Dehradun, January 14
The duel between president of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Trivender Singh Panwar and Revenue Minister Diwakar Bhatt has plummeted to new low of personal attacks, in the aftermath of the withdrawal of support from the state government.

The Dehradun District Administration has cancelled a land deal that involves the daughter of the UKD president. Interestingly, Bhatt, the expelled UKD leader, is the Revenue Minister of the state.

Dehradun District Magistrate Sachin Kurve, in his investigation, has found the land deal to be fraudulent where Panwar had signed as a witness on the registry document of the land measuring 3,440 hectare, which was purchased by his daughter in Miyanwala town on July 12 last year.

The land was sold by those persons to whom it was given on lease by the District Magistrate under the Category 3, a section under which land is given to the poor, landless or the backward for farming. This land can neither be sold nor purchased. The DM has now cancelled the land deal and gave it to the Miyanwala Gram Sabha.

Panwar has accused Bhatt for getting personal in his attacks. He said: “It was Diwakar Bhatt and his men who facilitated this land deal for me and now he is settling scores with me and trying to pressurise me. Why only I was singled out and not several others who also purchased such land, shows the gambit of Diwakar behind it.”

Meanwhile Bhatt said: “Even an illiterate person knows that a land of Category 3 can neither be sold nor purchased by anyone. It is surprising Panwar as president of a political party did not know a simple legal fact. I can not be held accountable in this fraud as the entire matter is handled either by the SDM or the DM.” Bhatt suggested Panwar to apologise for the mistake and look for atonement.

Bhatt, who got a big setback from the slipping away of senior leader Kashi Singh Aeri on Panwar’s side, avoided being acerbic in his remarks on him. “Kashi Singh must be under some pressure or problem which is why he is behaving like this,” he said.

Bhatt also distributed invitation letter to all for his “mega convention” to be held on January 16 in the city. He called the whip issued by Panwar to the party members not to attend the convention as stupid and childish. He said: “I am inviting each member and office-bearer of the UKD to this convention to discuss the problems cropping up in the party and their subsequent solutions. I want to unite the party once again, but if Panwar is stopping the party men from attending this convention, then it is stupid and childish.”

He also indicated that post-convention, they would be able to take a clear stand on the prevalent scenario in the party.

Dehradun, January 14
Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat has asked all the officers to come up with the ground difficulties faced by them in the implementation of the government-sponsored schemes. He stated this while presiding over a review meeting of the District Vigilance Committee here today.

While evaluating the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the minister told the officials associated with it to ensure that a large number of job cards and manav diwas were made under the scheme so that more and more people get benefit from it. He further asked them to follow the eight-point guidelines fixed by the Centre to prepare various schemes.

Harish also asked the officials to hold meetings in the particular areas and apprise the gram pradhan and other panchayat members of the various Centre-sponsored schemes by organising workshops at the panchayat levels.

He stated that the public representatives should be involved to find out the shortcomings faced by the officials while executing the projects and added that there was no shortage of funds in any government-sponsored schemes in the district and officials concerned should focus on its execution.

He directed the officials to complete the construction works under MGNREGA in the flood-affected areas of the district as soon as possible.

While assessing the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), Rawat directed the Public Works Department (PWD) officers to inform the public representatives about the approval and completion of the works under the PMGSY.

He directed the officers to conduct a survey and organise a meeting with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARB), animal husbandry, bankers and non government organisations (NGOs) that fall under the Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozar Yojana (SJGSY). The minister also asked them to select the organisations properly.

He also directed the officers to conduct inspection on the Centre-sponsored schemes with the public representatives on the spot and prepared a detailed report, which comes under the IDPD Hariyali Yojna and Swajaldhara.

MLA Pritam Singh, Jot Singh Gunsola, Dinesh Agrawal, Premchandra Agrawal, Vinay Goyal, Dehradun DM Sachin Kurve, District Chief Development Officer Indudhar Baurai, project director, DRDA, RS Pokhriyal, district panchayat vice president Shiv Prasad Devli, district panchayat members and block development officer were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, January 14
A large number of men and women participated in the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra that began from Shri Ram Mandir at Deep Lok Colony, Gobindgarh, today.

The yatra was given a ceremonial start by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Harbans Kapoor, MLA Ganesh Joshi and Chairman of Tula’s Institute Ganesh Jain. All of them also took part in the mass service.

More than 1,000 devotees joined in the yatra. Around 151 women, who were carrying kalash on their heads, were part of the yatra. People from every nook and corner turned up to take blessings of Lord Jagannath. The highlight of the procession was dandiya dance performed by girls.

Dehradun, January 14
It is just mid-January and Uttarakhand has already lost five of its elephants. An elephant died after prolonged illness at Kalagarh in the Lansdowne Forest Division last evening.

The deceased elephant was aged around fortyfive and was keeping ill for quite some time. Narendra Singh Chaudhary, Lansdowne Division Forest Officer, disclosed that the elephant was keeping ill for some time and was lying close to the Chidayapur forest range. “The forest officials were monitoring the condition of the pachyderm regularly, before it passed away the last evening,” Chaudhary added.

This is fifth death of an elephant in Uttarakhand. An elephant had died due to the injuries it received in a fight with a tusker in the very Lansdowne forest division on January 7 whereas on January 9 another elephant calf was found dead in the Lansdowne forest division. The pneumonia was said to be the reason behind the calf elephant’s death.

January 10 saw the death of one of the oldest tuskers in the Rajaji National Park, Tipu, who had also been injured in a fight with another elephant to prove supremacy in the herd. An injured Tipu died after falling of a railway bridge in the Motichur range of the park. A female elephant died due to illness at the Chila range on Tuesday.

According to Rajaji Park’s Deputy Director Shravan Kumar, the cold wave conditions prevailing in the region were also creating hardships for the elephants and for other wild animals. “Further, with the beginning of breeding season for elephants, scenes of struggle among male elephants become quite common and such fights often lead to casualties,” he added.

The Shivaliks in Uttarakhand stand as the northern-most limit for the Asian elephant. Elephants after leopards are the most vulnerable species in the region.

Nainital, January 14
Following reports of detection of glanders disease in horses and mules in the districts of Uttar Pradesh, preventive measures are being taken to check the outbreak of the disease in bordering Udham Singh Nagar of Uttarakhand.

According to sources, after certain cases of glanders disease came to light in Bijnor, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts of UP, the entry of horses and mules from these districts to Udham Singh Nagar has been restricted.

The National Research Centre on Equines at Hisar, Haryana, has also issued an advisory in this regard. It is learnt that random sampling of blood of the animals in the border areas has been done and the samples have been sent for testing to Hisar. There are about 1,500 horses and mules in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Glanders is also known as equinia, farcy and malleus. It is an infectious disease that occurs primarily in horses, mules and donkeys and can be contracted by other animals such as dogs, cats and goats.

It is caused by infection with the bacterium Burkholderia Mallei usually by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Symptoms of Glanders include formation of nodular lesions in the lungs and ulceration of the mucous membranes in the upper respiratory tract.

The acute form results in coughing, fever and the release of an infectious nasal discharge, followed by septicaemia and death within days. In the chronic form, nasal and subcutaneous nodules develop and ulcerate eventually. Death can occur within months, while survivors act as carriers.

Glanders is endemic in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America. It has been eradicated from North America, Australia and most of Europe through surveillance and destruction of affected animals and import restrictions.

Dehradun, January 14
Despite a top leader from the ruling BJP boldly opting for an inter-caste marriage years ago, the winds of change continue to blow slowly in Uttarakhand and breaking shackles of caste and religion remains a tall order.

The attitude is reflected in the state government’s cash-incentive scheme that has been aimed at promoting inter-caste and inter-religion marriages. Last year, only 16 persons had availed themselves of the benefit of the scheme and the Directorate of Social Welfare distributed Rs 1.60 lakh among the beneficiaries.

“The provision of incentive in the scheme is aimed at breaking caste barriers among the Hindus and also encouraging inter-religion marriages. The persons opting for such marriages receive Rs 10,000 as cash incentive along with a citation,” said RP Pant, Additional Director, Social Welfare.

While advocating a new social order, the father of our Constitution Bhim Rao Ambedkar had advocated intermixing of blood as a way to reduce caste animosity. Social activists say the society in Uttarakhand continues to be rigid.

According to the Government of India statistics of 2010, a total of 5,682 persons had opted for inter-caste marriage and Uttarakhand was ranked the lowest among the states where the scheme has been launched. “We have a deep-rooted hierarchical system and change is always slow. It takes some time before it is accepted, at first grudgingly and then gradually,” said Shekhar Pathak, a social activist and historian.

Pathak said the scheme was not being promoted in a big way because of political exigencies. Politicians would not like to touch a hot potato that in a way would also make caste politics irrelevant. Besides, the release of the cash to the beneficiaries of the scheme is usually delayed. It takes between one and more than one year to process the application and release the cash incentive.

“The scheme was introduced when Uttarakhand was part of Uttar Pradesh. The amount may be paltry in comparison to what is given in other states but it is able to convey the message of the scheme,” said Pant.

Embarking on a perilous journey, Anita Mehra married Shakir Hussain of Haldwani in 2002 and they are living happily.

They have got the benefits of the scheme. Similarly, Yoginder, a junior government functionary belonging to a Scheduled Caste, married his colleague belonging to an upper caste, but he did not feel the need to claim the incentive provided under the scheme.

“Whoever marries out of caste is already making a statement and will not be bothered about the reactions. So he may not be too keen to avail himself of the government’s incentive. I think the number may be more, but yes it is still less. But, I must add that unlike Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, the reaction towards inter-caste and inter-religion marriages is not hostile in Uttarakhand. The protests may be low key in the form of social ostracisation, that too may be in some pockets of the state,” said Sunil Kainthola, a social activist.

Dehradun, January 14
Punjab National Bank (PNB), Dehradun Circle, today inaugurated its 81st online ATM at the Darshanlal Chowk, here today.

Sudha Bahuguna, the wife of MP Vijay Bahuguna, inaugurated the ATM. Circle head, Dehradun Circle of the bank, VK Srivastava welcomed the customers on the occasion. VK Nagpal, MK Dwivedi, Rajeev Jain and Archana Sethi from the bank were also present on the occasion.

Dehradun, January 14
President of the Samajwadi Party (SP) Vinod Barthwal has asked to parties to create a third front as an alternative against the Congress and the BJP in the Assembly elections. He has called upon the other political parties to get united for the Haridwar Panchayat elections to begin the exercise. He has blamed the national parties for creating a rift in regional parties.

Stressing the need for a third democratic front, Barthwal said here today that it was difficult for the regional parties to garner enough seats on their own against the national parties.

Moreover, the important leaders in these parties were bound to approach the other parties in case if they did not get ticket from these two major national parties. So it becomes all the more important that a third front comes forward to emerge as a potent alternative in order to win 15 or 20 seats.

He accused the BJP for engineering a divide in the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). “Trivdender Singh Panwar, president of the UKD, did the right thing by withdrawing support from the state government with which they had serious differences. But, in aftermath of that the BJP is seen hell-bent on dividing the UKD. Similarly, Opposition leader Harish Rawat, too, has been trying to split the BSP. These parties keep doing the same with our parties off and on.”

Barthwal said the idea of making a third front was in its infancy stage. It needed to be corroborated at a meeting of the other parties, which would be held in February.

The SP has formed a committee headed by party leader Dr Irshad Masood and former MLA Rajender Badi to lead the party in the district Panchayat elections in Haridwar, said Barthwal.

It is high time that the state government should decide on the issue of making a permanent capital of the state, especially when Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank himself had talked of calling a meeting of all the political parties within six months,” he added. He pulled up bureaucrats for their unwillingness to accept postings in hill villages. He also targeted those ministers who had failed to utilise even half the development fund in the current financial year. He also suggested to create an education council board for the government schools and advocated strictness against private schools to make them follow the regulation of accommodating poor or disabled children on 25 per cent seats.