Office-of-Profit Issue
BJP to move court against Harak: Bhatt
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
The Uttarakhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has threatened to knock at the door of the judiciary if Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat, who has been holding three offices of profit, does not resign. The BJP has announced to go to court to seek his expulsion from the state Assembly.

Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, addressing mediapersons here today, criticised the Congress government for planning to drop the offices held by Harak Singh Rawat from the ambit of office of profit through an ordinance.

"By planning to drop the offices of chairpersons of the Terai Seed Corporation and Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Ltd (UPNL), the offices held by Harak Singh Rawat, from the list of offices of profit with retrospective effect through an ordinance, the state government has admitted that he has been illegally occupying three offices of profit,” alleged Ajay Bhatt.

Ajay Bhatt said the stand taken by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna vindicated the stand taken by the BJP which had been demanding disqualification of Rawat as an MLA as he occupied not one but three offices of profit. Bhatt demanded that Harak Singh Rawat should either quit and save his face or be ousted from the House.

"Now it is a fact that he has been occupying offices of profit despite being a minister and MLA, so he should either quit himself or be asked to resign from the Assembly," Bhatt said.

A delegation of the BJP legislators had called Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi last week to demand action against Harak Singh Rawat.

Bhatt announced that in case he does not quit, the BJP would approach the court against the unconstitutional act of the minister.

Meanwhile, the state government has already sent a draft of the ordinance to remove these three offices occupied by Harak Singh Rawat out of the ambit of the office of profit.

Ajay Bhatt criticised the state government move and said ordinances were brought only in extraordinary circumstances for some specific purpose and not to help a minister to wriggle out of some unconstitutional crisis.

CM for quality education in villages
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today stressed the need for ensuring that quality education was provided in the remote areas of the state.

Speaking at a function held at Himjyoti School, he said girls today were making a mark not only in academics but also in all spheres of life. He said the girls studying in Himjyoti School were talented and would contribute greatly to society after passing out of school.

The Chief Minister appreciated the efforts of the Principal and the management of the school after making a tour to the school campus.

Former Governor Sudarshan Agarwal said on the occasion that the school had been set up with the objective of imparting traditional as well as modern education to girl students. He said all efforts were being made to inculcate noble values among the students.

Students presented a ballet giving the message of eradicating the evil practices prevalent in society. Members of the school's governing body were present. Principal Jyoti Dhawan proposed the vote of thanks.

Mussoorie traders protest against overflowing sewage, block traffic
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, April 9
Irate over poor situation of sanitation facilities, roads and overflowing sewage, traders from Kulri Bazaar blocked the traffic in the area as a mark of protest against the ''inefficiency'' of the Garhwal Jal Sansthan and local administration in Mussoorie today.

The traders gathered around 11 am and blocked traffic by lowering down the barriers at Picture Palace in protest against the neglect shown by the Garhwal Jal Sansthan here.

The shopkeepers from the area led by Harimohan Goel, lambasting the concerned authority, alleged that the daily consumers were also shying away from the shops owned by the traders in the area due to the strong stench emanating from the overflowing sewage, resulting in financial loss to the business community here.

The local politicians gauging the anger against the Garhwal Jal Sansthan also washed their hands off the matter and joined in the protest in order to get some political mileage from it during the Municipal Council elections despite the model code of conduct being in force.

The president of Mussoorie Traders' Association, Rajat Agarwal, also lamented the fact that the officials despite being informed about the problem on several occasions had turned a blind eye much to their disgust. The road blockade was removed only after the officials from Garhwal Jal Sansthan arrived at the scene and assured to remove the problem within one week.

Junior Engineer of the Garhwal Jal Sansthan R.Rawat who arrived at the scene and pacified the traders with the assurance of solving the problem in one week said that the sewerage was overflowing due to the faulty incline resulting in accumulation of the filth in the drains.

''The directions have been given to redo the work so that the problem does not reoccur in the near future,'' added Rawat. The officials also deployed few employees in the cleaning of sewage process with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, the police remained a silent spectator while the tourists and local commuters had to wait for the roads to be cleared for over two hours in the town.

The traders removed the blockade after the assurance given by the concerned departments.

The SDM, Mussoorie, NS Dangi, speaking on the issue of breach of model code of conduct in place due to the Municipal Council elections said that blocking of traffic without any prior information was against the laid down laws, and if the police sends the report on the whole matter, action will be initiated without any delay.

When contacted the SSI from Kulri police post said that they have noted down the names of the people involved in the blockade and would be sending the detailed report to the senior officers, after which a case will be lodged within a day of two under the breach of model code of conduct.

Work must not stop due to code: CS
Tribune News service

Dehradun, April 9
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain on Tuesday directed officials to ensure that all planning for expenditure be done at the earliest for the financial year 2013-14.

Talking to them at a meeting held at the Secretariat, he said they should make a road map for work to be done in the financial year. They should release the financial approvals soon. He said works under progress should not be stopped due to the imposition of the code of conduct. Ongoing schemes approved earlier could be implemented.

He said budget should be allocated by the administrative department to the heads of various departments.

He said the process of plan allocation had already been computerised to make it fast and efficient.

He said provisions of the FRBM Act (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) should be followed. According to these, there should be revenue surplus. He said this was followed in the last financial year.

Present at the meeting were Principal Secretaries Rakesh Sharma, Ranbir Singh ,S.Raju and Radha Raturi, Secretaries M.H.Khan, Umakant Panwar, Manisha Panwar, RC Pathak, Kunal Sharma, AK Dhaundiyal and Vinod Fonia, and Additional Secretaries Vinod Sharma, Nidhi Pandey, Amit Negi, Neetish Jha, MC Joshi, Saujanya, RC Aggarwal, Manoj Chandra, VS Pandey and Shailesh Bagoli. 

Boy kidnapped, dropped near his house
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
Kidnappers left a boy back near his house after a couple of hours of committing the crime fearing that a youth may have identified them.

A vigilant youth, Punit Singh, a resident of Rest Camp, saw two youths pushing a boy into a white Hyundai car today. Punit, who was going for evening tuition, chased the car and managed to read some part of its number. However, he lost its sight in a crowded place after sometime. He promptly informed the police and gave it the mobile phone that had fallen near the Scooty of the boy when he was being taken away. Interestingly, the mobile phone belonged to one of the accused. This was probably the reason that they left the boy near his house after sometime.

The boy has been identified as Raja Arora, son of Gurcharan Singh, owner of Raja Palace on Tyagi Road. Raja, who lives in Chandan Nagar, was riding his Scooty on the Race Course road and stopped near Bannu School when the accused, who were probably tailing him, bundled him into their Hyundai i-10 car. In the process, Raja’s sandals also fell off.

According to Raja, the kidnappers drove him to many places. They blindfolded him and took him to a house. They threatened him with a gun not to tell anyone about them. He said they later dropped him near his house.

Speculation is rife that the police has found the car used in the crime on Tyagi Road. It has also gathered the details of the car. It belonged to the son of Babu Singh Arora, who lived near DAV College in Dalanwala. Arora is serving life sentence in a murder case. His family no longer lives Near DAV College. The police is investigating whether his son had sold the car or not.

No animal sacrifice at Agnery Devi Temple from Navratras
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 9
The committee of the Agnery Devi Temple in Chaukhutis town of Almora district has decided to stop the traditional practice of sacrificing male buffalos during the Navratras from this year. “We have decided not to sacrifice animals in the temple during the Navratras and on other occasions from this year. Most of the temple committee members have agreed to discontinue this age-old practice,” said Kuber Singh Kathayat, president of the Agneri Devi temple committee.

However, the temple committee members decided to continue following other traditions. “The clan members will continue to hold processions with their traditional signs as usual and cultural programmes by various groups will also be organised during the Navratra festival at the temple,” said Kathayat.

Earlier the Chandika Devi Temple committee in Pithoragarh district had decided to discontinue the practice from the Navratras this year. “The heads of all major clans living in the villages around the Chandika Devi temple have agreed not to sacrifice animals in the temple from the Navratras this year,” said Bharav Dutt Bhatt, priest of the Chandika Devi Temple near Pithoragarh town.

On the other hand, the Golu Sena, which favours this detestable tradition, has described the practice of animal sacrifice as an expression of devotion to various forms of Goddess Durga during the Navratras. “Without animal sacrifice, the work of pleasing Durga Devi cannot be accomplished,” said Hem Pant, president of the Golu Sena. He accuses the administration of threatening devotees against sacrificing animals at traditional temples in the region.

“The traditional faith of the people of the region is being attacked from all the corners. Devotees in Uttarakhand are being deterred from practicing the age-old tradition of animal sacrifice in the name of modern values. This is an attack on the traditional values of the region,” said Pant.

Doon School includes ‘compassion for animals’ in curriculum
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
The Doon International School has incorporated the Compassionate Citizen programme in its curriculum from the current academic session.

Compassionate Citizen is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s version of PETA US internationally recognised humane-education programme. It teaches compassion towards animals that are part of the natural world yet throughout history people have often treated them more like things than feeling beings.

For today’s young people, developing empathy for animals can be a key step towards rejecting violence against all beings, including humans. It is important, therefore, that students learn that the animals in many ways, not so different from humans.

Compassionate Citizen is provided to schools and teachers free of charge and has already been used in more than 7,000 private and government schools throughout India, including the Doon School, Springdales School, Mother’s International School and Sanskriti School in New Delhi; and Jamnabai Narsee, Lilavatibai Podar and Ryan Global schools in Mumbai.

Poonam Sobti, co-opted member of the Aimal Welfare Board of India, said the activities form the core of the programme as students use their reasoning and writing skills to examine the meaningful and complex lives of animals, explore how the relationship with them has changed over the time, discover alternatives to their use and learn how to respond when animals are in trouble.

Gagan Jyot Mann, MD, Doon International School, said, “There is no better approach to teaching children the value of the human life than instilling in them appreciation for all life forms. By incorporating the humane-education programme in the school curriculum, the children will learn to respect and protect all life forms and become better citizens. Going a step further, Mann stressed on the need for the official inclusion of such education in the school curriculum by organisations like the NCERT.

Book released
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
Under the aegis of the Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, Uttarakhand chapter, a book written by Chaitanya Kumari, titled “Rohini”, was released at a function held here yesterday.

Dr Zainab Rehman, former head of the sociology department of MKP College, released the book.

Prof Jaipal Singh, state president of the Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, presided over the function. Dr Aapga Singh, state head of Helpage India and Dr Roop Narayan Sonkar, a prominent Dalit writer, was also present.

Tributes paid to Vedlankar

Haridwar, April 9
Renowned Veda expert, Dr Ramanath Vedlankar, who was one of the last students to study under Gurukul founder Swami Shraddhanand Maharaj, was paid floral tributes before his cremation at Kankhal ghat today.

People from all walks of life attended his last rites.

Vice-Chancellor, Gurukul Kangri University, Prof Swatantra Kumar, said the presence of Ramanath Vedlankara, a pillar of Vedic knowledge, would always be missed. — TNS

Three held for thefts
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
The Patel Nagar police has arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in two thefts incidents in the city.

They have been identified as Sarod Khan of Patel Nagar, Gopal Dutt of Almora and Mahipal Singh of Udham Singh Nagar.

Addressing a press conference here, SSP Kewal Khurana said the trio allegedly committed thefts at Aditya Telecom, Kotwali, on April 2 and at Ajanta Studio, Chakrata Road, on April 6.

The police has recovered six cameras, one I-phone, 700 coins of Rs 10, 37 cellphones, 30 chargers, recharge coupons and batteries from their possession

SSP Khurana said the accused would a recce of the targeted area in the morning and commit theft at night. Gopal used to go inside the shops to steal the items while Mahipal and Sarod would stand outside to keep vigil.