The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Special police wing formed for Kanwar mela
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 25
On the lines of the Maha Kumbh Mela, the police has specially formed the Kanwar Mela police wing that will maintain law and order during the two-week Kanwar fair. In the past few years, the Kanwar yatra in Haridwar has assumed the shape of a mega fair, with a whopping seven million Kanwariyas coming to the city last year to fetch holy Ganga water to be offered at their respective Lord Shiva temples.

Thus, providing security as well as managing such large numbers of Kanwariyas is not an easy task for the district police. The special Kanwar police comprises personnel of the force from 12 districts. More than 2,500-odd mela policemen will be providing security cover in the the entire Kanwar mela area.

Talking to The Tribune, Ajay Pasbola Kanwal, cell in charge, said the mela police would be stationed at all prominent and sensitive areas of the city and its work would not only confine to providing security but it would also manage the fair as lakhs of people would be in the city in the coming weeks. Two rapid action force (RAF) companies have also been deployed for the fair in view of the force’s track record in dealing with communal riots and related situations.

The entire Kanwar mela area has been divided into four super zones, which are the most sensitive ones, 18 simple zones and 73 sectors. To thwart any terror strike, a bomb disposal squad, sniffer dog squad, mounted police, fire fighters, water police will be on standby round the clock during the fair.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Gunjiyal said the mela police had been briefed about the Kanwar mela duties to ensure a strict implementation of law and order as well as being friendly towards Kanwariyas.

Vendors demand specific zone

With the Kanwar fair commencing from tomorrow, street vendors and smalltime traders in Haridwar have demanded a specific vending zone as a part of their settlement process, saying that it will be beneficial for both Kanwariyas as well as the trader community.

Notably, such a demand was also made during the Maha Kumbh when as part of the encroachment drive, vendors were removed from Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent mela area putting these hawkers almost out of the benefit purview the Kumbh.

Vendors and smalltime traders have now upped their agitation as the Kanwar fair starts from tomorrow. While yesterday they held a symbolic silent protest to bring to the notice of the municipality their demand, today seeing no headway in this regard they gheraoed the Executive Officer (EO) of the municipality. Hundreds of traders belonging to the Small-scale Traders Association gathered at the municipality Town Hall premises and raised slogans. After waiting for more than an hour, when EO BL Arya failed to come out to hear them, the protesters decided to move to the nearby residence of the EO itself.

Gauging the mood of the protesters, the EO finally came out to meet them and assured them that he would take steps in this regard. Responding to his plea, the traders suspended their agitation.

Uttarakhand chief of the Small-scale Traders Association Sanjay Chopra said on the assurance of the Executive Officer though they had suspended their agitation, this should not be deemed as their weakness. “The Kanwar fair will peak in the next few days and before that we want allotment of a trading zone in the Kanwar mela area. We suffered during the Maha Kumbh, but if the same is repeated in the Kanwar mela, small-scale traders’ backbone will be totally broken. We will intensify our agitation if the assurance given to us is not fulfilled,” said Chopra while addressing the traders.

Among others who addressed the gathering were Bhoopendra Rajpur, Kundan Singh, Tarak Rai, Amrit Pal, Munna Thakur, Jagan Lal, Gaurav Mandal, Surendra Singh, Mani Ram Jagmila, Raju Kashyap, Anita Devi, Kamla Rani, Vidya Rani and Suman Gupta.

BJP top brass deliberates steps to achieve Mission 2012
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, July 25
The exercise of getting back in power in the state has begun earnestly in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres. The top brass of the state BJP, along with various ministerial rank holders, assembled at a hotel in Mussoorie for a meeting to discuss the ways to achieve the target, Mission 2012.

The members assigned roles to strengthen the hands of the BJP government in spreading the message of development work done by the government in its tenure. The Tribune has learnt that it was decided that ministerial rank holders have been given the task to go in the nearest constituencies and work amidst the common man and expedite their problems.

Lambasting the Congress government at the Centre, BJP Awas Vikas president and former state general secretary Naresh Bansal later speaking to the media said the UPA II was harassing the opposition in the state through various government agencies like the CBI under the pretext of false charges, whereas it was providing grace to its own its own party members and allies as evident in Jagdish Tytler where he was being let off on the pretext of non-availability of proof in investigation.

Apart from this, it was controlling the state governments that were neutral like the BSP through the hanging sword of the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI). Bansal said the Congress working in a partisan manner towards the non-Congress governed states by reducing the quota of ration, kerosene and petrol to create unnecessary bottlenecks. The reduction of industrial package, despite having five members of Parliament from the state, was an example of its dual policy. Bansal also said the condition at the border areas of Uttarakhand was critical as villages were being abandoned leading to encroachment by neighbouring countries.

Outlining the achievements of the Nishank government in the state, he informed that Uttarakhand’s GDP had exceeded manifold and now it was three times more than the previous income. The GDP had risen from 2.65 to 9.31 per cent and was first among the newly formed states.

He also said the 13th Finance Commission had provided an additional Rs 1,000 crore due to the excellent performance in the state. Bansal further said excluding the Grade C non-gazetted post for the Public Service Commission had been a big achievement for the Nishank government for which he was receiving accolades from around the country.

On the issue of Citurdia chemical land scam, he said a government had responded in the Vidhan Sabha, but the Congress instead of debating was hiding from it and raising a false alarm.

Same was the case in the power project issue, he added. Bansal said it was the first government in the country which formulated a policy in the allotment of power projects and after receiving objections from various quarters had the courage to cancel the 56 allotments without any hesitation.

Commercial Tax Advisory Committee president Pankaj Sehgal, Gau Raksha Commision vice-president Swami Yateshwar Nandi, Rajya Uchh Shiksha Ayog Committee vice-president Baleshwar Pal, Rajya Mahila Ayog vice-president Geeta Thakur, Industrial Advisory Committee vice-president Shyam Vir Saini, state Irrigation Advisory Committee vice-president Rishiraj Dabral, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna monitoring board vice-president Bhaskar Naithani and others were present on the occasion.

Haridwar encroachers get breather
DM orders to halt anti-encroachment drive till completion of Kanwar fair
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Vendors wait for customers ahead of the Kanwar season which begins from July 26. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, July 25
The anti-encroachment drive in the Kumbh city continued today, covering suburban Jwalapur area, which is better known as a trade area. With the administration not bowing to resistance by encroachers, particularly the trader community so far, most of the people themselves demolished or removed their illegal structures.

Though encroachers heaved a sigh of relief as from tomorrow onwards the demolition drive gets halted in view of the Kanwar fair commencing on Monday. As per the directives of District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram in view of the Kanwar fair, the drive will be restarted only after August 10 when the fair gets over.

Meanwhile, Congress workers opposed the anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the administration terming it as a way to divert the attention of people from the Maha Kumbh corruption scams and a recent land scam in Rishikesh allegedly involving Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank .

Party state general secretary Santosh Chauhan lashed out at Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik for a lack of infrastructural and civic facilities in Haridwar despite the Central government giving a huge aid for the Maha Kumbh fair.

Party workers also staged a protest in this regard terming the anti-encroachment drive as exploitation of the poor and traders.

“He (Kaushik) is only busy in playing political games and has nothing to do with the responsibility bestowed on him by people as local legislator and as a cabinet minister. Kumbh funds worth Rs 765 crore were given by the UPA government, yet the residents of Haridwar are living under pathetic conditinons,” said Chauhan.

Kaushik believed it was imperative to carry out an anti-encroachment drive as the city was facing regular water logging, even during mild rain. “This decision is one which will have long-term benefit for the residents. Politicising this issue by some parties is totally wrong. On one hand they sympathise with those affected by rain havoc and on the other they try to stop drive by supporting the encroachers,” said Kaushik.

Lakhs take holy dip on Poornima
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 25
Lakhs of pilgrims thronged the Ganga ghats on the occasion of Guru Poornima to take a holy dip here today. Special rituals were organised at the ashrams and maths on the first day of Ashad Poornima wherein pilgrims paid obeisance to their respective religious-spiritual gurus.

With Snaan Poornima falling tomorrow, lakhs will also be taking dip in the holy Ganga. The city is buzzing with Kanwariyas with the Pant Deep-situated Kanwar market also gearing up for the mega fair. With Panchak falling on Tuesday, a majority of the Kanwariyas will be fetching the holy water to offer it to Lord Shiva after taking dip on Poornima.

Due to the outpour of Kanwariyas and people from other states, the city witnessed massive traffic jams pointing to the need of express highways, flyovers and a master plan in view of the surging local population as well as millions of people visiting the city on festive occasions.

Poornima was celebrated with fervour at Shanti Kunj Dev which also remembered its founder Pandit Acharya Shri Ram Sharma. Shanti Kunj head Dr Pranav Pandya and Shail Jiji specified on the importance of role of a teacher, Guru, in one’s life.

At all city temples pilgrims thronged the Ashaad Poornima to offer prayers. Tomorrow, millions are expected to take a holy dip on the Ganga ghats.

Need for better food storage as rain destroys rice stocks
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 25
The heavy rains that had lashed the pilgrim city for the past few days have, apart from the need to have a better civic infrastructure, also exposed the state of food godowns storing hundreds of metric tonnes of foodgrains.

Due to the continuing heavy rain almost submerging most parts of the city, Uttar Pradesh State Corporation’s food stock storage house has also been affected. Approximately more than 600 metric tonnes of rice has been destroyed with rain water squeezing into the food godowns.

Situated in the industrial area, the rice was meant for distribution to the government licensed fair shops for people below having poverty line (BPL) ration cards. To make up for the deficit, the unaffected or partially wet rice jute bags have been shifted to other godowns of the corporation situated in other parts of the city as well as in Rishikesh.

This incident has once again underlined the need of taking special care while constructing foodgrain storage houses, as there was no proper facility to stop rain water getting accumulated, nor any major facility to pump out the water that had entered the storage rooms.

Admitting that they couldn’t figure out the magnitude of the rain water, godown Manager Umesh Tyagi said it was more to do with the muddy water that had seeped in from nearby hilly terrain. He said to avoid the reoccurrence of such an incident, the corporation headquarters have been informed of the situation as well as given suggestions for safer storage of foodgrains specially from rain water.

Seminar on haematological disorders organised
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 25
A seminar on haematological disorders with special emphasis on different types of anaemia was organised here today.

Dr VP Chowdhary, a renowned retired haematologist from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, said the common type of anaemia due to lose of iron is pancytopenia and stressing on the accurate haematology analyses of WBCs, RBCs and platelet counts for diagnosing the disease in the early stages.

He said in India, many deaths occurred due to anaemia and it should be controlled at any cost. He also urged the owners of the laboratories and the institutions to start thalaesimia screening programme which would help in its prevention.

The seminar was organised by Transasia Biomedical Ltd and attended by many doctors and laboratory technicians and pathologists .

UKD elects Trivendra Singh as party chief
Tribune News Service

Nainital, July 25
Trivendra Singh Panwar has been elected as the new President of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), the only regional party of Uttarakhand.The election of Panwar as the new President came at a day-long convention of the party held at Ramnagar today.

Talking to The Tribune, outgoing President Narayan Singh Jantwal said, “The choice for the candidate for the new President was unanimous”.

Jantwal had to continue as the party President for an additional six months after the UKD had failed to elect a new President in February when his tenure was to end. The new President at that time could not be elected because of lack of time and consensus.

At the two-day bi-annual convention of the party held at Ramnagar in February, the candidature of senior leader Kashi Singh Airy who had resigned from the post of the Chairman of Hiltron, a government subsidiary, could not become a unanimous choice as the faction led by Uttarakhand Food and Civil Supplies Minister Diwakar Bhatt had supported the candidature of Trivenda Singh

Panwar thus signalled that the party stood a divided house. Panwar would be facing the tedious job of galvanising the party cadres for the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha polls.

Uttarakhand is perhaps the only state where a regional party like the UKD has been vanishing from the political scene. The party’s tally in various elections has been going down with every election. Raking up of the emotive issue of having Gairsain as the permanent capital of the state, has failed to reverse its dipping fortunes.

The party also faces an opposition from a large section of its cadres on continuing its support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.