare for the crucial Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in
May 2014. It is believed that the issue of change in the state party leadership will also be discussed at the meeting. The state Congress has been divided on the issue as the group led by Union Minister of Water Resources Harish Rawat has been demanding that Yashpal Arya be replaced honouring the principle of “one-man, one-post”. Yashpal Arya, a Dalit leader and protégé of veteran ND Tewari from Haldwani, is also a minister in the Vijay Bahuguna Cabinet. The Harish Rawat group believes that since the elevation of Yashpal Arya as a minister, he has been unable to devote time for the organisational affairs. A group of four senior ministers of the Bahuguna Cabinet led by seniormost minister Indira Hariydesh had camped in New Delhi to demand a change in the leadership. However, they could not get an audience from party president Sonia Gandhi or newly elected vice-president Rahul Gandhi. More than half a dozen senior leaders from the Harish Rawat group, including Mahendra Singh Mahra,, Pardeep Tamta, Manorama Sharma Dobriyal, Kishore Upadhaya and Shoorveer Singh Sajwan, are in race for the post of state Congress chief. Harish Rawat himself had been pressing the
central leadership hard for the change. He has been opposed to the Vijay Bahuguna since he could not make it to the position of Chief Minister after the state Assembly elections in Januray 2012. But after he raised a banner of revolt, he was elevated as a Union Cabinet minister. However, off late, after his elevation, he has mellowed down a bit in his opposition to the Chief Minister. Insiders believe that Harish Rawat has been serious in nurturing his own Lok Sabha constituency of Haridwar with an aim to repeating his last performance where he won the Hairdwar seat for the Congress after a gap of 25 years. After his elevation as a Union Cabinet minister, talks are high for Harish Rawat to win the Lok Sabha poll for his own political
survival. Being a pragmatic leader, Harish Rawat has mended fences with Vijay Bahuguna since it will be detrimental for him to oppose the Chief Minister in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, Vijay Bahuguna also wants his son Saket Bahuguna, who lost the Tehri byelection in October 2012, to be pitched again. He wants him to win
the seat once represented by him. Insiders believe that Yashpal Arya with the backing of Chief Minister Bahuguna will continue till the civic elections to be held in March-April
this year. —SMA Kazmi |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Classified | E-mail | |
The BJP high command in New Delhi, in a late night development, appointed Teerath Singh Rawat, a former Education Minister and protégé of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri, the new party chief of
Uttarakhand.
Haridwar, February 10
Field Director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve RK Mishra today asserted that the Corbett authorities were in no way complacent about dealing with any anti-wildlife activity even while pointing out that the tiger number was continuously increasing and has reached the optimum levels at the reserve.
Haridwar, February 10
