Mussoorie, July 18
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was in a good mood on his private visit to Mussoorie, much to the surprise of mediapersons and Palika President OP Uniyal today. Nishank yielding to the long-standing demand for the Town Hall construction, directed the Chief Secretary to sanction bid under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode.

 But he also said the Palika should assure that the interests of locals and poor residents were not overlooked in the construction of the multi-purpose auditorium-cum-Town Hall.

He also suggested that the local artistes should be given preference and programmes should be organised on a regular basis in the Town Hall. Nishank also directed officials to provide immediate sanction to the private parking proposals pending with the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA). He asked the officials to look into the matter on a priority basis after the meeting to be held tomorrow in the presence of the Nagar Palika president.

Nishank also directed the District Magistrate, Tehri, to take strict action against the encroachment at the tourist destination Kempty Fall.

Nishank in a holiday mood walked from the Library Bazar, along with his family, on the Mall Road and chatted with tourists on the way. He enquired about the problems faced by them on their stay here. Tourists were pleasantly shocked after meeting the Chief Minister with such an ease. Rajdeep, a tourist from Chandigarh, said, “In our state the Chief Minister meeting the common people is a rarity and here they can talk their heart out with the Chief Minister.” Sanjay, another tourist from Mumbai, said, “I wish Chief Ministers of other states in the country can follow suit and adopt such methods”.

Later speaking to mediapersons, Nishank said Mussoorie was an internationally renowned tourist spot and the Town Hall would act as a cultural centre and assist in promoting the culture of the state.

Speaking on the stadium construction issue at Bhilaru, the Chief Minister said the work was on and the government was seriously working on it.

Nishank in a lighter mood said walking kept a person physically fit and that was the reason he was travelling on foot on the Mall Road in Mussoorie. Nishank was accompanied by his family members and bereft of the entourage of officials usually accompanying him.

Mussoorie, July 18
In a press conference held here today, villagers from Nainbagh alleged rampant irregularities committed by PWD Junior Engineer (JE) Vinod Sharma. The villagers alleged that Sharma was involved in a scam worth several crores in Thatyur Block of Tehri Garhwal district.

Congress leader Bitto Kavi stated that the job was being given without calling any tenders for the roads which was against the guidelines at Bhadri-Gad-Banchaura, Suman Kyari-Ban Gaon, Nakot-Naigyana, Miriya gaon-Dhakrol, ason-Sayan, BB Road-Bishtonsi link road, Fafrog-Khairad, Nainbagh-Ludhera-Laksyar road, Ghorakhori-Tangri-Mair road, Nainbagh Ghorakari road and Kharson Kyari-Kharson village road.

He further alleged that old walls have been painted, but the payment was done for the complete wall and the payment done was much more than shown in the agreement. The money allotted for one road was being spent on other roads. The bills of the contractors who did not indulge in paying commissions were being stalled and the earnest money was not being refunded. Kavi also demanded a magisterial inquiry against the JE on acquiring disproportionate assets in his tenure of six years and they be involved during the inquiry process so that transparency was maintained.

The delegation also met the Chief Minister on the issue and apprised him of the matter. Nishank after hearing their woes directed PWD Chief Engineer Tehri division to suspend the JE with immediate effect. On the other hand, he also directed the Chief Engineer to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit the report within one week.

The members have collected the information regarding irregularities and fraud under the RTI and after seeing the whole file, Nishank was convinced of the enormity of the fraud being committed by Sharma.

Gambhir Singh Rawat, Darshan Lal, Ranvir Singh, Rajendar Singh Rawat, Shyam Singh Panwar, Virendar Kavi, Shailendar Bisht, Jayveer Bisht, Mohan Lal Nautiyal, Savan Singh Panwar, Jay Vir Bisht and others were present on the occasion. 

Mussoorie, July 18
Residents of Mussoorie are angered at the Nagar Palika for neglecting local builders and keeping them away from the bidding process of the Town Hall under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode.

Spokesperson for the Mussoorie Hotel Association (MHA) Sandeep Sahni, speaking to The Tribune, said most of the time the state government and the Nagar Palika were doling out prime government property in the name of PPP mode to outsiders who had no stakes in the state. The Town Hall bid was a living example of that.

He demanded that local builders should also be called to present their case and if they failed in it, then outsiders should be contacted.

Sahni was of the view that locals also had expertise in creating a grand infrastructure, but were being neglected due to unknown reasons. Sahni also said the locals had a complete idea of the terrain and would build the infrastructure in the state according to local sentiments.

The Tribune has also learnt through sources that one company among the four participants in the bid is most likely to win the bid.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also has given nod to the construction of the Town Hall in the PPP mode during his visit to Mussoorie today.

Dehradun, July 18
Uttarakhand is likely to experience moderate to heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours.According to Dr Anand Sharma, Director, Dehradun Meteorological Centre, both the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand would receive rain. He said there could also be heavy rainfall in some parts of Kumaon.

Weathermen also did not rule out the occurrence of landslide in the hills due to the rains.

Meanwhile, after a clear day, clouds started taking over the Dehradun city by evening. Rains looked almost imminent at the time of filing of this news report. — TNS

Dehradun, July 18
Twenty girls and 20 boys presented their skills in front of the judges for the ongoing talent hunt show Mr and Miss Doon here today. The result of the same will be declared in August during the grand finale.

The event was organised by the Majestic Style Society Harry Event and Glamour Entertainment to provide a platform to the young boys and girls of the district who want to make their name in the glamour world.

All participants underwent three rounds - catwalk, talent and question/answer. Other than showing their walk, a few of them impressed judges with their dance performance, some went for acting and others for singing.

Lakshay Sahay, a businessman, along with Deep Vohra, director of Pulse Production, Raman Chaddha, proprietor of Numero Uno and model Jyoti Rohiwal were the judges of the show.

Dehradun, July 18
Members of the Purv Sainik and Ardhsainik Ekta Manch, Dehradun, rued the apathy of political parties and warned them that they would teach them a lesson in the 2012 elections. They were speaking at a seminar held at Official Transit Hostel here today.

They said they should not be taken as bonded labourers and nor be considered as just another vote. They said the retired sainiks and the paramilitary organisation would take necessary steps in the elections for the betterment of the state.

During the seminar, they put 17 demands in front of the government. They demanded that considering Uttarakhand was a ex-servicemen-dominated state, there should be reservation from the panchayat to the Lok Sabha.

Their other demands included that retired paramilitary forces be given facility of CSD canteen, children of retired sainiks and paramilitary personnel be provided with reservation in the Centre and state government jobs and those with less than one bigha land be provided with land free of cost by the government.

The seminar was held under the presidentship of Brig Jagmohan Rawat (retd). IAS SS Pangati (retd) presided over as the chief guest, while IG SS Kothiyal (retd) was the guest of honour. 

Pitthoragarh, July 18
After the incident of the collapsing of a newly built suspension bridge on the Gori river in the Madkot area on July 15, the district administration has now intensified the programme to trace the inferior quality of public works and make the officers concerned accountable.

“During this campaign, last week district-level officers inspected 101 public works, out of which the quality of 32 works was found to be sub-standard,” said District Magistrate (DM) NS Negi.

“The newly built bridge that collapsed was built at a cost of Rs 1.10 crore. The bridge, which was meant to link more than 12 villages across the Gori river, was a long-pending demand of villagers, but with its collapse, people of these villages will have to trek more than 35 km to reach their local market Madkot. We have ordered an inquiry into the matter,” said the District Magistrate.

After this incident, the DM has asked Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) to inspect the roads, drinking water schemes, school building and community buildings constructed under NREGA and other state and district head schemes.

“Our SDMs received 48 complaints of sub-standard public works during their stay in villages last week. Out of these, the officers responsible for faulty construction of 35 public works were indicted on the spot,” said the DM.

Dehradun, July 18
“The Uttarakhan4d BJP government is anti-labourer and intentionally ignoring their concerns,” said Suryakant Dhasmana, senior state Congress leader.

Dhasmana was addressing a convention of the Congress at Kisan Nagar here today. He said labourers working in an unorganised sector were facing several challenges linked to minimum wages, insurance, health and other facilities.

He said the workforce employed at state Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited were being employed on contractual basis and not being given any benefits of labour laws.

Dhasmana said the Congress would shortly organise a mass protest against this anti-labourer policies of the state government. He also reminded that the Congress government had promised 70 per cent of the jobs in new industries to local youth.

Former Minister of State for Cane Sadhu Ram said while earlier the Congress rule gave jobs to a large number of people, the incumbent BJP government had failed to come up with even employment policy for the youth.

District Labour Cell Dinesh Kaushal also addressed the gathering. Ravindra Singh, Mithun Garg, Praveen Thakur and Rakesh Negi were other prominent speakers on the occasion. 

Dehradun, July 18
Martyr Pankaj Gurung (Sena Medal) Dwar was inaugurated at Gram Kuthalwali at Johri village here today.

Chief guest Madhu Chauhan, president, Zila Panchayat Bhawan, Dehradun, unveiled the dwar.

The parents of the martyr were also honoured on the occasion. During the unveiling of the gate, panchayat members and senior citizens of the village were present.

Besides this, special guest Upender Thapali and Gram Pradhan of Johri village Ganga Gurung, all paid tributes to the martyr. This was an emotional moment for the family of martyr Pankaj.