Dehradun, October 8
The blanket ban on quarrying seems to have set into motion a debate over its ill effects on the public. While there are many who may lose employment due to any more continuance of the ban, even general consumers will face problems due to soaring construction material prices.

Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL), a double Bench of the Nainital High Court, comprising Chief Justice VK Gupta and Justice VK Bisht, had some time earlier issued interim orders prohibiting quarrying of river beds in Dehradun district. Following this, quarrying was completely stopped.

The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) had contested the ban and sought a stay from the apex court.

Congress workers, who today held huge demonstrations at Kutchery, allege that the state government has failed to put up their case before the court leading to losses to the state’s exchequer.

Leading the protest, Dinesh Agarwal expressed concern over the indifferent attitude of the state government vis-à-vis the ban on quarrying.

“While the GMVN is acting as an individual contractor, the government is least concerned about the loss to the state exchequer,” Dinesh Agarwal, a Lakshman Chowk legislator, said. He sought the Governor’s intervention in the matter.

“We are submitting a memorandum to the Governor as the ban is turning to be a stumbling block to development activities while proving detrimental to the livelihood of many,” Agarwal held.

Interestingly, the petition that had led to the ban on quarrying had claimed that quarrying was disturbing the natural course of rivers in Dehradun. Hence, this practice must be stopped immediately.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, the High Court had then issued interim orders prohibiting quarrying in Dehradun till further orders.

At present, the quarrying of sand, stones etc was on at various rivers criss-crossing Dehradun including Doiwala, Saung, Dakpathar, Prem Nagar, Sahastradhara, Bajawala and Assan Barrage.

Both the GMVN and Uttarakhand Forest Corporation used to award quarrying contracts to private contractors.

Now, the court orders are being viewed as major setback to the GMVN as well as the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation because quarrying is major source of revenue for both departments.

According to the information available, the GMVN is authorised to award contracts for 83 quarrying lots in Dehradun whereas the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation is allowed to award the contacts of the quarrying lots that fall in the forest area.

From the revenue generated through the quarrying contracts, the GMVN deposited a royalty of Rs 54 crore to the state government last year. Out of this amount, the revenue of Rs 32.27 crore was generated from Dehradun alone.

The order of interim ban on quarrying in Dehradun has left builders and those dealing in real estate high and dry.

In wake of the court orders, construction material now needs to be brought from outside Dehradun which will lead to an increase in prices.

The locals will now have to depend on construction material from adjoining states like Uttar Pradesh and Himachal.

A majority of builders feel that this will upset their budget, as they will have to shell out more to purchase construction material from outside Dehradun.

“Besides commercial complexes, the construction of many apartments is currently under way in the city. The cost will obviously escalate if the material has to be purchased from markets other than Dehradun,” said Balbeer of Nanak Associates, a real estate consultant.

The Congress on its part has now decided to take up the issue more vigorously in the days to come.

“It is high time that the government takes up the issue more seriously or else the Congress will be taking to the streets soon,” Dinesh Aggarwal said.

It was on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Awadhash Kaushal in the 1980s that the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement banned lime quarries in and around Mussoorie hills that had severely damaged the flora and fauna there.

Haridwar, October 8
Utter chaos and opposition marked the stage performance of pop singer Daler Mehndi late last night in Haridwar. Infuriated by the chaos and unrest prevailing at the venue, the singer left the stage in anger and the show culminated in an unhappy ending.

Such was the commotion and atmosphere that police had to resort to lathi charge and face stone throwing too. People protested against the organisers for not catering to the common man while special preference was given to a certain segment of the pass-holders.

Many people were stopped from entering the venue for no reason, while lack of proper arrangements made the programme a mismanaged affair and chaotic one.

“This is ridiculous. Organisers should have made proper arrangements. We wanted to hear the singer, but what we got is blows from the police and apathy from the organisers,” said Parminder Singh, a Daler Mehndi fan from Dehradun.

While many sustained minor injuries, yet such was the atmosphere at the venue that Daler Mehndi cancelled his performance mid-way.

Spectators who had come to hear and see the singer thus had to left the venue in dismay, as the mob violence didn’t seem to stop.

Media photographers too had to face the brunt due to the violence between the crowd, organisers and the police. Many protested against the organisers for ill-treatment meted to them on grounds of not being associated as media partner with the event.

“I had come with my family, including my two young daughters, but we left as chairs were being thrown and lack of proper seating and security arrangements made it more unsafe,” said Ravindera Valia, a visitor.

Dehradun, October 8
There were no electronic music instruments except for the ordinary mikes. What the audience heard were undiluted qawwalis by Mohammed Ahmed Khan Warsi and his troupe who performed at the Jawaharlal Navodya Vidyalaya here today.

Mohammed Ahmed Warsi performs in Dehradun on Thursday. Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat

In keeping with the tradition of qawwali as laid down by Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti and Amir Khusru, the Warsi clan presented some ageless numbers like “Allah Hu” and “Phool Khile Bagiyan Mein”, classic compositions that have been passed down through generations of Sufi singers.

Mohammed Ahmed Khan Warsi and his father Abdul Shakur Khan Sahib explained the meaning of qawwali. “The word ‘qaul’ is an Arabic expression that is used to denote teachings of spiritual leaders and thinkers. It speaks the language of spirituality and oneness and the experience has to be savoured again and again,” Mohammed Ahmed Khan Warsi explained to his pupils.

The high point was the Warsi brothers’ speciality - “Chhap Tilak Sab Chheeni Re Mosey Naina Milaike” and “Dama Dam Mast Kalandar”, an example of the intermingling of bhajans and qawwali that are sung at temples even to this day.

The maestro, who was accompanied by his son Mohammed Waris Nawaz, said that qawwali went through difficult times when competitions were organised, but the people soon realised its limitations and that phase, luckily, did not last long.

“I am happy that the spiritual aspect of qawwali is once again gaining prominence,” Khan said.

He was never short of film offers that he received in abundance at the start of his career and still continues to get, but his only refrain is, “The impact of film songs is transitory while qawwali is the language of spirituality. I could not trade it for anything less.”

A hard taskmaster, Khan has tamed the exuberance and effervesce of his son, all of 19 years, into one of solid mastery of the craft.

“I belong to the old school. The Guru has to be accorded respect and a student has to keep his eyes and ears open to learn. The essence of Indian classical music cannot be grasped in a single day,” stressed Warsi.

A proud inheritor of classical traditions of the Rampur gharana, Mohammed Warsi Nawaz is learning tabla under the guidance of his gurus - Amjad Khan, his father Mohammed Ahmed Waris and Ustad Tariq Hussain Ali Khan of Pakistan.

“At my age, I need to learn each day and from different gurus. In keeping with the tradition of qawwali that is shared between Pakistan and India, I have gurus on both sides,” explained the young Warsi.

He had ample opportunity to show his talent playing “Dadra”, “Teen Taal” and “Ek Taal” when prompted by his guru and father.

Roorkee, October 8
The state police is better than its counterpart in Uttar Pradesh as far as the number of working out of crime cases has been concerned, said SSP (Haridwar) Sanjay Gunjyal.

Talking to The Tribune, Gunjyal said the state police took many crimes such as vehicle lifting and theft cases with utmost seriousness, which are being taken for granted by the police of the neighbouring state.

On being questioned on the involvement of Uttar Pradesh’s criminals in most of the crime scenario in Haridwar district, the SSP said this was certainly a big challenge for his force.

Only with better coordination, the problem could be overcome,” said Gunjyal, while adding that the police of both the states enjoy good coordination.

“We inform each other whenever we nab big criminals or bust any inter-state gangs. With the help of each other, many big cases have been worked out so far. Even we hold regular meetings with our counterparts to maintain better coordination,” said the SSP.

On being asked about the biggest challenge for the police during the forthcoming Maha Kumbh next year, the SSP said to minimise the criminal activities and to manage traffic menace would be the main challenges for the force.

“Though the Kumbh police would be there that time but we would have to be more prepared and alert to check everything for the smooth passing on of the mela,” added Gunjyal.

Expressing satisfaction over the preparations of the police, he said the police had so far done the verification of 13,500 persons there, while the target is 25,000. Besides, all other required arrangements are being put in place, he added.

“So far our police has been working very satisfactorily. The performance of the police depends on the work out of the crime cases. This year we have solved as many as 22 murder cases out of total 27 taken place in Haridwar district. I attribute this success to the efficient police system,” said Gunjyal.