Dehradun, December 7
Uttarakhand Food and Supplies Minister Diwakar Bhatt has demanded adequate supply of foodgrains for the state during the Maha Kumbh celebrations at Haridwar starting from January 2010.

Bhatt called upon Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi today and told him that during the previous Kumbh at Haridwar in 1998, the union government had allocated 18,588 metric tonnes of wheat, 7,197 metric tonnes of rice and 3,884 metric tonnes of sugar.

Bhatt said nearly three crore pilgrims had come for the last Kumbh at Haridwar, but this time nearly six crore pilgrims, including poor and downtrodden, are expected to arrive in the holy city by January 2010.

He further said the state government had to make food arrangements for such a large number of pilgrims and demanded that the union government should give additional 21,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 8,000 metric tonnes of rice and 4,000 metric tonnes of sugar at Below Poverty Line (BPL) rate to the Kumbh Mela administration.

The minister also demanded enhancement of the quota of foodgrains for the state. As per a state government press statement, Bhatt pointed that the quota for the state had been fixed as per the population figures of the year 2000. He demanded that quota be increased as per the current ground level population in the state. Pawar assured him that he would look into the matter.

The Madrasi dosawala at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Dehradun, December 7
For the past 25 years, Madrasi Dosa Hut located in the corner of the Parade Ground, a centrally located destination of Dehradun, has been attracting South Indian food lovers from various parts of the city.

This mini street vendor is considered to be one of the best places to savour southern delicacies. Kaderesan, owner of the stall, along with his team from Madras, has been skilfully preparing items, which are served all seven days between 4 pm to 10 pm.

The authentic taste of food melts in the mouth and along with the famous masala dosas, there are fluffy rice idlis and daal vadas, which are perfectly complimented with hot sambar, coconut and tomato chutney. “We are originally from Madras and for the past 25 years are making these items which are relished by one and all,” informed elated Muthu Kumar, cook and assistant at Madrasi Dosa Hut.

However, while South Indian joints are very few in the city and a little expensive on the pocket, Madrasi Dosa Hut fits the budget of everyone (Rs 20 a plate) and can be frequently visited. Some prefer to stand and eat, others from far-off locations drive down in the car and relish their favourite items in the company of their loved ones.

“I think Madrasi Dosa Hut is one of the best places to eat South Indian dishes and in spite of being located along the roadside, this stall over the years has maintained quality,” said Sunita, a South Indian food lover.

To maintain the standard and authentic taste of food, the mixture of dosa, idlis, vadas, chutneys and sambhar are first prepared at home and then garnished and presented to the customers. Within minutes, the mixture of dosa is expertly spread on the hot pan and made mouth-watering with an aloo and onion masala. “In one go, I make almost four dosas and serve these with tangy sambhar and chutneys, which are cooked with special South Indian ingredients.

Haridwar, December 7
After getting flak from the Chief Minister and the Governor, now workers involved in the cleaning and sanitation work in Kumbh-related works have started voicing their problems and warned of stalling work by going on strike if their demands are not met.Hundreds of workers, under the aegis of the Uttaranchal Pradesh Safai Mazdoor Sangh, poured onto the streets today raising slogans against the mela administration and Mela Health Officer Prem Lal.

 Their main demands are hike in their wages, remuneration and provision of better food and lodging facilities.

City Head Rati Ram Vaid said the union had earlier too apprised the mela administration of their problems on the 7th of last month, but till date no steps had been taken.

“Our prominent demands include fixing of Rs 200 minimum wage per day, a specific uniform and identity card for differentiation of mela workers, additional weekly payment with ban on opening of bank accounts, preparation of a master list of all enrolled mela workers who are viable considering the work they are doing and will do when crores of people will throng Haridwar,” said Vaid.

“We are also demanding lodging and food facilities for outstation state workers and special medical care facilities for them too,” added general secretary of the union Sanjay Paliwal.

The union is also demanding working and safety equipments like masks, gloves, safety boots, towels and other things required for the purpose.

The Mela Health Officer informed that those demands which were related to health would be immediately dealt with by him, while those which were at the administrative level would be met by the authority concerned. He also urged protestors not to take an agitational route as Kumbh was nearing and for its successful completion it was imperative that all worked in mutual coordination.

The workers also demanded an instant grant of Rs 5 lakh for a sanitary worker involved in Kumbh works. Rajpal had died due to intense cold and lack of food. “Rajpal is an example of the apathy of the mela administration towards us. He has two daughters who have no one to look after them. While crores of the budget are allotted for the Kumbh, we are meted out second-hand treatment. Is this due to out work or our caste?” questioned Chetan Das Dhumra, secretary, state organisation of the union.

These workers play a pivotal role during the Kumbh as daily lakhs throng the city and during the holy baths the number touches whopping crores. With the municipal committee falling short of sanitary workers, the mela administration specifically hires them in thousands for the Maha Kumbh. 

Dehradun, December 7
Hundreds of protesters from different districts under the Sunyukt Karamchari Mahasangh, Uttaranchal, held a protest in the city today in favour of their long pending demands.The protesters, who were in a large number gathered outside the Municipal Corporation and raising slogans against the administration, marched through Clock Tower to the secretariat.

 They submitted a four-point memorandum to the state chief secretary. The rally was held under the leadership of mahasangh state president Shaishnath Yadav and general secretary Babu Khan.

Addressing the rally, the general secretary said in the PWD and in Irrigation Department the consolidated salary of the employees had’nt been fixed. And due to this the employees were not getting the benefit of the Sixth Pay Commission.

House rent allowance, hill development allowance and yearly salary hike allowance were not given to the employees. Alleging the government of not sticking to their promises, Khan said the mahasangh was promised on January 1, 2006, that all its employees would be made regular, but it was yet to see the light of the day. He voiced that the mahasangh wouldn’t accept this at any cost and would fight for protecting the rights of the employees.

Mahasangh demanded that the employees should be given full allowances, which were promised to them. They also demanded that the employees besides being made regular should also be given the benefits of pension. Work charge employees should be paid 50 per cent dear allowance like the regular ones and in a meeting with the general secretary it should be decided to make these employees regular.

Dehradun, December 7
Shoppers at the city’s busy markets can heave a sigh of relief from the problem of encroachments as for at least a few days the police will be tightening its noose on the encroachments made by shopkeepers.

The police removed the encroachments made in front of shops on the Dispensary Road today. It also issued challans to six of the offenders during its drive. However, a few of the shopowners were seen encroaching again after the police left the Paltan Bazaar.

“We have issued four to six challans and fully removed encroachment from the Dispensary Road and Paltan Bazaar. We will launch our drive in full swing after the passing-out parade of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on December 12,” Jagat Ram Joshi, city Superintendent of Police. 

Dehradun, December 7
The health authorities today confirmed the deaths of two patients from influenza A, the toll has risen to eight in the state. One of the dead hailed from Dehradun and the other from Udham Singh Nagar.

Confirming the death, Dr Pankaj Jain, Nodal Officer, IDSP, said the confirmatory reports of the patients were received today. “We had taken the samples of 12-year-old Shalu, who first came to the Doon Hospital on December 4. She died the same day.

Similarly, 40-year-old Paramjeet Kaur of Udham Singh Nagar was admitted at a private hospital and her samples were taken on December 3. She too died the same time. But the confirmatory positive reports were received today,” said Dr Jain.

He said another patient, who came from Paonta Sahib for testing at Doon Hosptial, was referred to Delhi. He died on his way and had tested positive. “He was referred to a higher centre and belonged to Himachal Pradesh,” said Dr Jain.

Meanwhile, 13 more persons have tested positive for H1N1 virus, eight belong to Dehradun, four from Pitthoragarh and one from Udham Singh Nagar taking the total number of positive cases to 112 in the state.

Dehradun has the maximum number of positive cases at 80. Haridwar has 22 and Udham Singh Nagar three.

Four more samples displaying symptoms of H1N1 were taken from Dehradun and Rishikesh. A woman from Rishikesh has been referred to the higher centre for treatment. She is in a serious condition.

Nainital, December 7
Bowing to the pressure exerted by Hindutva organisations, the district administration has attached the tehsildar at Haldwani to the district headquarters.

The decision came after the organisations raised a ruckus on his having given the Ramlila ground at Haldwani for marriage purpose to a person from the Muslim community.

District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli, while confirming the attachment of tehsildar Sunder Singh said, “It was found that the matter at the hands was sensitive in nature and Sunday being December 6 (the anniversary of the Babri Mosque demolition) there was all more need to be cautious.

In addition to this, there was also violation of by-laws pertaining to the Ramlila Maidan”.

Haldwani had witnessed unsavoury scenes on Sunday night as people from the Hindutva organisations protested against the decision of the tehsildar to give the ground for marriage purpose to a Muslim. The tehsildar was the official receiver on behalf of the Ramlila Committee, which governs the Ramlila Maidan.

The agitators had resorted to gherao the Kotwali police station and marched to the residence of the city Magistrate seeking action against the tehsildar.

However, the decision of his attachment has been accepted by people with a pinch of salt. “If he was at a fault on technical grounds, the administration must take action. But from the face of it, it appears

that the administration has merely bowed to the pressure of groups that are out to foment trouble and make a dent in the social fabric,” said an official, adding that senior leaders of the ruling party had joined in with the demand for action against the tehsildar.

Another official pointed out that these very organisations that protested merely on the grounds that the venue had been given to a person from a minority community had no objections when melas, featuring bawdy dances, were organised at the same venue.

Dehradun, December 7
Agitated and neglected members of the Uttranchal Matri Shishu Awam Privar Kalyan Mahila Karamchari Association, district branch Chamoli, held a protest at the Gandhi Park here today.

Besides criticising the state government’s relaxed approach towards the employees of the association and increment in their wages, the members also discussed issues that have to be dealt by the state government.

The association also accused the government of using funds of the organisation on its own. The agitators have come down from Chamoli to meet Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, but have been penalised under Article 144, IPC, for protesting in front of the CM’s house.

The local police shooed them away to the Gandhi Park. The frantic members shouted slogans and put forth the problems faced by mahila karamcharis and the repercussions in their families.

Addressing the gathering, Ganeshi Negi, state president of the association, said, “The government had promised us assistance, but nothing has been materialised yet. “We are given vaccination kits weighing 10 kg to be carried on our own in hilly areas and none of us has been given appraisal or increase in the pay for the past three-four years”.

“We have gathered here so that together we can add weight to the memorandums sent to the state government regarding the issues. Our frustration as well as infuriation has made us gather and protest against the Chief Minister. We demand that the government support us with hike in wages and posts we are designated for,” she added.

Other people present at the dharna were Damyanti Negi, patron of the association, Kalavati Goswami, state general secretary, Vimla Sharma, district president, and other members of of the association.

Dehradun, December 7
For the application of remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), Ground Positioning System (GPS) techniques in the Agriculture and Horticulture Department, a three-day-long training workshop for officials under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Space Application Centre began here today.

The workshop was addressed by Director of the centre Dr MM Kimothi, who at length discussed the nuisances of remote sensing, GIS and GPS. Officials from departments like Peyjal, Swajal, Watershed Management, Forest Department, Watershed Management, Bhagirathi River Development Authority and River Valley Projects and others engaged in water resource planning and management in various districts benefited in the company of senior scientists and experts in the fields of water resource management, remote sensing, GIS and GPS.

Where agriculture and horticulture play a crucial role in development of the state, the informative and time saving techniques of remote sensing, GIS and GPS will give a better picture of the ongoing crisis, analysis of fruits species, as well as facilitate growth in the remote and nascent areas of the state.

However, the main idea behind organising the workshop is to disseminate information far and wide with support of various organisations. Dr Khimothi in the company of present guest and officials was of the opinion that positive outcome was only possible with cooperation and support of various organisations. He also informed the gathering about various activates undertaken by the centre in the state perspective with active technical support of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He opined out that the user line departments should adopt a scientific approach in implementation of their programmes so that common man can reap the benefit.

Roorkee, December 7
After getting a good price from the state government for their produce, cane growers are expecting a price war among sugar mills here. The local sugar mills will find it tough to get the cane crop in the coming days as most of the farmers have already sold their produce to cane crushers.

Gulshan Rod, national president of the Uttarakhand Kisan Morcha, said the mills would face a shortage of cane this season which would lead to a price war among them. There are a total of 10 sugar mills. Of these four are privately owned while the rest are government mills. Most of the mills started their operations last week while the crushers have been purchasing the crop for one month now. The other reason for a likely price war is that the crusher owners are offering much higher price than what is offered by the mills and they also give the payment in cash. At present, the rates of the crop vary from Rs 225 to 240 at the crushers while the mills are paying Rs 215-220 as per a compromise reached with farmer orgainsations.

The state has announced Rs 192-197 as maximum state advised price (SAP) for sugar cane. Farmer leaders claimed this season the yield of cane had dipped by 20 per cent compared to last year’s yield due to shrinking of the cane belt in the area. “The farmers are fed up with the problems being faced by them right from selling the crop to getting the payments every year,” said Padam Singh Rod, state vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (T). Meanwhile, the farmers welcomed the announcement of Rs 192-197 as SAP by the state government and expressed satisfaction over the rate. “Though our demand was minimum Rs 250 per quintal, the rate announced by the state is OK. We will get over Rs 250 per quintal as soon as the price war, would start,” said Rakesh Aggarwal, UKM national general secretary.

Nainital, December 7
A 17-year-old youth was killed when a security personnel’s gun went off accidentally at a factory in Rudrapur. Three others were injured in the incident.

According to the information available, the security guard at a private factory had gone out to purchase medicines from a medical store after handing over his gun to one of the factory workers. The gun went off while the latter started fiddling with it. The bullet hit 17-year-old Bhura who worked at an eating joint opposite the security picket killing him instantly. Three others sustained minor injuries from the pellets.