Haridwar, May 27
Farmers today gathered at the SIDCUL industrial area and protested in front of the district administration headquarter in Roshanabad. Farmers were vociferous demanding employment in SIDCUL factories.

Farmers of the region were quite angry about the treatment meted out to them especially in the land process first in BHEL and again in SIDCUL case.

Notably about 1,730 acre of land was taken by BHEL in the year 1962 from the farmers and later the unused land was given for agriculture purposes only to the farmers. But Uttarakhand government took over the land on the condition that the companies would give regular employment to the farmers. Farmers of the area now allege that nothing has been done so far in this regard.

A meeting in this regard with the district administration was held on April 2008 but as nothing concrete was done.

The Kisan Sangarsh Samiti (KSS) coveyner Masoom Ali Gada termed the whole incident as secondary on the part of the administration. “The industries are not complying with the agreement which is quite unfortunate.

They got land on minimum cost but now they are behaving like it’s their own property” said Gada.

While KSS leaders termed it as a state government’s failure in strict adherence of 70% reservation for local people in the SIDCUL industries which points to the daredevilry of company authorities.

In this regard a demand letter and a memorandum was also given to the SIDCUL administration by the union members.

Among others protesting were Mehar Singh Chauhan, Furkan Pradhan, Sanjay Sharma, Santosh Chauhan, Laxmi Devi, Vinod Chauhan, Shaukat Kureshi among several other members of the union.

Dehradun, May 27
Seeking implementation of their long-standing demands, Uttarakhand Diploma Engineers Sangh today started indefinite dharna at the Yamuna Colony officer of Public Works Department.

In an eleven-point memorandum submitted on the occasion, the agitating engineers demanded better promotion and other opportunities for diploma engineers.

Among the prominent demands of the agitating engineers include prompt release of seniority list and the start of promotion process.

Ban on appointment of contractual engineers, filling up of vacancies of junior engineers, reverting those junior engineers who are presenting working with Rural Engineering Services department back to their parent department.

There seems no early solution to the problem with one of the agitators, MS Bisht pledging to continue with the protest till their demands were fulfilled.

Dehradun, May 27
The elevation of senior Congress leader Harish Rawat as a lone member of the union council of ministers from Uttarakhand will again start the internecine war in the state Congress. Harish Rawat was able to forge ahead leaving behind other powerful aspirants from the state.

Satpal Maharaj, a former union minister of state in the United Front government in 1996, has won his native Pauri Garhwal seat this time after a long gap.

Except in 1996, he has lost all Lok Sabha elections to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) till 1999.

In 2004, he fielded Lt Gen TPS Rawat (retd), his protégé, against Khanduri but Rawat lost. Later, TPS Rawat was won over by Khanduri to the BJP and was fielded as the BJP candidate in the by-election after Khanduri become Chief Minister following the assembly elections of 2007.

TPS Rawat defeated his political guru Satpal Maharaj in the by-election held in February 2008 by a slender margin. This time, Satpal Maharaj avenged his defeat by convincingly winning the Pauri Garhwal seat. But in the race to become a union minister again, he lost the race to Harish Rawat this time.

Another senior leader Vijay Bahuguna, son of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna and who won the Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat in the recently concluded elections, was another aspirant for a berth in the union council of ministers.

Being a member of the first political family of Garhwal, Vijay Bahuguna is considered close to Sonia Gandhi. His sister Reeta Bahuguna Joshi is the Congress president of Uttar Pradesh from where the party did well after a gap of more than two decades.

Vijay Bahuguna is a Brahmin while both Harish Rawat and Satpal Maharaj both Thakurs.

Harish Rawat originally hails from Almora in Kumaon region but contested and won from the plains of Haridwar. Satpal Maharaj and Vijay Bahuguna, both from Garhwal region, have been ignored.

There will also be resentment among party leaders from Garhwal who were hopeful that two leaders - one from Garhwal and another from Kumaon - would be accommodated in the union ministry.

The move will further intensify the struggle for the next Assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2012. With the ruling BJP already losing all five Lok Sabha seats, political observers believe that the main opposition Congress will have a better chance of winning the next Assembly elections.

Both Satpal Maharaj and Vijay Bahuguna will now eye the top post in Uttarakhand if their party wins the next Assembly poll.

Besides these two senior leaders, there are others like Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat, former Uttarakhand minister Indira Hariydesh and Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya who also nurture an ambition of getting the top job in Uttarakhand. The scenario is just ripe for a struggle of supremacy in the state Congress.

Dehradun, May 27
As many as 77,335 electors will be exercising their right to vote to elect their legislator from the Kapkot Assembly segment on May 28.

Polling for the Kapkot by-election will start at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm. The counting of votes will take place on June 1.

After being elected to the Rajya Sabha in November 2008, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari resigned as legislator from Kapkot. The by-election assumes significance after the BJP’s humiliating defeat in the recent parliamentary elections.

There are total of eight contestants in the fray. The main contest is between Congress candidate Chamu Singh Gasyal and BJP candidate Sher Singh Garia. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and NCP candidates are also trying their luck.

After its thumping win in the general elections, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to pocket this seat. Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Yashpal Arya and Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Dr Harak Singh Rawat have been camping in Kapkot for the past many days.

From the BJP, Rajya Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who was earlier MLA from Kapkot, is making all efforts for the party’s victory.

Now, it will be clear on June 1, the day of counting, whether the Congress will manage to snatch this seat from the BJP or not.

Dehradun, May 27
Congress leaders today accused the ruling BJP of misusing the official machinery in order to win the Kapkot Assembly by-election.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, former Congress minister Hira Singh Bisht alleged that the state government had used official machinery in the parliamentary elections and now they were doing the same for the Kapkot by-poll.

He said that Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Yashpal Arya had already brought the matter to the notice of the Election Commission.

Bisht added that the defeat of the BJP in the state in the general elections reflects that the Khanduri government has lost the mandate of the people.

“The state government had proved to be a complete failure. The development of the state is at a standstill and the law-and-order situation is deteriorating with every passing day,” he said.

He added that the gruesome murder of the 19-year-old college student, Anshu Nautiyal, itself spoke about the lawlessness prevailing in the state capital.

On the extension of the industrial package given to Uttarakhand by the central government, Bisht said that it was an election promise of the Congress that if the UPA comes to power, the Congress would make all efforts for the extension of the industrial package till 2013.

“The Congress has always encouraged industrial development and will push the case for the extension of the industrial package till 2013. But the state government has to ensure that industrialists get a congenial environment and support from the state government. Only then will the industrial package yield positive results,” he asserted.

Dehradun, May 27
After two months of hectic election activity, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) is finally back to work. Khanduri today convened a high-level meeting with the officials of the state at the Civil Secretariat.

The main issues discussed at the meeting included the law-and-order situation, progress of various developmental schemes and water and power situation in the state.

The meeting, which continued for the whole day, was attended by the top brass of the police including DGP Subhash Joshi and Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pandey, all principal secretaries, secretaries, Commissioner of Garhwal and Kumaon, District Magistrates and SSPs of all districts.

Speaking to mediapersons, Khanduri said that he has reviewed the progress of the developmental works going on in the state.

“In the past two years, Uttarakhand has witnessed one election or the other. As a result, the Model Code of Conduct has remained enforced for a considerable period of time. This has affected the pace of the development projects,” Khanduri said.

“But now the general elections are over and we hope to speed up all ongoing projects,” he asserted.

Khanduri said, “Instructions have been passed on to the officials to pull up socks and ensure that development projects are completed at the earliest.”

The CM said that development projects get affected on account of lack of coordination between different government departments.

He further said that instructions have been passed on to concerned officials to ensure that there is proper coordination between them. He also directed senior officers to take action against government employees who are not discharging their duties diligently.

Khanduri also reviewed the law-and-order situation in the state. While referring to the recent murder of a college student, Khanduri said that instructions have been issued to the policemen to take all possible measures for prevention of crime.

When asked about the speculation about the change of guard in the state, Khanduri refused to comment saying, “The agenda of the today’s press briefing is different.”

He also refused to speak on any possibility of a cabinet reshuffle in the state. 

Dehradun, May 27
The furore over the murder of 19-year-old Anshu Nautiyal refuses to die down.

While the police administration had claimed yesterday that they had arrested suspect Praveen Chawla, family members of the victim alleged that four more persons were involved in the heinous crime and all of them must be arrested without delay.

Agitated family members and a large number of the NSUI activists led by its state president Sangram Pundir resorted to blocking traffic outside Gandhi Park and Clock Tower in the morning today. Raising slogans against the police administration, the protesters demanded arrest of all those who were involved in the crime.

Former Congress Minister Hira Singh Bisht alleged that Praveen Chawla was earlier also involved in kidnapping of some girl but he managed to get a clean chit under pressure from the ruling BJP.

However, when contacted IG (Garhwal) MA Ganapathy said that they have interrogated some persons in connection with Anshu’s murder but did not find any one involved in it.

“We have interrogated the four persons who were termed as main suspects by the family of the victim.

“None of them was involved,” said Ganapathy while adding that in case any other person is involved, the police won’t spare him.

When asked about the particulars of the persons being interrogated, the IG said that there was no need to make the names public because none of them was involved in the crime.

Meanwhile, Praveen Chawla was today sent to 14-day judicial remand by a local court.

Dehradun, May 27
Food Coorporation of India (FCI) continued their winning spree at the 27th All-India Uttaranchal Gold Cup after defeating RCA Rajasthan team by 5 wickets at Rangers Ground, here today.

Batting first, RCA team piled a mammoth total of 273 in allotted 40 overs. RCA team lost two wickets in first two overs, when the team score was 15 runs.

Opener, Rohit tried to stabilised the innings, but he could not occupy the crease for a long and was out for 29 runs off 28 balls.

It outstanding century knock played by Puneet that helped RCA team recover from early setbacks.

Puneet smashed 113 runs off just 121 balls, hitting sixteen fours in the innings. Rohit on the other end chipped in with a fiery knock of 81 runs off 57 balls. In his innings he hit nine fours and four sixes. For FCI team, Rohit created destroyed the RCA team's top order to claim three wickets in his eight overs spells. Rajendra picked up two wickets.

Chasing the victory target of 274 runs, it was bad start for the FCI team.

The team lost both its opener for a duck.

After an initial setback the team bounced back in the match through the century knock played by Umang Sharm.

He cracked a scintillating 102 runs off 83 balls, smashing 10 fours and one six in his innings.

Parash supported him well on the other end to hit 63 runs. Lower order batsman Mandeep also chipped in with 54 runs.

For RCA team Shailender pickup two wickets, whereas Saket and Puneet took one wicket each.

In another match played between VCC Mumbai and CAU Dehradun team, VCC Mumbai won by seven wickets. Batting first CAU team failed to capitalise on the fine start provided by its openers as the team was all out for 176 runs in 35 overs.

For the first wicket partnership Vijay Singh and Yogendra contributed 92 runs in first 14 overs. Vijay Singh smashed 52 runs off 57 balls and Yogendra smashed 46 runs off just 47 balls.

But thereafter no other batsman occupied the crease for long and the team was out for 176 runs. For VCC Mumbai team, Sherbhadur took four wickets.

Chasing the victory target of 177 runs, VCC team reached the target with seven wickets in hand. Arpit was the top scorer with 58 runs and Amit smashed 45 runs. For CAU team, Ravi Bisht took two wickets.