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Raised Tehri Dam level hits 15 villages; Chinyalisaur flooded
Sec 144 imposed in Srinagar as pro and anti-dam activists clash
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Kumaon faces shortage of commodities
Subhash Kumar takes charge as Chief Secy
Subhash Kumar (right), new Chief Secretary, offers sweets to NS Napalchayal, outgoing Chief Secretary, in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph
A damaged road in Jaunpur block in Tehri district.
Ministerial Collectorate employees seek amended staffing pattern
Uttarakhand Collectorate Ministerial Employees Union members hold a protest in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph
Dilapidated buildings on Haridwar MC radar
Vigilance tightens noose on ex-adviser to CM
People wait for medicine at the Doon Hospital on Monday. A Tribune photograph
Alva opens Raj Bhawan website
Governor Margaret Alva opens the website of the Raj Bhawan in
Dehradun on Monday.
Team brings banana tree for Nanda Devi fest
Minor girl alleges rape
Bomb hoax at park
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Raised Tehri Dam level hits 15 villages; Chinyalisaur flooded
Dehradun, September 13 The minister asked them to form a committee of representatives of all sides under the chairmanship of the Chief Development Officer and prepared a report in three days taking stock of the work already done on rehabilitation package in the past and to be done now. He also directed them to sensitise people through advertisements in local dailies to file their claims through applications. Kandari also blamed the THDC for functioning in an arbitrary manner by raising the water level in a clandestine manner by seeking permission of the Supreme Court and keeping the state government in the dark about it. He added: “Since the work at the Koteshwar hydro-power project was getting obstructed, therefore the THDC held up the water without bothering about the cascading effect it will have on villages in the vicinity. Because of this very irresponsible act, some 15 villages are under danger, 50 shops got partially submerged, and five shops got completely drowned. Many houses in these villages have developed cracks. I’ve asked for Rs 450 crore compensation from the corporation.” The minister, who gave an ultimatum to the THDC to first give the quoted amount before seeking more water, relented today. On the other hand, AL Shah, Chief General Manager, THDC, and in charge of the dam project, criticised the state government for playing dirty politics in a bid to hide its own shortcomings. “We acted as per the verdict of the Supreme Court in this case which was announced a fortnight ago. It is wrong to say that the state government was not aware of it as it was fighting against us through its six advocates and was fully conversant of each minute detail. As far as the villages are concerned, it is the state government which got drubbing from the Supreme Court for not having taken any action for the rehabilitation of these villagers for the last five years. How long we could have gone on waiting for it to act without bothering about our own colossal losses.” He added if the water had been diverted, it could have flooded Haridwar and Rishikesh as well. Shah also made it clear that the corporation which was supposed to give Rs 2.88 crore for the dwellings which got affected due to the raised water level had paid Rs 2 crore to the administration and the rest of the amount too would be given within three days. He said the towering figure of Rs 450 crore as compensation for the recent crisis and total Rs 5,000 crore demanded by the state government as a rehabilitation package was sheer political gimmick. Both the THDC and the state government are fully engaged in accusing each other, but it is the hapless villagers who are under constant fear and struggling for their sustenance. BM Bahuguna, Manager of the GMVN rest house at Chinyalisaur, the village which has been the most affected, said: “Many houses in the village had got almost fully submerged and a few shops too got washed away. “I too with my staff have moved to the third floor waiting for the directions from the MD of the nigam to leave the place. But, the situation in the village is getting grim”.
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Sec 144 imposed in Srinagar as pro and anti-dam activists clash
Dehradun, September 13 Dhari Devi Bachao Samiti members, who sat at the new site of the dharna at the Bhairav Mandir, reiterated their pledge to continue with the stir. They asserted that they would oppose the hydro project tooth and nail, if it in some way affected the temple. On other hand, members of the Karmachari Kalyan Samiti, organisation of those working for the project, rejoiced at the re-start of construction activities at the project. The Dhari Devi temple falls in the Srinagar region of Uttarakhand that holds much political significance as sources reveal that the incumbent Chief Minister was inclined to contest from the Srinagar Assembly constituency in the next Assembly elections.
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Kumaon faces shortage of commodities
Nainital, September 13 Reports reaching here say that apart from the link roads and the highways, even the pedestrian paths along with the horse and mule tracks have been washed away making travel to a large number of villages extremely difficult. The Danpur area near Kapkot is one of the examples where essentials cannot be supplied as all routes to the villages are either blocked or have been washed away. The roads connecting the Pindari, Kafni and Sunderdunga glaciers have been blocked for almost a month and villages like Khati, Badiakot, Bacham, Kilpara, Karmi, Baghar, Rikhadi, etc, are reeling under the shortage of food grains as the same cannot be transported to the shops in these villages from the godowns. The shortage of LPG is being witnessed in almost every town of the region. Despite attempts by the administration to resume a proper supply line for the consumers, the shortage continues and road blockades and other forms of protest on the issue have become a daily affair. Meanwhile, the misery unleashed by the rains continues in various parts of the region. While the areas falling under the Terai belt continue to experience large scale water logging, the mountainous areas witness massive landslides and rock falls making commuting in those areas extremely difficult. Most of the rivers, streams and seasonal nullahs are in spate. The township of Haldwani is continuing to witness water logging in different localities. A large number of residential colonies had water filled inside the houses on Sunday on account of a heavy rainfall. After a brief sunshine, Nainital again experienced showers this afternoon. The road network in the region continues to be badly affected. Reports coming in from the districts of Almora, Champawat, Bageshwar and Udham Singh Nagar say that several roads continue to be unfit for resumption of vehicular movement on them. A large number of them continue to be blocked. Meanwhile, three fresh cases of dengue were reported in various hospitals of Haldwani and Ramnagar till Sunday evening. Apart from the spread of waterborne viral diseases, the major towns in the region are also facing a severe outbreak of conjunctivitis.
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Subhash Kumar takes charge as Chief Secy
Dehradun, September 13 Born on April 17, 1954, in Himachal Pradesh, Subhash Kumar is a postgraduate in political science. He was selected for IAS in 1977. He has been District Magistrate at Lalitpur, Etwah, Sultanpur and Allahabad districts apart from being Commissioner in Allahabad, Saharanpur, Kumaon and Garhwal divisions in the undivided Uttar Pradesh. After the inception of Uttarakhand, Subhash Kumar has been Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Chief Commissioner, Forest and Rural Development. He was the Additional Chief Secretary before he took over as Chief Secretary today. In his first reaction after taking over as Chief Secretary, Subhash Kumar said it would be his priorities to take Uttarakhand to new road of development. He said disaster management need to be strengthened to meet out frequent disasters in the hills, particularly during the rains. Subhash Kumar also held that public welfare works be taken up in priority. Principal Secretary (Personnel) DK Kotia, Secretary (Power) Uma Kant Panwar, Secretary (Education) Manish Panwar, Secretary (Secretariat Administration) MM Khan, Secretary (Rural Development) Rakesh Kumar, DGP JS Pandey and other senior administrative officials were present on the occasion. |
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Govt misleading rain-hit farmers: Cong
Mussoorie, September 13 State Congress Committee vice-president Jot Singh Bisht flayed the role of Khajan Das alleging that he was misleading people over compensation in the area. Bisht said till now more than 35 families had been completely uprooted in the Dhanolty Vidhan Sabha segment, more than 300 houses had been damaged partially, about 30 per cent potable water projects had been affected completely and the rest had been damaged completely in calamities. More than 25 km of canals had also been damaged so far along with 90 km of canals under minor irrigation. Bisht said more than 600 hectares irrigated land, 400 km of non-irrigated land had been washed away in these flash floods in the state minister’s constituency of Dhanolty. The total number of villages affected in these disasters was 450. More than 10 schools were closed due to partial and permanent damage to these. The villagers are facing an acute shortage of electricity and potable water supply in the whole area but Khajan Das, instead of addressing the concerns, was misleading the poor farmers by making false hopes and promises of relief. He alleged that Khajan Das had lost interest in the Dhanolty constituency after the announcement of de-reservation of the seat leaving the people in the lurch. The victims of the disasters have not even received the immediate relief of Rs 2,000 let alone other necessary assistance, he added. On one hand the minister was busy propagating that Rs 70 crore has been released out of Rs 105 crore to the district under disaster management, on the other officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) have refuted his claims, saying that not a single penny has reached them so far. The condition of the Mussoorie-Nagun-Uttarkashi-Gangotri road is also appalling as it has been blocked at several places but the repair work has not begin yet. The certain ministers in the government were busy usurping the money under JNNURM instead of providing immediate relief to the common man, he said. This is the period when vegetables from the Jaunpur region hit the market but due to damaged roads farmers are unable to transport their produce to the mandis in Delhi or Dehradun. The government has become insensitive and its sole aim was to indulge in corruption.
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Ministerial Collectorate employees seek amended staffing pattern
Dehradun, September 13 They demanded that the administration appoint a senior administration officer over 10 ministerial staff in their departments. The members also wanted the administration to start the amended staffing pattern for its employees. Rajender Singh Rawat, district secretary of the union, said, “The state government has made the post of a senior administration officer over 10 ministerial staff in all departments, except in the Collectorate. The government is ignoring our legal demands”. Talking to The Tribune, Suresh Kandpal, general secretary of the union, said if their demands were not fulfilled immediately, they would suspend work for 72 hours on October 19, 20 and 21 all over the state. |
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Dilapidated buildings on Haridwar MC radar
Haridwar, September 13 Now, the MC has taken notice of such buildings that are on the verge of collapsing, posing danger to human life and other properties. Known as Barah Kothi, falling under Shri Panchayati Maha Nirmani Akhada, the building has been in a dilapidated condition for the past decade or so, and according to municipality officials, a notice had been sent to the building management for its evacuation. After drawing flak for not MC has now decided to take the issue on a priority basis. In a recent earmarking drive, the MC had identified more than 50 such buildings which are not safe and had directed their owners to shift the occupants. The MC has once again decided to finalise such buildings many of which are 150-200 years old like the Lal Kothi. If the owners don’t vacate or comply with the orders, then administration’s help will be taken to pull down such structures. MC Executive Officer BL Arya said the owners of all those buildings found under danger category would be once again served notices urging them to shift as quickly as possible, but if they didn’t pay heed, they would have to forcefully evacuate them and remove such dangerous buildings which were on the verge of collapsing. “Whenever any such building collapses, then only the municipality and administration come into action. Why don’t they keep a tab on such violators who play with the lives of innocent people? Asked Ravi Gaur, who lives nearby a damaged building the remaining structure of which was removed late evening.
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Vigilance tightens noose on ex-adviser to CM
Dehradun, September 13 A red corner alert had been issued to all international airports in the country, after the state Vigilance got suspicious of his intention to sneak out of the country to be with his daughter and son-in-law who live in the US to avoid the inquiry. Superintendent of Police, Vigilance, Barinder Kumar Juyal, who is handling the case, said: “We registered a case against him on the fourth of this month and asked him to appear before the inquiry commission on the sixth, but he asked permission to come on the next day to buy time to go through files pertaining to the case which we readily agreed to. But, instead of appearing before the commission, he went to Delhi citing health reasons. Later, from our sources, we got information, that he was all prepared to leave for the US as his visa is also valid up to 2020. To nullify his plans, we issued a red corner alert to international airports”. The sections under which he has been booked are 13 and 13 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 120 (B) and 409 of the IPC. The Vigilance got the go-ahead on August 30 and finally a case was registered against Prasad on September 4. The Vigilance Commission began the inquiry against Prasad on July 13. Juyal said despite the fact that the UJVNL had its own skilled workforce, Yogender gave the task to Cavit, the company with whom he had been associated as its president before he took over as the Chairman of the UJVNL. |
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Pharmacists boycott work for 4 hours
Dehradun, September 13 As the pharmacists had not put up any notices regarding their boycott call, scores of patients, who queued up at the medicines and OPDs, were left stranded for four hours. Later, a group of agitated patients stormed the office of CMS Dr RK Pant at the Doon Hospital demanding medicines. “We cannot make any alternative arrangements as it rests with the pharmacists. However, after the boycott hours, for the convenience of patients, four medicine counters were set up to supplement the existing two,” said Dr Pant. The pharmacists continued to give services at the emergency in all hospitals. Meanwhile, the pharmacists will continue to boycott work between 8 am to 12 noon till September 22. “If the government fails to fulfil our demands, we will be forced to go on strike after September 22,” said SS Chauhan, district president of the Diploma Pharmacist Association. The pharmacists are demanding the removal of anomalies existing in the Sixth Pay Commission, more promotional avenues, etc.
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Alva opens Raj Bhawan website
Dehradun, September 13 The Governor said the website would ensure greater transparency, work ethos and was in tune with the Right to Information Act. “The website designed by the National Informatics Center (NIC) and in English and Hindi languages will also carry information about the universities in the state and colleges affiliated with them. It will provide useful information to both students and guardians,” she stressed. On the occasion, Principal Secretary, Information Technology (IT) Rakesh Sharma, Secretary to Governor Ashok Pai and Additional Secretary, IT Nitish Jha were present.
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Parking blues for court complex visitors
Dehradun, September 13 As per an estimate, around 4,000 litigants visit the courts daily in addition to the high-level officials like District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate, Sub Divisional Magistrate, City Magistrate, SP and other officials, along with 2,000 advocates and 3,000 allied staff, including stamp vendors, typists, munshis and document writers. The common man needs to visit for their work the ADM, SDMs, Sub-Registrar’s offices and District Cooperative Bank that are housed inside the complex. In the absence of any parking facility, all vehicles parked on the road in a haphazard manner making it difficult for the pedestrians even to walk. Similarly, vehicles are parked on the roads around the court complex. “The authorities should soon take measures to widen the area as it could pose a security threat as well,” one of the advocates observed. Due to the huge rush, the former District Magistrate had chosen the jail premises for parking, but very few people park their vehicles there.
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Team brings banana tree for Nanda Devi fest
Nainital, September 13 As per the tradition, a banana tree is brought from one of the chosen villages every year to make the idols of Goddesses Nanda and Sunanda. This year Aam Padav village had been chosen for providing the tree. The team of devotees bringing the tree was received with traditional fanfare at the entrance of the town. Thereafter, a shobha yatra was taken out through the town. It was led by a girls band from Mohan Lal Sah Girls School. This band was followed by children from several other schools dressed in traditional Kumaoni attire. The banana tree will be kept on the premises of the Nanda Devi temple for the night and following the traditional rituals, the task of making the idols will be undertaken tomorrow morning. The main purpose behind making of these idols from a banana tree is that when they are immersed in the water, they do not pollute the water body. The Nanda Devi Mahotsava was formally inaugurated on Sunday afternoon. Inspector General of Police (Kumaon Range) RS Meena made a public appearance in a Kumaoni dress which is a requirement of the occasion. |
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Minor girl alleges rape
Dehradun, September 13 As per the police, Pappu lured the minor girl of the same locality by promising to marry her. But after living with her for about six months, he refused to marry her. When the victim approached the police, he allegedly forced her out of his house. The victim has lodged a case of rape at the Rishikesh
police station. |
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Bomb hoax at park
Dehradun, September 13 People gathered near the park fearing it to be an explosive. Somebody informed the police saying that there might be a bomb in it. A police team examine the bag and found that it was stuffed with books.
— TNS |
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Dehradun, September 13
Agitated over the staffing pattern in the Collectorate Office, workers of the Uttarakhand Ministerial Collectorate Employee Union held a protest in front of the Revenue Department here today. All employees of the tehsil as well as the Ministerial Collectorate Department gathered outside the department and protested against the state administration.
Dehradun, September 13
