Haridwar, July 17
The issue of establishing of a mutton market at Sarai village in the Pathri area is turning controversial with villagers’ various organisations coming forward to the support of protesters to oppose the proposal of the municipality.

For the past few days, the villagers have been on the streets opposing the establishment of mutton shops, even threatening of dire consequences if their demand is not paid heed to.

The Kissan Sangarsh Samiti, Hindu Sangathan Sangarsh Samiti and Brahman Maha Sabha have lent their support to the protest, apart from nearby villagers joining in opposing the move. The villagers fear that with establishing the market, the atmosphere of the area will get polluted, besides vulnerability to diseases due to the leftovers.

Village head Dharmendra Chaudhari said it was an unanimous decision of the villagers and if the administration forcibly opened a meat market here, they would have to take the agitation route. They would not tolerate such a decision at any cost as it was not acceptable to the residents of the area.

“The decision is forcefully being imposed on us. Nobody wants it to be here. So why is our village being targeted?” asked Chaudhari.

Meanwhile, Gau Raksha Commission state vice-president Swami Yatishwara Nand, too, has supported the villagers’ demand, warning that at no cost would mutton shops be put up at the said area.

He also warned that if this issue took the shape of communal disharmony, it would be the sole responsibility of the administration, as they had already warned of people’s verdict, which was a strict no to this proposal.

Balwant Singh Chauhan of the Kissan Sangarsh Samiti pointed out that the said land of the village was earmarked for sewerage treatment plant, but now it’s being proposed for the mutton market. This was totally unacceptable.

“We will be on the streets if the proposal is not taken back or not shifted to other place,” said Massom Ali Gada, convener of the samiti.

The move is also getting support from the Brahman Maha Sabha, which has condemned the municipality for forcefully trying to impose its decision on the villagers. State secretary Pawan Sharma said a forcibly imposed decision would be taken as hurting of sentiments of the residents, which no community would accept.

Village heads of Jat Bahadurpur, Dimarpur and Dandi have also lent their support to the villagers’ movement.

Dehradun, July 17
Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) D Senthil Pandiyan yesterday got annoyed at the slow progress of various developmental works in the district. He asked officers to use the money allocated to them with immediate effect and if any of the officer failed to do so, action would be taken against them.

He was speaking at a review meeting of the district-level officers on various development schemes by the state as well as the Central governments held here yesterday.

He asked the Executive Engineer of the PWD about the progress of the work being done on the widening of roundabouts. The department officials said 16 roundabouts were to be widened, out of which the work on two had been completed. Work on two others would also finish by the month end.

The DM also asked all Block Development Officers (BDOs) regarding the money that had been provided for the MANREGA scheme.

He also said the BDO would be solely responsible if any complaint from workers of MANREGA regarding their job was received. Pandiyan also asked the Chief Medical Officer to provide BPL cards to patients from the BPL families.

He told the Education Officer to provide him information regarding the amount that had been pending with gram pradhans and the plans made under the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan.

Dehradun, July 17
Shushil Thakur, member of the Ordnance Factory Board, has asked the public sector defence equipment-manufacturing industries to be prepared to compete with global giants in terms of arms export.

Addressing the valedictory session of a two-day seminar in Quality in Defence Equipment here today, Thakur said the modern day world thrived on competition and defence being no exception.

He said the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) would bring in big investments, thus you must stand up for the competition from the private companies, particularly those backed with the FDI.

He said the Society of Defence Technologists (SODET) had done a wonderful job by providing a platform of public sector undertakings (PSUs)and the Ordnance Factories.

He said the emphasis continued to be in producing quality defence equipment as military hardware must perform every time without failure.

HS Chowdhary, General Manager of Opto Electronics Factory (OLF), said SODET stood as an excellent platform to come up with better equipment and effective processes involved for the purpose. He also backed good incentives for the employees.

BJ Raj, member secretary, SODET, compared the proceedings. The two-day workshop concluded today. A total of 65 scientists belonging to various PSUs and Ordnance factories participated.

Dehradun, July 17
An indefinite strike by two girls, Jyoti and Rajni, was called off today following assurances of Governor Margaret Alva.

The two girls had been on strike seeking justice for alleged “honour killing” victim Meena Gola who was allegedly killed by her family and relatives in Udham Singh Nagar district on October 4 last year.

A delegation of workers, who have been supporting the cause with the two girls, had met the Governor. Members of the delegation said the Governor assured them that she would help in seeking justice.

“She is the head of the state and if assurances comes from her side, it does make difference. We have faith in her and are calling of the strike,” said Nitin, general secretary of the Parivartankami Chatra Sangathan.

“She has given us one month time and if no progress is made in the given time, then we would again start our agitation. The campaign will continue till the time Meena get the justice,” Nitin added.

He said, “We would go door to door to make people know that what our state government is doing if action is not initiated against those who are behind her killing.”

Today, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) GS Martoliya met the girls whose health is deteriorating. He offered juice to the girls to get their fast called off. 

Mussoorie, July 17
The plans of the Nagar Palika, Mussoorie, to convert the Town Hall into a five-star hotel went haywire when Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, taking cognizance of the news published in The Tribune that the Palika was planning to discreetly sell the Town Hall to private players at a paltry sum, attended the meeting which was being held discreetly in Palika President OP Uniyal’s room.

Gunsola opposed the process and said forcefully that a formal meeting of all ward members should be held instead of the closed-door meeting.

Following that, a meeting was held in the board room in which Gunsola opposed the intentions of the Palika to convert it into a hotel and suggested that if Palika instead of going into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, made efforts to construct a Town Hall or a multipurpose hall, he would try to get funds from the government to construct it. He would grant money from his MLA fund for the purpose.

Uniyal in reply said the government was not funding the project, hence they had decided to go into PPP mode. He said the previous secretary had shown a dustbin to the proposal submitted by them and the government had categorically denied funds for the purpose.

Gunsola replied the government would never give funds for a five-star hotel, but would definitely provide funds for a Town Hall.

A heated verbal exchange ensued which forced the MLA to walk out of the meeting.

Some ward members asked if a Company Garden and a Fish Aquarium could be given under PPP mode, why not a Town Hall.

Another ward member opposed the suggestion and said the MLA Mussoorie was right in his views and the Palika Mussoorie was capable of constructing a Town Hall on its own.

He also said it was shame that the BJP-led government was not providing funds to its own Palika President.

Later, Gunsola speaking to the media, said the Nagar Palika could build one-floor multipurpose Town Hall, but the Palika was adamant on building a five-star hotel which was against the law, thus its dubious intentions were clear. He clearly stated that this was misuse of the fund as the Town Hall could not be given to private players at any cost.

Uniyal said the intention of the MLA was not clear as this was for the first time that the MLA was attending a Palika meeting.

He, however, said the government had cancelled the procedure under the PP mode adopted earlier and now they were demanding that the Palika should be given the right to expedite the process directly.

The swords have been drawn in the whole Town Hall construction issue in which the Palika president and the Mussoorie MLA are adamant on their stands. 

Dehradun, July 17
The campaign of garbage removal picked up a day after the District Magistrate (DM) held a meeting with officials of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) in his office and directed them to maintain sanitation in the city.

Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat said they raided 14 various spots in the city and fined people for littering garbage outside dustbins. Besides that, he decided to take strict action against Sunder Bakery, situated in front of the Secretariat, by cancelling its registration.

The owner of the shop vehemently opposed them when they fined him for keeping the surroundings dirty with garbage.

The supervisors of 60 wards have been given challan books for the purpose. Mayor Vinod Chamoli said, “The supervisors have been asked to do three challans a day in their respective wards.

“In case, if they do fewer challans, their area will be checked for the cleanliness”.

The supervisors have been authorised to fine the offenders up to Rs 500.

Rawat said since it would not be possible to take their meeting every day, a weekly assessment meeting of 15 wards would be taken turn by turn.

A day before, the team had also gone to check polythene use at Adat Bazar, but to their surprise they did not find any offender.

Expressing happiness over the success of the campaign, Chamoli said, “People, especially shopkeepers, are becoming aware of the campaign against recycled polythene and polythene below 20 micrones. Now they have started advising people to bring their own jute or other bags. Many of them were seen keeping good quality plastic bags. The customers are charged nominal for these polythene bags”.

Besides, the team also dismantled encroachments in Ramnagar. Informing about the anti-encroachment drive, Rawat said, “We broke seven illegally made structures which is a big victory for the team. It also went off peacefully without much ado”. 

Haridwar, July 17
Outgoing Director-General of Police (DGP) Subhash Joshi was given a warm farewell by the district police administration at the City Control Tower (CCR) here late last evening. The district police fraternity lauded the efforts of DGP Joshi terming his tenure as a memorable one.

DIG Alok Sharma wished Joshi to achieve new success as Special Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

District police chief Sanjay Gunjiyal highlighted the role of the former DGP in bringing better coordination among police officers and jawans, while simultaneously being accessible to police personnel.

An IPS 1976 batch police officer, Subhash Joshi termed his tenure in Uttarakhand state spanning three years as a challenging and learning experience. He thanked all state police personnel for their cooperation and affection.

Dehradun: The district police today gave a farewell to former DGP Subhash Joshi.

Senior police officers, including IGs, Dehradun SSP, SP (City), ASPs and COs, were present at the Police Lines during the farewell. 

Dehradun, July 17
Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) D Senthil Pandiyan has asked Planning Officer Dr RS Pokhriyal to appoint a person in the computer room, made for the benefit of BPL families cardholders, located at the Doon Hospital.

He paid a surprise visit at the hospital to inspect the working of the computer room, which was constructed to spread awareness and cover all BPL families under the insurance policy provided by the government.

During his visit, the DM also met Kamla Devi, a patient from the BPL family and a resident of Sahaspur block, who is suffering with stone in gall bladder and has been admitted to the hospital. He asked the doctors to be careful during the treatment. The DM also told her relatives that the insurance company would be paying for her treatment.

He asked Chief Medical Officer Dr Saroj Nethani, State Programme Officer of the Health Directorate and officer of the United India Insurance Company to made the cards of the BPL families immediately. The DM said the government had started the insurance policy way back in 2007 and till now only 20,000 smart cards out of 55,000 had been made in six development blocks. He got angry that insurance company had just disposed of 142 BPL claims. He strictly told the company that 25 hospitals had been chosen in the district for the same.

Pandiyan asked the insurance company to visit all hospitals, including Doon Hospital, Women Hospital, Inderesh Hospital, Lemon Hospital, and search out for people from the 
BPL families and make their smart cards. He also asked them to clear their claims immediately.

The DM also told them to make people aware of Tehsil Tyuni of Chakrata Block about the insurance policy provided by the government. He asked the company to pay the amount to the hospital and not to the suffering families under the insurance of Rs 30,000. He asked the health officers to provide the list of the BPL cardholders all over the district and he also pressurised them to get this plan decentralised.

The DM said an informative programme would also be organised at Dhakrani on July 28.

He asked the officers to develop software with which the treatment of the BPL patients should become easily available in the capital. 

Dehradun, July 17
Within 24 hours after two persons snatched a gold chain of a woman outside her Sunder Vihar residence at Basant Vihar, the police nabbed them at Subhash Nagar. One more person involved with them is still at large.

The police has also recovered the Apache model motorcycle (DL7-S-AG-5759) from their possession. The bike was used by the two in yesterday’s incident.

As per the police, the chain snatchers have been identified as Tohid and Dilsad, both residents of Meerut. They used to sell clothes on a rehri and had no particular residence in the city.

The cops said they were apprehended during a naka after the chain was snatched last evening. They were stopped for checking by the police on the basis of their appearance described by the victim.

The police checked them and recovered the gold chain from their possession. The police claimed that the two were also involved in other chain snatching incidents as well.