Haridwar, June 3
While the focus of the whole nation seems to be on yoga guru Swami Ramdev’s “Satyagraha” movement, which will be launched at Ramleela Ground in New Delhi, the home city of the yoga guru has braced itself for the anti-corruption movement.

Such is the enthusiasm here that at the Rishikul ground, which is situated in the middle of Haridwar, similar preparations are being made as at Ramleela Ground in New Delhi. Even all the programmes and the mode of agitation to be carried out here will be on the lines of the main agitation.

At Rishikul, everyday agitation will be preceded by a yajna and a pledge by the activists to take the movement to its zenith as also refraining from giving or taking bribe.

A protégé of Swami Ramdev and Vice-Chancellor of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Acharya Balakrishan, will be keeping tabs simultaneously on the proceedings in New Delhi and at Rishikul.

The Bharati Swabhiman Trust, a branch of Patanjali Yogpeeth, which spearheads social movements, will be managing the Rishikul agitation with divisional in charge RS Tyagi specifically assigned the duty of overseeing the preparations for the agitation.

Informing The Tribune about the Haridwar phase of the agitation, he said the agitation would be carried out on the lines of the main agitation daily. A minimum of 100 activists will observe fast at the Rishikul ground. “The agitation will conclude only when Swami Ramdev ends agitation in Delhi”.

Meanwhile, a large number of denizens of Haridwar have backed Swami Ramdev’s anti-corruption movement. The religious leaders, too, have termed it as a vital movement, which can change the way the Indian system has been working.

A high-level meeting was held at Hari Chetan Ashram where religious-spiritual gurus pledged their support to Swami Ramdev and appreciated the motive and objectives of the “Satyagraha”. Mahamandaleshwar Swami Hari Chetanand Maharaj, on behalf of the religious leaders attending the meeting, extended support to the movement.

Dehradun, June 3
In the new Five Year Plan, the Rural Development Department does not have enough beneficiaries who can avail of the rural housing scheme which is a part of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) underway in nine blocks of five districts of the state.

The Department has already achieved all targets of providing 60 per cent housing for the SC and ST communities in the 10th Plan itself. “The total population of Scheduled Castes is 19 per cent in the state and that of Scheduled Tribes is 4 per cent. We have already achieved the targets and in the new Five Year Plan, we will be hard pressed to achieve the Government of India’s criteria of benefiting 60 per cent of the population from these communities. We will be asking the government to relax the norms as the population of the SC and ST communities is 23 per cent,” said Minister of Rural Development Vijaya Barthwal.

The meeting is to be held in Delhi shortly where the state government is expected to ask the Central Government to relax the norms.

Earlier the government had also demanded that all 13 districts be brought under the programme. However, the plea was rejected by the Central Government. The Central Government has already sanctioned an outlay of Rs 32.98 crore for 2011-2012.

While the total allocation under the BADP scheme for 2010-2011 was Rs 46.22 crore, the funds utilisation stands at Rs 34.98 core. A total of 1,045 assets have been created in the socio-economic sector comprising Community Halls, Schools, Health Centres, etc.

The BADP was started during the seventh Plan with the twin objectives of balanced development in sensitive border areas.

In 2009-2010, the Central Government had not released funds after the state government failed to utilise the funds properly but since then there has been a vast improvement in the progress of the programme.

New Delhi, June 3
Seven Uttarakhand policemen along with 11 others were ordered today by a Delhi court to be put on trial for gunning down a 22-year-old MBA student near Dehradun in July 2009, dubbing him as a robber.

Special Judge VK Maheshwari ordered the trial of Inspector Santosh Kumar Jaiswal and six sub-inspectors, framing charges against them for offences of kidnapping and murder of MBA student Ranbir Singh.

The trial against the seven policemen and their accomplices in the killing of Ranbir was shifted to Delhi on an apex court order and the seven policemen are now lodged in Tihar Jail here.

The court also framed charges against 11 other accused persons for destroying evidence and fixed July 23 to record the statements of prosecution witnesses in the case.

The court had earlier sent seven police officials — Inspector Jaiswal and sub-inspectors Gopal Dutt Bhatt, Niraj Yadav, Chandra Mohan Singh Rawat, Rajesh Bisht, Nitin Chauhan and Ajit Singh — to Tihar Jail after they appeared before it following the issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against them.

Besides the seven police officials, there are 11 other accused in the case. MBA student Ranbir was gunned down allegedly by the Uttarakhand Police on July 3, 2009.

Ranbir, a resident of Meerut, had gone to Dehradun in search of a job when personnel of the Dalanwala police station had allegedly pumped 29 bullets into him from close range on July 2, 2009, after branding him a robber. — PTI 

Dehradun, June 3
Uttarakhand’s Garhwal MP and former Union State Minister Satpal Maharaj today said that the Centre had sanctioned Vishnugaad Pipalkoti Hydro Power Project in the state.

In a statement issued here, Satpal Maharaj said the start of the 444 Mega Watt of Vishnugaad Pipalkoti Hydro Power Project would usher in a new beginning of development in Uttarakhand. He said the state had a big potential in hydro power generation and asserted that the sanctioning of the Vishnugaad Pipalkoti Hydro Power Project was awaited for quite some time.

He pointed out that as the project fell in his constituency, he had himself taken up the issue with the Prime Minister and the Environment Minister, following which sanctioning of the project was given.

Satpal Maharaj said that out of the total construction cost of Rs 4,200 crore, the Centre would provide Rs 2,500 crore while Rs 1,500 crore would be borne by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation. He said the Vishnugaad Pipalkoti Hydro Power Project would open up new opportunities for the youth and also add to power generation in the state. 

Nainital, June 3
The Chief of Army Staff, Gen VK Singh, flagged off the Surya Sailing Regatta-2011 on Friday morning. The event is being organised by Central Command.

It is a competition between an Army team and a team from the Nainital Yachting Club (NTYC). The Army team has been selected from sailors of the Bengal Enginering Group and Centre in Roorkee, Army War College at Mhow and 416 Engineer Brigade. Ten sailors were nominated for the final competition from those practising in Naini Lake since May 22.

The NTYC team comprises members of the club. Each team comprises four sub-teams of two members along with two members as reserves. The teams will compete with three Linton Hopp Rafters and one Wagtail Sailing Boat.

Dehradun, June 3
Gen VK Singh, Chief of Army Staff, was briefed on the operational and administrative aspects of the Central Command by Lt-Gen VK Ahluwalia, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Central Command, at the formations commanders’ conference of the Central Command being held at Nainital today.

During an interaction with the officers and soldiers, the Army chief emphasised the need for extensive combat training even as soldiers had to brave hardships in the form of harsh weather and a difficult terrain.

He expressed satisfaction with the state of training, administrative aspects and deployment of troops in the zone.

The Army chief also emphasised the importance of welfare of the troops and the need to keep pace with the ongoing modernisation of the Indian Army.

Lt-Gen VK Ahluwalia, GOC-in-C, Central Command, concluded by thanking all senior officers for their enthusiastic participation and hoped that these deliberations would prove to be professionally rewarding and meaningful to all of them.

New Delhi, June 3
An environment ministry panel on Thursday proposed the levying of a cess as a percentage of turnover on all privately run tourist facilities within 5 km of the boundary of a protected area, including tiger reserves.

The ministry in December last year had formed a seven-member committee to lay down guidelines for regulating forest and wildlife eco-tourism around protected areas. Protected areas are tiger reserves, national parks and bio-reserves.

"The state government should levy a local conservation cess as a percentage of turnover on all privately run tourist facilities within 5 km of the boundary of a protected area," said the draft guidelines.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said that the draft guidelines would be on the ministry website till June 30 and people,including stakeholders, could give suggestions before the final guidelines were issued.

"The rate of cess should be determined by the state government, and the money thus collected should be earmarked to fund protected area management, conservation and local livelihood development, and not go to the state exchequer," it said.

The guidelines say that each state government should notify the local conservation cess by December 31, 2011.

The panel proposed that financial assistance should be provided for communities/individuals who own revenue land outside protected areas, to convert such land to forest status.

Minister Jairam Ramesh had expressed concern over the dangers posed by mushrooming tourist lodges around tiger reserves, especially the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. — IANS