Haridwar: Director General of Police (DGP) Jyoti Swaroop Pandey held a meeting of all the police officers of the Garhwal range, particularly those deployed at the four shrines of Char Dham as well as Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli district, in Haridwar.

Pandey informed the meeting that in view of last year’s massive landslides during monsoon, special arrangements are being put in place on the Char Dham route. Earth movers are being stationed at landslide-prone zones. The drivers operating buses on the yatra route will inform the authorities concerned via cellphones about any such landslides or accidents so that a quick action can be taken, he added.

Taking cognisance of conflict between pilgrims and locals, particularly involving Sikhs visiting Hemkund Sahib, in the past few year, the police chief said adequate police personnel would be deployed to avert such incidents and an awareness drive would be conducted urging pilgrims to maintain the sanctity of the region.

The police will be keeping tab on the drivers who drive in an inebriated state.

Addressing the police personnel, Pandey said they should maintain a cordial, patient and cooperative behavior towards the pilgrims coming from other parts of the country as well as from abroad.

Pithoragarh, April 26
Following an assurance given by the Uttarakhand Government in the Assembly during Budget Session earlier this year, Kumaon Commissioner Kunal Sharma has started an inquiry into the alleged Leprosy Mission Trust land scam. The mission land falls in the Chandak area of this district. “It will take 10 days to release any information on the subject,” said Sharma, confirming getting government’s order to investigate the matter.

The 20.15 hectare land in the Chandak area, in the vicinity of the town, had been given to the Leprosy Mission Trust of India on a 99-year lease in 1894 by the British for opening a leprosy mission hospital and a lepers’ home. The matter came to light when the local land mafias and political leaders started grabbing the land without any pre-purchase contract with the trust. The leprosy mission had abandoned the hospital as well as the lepers’ home in 1997 after completing its mission.

“After the expose of this land grab by the local land mafias in the media, the Pithoragarh district administration instituted an inquiry into the matter and found that there was four categories of land in that area housing the hospital, trust office and the lepers’ home. Some land of the trust had been under cultivation. As the mission had left the place, the land automatically belonged to the government, which was recommended by the inquiry authority,” said NS Negi, Pithoragarh District Magistrate.

Some of the people who had purchased plots in the said land claim they had bought the land from certain members of the trust.

After the initial inquiry by the district administration, some members of the trust had appeared before the Uttarakhand High Court and on the direction of the honourable court the was transferred to the district revenue court. “Now, the inquiry will run on the points to whom the land belongs and after the fulfilment of the purpose of the allottee, if the land can be taken back by the government,” said Sharma.

The Uttarakhand Government has recently announced the construction of a base hospital at that place. The foundation stone of the hospital on this disputed land is scheduled to be laid by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on May 5.

Dehradun, April 26
Convener of the Uttarakhand Andolankari Sanyukt Manch Manoj Dhayani at a press conference demanded the status of “state formation soldier” for statehood agitators and facilities which were given to freedom fighters.

He said, “Those involved in the struggle for statehood must be given pensions, government jobs for dependents, free transport and the medical facility.” He warned the administration against indulging in corruption in the work of identification of persons involved in the struggle.

The organisation has been holding a dharna on this issue since April 20.

Nainital, April 26
Efforts are on to forge a third front in Uttarakhand before the forthcoming state Assembly elections. Talking to The Tribune, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Samar Bhandari said there was still time available for the creation of a third alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress which had done nothing for the state over the past decade except for competing in corruption.

“Whether it is the BJP or the Congress governments in the state, each one of them is facing charges of corruption,” he said.

Bhandari disclosed that talks are on between the Left forces and other like-minded political forces outside the ambit of the Congress and the BJP to provide a third alternative to the people of the state who are disillusioned with both these parties. He said: “There is still a chance of third alternative. There is a large space that is available which needs to be built. This needs to be done before the state accepts a bi-party regime that is existing in the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh.”

Of late there have been meetings among leaders of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), Munna Singh Chauhan who is talking of reviving his own Uttarakhand Jan Wadi Party and even representatives from the Left Parties on the possibilities of forging a third front.

Bhandari also said there was a massive support available for the political forces outside the BJP and the Congress at least at the local level that needs to be galvanised into a state-level entity. When asked what would be the proposed third front like, the senior CPI leader said the proposed front needed to be a broad-based entity providing a clear programme and alternative policies.

He was clear about the fact that the Left would be at the core of this front as only the Left could provide certainty and credibility to such an entity. “Only the Left can give an ideological fight to the existing two major forces. It has to be the nucleus of the third front,” he pointed out.

Talking about the poll plank of his own party for the forthcoming Assembly polls, Bhandari said the CPI would be going to the electorate while taking up issues of corruption that had been witnessed in the state over the past 10 years since it came into existence. Another issue that the party would take up was with regards to the existing agricultural crisis in the state. He said the people needed to be provided with a sustainable agricultural model.

During its campaign, the CPI would also make people aware of the failure of the state government to draft a Panchayati Raj Act for the state and would promise to do so on priority.

Bhandari has also asked the two main parties in the state to come out clear with their stand on a permanent capital for the Uttarakhand.

Dehradun, April 26
The Uttarakhand Janmanch, a newly formed socio-political organisation of the state, has demanded better opportunities for the “sons of the soil” or warned of an Assam-like situation in the state in future.

The organisation claimed that the state of Uttarakhand, which had been carved out of the mother state of Uttar Pradesh for the overall development of the people living in the remote hilly areas of Kumaon and Garhwal, has lost its way in the 10 years of its existence.

Rajen Todaria, general secretary of the manch, told The Tribune that Uttarakhand Janmanch is a secular organisation, which was committed to the cause of the “pahadi” community. “We are of firm belief that Uttarakhand is not only a hill state but has been created exclusively to cater to the needs of the hill people. To ensure the unique cultural and ethnic identity of the hill people, it is imperative that they must not only have exclusive access to natural and economic resources but also have dominance in the socio-economic and political spheres of life,” claimed Todaria.

Chander Singh Rana, a former Block Parmukh of Uttarkashi district who is the President of the Uttarakhand Janmanch, maintained that unfortunately in the past 10 years’ of existence of Uttarakhand, things have not turned the way it should have. “The people of hill origin account for just 30 per cent of the total employment available in the public sector and their share in the government works is less than 15 per cent. Due to wrong policies of the respective state governments, their share is only 5 per cent in the industries,” he lamented.

The Uttarakhand Janmanch leaders were of the opinion that the latest census figures on Uttarakhand have set alarm bells ringing as the demographic character of the entire state has changed drastically. “According to the data, 70,000 non-Uttarakhandis are being added to the population of the state every year or one may say that every third year a district of the size of population of Rudraprayag is added to the state,” Todaria added.

They argued that due to an influx of such a large number of people from outside, in the fresh delimitation of the Assembly seats, the hilly areas have lost six Assembly segments to the three district of the plains. “It will change the entire political demography of the state in the coming 10 years where “pahadis” will be in minority,” said Todaria.

The leaders of the Uttarakhand Janmanch maintained that there was nothing wrong in having regional aspirations and the main purpose of the formation of the separate state was to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of the people of hilly areas under the federal constitution of the country.

“We strongly feel that it was a big blunder on part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to include Haridwar district in Uttarakhand at the time of formation of the state. The people of Haridwar were opposed to their inclusion as they did not have anything common with people of Uttarakhand but were pushed into the new state, said Todaria.

The organisation has demanded that there should be an immediate ban on the entry of outsiders into Uttarakhand and Haridwar district excluded from the state.

“We will be working with like-minded political parties and candidates in the coming Assembly elections to raise awareness on these genuine demands,” said Ravi Kant, another senior leader of the organisation.

Dehradun, April 26
Revenue employees of the hilly region of the state have gone on an indefinite strike. They have demanded regularisation of jobs or their incorporation in grade III or IV services; service benefits from the day of appointment, increment of percentage from 6 to 21 to the employees from the Amin category to the post of Nayab Tehsildar as used to be the norm earlier, etc.

Udayvir Sing Rawat, state leader of the revenue employees, said the sub-title of Amin, known as Kurk Amin, must be changed as Revenue Officer Inspector or Revenue Collection Officer.

Dehradun, April 26
The Uttarakhand Awas Vikas Parishad (UAVP) will build 25,000 houses in the state.

Chairman of the parishad Naresh Bansal made this announcement after holding a meeting with officials of different departments on Tuesday.

Bansal informed the meeting of reconsidering the contract signed with the Uttar Pradesh Avas Vikas Parishad (UPAVP) in 2003 and withdrawing all its properties reserved by the UPAVP in various cities of the state.

A discussion was held on the structure, rights,responsibilities, policies and distribution of properties of the Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad in Uttarakhand. At the meeting, it was stated that the state needed seven lakh houses, out of which the UAVP would build 25,000 in the first phase. The board gave its approval for 21 posts along with that of Resident Commissioner for the UAVP. Bansal said the vacancies would be filled soon. Construction work would begin shortly as the process of identification of cities for the purpose had been completed.

The meeting was attended by board members, MLA Roorkee Suresh Chander Jain and BS Manral, Mayor of the Municipal Corporation Vinod Chamoli, Principal Secretary, Housing, PC Sharma, Vice-Chairman, Housing, RK Sudhanshu, and Assistant Secretary, Finance, MC Joshi.

Mussoorie, April 26
Bob Alter, father of eminent Author Stephen Alter and Uncle of Bollywood actor Tom Alter was felicitated for his exemplary social service in Mussoorie today. Municipal Corporation President OP Uniyal visited Bob at his residence and presented a shawl and a bouquet on the occasion. OP Uniyal said Mussoorie would never forget the social work he had done in and around Mussoorie be it in the field of education or providing potable water to villagers.

Tom Alter said Bob was the youngest of the four brothers and he had an emotional attachment with Mussoorie and Landour for the past 80 years. Bob Alter was 5 years old when he arrived in Mussoorie. His father served as Principal of Woodstock School and Bob Alter had his education here. Bob finished his education and returned to Woodstock and served the school for a brief period. He then went to Etah in Uttar Pradesh as Christian Missionary and worked among the villagers and assisted them in farming. He again returned to Mussoorie as Principal of Woodstock School in 1968 and worked there for 10 years.

He introduced schooling for Indian students in the school and around 1970s he floated an idea of admitting students from all nationalities irrespective of caste or creed.

After his retirement in 1970, he started social work around the villages such as Chamasari and Petraini. Bob formed a Gramin Vikas Samiti and constructed a water tank for villagers and laid a 3-km water pipeline, which changed the lives of the villagers completely. Bob also established a school at Petraini for poor children.

Bob was ably assisted in his endeavours by his wife Ellen Alter.

Haridwar, April 26
With rise in population deemed to be one of the major factors affecting the development of the country, a special reverse walk was organised along the Ganga ghat at Har-ki-Pauri to make people realise the necessity of having a small family.

The reverse walk, organised by the Surabhi Parivar Foundation, an NGO, attracted the attention of local people, pilgrims and tourists. Activists of the NGO told them that the need of the hour was to control population as only due to that aspect India was suffering in various fields.

“Be it poverty, lack of basic facilities, education, employment and even corruption, the problems are assuming higher proportions only due to uncontrollable population. So, it’s the responsibility of not only the government but also of every citizen to take cognisance of this problem and start taking steps from their side effectively,” said Dinesh Talwar, chief of the foundation.

Hari Om Sharma of the foundation said in the past decade the newly carved out state of Uttarakhand had registered a population growth of 19.17 pc, which was quite high but the heartening factor was that the male-female ratio stood at 1000:963.

The activists have demanded a separate population control Bill on the lines of the Lokpal Bill with the provision of making it mandatory for public representatives to have only two children otherwise they be debarred from contesting elections.

Haridwar, April 26
Demand for conferring India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, on Hemwati Nandan Bahguna, has gained momentum with people from different sections of the society terming it as a fitting tribute to the great leader.

Leaders from the Congress, Samjawadi Party, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and various organisations in the state, demanded the honour for Bahuguna on his 92nd birthday.

Vijay Bahuguna, Member of Parliament from Tehri Garhwal constituency, and son of HN Bahuguna, said conferring Bharat Ratna on his father would be a fitting tribute to a great visionary statesman of India.

Samajwadi Party has also supported conferring Bharat Ratna on the former Union Finance Minister. The state chief of Samajwadi Party, Vinod Barthwal, said at a time when character and integrity of political leaders had diminished, Bahuguna’s towering political career was a rarity. While addressing a meeting at Laltaura-situated party office, Barthwal said that Bahuguna was a socialist leader who was concerned for the rights of common people. people irrespective of political affinity and varied sections of the society paid tributes to the great visionary leader hailing from Uttarakhand.

Terming undivided Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Bahuguna as the lone politician who can be truly be called ‘Himalaya Purush’, people irrespective of political affinity paid tributes to the great visionary leader.

In a late evening programme at Panchpuri, orators shed light on the life, political career and impact of Bahuguna in Indian politics.

Former chairperson of Uttarakhand Women’s Commission Dr Santosh Chauhan said that Bahuguna was an activist during the pre-Independence movement, and had been to jail several times. After Independence, he emerged as a prominent trade union leader fighting for the cause of the labour class, and the poor. Congress city spokesperson Rajesh Shivpuri remarked that it was only due to the political acumen, knowledge and statesman-like quality that the first Chief Minister of UP Pandit Gobind Ballabh Pant made him the state’s Finance Minister. His excellent performance as state Finance Minister was the reason that he was given the portfolio of the Union Finance Ministry during Morarji Desai’s government in 1979.

“More than 40 people have been bestowed Bharat Ratna and Hemwati Nandan Bahguna’s inclusion will only add to the dignity of this list,” said Inder Mohan Barthwal, a trade union representative who worked with Bahuguna.