Haridwar, September 6
With Chintan Baithaks being the norm in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) these days, finally the BJP has accepted its failure in the recently concluded parliamentary elections at the two-day National Executive Convention of the BJP Trade Cell here in Haridwar.

The national convention assumes importance specially in the backdrop of the turmoil in the BJP.

In the resolution passed in the convention by the national executive board of the trade cell, it was accepted that the party deflected from its core issues and couldn’t put forth its issues strongly which UPA did effectively.

While addressing the final day of the convention, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank stressed on the need to make Uttarakhand a model state where traders would have a pivotal role to play.

Citing Uttarakhand as a leader in generating revenue in comparison to other hill states such as Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram, Nishank pointed that the state in fiscal year 2009-10 has targeted revenue generation of Rs 2023.80 crore and with more trade-friendly policies, the amount will only grow manifold.

The CM took cognisance of tax evasion and said that the state government will take strict measures to deal with the issue. He lauded the role of the traders in the growth of the state.

“To implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, we got an expenditure weight to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore.

“But we didn’t levy any new tax and instead, made several daily essential commodities tax free so that the common man doesn’t get affected by price escalation,” said Nishank.

Earlier, acknowledging that the BJP is a party of traders, former Chief Minister BC Khanduri said that it is widely perceived that the party is a trader-dominated one which is quite true.

“We can’t forget their role in bringing the party to this level. Your role is commendable. How can a tree grow without nurturing its roots,” Khanduri told the traders.

Rajya Sabha member Bhagat Singh Koshyari said that in the world economy, developing nations and small vendors were facing a threat due to economic recession.

National president of the cell Shyam Bihari Mishra said that only the BJP has been able to safeguard the rights and interests of the traders and hoped that the present economic recession will soon fade out.

He remarked that had the BJP been at the Centre, it would have handled the meltdown better.

At the final day of the meeting, a resolution was passed highlighting several demands and problems of the traders.

The demand for having a national social security pension scheme was made citing several countries where registered traders are given pension with the pension being in certain proportion to the tax submitted by the trader.

The formation of a traders welfare fund and a traders security commission, a separate accidental insurance policy, representation be given to traders in the Lok Sabha, reforms in the financial sector were the other demands of the traders.

Dehradun, September 6
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has given an assurance that he would interact with the legislators at a meeting to discuss the development projects and their implementation.

He gave the assurance during a meeting with the Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat here today.

Rawat had announced that he would hold a day-long dharna on September 7 in front of the Chief Minister’s residence to protest against the failure of the state government.

Dehradun, September 6
Yogendra Khanduri, a member of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), has accused the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank of misleading the people of the state by claiming that a hike of Rs 800 crore have been made in the annual plan outlay by the Planning Commission for the current fiscal for the state.

Yogendra Khanduri claimed that this year’s annual plan has a hike of only Rs 3 crore in comparison to last year’s approved annual outlay.

Khanduri stated that the claimed hike of Rs 800 crore has in it a sum of Rs 400 crore that is a special package for the Kumbh Mela. Thus, it cannot be taken as general hike of the plan for the entire state as it is going to be spend for a specific purpose in a specific area.

Last year’s plan outlay had hike of Rs 397 crore and this year, it has a hike of Rs 400 crore. The difference is just Rs 3 crore in comparison to last year. This is the minimum hike since the creation of the state.

Khanduri criticised the Chief Minister of making lofty claims and alleged that the state officials could not properly project the state’s developmental plans. Otherwise, the planning commission would have approved a higher amount.

Yogendra Khanduri said that even the approval of the budget for Kumbh is the result of constant persuasion by MP from Haridwar Harish Rawat.

Dehradun, September 6
Union Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh has said that India wants a fair and equitable international agreement at the Copenhagen summit on the issue of climate change and global warming that does not stifle its developmental aspirations.

Speaking at a regional summit on climate change in the Himalayas here on Sunday, Ramesh, while referring to the forthcoming United Nations Summit on Climate Change, scheduled to be held in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, said, “India wants a fair and equitable agreement.

“There should be no barriers to our economic growth. We are deeply concerned over the issue of global warming and climate change.

“The best thing for mitigating the problem is that countries do things on their own. We are doing it and over the next two-three months, more countries will get to know what we are doing.”

On the issue of increasing the forest cover, particularly in the Himalayan states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, the minister said that these states need to be given special incentives for maintaining the forest cover.

He expressed hope that the central government would respond to the suggestions made by him. He disclosed that a plan is being worked out to give a green bonus or dividend to states that are maintaining their forest cover and are taking steps to improve it.

Elaborating on the proposed plan, he said, “These states will be given financial incentives from the finance and the planning commissions. This will be a step further and financial incentives will then be given to local self governments.”

He said that such incentives are necessary for these states as they are under tremendous economic pressure to do away with forests.

The minister spoke at length on the health of Himalayan glaciers. He said that a National Institute of Himalayan Glaciology is being set up in Dehradun to study the changes in the Himalayan glaciers.

Ramesh added that the purpose of setting up such an institute is to collaborate with China, Bhutan and maybe Pakistan at a later stage to gather scientific evidence related to glaciers.

He candidly said, “The fact that Himalayan glaciers are receding is beyond doubt. However, what is still to be established is the cause of the recession.”

The minister pointed out that while the Western school of thought attributes the recession of glaciers to global warming, Indian scientists are of the opinion that there is still not enough solid evidence to substantiate that the receding of glaciers is because of global warming.

He pointed out that while it is true that about 15,000 glaciers are receding, studies point out that there are also some like the Siachen glacier that are advancing.

“In case of the Gangotri, the rate of retreat in the past 10 years is lesser than the rate of retreat in the previous decade,” he said.

He also asserted that there is a need to understand the characteristics and differences between the Arctic glaciers and the Himalayan glaciers.

While Arctic glaciers have their snouts in the sea, the snouts of the Himalayan glaciers are 3,500m to 4,000m above sea level.

Referring to the agitations against the proposed hydel projects on the Ganga, he said that the National Ganga River Basin Authority set up under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will study the sustainable use of water in the Ganga system.

“We are moving from a project-based approach to a basin-based approach,” he said while adding that it has been decided to hire a consultant. As many as 30 bids have been received for making plans for the entire basin.

A similar authority is also being planned for the Teesta river. He admitted that the construction of the Lohari Nagpala project in Uttarakhand would be the test phase for the new approach.

Ramesh added that India should aim to bring at least 20 per cent of its total cultivated area under organic farming by 2020.

Remembering the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YSR Reddy, he said that he had taken up the challenge to bring 10 per cent of the area where cotton, red chilly, red gram and cotton is being grown under organic farming. Jairam Ramesh said that the Himalayas are a natural zone for organic farming and the effort should not be towards default organic farming but on certified organic farming.

Dehradun, September 6
Unemployed Bachelor of Education (BEd) youths of the region under the banner of BEd Trained Unemployed Association protested against the government here today.

The protesters started their march from Chief Minster’s residence and culminated their protest at Gandhi Park. The leader of the group, Pankaj Yant, said that the CM never paid heed to their demands and from the last three years nobody has acknowledged their plight.

The protesters demanded that the government should fill the vacant posts soon. They said that otherwise by 2012 there would be 20,000 vacant posts.

The employed youths have made it clear that if their demands will not be fulfilled soon, then the 1,50,000 unemployed youth will go on a violent strike. 

Haridwar, September 6
Top-level leaders in the BJP have expressed the hope that the party will wrest the Vikasnagar assembly seat. They said that with the Vikasnagar seat, the party will regain full majority in the state assembly.

Former Chief Minister BC Khanduri said that apart from inducting members in the party, the party’s focus is on winning the bypoll.

Khanduri, who is a legislator from Dhumakot assembly seat, said that the turmoil in the party at the national level will not affect the poll results. He hoped that the goings-on in the party would become normal soon.

Rajya Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari expressed confidence that a win in Vikasnagar is in the offing.

Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik also expressed optimism about retaining the Vikasnagar seat.

He said that party cadres were working hard to ensure that the seat remains with the BJP.

Haridwar, September 6
Expressing concern at the slow pace of Mahakumbh works, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has directed the officers to ensure day- to-day monitoring.

He directed the Divisional Commissioner of Garhwal, Umakant Panwar, to camp at Haridwar to make sure that all construction works of permanent nature were completed by the end of next month.

He warned against any negligence in this regard and said he would review the progress made every week.

He expressed dissatisfaction at the slow pace of work by the PWD. He directed the Chief Engineer to complete all works within the stipulated timeframe while ensuring quality.

He said there ought to be no inconvenience caused to the public owing to digging of roads.

On the construction of the road at Haripur Kalan, he noted that despite the objection of the authorised firm, Sriram Laboratory, construction standards had not been maintained.

He directed Principal Secretary Shatrughan Singh, Secretary (Urban Development) Anoop Badhawan and the Mela Officer to look into the matter and take action against the guilty.

The road at “Hill Bypass” damaged in 1998 should be repaired within a fortnight, he ordered. Nishank said a high-tech media centre would be set up at the Kumbh Mela by the information department in collaboration with the IT department.

A cultural pavilion and art gallery would be established in the Kumbh area.

The Chief Minister also directed that sanctioning of tubewell and power connections be hastened.

He asked DGP Subhash Joshi to chalk out a workplan for any possible exigency at the mela in collaboration with the health department.

Traffic, security and the intelligence system should be strengthened, he added.

Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik, Legislators Prem Chandra Agrawal, Anil Nautiyal, Om Gopal Rawat and other representatives and senior officers were present at the meeting.

Dehradun, September 6
To welcome as well as to discuss progress made by the Doon Savtantara Senani Samiti, a state-level conference was organised here today.

Organiser of the samiti Ranjit Singh Verma, addressing the gathering, said, “Main motive of our samiti is to fight for the right of freedom fighters of the state and constantly demand justice from the government.”

Samiti president Moolchand Gupta informed present members about the achievements accomplished for the welfare of the freedom fighters.

“After regular meetings with the government officials regarding their genuine demands, the government has rolled out the orders pertaining to their land, honour, reservation as well as the free entry in the secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha on the basis of identity card,” said Gupta.

Along with discussions and remembering the freedom fighters for their sacrifice, problems relating to housing, travelling allowance and many other issues were also discussed in the conference.

Dehradun, September 6
The proposed first 5-star hotel, for which Max India promotor and chairman Analjit Singh has tied up with the Oberoi Group, will come up on Rajpur Road. The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has been formally approached in this regard.

MDDA vice-chairman Senthil Pandian said the company had submitted the layout for the proposed hotel to be built near the Mussoorie diversion on Rajpur Road.

The inspection of the proposed site followed by other formalities will pave the way for its construction.

The luxury hotel marks Singh’s foray into the hospitality industry. He will be the owner of the property while the Oberoi Group will manage it.

Pandian said the company had obtained the necessary clearance from the Union Government.

The MDDA has received the construction plan of another similar venture belonging to ace shooter Abhinav Bindra.

It will come up At Bindra Farms on Haridwar Road. The construction is expected to start anytime as formalities have been completed.

His father has described the hotel as a gift to Abhinav on wining the Olympic gold.

Another proposal for a hotel by Emaar-MGF made about two-and-a-half years back is still in the pipeline. Sources attributed the delay to “inexplicable silence” on the part of the builder company.

At present, Jaypee Residency at Mussoorie is the lone 5-star hotel in the hill state.

Dehradun, September 6
A shopkeeper has been booked for allegedly faking a theft at his shop for claiming the insurance amount.

SHO Vijay Kumar of the Raipur police station said the shopkeeper had alleged that intruders had broken open the lock on his shop and decamped with artificial jewellery and gift items.

However there was no circumstantial evidence to suggest that a theft had been committed.

After investigations and a talk with his neighbours, it had come to light that he had been lying.

Haridwar, Sepember 6
The police has traced two students of Class 11th of Kapurthala who had gone missing since August 20. Atul Sharma and Lachhman Singh of Anand Public School were handed over to their parents, section engineers at the Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory.

The boys were found from a lodge at Karan Paryag where they were working as servants on a monthly salary of Rs 1,500.

Atul Sharma had failed in two subjects and Lachhman Singh in four subjects in their examinations held in August.

The fear of the school authorities informing their parents about the poor results drove them to run away.

The boys on August 20 went to Jalandhar and from there boarded a bus to reach Haridwar on August 20.

A visitor staying at a Karan Prayag lodge got suspicious and questioned the boys and informed the police. — PTI 

Dehradun, September 6
A two-day exhibition organised by the Doon Tibetan community concluded here today. It’s being 50 years to Tibetans coming to India, after the mass exodus of Tibetans from China in the year 1959.

With a motive to show their gratitude towards Indian government and people, the exhibition was organised, which depicted their culture, religion, history as well over these many years how has the community evolved.

“Since the Tibetan refugees came to India, the government and the people of India has continuously supported us. And without their support and encouragement we couldn’t have achieved our mission to grow as a community.

“The reason behind organising this exhibition is to enlighten people about our culture and thank the Indian government for their constant support and love,” said Karma, secretary Doon Tibetan Society.

The colourful exhibition organised in serene surroundings of Dehradun attracted large number of people, wanting to inquire facts related to the community.

Showcasing the real culture of Tibet, attires of three states called Utsang, Utso and Amdo were displayed with musical instruments, which looked somewhat similar to sarod and guitar.

However, according to the Tibetan calendar various sects under the Tibetan religion perform rituals using various religious tools and mask.

And to impart knowledge to general public stalls were decorated with tools accompanied by monks who explained visitors its importance while performing religious ceremonies.

“When we perform our religious ceremonies whether its dance or prayers, we dress up in our traditional clothes and to feel the devotion we use our tools so that we completely get involved in the process.

“Bells, dungkar, shells and various masks play a very important role in our culture,” said Kunga Rinchen, member Sakya Centre Doon.

Depicting the art and craft, handmade traditional shawls, aprons, cushions, carpets and wooden showpieces were displayed here.

However, to give an insight about the Tibetan cultural heritage, a photo exhibition was organised which comprised number of pictures communicating their struggle and developments achieved over these many years in India.

“The handicrafts made by the Tibetan people are very beautiful. I especially liked the carpets.

“These are so different and well designed,” said Priya, a visitor.

Apart from religious, cultural and handicraft items, a health check up camp was also organized in the exhibition.

Dehradun, September 6
With great fervour and gaiety the Malayalee community of Doon celebrated Onam festival here today.

To mark the onset of Basant and to welcome Mahabali the legendary ruler of Kerala, who was renowned for justice and goodness of his rule, every year during mid August or September the festival is celebrated nationwide, especially in south India.

At least 1,000 people gathered to have a gala time amid traditional food, dance, music and food.

While the women wore white and golden saris and decorated hair with flowers, men wore lungi and shirt. The venue was decorated with beautiful rangoli and lamps were lighted.

“Onam is one of the most important festival of our state and during this period we decorate our entrances with Rangoli, eat our traditional food on banana leaf and enjoy with friends and family.

On this particular event we remember King Mahabali and mark the onset of Basant, however, the festival lasts for 10 days,” said Sreedaran TM, member Malayalee community of Doon.

The enticing food comprised rice, sambar, vegetables, papad, variety of pickles and sweet dish. The members present at the function were enthralled by folk dance and music of Kerala.

“We celebrate the festival to unite people of different communities and culture. We believe that India is one and there should be no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed and colour. Festivals, cultural programmes are the sole mode which can easily bridge the gap and connect people,” added Sreedaran TM. 

Dehradun, September 6
Doon School cruised into quarterfinals of the RIMC Soccer Cup Football Tournament. In the match, played here today, it defeated Doon International School by 2-0.

Doon International School gave a tough fight to Doon School in the first half. Despite coming close on scoring a goal on a number of occasions, Doon School failed to convert their chances into goals.

The scorer was locked at 0-0 in the first half.

In the second half, Doon School made a better start and scored their first goal in the 2nd minute of the half.

It was Doon School’s forward Vahin who took a powerful shot that sailed into the nets, off the goalkeeper’s gloves. In the 24th minute, Vahin scored again to make it 2-0. In the end it was comfortable victory for the team.

Meanwhile, in the second match between St Joseph Academy (SJA) and Mussoorie Modern School ended in a goalless draw.

It was a slow match between the two teams. The SJA team forward players were poor on their finishing to miss out on number of occasions in the match.

The first half ended in a goalless draw. The second half was no different from the first as none of the team could manage to score a goal.

Gold Cup: Deepak fashions Doon's victory

It was a big win for Dehradun football team in the pre-quarterfinal match at the All India Sikkim Governor Gold Cup in Gangtok. Dehradun team battered the local D'Zongri Club 6-2. Deepak with a hat-trick was the star performer for the team.

It turned out to be a terrific day for Dehradun team touring Sikkim after two decades. The team gave an outstanding performance. The first 30 minutes proved tough for the team as they could score a goal.

But it was Deepak who drew the first goal in the 33rd minute of the match. Just before the end of the first half Deepak gave D'Zongri Club another setback in the 43rd minute making it 2-0.

Dehradun team was high on confidence in the second half with and scored its third goal barely seven minutes later. It was Veer Singh for the team. Nitin Gurung scored the fourth goal for the team in the 60th minute.

But the scoring did not stop here for Dehradun and Veer Singh struck again in the 73rd minute to help his team take an invincible 5-0 lead in the match.

D'Zongri tried to make a came back and scored through Sujan Rai in 74th minute and Dawa Lepcha in the 78th minute to make it 5-2. In the dying minutes Dehradun's forward Deepak completed his hat-trick making the final score 6-2. 

Dehradun, September 6
At the District Football League, 10 teams have made it to the super league stage, with 1/5 Gorkha Rifle team, 6/8 Gorkha Rifle and Uttarakhand Police emerging as strong teams of the league. Super league matches will get underway from September 15.

One team each from group C and group B still have to qualify to the super league stage.

From Group A, four teams have qualified for the next stage that is Akranta, Cantt Blues, CT Young, Sports College, whereas from group B and C three teams have made it to the super league stage.

For group B, Doon Star, Uttarakhand Police and 1/5 Gorkha Rifle team and from group C, Doon Valley, Eleven Star and 6/8 Gorkha Rifle team have confirmed their participation in the next stage.

There is tough competition between Garhwal Sporting and New Gypsy in group B. Garhwal Sporting with 17 points is better placed to make it to the next round.

The team has just one match left in the league stage, which they have to win or draw it to move to the next round.

But it is tough call for New Gypsy team, who has to win both their remaining matches to make it to the super league stage.

Whereas in group C teams, there is a triangular fight between Garhwal Boys, Khukri and Doon Eagle. Although Garhwal Boys and Khukri are ahead in the point’s tally, Doon Eagle also stands a chance to make it to the super league stage. 

Haridwar, September 6
Seventyfive swimmers took part in an open swimming competition held in BHEL International Sports Club yesterday. A total of 75 participants took part in the competition and showed their aquatic skills.

In the boys open category, Varun Joshi of DPS bagged first position with Arnav and Aman Chauhan securing second and third positions, respectively.

In the girls event, Anchal gained first position followed by Anya. While in u-12 age group’s backstroke event Bharat Sharma won with Ritik Verma coming second.

In the u-15 free style category, Arnav won and Sohan came second and in this age group back stroke category, Sohan won with Abhiyendra Singh following him at the podium finish.

While in free style under-18 category Varun Joshi and Rahul Chauhan emerged first and second winners, whereas in girl’s category Anchal covered the distance in shortest time with Ankita Pundir following Anchal.

Anya Johari came first in the under-12 free and back stroke events with Shefali and Anitya Baranval coming second and third in the respective events.

In the men’s open category free style, Abhishek Kumar came first followed by Manoj Kumar coming second and again Abhishek Kumar won in the back stroke with JB Singh coming second.

Later at the presentation ceremony, DK Mody termed swimming as one of the best exercises to maintain health and body fitness and said a person was happy if he was healthy.

Ladies’ club convener Vandana Modi gave the prizes to the winners.