Pithoragarh, July 1
The district disaster management unit has activated its control rooms at all the six subdivisions and started the preliminary work of information gathering in view of the incessant rain continuing for 48 hours.

Meanwhile, three houses had been damaged and more than 12 roads blocked by the landslides in the district during the past two days. “We have activated control rooms for 24 hours at 6 tehsils, including the district headquarters,” said officials of the district administration.

“Besides the control room at the district headquarters and those in the tehsils, we have activated police control rooms and requested the Army and paramilitary units in the district to be on standby for cooperation,” said RS Rana, district disaster management officer.

According to the disaster management officer, nearly 70 spots have been identified as sensitive from the disaster point of view in the six subdivisions of the district.

“This year, we have made the sensitive areas familiar to the trained rescue volunteers and other tehsil revenue officers as well as the Army and paramilitary jawans, as they reached various spots late during the last monsoon,” said Rana.

According to the disaster management team of the district, the distant sensitive areas of the Darma and Johar valleys, like Bona, Tomik, Garbyang and Sipu villages, have been allotted to the Army and paramilitary forces for carrying out rescue and rehabilitation in case of a disaster. “In the rest of the areas, we expect to reach within 15 minutes or 3 hours in case of any calamity,” said Rana.

Nainital, July 1
In a gruesome case that has come to light in the Kashipur region of Udham Singh Nagar district, a jilted lover hanged himself after killing his beloved. It is learnt that the youth stabbed the girl in her house in Teachers’ Colony and then hanged himself from the ceiling fan in the same room.

According to reports, Kanta Pal had gone to the market after locking her 20-year-old niece Saloni inside the house. When she returned, she found the door bolted from inside.

She called the neighbours who reached the first floor of the house by using a ladder.

They were stunned to see the body of a youth hanging from the ceiling fan. A blood stained knife lay close by while the body of the girl was lying in a room on the ground floor of the house.

The matter was reported to the police, which reached the spot and took the bodies in its possession.

The deceased youth has been identified as 24-year-old Nanhe of Siyohara in Bijnore.

Reports say a suicide note was recovered from his pocket, according to which he had killed the girl on being cheated in love. 
The youth was an employee in a local paper mill. Further investigations are on in the matter.

Haridwar, July 1
Finally, yoga guru Swami Ramdev is back with yoga. He assumed the role of yoga guru to perfection today showing no signs of the tribulations he had gone through in the past few weeks.

Addressing a gathering of nearly 10,000 followers across the country, Swami Ramdev emphasised the need of yoga in leading a healthy life.

On the occasion Swami Ramdev expressed his opinion on his satyagraha on bringing black money. He justified it by saying that if black money stacked in foreign bank accounts was brought back then it could be used as substitute for sales tax imposed on essential commodities and it could further lessen the prices of basic commodities, LPG cylinders etc by at least 25-30 per cent.

Swami Ramdev also made it clear that he had put all his assets - six trusts - on Internet which is available for everyone and he had done nothing illegal.

He said all the money was of the people which was spent for the improvement of their health and other social causes only.

The six-day free yoga camp today dealt with diseases of asthma and obesity with different precautions and treatment methods prescribed by the yoga guru.Early this morning when some mediapersons tried to take Swami Ramdev’s statement on the CBI investigation related with Acharya Bala Krishan they were urged to leave the camp premises. 

Dehradun, July 1
The state government will make all efforts to promote ayurveda in the state. This was stated by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank while inaugurating a two-day workshop on “Jan Swasthya Mein Ayush” organised at the ONGC Auditorium here today.

He said there was a need of new researches in Ayush to cater to the requirements of the present age.

The CM said value addition in ayurveda was important and tablets and capsules in place of traditional “choorna” should be made available to patients.

Nishank said there were many ayurvedic medicines that were being used by allopathic doctors today. He also emphasised the need to encourage the production of medicinal plants to avoid any adulteration in ayurvedic medicines.

The vice-chairman of the Rajya Aushadhi Padap Board (State Medicinal Plants Board), Dr Aditya Kumar, said there was no shortage of seeds and saplings for the plantation of medicinal plants in the state. He added that the board was encouraging the cultivation of 26 medicinal plants that were found suitable to the climate of Uttarakhand and free seeds and saplings were being provided for cultivation.

He added that farmers were being encouraged for the production of medicinal aromatic oil and up to 90 per cent subsidy was being provided for distillation units. He added that the state government intended to stop migration from the hills by providing employment to the youth by means of cultivation of medicinal plants.

Nishank was also felicitated on the occasion by the Bharatiya Swasthya Chintan and the Arogya Bharati for promoting ayurveda and taking many important decisions like the establishment of an ayurved university, Ayush grams, holding a separate entrance test for ayurvedic colleges, enhancing the cultivation of medicinal plants etc.

The workshop has been jointly organised under the aegis of the Ayush Department and the Jadi Booti Shodh Evam Vikas Sansthan of the Horticulture Department. A magazine and newsletter of Rishikul Ayurvedic College and a magazine of the Arogya Bharati were also released on the occasion.

Dehradun, July 1
Members of the Uttarakhand Punjabi Kranti Morcha want the state government announce Punjabi as the second language in the state.Addressing the media here today, Kunwar Japinder Singh said a large number of Punjabis reside in Uttarakhand thus the state government should honour them by declaring Punjabi as the second language in the state.

He stated that along with the development of the state they wanted the expansion of their religion.

Japinder said the Punjab Government had declared Punjabi as its second language followed by Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Bengal but it was only our government that made us feel outsiders despite the fact that a large number of Punjabis residing in the state had contributed their best to the development of the state.

He mentioned that they were feeling ignored and would not sit silent until the state government provided them what was required.

During the meeting, the morcha appointed Girdhar Luthra president of the Dehradun branch while Mahinder Singh Khalsa was made city president (youth).

Dehradun, July 1
The river rafting at the Kaudiyala-Rishikesh stretch came to an end yesterday for the two months of the rainy season and will resume on September 1The river rafting companies held a cleanliness drive on the two sides of the banks of the Ganges from Brahmpuri to Muni ki Reti on the last day, while tourists drew in a large number to experience the thrill of rafting.

Informing about the end of the season, president of the Sahsik Paryatan Vikas Sangharsh Samiti Deepak B said, around three lakh tourists enjoyed river rafting this season and after two months, as per the level of the river, the process would be resumed.

Later in the evening, the rafters and other persons concerned with the rafting activity organised a special worshipping of the Goddess Ganga at the Shatrughan Ghat that was attended by Narender Nagar MLA Om Gopal Rawat, Vice-president of the Ganga Advisory Committee Sandip Gupta, former chairman of the nagar panchayat Manoj Diwedi, Councillor Pradip Rana, Block president Parvati and Folk singers Gajendra Rana, Shivmurti Kandwal, Sanjay Badola and Bhupendra Nautiyal among others. 

Nainital, July 1
Fruit growers and farmers residing in the hilly areas have been the worst affected in the heavy showers that have lashed the Kumaon region over the past few days. The failure of the government to provide them with adequate road connectivity has added to their woes.

Among the worst-affected areas is the Ramgarh-Mukteshwar fruit belt. It is known as the fruit basket of Kumaon and over the years the horticulturists have suffered on account of improper marketing infrastructure and the failure of the government to come up with a proper fruit processing policy. This belt is known for its production of apples and pears.

According to the reports, the pear production has been badly hit on account of the continuing rain. Farmers point out that the production has been as little as 20 per cent or 30 per cent in certain cases.

It is learnt that pear is grown over an area of 1910 hectares and the average annual produce is close to 20,000 metric tonne. The prime pear producing areas are Ramgarh, Mukteshwar, Padampuri, Dhanachuli, Chamfi, Motiyapathar, Guniyalekh and Matiyal. Officials say that heavy rain accompanied by frost hit the crop during flowering, which has led to the shortfall in the fruit production this season.

Another section that has been badly hit is the vegetable producers of the Betalghat area of Nainital district. The area is known for its high quality vegetable, which is in great demand right up to the national capital. The frequent blocking of roads and the inability of the government to provide the producers with good marketing infrastructure is creating problems for the producers. Both the roads leading to Betalghat had been closed for the past two days. The officials concerned said the roads were expected to be opened to traffic by Friday evening. In such conditions, the vegetables cannot be transported.

The farmers from this particular area were the worst affected during the last monsoon. The vegetables, which they were growing and were to be sold during the Common Wealth Games (CWG), last year, had been destroyed, particularly a large quantity of broccoli.

Dehradun, July 1
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Harish Rawat has taken strong exception to the usage of photographs of BJP President Nitin Gadkari in the advertisements of the Uttarakhand Government related to the tourism circuit in the state, which is being funded by Centre.

In a complaint to Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Shahai, Rawat has said the centre has sanctioned the Nirmal Gangotri Mega Tourism Circuit project for promoting tourism in the areas falling between Harshil and Gangotri Dham in the Uttarkashi region of Uttarakhand. He asserted that the Uttarakhand Government was giving no credit to the Centre regarding this scheme and was on the contrary had published pictures of its party President in the advertisements.

He has sought action against the nodal agency concerned in Uttarakhand that facilitated the publication of Gadkari’s photographs in the state advertisements.

Regarding the Sparsh Ganga and other Char Dham projects, that were being funded by the Centre, Rawat has said the Uttarakhand Government seldom mentions about the Central Government while referring to these schemes.

Pithoragarh, July 1
A summer theatre workshop organised by Gatha, a local theatre group, concluded here today.Child artistes staged “Idgah”, a story written by noted Hindi writer Prem Chand, during the workshop.

“The play was staged to show our respect to old people,” said Bhupesh Joshi, director of the play, and a senior artiste at the Sri Ram Centre of Performing Arts, New Delhi.

Veteran theatre artistes from the town, Hira Ballabh Joshi and Mahendra Matiyani, were awarded with the first “Gatha Samman” for their lifetime contribution to this field. “For the first time any organisation has thought of felicitating veteran artistes,” said Matiyani.