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Koshiyari Effect
Acquire land at market rate as in Haryana: Tikhait
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Mussoorie turns garbage dump
Tankers bring soapy water
Harassed residents out on streets
Dixit Panel
Freedom fighters want more facilities
Hemkund Sahib pilgrims reach city
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Koshiyari Effect
Dehradun, June 18 Among those who have been issued notices are party's state youth wing chief Gajraj Singh Bist, chairman of Pitthoragarh municipal council Rajendra Rawat and state working committee member Rajesh Shukla. State general secretary of the party Tirath Singh Rawat disclosed that the leaders have been given a week's time to reply to the notices. Meanwhile, Koshiyari’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha has come as a big shock to the faction-ridden
state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Now, all eyes are set on the national executive meet of the party scheduled for June 20 and 21. The Koshiyari-led faction, which has been fighting against Chief Minister BC Khanduri, feel that the 'shock treatment" given by him to the Central leadership would ultimately lead to some rethinking about change of guard in Uttarakhand. Koshiyari camp followers argue that their leader has set an example by throwing away the Rajya Sabha
membership. They are of the opinion that this would put pressure on the Central leaders, who are clinging on to their posts and positions even after
the stunning defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. On the other hand, Khanduri faction leaders do not agree with this
argument. They believe that Koshiyari has taken the step out of frustration and wants to take advantage of the
fluid situation of the party at the national level. "This is gross indiscipline and action will be taken against him for this act at the BJP national executive
meeting," said one of the close aides of Khanduri. Koshiyari followers argue that party President Rajnath Singh, who is close to Koshiyari, must be in the loop on the issue of resignation. No senior party leaders have, however, commented on the resignation. Even Chief Minister Khanduri has refrained any comment. |
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Acquire land at market rate as in Haryana: Tikhait
Haridwar, June 18 Kisan Kumbh is the biggest conglomeration of farmers in the country and is organised by Bharatiya Kisan Union, which is led by Chaudhari Mahendra Singh Tikhait. During the convention, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambavat group) rejoined the Tikhait-led group. Rishipal Singh Ambavat had deflected from the Tikhait union in 1996 and since then both unions have held separate conventions. Speaking on the conclusion day of the convention, Mahendra Singh Tikhait said a uniform policy on land acquisition should be put in place. “Land acquisition for industrial purposes should be stopped. If at all it is necessary, market rates should be the sole criteria. There is no need to give land to corporates at minimum costs so that they can reap maximum benefits,” said Tikhait. He cited the example of Haryana
where market rate is followed in case of any acquisition. The leader said farmers have played a pivotal role in the victory of the Congress in Lok Sabha polls. He advised the UPA to be more pro-farmer and agriculture sector. On the need for water conservation and growing impact of global warming, Tikhait said: “To maintain the water table, conservation is imperative. This can be done through water harvesting.” Meanwhile, due to such a huge rush of farmers, a lot of problems were caused to locals as well as the administration. Many traveled without tickets and caused a lot of hassles for railway employees. Station superintendent Samarendar Goswami said to manage the rush additional bogies were attached to trains on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana routes, but farmers openly flouted the rules. Farmers used the VIP ghat, near which the Kissan Kumbh was held, as a temporary shelter. Officials of the irrigation department of Uttar Pradesh, which supervises the ghat, remained mute spectators. Yesterday, farmers had protested against the administration for not providing them basic facilities. They blocked the Haridwar-Najibabad highway at the Chandi Ghat Bridge and staged a demonstration. As a result, there were adequate arrangements, including water, security, ambulance and fire brigade, at the venue today. |
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Employees step up stir, court arrest
Dehradun, June 18 The protesting employees are from the Jal Sansthan, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority, Dehradun Municipal Corporation and Zila Panchayat. The protesters gathered at Gandhi Park where they courted arrest as part of the next phase of protest. Among those arrested included 23 employees of Jal Sansthan, seven from Dehradun Municipal Corporation, four from Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority and five from Zila Panchayat, Dehradun. Raising anti-government slogans, the agitating employees pledged to continue the stir till their demand were met. A large contingent of police personnel was already stationed to meet any eventuality. BS Rawat, president of Local Bodies Association, said the employees were ready to go to any extent to get their demands fulfilled. The district administration, Jal Sansthan authorities and councillors managed to restore water supply to some localities in the city. The lack of staff to drive garbage pick-up trucks resulted in hardly
any garbage being lifted in the city. Congress leaders staged a dharna in front of Gandhi Park seeking prompt action on the water and power problems being faced by the people. Yesterday, former Congress minister Hira Singh Bisht had pledged
his party’s support with the agitators. Prahalad Singh, president of the State Employees Joint Council, also announced the support of the council to the agitation. A deputation of the council today met Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and sought immediate redress to the concerns of the local bodies employees. |
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Mussoorie turns garbage dump
Mussoorie, June 18 There is an acute shortage of water in Mussoorie with the Jal Sansthan being able to provide only a limited water supply to a few localities in the town, twice a day and that too for very short duration. Some localities have not received any water since June 14. “We have not received a single drop since June 14,” said Suvigya, a local resident. As a result, some citizens were forced to hire water tankers which get water from nearby springs. Some residents have even had to carry buckets full of water in their vehicles from the springs located 4-5 km away. Tourists are also suffering as the hoteliers supply only a limited quantity of water - on the basis of buckets per room. “Ours is a tourist state and these instances cast a blot upon the image of Uttarakhand as a tourist destination,” said Ajay Bhargava, secretary of Mussoorie Hotels Association. Drinking water has become a major issue and yesterday, even bottled water was not available in the market due to heavy demand. “There is no water in the taps and even mineral water is not available in the shops,” said an angry Daljeet Singh, a tourist from Ludhiana. Meanwhile, the Mall Road looks like a garbage dump as a huge amount of waste has accumulated on the roadside. The Nagar Palika claimed to have made some efforts to clear the garbage but it appeared a mere eyewash. |
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Tankers bring soapy water
Mussoorie, June 18 Acute shortage of water in the city has forced the residents as well as hoteliers to hire water tankers. The tankers fill water from a stream just above Mussoorie Jheel (about six km from town) with utter disregard to the fact that located upstream is the main ‘dhobi ghat’ of the city. “Residents and tourists have been forced to use highly polluted water in which thousands of clothes have been washed,” said a hotelier pleading anonymity. Doctors here believe that the water could contain germs and chemicals which could cause
food poisoning and other diseases. Government health officials, who are not on strike, have failed to take note of the tremendous health hazard. Dehradun: Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat has expressed concern over the ongoing water and power crisis in the state. He said that the state government has completely failed to handle the government employees strike following which the problem of water and power has grappled the whole of Uttarakhand. |
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Harassed residents out on streets
Haridwar, June 18 Hundreds of Congress workers joined in the protest. They gathered at the city magistrate office, staged a massive demonstration and gheraoed magistrate Archana Grehawar. They demanded the resignation of MLAs and the BJP-led state government. Led by city unit chief OP Chauhan, party activists gathered at Devpura office and blocked traffic at Station Road for about 30 minutes. At various places, water tankers provided by the department had to face the ire of the public as these proved quite insufficient. Residents alleged that the tankers were providing water in posh colonies or at the request of influential persons. Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Sangh has lashed out at the state government for imposing ESMA on the striking employees. National general secretary of ABSMS Dal Chand Chachar addressing a joint meeting of all striking employees said that military rule would not be allowed in the state. Present at the protest were Sanjay Aggarwal, Poonam Bhagat, JP Pandey, Sanjay Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Santosh Chauhan, Anju Dwivedi, Vimla Pandey, Madhu Kant Giri, Mahendra Gupta, Virendra Shramik, Bina Kapur, Sunita Saini, Saroj Shah, Shravan Giri, Brij Mohan Barthwal, Navin Singhal, Dr Shyam Puri, Shivangi Gaud among hundreds of party workers. |
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Dixit Panel
Dehradun, June 18 According to orders issued by the SIC on May 8, 2009, besides imposition of a fine of Rs 10,000 on the under secretary, general administration, the Information Commission had also instructed the government to provide a copy of the Dixit Commission report to Maikhuri within two weeks, but latter has not complied with the directions till date. The Commission had also directed the government to put Dixit Commission report on state government website. Maikhuri had sought a copy of the report under the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005. He has now shot off a letter to Chief Information Commissioner RS Toliya demanding action against government authorities. “Notwithstanding the orders issued by State Information Commission, the government has not provided me a copy of the Dixit Commission report yet. The authorities have also failed to give me compensation as directed by the Commission,” he said. Dixit Commission report pertains to the issue of permanent capital for Uttarakhand. After seven years, the report was finally submitted to the government sometime back. |
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Freedom fighters want more facilities
Dehradun, June 18 Mool Chand Gupta and PK Khatri, president and general secretary, respectively, of the association today alleged that the state government has not been able to give due recognition and facilities to freedom fighters and their families, which they richly deserved. The association demanded a special “Rajkiya” status to
families of freedom fighters, reservation of five per cent seats in Vidhan sabha, civic bodies and panchayats, free bus travel for family members, increase in job quota for their wards from two per cent presently to five
per cent, financial aid to families and construction of houses for them. Mool Chand Gupta threatened that if the state government fails to meet their demands within the next 15 days, the freedom fighters would be forced to hold demonstrations during the forthcoming assembly session. |
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Hemkund Sahib pilgrims reach city
Dehradun, June 18 Notably, thousands of Sikh pilgrims come to Uttarakhand each year to pay their obeisance at Hemkund Sahib located in Chamoli district of the state. |
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DAV School down Garhwal Academy
Dehradun, June 18 Batting first, Garhwal Sports Academy lost their first wicket at the score of 21 runs. They lost their next wicket at 30 runs. Then Krishth tried to stabilise the innings and scored a steady 28 runs off 25 balls. Middle -order batsman Fateh played a useful knock of 20 runs off 17 balls. It was the fiery knock of 39 runs off 20 balls by lower-order batsman Enosh that helped Garhwal Sports Academy reach the 144-run mark in the allotted 20 overs. For DAV School, Pulkit was the leading wicket taker with two wickets while Shankar, Ankit and Sumeet took one wicket each. In reply, DAV School reached the target in just 14 overs. The openers scored 60 runs in the first six overs. Sumit scored 44 runs off 22 balls smashing seven fours and one six. Pulkit smashed 11 runs. Jai Kishore struck a scintillating knock of 50 runs off 23 balls hitting seven fours. For Garhwal Sports Academy-B, Konark took two wickets and Robin took one wicket. |
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