Plan to supply water to 8,726 villages in five years: Naithani
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Water Resource Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani today said in order to provide drinking water to all, the Water Resource Department is preparing a scheme that will address the problem of reviving the dried water sources, increase the discharge in the existing sources and utilize new untapped water sources.

“We have held meetings with the Department of Forest and Watershed to devise a long-term plan for recharging the water sources,” said Mantri Prasad Naithani.

While addressing a press conference today, the minister said around 2,287 sources of water (comprising river, dhara, naulas springs and aquifers) in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions had begun to discharge less. While around 4,000 (gravity based sources of water) had either dried or had begun to discharge less.

He said the areas facing perennial water shortage had been earmarked and among them problems of Almora, Pauri, Champawat and Tehri were being addressed on a priority basis.

“Besides focusing on improving the condition of the existing water schemes, the government also plans to provide water to around 8,726 hamlets within the next five years,” he said. These hamlets had not been covered so far under any water scheme.

The minister said the grant-in-aid of Rs 2,200 crore provided by the World Bank for Swajal scheme would also be used for encouraging water conservation practices in the villages.

Further, the minister said the department was also aiming to use solar power for pumping water in the neighbourhood. "Solar power will be used for pumping water. This will help us save money and electricity bills," he stressed.

So far the government has released Rs 37.71 crore for 361 new water schemes and covered 854 hamlets in the state. Denying rumours that the government was planning to wind up the Peyjal Nigam, the minister said it had received around 86 new works totalling around Rs 72.71 crore.

ICFRE team to tie up with Australia in mining
Meets trade panel members in Sydney
Tribune News Service

Hostile UKD leaders hold meeting with CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Leaders of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), who had called a press conference to announce the withdrawal of support to the state government yesterday but postponed the decision, received a letter from Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna this morning to discuss their issues.

UKD general secretary Shanti Bhatt said party president Trivender Singh Panwar, former MLA Pushpesh Tripathi and senior leader Latafat Hussain and patron Kashi Singh Aeri were holding talks with the Chief Minister and state Congress president Yashpal Arya. The meeting was continuing at the time of filing of this report.

Despite the fact that Bahuguna took no note of UKD’s ultimatum to discuss its issues by February 28 or support to his government would be withdrawn, the party lapped up the opportunity to talk with him at the eleventh hour.

Panwar told mediapersons in the morning before the meeting that though the working committee of the party and leaders had unanimously decided to withdraw support to the government, they wanted to see what Bahuguna thought of the issues relating to permanent residentship, Gairsain as permanent capital, 12 subsidised LPG cylinders and a cap on the sale of government land to outsiders etc.

He said they would not compromise on their agenda and would not buy assurances from the Chief Minister any more. “The Chief Minister will have to deliver in writing at today’s meeting,” he said. He added he did not invite Cabinet minister Preetam Singh Panwar to the meeting with the Chief Minister as the latter had been suspended from the party.

Two killed, 46 hurt as bus falls into gorge near Pithorgarh
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 5
Two persons were killed while 46 others sustained serious injuries when the bus they were travelling in fell into a gorge near the Panar bridge, 40 km from Pithoragarh town, last evening.

The victims were returning from Danya after attending a wedding ceremony. When the bus reached near the bridge, the driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell into the 30-ft gorge.

The deceased have been identified as Chandrashekar Upadhyaya (76) and his son Ravindra Upadhaya (42), both residents of Gankot village near Pithoragarh.aSK Singh, circle officer of the Pithoragarh police, said two of the injured had been referred to Haldwani while the others were under treatment at the Pithoragarh District Hospital.

State yet to start audit of maternal deaths
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
The state Department of Health and Family Welfare is yet to initiate an audit of maternal deaths in the state to ascertain if the number of maternal deaths has been brought down five years after the launch of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

As the number of maternal deaths in Uttarakhand continues to be high, the JSY was launched to encourage institutional deliveries. In the new health policy, the government has also pledged to bring the maternal mortality ratio from 180 to 80 per 100,000 live births.

“Each and every maternal death in the state should be audited and results coalesced to ascertain the success or failure of the programme. The department has so far not taken any initiative. Though figures in the district hospitals, especially Dehradun-based District Women’s Hospital, present a picture of the rising number of institutional deliveries, the picture continues to be grim in most parts of the state,” said Dr IG Pal, former DG, Health and Family Welfare.

In Uttarakhand, the maternal deaths continue to be high as pregnant women cannot access hospitals for deliveries. Severe anaemia and delay by high-risk pregnant women to avail the hospital facilities are some of the reasons for maternal deaths. “A comprehensive audit is inbuilt in the NRHM programme but inadequate addresses inscribed by the patients are some of the reasons for not carrying out extensive audits. Though hospitals have been asking the beneficiaries of the JSY to present their identification documents, it cannot be forced,” said Piyush Singh Additional Secretary, Health, and Director, NRHM.

Unless the reporting of death and death audit improves, it is very difficult for the department to improve maternal health and remove the cause of the death.

4 booked for threatening forest official

Dehradun, March 5
Four persons were booked for allegedly stopping and threatening a senior forest official while he was on his way to inspect a mining site in Nainital district.

According to the police, Nitishmani Tripathi, the in charge of the Bailparav range of Tarai West Forest Division in the Ramnagar area, was stopped by the accused on Sunday.

On receiving reports of illegal mining near the Kosi river, Tripathi along with his subordinates left for the spot, but their official vehicle was blocked midway by another vehicle allegedly by the accused.

Then officer and his colleagues then left for the spot on foot leaving their vehicle behind.

On the spot, they learnt that a tractor trolley, full of material mined illegally, had just left, according to the complaint.

Later, when they returned to their vehicle, the accused, including Shivsingh Manral, Virendra Singh Manral, Hemant Bisht, Deewan Singh, entered into a verbal duel with the officials.

They misbehaved with the officer and his subordinates and threatened them with dire consequences, the police said.

The investigation is on in the matter and the accused along with others have been booked under different sections of the IPC on the basis of the forest officer's complaint, they said. —PTI

Vivekananda’s statue installed
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 5
In the sequence of programmes to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the 50th year of establishment of a college, a marble statue of Vivekananda was installed on the local postgraduate college campus here today. The chief guest on the occasion was the local Congress MLA. MLA Myukh Singh Mahar announced a sum of Rs 15 lakh for the college. “The long-standing demand of opening home science and military science at the PG level in the college will be considered seriously,” said the Congress MLA.

Two members of the college NSS team, Girish Chandra Pant and Kailas Koranga, were felicitated by the chief guest at the state level for the contribution to the NSS campaign.

“Swami Vivekananda was a saint with the vision of awakened India, to make the country as vishwa guru as it had been in ancient time. If we really follow his teachings on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, we must imbibe the sense of awakening in us,” said the chief guest while addressing the audience.

Chief Secy stresses on scientific utilisation of revenue resources
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain said here today that for all-round development of the state, scientific utilisation of revenue resources was required. He was speaking at a meeting held in the secretariat regarding the need for increasing revenue. He said that mining , industry, tourism , energy , irrigation, housing and urban development could be used for generating more revenue.

He was concerned that the expected revenue from forests was not coming in. He directed officials that a fresh strategy be developed to achieve 100 per cent revenue

He said that there was vast forest wealth in the state and more revenue must be generated from it. He said a report should be prepared for generating more revenue from the 6 national parks in the state.

Jain said that schemes for eco-tourism and rural tourism should be prepared . He said several commercial buildings were coming up in rural areas and a proposal for imposing property tax on them should be prepared.

Principal Secretary (Industrial development) Rakesh Sharma said a target of 100 per cent revenue from mining had been fixed.

He said that from rivers for which Central Government had given permission for 'chugaan ',a royalty of Rs 120 crore had been received.

Present at the meeting were MH Khan, Secretary, Urban Development, and Additional Secretary (Finance) MC Joshi.

Firm staff protest murder of colleague's son
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Opto Electronics employees blocked Raipur Road in Dehradun today demanding the arrest of those behind the murder of the son of one of their colleagues. However, they lifted the blockade after the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Ajay Bhatt, intervened and assured the protesters of prompt action in the case.

Miscreants murdered the son of an Opto Electronics employee, Satish, on February 18 and dumped the body on the railway line. A deputation of Opto Electronics employees subsequently had met SSP, Dehradun, Kewal Khurana, who assured it that the culprits would be arrested in one week. However, as the police failed to arrest the culprits, the agitated employees blocked the busy Raipur Road today, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Meanwhile, Bhatt reached the dharna site and assured the employees of looking into the matter. On Bhatt's assurance the protesters lifted the blockade

Uma Shankar Sharma, Shashi Nautiyal, RS Pundir, Jagdish Chimwal, Ramesh Guleri and Lalit Joshi were among the protesters. 

Sanskrit varsity student honoured
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March 5
Shiv Charan Naudiyal, a Sanskrit student of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, has brought laurels to the college by winning the Inter-University Folk Language Vocal contest held in Dehradun.

Currently pursuing Bachelor in Education, Shiv Charan has been prolific in Sanskrit language with high percentage scores in Shastri (Bachleors) and Acharya (Postgraduate) Sanskrit degrees.

In the recently held Inter-University Rajiv Gandhi Youth Festival, Shiv Charan won the folk language vocal competition singing in Garhwali language, defeating 16 other competitors hailing from different universities.

Today, Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University Professor Mahaveer Aggarwal felicitated Shiv Charan for winning the first prize in this event.

Talking to TNS, Shiv Charan, a native of Pauri Garhwal, said he tried to hold good knowledge in Hindi, Sanskrit and Garhwali as the more he learnt these languages, the more he got well-versed in each of these.

"Learning one language only enhances one's knowledge about words and different aspects of languages that have common relation and intellectual quotient. Every language has its own unique identity, Hindi is our national language, Sanskrit our civilisation language and Garhwali regional folk language of Garhwal," said Naudiyal while showing his gold medal and meritorious certificate accorded by Governor Aziz Qureshi.

Naudiyal wants to do a research on Garhwali dialect, urging the government to hold specific language course in Garhwali-Kumaoni at the university level to promote these twin dialects of the hill state.

VC Mahavir Aggarwal emphasized on the need of feeling pride in speaking one's regional language as the very culture of the region specific revolved around language.

"You don't speak language; slowly the very local culture diminishes. There is something of Sanskrit in every language so are the local dialects having something of local culture which we need to preserve," opined Aggarwal.

CM's statement on janata darbars comes in for sharp criticism
Bahuguna not serious in solving state's problems: Ajay Bhatt 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s recent utterances have come up for sharp criticism by the Opposition BJP leaders, who have begun questioning the seriousness on the part of the Chief Minister in tackling the problems of the state.

The Chief Minister seemed in a hurry yesterday at the janata darbar where he barely spent a minute, disappointing the people. He visited the area after a gap of six months. It was his statement that janata darbars were proving to be quite costly that had the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly terming him insensitive. “ The sum of Rs 50 lakh spent on the holding of the janata darbar is comparatively very low in comparison to the money spent on foreign trips of the ministers. The Chief Minister has rubbed salt in the wounds of the people who came to the Chief Minister with the hope of finding a solution to their problems,” said Ajay Bhatt.

He also questioned the seriousness of the Bahuguna government in the light of the revelations made by the Uttarakhand government that the proposals sent by him pertaining to development in his area have been misplaced. “There is total chaos in the government. There should be some accountability fixed for such a blunder,” said Bhatt.

Bhatt also riled the Chief Minister for failing to do any home work on the schemes that were already launched in the state. “The Chief Minister is in the habit of making renouncement of schemes and programmes that were part of the previous government. In Rishikesh, he announced that yoga would be introduced in schools when this was already announced by the BJP government,” he said.

Former Chief Minister BC Khanduri too had accused Bahuguna for making claims on schemes that were announced during his tenure. 

Forest Dept, NGOs chalk out plan to check leopard deaths
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
With large-scale leopard causalities in Uttarakhand within the first two months of this year, Uttarakhand Forest Department, after facing much criticism for its complacent policies in dealing with wild cats, has decided to take along NGOs to formulate an action plan to check this phenomenal rise in leopard deaths in the state.

The leopard casualties have already crossed the 50 mark within the first two months of 2013. Wildlife conservationist NGOs fear that 2013 could be the worst year for leopards in Uttarakhand and have repeatedly questioned state forest authorities' commitment towards safeguarding Uttarakhand leopard wealth.

After much deliberations, Uttarakhand forest authorities agreed to work with NGOs on an action plan that includes developing intelligence network, upgrading anti-poaching cells, adopting measures to minimise leopard deaths in road accidents and undertaking awareness campaign to sensitise the masses on leopards.

At a meeting held with NGOs today at the office of Chief Wildlife Warden, Forest Department sought suggestions from NGOs to help tackle the rising challenge of leopard deaths. A concern in particular was raised over use of clutch wires to kill wildlife. These clutch wires are used to make traps for wild boars and other wildlife animals by village people but it is basically the leopards that get trapped in these clutch wire traps, losing their lives in the process.

A participant to the meeting, Wildlife Protection Society of India Uttarakhand head Rajendra Agarwal said Uttarakhand forest authorities need to pull up their socks and seek prompt measures to check the spurt in leopard death incidents. "Rampant leopard deaths in Uttarakhand is bringing a bad name to the state when it comes to leopard conservation initiatives, Agarwal pointed out.

Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Chief Wildlife Warden SS Sharma said they look forward for positive cooperation from NGOs towards safeguarding the wildlife of the state, including leopards.

Additional PCCF SK Dutta, Director, Rajaji National Park, Subudhi, represented the state Forest Department, while from NGOs, Rajendra Agarwal from Wildlife Protection Society of India, Gauri Maulekhi from People for Animals, S Kundu from Wildlife Trust of India and Dr Abhishek Singh from Endangered Flora and Fauna on Earth Conservation Team (EFFECT) attended the meeting.

HC notice to state on security of tigers, elephants in Corbett
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 5
A High Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Alok Singh has served a notice on the state government, asking it to furnish the details of the arrangements it has made for the protection of elephants and tigers in the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

It comes in the wake of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the court by Himalayan Yuva Gramin Sansthan, an NGO. In the PIL, the NGO stated that the illegal construction of hotels and resorts in the park area was threatening the security of elephants and tigers there.

The court has also asked the government to give information on why Van Gujjars are still living in the park area despite they have been compensated for leaving the area.

Be sensitive towards women, DIG tells cops
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
DIG, Dehradun Range, Amit Sinha, inaugurated a workshop on gender sensitisation in the police lines today. It was coordinated by NGO, SEZ, which was attended by policemen. Sinha said the police personnel working at the level of police stations should not be governed by their pre-conceived notions when it came to filing reports on women's matters. Usually, in matters of eve-teasing or sexual harassment, they instinctively suspected women’s character and asked questions to them accordingly. As the name suggested, First Hand Report, they, too, must register the complaint in its true spirit, looking at it from the angle of the complainant.

He urged them to take the demanding and variation aspect of their jobs as a blessing, which gave them the opportunity to serve society. With this mindset, they would not be under any stress.

Sinha indicated towards the policemen at the lowest rung, whom the women complainants confronted first, such as guard or clerk. He held these policemen responsible for the hesitation in the minds of women victim who did not prefer to come most of to register complaints. 

Kiran Ulfat of Nanhi Duniya gets award
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 5
Chief Promoter and Executive of Nanhi Dunya (The International Movement of Children & Their Friends) Kiran Ulfat Goyal has been honoured with the Bharat Vidya Shiromani Award and a certificate of excellence for the outstanding achievements and a remarkable role in the field of education.

The award was presented to her by Dr GVG Krishnamurty, a former Election Commissioner, Dr Bishma Narain Singh, former Central Minister for Education and former Governor, and JC Verma, a former Chief Justice, at The Indian Society of International Law, Krishna Menon Bhawan, New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion as a guest of honour, Dr Krishnamurty laid special emphasis on speaking in the national language. Sharing his views, he said there was a time when people considered their values important than their position or post. However, these days in want of position or power, they leave their values.

He said it was the duty of educationists to inculcate values in children, so that when they grow up they become the asset of society.

A national seminar on “Education & industrial development", was also organised on the occasion. Dr Mahavir Tuli, Chairman, International Institute of Education and Management, and Joginder Singh, a former CBI Director, were the eminent speakers.

Expressing gratitude for this recognition, Kiran Goyal said, “I dedicate this award to my parents, Sadhna Ulfat and Prof LR Ulfat, who founded the Nanhi Dunya movement before Independence. I was always interested in education and felt a real desire to help my parents in their important mission."

She said," I have an inherent desire to promote the cause of young ones. I would like to share my decades of experience and enhance our society, so that we all can create one global family."