Mussoorie, July 13
As the peak tourist season in Mussoorie comes to an end, locals can take cheer from the fact that the Municipal Board is gearing up for major infrastructural development of this hill resort.

Improvement in water supply, hygiene and sanitation and traffic management is expected to be achieved through these efforts by the onset of the next tourist season.

In an interview, chairman of the Mussoorie Municipal Board, OP Uniyal, said:

“The board plans several infrastructural development projects in the town and now is the time to implement these in a time-bound phased manner,” he said.

Uniyal said during his one-year tenure, vigorous planning has been done to address several critical issues concerning the Queen of Hills, including sanitation, water scarcity, traffic congestion and encroachment on The Mall.

He said that the board had decided to implement these projects in a phased manner over the next two or three years.

On top of the agenda was improving parking facilities in the town.

The municipality had already been sanctioned Rs 14 crore from the state government for the construction of four mega parkings.

Work had been started on constructing parking on South Road in Landour which would have a capacity of 70-80 vehicles. The board was planning parking space exclusively for local residents of Landour.

Rajat Aggarwal, president of the Mussoorie Traders’ Association said: “such a step will significantly contribute to reducing traffic congestions caused due to roadside parking on the narrow Landour road.”

In addition, at least two parkings are expected to be completed by next year .

Related to this is the issue of traffic bottlenecks and frequent jams during the months of May and June.

In this regard two roadside parkings , near Picture Palace and on Moti Lal Nehru Road, have already been discontinued in order to allow free flow 
of traffic. Work on installation of electronic barriers at both entrances to Mall Road is expected to start by August.

Through these hi-tech barriers, any delay in allowing entry of vehicles onto Mall Road would be reduced, thereby avoiding long queues and frequent jams.

In order to deal with the problem of water scarcity, a critical issue for the locals and tourists alike, laying of pipelines, installation of pumps at the Kolti pumping station and overall enhancement in the efficiency of water distribution system is on the cards.

“We have had several meetings with Jal Sansthan officials who have assured us that after the rainy season, these works will be taken up on a top priority basis and completed by the end of the winter season,” Uniyal said.

Shortage of water has been a major worry for the citizenry here and locals are happy with the proposed projects in this regard.

“If we get adequate water during the summers, it would be a major relief for us and a tremendous achievement for the Nagar Palika,” remarked a housewife.

Construction of a new multipurpose complex near the board office is expected to begin by October this year.

This state-of-the-art complex will have underground parking, a meeting hall, a marriage hall and will house offices of the municipal board.

To top it all, a 51-crore project under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been sanctioned for repair of lines and laying of sewers across Mussoorie.

Other issues like encroachment on The Mall will be resolved by regularising street vends and allotting shops to vendors near Picture Palace.

“We are constructing 65-70 shops which shall be allotted to the street vendors,” Uniyal said.

The traders’ Association has lauded the move which they expect will permanently solve the problem of encroachments on The Mall, a major source of traffic chaos in the area.

Several other initiatives, including imposition of eco tax on tourists, a blood bank, a 12-bed hospital and plying of two local buses are on the cards.

Uniyal who has been working tirelessly on these projects and arranging funds.

“We have arranged funds for the projects through state government support as well as through the board’s own resources.

“Now is the time to give shape to these,” Uniyal said.

In the coming months, work will begin at a rapid pace and by the start of the next tourist, some of these projects are expected to be completed.

“From now on, much will change and within a year, the town will become much more attractive for tourists,” Uniyal claimed. He , however, cautioned that these efforts would be meaningless until law and order situation in the town was improved.

In this regard he said he had failed to get support and cooperation of the local police.

“The local police administration has disappointed us with their unsupportive attitude and reluctance to extend support in regulating traffic, curbing illegal parkings and in supporting officials of the Nagar Palika in removing encroachments on The Mall.”

May be the police too will tighten its belt to effectively meet challenges in the next tourist season.

Kotdwar (Pauri Garhwal), July 13
Although Jagmohan looks like an ordinary villager he has the heart of a lion. That is how he saved his life from a man-eater leopard. Jagmohan Singh (56), a farmer, was ploughing his field at Navai village in Thailisain development block of Pauri Garhwal district on Sunday when he was attacked by a man- eater.

Jagmohan Singh grappled for more than 10 minutes with the beast, held it by its neck and raised an alarm. As other villagers came running hearing his shouts, the leopard panicked and ran away to the nearby forest.

Villages carried Jagmohan, who was injured in the fight, on a cot for a distance of 18 km to the motorable road at Gadyon Pul Gadun rivulet bridge.

From there, he was picked up by the 108-Emergency service ambulance and brought to Kotdwar Government Hospital.

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr RS Rawat, Jagmohan sustained deep injuries from the claws and canines of the leopard on his back and head. Revenue and forest department officials have been informed of the incident.

Meanwhile, in another incident, one Kausalya Devi (34) of Baudar-Chobattakhal village, was attacked by a leopard when she was working in her field. However, the alarm raised by nearby villagers scared the leopard who ran away to the forest. She was admitted to District Hospital, Pauri, yesterday. Chief medical superintendent Dr LK Gusasin said that she had received injuries on her face. — Contributed by Kamal Joshi

Dehradun, July 13
From now, it will not be easy for slum dwellers to get water connections. So far, most inhabitants of slums manage to get water connections without possessing legal documents about land occupancy in downtown Rajpur.

The issue came to light after the district administration and Nagar Nigam authorities inspected a slum near Jakhan in Rajpur and another at Loharwala Kishan Nagar basti as part of the anti-encroachment drive.

Not only had the inhabitants constructed ‘pucca’ structures but also had water and electricity connections.

The administration then issued directives to the electricity and water departments not to issue connections to persons residing in illegal slums.

“Water connections are issued to only to those persons possessing land-ownership papers. The residents not only are living illegally but even managed to get water connections,” said VK Sinha, General Manager (hq).

The Jal Sansthan has now issued directives to all the zonal engineers in the city to ensure that water connections are issued to only those persons who possess proper documents pertaining to house possession. They have also been instructed to sever connections wherever rules have been violated.

At least 50 slums are bound to get affected by the order.