Dehradun, July 3
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said today that an amount of Rs 466 lakh had been sanctioned for the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Jim Corbett National Park.

Presiding over a meeting in this regard recently, Nishank asked the Secretary (Forest) to coordinate with officials of the Forests and Wildlife departments so that the funds could be utilised timely, said an official release here.

He also directed the officials to make good arrangements for the platinum jubilee celebrations of the park, a home to tigers and several other magnificent wild animals.

Nishank said the heads of the states, ambassadors of various nations and other prominent people should be invited to the occasion.

Since lakhs of tourists and wildlife lovers are expected to arrive during the celebrations, Nishank said hoardings and boards displaying various information about the state should be put up at various places.

He also asked the officials to arrange free of cost visits to the park for schoolchildren and mediapersons besides organising workshops on tigers at the national and international levels.

During the meeting, Secretary (Forest) M H Khan said invitation to several prominent personalities, Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who is a honorary wildlife warden of the Corbett park, had already been sent. - PTI 

Mussoorie, July 3
Unannounced power cuts by the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) have made life miserable for the residents of Mussoorie.

The residents and the owners of various business houses say unannounced power cuts stretching more than five hours in a day, especially in the morning and evening, in the Camel’s Back Road, Library Bazar and a few other areas have made things difficult for them.

The president of the Mussoorie Hotel Association RN Mathur said Mussoorie, being a tourist town, had been kept away from any sort of power cuts in the past, but this year the problem had grown to alarming proportions. “Tourists raise a hue and cry during the morning hours demanding hot water, which the hotels are unable to provide to them due to power cuts which have been imposed by the UPCL for the past one week,” added Mathur.

The ornamental lights installed by the Tourism Department on the Mall Road and at the heritage building remain on during daytime.

The UPCL Sub divisional Officer (SDO), AK Singh, said the problem an MV Transformer tripped due to an increase in the load following a sudden increase in power consumption in the town, especially at Library Bazar. The proposal for installing the new transformer near the Gandhi Chowk has been cleared and the contractor has begun work on it. The problem is temporary and would be rectified soon, he added.

Haridwar, July 3
The administration has not taken seriously the landslide on the mountainous terrain of the Mata Mansa Devi shrine. The last monsoon had caused quite a damage to the path leading to the shrine as well as to roads in the area.

The administration had pitched in technical experts but nothing concrete has been done on ground. The Public Works Department too has failed to address the aggravating situation at the shrine.

The shrine authorities have taken up the issue with the administration and even want to deal with the problem on their own if the nodal agencies can’t rectify the problem.

The SP (City), Dr Kiran Lal Shaw, said the situation was quite serious as the safety of the shrine and pilgrims can’t be compromised. The SDM, Harbeer Singh, said soon an administrative team, accompanied by the officials of the departments concerned, will inspect the area.

“The shrine is visited by lakhs of devotees every year and another landslide can pose a danger to the very existence of the shrine. The government should step in at the earliest as the monsoon has set in. The authorities can’t be allowed to play with the faith and safety of the devotees,” said Kankhal-based Rameshwar, who is a regular visitor to the holy shrine. 

Dehradun, July 3
MKP PG College, Dehradun, will soon have a new Principal later this month. The directive given by the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital on a writ petition filed by a contender for the post of principal, Kiran Sood, follows the re-selection of the college principal. She believes that her academic record is better than that of the selected and appointed principal of the college Indu Singh.

“The entire process of nomination and selection has now completed while the selection committee constituted by the VC, Professor S K Singh, has sent its report to the court within the scheduled time of two months,” Jitender Negi, secretary of the MKP Managing Committee said.

He said, “Through the VC of the varsity, the court has requested the selection committee to discharge their obligations in terms of the order within two-month time.”

However, the court passed an order on March 8, 2011, directing the VC of the affiliating HNB Garhwal University to constitute a selection committee for the principal as quickly as possible with members required as per the law.

The court had also ordered to ascertain whether anyone, who appeared before the previous selection committee, including the contesting candidates, was a better candidate than the present principal.

The present Principal, MKP PG College, Indu Singh, was selected and appointed as Principal in 2007. Later, Sood challenged the appointment of the principal as erroneous in the High Court and requested a fair conduct of re-election. 

Dehradun, July 3
The employees at the Dehradun District Civil and Food Supplies office are compelled to work amid damp and stinking conditions. There seems no respite to them from the unhygienic conditions at the work place, as their complaints to the higher authorities in this regard have failed to move them into action.

It is not only that the staff have to sit under leaking ceilings, the entire building of the office is in a poor shape and can collapse any moment. But, the administration has shut its eyes to the impending danger to the lives of the staff.

On the condition of anonymity, officials maintained that the building is in a very poor shape. Rainwater seeps from the walls in all the rooms during torrential rain while many rooms do not have windows, due to which they feel stifling.

“Sometimes during rain we have to work in waterlogged rooms. We have to take precaution that important papers do not get wet,” said another official.

The conditions at the office of District Supply Officer MS Bisan are no different. One can see a lot of seepage in the rooms there. Talking to The Tribune, he said: “We have written to the District Magistrate, and now the matter is pending with the state administration. It is the building of the state administration and it needs to decide what to do, and we need to carry on with our work.”

Dehradun, July 3
Though the MKP ward is famous as an educational and medical hub, it is plagued with many problems, including the absence of sewerage, encroachments, waterlogging and the menace of stray animals. The ward was named after Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala Postgraduate College.

Representative’s View

Owing to lack of the government’s support, it becomes difficult to get works done. We have to take permission from it if the cost of any work is over Rs 10 lakh — Ashok Verma

The famous Doon District Hospital, Heritage School, Muslim National School, the Collectorate, the district judge office, the fire brigade office and the Municipal Corporation office also come under the ward.

Four-time councillor Ashok Verma said: “I have spent Rs 35 on the construction of roads, drains and the installation of 12 new streetlights.

However, he added that due to a lack of support from the government, it became very difficult to get works done. “We have to take permission from the state government if the cost of any work is over Rs 10 lakh,” he added.

“The major problem being faced by the residents of my area is the absence of the drainage system, especially in Chandan Nagar and Race Court. During rains, water logging is common in many areas, thus making it difficult for people to walk,” 
he added.

Dhruv Khanduri, a local resident, also complained of the absence of the drainage system. “During the rains, drains overflow and make it difficult for us to move around,” he stated.

Stray animals feed on the filth scattered around a dustbin in Ward no 17.

Ritvik Sharma, a resident of Faltu Lane, said: “Safai karamcharis do not come regularly. Garbage remains dumped outside the dustbin. Grass has also started growing in small drains.

But our councilor is a dedicated leader. Whenever any problem is brought to his notice, he tries to solve it at the earliest.”

Another resident, AK Jain, rued the absence of sanitation in the area. “Sweepers do not visit the area. Filth remains on road. Unhygienic conditions have made it difficult for us to live.”

Atul Sharma said: “During rains, the area turns into a river. Drains also remain blocked.” 

Residents Speak

WITH Assembly elections coming near, politics and mudslinging between leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress has become murkier and uglier. The time has come to hit out at each other, even sometimes, below the belt to score brownie points.

During the last week, the see-saw battle between Congress legislator Kishore Upadhaya and the state BJP government reached a new low. Kishore Upadhaya has been trying to portray himself as a lone ranger pitted against the BJP government. He had been criticising the state government for the past few years on various issues and had even gone to level personal allegations against present Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank as well as his predecessor former Chief Minister Maj-Gen BC Khanduri (retd).

This time he annoyed Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank by alleging that he had owned an industrial plot allotted to him at Kotdwar during his stint as a minister in Uttar Pradesh. Kishore had earlier levelled allegation of land purchase by wife of Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) also which were found to be false. But this time, the Chief Minister took the attack personally.

The land business of legislators' brother immediately came under the official scanner and action was taken against him for the alleged violations of land and building laws. Then came the turn of the legislator himself. Kishore Upadhaya was a minister of state in the first elected government of the state headed by veteran Chief Minister ND Tewari.

Kishore Upadhaya, who is a confidant of Tewari’s political rival Harish Rawat, was not even in good terms with Tewari.

Therefore, he was dropped by Tewari from the Council of Ministers in the downsizing of his ministry. Kishore Upadhaya was living in a ministerial bungalow. But even after losing his job as a minister, he continued to stay in the ministerial bungalow.

He again won the assembly elections in 2007 and continued to retain the ministerial bungalow despite being just a legislator. The state BJP government had been giving him notices to vacate the house and move to his allotted MLA hostel but to no avail.

In the recent skirmish with the Chief Minister, his bungalow was forcibly vacated by the administration when the occupant legislator was away from home. Congress leaders, led by leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat, saw it as another opportunity to hit back at the state BJP government and tried to prevent the eviction by staging a noisy demonstration at his house. But after the arrest of the protesting Congressman, the bungalow was vacated.

The state government claimed that the legislator was evicted by following due process of law and after giving him several reminders. However, the action has given an opportunity to Congress leaders to hit out at the Chief Minister and other ruling party leaders.

They charged that while one of their legislators was evicted, two former BJP ministers, who are now legislators, are also occupying ministerial houses. They further alleged that Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank himself had been occupying four government houses in the state. Both parties were trying to blame each other and indulging in game of oneupmanship.

Interestingly, the entire political discourse is personal and many times abusive. At a time when the people of the state are looking forward towards the forthcoming assembly elections with a hope that at least they will get a chance to evaluate their elected representatives and the state government, the politicians of the state are again failing them.

Sadly, the issues agitating the common man have gone to the background at a time when the people of the state are suffering from poverty, illness, marginalisation and above all inflation. All are disappointed with the political leadership.

In a state where the people have been suffering for the past 10 years due to corrupt bureaucracy and inefficient political leadership, the politicians of the state are again indulging in cheap rhetoric. The politicians do not understand that two wrongs cannot make one right and the general public cannot be taken for granted for long. Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, who is a popular and a pro-active Governor, will be on leave. She has taken leave for a month and will be away from the state capital. In her absence, neighbouring Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi will also look after the charge of Governor of Uttarakhand. BL Joshi was earlier Governor of Uttarakhand before moving to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

It was also a rumour that Margaret Alva was not much interested to stay in Raj Bhawan at Dehradun and will prefer to go to a bigger southern state as Governor. Some even speculated about her entry into the Union Council of Ministers. Margaret Alva had recently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also in New Delhi. Many insiders believe that all depend on the reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers. It will be after the reshuffle in Union Cabinet that the next changes in the gubernatorial assignments will be made.

(By SMA Kazmi)