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Himalayan states must plan now to combat climate change: Report
Scholars advocate separate Himalayan policy |
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‘Rise in sea level not alarming’
Small-time leaders acting as stooges of contractors, says Water Man
Lata Mangeshkar-sung Garhwali song to hit market soon
Rehabilitate people hit by Tehri Dam: SC
Parties seek proper relief to disaster-hit
Workers of Left parties and other organisations stage a dharna in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Speed up relief distribution to rain-hit, admn told
Parties term Obama visit as bid to bail out USA
GMNV staff losing faith in vice-president
Nicolas Jones , Manchester United Development Coach, gives training to girl foootballers at Unison World School in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Rehabilitation of disaster-hit top priority: Minister
Gokul society holds yajna for world peace
Doon Tigers register 4-wkt win
Aryan thrash St Jude
Bahadur Rana trounces Anand Chauhan
A match in the Inter School Girls Kabaddi Tournament in Dehradun on Tuesday.
A Tribune photograph
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Himalayan states must plan now to combat climate change: Report
Dehradun, November 9 “With uncertain rainfall, the conventional water towers may also experience stress while with a shortage of water, both for crops and humans, various distribution problems may arise. Changes in occupation shifting from agriculture to something allied are scenarios to be considered, including mass movement into protected forest areas,” says the report. The report, “Problems of hill states and hill areas”, has been prepared by the GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (Almora) and submitted to the Planning Commission, Government of India. The task force was chaired by GB Mukherjee, Secretary (Tribal Affairs), Government of India. The report lays stress on treating mountain areas as national treasure of resource and opportunity for survival of the north-eastern plains of India. To that extent the report says that zones of snow, alpine, sub-alpine areas and sacred landscapes need to be protected at all costs. “All natural water zones (glaciers, rivers, lakes and shrubs) must be strictly protected and forest zones should be conserved,” says the report. The report even suggests construction of two-loop railway lines, one for the Western Himalayan region connecting Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and other for the North-East region. These loops should be linked to each other through the existing national network of the northern and eastern railways. The report suggests industries need to be regulated in order to protect the fragility of the region. In limited areas only, small scale and cottage industries should be developed depending upon local skills and locally available raw material.
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Scholars advocate separate Himalayan policy
Dehradun, November 9 Speaking today at a seminar organised on “Himalayan Policy” at the Christian Retreat Centre, he said unless the government realised the importance the role the Himalayan states played in sustaining the ecosystem these states would continue to be exploited by people with vested commercial interests. “I am aware that soon a Central Himalayan policy will be released by the government. I hope the people sitting in Delhi take into consideration the local sentiments and give due weightage to our traditional agriculture, water management and our way of life,” he said. Magsaysay awardee Rajinder Singh said before the Himalayas become terminally ill we need to act. “Unless until we are able to revive the hill economy by setting up cottage industries for the youth, the villages will continue to be deserted,” he said. On the other hand, Padam Shri recipient Anil Prakash Joshi said time and again there had been a call for drafting a Himalayan policy. “Most of us have even prepared a draft. I think a Himalayan policey should encompass policies that are people friendly and increase self-sufficiency of hill economy. I am an advocate of local resources for local people and that should be the theme of the policy,” he added. Geeta Gairola emphasised the need for drafting a women policy as women bear the maximum work load in hills. Bihari Lal, Chairman of the Lok Jeewan Vikas Bharati, said the Himalayan policy was important for turning the old slogan of “Jal Jungle Jamin” into a reality.
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‘Rise in sea level not alarming’
Dehradun, November 9 Speaking at a press conference here today at the Survey of India (SOI), Major-General Srivastav said : “The rise is not alarming as it is being talked about, the SOI has been monitoring the data and possess data for the past 150 years,” he said. He said all these issues would be discussed at the 30th INCA International Congress to be held tomorrow. The focal theme of the cartographic congress is “cartography for sustainable environment”, which is further subdivided into following 15 sub-themes involving developments that have taken place in the science cartography. On the other hand Major-Gen Manoj Tayal, Additional Surveyor of the General Department of Science and Technology, said SOI had undertaken mapping of 156 towns and this was the changing face of the department that was increasingly getting involved in urban planning as well. While William Cartright, president of the International Association of Cartographers, said the cartography was extensively used in risk management in the aftermath of tsunami.
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Small-time leaders acting as stooges of contractors, says Water Man
Dehradun, November 9 “The demand should have come from the people, but I am happy that the government took the decision. It is our heritage and has to be preserved for future generations. In several areas the river has been reduced to a stream. The holy Zam Zam spring in Mecca and our own Ganga river have high status in the minds of the people and so they should remain,” he said, while speaking to The Tribune. He said the people should resist contractor-driven democracy. “At the behest of leaders of a local party that have vested interests in the continuation of power projects, they tried to stop the Ganga Lok Yatra, but were unsuccessful. What can you do when small-time leaders act as stooges of contractors,” he said while brushing off the incident as part and parcel of an activist’s life. Opposition such as these are nothing new for Water Man who took on the Rajasthan government over people’s rights on natural resources. On the issue of development versus big dams, he said people should have first right on water. “Unfortunately when economic interests of corporate houses come into play, scant attention is paid to people’s interests. Tehri, the place of the biggest dam, is thirsty so are several areas in the country. How do we address the problem,” stressed Rajinder Singh. His association with activists of the Nadi Bachao Andolan and Raksha Sutra and people of Uttarakhand saw him undertaking padyatras from time to time especially in areas that faced water scarcity. “Water management and water conservation should be everybody’s business,” he said.
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Lata Mangeshkar-sung Garhwali song to hit market soon
Pauri Garhwal, November 9 This much-awaited song has been picturised in a video album with local artistes and is already being hailed as a sure chart-buster as this is for the first time an artiste of the calibre of Lata Mangeshkar, who is regarded as the greatest female vocal artiste in India, will be lending her melodious
voice to a song having Garhwali lyrics.
The video album being produced under the Himalayan Films banner is also titled “Man Bharmagay” with the title song been sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The “Man Bharmagay” song is penned by veteran Garhwali film lyricist Devi Prasad Semwal who has to his credit lyrics of milestone Garhwali film “Ghar Jaway”. Semwal is all too elated and feels honoured that Lata Di has lent her voice to his words. This, according to him, “is a dream come true and a honour which generations to come by will remember”. Director of the video album Anuj Joshi, who is a renowned name in Uttarakhand cinema, says it is a matter of great pride for Uttarakhand people that Lata Mangeshkar, who is synonymous with Hindi cinema and has to her credit more than 30,000 songs, sings in a regional language. Producer of the video album Ravindra Lakheda said they had tried to make sure the video that was picturised was in sync with Lata’s stature. It was a matter of pride for the whole state that such a renowned artiste had agreed to playback for a Garhwali song. In fact, this song was recorded exactly two decades back in 1990, but somehow or the other didn’t reach the common masses’ ears. Anuj Joshi noticing the importance of this song thought to present it before Uttarakhand people in a fresh manner and thought of incorporating it in a video album form. Apart from the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, the video album also has voices of Uttarakhand’s singing legend Narendra Singh Negi, Meena Rana and Kishan Mahipal. This makes the album a music collectors must-have item. Negi, who hails from Pauri Garhwal and is regarded as one of the best singers Uttarakhand has ever produced, feels honoured to sing in the same album in which Lata Di has sung. “This is one of the best things that could happen to the Uttarakhand regional culture with Lata Mangeshkar singing in Garhwali. The language will get mass acceptance and people in other parts of the country will also come to know and recognise the importance of our language and culture,” said Negi. Though he also gave a piece of advice to budding singing talents to learn from the hard work, riyaz, perfection and simplicity of Lata Mangeshkar, as in this glamour world of showbiz and singing talent reality shows, voice has taken a back seat and mannerisms and outward appearance were overshadowing real talent. Already the album’s unit is on a whirlwind tour of Uttarakhand to make people aware of the magical Lata Mangeshkar singing Garhwali lyrics and make sure a new history is written in Uttarakhand regional folk history. If people’s response, inquiry about the album’s release date, Lata’s fan following and buzz are to go by, then the album by merely having legendary Lata Mangeshkar’s name on it is a sure hit.
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Rehabilitate people hit by Tehri Dam: SC
Dehradun, November 9 Hearing a PIL filed by MLA from Tehri Kishore Upadhyay, Shanti Bhatt, Jot Singh Bisht, Darshani Rawat and Mahipal Negi, a two-member Bench comprising Justice RV Ravindran and Justice AK Patnaik asked the state government to provide funds for rehabilitation of 158 affected families who had been left out during the previous surveys and not been treated as displaced and, therefore, had not been rehabilitated or compensated, Upadhaya informed here today. The court ordered that 26 villages hitherto uncovered and not selected for rehabilitation and compensation should be considered for due compensation and rehabilitation. On hearing the petitioners represented by senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, the court ordered the construction of three bridges for facilitating connectivity that had been otherwise disrupted due to the upcoming lake in and around the old Tehri town. The bridges should be constructed within a year at Dobra, Ghonti and Chinyali Saur. Pending the completion of construction of these bridges, the people should be provided with ferryboat services on both sides of the lake on Bhagirathi and Bhilangana Valley. The court also said apart from these bridges, wherever possible, the government should construct ropeways for the people who have to otherwise travel very long distances due to the construction of a 160-metre-high dam that had created a lake of around 42 sq km. The government should also construct new roads connecting to these bridges in the affected areas. About 400 shopkeepers, who had not been so far rehabilitated and their businesses had also been affected due to displacement, should be rehabilitated and compensated adequately, the court said. The apex court ordered that public institutions that had been submerged or affected due to the creation of the Tehri Dam lake should be immediately re-established and adequate funds should be provided for the same by the
state government. Three drinking water schemes should be immediately started and the work should be completed within four months, the court ordered. These are Koshiyar Tal, Sarjyula and Pratap Nagar pumping schemes. The court also asked the grievance redressel cell to dispose of pending cases with regard to rehabilitation. The court also directed that the state should ensure that no affected families go without rehabilitation. The court said the state government could not shrug off its responsibilities towards rehabilitation of the people affected by the Tehri Dam Project. “The state has been time and again ignoring the problems of the dam-affected persons despite a number of orders by the Supreme Court. We hope that today’s directions by the court would wake up the government which is turning a blind eye to the problems of people who have left their hearths and homes for the project,” said
Upadhyay.
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Parties seek proper relief to disaster-hit
Dehradun, November 9 CPM state secretary Vijay Rawat though appreciated formation of the Disaster Management Ministry, stressed on strengthening it further at panchayat level so that the affected could be helped without much delay. Both Left parties found the assistance announced for victims insufficient and demanded to increase it further. All groups collectively presented suggestions to the state government, which included work to the affected people through MNREGA in the remaining five months of the year and formulation of an action plan for them for the next year. Their second suggestion was to enforce effective public distribution system (PDS) to provide the essential foodgrains to the victims. The third was the suggestion to involve public participation from state to block level, which should also mean the assistance not from all parties but also from civil social groups. The ones who represented other organisations were central spokesperson of the Parivartan Party Rajiv Kothari, district convener of the Uttarakhand Mahila Manch Nirmala Bisht and central president of Tanzeem-e-Rehumay Millet Latafat Hussain.
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Speed up relief distribution to rain-hit, admn told
Haridwar, November 9 The meeting was presided over by Bisht at Roshanabad-situated district headquarters wherein apart from district administrative officials, BJP office-bearers also took part. Referring to several anomalies and complaints of bias in the allocation of compensation and identification of flood-affected people, Bisht strictly directed the officials to ensure unbiased distribution of relief material and compensation. With winter having already set in, the administration should speedily redress the problems of the the flood-affected as without shelter their problems will be aggravating, he added. On the issue of several roads still not cleared of debris in the Roorkee area, Bisht lashed out at the Public Work Department (PWD) and told the officials that these roads should be opened as soon as possible. He also ordered that tehsil-levels meeting should be organised in Roorkee, Laksar and Haridwar for the flood-affected this month. Apprising of the steps taken by the district administration, District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram said a list of flood-affected people passed by district-level committees had been given to public representatives and if by any reason any affected victim’s name was missing then he could still file his application to be considered for the inclusion of his name in the list on a priority basis. Roorkee legislator Suresh Jain refuted the claims of Opposition parties of delay and bias in the allocation of relief funds, saying that as the assessment of flood damage is not an easy task, still the state government is in the process of assessing the damage. Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to ensure that State Foundation Day will be celebrated with simplicity in view of the recent rain disaster in the state. Additional District Magistrate SN Pandey said as part of the celebrations, various welfare schemes would be launched. Freedom fighter Nandlal Dhingra also gave his suggestions regarding the foundation day celebrations in the state.
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Parties term Obama visit as bid to bail out USA
Haridwar, November 9 Several organisations protested the US President’s maiden visit to India since assuming office in July two years back. Protestors also burnt an effigy of the US President accusing him of trying to save American interests at the cost of appease-all policies of the UPA government. The Jan Adhikar Sangathan held a protest terming Obama’s visit no different from his earlier five predecessors who wanted economic benefits from India, but hesitated to say any word on the Pakistan-sponsored terrorism directly. Executive member of the sangathan Sunil Anand lashed out at the US administration as well as the UPA-led government for trying to shield the real agenda which is to bail out the US economy from the economic crisis it is presently undergoing at the cost of Indian interests. “Obama’s magic has faded and he is no better than his earlier counterparts like Bill Clinton or George Bush as till date Pakistan, which is behind all terror attacks in India, has not been openly named by the USA. This is totally a dual policy as on the one hand Pakistan is being military aided by the USA and on the other Obama vows that the USA is with India in the war against terrorism at hotel Taj Mahal, wherein Pakistan-based terrorists openly fired on innocent people,” said Anand. While terming the USA of misusing India to meet its economic interest, Bhopal Singh, member of the organisation, accused the USA of having short-term interests when it considers India. The CPM also carried out a protest meeting here against Obama’s visit. Addressing the party cadre, district representative Ompal Singh said countries like Spain, Greece, France and Ireland were facing a severe financial crisis due to their pro-capitalist policies and the USA also seemed to be heading on that path. “The Indian governance system is still strong despite financial meltdown and other so called developing countries falling to their own capitalist and open-market policies, but it seems that the Indian government is not paying heed to this point as it is quite happily bowing to the US political pressure which is not going down well with the Indians,” said Ompal. Revolutionary students and Parivartankari Chatra Sangathan have also condemned the visit of Obama for focusing on American vital interests while neglecting Indian interests totally. After the meeting, the protestors went towards the Bhagat Singh Chowk raising slogans against the American policies and burnt the effigy of the US President as a mark of protest.
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GMNV staff losing faith in vice-president
Dehradun, November 9 A week ago, they laid siege around him for not acting upon his promise of regularisation of daily wagers working in the
GMVN, but their tone and tenor changed after an assurance came from him to come up with something tangible in the next 10 days. He, too, appears to be pushing
hard. Negi said, “I have already talked to Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar in this regard who has assured of quick action on this issue. I also took along state president of Daily Wagers Council Yashpal Singh Negi with me. I will also meet the Chief Minister about it soon”. The soothing words of Negi have calmed down the infuriated employees who otherwise had no option but to wait and watch when the GMVN is just reduced to a losing proposition. BD
Petwal, president of employees association, said seeing the heavy losses the GMVN incurred due to rain-hit disaster, the sword on surplus employees, who had been working as daily wagers in the GMVN for two to three decades, hung heavy on them. They felt more insecure now. In such a scenario, Petwal stressed that the employees were not taking the delay in the execution of promises made by Negi lightly as they feared losing their salaries, continuity of work and jobs too. Yet, he said, they would believe that Negi would do something about it within the timeframe given by him. He desisted saying anything at the moment if Negi did not do anything.
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World footballers to train 50 students
Dehradun, November 9 A total of 50 girls under the age categories from six to eight years and from nine to 12 years are taking part in the camp. The camp is organised on two separate timings i.e. from 9.30 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 4.30 pm. Since its inception in 2007, the school has been organising these camps. The students are being trained for four days by the UEFA licensed coaches of world repute namely Mathew Elder (ex-Everton Academy player) and Nicolas Jones (Manchester United Development Coach). Linda Lewis, Company Director of Coaching Connexions Limited and Anjali Shah from PIFA are also present at the camp. Trilok Singh Bist, Dean of Activities of the school, said, “For the past four years we have been holding these camps and it has been better and better every year. The coaches are working hard with the players and they have suggested for proper rest after the camps for the girls”.
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Rehabilitation of disaster-hit top priority: Minister
Pitthoragarh, November 9 The minister was addressing a seminar on the topic, “Disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts by the government”, at the Vikas Bhawan here. Before addressing the seminar, the minister released a government publication named “Utkarsh ki Aur”, which contained the progress report of the state during the past 10 years. Uttarakhand BJP chief Bishan Singh Chufal said the government had released sufficient money for carrying out rehabilitation work at the sites damaged in last month’s disasters triggered by incessant rains. “But, government officers are not giving sufficient attention to the problem and not preparing estimates to utilise the money so that the damaged infrastructure could be rebuild soon,” said Chufal. The meeting was also addressed by Suresh Joshi, general secretary, Uttarakhand BJP, and Pitthoragarh district officers, including the District Magistrate and the Chief Development Officer.
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Gokul society holds yajna for world peace
Dehradun, November 9 The function was presided over by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Harbans Kapoor, while Bharat Vikas Parishad president Sachidanand Sharma was the guest of honour. Vice-Chairman of the State Women’s Commission Geeta Thakur was also present on the occasion. The organisation also held a camp in which they gave artificial limbs to physically challenged people. Secretary of the society Madhu Makhuri informed that the Gokul Artificial Limb Centre at Harrawala was inaugurated in January 2010 and since then, 85 persons had been benefited. The organisations was engaged in providing support to people who are poor and could not afford expensive treatment.
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Doon Tigers register 4-wkt win
Dehradun, November 9 The Sports Hostel team won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite scoring a good fighting total, the Hostel team had to lose. It scored 127 runs before getting all-out. Kiran (27) was the highest scorer for his team. Replying to the target, the Doon Tigers team did not face much problem and achieved it easily. Adil, with 34 runs, was the mainstay of the batting innings. The team scored the wining runs in 16 overs at the loss of six wickets in the Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament at Matawala Bagh.
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Aryan thrash St Jude
Dehradun, November 9 While girls of St Jude in girls match beat Summer Valley
School 8-4. In another match of the District Basketball Championship, St Mary’s defeated
Doon International School here today.
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Bahadur Rana trounces Anand Chauhan
Dehradun, November 9 Players from different districts took part in the competition that saw good crowd. In the 48kg category, Bahadur Singh Rana beat Anand Singh Chauhan. In another 48kg encounter, Bharat Singh defeated Harish Singh. Also, Neeraj Kumar beat Govind Tiwari in the 51 kg category. While in the 54kg category, Neeraj got the better of Mohit. The tournament started off late due to medical tests. The opening ceremony was delayed to three in the evening.
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SGRR Basant Vihar emerge winners
Dehradun, November 9 Earlier in the boys’ semifinal, the winning team beat SGRR Shastradhara 34-15. Also, SGRR Nehru Gram got the better of Race Course 24-4 in the second semi-final, which remained a one-sided affair.
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Dehradun, November 9
In a first of its kind, which can be termed as a major recognition and popularity of Garhwali language, Nightingale of India and Bharat Ratna laureate Lata Mangeshkar’s maiden Garhwali language-based song is going to hit the
market soon, which surely will give the regional language a national popularity and identity.
This much-awaited song has been picturised in a video album with local artistes and is already being hailed as a sure chart-buster as this is for the first time an artiste of the calibre of Lata
Mangeshkar, who is regarded as the greatest female vocal artiste in India, will be lending her melodious
voice to a song having Garhwali lyrics.
The CPI, CPM, Parivartan Party, Uttarakhand Mahila Manch and Tanzeem-e-Rehnumay Millat held a joint protest at the Gandhi Park here to ensure proper relief work for the disaster-hit people.
CPI state secretary Samar Bhandari said the state had to pass through this enormous calamity and incurred losses to life and property.
