Dehradun, December 24
The Kumbh issue today reverberated in the Uttarakhand assembly with Opposition legislators forcing an adjournment, accusing the ruling party of benefiting only those Kumbh Mela areas that fall in constituencies of BJP legislators.

Question hour, which began this morning with a query put forth by BSP MLA Surendra Rakesh over the Kumbh works done in Haridwar, resulted in uproarious scenes among both treasury beaches and the Opposition benches. The latter accused the ruling party of resorting to a step-motherly treatment of Opposition MLAs in the conduct of the Kumbh works.

Both Congress and BSP MLAs got infuriated when Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik, while replying to a query raised by his party Roorkee MLA Suresh Jain, announced to clear proposals worth Rs 15 crore for the Roorkee region on his recommendation. This irked Congress and BSP legislators who came into the well and expressed dismay over minister’s remark stating that he stood partisan to his party MLAs. This led to ruckus even as Kaushik tried to pacify the Opposition MLAs asserting that similar proposals had also been received from their constituencies.

But this did not stop the Opposition members. Thus forcing the Speaker to go for a 20-minute adjournment starting 11.40 am. At 12 noon, as the House reassembled, Speaker Harbans Kapoor directed the minister to conduct meetings with all MLAs, whose constituencies fell in the Kumbh Mela region for further works.

Earlier, Kaushik informed the House that as many as 273 constructions had come in the Kumbh Mela region, which included 204 constructions of permanent nature. He said as of today constructions of 76 works had already been completed while 90 per cent of other 83 works had also been done. Fortytwo works were expected to get completed during the course of the fair.

Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat said the ruling party was partisan in his approach vis-à-vis Kumbh works. He was joined by Congress legislator Pritam Singh who while taking strong note of minister’s statement also pointed out that certain works in Kumbh, that were certainly not of permanent nature, had been identified as permanent constructions.

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal legislator Om Gopal Rawat sought a fair share of development works in the part of the Narendra Nagar assembly segment falling in the Kumbh Mela region.

Interestingly, Kashipur BJP MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema argued that his constituency too should get some incentives as it was significantly contributing towards the conduct of the Kumbh works.

Haridwar, December 24
Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat has refuted the charges being levelled by Nishank-led state government of an indifferent attitude of the Centre towrds the Maha Kumbh, to be hosted by the state singlehandedly first time. He dismissed all accusations and claims made by the state government against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

Terming the accusations as an attempt to put veil over a lackadaisical handling of Kumbh works by the state government, Rawat said it was the misuse of the Maha Kumbh funds.

“The Central government is willing to give additional funding but first the state government finish the allocated Rs 400 crore. Barely a week has left for the commencement of the Maha Kumbh, yet more than Rs 150 crore of the allocated funds is to be spent,” said the Haridwar parliamentarian.

He was in the city in the wake of the Congress agitation in which its workers destroyed plaques of Kumbh projects in protest against non-inclusion of of Rawat’s name on them.

On this issue, Rawat said this was a blow by public on the working of the state administration. He had discussions with the state Urban Development Secretary over the matter.

The union minister also came in support of those people who had been displaced after the ongoing anti-encroachment drive being carried for making space for Kumbh. Addressing a huge rally of the displaced people, Rawat said the anti-encroachment drive was imperative for a successful completion of the Maha Kumbh, but added “rehabilitation or other options should be considered before displacing them”.

He stressed the need for looking broadly into the matter of rehabilitation of slums and unorganised colonies.

Meanwhile, Congress workers seem to be in no mood to relent on the issue of the non-inclusion of Rawat’s name on Kumbh plaques. They have warned that if on the New Year Eve the plaques don’t have their MP’s name then either they will again replicate the demolition act or will paint the plaques black.

“We had given the administration a deadline of 21 earlier and it saw what we could do. Now, once again we request them to rectify the mistake which they have done deliberately,” said Rajesh Rastogi, a spokesperson of the district Congress.

Dehradun, December 24
Famous author Ruskin Bond today released the new edition of Dietrich Brandis’ book “Indian Trees” which has been reprinted by Natraj Publishers.

Speaking on the occasion, nature lover Ruskin Bond said the demand from readers in a way led to it being reprinted. “The book has valuable information on trees, and pictures by Pradip Kishan are adding value to the book written by a legendary man,” said Bond.

Almost drawing attention away from himself and his years into writing, Bond good-humouredly remarked: “After coming to know about Brandis writing at a venerable age of 75, I think I need to start doing something”.

Bond has recently finished a script for “Seven Husbands” and is working on his new book “Five” while waiting for the release of a children’s book, “Mr Oliver’s Diary”, in January.

Guest of honour Dr RBS Rawat, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said Dietrich Brandis, a botanist who studied in Germany and France, was the first to coin the concept of sustainable forest management in the world. He laid the foundation of forest services in the country and was aware of the problem that pine needles could create in the forest in case of fire. “Brandis was the first to suggest demarcation of Reserve and Protected Forests and came up with the yield calculation instead of production,” said Rawat.

On the other hand, RD Jakati, Director, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) and Director General Forest Survey of India, said, “Dietrich Brandis, a forester, who came to India during the British Raj, was the Father of Tropical Forests. He theorised very early that sustainable forest activities with the participation of people would ensure a health forest cover. Increasing revenue of the country was last on his list. His contribution to India and the United States of America are immense,” said Jakati.

Earlier, Upendra Arora of Natraj Publishers said the book shop was opened on this day in 1965 and for the past several years they had endeavoured to bring quality books to the readers of Doon.

Dehradun, December 24
Uttarakhand Bhartiya Janata Party President Bisan Singh Chufal today formally took over as President at a function held at the Dehradun BJP office today.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, former Chief Minister BC Khanduri and other BJP legislators and office-bearers greeted Chufal on his new responsibility.

Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva formally accepted the resignation of Bisan Singh Chufal as Minister of Forest and Environment, Wildlife, Transport, Cooperatives, Protocol and Rural Engineering Services.

According to Chief Secretary NS Napalchayal, all portfolios previously held by Chufal will now be with the Chief Minister.

Dehradun, December 23
Members of the Uttarakhand unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxists) (CPM) staged a protest against the policies pursued by the state government.

Vijay Rawat, state secretary, CPM, alleged that the state government has failed to protect the interests of the common man and cannot deflect the blame on the Central government.

Rawat said that people in the hills were facing acute food shortage and the state government had failed to provide ration at cheaper rates to the poor in the hills. He charged that the poor, particularly those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, are facing acute difficulty in getting the caste and domicile certificates from the state government.

He demanded that the persons, who were residents of the state at the time of the formation of the new state on November 9, 2000, should be considered as the residents of the state.

Roorkee, December 24
The Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd is facing a catch-22 situation as far as recovery of pending power bills from the world renowned Peeran Kaliyar shrine here. The amount due is reportedly over Rs 80 lakh.

According to the UPCL Roorkee officials, the department was prepared to discontinue the electricity connection of the shrine recently, but had to withhold the action due to the intervention of the administration in the issue.

Talking to The Tribune, UPCL (R) Deputy General Manager Madhu Sudan Chandola said that the UPCL was asked by the administration officials to put the matter in abeyance due to religious sentiments.

According to the DGM, the administration had stated that the discontinuation of power supply to the shrine could provoke tension in the area.

Chandola also added that the authorities at the shrine have been paying the latest bills and the said amount was an arrear.

“Earlier, the shrine was used to be run by the district administration, then the Waqf Board took it over for some time. Now again, its affairs are being looked after by the district administration.

“So now, the bills will be realised after the government takes some step in the direction,” said Chandola adding that they have taken up the issue at the administration’s level.

Meanwhile, the UPCL has intensified its campaign against the defaulters in the area. Cutting off electricity connections of the Himalayan Guest House and Prashasnik Bhawan the other day just corroborated the fact. Notably, both bhawans are first choice of the VVIPs for their stay here.

“The amount of pending bills of these bhawans runs into lakhs. That’s why their connections have been discontinued,” said Chandola.

Dehradun, December 24
Volunteers of the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB), which was raised as a guerilla force following the India-China War in 1962 and are known as guerillas, started a dharna near the Uttarakhand state assembly here today to press for their demands.

These guerillas, who had staged dharnas at district headquarters as well as in New Delhi recently, began their agitation in the state capital to demand proper appointment and pension.

Speakers at the dharna alleged that they were given proper military training to ward off the Chinese military threat, but later were left to fend for themselves.

They claimed that a similar guerilla force raised in the North-East was later amalgamated into the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) and given permanent appointments, but sadly all those who worked for years in Uttarakhand were left in the lurch.

“While China has been strengthening its forces, the Indian government has weakened its second line of defence,” alleged Brahmanand Dalakoti, president of the Guerillas Kalyan Samiti.

Nainital, December 24
The district administration has decided to forward 60 applications for loans under the Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali Tourism Self-employment Scheme of the state government for 2009-10. A committee, headed by District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli, has scrutinised 76 applications and cleared 60 out of them for the scheme.

Fortythree of the ventures for which the clearance has been given pertain to running vehicles for tourists, 10 for setting up motels, two each for setting up tent colonies, restaurants and fast food centres and one for setting up a souvenir shop in the district.

The District Magistrate has asked the beneficiaries to make optimum use of the loans being given to them and to make sure that they repay the loans in time. He has also asked bank officials to process the loan applications of the selected beneficiaries on a priority basis.

The scheme has been in existence since 2002 and officials claim it has helped several young entrepreneurs to set up their own ventures.

However, sources say there are complaints of subsidies not being credited to the bank account of beneficiaries for as long as two years.

The Uttarakhand government last year decided to waive the stamp duty on loans taken under the scheme on the grounds that Uttarakhand had immense tourism potential and it wanted to be a facilitator in helping the locals tap that potential.

The scheme provides for loans up to Rs 10 lakh to set up ventures in the tourism sector.

Dehradun, December 24
The first batch of medical staff has begun arriving to take charge of the Maha Kumbh Mela medical infrastructure.

A total of four class-I medical officers, 30 MBBS doctors, 39 ayurvedic doctors are already deployed at the various hospitals. In addition, 12 class-I medical staff, 264 ordinary grade staff will reach by tomorrow along with nine sisters, 40 staff nurses, 65 pharmacists and 18 drivers.

Four lady doctors (specialists) are already deployed at the Community Health Centre, Jwalapur.

“Four ventilators have arrived to be assembled at the isolation wards created for swine flu treatment. The three mela hospitals including Mahila Chikitsalya and Rajkiya Hospital are now ready to deal with the Kumbh crowd,” said Dr Anil Sharma, Officer on Special Duty, Kumbh Mela. A sum of Rs 17 crore has been released under the health budget.

A burns unit with 30 beds has also been set up at the Rishikul Ayurvedic College. In addition, 200 indoor beds will be in a state of readiness in case of an emergency or break-out of water-borne diseases.

The Haridwar and Roorkee blood storage units will be able to provide 400-450 units of blood during the mela.

Special arrangements have also been made for the disposal of waste. “Wasteland near Chandipull, Rishikesh forest area and Jwalapur trenching ground will be used for disposing waste that will be generated during the mela,” said Dr Sharma.

A total of 132 female health workers, 70 male health workers and 157 pharmacists too will be taking charge soon.