Kidnapping: Ramdev’s brother booked
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 22
Controversies and Baba Ramdev seem to go hand in hand. Now brother of the Yoga Guru Ram Bharat is facing charges of forceful confinement of one of its former employees working at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar.

Circle Officer Kankhal Chandra Mohan Negi told TNS that Patanjali Yogpeeth has filed a complaint against Nitin Tyagi. The matter was being investigated.

A case of kidnapping with secret intention and wrongful confinement has been registered against Ram Bharat and four security guards under Sections 365 and 342 of the Indian Penal Code.

Four Patanjali Yogpeeth security guards were arrested late last night from Patanjali when police team found Nitin Tyagi, who worked as driver at the factory two years back, in confinement.

In the complaint filed at Kankhal police station against Nitin Tyagi, Patanjali Yogpeeth has accused him of stealing amount to the tune of Rs 30 lakhs from the ashram premises. He was taken to Patanjali by the security guards as part of their own investigation.

"Four days of forceful confinement is a baseless allegation. We were just enquiring about the stolen money and the related information as he had fled two years back" said SK Tejariwala, a spokesperson for Patanjali Yogpeeth.

Nitin Tyagi said he had left the driver's job at Patanjali two years back. He had come to Haridwar five days ago to attend a relative's function. It was during this stay that Ram Bharat saw him and directed his security guard to take him forcefully to Phase II of Patanjali Yogpeeth.

"He was beaten up, confined illegally for four days and was harassed by Ram Bharat and his security guards," said Nitin's grandfather Som Dutt. Arrested security guards are Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Jind, Ramesh Chand of Yamunanagar, Sanjeev Jajjhar and Mahavir resident of Kaithal.

Acharya Balkrishan said that be it the CBI, Delhi police or the local police all are being misused by the Congress high command to nail Yoga Guru. But they would never bow to such false allegations.

Uttarakhand Kissan Congress leader Har Pal Tyagi, who had met SSP Haridwar Rajeev Swarup, said many such cases of forceful confinement of hapless workers were going on at Patanjali Yogpeeth, where labour exploitation goes on openly.

The local BJP unit led by legislator Madan Kaushik and city Mayor Manoj Garg has come out in support of Ramdev and held a protest outside Kankhal police station, where the case was registered.

Tourism Dept fails to promote rafting on Tons, Yamuna rivers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
Despite organising a mega rafting festival at Mori on the site of Tons river two years ago, the State Tourism department has not been able to promote rafting on the Tons or other rivers of the state while the Ganga has been over-exposed in its 34-km stretch between Kaudiyala to Rishikesh.

Joint Director, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, AK Dwivedi said, “The Tourism department had organised the Tons river Rafting Festival with great fanfare two years ago. We had held competitions among rafting aficionados and hoped to garner good results with this promotional event. But nothing came out of it. Neither the rafting companies nor the rafteing enthusiasts showed keen interest afterwards for rafting on the Tons river.”

He said rafting aficionados had not shown interests in other rivers such as the Kali and the Yamuna. Applications for rafting permits were inundating only for the stretch between Kaudiyala to Rishikesh on the Ganges.

Rafter Manjul said, “The state government organised the Tons festival in which the rafters of Rishikesh were left out. Had the Rishikesh rafters, who had successfully been carrying out rafting in Rishikesh for more than 25 years and bringing huge revenue to the state government were invited, they would have taken initiative in promoting this spot.”

He said the Tourism Department took along syndicate tour operators of Delhi on its promotional tours. “These tour operators sell tourism destinations of various states. Hence, they do not primarily focus on Uttarakhand or rafting as such."

He said the then Principle Secretary, Tourism, had issued guidelines after holding a meeting in 1999 that no more permits would be issued for the Ganges as the number had already exceeded the carrying capacity. But the permits were being issued every year. Hence, other rivers got sidelined.

He said the Kali and the Yamuna could emerge as perfect destinations to enjoy kayaking and canoeing activities during the beginning and end of the monsoon season, when water level at these rivers receded.

Head of a rafting company Yusuf Zaheer said, “Tons, Kali and Yamuna rivers are excellent for rafting. Rather rafting over Tons river is quite challenging which only veteran rafters can experience. The only hurdle is difficulty in accessing the rafting points over these rivers due to lack of proper road and rail network while it is easier in the case of the Ganges. There are rafting points in Kumaon such as in Pithoragarh, Jhulaghat, Pancheshwar, but the access is restricted. The state government is required to put better infrastructure in place and then promote these destinations with the involvement of the local rafters. Only then these rivers can become popular. The state can create a niche for itself in rafting scenario in the country and earn good revenue.”

Chakrata traders’ wives stage dharna on Karwa-Chauth
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
The wives of Chakrata Road traders near the Ambedkar statue at the Clock Tower to protest against the alleged forcible acquisition of the shops of the traders in order to implement redevelopment plan.

The women were dressed up for Karva-Chauth festival and addressed the gathering on the issue.

“All our festivities have come to halt in wake of the atrocities being unleashed by the state government on our traders. The government will acquire our shops by Thursday. This is the second time, our shops will be dismantled in a period of two years,” said Neeru Goyal.

“Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act has been imposed on the Chakrata Road which is only applied at the time of emergency. No one has ever seen a building falling on the Chakrata Road as the terror has been created before the High Court on this flimsy reason. My question is, what interest does the government is serving by acquiring our land when the road has already been widened enough,” she added.

“When the state government took a portion of our land two years ago, for which the traders were also compensated, it was clearly mentioned in the government order that the maps will be passed for the reconstruction of the remaining portion and Nazul land will also be turned into freehold in selective cases as well, but to no avail," said Soniya Sindhwani.

"The political conspiracy which started with the proposal of widening of road two years ago, had now culminated into rendering 25,000 people, living their livelihood on the Chakrata Road, literally on cross-road,” said Bhawna.

Anamika Upadhayaya appealed to people not be silent spectators. 

State Wakf Board to conduct survey of its properties
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
Chairman of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board Rao Kale Khan has decided to conduct a survey of the Wakf properties in the state. He has formed two committees, one each for the Garhwal and Kumaon zones, to supervise the issues with regard to the Wakf properties.

Khan said, “The Government of India too has issued an order last month whereby a survey of the Wakf properties has to be conducted after 20 years. We have no idea when it was conducted last time in our state. There is no comprehensive data available about these properties. Hence, we are going to write to all District Magistrates to find out the details about the Wakf properties in their respective districts.”

He said he had been able to increase the annual rent collection from tenants of the Wakf properties from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore in the last one year. He was hopeful of further enhancing the revenue by implementing reform measures.

Khan said, “My predecessors have been facing allegations of financial irregularities and involvement in scams as they controlled the administrative and financial powers embedded in Sections 27 and 32 of the Wakf Board Act. But I have handed over these powers to the members of the two committees. These committees constituted for the Garhwal and Kumaon zones have been given absolute powers to remove, change or retain the caretakers of the Wakf properties throughout the state.”

Khan added Wakf Board member Akram had been made in-charge of Ramnagar, Akhlaq of Jaspur, Zakir of Haldwani while Sarvat Furkan, Asgar Ali, Mufti and Ahmad had been made in-charge of the Garhwal zone. He added with

decentralisation of power, the members could no longer point fingers at the Chairman of the board for taking unilateral decisions or indulging in corruption.

However, on the issue of rent of the Wakf properties, he said, “The rent of the Wakf properties has been ludicrously low. The rent fixed decades ago has never been increased. People are also not ready to shell out more. In many areas of the state, the caretakers of the Wakf properties themselves have become their owners and expunged data of the properties from the record books.”

Khan added, “It is a perilous task to set things right with regard to the Wakf properties. I have not been given any protection, not a single gunman, despite my repeated appeals to the state government. People can kill me to maintain their stronghold over the Wakf property. Hence, it is not a cakewalk to get rid of forcible occupations or illegal encroachment or other mismanagement in the matter of the Wakf properties. However, I do want to serve my community by doing something concrete about the Wakf properties in this last leg of my tenure as the Chairman of the Wakf Board.” 

Rein in bureaucracy, says Cong leader
Tribune News Service

Hira Singh Bisht

Mussoorie, October 22
Following the recent remarks of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna that the bureaucracy needs to become more sensitive towards the problems of the people of the state, Congress leaders have come out in open against the functioning of the bureaucracy.

During his visit here today, senior Congress leader from the state Hira Singh Bisht raised his fingers at the way bureaucracy was functioning in the state. He said he was in complete agreement with the Chief Minister that the bureaucracy needed to mend its ways. The corrupt officials were ruling the roost in the state which was very unfortunate.

Elaborating, Bisht said the Congress government had inherited corrupt officials from the previous Nishank Government and those officials occupying plum posts were undermining all the good work being done by the Congress government.

Therefore, it was imperative to identify such corrupt officials and show them the door. Rather, punitive action should be initiated against them in order to instill confidence among the people of the state.

Bisht was of the view that if the bureaucracy was not controlled and the corrupt officials were not brought to justice the Congress would suffer adversely during the panchayat and 2014 parliamentary elections. He warned the officials indulging in corrupt practices to mend their ways or face the consequences in the form of punitive action.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s remark about the bureaucrats acting on their own free will without considering the people's aspirations has provided opportunity to his detractors as well as Congressmen, who are mincing no words and criticising bureaucracy.

Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal also said that the bureaucracy was getting out of control and thus leading to adverse image of the Congress-led government.

Entrepreneurship awareness camp concludes
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
The Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp, organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Kharagpur, at Graphic Era University, Dehradun, concluded here recently. The event was graced by the presence of seasoned entrepreneurs of the country who enlightened the attendees with insights into starting a successful enterprise.

The event turned out to be a huge success. More than 700 students from reputed colleges of the city like Graphic Era University, Uttaranchal University and UPES participated in the event.

During the camp, a panel discussion was held on the topic 'Jobs vs Entrepreneurship' and the students were followed up and were encouraged to take part in the business plan competitions to take their ideas a step ahead.

The event was the part of the Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive (EAD), which was one of the major flagship events of the Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT, Kharagpur.

The EAD consisted a series of guest lectures and workshops in 20 cities in 20 days in October. Each city would play a host to the Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp (EAC), where eminent entrepreneurs and industry leaders would counsel students about the pros and cons of entrepreneurship as a career and how it differs from the usual run-of-the-mill job culture.

Ambika Soni to meet party workers
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 22
The Uttarakhand Congress has started taking stock of the organisation at the ground-level in the state and has announced several meetings of top leaders of various district headquarters.

The first meeting in this connection would be held in Pithoragarh and Rudrapur in Kumaon region on October 27 and 28. The meetings would be addressed by the Congress General Secretary, Ambika Soni, along with Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and state Congress Chief Yashpal Arya.

"They will take stock of the ground situation in the party by meeting different layers of the Congress workers," said Mathura Datt Joshi, state Congress spokesman.

He said the state Congress leaders along with Soni would hold meetings of the party workers' of the Almora parliamentary constituency on October 27 in Pithoragarh district headquarter and with the Nainital parliamentary constituency in Rudrapur on October 28.

Absconding criminal held
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
The city police today managed to apprehend notorious criminal Titu, who had escaped from the police custody while undertaking treatment at Doon Hospital recently. According to police sources, Titu, a Meerut resident who was jailed for extorting money from a city resident, had complained of uneasiness on October 9 and was admitted to Doon Hospital.

While undergoing treatment at the hospital, he on the pretext of going to bathroom gave the two policemen on duty the slip on October 17. The police had since been searching for him.

Today, the police got a tip-off that Titu was at the Inter-State Bus Terminus and trying to escape from Dehradun. It at once swung into action and managed to nab him.

Virasat: Protest planned for ignoring local talent
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
While lashing out against Rural Entrepreneurship for Art and Culture (REACH) for allegedly ignoring the local artistes during the ongoing Virasat 2013, NK Gusain of Keshar Jan Kalyan Samiti said that in the future the organization will not allow the staging of such shows.

At a meeting held today, NK Gusain said that they would lend support to the Uttarakhand Kalakar Kalyan Mahasangh’s decision to take to the streets on October 24 in protest against the organization for ignoring local talent.

However REACH has denied these charges by maintaining that Jagar artiste Basanti Bisht has been a permanent fixture with Virasat, “Since the last couple of years, the famous jagar singer has been opening our festival. All the artistes, be it from India and abroad are given space depending on their availability. We are in favour of artistic freedom of expression,” said Lokesh Ohri of REACH.

Nigam’s apathy leaves poor homeless
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 22
The poor have been rendered homeless due to the apathy of UP Nirman Nigam, the executive agency that was assigned the task of constructing around 96 flats initiated by Municipal Council but failed to complete even 25 per cent of the work since its inception.

The project was started by the Municipal Council under Integrated Housing Development Programme (IHSDP) that envisages basic service to the urban poor.

Around 96 flats were to be constructed by the UP Nirman Nigam and the work was to be completed by 2012. PS Rawat, Executive Officer, Municipal Council, said they filed a complaint to the Urban Development Ministry after which a letter was written by the Director,Urban Ministry, to the Principal Secretary apprising him of the matter and seeking blacklisting of the contractor concerned. Rawat said the department concerned had been given around Rs 2 crore for the task by the Municipal Council in advance but the UP Nirman Nigam had failed to deliver in time.

BHEL manufactures 800 MW turbine rotor
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 22
A first of its kind in the country, Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), Ranipur unit, has manufactured a 800 MW thermal LP turbine rotor of super critical rating.

Executive director, Heavy Electricals Engineering Plant, BHEL, Prakash Chand lauded the efforts of unit engineers and employees.

He said the Haridwar unit was manufacturing large-size steam turbines having supercritical steam parameters along with turbo generators and condensers.

The 800 MW LP turbine rotor was flagged off to Karnataka in the presence of BHEL employees today. It will be used in the Yeramarus power project, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited.

General Manager AK Vijh (T&D) said: “The rotor, during its course of operation, goes through high-level stress and tough operational duty. So accuracy in machining, parts, operation and assembling is very important.”

Parivartan party’s two-day dharna next month
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP) held its city convention here on Sunday. Gyan Vir Tyagi, city party president, and PC Tiwari, party president, decided to hold a dharna at Martyrs’ Memorial from November 8.

Rajiv Kothari, party spokesperson, said the party members would stage a dharna at Martyrs’ Memorial for 48 hours from November 8 to protest against the mismanagement in dealing with the Himalayan Tsunami in June and the subsequent irregularities in distributing relief supply and monetary assistant to the victims or their dependents in the state.

“We have been demanding transparency in the spending of the funds provided by the Centre, various states, organisations and volunteers. In order to get this to the notice of the state government, we will stage a dharna for 48 hours. If the state government still do not take any positive steps in this direction, we will have to stir statewide demonstrations to expose it,” said Kothari.

“We have begun the campaign of providing membership of the party. The proposal which were passed in the party convention are our commitment to facilitate regularisation and ownership rights to the slum dwellers, availability of ration cards and ration supply to the poor, inclusion of names poor people and backward sections in the voters list and closure of illegal liquor shops operating in lanes of residential colonies. Our city unit will hold demonstrations on these issues,” said Tyagi.

“The party will soon begin a campaign. We are going to extend support to the Aam Adami Party (AAP) for the assembly elections in Delhi. We also had a meeting with the party president, Arvind Kejriwal, in Delhi on July 28 and September 23 as well. The UPP wants the AAP to emerge as a strong alternative to run the government at Centre as well. This way, we are extending our role beyond the limits of the state,” said PC Tiwari, party president.

‘Developing nations more vulnerable to climate change’
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 22
“Scientists have a greater role to play in climate change mitigation in the changing world,” said Saibal Dasgupta, Deputy Director (Extension), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), here recently.

He spoke at the inauguration of a five-day training programme organised by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) for the scientists and technologists working in the government sector on climate change and carbon mitigation from October 21 to 25, 2013, at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) here.

About 27 scientists from different scientific organisations of the country were participating in the training programme. The training programme was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, under the National Programme for Training of Scientists and Technologists working in the government sector.

Saibal Dasgupta said the people in developing countries were vulnerable to climate change, because they were more prone to the adverse impacts from climatic changes. India was likely to be affected adversely by the impact of climate change as food and water security of the country was also likely to be affected adversely. "Climate change mitigation can be easily attained by planting trees," he added. He urged all the scientists across the sectors to join hand to ensure the climate change adaptation in various agro-climatic zones of the country.

“India is the tenth largest forested country in the world. Forests in India contributes a lot toward climate change mitigation. About 6 billion tonnes of carbon is sequestered in our forests. The Government of India’s Green Indian Mission plans to reforest 10 million hectare of degraded land in next 10 years,” said Dasgupta.

Dr GS Goraya, DDG (Research), ICFRE, chaired the inaugural session and Dr TP Singh, course coordinator, also spoke on the occasion.

Dr Singh said in the recent years, climate change was one of the few issues that had received tremendous global attention. He said climate change was a major challenge for developing countries like India.

In the first technical session, Dr Ashok Karumuri from Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, delivered a lecture on climate change modelling, Dr SPS Kushwaha of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), spoke on carbon flux measurement.