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SP convention in
Dehradun, Haridwar
BJP activists support NaMo as PM candidate
Treat Himalayan region as third pole: Geologists
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Approval to Rs 4,500 cr supplementary budget
‘Govt flew Nishank back from Kedarnath’
Hemkunt Sahib yatra from Sept 21, says CM
MLA lays stone of community centre
Walnut growers to discuss ways to raise production
Alignment survey for Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway line over
Voice for Bill against communal violence gets stronger
Rs 1 cr donated towards disaster relief
Next hearing in Balkrishan passport case on Sept 24
Rang Himalaya, festival to celebrate life, begins
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SP
convention in Dehradun, Haridwar
Haridwar, September 13 The party is eyeing three Lok Sabha seats in the hill state, Nainital,Tehri Garhwal and Haridwar, with the target of getting 60 parliamentary seats from Uttar Pradesh to ensure Samajwadi Party has a major say in the formation of the next Union
government. This was stated by Samajwadi Party Uttarakhand chief Satya Narayan Sachan here today in a media brief. Making it clear that the party has in Mulayam Singh Yadav a popular personality, Satya Narayan Sachan said that he was a prime ministerial candidate this time and the state party unit hoped to give him at least three parliamentary seats this time. Trying to shield the ''inability'' of the UP government in controlling the recent riots, Satya Narayan labelled these communal violence in Muzzaffarnagar as a caste-based conflict. But he failed to properly explain Samajwadi Party's reluctance in accepting these riots as rivalry between two religious communities. "Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav did a good job in controlling the riots in just three days.The situation is normal there and I just returned yesterday from Muzaffarnagar at night and found no tension as was being wrongly reported by the media,"
said Sachan. Samajwadi Party has named Ajmal Nawaz Khan as party Lok Sabha candidate from Haridwar constituency, who also expressed confidence that the party will retain this seat again, which it had bagged in 2004
elections. Nawaz also hoped that the visit of Mulayam-Akhilesh Yadav to Uttarakhand will boost Samajwadi Party's election prospects in Uttarakhand and as Akhilesh
Yadav's wife, parliamentarian Dimple Yadav, hails from Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand, the party will surely get strengthened in the state this time.
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BJP activists support NaMo as PM candidate
Haridwar, September 13 The party activists pointed out that Modi was the suitable and the “best candidate” for the Prime Minister post, not only from the BJP side but also among other political parties, owing to the mass development done by him in Gujarat, his vision and the “mass popularity” he enjoyed across the country. Led by women cell leader Anita Sharma, the party activists said Modi alone had rejuvenated the BJP, which had been out of power since 2004. “He has in him what it takes to be a Prime Minister, vision, personality, thinking and mass appeal. Surely, like the BJP, he will also take the country to development with his vision” Anita said. While youth wing chief Naresh Sharma said being the four-times Chief Minister of Gujarat, three times consecutively since 2000, had proven the work done by Modi, it was in the best interest of the BJP to fight the Lok Sabha elections under him. Raising slogans in favour of the Gujarat CM, party activists urged the senior party leaders not to create hurdles in the way of Modi’s candidature as people also wanted him to be at the helm of the
national affairs. |
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Treat Himalayan region as third pole: Geologists
Pithoragarh, September 13 This was stated by geologists from across India and various countries who gathered in Nainital yesterday on the inaugural day of a three-day seminar on effects of development activities on the Himalayan ecology. They were of the view that development activities in the Himalayan region should not be advanced at the cost of its ecology. “The geologists have named the entire Himalayan region from the Hindu Kush range of mountains to Myanmar, including India, Afghanistan, Bhutan and parts of Pakistan, as the third pole. They have appealed to the governments of these nations not to ignore its ecology while carrying out development activities in the region,” said BS Kotalia, a UGC-sponsored geologist and organiser of the seminar. Kotalia said the geologists, who presented papers at the seminar, stated that the ecological conditions in the Himalayan region affected more than 300 crore people in the world. “This region is also the source of water for the world’s 20 per cent population. It has regularly been affected by global warming. There is a need to study various dimensions of the effects of global warming in this region,” he added. The geologists expressed concern over the speedily receding glaciers. They said the receding of glaciers, if not checked, would pose more ecological challenges to future generations. The session was informed that the Gaumukh glacier was receding at a rate of 150 metre per year while the Milam glacier had receded at a speed of 11 metre per year. “German geologists, who have helped in organising the seminar, have informed the session that the government of Germany will establish a centre in India to study the changes witnessed in the Himalayan region due to global warming or other global weather phenomenon,” said Kotalia. Dr Kharak Singh Waldia, a veteran geologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University, was honoured yesterday. The geologists have appealed to the governments to ensure a balance between development and eco-protection so that the region could prosper and its fragile ecology could be preserved. They have gathered under the banner of the Humboldt Foundation of Germany with the theme ‘Hope-2013’ to discuss disturbance in geology in the Himalayan region. Scientists from Germany and universities from across India are attending the seminar that will end tomorrow. A resolution on the opinions expressed by the participants will also be passed. |
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Approval to Rs 4,500 cr supplementary budget
Dehradun, September 13 However, due to lack of consensus among Cabinet ministers the decision regarding award of mining rights of minor
minerals on riverbeds to private players was deferred till the next meeting slated
for September 17. The supplementary budget, the first for this financial year, along with the SC and ST sub plan Bill would now be tabled in the Legislative Assembly on September 18. Meanwhile, a subcommittee comprising Cabinet ministers Indira Hriyadesh, Harak Singh Rawat, Pritam Singh and Amrita Rawat was entrusted
with the task of resolving the issue of granting mining rights of minor minerals to private players. At present, the Van Vikas Nigam has mining rights of 45 lots on riverbeds, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) 107 and the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam has mining
rights of 20 lots. However, according to the new mining policy, the Department of Industrial Development has selected 222 lots on riverbeds at
different places for granting mining rights of minor minerals to private players after environment
clearance. A consensus also eluded the Cabinet on the issue of amendments to the rules and regulations framed for the MLA Local Area Development Fund. However, it approved prefixing of Swami Ram to the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT). The Bill in this regard would be tabled in the Assembly. Meanwhile, there was no formal media briefing today in view of the forthcoming
Assembly session. |
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‘Govt flew Nishank back from Kedarnath’
Dehradun, September 13 “The former Chief
Minister had rejected the government offer while on his way to Kedarnath. But after he had the darshan at the Kedarnath temple, he was flown back to Dehradun in a chopper hired by the government,” said Rawat while speaking with
mediapersons. He also rejected Nishank's claims that the date fixed for the prayers at the Kedarnath shrine did not have the approval of the chief priest of the temple. “The date was fixed after holding consultations with all stakeholders,” said the minister.
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Hemkunt Sahib yatra from Sept 21, says CM
Dehradun, September 13 Bahuguna told mediapersons here that after resuming prayers at the Kedarnath shrine, the Hemkunt Sahib yatra would be started from September 21. A bridge had been constructed at Ghangriya for the purpose, he added. The Chief Minister said he would be present during the commencement of the yatra at Govindghat.
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MLA lays stone of community centre
Mussoorie, September 13 The Rs 9.95-lakh project is being funded under the MLA LAD fund. Thanking the MLA, villagers said they had been demanding the construction of a community centre in the area for long, but the demand had been met only now. MLA Joshi gave an assurance to the villagers that he was always ready to serve the people of his constituency. Later, talking to mediaperson, the MLA flayed the government for changing the mining policy to "benefit" a few private players in
the state. He alleged that the government was trying to break the spine of government organisations by taking away mining rights from them and giving it to private players. |
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Walnut growers to discuss ways to raise production
Pithoragarh, September 13 Pandey said Himalayan states had a climate suitable to growth of nuts and fruits. Jammu and Kashmir had no further scope to grow nuts and fruits as it already produced 98 per cent of the total production of the country. The states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh could take up nut/fruit production in a big way. ''The workshop will also discuss the possibility of establishment of a state-of-the-art centre of excellence of walnut and other nuts in Himalayan states,” said the president of the association. The association has taken consent of the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation to inaugurate the two-day workshop that will discuss means of increasing per hectare productivity of walnuts in India as it is at mere 1.2 tonnes per acre at present compared to 4-5 tonnes per acre in advanced countries. '' We foresee good prospects of nut and fruit production in the Himalaya region as the present production is unable to meet the domestic demand of nuts and fruits as well as import demands from countries like Egypt, UK, Germany, Spain and France,” said KC Pandey , president of the association. |
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Alignment survey for Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway line over
Dehradun, September 13 The details about the project were provided by Managing Director, Rail Development Nigam Limited, Satish Agnihotri, to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at a meeting held at the Secretariat here today. Agnihotri said the survey for the alignment had been completed. He said out of the 127-km project, 80 per cent of it would pass through tunnels. A total of 11 stations had been identified, which are Virbhadra (New Rishikesh), Shivpuri, Vyasi, Devprayag, Maletha, Srinagar, Dhari, Rudraprayag, Dholteer, Gauchar and Karnprayag. The Chief Minister said this project would benefit the economy of the state and encourage tourism. He said the state government was ready to extend all required help and the land acquisition officer for the project had also been appointed. The CM asked Rail Development Nigam Limited to solve all environment-related issues with the Forest Department. Agnihotri said high-level technology like high resolution satellite imagery was used while working on the alignment project and the help of experts from IIT, Roorkee, and other scientific institutions was also taken. Cabinet ministers Harak Singh Rawat, Amrita Rawat, Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma, Principal Secretaries SS Sandhu, S Ramaswamy, Secretaries Umakant Panwar, Bhaskaranand and other officials were present at the meeting. |
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Voice for Bill against communal violence gets stronger
Dehradun, September 13 Awadhash Kaushal, chairperson of RLEK, made an appeal to the leaders to table the Bill in the coming winter session and ensure that it becomes an Act before more innocent people are killed. Kaushal said recently the whole country had witnessed an event of communal frenzy, which had led to 40 deaths and more than 45,000 people being rendered homeless in Muzaffarnagar. The ultimate sufferers of such riots were members of the minority community, who had lost homes, lives and the trust upon the country they lived in, he added. He said with the general elections round the corner, the Central Government had warned that communal violence was on the rise, with 451 incidents reported this year already, as compared to 410 for all of 2012. “Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said tensions were expected to escalate further in the run-up to next year's national elections, and had urged all 28 states to remain on high alert. With such occurrences, not only the unity of people and the space for minorities to live and worship without fear is at stake, but the nature of politics, freedom for intellectual activity, independence of the judiciary and the media are also under danger. Under these circumstances, it becomes all the more urgent that the pending ‘Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011’ is soon enacted and made into an Act,” Kaushal said. |
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Rs 1 cr donated towards disaster relief
Dehradun, September 13 Besides this, representatives of the Tata Relief Committee also donated Rs 90,60,297 for the disaster victims. Of this, Rs 27,55,629 were contributed by Tata Auto Comp Systems Limited, Rs 8,00,000 by Automative Stamping and Assemblage Ltd, and Rs 5,34,969 by Tata Auto Comp GY Batteries Limited; Rs 6,30,927 by Tata Toya Radiator Limited; Rs 2,62,986 by Tata Fikosa Automotive Systems Limited; Rs 2,09,040 by Taco Hendrikson Suspension Private Limited; Rs 6,71,722 by Dhanya Seeds Limited; Rs 4,85,024 Mithelix Life Science Limited, Rs 10,00,00 by Voltas Limited and a contribution of Rs 15,00,00 by Tata Motors Limited.The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to all for the support.
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Next hearing in Balkrishan passport case on Sept 24
Dehradun, September 13 Balkrishan, a close aide of yoga guru Ramdev, who is out on bail in the case, reached Dehradun today and appeared before the court on the charges of presenting forged documents for acquiring an Indian passport. The court was to frame charges against Balkrishan and co-accused NC Dwivedi, who was the principal of Radhakrishan Sanskrit College, Khurja, which had allegedly provided fake degrees to Balkrishan. Reportedly, the court deferred the hearing as NC Dwivedi did not come to attend it. Now, the charges against the two accused will be framed on September 24. The CBI had registered an FIR against Balkrishan for furnishing false documents for getting a passport in August 2011. Later, he was arrested in July 2012 but was granted bail by the Nainital High Court in August 2012 after remaining in the jail for one month.
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School students given fruit saplings
Dehradun, September 13 Students belonging to different schools of the two constituencies were gifted fruit trees for plantation. Last year, around 900 students of Late Rajender Shah Government Inter College, Ranipokhri, Semwal Academy, Ranipokhri and Government Inter College, Majrigrant, were gifted neem and lemon trees. SP Singh, chairman of the institute, gifted neem and lemon trees to about 240 students of Government Girls College,
Ranipokhri. |
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70 units of blood donated at Mahar camp
Dehradun, September 13 More than 70 people, including the hotel staff and students of Mahar, donated blood in the one-day camp. “The blood donation camp was organised with an intention of inculcating a sense of social service towards the society in the younger generation,” said Hemant Kochar, director of Mahar. He also said Mahar had been organising blood donation camp for the last couple of years and students of Mahar and hotel employees had been taking part in it with enthusiasm. |
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Rang Himalaya, festival to celebrate life, begins
Dehradun, September 13 Rang Himalaya is a unique platform to connect people from different backgrounds to share artistic ideas, creative abilities, explore hidden gifts and realise their aspirations. The festival started by Sarvadharama Prathana will continue for two more days. ''Living Frames,'' a short film festival having local context, and “Do minute”, a series of short plays directed by Alok Ulfat, will be staged on September 14 and 15, respectively. Satvika Goyal and Mansi Khandelwal welcomed the guests introducing Nanhi Dunya and Avikal. The programme began with the lighting of the traditional lamp by Aditi Jain, a young artiste of Rangshala. The evening commenced with recital of raag Purya Kalyan in teen taal by Mandeep Kaur. Alok Ulfat of Rang Himalaya Festival said India was a secular country where every religion was sacred and differences were welcome. It is the only country in this part of the world that practises, follows and encourages the principles of diversity. He finds it extremely remarkable that in ''Mother India we all are different yet equally respected and have our independent opinions and faiths.'' He requested all to respect this inequality and celebrate it in the times of communal intolerance. Nanhi Dunya has been an inspiring platform and has encouraged diversity for the past 67 years and will continue to do this. Taking this spirit a step forward they are now building a forum to have many inter-cultural events in the future. Birte Krueger, Fenja Holz and Stephan Dombrowski from Germany sang a song on joy of life, freedom of thoughts and equality. Members from different faiths came together on the same platform to recite prayers for peace, creating wonderful cultural harmony. Amongst those present were children from Hari Om Ashram, Tasmia Academy, young monks of Sakya Monastery and members of Jain and Sikh community and Germans representing Christian community. Kiran Ulfat Goyal, chief promoter of Nanhi Dunya, presented a bhajan followed by an evolution song by students of Nanhi Dunya Creative School. Lokdhwani Productions team members Seema Kapoor and Mondeep Bhoumik sang their new composition named Samvedna, based on hope and strength related to the natural disaster.The song has been composed by eminent music director from Uttrakhand Amit Verma Kapoor. Also on the occasion members of Alok Ulfat Centre of Performing Arts sang Allah-Om-Amen. The event was summarised by the vote of thanks by Kiran Ulfat Goyal, chief promoter & executive of Nanhi Dunya. She appreciated the efforts made by all and said that she was moved by the beautiful presentations by all different faiths. The festival is a step to empower people by actively engaging them in activities related to arts and culture and build a healthy social forum which will continue to celebrate Rang Himalaya in Dehradun and later in other parts of India. |
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Samajwadi Party national chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Chief Minister son Akhilesh Yadav will be paying a visit to Uttarakhand in November.
Both will attend a party convention and meet party workers in Dehradun and Haridwar in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
