Dehradun, July 11
Continuing with its crusade against illegal felling of trees in Uttarakhand hills, the Himalayan Chipko Foundation has revealed another case of felling in Chaulusain, Pauri Garhwal of the state.

JP Dabral of the Himalayan Chipko Foundation received information from volunteers in Chaulusain, Pauri Garhwal that about 250 sleepers of wood were brought from the forest and had been kept just above the road before Kandakhanikhal near Joli Danda. He, along with the camera team, visited the site and shot all the evidence.

“The evidence is conclusive. Like always the Forest Department will have given permission to cut only 2 or 3 trees in the private (naap) land of an individual villager and then the contractor has cut over 250 sleepers of pine wood. Six to eight sleepers can be obtained from the pine trees in Kandakhanikhal area. Therefore, for 250 sleepers about 40 trees will have been cut,” reports JP Dabral.

Significantly, several PILs have been filed by the foundation in the Supreme Court relating to the illegal felling of trees in the forest of Uttarakhand but the rampant destruction of forests still continues goes on.

Dabral has now informed the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Uttarakhand and District Magistrate, Conservator of Forests and Superintendent of Police, Pauri Garhwal about the illegal felling.

“First it must be found out for how many trees the permission was given. And then match it with the number of trees that have been felled in the forest area. Since many more trees had been cut, it is important to find out from where they came. Such a large number of trees cannot be cut from the private land of one person. Either the wood was stolen from the private land of people who are employed elsewhere and are not aware of the tree felling, or from those who are scared of the timber mafia of Uttarakhand,” questions Dabral.

The Himalayan Chipko Foundation has also demanded compensation for the individuals from whose land the trees have been cut without their knowledge or permission. He said the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests should also ensure that the Forest Department does not issue transit permit for the wood and the entire lot is confiscated immediately. Dabral has also sought intervention from the Chief Minister as he keep the forest portfolio.

Dehradun, July 11
Members of the Mahila Utpidan Virodhi Sanyukt Morcha who are on fast unto death for the fifth consecutive day demanding justice for Meena Gola, who was allegedly killed by her family and relatives, will meet the DGP tomorrow.

The Morcha today got support from state unit president of the Samajwadi Party Vinod Barthwal who came to meet them and said he would help them. Also, Sushila Balooni, president of the State Women Commission, came to the spot and asked about the health condition of Rajni and Jyoti. She later called up the police headquarters and fixed up a meeting with the DGP on July 12.

Dehradun, July 11
Reacting to reports of resumption of works at the 600-MW Loharinag Pala on the Bhagirathi river of Uttarakhand by the three-member group of ministers in Delhi, the Matu Jan Sangathan that had vociferously opposed the Tehri Dam and has since then been working for the past many decades on Tehri Dam oustees has termed the decision to be on expected lines.

A decision to resume construction works at Loharinag Pala was taken in a meeting presided by the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and attended by Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde recently.

“The decision has come on expected lines. The earlier halt of works at Loharinag Pala was just to placate the Kumbh upsurge and the Centre had planned well to ensure its resumption once the Kumbh got over,” Vimal Bhai of the sangathan pointed out.

“Both the BJP and the Congress were playing a friendly match. Both were not sincere to put a check on dams and this has now been revealed in the meeting chaired by the Finance Minister,” he pointed out.

Vimal Bhai also questioned the logic behind calling for free flow of the Ganga only for a particular stretch. Some environmentalists had talked of making a small stretch of the Ganga from Gangotri till Uttarakashi project free, but this had rather given an excuse to those favouring projects as a green signal for the construction of projects in other parts of the Ganga.

“We must talk of the Ganga in its entirety. If we only talk of a stretch to be kept free from hydro projects, it implies that we have a consent to the construction of the Ganga in a majority part of the Ganga, which again is not justified,” Vimal said adding that projects on the Ganga would have to be opposed tooth and nail.

He said only 7 per cent of agriculture land had been left in the hills as most of these land had become causality to big dams. He reminded that even the rehabilitation works for Tehri Dam oustees was incomplete till date and a saga of untold miseries. The Matu Jan Sangathan has also called for the issuance of a White Paper on dams in the country.

Dehradun, July 11
The state unit of the Students Federation of India (SFI) in the support of BEd and BTC degree holders burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for “increasing unemployment in the state” at the Clock Tower here today.

The workers of the SFI gathered at the local bus stand and from there they walked together towards the Clock Tower raising anti-government slogans holding the effigy.

The workers burnt the effigy of the Chief Minister at the Clock Tower. Regional general secretary of the SFI Lekhraj alleged that on the one side the BJP was claiming to fill the vacant posts in schools, and on the other hand it had itself put a stop on filling different vacancies.

The SFI demanded that the false cases lodged against the BEd and BPEd degree holders, who had been peacefully agitating, be taken back. They also voiced that the anti-student and anti-youth BJP government would have to pay a price in the next Vidhan Sabha elections. 

Mussoorie, July 11
Residents of Spring Road near the Library Bazar are angry at the lackadaisical approch of the PWD and the Palika due to the absence of streetlights in the area causing a great deal of hindrance to commuters on the road at night.

According to resident SP Saklani, the streetlights have not been functioning for one month and residents face the danger of injury, especially during July when the town is mostly under dense fog.

He said even after repeated complaints, there was no hearing and they were forced to live in the fear of accident.

The condition of the road is also deplorable and vehicles have slipped on several occasions due to the damaged road. Palika President OP Uniyal also consented that the road needed repair, but as the streetlight was with the MDDA and the road with the PWD, he could do nothing in the matter. However, he has informed the authorities concerned and expects the work to begin soon.

Mussoorie, July 11
The Mussoorie police was successful in nabbing two youths, who assaulted a taxi driver from Dehradun yesterday, after an immense combing in the forest near the Wild Flower House on the Mussoorie-Kempty road in less than 24 hours after the crime was committed. Taxi driver Narendar Kumar Sharma of Bhandari Bagh, Dehradun, was stabbed brutally in the back by two assailants near the Wild Flower House.

According to CO Shweta Chaubey, the two assailants, Sonu of Niwari Ghaziabad and Sachin of Thana Modinagar, aged 22-23 years, booked a taxi from a travel agency in Dehradun and when they reached the Wild Flower House, they tried to overpower Narendar by stabbing him with a knife with the motive of looting the vehicle and selling it in the Kabari Market at Meerut.

Failing in it, they injured the driver and fled in the nearby jungle below the Wild Flower House. The police divided into several groups and began intense combing in the area whole night and with the support of local villagers were able to nab the duo today around 2.30 pm. They were brought to the Mussoorie police station for further investigation.

Sonu, one of the culprits, speaking to mediapersons, said he had looted one such vehicle at Haridwar and sold it at Meerut at the behest of their gang leader Amit and Rajiv earlier.

Chaubey said the police had registered a case and further investigations were on. The team would also be constituted to nab the gang leaders soon and more such cases could be revealed in due course of investigation.

According to Sonu, the plan to loot the vehicle was made in Meerut. They bought the knife at Mussoorie Jheel and committed the crime with it.

The CO has advised the taxi operators to click the picture of their customers before the travel so that if any such case happened, their identity was revealed.

Residents have heaved the sigh of relief and commended the efforts made by the police in catching the criminals in such a short duration. Station in charge MC Joshi, Javed and others were involved in the team.

Nainital, July 11
A day after the police busted a drug racket in the Terai belt of the region, a major sex racket was unearthed by the Haldwani police yesterday.

According to information, acting on a tip-off, the police descended on a hotel on the Rampur Road and nabbed five youths and four girls in a compromising position.

Those arrested include the Deputy Manager of the hotel, while the Manager managed to flee from the spot. The arrested youths are residents of Haldwani, Kitcha and Gularbhoj, and the girls from Haldwani and Kotabagh.

The girls include school and college students, along with a married woman. Two of them are said to be in the flesh trade for sometime.

The arrested youths have been identified as Suresh Chander Kholiya, Sanjiv Kumar Sharma, Sunil Rawat and Pankaj Jaiswal.

The police had been informed about a sex racket being run from the hotel, and the premises were under a constant vigil of the police in plain clothes for almost a fortnight. All those arrested have been booked under relevant sections of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act.

Haldwani has witnessed rapid urbanisation and influx of population over the past decade. Along with this, the town has also seen a rise in unorganised flesh trade, sale of pornographic material, etc.

Mussoorie, July 11
Mussoorie has always been famous for its serene and peaceful atmosphere attracting retired people and tourists to seek some solace amidst the panoramic view of the Himalayas on the one side and the Doon valley on other. The other reason for the attraction to the hill town is its peaceful nature with rare occurrence of crime.

But the situation has changed in the past two decades as the crime graph has risen to an alarming level with series of double murders in the town which remain unsolved by the Mussoorie police till date.

The advent of the monsoon has also brought fear among senior citizens of the town as most of the murders have occurred in the period between July and September.

According to local chronicler and historian Gopal Bhardwaj, the first recorded murder in the history of the town was way back in 1932 when a Bengali accountant in Shri Mandar Das and Company was killed for Rs 2,000. Another murder took place in 1947 of Shafi Ahmed S Kidwai, who was an administrator of the Nagar Palika Mussoorie. After a lull in the crime rate, the next murder took place in 1980. But since the formation of the separate state, the peace of the town has been eclipsed with a series of unsolved murders.

Criminals find Mussoorie to be a safe haven and elope in the cover of heavy rain and dense fog frequent in the season. Criminals perhaps taking a cue from an old murder mystery film, “Dhund”, found the rainy season suitable for their dastardly acts.

The year 2006 was the beginning of a series of murders in the town. The infamous murder of Dua sisters near Poddar House in the Library Bazar happened in the monsoon. A mother and her son were killed in the same year at Kingcraig. The murder of two brothers near the Library Bazar again created an uproar in the town.

The other murders occurring in the period between 2006 and 2009 were that of a woman on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway, the mysterious death of a youth at Jheel, the murder of a caretaker at Lal Kothi, the murder of a young couple near Jhabar Khet, the murder of a tourist near the Snake Road on the way to Dehradun, the murder of a photographer at Hathipaon and most of all the gruesome attack on eminent author Stephen Alter and his wife at Lal Tibba.

The common factor in all these cases is that they occurred mostly during monsoon and are yet to be solved by the police. Residents have demanded to disclose all previous murders and catch the perpetrators. Senior Citizen Forum president RS Mishra has demanded extra vigil by the police during the monsoon to stop crime in the town.

Haridwar, July 11
At a religious function at the Har Milap Bhawan, Muni Harmilap, addressing the gathering at Yagyotsav, said human beings should utilise their life in doing good deeds for others too. By living an ideal life, which comprises good behaviour and disciplined working, a human being fulfils the main objective of his life.

While citing an example of religious sermons and bhajans as food for inner soul, Mata Amria Evi said bhajans had a deep and spiritual impact on human beings and surrounding too. She said the religious sermons added to the inner conscience requirement which was essential for inner peace.

General secretary of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj Dr Shyam Sundar Das Shastri said service done without any desire of profit, purifies one’s mind and body. He said chanting God’s name and mantras was essential, while noted Maha Manadaleshwar Swami Hans Prakash voiced for integrating of thoughts, words and action.

Hundreds of followers attended the religious programmes and sermons on the ashram premise on the occasion of 103rd Yagyotsav.

Dehradun, July 11
To impose stringent checks on the supply and circulation of synthetic milk and food items and ensure timely action against those indulging in adulteration, the state government is planning to set up a prevention of food adulteration department as an independent entity or create a separate wing under the Health Department.

The move will not only streamline the functioning of the department by ensuring accountability, it also means requirement of manpower and setting up of food testing laboratories. As per sources, a food commissioner will then be made to head the state body followed by district-level and block-level arrangements, if needed.

Hampered by manpower, the Health Department has not been able to make the Rudrapur Food Testing Laboratory fully functional. The food samples are being sent to Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) for testing.

“We need a food analyst to take up testing of samples on a regular basis, but since the laboratory became functional, we have not been able to find a single food analyst, despite advertising for it twice,” said Dr CP Arya, DG, Health.

For the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, the states have to abide by the new regulatory regime. The states have either to create separate departments for food safety or exclusive wings under the Health Department to measure the quality of the food.

“Our setup is already functioning at the CMO level in the district and at block level and it will ensure better efficiency as food is directly linked with health,” said Dr Arya.

So far, the department has not been able to check the menace of synthetic milk, adulterated ghee and melamine adulterated products in the city, as this part is handled by the Municipal Corporation which is ill-equipped. With two entities taking up food inspection, it is anybody’s guess where the drive against adulteration of food is headed.

Dehradun, July 11
It’s good news for heart patients, especially those who are in a critical condition, as the critical cardiac unit ambulance procured by the Doon Hospital has been refurbished and is now plying to and fro between Dehradun and Rishikesh.

The need for an ambulance fully equipped with a ventilator, oxygen cylinder and other necessary emergency-care equipment has always been felt for ferrying patients from the Doon Hospital to other higher referral centres like the Jolly Grant Hospital and even to Delhi.

“After the contractor had carried the necessary upgradation that were pointed out earlier by us, the ambulance was brought back, the battery back-up, too, has been upgraded and now it is ferrying patients to higher centres, much to our relief,” said Dr RK Pant, CMS, Doon Hospital.

It even accompanied Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who went to Pant Nagar recently as part of the VIP cavalcade. The ambulance procured by the Director-General of the Health and Family Welfare Department had remained stranded at the blood bank parking area after the Doon Hospital authorities expressed reservations about the emergency devices and electricity back-up installed. The state Health Department has procured the ambulance costing Rs 60 lakh. The charges for the ambulance have been fixed at Rs 20 per km for going to and fro.

Besides, to actually make the ambulance fully functional, an independent team of medical personnel comprising cardiologist, anaesthetist, nurse, driver and helpers have to be appointed, which has not been done so far.

In fact, the ambulance will support the medical and surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the process of being readied. “The four-bed ICU will become functional once we receive four new ventilators from the Europe. The unit will then contain potable X-ray, digital ECG, artery and blood gas analyser, ECG monitor,” said Dr Manu Jain, anaesthetist, Doon Hospital.

However, to operate the ICU, the department will have to sanction 18 post, including five doctors, four general duty medical officers, four staff nurses, one sister, four ward boys and four sweepers.

Dehradun, July 11
Sympathising with the Muslim community, Dinesh Aggrawal, senior Congress leader and MLA, expressed concern over neglect of the community by the state government at a meeting held with local Muslim leaders.

He said the community never felt alienated so much before the state was formed, but after that, they had been facing umpteen problems such as hurdles in getting domicile and caste certificates because of which youngsters were not able to avail benefits in education and employment.

“The loan, which the Muslim youth were getting during the Congress regime, was no longer available now, as people, who are members of the Wakf Board, are themselves a tainted lot,” he said. He also drew the attention towards the need of having more burial grounds in the state for the land which already existed was getting shorter. He also demanded for boundaries to be erected around the burial grounds.

Aggarwal assured the community his support saying that he had given a 15-point programme to the Prime Minister in this regard and felt that he would certainly look into these. The meeting was attended by Hyat Khan, councillor Tasir Ansari, councillor Alloudin, councillor Mohd Azis, Khushnuda Begam, etc. 

Dehradun, July 11
Both employees’ unions, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and Kumaoun Mandal Vikas Nigam, joined hands on July 6 in Naintal and held a meeting of both factions today to pressurise the administration to give in to their demands. Both factions freshened up their alliance forged in 2003 and decided that if administration did not accept their demands till July 31, they would start an indefinite strike on August 2.

Purushotam Puri, president of GMVN Employees Union, said, “Nigam of both sides appointed one vice-chairman each recently, which has raised the tally of one chairman and two vice-chairmen in both Nigams. This shows the Nigam is inching towards decentralisation and more towards privatisation, which is a clear indication of breach of the promise given to us.”

Puri also questioned the stand of the GMVN in reinstating an officer, who had been earlier appointed a PRO in Ahmedabad, but had to be suspended after he committed embezzlement of several lakhs. Then he was sent to Dhanaulti and thereafter to Ganga Resort in Rishikesh, where again he committed forgery, but was forgiven each time.

He questioned the helplessness of Nigam in keeping such a man in service. “The GMVN did not hesitate in deducting one-day salary of employees when they went to talk to them about their issues on June 16 for a couple of hours, but continues to maintain corrupt officers who dent its coffers time and again.”

He said their earlier one-month strike which had the support of 2,000 employees had to be called off after their Rishikesh faction agreed to do so on getting the assurances from the Nigam.

Since those assurances had not been fulfilled, therefore, they would wait for the officials to take concrete steps in that direction till July 31, and go on strike on August 2 when 3,000 employees of both Nigams would stop working.

Their main demands are to stop the initiation of decentralisation and projects through PPP mode, regularisation of daily wagers/contractual employees and compliance of the Supreme Court order of same post same salary.

Dinesh Gururani, president of the KMVN Employee Union was also present along with representatives of the union.

Mussoorie, July 11
In a formal ceremony held on the Nagar Palika premises, a souvenir of the Sadhbhavna Society was launched by chief guest on the occasion MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, here today. On the launch of the souvenir, Editor Anuj Tayal said more than 3,000 landlines numbers had also been incorporated in it, apart from the social activities conducted by the organisation in a year.

Gunsola commended the efforts of the society and said the organisation was premiere in conducting social activities like health camps and debates. He also said he would recommend the government to assist the organisation in their future endeavours. President of the society Harbhajan Singh Thakral said the society had worked relentlessly towards achieving the social targets in the town with the support of the members. He thanked all members and said they would keep on the good work in future too.

Palika president OP Uniyal, Cantt Board president CP Baloni, former Palika president Manmohan Singh Mall, Senior Citizen Forum president RS Mishra, Mahila Congress president Bharosi Rawat and others were present on the occasion.