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Cong seeks Patil’s intervention to check ‘rampant graft’
Chaka to get tehsil status, degree college
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REPRESENTATION ON DHARA DEVI TEMPLE
PRESIDENT’S VISIT
Minister rejects allegations
Snow, rain dip temperatures
Crops, roads damaged
BRO prepares to maintain NH-9
Collectorate staff continue stir
Regatta on June 11
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Cong seeks Patil’s intervention to check ‘rampant graft’
New Delhi/Dehradun, June 2 In a memorandum submitted to Patil, the delegation led by AICC general secretary in charge for the state Virendra Singh submitted a charge sheet on corruption issues against the Uttarkhand Government, highlighting "scams" in land allotment in Rishikesh, hydro power projects, disaster management and Uttarakhand Seeds and Terai Development Corporation Limited. Referring to a report of the CAG, the memorandum said the state government's "grave illegalities and irregularities" had been totally exposed in organising the Mahakumbh Mela 2010. "Lots of corruption and irregularities were committed in the construction of bridges, roads, residences and works related to cleanliness, drinking water, health and electricity," the memorandum alleged. It also alleged "misuse of the government money" by the state. It said the state government was "completely exposed" in the "allotment of 56 power projects... 17 projects were alloted to just four persons... on this scam being exposed, the government was forced to cancel the allotment of all 56 hydro power projects, which cannot hide the criminality of the act." Highlighting the alleged "land scam" in Rishikesh, the memorandum charged that "out of 50.47 acres of prime land on the Ganga bank, 30 acres worth Rs 400 crore were sold to builders and property developers holding high offices and position in the ruling party for a paltry amount of Rs 13 crore." The Congress delegation demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the various alleged scandals of the state BJP government during the past four years. According to the Uttarakhand Congress office in Dehradun, a 36-member delegation of the Congress leaders having party general secretary in charge Virender Singh, co-incharges Bhagat Charan Dass and Anis Ahmed, Union Minister of State for Food Processing and Agriculture Harish Rawat, Vijay Bahuguna and Pradeep Tamta, both MPs, all party legislators, senior leaders Indira Hariydesh, Subodh Uniyal, Dhirendra Pratap, Suryakant Dhasmana and Mahesh Sharma amongs others met the President of India. |
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Chaka to get tehsil status, degree college
Dehradun, June 2 The CM also announced to elevate Chaka sub-tehsil to the status of tehsil and the opening of a degree college. Besides, he also announced to open a polytechnic at Jajal and an industrial training institute at Paunkhi Devi. The CM also inaugurated the Henval Ghati Pumping Scheme besides two school buildings. While interacting with the people, the CM took the complaints of the Koteshwar Dam-affected people seriously and directed the District Magistrate and officials of the Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation to dispose of the matter within 15 days. On the public demand of the opening of a government allopathic hat Mulanakhal, the CM directed the Chief Medical Officer to come up with a proposal in this regard. Local MLA Om Gopal and district-level officers were also present on the occasion. |
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REPRESENTATION ON DHARA DEVI TEMPLE
The action came after considering a representation from former BJP leader Uma Bharti. The ministry said it was reviewing the matter "including compliance to the environment clearance issued to the project by undertaking site inspection shortly." Till the final decision is taken, no further construction work other than safety and electricity works up to 200 MW should be undertaken on the project site, the ministry said in its order issued to Alakananda Hydro Power Co Ltd. Uma Bharti, who was observing a fast in the Chandighat area over the issues related to the protection of the Ganga and conservation of Himalayas, had asked Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to take steps to save the temple at Srinagar Garhwal. In a letter, Jairam Ramesh had informed the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister that a technical team of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests would visit the site of the Alaknanda project shortly and examine the matter related to relocation of the Dhari Devi temple. He has also said that the team will submit its report by June 21, following which action will be taken.
— PTI |
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PRESIDENT’S VISIT
Nainital, June 2 Having failed to repair roads since a rain-related disaster that had struck the region in September last year, operations are on to fill potholes and repair roads in the district. The repair work on the Haldwani-Nainital road is also being done at a fast pace. The Lower Mall road, which is sinking and nobody ever bothered to do anything about it till a few days ago, is finally witnessing some works. Potholes on both the Lower and Upper Mall Roads are being filled. Ironically, these appear to be temporary measures as the work being done is a mere patchwork. The potholes are being filled with tar and gravel. Inclement weather conditions have made the task all the more difficult for the administration, as rain is not allowing the tar to stick to its place. Observers feel that the government till now had not bothered to carry out repairs, which should have been done in February and March. Now works are being done at a time when the tourist season is on, causing a lot of convenience to the people. With the administration finally ordering the repairs of the broken benches on Mall Road, the tourists will now be able to enjoy the view of the lake while being on Mall Road. Meanwhile, the protocol for the President’s visit is being put in place. As many as 60 cars have been requisitioned for her visit. |
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Minister rejects allegations
The “charge sheet” was on alleged scams, corruption, nepotism and other issues allegedly practised by the state BJP government during its four-year tenure. Kaushik in a press conference at the secretariat slammed the Congress for the “charge sheet” terming it as “false allegations”. He maintained that the state government was doing a good job. He said in fact the BJP would drag the Congress in the court of the public. The BJP would prepare a charge sheet, a balance sheet and a “black sheet” against the Congress and would take it to the court of the people,” he said. Kaushik also took the opportunity to slam the Centre for not extending an industrial package to the state. “We have written to the Prime Minister, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman and the Environment and Forest Minister on some points, but didn’t get a satisfactory reply,” he added. |
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Snow, rain dip temperatures
Dehradun, June 2 The higher reaches of the Himalayas received snowfall following continuous rains for the past few days, posing problems for pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham pilgrimage. The bad weather conditions prevailing for the past few days have also affected the programmes of several VIPs visiting the state. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his family had been staying in the Kedarnath shrine area in Rudraprayag district since Tuesday, due to inclement weather. He was brought to the Fata area today from where he would leave for Badrinath by road tomorrow, officials concerned said. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank could not attend a function at Gopeshwar in Chamoli yesterday as his helicopter could not take off due to bad weather. Five helicopters carrying members of a Chhattisgarh minister’s family and pilgrims from Kolkata also had to make an emergency landing due to bad
weather. The light to moderate rain in lower hills and plain areas of the state also dipped the temperatures. The day’s maximum temperature in Dehradun is hovering around 32 degrees C which is 4 or 5 degrees C below normal.
— PTI |
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Crops, roads damaged
Nainital, June 2 In Nainital, the daily life has been thrown out of gear as children have been facing problem in reaching their schools on account of heavy morning showers. The areas of Okhalkanda, Dhari, Betalghat, Ramgarh and Bhimtal have recorded heavy damage to the crops. In Bageshwar, there have been several reports, particularly from the Garur area, of water entering houses. The worst-affected areas are Devnai, Vajyula, Pinglo and Jakhera where roads have witnessed accumulation of debris. Because of heavy silt coming into the Gomti and Saryu rivers, the supply of potable water has also been hit badly. Even Almora has witnessed problems regarding water supplies because of silt in the Kosi river. The roads around Lohaghat have been witnessing blockades on account of the debris getting accumulated on its stretches. The worst-affected are the Lohaghat-Mayavati, Lohaghat-Ritha and Lohaghat-Pithoragarh roads. District Magistrate TS Martoliya is learnt to have ordered the revenue officials to be alert to deal with any eventuality. Two buildings have been damaged in the Barakot area and there has been widespread damage to the crops. Traffic movement has also been affected in the Chaukhutiya area due to a landslide at Bakhli. In the Chandikhet area water entered residential and commercial premises on account of over flowing of the Kaligar drain. |
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Abducted minor girl rescued, 3 held
Haridwar, June 2 The prime accused, Kasim, hailing from Okhla, New Delhi, was aided by his two accomplices Sagir, resident of Bihar, and Parvez Rashid, hailing from Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi. The trio had abducted the minor girl from her house in Bhour Dera village last week. Kasim used to live as a tenant in the village on fake identity. A special investigating team was formed under SI Ranveer Singh. The team kept tabs on the kidnappers’ movement through surveillance of their mobile phone. They locations were recorded in Delhi, Haryana, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. Today, it was found that they were in the Roorkee and a local police informer told the team that the kidnappers are planning to flee to Delhi today. A search for the kidnappers was carried out at the bus stand and highways. Finally, they, along with the kidnapped girl, were nabbed on a Delhi-bound bus at Kaliyar, Roorkee. Talking to The Tribune, Superintendent of City Police Kiran Lal Shaw said a reward of Rs 2,500 from the SSP, Haridwar, would be given to the investigating team. “We have slapped a penalty of Rs 5000 on Kasim’s landlord Rajesh, who had rented out a room of his house to Kasim without verifying his credentials and informing the police about his tenant. Now, the police will be carrying out a stringent tenant-verification drive in the region,” said Shaw. A case under Sections 363, 366 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the three kidnappers. The girl was sent for a medical examination. |
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Corporation Status to Haridwar
Haridwar, June 2 The issue gains significance with the state Assembly elections around the corner. Moreover, the ruling BJP municipal committee board has been facing internal factionalism with certain councillors openly opposing Kaushik’s diktats. Today, activists of the Rashtriya Krantikari Manch posed questions to the state minister regarding the corporation status to the city. Led by founder of the manch Ambrish Kumar, hundreds of activists held a protest. They termed the decision of according the municipal corporation status to the city as a politically motivated one. Ambrish said for the past four years, the government remained silent on this issue. Had the municipal corporation status been accorded to the city prior to the Maha Kumbh 2010, there would have been a better hosting of the mega fair. But, now with the Assembly elections round the corner, the state government is trying to divert attention of people from corruption in governance by according the municipal corporation status to the city. He said the municipal corporation status was given to the city to benefit Usha Breko Company, which operates the ropeways at the Mata Mansa Devi and Mata Chandi Devi temples. The date of announcement of according the municipal corporation status to the city was coincided with the expiry date of the lease of running the ropeways to the company, so that it could get another six-month extension. “Usha Breko Company owes Rs 123 crore to the now defunct Municipal Committee, but the Urban Minister doesn’t uttered a word regarding this issue,” Ambrish, who is a former legislator, added. General secretary of the manch Murali Manohar said if the intent of the BJP Government was right in according the corporation status to the city, then it should make sure that the elections for the maiden corporation board took place within the stipulated six months. The manch will be carrying out a district-wide agitation to expose the corrupt face of the BJP Government, said Gawakash Joshi, student activist. |
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BRO prepares to maintain NH-9
Pithoragarh, June 2 The border connectivity remains paralysed for the people living on the border as well as the security forces manning the border due to frequent landslides during the rain. “We have identified seven most vulnerable places from the landslide point of view during the monsoon and deputed the raod-clearing machinery besides increasing the strength of the workers at these places,” said SK Singh, Chief Engineer in the organisation. According to the BRO engineers, the landslides at some highly sensitive places on this road could be checked last year by building retaining walls. “This year we are applying the same technique at some more places to keep the road intact during the monsoon.” |
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Collectorate staff continue stir
Dehradun, June 2 All employees of the Tehsil and SDM/DM offices have been on protest from June 1 to press for their demands. Their main demand is the restructuring of the collectorate setup, which was promised to them by the government in 2008. “Despite the fact that the people who are facing problems due to the agitation, the authorities have not called us for talks till now,” Rajinder Kumar, district president of the sangh, said. Talking to The Tribune, Dehradun District Magistrate Sachin Kurve said: “The administration has to interfere in the matter and I have nothing to do with it.” |
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Regatta on June 11
Dehradun, June 2 The teams will be flagged off by Gen VK Singh, Chief of the Army Staff, and Bharati Singh, president of the Army Family Welfare Organisation. A total of 10 teams will be participating with six teams from the Army and four from the Nainital yatch club. The competition will be held in the Linton Hope class of boats. Lt-Gen VK Ahluwalia, General Officer Commanding in Chief ,Central Command, accompanied by his wife Shobha Ahluwalia will also be
present. |
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New Delhi, June 2
Dehradun, June 2