SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI
JALANDHAR


THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

D E H R A D U N    P L U S

GMVN cancels 10 high-level ‘controversial’ appointments
Dehradun, March 6
Anil Nautiyal, president of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Sunday. The board of directors of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) cancelled 10 high-level ‘controversial’ appointments, including two promotions made eight months back

Anil Nautiyal, president of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

‘Facts suppressed to protect real culprits’
Dehradun, March 6
The Board of Directors of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), led by president Anil Nautiyal, found itself in an unsavoury situation after he failed to name and announce the quantum of punishment to those who were involved in committing irregularities in making the 10 high-level appointments some eight months ago.

Soon, dial free of cost to file traffic complaints
Traffic jams have become the order of the day in DehradunDehradun, March 6
Soon you will not have to pay to call up the traffic police office to inform about traffic snarls in the city. The traffic police is seeking a toll-free number from the BSNL.

Traffic jams have become the order of the day in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph



EARLIER EDITIONS


Kumaonvani radio makes waves
Completes one year of broadcasting on March 11
A view of the Kumaonvani centre.Mukteshwar, March 6
Around 400 villages in the vicinity of this picturesque town have witnessed a change that has been ushered in with the help of airwaves. Uttarakhand’s first full-fledged community radio, Kumaonvani, which had gone on air on March 11, is about to complete its first year of successful broadcasting.


A view of the Kumaonvani centre.

Basantotsav ends on a fragrant, cultural note
Governor Margaret Alva gives away a prize to a winner at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun on Sunday. Dehradun, March 6
Governor Margaret Alva has said the annual flower show at the Raj Bhawan was now being presented in the form of a spring festival or Basantotsav, which includes not only an exhibition of flowers, but also of art, crafts, culture and food of the state.



Governor Margaret Alva gives away a prize to a winner at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun on Sunday. 

HESCO to start community college soon
Dehradun, March 6
Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, founder of HESCO, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Saturday. To provide resource-based skills to residents of rural areas and socially weaker sections of society, the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) is soon commencing its community college, which has been accredited by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, founder of HESCO, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

BEd exam conducted peacefully
Haridwar, March 6
The examination for Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, being carried out by Uttarakhand Technical University (UTI), commenced peacefully here today. The examination procedure was carried out in two sessions at the examination centre the Swami Darshananda Institute of Management and Technology.

Experts for promotion of Sanskrit in state
Pithoragarh, March 6
The Kumoani and Garhwali languages comprise 90 per cent of Sanskrit words and their accent is a mere local style of speaking the language. The roots of the Sanskrit language are deep in the state.

DEHRADUN diary
No end to woes of Nishank Govt
There is no end to the woes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government in the state headed by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. After it was let off the hook by the Nainital High Court in the case relating to the change of land use by the Citurgia company, which is based in Rishikesh, in December, 2010, it looked as if the state government had survived an acute embarrassment, but the latest notice by the Supreme Court has again given the government a headache.

Doon XI clinch T20 League Championship title
Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor presents the winning team with the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Cricket League Championship trophy at the Mahendra Grounds in Dehradun on Sunday. Dehradun, March 6
Doon XI won the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Cricket League Championship defeating Himalayan Cricket Academy (HCA) by six wickets in the final match played on the Mahendra Ground here today.

Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor presents the winning team with the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Cricket League Championship trophy at the Mahendra Grounds in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Tigers maul Helax Club
Dehradun, March 6
Doon Tigers beat Helax Club by five wickets in a match of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Beehive Challenger League Cup at Matawala Bagh here today.

International Women’s Day
Alva to attend Women’s Day celebrations in Sri Lanka
Dehradun, March 6
Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva is leaving for Sri Lanka where she has been invited to preside over the National Women’s Day celebrations to be held in Colombo on March 7 and deliver the keynote address.

Narrow win for Tanush Cricket Academy
A batsman in action in a match of the 60th District Cricket League played at the Survey of India stadium in Dehradun on Sunday.Dehradun, March 6
Tanush Cricket Academy (TCA) defeated Doon Combined by 14 runs in the 60th District Cricket League played at the Survey of India stadium here today. TCA set a target of 220 runs in 30 overs. Manish (55) and Aman (36) were the principal scorers for the team. Vaibhav and Ajay got three wickets each for their side. Laxman got two wickets and Abhishek got one.

A batsman in action in a match of the 60th District Cricket League played at the Survey of India stadium in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

 

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GMVN cancels 10 high-level ‘controversial’ appointments
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
The board of directors of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) cancelled 10 high-level ‘controversial’ appointments, including two promotions made eight months back that became a bone of contention between both the GMVN and KMVN employees, who went on long strikes on the issue. This was stated at the board meeting held on the GMVN premises yesterday.

Staff call off dharna

Elated over the approval of the Board of Directors of GMVN on most of their demands, the Joint Employees Association of both the GMVN and KMVN has decided to call off their dharna continuing since February 21.

President of the association Purushottam Puri, expressed satisfaction over the decision, including the cancellation of high-level appointments, regularisation of 375 employees, VRS benefits to the employees of the SC/ST Corporation, jobs to the wards of those who died during service and revamping of sick TRHs.

The board will have another meeting on March 31 to evaluate the progress on the cases that are to be regularised and given VRS benefits.

Briefing about the meeting, president of the GMVN Anil Nautiyal informed that the appointments were cancelled on the basis of the questionable competence of the interviewers.

The decks had also been cleared for the regularisation of 375 contractual employees. He said, “The demand of regularisation was pending for the past 25 years. Now, these 375 employees out of total 700 will be absorbed against the vacancies. The rest will also be taken up likewise. We are also hoping that most of the remaining employees will be regularised as per the announcement of the Chief Minister regarding regularisation of the 2,000 contractual or daily wagers in the current year,” he said.

The demand of 27 employees of the subsidiary wing of the GMVN, SC/ST Corporation, which was closed down in 2006 for incurring huge losses, was also accepted to relieve them with the VRS as per the 5th Pay Commission. Nautiyal said the process of giving VRS benefits would be complete by March 31.

Likewise, he said, another demand that was also hanging fire regarding the appointment of the wards of the employees who were regular, who died during their service, was also considered positively.

Besides, he said, the MD would also review the condition of some 30 sick tourist rest houses (TRHs) of the GMVN that had either closed down or were on the verge of closure. He also talked about renovating rest of the 60 TRHs and deputing local unemployed youngsters in these TRHs.

Since the issue of the renovation of the TRHs and employment of local youth had been put up in every board meeting, Nautiyal said they were serious this time, and that was why they would discuss the findings of the MD on March 31 in this regard.

The trolley service that was closed in Auli would be replaced with a new ropeway costing Rs 2 crore, he said.

The employees union of the GMVN, led by president Purushottam Puri, has welcomed the board decisions stating that their long struggle to get justice for the employees had finally borne fruit.

Principal Secretary (Tourism) Rakesh Sharma, MD A Santhiyal Pandiyan and vice-president Raghunath Singh Negi were present.

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‘Facts suppressed to protect real culprits’
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
The Board of Directors of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), led by president Anil Nautiyal, found itself in an unsavoury situation after he failed to name and announce the quantum of punishment to those who were involved in committing irregularities in making the 10 high-level appointments some eight months ago.

Nautiyal informed about the cancellation of these appointments after holding a four-hour board meeting. Finding himself trapped among a volley of questions hurled by mediapersons, Nautiyal could not give a satisfactory answer.

He said, “We cancelled the appointments on the basis of findings of the probe report submitted by the Garhwal Commissioner, who reasoned out the less competence on part of the interviewers in making these appointments”.

Nautiyal scurried for defence when he was asked about the outcome of an RTI application filed in this context. The outcome of the RTI application had confirmed gross irregularities such as overwriting on the marks obtained by the selected officials and ignoring the criterion in terms of qualification, experience etc. in the selections.

Nautiyal denied mention of any such information in the Commissioner’s report. This means either the Commissioner’s report failed to highlight these monumental lapses or the replies submitted under the RTI were misleading. Either way, it is the GMVN that comes under direct scanner.

Though he admitted that less competence was the chief reason behind the cancellation of these appointments, he could not name those who ordered to constitute this panel and why the board was silent on punishing them.

Vice-president, GMVN, Raghunath Singh Negi, who had been instrumental in bringing out the fraud, put Nautiyal in the dock for misrepresenting the facts, as he said, “The Garhwal Commissioner has quite clearly pointed out the irregularities in his report, but these facts are being suppressed to protect the real culprits”.

Negi held former Managing Director, GMVN, BVRC Purshottam, who was transferred after the matter picked heat, responsible for the irregularities and demanded severe punishment to him.

The leaders of the UKD accused the GMVN management of making attempts to shield the real perpetrator behind the irregularities. President of the UKD Trivender Singh Panwar said, “The Board of Directors deliberately did not reveal the names of those who were involved in making these appointments.”

President of the Joint Association of GMVN Employees Purushottam Giri expressed shock over concealing the names. “It is a massive misuse of the power, as these 10 persons had been paid high salaries for the past eight months. The employees of both the GMVN and KMVN had to staged repeated protests and hunger strikes to get these appointments cancelled. Now, when it has been found that the appointments were made in a wrongful manner, why are the guilty being allowed to go scot-free?” The question remained unanswered.

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Soon, dial free of cost to file traffic complaints
Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Soon you will not have to pay to call up the traffic police office to inform about traffic snarls in the city. The traffic police is seeking a toll-free number from the BSNL.

“We will talk to the BSNL and ask for a toll-free number like 110 or 112. We are hopeful that we will receive a good response from residents and we will be able to solve the traffic problem quickly and efficiently,” traffic Circle Officer (CO) Shweta Choubey told The Tribune.

The traffic police already has its office number (27113113), but it is chargeable and most of the residents are not even aware of the number. Residents prefer calling up the control room number (100), which becomes a lengthy process.

“We had a meeting today with our traffic friends. They opined that they come across traffic jams in the city several times, but hesitated to call up the number as it was not free,” said the CO.

“The commuters often call up 100 that always remains congested and dialing the number becomes a lengthy process. However, receiving a call on the traffic toll-free number, we can directly send message to the traffic sub-inspector or head constable concerned on the wireless to quickly sort out the problem,” added Choubey.

Meanwhile, the traffic police has also been working on updating its Facebook account and e-mail services. “We only have six to seven friends on our Facebook account at present. We are trying to upgrade and give it a wide coverage, so that we can receive advice and share traffic problems,” stated the CO.

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Kumaonvani radio makes waves
Completes one year of broadcasting on March 11
Rajeev Khanna
Tribune News Service

Mukteshwar, March 6
Around 400 villages in the vicinity of this picturesque town have witnessed a change that has been ushered in with the help of airwaves. Uttarakhand’s first full-fledged community radio, Kumaonvani, which had gone on air on March 11, is about to complete its first year of successful broadcasting.

Assistant Station Manager Harish Singh Bisht, while talking to The Tribune, said: “It has been an interesting journey over the past one year. Our three transmissions of two hours each every day have been a big hit with the local population residing in 400 villages of Nainital, Almora, Champawat and Bageshwar where the station signals reach”.

The radio station has been broadcasting programmes on varied subjects, including culture, health, education, agriculture, etc. Bisht said the campaigns launched for propagating various schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) programme among the masses had been a great success. The station had also been broadcasting the shortcomings in the implementation of these schemes and the difficulties being faced by the beneficiaries in availing themselves of their benefits.

The radio station has been having guests from reputed institutions like the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Mukteshwar, and the Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), which is being run by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) at Almora.

About 70 per cent of the broadcast content is in Kumaoni, he added.

“Our purpose has been to promote local language and culture. Our series on jaagar was a huge success and we broadcast Kumaoni songs regularly along with radio plays. The station has tie-ups with several local cultural troupes,” he said, adding that the call-in programmes were very popular with at least 20 to 25 callers getting lined up for every one-hour slot.

Bisht said: “A large number of our callers are women and youngsters who are very interested in agriculture-related issues. The youngsters are also interested in getting general knowledge from experts. They also demand that we should broadcast information on employment avenues available for them at the local, regional and national levels. Elderly persons want a lot of folk music to be broadcast”.

The station has eight reporters and six producers. All of them are local youngsters who have been trained to handle things very efficiently.

Set up by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) at Supi village, the station was inaugurated by state Governor Margaret Alva last year. The purpose was to derive the benefits of the community radio for the local community and develop a successful model of self-sustenance and development.

The emphasis has been to generate content based on the local issues. The project aims at empowering, enlightening and enabling communities in and around Mukteshwar to speak up.

Besides offering a variety of entertainment programmes, the community radio station is also generating awareness on issues relating to education, health, sanitation, agriculture, weather and several more.

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Basantotsav ends on a fragrant, cultural note
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Governor Margaret Alva has said the annual flower show at the Raj Bhawan was now being presented in the form of a spring festival or Basantotsav, which includes not only an exhibition of flowers, but also of art, crafts, culture and food of the state.

Addressing flower lovers and visitors at the prize distribution ceremony organised on the third and last day of the Basantotsav held on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan, the Governor said, "For the first time, the spring festival includes a poly-house designed by GB Pant Agricultural University in the Raj Bhawan to cater to floriculture and horticulture development here. Work on water harvesting is also underway. Besides, there are other environment-friendly models such as the green building concept, displays by the Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) and exhibition of bamboo and fibre handicrafts developed under the aegis of the State Bamboo and Fibre Development Board”.

The Governor said, "More than 200 quintals of compost has been prepared by the Raj Bhawan for its lawns and gardens this year and some of the herbs and medicinal plants grown in the Raj Bhawan are also being displayed”.

State Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry Trivender Singh Rawat threw light on various steps being taken to encourage the floriculture and horticulture in the state.

Earlier, the Governor, accompanied by MP Satpal Maharaj and State Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry Trivender Singh Rawat, gave away prizes and trophies to winners in different categories. The ONGC won the Basantotsav-2011 running trophy.

Besides, prizes were given away in cut flowers, potted plants arrangement, nurseries, fresh and dry flowers arrangement, bouquet, garlands and plants in the cacti, bonsai, orchid and gardens of different land areas, photography, fresh petal rangoli and hanging pots categories.

The Governor also gave away prizes to winners in the school children painting category. In this category, Kumari Swati, Kumari Manasi and Kumari Rashmi, all from Sharp Memorial School (visually challenged) won the first, second and the third prize, respectively. Also in the school children painting competition (mentally challenged), Kumari Priya and Master Anubhav Ghildiyal from Gokul Society for Handicapped won the first and the second prize, respectively, while Master Shivam of Raphael Home secured the third prize. In the Hearing and Speech impaired category, Master Anam, Kumari Jyotsana and Kumari Pema, all from Bajaj Institute of Learning, Dehradun, won first, second and third prizes, respectively.

In Class I-V category, Kumari Prabhleen Kaur and Kumari Tanya Mukherji of Convent School won first and second prize, respectively, while Master Kundan of Sharp Memorial School secured the third prize. In Class VI-VIII category, Master Samson of Gorkha Military College won the first prize, while Kumari Kritika Thapa and Kumari Somany Gupta of Scholar's Home secured the second and third prize, respectively.

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HESCO to start community college soon
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
To provide resource-based skills to residents of rural areas and socially weaker sections of society, the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) is soon commencing its community college, which has been accredited by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

While informing about the community college, Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, founder of HESCO, said: “The organisation has always worked for the development of society and environment. It is in this context, we are starting new certificate courses specially meant to provide scope for employment to the people who are residing in rural areas. The fee structure of the courses is very nominal, while the certificates will be given by IGNOU”.

“We are already providing environmental studies and other short courses to residents of Shuklapur, but they are not affiliated by any recognised university. But now, our new courses will be certified by IGNOU,” he added.

The community college is commencing with six new certificate courses in fruit preservation, beekeeping, banking technique, dress designing, electric wire fitting and plumbing. The duration of every course is six months and those who have passed class VIII are eligible for the courses.

Interestingly, the community college has no limitation of age in any of its courses, while the fee structure has been set between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000. The syllabus of the courses has been set up by IGNOU and is based on the distant learning courses.

Dr Kiran Negi, scientist, HESCO, said the organisation was also looking forward to providing diploma courses and associate degree courses to the students once the community college got operational. She said: “The community college will prove to be a milestone on the way of the development of society, while directing youngsters to the right path”.

“There is no provision for allocation of funds to the community college by IGNOU. We have basic infrastructure comprising well-equipped laboratories and ample space to conduct the classes, but we will enable students to seek expertise from the local industries too,” added Negi.

Interested candidates can get the admission forms for the courses from March 7. The last date for the submission of these is March 25 from 10 am to 3 pm. For further queries, the candidates can contact on 9411112402, 9412154328 and 9456376429.

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BEd exam conducted peacefully
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March 6
The examination for Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, being carried out by Uttarakhand Technical University (UTI), commenced peacefully here today. The examination procedure was carried out in two sessions at the examination centre the Swami Darshananda Institute of Management and Technology.

A total of 296 candidates were enrolled at this examination centre, though due to 50 candidates remaining absent, finally 246 candidates gave the examination with a majority of them being girl aspirants.

The first paper session was from 9 am-12 noon, and the second from 2 pm-5 pm. The candidates expressed satisfaction over the pattern of question papers.

As this was the first BEd examination conducted under UTU at the venue, Ashish Dobhal, an examination observer, was specially designated at the centre.

Informing The Tribune about the proceedings, Dobhal said the two-session examination was conducted peacefully with no case of cheating nor any discrepancy in the question paper coming to light.

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Experts for promotion of Sanskrit in state
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 6
The Kumoani and Garhwali languages comprise 90 per cent of Sanskrit words and their accent is a mere local style of speaking the language. The roots of the Sanskrit language are deep in the state.

Secretary of the Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy, Haridwar, Buddha Dev Sharma stated this at a programme organised by the Uttarakhand Sanskrit Bharti here today.

“The Sanskrit language in the province has been given the second official language status by the present government and due to the efforts done by the Uttaranchal Sanskrit Bharati,” he said.

“The Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy in doing its best to promote Sanskrit. We have started Sanskrit speech competitions for students at the school level and also initiated Sanskrit scholars to speak the language as a common language among them,” said Sharma. 

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DEHRADUN diary
No end to woes of Nishank Govt
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

There is no end to the woes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government in the state headed by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. After it was let off the hook by the Nainital High Court in the case relating to the change of land use by the Citurgia company, which is based in Rishikesh, in December, 2010, it looked as if the state government had survived an acute embarrassment, but the latest notice by the Supreme Court has again given the government a headache.

In the important case regarding the change of land use pattern of the Citurgia company from industrial to residential, the state government had shown a tearing hurry. In a single day, the entire babudom from the lowest clerk to the Chief Secretary worked fast to give the required permission to the company. As the decision smacked of favouritism, a public interest litigation was filed in the Nainital High Court seeking a CBI inquiry into the whole issue. The Opposition Congress also tried to make it a big political issue accusing the state BJP Government of corruption. The Nainital High Court directed the state Government to cancel the land deal and take back the land from the company. The state government cancelled the permission given for the land use change and pleaded in the High Court that it was misled by the bureaucrats on the issue. The state government took the plea that it was working to implement the orders of the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in the case.

The High Court directed that an inquiry should be ordered to punish the guilty officer. However, the state government did not take action to book the guilty and the petitioner in the case moved the apex court. Before the hearing of the petition in the Supreme Court, the state government on March 1 appointed Justice BC Kandpal (retd), a former High Court judge, to head the inquiry into the role of the officials in the whole issue.

Interestingly, Justice Kandpal is also heading the state government commission, which has been looking into the 56 alleged scandals of the previous Congress regime. But, the most interesting part of the episode was the effort by the state government to take credit even in adversity. As the Supreme Court issued notices to the state government on the compliance of the High Court orders in the case, an over enthusiastic official of the Information Department, who is on deputation from Uttar Pradesh, sent a note to the media stating that the Supreme Court had turned down the request of the petitioner for a CBI inquiry into the matter. He was probably trying to please the Chief Minister as he himself had been suspended by the state government of his parent state.

Most interestingly, even during the verdict of the High Court, when the state government had to cancel the land-use-change permission given to the Citurgia company amidst charges of corruption and take back the land from the company, it was projected as a victory for the state BJP Government.

It is a fact that the state Information Department has never been a professional outfit like in other states but its working during the Nishank regime has gone down to record depths. The department is a part of the state government and looks after its publicity but by issuing such press notes on sensitive issues, the officials are trying to hoodwink the media and ultimately trying to mislead the general public. They could influence a section of the media but the general masses understand what is going on in the state administration, as they are the worst sufferers.

Cong fails to put its house in order

The main Opposition party, the Congress, has failed to put its house in order even after the reappointment of Yashpal Arya as state Congress chief four months ago. During the period, he has not been able to constitute his team of office-bearers. The delay is attributed to the intense factionalism in the state Congress as most of the senior leaders heading various factions wanted their own men in the new team. With the crucial Assembly elections scheduled to be held in February, 2012, it has been a do-or-die battle for them. Amidst speculation that the office-bearers of the Pradesh Congress Committee will be announced soon, came the reshuffle of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the replacement of the state general secretary in charge RK Dhawan. Birendra Singh, a senior Congress leader from Haryana, has been made the new general secretary in charge of the Uttarakhand Congress. Now, the announcement of the office-bearers will be delayed further as Birendra Singh will also take his own time to study the ground-level situation in the state Congress. After his appointment, he has already announced to visit the state.

His appointment will also change some equations in the state Congress team. Birendra Singh is a senior Jat leader who is a grandson of legendary Jat leader of pre-Independence days Chhottu Ram and has been a Gandhi family loyalist in the whirlpool of “Aya Ram Gaya Ram” politics of Haryana. Interestingly, he had been trying for the past one and a half decades to become the Chief Minister of Haryana, but luck had deserted him as another Gandhi family loyalist and Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda came from behind and overtook him to become the Chief Minister of Haryana. Birendra Singh will probably be sharing his pain with senior Uttarakhand Congress leader Harish Rawat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, who also missed the bus twice in 2002 and 2007 to become the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

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Doon XI clinch T20 League Championship title
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Doon XI won the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Cricket League Championship defeating Himalayan Cricket Academy (HCA) by six wickets in the final match played on the Mahendra Ground here today.

Winning the toss, HCA could score only 111 runs in 20 overs for 10 wickets. Opener Vijay Singh (42) was the only one to make a good score while the remaining batsmen failed to click. Ravinder Bisht and Lalit Panwar got three wickets each for Doon XI.

Batting second, Doon XI achieved the target in 13 overs losing only four wickets. Harsh Negi (55) and Neeraj Saini (28) mainly contributed to the win of Doon XI. Vijay Singh, Shekhar, Manish and Keshav got a wicket each for HCA.

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Tigers maul Helax Club
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Doon Tigers beat Helax Club by five wickets in a match of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Beehive Challenger League Cup at Matawala Bagh here today.

A batsman plays a shot in a match of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Beehive Challenger League Cup played at the Matawala Bagh in Dehradun on Sunday.
A batsman plays a shot in a match of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Beehive Challenger League Cup played at the Matawala Bagh in Dehradun on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

Helax Club batted first after winning the toss. Shobhit (33) and Punit (19) were the main scorers as the team scored 97/7 in 20 overs. Rajiv claimed four wickets and Kanhiya took two wickets for Doon Tigers.

In reply, Doon Tigers scored 100 runs for five wickets. Ashu (32) and Pandey (28) made important contribution to the team’s victory. Mohit of Helax got three wickets while Arun took one.

In another match, Rao Cricket Academy was thrashed by Dee Dee XI by five wickets.

In tomorrow’s match, Himalayan Cricket Academy will face Jammu and Kashmir XI.

Bar Association defeat Jail Yuva Club

Bar Association beat Doon Jail Yuva Club by seven wickets in a friendly cricket match organised by the Uttarakhand Youth Twenty20 Cricket Association at the jail stadium, Sudhowala, on Sunday.

Also, Jakhan Vypaar Mandal defeated Yuva Patarkaar Association by seven wickets.

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International Women’s Day
Alva to attend Women’s Day celebrations in Sri Lanka
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva is leaving for Sri Lanka where she has been invited to preside over the National Women’s Day celebrations to be held in Colombo on March 7 and deliver the keynote address.

The annual event, to coincide with the International Women’s Day, is being held at the Temple Trees, the official residence of the President of Sri Lanka.

Alva, who is the first woman Governor of Uttarakhand, will be the guest of Kumari Balasuriya, the first and only woman Governor in Sri Lanka.

It may be recalled that during her stint as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development in the Union Ministry, Alva spearheaded numerous women-related progressive legislative amendments passed by Parliament. These include the Sati Prohibition Act, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act, Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, Equal Remuneration Act and 84th Constitution Amendment Bill for 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.

In 1989, she presided over a core group appointed by the Government of India to draft a National Perspective Plan for Women to detail development strategies for women. This has since served as the blueprint for policies and women development programmes adopted by the Central and state governments.

She has also served as the Chairperson of the SAARC Technical Committee on Women for two years.

Parties woo women voters

Women’s Day programmes were held all across the state. The ruling BJP’s Mahila Morcha held a facilitation programme for women at the Parade Ground here.

Presiding over the programme, BJP Ambedkar Mandal president Babita Sharotra said, “By ensuring 50 per cent reservation for women in the panchayat, the Uttarakhand BJP Government has reaffirmed its commitment for the welfare of women of the state”.

The Dehradun District Women’s Congress held a meeting at the Congress Bhawan in which District Women’s Congress President Madhu Semwal called upon women to work for the success of the Congress in the 2012 elections. She also told partymen about the various programmes organised by the Women’s Congress across the state.

Women achievers honoured

The Uttaranchal Mahila Association (UMA) felicitated women, who have achieved heights in various fields, here today.

Dr Jyoti Nautiyal and Dr Suman Sethi were honoured for their work in the field of medicine, Dr Sudha Aatrya, Vaishali Singh and Kusum Kanta for education, Archana Sethi for social work and Nalini Gusain and Anupama Khanna for journalism.

The function began with the lighting of the lamp in the presence of Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, State Minister for Women and Child Vijaya Barthwal, president of the State Women Commission Sushila Baluni, Sports and Disaster Management Minister Khajan Das and UMA founder president Sadhna Sharma.

Highlighting the meaning of the Women’s Day, Sadhna Sharma asserted the need for a cooperative and congenial environment for the development of a woman.

“If women can handle both the house and office work, why can’t men help them in household chores?” she asked. A Bharatnatyam dance by Sonal Verma, kathak by Arushi Joshi and Garhwali dance by Amisha, Sugandha, Anjali, Jaya, Muskan and Arushi were the attractions of the day. A flower exhibition was also organised on the occasion.

Astitva foundation to hold walk

Members of the Astitva Women Foundation held a walk to celebrate the International Women’s Day and centennial commemoration of the day here today.

Ramindri Manderwal, Protection Officer, Domestic Violence, and Sushila Balooni, Director, Mahila Aayog, flagged off the walk. A large number of people participated in the walk with enthusiasm.

The walk started from the Astitva Foundation office and passed through the Gorakhpur Defence Colony.

Young boys and girls joined on their bicycles and men also participated. Inspirational songs were sung and slogans shouted to demand violence-free communities, equal rights to women and proper education for girls.

The walk ended with an oath-taking ceremony where the participants vowed not to tolerate any sort of violence.

Assn decides to court arrest

Anguished over women not being accorded reservation in Parliament, the All-India Democratic Women’s Association has decided to surrender themselves for arrest on International Women’s Day on March 8.

Elaborating further on this issue, president of the organisation Indu Naudiyal said despite one year after the Women Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, it had got stuck in the Lok Sabha. Seeing the nonchalance of the Central government on this issue, they had decided to go to jail to observe the International Women Day. Their imprisonment would also mean bringing home the crude facts of increasing incidents of atrocities against women, inflation and corruption in the country all around.

Their procession will culminate at the Secretariat where they would surrender themselves for arrest. 

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Narrow win for Tanush Cricket Academy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 6
Tanush Cricket Academy (TCA) defeated Doon Combined by 14 runs in the 60th District Cricket League played at the Survey of India stadium here today.

TCA set a target of 220 runs in 30 overs. Manish (55) and Aman (36) were the principal scorers for the team. Vaibhav and Ajay got three wickets each for their side. Laxman got two wickets and Abhishek got one.

In reply, Doon Combined could score 205 runs in 28.1 overs. Kamal (70), Vaibhav (29) and Pankaj (24) were the principal scorers. Aman scalped three wickets for TCA while Manish and Ravi took two wickets each.

Also, ONGC beat Shivalik Cricket Club by three wickets and NSC got the better of Vidhan Sabha by 58 runs.

Tomorrow, ACA will face Vikasnagar, DDCA will lock horns with YMCA and SOI will play against DIT (A).

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