Develop positive thinking, says Brahmakumari Sonia
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, September 14
“With ill-effects of western education and degrading moral values in the society, its imperative that we inculcate moral values and positive cultured traits in children from younger age itself.”

This was stated by revered spiritual orator Brahmakumari Sonia of Prajipita Brahmakumari Ishwariya Vishwadiyalya while addressing children at a workshop at Mool Chand Shastri Bal Vidya Peeth, Satikund Kankhal, today.

She emphasised on the need of positive thinking by controlling developing of negative thoughts.

“We have negative impact in our mind and body due to negative thoughts like anger, hatred and other malpractices. Therefore, every time and occasion we should be positive minded in our approach and thoughts. This will help us in developing healthy mind and body,which will prove beneficial in our study and sports performance,” said Brahmakumari Sonia. She urged students to have a “Clean Mind and Clean Earth” philosophy as our mind and body are related with the nature mother earth.

“Shun bad acts and work in sync with mother nature. As human beings we need to transform ourselves for better and also conserve the earth,” she added.

Co founder of the MCS Bal Vidyapeeth Veena Shastri said that ancient Indian education mode of Gurukul system has been the best and time tested.

Dr Veena emphasised on the need of hard work and having “respect for teachers as we have for our parents”.

School principal Ashok Sharma said that students should focus on their education and positive approach, as they are future of our country. Present on the occasion among others were Shashi Sharma, Ritu, Meenu Sirohi, Himani Joshi, Vanita Gupta, Vijendra Kumar, Neetu, Poonam, Parul and Shikha.

Meanwhile, a Hindi Divas function was organized at the university auditorium at Dev Sanskriti Univeristy. Debate, recitation of poem and elocution events were held as part of the function.

Addressing the students, chancellor of Dev Sanskriti University Dr Pranav Pandya said, “We should maximise usage of Hindi as it binds people hailing from different parts of the country in one and brings us close to the vast Indian culture.” A Poem recitation event was won by Kumari Kshama Bharadwaj. Deepak Kumar andPramod Kumar were adjudged second and third runners-up.

Company’s deadline to withdraw from sanitation work ends today
Tribune News Service

Dehradun , September 14
The deadline of SPML Company, which runs the Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) project in the city, to withdraw from sanitation work in the city is coming to an end tomorrow.

The company took the stand chiefly to demand a raise in the tipping fee from Rs 300 to Rs 525 for each tonne of garbage collected from the city. Approximately, 250 meteric tonnes of garbage is collected from the city every day.

DVWM project director Sidharth Jain said, “For the past two years, my company has been lifting garbage at a nominal price. I kept mum as I hoped of churning profit through recycling of garbage at Shishambara site, but even that project is hanging fire. I am losing money on all fronts. It has become unviable to run my operations in the city. I am left with no choice but to withdraw,” he said.

He was being contacted by ministers, the Mayor and bureaucrats but none offered him a solution to the problem. “No headway has been made so far to resolve the crisis whereas the deadline to snap the project is coming closer. Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Ashok Kumar tried to provoke us by giving statements that he was all set to change the company and hold new tenders. But when we questioned him on his statements, he denied from making any one of them. This way, things are not moving up in right direction.”

The Mayor and the MNA did not come to the office yesterday. However, the leader of opposition, Neenu Sehgal, sounded hopeful of resolving the conflict. She said, “I am in touch with Sidharth Jain as well Ashok Kumar and making all efforts to bring together both sides. There is no denying the fact that the company agreed to a low tipping fee in the very beginning which must have been raised with the passage of time. So a middle point, a raise agreed by both sides will be sought to end the problem.” 

Bone of contention

The company took the stand chiefly to demand a raise in the tipping fee from Rs 300 to Rs 525 for each tonne of garbage collected from Dehradun city.

GMVN employees unlikely to get salaries soon
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun September 14
The non-payment of salaries to 1,800 employees of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) for the last two and half months is worsening further with no solution seeming in sight. The letter sent by the GMVN officials to state government for a financial package for the payment of salaries as well as other expenses have met with no response.

HD Pandey, General Manager, GMVN said, “Among these 1,800 employees, around 1,000 are from the tourism sector and the rest come from other fields such as industries, mining etc. The GMVN spends around Rs 2.5 crore on the salaries of its employees every month. In June, when the natural disaster struck, around 50 per cent employees had got their salaries, but the remaining could not get their salaries that month as well. From July onwards, the entire lot of employees had not been paid anything.”

Managing Director GMVN Rajesh Kumar said, “The GMVN banks upon its monthly income of Rs 34 crore from tourism business to pay salaries to its employees throughout the year. This year we expected this amount to go up to Rs 37 crore, but disaster turned things topsy-turvy. In the month of July, the GMVN could earn only Rs 1.5 crore. This amount has dwindled to few lakhs now.” Kumar exuded hope that the state government would positively response to their demand for a financial package for the salaries of the employees as well as other expenses of the Nigam.

President of the GMVN Employees Association, Purushottam Puri said, patience of the employees was wearing off as they were unable to run their households. He threatened to launch an indefinite strike if the state government did not pay heed to their demand for a financial package soon. 

Rehabilitation work begins at disaster-hit Parodi village
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 14
Finally, there was something to cheer for the residents of the disaster-hit Parodi village in Tehri Garhwal district as a JCB deployed by Parmarth Ashram today rolled in the village to clear debris from houses.

The JCB machine would begin the task of clearing the debris from the temple area so that villagers could offer prayers without any hindrance. According to villagers, the JCB machine, after completing the task at the temple, will remove the debris from the houses that have been completely submerged due to flash floods.

Mussoorie Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall also reached the village along with members of the Rotary Club from Pune to assess the damage caused by the flash floods and assist the villagers to relocate to safer place in the near future.

Manmohan Singh Mall said the Agarwal Mahasabha and the Rotarians from Pune after assessing the damage would create a roadmap for sustainable development for the Parodi village so that they could lead a normal life once again.

However, he was also of the view that the road to relocation was a difficult one and people from all walks of life should come forward in helping the affected villagers.

Villagers are also happy with this effort and thanked various social organisations for coming to their rescue at this hour of need. They also demanded from the government to relocate the village as it has become too dangerous for living. The primary school has also become functional.

Parodi village had witnessed large scale devastation during the flash floods, forcing the residents to take shelter elsewhere for the past three months.

Notice to Chief Secretary over felling of tress
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 14
The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to both Uttarakhand Chief Secretary and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests over felling of a large number of healthy trees in the state on flimsy grounds.

The directive of the National Green Tribunal has come following the Citizens For Green Doon’s appeal for the same. The Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) is working for conservation of greenery in Dehradun.

The CFGD’s, in its appeal, alleged that several trees have been felled on the pretext that they were dangerous to life or property. CFGD chief coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey said number of such trees earmarked as dangerous had increased phenomenally in the past few years.

Interestingly, the CFGD through RTI Act came to know that in the past two years, as many as 1,626 trees were felled in Dehradun city after being identified as dangerous which was nearly double the 827 trees that were felled after being labelled dangerous from period 2000-2010.

Dr Nitin Pandey disclosed that the National Green Tribunal would further take up the matter on October 1.

Seers organise peace rally 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 14
In the wake of the recent violence that gripped Muzaffarnagar, leaders of Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities travelled in the region and met people and appealed to maintain peace and calm and abstain from any violent activity in the larger interest of the country.

The seers belonging to different faith and religion, including Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, president Swami Chidanand Saraswati, All-India Imams Association president Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi and Ahimsa Vishwa Bharatiya head Acharya Lokesh Muni, travelled together to Muzaffarnagar to urge the people to see one another, not as enemies, but as brothers and sisters.

Chidanand Saraswati said, “In such cases, yes, wrongs were committed and mistakes happened, but no mistake was ever fixed through more violence.”

“We should not allow our culture to descend to Hammurabi's code -an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That is not our divine culture. Our culture says-‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’- the world is one family,” he added.

Imam Umer Ilyasiji speaking said, “We must bring back peace to our villages and cities here. We think we are hurting others, but actually we are hurting ourselves through this violence.

The false boundaries, borders and divisions must be removed and we must realise that there is no difference between us and them. We are all one. It is neither our job nor our right to take the life of another which God has given him. We must have respect for the life of all and protect that.”

Chidanand Saraswati also emphasised that this was an ongoing process which would continue. It was not just one event for peace, but the beginning of a long, continuous process.

Nishank: My march to Kedarnath is tantamount to restarting yatra 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 14
Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank yesterday said his march to Kedarnath along with the local people was tantamount to restarting of the yatra that was stalled after the mid-June natural calamity.

“My march to Kedarnath along with local people and priests on September 11 was aimed at violating the prohibitory orders of the government meant to prevent devotees from visiting the temple. All along I have been saying that there is no point in resuming prayers at Kedarnath when the yatra remains stalled. There has been a practice of holding prayers before the start of the yatra but the government is still not sure when it will be resumed,” said Nishank at a press conference yesterday after his return from Kedarnath.

He said his worst fears had come true as the entire area continued to be in a hopeless condition. “I visited the Kedarnath temple on June 18 and 19 and it seems nothing had moved since then despite the tall claims of the government. Bodies are still lying there and roads have not been repaired. To cover up its lapses the government is allowing a limited number of people to visit the area,” said Nishank.

He urged the Central government to send a parliamentary committee led by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and another committee of MLAs from Uttarakhand on a fact-finding mission to Kedarnath.

Nishank took a dig at Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna saying though the latter made the announcement he could not fly to Kedarnath due to inclement weather and participate in the prayers initiated by his own government. “It seems Gods are unhappy with the Chief Minster. The BJP had opposed fixing of September 11 as the date for resuming the prayers at the Kedarnath temple but the government went ahead with its plans. Even Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj and head priest of the temple Bhima Shankar Ling are now saying that the date was fixed without their knowledge. The mahurat of the prayers was not auspicious,” said Nishank.

Nishank said he had declined the offer of the Chief Minister to make use of a helicopter for the yatra to Kedarnath. “In fact, I had asked the Chief Minister to join me in my padyatra to Kedarnath,” he said. 

Congress: Real face of BJP has come to the fore
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 14
Reacting sharply to the decision of BJP to project Narendra Modi as BJP prime ministerial candidate in forthcoming Lok Sabha poll , Congress leaders have said that this is the real face of the BJP which they have ''fraudulently hidden'' from the nation till date.

According to Congress leaders, the RSS, which has so far used the ''liberal face of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani to advance its agenda of Hindutva'' has ultimately come to its own by declaring one of its ''pracharaks'' as prime ministerial candidate at the cost of liberal faces of the party.

''It has now become clear that the RSS is the real force behind the BJP and its only agenda is to advance Hindutva at the cost of other communities in the country as it has chosen Modi because he had successfully experimented this formula of putting other communities in the background in his state Gujarat,'' said Mathura Dutt Joshi, a Congress spokesman.

According to Joshi, the next fight in Lok Sabha polls will not be between BJP and Congress but among the forces of division and unity of the country.

''With Gujarat credentials, Modi is sure to damage the image of the BJP, which has been nourished by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, who in their life times understood the nature of Indian politics. 

BJP protests against rise in crime
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 14
The local BJP unit staged a protest in front of the DIG (Garhwal) office here today over the deteriorating law and order situation in Dehradun.

The protesters could not meet the DIG as he was on his way to Roorkee. Swantra Kumar (CO) met them and listened to their issues.

“The police has failed to solve even the murder cases of Rajesh Kumar and Neeru Saini. The police is busy issuing challans for petty traffic rule violations and is unconcerned about the deteriorating law and order situation,” said Rajendra Dhillon, president of the BJP City youth wing.

Appointment of minority officers cleared
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 14
The government has approved the appointment of district minority officers, assistant minority officers and junior assistant minority officers in Nainital, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun.

It has been more than a year since a separate Directorate for Minority Affairs was created in Uttarakhand.

However, the Directorate was hamstrung due to staff shortage.