Dehradun, December 5
With an aim to stem dissidence in the faction-ridden Uttarakhand Congress, the disciplinary committee of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) today recommended action against former Uttarakhand minister Surinder Singh Negi and ex-state spokesperson Surinder Aggarwal to the All-India Congress Committee (AICC).

The decision in this regard was taken during a meeting of the disciplinary committee headed by former minister Narendra Singh Bhandari, held here today.

It was also decided to send recommendation of the disciplinary action against these two leaders belonging to Harish Rawat faction to the All-India Congress Committee since both of them are members of the national body.

The committee had received complaints against these two senior leaders were allegedly indulging in anti-party activities.

The committee also decided to suspend Nagendra Jagudi, former Congress president of the Uttarkashi district, for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities and openly speaking out against the state party Chief Yashpal Arya.

Earlier, the committee received a total of 17 complaints and those involved were asked to give written replies. However, only five leaders responded. Narendra Singh Bhandari said those leaders who had not responded to the showcause notices should reply within 15 days otherwise they would be expelled from the party.

The elevation of Yashpal Arya, a protégé of former Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari, as president of the state Congress in place of Harish Rawat has led to lot of heartburn.

Both rival factions are out to run down each other in public. Yashpal Arya even expelled Jaipal Jatav, a known supporter of Harish Rawat, hailing from Haridwar.

Even during the visit of Rahul Gandhi last month, senior Congress leaders abused each other publicly. It was only after the intervention of state co-incharge from party high command Bhola Pandey that Yashpal Arya decided to act tough against his rivals.

Interestingly, while the disciplinary committee was meeting, in a show of defiance, Harish Rawat alongwith his supporters was attending a convention of the Dalits organised by expelled leader Jaipal Jatav at Rishikesh.

“It was not a party function and Congress leaders are free to attend such events aimed at highlighting the plight of the Dalits in the state,” said Surinder Singh Arya, spokesperson of the PCC.

Dehradun, December 5
As many as 73 cadets of the 92nd course of the Army Cadet College wing of Indian Military Academy (IMA) were awarded degrees during the graduation ceremony held at Chetwode Hall of the Academy, here today.

IMA Commandant Lt. Gen. R.S. Sujlana, AVSM, VSM, awarded the degrees to science (25) and humanities (48) graduates. Now, the graduates will join IMA for one year pre-commission military training.

Congratulating the passing out course, Lt. Gen. Sujlana in his convocation address said: “It is indeed a distinguished achievement for all of you having studied more than ten academic subjects, which is in addition to bearing the stress and strain of physical and military training. The glow of success, amongst all of you clearly reflects in your looks. You are today full-fledged graduates of Jawaharlal Nehru University.” “Never forget that you are warriors and you shall continue too belong to a profession born out of a noble cause that demands the supreme sacrifice,” he added.

He added that at the main wing of the IMA, which the graduates will be joining shortly, greater stress would be laid on service training, so as to further develop the qualities of leadership, moral and physical courage, discipline, loyalty and integrity among cadets.

The Commandant also complemented the Battalion Commander, principal and the faculty members for their tireless efforts for moulding the cadets into potential officers.

The principal of Army Cadet College Wing Dr. U.C. Joshi presented the college report highlighting the achievements and standards obtained by the graduating course. He said out of 73 cadets, who graduated today, 36 secured first division, while the rest got second division.

Meanwhile, senior cadet captain Besri Lal was awarded the Chief of Army Staff gold medal for being first in overall order of merit, and the Commandant’s silver medal for standing best in service subjects and first in humanities.

SCA Anil Kumar was awarded the Chief of Army Staff silver medal for securing second position in overall order of merit. Company Sergeant Major Yogesh Tamang was awarded Chief of Army Staff bronze medal for securing third place in overall order or merit. Company Quartermaster Sergeant Rengarajan G was awarded Commandant’s silver medal for standing first in science stream.

Dehradun, December 5
With the nation in the midst of terrorist attacks and communal violence in many states the role of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), has assumed more importance and its modernisation is the need of the hour, stated DIG, PAC, Alok Sharma on the 27th Raising Day function organised at battalion centre Haridwar.

It may be noted that the Chief  Minister at a high-level meeting here yesterday had said the state had no funds for modernising the police and that he had sought assistance  from the Central government for  the purpose.

DIG also stressed at the coordination between PAC and the common man which will help in better working of PAC.

The Raising Day started with march past and later ended with the cultural ceremony. Commandant 40th Battallion PAC, Vimmi Sachdeva Raman said that PAC was formed in 1980 to combat violence but the keeping the present  situation where terrorism has emerged  as a major threat to the whole world,  the role of PAC will be broadened  in future.

PAC soldiers displayed their creativity by having various stalls in the function which people appreciated.

At the raising day ceremony of the PAC present were Dr.V Murugesan SP Vigilance,Ravinath Raman CDO and various other dignitaries.

Dehradun, December 5
There are several private institutions in Doon that are making a beeline to acquire a deemed varsity status, the race for which began after the erstwhile Graphic Era Institute of Technology was conferred a similar status in August this year.

In September 2007, Graphic Era Institute sought a deemed university under Section 3 of University Grants Commission Act 1956.

That was confirmed in August this year with the condition that it’s performance would be reviewed after a period of five years by an expert committee of the UGC.

“Deemed university status is granted by the ministry of human resource development to those educational institutes that fulfil the prescribed standards and comply by various requirements laid the UGC. It also allows full autonomy in selecting courses, fees structure, syllabus and instructions to the students,” said VK Kaul, PRO of Graphic Era Institute of Technology.

Besides allowing complete independence in day- to-day affairs, the deemed varsity status (Section 3) allows one to start ordinary (postgraduate and graduate courses) without seeking prior approval from the UGC, which is an added attraction for most private institutions.

Other institutes that are eyeing a deemed varsity status include the Engineering 
College in Roorkee, Devbhoomi Institute of Technology and Shivalik College 
of Engineering.

Besides, Dehradun Institute of Information Technology has already applied with the UGC for the same.

Interestingly, many smaller private institutions are also eyeing the coveted status despite the fact that the deemed varsity status is granted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to educational institutes of repute.

In the later stage, the university status (conferred after five years of reevaluation by UGC’s expert committee) can be a unique selling point for private institutions, which can attract students in droves.

Significantly, in 2006, the human resource development ministry eager to implement the OBC reservation in private institutions, had passed a circular stating that deemed universities could describe themselves as varsities, but different from the state and central universities by mentioning University established under section 3, provided they implemented the reservation policy.

In fact, all applicants applying for the deemed varsity status have to comply with the OBC reservation policy.

“In our proposal (for deemed status) we had already stated that we would stagger implementation of reservation and follow the criteria as per the state policy,” informed V.K. Kaul. 

Dehradun, December 5
The beautiful Dockra metal craft items are drawing public attention in large numbers. Dockra metal craft items made under the ministry of tribal affairs were displayed at the ongoing khadi festival in Dehradun.

Trifed (ministry of tribal affairs), works for the welfare of tribals across India. Novel items made by tribals of Orissa, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Bengal, Karnataka and others is attracting crowd in a large number. The response in khadi mela has been satisfactory, as every item here conveys ethnicity of different tribes in our country, said Ram Karan Gautam, commercial assistant at the Dehradun regional office for welfare of tribal.

All over India, ministry of tribal affairs since 1998, is working for the upliftment of tribals. Earlier, the tribal welfare was a part of welfare ministry but due to the large population of tribals within India, since 1998, the Indian government decided to work single handedly for their development.

Dockra metal is an amalgamation of zinc, copper and iron etc. Firstly, the alloy is melted and then is molded to wire giving various shapes by heating on fire. Finally, once the product is ready, then polishing is done to add on that glossy effect. Unique Maria tribal musician, Jhitku and Mithku tribal gods, masks and other pieces of various deities of diverse India adds on to the charisma of the tribal craftsmanship.

The range of the items varied between Rs 100 to Rs 15,000. “The metal has the tendency to turn black but one can maintain the look of the item by polishing it again, said Ram Karan Gautam.

However, the ministry of tribal does not only help the tribals to get a market in India and abroad but at the same time works for their overall development.

"As compared to other states, Uttarakhand is lacking behind in many respects though from past eight years the scenario has improved in the financial sector. Whenever we get to know about any tribal in Uttarakhand then we support them and give them a market for publicity. With dockra items we have also displayed items of Uttarkashi tribals,” said Ram Karan Gautam.

In future we do plan to provide them shelter, food and educational facilities also, said Ram Karan Gautam. 

Dehradun, December 5
The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government would do well to reverse the oil and LPG prices instead of pursuing the corporate bailout policy, which has led to ouster of the Bush administration. If the government fails to correct this policy, it would meet the same fate as shown by the outcome of the US presidential election, predicted Brinda Karat, CPM poliburo and Rajya Sabha member, here today.

Flanked by MP and incharge Uttarakhand unit affairs Tapan Sen, she said the recent meeting between the PM and captains of the industry showed that the former is more concerned about the problems of corporate houses than the masses.

Accusing the Manmohan government of pursuing a similar policy, she questioned the concessions given to the Kingfisher-Jet Airways in terms of reduction of 5 per cent import duty on jet fuel besides deferring their payment of around Rs 2000 crore which they owe to the public sector oil companies. “This is nothing less than a scandal. Instead of giving relief to the masses by rolling back the hike in petrol, diesel and LPG prices, especially when the international oil prices have come down to almost half, the government chose to bailout corporate players,” she said.

Meanwhile, delighted more over the defeat of the Republican candidate than the victory of Barack Obama, CPM leaders said the PM should learn a lesson from the election result. “The result showed that the US people have rejected the corporate bailout policy adopted by George Bush amid international financial crisis in favour of speculative gamblers,” alleged Karat while expressing strong reservations about the measures being adopted in the country to tackle the crisis.

Dehradun, December 5
If all goes well, Uttarakhand will become the first state to provide monetary relief to accident victims in the case of private vehicles. The government is mulling amendment in the relevant state rules under which only victims of public service vehicles are given the relief.

Sources said a proposal would be put before the cabinet meeting tomorrow for its consideration. The matter is likely to get nod, as the idea is the brainchild of chief minister B.C. Khanduri. In fact, the issue cropped up during discussion in the high level meeting chaired by the CM on this Friday on the issue of road accidents. The meeting discussed the reasons behind accidents and how relief to be disbursed.

During discussion, the CM, as per sources, was of view that the relief should be forthcoming. At the same time, he observed that it should be given to the victims in the case of private vehicles as well. “We are studying the matter and it will take some time before before a decision is made,” said B.C Khanduri, chief minister, Uttrakhand.

As per Uttarakhand Motor Vehicles Taxation Reforms Act, 2003, a passenger or any other person suffering casualty in an accident, in which a public service vehicle is involved, the victim is entitled to relief. In case of death, Rs 50,000 is paid to victim’s kin as relief while those suffering injuries as denoted in the Act are provided relief ranging between Rs.5,000 and Rs.50,000.

As per the sources said that CM wanted to know how victims of private vehicles could be covered under the Act. So at this stage, a presentation to this effect by the state transport authorities would be made in the cabinet meeting tomorrow. The official suggestion in this regard would be amendment in the Act, added sources.

The government has distributed Rs 1.90 crore as relief in road accidents till November, 2008 as compared to Rs 2.8 crore last year. The number of accidents in the state so far is 128 as compared to 193 last year.

Mussoorie, December 5
Homage was paid to the victims of Mumbai terror attacks in a condolence meeting organised at Mussoorie today.

Residents of Mussoorie condemned these attacks and urged the government to take strict action against the perpetrators so that such incidents do not occur in the future. Sudhir Thapliyal, a noted journalist strongly expressed his dissatisfaction with the government for not being able to protect its citizens. He also said that the people should exercise their right to franchise more carefully in order to elect sensitive and mature politicians. Condemning these attacks, Anil Raturi, IG Intelligence said, “All of us need to unite in order to fight terrorists.”

Condolence and gratitude was also offered to the brave soldiers from Uttarakhand who had lost their lives fighting the terrorists. Man Mohan Singh Mall, former chairperson of Nagar Palika Mussoorie said, “soldiers from Uttarakhand have always been at the forefront in serving their motherland and answering the call of duty.” The meeting was organised by Friends of Uttarakhand. Radha Raturi, Secy, Government of Uttarakhand, Vinod Thapliyal, Dr. K.S. Bisht were among those present on the occasion.

Dehradun, December 5
YMCA beat United Champion Club by 64 runs in Dehradun District Cricket League at Matawalabag ground, here yesterday.

United Champion Club won the toss and decided to field. Their bowlers could not take advantage of the conditions as the YMCA batsman piled up a massive score of 265 runs in the allotted 30 overs.

YMCA’s opener Avnish Verma played a range of strokes to make 72 runs in just 63 balls. M. Imran who scored a run-a-ball 44 supported him well on the other end.

In the end, it was Negi’s quickfire 51 of just 20 balls that set the stage for YMCA’s win. For United, Ballu took two wickets and Anil and Islam took one wicket each.

United Champion Club lost two wickets for 14 runs. Vikash kept hopes alive for United Champion Club and scored 77 runs off 46 balls. Islaam and Devender scored 36 and 45 runs respectively.

But their team fell short by 64 runs as the rest of their batmen perished cheaply. For YMCA, Imram, Narender and Sandeep took two wickets each and Pushpender took one wicket.

Dehradun, December 5
At the second Asian Paralympic Cup scheduled to get underway on December 9 at Bangalore, three Uttarakhand players S.Kashap, Cap. Satandra Sangwan and Prem Kumar will be representing India in the discipline of Badminton. Teams from 16 countries including Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, etc will participate in the tournament.

There are 22 Indian players who will represent India in Badminton discipline that include three from Uttarakhand.