Haridwar, February 19
The voter turnout in the ongoing Haridwar panchayat elections has been overwhelming with more than 80 per cent of voting was registered in the second phase.

Though till filing of the report polling was still going on at several polling centers owing to huge turnout at Lakshar, Narsain and Bhagwanpur blocks.

Amidst heavy deployment of the security personnel, voters caste their votes at 744 polling centres from 8 am onwards to chose candidates for the 5,995 posts of village pradhan, gram panchayat members, BDC and zila panchayat members.

While the huge turnout of the voters, both in the first phase and in the second phase, has once again confirmed the signifacance of the panchyati system of the governance.

As per district election officer R Meenakshi Sundaram, the second phase of the election held in the three blocks went in a peaceful manner with no major incident of violence and mismanagement. He informed that all the three blocks were classified in three super zones, six ordinary zones and 63 sectors for efficient management of the election process.

Though barring a few incidents like in Bhagwanpur block, where an election officer was found in inebriated condition, for which the election office has initiated probe, cases of votes already been casted of the voters by fake persons, underage youths trying to cast their votes, contestant supporters trying to convince the voters around the periphery of the polling centres were reported.

Informing about the security arrangements, Superintendent of City Police Dr KL Shaw said no untoward incident was reported.

"Special monitoring was done at ultra-sensitive and sensitive polling centers. Cell phones were also not allowed at the polling booths, while the ballot boxes were sealed and taken to respective blocks under heavy security," said Shaw.

While in Narsain block, there was no security breach with polling in four centres went off till around 7 pm under strict vigilance. Informing about the proceedings of the day, Assistant Superintendent of Police Nivedita Kukreti told The Tribune that the polling process completed in a peaceful manner.

While taking cognisance of the difficulties faced by the polling employees in reaching their homes in the first phase of the elections, District Panchayati Raj officer DP Devradi informed that this time it was ensured that adequate vehicles were in place to ferry them to their respective places after the process of submitting the ballot boxes was over.

Interestingly, only half of the election employees, who carried out the first phase of election in Lakshar, Bahadrabad and Khanpur blocks on February 12, were pitched in the second phase. According to the state election office, this was done in view to maintain credibility of the elections as only those employees were given second opportunity who performed well in the first phase.

The political parties buoyed by the large percentage of the voters in these elections claimed their win and termed it as an indicator of the public wave that was vital in view of Uttarakhand state Assembly elections to be held next year.

Haridwar parliamentarian Harish Rawat, who holds the portfolio of Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, cited the mass participation of the people as positive and linked it to the development works being carried in the rural areas under Central Government-aided schemes and ill working of the state BJP Government.

Rawat termed the wave in favour of the Congress and related it with a change in the state governance. While Haridwar legislator Madan Kaushik, who is State Cabinet Ministry of Tourism and Excise, said people have voted for the BJP-supported candidates in the district panchayat elections due to pro-development work being done by the state government.

Kaushik added that under the able leadership of Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the BJP would not only show good performance in the panchayat elections, but also in the Assembly elections as the common man was happy with Nishank's governing abilities, while the Congress under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has failed to rein in corruption.

Dehradun, February 19
Protesting against the non-fulfilment of their long-pending demands, employees of the Peyjal Sansadhan Vikas Evam Nirman Nigam organised a sit-in outside their office here on Thursday.

In a memorandum addressed to Labour and Water Minister Prakash Pant, general secretary LM Joshi of the Officers/ Employees Joint Coordinating Committee, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, said despite several meetings, problems pertaining to the full restoration of Peyjal’s entity as the state department, immediate payment of arrears and pension facilities for employees who were employed between October 29,1995- September 30, 2005.

Meanwhile, field employees owing allegiance to the Jal Nigam Jal Sansthan Mazdoor Union also started an indefinite stir from today in protest against the non-fulfillment of their demands.

They also held a sit-in at the Nigam office in support of their 15-point charter of demands. These include assimilation of regular field employees as per the agreement reached between the department and the union, especially in the vacant class III and IV posts, allocation of vacant homes to field employees.

On the other hand, members owing allegiance to the Jal Nigam Jal Sansthan Mazdoor also threatened to hold a sit-in at the Chief Minister’s residence on March 10 and at the Peyjal Nigam Headquarters on March 23.

Haridwar, February 19
As part of a beautification project, cutting of trees has started at intersections within the city. Three hundred trees will be cut for the extension of roads at 12 intersections. Adequate precautions are not being taken while cutting the trees, which is posing a threat to the lives of passersby and creating resentment among people.

The nodal agency, Public Works Department, is carrying out the logging process that has commenced from the busiest intersection of the city Chandra Charya Chowk. Local people and traders are opposing this move, which has been further aggravated by the negligence of the workers, who are not taking appropriate safety measures while cutting the trees.

Only three PWD men were involved in the logging of the trees on the BHEL-Bhagat Singh Chowk stretch with only of them trying to stop vehicles from one side only. Near the Surya-Heera complex a motorbike rider and a cyclist just evaded a falling tree branch.

Shopkeeper Ram Semwal said as this was a congested commercial point of the city, cutting of the trees late in the morning was dangerous without proper safety measures.

Executive Officer OP Singh of the department said the widening of the roads on these stretches could be done only by cutting trees. People should cooperate with the department, he added. On the laxity shown by the workers, the officer said adequate directions had been given to them for the future.

Meanwhile, Forest Department officials informed that the application for the cutting of trees was received from the PWD, after which consent was given by the Forest Department.

Pithoragarh, February 19
Residents of Champawat are expecting much on the developmental front as Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank begins his statewide Vikas Yatra from the district.

“The CM will land at Goralchaur ground at 10.45 am and fly off at 1.30 pm. The CM will chair a meeting of the planning, administration and police officers. He will also evaluate the progress of various government-run schemes and distribute cheques to beneficiaries of various schemes. He will inspect the stalls of the departments displayed at the meeting place,” said Champawat DM Pankaj Panday.

Local BJP workers are expecting much from the CM’s visit. “The beginning of the Vikas Yatra luckily came in favour of Champawat, as the CM could not visit Gangotri, from where this yatra was scheduled to begin, due to bad weather,” said Champawat district BJP chief Naresh Karayat.

“Last time when the CM visited the district, he had promised to come again with a bigger package of development schemes. We are expecting an announcement of an engineering college here, besides 132-KV electricity line,” said the BJP chief.

“We have three nagar panchayats in the district, but none of them has a sewer line. We expect the CM to announce the money for the sewer lines for Lohaghat, Champawat and Tanakpur Nagar panchayats,” said Chairperson of the Champawat Nagar Panchayat Jaiwanti Delal. Delal also said the problems of nazul land in Lohaghat town, demand of a degree college in Pati block and opening up of a degree college in Tanakpur were also issues Champawat residents would like to be sorted out during his visit.

Pithoragarh, February 19
Refuting the charges levelled against him, UKD leader Kashi Singh Airy said he was falsely implicated in the death of senior leader of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Ghanshyam Joshi and the posters being distributed in Pithoragarh and Didihat town were the handiwork of his detractors.

“I have written to the SP and the DM of Pithoragarh to investigate into the matter. Some people are deliberately making the case sensitive with political intention,” said Airy.

Meanwhile, relatives of late Ghansyam Joshi, including his wife Hema Joshi, have organised a procession in Didihat town demanding a fair inquiry into the death of Joshi. Ghanshyam Joshi was found dead in a jeep last month.

“Neither the UKD, nor the police has taken the death of my husband seriously, despite the fact that he died in suspicious circumstances,” said Hema Joshi.

According to Airy, he met the CM last month and demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. “People are trying to damage my political image through the posters without mentioning the name of the printing press. They should be brought to book,” said Airy.

The procession brought out by the relatives of late Ghanshyam Joshi today reached the SDM office after covering the Didihat market and submitted a memorandum to him. They demanded an immediate inquiry into the death. “We want that the inquiry should be focused on the suspects, we have cited in the FIR,” said nephew of the diseased leader Naveen Joshi.

Haridwar, February 19
On his return from South Africa, where he represented India at the “Street Net 2011”, a forum of street vendors from across the world, Sanjay Chopra informed that efforts are on to hold the next conference in the Indian subcontinent, which possibly has the largest number of street vendors in the world.

Chopra, President of Small Scale Vendors Association, claimed that the forum is dedicated to generate awareness about street vendors’ plight and their rights. While they are vital to the economy, their rights are often violated, he pointed out.

While street vendors perform a useful service and supply goods at cheap rates to consumers, neither the government nor the civil society show much concern about their plight.

Most countries have specific policies for street vendors. But in India, the implementation of the national policy is left to the states and is implemented unevenly. In Uttarakhand, he claimed, the policy has not been enforced yet.