Nainital, November 12
Three-day Uttarakhand Science Congress concluded at the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology today amid a call to young scientists to make Uttarakhand self-reliant in agriculture.

Dr Girijesh Pant, Vice-Chancellor, Doon University, while delivering his valedictory address, said: “Young scientists and researchers should develop and pursue technologies, which could make Uttarakhand self-reliant in agriculture sector”.

After deliberations, the congress concluded that intellectual property rights (IPR) play a significant role in protecting the rights of farmers and scientists and bear relevance because the rich plant biodiversity in Uttarakhand represents a large gene pool resource of agricultural importance, which can be utilised in biomedical science to develop high-yielding varieties of crops in terms of yield, nutrition and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Biotechnology has the potential to explore the plants of Uttarakhand hills for development of pharmaceuticals in numerous ways. A case in point is the DNA finger-printing technology, which can be utilised to identify the rich biodiversity of the state and assess its commercial viability, experts said.

Dr Rajendra Dobhal, Director, Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), said plants were not only a source of food, but also a valuable source of medicine. There were a large number of plant species, which had been catalogued but had not been exploited for medicinal purposes.

Ishan Dhulia, a research scholar from the Sardar Bhagwan Singh PG Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, showed in his research finding that neem trees in Uttarakhand had high content of azhadirachtin compound, which was used in making quality bio-pesticide.

Experts advocated that reproducible results could be achieved by following good laboratory practices (GLP), which also include standard operating procedures (SOPs) in instrumentation, reporting and archiving. A total of 13 presentations on agriculture science, under the chairmanship of Dr Zakwan Ahmed, recommended that sprinkler and drip irrigation should be used for efficient water use. The presenters also underlined that integrated nutrient management and organic farming should be promoted

It was recommended that researchers should be careful about taxonomic nomenclature of any new flora or fauna reported from the region and more studies should be undertaken on biodiversity conservation.

The participants recommended that water resource groups should be set up at the state level involving agencies from the central and state government with the aim to preparing a water-resource map for the state. 

Roorkee, November 12
To lodge their protest against Centre’s policy on sugarcane, a large number of farmers blocked rail traffic at the Iqbalpur station, around 15 km from here, this morning.

Though it was a symbolic protest, which lasted for hardly five minutes, senior district officials rushed to the spot to pacify the agitating farmers.

On a call of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, hundreds of farmers started gathering at the railway station around 10.30 am.

Immediately, senior district officials, including SDM Harish C Kandwal, SP (Rural) Ajay Joshi and Shahid Hasan, Tehsildar (Roorkee), reached the spot where the farmers had held up the Delhi-Dehradun Shatabdi train. The train was stopped there for five minutes as farmer leaders agreed to lift the blockade soon on the intervention of the senior officials.

Talking to The Tribune, Rakesh Aggarwal, national general secretary of the Uttarakhand Kisan Morcha, said: “Today, we lodged a symbolic protest, but tomorrow the stir would be intensified. To wake up the Union Government towards the problems of farmers, the highways and train routes would be blocked in the region tomorrow”.

The other farmer leaders present on the spot were Rao Irshad, state president, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ambawat), and Gulshan Rod (UKM). 

Nainital, November 12
The Haldwani bandh call given by various organisations demanding an early mining on the Gaula riverbed evoked a mixed response today. While markets remained shut for a portion of the day, schools, offices and banks functioned normally throughout the day. No untoward incident was reported till the filing of this report.

Over the past few days, various organisations representing people involved in mining and stone crushing operations on the banks of the Gaula river have been building pressure on the state government to persuade the central government to allow the mining operations to start again. According to president of the Gaula Khanan Samiti: “The lease for mining at the river bank was over in July, 2009, but the state government has done nothing to get the mining activity started again.” The central government had sought a report from the state government on various norms related to the protection of wildlife and pollution control so that the lease for mining could be given again. However, the smaiti chief claimed despite the claims of various state government officials that surveys have been done and reports have been sent, nothing has happened till now.

“There are lakhs of people affected by this delay as mining and stone crushing normally starts from October 1 after the monsoon. This activity not only provides livelihood to thousands of people living in Uttarakhand but is also a major source of revenue for the state.

The mined material is exported to the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. It is just a lack of coordination between the BJP government in the state and the Congress government at the Centre which has made things very difficult for people involved in this activity,” he added.

Those affected by the delay in mining include labourers, transporters and people involved in stone crushing. A large number of them are reportedly making efforts to migrate to the Behat area of Saharanpur district so that they may carry out the mining on the banks of the Yamuna over there. The agitators have called for a bandh in Lal Kuan on Friday. 

Nainital, November 12
Members of the Hydro Electric Employees Union, Uttarakhand, an affiliate of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), have threatened to launch an agitation if the demands raised by it are not met by the state government at the earliest.

The union came out with a demand charter after two-day deliberations here.

Talking to The Tribune, union president Ashok Tandon said, “We deliberated at length on various issues concerning the employees over the past two days. We want the government to address the genuine concerns of the employees at the earliest failing which we will be left with no alternative but to launch an agitation.”

One of the main demands highlighted by the union is that, at least, one ward of every retiring employee should be given an employment opportunity in one of the three power corporations in the state.

Another important issue raised by them was that the work on Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati projects, which has been lying suspended for more than one year, be started at the earliest. The work was stalled two projects after an agitation by noted environmentalist Professor GD Aggarwal who was demanding an unbridled flow of the Ganga up to Uttarkashi. Subsequently, the work on Lohari Nagpala project was also stalled. The demand charter says that it is pertinent to start work on these projects immediately as the demand and consumption of power in the state is going up every day.

The union as also demanded that services of part time sweepers be regularised and they should be given wages to the tune of Rs 10,000 per month. It has sought that disability pension, along with the regular pension, be given to retired employees who are disabled.

The union has demanded a complete rationalisation of allowances paid to its employees and has called for removal of disparities in salaries related to various grades of employees.

Nainital, November 12
District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has asked the managements of two local hospitals to incur expenses in accordance with the budgetary approval made for them. Speaking at a meeting of the management committees of BD Pandey and GB Pant Hospitals at Bhawali today, he underlined that in future any proposal coming up for clearance should also specify the purpose for which the money is to be spent.

He also ordered that tenders for providing food to patients at both male and female wings of BD Pandey Hospital be called for simultaneously as this would save money and help in maintaining the quality of service.

Bagauli expressed unhappiness at the slow pace of work for renovating GB Pant Hospital. He said a committee comprising engineers from the Lake Development Authority (LDA), Power Corporation and Public Works Department (PWD) would be constituted to look into the matter.

Local legislator Kharak Singh Bora pointed out that there was no dearth of space in BD Pandey Hospital, but there was a need to manage the available space in a proper manner.

He also underlined the need to make regular payments to the contractor providing food to the patients so that there is no disruption in the service and the patients are not put to any kind of hardship. The legislator said if any expense exceeded the budgetary provision, prior permission for it must be taken from the president of the management committee.

Dehradun, November 12
A seminar and certification workshop titled “Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success” will be held at Hotel Madhuban on Friday and Saturday.

Addressing a press conference here today, Rashmi Wadhwa of the Forum for Emotional Intelligence Learning (FEIL) said a renowned psychologist from Texas University Dr Nelson Darwin would preside over the panel discussion followed by a discussion and paper presentation on November 15.

Emotional intelligence is the key word to success in personal and professional life and FEIL is formed for liberating human potential for a better tomorrow, said Wadhwa.

The panelists who will be present, along with Dr Nelson Darwin, include HPCL CEO and MD Arun Balkrishnan, IG (BSF) Manoj Chabbra, UCOST director Dr Rajendra Dobhal and others.

The workshop hopes to introduce professional and academicians to emotional intelligence and its impact on work and academic performance help understand basics on the neuroscience of learning.

Students, managers and HR professionals are expected to get benefit from the workshop. 

Dehradun, November 12
With an aim at further expanding its base in Uttarakhand, the BJP has inducted 4.5 lakh new members, including women and Dalits.

Announcing this at a press conference at state BJP headquarters, party state president Bisan Singh Chufal said today with an aim at strengthening the party in the state as many as 4.5 lakh new members had been inducted into the party fold.

He categorically held that 30 per cent of these were women while 18 per cent were from the Scheduled Castes.

Referring to the organisation elections with conclusion of membership campaign, he said the elections for local committees would over by November 22 while the party’s mandal-level elections would take place between November 23 to 30 and district elections further would be held from December 1 to 10.

Responding to queries, Chufal admitting that while former Chief Minister BC Khanduri’s Garhwal and Kumaon tour was his personal, there were unwritten protocol for the legislator to accompany senior party leaders whenever they visit their constituencies.

“It has been for the first time that the State Foundation Day has been celebrated at Nyaya Panchayat level,” he observed. 

Roorkee, November 12
On the ninth anniversary of the state’s foundation, members of the Uttarakhand Rajya Andolankari Sangharsh Samiti (URASS) remembered those agitators who had laid down their lives to get a separate state carved out of UP.

“Firstly, we remember 37 revolutionaries, who had made supreme sacrifice for the birth of the state. It was due to hard efforts and sacrifices of several students, women and revolutionaries that our state came into being,” said Harsh Parkash Kala, president, URASS, during a function to mark Foundation Day of the state at Late Neema Devi Kala Samriti High School here.

He expressed disappointment over an indifferent attitude of the state government towards the families of the statehood martyrs.

“Most of the families of those revolutionaries have been leading their lives in poverty. The government should identify such the families and support them,” said Kala.

In her address, Kamla Bamola, head of Shafipur village, said: “The development of the state should take place according to the dreams of the revolutionaries,” said Bamola.

The function culminated with a cultural show presented by students of the school.