Nainital, January 19
Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank-led BJP government in the state has come in for flak on its handling of the power situation.

Both at the political as well as public level, the government is being criticised for propagating on the one hand that it intends to make Uttarakhand an “urja pradesh” (power surplus state) and on the other hand failing to provide uninterrupted power supply.

In the Kumaon region, which has been reeling under severe power cuts for the past several days, the government is not only facing the ire on the issue of supply, but also on its attempt to privatise the power setup in the industrial hub of Rudrapur.

The move has met with a stiff resistance from the Congress. To add to the woes of the people, the government has now come out with a scheduled charter of power cuts, which it intends to apply from January 21. In all, the power issue is all set to snowball into a major political issue in the days to come.

On the issue of the privatisation of the power setup, Rudrapur and its adjoining areas have been witnessing a turmoil over the past several days.

After a bandh last week, agitators reportedly took out a mock funeral procession of the Chief Minister in the town yesterday.

Talking to The Tribune, senior Congress leader and legislator from the area Tilak Raj Behad said: “Our contention is that why cannot the government put its house in order instead of offering everything to private players on a platter?

“It is a very small state and if even this cannot be managed by the government, then nothing leaves to be said about their performance. It is a well-known fact that the private parties will harass people by using its muscle and other powers”.

A very defensive BJP in the area has been trying to counter the Congress agitation through protests against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for failing to rein in the spiralling inflation. The ruling party, too, has been burning the effigies of the Centre.

Haldwani witnessed yet another protest in the form of locking up of the office of the Executive Engineer responsible for power distribution.

This time the protesters were activists of the student wing of the Congress, the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Earlier, it had been the traders who had protested against the power cuts last week. The agitators said everyone was suffering on account of the failure of the government to provide an uninterrupted power supply.

While the students are unable to study, the business establishments are incurring heavy losses.

On the issue of the government coming out with a schedule for power cuts, Congress leader BS Bhakuni said: “There is not an acute power crisis but gross mismanagement on the part of the government. How can they claim to be an “urja pradesh” in the future if the prevailing situation is exactly the opposite?”

Dehradun, January 19
The Haemophilia Federation (India) (HFI) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have come together with a vision to transform lives of children with heamophilia through education. Hemophiliacs Education and Transformation (HEAT), a project funded by the ONGC and implemented by the HFI has been formally launched. It will benefit 1,000 children with heamophilia in its first year of operations.

Chief Corporate Social Responsibility, ONGC, AB Chakraborty signed a formal memorandum of understanding with Wg Cdr SS Roychoudhury (retd), Chief Executive Officer, HFI, yesterday. Eminent film personality Shatrughan Sinha, MP and former Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, inaugurated the function in New Delhi.

Under HEAT, the NGO will identify 1,000 children with heamophilia from across the country in schools, between five and 18 years of age, and living below the poverty line. Further, the HFI will also ensure a regular project reporting after the project is successfully implemented. The ONGC will support the project financially for one year and plans to extend it further depending on its educational and transformational impact.

“The ONGC support is a milestone in the history of children with heamophilia in the country. With this, they will be able to dream and see a silver lining in their hitherto-dark horizons. The HFI is determined to execute the project successfully and educate even more children in the following years,” said a hopeful Dr Suresh Hanagavadi, president, HFI, while briefing about HEAT, one of HFI’s first of its kind projects. Dr Renu Saxena, Professor and Head of the Department of Haematology, AIIMS, New Delhi, conducted an interactive session with the audience.

Dehradun, January 19
The proposed decision of the Central government to withdraw the deemed-university status from 44 universities in the country, including three such universities from Uttarakhand, has brought despair and disappointment to the affected students of these institutions. There was violence also at Gurukul Kangri University by students in Haridwar. The students damaged the car of the Vice-Chancellor and other equipment of the university. A case was registered against the students and some of them were also rounded up.

Graphic Era, along with two other universities of Uttrakhand namely the Himalayan Institute of Hospital Trust and Gurukul Kangri, are under surveillance of the Supreme Court. The Centre alleged these universities of being run on the family domain but not on the grounds of academics.

Late night on Monday, perturbed students gathered outside the college campus as the news was flashed on the national television. Many students also felt being cheated by the institute. Not only students but also their parents are in the state of dilemma. The entire Graphicians are perplexed till the final verdict from the Supreme Court is delivered.

Seema Pun, mother of a student of Graphic Era, was quite upset with the episode. She said: “My daughter is quite in a state of shock and apparently worried about her future. The mansion look like infrastructure and the recognition of being a deemed university lured us and many other student to seek admission at Graphic Era, but the situation is quite disgraceful.”

Another student, Megha Bhatnagar of MCA who hails from Haridwar, was quite apprehensive while revising her lessons in the morning, whether the examinations would take place or not. She was also vexed about her career prospects if the institute loses its recognition as a deemed university.

“Graphic Era University declared as Deemed University U/S 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, vide Notification F.9-48/2007-U.3 (A) dated August 14, 2008, and approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The affidavit filed by the HRD to the Supreme Court would be in our favour as it is a matter of concern of thousands of students of the institute,” said MP Singh, Chief Proctor of Graphic Era.

“The UGC has also visited our campus about three months ago for inspecting the regularisation of the college activities fulfilling the requirements of a university. Our institution has proven the excellence in engineering sciences and management studies for the past about nine years. Everything inside the college campus is normal as well as exams are running smoothly. Our students got placements with India’s finest companies in the past. This episode will not bar companies from approaching us for the campus selection,” added Singh.

Graphic Era University was earlier known as the Graphic Era Institute of Technology. The college had a humble beginning in 1993 as Graphic Era Computer Centre, by Kamal Ghanshala, Chairman of the Institute. The institute started offering technical courses from 1998 and engineering courses in computer science, IT, electronics and communication from 2001. The institute now offers professional programmes at undergraduate and post-graduate levels in engineering, management, computer application and hotel management and is a centre for research specialised studies in plethora.

Meanwhile, members of the National Student’s Union of India, DAV College, held a meeting on college campus. Pankaj Singh Chhetri, former national president, training cell of the union, said the future of the students in Uttrakhand was quite bleak. 

Dehradun, January 19
Time has delivered some respite to students of IMS, Dehradun, from the baffling dilemma of sailing through the recruitment process to be held at their college as big fat companies like ICICI Lombard, Matrix Cellular International, Infosys, Reliance, Eli Lilly, Smart Data and Ranbaxy Laboratory will come to select feasible amount of students during campus placements. The faculty and members of the placement cell are expecting as well as trying to achieve the target of attaining 100 per cent, as last year 80 per cent students got appointed in the topmost Indian firms.

The IMS is among the prestigious colleges in the country, which has first-rate infrastructure, fastidious faculty and optimum placement records in the past. The college has a lot many branches all over the world. The fully equipped and technically-aided institution has many advanced level courses to offer.

“With the stability in the international market, it is assumed that the above-mentioned companies will select the majority of IMSians during the campus selection. We conduct three rounds comprising presentation, group discussion followed by a personal interview,” said Vaibhav Pawar, member of the placement cell, IMS, Dehradun.

PK Aggarwal, Principal of the institute, expressed heartfelt congratulations to the students who got selected in the first round of placements. He said the college always strove to provide valuable knowledge and would render qualitative education in the next so many years to come. He encouraged the rest who could not get through to the selection criteria. 

Dehradun, January 19
Perturbed with the polluted condition of the Suswa river, the Uttarakhand Human Resource and Economic Management Development Foundation (UHREMD) conducted a street play at the Gandhi Park here yesterday. However, asserting their demands loud and clear, the members took out a rally also.

Tonnes of garbage of the city is thrown in the Bindal and Rispana rivers which automatically gets accumulated in the Suswa river causing endless problems to the nearby inhabitants. “From household garbage, endless polythenes to hospital waste is thrown into the river, severely effecting the lives of people and animals who are living in Dudli, Nagal Jawalapur, Daudwaala, Badkali, Khaatapani and other closeby areas,” informed Jitendra Mohan Sharma, founder President, UHREMD.

However, to inform masses about the repercussions of this menace, a captivating street play was performed so that through the means of entertainment people get a thought-provoking message. A memorandum of demands was given to the District Magistrate. Along with a demand for sewage treatment plant, ban on plastic bags, facility of safe water for animals at Raja Ji National park, Municipal Corporation’s support, the members demanded to initiate a drive at the Suswa river.

“We are running a Jan-Jagran drive and through the means of street plays and rallies our aim is to exhibit the grave issues of society in front of general masses as well government authorities,” added Jitendra. 

Dehradun, January 19
Puran Singh Rana, president of the Shiksha Acharya/Anudeshak/Swayum Sewak Sangathan, Uttrakhand, who climbed up a Doordarshan transmission tower to press the state government to accept the demands of the ad hoc teachers, continued to be up the 60-metre-tall tower.

A large number of teachers were also present near the tower in his support.

Rana, who had climbed up the tower also in November 2009, is already booked under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. He was on bail and had staged a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha to put forth the association’s demands. He took blankets, dry fruits, mobile phone and three batteries of the mobile phone as back up along with him on the tower.

Rana, who was connected to the media through the mobile phone, said: “We had been on a dharna for the past 718 days in front of the Vidhan Sabha, but nobody listened to our demands despite several promises”.

Dehradun, January 19
Using smart water management and plantation techniques, farmers in Uttarakhand have taken to the system of crop intensification (SCI) in a big way. The technology not only addresses food security, but also can considerably arrest water scarcity.

As many as 14 farmers were felicitated by the People’s Science Institute (PSI) today for adopting crop-intensification technique at a state-level workshop on Upscaling System of Crop Intensification (SCI) for achieving food and livelihood security organised by the PSI.

Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh Rawat said that food security and livelihood issues pose an immense challenge as the fertility of the soil was decreasing in the state.

“Innovative methodologies like the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and SCI need to be promoted to tackle food security issues. In Pauri, 30,000 hectares have been left barren over the years,” said Rawat.

He said that the state would soon come out with an agriculture policy to tackle these issues.

Explaining the concept of SRI, Dr Ravi Chopra, Director, PSI, said, “It is an off-shoot of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology. SCI is proving a boon to mountain farmers and needs to be promoted in a big way by the state government,” said Dr Ravi Chopra.

He said that though the practice is still in its infancy, it should be spread all across Uttarakhand. “Orissa and Tamil Nadu are leaders in the country as huge subsidy is being offered by their governments. I call upon the Uttarakhand government to do the same,” said Dr Chopra.

So far, the institute has trained more than 25,000 farmers in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh after identifying the SRI as a potential method of achieving food and livelihood security and then extending the technique to other foodgrains like wheat, maize, finger millet and ‘rajma’.

The SRI-crop area not only saw a 92 per cent yield, but in 2009, a drought year, the performance too was superior.

Meena Jagwar, a farmer from Rudraprayag, is growing rice and wheat in her fields. “I am getting good yields. This year, I have included wheat. I have seen several farms losing their fertility due to the use of chemical fertilisers, but I only use organic manure,” said Meena.

Similarly, Prakash Chand of Kapkote village in Bageshwar has adopted the SCI for growing rajmah (kidney beans) along with other foodgrains.

Poonam Gaur of Kapkote village and Chandan Singh too were happy with the results of SCI. All these farmers were felicitated today by the PSI.

Dehradun, January 19
States of Orissa and Tamil Nadu have become leaders in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology. While the methodology failed to take off in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa by virtue of carrying out standardisation of the procedures managed to make it a success.

While presenting a case study today at the State-Level Workshop on up scaling the System of Crop Intensification (SCI), Dr BJ Pandian, Prof of Agronomy at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said, “As rice consumes 53 per cent of the total water resources, it is important that other methodologies are adopted for conservation of water and also encourage organic farming”.

Rice is cultivated in 21 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu and the annual production is around 70-80 lakh tonnes. While in Orissa 9,420 acres of land is under the SRI and in all 13 districts are growing rise through this methodology.

“The Orissa government is offering subsidies to farmers, that is a big encouragement. In 2007-2008, a total of 50 farmers were given an assistance of Rs 12,500 per acre of land, followed by other incentives,” said Dr B Giri, Additional Director of Agriculture Orissa.

Dehradun, January 19
Various clubs and associations have started promoting women’s cricket in Uttarakhand. Until last year, associations had been finding it hard to organise teams for tournaments and, as a result, the plan to organise a district-level tournament for women by the Uttaranchal Cricket Association was abandoned.

Clubs have started organising camps, not only in Dehradun, but also in various places in the interiors of the state.

The initiative taken up by the Little Master Cricket Club is bound to pay rich dividends in the near future and is expected to be followed by other cricket clubs as well.

The club is organising camps in far-fetched areas which otherwise are overlooked by most clubs. Recently, they conducted an 18-day camp in an interior village in Almora. The camp saw massive participation of children.

“As many as 148 girls participated in the camp. This was one of the biggest camps that was organised in the interiors by any club.

“The participation proved the high level of interest among girls in the game. Many girls got themselves registered with the club,” said Kiran Shah, owner of the club.

She is the only woman coach in the state and has been doing her bit to promote cricket among girls as much as possible.

This is not the first time a camp has been organised by the club. It had earlier organised camps at Chamoli and Gairsain.

The club is planning to come up with a big tournament for girls at Joshimath. The tournament would see the participation by four states teams - Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

“There are enough cricket tournament for boys like the District Cricket League and All- India Gold Cup. These provide them enough opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

“But women’s cricket was no where in the scene. So our club decided to promote it,” said Kiran.

There is not much cricket for girls even at the school level. The only tournament that is played at the school level is the Indoor Cricket Tournament organised by St Thomas College.

Meanwhile, the Uttaranchal Cricket Association will organise an All-India Cricket Tournament in February that is expected to promote cricket among girls as well.

Dehradun, January 19
Neelam Bisht is emerging as the face of women’s cricket of Uttarakhand. At the age of 14 years, she is performing exceptionally well for the state and as a resulted has got a chance to play for Haryana team.

She will soon be touring Bangladesh to play in the under-19 team. Excited over her inclusion in the team, Neelam said, “I have been working hard at the club for the past five years to improve my game. My hard work paid and I was selected by the National Cricket Academy to play in the u-19 team”.

She gave all her credit to her uncle, S Singh and her coach Narendra Shah for transforming her into a good player. “It was due to my uncle’s efforts that I took to cricket and my coach helped me a lot to get over my weakness,” said Neelam. Her uncle persuaded her parents to allow Neelam to play cricket. Her parents wanted her to focus on her studies to become a CA or get selected through a competitive examination for a government job. But Neelam took to the game and did exceptionally well in it.

She had already played in Bangladesh earlier last year and gave an outstanding performance. She scored 272 runs, with a highest score of 97 runs in a match. She was also exceptionally successful with bowling and claimed 18 wickets for her team.

Apart from her uncle and coach her best friend Ankita supports her in games. “Although she is not in games, but she always encourages me for my performance. She was earlier interested in playing basketball but her parents did not allow her to player for the school team,” said Neelam. Presently Neelam is devoting four hours to her practice to prepare herself well for the tour.

Dehradun, January 19
The ICFA registered a narrow one-run victory over NIFA at the ongoing 58th District Cricket League underway at the Survey Stadium here today. Meanwhile, in the second match, the PBL team won by one wicket against the Uttarakhand Police team.

In the first match, the ICFA team scored 124 runs in 30 overs. Batting first, the opening pair of Ajay and Arun contributed 35 runs for the first wicket partnership. Ajay made 11 runs, whereas Arun made 29 runs. First down batsman Ashok scored 24 runs off 22 balls. But thereafter no other batsman scored any runs and the whole team was all-out for 124 runs. For the NIFA team, Faisal was the lead wicket taker for the team with four wickets, whereas Ashish took two wickets.

In reply NIFA team began on strong note in the match, opening batsman Neeraj score 29 runs, whereas Himanshu scored 49 runs. None other batsmen click and the team was all-out for 123 runs. For ICFA team Taval claimed five wickets in his six overs spell, whereas Ashok picked up two wickets.

Meanwhile in the second match Uttarakhand Police lost to PAL team by one wicket. Batting first Uttarakhand Police scored 196 in 40 overs. Naresh was the highest score for the team. He made 50 runs off 52 balls, hitting four fours in his inning. Bhuwan was another scorer for the team with 31 runs, whereas Narender scored 30 runs. For PBL team, Subodh took three wickets, whereas Deepak, Rajneesh and Harender took two wickets each.

PAL team reached the target with one wicket in hand. Kuldeep was the highest scorer for the team with 59 runs, whereas Rajneesh made 55 runs. For Uttarakhand Police team Dhanraj took four wickets and Lalit took two wickets.