Haridwar, January 3
The concluding day of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national convention of the Scheduled Caste cell ended with several resolutions being passed to safeguard the interests of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and demanding various other incentives to ensure the overall development of this suppressed segment of the society.

Speaking as chief guest of the concluding session, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank urged the cell members to work in villages and SC-dominant areas to bring them into the mainstream of development of which they had been deprived for decades by Congress governments. He also pointed out the various beneficiary social schemes run by the state government.

Addressing the convention, former party chief Bangaru Laxman lashed out at the Congress for using Muslims and Dalits as a mere vote bank while casting doubts on Hinduism by using the term “saffron terrorism”, which was hurting the sentiments of people.

Accusing the Congress government for failing to bring the suppressed strata of society into the mainstream, Upper House parliamentarian and former Uttarakhand CM Bhagat Singh Koshyari said the time had come when Dalits had to realise that subsequent parties, be they the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or the Samajwadi Party (SP), they had only used SC people as mere vote bank. Only the BJP had catered to their aspirations, he added.

The convention saw delegates crossing 200 mark belonging to all the states of the country. Leaders accepted that without the support of the Dalit community, the party could not envision regaining power at the Centre.

Meanwhile, political parties, the Congress, BSP and SP, have termed the sudden BJP focus on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes as a political gimmick. The Congress termed the ongoing national convention of the SC cell in Haridwar as a strategic political move keeping in mind the Assembly elections in Haridwar next year.

In a statement, general secretary of the state Congress Dr Santosh Chauhan said the BJP had been criticised for playing vote bank politics.

“Since assuming power in the state in 2007, the BJP government, previously led by Major-Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd) and now Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, has never been serious about the welfare of this strata of society, but now suddenly their Dalit love has arisen. This is nothing but a vote bank funda to garner votes of this section. The Dalit community should remain alert,” said Chauhan.

SP district head Dr Parashar warned the BJP that such political moves would only backfire as the SC/ST community knew very well the BJP mindset.

Similarly, the BSP termed the BJP’s Scheduled Caste inclination as a sheer political move, and presented party supremo Mayawati as the only leader capable of safeguarding the interests of the suppressed community as was being seen in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand in charge Rambhar Achal in a statement said the BSP would increase its tally in the state.

Haridwar, January 3
With the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) expelling its lone Cabinet Minister Diwakar Bhatt in the BJP-led state government and Bhatt totally against the UKD decision of taking back its support from the ruling party, rumours of Bhatt joining the BJP gained air when Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had a closed-door chat with him.

After coming out of the discussion, while the CM refrained from disclosing anything while speaking to mediapersons, Bhatt, who is a legislator from the Ganga town Deo Prayag Assembly in Pauri Garhwal, tried to play down the meeting, terming it as just a coincidence, as he wanted to meet the CM only.

When questioned whether he would take part in the ongoing BJP national convention, Bhatt said, “I have not come here to be a part of the SC cell convention, which is BJP’s private affair, nor am I joining the BJP. I have just come to meet the CM, as he is the head of the state Cabinet, of which I am a part as a state minister”.

Dehradun, January 3
Founder leaders Kashi Singh Aeri and Cabinet minister Diwakar Bhatt and other senior leaders, including Omgopal Rawat, BD Rathuri, Ved Uniyal, Satish Semwal and Sri Krishna Bhatt of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) held another meeting today to discuss party President Trivender Singh Panwar’s widely published statements in local newspapers opposing their decision of stay on the withdrawal of support to the state government and suspension of Bhatt from primary membership of the party.

The members decided to call a meeting of the working committee within 15 days and take action against the president if he continued to remain steadfast on his belligerent stand.

Meanwhile, Panwar, too, reiterated his stand that he would not call any meeting of the working committee unless Bhatt resigned from his position. He termed the parley held by the senior leaders as baseless and diverting the other party members. He dared the leaders to have the courage to take action against him.

Informing about their meeting, senior leader BD Raturi said, “We were not pleased to read in the media about the open defiance of the party president against the common stand taken by the founder members, MLAs and senior members of the party, a day before. If he continues to be defiant, we will have to take a unanimous decision to take action against him in the next meeting of the working committee, which may mean replacing him”.

Maintaining his aggressive posture, Panwar said let the senior leaders remove him, only then he would talk to them. He refused to accept the statements given by Omgopal Rawat, BD Raturi and Kashi Singh Aeri, airing similar views against his decisions and said Bhatt was misleading others. He also denied receiving any letter from the founder senior members of the party.

Dehradun, January 3
Agitated with the non-supply of ration to cardholders at fair-price shops, members of the Congress Labour Cell members agitated in front of the District Food and Supplies Office here today.

The members also submitted a memorandum to the District Food and Supplies officer and asked him to ensure that all the ration cardholders got ration on time from the assigned shops.

Talking to mediapersons, district president of the Congress Labour Cell Dinesh Kaushal said all the shopkeepers were involved in black marketing of the ration, due to which they were not able to get it. “We are forced to buy ration at higher rates from the market,” he said.

State spokesperson of the Yuva Congress Vinod Kumar said all the fair-price shops should get the desired quota of ration in the beginning of every month, which should be available for the whole month.

Chief general secretary Ramesh Chander said the shops should be open and shut according to the given time, as the shopkeepers put the shutter down according to their own convenience. He also said the shopkeepers should not be allowed to open the general store along with the fair-price shop.

Councillors Naveen Bisht and Arun Valmiki were also present during the protest.

Dehradun, January 3
Just three days into the New Year and the Health Department has announced a 10 per cent hike in user charges for all the services being offered at the Doon Hospital (Male and Female).

From tomorrow patients availing treatment at the District Doon Hospital will have to get used to paying more, and the latest increase comes after the 30 per cent hike announced last year.

“The increase in the user charges for the services being offered at the Doon Hospital is in keeping with the inflationary trend being witnessed in the country. Though the government subsidies services, we cannot remain unaffected,” said Dr BC Pathak.

The hospital authorities have revised rates of diagnostic tests, food, examination fee etc, but for those falling in the BPL (Below Poverty Line) category, the services will continue to be free.

Last year, after a gap of 10 years and for the first time after the creation of the state, a hike of 30 per cent in user charges for te Doon Hospital (Male and Female) was announced by the Health Department. A policy decision was also taken that every year a hike of 10 per cent would take place.

However, the raised cost of the diagnostic procedure, bed charges, operation etc continues to be cheaper than that in private clinics and hospitals. While the diagnostic tests will now cost Rs 60, at private hospitals it costs around Rs 150.

The Health Department is also contemplating an increase in user charges in all the government hospitals of the state in the coming few days. The hike in the user charges, though minimal, is expected to make a substantial difference to the earnings of the government hospitals, grappling with an influx of patients on the one hand and the pressure to provide better facilities on the other.

Dehradun, January 3
Residents of the state capital are happy with the launch of the website by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (MC). It is just the beginning and the nigam has already received two complaints today. Both the complaints are related to sanitation and streetlights.

The first complaint was sent by Kavita Ahulawalia, resident of the MDDA Dalanwala. She has written that the main road in their area is full of filth and none of the sanitary employees visits the area for cleaning it.

The other complaint has been posted by Rajesh Singh, who resides on the Sarangpur Road near the ISBT. He also mentioned in the complaint about the sanitation drive as well as non-working of streetlights. Rajesh has stated that no safai karamchari visits their area for cleanliness and the streetlights from the ISBT to the Turner Road are not working.

“We have received two complaints today afternoon. These have been forwarded to the related departments and would be sorted out in the next 48 hours,” Mayor Vinod Chamoli told The Tribune. “It is a good start and we hope we will get a very good response in the coming days,” he added. The nigam had launched the website on January 1. In the first phase, residents of the city will be able to air their grievances related to sanitation and streetlights, which the Mayor claimed would be cleared within two days of their registration.

Mussoorie, January 3
The sewerage pipeline project being carried out in Mussoorie under the JNNURM scheme, which is in the implementation stage, is drawing flak from various quarters, due to lack of coordination between the departments concerned.

The Mussoorie BJP party unit, in a meeting held at a hotel in the town today, discussed several issues related to the implementation of the ongoing sewerage pipeline project.

The party workers were upset that due to lack of coordination between the Jal Sansthan and the Pey Jal Nigam, sewerage pipelines were being laid adjacent to drinking water pipelines without creating a concrete base on which the pipelines could rest firmly.

The Rs 69-crore project proposes to divide Mussoorie into several zones to channelise proper functioning of the sewerage water and provide respite to the citizens and the tourists from the leakages occurring due to age-old pipelines that were installed during the British era.

Mussoorie BJP president Roop Singh Kathait said lack of firm base underneath the sewerage pipeline could lead to several leakages in future. He said the department concerned had also overlooked the drinking water pipeline already running adjacent to it and was even constructing manholes near it.

The party workers demanded that the departments concerned should work jointly and find a solution keeping health and hygiene of the town residents in mind.

Senior BJP leader Anil Godiyal said the Pey Jal Nigam should also include several more zones under the project, so that whole town benefited from the scheme. Advocate V Petwal, Kushal Rana and others were present on the occasion.

Mussoorie, January 3
A new community-based institution under the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) programme, popularly known as Anganwadi Centre, was opened for the benefit of children from the poor strata of the society at the South Road in Landour Bazar in Mussoorie today.

Chief guest on the occasion Municipal Council (MC) President OP Uniyal inaugurated the centre by cutting the ribbon. The MC President, speaking on the occasion, said he was immensely pleased that another centre had been opened for children belonging to the economically deprived communities. He said the children of migrant labours would also be benefitted with the services provided at the centre here.

He also said the centre would help in the removal of malnourishment from poor children in the town.

He then distributed toys among the children on the occasion. Asma Parveen, SONU Banu, will provide assistance in running the centre.

Nainital, January 3
The agitating anganwadi workers in the state have threatened to boycott the forthcoming state Assembly elections, if the government fails to address their problems.

A large number of anganwadi workers issued this warning at a meeting held under the banner of the Uttaranchal Anganwadi Karamchari Sangh here yesterday. They said they would boycott all the poll proceedings for the next Assembly elections, if their services were not regularised soon. Their other demands included increase in the wages and provision of the basic facilities at the anganwadis.

Stating that the wages being paid to them were insufficient, they said the government must adopt a humane approach towards their needs. They said if the government failed to address their issues my March, they would be compelled to resort to a statewide agitation.

Dehradun, January 3
Residents of Dehradun are facing trouble due to shortage of gas cylinders. People had to wait in long queues to get gas cylinders booked. The bad conditions of roads and the Kanwar Mela are stated to be the reason for the poor supply of gas cylinders, which had led to its shortage.

Almost all the gas agencies are busy in delivering the pending bookings. Himani Gas Agency is still delivering the gas cylinders that were booked before December 27, while Shiva Gas Agency is delivering those that were booked before December 11.

Similarly, Arvind Gas Agency is delivering the gas cylinders that were booked before December 2, Chug Gas Agency before December 25, Doon Gas Agency December 24, Eureka Gas Agency December 13, Gadi Gas Agency December 21, Indian Gas Agency December 15, Kishan Agency December 9, Satya Sheel Gas Agency December 23, Uttaranchal and Valley Gas Agency December 17, Jaideep Gas Agency December 10, Adhunik Gas Agency December 9, Amardeep Gas Agency December 7 and Anurag Gas Agency December 21.

“There are a lot of pending deliveries and we are trying to ensure early deliveries. Many agencies are facing the problem of about two weeks,” said a gas dealer.

Sources said the oil companies made the gas supply regular only after the government intervened in the matter. To accomplish the demand, the cylinders are being supplied from Karnal as well. The agencies have been trying to overcome the backlog and the district supply officer has been keeping an eye on the dealers to stop black marketing of the cylinders.

Though the administration claims that the scarcity has ended, residents still need to visit the agencies early in the morning to book the cylinder.

Neeraj Kumar, a resident of the Balbir road, said, “Though it has been said there is no shortage of gas cylinders in the agencies, I have not been able to get it despite getting it booked two weeks back”.

Talking to The Tribune, Food and Supply Officer Mahinder Singh Vishan said supply of the gas cylinders had improved a lot and the backlog had been reduced to some extent. It was only a few agencies that were facing some problem. “We have asked the gas agencies to start home delivery as soon as possible, and will organise a meeting with them soon so that the problem can be sorted out,” he said.

Dehradun, January 3
Traditional handicrafts and customary artworks have been put up at the Crafts Bazar that commenced at the Parade Ground here on January 1 and will continue till January 10. The Government Textile Ministry and Development Commission (Handicraft) has organised this handicraft fair for the promotion of artisans.

The intricating and refined works of artisans from 12 states have been showcased in the fair. Around 100 stalls of handicrafts from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttrar Pradesh and other states have been set up at one place to showcase their talents and handicrafts while representing the diversified colours of Indian culture and heritage.

“I am really liking the decorative items made from bamboo and terracotta. They are bright in colour, pleasant to decorate the house, inexpensive and good to be gifted in the New Year to friends,” quipped Nitika Shah, a student.

The intriguing and symmetrical handwork of Nagaland’s bamboo craft or the fine work on Himachali shawls are the prominent attractions at the fair. Crochet work, leather crafts, home-made decorative items, junk jewellery, potteries, organic clothes and food stalls of various states are the other attractions. The indigenous artists of the states will also perform cultural folk dances.

“This is the first time we have come all the way from Lucknow to display the refined art work of chikan kadai in the Craft Bazar. From suits to saris, kurtis to stoles, every garment with intricate work of chikan embroidery are on display. These are very popular, but due to the cold weather here, fewer people are thronging here. We are hoping that we do good business in thecoming days,” said Madhu, one of the artisans.

Apart form this, Madhubani paintings, Jaipuri mojris, embroidered bed sheets, Khurja pottery, Saharanpuri furniture, Chanderi saris, pearl jewellery, dry flowers, phulkaris of Punjab and other handicrafts are attracting people of the Doon Valley to the fair.

Dehradun, January 3
The Uttarakhand Youth Welfare Board has sought deployment of jawans of the Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) on the personal security duties replacing regular police personnel.

Board’s vice-president Subhash Barthwal today met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in Dehradun and urged him to deploy the PRD jawans on personal security of all the VIPs other than the ministers. He said while this would create job opportunities for the PRD jawans, the shortage of police personnel would also be addressed to a large extent.

Barthwal also pointed out that while PRD jawans would accomplish the personal security task successfully, they would also put a little burden on the state exchequer in comparison to the policemen.

While handing over a letter to the Chief Minister in this regard, he also asked for a prompt action by the Chief Minister in the matter.

Dehradun, January 3
Stepping up their protest against the forest authorities over repeated human causalities at the hands of tigers, Sundarkhal villagers near the Corbett National Park in the state today staged a massive demonstration at the park’s Dhangarhi Gate.

Led by gram pradhan of Sunderkhal Chandan Ram Arya, the agitating villagers accused the park authorities of misbehaviour. They alleged that the park authorities had no sympathy for the victims.

“The park officials often resort to manhandling of the villagers, whenever one among them becomes victim of a tiger attack,” he said. Arya also held that the villagers would be staging another major protest on January 5.

He said the killer tigress was yet to be traced. The gram pradhan also said had the tiger been caught after killing of a woman on November 12, another incident could have been averted, he argued.

The gram pradhan also made it clear that the villages that lay in the periphery of the park were heavily dependent on the forests for fuel and fodder. He said any wildlife conservation at the cost of humans would not be tolerated.