Dehradun, November 12
Expressing their anger over derogatory remarks about party chief Sonia Gandhi by former RSS chief KS Sudershan, state Congress workers today burnt an effigy of the RSS here today.

The police also arrested 150-200 workers during the protest and took them to the Police Lines. However, after booking them under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) they were released.

Earlier, the workers gathered at the Gandhi Park and led by Congress party president Yaspal Arya, opposition leader Harak Singh Rawat and other senior leaders they marched towards RSS office to burn the effigy.

They passed from the Clock Tower to Chakrota Road but were stopped by the police near Bindal. The police had put up barricades and didn’t allow the Congress men cross that to prevent them going to the RSS office.

The police and the workers pushed each other during the melee but the latter were not allowed to enter. However, the Congress workers decided to burn the effigy near the Bindal only.

They also raised slogans against the remarks of the former RSS chief and started marching back. After crossing the Clock Tower they sat outside the Dhara police post and courted arrest.

The police arrested 150 to 200 persons, including Arya and Rawat, and took them in two to three vehicles to the Police Lines.

The police had turned the RSS office into a fortress. The cops had been deployed heavily to avoid any untoward incident ahead of the protest. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ganesh Singh Martolia and District Magistrate Sachin Kurve monitored the situation.

Dehradun, November 12
The DMC would once again start removing the illegal hoardings in the city from tomorrow. This was clarified by Mayor Vinod Chamoli here today. “We have identified 17 hoardings on roads and 44 on the rooftops that are illegal. The Nigam has never given permission to the ones that were put up by the advertisers,” he stated after concluding the meeting with the officials.

“In the first phase all these hoardings would be removed and the drive will start from tomorrow. We would be working on the removal of hoardings which fall within 25-30 metre area of the roundabouts,” said Chamoli.

On being asked whether a chance would be given to the ones who were blacklisted earlier, Chamoli affirmed that they would definitely listen to these people but will decide it later on that they be allowed to put hoardings or not. “The decision is in the hands of the Nagar Nigam where the hoardings can be put,” he said. “We wont be asking for the payment for the hoardings that were displayed after March 31 this year and let the court decides about the same,” Chamoli affirmed.

“We have floated a tender for putting up the new hoardings. This would stop the mafianism and will help providing employment. Our main aim is just the safety and the beautification of the city”.

The drive was stopped on October 26 as the court has put the stay after few of the businessmen appealed for the same in the court. But on Wednesday the court gave its decision in favour of the corporation stating that all hoardings that had been put up after March 31, 2010, are illegal.

Pitthoragarh, November 12
Uttarakhand Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik today inaugurated a cluster of 200 houses for urban poor and slum dwellers in Pitthoragarh town. The schemes in the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme is run by the government of India under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM).

“Under the mission, we are constructing 200 houses at 12 places in the town. These will be allotted to BPL card holders living in the urban area,” said Rajendra Singh Rawat, Chairman of the Nagar Palika Parishad, Pitthoragarh.

Before reaching Pitthoragarh, the minister also inaugurated the same category housing cluster in Bageswar and Kicha, Dineshpur, Kashipur, Jashpur and Mahuakhera urban bodies of Udham Singh Nagar.

“Besides inaugurating housing clusters, the minister inaugurated tourist rest houses at Lilam on the Munsiyari-Milam highway, Chori Bagar, Gala and Malpa as well as contact road to Thalkedar in Pitthoragarh town,” said NS Negi, District Magistrate, Pitthoragarh.

Dehradun, November 12
The Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) guerrillas have demanded the suspension of the cops who had lathicharged them on Wednesday during a protest outside the Secretariat.

The members of the force said since the administration had denied of having given any permission to the police to use lathis against them, then how can the police beat them mercilessly. The members also denied any stone pelting by them during the protest on the same day.

Advocate and member of the Guerrilla Force Welfare Association Yudveer Singh Rana said, “When the administration has denied that it hadn’t given permission to the police to use force, then how can they use lathis against us when we are peacefully protesting. In a democratic country, this is our right to protest and raise our voice”.

“The police didn’t spared even our women and elderly during the lathi charge, in which over 12 persons had got injured. We had to go to private hospitals to get them treated since we were not treated in the government hospitals. We want the cops, who unruly behaved with us and beat us, be suspended.

“If an MLA is beaten, case against cops under Section 307 of the IPC is lodged and why in our case this is not being done,” said Rana, a resident of Chamoli district.

The members of the force said they would give a three-point memorandum of their demands to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The three demands include cases be registered against guilty cops and they be suspended, all members of the SSB guerrillas be employed in state services according to their ability while old persons be given pension and the dependants of guerrillas be given monetary help and other facilities.

The force was raised in Uttarakhand after the 1962 Indo-China war to work in the border districts of the state.

However, after the SSB was made a paramilitary force, these guerrillas were left unemployed and they have since then been raising their voice to be recruited if not in the SSB may be in some other state services.

Dehradun, November 12
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, in consonance with the special powers granted to her under the Constitution of India, has ordered the release of 16 convicts serving life term in various prisons in the state.

The orders, issued on the occasion of 10th statehood anniversary of Uttarakhand, were recently dispatched to the state's Home Department for implementation.

The decision with regard to commuting the remaining period of the life sentence of the prisoners, who had served over 14 years of the term, was taken in view of their good conduct during incarceration, their old age and infirmity. 

Dehradun, November 12
Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor said here today that science and technology could contribute greatly in helping Uttarakhand becoming a model state in terms of scientific development.

He was addressing the valedictory session of fifth Uttarakhand Science Congress held jointly by the Doon University and the Uttarakhand State Council of Science and Technology (UCOST) here.

Harbans Kapoor said that science could play an important role in the state’s development. “We have plenty of natural resources and science will help us make proper and maximum use of these,” the Speaker pointed out.

He commended UCOST and the Doon University for their efforts and said that science congress had improved greatly over the past five years.

Prof Girijesh Pant, VC of Doon University, presented the synopsis of the proceedings of the congress. He said it was a cause for great satisfaction that the number of papers being presented in these Congress had gone up and their quality had also improved.

Prof Pant said 270 of the papers had been presented by female scientists thereby revealing that women were an important part of the scientific work being carried out in the state.

He said that most papers had come from scientists in Dehradun or Udham Singh Nagar districts and this also called for a move to encourage scientists from the hill areas.

He said universities and UCOST could help hill area scientists get better infrastructure and opportunities.

UCOST Director Rajendra Dobhal said that private scientific institutes had participated in the congress and it was a good sign that they were devoting so much attention to research activities. He said that the recommendations of the congress would be sent to the state government. “Among the recommendations included the need for a water policy and energy policy for Uttarakhand,” he said.

Dr BS Bisht, Vice-Chancellor of the GB Pant University of Agricultural Sciences, Pantnagar, said scientists needed to be more socially active. Prof SP Singh, former HNB Garhwal University VC and vice chairman of the state public service commission, said respect for academics needed to be enhanced in our society.

In the award ceremony, the award for best innovation went to SPECS scientists Dr Brij Mohan Sharma and Hemendra Gupta for his innovation “Energy-Efficient Lights.”

Forty-two young scientists and researchers were awarded in 15 disciplines. Among them were Parul Bhatt of the FRI, Archana Uppal of the SGRR Institute of Technology and Sciences, Vikram Singh Gaur of GB Pant University, Ninad B Rao of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Shyamvir Singh of HNB Garhwal University, Manisha Thapliyal of FRI, Yogesh Gairola of ICFRE and Mansi Gupta of IIT, Roorkee.

Haldwani, November 12
It was Chhoi village near Ramnagar that was the theatre of a large-scale devastation of agricultural produce unleashed by an elephant yesteday. The incident has once again brought the issue of damage caused to agricultural produce by wild animals to the forefront.

According to information, the animals had recently ravaged through the fields of paddy and wheat in the areas adjoining

Chhoi. In the latest incident, the focus of the animals was on sugarcane.

It is learnt that while the villagers had managed to scare away the herd of elephants by firing in the air, one of them managed to sneak into the sugarcane fields and unleashed its anger on the standing sugarcane crop. Over the past few weeks devastation of sugarcane by elephants has become a routine in the area.

In the said incident, the elephant went on to destroy the crop in about four acres of land. The villagers say that over the past few weeks crop standing in about 10 acre has been totally destroyed by the elephants.

The villagers have once again raised the demand for a long-term solution to this frequently occurring problem. The Forest Department officials are learnt to have constituted a team to take stock of the losses incurred by the farmers for giving compensation.

They are also mulling over sending a proposal for setting up a solan fence or a safety wall around the area, where crops are being destroyed with regularity. 

Haldwani, November 12
Two cattle heads were charred to death in a fire in a tenement in Udaypuri village near Kaladhungi on Wednesday night. According to the information available, the cattle heads were kept in a closed temporary enclosure that had a thatched roof. A large quantity of fodder and foodgrains had also been stored in the enclosure that had been built close to the residence of one Shiv Lal.

Shiv Lal was a witness to the two animals being charred to death while some others also sustained burn injuries. The villagers were quick to inform the fire brigade personnel at Haldwani. — TNS