Nainital, May 18
Even as the central leadership of the BJP has put a lid on the dissent that has been brewing in Uttarakhand, for the time being, the recent developments within the party at the state level are a pointer to the fact that all is not going well for 
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

It was on Tuesday evening that the national president of the party Nitin Gadkari was learnt to have told a group of senior BJP functionaries from the state that Nishank would remain in the saddle for now. Gadkari is also learnt to have ruled out replacing Bishen Singh Chufal as the state unit president. The functionaries had approached the central leadership with the plea for an intervention in the way things are moving for the party unit in the state as the polls approach in less than a year’s time. The popularity graph of the party is sliding and people, including the party leaders, are questioning Nishank’s own capabilities as a mass leader.

Sources in the BJP disclosed that the cauldron of dissent had been boiling for quite sometime now. The party functionaries, including some ministers, are unhappy with the way Nishank had centralised everything, which is contrary to the style of governance fo the BJP. People in general and politicians in particular can be seen comparing Nishank’s way of governance with that of his predecessor Major-Genl BC Khanduri (retd). The party workers admit that although Khanduri had the shortcoming of running the government in an army mode, there was no blot on his government and no one dared to question its credibility, which is not the case with Nishank.

Media reports say that Khanduri, who had at one point supported Nishank’s candidature to the office of the Chief Minister, has threatened that he would not campaign for the party during the Assembly elections and go abroad instead. He was not available for comments when contacted by The Tribune.

Observers are questioning the repeated appearance of the statements in the ‘friendly’ media that the polls would be held under Nishank’s leadership only.

It is being openly discussed by the BJP workers the way the Nishank Government faced humiliation in the High Court in the cases pertaining to the 56 hydroelectric projects and the Citurgia land use change. In both the cases the government was on the back foot and drew strong observations on its functioning from the High Court. That the Congress failed to capitalise on the issues is something else.

Now, the Nishank Government is once again in the dock on the revelations made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report on the organisation of the Maha Kumbh fair, which ironically Nishank had gone to the extent of demanding a Nobel prize. The entire opposition is gunning for him and the dissidents within the BJP are trying to draw the attention of the central leadership on these revelations.

The observers feel that at least on two occasions Nishank has been able to get away on account of parallel crisis coming up in the BJP ruled state of Karnataka. On Tuesday and even when on an occasion before, the central leadership of the party was too engrossed to save BS Yedyurappa’s government in Karnataka where its stakes are far higher.

Meanwhile, Chufal said: “The party high command has made it clear that there is no scope for a change. There has been no discord or dissidence in the party. It is just being played up by certain elements.”

Haridwar, May 18
Uma Bharati, who had been on fast for the past eight days on three major issues, including saving of the Dhari Devi temple from submersion in the Alaknanda hydroelectric project reservoir, today broke her fast after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank gave her the assurance that no harm will happen to the temple due to the 330-MW project. Nishank offered her juice to end her fast.

Nishank had a one-hour closed-door meeting with Uma Bharti at the Divya Sewa Mission centre, which is situated on the foothills of the Chandi Devi temple here. After the meeting, first Bharati addressed the gathering terming Nishank as his brother who had on several occasions supported her.

The Chief Minister said he and his government were committed to the cause of saving the holy Ganga and in line with their commitment they had initiated the “Sparsh Ganga” drive. Nishank said technical methods would be found to save the shrine. The Chief Minister, who hails from Pauri Garhwal district where the Dhari Devi is situated, said the Alaknanda hydroelectric project was conceived way back in 1980 under the then Uttar Pradesh Government, but now we would ensure that there was no harm to the Dhari Devi temple.

Nishank also had a dig at certain politicians who had termed Uma Bharti an outsider owing to her hailing from Madhya Pradesh. He said: “Uma Bharti is very much an Uttarakhandi as she had supported the statehood movement of Uttarakhand in the 1990s and even coordinated along with me a siege to the Parliament House with 15,000 youngsters from the region. Besides she has been religiously practicing meditation in Keadarnath, Madmaheshwar, Kalimath and other religious shrines”.

The saint community has welcomed the approach of the Uttarakhand Government to the shrine issue. Peethadheeshwar of the Kali temple Kailashanand said they had been supporting the movement and it’s apt that the government too had agreed to Uma Bharti’s demand.

Though Uma Bharti’s other demands include constitution of a separate Ganga Board to maintain the sanctity of the holy river and look into the construction of hydroelectric projects.

Dehradun, May 18
There is no end to the internecine war within the Uttarakhand Congress. After the election of Anand Singh Rawat, son of Union Minister of State for Food Processing and Agriculture Harish Rawat, as President of the Uttarakhand Youth Congress, it was the turn of Harak Singh Rawat, Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly, to take pot shots at the elevation of a son of a senior party leader.

Harak Singh Rawat, senior Congress leader, today said that the entire purpose of having elections of the Youth Congress, as envisaged by the party general secretary in charge Rahul Gandhi, stands defeated in the state. “The basic purpose of the entire exercise started by Rahul Gandhi was to strengthen front organisations like the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Youth Congress through genuine democratisation in which common youth could align actively with the party,” he told The Tribune here today.

He said the main aim of the entire exercise was to involve common youth who are not the sons, daughters or relatives of senior party leaders in these frontal bodies. Without naming anyone, he regretted that the same could not be achieved in Uttarakhand.

Interestingly, Anand Singh Rawat, son of Union Minister of State for Food Processing and Agriculture, had defeated Jyoti Rautela, a protégé of Harak Singh Rawat, by a huge margin in the elections held on May 15. While Anand Singh Rawat was elected as the President of the state Youth Congress, securing 556 votes, Jyoti Rautela was second to become vice-president with only 115 votes.

Meanwhile, Anand Singh Rawat, the newly elected President of the Uttarakhand Youth Congress, today called upon Yashpal Arya, President of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). Anand Singh Rawat assured Arya of all support in implementing the policies and programmes of the party in the state.

Arya congratulated him on his success. Interestingly, Arya and Harish Rawat do not see eye to eye with each other and are bitter political rivals. Harish Rawat has yet to attend the “Satyagraha Yatra” started by Arya against the state BJP government. Harish Rawat explained that he had not yet been called for the yatra and being a disciplined soldier, he would go wherever asked to go by the party. On the other hand, Arya, Uttarakhand Congress chief, has appointed in charges of the districts for the Garhwal phase of the “Satyagraha yatra” starting from May 31. Mantri Parsad Nainthai will be in charge of Pauri Garhwal district, Laxman Singh Lamgarhia of Chamoli district, Mahesh Sharma of Rudraprayag district, Suryakant Dhasmana of Tehri Garhwal district, Ram Sharan Nautiyal of Uttarkashi district, Tilak Raj Behad of Dehradun district and Subodh Uniyal of Haridwar district.

Haridwar, May 18
The ashes of the founder of the BKU, Mahendra Singh Tikait, were immersed in the Ganga today. Thousands of people from all walks of life were present on the occasion. Tikait’s son Rakesh Tikait, who is the general secretary of the BKU, performed the last rituals.

BKU Mahendra Singh Tikait died of bone cancer in Sisauli and is survived by three sons and two daughters. At Har-ki-Pauri, the ashes immersion was performed with full religious rites. Mahendra Singh Tikait had a long political, social and personal connection with the pilgrim city of Haridwar. It is said that Tikait united the peasants of the district lending voice to their movements that fructified.

Tikait had come to the city in 1987 for the first time when he organised a massive rally in Dhanouri village that was attended by over 1.80 lakh farmers. Buoyed by a massive response, Tikait organised more such rallies and later made Ganga Dussehra a regular feature for farmers to assemble in Haridwar to have a holy dip and attend farmers’ convention presided over by him.

In the 90s, according to Chaudhary Sabbal Singh Chauhan, a district-based farmer leader, lakhs of peasants from western UP and other states used to attend the Ganga Dussehra Kisan Mahakumbh. However, during the Uttarakhand independent statehood movement, Tikait lost popularity in Uttarakhand as he was opposed to it.

Dehradun, May 18
In a review meeting of school education at the Secretariat today, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar has directed that all schools of the state should be provided potable water, toilet facility and electricity within a month. The schoolwise survey and time frame for the purpose should be ensured, he directed.

In compliance with the directive of the Supreme Court, it was decided during the meeting that 17,142 schools of the state should be provided basic amenities like potable water, toilets and electricity within a month.

The facility of drinking water in 899 schools out of 1,354 unsaturated schools has been provided so far; the remaining 455 schools will be served soon.

The Chief Secretary also directed the officers concerned that arrangement of rainwater harvesting should be made for those schools that were situated above water resource.

However, it was also informed at the meeting that all schools of urban areas had toilets but 2,307 schools of rural areas did not. Kumar directed the officers of the Swajal that separate toilets for boys and girls should be constructed at schools with an alternative arrangement of water where there is scarcity of water.

Regarding the electrification of schools, he said, “All schools should be provided electricity under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna.”

Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary, drinking water, Manisha Panwar, Secretary, school education, CS Gwal, Director, school education, and senior officers of Jal Nigam, Swajal and Power Corporation were also present on the occasion.

Dehradun, May 18
Seeking prompt implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Uttarakhand, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Mahasabha today held a Chetawani Rally in the city. Starting from Dehradun Railway Station, the rally culminated at Gandhi Park, where a protest meeting was held against the state government.

Addressing the meeting, Purshotam Sharma, President, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Mahasabha, said the mahasabha would oppose every move of the government to displace forest dwellers. He said large-scale forcible removal was taking place in the state in the wildlife areas of Corbett National Park, Rajaji National Park and Govind Pashu Vihar. He reminded that even after 64 years of independence, forest villages were yet to get the Panchayat rights. Raja Bahuguna of CPI (ML) accused the Nishank government of Uttarakhand of harassing the poor and facilitating mafias. He said those affected by disaster in the state were still to be rehabilitated. Jagat Martoliya, Secretary, Kisan Mahasabha, said despite completing its 10 years of existence, Uttarakhand was still to get land reforms.

Among the proposals passed at the meeting included a judicial probe into Bhatt Parsol incident in Uttar Pradesh, change in land acquisition law in the country and arrest of an IAS officer who felled Deodar trees in Purola area of Uttarkashi district of Uttarkhand.

Indresh Maikhuri, state Vice-President of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Mahasabha, coordinated the proceedings.

Dehradun, May 18
It is glad tidings for the ayurvedic doctors working in the state; not only has the government raised their salaries but the ayurvedic infrastructure is also being expanded, shoring up the prospects for the traditional Indian system of medicine.

In consonance with the government’s 20-20 vision to make the state an ayurveda centre in the country, first, the government created a separate infrastructure for ayurveda and upgraded the salaries of medical officers, pharmacists and clerks.

“The ayurvedic doctors could never emerge from the shadows of their colleagues in the allopathy system, so the pay band of the doctors was enhanced. The pay band of MD researchers has been raised from 9,000, 9,275, 9,550 to 15,600-39,100 and grade pay at Rs 5,400. The scholarship for the ayurvedic interns has been raised from Rs 1,950 to Rs 7,500 per month,” said Director, Ayurveda and Unani Health Services.

So also the honorarium of ayurvedic medical officers working in plain, difficult and more difficult areas on a contractual basis has been raised from Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 per month to Rs 24,000-Rs 28,000 per month.

In the last two years, in all 227 medical officers have been appointed on contractual basis at the state ayurvedic hospitals.

The government has also given approval for the deployment of ayurvedic doctors at the Vidhan Sabha, Secretariat and High Court, Nainital, and the total allocation for medicines has also been enhanced from Rs 20,000 per ayurvedic hospital to Rs 30,000.

Recent steps taken by the Uttarakhand Government to expand infrastructure and enhance salaries will go a long way in encouraging the youth of the state to opt for an ayurvedic course.

Along with better pay scales for the ayurvedic doctors, the government has also proposed an ayurvedic university at Harrawala, for which an initial allocation of Rs 5 crore has been made. An initial allocation of Rs 60 lakh has also been made for establishing Charak Danda Research Institute at Haldwani in this year’s budget.

“We have also given the much-needed push to Panchkarm; a centre is being set up the state-of-the-art equipment. The bed strength of the State Ayurvedic College at Rishikul has been raised from 154 beds to 200 beds,” emphasised Dr Bhardawaj.

Dehradun, May 18
Akranta entered the semifinals beating Shivalik Football Club 2-0 here in a knockout match of the 3rd President’s Cup football Tournament played on the Pavilion Ground here today.

Saurabh (11th minute) and Praveen Rawat (69th minute) scored the goals for the winning team while Shivalik failed to score any goal throughout the match.

In another match, Sunderwala edged past Doon Star 1-0 to enter the quarterfinals. Sushank (21st minute) scored the decisive goal.

Meanwhile, Cantt Blue will lock horns with Chandrabani and Bajrang Club will meet XI Star tomorrow.

Mussoorie, May 18
Atul Tyagi’s explosive 68 runs resulted in victory for Uttar Pradesh who lifted the 3rd Late Vasudev Raghav Memorial T-20 Cricket Cup, at the Survey grounds today.

Uttar Pradesh defeated Mumbai in the final, winning comfortably in the end. In the final match Mumbai, batting first, set a target of 140 runs for the victory.Pawan with 36 runs was the highest scorer for Mumbai while Amar (41 runs) and Pramod (15) contributed for Mumbai. Uttar Pradesh reached the target due to the explosive innings of 68 runs by Atul Tyagi. Prtaveen chipped in with 30 runs leading the side to emphatic victory.

Atul Tyagi was declared the man of the series for his excellent all- round performance in the tournament.Rahul was adjudged the best bowler and Anwar the best fielder of the tournament.

The chief guest of the tournament, RC Raghav, and Kamal Sharma gave away the winning trophy and the awards.The tournament was organised by the Bat Ball Federation of India and the Uttarakhand Youth TY-20 Association.

Dehradun, May 18
The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) team today overcame a spirited challenge from Sporting Cricket Club (SCC), Delhi, to win a 40-over match just by one wicket during the 29th All-India Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament played on Rangers’ College Ground here.

The LDA team could have won the match easily, had its batsmen not played in a haste to wrap up the match early. The LDA could win the match in the last over of the play with much struggle.

In this interesting encounter, SCC was invited to bat first by LDA after the latter won the toss. The SCC players set a target of 234 runs in 39.5 overs before getting all out. Anil Singh (53), Gurinder Singh (45) and Sawan Saini (33) were the principal scorers for the team. Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma of LDA got two wickets each.

Batting second, LDA had a good start as opener Abhinav Kataria (35 off 32) and first down batsman Karan Sharma (83 off 61) put up good individual scores.

Later Rahat Elahi (24) and Javad Anwar (26) also chipped in well. But after Sharma went back to the pavilion getting caught out while trying to send the ball out of the boundary, the innings of the team tumbled. Sharma got out when the team’s score was 214/6.

The next three batsmen went back quickly leaving the team in a crisis at 225/9. This was the time when the last two batsmen Bharat Awasthi (5) and Nizam (8) showed good temperament, as their teammates sat in the pavilion with their fingers crossed. The two took the score to 237 in 39.3 overs to win the match.