The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	HALDWANI CONVENTION Cong divided on Gairsain issue Tribune News Service Nainital, June 9 The issue of Gairsain being made the permanent state capital was resurrected at the convention of the Congress held at Haldwani on Wednesday. The party has been non- committal and evasive while its rank and file stands divided over the issue. Those who raised the issue included the Lok Sabha member from Pauri, Satpal Maharaj, parliamentarian from Almora Pradeep Tamta and senior party leader Dhirendra Pratap. According to sources, Maharaj aired the suggestion that one of the sessions of the Vidhan Sabha must be held at Gairsain. Tamta and Pratap wanted that the Congress committed itself to making Gairsain as the permanent state capital. They underlined that this needed to be done if the government had the will to bring about inclusive and balanced development in the state. The Congress leaders supporting Gairsain as the state capital wanted that this promise be made a part of the Congress manifesto for the forthcoming Assembly poll. Meanwhile, the Congress blew the poll bugle for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state at the convention yesterday. The top-level party leadership in the state lambasted the state government and made it clear that the party was ready to face the elections any moment now. About 400 Congress leaders participated in the deliberations, which included more than 100 Pradesh Congress Committee members and five Lok Sabha members from the state besides those in charge of the party affairs in the state. The first session was marked by the parliamentarians attacking the BJP government led by Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank for its “failures” to implement the flagship programmes of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in the state. The Congress leadership charged that the Centre had been providing whatever financial assistance the state had sought but the government had deprived the people of the benefits of the central schemes. It was asserted that the same state leadership which stands dumbfounded in Delhi while seeking and getting central assistance maintained a double face by accusing the Centre of being partisan when it comes back to the state. The state unit President of the party, Yash Pal Arya, made it clear, “The Congress is ready to face the electorate any time.”
	Poor participation of women in rural job scheme They shun programme despite benefits Neena Sharma Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 9 Despite opening up new opportunities for women workers, the rate of women’s participation in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Programme continues to be below 50 per cent in the state. It should be noted that Uttarakhand is one state where the participation of women in works that are outside their homes is much higher than other states. According to the Rural Development Department, the women’s participation in the state stood at 45 per cent and in the ‘gender-sensitive districts’ of Haridwar, UdhamSingh Nagar and Haridwar, the participation of women ranged between 10-15 per cent. “Though there has been a visible empowerment with 25 per cent higher wages as compared to pre-MGNREGA programme, they continue to shun the programme despite the benefits. The total participation of women in the hill districts (since the inception of the scheme) stood between 30 per cent-45 per cent in the state,” said Om Prakash, Secretary, Rural Development and Agriculture. There are many provisions in the Act that are attractive for women workers. First, the Act provides that at least one-third of the workers should be women. Secondly, the wage is the same in the case of both men and women. And thirdly, there is a special provision for childcare. “It is not as if we do not know about MGNREGA, the permission to work has to be sought from our families. Money was in scarce supply at home. With men away, somebody had to look for work. I was told about MGNREGA and started working near my home because it ensured eight hours of work,” said Hemawanti Devi, a resident of Doiwala. Activists say that the area of concerns includes record maintenance, custody of job cards and feasibility of wage payment through accounts. “There have been reports of less wage payment in many blocks and another area of concern socially is how far the involvement of women actually helps in improving their positions at home. Women are taking up digging up of ponds, desilting of channels and masonry work for the first time and also earning money. But it remains to be seen if by virtue of their earning some money decision-making power within households has increased,” said Geeta Gairola, State Project Director, Mahila Samakhya.
	Kailash Mansarovar Yatra First batch crosses over to Chinese territory Our Correspondent Pithoragarh, June 9 The 47 members of the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims entered the Chinese territory of Tibet after crossing the 17,500-foot high Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh district today. This was stated by the yatra officer of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN). “All the members of the first batch, including 12 women, are hale and hearty. The pilgrims didn’t face any difficulty in crossing the Nabhidhang stretch, which was under two feet of snow, thanks to the red flags installed on both sides of the trek by the jawans of the ITBP,” said Bachi Ram Arya, yatra officer of the KMVN. The pilgrims will remain in Tibet for the next 12 days. The pilgrims will have a ‘parikarma’ of the Mount Kailash and a dip in the sacred Mansarovar. “On June 21, the batch will cross the Lipulekh Pass on its return journey,” said DK Sharma, a senior officer of the KMVN. “After the Indian pilgrims had crossed the Lipulekh Pass, a Chinese team reached there to transport them to Taklakot in their vehicles from Pala, after trekking 7 km on the Chinese side,” said Sharma. Meanwhile, the 45-member second batch of the pilgrims reached the Sirkha camp. It will reach the Gala camp on Friday.
	Villages adjoining China border to be linked to roads Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 9 The Uttarakhand Government has claimed that by the end of 2013, villages adjoining the international border of China in Pithoragarh district will be linked to roads. According to a press note of the state government issued here today, the construction of these roads with a budget of Rs 600 crore has been going on in full swing under the Border Area Development Plan (BADP). Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar will himself inspect the works being carried out in the border areas later this month. To ensure the timely completion of works, he has directed the Director-General, Border Roads, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Forest Department and other departments concerned to accelerate the pace of works. He said with the construction of these roads, migration from borders would be checked and villagers would be able to sell their cash crops and other off-season vegetables in the open market to raise their income. “It was imperative to provide access to the sensitive international border areas,” he said. The Chief Secretary has been regularly monitoring the progress of works in coordination with the Director-General, Border Road, who has informed him that the Munsyari-Bugdiyar-Milam (65 km), Ghatiyabagar to Lipulekh (75 km), Sumana to Rimjhhim (14 km) roads would be constructed by the end of 2013. Similarly, other roads under construction would be completed by 2012. Clearances from the Forest Department had been taken and impediments coming in the way were removed. The Chief Secretary will be visiting the remote border areas of the Kumoan region from June 17 to 21. During his visit, he will travel at least 90 km on foot and stay at night in villages. He will visit Gunji, Nabau, Napalchu, Nabidhang, Kalapani, Garbyang, Bundi, Ghatiyabagar and Dharchula in Pithoragarh district. During his visit, he will interact with villagers and personally oversee the developments works being carried out in the remote border villages.
	4 of family drowned in Ganga Tribune News Service Haridwar, June 9 Four persons of a family drowned in the Ganga while they were having a dip early morning today. All the four deceased, Sachin, Lakhan, Vijendra and Keshav, were from Piran Garhi village in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. According to the SP (City), Dr Kiran Lal Shaw, the incident occurred around 6 am when these four persons were having a dip in the Ganga near the Kali Peethadeeshwar temple at Neeldhara, Braham Kund. According to onlookers, all the four persons couldn’t gauge the depth of the river and were swept away by the current. A search operation to locate the bodies was initiated by the police. Till the filing of this report in the evening, no body was found. As soon as the news of the incident spread, local people reached the spot to help the police personnel in the search operation. Meanwhile, in view of the festive bath of Ganga Dasehra, which falls on Saturday, the administration has issued fresh directions to the pilgrims, asking them to observe precaution while taking a dip.
	15-year-old girl set ‘afire’, in critical state Tribune News Service Nainital, June 9 In a gruesome incident in the Bazpur area of Udham Singh Nagar district, a 15-year-old girl was allegedly set afire yesterday. While the victim alleged that she was set afire by four persons after raping her, the police is suspecting a suicide bid. The victim is struggling for her life at Sushila Tewari Memorial Hospital in Haldwani. In her statement, the victim alleged that the four accused had jumped over the wall of her house in the Muzaffarnagar locality when she was alone to commit the alleged crime. She alleged that they were related to the parental house of her brother’s wife, who was charred to death on May 5 under mysterious circumstances. The police had registered a case of dowry death on the complaint of her father, a resident of Kitcha. She said when the incident took place, members of her family had gone to a police station for questioning in connection with the death of her brother’s wife. The accused entered her house and after raping her, set her afire. It was following her screams that the neighbours came to her rescue and doused the fire with the help of blankets and water and reported the matter to the police. Investigations are on.
	Cottage, grave of Tyabji in state of neglect Ajay Ramola Mussoorie, June 9 The cottage and grave of one of the leading freedom fighters, Abbas Tyabji, often referred to as “Chhota Gandhi”, who became a household name during the freedom struggle in the 1920s and the 1930s with his slogan “Khara rupaiya chandi ka/ raj Tyab-Gandhi ka”, in Mussoorie are in a state of dilapidation. His grave at the Landour graveyard is also in a bad shape due to a lack of maintenance. A close friend of Gandhiji, Tyabji had spent later years of his life in the serene surroundings of Mussoorie at his Southwood Cottage located near Library Bazaar here. He had passed away on June 9, 1936. Later, his daughter donated this cottage to the nation in 1947. Tyabji had joined the national movement after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. According to local historian Gopal Bhardwaj, the cottage is spread over 5 bighas and was a hub of patriotic activities during the freedom movement. It was considered as important as Anand Bhavan in Allahabad, but the demand to declare it a national heritage site has fallen on deaf ears and at present, the site is being run as a guest house by the Central Public Works Department. He said the only thing that had been done so far in the name of the great freedom fighter was naming the Gandhi Chowk-Kingcraig road after him by putting up a small board at both ends. Senior Congress leader from Mussoorie Javed Khan, who is a part of a movement to establish a heritage site at Southwood Cottage, said Paripoornanand Painully, an eminent freedom fighter from Uttarakhand, had been trying to draw the government’s attention towards the cottage and the grave. Death anniversary Senior Congress workers paid tributes to freedom fighter Abbas Tyabji on his 75th death anniversary, at Congress Bhavan today. Remembering the great freedom fighter, Mussoorie Congress President Bhagwan Singh Dhanai said throughout his life, Tyabji promoted communal harmony and helped the poor. He said the great freedom fighter was in favour of providing education to all, particularly girls from the weaker sections.