Foundation stones of BSF, SSB HQ laid in Sitarganj
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today laid the foundation stones of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Sasahtra Seema Bal (SSB) Headquarters at Sitarganj, which would cost Rs 265 crore.

Shinde addresses a gathering after laying the foundation stones of BSF and SSB battalion headquaters at Sitarganj on Monday. Tribune photo

Later, Union Home Minister also laid the foundation stone of the buildings of the BSF battalion and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) at Dudhli village in Doiwala block of Dehradun district today. He also inaugurated the BSFs’ Adventure and Advanced Training institute at Doiwala.

In the morning, the Home Minister reached Sitarganj and laid the foundation stones of the BSF and SSB headquaters. He also laid the foundation stones of the Sirsa-Shakti Farm Road to be built at the cost of Rs 54.78 crore and the Vijti Road worth Rs 31 crore.

Shinde said the work of the central police forces was commendable. Forces like the SSB and BSF, at one level, defended the borders while, on the other, rescued people in the disaster affected areas. He declared that the BSF jawans deployed in Bengal’s Sundarbans and Kutchh in Gujarat would be provided hardship allowance. He said that after the formation of the SSB and BSF battalions in Uttarakhand, employment opportunities would rise and priority in recruitment would be given to the youth of the state.

Shinde extended condolences to those who had lost their lives in the June natural disaster and expressed concern for the families of the deceased. He appreciated the Uttarakhand Government for the swift rescue work undertaken by it and said that this was the largest ever rescue operation conducted in the country. He further said that the soldiers of para-military forces would be given canteen facilities like the armed forces.

Vijay Bahuguna expressed gratitude to the Union Minister and said that it was because of his contribution that formation of units of the BSF and SSB was taking place in Uttarakhand. He added that work was on to resume normal services in the disaster-affected areas of the state, with reconstruction work boosting the economy.

He also sanctioned an up-mandi costing Rs 7.66 crore in Shakti Farm; construction of and ITI in Tehsil Kichha and two hi-tech public toilets in Sitarganj, costing Rs 19 crore.

Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya said that despite the disaster, development work was under way in the state. He said the country was safe only because of the soldiers deployed on the borders. He demanded the declaration of forest villages of Lauka and Gautha as revenue villages as well as provision of canteen services for the paramilitary forces.

The Director, BSF, Subhash Joshi, said the force was responsible for securing more than 7,400 kilometres of border.

He added the force also played a major role in the wars of 1965, 1971 and Kargil. He said the setting up of headquarters of BSF battalions would help soldiers in remote areas house their families here.

Director-General of SSB Krishan Chaudhary thanked the Chief Minister for having provided a site for the SSB battalion. He said that 70 chowkis on the 264-kilometre Nepal border were guarded by them and that the SSB was also involved in welfare work.

Also present on the occasion were former Minister Tilak Raj Behad, Kiran Mandal, Sanjay Kapoor, Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma, DIG GN Goswami, Commissioner AS Nayal, DM Brijesh Kumar Sant and other officers from several departments.

At the Dudhli function, Shinde said that on the special request of Chief minister and BSF chief Subhash Joshi two battalions wouild be deployed in the state. He said that the youth of the state would benefit by getting employment in the forces.

Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyakl Nishank, who is a legislator from the Doiwala assembly segment, thanked the Union home Minister for choosing his assembly segment to house the BSF battalion and Adventure Institute.

The Union Home Minister also honoured the wives of four BSF jawans who laid down their lives while performing their duties. The mother of a martyred jawan was also honoured.

Raj Kumar Negi, Commandant of BSF, was also honoured for commendable work following the natural disaster in Kalimath area of Garhwal. 

 Nishank: Modi-led BJP will provide able governance
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 7
Former Bharatiya Janata Party national vice president and ex-Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has exuded confidence in the party naming Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as the party’s prime ministerial face and candidate.

Nishank while on a brief stay at Damkoti guest house here in Haridwar exuded confidence that BJP under able leadership of Narendra Modi, who is also the party’s election campaign committee chairperson, will be able to get majority in the Lower House in the upcoming 2014 parliamentary elections. Pointing that already Congress and other United Progressive Alliance coalition parties are a worried lot over the nationwide response Narendra Modi is getting, Nishank remarked that this is the reason why these party leaders are now regularly targeting Modi’s credentials and image.

“Narendra Modi has imbibed hope among the Indian public, particularly youth, that BJP can provide able governance as was done during previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance.Modi has vision,ideas and ability to implement his promises.

Youths, women, poor and all segments of society feel that he is worthy of leading India and ''freeing us from corrupt governance of Congress,'' said Nishank,who had to step down in 2009 as Uttarakhand CM owing to various scam allegations by party high command itself.

On the issue of his contesting from Haridwar Lok Sabha, Nishank said that he is a loyal party activist and if party national president Rajnath Singh will ask him to contest, he is ready, be it Haridwar or any other constituency in the state.

He also refused to comment on the question that whether his activeness in the district was a part of his pre-election preparation, Nishank, currently legislator from Doiwala Assembly segment which falls in Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency, said that on regular basis he visits every district in the state. ''One can’t make it that I will be contesting from Pauri, Tehri, Nainital or Almora-Pithoragarh seat.''

 Leopard intrudes into residential colony
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 7
A leopard intruded into the Roshanabad Police Line colony this morning, creating panic among its residents. Deepak Kumar, a local resident, saw the leopard in his house at 7 am. He alerted his family as well as neighbours and bolted their doors from inside.

The scared leopard that intruded into a residential colony at Roshanabad in Haridwar takes shelter in a house on Monday. Tribune photo:Rameshwar Gaur

They immediately reported the matter to officials of the Rajaji National Park and the Haridwar forest division.

After a two-hour operation, officials succeeded in capturing the leopard by tranquilising it and put it in an iron cage.

Forest officials also conducted its medical examination and after finding it healthy, they released the leopard in the nearby Shivalik forest terrain in the Rajaji National Park. The Roshanabad area is adjacent to the Rajaji National Park.

Last year also, a leopard had intruded into the Collectorate office, Roshanabad, on April 5. Forest range officer Chaman Lal said park personnel would intensify vigil in the area.

 DMC computers gathering dust as councillors keep away
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7
All the 10 computers bought by Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) to train councillors in the basic computer skill are gathering dust. Some of them have become defective for not being in use, while others have been given away in different office rooms of the corporation.

Some councillors have again raised the same demand, but Mayor Vinod Chamoli refused to listen.

Chamoli said since the computers were not being used, they were handed over in different offices of the DMC.

Because of limited use in offices, too, some of them became defective, while a couple of them could not function with water falling over them from the leaking roof of the DMC in the rainy season.

Chamoli said he was not going to give in to any such demand of councillors. Experts were hired for the purpose and some 10 computers were bought 
as well.

The councillors came in good number on the first day. However, within a couple of days, their enthusiasm faded and the strength dwindled. The trainers could be seen waiting for the councillors or playing cards on the computers to while away time. However, the entire episode could not stretch for long.

Gradually, after a week the trainers, too disappeared, so did the computers.

Some councillors are seen to be taking refuge in excuses as BJP councillor Amita Singh said, “Seeing the number of councillors, computers fell short. We had to wait for others to finish before we started learning, which was a sheer waste of time. Hence, it did not work with us.”

She said the number of computers should be increased. Congress councilor Vijender Pal Singh admitted that it were the councillors who created a hue and a cry about not being given training. 

 Residents around Sharda river heave sigh of relief
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 7
4Residents of the villages on the bank of river Sharda in Banbasa town of Champawat district heaved a sigh of relief in the month of September this year as the river did not swell, breaking its past record of causing heavy damages due to floods in the month.

According to the residents of Banbasa town, out of 12 years of this century, the river has swollen 8 times, causing heavy damage to the property of the residents and public. Only this year the river has remained calm and peaceful in the month of September. “Though the records of rainfall and water flow in the river in the area, which remained at 1868 mm and 5.48 lakh quesecs this year, respectively, have broken all past records of last 50 years, the calmness of the river in September is also unprecedented,” said RP Yadav, SDO of Sharda headworks at Banbasa.

According to Yadav, despite the peaceful month of September from water flow point of view, red alert will be given from 15th of this month, according to the tradition maintained by the British. 

 Mars craters formed due to ‘explosion of volcanoes’
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 7
Ahead of India’s Mars mission, which is going to take place on October 28, American scientists have revealed that the huge craters on the planet might have occurred due to the explosion of volcanoes rather than a clash of other minor steroids, scientists at Aryabhatt Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital, (ARIES) have said, quoting American astrophysicists at NASA.

“The American astrophysicists have clamed that they reached the conclusion after studying craters of 20 to 50 km length at a spot named ‘Arabian Peru’ on Mars,” said Dr SB Pandey, an astrophysicist at the institute.

He said Mars is the only planet in the universe which has similarities iwith earth, except water and atmosphere which is unique on the earth.

“Due to the similarities, astrophysicists have been studying the planet and trying to establish the similarities," said the scientist from ARIES.

Before the recent study came to light, the scientists were of the opinion that huge craters on the surface of Mars might have been created due to the clash of other small planets with it.

“The new research done by American astrophysicists shows that that volcanoes might have been active on Mars years ago, like on the earth,” said Prof RC Kapoor, a scientist at Bharatiya Tara Bhautiki Sansthan, Bangalore. 

 Repair of damaged school buildings to begin soon
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7
The reconstruction and repair of buildings of 170 primary and high schools of Uttarakashi and Rudraprayag districts which were damaged or destroyed in the natural disaster which struck the state in June would start soon.

Governor Aziz Qureshi in the month of July held a meeting with coordinators of all prominent schools and office bearers of Rotary and other NGOs and had said that he had expectations from them for support for bringing life back to normal for children who had been studying in these damaged or destroyed schools.

Consequently ,Rotary Clubs have expressed their plan to help in the reconstruction and repair of these schools on a priority basis.

In response to the appeals made by the Governor, a high-level committee has been constituted which is chaired by K.Sabu, former chairperson of Rotary International.This committee will implement the scheme of supporting this reconstruction work.

Former Uttarakhand Governor Sudarshan Aggarwal will significantly support this work.

The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, is preparing the designs for the school buildings that have to be constructed .

Required formalities have been completed regarding this matter between the state government and Rotary.

Local people ,who are in great need of employment, will be employed in large numbers in the work of rebuilding the schools.

The Governor has welcomed this initiative of Rotary and expressed the hope that children of the disaster affected areas will soon be able to pursue their studies in their schools.