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College campaigning gets tacky Members of the national committee of the Bharatiya Khadya Nigam Karamchari Sangh hold a dharna in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
The lone crusader
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Road shows aplenty
Eco Efforts: Solar gensets for Corbett on anvil
A move dead right move
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College campaigning gets tacky
Dehradun, September 9 These organisations have put up canopies inside the college premises, referring to these as help booths to address the problems of newcomers, who form a potential vote bank. This concept introduced last year is reportedly helping student organisations to swell their cadres. Says Deepak, seated at a help booth put up by the NSUI: “Everyday over 500 students are coming to us with their problems related to admission, identity cards and fee counters. “Most of them are first-year students who do not know much about the college. Our aim is to help them.” Similar booths have been put up by other organisations like the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Students Federation of India (SFI) and candidates contesting as independents. The organisations have begun door-to-door canvassing in the town. They have constituted teams for visiting voters’ localities and interacting with them on a one-to-one basis, explaining their agenda. Abhishek, a B.Com student, says the contestants ensure that supporters who participate in their rallies and demonstrations are well looked after. Be it filling of petrol tanks of vehicles or daily refreshments, the contestants and their organisations have no qualms shelling out money for those helping them in their campaign. Late-night parties are a common affair where those running the campaign are treated to the choicest of alcoholic beverages. The atmosphere in the college is electric with incessant beating of the drum and small rallies in every nook and corner. There are a range of election issues. The contestants promise that if elected, they will ensure that the faculty takes lectures regularly, work towards the much-needed renovation of the college building and keep a check on financial “irregularities”. The NSUI candidate for the president’s post, Shivesh Bahuguna, says: “ Our primary focus is on providing a congenial academic environment.” The SFI talks of providing security to students. The ABVP candidate for the president’s post, Ashish Bahuguna, says his election agenda comprises renovation of college building, removing financial “irregularities” and “proper” classes for students. The ABVP slogan “Abki bari, sab pe bhari” has picked up with the youth. The NSUI slogan “High Eye NSUI?” is proving just as much catchy. One can see posters of candidates on walls, cars and numberplates of scooters. Supporters are using nicknames of candidates during campaigning. Siddharth Rana is popularly know as “Siddhu”, Shalender “Shallu”, Pankaj Gusain “Kakku”, Amit Thapa “Ammu”, Surendra Singh Gusain “Pinky” and Shivesh Bahuguna “Shibhu”. The list goes on. Since it is the biggest college of the state, DAV elections are considered an important event. Old-timer Jaywant Singh Rawat, who contested the student elections in 1976, says: “ Over the years, little has changed. Localities like Rajpur Road, Karanpur and EC Road were a favourite with students for holding election rallies even then. “The issues have not changed either. However, the participation of girls in electoral activities has gone done.” Residents and businessmen in the college vicinity are having a tough time on account of daily traffic jams caused by campaigners. But the chaos is proving beneficial for some. Tea stalls are doing a roaring business and so are the small eateries. Scooter and motobike rallies with students sans helmets and triple riding are a routine affair on main roads like Rajpur Road and a cause of nuisance for other commuters. The students often drive around raising slogans and honking. One cannot note down their registration numbers and file a complaint since these are covered with election
pamphlets.
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The lone crusader
Dehradun, September 9 With the elections approaching, rallies and canvassing have become the norm at the college. But girls are not part of the activities here. They are more concerned about attending classes. BA II student Priyanka said, “College elections are not for girls to participate in. During elections, outsiders come to the college and create too much disturbance. The elections here are totally dominated by boys with hardly any girls willing to participate in these. Narrating an incident that took place last year, she said that a girl contestant for the general secretary’s post was manhandled by a group of boys in the college premises. Even the miscreants were not punished. “After knowing about such incidents, I have decided to stay away from the elections and may not even cast my vote,” Priyanka said. Another B.Com student, Tavneet Kaur, said that girls wished to take part in the elections but there should be a more congenial atmosphere in the college for them to come forward. Renu, who is the lone girl in the fray, said, “Yes, it is an all-boys affair in the college. Girls are willing to participate but are afraid of unruly boys.” “I will be taking out a rally on Saturday to make other girls realise that they have a say in the college elections. But still a lot needs to be done by the college management and students organisations to bring the girls to the fore,” she added.
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Who cares for Lyngdoh?
Haridwar, September 9
Haridwar does not have many colleges. The main college, Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College (SMJN) affiliated with Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna University, Garhwal, has turned into a political centre these days. After the last date for withdrawals, campaigning is at its peak now. Girl students are seen actively participating in the election process and road shows, riding open jeeps and raising slogans in favour of their candidates. NSUI is proving a big draw for girl students. Rain has failed to dampen their enthusiasm. “This is a good sign that girls are participating, but it would have been better if they had also contested the elections” opined Jaya Adlakha, Mahila College. Flouting Lyngdoh committees norms, a cavalcade of vehicles accompany student leaders during campaigning. Areas in the college vicinity are full of billboards and posters of contestants. It is obvious that the expenditure far exceeds the amount of Rs 5,000 per candidate as recommended by the commission. A total of 22 candidates are in the fray with three- GaganDeep, Mohit Gaud and Shakti Kumar for the post of college president; Ankur Rawat, Bhagwati Kukreti and Vikas Asthana for vice-president and Ashustosh, Karan and Sheetal for secretary’s posts. At Chinmaya Science Degree College, the students union elections are to be held tomorrow. There has not been much of election din here. The students’ union will comprise representatives elected from each class, the primary reason why the zing is missing. At Mahila Mahavidyalaya, the elections are scheduled for September 11 while at Shri Jagat Guru Chand Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Shiv Narayan has already been elected as president, Pradeep Kumar as vice-president and Kamlesh secretary. Also, Shailendra Mishra, Lalit Sharma, Prashant and Deepak Dwivedi have been elected members of the students’ working committee.
Nominations today
The election committee of DAV (PG) College today announced that the filing of nomination for the student union elections will begin tomorrow. Withdrawal of candidature or correction in name can be done on September 13.
The committee has warned any candidate found violating the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, would be disqualified. It has asked the contestants to remove printed banners and posters from the college premises by tomorrow or face action They made its clear that the expenditure incurred by the candidate should not exceed Rs 5,000. The committee has asked students to deposit admission fee by September 14 in order to be eligible for voting in the college elections.
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Eco Efforts: Solar gensets for Corbett on anvil
Dehradun, September 9 To cater to its electricity needs, Corbett Park has as many as 12 fuel-based power generators that are utilised at its various tourism zones. These also assist forest guards in their daily activities. Park authorities are now contemplating switching to solar generators. These fuel-based power generators are noisy and are a major source of high-decibel noise pollution. The transportation of fuel for these gensets from Ramnagar town is a tedious task. Starting with two solar generators that will be put to use to light up two tourism zones, other conventional generators too will be gradually replaced. Corbett authorities have procured two solar generators and are now waiting for the end of monsoon for their installation. The state’s non-conventional energy body - the Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Authority (UREDA) - had greatly supported the park’s solar initiatives. The park uses solar energy in a big way. Solar lights, fans and even torches can be found in abundance inside Corbett. Corbett Park warden DS Rawat said solar generators will go a long way in doing away with the noise and fuel challenges linked to conventional generators. He said the two solar generators will be initially installed at Gairal and Bijraani tourism zones. He said that the park authorities had solar water heaters with a huge capacity of nearly 3,000 litres per day in some guest houses in Gairal and Bijraani zones. High on the tourists’ agenda, pressure continues to mount on Corbett to provide the best of amenities for tourists. Being a wildlife area, any addition of infrastructure has to be done cautiously and after requisite permission from the authorities.
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A move dead right move
Dehradun, September 9 The process of shifting the post-mortem house to Brahmawala will be completed by the end of next year. Recently, the High Court in its order called upon the district administration to take steps to shift the PM house that had been pending for the past two years. A writ petition had been filed by Arjun Jain, a resident of Dehradun, pointing out the necessity to shift it as the area had become congested and that a school too had come up in the vicinity. Area residents had been up in arms against the administration for delaying the process. After the High Court’s order, the matter gained urgency. Earlier, the administration was facing difficulty in acquiring a suitable place to locate a modern post-mortem house in the city. Even the doctors on duty had been having a tough time conducting post-mortem examinations due to the poor lighting arrangement at the PM house in Chandernagar. The High Court had asked the administration to clarify its position and a notice had been issued to the vice-chairman of Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority and the District Magistrate for failing to take steps in the matter. Both officers then stated in the affidavit that a suitable place at Brahmawala has been selected for shifting the PM house. The Nagar Nigam will transfer the land to the Health Department. The work is expected to be over by 2010. The Chief Medical Officer, Municipal Corporation, has been instructed to keep the court updated on the project.
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With the announcement of DAV (PG) College elections for September 16, electioneering has picked up pace. Besides the college premises, student organisations have painted the entire city with slogans.
