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PFA blames Forest Dept for rising deaths of leopards
Bahuguna launches Rs 10.64 cr development works
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2014 General Election
Kumaon leaders, people unhappy with Rail Budget
3-day skiing games open at Auli
Elections for various DBA posts pass off peacefully
DM reviews distribution of LPG cylinders
CM: 7 projects to be completed during 12th Plan period
BJP flays govt for making liquor cheap
Child rights panel’s notice to Labour Commissioner
Tehri students taken on guided tour of Company Garden
Pant: Govt failed to generate revenue from resources
Painting exhibition, Sufi song programme at Raj Bhavan
National seminar from March 1
Corbett park officials continue strike
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PFA blames Forest Dept for rising deaths of leopards
Dehradun, February 27 The police arrested Balbir, son of Bisan Ram from Tharali in Chamoli, and seized a leopard skin from his possession. In another incident, also reported from Chamoli, a leopard skin was recovered but the alleged accused, Kundan Ram, managed
to flee. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), Uttarakhand unit, which constantly monitors wildlife scenario in the state, 50 leopard casualties have so far been recorded in the state since the start of the year. Asserting that the future of leopard in Uttarakhand seems bleak, Uttarakhand in charge, WPSI, Rajendra Agrawal, said taking into account the previous year’s data, the leopard causalities on an average remained around 100. However, this year the causality figure has reached 50 and that too within the first two months of the year. “This is alarming and 2013 could go the most dreadful year for Uttarakhand leopards,” Agarwal pointed out. Hunter Lakhpat Singh Rawat, who has shot dead a large number of man eater leopards across the state, admitted that leopard causalities could certainly be fallout of rising incidents of man-animal conflicts in the state. The state Forest Department is mulling coming up with an action plan to save state’s wildlife, particularly leopards. The department had, sometime back, increased the compensation amount for families of leopard-attack victims to reduce growing animosity among villagers towards the wild cat. But, Member Secretary of People For Animals, Uttarakhand, Gauri Maulekhi, out rightly blamed the state forest authorities for the rising leopard deaths. “The Uttarakhand Forest Department has completely failed to prevent poaching and most of its officials are more interested in foreign tours than take concrete measures. Leopard continues to be the most vulnerable animal in the state,” observed Maulekhi. As per estimates, nearly 40 per cent of the total leopard deaths in the country take place in Uttarakhand. The state has a population of about 2,000 leopards. |
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Bahuguna launches Rs 10.64 cr development works
Dehradun, February 27 He addressed the audience at the felicitation ceremony and assured it of development of the area on priority, especially roads and drinking water facilities. Bahuguna had earlier declared the Binhar area backward. The Chief Minister said the government was committed to focusing on the development of tourism and industries, besides generating more electricity in the state. |
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2014 General Election
In Haridwar where Congress parliamentarian Harish Rawat netted a record victory in the last Lok Sabha election may face a tough contest this time.If sources close to ex-Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank are to be believed and the recent busy fixtures in which he is presiding as chief guest are taken into account, then it’s quite clear that Nishank is eyeing contesting from Haridwar seat. Just in the past two days Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank paid a visit to more than a dozen-odd programmes, that included party workers' gatherings to social ones like attending programmes related with Sant Ravi Das Jayanti and inauguration of hospitals and commercial establishments. Speaking to TNS while visiting a party worker’s home, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank did not gave a clear reply but also did not refute speculations. “People forget that apart from being a legislator from Doiwala, I am BJP national vice chief, too, and have to ensure a strong party base in all the constituencies,” he added. "As far as my contesting the election is considered, that is for the party high command to decide. If Raj Nath and party workers want me to contest from Haridwar or my home place Pauri Garhwal, I will definitely have to adhere to their wish,” said Nishank, who has held multiple portfolios like Health-Culture and Hill Development, besides ministerial berths in UP/ Uttarkhand Cabinets. The pro-Nishank lobby in Haridwar includes current district party chief Sushil Chauhan, ex-minister Pankaj Sehgal and ex-district chief OP Jamdagni, who remain present in all the fixtures of Nishank's press meets. “Once Haridwar used to be the traditional bastion of BJP but of late we have suffered defeats due to party infighting and lack of suitable candidates. But if the party opts for charismatic leader like Nishank, then surely even current parliamentarian Union Minister Harish Rawat will fail to defeat him,” said Jamdagni. Political pundits also foresee contesting by Nishank from Doiwala segment, which falls in Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency, rather than opting from any of the hill Assembly segment, as pre-planned foresight move. Veteran political commentator PS Chauhan, who has covered Lok Sabha elections of Haridwar since 1977, pointed out that segments of Doiwala, Raiwala, Dharmapur and Rishikesh post 2009 delimitation fall in Haridwar Lok Sabha periphery, which is being considered by Nishank to his advantage. Here by virtue of being a Doiwala legislator, substantial population of hill voters and having active presence in Haridwar plain regions during his tenure as Chief Minister, Nishank stands a good chance of winning here than in any other constituency in Garhwal division. Another major reason he cites in this regard is that there is no other seat easily available to contest from Garhwal division. Notably, Pauri Garhwal, home district of Nishank, remains traditional seat of his fellow party mate, ex CM BC Khanduri, who has been contesting from this seat since 1991.Tehri Garhwal bypoll win by Tehri dynasty member Mala Raj Laxmi Shah makes her the eventual candidate next time too. That leaves only Haridwar seat as the only option for Nishank to contest if he wants to enter national parliamentary politics. |
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Kumaon leaders, people unhappy with Rail Budget
Pithoragarh, February 27 “The non-sanction of any super fast train for the state and denying railway needs of SIDCUL are the main drawbacks of this Rail Budget from the point of view of Uttarakhand,” said Suresh Joshi, general secretary, BJP. Pradeep Tamta, MP, Almora, hailed the budget and said the Railway Minister had made a new beginning by giving financial approval to the long demanded railway line from Tanakpur to Bageshwar. “The approval of the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line with eight others spread to the border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab is a good sign and it gives hope that the construction work on the lines will start after the survey is complete,” said Tamta. While the members of the Tanakpur-Bageshwar Rail Sangharsh Samiti welcomed the approval of the rail line saying the proposal, which was initiated by the British in 1882, finally got the approval this year. It was categorized among nationally-important railway projects. BJP legislator from Lohaghat Puran Singh Phartiyal said the announcement was a Congress design to reap political benefits in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. “The Tanakpur-Bageshwar railway line will become praise-worthy only when construction work starts on it,” said Phartiyal. The Congress leaders in Almora and Bageshwar have decided to felicitate the Local MP and Union minister Harish Rawat for his efforts in getting the national status for the new railway line. The industrialists and traders from Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital regretted that the budget deceived the Kumaon residents. They said it would have been better had the Railway Minister included the construction of new lines in the region with 22 other rail lines he approved for construction. “The long-standing dream of Kumaon residents of having trains from Kathgodam to main towns of the country like Bareilly, Lucknow, Dehradun and Jammu has been shattered in this budget,” said Dr Pramod Aggarwal, president of the Prantiya Udhoga Vyapar Mandal,
Haldwani. |
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3-day skiing games open at Auli
Dehradun, February 27 Murugeshan had to inaugurate the games as no minister or senior bureaucrat was present on the occasion. Besides the lack-luster attitude of the state government, people also did not show much interest and did not reach the venue to cheer the players who came from different states. It indeed exposed the attitude of the ministers, especially of Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal and senior bureaucrats, on the issue of promotion of sports in the state. The Chairman of the WGFI, SS Patwal, said his organisation would arrange for a skiing coach to train the upcoming talented skiers and also hold regular camps at Auli. Head of the organising committee SS Pangti said the participants of the games came from the Army, the Navy, the GMVN, Garhwal Scouts, the ITBP, mountaineering institutes and other states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The other institutions which contributed to the funding of the games are NTPC, ONGC, ITBP and GMVN. All participants led by ITBP player Mukesh Bora saluted Chairman of the Nagar Palika Rishi Prasad Sati, who was the chief guest on the occasion. Some 16 teams from the ITBP and the Army comprising 73 women and 17 men are participating in the games. Many of the participants are international players. Most of them are from Himachal Pradesh. They include Santosh Thakur, Rashial, Varsha, Vineet and Chandan, who had participated in many international skiing games. Two Assistant Commandants of the ITBP Nanak Chand and Bhag Chand, who had participated in several events like the Skiing World Cup, the Skiing Asian Cup and the Olympic Games, are members of the technical team for the games. Four skiing races in the men and women categories will be held. In the race held today 64 men and 16 women players participated, Pangti said. |
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Elections for various DBA posts pass off peacefully
Derhadun, February 27 There are 35 candidates in the fray this time, seven more than the previous elections, of which 11 lucky would hold different positions in the DBA. The nominations came to an end on February 11. The candidates who are in the electoral arena for the position of president are Surender Pundir, Rajiv Sharma, Shiv Charan Singh and Promila Rawat. Those for vice-president are Rajiv Gupta, Deepak Kumar, Narender Singh, Prabhat Chander. Others vying for the position of secretary are Raghuvir Singh, Anil Pandit, Kamal Virmani, Kali Prasad Bhatt and Anil Kumar Sharma. Those competing for the position of joint secretary are Ajay Bisht , Gambhir Singh Chauhan, Sanjay Kukreti and Bhanu Prasad Sisodia. For the position of auditor, Neeraj Aggarwal and Satya Dogra are in the fray. Manish Kumar Sehgal, Aparna Chauhan, S Bharti and Sher Singh have put their stakes for the position of librarian. Those who are contesting for the position of working committee of DBA are Jatinder and Virender Sehgal for 10 plus, Shailender and Sumanlata for 7 plus, Alpana, Prabhakar and Rajender Kumar for 5 plus, Anil Singh, Omender Pal, Pankaj Bhandari and Vinay for 3 plus and Gulnar Bano for 3 lus, women's seat. Among all, Surender Pundir is trying his luck for the second time. He is president, DBA, at present. |
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DM reviews distribution of LPG cylinders
Dehradun, February 27 Purushottam was fumed to see that Food Security Officer Anuj Thapliyal only took nine food samples in the entire month of January. He gave him one week to furnish an explanation in this regard. He also directed him to take action against those who were indulging in food adulteration. He also instructed him to carry periodical checks on those vehicles that were bringing milk to the city from other states. He said he must inform him and the Garhwal Commissioner regarding punitive action taken against the guilty in the matter. He said they must conduct raids on suspected elements in the trade so that public could get pure and quality products. Thapliyal informed the DM about the intensive food campaign launched by his department in 2012 where they sent 55 food samples to laboratory for evaluation of which eight were found adulterated. They then filed case against the accused in the matter. Purushottam directed District Supply Officer Shyam Arya to remove the bottlenecks in the distribution of LPG in the city. He said people were coming to him with complaints every day about not getting cylinder delivery for days together. The problems were specially cropping up regarding home delivery of cylinders. He said he must ensure mandatory home delivery of gas cylinders to the consumers. For this he gave him a time period of 15 days to make all preparations. Thereafter, the consumers will get cylinders within the stipulated time. Arya assured him to comply with the order. The meeting was also attended by Chief Development Officer Sushil Kumar and zila panchayat official Bharat Singh Negi. |
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ICFRE chief releases annual report of WB-funded project
Dehradun, February 27 Releasing the reports here, Dr Bahuguna said the increasing demand for food, fibre and fuel was leading to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. He said it was important to address the issues related to sustainable management. He referred to the role of the SLEM project partners in bringing out the initiatives related to sustainable land management practices through integration of watershed management, joint forests management and suitable livelihood development in the country. “For example, in Uttarakhand, watershed project, various initiatives like biogas plants, restoration of water energy (gharats), cultivation of medicinal plants and charcoal making from pine briquettes have been undertaken,” he said. Earlier, ICFRE Deputy Director General (Extension) Saibal Dasgupta gave a brief outline about the SLEM project. He said the sustainable land management contributed not only to biodiversity conservation but could also deliver benefits to production systems in terms of services, which included soil fertility, erosion control as well as wellbeing and sustainable livelihoods of local communities engaged in the SLEM. Senior officials of the ICFRE were also present on the occasion. |
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CM: 7 projects to be completed during 12th Plan period
Dehradun, February 27 Bahuguna said that hydropower projects were extremely important for meeting the energy needs and providing employment to people in the state. He said a lot of resources had been spent on projects' construction which had been stalled. He said that pending clearances by the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests should be given to hydropower projects in Uttarakhand . The Chief Minister said that 3622 MW of power was being produced by hydropower projects in Uttarakhand, while projects with a capacity of 3972 MW were being constructed. He said power generation had started at Maneri Bhali stage 2 and Koteshwar project. He said the Srinagar and Tapovan-Vishnugad projects were at the last stage. He said that 7 projects of 2519 MW capacity were to be completed in the 12th 5 Year Plan period. Bahuguna said that the Maneri project had been closed by NGBRA. He said 6 more hydropower projects had been approved by the state government, including Lakhwar and Devsari. Uttarakhand Planning Minister Dinesh Aggarwal and Uttarakhand Principal Secretary (power) S.S.Sandhu were also present at the meeting. |
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BJP flays govt for making liquor cheap
Dehradun, February 27 "Instead of focusing on providing for better infrastructure, educational and medical facilities for the people of the state, the Bahuguna government preferred to hold a Cabinet meeting and announced rationalisation of taxes on liquor, thereby making liquor cheap in the state," charged Bhatt. Bhatt also rejected the claims made by the government that the rationalisation of taxes would lead to collection in revenue.
— TNS |
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Child rights panel’s notice to Labour Commissioner
Dehradun, February 27 The SCRPC had asked the Labour Commissioner to furnish information on the 62 children hailing from Kumaon and Garhwal and engaged
in child labour. The Labour Commissioner had failed to provide information in seven days and the information provided was incomplete. "We had sent a letter in October 2012 seeking details about the age and action taken by the Commissioner to rehabilitate the children. Not only was the information delayed but was incomplete. The Commissioner failed to furnish certificates of children who it had claimed were above 14 years of age. The Commissioner did not provide the information sought by the SCRPC and tried to keep us in the dark," charged Ajay Setia, Chairman, SCRPC. Similarly, during a meeting with the Chief Secretary, it was decided to carry out a survey with the state-based universities for ascertaining the number of children involved in child labour but no action had been taken said Setia. The SCRPC is empowered to serve notices to those persons violating it's directives under Section 13 of the NCPCR Act. |
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Tehri students taken on guided tour of Company Garden
Mussoorie, February 27 The students were given the guided tour of the garden where they learnt about several plant species here and took some species for the laboratory test with them to school. The students also learnt about the historic Ginkgobioloba tree that was brought from China by the British and planted in the garden during the British period. The curator of the garden Vimal Sharma apprised the students that more than thousand species of plants could be studied at the garden in detail. He also said that the garden also had several species of roses which were only available here. The students also paid a visit to Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administration, the seat of learning, and gained basic knowledge about administration. The students also paid visit to the SDM office, court premises, Tilak Memorial Library and Santura Devi Temple on their educational tour. |
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Pant: Govt failed to generate revenue from resources
Pithoragarh, February 27 “The government failed to generate money from the mining sector which could have given revenue of Rs 1,100 crore for the next financial year. Instead the government could only manage Rs 100 crore from the mining activities,” he said. Pant added the failure of the government to generate revenue from water and electricity supply had pushed the state into financial uncertainty. “By scrapping taxes on English wine the state will lose Rs 200 crore of the Rs 750 crore excise revenue it gets annually. And by removing VAT from LPG cylinders it will incur Rs 30 crore loss,” he said. Pant said while the resources of the state had not been properly used for generating revenue, ministers in the Bahuguna government were on an expenditure spree. They had decided to purchase a new helicopter for Rs 18 crore and nearly Rs 70 lakh would be spent on its maintenance annually. “This all extravaganza has forced the government to raise loans from the market. It has taken loans of Rs 4,600 crore till date to meet its expenses,” he said. The BJP leader challenged the government to win the reward of Rs 1,000 crore for financial management from the Union Finance Commission as was won by the previous BJP government. “The government, which has failed to spend even 50 per cent of Rs 8,200 crore sanctioned for the development of the state by the Planning Commission for this fiscal, has been exposed before the people,” he said. |
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Painting exhibition, Sufi song programme at Raj Bhavan
Dehradun, February 27 Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that people should learn to rise above religion and create a world of peace and brotherhood. "Most of the bloodshed in the world has been caused in the name of religion," he said. The oil paintings gave the message of brotherhood and a world without any religious differences. The Governor said that Uttarakhand had a lot of talent and to showcase this he had started the Inter University Youth Festival, which was under way at Doon University . Snehil’s chairperson Mamta Singh threw light on the organisation's aims and activities. The painters whose paintings were put up were Mamta Singh, Reeta Tiwari, Vinita Dahiya, Meenakshi Nautiyal, Zakir Hussain, Shashi Jha, Shaista, Reena Gupta, Ranjana Sharma ,Priyanka Patel ,Amrita Rawat ,Jassi, Deepak and Lata Rawat. Himanshu Darmora sang 'Nain lagaye,' 'Faasle aise bhi hinge' and 'Aaya tere dar par deewana.' Mamta Singh and Chhaap Tilak sang 'Sab chheeni' and 'Tu hi mera sukoon hai.' Among those present were S. Farooq, Devendra Bhasin, Sudha Pandey , R.B.Singh, Puneet Saini and Reeta
Tiwari. |
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National seminar from March 1
Pithoragarh, February 27 The seminar will be attended by several luminaries in the field, including former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University HR Singh. “Besides Dr HR Singh, research fellows from several institutes will participate in the seminar. Dr MC Arunan from TIFR, Mumbai, Dr Akshay Anand from PGI, Chandigarh, Dr Somnath Singh and Dr Ashish Gupta from DIPAS, New Delhi, and Prof CC Barua and Dr HS Jayanth from Mysore, besides a score of researchers and professors from Kumaon and Garhwal universities will take part in the seminar,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar, head of zoology department in the college. “The seminar will discuss, besides latest research in the field of ethno pharmacology, biological sciences at international level and research on Himalayan medicinal plants and their biodiversity,” he said. |
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Corbett park officials continue strike
Dehradun, February 27 The agitating Corbett park officials also threatened to further intensify their agitation if action was not taken against the policemen responsible for the happening. However, Corbett authorities on the other hand asserted that there was normal functioning inside the park and even safari was continued as per schedule yesterday. Meanwhile, Commissioner, Garhwal, who is conducting an enquiry into police and Kalagarh range officer scuffle, will be submitting it's report shortly. It is noteworthy that Kalagarh range officer Brij Bihari Sharma was manhandled by the police when he was transporting debris from encroachments demolished in the Kalagarh dam colony. |
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Haridwar, February 27