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Rs 25-crore plan for Corbett villagers’ resettlement
Panel to conserve elephant corridor at Gola
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Peacock census waits for Central funds
A peacock at the Malsi Deer Park in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph
Central panel takes note of curbs on Van Gujjars
Garbage accumulated in a nullah on the pillars
of a foot bridge in Dehradun. Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat
Dehradun Diary
Dev Sanskriti University focuses on research
Cable owners-ESPN dispute fails to dampen FIFA spirit!
A customer buys a cap with an insignia of
Football World Cup at a shop in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
Education Directorate needs funds
Rakesh scripts City Young’s victory
Rajasthan beat Meerut in T20
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Rs 25-crore plan for Corbett villagers’ resettlement
Dehradun, June 13 Ramesh, who is on a visit to the Corbett these days, said the plan envisaged providing Rs 10 lakh cash to each of the families to be displaced from the buffer zone of the Corbett. As many as 250 families have to be resettled under a rehabilitation scheme mooted by the Union Minister of Environment and Forests. The minister has also announced opening of an interpretation centre at the Corbett at a cost of Rs 3 crore. The centre will be of immense benefit both for tourists and also for those engaged in research linked to forests and wildlife. The centre is expected to come up in a period of one year and six months. On the number of resorts and hotels coming up in the close vicinity of Corbett, Ramesh said the Union Environment and Forests Ministry had brought its concern to the notice of the Uttarakhand government. He also said a proposal to link Ramnagar, Lansdowne and Terai West forest divisions and declaring it as buffer zone of Corbett was in consideration and under study with experts. On tiger deaths, the minister said the death of 70 tigers in the country was certainly a matter of concern. Referring to Tiger Protection Force in Corbett, Ramesh said the ninety-member force would have 27 Van Gujjars. He said the forest dwellers needed to be part of security mechanism for the wildlife areas. On the Green India Mission, he said 20 million hectares of green had to be done in the country for which an amount of Rs 40 crore had to been spent. He reiterated his ministry was committed to increasing green cover in the country. National Tiger Conservation Authority’s Rajesh Gopal, Nainital MP KS Singh Baba, Corbett Park Director Ranjan Mishra, DFO PK Patro, Forest Conservator Kapil Joshi and other senior Uttarakhand forest officials were present along with the minister.
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Panel to conserve elephant corridor at Gola
Dehradun, June 13 The committee as per the minister’s directive will be submitting its report within three months. The minister, who was on a two-day visit to Corbett today, laid stress on the importance of Gola corridor for the movement of wildlife. It is noteworthy that much hue and cry has been raised over blockage of this 500-m-wide Gola corridor. The Indian Oil Corporation, ITBP and Railways are some of the departments blamed for
the blockages. Meanwhile, the minister also assured the villagers that his ministry would take all necessary steps to save the families while securing part of the Gola elephant corridor.
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Peacock census waits for Central funds
Dehradun, June 13 But with finances yet to be given to the WII by the Union Environment and Forest Ministry, the census exercise appears to be a far cry. Peacocks have so far found little attention in conservation efforts despite the fact that these enjoy the national bird status. While the tiger has been in the thick of conservation efforts with little dearth of funds, peacocks, which are no less charismatic than the striped cats, have failed to evoke a similar conservation response from the ministry. Dr S Satyakumar, a senior scientist who had been instrumental in the earlier questionnaire-based peacock estimation, admitted that they had put forward a proposal before the Union ministry to conduct a peacock census, but a response was still to come from the ministry and it looks nowhere in sight. He said peacock census would require both men and finances because peafowl habitat is spread all over the country from forests to villages and even in campuses of institutions in city areas. “Peacock census will require heavy participation of enumerators and involve several agencies. This Herculean exercise needs both men and money,” he pointed out. The WII, as part of the proposed census, plans to divide the country into six zones to ensure a fool-proof peacock census exercise. The need for a peacock census was felt after increasing cases of peafowl deaths were reported in the country in recent years. There has also been a growing concern to explore its relationship vis-à-vis humans, its relationship with villagers in the periphery of its habitat and unlawful trades linked to it. The WII-initiated all-India questionnaire based survey that was carried out over a period of two years did reveal detailed information about peacocks inhabiting national parks and sanctuaries and other areas in the country. Fortunately, peafowl had in the survey registered its presence in its natural habitats. In all, 1,720 sites were tapped for the survey across the country, which included 448 protected areas (national parks and sanctuaries). The WII had also contacted as many as 350 District Magistrates and a big number of voluntary organisations and bird watcher groups in order to ensure that a fool-proof estimation was achieved. The survey revealed the presence of peacocks as a high 82 per cent in the protected areas while 345 out of 519 districts too admitted to its presence in civil areas. Apart from protected areas, 160 localities that include other forest areas, civil establishments and institutions like the JNU and IIT recorded the presence of the peafowl. But then, it was just a questionnaire-based survey and a census will definitely reveal a clearer picture. The peacock census, if it succeeds in seeing the light of the day, will bring to the fore lesser-known facts linked to peacock poaching, destruction of crops due to peacocks apart from revealing its strength in the country.
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Central panel takes note of curbs on Van Gujjars
Dehradun, June 13 At a public consultation held in Dehradun recently for UP and Uttarakhand vis-à-vis the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, the matter was brought to the notice of the committee by a non-government organisation, the Sophia, working on the issues of nomadic tribes of Van Gujjars in Saharanpur district of UP. The Sophia alleged serious violation of the Forest Rights Act of Van Gujjars, who migrate to the Govind National Park in Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh every summer. Putting up the issue before two members of the committee, Ashish Kothari and Roma, during the public consultation, Director of the Sophia Praveen Kaushal had disclosed that the Uttarakhand government had stopped Van Gujjars from accessing their traditional grazing forestlands in the Govind National Park this year also. “Every year from 2007 to 2010, when Van Gujjars and their buffaloes are on their way to the Govind Pashu Vihar Park, the Uttarakhand Forest Department tries to stop them from reaching their traditional pastures in the Govind National Park. All these Van Gujjars are permit holders and before 2007 they were allowed to access these traditional pasturelands. But, today they are being denied the same. This is a clear violation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006”, Kaushal alleged. In his petition to the committee, Kaushal accused SS Rasaily, Director, Rajaji National Park, and Govind Pashu Vihar of coming out with advertisements on April 21, 2009, that describe Van Gujjars as threat to citizens of Uttarakhand. “This community has been coming into and moving out of Uttarakhand (including when it was a part of Uttar Pradesh) for generations. How can they suddenly be called as outsiders and a threat?” he pointed out. Meanwhile, sources said the committee was contemplating bringing the matter to the notice of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for a suitable action. “This matter needs to be immediately addressed and Van Gujjars should be allowed to exercise their rights according to the Forest Rights Act. A letter should be issued to chief secretaries of both the states (UP and Uttarakhand) to start process of formation of their Forest Rights Committees so that verification of the rights of this nomadic tribe should start immediately in both states,” Roma said in her letter written to NC Saxena, Joint Review Committee’s chairperson.
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Need to remove encroachments on nullahs
Seema Sharma Tribune News Service
Dehradun, June 13 The report has listed 22 localities of the city which have serious drainage problems. These include areas such as Indira Colony, Anand Vihar, Rajiv Nagar, Mohit Nagar, Alaknanda Enclave, Dronpuri (near GMS Road) and Brhampuri (near Saharanpur Road). The report, which has taken a few cues from the master plan prepared by Consulting Engineering Services, has done extensive survey of 600 km area and mentioned the requirement of 14 big drainage projects instead of one as mentioned in the master plan. Dutta said many nullahs in the city had been partially and fully encroached upon by commercial entities more than residential in almost all listed localities. The government would have to remove these encroachments, no matter how bothersome that exercise might seem as without that the drainage problems in these areas can never be sorted out. Besides, the development without any planning has left some places in a tizzy where nothing can be done to solve the drainage problem and they would continue to be flooded each time rain hits the city. “The layout of the city is contrary to the natural slope of the ground leaving no roads or spaces along which drains can be laid. According to the ground slope, the drainage path is blocked by walls erected by institutional developments such as by the IMA and the FRI. The colonies situated around these two institutions will continue to face drainage problems as the slopes where the water was to flow down have been blocked with the common boundary walls with these institutional areas,” he said Similarly, the ISBT, along with many other important structures and malls, too has been developed on a slanting position, lower to the main road, which is why these areas would continue to be in a drainage mess. For residential colonies, he said they had been developed without adequate network of collector drains such as at Alaknanda Enclave and Dronpuri near GMS Road. The collector drains are not linked to outfall drains. His other observation is regarding the size. “Sizes are inadequate. In some colonies, such as Brhampuri near Saharanpur Road, roads have been laid sloping away from main roads. It is not been possible to provide drainage along the way,” he added. Pointing to the hobnobbing of many government departments in letting all these drainage-related problems cropped up, he said the state government must take timely action in at least providing proper development and drainage system in the south zone of the city, which is yet to be fully developed and follow the guideline and plan as mentioned in the DPR.
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Tarun Vijay can unite warring state BJP leaders
SMA Kazmi Tribune News Service The unanimous election of RSS ideologue and national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tarun Vijay as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand last week has added a new dimension to the dynamics of the internal politics of the ruling BJP in the state. The Uttarakhand unit of the BJP, since the inception of the state in November, 2000, has seen politics of the Garhwal region versus the Kumaon region that mainly centered around two former Chief Ministers, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd), both hailing from the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, respectively. The Thakur-Brahmin combination has also overshadowed the politics of the state in general in both national parties, namely the BJP as well as in the Congress. Interestingly, the BJP which took the lead in making Uttarakhand a separate hill state, entrusted the leadership to Nityanand Swami, by making him the first Chief Minister of the interim government of the state much to the chagrin of other state BJP leaders. There were allegations that Swami was an outsider and fingers were pointed towards his roots despite the fact that he spent his entire life in Dehradun. The hill lobby in the party prevailed upon the Central leadership to oust Swami as Chief Minister just before the first ever Assembly elections in the state in February, 2002. But, even the change could not prevent the party from electoral disaster, paving the way for the Congress government headed by veteran ND Tiwari. Even after winning the 2007 assembly polls, the Uttarakhand BJP has remained a house divided and in this innings, again it was Koshiyari who raised a banner of revolt against Chief Minister General Khanduri and managed to kick him out of the office with friendly help from the Central leadership. But, the entry of Tarun Vijay, a resident of Dehradun, into the state BJP politics has encouraged party men to think beyond the Garhwal-Kumaon and Thakur-Brahmin dispensation. Tarun, despite allegations by his own party ideologue Shashdari Chari on getting Rajya Sabha ticket has started off well to fill the vacuum created by the deep divide within the party. A lot of party men disillusioned by the warring factions have started visiting him. In the state BJP there were a few leaders who were recognised by the Central party leadership and were also capable. Tarun, although an RSS ideologue, comes with a lot of experience at the national level and is a well-known name being editor of the RSS mouthpiece, “Panchjanya”. Being soft spoken and deft in public dealing, he has endeared party workers and leaders. He is even talking of getting help from his political opponents in his stated endeavour for the state he would be representing in the Upper House. Political insiders believe that the way he started his innings in Uttarakhand, it seems that in the days to come he would be playing an important role in the state politics unlike other Rajya Sabha members in the past from the state who were imposed from the top and remained totally unseen and unheard during their tenures. His entry would also ring an alarm bell for the older politicians. With a younger Chief Minister in Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and now the entry of Tarun Vijay, it looks, the Uttarakhand BJP is in for a generational change at present. Manmohan may announce ‘Nainital Declaration’
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to inaugurate the golden jubilee celebrations of Pantnagar University, one of the premier institutes in agriculture research that played a pioneer role in the Green Revolution together with Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, on June 19. Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, who is nowadays stationed at the Raj Bhawan, Nainital, has also done her homework well for the grand occasion. She has already called a conference of eminent agriculturists and environmentalists at Nainital to chalk out a strategy for hill farming that has been stagnating in the state. She is also working on a concept for hill farming and has sent her report to eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan for approval. It is expected that the Prime Minister can announce “Nainital Declaration” for improvement in hill-farming practices for better growth potential.
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Dev Sanskriti University focuses on research
Haridwar, June 13 While at the post-graduate level desertations will be published in the research paper form by this R and D cell. Informing about the cell, Chancellor, Dev Sanskriti University, Dr Pranav Pandya said with the opening of the R and D cell, students of the university would get a major help in making their career. He also said the research works being carried in the university would also be published in a book form so that the knowledge and research was available to all learners. The cell will also be composing a research journal on art of yoga which has been the USP of the university. Besides this, all medical reports of the yog-arogya polyclinic of the university will also be published by the cell so that detailed analysis of the medical therapies is available in the media reports form. Collaboration is also on the anvil between the university cell, Central government’s Ayush Department and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to publish various researches. In addition to this, researchers across the country will be invited to submit their researches, and the selected ones will be published by the cell. R and D cell coordinator Dr Kamakhya Kumar said apart from this, books written by university professors would also be published. Till date about 50 researches of yoga-science department were ready for the publication. “An editorial team has been formed for the better conduct of publication works which has been further bifurcated in two sections: one comprising five senior doctors and the second the same number of junior doctors. Chinmaya Pandya will be the Chief Editor, said Dr Kamakhya Kumar. The other team members are all doctors Suresh Barnwal, Vandana Shrivastav, Ajit Tiwari, Himandri Saw, Charu Sharma, Shailendra Dubey, Yatindra Dutt Amoli, Deepak Singh, Santosh Vishwakarma and Kamakhya Kumar.
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Cable owners-ESPN dispute fails to dampen FIFA spirit!
Possibly, the craze for the event has made people rush to get dish TV installed at their homes so as not to miss a single match. “Yesterday, from my balcony I saw three persons on a motorbike, speeding towards home with a box and a dish on their head at around 11 pm. The view was a hilarious one and clearly showed that they wanted to fix the equipment before 11:50 pm to watch the live aggression between the USA and
England,” quipped Ayaan, a student. While rich people of the country are heading towards South Africa to watch the game live, it is interesting to witness others catching the latest attractions of the game on digital television. The increasing popularity among Indians of using the digital medium to follow the sport has rendered an opportunity for
advertisers to do great business as well. Rakesh, technician from RC Electronics, said, “FIFA 2010 has raised our business in these two-three days. The game, which started during the time of the vacation, is getting popularised among youngsters who are compelling their parents to shell out money for the dish TV sets. Since Friday I have installed 12 dish TV sets, which denotes a growth of its sale as compared to the prior records and are expected to increase more till the dispute between the cable operators and
the sports channel settle downs”. Convincingly, West Bengal, Kerala and Goa has a majority of football fans in India, but the enthusiasm for the game in Dehradun is no less than any other state. Other than satellite dish television, online transmission or the most advanced version, iphones (mobile phones) are serving the purpose of soccer lovers to some extent. The highlights of the games, wallpapers, screensavers, video clippings,
blogs, chat rooms, online shopping and computer games are the latest attraction among the youth. Other than these advanced IT enabled items, small items such as graffiti-making sprays, caps and jerseys of different football clubs, photo frames, almanacs, pens, studds (shoes), posters and petty stuff are the rage among the generationnext at an affordable price.
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Education Directorate needs funds
Dehradun, June 13 Last year, the department received the annual budget of Rs 15 lakh to be spent on the infrastructure, but this year no budget has been granted by the Centre. In the absence of the annual budget, the department feels left out and has hit jobs badly of various departments. The apathy of the state administration can be clearly witnessed with the incomplete infrastructure at the Education Directorate. Incomplete building of the department, improper parking area, fragmented corridors and small rooms being shared by three-four persons are the anomalies of the administration. An official of the department alleges that the Central government has not granted funds in the education budget 2010, this year, which is hampering the regular work of its employees. Pushpa Manas, Director, Uttarakhand Education Directorate, complained, “The department feels left out without any financial assistance from the Centre. Last year, we got the funds amounting to Rs 15 lakh for the building and maintenance of the department, which was perhaps insufficient. Only two floors have been constructed so far, after the order of building construction was passed out on August 17, 2006, and the establishment of the third floor is yet to begin. The repair of impaired insulators, non-functional water taps in toilets, glass windowpanes etc will certainly require more expenditure. Some of the files and documents are also dumped in rooms due to the lack of space while regular work is also getting hampered”. “We urge the Centre to send fiscal aid to the state Education Directorate as we are looking after more than 8,000 education institutions in the state. The funds are urgently required for the smooth sailing of our various projects,” asserted Manas.
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Rakesh scripts City Young’s victory
Dehradun, June 13 In this hard-fought battle, both sides had a neck-and-neck competition till the end of the match. The first half went barren despite a few good efforts by the sides. Rakesh (46th) was the only ray of hope for the winning team. His effort brought fruit to his side as the rival team couldn’t retaliate and lost the match. Akranta will play against Doon Challenger tomorrow.
Uttarakhand Police win in league soccer
Himanshu scored lone goal in 1-0 victory of Uttarakhand Police over Vijay Cantt during the ongoing District Football League underway in the Police Lines. Vijay Cantt gave good competition to its mighty rival, Uttarakhand Police. Both teams made several goal attempts but proved futile. However, they entrained the spectators displaying
good game. No goal came in the first half from either team. In the later part of the match, Himanshu managed to take the cake. He netted in the 71st minute to change the fate of the game. Meanwhile, for tomorrow, Doon Sporting and Doon United are scheduled to play at 3 pm. In the second fixture, Doon Valley to face Yankies at 4.30 pm.
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Rajasthan beat Meerut in T20
Dehradun, June 13 Harish (33) was the top scorer for the batting side. For Rajasthan, Shantu and Akash got three wickets each. In reply, Meerut didn’t have a good opening as Rajat (16) and Parry (11) went to the pavilion early. Shankar (39) was the only batsman to have scored some respectable number for the side while the rest failed to perform. The team could score 130 runs in total. Harish and Sabir bowled well to get three wickets each. In another match played on Survey Ground, Green Field defeated Madhya Pradesh easily.
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Dehradun, June 13
Drainage Blues - II
Dehradun, June 13
Dehradun, June 13
