Haridwar, January 31
Terming Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre as a total failure in able governance, a former Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, lashed out at the Congress for its anti-poor and pro-US policies today.

On the issue of inflation, Dr Joshi cited the example of the Vajpayee-led government and pointed out that the UPA government had totally failed in controlling the rising prices of essential commodities in the country.

Reacting to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement that the UPA government was seriously concerned about a surge in the prices of essential commodities, Dr Joshi had a dig at Mukherjee saying that inflation was not controlled only by showing concern but people wanted to see results.

On the terrorism issue, he said the Congress government had always been working under the influence of the US.

He termed the decision of the Centre against unfurling the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar as shameful and a step taken under the influence of the US only. Incidentally, Dr Joshi himself had hoisted the flag on Republic Day in 1991 at Lal Chowk when he led Ekta Yatra from Kanya Kumari to Srinagar.

“The national flag is a symbol of national pride, but with the Central government’s decision of not unfurling the flag at the place means it has put India’s pride and integrity at stake,” said the former national president of the BJP.

He also laid stress on bringing a white letter on the internal and external security issue of the country and said the BJP would corner the UPA government in the next parliamentary session and at all state capitals the party would hold protests against UPA’s anti-common man policies.

Dr Joshi, who hails from Almora district of Uttarakhand, lauded the BJP-led government in Uttarakhand and praised both former Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri and incumbent Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for taking the hill state on the path of development. He termed the state as a prosperous one for which he cited the example of nearby Uttar Pradesh district from where people were trying to be part of Uttarakhand state.

He also appreciated state government’s decision of making Sanskrit as second language of the state and called for giving Sanskrit the status of national language.

On the Kumbh works, he again cornered the Central government for not allotting funds at right time delaying the projects in the mela area.

Dr Joshi, a five-time member of the Lower House, had represented the Almora parliamentary constituency as BLD candidate in 1977 but lost next two elections in 1980 and 1984 to present Haridwar parliamentarian and Union State Minister for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat. He then contested and won from the Allahabad constituency too and currently represents the Varanasi constituency.

Dehradun, January 31
Dr VP Dimri, Director, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, who was awarded the Padma Shri on Republic Day is among the world’s leading scientists in geo-sciences in the past four decades.

A native of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, he was born at Dimmar village. His father late Ghanshyam Chamoli was the first member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council of the Badri-Kedar region.

Dr Dimri has received all his education in India and has made all his contributions in geo-sciences while working in India.

His research papers are rated as milestone work by reviewers and readers and have had a high impact on the development of the New Theory of Deconvolution, Inversion and Fractals.

He is the author of three books, over 100 research papers and one patent which is being commercialised.

His first book “Deconvolution and Inverse Theory” Elsevier, 1992, was declared a didactical masterpiece and serves as a reference book in the field of inversion.

Dr Dimri designed major scientific programmes in the sectors of ocean studies, energy and water security, risk assessment and frontier research areas in solid earth geophysics.

At NGRI, he formulated two successful major national programmes on gas-hydrates and legal continental shelf of India.

He pioneered two crucial projects in collaboration with Norwegian scientists out of which one is to enhance oil recovery from Indian oil fields and the other one is on geological sequestration of CO2 to reduce global warming.

He launched a successful pilot project in Nalgonda district of AP to supply fluoride-free water for over 10,000 persons.

His contributions in the field of non-linear geophysics have been recognised by the American Geophysical Union which honoured him with the prestigious Lorenz Lecturer in December 2007. He is the first Asian to receive the award.

For his pioneering contributions to geo-science, Dr Dimri has received numerous awards. He is the recipient of the prestigious National Mineral Award, DOD Award, Government of India, Outstanding Scientist award of FAPCCI and Prof GP Chatterjee Award of ISCA.

He has been elected Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, AP Akademi of Sciences and Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy.

He was made Adjunct Professor at the University of Hyderabad, IIT, Kharagpur, Osmania University, Hyderabad, and Honorary Professor at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

During his tenure as Director, the NGRI has entered into the top 1 per cent of institutions all over the world in terms of citations of papers published in the field of geo-sciences.

NGRI, ranked No. 1 among 38 laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in generating external cash flow during 2005-06.

The NGRI is also placed No. 1 among all Earth and planetary science institutes/establishments in the country in terms of research output.

Dr VP Dimri is the man behind the spectacular growth of the NGRI which is 63.4 per cent during 2004-06 as compared to 1996-98. It now stands at 165 per cent in 2006-2008.

Policemen at Subash Ghat guarding the Royal Chariots and carriages in Haridwar on Sunday: Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Now, people are waiting for the next Peshwayis and anxiously enquiring about the date and route of the Peshwayis to be carried out by the other akhadas. Notably, the akhada routes are the same and will start from Pandewali in Jwalapur only.

Modern gadgets at railway stations

In view of the terror mayhem carried out at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Station (CST), formerly Victoria Terminus (VT), the mela railway police is preparing itself for making a foolproof security arrangement at the Haridwar and Rishikesh railway stations.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is going to install wireless, very high frequency machines at the Haridwar railway station. These machines will be handy in making communication between Haridwar-Rishikesh-Lakshar stations on wireless sets easily. 

Pitthoragarh, January 31
After flower cultivation picked up in the plain districts of Uttarakhand, the state Horticulture Department is now focusing on motivating the farmers in the hill districts to take it up.

“After having successfully introduced commercial flower cultivation in Haridwar, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital, we are now moving towards Pauri Garhwal, Champawat and Rudraprayag districts,” said Dr BP Nautiyal, Director of Horticulture, Uttarakhand.

According to the Horticulture Department statistics, more than 11,000 hectares have already come under flower cultivation in the state and nearly 5,000 farmers are now involved in it.

“After the Horticulture Mission was introduced in the state and the Horticulture Board at the Centre was formed, flower cultivation grew in the state. We began with nearly 400 farmers in 2000,” Nautiyal claimed.

The annual turnover from flower cultivation in the state is Rs 500 crore that started from Rs 1 crore in 2001. The present value of total world trade of flowers is nearly Rs 4 lakh crore per annum and is growing at the rate of over 8 per cent per annum.

The state government is going all out to make the state a floriculture one by encouraging the cultivation of gerbera, lilium, rose, cymbidium, zantedeschia, carnation gladiolus and foliage varieties of flowers.

“The state government has made the floriculture sector a thrust area and providing not only 100 per cent excise and income tax exemption at the start of cultivation, but also providing 15 per cent subsidy on capital investment and subsidies on packaging and exports,” said Narendra Kumar, District Horticulture Officer, Pitthoragarh.

Vijay Singh, a flower grower in Kundeswary area of Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar, has been growing gerbera, carnation, lilium and gladiolus for the past 20 years. He has nearly 20 acres under flower cultivation. He was not satisfied with inputs given by state government.

“Flower growers in North-Eastern states are getting more than 80 per cent subsidy on inputs from state governments. We in Uttarakhand are way behind,” he said adding that until the government provides quality seeds, inputs, packing and infrastructure for storage and transportation, flower culture in the state cannot grow to the export level.

“The state government should also purchase two shops in Delhi flower mandi and implement the modern Mandi Act to enable farmers to take land on contact for floriculture,” he added.

As the interior districts of the state have no access to markets, they have not been able to take full advantage of flower cultivation. But for flower growers in Terai, there is no dearth of markets which have come in a big form with the Maha Kumbh being organised in Haridwar this year.

The mega fair alone has a demand for flowers worth Rs 400 crore. “Except the Kumbh, our flowers are regularly sent to Delhi, Haridwar, Char Dham as well as Lucknow,” claimed Nautiyal.

The flower cultivation in the state is concentrated on roses, marigold, chrysanthemum, coronation and lilies which fetch a good amount to farmers in the market.

The economics of flower cultivation are attractive. If a farmer grows marigold in a hectare, he can easily get Rs 1 lakh out of the crop, according to horticulture experts.

“The same advantage is with other flowers. One stick of liliam, which sells at Rs 25 in Udham Singh Nagar, gets the farmer Rs 100 per stick if it reaches New Delhi,” said the director adding that even a 200 square feet-landholder can earn Rs 2,000 out of flower cultivation “but some varieties can get them even five times of that.”

Uttarakhand is much ahead of Himachal Pradesh in flower cultivation as the climate of Uttarakhand is more suitable.

Farmers in Uttarakhand have taken advantage of protective cultivation. The National Horticulture Board and the state are giving 20 per cent incentive each to the flower growers. These incentives are not available in Himachal Pradesh, claims the director.

“These are claims of a government official. Flower growers do not even get the information of markets in Delhi and Lucknow and hence, suffer losses,” said Vijay Singh, a flower grower in Terai region.

Roorkee, January 31
To erode the problem of unemployment, the Union government has planned to prepare technical experts and skilled labourers in the country.This was stated by Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat here yesterday. He said to gave shape to the plan, a total of 1,500 new ITIs would be set up across the country.

Meanwhile, the existing ones (ITIs) would also be equipped with advanced technology.

“Through these ITIs we have planned to prepare around 50 million technical experts and skilled labourers as well,” said Rawat.

Rawat, who is a Member of Parliament from the Haridwar constituency, said he had taken up the issue with the Prime Minister to make Haridwar and Roorkee as the “education hubs” of the region.

“Here in the town, the IIM, medical college, nursing college and dental college will come up provided the state government makes available the required land,” said the minister.

Lamenting the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the BJP government towards the issue, Rawat alleged that the party seemed the least bothered towards the development. “We have written many letters to the party in this regard, but it seems that the party has no interest in it,” said Rawat.

He added that as many as eight new roads would be laid under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna to connect several villages to the main roads in Haridwar district. “The work has started in this direction,” he said while maintaining that the Congress has been looking forward to win the 2012 Vidhan Sabha elections on the issue of development.

“Many vital works, including the widening of roads and building of bridges, are still pending whereas the Kumbh has started from January 13. This shows the seriousness of the BJP towards the developmental works,” he added. 

Dehradun, January 31
The felicitation ceremony of National Award winners was organised at AMN Ghosh Auditorium, ONGC, here today. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank graced the Youth Icon National Award Ceremony 2009 with his presence. The entire show was filled with enthusiasm and pride.

Nishank was the chief guest on the occasion and inaugurated the event by lighting up the lamp. He gave away the awards to all young achievers for their diligent efforts in respective fields. Two television artistes, Avika Gaur, aka Anandi of “Baalika Vadhu”, and Meghna Mallik, aka Amma ji, of “Na Ana Is Desh Meri Lado” were also awarded with fiction-best actress (child) and best actress, respectively, but due to some reason both of them couldn’t attend the function.

Names of the awardees are PCS topper, Uttarakhand, Sadia Alam; Sunil Chauhan was given bravery award for rescuing a three-year-old child from being the diet of a leopard; Yogratna Srivatava to represent India in the UN; Aman Rehman, a computer expertise; Ishwaran, who played for Ranji Trophy; Raj Kaushik best photographer, Neena Gupta, Mukesh Nautiyal and many others.

Besides, many mediapersons, newspapers and news channels were awarded for their excellence. The award distribution ceremony was organised by Shashi Bhushan Naithani, Editor and founder of Youth Icon Creative Media magazine. Cultural programmes by Tarang Dance Academy and rock performance by THE band enthralled the audiences with their presentation.

Other dignitaries present at the function were senior journalist Charu Chandra Chandola, Padma Shri awardee Leeladhar Jaghuri, Food and Water Supply Minister Diwakar Bhatt among others. 

Dehradun, January 31
The DAV (PG) College Alumni Association organised an inter-university/college English debate at Doon International School here today. The topic for the debate was “Student unions are good for students”.

Students from MKP (PG) College, Doon University, SGRR (PG) College, Patrician College of Education, DAV (PG) College and DBS (PG) participated in the debate. Two students from each college enthusiastically spoke for and against student unions.

Each participant gave firm reasons for their viewpoints and grabbed the attention of the audience. While Jyoti Chabra from MKP College strongly supported the existence of student unions saying these develop confidence among students and prepare them to be future leaders, Pooja Rawat from the same college spoke against the motion, saying that it sows the seeds of corruption and dirty politics.

The judges for the competition were Waryan Singh, Dr DK Bhatkoti and Urvashi Anand. The debate began with a welcome speech by Dr S Farooq, a renowned industrialist, and a melodious recitation of Saraswati prayer by Sonia Anand.

“In our days, students used to participate a lot in debates, but today due to so many distractions and burden on studies, they hardly get time to showcase their talent. We organise such debates so as to stimulate creative thinking in the youth and encourage them to participate in more such events,” said Raj Kanwar, president of the association.

However, giving a tough competition to the participants, the first position was bagged by Pooja Rawat of (MKP) PG College, second by Jyoti Chabra of (MKP) PG College, third by Parul Pawar of the Patrician College of Education and a consolation prize was given to Shelly Dandriyal of Doon University. Dr Farooq and DS Mann gave away trophies and cash prizes to the winners. The team award was bagged by MKP PG College.

Dehradun, January 31
A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has made a breaking revelation about preparation for the South Asian Federation (SAF) Winter Games that were postponed for the third time in a row.

The report claimed that the state was not prepared for organising a mega event like the SAF Winter Games, contrary to what the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) has been claiming all 
this while.

Numerous shortcomings have been pointed out at by the CAG report. It has clearly pointed out that unnecessary delay was made in the planning stage and thereafter in fixing the responsibilities. As a result the games were delayed three times in a row and the whole process of organising these within scheduled time 
was derailed.

It was further alleged in the report that worst foreign consultants were engaged for event-related projects. And they were given full payment even before they completed the work.

Over the claims made by the WGFI about completion of work at Auli, report clearly mentioned that work was found to be substandard one.

The most important component at Auli was chair lift that was said to be revamped.

The progress at Dehradun was even worst, as the work still lay incomplete.

The report demanded that the remaining work should to be complete as soon as possible by the responsible authorities and services of the agencies employed for work should be ensured until the work gets complete. 

Dehradun, January 31
A four-day free health and meditation camp organised by the Art of Living for underprivileged children at Shridev Suman Nagar, Ballupur Road, Dehradun, concluded here today. The camp called Bal Chetna Shivir saw the participation of around 45 children, aged eight-14 years from the Muslim community.

Children were taught meditation and pranayam for a relaxed and stress-free mind at the camp. They were also taught the importance of healthy living, cleanliness and hygiene, along with the values of compassion for environment and respect for their elders.

“We laid importance on good habits, and told them to make it a part of their lifestyle as these are very important for a healthy mind and body. The camp was a fusion of learning and fun as the children played a lot of games and had a great time,” said Rajni and Madhulika, teachers of the Art of Living, that conducted the camp.

A participant Gulafshan, 13, said, “We had fun and learnt a lot”. While another participant Farheen, 12, said, “I will now plant trees near my house”.

The camp ended with distribution of gifts. The Bal Chetna Shivir of the Art of Living aims at reaching out to the underprivileged children, instilling human values and a sense of belongingness in them. The camp gave valuable lessons of sharing, how to deal with criticism, as well as pranayam and meditation. Children were made to play games and participate in other activities which imparted a moral sense in them.

Environment education also forms an integral part of the curriculum. They were educated about how even an iota of good work could help in environment protection and they were also inspired to take up future initiatives to save the environment.

Roorkee, January 31
Living up to the expectations of the crowd, the Uttarakhand Police lifted the Unity Cup 2010, beating Malik Sports, Delhi, by 79 runs in the final match of the tournament at Nehru Stadium here today.

Amidst the cheers of over 2000 spectators, which turned up to see the match, the local team amassed 226 for 8 in the allotted 30 overs.

In reply, the Delhi team was restricted at 147 all out in 25.5 overs.

Earlier, after winning the toss, the Uttarakhand Police chose to bat first. Narinder Gariya entertained the crowd with his fine knock of 93 in 77 balls.

The other batsmen Ashish Joshi and Neeraj Sahni contributed 42 (39) and 30 (27) runs, respectively.

For Delhi, Kartar claimed two wickets for 33 runs whereas Amit, Rajeev, Dinesh and Nakul took one wicket each.

While chasing, the Delhi team could not face the bowling attack of the police team and gave up at the total of 147.

Only Abhinav could play defiant knock of 43 runs in 30 balls. The other notable batsman was Rajiv, who made 26 runs in 16 balls.

Naresh Parihar proved the most economical bowler for his side, finishing with the figure of three for 26.

Lalit took three wickets but conceded 40 runs in the course.

Naresh Khanduri claimed 2 for 21. Narinder Gariya was declared Man of the Match, while Naresh Parihar won the Man of the Series title. Roorkee MLA Suresh Jain gave away the prizes to the winners.

Dehradun, January 31
Pan Business team registered a 100-run victory over Purohit Cricket Club at the 58th District Cricket League underway at Survey Stadium here today.

Batting first, Pan Business team scored 206 runs in 40 overs. Rajeev scored 49 runs off 66 balls, hitting five fours in his innings. Subodh made 22 runs, Dhanpal Negi contributed 33 runs. For Pan Business, Manoj took three wickets, whereas Yuvraj and Sumit claimed two wickets each.