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Cops foil Cong attempt to gherao Assembly
Budget Session |
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2.6 lakh youth got employment, says Prakash Pant
Old woman found murdered, probe on
Cong stages walkout over potable water issue
Baithaki Holi continues to gain momentum in Kumaon
48 women representatives get training
Uphill task to fill C Sir’s void
Students pay tributes to founder WC Kashyap
Basketball calendar released
Subodh stars in PBL’s 10-wkt win
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Cops foil Cong attempt to gherao Assembly
Dehradun, March 15 Many workers even broke the barricades, which were put up by the police to stop them from reaching the Assembly building. However, a heavy deployment of police ensured that they didn’t move beyond the restricted area. And following a scuffle with the cops, they went back and protested on the road. The police personnel, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Ganesh Singh Martolia, did a commendable job in tackling the workers who were led by their senior leaders. Meanwhile, factionalism was witnessed in the Congress as the party workers reached the Gandhi Park in different groups. From there, first Yaspal Arya, President of the state Congress, and then Harak Singh Rawat, Leader of the Opposition, along with their groups, rallied to the barricaded area. All the five Congress MPs, Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj, Tehri Garhwal MP Vijay Bahuguna, Almora MP Pardeep Tamta, Nainital MP KCb Singh Baba and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Harish Rawat, and all the party legislators took part in the rally. Senior leaders of the party lashed out at the BJP government for its alleged failure on all fronts. “This government is a complete disaster and people have come out in large numbers to teach this government a lesson. The governance has gone for a toss as the state government has been found involved in one scandal or another in the four years past,” a senior leader said. “A total of 1.3 lakh people attended the rally. This is not the rally of the Congress but the one of the people. The number shows how much fed up the people of the state are with this BJP Government,” Union Minister Rawat added. Bhagat Charan Dass, newly appointed co-in charge of the party affairs, came from New Delhi to take part in the rally. The police had put up massive barricades at the Assembly building to stop the Congress workers from laying a siege to the building. As a symbolic protest, Uttarakhand Congress President Yashpal Arya broke a barricade. Arya read out to the DM and the SSP, who were present on the other side of the barricades, the memorandum highlighting the failures of the state government.
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Budget Session
Dehradun, March 15 He remembered Bisht’s role on the issues of women empowerment, prohibition and statehood agitation. He assured all assistance to his family. Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat referred to his first meeting with Bisht way back in 1991. He said Bisht had led a protest in Tehri over the issue of providing relief to quake-affected people. He described him as an outspoken personality who always stood for truth and justice. Legislature Party Leader (BSP) Shahzad, while
paying tributes to Bisht, sought the constitution of a fund to help the legislators with poor financial background. He said it
was a matter of concern that Bisht’s family did not even have funds to pay for his treatment. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) leader Diwakar Bhatt said he and
Bisht were elected to the posts of block pramukh in Tehri district simultaneously. He said he had kept a very long association with Bisht since the days when the latter was identified as comrade. Congress Tehri MLA Kishore Upadhyaya said Bisht had always inspired him and he demanded naming the Lambgaon school after the late leader. Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh remembered Bisht’s association with his late father Gulab Singh Chauhan and held that he had an opportunity to meet him at a very early age. Legislators Pushpesh Tripathy and Vijay Singh Panwar also offered homage to Bisht. The House also remembered Jagdish
Muni, who was an MLA from Haridwar in the then Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
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2.6 lakh youth got employment, says Prakash Pant
Dehradun, March 15 Pant said the government was ensuring strict implementation of 70 per cent reservation of jobs for locals in the upcoming industries in the state. He said the district administrations at places where new industries had been set up, regularly monitored the work force in these industries so as to ensure proper reservation for the locals. He said as per the latest figure, while 69 per cent of job force in these industries today were locals, the rest were from outside. He said the government was serious about ensuring that this 69 per cent reached 70 per cent mark. The minister also disclosed that 9,546 youth had been given jobs at various industrial units in the state between 2003 and 2010. Not satisfied with the minister’s reply, Gunsola asked him to clarify as to whether the nature of the employment given to the youth by these industries were contractual in nature. The minister held that the youth had been given permanent jobs. Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Narayan Pal questioned the true intentions of these industries. He said taking into account the track record of the industries, generally it was seen that these industries were here only to get incentives and their claim of providing employment to the locals was questionable. Responding to another query put up by MLA Sher Singh Gadiya, Pant reiterated the state government’s commitment to fight against
child labour. He disclosed that regular identification of child labour working in both dangerous and non-dangerous category of works was done. Pant said in 2009-2010, 25 child labourers were identified, while in 2010-till February 2011, 57 child labourers have been identified. Congress MLA Kunwar Pranav raised the issue of child labourers working in brick kilns, while Rajpur MLA Ganesh Joshi, too, raised their plight.
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No let-up in hassles to commuters
Dehradun,
March 15 The second day of the Assembly session was more bothersome as the thousands of workers of the main Opposition party, the Congress, took out a rally in the city. They gathered at the Gandhi Park and later marched to the Vidhan Sabha. The whole city bore the brunt of the rally. It took more than double the time for residents to reach their destinations. People had to look for narrow lanes or take very long routes. “Why are we made to suffer due to the Assembly session?” asked a commuter. “The administration should chalk out a plan to avoid hassles to the residents. This is happening every time and nothing is being done to solve the problem,” residents of Defence Colony lamented. Several organisations and residents’ associations have also submitted memorandums to the administration and the police authorities highlighting this problem, but to no avail. The police has barricaded Shastri Nagar, Rispana Bridge, Praghati Vihar and the tri-junction of Vidhan Sabha to stop party activists and those of several organizations from laying a siege to the Assembly building. And the traffic diversions have been made according. Residents of Defence Colony, Shastri Nagar, Nehru Colony, Haridwar Bypass, Jogiwala, Ajabpur and Mothrowala
are the most harried lot due the diversions.
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Old woman found murdered, probe on
Dehradun, March 15 Besides the signs of strangulation on her neck, there were marks on her forehead that indicated that she had been hit by something before being strangulated. The police has sent her body for postmortem examination at the Doon Hospital. The police said there was no ransacking at the house indicating that motive was only the woman’s murder. She had no dispute with anyone in the past. The woman had been identified as Vidyawati, added the police. According to acting SHO Senior Sub-Inspector Madan Singh Bisht
of the Vikasnagar police station, the woman was staying alone at her house. Her husband died about 30 years ago and two daughters were married. The murder came to light in the morning when her daughter Hemlata, who lives near her mother’s residence, brought breakfast for her as usual. She saw her mother’s body lying on the floor and informed her
husband Rajesh, who then lodged a complaint of murder at the police station, added the
acting SHO. He said the reason of the murder could not be established and the police had
started investigation.
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Cong stages walkout over potable water issue
Dehradun, March 15 He said the government must inform the House of the total number of potable water schemes that had been constructed in the state since its inception. He, in particular, referred to the acute potable water crisis in Chamba, Tholdhar and Jakhnidhar areas of Tehri district. Responding to the query, Uttarakhand Potable Water Minister Prakash Pant categorically held that 45 potable water schemes had been sanctioned since the formation of the state. He reminded that while 12.8 per cent progress was made in the construction of the potable water schemes between 2002 and 2007, the period from 2007 till today had registered staggering 35.96 per cent progress reaffirming the commitment of the present government for strengthening the potable water supply in the state. Joining the issue, Congress Lakshman Chowk MLA Dinesh Agarwal asked the minister about the potable water schemes sanctioned under the Centrally-funded Jawaharlal Nehru National Renewable Urban Mission. The minister also disclosed that the potable water was provided to water reeling villages through the means of tankers and even mules. He said, “In Tehri, as many as 195 settlements are provided with potable water through tankers”. Pant informed the House about the efforts made by his ministry to repair the potable water lines that were destroyed in the recent rain disaster. He disclosed that over 3,000 potable water schemes were repaired, while thousands others were restored. The Congress MLAs, who argued that there were no potable water schemes on ground to deal with the acute water crisis, finally decided to stage a symbolic walkout from the House.
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Speaker suspends query on lift scheme
Dehradun, March 15
Gunsola sought districtwise details of the scheme in the state. He also asked the minister to disclose the area of land being irrigated under the scheme during 2009-2010. Kandari informed the House that a total of 129 such schemes were in operation in the state and a total of 1,651 hectares of land was irrigated during 2009-2010. He also held that 41 lift schemes were being constructed for strengthening the irrigation network in the hill areas of the state. However, Kandari failed to answer the supplementary questions posed by the legislators. They were not satisfied with the minister’s answers. After much din, the Speaker decided to suspend the question.
— TNS
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State Board Exams
Haridwar, March 15 In view of the sensitivity in many areas, the district has been bifurcated into seven zones and 16 sectors with the zonal magistrate post to be donned by officers of the level of Additional District Magistrate and Sub Divisional Magistrate. Question papers and answer sheets will be distributed from the Roorkee-based Government Inter College to all the examination centres. Various meetings between the district administration and the District Education Department officers have been held regarding the successful organisation of the exams for 2010-2011. Different departmental government officers will be working as sector magistrate in the 16 such areas. Taking strong cognisance of several cases of copying, cheating and biased attitude of invigilators and teachers, Haridwar District Magistrate (DM) R Meenakshi Sundaram has strictly directed the officers and teachers concerned to make sure that the exams were conducted smoothly. The DM has also clearly specified that if any examinee was caught cheating by the flying squad, adequate action will be taken against the caught students and also the examination centre. Informing about the department preparations, District Education Officer Anil Bhoj said as per the directions of the state board and the DM, besides the internal vigilance squad of schools, adequate flying squads had been made by the department.
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Jobless teachers protest outside Assembly
Dehradun, March 15 The protestors also demanded that the state government stop the Teachers Entrance Test (TET) for BEd/BP Ed teachers and the eligibility criterion of 50 per cent in graduation for the trained teachers. Baldev Singh Bhandari, state president, said the federation had given several memorandums to the Chief Minister, Secretary, Education, and state Education Minister, but despite assurances nothing had materialised. Tribhuvan Rana, state secretary of the association, said if the government was so concerned with the development of the state and thought that TET was a hindrance caused by the Central government, then the Uttarakhand CM should support them.
Vidyalaya Sangathan stages protest
With the commencement of the Vidhan Sabha Budget Session, agitated members of the Ashaskiya Asahyak Manyata Prapt Vidyalaya Sangathan staged a demonstration in front of the state Assembly here yesterday. They continued with their relay protest in support of their demands and gheraoed the state Assembly. A large number of protesters gathered from all over the state to participate in the agitation. They shouted slogans and gave a memorandum to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank seeking the grant list in their favour. Addressing the gathering, president of the association Vinod Prasad Gargi said, “Our agitation was initiated five years ago, but except fake assurances from the administration nothing has been done so far. It is the negligence of the administration that has resulted in the dilapidated state of most of the schools in remote areas of Kumaon and Garhwal”. “Many other schools in the state are on the verge of closure due to the discontented staff, who are almost crossing the age of retirement. On Monday, we entered the third day of our relay protest and if the state government continues to ignore the issue, the sangathan will initiate a fast unto death in front of the Vidhan Sabha,” he said.
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Mussoorie Library
Mussoorie, March 15 According to eminent author and honorary secretary of the Mussoorie Library Ganesh Saili, the historic building has a rare collection of around 40,000 books, which are still in a good condition. The members of the library include the literati like Ruskin Bond, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer and eminent journalists like Pranoy Roy (NDTV), to name a few. Saili, shedding light on its origin, says the site where the library is situated once belonged to Scott and Pitt who later sold it to Major Swetenham. In 1843, a Mussoorie Library Committee was formed with Vansittart, then Superintendent of Doon, as its president. The funds for the project were collected by subscription and a sum of Rs 2,500 was collected in the first year. Major Swetenham sold the land for Rs 300 and it was transferred in the name of Vansittart, “to be held forever in the trust for and on behalf of the Mussoorie Library Committee,” added Saili. The guide to Mussoorie, which was published in August, 1907, by F Bodycott, also corroborates these facts. The guide states that the work on the library building was completed around July, 1844, and considerable additions were made in the subsequent years. The guide describing the library states: “It is situated on the flat east of Savoy Hotel; close to it is a band stand, Criterion Restaurant and fine new shops built by Gregory. There is a convenient, but somewhat unsightly bazar close to it also, a relic of the past which it is hoped will in time be improved”. The guide says the upper verandah of the library is used as a restaurant by the owner of Savoy Hotel on the band evenings. All the best periodicals and newspapers are taken in, and the bookshelves contain every kind of literature. The library back then was governed by the rules that every resident or visitor to Mussoorie and neighbourhood would be eligible to join the society either as member or temporary subscriber, subject to the approval of the committee. Earlier, the library wouldn’t allow membership to Indian readers. Rather they were discouraged due to the segregation policy of the British. This attitude of the British led to the establishment of another library at the other end at Picture Palace. It was named Tilak Memorial Library. Both libraries still exist. Saili says now the library is open to all members, provided they adhere to the procedures laid down by the committee. The library architecture has not been altered and the veranda still has the Victorian style benches. However, the music that once emanated from the bandstand cannot be heard anymore. The library has undergone a few changes and all the sections, from those relating to history to the rare travelogue section, are adequately illuminated now. The future plans are not to do away with the classical ambience of the Victorian times and keep the library in good shape so that intellectuals interested in research work can use the rare books in peace away from the conundrum of the Mall Road. With a few changes, the library is still serving readers as it was then.
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Baithaki Holi continues to gain momentum in Kumaon
Nainital, March 15 Sacred threads of cotton were tied around small portions of ‘paiyaa’ trees at various localities and public places across the region on Monday morning. It is around this tree that thorny bushes and pieces of wood will be put and the entire mass burnt on the evening prior to Dulhandi. Meanwhile, the baithaki Holi in the region continues to gain momentum with thumri singing baithaks being organised at various public places, institutions and even residences. In Nainital, after two days of Holi singing presentation by women, it was time for their male counterparts to take over. The main event is being held at the Ram Seva Sabha premises, where the male singers started giving their performances from last evening onwards. The rendition of thumris that started late in the afternoon continued till around midnight with the singers presenting various facets of the love lore and the romance between Lord Krishna, Gopis and his wife Rukmani. One presentation would often last for more than an hour with several singers pitching in with their stanzas sung in different styles to the ragas yaman, kaafi, dhamaar and shyam kalyan. The audience relished these presentations, while savouring the gujjiyas and dry potato peas preparations. This is the staple offering at almost all the baithaki Holi events. The Lake City will be witnessing a three-day cultural Holi festival being organised by the group Yugmanch from Wednesday onwards, in which artistes from all around the region will present both baithaki and khadi Holi. The event will start
from Naina Devi temple on Wednesday.
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48 women representatives get training
Dehradun, March 15 The sessions covered issues like MGNREGA, role of panchayats and panchayat functionaries in health and sanitation, planning at gram sabha and micro plan, importance of ward members in their respective fields and emerging trends of women leadership, especially in politics etc. State coordinator, MGNREGA, AK Rajput stated that the gram pradhans had a very important role while formulating the developmental plans and policies at the grassroots level, but unfortunately they were not aware about their rights and responsibilities as a pradhan. Pradhan Kiran Tomar expressed her views in reflection of Rajput’s speech and said, “The pradhans do not get sufficient income as they are just paid Rs 600 and blamed for all the disorders in the village”. She also shared that she lived in Chakrata and had to come down to attend a meeting held at Kalsi block, which involved a lot of expenditure and there were no funds available in the Panchayat Department for such kind of expenditure. Rajput also informed the EWRs that October 2 was the Labour Budget Day and the budget was decided on this day every year. He also cleared queries about the MGNREGA and shared that though the amount of the wages that they got was less according to what they could get if they worked outside, but the MGNREGA gave guarantee of work that was more important.
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Uphill task to fill C Sir’s void
The affable instructor from Darjeeling had made Uttarkashi his home after he joined NIM in 1985. “He wanted to be part of the Uttrakashi institute as soon as it was set up. The mountaineer in him wanted to befriend the peaks on this side. He was part of all the major mountaineering campaigns,” said Ranveer Negi, Chief Instructor, NIM. No wonder then, two instructors and the Principal of NIM escorted his body from Delhi to Darjeeling. “We have lost a guru and a friend. He combined all these qualities effortlessly. The void left by him will be hard to fill,” said Narender Singh who trained under him and hails from Lata in Joshimath. A seasoned mountaineer and a qualified instructor, C Norbu, after passing out from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI, Darjeeling) conducted camps and rock-climbing courses of the Indian Mountaineering Federation all over India and even participated in rescue missions in the Garhwal Himalayan region. “Once the youth took admission at NIM, they were drawn to C Sir. He had a quiet charm that was irresistible and almost all the members of Mountain Shepherd (an NGO) trained under him,” said Sunil Kainthola of Mountain Shepherd. C Norbu, a highlander, quickly befriended the locals. The students at the institute were keen to interact with him after the classes. “He was an authority on rescue operations and would be the first one to volunteer. It was a pleasure to watch him don the mountaineering gear. Though a veteran, the way he went about his business was an eye opener,” said Nandan Singh Martoliya, a resident of Auli. Nandan completed basic, advance, rescue and method of instruction courses under him. “He was down to earth and a good host. In the evening, he would become our friend, sharing jokes and strumming the guitar. I think guitar and C Sir were made for each other,” reminiscences Nandan with tears welling up in his eyes. C Norbu received commendation from Secretary, NIM, Delhi, in 1995, 1997 and 2005 and climbed the Bidhan Peak, Frey Peak, Kokthang North, Kamet, Chaukhamba III & IV Shishapangma (First Indian Ascent) in 2009.
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Students pay tributes to founder WC Kashyap
Dehradun, March 15 Floral tributes were paid to Kashyap followed by a speech from Anchal
Arora, a student of class X. She expressed gratitude to the founder for having established the association, which was nurturing the needs of students. The students also chanted mantras from different scriptures, while teachers sang a devotional song. SL
Khanna, Deputy Commissioner (retd) of the Kendriya Vidhyalaya Sangathan, shared her memories with late
Kashyap. She appreciated the effort of Prem Kashyap, secretary, CAA, for carrying forward the legacy of values and principles of his father. Also present on the occasion were Kiran
Kashyap, Principal of the school, Akash Kashyap, Director, Pestle Weed College, and all the members of the board. — TNS
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New Star lose low-scoring game
Dehradun, March 15 HCA made 99 all out in 17.2 overs after winning the toss. Sandeep (25) Lovy (10) were the only two scorers in double figures. Manjay and Ashish got four and three wickets, respectively, for New Star. In reply, New Star was bowled out for 94 in 18.1 overs with only Ankit (26) reaching double figures. Lovy got four wickets for HCA while Ayush got two.
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Basketball calendar released
Dehradun, March 15 It will be holding four age group-district basketball championships and tournaments for boys and girls, four pre-Uttarakhand state basketball coaching camps and players development clinics and workshops. The DBA will also be conducting four pre-national basketball coaching camps in different age group categories, on behalf of the Uttarakhand Basketball Association, for the Uttarakhand state teams that will be participating at the national basketball championships. The Dehradun district boys and girls teams will
be participating in four Uttarakhand state basketball championships in sub-junior (u-14 years), youth
(u-16 years), junior (u-18 years) and senior (open) age groups. The DBA will also be conducting referee clinics and workshops, referees examinations and coaches clinic on the new techniques of the game and on the latest interpretation of the new rules.
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Subodh stars in PBL’s 10-wkt win
Dehradun, March 15 Ashish Joshi (17) top scored for the team while the remaining batsmen failed trouble the scorers much. The team was packed off for only 76 runs in 15.3 overs. Mohammad Mansoor Ahmed and Subodh Badola of PBL captured four wickets each. Vijay also got two wickets. PBL achieved the target without losing a wicket. Openers Lokesh (39*) and Subodh (33*) took the team home. Tomorrow, CAU will face Khurbura XI.
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Dehradun, March 15