Illegal constructions in RGM Plaza's basement razed
Dehradun, February 12
A team, led by Secretary of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority Banshidhar Tiwari, demolished illegal constructions in the basement of RGM Plaza on Chakrata Road today.

Dug-up roads not repaired, DM upset
Dehradun, February 12
District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam today visited those areas in the city where roads had been dug up by the Asian Development Bank Agency (ADB) to lay water and sewerage pipes.

Police on trail of scamsters luring farmers into emu trade
Mussoorie, February 12
The police, after receiving directions from the government, has begun investigations into identifying the scamsters involved in duping the hapless farmers of the state by luring them into an emu farming scheme in Mussoorie.

District plan proposals for 2013-14 sought
Dehradun, February 12
Chief Development Officer Sushil Kumar has directed officials of various departments to send their proposals for the proposed district plan for the year 2013-14 within a week, otherwise they would be responsible for the cancellation of their proposals.

Primary teachers go on mass casual leave
Dehradun, February 12
The Uttarakhand government's decision to run primary schools in Dehradun on public private partnership is being opposed by primary teachers, who went on mass casual leave today and staged a protest at tehsil headquarters in the state.

Unison students visit IIP
Dehradun, February 12
A group of class IX students of Unison World School, Dehradun, yesterday visited The Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) to get an insight into the various aspects related to crude oil.

Dehradun, February 12
The Dehradun police today arrested 16 Kashmiri youngsters, who protested at Clock Tower against alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

The police has lodged a case against them for disturbing public peace. They were also mercilessly beaten up by shopkeepers of Indira Market.

The boys alleged that they prayed in memory of a boy at Parade Ground who was killed in the Kashmir valley yesterday and, thereafter, they proceeded to Clock Tower to protest against the alleged killing of innocent people in Kashmir. Mudassir Ahmad said they held a peaceful protest, carrying posters and banners in their hands. According to the police, the boys, who are studying in various colleges of the city, did not take any permission for the protest, and their inflammatory statements could flared up communal sentiments in the city.

The Kashmiri youths were rounded up by the police and were taken to Dhara police post from where some of them tried to escape. But they were caught by the shopkeepers of the nearby Indira Market and beaten up, and were brought back to the police post .

Indresh Maikhuri, member of the state unit of the CPI (ML), has denounced the police for arresting the youths and suppressing their democratic rights to raise their issues on a public place. The party demanded suspension of the police personnel responsible in nabbing the youth. He, along with Raja Bahuguna, state secretary of the CPI(ML), demanded that the Kashmiri youths be released immediately and unconditionally. 

Haridwar, February 12
The Haridwar police today arrested three persons for raping a Class VIII student at Pathri village on February 3 night. All the three accused are juveniles who are students of Class X and XI.

Station House Officer, Pathri police station, Trivendra Singh Rana said the accused after drinking liquor at a wedding function took along a neighbour and friend of the victim and reached her house. They made the girl, who was alone at her home at that time, open the door on the pretext of some work. Her mother was not at home as she had gone to attend a marriage in a nearby village.

The victim, daughter of a labourer, was raped by the three accused. After committing the crime they warned the girl of dire consequences if she disclosed anything to her parents or the police.

Initially, the girl didn't disclosed anything to her mother, who arrived home the next day. She then went to her relatives' house and told her uncle about the incident. Her uncle informed her mother and both went to Pathri police station and lodged a complaint.

The SHO said the accused even offered free land and cash to the victim's mother but she went on to lodge a complaint with the police. According to the Juvenile Law, the identify of the accused have not been made public.

Dehradun, February 12
A team, led by Secretary of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority Banshidhar Tiwari, demolished illegal constructions in the basement of RGM Plaza on Chakrata Road today.

However, a shopkeeper, Bhushan Verma, who has built his office in the basement on 112 sq m area, objected to the demolition. He showed the registry papers and a layout of the area .

Tiwari told him that he has been cheated by the owner of the building, who has sold him a piece of land that is meant for parking. The map probably given to him is different than the one submitted in the MDDA office. However, the MDDA gave him no relaxation and dismantled some part of his office and withheld the activity till he removed his belongings from the office by tomorrow. Verma said he had purchased this land for Rs 35 lakh in 2004.

Dehradun, February 12
District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam today visited those areas in the city where roads had been dug up by the Asian Development Bank Agency (ADB) to lay water and sewerage pipes.

He expressed displeasure at the ignorance of the ADB agency about the roads that had been handed over to other working agencies, including the PWD, for repair work.

He said the ADB agency had finished some works on paper only and it had no knowledge of the ground reality.

The District Magistrate met residents of ward numbers 53 and 57 where roads had been dug up and noticed that they had been facing a lot of problems for the past two years. The residents of Gobindgarh, Shanti Vihar, Mitr Lok Colony, Vijay Park Extension and Rajiv Colony informed Purushottam that they could not be provided sewerage for the past one year as the work was progressing sluggishly. The vehicles slipped on broken roads during the monsoon.

Purushottam was annoyed with ADB officials for not examining the progress of the work on the site. He directed them to complete the sewerage work within the time limit so that the repair work could be handed over to the PWD and government funds were not wasted. He directed both ADB and PWD officials to work in coordination and apprise him about the progress from time to time.

The District Magistrate called upon the people to inform him about the irregularities they may notice.

Mussoorie, February 12
The police, after receiving directions from the government, has begun investigations into identifying the scamsters involved in duping the hapless farmers of the state by luring them into an emu farming scheme in Mussoorie.

According to police SSI RP Sati, his office has received a letter from the higher authorities to investigate the persons who are involved in farming of emu, a flightless, ostrich-like Australian bird in and around Mussoorie. The senior officials have also sought information on whether the individuals around Mussoorie were being lured into emu farming.

The government has been forced to act against such individuals involved in emu farming, who were trying to dupe small investors, showing them large profits allegedly only after the matter was raised by the animal rights group, in particular Gauri Maulekhi, member-secretary, People for Animals, Uttarakhand, and co-opted member, Animal Welfare Board of India. Gauri Maulekhi, through a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary Uttarakhand dated 3-10-2012, had drawn the attention to the fraud-hit emu industry, which has made inroads into the state after having wrecked a large part of the animal husbandry economy of South India.

When contacted Gauri Maulekhi informed The Tribune that emu, a flightless Australian bird, has been at the centre of swelling fraudulent investment schemes in Tamil Nadu that have last been estimated to be at least worth Rs 600 crore.

She further feared that due to the absence of any guidelines on emu farming in the state, the poor and innocent farmers could also fall in the similar trap of various schemes available in the country, resulting in losing their life savings.

Gauri Maulekhi also said that as the emu farming bubble had already burst in South India and the scamsters were eying the state of Uttarakhand to reap rich harvest from the fraudulent scheme, therefore a need to curb the menace before it blows out of proportion was being felt here.

She further said that the birds were now being moved in large numbers from the South to places like Uttarakhand, where the new investors were being drawn in to these schemes, showing the quantum of profit as their main tool.

Relating to the events that occurred in South India, Gauri said that regulators have been silent so far, even after the scam emerged in Tamil Nadu in which several emu farm owners lost their money and the Chief Minister had to order culling of 12,500 emu birds after the farms were abandoned by owners owing to huge losses. In Uttarakhand alone, over 60,000 birds have been sold in the past several months, major farms being in Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar (Kashipur).

Depending on age and size, a pair is available for between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000.

Gauri elaborated further that there is no market for emu oil, emu meat or any other product in India but by floating schemes where the fraudsters first sell chicks at exorbitant price to farmers and later buying those chicks back and selling these to the new farmers, who are lured into the trap through efficient and shrewd marketing.

Some websites have been cheating the investors, quoting prices of 10 pairs of three-month old emu birds to around Rs 150,000, in addition to the cost of fencing and feeding cost at a promise of buying these back a within few months, added Maulekhi.

Gauri Malekhi said that even though it may be an exotic wild bird, it's meat still cannot be sold without licence from the Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttarakhand, as per the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Apart from this an animal can only be slaughtered in a registered slaughterhouse as per the Slaughterhouse Rules 2001, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, but as no slaughterhouse has been built or licensed to slaughter a bird such as emu, it is slaughtered at farms in the most brutal manner.

Maulekhi further said the farmers involved in emu farming needed to be sensitised towards the negative aspects of such activity in the state. Farmers, to save their lifetime earnings, would have to leave them in the nearby forests, which could spell disaster not only for them but also to the fragile environment of the state.Maulekhi was glad that the state government was concerned about the matter and was working towards curbing the menace through strict regulations and guidelines along with educating the farmers to the reality about emu farming.

She also appealed to the hoteliers in Mussoorie not to fall in the trap of such fraudsters and begin the selling of the meat at their institutions.

Dehradun, February 12
The Uttarakhand government's decision to run primary schools in Dehradun on public private partnership is being opposed by primary teachers, who went on mass casual leave today and staged a protest at tehsil headquarters in the state.

As a beginning, the government will run around eight primary schools in Dehradun on public private partnership.

"These schools have been consistently showing thin attendance and the government has limited resources to keep these schools going. We are working on modalities, some of which include making the private partner bear the cost of educating the children and even undertaking repair work in the schools," said PS Jangpangi, Additional Secretary, School Education.

However, the teachers' union is unhappy with the move and as a mark of protest went on mass casual leave.

"The government has been spending a sizeable budget on the maintenance of the schools every year but the schools continue to be in poor shape. It is highly unlikely that the private partner would achieve the same target," said Virender Krishali, district president, Primary Teachers' Association.

Dehradun, February 12
Pachwadoon and XI Star won their respective matches in the 21st Narayan Gurung (Zics) Memorial Football Tournament 2013 today.

In the first match, Pachwadoon Football Club beat Cantt Blue 5-4 in a tie-breaker after two sides went goaless in the stipulated time. Vaibhav, Manish, Kushal, Bhupesh and Parkash scored for Pachwadoon and Ansul, Avtar, Ankit and Anubhav scored for the Cantt Blue team. In the second match, XI Star beat Khukhri Football Club 1-0. Anjun scored the sole goal.

As of tomorrow's matches, Yankies Football Club will take on Wills Youth Club and Garhwal Sporting will clash with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Technical adviser-cum-chief referee V S Rawat supervised today's matches.

Dehradun, February 12
An inter-section cricket tournament is being held at Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC). It is conducted in three categories: juniors, middles and seniors.

The competition began today with the Ranjit and Chandragupta sections sealing emphatic victories.

The second day proved even more exciting as the senior team of the Pratap section overpowered the Ranjit section by setting an imposing target of 135 runs in 15 overs. Cadet Mayank Dhama was the highest scorer with 52 runs. In reply, the Ranjit section could muster only 76 runs before losing all their wickets.

The most intensive encounter was to be the match between the Ranjit and Shivaji sections with the result coming on the last ball of the innings. After having a slow start, the Shivaji section managed 83 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Cadet Pratyush Nayak was the highest scorer with a quick fire 19 from only 10 balls. In reply, cadet Dhruv Singh and cadet Rishi Pangeijam ensured that it was always a comfortable job for them with scores of 21 and 24, respectively. Their stand of 41 runs for the third wicket was instrumental in their success. They won the match by 7 wickets with the last run being scored on the last ball.

In the juniors’ category, the Chandragupta section lost to the Pratap section in a nail-biting finish. Batting first, the Chandragupta section managed a total of 95 runs in the allotted 15 overs. With all odds against them, the Pratap section proved their mettle and scored 96 runs in 14.3 overs. The 32 runs scored by cadet Akshat Sharma were the differentiating factor in the match. The competition is to last for another six days with the finals being played on February 19.

Dehradun, February 12
Doon Tuskers defeated the Success Point cricket team by 114 runs during a match in the 61st Dehradun District Cricket Tournament played at Survey Stadium here today.

Doon Tuskers, after winning the toss, decided to bat first and piled up 258 runs all out in 30 overs. Opener Prashant scored a brilliant 121 runs with the help of 14 fours and 6 sixes. Mahander took 3 wickets for 39 runs. In reply, the Success Pont team was all out for 144 runs, losing the match by 114 runs. Pradeep scored 25 runs while Sunil scored 22 runs.

Harendra took 3 wickets for 24 runs.