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Quarrying ban may hit real estate
Mussoorie catapulted Agatha Christie to fame
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Stand-off over, new releases on way
Less-privileged kids try ‘Living with Nature’
Admn to crack whip on canteens misusing LPG cylinders
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Quarrying ban may hit real estate
Dehradun, June 6 The petitioner Mohammad Aarsi of Vikasnagar had alleged that notwithstanding the ban on quarrying in Dehradun imposed on February 1, 1989, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Uttarakhand Forest Corporation were giving permission for the same. The petitioner had claimed that quarrying could be allowed in Dehradun only under some special circumstances and that too with the permission of the Union government. He has alleged that neither the GMVN nor Uttarakhand Forest Corporation took any permission from the Centre. The petition also mentioned that quarrying was disturbing the natural course of the rivers in Dehradun and hence this practice must be stopped immediately. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the High Court issued interim orders prohibiting quarrying in Dehradun till further orders. Presently, the quarrying of sand, stones etc was on at various rivers criss-crossing Dehradun including Doiwala, Saung, Dakpathar, Prem Nagar, Sahastradhara, Bajawala and Aasan Barrage. The GMVN and Uttarakhand Forest Corporation used to award the quarrying contracts to private contractors. Now, the court orders are being viewed as major setback to the GMVN as well as the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation because quarrying is major source of revenue for both these departments. According to the information available, the GMVN was authorised to award contracts for 83 quarrying lots in Dehradun whereas the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation was allowed to award the contacts of the quarrying lots that fall in the forest area. From the revenue generated through the quarrying contracts, the GMVN deposited a royalty of Rs 54 crore to the state government last year. Out of this amount, the revenue of Rs 32.27 crore was generated from Dehradun alone. Several contractors in Dehradun allegedly indulge in “illegal” quarrying too. According to highly placed sources, contractors do not comply with the agreement and indulge in taking more material (sand, stones) from the rivers than the fixed limit. Despite repeated attempts, GMVN Director General (Quarrying) SS Negi was not available for comment but reliable sources said that the GMVN is likely to decide its future course of action soon. Sources further said that the GMVN may knock on the doors of the Supreme Court. The order of interim ban on quarrying in Dehradun has left builders and those dealing in real estate “high and dry”. In wake of the court orders, construction material will have to be brought from outside Dehradun which will lead to an increase in the prices. A majority of builders feel that the decision is bound to upset their budget as they will have to shell out more money to purchase the construction material from outside Dehradun. “Besides commercial complexes, construction of many apartments is currently under way in the city. The cost will obviously escalate if the material will have to be purchased from markets other than Dehradun,” said Balbeer of Nanak Associates, a real estate consultant. Awadhash Kaushal, chairperson of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has asked from where the construction material would come if quarrying is stopped. He said, “In Uttarakhand, the hills are fragile and on account of heavy rainfall, debris containing stones, sand etc is washed down and gets collected on the riverbeds. Hence, there is no harm in picking them up.” Kaushal added that clearing the riverbed is a must otherwise it would become an environmental hazard. “If the riverbed is not cleared, it will lead to floods during heavy rainfall,” he said while clarifying that he was criticising the orders of the HC. On getting Central nod for quarrying, Kaushal said, “Asking the Centre to permit the picking-up of two trucks of sand and stones from riverbed sounds ridiculous.” It was on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Awadhash Kaushal in the 1980s’ that the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement banned the lime quarries in and around Mussoorie hills that had severely damaged the flora and fauna there.
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Mussoorie catapulted Agatha Christie to fame
Mussoorie, June 6 According to reports, the plot of the first novel of Agatha Christie titled ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ was inspired by a murder that took place in Hotel Savoy in the city in the early 1910s. Lady Garnet Orme was found murdered and traces of strychnine were found in her medicine bottle. The murder remained unsolved and some months later, even the doctor treating the lady was found dead as a result of a similar poisoning. Sources suggest that the murder was so intriguing that writer Rudyard Kipling wrote to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to take up this case as a new adventure of Sherlock Holmes. Although it is another matter that Agatha Christie took up the plot and wrote her first novel based on these chain of events. ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ was first published in 1920 and in this novel, Christie introduced detective Hercule Poirot. The novel proved to be very popular and launched Christie as one of the most popular mystery writer of all times and the character of Poirot soon became a household name. Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller (1890-1976) was born at Torquay in the United Kingdom and was married to Colonel Archibald Christie. In a writing career spanning over 50 years, Christie wrote 93 books and 17 plays. Over two billion of her books have been sold worldwide and have been translated into over 45 languages. Her best-known works are The ABC Murders (1936), And Then There Were None (1945), Hickory Dickory Dock (1955), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978). Coming back to Mussoorie, the murder of Lady Garnet Orme was never solved. People say that the lady’s ghost still haunts the corridors and rooms of the Savoy hotel. Over the years, there have been several unconfirmed reports by guests staying at the Savoy claiming to have encountered the ghost of Lady Orme.
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Stand-off over, new releases on way
Dehradun, June 6 Single-screen owners across the city can now relax and hope for better collections at the box office. “The collections were nil with only seven to 12 persons turning up per show,” said GS Rana, manager of Prabhat cinema hall. “ The turnover has reduced to 10-15 per cent from 80-90 per cent and around 100 per cent during housefuls,” he added. “It was getting difficult to bear the expenses. Our employees were being paid from our own pocket,” said RS Marwah, manager, Payal cinema hall. “There is an 80 per cent decline in overall sales. We were unable to pay the rent,” said Amit, a canteen owner in Payal. Youngsters were disappointed as there was nothing much to do over weekends. “I had to watch old Hollywood movies on CDs,” said Aviram, a movie buff. The strike brought down everybody’s expectations for the summers, which is considered as the best season for the collections. With a fear of closing down, cinema halls had been recycling movies like Sanam Teri Kasam, The Killer and Heroes. Ron Howard’s ‘Angels and Demons’ running in Payal cinema hall is the only Hollywood release that is drawing in audiences but the turnout is minimal. Moviegoers have a reason to cheer with new releases like New York, X-Men origins and Kal Kissne Dekha hitting the box office soon. More to come would be the most awaited ones like Jasn, Kambakht Ishq and Kameene later this summer. Kal Kissne Dekha would be the first to hit the screens on June 12. Smiles have returned to the faces of the owners as they are expecting a better turnout this time. Weekends would no more be a bore for movie buffs.
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Less-privileged kids try ‘Living with Nature’
Dehradun, June 6 The camp started on May 29 and will continue till June 10. Students from Dehradun, Rudraprayag, Nainital, Haridwar, Bageshwar, Champavat, Udham Singh Nagar and Almora are participating in the camp which is being conducted in three batches. Many students, who dropped out from regular schools but got themselves enrolled in the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, are also attending the camp. Students at the camp are being taught through interesting exercises like star gazing, map-reading, horse riding, yoga and other adventure activities. From this year, Scouts and Guides have also introduced the discipline of photography. “We are enjoying and learning a lot from the activities at the camp,” said Pooja, a student from Nainital. “The aim of the camp is to make youngsters strong and independent,” said Ravindra Mohan Kalra, a trainer at the camp. “This type of training is especially beneficial for students from rural areas as it makes them self-dependent,” he added. Lord Baden began Scouts and Guides in 1907. The organisation strives for the development of children - physically, socially, and psychologically and to inculcate in them a feeling of friendliness towards the world.
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Admn to crack whip on canteens misusing LPG cylinders
Dehradun, June 6 This was decided in the meeting held at the District Collectorate office here. The District Magistrate headed the meeting, which was attended by owners of gas agencies, ADM (Finance) Sushil Kumar Sharma and the District Food Supplies officer TN Upadhaya. As per the decision, the owners of gas agencies were asked to prepare a list of educational institutions indulging in this practice. The commercial users, who have not been taking delivery of commercial cylinders, were also put under the scanner. The malpractice was brought to light by the owners of gas agencies who claimed that this contributed to short supply of LPG cylinders meant for domestic use. The DM instructed them to furnish the lists of such educational institutions to the district administration. He asked the owners to stick to home delivery of cylinders to ensure their authorised use. It is estimated that there are about 4,500 institutions in the city which are running canteens or mess in the hostels. The development assumes significance in light of the nagging problem of artificial short supply of LPG cylinders. The meeting was part of the administration’s regular monitoring of the supply situation. In February, the administration had conducted raids on commercial establishments in the district. The owners of six of them were booked under Essential Commodities Act for misuse of domestic LPG cylinders. The raids led to seizure of 185 cylinders being used for commercial purpose. Refusing to bow under pressure for withdrawing cases from trade organisations, the DM had then told their representatives that the drive against the misuse of domestic LPG cylinders would continue as it was in the larger interest of the consumers. He made it clear that the intention of the administration was not to victimise anybody but to curb black marketeering causing hardships to consumers. The administration had seized 1,240 cylinders between August 2008 and February 2009. It is believed that more than 5,000 cylinders are being misused in the district.
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(PIL), a double Bench of the Nainital High Court, comprising Chief Justice VK Gupta and Justice VK
Bisht, has issued interim orders prohibiting quarrying of river beds in Dehradun district.
Dehradun, June 6
