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Old woman dies in fracas at
vend
UKD all set to withdraw support from BJP govt
UKD chief Trivender Singh Panwar (left) addresses the media in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photo |
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State Congress president Yashpal Arya arrives in Pitthoragarh on Wednesday.
A Tribune photograph
A varsity bound by obligation to give back to society
Quarrying on Ganga Ghats
Foresters discuss Land Acquisition Act
Students set example of camaraderie
Poll Dept begins drive to collect voters’ pictures
Gurukul varsity refutes admn claim in land dispute
Gurukul Kangri University Vice-Chancellor Swatantra Kumar at a protest in Haridwar on Monday: Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Sai Baba’s palki taken out with fanfare
Swami Tanmaya distributes sweaters among students at Kyarkuli village on Tuesday.
Shakti Kapoor to take auditions today
Artistes from Garhwal at a press conference at Mussoorie on Tuesday.
Leopard kills woman
3-day SBS Utsav concludes
Preliminary round of Miss U’khand held
Participants wait for their turn at a sub-contest for Miss Uttarakhand Contest in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
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Old woman dies in fracas at
vend
Nainital, November 17 It is learnt that he entered into an altercation with a police personnel at a liquor vend in the main market. He had come to the vend with two accomplices identified as Mustafa and Dungar Singh. The constable went on to call his colleagues, including a Sub-Inspector, to the spot as he was unable to confront the commando alone. As the police team arrived, the altercation took an ugly turn with the commando allegedly snatching a stick and going on to thrash the policemen. At the same time, one of the accomplices of the commando tried to escape with the car. As he put the car on the reverse gear, he hit the 70-year-old Laxmi Devi, who died on the spot. The police has charged Deopa with demanding free liquor from the shop and assaulting the men in uniform. Efforts are underway to nab him and his accomplices. Reliance Co. theft handiwork of staff: Police
Dehradun: Yesterday’s theft of Rs 4 lakh in an office of the Reliance company at the Rajpur Road was the handiwork of some of its staff members. This was stated by the police who said its preliminary investigation had revealed that the theft was committed by some insiders. On the night of the theft there was a party at the office, which finished late at night. The staff members, who had left the office last, were being interrogated by the police for their alleged involvement. The cops said it would soon unearth the persons involved in
the crime. Superintendent of Police (City) Ajay Joshi said this was the work of some insiders and they were questioning employees of the company. The theft had come to light when the office was opened yesterday morning. The lock was found broken and Rs 4 lakh cash missing. After that, officials of the company had brought the matter to the notice of the police. |
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UKD all set to withdraw support from BJP govt
Dehradun, November 17 Panwar also confirmed that the party had already got nod from the party member and Cabinet minister Divakar Bhatt on going ahead with the party decision. He denied any faction of the party was taking sides with the state government in such circumstances. He also refused to forge any alliance, though he did not deny either any such remote possibility in the coming assembly election, saying that they would keep their options open. He harped on strengthening the party base to go solo. Deriving satisfaction over the pace of his party’s activities since he took over as president of the party, he said in the past four months, he had been able to do so much that they could not do in the past four years. About the much-awaited expansion of the working committee of the party, he said: “The party had the tradition of constituting a panel of patrons, something which could not happen in the past couple of working committees due to some reasons but I am starting it once again. Given to this, I am designating this charge to two senior leaders Kashi Singh and Diwakar Bhatt as patrons of the party”. He also said ever since the party elections held on July 25, he had successfully been engaged in strengthening the party under the able guidance of these two leaders and hoped to get the same assistance from them in future as well. Panwar declared the names for various party positions for the districts. He said this was the first expansion and soon he would declare names for working committees and different units of the party. Panwar said directives had been issued to all office-bearers, MLAs, minister and district presidents to pay a fixed party fund for two years in order to improve the financial condition of the party, as decided at the first meeting held with the newly elected office-bearers in Ramnagar on August 3. The time limit for it was fixed for two months. He said whoever failed to deposit the fund within the time limit would be removed from his position. He cited examples of district president of Roorkee Rajender Kumar and vice-president of the party Bhuvan Joshi who were removed from the posts for the same reason. |
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Arya demands white paper on employment in state
Nainital, November 17 Talking to The Tribune, Arya, who is on a whirlwind tour of Kumaon, said, “We want the government to bring out a white paper on employment in the state. The youth of the state are being compelled to migrate to other parts of the country in search of employment. “These are not uneducated youth that are going out in search of petty jobs, but well-educated youth are being compelled to do so as the state government has failed to create employment opportunities for them at home.” Arya attacked the Nishank government for making inflated claims of generating employment opportunities in the state and ignoring the ramifications of large-scale migration that is taking place from the state. He asserted that it was during the tenure of the previous ND Tiwari-led Congress government that the state saw an ushering-in of an industrial era which gave employment to a large number of persons. Arya also lashed out at the Nishank government for its claims of providing relief to the victims of the recent rain-related disaster across the state. Even as the state government is going around patting its back for the relief works done, Arya said, “The relief is still to reach the poor. The government has not done anything to provide succour to a large number of people who are being compelled to spend cold wintry nights in tents and the dream of having a home remains a distant dream.” He went on to state, “It needs to be questioned that on what grounds is the government demanding a sum of Rs 21,000 crore in the name of disaster relief when in the supplementary budget, it has itself made a meagre provision of Rs 25 crore for disaster mitigation and management. “The Centre has provided Rs 600 crore to the state for carrying out relief and rehabilitation efforts and has promised to provide even more once concrete proposals are sent. A team of the Central government officials has also conducted an on-the-ground survey of disaster-hit areas across the state.” Having been re-elected as President of the state unit of the party recently, Arya is currently on a whirlwind tour of Kumaon consolidating his position and galvanising party workers to get ready for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state that are due in the early months of 2012. In his speeches, he has been attacking the Nishank government for trying to cover up its failures by blaming everything on the Centre. He has also been accusing the state government for failing to implement the flagship programmes of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Central government like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that are aimed at the welfare of the masses.
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A varsity bound by obligation to give back to society
Dehradun, November 17 These girls are the adopted daughters of UPES and supported for their education and development by the university. These adopted daughters for whom all opportunities are being provided by the university to gain confidence went out from the village and Dehradun for the first time and most of them had their first train ride and a visit to the Capital of their country and its landmarks Rashtrapati
Bhawan, Kutub Minar, Lotus Temple, etc. Their excitement was uncontrollable when their wish list of Barbie Dolls and teddy bears was fulfilled during an arranged outing to a shopping mall in Gurgaon. They visited the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi and met the First Lady in the ceremonial Ashoka Hall of the President’s House. The President spent a few minutes with them and also provided a photo opportunity after which snacks were served to them by the Rashtrapati Bhawan staff. During their three-day stay in Delhi, besides sight-seeing trips, the children met some women achievers (doctors, editors, consultants) and spoke to their parents via video conferencing during which they excitedly enumerated their experiences on the trip. The new confidence in them was vividly visible. The Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the university endeavour towards realising that corporate and institutions have an implicit obligation to give back to society. To play an effective role in this direction, the UPES aims at improving the standard of living and increasing opportunities for village women and children living in and around campus through the spread of education, development of technical skills, seminars, talks and health camps. The UPES also holds a record in the state for blood donation by its students and employees year after year. The Women Development Centre
(WDC) has taken a lead in many activities involving children and women in their development. Under Project
Abhilasha, the UPES for over seven years has trained more than 400 underprivileged children for national engineering entrance examinations from all districts of Uttarakhand besides fee concessions and scholarships to its students from Uttarakhand. While the major thrust for the children is in providing education, vocational training camps are also
organised. Looking at the remoteness of the villages for the medical facilities, a free Mobile Medical Van
(MMV) service has been launched. The MMV is equipped with basic medicines and a qualified doctor that provides regular health checkups for a cluster of villages in and around the campus. The UPES also holds programmes like Samvedna where the children of labourers are given the facility of the day school and are kept busy in meaningful schedules. They are also provided hygienically cooked mid-day meal. Under another
programme, a 15-day computer awareness class is organised for the students of classes X to XII from the villages in 10-km radius. This training is provided by the faculty members of the
UPES. As a university, the UPES has made its name both in national and international academic arena. It has been awarded Asia Best B-School award last year at
Suntec, Singapore. It has also been adjudged the best B-School in the category of innovation leadership and best industry interface. It has also been awarded the State Energy Conservation Award of Uttarakhand in 2009. |
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Matra Sadan accuses govt of double standards
Tribune News Service
Haridwar, November 17 The saints point out that while the state government had issued directives for banning quarrying in the Kumbh mela area following more than 160-day agitation by the Matra Sadan saints, the government order is still being contested in a court. Swami Shivanand of the ashram said no legal counsel from the government side had been appointed in the case. At a press conference held at the ashram, Swami Shivanand warned of fresh agitation if a probe was not conducted into this whole episode. Quarrying on the banks of the Ganga has always been opposed by the ashram and environmentalists. Their fight is not only against the quarrying mafia, but also against the state government and administrative machinery as both seem to have come indirectly in support of the quarrying mafia due to their own vested interests, he alleged. Matra Sadan has also urged the state government to order a high-level inquiry into the alleged mishandling and attacks on the ashram saints in the recent past. It has also sought the removal of the villagers who have allegedly encroached upon the ashram land. Notably, Matra Sadan is situated at Jagjeetpur village on the outskirts of Haridwar. Prof GD Aggarwal, environmentalist, too had carried out more-than-a-month-long agitation at Matra Sadan demanding the closure of hydro power projects of Lohari Nagpala in support with ashram saints and social activists like Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh as a result of which the 600-MW project was scrapped by the Central government. Union Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had visited the ashram and broke the fast of Professor Aggarwal by offering him juice. A month ago, Dalit villagers of Jagjeetpur and ashram saints came face to face over a dispute over land near the ashram which villagers used to performing the funeral rites of their dead. The Matra Sadan saints had said the land belonged to them and they had leased it out to the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, for carrying out a research on the Ganga. Drive against quarrying on
Meanwhile, the district administration carried out a drive against illegal quarrying during which several JCB machines, tractors-trailers were impounded. SDM Harveer Singh himself drove a JCB machine that was impounded from the Ban Ganga on Monday and also scolded the quarrying in charge of the respective areas for not taking stern measures against the violators. The SDM has warned that if the administration finds illegal quarrying going on at the said places of Ban Ganga, Bhogpur and other places, then a stern action will be taken against them. The SDM has stated that such drives will continue in view of a large number of complaints of illegal quarrying in the region. |
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Foresters discuss Land Acquisition Act
Dehradun, November 17 The seminar discussed at length the Land Acquisition Act, describing it as anti-forest dwellers, apart from delaying the implementation of the Forests Rights Act, particularly in reference of Uttarakhand. Addressing the gathering, mostly of Van Gujjars and inhabitants of Tongia villages, Ashok Chowdhary, president of the NFFPFW, accused the government of lacking the will towards the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. He said the situation in Uttarakhand was much pathetic as hill plain terrain was proving to be a stumbling block in the implementation of the Act. He confronted the state government’s claim that the Act was not needed in the state as a large per cent of its geographical area fell under forests and people were already linked to it. He even pointed that van panchayat rules were sufficient enough to ensure forest dwellers their rights. “The Forest Rights Act is over and above the van panchayat rules and, thus, it can not be taken as an excuse to delay the non-implementation of Forest Rights”, Chowdhary pointed out. He called upon the forest dwelling communities to stand unitedly till they got their forestrights. Chowdhary asked the forest dewellers not to lose heart. “If Vendanta and Posco can be taken to task, then certainly no one can stop forest workers from getting their rights,” Chowdhary pointed out. Uttarakhand coordinator for the NFFPFW Munni Lal disclosed that despite sending invitation to top bosses of the State Social Welfare Department and also the Forest Department, none of the officials came to the convention. Roma, who also heads the Union government committee on the Forest Rights Act, too disclosed that that the committee had held most of the hearings linked to review of the Forest Rights Act and would shortly be submitting the details to the Union government. Hema Gairola and Lakshman Singh spoke on the importance of forest rights in perspective of hills.
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Students set example of camaraderie
Haridwar, November 17 Enthusiasm, spirit and respect for each other were witnessed at the event programmes with seniors welcoming their juniors with warmth and encouraging them to take part in various events. Junior students made the atmosphere vibrant with their various cultural presentations. In a debate, Subhangi and Manvi were adjudged joint winners. The second position was secured by duo Deepika and Ambika while Jayanti and Dolly, the crowd favourite, emerged the second runners up. In the rangoli competition, the Sun Shine group won the coveted title while the Sun Flash group and Rainbow group won the second and third prizes. College Principal Navneet Verma, in his address, urged the students to make a perfect balance between studies and co-curricular activities, emphasising on the need of having multi-disciplinary skills in this competitive age where all-round development of personality was essential to gain career success. College manager Sandeep Chaudhri pointed out on the need of having such events which bring both students (seniors and juniors) and teachers closer. Students too felt elated over the freshers party as it gave them a platform to showcase their talent as well as bridged the gap between seniors and juniors. “I really enjoyed walking down the ramp, participating in the debate and performing in cultural programmes. It will propel us now to focus on studies too as the environs of the college are quite studious and activity oriented,” said Dolly, a student. Meanwhile, toppers were presented certificates by the Principal. Deepika, Mausami, Rinkum Seema, Umrav, Tara and Arpita coordinated the proceedings.
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Poll Dept begins drive to collect voters’ pictures
Dehradun, November 17 According to the list prepared by the department here, photographs of 70,000 people out of 9.30 lakh are not available or a few of them have never got their I-cards made. Neeraj Kherwal, Additional District Magistrate-cum-Finance and Revenue Officer, told The Tribune, “On the guideline issued by the Election Commission, the department is planning to remove the names of the residents from the list who fail to submit their photo. They might be having the picture on their cards, but not in electoral rolls”. “A drive is being taken all over the city and will carry on till November 20. And also people can get their names entered in the list till November 30,” he affirmed and added, “People can visit the related BLO, tehsil or the department to submit there photograph along with the residence proof”. |
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Gurukul varsity refutes admn claim in land dispute
Haridwar, November 17 Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Pradeep Kumar Joshi, information officer of the university, said according to the statement of the DM, the land on which the gate was being built was the sole property of the state commission, which as per the governmental order of June 12, 2008, was transferred to the commission by the university. However, never had any transfer of land taken place between the university and the state government and they had no knowledge of this, he added. “It’s quite surprising that the administration issued notification of transfer of land to the state commission without the property owner knowing about it anything”. He presented the legal property documents which state the land as the Gurukul property since 1928 and a letter dated June 25, 1960, by the Additional Development Commissioner, UP, written to the Assistant Governor of Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya. Vice-Chancellor Swatantra Kumar said they had apprised Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of this matter and the biased attitude of administrative officials who were playing almost counsel to the state commission. Meanwhile, the Gurukul staff and students have vowed that they will not allow any commission to take possession of a piece of land as it’s the property of the university.
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Sai Baba’s palki taken out with fanfare
Dehradun, November 17 The procession was ceremoniously carried to the residence of managing trustee Kedar Nath Bhalla. Devotees, including more than 100 women carrying kalash filled with Ganga water and coconut on their heads, accompanied the palki. Rejoicing the grand event, people sang devotional songs, made glorious articrafts in the name of the Baba. Accompanying the palki were singers Saxena Bandhu and Deepak who sang bhajans of the Sai Baba. Thereafter, the palki members returned to the temple for ‘Bhandara’, which was served to three thousand devotees. A wholesome meal made with lot of faith and devotion was consumed from roadside beggars to the affluent class. The mega event of the day began around 11 am when devotees, who had gathered got mesmerized in the melodious bhajans till evening.
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Sweaters distributed among students
Mussoorie, November 17 The chief guest on the occasion was Swami Tanmaya, disciple of Swami Bal Yogi. The students presented a few dance and song numbers on the occasion and later were provided refreshments too. Swami Tanmaya said on the occasion that Swamiji was concerned about the well being of the poorest of the poor and under his guidance the programme was being organised. He said apart from education, imparting traditional values was also essential and he was pleased that students were following them in totality. President of the Sarvgun Society Rakesh Uniyal and secrtary Ankit Sharma said more such programmes would be organised. The government needed to look more towards rural education if it wanted to take the country forward speedily. The programme was coordinated by Rakesh Rawat. Kyarkuli Pradhan Bali Ram and Headmistress Pratibha Kulan were present on the occasion.
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Shakti Kapoor to take auditions today
Dehradun, November 17 Talking to the media, he said the winners of the contest, to be held in December, would get a chance to play a role in a Hindi film to be produced by his production house. The shooting of the film would start in January next year in the beautiful locations of Uttarakhand. The Manisha Koirala, Shakti Kapoor, Ulka Gupta, Aryaman and Zakir Hussain-starrer will be directed by Navneet Kaushik. Ashok Mehta has been signed as cameraman.
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Folk, film artistes seek separate fund
Mussoorie, November 17 Pradeep Bhandari also said course books should be created in regional languages to preserve their culture and identity. Rajendar Rawat informed that there no film policy was in existence till date and the Film Vikas Parishad had not been constituted till now. Anil Godiyal said the state had immense possibilities and they should be exploited in a positive way. The Sanskritik Kendra will have an auditorium and lodging for artistes, along with a conference hall. The artistes also thanked Governor Margaret Ava for her role in the inception of the
kendra.
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Leopard kills woman
Dehradun, November 17 The incident happened this morning when 40-year-old Deveshwari
Devi, who had gone to collect fodder, was confronted by a prowling leopard, mauling her to death. Villagers complain that there have been repeated attacks on villagers by a leopard, but the Forest authorities so far have failed to take any action. Meanwhile, Forest officials had a tough time in managing the angry villagers who sought immediate gunning down of the man-eating
leopard. DFO Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve sources revealed that a cage is being installed in the area to catch the beast and recommediation has also been sent to the Chief Wildlife Warden for declaring this leopard a man-eater. With winter setting in, cases of man-leopard conflict are expected to rise in Uttarakhand. Wildlife, particularly leopards descend to inhabited areas in search of food and warmth, and come in a direct conflict with villagers. |
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3-day SBS Utsav concludes
Dehradun, November 17 The programme began with welcoming chief guest Harish Rawat, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, followed by lighting of the ceremonial lamp. The Director of the institute Prof AK Sharma presented the annual college report and awarded the young achievers of the college. The cultural programme commenced with the Saraswati vandana followed by giddha and bhangra performances. Also a dance drama, “Panchtatwa”, was staged very effectively. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks followed by the National Anthem presentation.
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Preliminary round of Miss U’khand held
Dehradun, November 17 The models were made to walk on the ramp. They were adjudged on the basis of eye contact with the judges, glamour quotient, expression, body posture and choreography. The judges of the sub-contest were Pallab Bose, choreographer and trainer for Miss India, Devina Dutta, beauty expert, and Gurinder Kaur, Miss Ten 2009.
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President of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal Trivender Singh Panwar has at last clarified that his party will withdraw support from the BJP government before the end of this year.
Dehradun, November 17
