The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Uttarakhand gets new railway lines Long distance trains Una-Haridwar Link Express, Haridwar-Mumbai AC Express and Valsad-Haridwar Express to be started Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 24 The Railway Budget presented today by the Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has given reasons many to rejoice in Uttarakhand. However, Mamata also gave into the long pending demands of Uttarakhand too. She had promised of allocating new railway lines at much-awaited stations of Rishikesh to Karnaprayag, Dehradun to Kalsi while had declared to start long distance trains the Una-Haridwar Link Express, Haridwar-Mumbai AC Express and the Valsad-Haridwar Express. Other local trains such as Doiwala-Rishikesh and Dehradun-Chandigarh would now run through the tracks of Uttarakhand soon. Moreover, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank thanked Mamata Banerjee and the central government. He expressed his gratitude to the centre for announcing allocation of new railway lines in the state, but also could not resist criticising her for not giving railway line at Muzzafarnagar-Deoband-Roorke and Kichha-Khatima. He also made demand of positioning railway lines in the small cities and districts. Whereas Congress state president Yashpal Arya also congratulated the state on the announcement of the Railway Budget and said such plans would improvise the tourism in the state. The party rejoiced and also distributed sweets among the party members. Meanwhile, Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj, who had been struggling to get the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Link, was elated. Dhirendra Pratap, another senior Congress leader, also congratulated Mamata Banerjee for accepting the genuine demands of the people of Uttarakhand. Samiti ends dharna in Delhi Pitthoragarh (OC): The three-day dharna by Tanakpur Bageswar Rail Sangrash Samiti at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, ended today after Railway Minister Mamta Bannerji announced the survey for four long demanded railway routes during the presentation of union railway Budget today. “Bannerji announced the survey for Tanakpur to Bageswar, Tanakpur to Jauljivi, Hrishikesh to Karnprayag and Ramnagar to Chaukhutia railway tracks in this year Budget,” informed Guisai Singh Daufauti, the convener of the Samiti, to the correspondent from New Delhi. “This is big win for the public of Uttarakhand where after 125 years, possibilities of railway extension will take place, our samiti has ended the agitation and returning to the Uttarakhand, but we will keep an alert eye on this and will make sure that this survey be completed within its assigned time,” said Daufauti. The MP from Pauri Satpal Maharaj who has been very vocal on connectivity of railways in the state said it could happen after he had mounted a pressure on the railway minister, who agreed that the railways will not be connected by the criterion of economic viability rather it would be based on social feasibility. “I could convince the railway minister that on the front of social feasibility Uttarakhand is the most backward in railway connectivity,” said Maharaj.
	Central LPG scheme extended to Himalayan states Rajeev Khanna Tribune News Service Nainital, February 24 The petroleum ministry has agreed in principle to extend the benefits of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana (RGGLVY) to the Himalayan states, the demand for which was being aired by the Lok Sabha member from Almora Pradeep Tamta over the last several weeks. Sources close to Tamta told The Tribune on Wednesday that Tamta had a meeting with the Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora in the Parliament in the morning over the issue. “Deora has accepted the demand raised by the MP from Almora and has directed the officials of the ministry to do the needful for extending the scheme to the Himalayan states,” said a close associate of Tamta. A delegation led by Tamta and comprising Major General JC pant (Retd) along with KC Pande had met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on January 25 and had handed over a concept paper entitled “ Save the Himalayas - A concept paper for reducing pollution for protection of Himalayas by way of supply of clean fuel (LPG)” which addresses the issue in more detail besides the facts relating to LPG penetration in other states vis-a-vis Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc. Tamta had sought the help of Ramesh is his effort which the latter did abide by. In a letter, Tamta had requested the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh extension of the recently launched scheme to the Himalayan states of the country. The recently launched scheme, which is yet another flagship programme of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre aims at increasing LPG penetration in remote and rural parts of the country. Tamta had written, “Under the present guidelines of the scheme, the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have been excluded from this scheme. I would like to urge you to consider the Himalayan states within the purview of this scheme.” Pointing that the citizens in these hill states are hugely dependent on firewood for cooking and heating purposes, Tamta had stated that there is a need to replace this with LPG on a major scale for a number of critical reasons.
	Hundreds turn up at Janta ka Darbaar Tribune News Service Dehradun February 24 A huge number of complainants gathered today to present their appeals before Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at his Janta ka Darbaar at Media Centre here. The restive crowd made the entire programme tiresome and exasperating for the cops deployed outside the center. Nishank met all those who had come with appeals and directed the officials concerned to provide help to the needy. Moreover, several small NGOs had also come to meet the Chief Minister. Syed Ali, one of the social workers, who run the Shri Dev Suman Nirdhan Viklang Kalyan Samiti, said he himself was living below poverty line but had contributed a lot to help others. This time, 15 persons accompanied the philanthropist with their demands for monetary assistance for jobless disabled. Another complainant Babli and her father Mohd Mustaqeer, who hail from Roorkee, had come for the fourth time. His son Sonu had been diagnosed with cancer and the family required money to get him treated. Earlier, the state government had given them grants to the tune of Rs 3 lakh and now they required Rs 2 lakh more. Moreover, Nishank had instructed the Social Welfare Department authorities and all the district-level officers to cautiously hear complaints of every individual.
	Oppn playing politics: Mayor Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 24 Dehradun Municipal Corporation Mayor Vinod Chamoli has requested Opposition parties to spread awareness among public to raise their objections so that the corporation can arrive at some substantial conclusion in drawing house tax rates. Chamoli also reacted sharply at Congress councilors’ accusation of introducing house tax regulations arbitrarily without caring for their disapproval. He said these councillors were playing dirty politics as they had given their unanimous approval in the board meeting on the issue. Answering the demand of opposition for creating a the Municipal Act of the state before going for house tax regulations, he said, “It was Congress which ruled in MC for five years before I took charge. They should rather have done the task themselves. It is because of them, MC lost a revenue of Rs 50 crore by losing out on those 50,000 families which evaded house tax hitherto.” The other political parties such as Uttrakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) was also on his target. He said political parties like UKD garnered votes by doing politicking on such isues, which were directly related to masses. These maneuvered provocations would not deter DMC in implementing the taxes. He also requested people not to feel panicky as it is only after consulting the subject with them, where each ward would hold threadbare discussions with them, the amended house taxes would be implemented.
	Villagers ready to vacate land, says Pant Our Correspondent Pitthoragarh, February 24 The villagers, who would be affected by the construction of the proposed Pancheswar Dam, are ready to vacate their lands for the construction of the project as they hope that their lives would get better after getting a good compensation package, said Uttarakhand Planning Minister Parkash Pant. Pant, who toured more than 10 villages and contacted denizens of nearly 50 villages in the area in order to know their opinion about the project, claimed here today that it was for the first time that people were ready to shift from their villages in order to make way for the mega project. “Residents of villages in Pancheswar area, who are in the most backward and interior part of the state, are already leading a cursed life without basic facilities like roads, health, education and employment and waiting an opportunity like this for their lives to get better,” said Pant. He added that he toured the area to know about the progress of the project and said that the package for rehabilitation would be better than any previous project in the state. “We will demand extra incentives from the Centre when they will announce the package according to new rehabilitation policy which was announced by the Government of India last year,” Pant added.
	Parties pass the buck Rajeev Khanna Tribune News Service Nainital, February 24 The reported rejection of the proposal for construction of the Mornaula-Majhaula road by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is snowballing into a contentious political issue. With the BJP and the Congress trading charges over the issue for the past two days, the BSP has also jumped onto the bandwagon while holding the previous two parties responsible for misguiding the people. BSP leader Mohan Pal said here today that the proposal for the construction of the 162-km road had been cleared by erstwhile Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1970s and senior Congress leader Narayan Dutt Tewari in his roles as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and also union minister had played an important role in its approval. While the major part of the road has been constructed, the project has been shelved on account of a 22-km stretch that is the forest land. We squarely hold the Congress responsible for first approving and then shelving the project while misleading the people and ignoring their needs and aspirations.” Pal also hit out at the BJP government in the state and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank in particular. “We gave him a memorandum on the issue on Monday during his Haldwani visit. He is not aware of the issue and will look into the matter.” Its surprising that the Chief Minister was not aware of an issue that had been making headlines for several days, he added. He said it was only through an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that the people had come to know of the shelving of the proposal. Congress leader Ram Singh Kaira and his supporters were “lathicharged” and arrested by the police when they tried to block the road during Nishank’s visit to Haldwani to raise the demand for completion of the road that would go a long way in addressing the problems of Okhalkanda and Dhari blocks of Nainital. The Congressmen have been agitating against the police action and have been burning effigies of the Nishank government. Congress leaders have charged that even the BJP did nothing to execute the project during the NDA regime. The BJP on the other hand has again resorted to the old theme of the centre having a partisan attitude towards the state and have been trying to score a point by promising to send a fresh proposal to the centre.
	Workshop on Van Panchayats held Ajay Ramola Mussoorie, February 24 A daylong workshop was held at Brookland Estate under the aegis of the Forest Department, Mussoorie, to create awareness among participants regarding Van Panchayats and forest fires. At least 150 Van Panchayat sarpanches from the Mussoorie forest range participated in the workshop. The workshop was inaugurated by the president of Uttarakhand Van Panchayat Sarpanch Sanghatan Hukum Singh Rawat. The participants were provided with information regarding the constitutions of Van Panchayats and their rights in it by working plan officer, Barkot Man Singh. He explained the guidelines of 2006. He also said the Forest Department would act as facilitators and the Van Panchayats would be able to take decisions independently. He highlighted the importance of micro-planning and the ways to decrease forest fire. Participants also received the guidelines on how to prepare budget and how to solve various problems at village levels. Mussoorie DFO Ram Gopal also informed the participants about the schemes like NREGA and they can be used by the Van Panchayats. He further said the government was providing assistance for the Mahila Kisan Paudhshala in the Van Panchayats. Slide show presentation showed the procedure to turn the chir pine leaves into coal. Jaunpur Block Sarpanch Van Panchayat Dhurat Singh Rawat was of the view that the Forest Department was inactive in assisting the Van Panchayats and no information was provided to them on they ways to strengthen these panchayats. Hukum Singh said the Van Panchayats are a unique institution, for organised utilisation and protection of forests and related natural resources. He said thae awareness towards Van Panchayat was very important for their proper functioning. He further said to strengthen these financial reserve was needed which was not possible right now as they had no means to increase the revenue. He further said to charge a tax on fodder collection was also not possible because chances of dispute would increase. Awareness campaigns and such workshops were step in right direction. Block officer Charanjit Singh, ADO SP Gairola, Mahila Kisan Paudhshala president Tara Devi, range officer Rawat, ranger Sunder Lal, Man Singh and others were present. The Program was coordinated by Komal Singh.
	Advanced ambulances boon for heart patients Neena Sharma Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 24 First few minutes after a patient has experienced a heart attack could be crucial and in this life-threatening situation the Advanced Life Support System-equipped ambulances with paramedics not only be lifesaving but also increase the chances of recovery of the patient. Besides catering to pregnancy cases, the GVK EMRI 108 emergency ambulance has also been taking care of medical emergencies, especially of cardio-vascular and respiratory nature. “Transporting heart attack patients in the Advanced Life Support System-equipped ambulances to heart care centres help in better chances of survival, but there is very little information about this aspect of our services. If patient’s family members respond on time by calling for emergency ambulances services, previous time is saved that only aids the patient,” said COO Anup Nautiyal of GVK EMRI while interacting with media persons today. On receiving a call the EMTs try to stabilise the condition of the patient to regulate the functioning of vital organs, at times medicines on the advice of the doctors are also administered. The EMTs remain in touch with the doctors at the call-center who also advise them on administering medicines that is usually stocked in the ambulance, said Dr Remant Gupta of GVK, EMRI. In all GVK EMRI 108 ambulance services possess 18 ambulances that are equipped with Advanced Life Support Systems. A study carried out by the EMRI, Dehradun, on the basis of the number of emergency calls attended, revealed that out of 2,470 cardiac cases reported in 2009, 23 per cent cases of cardiac or cardio-vascular nature were reported in Dehradun alone, followed by 12 per cent of cases in Nainital and 10 per cent of cases in Pauri. “Predictably maximum number of cases were reported in the age group between 50-69-years because of non-availability of health services and lack of physical activity. The findings shows that, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, obesity and unhealthy diet are responsible for rising number of cases. Significantly number of respiratory cases for 2009, total 3,490, were highest in Dehradun 22 percent, followed by Nainital 12 per cent, and Pauri (404) 12 per cent.
	Central Excise Day celebrated Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 24 The Central Excise Custom and Service Tax Division office celebrated Central Excise Day at the conference hall of its office at Nehru Colony here today. During the programme, five employees of the department were given commendation certificates. Technical superintendent Tapas Chakrobrty, technical superintendent Rajesh Malhotra, inspector Gajender Singh, constable Shispal and constable Mohammad Kamal were given away best service awards. Technical superintendent Tapas Chakrobrty also gave presentation on the occasion. He said people didn’t need to run here and there for registration they could now go on-line to get themselves registered and approved. He added that it would also help the department know that if some file had been stopped without any reason. This would be beneficial for people who used to be misguided by some or the other official. He further said this would make the department more efficient and the department wanted to remove the fear of excise tax department out of the people’s mind.
	Mussoorie Mall Road goes hi-tech Our Correspondent Mussoorie, February 24 Nagar Palika Mussoorie stated that two barriers on each end of the Mall Road will be computerised and start working from March 1. Residence availing the facility of permit would need a smart card from this year so that they can enter easily by locking in the card at both the barriers on Mall Road. It was also stated that no vehicle would be allowed inside the Mall Road without these smart cards as the barriers would open and close automatically through the help of CCTV cameras installed here. Palika president also appealed to the people that who have not paid their annual vehicle fee should do it before March 1 to avoid any inconvenience.
	Power staff stage dharna Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 24 Employees and officers of three corporations of the Uttarakhand Power Department staged a dharna against their long pending demands under the banner of Uttarakhand Vidhuyt Adhikari Karamchari Sainyukat Samanvay Samiti at the Gandhi Park today. The employees of three corporations - Uttarakhand Power Transmission Corporation, Hydroelectric Corporation and Uttarakhand Power Corporation said if their demands were not met, they would go on a massive agitation in the state. The samiti demanded that employees of all three corporations should be provided with same salary structure they had been getting for long. They also demanded that contract system should be stopped to ban the privatisation process.