Dehradun, September 27
In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government, Uttarakhand Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari has asked Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank as well as Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pandey to take action against his own Secretary Vinod Phonia, who has launched a campaign against corruption annoying the minister amidst high drama.

The recommendation of action against Phonia, a Foreign Service officer on deputation with the state government, who has taken up cudgels against alleged corruption in his own department, came following the sealing of the office of the Chief Engineer by him last midnight.

Interestingly, Phonia who has taken upon himself to dig out alleged corruption cases in the Irrigation Department was on loggerheads with his minister Matbar Singh Kandari and also Principal Secretary Vinita Kumar.

Probing allegations of corrupt practices in the recruitment of more than 110 employees in Minor Irrigation Department three years ago, Phonia has been asking his own department to give him the files related with the recruitment, but without any success.

An inquiry was ordered by former Chief Minister Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) following allegations of largescale nepotism and corruption in the recruitment. Phonia has been looking into the matter.

On September 26, Phonia sent his Under Secretary to the office of Asghar Ali, Chief Engineer, Minor Irrigation Department, to get the relevant files at night.

However, Ali refused to part with the files, while Vinita Kumar reportedly asked the Under Secretary to go back.

Infuriated by the development, Phonia himself went to the office of the Chief Engineer, situated at Milan Vihar to get the files.

But by then someone tipped off the employees, who fled the office in a hurry without even turning off the lights and fans of the office.

Phonia kept on waiting outside the office and called the police. He also sent a police team to the house of Chief Engineer Ali, but it also returned empty-handed.

Waiting till past midnight, Phonia then decided to seal the office with the help of the police.

The action by the Secretary sent shock waves in the entire state government. An angry Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari summoned a meeting of his department without Phonia.

“This is an unfortunate situation. I have recommended to the Chief Minister as well as to the Chief Secretary to take action against the Secretary and ensure that such things do not happen,” said Kandari after the meeting.

Interestingly, the BJP, after coming to power in the assembly polls in 2007, had instituted two probe commissions to look into the alleged corrupt practices of the previous Congress government.

But, most of the senior officials are tight-lipped on the ongoing tussle between the minister and his secretary and the ball is reportedly in the court of the Chief Minister. Phonia is son of Kedar Singh Phonia, a ruling BJP legislator who was a former minister. 

Pitthoragarh, September 27
Keeping in view the sensitivity of the border district of Pitthoragarh that shares the border with China and Nepal, the Pitthoragarh police has launched an identification drive for foreigners living or working temporarily in the district.

“We have started this drive keeping in view the Maoist activities in Nepal and the growing threat of Naxalites penetrating the area from the international border,” said Puran Singh Rawat, Superintendent of Police (SP), Pitthoragarh.

“The drive that started on September 24 has so far identified 788 outsiders living in the 12 police station areas of Pitthoragarh district. Their details have been sent to their original residential places for cross-checking. The drive will continue for another 15 days,” he said.

“We are specially concentrating on towns on the India-Nepal and India-China border. More than 169 persons in the border towns of Dharchula, Jauljivi and Jhulaghat have been identified. They have been working or living there and are not in the knowledge of the police," said Rawat.

"This step will help locate any suspicious character in case of any criminal activity," said the SP.

The Pitthoragarh police has sought the collaboration not only of police personnel in the concerned police posts, specially the police stations in the border area, but also the personnel from the local intelligence unit, the Investigation Bureau, Special Operation Task Force as well as officers of various departments. "We are also convening regular meetings of all concerned personnel," said Puran Singh Rawat.

Dehradun, September 27
The Union government has turned down the state government’s proposal to upgrade Kumaon University, Nainital, as central university. The decision was based on the formula to open one central university in a state where none exists.

The decision has political implications for the BJP-led state government which had proposed central university status for Kumaon University after this status was accorded to HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, in Pauri district during tenure of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri.

He hails from this district and represented Pauri parliamentary constituency a number of times.

Though Jammu and Kashmir has been given two central universities but union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has reportedly held that the same was done in view of different geographical and cultural conditions.

It has been decided to drop the proposal to set up an IIM in Jammu and Kashmir.

The funds meant for it will be utilised for establishing the second central university in the state.

Back home, Uttarakhand Minister for Tourism Prakash Pant who hails from Kumaon region, said that the Union government’s decision of setting up two central universities in Jammu and Kashmir has only made the case of such an arrangement in Uttarakhand stronger.

“In light of this, the state government will again put up the proposal before the Centre,” he said. Given the traditional rivalry between Garhwal and Kumaon regions, the decision to upgrade the status of HNB Garhwal University had caused much resentment. The decision was considered to be discriminatory.

Bowing under public pressure to maintain regional balance, the state government under Khanduri had proposed similar status for Kumaon University. 

Dehradun, September 27
Even as the state government has taken a prompt action to set things right in response to a letter shot off by Governor Margaret Alva to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the issue of a delay in sending draft of the monthly demi official (MDO) letter, the development has exposed the inefficiency of state’s bureaucracy.

It is not the first instance of this kind. A casual style of bureaucratic working while dealing with the office of the Governor had come to light even during the tenure of her predecessor BL Joshi. Besides a delay in sending those, draft letters in the past were noted to have contained incomplete information.

As per a copy of the letter, the Governor regretted the delay as well as incomplete information in the draft of the letter sent by the state government in August. The officialdom failed to budge even after a reminder sent to the government. Due to this, the MDO for July could not be sent.

It ideally should have been sent by the 10th of every month as insisted by President’s Secretariat. The letter prompted Chief Secretary IK Pande to issue a circular to all departments, terming the development as “very sensitive” and directed them to ensure that the draft must be sent by the 25th of every month.

The displeasure expressed by the Governor in her letter seems justified as the MDO letter highlighting achievements as well as problems faced by the state government has to be sent to the President of India every month as part of a set practice.

The MDO cell in the state government prepares a draft of this letter, which is sent by the Chief Secretary to the Raj Bhavan. Interestingly, the the Chief Secretary had given detailed instructions to all departments to be followed in this regard.

Dehradun, September 27
To commemorate the 22nd anniversary of Black Day 1987, Tibetans living in exile across different settlements in Dehradun staged a peaceful march raising slogans against Chinese occupation of Tibet.

They demanded the immediate release of political prisoners and also called upon the international community to pressurise the Chinese government to resolve the Tibet issue.

A peace march, along with a candle march, was held to express gratitude towards India’s continued support to the Tibetan cause.

In the morning, the Tibetans gathered at Gandhi Park where a small function was organised. Former chairman of the Child Development Board Neelam Sehgal presided over the function.

“On September 27, 1987, Tibetans living in Lhasa were brutally suppressed while protesting against the Chinese occupation. They were only carrying out a peaceful march in support of basic human rights,” said Yeshi Thirchin, president, Youth Congress Sahatdhara.

The Tibetans owing allegiance to the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Regional Tibetan Women’s Association and the National Democratic Party also paid homage to the martyrs, who had sacrificed their lives 22 years back.

“The Chinese government has launched a massive cover-up campaign in Tibet after Tibetans rose against the Chinese occupation during the hosting of the Olympics in 2008. It is also carrying out a propaganda against the Dalai Lama telling the world that Tibetans under the Chinese occupation are happy, but it is just a ruse to draw attention away from it’s poor human rights record,” said Tenzin Dolma, vice-president, Mahila Samiti, Clement Town.

Roorkee, September 27
The Gang canal is going to be closed for the next 20 days from tomorrow for cleaning up and maintenance. The authorities concerned have issued orders in this regard. Every year, the canal is closed between Dussehra and Diwali so that the repair work and other cleaning operations can be done during the duration.

The canal, which starts from Haridwar, caters to farmers of several districts of the state and Uttar Pradesh, where the water is used mainly for the irrigation.

Besides, the supply of drinking water is also made to some parts of Delhi, which also will be affected during the period.

The closure of the canal will cause scarcity of water during the sowing of rabi and barseem crop in the area and over five lakh farmers, who reportedly get water from it, will face problems.

Notably farmers of the area always stage protest whenever the authorities wish to close the canal for some purpose.

On the other hand, the officials maintained that routine closing of the canal was necessary to do the repair work along the banks of the canal as well as its cleaning for its smooth functioning.

A proposal regarding closing the canal for some work was sent to the Uttar Pradesh government two months back, but the protest by the farmers forced it to take it back.

Dehradun, September 27
On the International Day of the Deaf today, hearing-impaired people in Uttarakhand took out a deafness awareness rally in support of their demand to implement the 11 Five-Year Plan.

The rally held under the aegis of the Deaf Welfare Association started from Dila Ram Chowk and passed through Rajpur Road and Clock Tower. Around 300 persons participated in the rally.

The interpreter for the rallyists Lokinder Soni said the awareness rally would sensitise the public towards the needs of hearing-impaired people. “We have also submitted a memorandum of demands to Snehlata Agarwal, Commissioner, Physically Challenged.

The demands include setting up a government school in the state for the deaf, appointments of interpreters and trained staff in all districts. All these demands find mention in the 11th Five-Year Plan document, but have not been implemented,” Soni added.

The members also demanded that a separate day be marked for the hearing-impaired people so that their issues could be addressed separately.

The march was attended by members of the Deaf Welfare Association. They carried banners explaining deafness and distributed pamphlets on sign language.

The Planning Commission had recommended the setting up of a Sign Language Academy for Research and Development. But so far no action has been undertaken.

Dehradun, September 27
While opposition to eco tax continues to grow in Mussoorie, such experiments in the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh have been a stupendous success.

Last year, the concept of green tax was introduced by Himachali authorities in Manali and ever since, the tax being collected from tourists is being utilised for conservation of the environment.

Welcoming such initiatives, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal University, Prof Sunil Kumar Gupta, said green tax has been a success in Himachal.

“If toll tax can be imposed on vehicular movement on super highways, where is the harm in imposing a tax for ecology conservation,” Gupta said.

He said opposition to eco tax was not an intelligent idea and those opposing it must look at it in the long term.

Environment-conscious Himachal Pradesh registered no opposition to green tax and rather it was welcomed there.

Meanwhile, Mussoorie municipal employees have come out openly in support of eco tax. According to the Mussoorie Nagarpalika Karmchari Sanghatan, eco tax would help increase the revenue of the municipality and thus would be in the interest of the employees.

“Eco tax is in no way a burden on locals,” argued Mahaveer Rana, president of the sanghatan.

Opposition to the tax by the residents continues with Mussoorie MLA Joth Singh Gunsola coming out openly in support of the agitators that prominently includes local taxi operators, restaurant owners and other operators.

Dehradun, September 27
Thirty-five years ago, Tara Singh Nagpal gained popularity by selling mouth-watering egg pakoras and fried fish as a street vendor in front of Motimahal restaurant at Rajpur road.

His zeal to grow and provide variety to customers encouraged him and his family to establish Taara Machi shop, a one-stop destination for fish and tikka lovers.

There is an array of delicacies and everything, from curry to dry dishes, is made with a lot of dedication and care. A perfect combination of homemade spices and vegetable paste of garlic, onion, coriander adds an enticing fragrance and taste.

“Almost 35 years ago, my father started this business along the roadside. As people liked his preparations and our sales grew, we expanded our business,” said Gurwant Singh Nagpal. With demand for fried fish in boneless and with-bone variety, people throng to even relish paneer tikkas, spicy fish curry, chicken tikka, butter chicken and chilly chicken. ‘Singhara’, ‘soul’, ‘ruay’ and ‘maasar’ are the fishes that are primarily used for cooking.

The prices of the boneless variety is more than the with-bone items. Boneless fried fish is priced for Rs 100 per 250 gm and Rs 80 with bone, while paneer tikka cost Rs 100 and egg pakoras, served with chaat masala and green chutney is Rs 6 per piece.

“Whenever, I come down from Chandigarh to Dehradun, I visit Taara Machi as I relish its fish tikkas and egg pakoras,” said Shivani, a housewife.

Eeven after so many years of serving quality delicacies, the family of Taara Singh Nagpal begins the day early in the morning.

The fish is especially ordered from Delhi and after being thoroughly cleaned, is marinated with salt and red masala and then fried with a paste of gram flour.

“My customers also enjoy vegetarian dishes at Taara Machi. We take extra precaution of hygiene and everything is cooked at home and served sizzling hot at our shop. My father taught me the nuances of good cooking and I have passed it on to my workers,” added an elated Gurwant.

Dehradun, September 27
6/8 Gorkha Rifle defeated Akranta by a solitary goal at the ongoing District Super League here today. 6/8 Gorkha Rifle displayed good coordination and ball control throughout the match and created many sharp moves to put their opponents’ defence under pressure.

They scored the only goal of the match in the sixth minute through Pradeep and pushed Akranta on the back foot right at the start.

In the 20th minute, they came close to scoring their second goal, but the shot by the 6/8 Gorkha Rifle player missed the bar by a whisker. Akranta team tried hard to score the equaliser but had no success.

In the second half, 6/8 Gorkha Rifle missed out on many scoring opportunities. At the end, it was 1-0 in 6/8 Gorkha Rifle’s favour.

In the second match, Doon Valley beat Garhwal Boys 1-0. In the first half, both teams struggled hard to score a goal, but failed.

In the second half, it was Doon Valley’s forward Nitin who found the net in the 65th minute to help his team win.

Dehradun, September 27
Aryan School won the overall trophy at the Open State Skating Competition held here today. Summer Valley won the best discipline trophy, whereas Yati Gupta won the best skaters ward.

Results: Road Race Inline Boys:

In 8-10 years: 1. Surya 2. Satyam 3. Abhishek

In 12-14 years:1. Harsh Bardhan 2. Harsh Rungta 3. Saurav Rungata

In 14+ years: 1. Akshay 2. Mayank

Road Race Quad Boys:

In 4 years: 1. Aman Pundir 2. Aditya Tiwari

In 4-6 years: 1. Diddhant

In 6-8 years: 1. Yash Jain 2. Kustubh Nautiyal 3. Sachet Rawat

In 8-10 years: 1. Abhishek Bhandari 2. Harsh Gupta 3. Snehashish Tiwari

In 10-12 years: 1. Eklaya Chawla 2. Saurav 3. Suryank Bansal

In 12-14 years: 1. Kshitiz Verma 2. Ashwin Raj 3. Anmuk Bawa

In 14+ years: 1. Sagar Sahni 2. Amitav Jha 3. Vaibhav Goyal

Road Race (Girls):

In 4 years: 1. Vanshika 2. Niyati 3. Baanee

In 4-6 years: 1. Samriddhi Tiwari 2. Sugandika

In 6-8 years: 1. Merian Kurian 2. Sugandika 3. Kaushki

In 8-10 years: 1. Priyakshi Thapa 2. Kim Richa 3. Arushi Borai

In 10-12 years: 1. Yati Gupta 2. Esha Nautiyal 3. Jaishmi Bhatia

In 12-14 years: 1. Mitali Handa 2. Shikha Goyal

In 14+ years: Manisha Gambhir

Rink Race Inline (Girls):

In 4-6: 1 Simridhi Tiwari

In 6-8 years: 1. Swasti

In 8-10 years: Priyakshi Thapa

In 10-12 years: 1. Yati Gupta 2. Samikash

In 12-14 years: 1. Arti Gupta

Rink Race Inline (Boys)

In 8-10 years: 1. Snehashish Tiwari 2. Aditya Thapa 3. Suraj Rana

In 10-12 years: 1. Pavitra Jain 2. Sourav 3. Asian

In 12-14 years: 1. Harsh Vardhan 2. Sourav Rungta 3. Harhs Rungta

In 14+ years: 1. Ashay 2. Amitav Jha 3. Mayank. — TNS