Kedarnath residents protest against helicopter service for pilgrims
Seek replacing 14-km trek route with metalled road
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
Residents of Kedarnath valley have started a relay hunger strike near the helipad at Kedarnath in protest against the area being used by chopper companies for bringing pilgrims to the shrine. Led by Keshav Tiwari, the residents alleged the state government was allowing these companies to flout all environment norms, and was least concerned to construct a road from Gaurikund to Kedarnath for the local villagers.

“As the road concerns local poor villagers, the government is least interested in its construction but wants to leave no stone unturned to benefit the chopper companies”, Tiwari said.

Several pilgrims take helicopter service to Kedarnath as one has to take the compulsory 14-km arduous trek route to reach Kedarnath from Gaurikund in the absence of a metalled road. The villagers want replacing this 14-km trek route with a metalled road.

The Uttarakhand forest authorities also objected to landing and take-off of helicopters in Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary, asserting that frequent movement of the helicopters was proving detrimental to wildlife of the sanctuary.

State orders ending attachment, deputation transfers of teachers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
Now those school teachers resorting to attachment to evade transfers in the remote areas of the state would find it difficult to resort to this trick as the Uttarakhand government has passed an order ending attachment and deputation transfers for the teachers in the state.

For several years now, the school teachers of government schools even after being transferred to the remote areas had managed to avoid joining duty in these schools after getting themselves attached to Dehradun, Haridwar and other areas. ''These teachers had it easy for so long and had evaded going to the original area of the transfer for eight to nine years. While the children suffered, these teachers enjoyed extensive stay during attachments. In the state, anybody could get a letter written from the minister or political leader to stave of transfer to the remote areas of the state. Now with the government order doing away with the attachment transfer, the teachers will have to compulsorily give duties where-ever they are transferred,'' said Mantri Prasad Naithani, Uttarakhand Minister for School Education.

In the Uttarakhand School Education Directorate alone, there are more than 60 teachers who, on the pretext of attachment and deputation, have managed to skip transfers to schools located in the remote areas of the state. ''While the Directorate is full of teachers doing non-teaching work, the schools in the hills are facing shortage of teachers. There are several schools that are on the brink of closure because no teacher is willing to join duty over there. Further, a kind of confusion existed on the whereabouts of these teachers as officially they were posted in the remote areas of the state,'' said Anil Negi, Director, Basic Education.

He said that maximum number of teachers were found attached with school programmes such as mid-day meals, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and other programmes.

In the past too, efforts were made to do away with this practice but on more than one occasion the government succumbed to political pressure. But this time around the government is acting strict and has issued the government order well before the new academic session begins. Beside, orders have also been issued to revert the teachers back to their previous place of posting within the next 15 days.

Claims of authorities fall flat as rains wreak havoc
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 12
Tall claims of disaster control works done last year were exposed by pre monsoon rains in Kumaon region as the rains in the last 24 hours damaged several roads, caused residential buildings to collapse and created panic amongst the residents living by the rivers.

The District Disaster Management Department sources in Pithoragarh said the road from Thal to Munsiyari remained closed on Monday and Tuesday as huge debris gathered at Ratigar near Nachni on this road, after rains continued for six hours in the region.

“The rains were measured at 44 mm by weather scientist,” said Meena Joshi, a revenue officer in Munsiyari, quoting weather unit sources.

The department sources said a three-storey house at Askot collapsed and two make-shift bridges atNachni and Bansbagar area were flowed away by the rains in the district.

Bablu Shahi, a social worker at Nachni, said “The motor road to our village has been damaged at eight spots due to the rains.”

Water level of the Sharda River rose from 7,968 to 18,806 cusec on Monday as the river basins witnessed 82 mm rains on Tuesday. “These rains have come as a boon to the farmers of plain area of Champawat district as they needed water for nurseries of paddy, which are being prepared these days,” said Dr HS Kushwaha, weather unit in charge at pant Nagar University.

However, the road to Purnagiri temple in Champawat district was closed on Tuesday as heavy silt gathered at Batanagar area of Syamalatal hills. “Some of the vehicles, including those of some administrative officers, are still trapped in the silt At Batanagar,” said JS Rathod, SDM of Tanakpur.

According to weather station reports from various districts in the region, a total of 113 mm rainfall has been recorded this year from June 1 till date.

Scientist puts forward new concept on origin of Himalayas
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
A two-day workshop on “Modern Perspectives in Himalayan Geosciences” being held at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) concluded today. Chairing the valedictory session, president, Indian Geophysical Union, Prof VP Dimri, praised the organising committee for the successful organisation of the workshop.

He also invited young researchers to join the Indian geophysical union workshop at National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad shortly.

Earlier, Prof AK Jain, senior scientist, Indian National Science Academy, put forward a new concept regarding the origin of Himalayas.

“Till date the widely accepted view for the origin of Himalaya is the collision of Indian and Eurasian plate. However, I am of the view that the main cause of the origin of Himalayas is due to movement of one tectonic plate under another and not a collision”, Prof Jain said.

Dr MN Srivastava dealt with the physics behind the occurrence of earthquakes. Dr KS Mishra discussed about the basement tectonics and geological evolution of the Cambay basin in India. Dr Gautam Rawat discussed about the use of magnetic data to track the collision tectonic.

Former Director, WIHG, Dr VC Thakur, spoke on tectonic and climate interaction of the north-western Himalayas. Dr Rohtash Kumar, Dr NK Meena and Dr S Rajesh also gave presentations. Four prizes were given to the young researchers for best posters. The prize winners were Atul Jhajhria (first prize), Mohammed Irfan Ahmad (second prize), Niha Karagwal (third prize) and Rakhi Rawat (consolation).

5 disgruntled Cong MLAs boycott CM's meeting

Dehradun, June 12
Crisis in the 15-month-old Vijay Bahuguna government in Uttarakhand deepened today with five disgruntled Congress MLAs boycotting a meeting convened by him, triggering sharp criticism from the ruling party which dubbed it as an "insult" to the Chief Minister.

Bahuguna had called the meeting on Monday to hear their grievances after Congress MLA Harish Dhami threatened to resign last week if his complaints were not redressed within a fortnight, prompting four more party MLAs to express solidarity with him.

Rejecting the Chief Minister's invitation for a meeting at the secretariat, the MLAs instead met state Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal, considered close to Union Minister Harish Rawat, at his residence to vent their grievances.

The boycott of Bahuguna's meeting came close on the heels of Rawat, MP from Haridwar, camping here for three days at the behest of the Chief Minister to pacify the dissident MLAs and defuse the crisis.

Meanwhile, terming the boycott of the meeting by the five MLAs as an insult to the Chief Minister, Pradesh Congress spokesman Dhirendra Pratap today demanded that three of the legislators should quit the posts they hold in the government.

"They have no right to continue in office if they have no faith in the Chief Minister," he said referring to Mayukh Mahar, Himesh Kharkwal and Manoj Tiwari, who hold Cabinet rank posts in the government.

Mahar is vice-chairman of State Planning Commission whereas Kharkwal and Manoj Tiwari are Parliamentary Secretaries.

Interestingly, they represent constituencies located in Kumaon region, considered a stronghold of Rawat, who had nurtured the hope of becoming the chief minister.

Congress has 32 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly with three BSP MLAs, one UKD member and three Independents supporting the Bahuguna government. Opposition BJP has 31 MLAs. — PTI

Big projects' approval to be given through single window system
Tribune News service

Dehradun, June 12
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has announced that for projects (hotels, resorts) of more than Rs 5 crore, approval should be given through the single window system in the state and a committee for the purpose would be constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary.

Chief Minister Bahuguna was reviewing the work of the Tourism Department. He said that said that tourism schemes should be implemented soon. For this, he said, there should be coordination among various departments.

He said that the Auli ropeway should be operated in PPP mode. International tenders should be invited for this. Guest houses should also be given under PPP mode.He said work on ropeways should be paced up.

The CM said that the Tehri Dam reservoir would be developed as an international tourist destination. A water adeventure centre and a houseboat would be provided there. He said safety should be maintained at rafting areas.The CM said that 6 destinations of Rs.30 crore were under construction and two mega circuits of Rs.100 crore were under study.

He said 95 per cent of work has been done on the Haridwar- Rishikesh Swargashram-Muni Ki Reti mega circuit scheme..He said the DPR for the Hemkund ropeway was being prepared.

Present at the meeting were Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, PS (CM) S.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Tourism, U.K. Panwar, Additional Secretary, Tourism, Sachin Kurve, Additional Secretary (CM) N.M.Tripathi and DG (Information) Vinod Sharma.

HC reserves order challenging Rawat's continuance as MLA

Nainital, June 12
The Uttarakhand High Court has reserved its judgement on a petition challenging Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat's continuance as a member of the state Assembly on grounds of holding offices of profit. The single bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhuliya reserved the judgement after hearing the case yesterday, informed the Counsel of the petitioner BJP MLA Ajay Bhatt who is Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

Demand for separate minister of higher education
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
Sunil Aggarwal, general secretary of the self-financed institutes of Uttarakhand, has demanded that there should be a separate minister of higher education in the state since Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who is holding the portfolio, is too busy to look after the higher education sector.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Sunil Aggarwal said that higher education, particularly the B.Ed colleges, are suffering due to apathy of the state government and the worst sufferers are the students of the state. He highlighted the fact that most of the colleges are in the dark about their affiliation following the elevation of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University as a Central university. He charged that the Sri Dev Suman Affiliating University created by the state government has not yet started functioning properly.

Aggarwal said that the new academic session is going to start soon but there is no clear direction to the colleges about their affiliation and other examination-related issues. He cited the resignation of Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University recently as an example of the mess in the higher education. The Kumoan University Vice-Chancellor had resigned citing political interference and apathy of the state government towards the genuine demands of the university.

He appealed to Chief MinisterVijay Bahuguna to look into the higher education affairs or appoint a separate full-time minister of higher education to solve the problems afflicting higher education in the state.

First batch of Mansarovar pilgrims reaches Kathgodam
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 12
The first batch of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra comprising 53 pilgrims reached Kathgodam from New Delhi today. The batch, including 22 women, was received by KMVN officials, including its chairman Kiran Mandal, at the Kathgodam tourist house of the nodal agency.

The yatra will conclude on September 9 when the last (18th) batch reaches New Delhi after completing the yatra. “This year, a total of 18 batches of pilgrims will go to Tibet to have a glimpse of Kailas, the abode of Lord Shiva, and take a dip in the Mansarovar lake,” said Deepak Rawat, managing director, KMVN.

Rawat said each batch would spend 22 days in the yatra. Of this, 14 days would be spent in the Indian Territory and eight in Tibet. “The KMVN is charging Rs 32,000 from each pilgrim for arrangements which include transport, boarding, meals, guides, communication and transportation of a maximum of 25-kg luggage up to the Lipulekh pass,” said Rawat.

He said besides this, the Chinese authorities were also charging $801 (US) from each pilgrim as the charges of expenditure for Indian pilgrims inside the Tibetan territory.

KMVN officials said besides boarding and lodging arrangements, communication facilities had also been provided to the pilgrims. The BSNL had installed DSPT sets at all track route camps. The Ministry of External Affairs has provided satellite phones to liaison officers of every batch of the pilgrims. "We have also set up a control room being run by the ITBP at Sukhatal, Nainital," said Rawat.

Pharmacists rue administration's apathy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
Expressing dismay over the delay in fulfilling their long-pending demands, a delegation of pharmacists, owing allegiance to Diploma Pharmacists Association, Uttarakhand, today met Director, Administration, Dr Lalit Gusain and Additional Director Dr Geeta Joshi at the office of the Directorate of Medical, Health and Family Welfare.

BS Kaluda, President of the association, said during a meeting held between the Department of Finance, Minister of Health and office-bearers, an agreement was reached to fulfil the demands early this year but instead of releasing the government order the concerned department forgot about the entire matter.

The association members were demanding promotion to the post of deputy director pharmacy, creation of two posts of special officer pharmacy, creation of 14 posts of pharmacy in charge, framing of service rules for pharmacists and removal of anomalies existing in the pay scale of pharmacists.

In April, the pharmacists had threatened to boycott work at government hospitals, PHCs, CHCs and sub centres in support of their demands, after which the government had relented. We will soon hold an emergency meeting on the issue to decide on the future course of action, Kaluda said.

Sewa Dal must take government schemes to rural people: CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today called upon members of Sewa Dal to carry information about the welfare schemes of the government to people in far-off and rural areas. He said the members should also inform him about the problems being faced by people in these areas. He was addressing members of the Congress Sewa Dal at a meeting of the state, district, nagar and block executives of the dal.

Bahuguna said the Sewa Dal was the foundation of Congress. More and more young people should be included in the dal. Soon, a training camp for workers of the dal would be held in the state, he added.

He said developing all areas and all sections of society in the state equally was the aim of the government. Suggestions of party workers would be implemented and their problems would be heard, Bahuguna said.

Sewa Dal's national chief coordinator Mahendra Joshi, State Chief Coordinator Ram Vilas Yadav, chairman Yashpal Arya, Congress leaders Vijay Saraswat and Raj Kumar Soni also spoke on the occasion.

First cricket tournament for blind begins today
Tribune News Service

Manvendra Singh Patwal, general secretary of Blind Cricket Association, addresses mediapersons in Dehradun on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Dehradun, June 12
The New Delhi-based Blind Cricket Association (BCA) is organising its first-ever Inter-zonal National Cricket Tournament at the Doon School here from June 13 to June 16.

“This is the first national cricket tournament for the blind in Uttarakhand and our aim is to encourage blind cricket from the grassroots level. The players who perform well would form the Indian Team for the blind that will participate in national and international tournaments,” said Manvendra Singh Patwal, general secretary of the BCA.

Patwal said at least four players from different states would play in the tournament. “They would represent the teams comprising India red, India blue, India yellow and India green. Each state will be represented by four to five players who have been handpicked on merit and then divided in different zones,” said Patwal.

He said to popularise cricket for the blind and to fight against some of the prejudices regarding the disability in society, the association is planning a series of national and international tournaments.

In India, cricket for the blind was initially played at the Dehradun-based National Institute of the Visually Handicapped (NIVH), where specially designed cricket balls are being used for the game.

Panwar hits back at Aeri, calls convention on July 24
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
The ousted president of Uttarakhand Kranti dal ( UKD) Trivendra Singh Panwar has hit back at the Aeri faction by announcing that a convention of the party would be held on July 24 and 25 in Dehradun.

In a statement issued here today, he said that before the state-level convention, the district-level conventions of the party would be held.

Criticising the Aeri faction, Panwar said that as per the agreement reached between the two warring factions, it was decided that he would remain the president of the party till the party convention to be held in July and the convention called by Kashi Singh Aeri last month would be null and void.

The issue of control over office was also to be resolved amicably.

However, Trivendra Singh Panwar alleged that the Aeri faction has flouted the agreement and was allegedly involved in defaming him and his faction in the media.

He said that as per Election Commission his faction is the original Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD).

Ayurvedic sangathan calls off stir
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
After receiving an assurance from Health Minister Surinder Singh Negi, the NRHM Samvidha Ayurvedic Sanyukt Karamchari Sangathan (Uttarakhand) today called off its seven-day-old strike. “We have decided to call off the stir after the minister agreed to look into our demands and gave a written undertaking that our issues will be looked into,” said Dharmender Choudhury, president of the sangathan.

They were protesting against the government order to bring the contractual ayurvedic doctors, pharmacists and multi-purpose workers recruited under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and deployed in allopathic health facilities under the chief medical officers of the districts.

Doon Star Club beat Eleven Star Club in football tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
The Doon Star Club and the Chanderbani Club won their respective matches in the 4th ONGC BS Negi Memorial Football Tournament played at Ambedkar Stadium, here today. In the first match, the Doon Star Club beat the Eleven Star Club by 2-0. Akash scored the first goal in the 45th minute for Doon Star. Vivek scored the second goal in the 55th minute to seal the fate of the Eleven Star Club.

In the second match, the Chanderbani Club defeated 3/9 Gorkha Rifles Army team by a solitary goal. Deepak scored the lone goal in the 30th minute of the game. The Army team tried its best to score the equalizer, but could not succeed due to strong defence of the Chanderbani Club.

Vijay Cantt team will meet Sunderwala Boys while Garhwal Sporting take on the Akranta Club in tomorrows’ matches.

Seminar for apple growers next month

Dehradun, June 12
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said here today that a seminar for apple growers would be held in Dehradun next month. Reviewing the working of the Horticulture Department at the Secretariat today, he said officials of the department concerned should be present at such review meetings.

He approved Rs 50 lakh for the Horticultre Distribution Council. He said the distribution system should be strengthened to improve the economy of the villagers.

He said the initiative should be taken to get Central assistance for projects like horti-tourism and tulip garden in Ramnagar. He said work should begin to form a farmer-consumer centre and marketing shed. — TNS

SD Butt team victorious
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 12
The SD Butt Sports Academy team defeated Excers’ Cricket Club, Lucknow, by 7 wickets in the inaugural match of the Kanta Devi Raghav Memorial Under-17 Cricket Tournament at Survey Stadium here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Excers’ club team scored 138 runs all out in 23.5 overs. Ankit Singh was the highest scorer with 38 runs. Shubham took three wickets for 23 runs. In reply, the SD Butt Sports Academy team made 139 runs for the loss of three wickets to win the match by seven wickets. Mayank scored 63 runs while Vivit remained unbeaten on 42 runs.