Haridwar, April 9
After BJP’s former President Lal Krishan Advani last week urged party workers not to bring out their differences in public now, another former party president Rajnath Singh has urged the party workers for the same here today.

Rajnath Singh who was in Haridwar district for the first time after resigning from the party’s supremo post tried to give party workers a piece of advice on becoming a ‘cohesive unit’ and ‘putting party ahead of oneself’.

Despite it being a personal-religiously inclined visit Singh got warm reception at Roorkee, Bahadrabad, Jwalapur and Haridwar city.

Paying tributes to the CRPF police personnel martyrs who were brutally killed by naxalites in Dantewada, Singh said the martyrs have given a supreme sacrifice for the country and the Central government and all state governments have to make sure is doesn’t get repeated.

Lending support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Singh said on the issue of terrorism, naxalism, maoism the BJP and its allies are fully behind the Central government.

“Whatever strategy the Central government chalks out to curb nefarious designs of terrorists and fully eradicating such anti-social and anti-national forces we are always behind the government. Now, its high time that the Central government and all state governments affected with terror and naxalism work in tandem to wipe out these inhuman forces,” said Singh who currently represents Ghaziabad Parliamentary constituency.

Barring this issue Singh lashed at the Congress-led Central government cornering it on all major issues ranging from inflation, foreign policy, internal security and corruption.

“Inflation is rising with food commodities slipping from the reach of common man and this is in the governance of the party which propagated it to be a common man’s party, referring to the Congress pre-poll slogan “Congress ka haath aam admi ke saath”. While on foreign policy he said that Indians are being targeted in Australia in large numbers yet the government has failed to strongly press its counterpart government to rein in the attackers and killers.

Similarly, even after strong proofs related with Pakistan’s hand in Mumbai massacre yet UPA has failed in presenting the case before world community, remarked the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Appreciating the performance of BJP state government in Uttarakhand Rajnath lauded former Chief Minister BC Khanduri and presently Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for putting the newly carved hilly state into the path of development and near to self-reliance.

Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh today offered prayers and rituals at several temples and ashrams in Haridwar at the ongoing Mahakumbh. He recited Hanuman Chalisa with his family members in presence of Mahant Gyan Das and also took holy dip in the river Ganga. 

Dehradun, April 9
Eight IAS and two PCS officers have been transferred in Uttarakhand.

IAS officer SK Mattu, who was awaiting his new responsibility, has been given the charge of Principal Secretary, Revenue, Disaster Management, Social Welfare and Commissioner (Social Welfare), Managing Director of the Multipurpose Finance Development Corporation and Managing Director of the Uttarakhand Minorities Welfare and Waqf Corporation.

Similarly, PC Verma, who holds the designation of Principal Secretary, Civil Aviation, Industrial Development, Small-scale Industries and Chief Executive Officer Khadi Gramodhyog, has been given the addition charge of higher education and Sanskrit language.

Manish Panwar, till now Secretary and Commissioner (Social Welfare) and Managing Director of the Multipurpose Finance Development Corporation and Managing Director of the Uttarakhand Minorities Welfare and Waqf Corporation, has been transferred to the post of Secretary, School Education, Child Development and Women’s empowerment.

District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar, MC Upreti has been given the additional charge of Managing Director, Terai Seed Development Corporation, Additional Secretary, Potable Water, Rural Development and Cooperatives.

Coordinator Pradhan Mantri Sarak Vikas Yojana and Additional Secretary Amit Negi has been relieved of the departments of Cooperatives and Sahakari Samtis. He has been given the additional Department of Finance. Additional Secretary, Programme Implementation, Manjul Kumar Joshi has been given the additional charge of Director, Cooperative Societies and Additional Secretary, Cooperatives.

Kumbh Mela officer Anand Vardhan has been given the additional charge of Commissioner, Garhwal Mandal, till the time the incumbent Commissioner Umakant Panwar returns from the training. Chief Executive Officer, Pitthoragarh, Ashish Joshi has been transferred to the post of Additional Secretary, Administration. Chief Executive Officer, Udham Singh Nagar, US Kabadwal has been transferred to the post of General Manager, Tourism, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, and also Secretary, SADA. Further, Yogal Kishore Pant, who was GM, Tourism, GMVN, and Secretary, SADA, will now be Chief Executive Officer of Udham Singh Nagar. 

Pitthoragarh, April 9
Maoist of Nepal have resumed their activities on the border towns of far western Nepal adjoining Uttarakhand state, according to Pitthoragarh Superintendent of Police PVK Krishna Kumar and intelligence agencies.

“A day before nearly 150 Maoist cadres gathered at Khalanga Inter-College of Darchula in Nepal and shouted anti-India slogans and raised issue of alleged Indian occupation at Kalapani,” said an intelligence official of local intelligence unit attached to Pitthoragarh SP.

“After the royalty was removed in Nepal and Maoists came into main stream politics of that country, the Maoists are being visible for the first time,” said the intelligence sources adding that the Maoists are now organising processions and open meetings at border towns of Darchula, Jauljivi and Baluakote in Nepal.

Last week more than a dozen Maoist cadres led by centre committee member Iswari Prashad Bhattarai gathered at Darchula town bordering Indian town of same name in Nepal and said their cadre will fight Indian occupation at Kalapani and will not let Pancheswar Dam constructed.

“To raise the Kalapani issue, last month the maoist chief Prachanda was to visit the Kalapani area but due to unavailability of helicopter he could not do so but later organised meetings at Mahendranagar adjoining indo-Nepal border in Champawat district,” said an official of the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) Pitthoragarh.

Mussoorie, April 9
Famous cosmic healer and touch therapist Mulk Raj Dass was laid to rest at a cemetery near Lal Tibba in Landour Cantt today. Members of his family, relatives and well-wishers gathered at his clinic and home near Woodstock School to pay homage to the revered son of soil.

In a memorial service, his bereaved daughter Devika said Dr Dass was a workaholic and carried out his healing process 18 hours a day and when she asked him to slowdown as he was reaching 60, his reply to her daughter was “but Darling I still feel like a young boy of 21”. She also said the best thing she remembered of her father was his sense of humour and commitment towards his work. She also said Dr Dass was an immensely loving person who showered his blessings on all patients equally.

Dr Dass believed till end that “cosmic energy exists everywhere in the cosmos. A band between the galaxies and humans keeps the whole cosmos in order and the cosmic energy is the life force and is essential to maintain the order of life and to expand our consciousness”, his daughter added.

Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, expressing grief, said Dr Dass was a man filled with virtue of simplicity and gave joy to many of his patients through touch therapy. He also said the doctor loved Mussoorie immensely and had studied in Rama Devi School in his early years and then joined DAV College, Dehradun, before leaving for Germany and London. Jot Singh further said Dr Dass’ demise was jot only an irreparable loss to the town but also to the mankind.

He felt the amount of humane service Dr Dass had done, he should be honoured with a national award like Padma Vibhushan. He offered his condolences to the bereaved family on the occasion.

Former Palika President Manmohan Singh Mall also offered condolences to the bereaved family and said Dr Dass was a miracle who healed people through his cosmic healing method and it was a God gift to him.

Palika President OP Uniyal, Ravinder Goyal, Members of Nagrik Suraksha Samiti, Hoteliers Association, Traders Association and other major organisations of the town mourned the death of Dr Dass. His assistant said Dr Dass was suffering from jaundice and had been ill since September.

He was referred to Delhi and then taken to Goa also where a liver transplant was diagnosed by the doctors for which he was shiftd to Jupiter Hospital, Mumbai. He breath his last there. He was born in 1945 and died at the age of 64. 

Haridwar, April 9
To ensure a smooth and peaceful completion of century’s first Maha Kumbh’s mega Shahi Snan on Baisakhi, a meeting of the mela administration was held in Haridwar wherein all zonal and sector magistrates were present to chalk out strategies and plans for the festive bath.

The meeting, which was presided over by mela in charge officer Anand Vardhan, was held at the Municipal Committee auditorium. Addressing the magistrates, Vardhan said they had to ensure that the holy bath was managed successfully as it would signal the completion of the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar. “You all have to inspect and visit allotted mela areas and check out any flawas before the Baisakhi fest,” said Vardhan.

On easing crowd pressure at the Har-ki-Pauri core mela zone, Vardhan said if it was ensured that all ghats were utilised by the crowd then it would pave for a successful completion of the main Shahi Snan.

While mela police chief Alok Sharma said: “Security setup will be ensured by mutual coordination between zonal-security magistrates and during royal processions coordination by magistrates with akhadas will be of vital importance.”

Mela police chief strictly emphasised that no vehicle would be allowed to be parked on road sides and the vehicles at parking lots too would have to be properly parked. Along with all magistrates were ADM (mela) Chander Sekhar Bhatt, Vishnu Singh Dhanik, HC Semwal, ADM SN Pandey, ASP (Security) Yogendra Singh Rawat, SSP (Mela) Ajay Rautella. 

Haridwar, April 9
Spectacular performances were given by Pauri Garhwal’s folk artistes to present the local folk cultural lineage of Uttarakhand through Pauri-based Gadkala Sanskriti Sanstha at the ongoing Swar Ganga cultural fest organised by the cultural department as part of Mahakumbh.

Beginning with the Kedar-Vandana, “Ab Yeh Gaih Baba Kedara Ucha Dhyun Maa” the Gadkala artistes presented a varied range of folk songs and dances, which showed the hilly culture of the state.

And any such performance in Haridwar and Uttarakhand is always embellished by the holy river Ganga arti and bhajan and here too Gadkala artistes rendered Ganga stuti “Har Har Gange Mata Ki Jay Bolo” and all and sundry present just began to lip in with whole podium seemed to be dipping in religious-devotional bathe.

The beautifully choreographed Jaunsari dance presented on the song “Fuli jail jaih.....” drew a long applause with sound of clapping reverberating in the whole auditorium.

While sonorous renditions by famous singer from Pauri Garhwal Anil Bisht especially “Bhed Pakho Baaro Maasa”, “Paabo Baazaar” made the crowd ecstatic.

Bisht who is also a noted director has more than a dozen odd albums to his credit said performing in front of a national-international audience is a unique opportunity bestowed to them.

Bisht was accompanied by signers Ganesh Veeran, Prem Ballabh Pant, Rashmi Puri, Laxmi and Mamta Pant who also made the cultural night memorable for all. Artistes Parmendra Negi, Subash Pandey, Tapeshwar and Dwarika Nautiyal aided dancers Meenakshi, Divya, Preeti, Suman, Gaurav, Deepak, Rahul and Ashok Rawat gave their best in making the folk night to remember.

Besides the Pauri artistes of the Nirmal Joshi Memorial Foundation also gave a short but a crisp performance. The foundation artistes began with a beautifully orchestrated kathak performance on Lord Shiva prayer “Har Har Gangey Mahadev” by Pramila Pandey, which got rave reviews from the audience.

Pramila Pandey is a disciple of legendary Birju Maharaj and has been conferred Doon Ratna for making Dehradun’s name in the art circle with her talent. 

Haridwar, April 9
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the BJP President Rajnath Singh met Akhada Parishad national chief Mahant Gyandas here today.

Mahant Gyandas who was sitting on agitation today, demanding constant flow of the holy river Ganga at the Nirmani Ani Akhada was given assurance by Rajnath Singh to have a word with the BJP-led Uttarakhand government in this matter. Rajnath Singh assured Mahant Gyandas of him meeting Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in this matter.

Rajnath tried to pacify Mahant Gyandas by saying that he too is concerned about the damage being done to the river Ganga by the dams and tunnels which are drying the river having a holy significance for the billions of Indians.

The former national president of the BJP has clarification from both the Central government and the state government o their stance on the Ganga issue pertaining to building of dams and other hydro-electrical projects in its natural course emanating from Gangotri glacier.

Lashing at the Central government Mahant Gyandas said to Singh that the Central government has betrayed the saints community on the hydel projects being carried out in Uttarakhand.

“We all saints in lakhs belonging to Bairagi community comprising of 18 Akhadas, three Anis and about 700 Khalsas are united to fight for the cause of the holy river Ganga. We will only take pause when we will stop all the hydro-projects on river Ganga,” said Gyan Das conveying the Akhadas stance to Rajnath Singh.

Accompanying Rajnath Singh were Uttarakhand Sports Council Chief Narayan Singh Rana too.

Dehradun, April 9
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva has underlined the need for inclusion of livelihood opportunities in the forest management curriculum.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day convention of the Uttarakhand Indian Forest Service Officers Association here, the Governor said foresters must work to create livelihood opportunities for forest-dependent communities, including tribesmen.

She also laid stress on community participation in the forest conservation initiatives. She said Uttarakhand had been associated with conservation movements like Chipko.

The patron of the association, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand, RBS Rawat, said IFS officers in the state had an important role to play taking into account Uttarakhand being a forest predominant state. Uttarakhand IFS Association president Jairaj also spoke. Association’s vice-president IS Bisht, IFS officers Rekha Pai, Meenakshi Joshi and others were prominent association members present on the occasion. 

Dehradun, April 9
Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited has appealed the consumers of Uttarakhand to observe restraint in this hour of power crisis in the state.

In the backdrop of growing resentment among general public over frequent power cuts, a release issued by the Department, the Power Corporation officials held that lack of power availability in Northern Grid stood as the main reason behind the present day power crisis in the state. “There is a difference of 8.5 MU of power per day between demand and supply in Uttarakhand. In order to make up for the gap, 3.4 MU of power cut is being done while the rest 5 MU is being arranged through overdraw,” the release said. But then overdraw is proving to be much difficult taking into account the net power availability in the Northern Grid.

To make matter worse, Uttarakhand that had taken power through banking last winters has to now return these power units back from April 16. Thus, The Corporation has not ruled out more of power cuts in the state in near future.

The Corporation has appealed the consumers to maintain calm as the department understood the inconveniences caused to the people. It has also asked them to work towards saving power and avoid using high power consuming equipment like air conditioners. “We seek cooperation of the people,” Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited release said. 

Dehradun, April 9
Citing irregularities in fair price shops, the state unit of the Shiv Sena protested at the office of the District Supplies Officer (DSO).The Sena members also raised the issue of black marketing, hike in petrol, diesel and kerosene oil prices and problems of ration cards. Led by district head Virender Singh Rawat, the Sena workers raised slogans against the irregularities.

Rawat said people were not getting ration card and if some were getting then there were no essential commodities available at the shops. Black marketing was on and the poor class was suffering due to this.

He added that no checking of the shops and ration stock was being done on a regular basis.

The workers warned that if their demands were not adhered to then they would adopt their own ways to solve the problems of people.

Dehradun, April 9
Hundreds of sikhs from Uttarakhand will head to Delhi to attend the World Sikh Convention that will be held on April 11.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, Amarjit Singh, state president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Delhi informed that the president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandh Samiti and SAD Delhi Pramjit Singh Sarna had invited the representatives of all sikh associations for the convention to solve the problems of the community with consent of all.

Amarjit Singh said sikhs from all across the country and world would participate in the convention. One bus and six cars would leave for Delhi tonight while the second phase of the buses would leave tomorrow morning from Doiwala.

Religious issues like correct date of birth and death anniversary of Sikh Gurus and other issues related to the community would be discussed during the convention, the state president told the media.

Dehradun April 9
Under the aegis of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), the Jagriti Swayam Sahayata Samuh distributed sewing machines to the underprivileged women at Rajkiya Balika Inter College, Lakhibagh, here toady.

The event was part of the programme of the ‘Deserving Student Support Society’ NSS unit of the school.

Mohan Khare, the general manager of THDC, inaugurated the distribution ceremony and appreciated the society that enables the poor section of women to get trained in stitching and knitting. —TNS