Pithoragarh, July 14
A peculiar situation developed at a meeting of the Congress when various claimants of the party ticket from the district quarrelled among one another in front of Chater Singh, an observer of the party appointed by Birendra Singh, Congress general secretary and in charge of party affairs of Uttarakhand here today.

“I have not come to finalise the ticket for the coming assembly elections, but to assess the preparations of the party workers for the poll,” said Chater Singh here.

At a marathon meeting, 22 candidates made a claim for the party ticket for the next assembly elections from the four seats of the district. The sitting Congress MLA from Kanalichina, Mayukh Singh Mahar, is facing a tough contest from Ravindra Singh Bisht, AICC member, who is also seeking the party nomination for the seat.

According to Congress sources, four claimants from Gangolihat, 8 from Didihat and 7 from Dharchula claimed the party ticket. These claimants reached the meeting venue with their supporters who were shouting slogans in their favour.

“The observer asked the claimants if they had completed the organisation of booth committees in their respective areas and reached a consensus on one claimant,” said Mathura Dass Joshi, a Congress spokesman.

Chater Singh claimed that the party was fully prepared to fight the next elections in the state. “The Congress is a huge family and the so-called groups are part of the democratic process of the party and whoever will be given ticket from any seat will be the Congress candidate and all will work for him,” said Chater Singh.

Haridwar, July 14
In the wake of the serial blasts in Mumbai yesterday, the threat of a terror attack during India’s biggest religious occasion of Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar is looming large. Around 1.25 crore kanwarias visit the city during the yatra, which runs for about two weeks, to take a dip in the Ganga and fetch the holy water.

Yesterday, when The Tribune asked Deputy Inspector-General of the Garhwal range Deepam Seth about the security aspect in case of a terror attack during the yatra, he denied any such threat perception, pointing out that there are no such inputs from the intelligence agencies. But post-Mumbai blasts, the DGP has put Haridwar on high alert with vigil being intensified on the entire Kanwar Yatra route.

Seth said a high alert had been sounded post-Mumbai blasts and adequate force deployed in the kanwar mela zone.

“Specific checking is being conducted in sensitive areas like Har-ki-Pauri, railway and bus stations, important shrines, Kanwar Yatra route and congested markets. Besides, a bomb disposal squad and dogs squad are also conducting an inspection of the sensitive areas as a precautionary measure.

In case of an eventuality, the elite commando unit, Guldaar, of the state will be acting as a strike force. The unit has been formed on the lines of the National Security Guards,” stated the DIG.

Meanwhile, a special vigil is maintained during the famous “Ganga Aarti” performed at holy the Har-ki-Pauri ghat keeping in mind the blast during a similar prayer at the Sheetla ghat in Varanasi earlier.

Kanwar Mela Police chief Kiran Lal Shaw said special instructions regarding security post-Mumbai blasts had been given to the police and a majority of the Kanwar Police personnel had reached Haridwar for the Kanwar Yatra starting from July 16.

Security has also been beefed up at SIDCUL where more than 200 industrial units are situated.

Dehradun, July 14
Workers of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), led by Anshul Chawla, president of the Student Council, DAV PG College, today burnt an effigy of terrorism to express their resentment against yesterday’s bomb blasts in Mumbai. The protest was held on the premises of DAV College here.

Addressing the demonstrators, speakers condemned the Central Government for its failure in controlling terrorist activities in the country.

“The recent Mumbai terror attack is an inhuman act aimed at destroying the world’s largest democracy and an upcoming global economy. It is high time that we should stand against the lethargic bureaucrats and politicians, who are helping the terrorists to succeed on our land,” they said.

Dehradun, July 14
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has strongly condemned the bomb blasts carried out in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mourning the deaths of the innocents in the attack, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give strength to the bereaved families to bear the loss of their loved ones. He also wished a speedy recovery of the health of the injured.

Talking to media persons here today, Nishank said the Mumbai terrorist attack was an attempt to attack the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India.

Nishank alleged that the Union Government had been utterly unsuccessful in putting a check on terrorism. He added that even after the death sentence awarded by the Supreme Court to Afzal Guru, an accused in the attack on the Parliament House, no action was taken and that had emboldened the terrorists.

The Chief Minister said a stringent law was needed to put a check on terrorism. He further said it was strange on the part of the Union Government to start parleys with Pakistan, a country that had been an epicentre of terrorism. He said the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister had to answer as to for how long the people of the country would live under the shadow of terrorism.

“The short-sighted policies of the Union Government has led to the high prices of essential commodities and now the people have been hit by another wave of terrorism,” he added.

Nishank said an alert had been sounded in the state and security at the Char Dham shrines, Piran Kaliyar and Hemkund Sahib had been beefed up. “We have also given directions to the Haridwar police to step up security in view of the forthcoming Kanwar yatra,” he added.

Haridwar, July 14
The Matra Sadan ashram has written to Uttarakhand Media Counselling Committee chief Devendra Bhasin regarding the CBI probe into Swami Nigmanand’s death.

Brahmchari Dayanand of the sadan, in a fax to Dr Bhasin, has termed his statement as uncalled for.

Notably, Dr Bhasin had said the administration was not involved in any way with Swami Nigmanand’s death who had observed a fast for more than 100 days against illegal quarrying in the Ganga riverbed. Bhasin has also dismissed the demand of the Matra Sadan ashram to provide it with a copy of the consent letter of the Uttarakhand Government for a CBI probe into Swami Nigamanand’s death.

Dehradun, July 14
Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Khazan Das has yet again appealed to the Central Government to undertake the acquisition of 233 disaster-sensitive villages in Uttarakhand that need prompt rehabilitation.

Interacting with newspersons in Dehradun today, Khazan Das said after the last year disastrous rains, Uttarakhand had identified 233 disaster-sensitive villages that needed rehabilitation and had subsequently asked the Centre to acquire these villages. “But, the Centre is still to act on the repeated appeals by the state in this regard. The Centre had on October 6 said a committee would be constituted for the purpose but the assurance was still to be fulfilled,” Khazan Das said. He held that the state had been urging the Centre for long to allow it an unhindered picking of gravel from seasonal rivers as a delay in clearing these rivers of gravel often results in flooding in the nearby areas during the monsoon.

The ministers pointed out that the state government was sensitive towards disaster vulnerability and said the Disaster Management Department had constituted a total of 22 teams comprising local village youngsters for a prompt response to disaster. He said all necessary equipment had also been made available to these teams. He disclosed that 22 JCB machines had been stationed on the routes of various yatras to clear roads of landslide debris quickly.

Referring to the recent Congress accusation of a big scam in the purchase of medicines in the state, Khazan Das categorically held that no purchase of medicine took place in recent times, and the Congress was only resorting to baseless allegations.

Dehradun, July 14
Environmentalist Padam Vibhushan Sundarlal Bahuguna has welcomed the Uttarakhand government’s decision to set up an environment directorate, asserting that development targets can never be achieved by ignoring environment.

In a statement issued today, Sundarlal Bahuguna said a directorate on environment in Uttarakhand would even send right signals for the entire country and reveal the state’s commitment for the cause of environment. He also suggested that women and children should be inseparable part of the directorate. Referring to the concept of Gross Environment Product (GEP), Sundarlal Bahuguna said the concept of GEP, initiated by Uttarakhand, certainly indicated that the state’s 65 per cent of the geographical area of forests had much importance from the environment point of view. He also backed plantation of saplings.

While announcing the setting up of the directorate in Uttarakhand, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar has advocated the standards for seeking compensation from the Centre for work on environment protection being done by Uttarakhand. The Chief Secretary has passed directions for forming a core group that will fix standards for compensation on scientific basis. This core group will make Uttarakhand the first state in the country to come up with GEP on lines of GDP.

Haridwar, July 14
After a few days of high humidity levels, residents of Haridwar as well as pilgrims and tourists today got respite from the sultry weather with strong winds accompanied by light showers sweeping the city late in the evening, dipping the temperatures drastically.

Since last night, the weather conditions had begun to change with winds and overcast conditions paving the way for today’s showers.

In the evening, people were seen enjoying the windy conditions at the Ganga ghats while many residents were seen thronging to the major city parks, including BHEL Centenary Park.

Pilgrims and tourists going to the hills of Mussoorie and Garhwal also had a halt at Haridwar to enjoy the pleasant weather. Praveen and Anita Chandola, a tourist couple from Dwarka, Delhi, who had planned to reach Dehradun by evening, preferred to extend their stay in Haridwar because of pleasant weather. They said: “Such is the atmosphere of the pilgrim city, which is nestled in the mountainous terrain, following today’s rain that we preferred to prolong our stay here. Now, humidity has gone and there is a moderate chill in the atmosphere”.

Haridwar, July 14
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) created a ruckus at a health camp at the district hospital. The activists are on strike demanding the regularisation of their jobs as well as monetary benefits.

Chief of the ASHA Ekta Rajeshwari Chauhan said the state government had withdrawn various allowances given to them despite the fact that they worked round the clock in difficult circumstances.

Yogesh Sharma, Chief Medical Officer, has sent a report to the Health Directorate regarding the activities of the activists being carried out at the hospital at on a regular basis, causing inconvenience to patients and medical staff.

Dehradun July 14
Rao Sharafat Ali, Chairman, Uttrakhand Wakf Board, has finally managed to control financial powers under Section 32 of the Wakf Board Act. At a Wakf Board meeting, which took place on Tuesday, Ali garnered the support of the six nominated members and also claimed of getting an elected member’s, Razia Beig, vote also, which the latter denied.

Ali said he was now in a better position to take decisions on his own for the welfare of his community. He criticised the four elected members who staged walkout saying they, being from the Congress and the BSP, opposed him as a BJP member on each and everything.

Ali, however, thanked Razia for her support. But Razia categorically denied supporting Ali. She said, “I vehemently opposed handing over financial powers to the Chairman. It is a lie that I supported him in the voting for Section 32.”

Hafiz-u-Rahman, the elected member who staged a walk out, said, “The discussion on Section 32 was not in the agenda, despite that it was forced upon us at the board meeting. At the last meeting, the chairman had asked that his vote should be counted as double, as a Chairman as well as a member. The file has been sent to the state government. Unless a decision is taken, we cannot proceed on the matter. But it seems the chairman came all prepared on the issue and convinced all his six nominated members to vote in favour of him. We have no option but to leave the meeting, and he passed the resolution in his favour.”

Ali also asked for the sanction of Rs 1.50 lakh to maintain his car, driver and other sundry expenses which was turned down.

To this, Razia Beig said, the Wakf Board was not rich enough to fund for Ali’s expenses. The demand of the employees of the board for getting salaries as per the sixth pay commission was also put in the cold storage, Ali added.

Dehradun, July 14
Razia Beig, former Chairperson of the Uttarakhand Bar Council, has questioned yoga guru Ramdev’s general knowledge, and said he must know that the entrance exams which he was advocating to be attempted in the Hindi language had been conducted with Hindi as optional language for many years.

Beig, who was addressing a press conference here today, also objected to Ramdev’s assertion to replace English or Urdu in the High Courts with Hindi. While alluding to Ramdev’s interview published in a Hindi daily in this regard, she said Ramdev was unduly trying to take credit to promote the Hindi language. And the entrance exams for IIT, IIM, medical or engineering were already being attempted by many aspirants in Hindi.

She also expressed strong reservation about the baba’s suggestion to do away with the Urdu language in the High Courts. “On one hand Ramdev advocates the usage of regional languages while on the other he mentions about ceasing the use of the Urdu language, which is spoken by a large number of people and is rated as the third language of the country, in the High Courts, which is very unfortunate,” she added.

Pithoragarh, July 14
The Almora police today arrested two youths in connection with a double murder that took place in the Chaukuni area in Ranikhet on June 7.

Sanjay Shah and Yogesh Mainali, residents of Dwarahat, were named in the FIR lodged by relatives of the deceased. One of the deceased was serving in the Army while the other was a Home Guard, said Ram Sharan Jayant, Circle Officer, Almora police.

According to the police, the murders took place following a minor scuffle between two groups on the issue of overtaking of their vehicle. Following the scuffle, Sanjay Shah allegedly fired at both the deceased. The police succeeded in arresting the suspects from near the Base Hospital bypass.