Bureaucratic reshuffle
Dehradun, November 14
A bureaucratic reshuffle has taken place in Uttarakhand. Principal Secretary Bhagwati Prasad Pandey will look after all departments of Principal Secretary S Ramaswamy, who is on a one- month leave.

Dehradun, November 14
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said parents, especially mothers, have an important role to play in instilling values in their children so that they could become good citizens. He was speaking at a function of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Rajya Shaikshik Utkrashta felicitation programme at the Survey of India auditorium here on the occasion of Children’s Day today.

The Chief Minister announced an award after Jawaharlal Nehru’s wife, Kamla Nehru, and said the state would felicitate mothers of those children who score over 75 per cent marks in the board examinations at the block level. He also doubled the reward amount to be given to the children whose names had figured in the merit list.

Bahuguna felicitated the students whose names appeared in the merit list of the Uttarakhand Board Exams 2013. They are Rohit Pant (Vivekananda Inter College, Ranidhara, Almora), who stood first in class X; Nilesh Bisht (Vivekananda Inter College, Ranidhara, Almora), who stood second; and Ayodhya Prasad Bhatt of SPM Inter College, New Tehri, who secured the third position in the board exams.

Besides, the Chief Minister also awarded SPHSS, Jawahar Nagar, Rudraprayag, and St George’s Academy along with Ramprant Inter College, Khatima, for getting good results.

Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani said, “Education plays the most important role in our lives. It is important to encourage students. Scholarships and awards encourage children to move forward in their lives. The state government is committed to providing students with all necessary facilities.”

Dehradun, November 14
Power crisis is looming large before the state. The power generation in hydropower houses has already plummeted due to the onset of winter season. It was recorded 8.34 million units yesterday.

According to official resources, the crisis can further worsen as the main coal feeding belt of UMP project of 4000 MW of south Gujarat has caught fire. This means that the power supply to be received from this source will get adversely affected.

Besides this, power supply of around 75 MW, which was bought from Sri Cement through tender, could also not be received today as the plant developed some technical snags. The plant which has been shut down is expected to be start functioning tomorrow after the completion of the massive repair work. As if all this was not enough, the hydropower houses, Kathima and Kalagarh, continue to generate low power supply.

Many parts of the state had to go through power cuts today in the wake of acute power shortage. The power cuts was imposed in rural areas of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar for four hours while the small towns of Garhwal and Kumaon regions as well as Kashipur and Rudrapur also faced power cuts for 2.30 hours today. Doiwala and Dakrani area had power roistering for two hours. Non-continuous industries at Pant Nagar and those at Garhwal and Kumaon also suffered power cuts for two hours.

Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited has already arranged for 5 million units for tomorrow through tenders, while the corporation is going to arrange for 2 million units extra to deal with the crisis.

Haridwar, November 14
While electrical battery-operated rickshaws termed as eco friendly were launched with much fanfare in Haridwar a few months ago by the Municipal Corporation, they have since then been in the thick of controversies.

Since their launch, diesel-run auto-vikram unions have been expressing their resentment over their plying in the city. These battery-run rickshaws' number is probably about 50. They had become hugely popular among commuters, affecting the auto-vikrams' income.

Last month only auto-vikrams had gone on a day's strike, demanding banning of the battery-run rickshaws, citing they were being issued no licence and were plying on routes where autos had been operating since 1989, when autos-vikrams were first introduced in the city.

Today Regional Transport Department, Haridwar, gave a new turn to this issue by clarifying that battery-operated rickshaws had not been given licence by the department, and neither had it given or devised any plying route chart for them.

Assistant Regional Transport Officer Sunil Kumar Sharma told TNS that he had served notices on all battery-run rickshaws not to ferry commuters as neither they had been granted permission by the department nor state government.

“Till the Transport Department gives them clearance or licence or a new government order comes, no battery-run rickshaws should ply or ferry passengers in the city periphery. If any one of them violates these directives, then necessary punitive action will be taken against the offending battery rickshaw operators,'' said ARTO Sharma.

Auto-vikrams' union has welcomed the department's decision.Panchpuri auto rickshaw union president Ravi Dutt Puppi in a statement said that till battery-run rickshaws are not given permits, their union will be opposing their plying in Haridwar.

Meanwhile, local traders have objected to the action initiated by ARTO against battery rickshaws, saying that the department had come under pressure from auto-vikram unions.

Sanjay Trival, district traders' union organisation secretary, said that while tempo-vikrams charge hefty fares and also create pollution, battery rickshaws are eco friendly and popular mode of commuting for local people, pilgrims and tourists.

Social outfit Shri Hanuman Sena, too, has objected to the auto-vikram union’s demand of banning battery-run rickshaws, saying that it will only impact the poor and common man. Umesh Tripathi of the Shri Hanuman Sena said that they will be forced to agitate if the ARTO does not permit licence and route chart to the battery- run vehicles.

Notably, there are 1200 auto-vikrams registered by RTO in Haridwar city, but the number exceeds than this. On this ARTO Sharma said that he is under no pressure from auto-vikram unions and has also initiated a drive against those auto-vikrams which flout RTO norms, charge hefty rates and ferry more than stipulated number of passengers.

Dehradun, November 14
With the state administration calling for the initiation of work on the Rs 330 crore flyover project, residents here have raised questions over the intentions of the government to allocate the work to Engineers Project India Limited (EPIL).

The residents of the Balliwala Chowk area alleged that the government was going forward with the construction of the flyover without fulfilling the guidelines.

They further said move was intended to benefit the controversy marred EPIL.

“The sanctioned four lane flyover project has been converted into a two lane project without any government notification. The procedures as prescribed under the Uttarakhand Procurement Rules, 2008, have also not been followed,” RTI activist and resident of Balliwala Chowk, Ajay Goyal, said. “Furthermore, the construction of the flyover at Balliwala has been assigned to a government company, known as Engineers Project India limited, which is facing investigation for misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 21,83,62,588 for the construction of the Bellary Nala Irrigation Project in Karnataka,” he alleged. In a recent directive, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar had called for initiation of work on the flyover within next 10 days.

Goyal, meanwhile, added that the information sought under the RTI Act from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, revealed that it has not awarded the work for construction of flyovers on the NH-72 in Uttarakhand at Balliwala, Jogiwala, ISBT and Ballupur to any company.

“The ministry also informed that for the section of the NH-72, from Paonta Sahib to Dehradun, no gazette notification for the land acquisition under the NH Act, 1956, is available,” he said.

“The ministry so far has also not given approval to the state government for construction of flyovers at locations mentioned above,” Goyal added.

He, however, maintained that the ministry has received a proposal from the state PWD, seeking a no objection certificate for construction of the flyovers at Balliwala, Jogiwala, ISBT and Ballupur.

The activist said the proposal was still under examination.

“The EPIL, which has been paid around Rs 21 crore by the government for the construction of the flyover, is known to commit such serious lapses and sub-letting the contract besides conniving in preparation of false bills, as in the case of Karnataka where the investigation is going on against the company for misappropriation of government funds,” Goyal alleged.

“In this context, the decision of the Uttarakhand Government to assign the project to such a company with an intention to bungle the funds of around Rs 330 crore, in the name of the flyover project raises several doubts,” he added.

He demanded that a high-level enquiry should be set up against the company and the punitive action should be taken against the concerned authority involved in the flyover construction project.

The Public Works Department (PWD) Chief Engineer, National Highway, HK Kukreti, however, refuted the claims made by the activist saying the project was being carried out in accordance with the guidelines.

He added that the EPIL has been appointed as the prime executive agency, as it had the adequate expertise for the project. “The state was major stakeholder and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, officials have given the go ahead to the project in the meetings held earlier,” Kukreti told The Tribune.

When asked about the investigation going on against the company for misappropriation of the funds, the official expressed ignorance.

The PWD, Superintending Engineer, Dehradun, Hari Om Sharma, meanwhile, said the government has directly assigned the construction work to the company and the PWD was only a “funding agency” in the project.

On the issue of modifying the project, the official said the traffic study has been conducted by the PWD as well as the EPIL and the decision to convert the four lane flyover into two-lane has been taken considering its feasibility.

Asked whether NOC was obtained in this regard, Sharma said: “All such issues have been considered in the meetings with the concerned officials held few days back.”

Minister for Planning Dinesh Agarwal said he was not aware of any investigation going against the company assigned the task for construction of the flyover. He, however, maintained that once built the flyover will help in easing the traffic congestion in the town in the long run.

Dehradun, November 14
The police is yet to ascertain the identity of a woman whose headless body was found in the cantonment area yesterday.

“We have informed our counterparts in the neighbouring districts and states and asked them to check missing person complaints in their respective police stations”, said SP (City) Jagdish Chandra.

The police is also taking help of the national crime record bureau and the state crime record bureau in establishing the woman's identity. “We have given this information to newspapers and channels also and are hoping of solving the case soon”, said the SP (City).

Meanwhile, the police is awaiting the postmortem report, which will come after two days. The police said it would only get to know through the report whether the woman was also sexually assaulted. Sources say it was a daring act as there is high security in the the cantonment area. Barricades are installed at important points.

Dehradun, November 14
The Department of Culture, Karnataka Government, organised a play at the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here late last evening.

The play, " "Main Bawri Channa Ki", was directed by Shrish Dobhal. It was based on the life of "Akka Ma" of the 12th century, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.

It was an emotional and captivating play, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. The majority of the cast belonged to Karnataka. However, there were artistes from Delhi too. It was a Hindi adaptation of Kannad play.

Col HS Bainsla, SM Commandant, RIMC, was the chief guest on the occasion. He congratulated the artistes on a wonderful performance and also motivated the young audience to respect the art of theatre. 

Dehradun, November 14
The satellite round of the 5th Mahindra Auto Quotient quiz competition for the north zone was held at the UPES on November 12. It saw participation of over 250 students from institutes across Uttarakhand, including students from the UPES, DIT University, Graphic Era Hill University, Uttaranchal University and others.

The event comprised of a written round, followed by a quiz questionnaire. Both winning teams of the satellite round were from the UPES and they would now be representing the Uttarakhand region in the city round being held in New Delhi on November 16. The two selected teams comprise Akash Mittal and Bharat Batra and Udit Sharma and Raman Narain, all students of B. Tech (Automotive Design Engineering).

The 5th Mahindra Auto Quotient quiz competition was launched in October this year and this time it was not limited to students only and was also extended to auto enthusiasts in the age group of 18 to 35 years. The format of this national-level competition included short-listing of 32 teams in the satellite round of each of the four zones -- north, south, east and west -- followed by short-listing of four teams in the city round of each zone. The zonal final among the four short-listed teams from the city round would give the finalists from that zone for the national finals.

In each zone institutes were selected to become the Mahindra AQ Hubs. The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, was selected as a Mahindra AQ Hub in the north zone along with seven others, including BITS in Pilani, United College in Allahabad, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College in Ludhiana, Jamia Millia University in Delhi, Chitkara International School in Chandigarh, Babu Banarasi Das National Institute of Technology and Management in Lucknow and Malviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur.

The winning team of the grand finale would get an all-expense paid trip to the largest auto show on this planet called the “Geneva International Auto Show”. The first runner-up team would be taken on an expedition with Mahindra Adventures to an exciting location in India while the second runner-up team would get a chance to be part of the thrilling and most eagerly awaited off-road adventure event called “Mahindra Great Escape”. Besides, exciting prizes worth Rs 22 lakh would be offered to the participants.

Dehradun, November 14
Institute of Technology Management (ITM) won the inaugural match of the 1st SDBIT T-20 Cricket Tournament after defeating Sri Guru Ram Rai (SGRR), Patel Nagar, by 25 runs.

After losing the toss and being put into bat first, ITM scored 125 runs with Pradeep Roy scoring highest 42 runs for ITM. In reply, SGR got bowled out at 100 runs in 16.1 overs. Rohit Kumar remained the highest scorer in the inning after contributing 46 runs.

Earlier, a function was organised at Rangers College ground to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’ 200th Test match against the West Indies in Mumbai. 

Dehradun, November 14
St Jude's School and Guru Nanak Academy today won their respective matches to advance to the next stage of the ongoing Senior Council Twenty-20 cricket tournament being played at the St Joseph Academy grounds here.

While St Jude's School defeated The Indian Cambridge School by 74 runs, Guru Nanak Academy drubbed Bala Hisar Academy by 38 runs.

Put in to bat, St Jude's School rallied on a healthy contribution from tail-enders to post a decent 138 on board.

The Cambridge School, in reply, failed to build on a good opening stand as they bundled out for a paltry 64.

Meanwhile, Guru Nanak Academy rode on Gurvinder and Pratyush’s half century knocks to post a challenging 198 runs on board after electing to bat first. Bala Hisar Academy tried to remain in hunt on the back of a superb 89-run knock by Rahul. However, it had a little bearing on the result as the team managed just 160 in reply.