Dehradun, January 25
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Meerut and in charge MP for Uttarakhand Rajendra Aggarwal has criticised the Centre for depriving Uttarakhand of the special industrial package and releasing very little amount as relief to the state in the wake of the rain-related disaster last year.

Addressing mediapersons at the office of the state BJP today, Aggarwal disclosed that as part of the BJP policy to appoint in charge MPs for the states where the party has no representation in Parliament, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has appointed him in charge MP for Uttarakhand. He said these in charge MPs would raise various issues of these states in the Lok Sabha.

He said the special industrial package and little disaster relief were two major issues that had affected Uttarakhand and called for immediate attention. “The then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at Centre had provided a special industrial package to the state when a Congress Government was ruling Uttarakhand. But, after the Congress came to power at Centre, it truncated the period of the package. Its action reveals its political bias towards the hill state,” Aggarwal said. He said the state government had sought Rs 21,000 crore from the Centre as disaster relief but the Centre had so far given only Rs 600 crore.

Aggarwal said all the state Congress MPs had failed to raise the issues linked to the state in the Lok Sabha. 

Pithoragarh, January 25
Former Chairperson of the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat Ranjana Devi has said she will work against those elements in the BJP who had planned her deposition from the post of Chairperson of the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat.

“I am still in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and will continue with the party and expose these elements in the 2012 Assembly elections,” said Ranjana, who was briefing mediapersons after returning from a hospital in Haldwani where she had been referred by doctors of the Pithoragarh District Hospital after she took ill.

Refuting the charges of financial irregularities levelled against her by other BJP members of the panchayat, Ranjana said all the charges were baseless. “All the decisions I had taken during my tenure were advised by then Panchayat Raj Minister and present state BJP chief Bishan Singh Chufal,” said Ranjana.

Talking about the probable reasons for dissent against her among the BJP members, Ranjana alleged that the district unit of the BJP wanted to construct its office building on Zila Panchayat land and with the Zila Panchayat funds to which she denied, as it was totally against the Zila Panchayat norms. These officials also pressed me for releasing payments worth Rs 1 crore against the works done by former Zila Panchayat Chairman Kishan Singh Bhandari. I was forced by then Panchayat Raj Minister Bishan Singh Chufal to do so,” Ranjana alleged.

Mussoorie, January 25
At a board meeting of the Municipal Council (MC) held on its premises today, several proposals of development were passed though ward members deliberated intensely on the issue of the construction of a food court at the Company Garden. The ward members were annoyed with the Tax Department as the compliance report, which had been sought for the food court at the last meeting, had not been submitted on time.

Ward member Sushil Kumar alleged that the Garden Welfare Committee, which had been given control of the council property for carrying out beautification and maintenance there, had constructed a grand food court without consulting the council. Though the committee was earning huge profits from the food court, not a single rupee was reaching the board, he added.

Certain ward members said the price for the entry ticket to the food court had been raised exorbitantly without consulting the council and that needed to be rectified.

Sushil, Kedar Singh Chauhan and Subhasini Barthwal said Hindi medium schools from Mussoorie were being refused free entry, which was against the agreement reached between the committee and the council. Sushil alleged that the garden was claimed to have been allocated under the PPP mode, but the council was not receiving any share of its profits, hence, the need to review the agreement was essential.

Garden Welfare Committee Executive Officer Rohtash Sharma said the inquiry into the matter was on and the issue would be resolved soon. Sharma also said he was reviewing the file and would initiate action after the review was complete.

President of the MC OP Uniyal, agreeing with the ward members, decided that one month should be given to the officials concerned to resolve the issue and whatever grievances of ward members were would be resolved at the next board meeting.

Speaking to the media, Uniyal said several proposals of development were cleared at the meeting and it was also decided to raise the minimum limit for tender amount for the B and C category contracts. It has been decided to raise the amount from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for the B category contracts and from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for the C category contracts as the contractors had pleaded that it was difficult for them to executed works against such rates.

It was also noticed that the some contractors after getting tenders had not even started the work. In order to ensure that they comply with the agreement, it has been decided that such contractors will be debarred for six months from the tender process and it they still do not heed to the agreement, their registration will be cancelled.

Speaking on the issue of the housing project funded by JNNURM, Uniyal said it had been decided that as the MC did not have any technical support, the work would be done by the UP Nirman Nigam, which would hand over the housing complex to the council after completion.

Dehradun, January 25
To commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, about 2,000 members of the Shia community gathered in the Doon valley on the occasion of Chehlum today. The mourners took out a tazia procession that went through the major places of the city and culminated at Imambara at the Innah Mullah building.

Along with local members of Anjum-Mueen-al-Momeneen, a large number of students from Kargil, who are also known as Baltis and mourners and are between the age of 8 and 80 years, participated in the procession. They observed “matam” by walking barefooted and sang songs of grief.

The mourners led the procession by carrying “alam” (flag) and tazia (symbolic of holy grave of Imam Hussain), which is a replica of Karbala. The passionate mourners reached a high pitch at Darshan Lal Chowk when they began hitting themselves persistently with knives, blades and chains.

Talking about the sacrifices made by Imam Hussain, Haji Mohammed Ali Hasnain, president of the Anjum-Mueen-al-Momeneen, said: “In the seventh century, Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, along with his 72 supporter laid down their lives for the betterment of humanity at Karbala in Iraq. It is on this occasion we pay tributes to the holy saint and wear black to mourn their sacrifices”.

According to Hasnain, there are probably 10,000 Shia families who live in Dehradun and the Imambara on the EC Road is the prime place of all the Shia activities in the city. Hasnain’s ancestors were the earliest prominent Shia family that got settled in Dehradun.

The matam procession began from the Imambara of Haji Mohammed Ali Hasnain and passed through the Survey Chowk, Parade Ground, Darshan Lal Chowk, Tehsil Chowk.

Mussoorie, January 25
Thieves decamped with Rs 1,85,000 cash from two shops at the Kulri Bazar here today. In a case of double theft occurring in a single night, the thieves looted James Chemist Shop at the Picture Palace and Cambridge Book Depot here. The police staff a few yards away from the incident did not have an inkling of the thefts.

According to Gyan Chand Mittal, owner of the James Chemist Shop, when he arrived to open the store in the morning, he found that the shutters were tampered with. He hurriedly called the neighbouring traders. On entering the shop, he found that his cash box was empty. The thieves had decamped with Rs 1,80,000 cash. However, medicines and other stuff had not been touched.

A police team and a dog squad reached the shop and took impressions of the cash box for further investigations. Mussoorie CO Shweta Chaubey also arrived and made inquiries.

On the same night, a similar theft occurred at Cambridge Book Depot belonging to Sunil Arora, adjacent to the State Bank of India near Rialto, from where Rs 5,000 cash was stolen.

Chaubey, speaking to the media, said they were looking at the matter from all aspects, and prima facie it looked like that the gang used a minor for entering the shops. However, the picture would be clear after forensic reports.

Traders Association president Rajat Agarwal, along with secretary Javed Khan, reached the spot on hearing the news. Agarwal blamed the police. He asserted that it seemed that the thieves had no fear of law and had committed the crime right under the nose of the police station located a few yards away. He also said it was surprising that no one came to know about it despite the presence of guards at the two ATM counters of the Bank of Baroda and the State Bank of India in both cases.

Mussoorie council president OP Uniyal also reached the spot and said the law and order needed to be beefed up.

Some traders said a few shutter repair workers were roaming in the town and could be involved in the heist.

Dehradun, January 25
Under the aegis of the IMA Blood Bank, members of Anjum-Mueen-Al-Momeneen held a blood donation camp at Hasnain Imambara on the EC Road here today. The camp was conducted on the occasion of Chehlum imparting the message of oneness, brotherhood, peace and affection. Irrespective of religion and sex, a large number of people participated in the blood donation camp voluntarily.

While informing the media, Haji Mohammad Ali, president of the organisation, said due to the scarcity of blood available, thousands of people died in a year. He said, “Islam is about loving and serving humanity while maintaining peace all over the world. It is in this context, this year we held a blood donation camp for a noble cause, which can help masses instead of wasting blood during the procession of mourning”.