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Entry tax to be re-imposed; Congress cries foul
Grow more medicinal plants: Khanduri
Experts want better marketing of herbs
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Saving The Ganga
Exhibition marks Doon Blossom annual function
Malta growers seek better MSP
MC chief: New scheme to benefit all
400 persons attend medical camp
Cricket: Graphic Era score easy win
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Entry tax to be re-imposed; Congress cries foul
Dehradun, December 7 Chief secretary Indu Kumar Pandey said the state had adopted the Entry Tax Act of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. However, the Nainital High Court struck down the Act on the ground that it was not compensatory in nature. The state government may levy entry tax of five per cent on more than 20 categories of items, including cigarettes, petroleum products except kerosene, electronic gadgets, cars, scooters, televisions and computers. “We will be bringing in a new legislation which would be compensatory in nature,” said Pandey. However, the opposition Congress has criticised the decisions taken by the state government for imposing entry tax on commercial goods. State Congress Chief Yashpal Arya in a statement alleged that such a measure would further push inflation in the state. “It will add to the expenditure on infrastructure development,” he said. He alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which has been blaming the previous Congress government of making the state bankrupt by deciding to invite private investment in key social sectors, has paved the way for open loot of the state by private players. “We in the Congress believe that instead of inviting private investment efforts should be made to strengthen public sector in the state,” added Arya. He said his party would raise the issue of taking out of large number of government positions out of the purview of Office of Profit Act with an aim to distribute the largesse amongst BJP legislators during the winter session of the House. “This exposes the ruling BJP, which has been crying hoarse about austerity measures,” he said. |
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Grow more medicinal plants: Khanduri
Dehradun, December 7 At the launch event of the Project for Value Addition, Warehousing and Marketing of Medicinal Plants in the state, Khanduri made it clear to senior forest officers that he wanted a quantum jump within the next sixth months. “Uttarakhand has no dearth of natural resources, but strong commitment is required to streamline efforts in the right direction,” the CM said. He added that it was unfortunate that while the state’s contribution of medicinal plants to the Central pool was a mere one per cent, it leads in smuggling of herbs. Khanduri said incidents such as largescale felling of trees in Tehri and Mussoorie had put a question mark on the efficiency of forest officials and they need to be more vigilant. Earlier, echoing similar sentiments, state forest minister Bansidhar Bhagat asked the forest officers to act as promoters of cultivation of medicinal plants rather than harassing the villagers who undertake such initiatives. He asked the divisional forest officers to at least adopt five villages for promotion of medicinal plants. B.S. Sajwan, chief executive officer of National Medicinal Plants Board, said Uttarakhand needed to do more to promote herbal plants. He said the 11-plan outlay has laid special focus on herbal plants. Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt said the notion that the forest department is a hindrance in the promotion of medicinal plants is fast gaining ground, which is not a good sign for the future. Additional chief secretary N.S. Napalchayal, vice-chairman of the State Medicinal Plant Board Dr Aditya Kumar and Principal chief conservator of forests Dr. RBS Rawat were also present on the occasion. |
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Experts want better marketing of herbs
Dehradun, December 7 Inaugurating the workshop, B.S. Sajwan, chief executive officer, National Medicinal Plants Board, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said the cultivation of medicinal plants could be a major source of livelihood in hilly villages in Uttarakhand. He called for collective efforts on part of voluntary organisations, cultivators, research institutions and industry. Sajwan also suggested the development of clusters for ensuring better marketing of medicinal plants. G.S. Pandey, additional secretary, Uttarakhand, said the state government was working hard to promote cultivation of medicinal plants in the state. He said three herbal ‘mandis’ have been constituted and few more are in the offing. Dr Maya Ram Uniyal, adviser, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Uttarakhand, called for promotion of traditional system of medicine. He called for proper marketing of medicinal plants. Dr Aditya Kumar, vice-chairman, State Medicinal Plants Board, stated the efforts undertaken by the board to promote medicinal plants. Dr J.K. Painuli, senior lecturer, Gurukul Kangri Ayurvedic College, Haridwar, spoke on the identification, properties of medicinal plants and primary health care through them. He said the day is not far when the people will realise the importance of the traditional system of medicine. |
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Saving The Ganga
Dehradun, December 7 The noted environmentalist said he interrupted his fast unto death on June 13 on the assurance of the Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde that nothing would be allowed to harm “Gangaji”. “The assurance was conveyed through Swami Hansdasji and Swami Chidanandji,” he said. Prof Agarwal said that unfortunately the constitution of the HLEG was left to R.S. Sharma, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) who hardly has any knowledge about rivers or the environment. “His only concern is maximising production of electricity to promote his own service interests, even at the cost of serious environmental damages. This is all that he has been doing all his life,” he said. He further said that the nine persons on the HLEG, but for Dr R.N. Singh, have any expert knowledge on river-conservation. He further alleged that the decision of the Prime Minister notifying the Ganga as a national symbol and the decision to constitute a powerful authority to take all decisions that affect the Ganga, has not registered in the minds of R.S. Sharma or his HLEG. “It is over five months since June 30 and the time limit of three months is long past, but the report of the HLEG is still in the making. I have learnt that in the expert opinion of this group, a meagre 3 cumecs is adequate as environmental flow to keep the Ganga alive in all its reaches.” “Of this also, releasing 1 cumec at a barrage or dam shall be adequate as the rest shall be contributed by various downstream inflows. They seem to have made their expert conclusions known to the Chief Minister who has told the press about restarting work on all projects on this basis,” Prof Agarwal concluded. The Uttarakhand government had
suspended work on Pala Menri and Bhaironghati hydro-electric projects on the Bhagirathi following the agitation by Prof
Agarwal. |
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Khadi festival concludes with promise for more
Dehradun, December 7 “The main motive behind organising such festivals is to provide artisans from all over India a stage where they can interact with others and learn about the latest technological advances. At the same time people can but a variety of stuff here,” said Arvind Khanduri, additional chief executive officer, Khadi and Village Industrial Corporation (KVIC). “Khadi board stall this year has made the maximum profit of Rs 10 lakh. As compared to the revenue of Rs.3.34 crore last year, this year the total revenue has been Rs 3.59 crore. This time the profit has been better but we are hopeful that in coming years the sales would pick up more,” he added. Khanduri said in future there were plans to organise khadi festivals in all districts of Uttarakhand. “Our ultimate plan is the amalgamation of raw material, manufacturing and marketing for the Uttarakhand products. This would give us a great platform to showcase products at national as well as international level. The cosmetics by the khadi brand have been appreciated by most of our customers and from past few years we are supplying it to five-star hotels as well,” said Khanduri. Notably, the state Khadi board has been organising the khadi festival from the past four years and sales have grown since then. |
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Law students welcome freshers
Dehradun, December 7 The guest of honour was Anuradha Joshi, vice-president of the Law College. The main attractions of the show were Punjabi bhangra, fusion dance, play, folk dance and poetry. Addressing the gathering the chief guest said: “There are ample opportunities today for law students not only in India but abroad as well”. He emphasised that students should not only focus on excelling in their studies but should also work on character-building. He also appreciated the
show presented by the students. “We want the differences among seniors and juniors reduced to the minimal. This party is planned to welcome the new students and make them aware of the traditions of our college,” said Rajesh Bahuguna, principal of the college. This time the first-year students are from 15 states of the country, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, among others. “Our main aim is to build friendly relations with the new batch”, said Swapnil, a second-year student. |
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Exhibition marks Doon Blossom annual function
Dehradun, December 7 The main attraction of the exhibition was a replica of the melting “shivling” of Amaranth Shrine. The theme of the exhibition was “save the environment” and children laid stress on the importance of conserving the tiger by displaying a project on Jim Corbett. The department of english presented a work on importance of nutritious food, whereas physics department covered the topic of nuclear reactors. Innovative topics like aromatherapy, music therapy and colour therapy were other attractions. Apart from this, children performed dance and the Korean martial art
taekwondo. |
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Malta growers seek better MSP
Dehradun, December 7 Due to this, malta growers in
Tehri, Chamoli, Rudarprayag and Pauri districts are facing severe financial crunch. “If the government fails to revise the minimum support price, the production is bound to come down. The price fixed by the government is barely enough to cover the cost of transport to the markets,” he said.
Partap said the government should also provide processing facilities for malta at the local level. He added that lemon growers in the state were facing similar problems and making distress sales due to low market price. |
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Pachyderms crush woman, injure another
Haridwar, December 7 The deceased, 60-year-old Ramkali, was a resident of Lodha Mandi. The other woman who got injured has been admitted to the Haridwar district hospital. The group of women had entered the forest in the morning to collect wood. Barely within one kilometre from the main Bilkeshwar bypass road, they were attacked by a herd of elephants. The furious pachyderms crushed Ramkali and injured another woman, but the rest were lucky to have escaped. Later, forest offcials were informed and a team recovered the body that was later handed over to the police. “The body was crushed beyond recognition,” said a forest guard who was a part of the search team. It is to be noted that villagers and people living near the forest and park areas often venture into the restricted area and thus invite trouble. In this case too, the women had intruded into the restricted area of the park. Incidents of elephants coming out from the forest reserve areas into the city are also rising. According to Dr. Ritesh Joshi, scientist and principal investigator, Elephant Behaviour Project, in Rajaji National Park, “This is a natural phenomenon. It is the breeding season and elephants often venture out into other areas during this time.” He added that most instances of elephants being seen are in Kharkhari-Ranipur area, as this is a major corridor for elephant movement. Meanwhile, security in the forest area surrounding Sureshwari Devi Mandir, which witnessed an elephant rampage during the past week, has been beefed up. Forest guards are on high alert and keeping a strict vigil. |
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MC chief: New scheme to benefit all
Mussoorie, December 7 O.P. Uniyal, chairman, Nagar Palika, said that this scheme would give a boost to infrastructure development in the state. He said, “Private-public partnership will lead to a win-win situation for the public, the private firm involved as well as the state government.” Uniyal is a supporter of PPP and recently, the Mussoorie Palika has entered into a partnership with a private company for the modernisation of the barriers on the Mall Road. “The private company will bear the cost of construction of these barriers and the Nagar Palika will provide advertisement space to the company within municipal limits,” Uniyal said. |
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400 persons attend medical camp
Mussoorie, December 7 Organised by Sadbhavna, a local NGO, this camp provided free treatment to visually and hearing impaired. Patients suffering from eye ailments were operated on free of cost while hearing aids were also provided to the needy. Moreover, orthopedic treatment was also prescribed by specialist doctors while wheelchairs and crutches were provided to the permanently disabled. The camp was organised at the Guru Nanak Charitable Hospital in Kulri area of the town. Local MLA J.S. Gunsola and chairman Nagar Palika, O.P. Uniyal were present at the inauguration of
the camp. |
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Cricket: Graphic Era score easy win
Dehardun, December 7 The decision to bat first after winning the toss proved disastrous for SBS College who lost 8 wickets with the score on just 60 runs. However, a partnership between Shekar and Rahul for the ninth wicket saved them some face and the team put up a score of 119 runs. Rahul scored 39 runs and Shekar scored 27 runs. For Graphic Era University Siddharath took three wickets, Dushint two and Saurav and Kulvender one wicket each. In reply, Graphic Era University were given a solid opening stand by Anmol, who scored scored 36 runs, and Varun who scored 22 runs. Anukay and Amit contributed 26 and 24 runs, respectively. Graphic Era scored a easy win by three wickets. For S.B.S College, Virender took three wickets and Abhishek, Rahul and Pradeep one each. |
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