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Water woes: Govt to build 4 artificial lakes
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Shelving of Hydro Power Projects on the Ganga
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and BJP Vice-President Kalraj Mishra light a lamp at a function in Haridwar
on Thursday. A Tribune photograph
Akhada Parishad upbeat
‘Decision to hinder progress’
UKD blames BJP govt
Poor, but not in studies
Proteas get a taste of Indian wickets in Doon
Pandvani singer, taandav dancers mesmerise audience at Swar Ganga
2/3 Gorkha Rifle, Vijay Cantt win
Dr BK Joshi, Director of Doon Library, along with Neeta Gupt of Yatra Books, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph
Gush Academy rout Sidhbali Kotdwar
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Water woes: Govt to build 4 artificial lakes
Pitthoragarh, April 1 “One lake is being constructed in Pauri, one in Chaukhutia, Almora, two in Pitthoragarh district and one in Lohaghat subdivision of Champawat district,” said Pant, adding that these artificial lakes will be ready by 2011. “The government has released Rs 1 crore against the estimated expenditure of Rs 16 crore to construct an artificial lake at Rai in Pitthoragarh district while another artificial lake in the same district will be constructed at Tharkot,” said Pant. The state government, keeping in view the acute water problem of Lohaghat town in Champawat district, has started construction of an artificial lake at Kolidhek village. According to the irrigation department sources, the potable water problem of Lohaghat town will only be sorted out after the construction of this artificial lake. “At present, the water supply for Lohaghat town has been stopped from Lohawati river due to high levels of pollution. The town with a population of 15,000 people needs 1.5 million litres of water per day, but only one third of this was being supplied to the town,” said Baskar Murari, a social worker and advocate in Lohaghat town. In Pitthoragarh town, the construction of Rai and Tharkot lakes will also help the local residents to harvest the rain water to irrigate local lands besides make available more supply of potable water and boost tourist flow. “For the construction of these two artificial lakes we have overcome all hurdles and released a sum of Rs 36 lakh to purchase the land and existing private property and taken clearance from the government departments situated around these places,” said Pant. In Pitthoragarh town, according to Jal Sansthan sources, the present water supply per day is 3.5 ml against a demand of 6.5 ml per day. “If an artificial lake at Rai comes into existence, the water supply for the town will certainly go up, ” said DK Mishra, executive engineer, Jal Sansthan, Pitthoragarh. In Champawat district, all four water schemes set up in the past for Lohaghat town have been dumped. The people of Lohaghat are now looking at the proposed Pancheswar Dam for installing a pumping scheme there. “But as the Pancheswar Dam is a distant dream, the people of Lohaghat are hopeful that after the Kolidhek lake comes into existence in 2011, the potable water supply for the town will certainly get better,” said Bhaskar Murari.
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Shelving of Hydro Power Projects on the Ganga Tribune News Service
Haridwar, April 1 Nishank, in a vociferous mood, warned the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre against crossing its limits and said “don’t teach us how to protect the Ganga and forests”. He further warned he Central government that it should refrain from putting onus on the state government. “Don’t give us forced guidance. People of Uttarakhand very well know how to save water (referring to the Ganga) and how to conserve forests. Our government has already started the Sparsh Ganga project to clean the scared Ganga, banned polythene in the state and has also banned visit to Gaumukh in our tenure”. The state government better knows what to do regarding hydro power projects and it’s a unanimously elected government so everything should be done democratically, he added. Terming Uttarakhand as the state of armed personnel, Nishank said almost in every household one person serves or has served in the Army which itself speaks of the contribution of the state towards the country. He has demanded from the Central government additional 1,000 MW electricity free of cost to meet its demands as water of the state is mostly utilised by other states for drinking, electricity and irrigation purposes. “Pahad ki jawani aur paani (youth and water) have long been not utilised by land of Uttarakhand and it’s imperative that we now utilise these two,” said Nishank, who inaugurated the introductory session of the Maha Kumbh Manthan convention at the Divya Sewa Prem Mission premises. At the convention, veteran BJP leader Kalraj Mishra said the subjects dwelt upon at the convention should be seriously taken up for further discussions. Head of the Divya Prem Sewa Mission Ashish Gautam said it was a coincident that the mission was formed exactly 12 years ago and the Kumbh also fell every 12 years. He pointed out that the mission’s motive was to promote Indian culture by dwelling on various issues touching society. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati, state Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik and Kumaon University Vice-Chancellor Vinay Pathak.
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Akhada Parishad upbeat
Haridwar, April 1 The parishad has declared that now they will be performing the biggest upcoming 14 April Shahi Snan on Baisakhi with enthusiasm. Parishad national chief Shri Mahant Gyandas has termed the step as a step to save the Ganga as wells as save the Indian culture and humanity as a whole. Thanking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the step, he said to save the Ganga, several organisations and people had been working for years but it was only due to the parishad stance that now the government had to take the issue seriously. Notably, while these two projects have been shelved, a committee has been appointed to decide the future course of the Lohari Nagpala project. It comprised Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Environment Minister Jai Ram Ramesh and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
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‘Decision to hinder progress’
Dehradun, April 1 “The High Court has clearly said the final decision on these projects will be taken by the Ganga River Authority. Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is only one of the members of the authority and keeps no authority to pass such a order and thus the decision amounts to contempt of court,” said Avdhash Kaushal, chairperson of the kendra. He pointed out that the state government that had already obtained environment clearance for the projects had so far spent more than Rs 150 crore on these projects. Meanwhile, Pushkar Singh Dhami, vice-president, Uttarakhand Urban Development Monitoring Committee, said the Centre’s decision to stop work at the hydro projects in Uttarakhand was objectionable. He said the state government had spent huge funds on these projects and stopping them at the under-construction stage was not justified. He questioned the intentions of the centre vis-à-vis Uttarakhand. “First extension of industrial package was denied to the state and now stopping work on the two projects, the Centre seems to be harassing Uttarakhand every now and then,” Dhami alleged. He said the development was bound to suffer much due to the stoppage of work on the two projects.
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UKD blames BJP govt
Dehradun, April 1 Taking into account the seriousness of the issue, Rajpal Singh Rawat, secretary, UKD, and Swami Darshan Bharti, founder member of the ULP, have announced holding of region-wise fasts in Uttarkashi, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Chamoli. Rawat said the state was to get Rs 2,000 crore for each of these projects which would have generated mass employment and given power-bereft state some 851 MW electricity. “No wonder if the unemployed youngsters of the state too take to Maoist movement in near future for a number of reasons, including the Centre has already refused to extend the industrial package of the state, and this latest rejection of hydro power projects will further boomerang on the dwindling financial and employment condition of the state.” He alleged the BJP-VHP combine was working to earn political mileage out of it. First they made Gurudas Aggarwal, a Ganga activist, go on a fast and then saints at the Kumbh mela to exert pressure on the Centre to abandon those projects on the Ganga. He also alleged that the Congress too backtracked fearing that the VHP-BJP combine did not take leverage from the dams issue on the lines of the Ram temple issue. Bharti said initially they fought for the formation of the state but now seeing the current turn of the events, they would have to give a call of “Uttarakhand Bachao”. He said the cancellation of hydro power projects would precipitate further migration of people from the hills for employment. He accused both the Congress and the BJP of being in collusion in this nefarious task. He has asked five Congressmen, who had gone to persuade Sonia Gandhi to extend state’s industrial package, to come clean on the issue.
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SDM seeks report from schools
Our Correspondent
Mussoorie, April 1 The SDM directed the school representatives to submit a detailed breakup of students in their respective schools be it day scholars or boarders and provide a complete fee structure of the past five years immediately. She also enquired about the total number of poor students being imparted education by these schools. She directed the schools to guarantee the percentage of seats for the locals. Kamthan categorically said charging of capitation fee by any school would not be tolerated and a strict action would be taken against schools indulging in such activity. She also discussed the matter of forcing parents to buy books and uniform from schools itself as complaints were being received that many schools were compelling parents to buy stationery from designated shops. She also directed the schools to provide lists of books to the parents so that they could purchase them from the stores of their choice. The SDM raised the issue of charging admission fee every year from students and said the practice should be stopped. She discussed the issue of additional expenditure being borne by parents towards food for special events and festivals and educational tours at schools. Very few Principals attended the meeting showing their lack of seriousness towards the issues and sent their representatives for the meeting. The SDM said parents would also be called at the next meeting to solve the issues amicably. Meanwhile, Mussoorie Youth Congress president Shailendar Bisht met the SDM and apprised her of the problems faced by the parents of the town. He informed her that political representatives should also be heard at the next meeting. Trader Association’s general secretary Javed Khan demanded that the schools should not act in a partisan manner and should treat every trader equally. Education Department ADO RS Rawat, City Education Officer Tausif Ahmed, Nayab Tehsildar Matadin and others were present at the meeting.
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Poor, but not in studies
Nainital, April 1 A visit to the two government primary schools in the urban part of Nainital resulted in several pertinent revelations pertaining to inequalities in education. To begin with, only students from deprived sections take admission in government schools and this results in an “unhealthy homogeneity”. Saroj Choudhary, Principal, Girls Primary School, Mallital, pointed out, “The tendency of people in urban areas is that anybody who has even minimal resources wants his children to study in a private school. The mindset is that the teachers there are more qualified and the level of education is better, but this is not the case.” The school being headed by Choudhary has 29 students out of which almost 50 per cent are from the minority community and a substantial number come from backward castes or communities. The parents of most children work as labourers and daily wagers. This makes the situation complex as very often, the students have to miss school to take care of their siblings at home. Being illiterate themselves and hard pressed for time, the parents are hardly able to help the children with their homework or add to their knowledge. However, no one can challenge the abilities of these children as this correspondent saw for himself. “In case of private schools, parents study with the children, but this is not the case here. If a teacher in a private school just writes a note for the parents saying that the child is weak in a particular subject, the parents arrange for private tuitions, but this is not the case with the children who come to us. “Our students are not even able to do their homework properly,” said Usha Pandey who retired today from the primary school in Mallital Bazar after having put in 42 years of teaching. The school has a strength of 157 students with a profile that is similar to the other school visited. She related that the students coming to these schools come from socio-economic backgrounds where it is hard for the parents to make two ends meet. Very often, the fathers are drunkards and spend a major part of their earnings on alcohol. Such children see deprivation in one form or the other on a daily basis. “Ensuring their regular attendance and their appearance in exams is a task which the teachers try to ensure by putting in extra efforts. My experience has proved that a healthy-student teacher relationship can go a long way in helping such children,” said Pandey while pointing that in government schools, emphasis should be on identifying the hidden talents of such children. This correspondent saw for himself that the children at the school were expressive and well versed with what they had learnt. They were proficient even in English. The question that looms for the future is that how can they continue studying when they reach higher classes? At the moment, they are making full use of the facilities being offered by the government and the efforts being put in by their teachers.
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Proteas get a taste of Indian wickets in Doon
Dehradun, April 1 The 27 players in the squad include 13 players of under-17 team and 14 of the Premier League i.e. the seniors’ side. The team is a blend of budding local cricketers, a handful of state and national-level players. Currently in Dehradun, the club has played two matches with a local club
at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy and will later play matches in Delhi and Agra. The team will also lock horns with a team comprising Ranji players from Gurgaon and Faridabad. According to the guests, pitches in India are totally different to the ones in their country. “The wicket in South Africa is very fast while in India, the conditions are quite different. The ball doesn’t come easily on to the bat,” said Jarryd Chetty, captain of the
senior squad. Cody Chetti, a member of the ICC Under-19 World Cup team who is also part of the visiting squad, said, “India has a quality spinners while
South African has good fast bowlers owing to the different conditions in both countries.” Deepak Anand, Ranji all-rounder and director of Pelican Sports Management that brought the club to India, said that they had been thinking to come to India to play for the past eight to nine months but couldn’t due to the busy cricketing season there. “Now, the season is over in South Africa and to give exposure about different conditions to the youngsters, we have brought them to India. These pitches aren’t as fast as in South
Africa so it will be a good experience for players,” said Anand who is also a level-one coach. The players said that there was a big craze for the Indian Premier League in their country as the previous leg of the league was played there. Batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are celebrities there.
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Pandvani singer, taandav dancers mesmerise audience at Swar Ganga
Haridwar, April 1 Artistes belonging to Jamnagar in Gujarat presented the romance tale of Lord Krishna-Radha splendidly via beautiful combination of “taandav” and “taal”. This dance is a unique identity of Saurashtra district and its speciality lies in usage of different body parts in sync with lyrics and music. Vocals from Ram Sangji Jadeja and Manoj Baro were sonorous and well accompanied by Mohsin Ayi on drums. This ancient dance form cast a spell on the audience as pin-drop silence during the performance was followed by the high-pitched applause of claps. Artistes Van Raj Singh, R Gohel, Bharat Singh, Bhagirath Singh Jola, Vijay Jadeja, Geeta Jadega, Jalpa Jadeja and Kajal Rana performed brilliantly to make the presentation flawless. Local artistes, too, made an impact on the audience from different states who have come to participate and see the Kumbh in Haridwar. Eminent local Pandavani folk singer Kusum Negi Rathore began by singing “Paida hoi jaya panchna Pandava Yudhistir, Bheem, Arjun, Nakul, Sahdev”. In her trademark style, Kusum presented the epic Mahabharata tale via Pandavani, which is Jaunpur-Jaunsar belt’s ancient folk art. Garhwali singers Vinod Kumar, Leela Devi and Komal churned out melodious songs as part of the Gramin-Parvatiya Uthan Samiti. Following this was a special performance of Bhawai Rajasthani dance in which the dancer performed movements on glass plate and other utensils.
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2/3 Gorkha Rifle, Vijay Cantt win
Dehradun, April 1 In this lop-sided encounter, Manoj Gurung opened the account for Gorkha Rifle in the 16th minute. This goal was followed by CV Gurung’s goal in the 24th minute. The DFA was yet to recover from the 0-2 position that their opponents gave them the next big blow striking two back-to-back goals in two minutes. Manish Thapa scored in the 26th and the 27th minutes of the game. The first half ended with the Gorkhas leading 4-0. The DFA, which was under immense pressure after the dismal performance in the first half, literally surrendered in the second half. In the second half too, the Gorkhas kept the show going. Manoj (65th minute) and Vishal (75th minute) netted a goal each to complete the tally. Gorkha Rifle finished the match with a 6-0 win over DFA Haridwar. Midfielder Mogh Bahadur emerged as the Man of the Match. In another match, Vijay Cantt got the better of BC Milan 2-1. Ankur Kumar (23th minute) scored the only goal for the losing side. For Vijay Cantt, Manish (31st minute) and Bhuvan (35th minute) scored a goal each.
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Doon Readings begins today
Dehradun, April 1 The success of the first Doon Readings held in May 2008 has led to the conduct of this year’s edition where eminent littérateurs and authors will participate as well as share their experiences. Dr BK Joshi, Director of the library, Neeta Gupt from Yatra Books and Raman Brijnath, adviser, informed about the upcoming event. Joshi said Doon Readings would celebrate the literary heritage of the Himalayas and Dehradun was chosen to host the festival because of its rich literary culture and resident writers. Under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Tourism Board and GAIL (India) Ltd, Doon Library and Research Centre, Yatra Books and Penguin Books will present a three-day-long function from April 2 to 4 at Hotel Aketa where eminent writers such as Keki N Daruwala, Ruskin Bond, Vicky Arya, Aditya Sudarshan, Stephen Alter and many others will participate in the grand event.
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Gush Academy rout Sidhbali Kotdwar
Dehradun, April 1 Batting first, Kotdwar was bowled out for 171 runs in
32.1 overs. Rajesh (44) and Gaurav Gupta (39) were the principal scorers. For Gush Academy, J Prasad and Dhruv Singh captured three wickets each while Mohit and Varun pocketed
two wickets. In reply, Gush Academy achieved the target in 22.5 overs losing just two wickets. The Man of the Match - opening batsman Gurpreet Singh - played a wonderful knock of 65 not out with seven boundaries and one six. Perry (30), Prateek (27) and Manav Sharma (34 not out) were other main contributors in the win. Surender and Rajeshpicked up one wicket each for Kotdwar.
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Haridwar, April 1
Rising Fees
