Haridwar, January 9
While the administration has geared itself up, so have the political parties who are trying to prove a point via these panchayat elections as an indicator of their electoral success and being the public’s favourite prior to the Assembly elections scheduled in 2012. All the main political parties in the state viz the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) are leaving no stone unturned to make sure they emerge victorious in the panchayat elections scheduled in Haridwar next month.

Though it’s a three-tier contest between the Congress, the BJP and the BSP, yet in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state in 2012, the political status and future stakes hold more for Union Minster of State Harish Rawat and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank owing to their being rival candidates for the coveted post of Chief Ministership from their respective parties.

With the Congress having its parliamentarian from Haridwar in Harish Rawat, who is also Union State Cabinet Minister in the Central government, the election contestants favourite seems to be the Congress only as a majority of the candidates are seeking the support of the party. Harish Rawat too has granted his acceptance of campaigning for the party-supported candidates creating ripples in other political parties. His record win in the parliamentary election in 2009, denting the BJP and BSP stronghold, has made sure that this time for the first time in decades that the Congress party will be eyeing a major share of panchayat seats in the district.

Stating about the party’s prospect in the upcoming tri-level panchayat elections, Harish Rawat told The Tribune that the public would definitely show the BJP the door this time as Nishank, due to fear of panchayat loss tried to play the reservation card for delaying the elections, but eventually the High Court lashed at state government for behaving undemocratically.

“Still the BJP didn’t learn as in various seats it carried out reservation after court’s directive, but people will vote the Congress to power for developmental works which have eluded their respective areas in the past few years in the BJP state governance,” said Rawat.

Further he highlighted that despite Central assistance during the Maha Kumbh-2010, flood aid and other Central-aided schemes, the BJP Government had failed to carry out developmental as well as relief works which had created unrest among the common masses.

Notably, the Congress has appointed Harish Rawat, legislator Kunwar Pranav Singh, district party chief Rajendra Chaudhari, Mantri Prasad Naithani and Azmal Nawab Khan as part of the core member committee to select the probable candidates for the panchayat elections.

While the BJP is also taking no chances as the Chief Minister doesn’t want to have a blemish in Haridwar like the loss in the last parliamentary elections and, more importantly, in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttarakhand to be contested by the BJP under his leadership as reiterated by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari on numerous platforms.

An election monitoring committee has been formed by the party and its members are gauging the mood of the electorate to ensure that the best possible candidate is contested by the party. District chiefs of both Haridwar and Roorkee have been directed to ensure that the party doesn’t suffer owing to party infactionalism and selection of winning candidates. Much also depends on local legislator Madan Kaushik, who is also State Urban Development Minister, to oversee that the BJP leaders work as an organisation and in gaining confidence of the Muslim community and other backward classes which have a significant number presence in the district.

While the BSP, with six legislators from the Haridwar constituency, is banking on its pre-election preparation which started a few months back when the tenure of the panchayat was to end. The BJP-led state government had derailed the election procedure for six months citing delay in the selection of reservation criteria which was turned down by the Nainital High Court directing the state government to make sure the elections are done within three months.

The party has already announced that it will contest all the 42 zila panchayat seats in the election fray in the district and has taken a lead in election campaigning by organising a party workers convention in a number of such seats.

Talking to The Tribune, state in charge of the BSP Ram Achal Rajbhar, a state minister in Uttar Pradesh Government, said the party under the leadership of party supremo Mayawati would make an impact in the Uttarakhand politics by winning a major pie of the seats in the gram panchayat, block and zila panchayat levels.

“Soon we will be opening the list of the contestants that will be BSP supported. Particular stress is being given to those candidates who come in reserved seats. We have the maximum legislators in the district. With our candidate Mohammed Shahzad in the last parliamentary elections coming third itself points that the panchayat elections will be ridden by the elephant (BSP’s symbol),” said Rajbhar.

Once a major force in the region, the Samajwadi Party too is trying to support candidates in the election though it’s no surprise that the SP doesn’t figure in priority to get support among the major contesting candidates, particularly in the zila panchayat election.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the so-called local outfit and recently in the news for party infactionalism, has a negligible presence and, thus, no takers for its banner here.

Dehradun, January 9
With an assurance from the government that most of their demands will be met, doctors owing allegiance to the Provincial Medical Health Services (PMHS) today withdrew the call to boycott the OPD tomorrow.

Protesting against the non-fulfilment of their long-pending demands, doctors had declared to boycott the OPD tomorrow, but after a meeting with Additional Secretary (Health) Ajay Pradyot, who assured them of a positive response, the decision was deferred.

“The Additional Secretary asked for two weeks for meeting most of our demands and a three-member committee of doctors has been formed to keep a tab on the government’s move,” said Dr DP Joshi, general secretary, PMHS.

Dr Joshi said it was a last chance for the government to show its sincerity and in case the government faltered, they would stage a three-day strike on January 28, 29 and 30.

“We are willing for a negotiated settlement, but the government decisions should be backed by action. The OPD boycott was dropped as we do not want patients to suffer,” he added.

Doctors will hold a meeting on January 11 with Dr Pradyot on the implementation of the DACP, a solution to the cadre problem faced by 70 doctors and putting a stop to the practice of the entry of allocation of allopathic cadre to ayurvedic doctors.

Besides, the three-member committee, comprising Dr RK Singh, Dr RP Chaudhary and Dr GS Rawat, has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the meeting with the government on a daily basis. 

Dehradun January 9
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has decided to hold a protest against inflation and corruption in all district headquarters of the state on January 11.

Samar Bhandari, secretary, CPI, said the development in the state was getting affected due to corruption. The BJP, which came into power in the state as a party to fight against corrupt practices of the Congress government, has transformed into a corrupt government itself, he said while giving examples of scandals like the distribution of 56 power projects, misappropriation of funds in Kumbh etc.

Bhandari also pulled up the Congress by saying that it was inappropriate for the party to speak against the corruption prevailing in the BJP government as the Congress government at the Centre was implicated in huge scams and the tenure of the Congress in the state too was no less tainted.

He held both political parties responsible for inflation and blamed the state government for its inability to take action against hoarders and black marketeers.

Bhandari called upon like-minded democratic parties in the state other than the BJP and the Congress to emerge as a “big force”.

“At this point of time, I am not asking other alternative political parties to come on a same platform in view of ensuing elections. That will be being opportunistic, though it can be done later on. As of today, our intention is to bring those political parties together and wage a war on the issues of public interest like water crisis, welfare of people living in border areas, prevention of access to private companies to natural resources, employment for youths, implementation of labour laws and minimum wages and check on population exodus in the region,” he added.

Bhandari hailed the decision of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal withdrawing support to the state government and invited the party to join them in their fight.

Haridwar, January 9
The intense cold wave, further aggravated by intense foggy conditions, was prevalent almost throughout the day. Such is the condition in the region that the talking point is mostly about weather and its effect on people, their routine and the ways to face the chill which seems to be entering its prime phase.

With temperature touching as low as 5 degree centigrade, it’s a testing time for residents as well as pilgrims and tourists who throng the pilgrim city in large numbers on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the municipality has finally come forward to help the poor by providing bonfire fuel and wood at several places. The fuel material has been provided at busy points of the city, such as the railway station, bus stand, Har-ki-Pauri, Bhimgoda, Laltaura Jwalapur, Ranipur and other places.

Huge serpentine queues can be witnessed at government ration shops for buying kerosene which is in high demand these days.

The impact of the cold wave is being seen on the schedules of trains too, which is posing problems galore for passengers, as apart from the cold winter, they have also to bear the delay tenure which is sometimes in hours. For the past two days, several trains reached almost one to two hours late which affected the schedule of other trains too. People were seen enquiring about the arrival time as well as about any delay in the arrival of trains. Inquiry office telephone bells have been ringing almost every now and then. City residents are also witnessing electricity cuts which have further added to their woes.

“Just as it is 8 am, the power cut starts which only is resumed by afternoon thus affecting our household routine work. Hot water is not available for bathing and washing and we can’t heat our rooms by the room heater. Power cuts are made in summer too, citing over usage of electricity, and now the same thing is being done which is quite ironic,” said Archana Ohri, a housewife at Shiv Moorti Chowk Colony.

Dehradun, January 9
Dehradun Municipal councillor Deepa Shah on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Executive Engineer of the Jal Sansthan. She has urged the official to ensure that the sewer line close to Krishna Palace, Chakhuwala, that has been blocked for many days, be cleaned immediately.

Taking to the media, the councillor said she had apprised the authorities concerned about the choked sewer many times, but to no avail. She has also given a copy of the memorandum to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Health Minister and the District Magistrate.

She said overflowing sewage had entered the houses of many residents in the area and there was stink all around. Deepa said if no action was taken within a week, then she would hold a protest in front of the Jal Sansthan office.

Dehradun, January 9
Residents have alleged that owing to the faulty installation of high-precision mechanical meters in place of electro-manual meters by Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), several mechanical meters have got damaged, while many have also been tampered with. The UPCL is replacing electro-manual meters with high-precision meters to cut down on power losses.

Residents rue that the meters get damaged because they have been installed outside the boundary walls of residences or on the streetlight poles alongside the roads.

“We have no idea why the meters have been fixed outside the premises of our residences. It has left them vulnerable to tampering. A broken meter was found lying on the ground near my house on Friday,” said a resident of the EC Road area.

UPCL managing director Jagmohan Lal said some mischievous elements could have tried to tamper or remove the meters. “We are getting a few complaints, but such stray incidents are bound to occur. People will slowly get used to having meters installed outside their houses,” he said.

He said the meters would not get damaged in the rain, as they were waterproof.

He said replacing manual meters with mechanical ones had helped curb power theft in Kumaon and Dehradun.

“Having the meters installed outside has made it impossible for anyone to steal power,” he pointed out.

The corporation is counting on the move to help cut aggregate technical and commercial losses due to the loss of power.

Dehradun, January 9
The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP) will hold its annual convention in Ramanagar from January 17 to 18.

Addressing a press meeting in Dehradun, PC Tiwari, president, UPP, said 1,000 delegates from across the state would attend the two-day conference.

Describing the BJP and the Congress as two sides of the same coin, Tiwari accused both parties of cheating people of the state.

“The UPP aims to given an alternative to people as the masses are fed up with the BJP and the Congress,” he stated. He also accused the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal of being opportunistic.

Tiwari said members of the state executive of the UPP always stands to its commitment to work for the welfare of the people. — TNS

Dehradun, January 9
The ZoTality Inc (USA) launched the Vedic astrology guided social and professional networking site www.zotality.com here today.

Addressing mediapersons, Naresh Belwal, Chairman of ZoToality Inc, claimed that it was the only networking website that allowed its registered users to connect with their friends, relatives, spouses, colleagues and bosses while maintaining a separation between its social friends and professional contacts.

When asked why they had selected Dehradun for its launch, he said, “Though ZoTality Inc was formed in the State of Delaware in the USA in 2009, due to my personal connections with the state of Uttarakhand and the support and services of the local astrologers, I was compelled to select Dehradun as the city for the official launch”.

Belwal further said the growing popularity of social networking was considered as the best medium to introduce this timeless and time-tested system of predictive astrology of the country to the world.

As to how it is different from other networking sites, he explained, “The site is built around three pillars: social networking, professional networking and the common thread running through both in astrology”. He added, “The site currently offers astrological services, including birth-chart based daily astro-interactions of not only the user, but also his friends and family; birth-chart daily astro-interactions with friends and family; otish astro-compatibility matching with friends and family (Jyotish Guna Milap); and vimshotri planetary conditions (dasha) and many other services related to astrology. However, the ability to comment on the daily predictions of friends and family members is the central facilitation of interaction and online communication between users”.

“The site is also revolutionising solitude by allowing users to apply privacy settings and allocate pre-defined groups to each prospective contact prior to even sending or accepting an invitation to connect,” Belwal explained.

He affirmed that the website also offers the usual services such as photo-uploading, photo-sharing, online communities and many more. Additionally, through an inbuilt swapping portal, the site offers the ability to swap items such as phones, books, houses, ipods etc amongst friends or other users.

Belwal disclosed that the company would soon be launching other astrological services and the users would be able to ask specific questions about health, jobs, education etc from the astrologers and even gain understanding on astrological gems and their use.

He believes that the site shall usher in a new era by bringing about a tremendous shift in the current social-networking paradigm.

Dehradun, January 9
The Information Technology Institute for Tribes of India (ITITI) Dehradun’s three-day tribal youth convention started here yesterday.

Inaugurating the convention, Suresh Rao Joshi, sahkaryavahak, RSS, said tribals were the strength of the nation. While pointing out that 90 per cent of the tribal areas of the country were infested with insurgency, Joshi called for urgent redressal of issues linked to tribal communities asserting that there were forces across the country that were trying to mislead tribal communities and there was a need to counter these forces. He also accused the Centre of resorting to tribal politics to serve its vested interests.

Nandkumar Sai, BJP MP from Chhattisgarh, called for a check on practices of religious conversions taking place in tribal areas.

He said it was wrong to say that tribals had no religion as these communities had their roots in Hinduism.

Referring to rising Naxal terror in tribal areas, the Chhattisgarh MP said a collective effort on part of the police, public and administration was needed to counter extreme left terrorism, which was spreading its wings among tribal communities.

Nanki Ram, Home Minister in the Chhattisgarh Government, said poverty in tribal communities often forced them to join the Naxals. He stressed on poverty-alleviation programmes for the poor. Former Deputy Chief of Army Lt-Gen NS Malik blamed China-Nepal axis for fuelling Maoists activities in the country.

Dr Anil Joshi expressed concern over growing disparity between the rich and the poor, adding that despite being rich in mineral, tribal areas in the country are in abject poverty.

Uttarakhand Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay, Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari and BJP tribal Morcha’s secretary Yuwraj Bodh were among those prominent persons who spoke.

Dehradun, January 9
The Horticulture Department has introduced a crop densification programme in Chakrata to help farmers get a higher yield through smart land use. Chakrata, Tyuni and Kalsi blocks are the only areas of the district growing apples. Farmers here grow the spur variety of apples. A few orchards in Chakarata block have been selected for the programme.

“The plant material has been planted in orchards in Chaktrata block for the first time under the crop densification programme. The technique involves making maximum use of the land by reducing the space between plants. For example, we plant 250 saplings in one hectare of land, but by reducing space we manage to plant 800 plants in a hectare under the programme,” said Dr SK Singh, District Horticulture Officer.

He said the spur variety was chosen as it had shown good results in the experimentation stage. “Less spacing did not have any impact on fruit bearing and yield, and the plants began to bear fruits after two years,” said BS Bisht, Senior Horticulture Inspector, Dehradun.

The total area under apple crop in Chakrata, Tyuni and Kalsi is 4,6010 hectare and last year the total production of apples was 8,226 metric tonne from Chakrata, Tyuni and Kasli areas of Dehradun. Though Chakrata block contributes the maximum in terms of numbers.

The new orchard owners are being encouraged to adopt progressive techniques so that their interest in horticulture continues. Besides, serious efforts are on to revive old orchards and also encourage farmers to embrace new varieties. “Our farmers are still way behind in collection and plucking methods. They lack knowledge of the grading system. On our part, we have given them the timeline. At times they pluck immature apples that may not fetch a good price,” said SK Singh.

The red delicious variety is mainly grown in Chobatia, Munsiyari Chakrata, Harsil, Joshimath and Naugaon areas of Uttarakhand.

Mussoorie, January 9
The outsourcing of staff at the historic post office of Jharipani that was established around 1910 has become the bane of local residents. Disappointed with the services provided by the contractual staff at the post office, the residents are planning to lodge a complaint with senior officials about the nonchalant attitude of the employees.

According to Oak Grove School worker Megh Singh Sajwan, the Jharipani Post Office was established around 1910 to cater to the staff of the school, as the nearest post office at Mussoorie was 7 km away from the place. The Postal Department under some new procedures removed their regular staff and outsourced employees on a contractual basis a month ago. They don’t make entries in the MIS books. When questioned about this, the employees reply that they should go to the Mussoorie Post Office every month for getting the entries made in their books. Sajwan laments that they are regular employees at the school and it is not possible for them to travel 7 km to Mussoorie just to get the entries made in their books.

The residents have demanded that the outsourcing of the employees at the post office should be stopped and the previous arrangements be restored there.

The GPO at Mussoorie admitted that the staff at the Jharipani Post Office had been outsourced to a private company. When he was apprised of the problems faced by the local residents, he said the senior officials were better placed to give you an answer in this regard and not him.

Local historian Gopal Bhardwaj said the post office was built to cater to British employees of Oak Grove School around 1910. The Postal Department should have kept in view its heritage importance before outsourcing the work to a private company.

Nainital, January 9
A three-year-old girl died after falling from a rooftop in Haldwani on Saturday.

According to information, Asifa was playing on the rooftop of her double-storey house in the Indira Nagar locality. It was while climbing on the railing that she lost her balance and fell off. Hearing a thud on the road, passers-by saw that it was a tiny girl who lay there.

She was rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. It is learnt that she had sustained a massive head injury that became the cause of her death.