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Farmers warn BHEL of intensifying agitation
CM reviews construction of highways
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Premiere of film by Woodstock School alumnus at Venice today
Self-immolation attempt by two PRD jawans
Directorate of Ayurvedic, Unani Services headless
Centre to sanction state projects on priority
UKD(P) opposes authority on Kedarnath
Bahuguna flags off 92 tonnes of relief material given by HelpAge
Pey Jal Nigam engineers flay MD for out-of-turn promotions
Mussoorie girl in top 10 of
Junior Masterchef contest
RLEK demands re-start
of hydro projects
After heavy rains, Champawat faces drought-like condition
Hill states to observe Himalaya Divas on September 9
Inter College has one teacher; parents to protest
39 budding shooters meet Qureshi
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Farmers warn BHEL of intensifying agitation
Haridwar, September 5 Under the aegis of Kissan Sangharsh Samiti banner, the affected farmers alleged that BHEL management on the one hand was not addressing their woes, while on the other it was trying to adopt divisionary tactics to weaken their movement. Committee chief Balwan Singh Chauhan said that BHEL management had been for the last few years giving mere false assurances every time they resorted to agitation. General secretary of the Kissan Sangharsh Samiti Sanjay Sharma said that about 1500 acres of vacant land was in BHEL possession and had not been utilised as was envisioned during procurement from farmers. As a result after years of these plots lying vacant, these should be allocated to those farmers who had not been properly compensated or were still waiting for BHEL management decision for proper rehabilitation process. He also demanded that a share of this unused land be given to displaced farmers they were given back their land share. Kailasho Devi, women cell leader of the committee, said that BHEL management had been for the last 8 years giving mere false assurances every time they resorted to agitation. But later they did not take any steps, forcing farmers to resort to agitation again. But this time agitators were adamant that they will only give up after making BHEL management sign in writing in a time frame period. Kissan Sangharsh Samiti general secretary Sanjay Sharma also mooted for a high level fair probe as BHEL management had given 30 bighas of farmers' land to Tehri dam-affected people under rehabilitation programme, without any proper documentation. Hazi Rafi Khan said that under the banner of the Kissan Sangharsh Samiti at BHEL, they had been on agitation for the last five months but the public sector undertaking had been ignoring their agitation, which speaks of the ''tyrant attitude'' of the BHEL, Ranipur, management.
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CM reviews construction of highways
Dehradun, September 5 The Chief Minister reviewed the proposal and construction of the National Highways in Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar disticts. He asked everyone to work with a positive attitude and greater coordination. He said in order to resolve the objections raised by the Forest Department, officials of the two organisations should work together and look for solutions. The work should begin on proposals that had received consent from the Union Government. It was disclosed that the road from Jaspur to Kashipur got an approval of Rs 18 crore, while repair work had to be done on the road from Doraha to Sitarganj. One part of Haridwar- Dehradun National Highway passed through Rajaji National Park. So, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has to be signed between the Forest Department and the National Highways Authority. A few trees had to be felled for the four laning of the national highway. The CM gave directions to forest officials to provide the UPCL with a schedule. He also asked officials to ensure shut down of electricity while cutting trees. Pincipal Secretaries SS Sandhu, S Ramaswamy, Principal Forest Conservator RBS Rawat and other officials were also present in the meeting. |
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Premiere of film by Woodstock School alumnus at Venice today
Mussoorie, September 5 Shubhashish, who attended Woodstock School in Mussoorie from grade 5 to 12 and graduated in 2009, returned to Mussoorie recently to show the film to the current staff and students at the school. He received a standing ovation there. The short film is based on the anti-Sikh riots in India in 1984 which took place after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Shubhashish was inspired to make the film after Woodstock teacher Shonila Chander talked about the riots in an economics class, and how she was forced to hide a Sikh student on a bus as they returned to Mussoorie from a field trip in Jaipur. Shubhashish attended the School of Visual Arts in New York after leaving Woodstock, and said he was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction to the film. “I didn’t expect the film to have this much interest, but what’s nice is that both Indian and Western cultures have connected with it. It’s the only Indian film to be shown at Venice and I’m the youngest director there. All these things are unexpected, but it’s a story with universal themes. Prejudice exists everywhere,” said Shubhashish. Adding further, he said that the attraction to the story that resonated in his mind for long was that despite the political and religious overtones running through it, ultimately it had nothing to do with either. It was simply a human story about compassion - some people being compassionate from the first moment, to most people having to learn it. This story was essentially a fairytale about a group of young kids lost in the wild, just trying to make their way back home in a dangerous world. “The message in the film is ultimately one of compassion. This universal story left an indelible impression on me because it transcended all ages, religions and classes. While political tension was stifling our country and hatred infiltrated our people, I believe the true spirit of India was filled in the seats of that bus,” said Subashish. Woodstock School Principal Jonathan Long praised Shubhashish for his work, and said it was apt it was inspired in some way by Woodstock, which seeks to promote values of global understanding among different cultures and faith traditions through its diverse and international student body. The film is produced by a group of friends, namely Sanjay Bhutiani, Sajida Sharma,Shubhashish Bhutiani, KN Bhandari, Lata Bhandari, Monica Bhutiani and Yogi Vashishta. The 20-minute film will be screened in the Orizzonti section of the festival, which is dedicated to new trends in world cinema. There are nine other films in this section. The film stars Sonika Chopra, Shayaan Sameer, Anil Sharma, Swastik Ram and Om
Nimai.
Film facts
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Self-immolation attempt by two PRD jawans
Dehradun, September 5 The PRD policemen reached the PRD Headquarters today. They locked doors of the headquarters and staged protest against the government. Heated arguments were exchanged between the PRD policemen and the local police after which, the two PRD men poured kerosene on themselves. The PRD policemen have been agitating for more than three months in support of their five-point demands. Their demands include making a separate organisational structure for the PRD, regularisation of their services on the pattern of state employees, raising the life insurance amount to 10 lakh and giving government job to a family member in case a PRD official dies on duty. |
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Directorate of Ayurvedic, Unani Services headless
Dehradun, September 5 The Director, Ayush and Unani Services, Dr Pooja Bhardwaj, retired in June last. Before her retirement she had recommended filling of vacant posts by promotions but the department had ignored her advice. There are ayurvedic doctors who have not been promoted for the last 20 years. The department is at present headed by an acting Director, Dr Devinder Sharma. Dr Sharma, Joint Director, has to be first promoted as Additional Director so that he could become eligible for the post of Director. “Dr Devinder Sharma is due to retire next month. But the way the government is taking up the promotion issue it seems unlikely he will retire as Additional Director,” said a senior ayurvedic doctor. As things stand, vacant posts of one Additional Director (Administration and Planning), one Additional Director, Education, one Joint Director, 10 District Ayurvedic and Unani Officers, eight Additional District Ayurvedic and Unani Officers, one Medical (Ayurvedic) Officer, and 32 Senior Medical Officers have to be filled through promotions. But the Directorate of Ayurvedic and Unani Services has so far not conducted any meeting of the department promotion committee (DPC). The ayurvedic doctors blame senior officials for not taking any interest in the department. “The Principal Secretary, who is also heading the Medical and Health Department along with Forest Department, seems to have no time for the Ayurvedic Department. We are suffering due to lack of interest of the higher authorities,” said a senior doctor. |
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Centre to sanction state projects on priority
Dehradun, September 5 This was stated by Additional Secretary, Union Cabinet Secretariat, Anil Swaroop, during a meeting with Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar here yesterday. Swaroop said the Union Government had set up a fast-track system for projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crore. All states had been given a password for the same. Any state could log into its portal and obtain information about the status of its project approval and deal with objections. The state government would get response from Union ministries regarding the queries they have put up. Private partners, too, can create a user name and password in the portal to enquire about the progress of their projects.
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UKD(P) opposes authority on Kedarnath
Dehradun, September 5 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, UKD (Panwar) president Trivendra Singh Panwar said there was already a Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee in place that manages the affairs of both Badrinath and Kedarnath temples and, thus, there was no justification in forming another authority for managing Kedarnath. Panwar said the authority will only promote corruption at Kedarnath and would also make Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee lose its relevance. He said resuming worship at Kedarnath from September 11 was not that necessary and the state government should have rather speeded up the relief and rehabilitation works. UKD (P) leader Panwar also demanded a white paper on the entire spending done through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for betterment of disaster relief victims.
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Bahuguna flags off 92 tonnes of relief material given by HelpAge
Dehradun, September 5 HelpAge India has prepared winter kits comprising warm clothes and food for the disaster-affected families. Besides this, he also inaugurated two mobile health units to function in collaboration with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited. State head of HelpAge India Aapaga Singh said each family kit would include winter clothes and food material. Ration kit consists of mandua, wheat, kulath cereal, bhatt, sugar, salt, mustard oil, tea leaves, spices and match sticks. Aapaga said 18 trucks would leave for Guptkashi, from where the relief material would be sent to 20 villages in Kedar Valley. Winter kits will be distributed among 2,200 families in 20 villages. |
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Pey Jal Nigam engineers flay MD for out-of-turn promotions
Dehradun, September 5 AK Chaturvedi, regional president of the association, said that under the stewardship of the incumbent MD the functioning of the nigam had gone haywire. “The high court had questioned the promotion of 12 executive engineers, who had served in this capacity for less than seven years. The MD had misused the provision for relaxation in the total service period in exceptional cases when no eligible candidate was present and ignored eligible candidates who had put in more than seven or more years of service,” said Chaturvedi. The MD was also condemned for going on a promotion spree in violation of rules, “The MD promoted engineers close to him, who had joined in 2012-2013, thereby, violating the rule-4 of the order 2002,” said Arun Rawat, general secretary of the nigam. Further, the engineers had been on the warpath against the MD who overlooked their genuine demands, including revocation of a ban on regular promotions and doing away with the practice of a written examination for promotions. |
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Mussoorie girl in top 10 of
Junior Masterchef contest
Mussoorie, September 5 The shooting for the contest began in June. Khyati, after displaying her dexterity in the kitchen, has returned home after figuring in the top 10. The talent of the little girl first came to fore during a food festival contest organised last year by the Lioness Club held at Appu Ghar in Mussoorie which she entered along with her mother Smriti and figured at the top in that too. Khyati has shown interest towards cooking since childhood. After returning from school, she used to spend time with her grandmother in the kitchen and dabble with the utensils as if cooking something. Later, she learnt to cook Maggie noodles and has not looked back since. Her mother Smriti said that Khyati has a passion for quality food and would question about the ingredients being cooked at home frequently. “Seeing her interest, her grandmother gifted her several recipe books and taught her many dishes which she learnt with ease. Khyati loved watching the junior master chef Australia show and gained interest in participating in the Indian version. On her way to the top 10, she displayed her talent by making apple cinnamon cake that was taught to her by her aunt TK Singh who has been running cookery classes at Amritsar for several decades. On her way to the top 15, she prepared a pristine but delicious Punjabi dish which is now on the verge of extinction called “kutlambey potatoes platter” that she learnt from another aunt residing in Delhi. To reach the top 10, Khyati dished out an Italian cheese paradise platter, garnered with four layers of sauce. The dish usually has three sauces, but she went one step further and experimented by introducing aliolio sauce which was much appreciated by the judges of the show who termed it as the best dish of the day, said her mother Smriti. A family friend, Sunil Arora, said that he also had a privilege of tasting the apple cinnamon cake last year and was forced to lick his fingers all the way. The pancakes made by her are also very tasty, added Sunil. Speaking about her experience in the show, Khyati said she gained vast experience while interacting with other contestants and the judges of the show and had acquired several skills which would come handy in the future course of the contest. About the other contestants, she said that they had become a close-knit family and indulged in playful activities after the shoot at the hotel. The judges too were extremely encouraging during the shoot, she added. Regarding the show hampering her studies, her father Vikas Hari said that Khyati was an intelligent student and he was sure that she would pick up when she returned from the show. Moreover, the family has decided not to place any hurdles in her way as she is passionate about cooking. He appealed to all well-wishers to vote for Khyati Hari by simply crowning her. “All Android users should download the app 'junior master chef application, then click on profile option and sign in with a Facebook account and go to contestants and click on Khyati Hari. Then crown her by clicking on it only once,” said Vikas
Hari. |
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RLEK demands re-start
of hydro projects
Dehradun, Septemer 5 Kaushal has written separate letters to President Pranab Mukherjee and Lok Sabha Opposition leader Sabha Sushma Swaraj over the issue. In his letter to the President Kaushal sought immediate re-start of Loharinag Pala and Pala Maneri hydro power projects in Uttarkashi district. He said projects would help address the problem of power shortages in the state and other parts of North India. In another letter to Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Kaushal asked her not to play politics at the cost of people. “All of us are shocked by your remark in the Lok Sabha during the discussion about the Uttarakhand calamity. You mentioned and demanded that Dhari Devi shrine should be lowered to its original position. Perhaps you have not been informed and briefed by your party members that it was Gen BC Khanduri (retd), who during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, asked the Alaknanda Hydro Power project to uplift the Dhari Devi shrine,” Kaushal reminded Swaraj in his letter. He said Pala Maneri hydro power project had also been stopped midway without any scientific reasons. Stopping such projects midway after spending huge amounts is not proper. |
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After heavy rains, Champawat faces drought-like condition
Pithoragarh, September 5 Sources at the weather unit of the GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development said only the month of June witnessed excess rains in the district. The months of April, May and July got only 9mm, 18mm and 219 mm of rainfall, respectively. “Overall, the district has received 50 per cent less rainfall in six months this year than last year in the same months. Against a total of 1,400 mm rainfall every year, this year it has had only 744 mm rainfall from April to September,” said Dr Prakash Phondari, an agricultural scientist working with the GB Pant Environment Institute, Almora. The weather unit said except for June, which witnessed 364 mm rainfall against the average rainfall of 216 mm, all other months have witnessed less than average rains. The farmers in the district, who are mainly growing commercial crops, are a worried lot this time as they says that if the condition remains as it is today, they are bound to get losses as their vegetable crops will not get the required quantity of moisture and water. “Drinking water crisis will also loom large in the coming months of winter and the summer next year due to less rainfall in the district,” said Ram Dutt Pangaris, a potato farmer in the district. The weather department has predicted the early return of monsoon this year, which will further affect the moisture conditions in the fields. |
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Hill states to observe Himalaya Divas on September 9
Dehradun, September 5 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) founder and man behind observation of Himalaya Divas, Dr Anil Joshi, disclosed that while the fourth Himalaya Divas programme assumes much significance in the backdrop of Kedarnath disaster, the day will be observed with all simplicity and the programmes will be limited to workshops and deliberations. He said while it was a matter of remorse over the tragic loss of lives in Kedarnath, but the incident had brought to the forefront the issue of the Himalayas that need to be given proper attention in the country. Anil Joshi said all the Himalayan states, including North East, are observing Himalaya Divas. ''Himalaya Divas is being observed in as many as 300 places across the country,'' he pointed out. He said a workshop was even being held at Constitution Club, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow to mark the occasion. He disclosed in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, a peace march would be taken out which will start from Rangers' College and end up at Hindi Bhawan, where a seminar will also be held. He disclosed that Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will be participating in the Himalaya Divas programmes in Dehradun. He disclosed that veteran politician ND Tewari had given his consent to attend Himalaya Divas programme at Lucknow. Agaas Foundation's JP Maithani disclosed that all the scientific institutions in Uttarakhand are observing a Himalaya Divas. He said that what started as a small initiative four years back today had turned into a big ''Save Himalaya'' movment, which was also the need of the hour. WWF- India, Uttarakhand representative Jatinder Kaur and Rajeev Nayan Bahuguna were present at the news conference. |
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Inter College has one teacher; parents to protest
Pithoragarh, September 5 The Parents’ and Teachers’ Association (PTA) of the college took this decision today. The association resented the shortage of teachers in the college and blamed poor policy and indifference of the state government towards education for it. “We have only one teacher for 700 students of intermediate classes. The lone teacher teaches zoology. For years together there has been no teacher to teach other subjects,” said Gopal Singh Airy, president of the PTA. Airy said the college had no teachers of physics, chemistry, mathematics, Hindi and civics for intermediate classes and no teacher of mathematics for classes VIII to X. “Due to the shortage of teachers, parents have started withdrawing their wards from the college. This has resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of students in the college,” said Aeri. The PTA also discussed the issue of the college building that was damaged due to heavy rains in June last. It passed a resolution to bring the condition of the building to the notice of the officials.
We have only one teacher for 700 students of intermediate classes. The lone teacher teaches zoology. For years together there has been no teacher to teach other subjects. |
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39 budding shooters meet Qureshi
Dehradun, September 5 The Governor interacted with them and asked them about their future plans and dreams. He wished them all the best for their future endeavours. Most of the children are in the age group of 6-15 years and are from Tehri, Rudraprayag and Kedarghati schools. Five of them belong to poor families, who lost their parents during the recent disaster. The group of students was led by Narayan Singh Rana, former minister and chairman of the Jaspal Rana Shooting Academy.
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Dehradun, September 5
Dehradun, September 5
Mussoorie, September 5
Dehradun, September 5
