Dehradun, April 18
While widespread rains in the plains of Punjab and Haryana has played havoc with the wheat crop, farmers in Uttarakhand are lucky as not much damage has been reported from the plain districts of Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar.

“Farmers in the plains of Uttarakhand are lucky as the harvesting of the wheat crop was delayed. It was also due to temperatures variations in February and March with rain and snow that temperature dipped and the crops were not yet ready for harvesting,” said Madan Lal, Director (Agriculture), Uttarakhand.

He further said the recent rains would benefit the wheat crop that remained in the fields. “With temperatures dipping in the past two months, the wheat crop is not ripe enough. But these rains will be beneficial to the standing wheat crop,” said Madan Lal.

The farmers in the hilly areas of the state are happy with the recent rains. Since the wheat crop in the terraced fields is rainfed, farmers were praying for the rains for their wheat crop. The harvesting of the wheat crop in the hilly areas start in the middle of May every year. “These rains will be beneficial for the rainfed wheat crops in the hills,” claimed Dr Anand Sharma, Director (Meteorological Department), Uttarakhand.

On the other hand, farmers in the plain districts of the state comprising Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar district are demanding government-buying centres for wheat in the state. “During my visit to these areas, farmers had been demanding government centres to sell their produce since they could get better government price announced by the Union Government. At government centres, they can get a price of Rs 1,170 per quintal as compared to Rs 1,075 offered by private buyers,” said Madan Lal.

Mussoorie/Dehradun, April 18
Regardless of tall claims being made by the state government to make the life of “aam aadmi” comfortable, he is still struggling to get basic things such as an LPG cylinder in the state. A series of official holidays past week compounded the problem, especially in Mussoorie, as residents have to wait for the working days to get the delivery of cylinders from a godown in the KingCraig area.

According to Subhash (name changed), the home-delivery system is in place in Mussoorie but due to a shortage of the domestic LPG cylinders they are being told to get these from the storehouse, which is situated on the outskirts of the town. The common man is forced to struggle to find alternative means of cooking to feed his children.

The personnel of gas agencies in the town tell the consumers that they are not getting a regular supply of LPG, leading to long queues of consumers here. Subhash suggests there is a need to streamline the distribution of the LPG cylinders in such a way that people are not inconvenienced.

The condition of the consumers in Dehradun is no different. Sushila, a housewife, carrying an empty LPG cylinder on her shoulders, reaches a storehouse in a field in the Deep Nagar area, only to find a long queue of people waiting for the delivery vehicle of Shiva Gas Agency. Ex-servicemen JS Jagwan, who had been standing in the queue since 4 am, said: “Obtaining a domestic LPG cylinder in the state has become a Herculean task”.

Vishal, a student, said personnel of the agency refused to give him a cylinder, citing the 15-day booking period.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Divakar Bhatt puts the onus on the Congress Government at the Centre. He opines by and large the supply of the LPG cylinders in the state is under control despite several hiccups at the level of the Central Government. “There is no definite supply pattern for the LPG gas cylinders that can be monitored on a daily basis, making it difficult for the gas agencies to cater to the new consumers”. Bhatt says around 144 agencies are engaged in the distribution of LPG cylinders in the state and there is a need for more. The Congress Government at the Centre has sanctioned 19 new agencies for the state but has not yet given the green light for them to begin operations.

Bhatt says under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitran Yojana, the plans are to provide LPG cylinders at the village level and they would not be forced to rush towards the town for their share of domestic LPG. Bhatt also accuses consumers of selling cylinder on the black market.

Talking to The Tribune, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Race Course, said: “Whenever I called up the agency I always heard the busy tone. I went to the agency and found that the phone was ringing continuously and none bothered to pick it up.” There are around 30 gas agencies of Indian Oil, four each of Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum in the city.

Mussoorie, April 18
With a view to solving the problem of an acute energy scarcity, which is hampering industrial development and economic progress, the Centre has launched a project under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Solar Mission (JNSSM).

The solar mission has been divided into three phases and promotes solar energy installation, solar heaters and off-grid solar energy under which the Centre is doling out nearly 90 per cent subsidy to the government sector and 30 per cent to the private sector. However, the private sector in Mussoorie is of the view that the transition from conventional energy systems to those based on renewable resources could only be possible when the subsidy rates are on a par with government installations.

Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) Administrator AK Tyagi said for the solar lighting, the government had fixed a subsidy of 30 per cent for profit-making organisations and 90 per cent for non-profit-making organisations. Under the solar water heater category, the subsidy for non-profit- making organisations is 60 per cent and for profit-making organisations, it is 30 per cent.

Spokesperson for the Mussoorie Hotel Association Sandeep Sahni said the subsidy being given to private players like hotels, nursing homes etc was not enough. He demanded that the rate should be revised and the subsidy should be provided on an equitable basis irrespective of private and government institutions.

Principal of Mussoorie Public School Mukesh Lal said his school had been mulling changing to clean energy by installing solar water heaters at the school hostel. However, the subsidy being given to them was not enough and it should be increased, he demanded.

Manufacturer of solar energy equipment JS Bisht said the reason that private players do not want to opt for solar energy is that on one hand, the Center has mentioned on its website that it will provide 90 per cent subsidy for solar power plants, but on the other, the state government is giving only 30 per cent subsidy to private users and that too get delay sometimes, taking as long as six months. 

Dehradun, April 18
Brijmohan Kotwal, BJP MLA from Srinagar (Garhwal), must have repented passing the Gandhi Park on his car to attend a meeting today.

He was forcibly taken out of his car by members of the BEd/BPEd Prashikshit Berozgar Sanghtan, who were protesting against the state government at Gandhi Park. The members made him sit with the protesters.

Though the police reached the spot to rescue him, in the apparent pressure of the protesters he thought it to be wise to sit with them. The protesters asked him to call the Education Secretary or they wouldn’t let him go. However, after much hassles the MLA could be brought out from the park with the help of the police.

The incident happened in the afternoon when Kotwal was heading to attend a meeting. But, when his vehicle reached near the Gandhi Park, the protesters came in front of his car forcing him to come out.

As the news spread, the police force, led by Circle Officer (CO), Dalanwala, Premendra Dobhal, rushed to the park. He tried to convince the agitators to let the MLA go, but in vain.

They asked the MLA to call the minister concerned or Education Secretary at the spot. The MLA assured them that he had called up the Chief Minister and other ministers and their demands will soon be dealt with.

Nainital, April 18
The first academic session at the newly established Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Kashipur is expected to start in July.

While the foundation stone of the permanent campus is scheduled to be laid by Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal on April 29, work for temporary arrangements for the commencement of the first session is expected to be completed by June 15.

A senior officials of the HRD Ministry Pravin Aggarwal had visited Kashipur on Sunday and took stock of works being done for the establishment of the IIM. According to him, the director of the IIM, Kashipur, would be recruited over the next one month while the faculty would be recruited over the next one year. Till then, the IIM (Lucknow) would make arrangements for the first academic session at the institute. The permanent campus of the institute is expected to take four years for completion.

Since the announcement of the Centre deciding to set up an IIM in Uttarakhand came, various places had been vying for the institute. Eventually, Kashipur emerged as the destination. The final choice had been between Pantnagar and Kashipur.

Even local parliamentarian KC Singh Baba had conveyed to Sibal in November 2009 that there was proper connectivity by rail and road, the requisite land and whatever else was required for the setting up of the institute at Kashipur. Sibal had asked him to give it in writing. which he had done. The establishment of the IIM at Kashipur is expected to help in not only the overall development of the region, but will help the region come up as an educational hub. With Dehradun already being an educational hub, a similar hub coming up at Kumaon is also expected to promote a balanced regional development in the state.

Other areas in Kumaon had also been vying for the setting up of the institute. In the front line had been Ramnagar and Haldwani.

Dehradun April 18
Demanding from the District Magistrate (DM) to put a check on the “whimsical” behaviour of public schools with students and their parents, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a demonstration at his office, here today.

A large number of party workers gathered to meet the DM while handing over to him a five-point memorandum, describing their demands. The protesters have demanded that the practices of selling books and stationery in public schools be discontinued.

Anshul Chawla, a party worker, said, “We support the drive against commercialisation of education. We demand from the city administration to eradicate the malpractices of compelling students to purchase books and uniform from the shops on the premises of the public schools.”

“Previously, we raided many public schools and brought such shops to the notice of the city administration. We want to stop these malpractices so that education can be rendered to everybody, equally,” he said.

DM Sachin Kurve has assured the protesters to take action in this matter.

However, the protesters have also demanded that the annual fee hike at every school should be examined, stopping of entrance test of students at the primary level and charging of admission fees once only at the time of admission, but not in every academic year. 

Haridwar, April 18
The Congress is the lone party in the country that can check corruption effectively. This was stated by former Union minister Buta Singh during his personal visit here today. He expressed hope that the UPA would be able to cater to all the segments of society in the framing of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

He further said: “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pitched in sincere efforts in maintaining accountability in the Cabinet and I am sure he lives to public expectations. Political rivals may describe him as a weak PM, but he is very strong,”said Buta Singh.

Buta Singh was on a private one-day visit to Haridwar at Chetan Jyoti Ashram and had talks with religious spiritual guru of the ashram Swami Rishiwaranand.

Mussoorie, April 18
Welham Girls’ School lifted the team championship trophy of the Frank Anthony Memorial All-India Inter-School Debate Competition-2011 held at Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School here today.

Best speakers from six schools vied for the top honours. The participants put forth their arguments with conviction and eloquence on the topic, “In our quest for technological perfection we are losing the human element”, leaving the audience spellbound. After a hard-fought battle of words, Aditi Bhowmick from Welham Girls’ School was adjudged the best speaker.

The judges for the competition were Tran Mahindra, Anita Mahindra, Joint Directors, Indian Technology and Management (ITM), along with eminent educationist NC Tripathi. Among the participants were The Doon Cambridge School, St Joseph Academy, Heritage School, Welham Girls School, all based in Dehradun, Mussoorie Public School and Wynberg Allen School.

Dehradun, April 18
Gurdwara Sahib Baba Fateh Singh felicitated children for their best performance in Gurmat Siksha Path here today.

Navneet Kaur was declared the first in group A (4 years), Harleen Kaur in group B (5 to 7 years) while Sukhpreet Singh won the first position in group C.

Harpal Singh, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Congress Committee (Minority Cell) was the chief guest. He gave trophies to the winners. The Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee also presented a memento to Harpal Singh.

Dehradun, April 18
The Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) posted a six-wicket win over New XI Star in a pre- quarterfinal Beehive Twenty-20 cricket tournament at Matawala Bagh here today.

New XI Star, batting first, scored 111 runs in 20 overs, all out. Ashish (24), Anil (19) and Praveen (13) were the main scorers. For ITM, Anil Parekh, Shahzad and Salim picked two wickets each.

In reply, ITM achieved the target in 12.2 overs at the loss of four wickets. Abhishek (57) and Abid (28) were the principal scorers.

Dehradun, April 18
Carman School beat Summer Valley School 4-8, 8-8, 11-2, 11-4 to qualify for the quarterfinals of the District Junior (Under-18 years) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls, here today.

In another pre-quarterfinal, Hope Town Girls School outplayed Jaswant Modern School 10-2, 14-3, 24-3, 32-7 with Anjani topscoring with 10 points for the winning team.

Tibetan village Children’s School, too, beat Moravian School with the help of Chum who scored eight points. St Mary School also made it to the quarterfinals, defeating Kasiga School. Shagun top scored with four points for the winning team.