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Alva against development at the cost of culture
Governor Margaret Alva at a seminar in Dehradun on Saturday.
Killer ‘Lal Pul’ claims another life
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Sale of Bhawali TB Sanatorium Land
Tibetans resent ‘sustained campaign to defame them’
U’khand’s Poor Monitoring of Health Mission
BJP Govt has failed on development front: Harish
Rawat
Union Minister of State for Food Processing Harish Rawat in Pithoragarh on Saturday.
Exploitation of Natural Resources
Social activists take out Haqdari yatra in Nainital on Saturday.
Participants at a seminar in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
2 engineering students drowned in Ganga
ITBP cop’s child taken away by estranged wife
Women Cong members protest against MC
Workers of the Mahila Congress protest at the Dehradun Municipal Corporation office on Friday.
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Alva against development at the cost of culture
Dehradun, February 5 The Governor was addressing a national seminar on environmental protection relating to the mountainous regions and the rule of law in perspective of the current indian scenario with a special reference to hill states, organised by the Uttarakhand Chapter of the Rule of Law Society at Doon University, Kedarpuram. The Governor said, “The rule of law has acquired an added importance in the context of our hill state. In the hill communities, which are mostly developing societies, people seek security and peace, so that they can carry out their simple daily survival tasks. Development must come, but not at the cost of their culture, homes and way of living,” she said. The Governor said, “Porous international borders, changing population profiles, illegal mining, pollution of water sources, dams that dry up rivers, the forest mafia destroying valuable green cover in collusion with forest protection forces, poachers protected by wildlife wardens, patwaris on strike for over two years- all this adds to the misery, insecurity and fears of the hill people”. "In the context of the mountainous regions of our hill state, both these themes are relevant, significant and interlinked and inter-twined. They not only impact the lives of millions of our citizens, but also have a direct bearing on our common future,” she said. She said, “Democracy and the Rule of Law do not contradict each other. On the other hand, they support and supplement each other. Both have evolved with human necessity and political maturity. The Governor said the Rule of Law was the key to functioning of every civilised society, though each one has to find its own way to achieve it. Justice MK Sharma of the Supreme Court presided over the inaugural session of the seminar. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia of the High Court of Uttarakhand, Justice Rajesh Tandon and Justice KD Sahi and Vice-Chancellor of Doon University Prof Girijesh Pant were present on the occasion. |
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Killer ‘Lal Pul’ claims another life
Haridwar, February 5 In the morning, people, while crossing the railway bridge, found the body of a man cut in two pieces by a train with blood spilled all over. Jwalapur police station officials, who reached the site, said most probably the incident was an accident. The deceased man, in his 40s, might be trying to cross the bridge track unaware of the coming train. But they also didn’t rule out the possibility of the person having commited suicide. The police was trying to verify his identity till the filing of the report. This death is the first one this year at the same site. In the past few years several deaths have taken place. People are caught on the bridge track while trying to cross it, as when a speeding train comes on the narrow bridge, the only option left to them is to jump into the river. Though crossing this bridge on foot is illegal, yet daily hundreds of people living in the vicinity use the bridge to reach the Jwalapur market and BHEL from the Delhi-Haridwar national highway which falls near Kanya Gurukul College. Passers-by use this bridge as the other alternative to cross the river, the Jatwada bridge is 2 km away. People use the Lal Pul to reach the other side in less time. Former legislator from the city Ambrish Kumar said something should be done regarding this matter. Owing to the number of accident deaths, the bridge had assumed a dreaded name. So either another bridge should be constructed alongside, or barricading should be made on both sides to ensure that people didn’t cross the railway bridge, he added. Railway officials put the onus on the people, saying that everyone knows the narrow bridge is meant only for the passage of the train. Still if someone tries to cross the bridge, he is doing so by risking his life. “We already have paucity of staff for maintaining railway crossings, so putting vigilance staff on such river bridges is not possible,” commented an official at Jwalapur railway station.
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Sale of Bhawali TB Sanatorium Land Rajeev Khanna Tribune News Service
Nainital, February 5 Party leader Ajay Bhatt said the government had taken a conscious decision in a transparent manner to lease out approximately 10 acres of land near the existing sanatorium for a period of 35 years. “The land has been leased out to Emami Company for development of a model Ayush Gram, along with a three-star hotel. The sanatorium infrastructure will not be touched and the employees working there will continue to function in various capacities. The land that is being leased out is a wasteland, which the government wants to develop as an international medical tourism destination,” said Bhatt, who is also heading the advisory committee of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in the state. He further stated that as per the agreement reached with Emami, the government would get back the possession of the entire facility developed on the said 10 acres after a period of 35 years. The company would also be making an annual payment of 6.22 per cent of the earnings from the facility to the state government. Bhatt disclosed that Emami was the only company that had fulfilled all the requisitions for developing the land into an Ayush Gram and it had already paid Rs 2.5 crore as upfront money, which had been deposited into the government exchequer. Talking about the proposed project, he said 15 per cent of the beds in the Ayush facility would be reserved for poor patients and the facility would help local farmers grow medicinal herbs and reap good returns. He said efforts would also be made to procure cow urine, milk and ghee from the local population, thus helping in their economic development. “The interests of the state have been kept in mind. The facility is being developed in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode on the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis,” he said. It was during last month that the Opposition Congress had charged the state government with selling of the land belonging to the Bhawali Tuberculosis Sanatorium. Congress leader Dr Bhupal Singh Bhakuni had charged that about 10 acres of prime land in Bhawali, comprising 1.5 acres belonging to the sanatorium and 8.5 acres to the Revenue Department, had been sold off at a very cheap rate to a private group, comprising the three buyers. The Congress had charged that during the tenure of Narayan Dutt Tiwari as the Chief Minister, the state government had decided to set up a national-level chest institute in the sanatorium premises, but the present government had instead not only shelved the project that was meant for public welfare, but had also sold off the land belonging to the sanatorium. The land had allegedly been sold off to cosmetic manufacturing factory Emami, Pravin Sharma of Chevron Hotels and Swami Chinmayanand Saraswati. Bhakuni had charged that the land had been sold off for a paltry sum of Rs 2.5 crore, while the current price was above Rs 50 crore as per the existing circle rates.
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Tibetans resent ‘sustained campaign to defame them’
Nainital, February 5 The representatives of various Tibetan organisations came out with relevant documents that support their claim that whatever they have done with regards to the possession of immovable properties or acquiring ration cards etc. is in accordance with the law of the land. Over the past few days there have been reports in the local media that have stirred up a controversy over these issues along with others pertaining to the rights of the community. In a joint statement, Pema Gekil Sithar of the Tibetan Refugee Foundation, Nima Samkar of the Tibetan Freedom Movement, Tenzin Lhundup of the Tibetan Youth Congress and Sangmo of the Tibetan Women’s Association said, “Over the past 52 years we have stood with the citizens of India through thick and thin. But over the past
few days there have been attempts to defame our community. An atmosphere has been created that we do not subscribe to the Indian laws and work against the Indian interests. We have even been accused of spying for enemy nations”. The Tibetan leadership furnished a letter from the Union Home Ministry in 1992 stating, “…it has been decided that Tibetan refugees who have been residing in India for many years are to be treated as persons resident in India for exchange control purpose. As such, they do not require any permission under Section 30 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973, if they do not seek remittance facilities”. Contesting the doubts raised with regards to the possession of immovable properties, they furnished another letter from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July 2005 that states: “A person resident in India does not require an RBI approval from the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) angle for acquisition of immovable property in India”. Sithar once again reiterated the community stand that Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje can not be a spy of China in India. Referring to the foreign currency seized from a raid at a monastery recently, he said the community believed that the money in different denominations was donation or offerings from the followers who came from all over the world. He also reiterated that the community did not oppose a probe in the matter by Indian agencies. The community leadership had appealed to the local population to maintain its faith in the community as it had done over the past 52 years. |
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U’khand’s Poor Monitoring of Health Mission Tribune News Service
ehradun, February 5 At a meeting held here on Thursday to review the progress of all the national health programmes, Joint Secretary (RCH) Anuradha Gupta said the fund allocation would be stopped if there was no proper monitoring system in the state. “We are keen to ensure that the funds that are allocated to the state for specific programmes are fully utilised. At times it has come to our notice that despite the training, health workers are not being deployed at the first referral centres or the Community Health Centres (CHC). It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure that the they are employed gainfully,” she said. The Secretary also said all the programmes should have tracking systems so that the progress could be reviewed while sitting at the headquarters. The threat by the Joint Secretary if carried out would prove problematic to the state government that is reeling under severe resource crunch. Massive infrastructure is developed and manpower training is being carried out by the state under the NRHM. Director, Reproductive and Child Health Care (RCH), Sajjan Yadav says more needs to be done to promote the contraceptive methods.
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BJP Govt has failed on development front: Harish Rawat
Pithoragarh, February 5 “All-round development was started by the previous Congress Government of the state, but the BJP Government has ceased it as if development is not its priority,” said
Rawat. The Union Minister said even on the disaster mitigation front, the BJP Government had failed badly. “The Centre gave Uttarakhand Rs 624 crore, out of which the state government could spend only Rs 206 crore, as neither it has an efficient administration nor the political will to sort out the disaster problem of the state,” said
Rawat. Harish Rawat was addressing a public rally here today on the conclusion of the Janakrosh rally that had started from Deghat to Jhoolaghat on February 2. The rally, covering the areas of Almora and
Bageshwar, had reached Pithoragarh today. Addressing the meeting, Almora MP Pradeep Tamta said Harish was the hope of the Congress for the 2012 election and would be the Chief Minister of the state if the Congress came to power. Later, addressing a press conference, the minister and the Congress MP from Haridwar said during the Janakrosh
yatra, he tried to take up the issues of the common people in the Kumoan region neglected in the past four years of
the BJP Government in he state. Refuting the rumours about a rift between workers of the Congress, Harish said there was no division in the party and the Congress was behind Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress in Uttarakhand was organised under the leadership of Uttarakhand Congress president Yashpal
Arya. |
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Exploitation of Natural Resources Tribune News Service
Nainital, February 5 According to manch spokesperson Mukesh Bahuguna, “The natural beauty of the state is being sold in the name of development. The vegetable and fruit-growing zones are being converted into resorts. The area under orchards has been reduced to 2 lakh hectares from 26 lakh acres”. He further pointed out that since the creation of the state, 14,123 hectares of forest land had been transferred and the shrinking of the agricultural land had been resulting in economic insecurity and migration. The activists said the purpose of the yatra was to bring together all those forces that could take up people-oriented issues through mutual consultations.
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Houses gutted in village fire
Haridwar, February 5 Fire Brigade fighters had a tough time dousing the flames on the burning houses that were mostly made of wood. Villagers said they were sleeping, when around 4 am they smelt smoke. By the time they tried to see where the fire was emanating from, two to three houses had got engulfed in the flames. They started shouting to make sure that all the occupants inside the houses in the fire vicinity were taken out. Only then they tried to douse the flames. A villager Vijay Kumar said as per their assessment property worth more than Rs 50,000 had been lost in the fire, which at this time of the winter season had aggravated their woes as all the woollen clothing had also got burnt in the flames. Fire officials refuted any sign of a cylinder blast, and said it might have been due to a short circuit. Villagers have demanded from the district administration instant compensation. Already, owing to the heavy monsoonal flood in the region, they have suffered enough. |
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UGC organises workshop at DBS College
Dehradun, February 5 A large number of delegates participated in the seminar and discussed various aspects relating to the development of the students. Discussing the objective of the seminar, GP Pant, IAS (retd), said, “With each passing day, students are becoming more and more aware about the educational curriculum and their career prospects. Therefore, the main purpose of the seminar is to discuss the judicious application of the forum for development of the students, who are less privileged or weak in studies”. Employment officer Geeta Uniyal said, “India is enriched with intellectual personalities, who have the potential to mark their presence worldwide. Only a few students utilise the resources available to them to reach higher levels”. However, Principal of the college Dr OP Kulshreshtha announced of commencement of the coaching centres on the premises of the college for competitive examinations like NET, IAS, PCS, and other civil services. The forms for the enrolment in these coaching centres were available at the office of the college, he said.
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2 engineering students drowned in Ganga
Dehradun, February 5 Another student Prabhjot Kaur, resident of Kapurthala (Punjab), extended her hand to save him, but the flow of water swept the girl, along with the boy, and the two drowned. The other students who were there with them informed the matter to the police. The police later with the help of divers started looking for the two, but they failed to save them. Later, the boy’s body could be recovered and was sent to a local hospital. — TNS
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ITBP cop’s child taken away by estranged wife
Dehradun, February 5 As per the police, Madan Singh and Sundari had had a dispute. Singh has filed a divorce case in Doon, while his wife has filed the same in Srinagar. SP (City) Ajay Joshi said Singh told the police that he had taken away the boy from his wife. But today she, along with some men, took away the child. Earlier, Singh had alleged the son had been abducted. 3 dacoits arrested
The police arrested three dacoits who had a reward of Rs 5,000 each on their heads, from the Shastradhara Road area here yesterday. The police also recovered arms and other equipments from them. The three had committed dacoity in the Patelnagar police station area in 2007. Two of them were arrested in 2009, while the remaining three landed in the police net today. The three have been identified as Vishu, Fauji and Jogi. The other two are said to be their accomplices Anwar and Rajender. A case has been registered.
— TNS |
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Women Cong members protest against MC
Dehradun, February 5 The protesters demanded basic civic amenities in the town such as providing a proper place for dumping garbage in local areas, installing street lights, giving a kick to the lethargic work of the corporation in development works and immediately recruiting Class IV employees.
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Governor Margaret Alva today said the hill society faced a grave challenge in the form of changes in the environment and cautioned against introducing development at the cost of culture.
Pithoragarh, February 5
Dehradun, February 5
