|
|
|
|
|
Mamata, here’s Kumaon’s wish list
Agitators demand new rail lines, stage dharna
|
|
|
Anil Gupta, member, DRUCC, Northern Railway, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
East Hope Town may be acquired for Doon Medical College project
Admn in two minds about two-laning of road
Plans for Corbett Platinum Jubilee celebrations discussed
State cops seek pay hike
Alumni of St Joseph’s Academy submit a memorandum to Governor Margaret Alva in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Tennis calendar announced
Jasmine cagers pip Daffodil in final
World conference on globalisation in Nainital from May 1
Rao Academy beat Helex Club by 4 wickets
DGP to meet senior police officers of 4 dists
Class IV staff stage protest
‘Issue caste certificates on land documents of 2000’
|
|
Mamata, here’s Kumaon’s wish list
The people from the region are also seeking a direct train to western India, at least up to Jaipur. This train will facilitate businessmen from the region who regularly visit the Pink City for their trade-related activities. Another persistent demand from the denizens is to make the present weekly Garib Rath to Jammu a daily train. The residents feel that there is enough scope for the train to make a profit as there are a large number of people who regularly travel to Punjab and Jammu. A major concern which the residents of Kumaon want the Railways Minister to address is the security of the persons travelling by trains to the region. The growing instances of travellers being duped of their valuables after being intoxicated needs to be addressed on priority. Even though the Railways has been carrying out massive awareness drives and has also succeeded in nabbing
some of the culprits in the recent past, a lot more needs to be done. The people also want the promises being made by the Railways authorities of developing Lal Kuan as the gateway to Kumaon to become a reality soon. Then, there is the ongoing struggle of the people of Bageshwar and Tanakpur areas who have been demanding that railway connectivity be provided so that the hardships they face in order to reach their destinations in the hilly terrain get reduced considerably. A team of agitators from the region has once again left for Delhi where it once again plans to hold a demonstration and sit on a dharna in support of their demands at the Jantar Mantar. Although their cause has been endorsed by the Congress parliamentarians from the state and even Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders support their demand, nothing much has come their way till now apart from the repeated assurances of a survey being done on the stretch to see the viability of laying down a track between Tanakpur and Bageshwar. Pradeep Tamta, Lok Sabha member from Almora, had written to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee last year. He wrote, “The demand for this rail link is very old. A survey for the same was carried out in 1912, 1993 and in 2006. “However, the work for the same has not started till date. Several important Congress leaders have also made promises to the public to establish this link.” Advocating early rail connectivity between Tanakpur and Bageshwar, Tamta had written, “The railway link is very critical not only from the angle of economical development of this very backward hilly region, but also from the strategic viewpoint. “The link will be very useful for the 69 Mountain Brigade Battalion of the Army located at Pithoragarh. The area borders Nepal and China and the only connectivity at present for the Army is through National Highway 125. “The rail link will be used extensively by the Army and will serve as
an alternate route to NH-125. The people as well as their representatives
want this project to be sanctioned under the socially desirable rail connectivity proposals”.
|
|
Agitators demand new rail lines, stage dharna
Pithoragarh, February 23 “We started our dharna on February 22 and will continue till February 25 before the rail budget is presented in the Parliament. If we do not get justice, we will go back to our respective districts and continue our agitation,” said Guisain Singh Dafauti, president of the samiti, from Delhi over the telephone. The agitators are demanding the promise of the survey of four rail lines in Uttarakhand made by the Railway Minister in February 2010 should be fulfilled. The proposed rail lines are Tanakpur-Bageswar, Tanakpur-Jauljibi, Rishikesh-Karnprand and Ramnagar-Karnprayag.
|
|
East Hope Town may be acquired for Doon Medical College project
Dehradun, February 23 The interest in the project was once again revived after the Chief Minister’s Health City project at Sveet village (Pauri Garhwal) encountered temporary roadblocks on the issue of compensation. According to sources, in pursuant to the Health City project in Pauri, the government had initiated the exercise of acquiring 5.35 acres for developing the Health City adjacent to the Government Medical College in Srinagar and a portion of the budgetary allocation of Rs 50 crore, which was set aside for the Doon Medical College project, was to be utilised for paying the compensation. It is believed that farmers had found the compensation of Rs 3 lakh per naili too little. As a result the government was forced to reconsider the decision. The matter was even brought to the notice of the Governor after children from the village wrote a letter to her asking her to intervene and prevent the acquisition of their land. The compensation issue in a way forced the government once again to turn to the Doon Medical College project. The government wants to set one of the two projects rolling immediately and the Doon Medical College project has been accorded top priority by the Chief Minister who would like to showcase it as a major achievement of his party in the election year. The new flexible norms of the Central Government wherein land could be acquired in two parcels each encouraged the government to take forward the project. “In all probability we will be able to acquire 50 acres located at East Hope Town Area after working the modalities with the district administration,” said a top official. The land was earlier in the possession of Golden Forest, a financial company, and has now been acquired by the state government. The Doon Medical College project envisages amalgamation of the existing Doon Hospital and Women’s Hospital premises and expanding the facility by acquiring the premises of the collectorate, treasury and other district offices, which are functional on the Haridwar Road and a portion of land where the old jail existed. “As per the MCI guidelines, the medical college should be within 10 km or 15 km of the hospital. In addition, it should have an urban health centre and a rural health centre within 50 km of the Medical College,” said Dr Asha Mathaur DG (Health).
|
|
Admn in two minds about two-laning of road
Dehradun, February 23 “The administration has passed no scheme regarding the two-laning of the road from the Dhara Chowki up to the Lansdowne Chowk. At present, only those roads are being widened that are approved to be widened under JNNURM,” the DM has said to Vidhan Sabha Speaker Harbans Kapoor. But, the fact is that the special in charge officer of the PWD has written to the President of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) that the two-laning plans have been proposed for the Landsdowne Chowk opposite the Dhara Chowki and the traffic from Rajpur towards the bus station as well as Haridwar would move on this road. This would also reduce traffic rush in the Clock Tower area. The department has also proposed to open the entrance of a shopping complex on this side once the project is complete. They also had a talk with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank regarding the stone-laying ceremony for the road project a few days ago. Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli said the PWD official had circulated the letter in the entire department then how could the DM claim that two-laning of the road was not on the cards.
|
|
Plans for Corbett Platinum Jubilee celebrations discussed
Dehradun, February 23 The administration, in collaboration with forest officials, yesterday held an important meeting in Ramnagar to discuss the programmes to be held during the celebrations. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Anup Kumar Nautiyal, local MLA Diwan Singh Bisht, Block Development Officer Ashish Puneta and other officials gathered at the PWD guest house to finalise the programme. The meeting agreed to conduct the inaugural programme at the local MP Inter College. Responsibilities were assigned to various departments. It was also decided to hold another meeting shortly to give final touches to the inaugural programme. Meanwhile, activists of the Youth Congress burnt the effigies of Uttarakhand Forest Advisory Committee Vice-Chairman, Chief Wildlife Warden and the Corbett Park Director. They alleged that the trio had failed to check the cases of death of animals, particularly tigers, and elephants at the Corbett. Led by District Youth Congress Leader Pankaj Rawat, the activists submitted a memorandum to the SDM.
|
|
State cops seek pay hike
Dehradun, February 23 The proposal had demanded an increase in the pay grade of the cops from constable to inspector level except that of sub-inspector, which is already equal to the Delhi police. If the proposal is approved, then head constables will get the maximum benefit. According to police sources, there will be an increase of about Rs 300 to 400 in the grade of head constables while inspectors will get an increase of about Rs 400. Constables will have an increase of about Rs 100 in their grades. There will be no change in the salary of sub-inspectors as it is already similar to that of the Delhi police. The demand of the Uttarakhand police got a boost recently when the Uttar Pradesh Government equated its cops’ pay scales with that of the Delhi police, a senior police officer told The Tribune. “Since the formation of the state, Uttarakhand and UP have been following similar rules. We will be happy if the government increases our salary as it has been done for our counterparts in UP,” the officer added.
|
||
|
St Joseph’s alumni apprises Guv of land acquisition
Dehradun, February 23 Rajeev Sachar, coordinator of the alumni, said, “The Governor was fully aware of the situation and assured us that the Academy is a heritage point of the Doon valley and central to the towns ethos. It should not be touched for beautification”. She has asked the Chief Secretary and the District Magistrate seeking details of the order. “A letter is also being sent to the Chief Minister and we will write to the President of India making sure that the land is not taken,” added Sachar. Sachar also brought to the notice that a few years back the academy had given a huge chunk of land to the administration for road widening.
|
||
|
Tennis calendar announced
Dehradun, February 23 Addressing a press conference at the academy, SK Bhagat, Additional Director-General of Police and President of the tennis association, said that tennis activities are on in six districts of the state and efforts were being made to expand it in all 13 districts. “We will try to work on the infrastructure by upgrading the facilities available in the remaining seven districts or by taking the assistance of armed forces that have tennis courts on their premises,” Bhagat said. The players who were felicitated included Dhruv Pal, Adarsh Badola, Drona Walia, Sachi Belwal, Shivani, Atishya Jain, Mayuk Rawat, Uttkarsh Bhardwaj, Prakhar Pal, Dhruv Sabharwal, Manik Dabur and Priyanka Rawat. All of them are trainees at the Shanti Tennis Academy.
|
||
|
Jasmine cagers pip Daffodil in final
Dehradun, February 23 It was the last inter-house event of this academic session and was held from February 14 to 22 on a league basis. The final saw a neck-and-neck competition right from the word go. In the first quarter, both the teams ended up with four points. In the second quarter, Daffodil took a 9-7 lead. In the third quarter,
Daffodil extended the lead to 12-9. In the fourth quarter, Jasmine’s Haifa Wani and Sarika Chaudhary helped their house equalise the score at 14 each and the match ended in a draw. To break the deadlock, referees Neelam and Rawat gave five minutes extra time. With Haifa Wani’s basket in the fourth minute, Jasmine House surged ahead 16-14 and emerged victorious. The award for the highest score went to Haifa Wani of Jasmine house while Sneha Raj, who has represented Uttarakhand in the nationals in June 2010, was adjudged best all-round player.
|
||
|
World conference on globalisation in Nainital from May 1
Pithoragarh, February 23 “The conference is sponsored by the International Geography Union, Fribourg, Switzerland, and will have local and regional response to globalisation in mountainous and marginal areas of the world,” said Prof Raghubir Chand, organiser of the conference. This is the first-ever conference of the geography union in India and has been approved by the steering committee of the union. The organisers said the 20 foreign delegates participating in the conference included Prof Martin Price, Head of the UNESCO Chair For Mountain Studies, the University of Perth, Scotland, who recently shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former American Vice -President Al Gore. Fifty Indian academicians will also attend the conference. The focus of the conference will be on policy responses to the process of globalisation with reference to India.
|
||
|
Rao Academy beat Helex Club by 4 wickets
Dehradun, February 23 Helex Club won the toss and batted first. Babbu (28), Ravi (12), Satyam (12) and Mohit (10) were the main scorers for the batting side that set a target of 121/10 in 20 overs. Kiran took three wickets for Rao Academy, Pramod got two. Sharad, Sanjay and Shankar pocketed a wicket each. Replying, Rao Academy scored 122 losing six wickets. Sourav (34), Vipin (16), Shard (15) and Shankar (10) were the main scorers. Sharad took two wickets for rival team. Mohit, Prashant and Ravi got a wicket each. UCA got walk over Dhudhli Club as the latter didn’t reach its scheduled match. ACA will face Al Fateh and U Medical UCA in tomorrow’s matches.
|
||
|
Panel for rail link between Rishikesh, Dobra
Dehradun, February 23 At a press conference today, Gupta said the rail link would spur tourism activity in the area and also reduce the distance to Tehri from the Rishikesh railway station. “As of now, the distance between the Rishikesh railway station and Tehri Dam by road is 85 km, If the rail link is established between Dobra and Rishikesh, the distance will be reduced to 41 km,” he said. He said for laying the track, an underground tunnel would have to be constructed, but it would be worth the effort as it would open up job opportunities for around one lakh people.
|
|
DGP to meet senior police officers of 4 dists
Dehradun, February 23 Along with work planning, inspection of crime patrolling, other burning problems in the four districts will also be taken up in the meeting. Plans will be made to solve these problems. The DGP had asked for the report of the problems faced by police stations in the four districts and the steps taken to solve these by the captains of the districts. The resources, which were required to solve the problems, will be discussed in the meeting. All senior police officers will attend.
|
|
Class IV staff stage protest
Dehradun, February 23 All the employees demanded the promotion of Survey Chairman to Survey Lekhpal. They have submitted a memorandum to the SDM and asked him to solve the matter as soon as possible or they would keep the protest on.
|
|
‘Issue caste certificates on land documents of 2000’
Dehradun, February 23 Speaking on the occasion, conveners Lekhraj and Ram Ratan Ravi argued that it was illogical to ask for land documents of August 10, 1950, because of which most of the caste certificates were not being issued. They presented copies of the earlier orders issued by the courts and the government regarding this issue.
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
As Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee gets ready with her ministry’s budget proposal, people of the Kumaon region have prepared a wish list of their own.
To begin with, there has been a persistent demand for a direct train from the region to the economic capital of the country - Mumbai. This train is expected to boost tourism in the region.
As of now, while there is a direct train from Kathgodam to Kolkata, there is
none to Mumbai from any of the key stations of Ramnagar and Kathgodam.
Dehradun, February 23
Dehradun, February 23
Nainital, February 23
