Haridwar, May 27
The ghats of twin pilgrim cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh once again were filled with pilgrims on the religious occasion of Baisakh Poornima and Buddh Poornima. Specially at Har-ki-Pauri, Muni-ki-Reti pilgrims took a dip in the holy river Ganga.

Kurma Jayanti was also celebrated today in various parts of the country.

Elaborate arrangements were made in the Kumbh city Haridwar with the whole district bifurcated into 28 sectors and nine zones. From security, health, electricity, water to traffic, all arrangements were put in place. All these department employees were put on eight-hour shift with at least three technical employees on duty. Five zonal and 10 sector magistrates overlooked the whole day’s proceedings.

Like the Kumbh mela, which got over last month, this festive bath was managed by the district administration and so the reins from Kumbh Mela Officer Anand Vardhan moved to District Magistrate of Haridwar R Meenakshi Sundaram.

Dehradun, May 27
A function to commemorate the death anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru was held at the office of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee here today.

Glowing tributes were paid to Pandit Nehru for his long struggle to fight for the independence of the country and then to rebuild the nation after independence.

Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Hira Singh Bisht paying tributes termed Pandit Nehru as the true architect who laid a solid foundation of scientific and industrial base of the country.

He said the laboratories both in the scientific and defence-related fields set up by the first Prime Minister has led India to achieve spectacular advancement in the respective fields.

Surendra Arya, spokespersons of the Uttarakhand Congress said the vision of Pt Nehru of socialism, equality, democracy and secularism has played a great role in India emerging as the largest democracy in the world and now is on the threshold of becoming a leading economic power.

A large number of other party leaders also eulogised the role played by Pandit Nehru before and after the independence of the country.

Several other programmes were also held where party workers garlanded his statues and pictures. Party workers also paid tributes at the Old Prison building where he remained incarcerated in Dehradun jail. 

Haridwar, May 27
With the Uttarakhand assembly elections due in less than two years, the political battle has already started amongst the two main rival political parties, the BJP and the Congress.

While from the BJP front Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is on a series of inauguration and sanctioning of public-wooing projects, from the Congress front union state cabinet minister Harish Rawat is taking the task to present the Congress as the better alternative for the state.

Till date the Maha Kumbh budget and related issues were on the agenda of the cabinet minister, now Rawat has come down heavily on several frontiers against the mismanagement of the BJP led state government.

So, from wooing farmers by assuring them that if the Congress party comes into power in the state they will be provided cheap electricity, ample access of water for irrigation, assuring caste-birth certificates to plain area residents of the state, maintaining communal harmony to developing hilly districts.

Addressing mediapersons and party workers in several functions in Haridwar district Rawat termed the BJP government as a total failure on all fronts and putting the wheel of development in the state to a halt.

“People of the state are perturbed by the three-year rule of the saffron party and despite putting up two Chief Ministerial faces nothing has changed in terms of development in the state. Be it BC Khanduri or Nishank, both have failed to put state into developmental mode and now people are reeling under misery and unrest,” pointed Rawat.

Luring farmers Rawat, who is also MP from the Haridwar constituency, assured the farmer community that if the Congress be voted into power in the next assembly elections electricity will be provided at a minimal rate.

Lashing out at the BJP government for not able to provide adequate water for irrigation purposes Rawat said fields of farmers were marred by drought and farmers were living in poverty, but the state government was busy in providing red beacon status to its party leaders.

On the contentious issue of caste and residential state certificate the minister put the onus on the state government for not being able to provide the certificates to the legitimate people and assured that the Congress would take this issue on priority basis if it formed the government in the state.

Attributing misusage of funds provided by the Central government to the state government Rawat alleged that the Central funds were getting marred by the corruption prevalent in the state and whether be cabinet ministers or bureaucracy everyone was dipped in corruption and malpractices.

Informing about the Kaumi Ekta Sammellan that was being organised by the Congress to spread communal harmony, Rawat said apart from such conventions on foot rallies would also be undertaken to spread the religious harmony.

He took strong cognisance of state bureaucracy working under total control and directions of not only the BJP government, but also of common BJP-RSS leaders which, he said, did not bode well for the democracy.

Dehradun, May 27
The state, badly governed by both national parties, the Congress and the BJP, which have sullied their hands in respective hydro-electric projects scams, needed a third front as a potent alternative where the Samajwadi Party (SP) can play a pivotal role, said Vinod Barthwal, state president of the Samajwadi Party in a press conference here today.

He rued the fact that the SP had failed to tap the opportunity to emerge as a third force in the state. He did not mind taking along the parties such as the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) for the purpose with which the party did not get along well.

He said the party in its meeting of the national working committee held in Kolkata had issued directions to start working on strengthening its base in Uttarakhand in the wake of the upcoming assembly election and other states such as Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Very soon, the selection of candidates would begin, he added.

Touching upon the brewing issue of extension of the industrial package in the state, he criticised the BJP and the Congress for playing mere lip service and indulging in dirty politics. 

Dehradun, May 27
Mayor Vinod Chamoli maintained his stand on the hoarding policy before the new committee, headed by Principal Secretary Urban Development S Raju, created by the state government to solve the feud over this policy.

In a letter written to him, he reiterated his stand saying that the hoarding policy was formulated under the bylaws of the Municipal Corporation, of which the gazette notification was publicised on March 27. Afterward, the policy was enforced after getting it cleared from the Municipal Board.

Chamoli said despite obstacles on the way, people supported this policy. The Mayor also attached a copy of the Non-Implementation of Defacement Act, Supreme Court Order and the Forest Act, along with his letter, to substantiate his claim that as per the Supreme Court’s order and decision of the Municipal Corporation and Board, prompt action should be taken to enforce hoarding policy prepared by the Municipal Corporation.

He said, “As per the report of the Supreme Court order, several overlapping banners outside the gate of SSP’s residence and opposite it are in contravention of the Defacement Act. This illegality exists all over the town and creates a horrendous sight.”

He also talked of highway hoarding and boards and said, they too were in contravention of the Supreme Court order as described in case of MC Mehta v/s Union of India of year 1985. Copy of the order too was enclosed with the report. The report also mentioned about boards on trees which defy the Defacement Act, Forest Act and environmental Protection Act.

Chamoli said his case was legally and socially so strong that committee could not afford to ignore it.

The committee has been floated to end the tussle between the Mayor and the MNA who was considered to be the representative of the state government. Having had its reputation sullied in front of the media, opposition and public, the step of making a committee had been taken by state government to clear the impasse.

The Mayor too, who till a few days ago was not signing on any file, had begun working saying that the public had expectations from him and he could no longer ignore their problems. But he has not let his antagonism off against the MNA as he rejected the suggestion of some counsellors who came to his office asking him to call the Board meeting to work upon important projects and their financial implications keeping the rainy season approaching close by.

Chamoli said until the MNA was removed, he was in no mood to call a Board meeting.

Now, seeing the seriousness and urgency of the state government to break this deadlock, the crisis seems to just about to vanish in a week’s time.

Dehradun, May 27
The centuries old practice of ingratiating Goddess Titala by piercing the body with needles is alive in Dehradun’s Madrasi Colony and yesterday it was no different as little girls, boys and adults participated in the ritual that traces it’s roots to the ancient tribal tradition.

Amidst loud howls of protests and cries, a six-year-old girl was first liberally smeared with ash and then began her ordeal as elders started piercing her body with small needles. Soon her upper body and torso were covered with needles of different shapes, but the child stood rooted in her track, obeying her elders who wanted the best for her in the form of blessings from their deity Titala.

Soon men and women joined little children, this time with bigger needles and spears piercing the mouth and tongue. Dressed in tribal robes, the men did not flinch even as more than 3-ft-long spears were poked across the mouth by their elders, who also did not fail to smear ash said to have antiseptic properties.

“It is a form of connection with our goddess and acupuncture rituals are still practised at several temples dedicated to Lord Murgan in Tamil Nadu. We seek her blessings and pray for prosperity, peace and good health,” said M Managar, head of the community, who led the procession.

Later, as the procession ended and buckets of water mixed with turmeric were poured on men and children’s bodies where needles and spears were pierced. The next day, seldom are there signs of wounds gone bad or pain.

Residents of Madrasi Colony, some of them hailing from Salem district in Tamil Nadu, have been living in ghettos in Dehradun for some 60 years. Most of them are engaged in petty tasks and junk trade. In fact, the difference is stark. As the row of neat houses end, their living quarters begin near the railway station. There is a pucca road also and side by side filth and grime pervade. As the night descends, illegal activities take place.

The families face a multitude of problems, from drug addiction to joblessness, but on this day they seem to forget everything. “Some of them are educated, but emancipation to most of them is through this route. We have tried dissuading them, but we cannot do much. It is their faith that finds expression here,” said Anup Kapoor, a councillor from the area. 

Nainital, May 27
Six persons were killed in separate road accidents in the region last night.

Dehradun, May 27
To mark its 20th anniversary, Dr Alok Ahuja’s Pathology and Imaging Centre will hold free camps on May 29 and May 30 for residents of Dehradun to avail free pathology and radiology testing facilities.

“We will be giving 50 per cent off on most of the tests, the rates would be even cheaper than the government hospitals and patients attending the camps unable to get tests done due to rush can also book dates in advance,” said Dr Alok Ahuja, while addressing mediapersons today.

Being the only accredited laboratory in the state by the National Accreditation Board for Testing Laboratories (NABL) is planning to set up a fully equipped microbiology laboratory to carry culture tests and even H1N1. “The facility in the private sector will be first of its kind in the state and 80 per cent of the formality for acquiring NABL accreditation is already complete, we will get it by June,” he stressed.

The laboratory conducts fully automated DNA-PCR tests for tuberculosis.

The centre in a tie up with health-care major Roche will also train pathology and radiology personnel in August in quality care and management. “This will improve the standard of services in the state, as in the coming days it will become mandatory for laboratories to get quality certifications. All laboratories should possess highest standards of safety norms, NABL is the only agency that conducts third party assessments,” said Dr Ahuja.

Pitthoragarh, May 27
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari said here today that the China was gradually occupying our land at borders, but our respective governments had been neglecting the fact.

Koshiyari was part of the BJP team that went to enquire into the reports of alleged land grabbing by Chinese in the Ladakh region. In Ladakh region villagers told us that the area where they used to graze their cattle after 1962 had now gradually been occupied by China 1 km at some place and 0.5 km at other place,” said Koshiyari.

“In the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh, China has advanced at every border post while in the Ladakh area it has occupied the grazing grounds of Indian villages,” said Koshiyari.

The BJP vice-president said whereas the China had constructed double lanes roads at Bomila near Tawang in its area, our roads were still looked like a kachcha road. “Until our policy vision Chinese threat is also treated at par with that of Pakistan, we can not compete with China at border from the defence infrastructure and build up,” said the BJP’s vice-president.

Mussoorie, May 27
Pilot project on “Management of fringe forests and adjoining non-forest lands for ecological, water, food and livelihood security and sustainability of the joint forest management programme in the state of Uttarakhand” began at a formal opening held at the Surbhi Resorts here today.

Chief guest on the occasion, Uttarakhand Forest Department Principal Chief Conservator Forest Dr RBS Rawat inaugurated by lighting the ceremomial lamp.

DFO Mussoorie Range RG Verma addressed the gathering through a slide show. He informed that the project was funded by the National Rainfed Area Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Only six states, namely Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttarakhand, have been selected as pilot projects. The project area will lie in the Kempty range of the Mussoorie Forest Division covering the Ringaligad micro-watershed total area of 1232 ha, including the Civil Panchayat area of 672 ha. The six villages involved in the project are Banglow ki Kandi, Sianji, Chamiya, Jethu Ki Kandi, Banogi and Bhatoli.

Verma further said the project cost would be around Rs 250 lakh in three years (first year Rs 75 lakh, second year Rs 100 lakh, third year Rs 75 lakh) plus convergence from other sources like ETF, Forest Department, MGNREGS etc.

Technical Advisor, NRAA and Additional Secretary, Government of India, Dr DK Bahuguna said the project with the association of villagers of the area would become a model project and be pride of Uttarakhand. He also appealed to villagers to actively participate in the project and benefit from it.

He further said the main objectives of the project were to integrate land-based activity of agriculture, animal husbandary, forests and rural areas for holistic development of fringe forests and adjoining non-forest lands. The other objective was to develop mechanism for convergence of resources activities and programme to demonstrate a win-win situation for upstream forest and downstream agricultural for ecological water and livelihood security.

Dr RBS Rawat said the project had been envisaged to ensure better ecology and conservation of native biodiversity for adaption to climate change response and carbon sequestration.

He also said additional allocation for the project amounting Rs 6 crore was also being sought. The main motive behind the project was to enable village institutions to develop and promote micro and medium eneterprises for enhanced livelihoods of marginal and medium farmers, assetless, women and vulnerable sections of the society through development, promotion, value addition and processing of locally available natural resources and enhance capacity of the Forest Department and other development agencies and NGOs through joint collaboration and experience sharing.

The invited guests distributed the token money of Rs 10,000 to each village. The villagers were pleased to be selected for this pilot project, but were skeptical of the continuous monitoring in the long run.

FRI Director SS Negi, Garhwal Forest chief DBS Khati and others were present on the occasion.