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THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
D E H R A D U N    E D I T I O N

3,919 posts vacant in Police Dept, informs Pant
Dehradun, March 22
Uttarakhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant today informed the House that there were as many as 3,919 posts lying vacant with the Police Department against the sanctioned 23,688 posts at various levels. These vacancies included two posts of Indian Police Service officer and 35 of Provincial Police Services.

Unruly scenes at Congress meeting
Nainital, March 22
Rampant factionalism marked by unruly behaviour in public seems to have become the hallmark of Uttarakhand Congressmen. The Congress meeting held here last evening under the party’s poll in charge Mukut Mithi as a part of the preparations for organisational polls once again brought the infighting in the Congress to the fore.

Traders to spruce up Kulri Bazar for tourists
Mussoorie, March 22
As many as 52 traders at the famous Kulri Bazar here have pledged to convert the market through innovative efforts into an ideal one for tourists.


EARLIER STORIES


Congress stages dharna over water crisis
Dehradun, March 22
Women from the Kuanwala-Harrawala region protest in front of Jal Sansthan Awum Nirman Nigam office in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph Agitated members of the Dehradun District Congress Committee (DCC) staged a dharna in support of their demands in front of the Uttarakhand Peyjal Sansthan Awum Nirman Nigam at the Mohini Road here today. They raised voice against the rising problem of drinking water in Kuanwala, Nakronda, Balawala and adjoining areas.

Women from the Kuanwala-Harrawala region protest in front of Jal Sansthan Awum Nirman Nigam office in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph

More youth candidates in 2012 polls, says Cong
Pitthoragarh, March 22
Uttarakhand Congress organisational poll in charge Mukut Mithi said here yesterday the Congress high command had agreed to give youths in Uttarakhand more assembly tickets in the Assembly elections to be held in 2012. “Our General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has given special priority to the youth wings of the Congress party especially the National Student Union of India (NSUI) in bid to produce able leadership in future,” said Mithi.

BSP youth wing holds protest
Nainital, March 22
Members of the Youth wing of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) staged a protest here today against the non-implementation of government orders with regard to the employment of 70 per cent locals in private industries being set up in the state.

Use money allocated for work, Bagauli tells depts
Nainital, March 22
District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has asked officials of various departments to make sure that the money allocated to their departments for executing various tasks during the current financial year must be put to optimum use.

Eco Man gets head shaved again
Dehradun, March 22
In support of his demand of conserving the environment, "Eco Man" Mahabeer Singh Mehta, founder of Mission True Biologist, shaved his head for the fourth time at Gandhi Park here today.

After 9 years, 4 convicted of raping teenager
Dehradun, March 22
A local court has sentenced four persons after finding them guilty of gang-raping a teenage girl at her house in Rishikeksh nine years ago. Additional District and Sessions Judge Uttam Singh Nabiyal, while giving the sentence yesterday, also imposed a fine of Rs 16,000 on Gambhir Singh, Vikram Singh, Santosh Rangad and Vijay Pal.

3 tourism officials found absent from work
Nainital, March 22
In a surprise raid ordered by the district administration, three functionaries of the Tourism Department of Nainital were found absent from their seats. District Magistrate (DM) Shailesh Bagauli ordered a tehsildar to conduct a surprise check at various offices, including the Tourism Department, state Information Department and Water Supplies Department, this morning. While employees in other departments were present, three out of a total of nine employees of the Tourism Department office were found missing.





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3,919 posts vacant in Police Dept, informs Pant
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 22
Uttarakhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant today informed the House that there were as many as 3,919 posts lying vacant with the Police Department against the sanctioned 23,688 posts at various levels. These vacancies included two posts of Indian Police Service officer and 35 of Provincial Police Services.

Pant was replying to a query linked to the law and order put up by Pritam Singh in the state Assembly.

The minister said the government had come up with a special work plan to check crime. He said the Special Task Force, Special Operation Group, Indian Reserve Battalion, First and Second, along with community policing at every district, Special Operation Group and Quick Response teams had been constituted to check crime.

Special arrangements had also been made to train police officials in dealing with cyber crime and fake currency cases. The state was coming up with a security plan for sensitive institutions, he added.

To a query put up by Surendra Rakesh, Bahujan Samaj Party MLA from Haridwar district, the minister said while 18 of the 21 drains in question in the Haridwar Kumbh Mela region had been completely taped, the remaining three had been taped partially. He disclosed that work was in progress for the taping of three drains falling outside Kumbh Mela region- Kaswan Nala, Pandeywala Nala and Ramrakha Nala.

He also held that as per the Pollution Control Board, Ganga water was fit to be used as potable water at Bhimgoda barrage, Har-ki-Pauri and Daksh Mandir.

To another query put up by Kishore Upadhyaya on drought in parts of Tehri, Pant said the Jakhnidhar, Tholdhar, Chamba, Pratapnagar and Deoprayag regions of Tehri had been declared as drought affected as 50 per cent of the kharif crop had been affected due to this drought.

He also disclosed that an amount of Rs 5 lakh for Tehri sub-division, Rs 3 lakh for Deoprayag sub-division and Rs 2.50 lakh for Jakhnighar farmers had been distributed.

Sanction to asbestos factory opposed

The sanctioning of an asbestos-based factory for Akbarpur in Luxor district of Haridwar echoed in the Uttarakhand House today with Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat raking up the issue under Rule 58.

Smelling a scam, Rawat said it was strange that the state government was facilitating setting up a type of industry, which as per World Health Organisation report had killing 90,000 people across the globe every year due to its harmful effect on environment.

He alleged that Aqua Infra Projects Limited, the company setting up the industry, did not even have the land to fulfill the compulsory condition of maintaining a green belt.

In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said all precautions had been ensured as the company was bound to take a series of measures to ensure that the fumes did not affect the health of the local populace in an adverse manner.

He also reminded that a public redressal meeting held at Akbarpur to gauge the mood of people vis-à-vis setting of an asbestos-linked factory had also revealed their positive response towards setting up of the plant.

However, Bahujan Samaj Party legislative party leader Mohameed Shahjad alleged that there was not enough publicity on part of the authorities towards staging a redressal meeting.

Congress leader Tilak Raj Behad also accused the government of playing with the health of people asserting that 144 countries across the world had already banned asbestos factories due to its carcinogenic effects.

Bhagwan rape incident: House adjourned

Uttarakhand Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators created a ruckus in the Assembly today over the Bhagwan rape incident leading to adjournment of the House for a brief period in the post-lunch session.

The BSP leaders expressed concern over the delay in the filing of an FIR and sought assistance for the affected family. The BSP members were also joined by Congress MLAs who too raised the issue. The adjournment of the House was from 3.40 pm to 4.30 pm.

Later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant announced Rs 2.5 lakh as assistance to the victim.

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Unruly scenes at Congress meeting
Rajeev Khanna
Tribune News Service

Nainital, March 22
Rampant factionalism marked by unruly behaviour in public seems to have become the hallmark of Uttarakhand Congressmen. The Congress meeting held here last evening under the party’s poll in charge Mukut Mithi as a part of the preparations for organisational polls once again brought the infighting in the Congress to the fore.

Even as Mithi expressed satisfaction with the functioning of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) under the leadership of president Yashpal Arya, a large number of party workers met Mithi with complaints and charges against Arya.

Just before the formal meeting with the district representatives, Mithi had agreed to meet Congress activists of the region. The scene that erupted brought out what is nowadays referred to as “Congress culture”.

First, there was pushing and shoving between the group from Udham Singh Nagar led by Narayan Bisht and those opposed to him. This was followed by some agitated persons making full use of choicest abuses. One could see former minister Indira Hridayesh pleading with Congressmen to use “parliamentary” language.

A large number of party men opposed to Arya complained to Mithi about his “weak leadership” and charged Arya with sidelining persons close to his bete noir and Union Minister Harish Rawat.

“They have put up so many posters. Could they not have put up a poster of Harish Rawat?” said an agitated Congressman, while another complained of Arya not giving due representation to minorities and women in the organisation.

Sneering at the complainants, Arya supporters could be heard saying, “A section that is weak often screams louder.”

Rawat was not to be seen at the meeting despite his reported presence in the region.

When asked about his perception of the state of affairs in the PCC, Mithi said, “The PCC is functioning satisfactorily as we won all five seats in the parliamentary elections held last year”.

However, he qualified this appreciation with the statement that there were certain dark areas like losing two by-polls a mere two months after the parliamentary elections.

A defensive Arya explained that the BJP had managed to win the Kapkot and Vikasnagar by-elections through muscle power and money power besides misusing the official machinery.

He also defended the charge that in the past three years the Congress had lost all local elections be it at panchayats, co-operatives and by-polls.

He said the Congress was almost at par with the BJP in case of the Nagar Palika polls and once again attributed the loss in other elections to the misuse of official machinery, money and muscle power.

He used the opportunity to once again lash out at the BJP for bringing the development process to a complete halt in the state. When asked about the Congress not allowing the state Assembly to function, he said, “We are just raising public issues”.

Mithi made it clear that the target for the party now was to return victorious in the Assembly elections that were just two years away.

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Traders to spruce up Kulri Bazar for tourists
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, March 22
As many as 52 traders at the famous Kulri Bazar here have pledged to convert the market through innovative efforts into an ideal one for tourists.

A speaker installed on an electric pole in Kulri Bazar of Mussoorie. Tribune photo: Ajay Ramola
A speaker installed on an electric pole in Kulri Bazar of Mussoorie. Tribune photo: Ajay Ramola

According to trader Gaurav Agarwal, the 52 members had got together to form a Mall View Association last year to provide tourists with various facilities so that they could go back with a positive feeling about the town.

He added that traders had decided that sweets would be distributed among tourists on major holidays of national importance.

Besides this, they had also pledged beautification of the market and also installed 12 speakers through which continuous instrumental music would be played. Bhajans would be played in the morning and Bollywood music in the evenings. He also said faulty road lights in the market had been repaired.

The services of two watchmen would be utilised for the security of the market and talks were on with a security agency in this regard.

The 52 members, led by Tilak Raj, president of the association, are looking for more avenues to increase tourist flow in the market and making their stay comfortable.

Talks are on with the Palika to allow the traders association of Kulri to maintain the fountains there, added Agarwal.

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Congress stages dharna over water crisis
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 22
Agitated members of the Dehradun District Congress Committee (DCC) staged a dharna in support of their demands in front of the Uttarakhand Peyjal Sansthan Awum Nirman Nigam at the Mohini Road here today. They raised voice against the rising problem of drinking water in Kuanwala, Nakronda, Balawala and adjoining areas.

The members also gave a memorandum to the Managing Director of the nigam to pass a pipeline and install hand pumps in these rural areas.

They asked the administration to take immediate action on the notice as the problem was hampering in agricultural productivity.

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More youth candidates in 2012 polls, says Cong
Our Correspondent

Pitthoragarh, March 22
Uttarakhand Congress organisational poll in charge Mukut Mithi said here yesterday the Congress high command had agreed to give youths in Uttarakhand more assembly tickets in the Assembly elections to be held in 2012. “Our General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has given special priority to the youth wings of the Congress party especially the National Student Union of India (NSUI) in bid to produce able leadership in future,” said Mithi.

He said he was mobilising the party in the state for the party elections, which would be concluded in August this year. “We are forming the structure of party workers from booth committee to AICC level,” said Mithi.

He informed he was planning to hold training camps for the Uttarakhand Congress party workers soon. “We have plans to organise training camps for women wings of the party besides the other wings which form the organisational basis of the Congress party,” he said.

Asked about the internal feud in the state Congress party which was evident during his visit in Kumoan region where a prominent group of the Congress workers remain absent in his programmers, Mithi explained due to the democratic atmosphere in the party, some workers express their views, making it loom as if there is a feud in the party.

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BSP youth wing holds protest
Tribune News Service

Nainital, March 22
Members of the Youth wing of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) staged a protest here today against the non-implementation of government orders with regard to the employment of 70 per cent locals in private industries being set up in the state.

The agitators gathered at the Tallital area and raised slogans against the government. They marched to the office of the Kumaon Commissioner and placed a lock on the gate to the premises as a mark of their protest.

They charged that despite there being a government order saying that the private enterprise coming to Uttarakhand must have 70 per cent local force, the factory owners were violating the norms with impunity, while the government was acting like a mute spectator. They also called for putting an end to the contractual mode of employment.

The agitators threatened to launch a full-fledged agitation in the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand (SIDCUL) hub if their demands were not addressed within a fortnight.

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Use money allocated for work, Bagauli tells depts
Tribune News Service

Nainital, March 22
District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has asked officials of various departments to make sure that the money allocated to their departments for executing various tasks during the current financial year must be put to optimum use.

Bagauli held a meeting of officials on Thursday evening to evaluate their performance with regard to various schemes being implemented under the District Plan, 20-Point Programme and government sector.

He particularly called for co-ordination between the officials of the Irrigation and Power Departments so that maximum number of tubewells were electrified before March 31. He also asked the officials of the Power Department to ensure that the money allocated to them for changing the electric poles was put to proper use at the earliest.

The officials said 95 per cent of the work under the Rajiv Gandhi Electrification Mission had been completed.

Bagauli said the department should focus on providing electricity to villages that were still deprived of electrification on priority basis.

He also called for speeding up works being executed under the Community Development Scheme.

He asked the officials of the Co-operative Department to complete the construction of a samiti bhawan in Sarna and also meet the targets under the Indira Awas Yojana. He assured that money would be made available on priority basis for various plans aimed at the disaster management.

Evaluating the performance under the 20-Point Programme, he called for maintaining the tempo of executing projects on time.

Bagauli also sought a clarification by employees of the Health and Education Departments who did not attend the meeting despite having been informed and asked to do so.

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Eco Man gets head shaved again
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 22
In support of his demand of conserving the environment, "Eco Man" Mahabeer Singh Mehta, founder of Mission True Biologist, shaved his head for the fourth time at Gandhi Park here today.
MS Mehta, gets his head tonsured in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph
MS Mehta, gets his head tonsured in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph

Mahabeer, who has discovered a unique way to protest against the government to ban polythene and conserve nature, has announced to go on hunger strike from June 5 (World’s Environment Day) till July 4 (Death Anniversary of Chipko Woman Gaura Devi).

He said this was the best way to highlight the incompetence of the administration. “We will also take out a rally and gift 100-metre green cloth to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank with the signatures of 10,000 citizens,” he said.

However, Mehta, in support of his Mission True Biologist, asserted, “I have made a plea to the authorities concerned for our 10 environmental demands. If this time the administration doesn’t take any action, I’ll ask for mercy death from Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva”.

Moreover, in support of his mission he got his head bald to bring his demands to the notice of the district administration, government and Pollution Control Board.

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After 9 years, 4 convicted of raping teenager
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 22
A local court has sentenced four persons after finding them guilty of gang-raping a teenage girl at her house in Rishikeksh nine years ago. Additional District and Sessions Judge Uttam Singh Nabiyal, while giving the sentence yesterday, also imposed a fine of Rs 16,000 on Gambhir Singh, Vikram Singh, Santosh Rangad and Vijay Pal.

The four had gang-raped the 17-year-old girl in her house after badly injuring her cousin on February 5, 2001, according to the prosecution. 

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3 tourism officials found absent from work
Tribune News Service

Nainital, March 22
In a surprise raid ordered by the district administration, three functionaries of the Tourism Department of Nainital were found absent from their seats. District Magistrate (DM) Shailesh Bagauli ordered a tehsildar to conduct a surprise check at various offices, including the Tourism Department, state Information Department and Water Supplies Department, this morning. While employees in other departments were present, three out of a total of nine employees of the Tourism Department office were found missing.

A report in this regard has been submitted to the DM.

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