Ignored twice, Harish Rawat gets his due
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 1
It was after a long wait of 12 years that Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat could fulfil his ambition of becoming the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He was sworn in as the eight Chief Minister of the state today.

After the formation of Uttarakhand as a separate state in November 2000, Harish Rawat, a senior party leader from the Kumaon region, was named the first president of the state unit of the Congress. He worked tirelessly to rebuild the party in the state which was nearly decimated in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions due to the “Mandal and Kamandal” politics of mother state of Uttar Pradesh. His efforts bore fruits as the Congress won a majority in the first ever state Assembly elections held in February 2002 and formed the government.

However, the party leadership decided to ignore his claim despite the fact that all Congress presidents, who had led the party to victory in the Assembly polls in 2002 in their respective states, including Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, were made Chief Ministers.

But in Uttarakhand, instead veteran Congress leader ND Tewari was made the Chief Minister by the party high command and a sulking Harish Rawat continued as the state Congress president from 2001 to 2007. However, as a consolation, he was sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2002.

Harish Rawat was born on April 27, 1947, in Almora. After his initial schooling in Almora, he went to Lucknow University and got a degree in law.

Being a young Congress leader from the Kumaon region, Harish Rawat had a grand entry into big-time politics when he defeated senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi from the Almora Lok Sabha seat in 1980. He won the seat again in the 1984 and 1989 Lok Sabha elections.

However, the fortunes of the Congress nosedived due to the Ram Mandir politics and Harish Rawat lost four consecutive Lok Sabha elections in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999 while his wife Renuka Rawat, who contested in his place from Almora, also lost the parliamentary elections in 2004.

After the Almora Lok Sabha seat was reserved in the new delimitation exercise, Harish Rawat took a calculated political risk to contest the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and won it by a huge margin. He was made a Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment in the Manmohan Singh government. He was later given the charge of Parliamentary Affairs and Food Processing.

In the third Assembly elections in Uttarakhand in 2012, the Congress won by a slender majority of one seat but Harish Rawat was again denied the chance to head the state government, causing great consternation to him and his supporters. The party high command reposed faith in Vijay Bahuguna, MP from Tehri Garhwal, to become the Chief Minister in March 2012. Harish Rawat’s supporters started a dharna at his New Delhi residence which continued for 18 days. However, the party managed to placate him and made him the Union Minister for Water Resources.

The natural disaster in June, 2013, that led to large scale devastation and death of around 5,000 people in Uttarakhand and inept handling of the situation by the state government headed by Vijay Bahuguna again gave him an opportunity and he relentlessly pursued his objective.

With the crucial Lok Sabha elections ahead, the party high command finally decided to give him a chance to prove his worth as a mass-based political leader of Uttarakhand. 

Kumaon bursts into joy, celebration
BD Kasniyal
Tribune News Service

Supporters of new Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat dance in Dehradun on Saturday to celebrate his appointment as Chief Minister. Tribune photo: Abhudaya Kotnala

Pithoragarh, February 1
People of the Kumaon region were leaping with joy as Harish Chandra Singh Rawat took oath as the eighth Chief Minister of the state today. Congress workers and Harish Rawat’s supporters burst crackers and distributed sweets across the region as soon as he took the oath of office and secrecy.

Harish Rawat’s supporters in Almora, Pithoragarh, Jainti, Someshwar, Bhatrochkhan, Ramnagar, Haldwani, Nainital, Sitarganj and Champawat came out on roads to express their happiness and shouted slogans in support of the new Chief Minister.

Harish Rawat’s relatives in his native Mohanari village in the Bhatrochkhan block of Almora district were waiting for the good news with bated breath since morning. “I am very happy today and am offering sweets to people who are coming to congratulate me on the appointment of Harish Rawatji as Chief Minister,” said Madhuri Devi, wife of Rawat’s relative in Mohanari village.

“We have seen Harishji as pramukh of the Bhikiasain block and now we are seeing him as the Chief Minister of the state. It is good news for all of us, who have been his childhood companions,” said Nandan Singh (98), a resident of Dumna.

Several Congress workers in Almora, from where Rawat became an MP thrice, set off for Dehradun to congratulate their beloved leader. “We have mobilised Congress supporters from Jageshwar, Ranikhet, and Dwarahat to go to Dehradun. We are leaving for Dehradun right now,” said Rajendra Bora, a Congress worker from Almora.

Rawat’s supporters also celebrated his appointment in Ramnagar, Haldwani, Lalkuwan, Lohaghat, Champawat, Dharchula and Munsiyari towns, besides Pithoragarh and Bageshwar district headquarters. “We are taking along more than 20,000 workers in over 100 buses to greet Harish Rawat on his becoming the Chief Minister,” said Mahindra, a Youth Congress worker from Haldwani in Nainital district.

Congress workers and the common people in Khatima, Tanakpur, and Banbasa towns alike burst crackers and exchanged sweets.

Rawat cautions people against communal forces

Dehradun, February 1
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has cautioned the people of state against efforts to communalise politics in the country.

Addressing a public meeting at Parade Ground this evening, his maiden one after taking over the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat said there were forces in the country that wanted to communalise the country's politics. "Efforts are being made to communalise politics with Muzaffarnagar riots being the latest example of politics of hatred," he said.

Harish Rawat cautioned that a divided family and a divided nation could never progress and gave a call to defeat the fascist forces.

Harish Rawat devoted the most part of his address to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and said the UPA government at the Centre in the last 10 years had taken various measures to empower women, Dalits, youths and other unprivileged sections of society.

Earlier, Uttarakhand Congress president Yashpal Arya recalled Harish Rawat's contribution towards strengthening the party in Uttarakhand. Congress MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta and Congress Dharmapur MLA Dinesh Agarwal also spoke on the occasion. Congress MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta and Congress Dharmapur MLA Dinesh Agarwal also spoke on the occasion. Congress MP Satpal Maharaj was also present. — TNS

Cancer-ridden boy’s family seeks financial help
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, February 1
The grandfather and the father of one-year-old Tushar, residents of Naingaon village in Tehri Garhwal district, are forced to run from pillar to post in search of financial assistance for the treatment of their son, who is suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer and Research Institute in New Delhi.

The doctors have advised chemotherapy and surgery that would cost around Rs 6 lakh. Tushar's father is unable to afford the treatment cost due to his poor financial position.

He said he was camping in Mussoorie for the past few days in search of some good Samaritan, who could provide them financial assistance, but no help had come forth yet.

He has appealed to the people for help. 

BJP refutes rumour of party MLA joining Congress
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 1
The Uttarakhand BJP has denied rumours that a party MLA from Kumaon had defected to the Congress. The state BJP today said the party was in full control of the situation. It would take all steps to ward off any attempts at poaching its MLAs.

The rumours about a BJP MLA defecting to the Congress has been doing the rounds for quite some time. BJP legislator from Sitarganj Kiran Mondal had defected to the Congress to vacate the seat for Vijay Bahuguna in 2012.

A meeting was held at the residence of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri today to discuss the panchayat elections and the situation arising due to the change of guard. Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said after attending the meeting that, “The Congress is a sinking ship and everybody is ready to desert it. Hence, where is the question of any BJP legislator defecting to the Congress arises at this juncture.”

Khanduri also echoed similar sentiments. He said the Congress should focus on keeping its flock together. “Congress' coalition partner, Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), has already demanded ministerial berths for all its members and is ready to desert it,” said Khanduri.

Neither the BJP nor the Congress is capable of forming the government on its own. It has given the PDF, a group of three Independents, three BSP MLAs and the lone UKD legislator, an vantage position in the state politics. The group has played a pivotal role in staving off any threat to the Vijay Bahuguna government, which it has been supporting since 2012.

“In politics everyone keeps in touch with all others and we keep meeting members of the PDF regularly. At this juncture, the BJP will not like to pull the rug from under the feet of the Congress. But yes the Congress played dirty when it poached on our MLA in Sitarganj,” said Uttarakhand BJP chief Teerath Singh Rawat.

Elated Congress workers distribute sweets in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, February 1
Elated Congress workers distributed sweets and burst crackers in Mussoorie today as soon as the name of Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat was announced as the next Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

The Congress workers, who had been glued to their television sets since yesterday, got the news that the Congress Legislature Party had cleared the Union minister’s name for the post of Chief Minister.

Bahuguna had resigned as Chief Minister paving the way for the coronation of Harish Rawat, who was the top contender for the post.

Local Congress workers were confident that Harish Rawat would replace Bahuguna as Chief Minister and they were out in the open by late evening bursting crackers and distributing sweets near Picture Palace.

Former president of the Mussoorie Mahila Congress said she was glad at Harish Rawat’s appointment as Chief Minister.

President of the Congress Sewa Dal, Sunil Panwara, a staunch critic of Vijay Bahuguna, said it was indeed a great moment that a Congress leader, who rose from grass-roots level, would become the Chief Minister.

President of the Mussoorie Congress Satish Dhaundiyal said the party welcomed the decision of the high command. They hoped that Rawat would carry forward the development works initiated by outgoing Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

However, some Congress supporters disapproved of the change of guard at the time when the dates of the panchayat elections had been announced. They said it could adversely affect the election prospectus of the party considering the fact that infighting in the faction-ridden Congress would become more pronounced in the coming days. 

Panchayat poll from March 8

Dehradun, February 1
Deputy Election Officer Jyoti Neeraj Khairwal announced the election schedule for the forthcoming panchayat elections yesterday.

Khairwal said the panchayat elections would be held in three phases. The polling in the first phase would be held in Vikas Nagar and Chakrata on March 8, in Sahaspur and Kalsi in the second phase on March 11 while the elections in the final phase would be held in Raipur and Doiwala onMarch 14, said Khairwal.

She added as the polling days had been announced, officials concerned should speed up the process of the compilation and final publication of the voters' list.

Khairwal instructed block development officers (BDOs) to provide inspection certificates of panchayats in their respective blocks along with maps. She also asked them to draw a list of polling booths based on 2011 delimitation.

“Since the panchayat elections will be held in three phases, the BDOs have to draw up the route charts for the polling parties in consultation with the Weather Department. Also, details of distance from roads to the polling stations along with list of officials required on the polling day should be compiled,” said Khairwal. “Once the BDOs receive ballot boxes and other polling material, they should test the equipment and understand the working,” she added. — TNS

DVWM ends garbage lifting contract with MC
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 1
The Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) ended its two-year contract with the civic body yesterday. It entered into a contract with the Uttarakhand government on the collection and disposal of waste in the city.

Serving a one-month notice on the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), the firm had asked it to clear its dues within 30 days. In the contract termination letter addressed to Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar, the company said the DMC had failed to fulfil its obligations under the agreement signed between the DMC and the DVWM for the execution of the Solid Waste Management Project in Dehradun.

Speaking about the issue, Sidharth Jain said the civic body had failed to provide them the clear possession of the land site proposed to have transfer station and composting plant despite repeated requests from the company. “The MCD did not pay any heed to our requests and rather forced us to go ahead with construction at the site. We have already incurred a loss of Rs four crore ever since we took the contract. We cannot go in losses forever due to the callous attitude of the MCD,” said Jain.

As part of its outstanding dues, the DVWM is seeking Rs 3.57 cr from the DMC failing which they would file a case against the civic authority. Meanwhile, the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari refused to comment. 

HCA win inaugural cricket match
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 1
The HCA won the inaugural match in the HN Bahuguna Memorial Dehradun Premier League (DPL) after defeating Doon Fighter by 72 runs. The match was held at the Survey of India ground today.

The HCA won the toss and elected to bat first. The team made 146 runs in 20 overs. Opener Vijay Singh made quick 46 runs in just 23 balls. Even Aryan and Sumit played small cameos. For Doon Fighter, Shrikhant took three wickets whereas Manish got two wickets.

Doon Fighter had a bad start as its top three batsmen got out before the team could score 10 runs. Though Sumit and Ravi tried to put the innings together, but they also fell after making 28 and 14 runs, respectively. No other batsmen could reach a double digit score. For HCA, Atul and Harjeet took two wickets each.

Sunbury trounce Contenders by 23 runs

The Sunbury Cricket Club registered its first win in the ongoing District Cricket League against The Contenders in a match played at OFD Cricket Ground here on Saturday.

After winning the toss, Sunbury elected to bat and scored 172 runs with Sidhant scoring the highest with 48 runs, followed by Kartik Arora who scored 20 runs. For the Contenders, Deepak took 4 wickets whereas Anish and Riki fetched 2 wickets each.

The batting innings of the Contenders got derailed with the top order batsmen getting out too soon. The entire team was bowled out for 149 runs. From Sunbury, Paritosh bowled a brilliant spell and took the maximum wickets for his team.

Bihar DGP gives Rs 50,000 reward to U’khand STF

Dehradun, February 1
Bihar DGP Abhayanand has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 along with a commendation letter for the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand for helping the Bihar STF in nabbing notorious criminal Shambhu Singh.

Shambhu was arrested from GMS Road, Dehradun, during a joint operation by the STF, Uttarakhand, and the STF, Bihar, on April 3, 2013. The STF, Bihar, got a tip off about Shambhu's location in Dehradun and it contacted the Uttarakhand STF and planned a joint operation. They arrested Shambhu, who had been living here with his wife since 2004. Shambhu was a hardened criminal and the Bihar government had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for giving information about him. He had allegedly committed 22 murders and 42 cases were registered against him. — TNS

Girls as talented as boys, says Secy, social welfare
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, February 1
Girls are no less in calibre or talent compared to boys, said Secretary, Social Welfare, RK Arora while speaking at a workshop on girl child development at Kanya Mahavidyalya at Kankhal here yesterday.

He said despite India making big strides in terms of development, female foeticide and the gap in the sex ratio was still on the rise.

Rashmi Gupta, Chairperson of the District Child Rights Conservation Forum, motivated the girls to meet challenges of life bravely.

Medical expert Manju Agnihotri gave the girls tips on how to remain healthy. Legal expert Uttam Singh Chauhan apprised the girls about the laws and the rights provided to them by the Constitution.

Social activist Dr Veena Shastri emphasised on generating awareness among girls as they were now attaining success in all fields and setting new standards.

Beena Purohit talked about the provisions of the recently amended PNDT Act. College Principal Geeta Joshi, Dinesh Sharma, employees of the Social Welfare Board Deepika, Puspha Rawat, JP Bhatt, college staff, delegates of 30 NGOs associated with the programme and a large number of students participated in the workshop.