SC accepts U’khand’s stand on relief works
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 30
The Supreme Court today accepted the Uttarakhand Government’s contention that the rescue and relief operations launched in the wake of the recent floods were complete and there was no need for any directive on a public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue.A Bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik disposed of the PIL asking the petitioners to approach the Disaster Management Committee if they had any proposals relating to the rehabilitation and prevention of such disasters in the future.

The petitioners had also sought the implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, contending that the casualties would have been much less had the state government implemented the provisions of the law.

Even eight years after the enactment of the law by Parliament, the Centre and various state governments were ignoring it, it 
was alleged.

 MNREGS Ombudsman receives only five complaints in 3 years
Neena Sharma/TNS

Dehradun, August 30
Lack of awareness and inability to present documentary proof to substantiate charges of irregularities has resulted in the Ombudsman (Lokpal) set up for Dehradun district in 2011 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) receiving only five complaints pertaining to irregularities in the implementation of the Act in the last three years.

In a bid to bring transparency in the implementation of the MNREGS, Lokpals were appointed in all the 13 districts of the state. Five complaints were heard by JR Lapar, Lokpal for Dehradun district, between November 2011 and October 2013.

“In my opinion, there could be two reasons for the less number of complaints. One would be that the implementation of the MNREGS is going smoothly in the state and other could be the lack of awareness. Villagers may not be aware about the constitution of an ombudsman who could be approached with complaints,” said JR Lapar, Lokpal, MNREGS, Dehradun.

While there have been efforts to put up boards in different blocks informing the villagers about the office of the Lokpal and how they could approach him for lodging complaints, lack of awareness continues to be the biggest hindrance in encouraging villagers to bring the cases of irregularities to the notice of the Lokpal.

Among the five complaints lodged in the last three years, four complaints were disposed of while disposal of the fifth complaint is underway.

The complaints were lodged by villagers from Harbanswala village, Sherpur village, Majra Mafi village and Paundha village.

Out of the five complaints, two complaints were from Harbanswala gram panchayat and one each from the remaining villages.

“In the case of complaints put up by Harbanswala villagers, these were cancelled for the lack of documentary proof. Despite giving enough time, the complainants were unable to substantiate their claims. In another complaint lodged by the people of Sherpur village, I had recommended joint inspection by the District Development Officer and District Panchayati Raj officer for the recovery of Rs 2.5 lakh,” said Lapar.

Under the MNREGS Act, the complaint has to be disposed of between 15 and 45 days and the Lokpal instructs the District Rural Development Authority to carry on site supervision in case of complaints pertaining to poor quality of work. 

 Our aim is to make only quality serials, say TV artistes
Stars on promotional event in Haridwar
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 30
Refuting the argument of filmmakers that they make and show only what public wants, artistes of popular SAB television comedy serials ''FIR''and ''Lapata Ganj,'' said: ''Actually if we show good ,quality serials, then only the audience is bound to see them regularly.''

SAB TV serial actors during a promotional event in Haridwar on Friday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

These noted television artistes were in Haridwar on a promotional event and going by the huge response they got from the local people, their above argument seem to hold true in reality too. Fans calling these artistes by their on-screen names and demanding their popular style and dialogues made it clear that comedy serials are in no way less that common daily ''Saas bahu'' saga-based soaps.

''FIR'' serial's famous cop Gopi said that being in spiritual-religious city of Haridwar is a blessing for them and they want to give the message to people of the conservation of the river Ganga, which is regarded as mother of Indian civilisation.

Gopi drew major applause by saying in his inimitable style, ''Haridwar Shahar hai bahut acha ijh da?.Hamey karni chahiye Ganga ki raksha ijh da.''

While Aditi Telang, who essays dumb girl role in ''Lapata Ganj,'' said that film-television makers and artistes need to provide healthy, cultural-based entertainment to the audience as silver screen has a major impact on the viewers.

Aditi said that it was the reason why SAB television serials had become household names, despite they not being made on a grand scale, not having saas bahu themes, violence or sensualisation in their content.

''I am a regular visitor to Haridwar as I am based in Delhi and feel spiritually blessed whenever she is in this world renowned city. I am glad to know that people in Uttarakhand like our work and know characters of FIR ,Lapata Ganj and other shows of the channel,'' said Aditi.

Other actors, too, stressed on good script, screen play and content in television serials.

 Govt plans to undertake survey of OBC population 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
As elections to the three-tier Panchayati Raj (PR) system have been postponed by six months in view of the natural calamity, the Uttarakhand government is now planning to undertake a survey of OBC population for reserving seats for the OBC candidates as mandated in the PR Act.

The survey would be carried out by the Department of Panchayati Raj and is expected to start by the middle of next month.

Except for Haridwar district, the term of Panchayati Raj in the remaining 12 districts would end on September 29, after which the elections were to be announced.

But now with the date for the new elections to be announced after six months, the department of Panchayti Raj would undertake a rapid caste survey for reservation of the seats for OBC candidates.

Earlier, in the absence of a survey, the department was contemplating holding the elections on the basis of the 2005 survey, which was rejected by the elected representatives. 

 Jansangathan for action against firms responsible for floods in Garhwal 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
Matu Jansangathan has threatened to start a widespread agitation if no action is taken against hydropower project companies responsible for floods in Chamoli and Srinagar regions of Garhwal.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, Matu Jansangathan's founder-president Vimal Bhai asserted said the Vishnuprayag hydropower project of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited was responsible for sudden floods in the Alaknanda, which led to devastation in Lambagad, Pandukeshwar, Gobindghat and other villages of Chamoli Garhwal district. He said those living downstream of the Vishnuprayag Dam faced the wrath of Alaknanda due to flooding, which he said, was caused by sudden gush of water due to sudden release from the Vishnuprayag Dam.

He said similarly Srinagar hydroproject was responsible for flooding in Srinagar and adjoining areas. He disclosed that 330 MW Srinagar hydro power project being constructed by the Alaknanda Hydropower Company Limited was responsible for havoc in Srinagar as the debris dumped by the company along the river was carried to the homes of people in Srinagar and other areas. He said neither these companies nor the state government had come forward to help the affected people.

Vimal Bhai said they, too, had written to both Central and state authorities about the devastation caused by the Vishnuprayag hydropower project and Srinagar hydropower project but no action had come so far from the government. Vimal Bhai said the Matu Jansagathan was giving 15 days time to the state government to act on the matter and impose financial penalty on the companies managing these projects or they will be forced to take to streets.

Matu Jansangathan's Puran Singh Rana was also present at the news conference.

 State to be given Rs 6,687 cr for reconstruction work 
Decision to be ratified by Cabinet committee 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
An inter-ministerial group meeting in New Delhi today accepted the decision to provide Rs 6,687 crore to Uttarakhand for reconstruction work in the aftermath of the rain disaster.

The decision will be ratified in the Cabinet committee set up on Uttarakhand under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Disclosing this, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar said that Rs 3,000 crore would be provided by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. Apart from this, Rs 1,187 crore would be provided by National Disaster Relief Force. Further, Rs 1,000 crore under Central Assistance Scheme and Rs 1500 crore would be additional Central assistance for reconstruction work.

These funds would be used for construction of roads, drinking water projects, irrigation, energy and other basic facilities.

 Spectre of natural fury keeps trekkers, tourists away
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, August 30
Livelihood of thousands of people involved in tourism business across the Kumaon region has been badly affected due to the mid-June natural disaster. Though the trekking season begins next month, bookings by tourists and trekkers have reduced by more than 50 per cent this year.

“Prospective trekkers and tourists have cancelled bookings and others have refrained from coming to the state after the natural disaster of June 15 and 16,” said DK Sharma, General Manager, Tourism, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN).

Sharma said, “Pindari, Kafni and Sundardhunga in Bageshwar and Milam and Chota Kailash in Pithoragarh district are the main trekking routes in the region. The KVMN has suffered a revenue loss of over Rs 3 crore as trekkers and tourists have refrained from visiting these places. If weather remains good, we earn up to Rs 5 crore every year from tourism business, including from the Kailash Mansarowar pilgrimage.”

He said as the Kailash Mansarowar yatra had been cancelled and the trekking season was likely to be lean, the KVNM was set to incur losses from tourism business. According to KVMN sources, the maximum number of tourists visit Pindari in Bageshwar, but at present routes to Pindari, besides Kafni and Sundardhunga are closed.

“The Bageshwar district administration has assured us that it will construct bridges on trekking routes by October. Only after that we will be able to entertain batches of trekkers,” said Sharma.

The sources said over 1,000 trekkers visited these routes in Bageshwar district every year. These included over 500 persons who trek on routes to Pindari and others to Kafni and Sundardhunga leading to glaciers by the same name. “Besides the KMVN, a large number of local porters, hotel owners, guides and traders earn their livelihood during this trekking season,” said Sharma.

According to information, trekkers have started cancelling bookings in hotels of Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district as the administration has refused to allow them to go beyond the Lilam point. The Lilam point is at half the distance to the Milam track route, which trekkers, who come to Munsiyari, mostly visit. “On an average, 60 to 70 batches of trekkers come to Munsiyari every year to trek to the Milam glacier. We have bookings from only six trekkers till date. The administration has refused to let trekkers go beyond 35 km on this 55 km route, which has six camps on the way,” said Jagdish Rawat, president of the hotel association in Munsiyari.

Rawat said hotels in Munsiyari town, porters from nearby villages and transporters, besides guides and ponywallas depend on the trekking season during September and October.

The KMVN is been the biggest loser in this bleak tourism season as it has already suffered losses due to the cancellation of the Kailash Mansarowar and Chota Kailash pilgrimages this year.

 Food material distributed among 100 disaster-hit families of Kyari village 
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, August 30
Members of Delhi Diocese under Mar Thoma Church in association with Emmanuel Hospital Association and local community workers of Landour Community Hospital, Mussoorie, distributed dry food bags to over 100-disaster affected families at Kyari village on Wednesday.

Kyari village, falling under the Jaunpur block of district Tehri Garhwal, was adversely affected on June 16 by floods and cloudburst, resulting in loss of livestock and damage to several houses in the process.

The team led by Thomas Cherian (Diocesan secretary) along with Johnson M. John, Prathish, Shinoi, Thoma, A. Kurian and Shijo reached Kyari village early morning and distributed the relief material to the affected families.

Village pradhan Bachan Singh expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to Delhi Diocese and solicited their cooperation in the months of winter as the government had failed to cater to their needs so far.

According to Kurian Arackal, member of the Delhi Diocese of Mar Thoma Church, the organisation is spread over 18 states and is actively involved in various social projects and mission outreach programmes in the country. He further said that the members had resolved to work towards assisting the villages affected due to the natural disaster in the state.

 Food Security Bill has task cut out for farmers 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
Dr PK Mishra, Director of the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, today said farmers had a task cut out for themselves as they would be required to enhance productivity in view of the Food Security Bill passed by Parliament.

(From top) Members of of the Delhi Diocese of Mar Thoma Church distribute releif material among the disaster-affected villagers of Kyari in Mussoorie; and villagers with bags carrying food material. Tribune photos

Mishra presided over a workshop entitled “Media as a medium for showcasing soil and water conservation technologies”. He said the Food Security Bill, which is meant to ensure food to a large section of population in the country, had added to the responsibility of farmers who would now have to work harder to enhance productivity.

He called upon the farmers to avail of new technologies in agriculture and assured them of all help and guidance from the institute in training and soil testing.

Soil scientist NK Sharma stressed on adopting the old pattern of agriculture like mixed farming. “Earlier farmers used to cultivate a mix of wheat and mustard but that practice is vanishing,” he said. The traditional system of agriculture ensured benefits of better production, Mishra added.

Dr DP Juyal spoke about rehabilitation of soil in mined areas. He said the best way to treat soil was by planting trees. YPS Dabas from GB Pant Agriculture University referred to new techniques in agriculture to increase productivity. He said the monetary interests of the farmers should be protected so that they could work towards improving productivity.

A large number of farmers participated in the workshop.

 Save the Children wants to help govt in providing succour
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
Save the Children is among the first NGOs to provide relief in the disaster-hit state. So far, it has reached out to more than 5,000 flood-affected families. “This could not have been accomplished without the timely support from committed individuals and institutions, for which we are extremely grateful,” said Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children.

Following a multi-sectoral assessment which has shown dire need for sustained relief work, Save the Children is now launching an appeal to work with the government to support long-term recovery in Uttarakhand. This appeal follows the sharing of a multi-sectoral assessment done in partnership with Plan India and Aide-et Action with the government and civil society representatives.

The assessment, which covers education, child protection and life skill needs of the affected people, coupled with regular feedback to its teams in Uttarakhand, confirms that a lot more support is needed to enable civil society to work with the government to fulfil the myriad needs of the affected people, including children, who face protection threats among other pressing concerns. Overall, 25,000 individuals and more than 25 corporate institutions have already come forward with heartfelt contributions.

“We thank each and everyone of our corporate donors and individuals who have supported our work. While we appreciate the contributions given so far, we do urge everyone for more support since this tragedy is far from over,” appealed Irwin Fernandes, Director, Resource Mobilisation, Save the Children.

Fernandes said the committed support which had come from the donors was an indication of the trust these individuals and corporations had in the efficacy of his organization's work during emergencies.

USAID, P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, HSBC, and Care Today Fund of India Today Group are some of the donors who have repeatedly supported the work of the organisation during such crises. Some of the notable contributions from India and abroad came from Aegis Foundation, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Cox and Kings, GSK Consumer Healthcare, HSBC, Hempel Paints (India) Pvt Ltd, Konika Minolta Business Solutions Ltd, P&G, Reckitt Benckiser and Towers Watson.

Akhil Chandra, MD, Reckitt Benckiser India said, “The calamity in Uttarakhand has left numerous families devastated. While the rehabilitation efforts are ongoing, it is extremely important for the victims to be able to maintain personal hygiene levels and prevent the situation from getting worse. Our association with Save the Children is a step towards addressing this concern and an effort to rebuild a healthier and happier Uttarakhand.”

Moved by the plight of the people, hundreds of individuals came forward and donated generously through the employee contribution funds set up by companies. Notable among such companies are, BOAML, DDB Mudra eBay India, Evalueserve, Goldman Sachs, HP, Juniper Networks and Starwood Hotels. "The aid we received was overwhelming not just in magnitude but also because of different innovative ways in which donors came forward," said Fernandes.

Save the Children works across 15 states in India and along with its work during emergencies, it also covers education, protection and health rights of children, especially those from the most vulnerable communities. 

 Rawat slams govt over death certificates to flood affected victims
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
President of the Uttarakhand unit of the BJP Teerath Singh Rawat has criticised the state government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for its failure to issue death certificates to relatives of persons who have gone missing in Uttarakhand floods and inordinate delay in disbursing ex gratia to the next of kin of the missing persons.

He said family members of the missing persons (presumed dead) were facing difficulty in operating accounts of their relatives who had gone missing in the floods.

“The Central government has already issued guidelines for issuing death certificates to persons who have gone missing but the state government is yet to take a call on the issue. Due to the delay and confusion, the next of kin of the missing persons are running from pillar to post with their demand for certificate so that they can undertake legal formalities,” Rawat said.

“The Bahuguna government is now acting petty by not handing over Rs 5 lakh ex gratia amount to the next of kin of the missing persons,” he said.

Rawat also criticised the Bahuguna government for failing to check pilferage of relief ration and said ministers and MLAs had “no time” for relief work as they were busy fighting with each other. 

 Statehood activists threaten to boycott CM’s Mussoorie visit 
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, August 30
Statehood activists in Mussoorie have threatened to boycott Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s visit to the Shaheed Sthal scheduled for September 2.

Speaking to mediapersons today, statehood agitator Pradeep Bhandari said the people of the town had played an important role in the formation of the Uttarakhand state, but the government had “failed” to identify them even after 13 years of the formation of the state.

“On the contrary, people who had no role in the agitation are being given certificates of being agitators which is uncalled for,” said Bhandari.

He said such an attitude of the government would not be tolerated and he along with his supporters would boycott the Chief Minister’s visit till the time all the people, who participated in the separate state movement, were identified in Mussoorie.

He threatened that the Chief Minister would not be allowed to enter the Shaheed Sthal until all the demands of the statehood agitators were not fulfilled. 

 Tantrik arrested for duping girl of Rs 2.5 lakh 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
Riyzudin, a tantrik claiming to have divine powers, allegedly duped a girl of Rs 2.5 lakh on the promise of helping her in finding a perfect match for her marriage.

On the complaint of the girl, the Dalanwala police arrested him here today.

The girl is a resident of Salawala. She was under tension due to her delayed marriage. She read the tantrik’s advertisement and went to him for finding a solution to her marriage hurdle.

According to the victim, initially, the tantrik asked her to deposit Rs 10,000 in his account and later he kept on demanding money from her on different dates, which she used to fulfil thinking that the tantrik would help her in finding a suitable match for her. She had deposited Rs 2.5 lakh in tantrik’s account.

She discussed the problem with her friend, who suggested to file a complaint in the police against the tantrik.

The police team raided the place of the tantrik and recovered lakhs of rupees from his possession.

A case of forgery has been registered against the tantrik.

Two held with fake currency

Pithoragarh: The Pithoragarh police today arrested two persons on the charge of possessing fake currency worth Rs 35,000 along with 1800 gm of charas. According to the police circle officer Rajiv Mohan, the arrested persons, Sandip Sahni and Suresh Sahni, residents of Betia district of Bihar, worked as labourers in the district headquarters. The suspects were arrested on a tip-off from a police informer at Aincholi near the town.

The police said that the suspects are being interrogated jointly by Military Intelligence, LIU and special branch of police teams and more information is being sought from Betia district of Bihar and other districts of west Champaran to find if the network is spread across other places in the country.

“The arrested youths have revealed that they had brought fake currency in the district for the first time to bring it into circulation in the district,” said Rajiv Mohan.

 Two vehicle thieves held
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 30
An alert motorcycle owner thwarted two persons from lifting his vehicle from the Saharanpur Chowk area today. He along with locals caught the thieves, who tried to flee, and handed them over to the police.

The motorcycle owner saw two suspicious-looking persons trying to unlock his vehicle. He immediately intervened and confronted the duo. The thieves tried to flee but were caught by the locals. They were later handed over to the police. They have been identified as Sonu and Rashid, both residents of the MDDA Colony. The police has registered a case and is investigating their role in other cases of vehicle thefts.