Haridwar, August 1
The demand for starting a CBI probe into Swami Nigmanand’s death has picked up steam with different political parties and organisations holding protests, silent marches and extending their support to the Matri Sadan ashram. Swami Nigmanand had died observing a fast in protest against illegal quarrying in the Ganga riverbed.

State Congress chief Yashpal Arya visited Matri Sadan yesterday. He blamed the BJP-led Uttarakhand Government for deliberately slowing down the procedure for initiating a CBI probe into Swami Nigmanand’s death. Today, the Congress activists burned an effigy of the state government for delaying the CBI probe, accusing it of shielding the persons responsible for Swami Nigmanand’s death.

Uttarakhand Congress general secretary Santosh Chauhan said: “The whole nation salutes the martyrdom of Swami Nigmanand who will be remembered as ‘Ganga Putra’ (son of the Ganga)”.

She alleged that the BJP government had deliberately forwarded a half-baked proposal to the Union Government in order to delay the CBI investigation and destroy the evidence.

Spokesperson for the District Congress Committee Rakit Walia said it’s a matter of deep concern that after more than a month since Swami Nigmanand passed away still the CBI investigation had not commenced. It showed that the BJP government was pro-quarrying mafia, she added.

Laxmi Vashisth, Seema Thapa, Subhadra Arya, Indu Sharma, Madhu Sharma, Shivani Sharma, Mamta Jha, Rekha Sharma and other members of the district Congress committee participated in the protest.

Haridwar, August 1
Last week when Acharya Balakrishan had gone ‘missing’ for three days and yoga guru Ramdev being in New Delhi for a hearing at the apex court regarding the police action against the Satyagraha programme at Jantar Mantar, the financial aspect of the multi-billion business of the Patanjali Trusts suffered badly.

With the threat of Ramdev aide Balakrishna’s arrest by the CBI looming large, Swami Muktanand, the yoga guru’s another trusted aide, has been given the financial powers. The step has been taken to make sure that in similar circumstances the working of the trust doesn’t get affected.

At present the treasurer of the Patanjali Trusts, Swami Muktanand has been assigned the additional power of signing authority regarding financial matters, which till date rest with Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishan, Managing Director of Patanjali Yogpeeth and 30-odd related companies.

One of the most respected religious figures, Swami Muktanand is a highly educated person having done Masters in Mathematics from Calcutta University. Patanjali insiders said owing to his intellect, honesty, integrity and aloofness from the media, Ramdev has given him the additional power which makes him as the third force in the Patanjali family.

But, while the yoga guru is terming this step as the one to ensure a smooth working of the companies, in hindsight it is being seen as negating the growing status of Acharya Balakrishan, who had recently 
been engulfed by various controversies.

Till date the organisational aspect had been looked after by Ramdev himself while the economic affairs of the trusts were totally managed by Acharya Balakrishan who was commonly believed to be the eventual successor of the vast Patanjali trust empire that includes six trusts and 34 multi-business companies.

When contacted, Acharya Balakrishan’s personal secretary Gagan tried to downplay the speculation saying that the decision had been taken by both Swamiji (Ramdev) and Acharyaji (Balakrishan) and Swami Muktanand is no outsider having been associated with the yoga guru and the Patanjali family for years.

While as to his image and working Swami Muktanand didn’t came to speak to the media, the officials at Patanajali pointed out that he had always worked behind the doors.

Pithoragarh, August 1
Total of 10 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, who were declared unfit to undertake the pilgrimage from Gunji to the Lipulekh Pass by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) doctors, have been sent back from Gunji.

“Out of the rejected 10 pilgrims, four are from the 8th batch and three each from the 9th and 10th batches,” said Bachi Ram Arya, yatra officer in charge at the Dharchula base camp.

The three pilgrims of the 8th batch who were rejected on medical grounds are from Gujarat. They have requested for a second medical checkup. They were found fit to undertake the yatra in the second examination and were allowed to go with the members of the 9th batch. However, they were sent back by the Chinese authorities after they had crossed the Lipulekh Pass and entered the Chinese territory on the ground that they were not the member of the 9th batch,” said Arya.

“All the pilgrims are being sent back with the members of the 7th batch, who are on the way back home,” said the yatra officer.

The three rejected pilgrims from Gujarat reached the Dharchula base camp on Sunday and charged the Indian officers with abandoning them. “We have been left alone by the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) and ITBP officials at the 16,500-foot-high Lipulekh Pass after being sent back by the Chinese authorities and had to face bad weather and snow. It was really difficult to reach the Gunji camp without a guide,” said Aswin Kumar Dwivedi, who was sent back by the Chinese authorities. The disappointed pilgrims said they had been tortured mentally, spiritually and financially by the organisers of this pilgrimage.

Nainital, August 1
The body of a six-year-old girl found from a gorge near Jyolikote has further complicated the mystery pertaining to the recovery of an injured woman from near the same spot on July 28.

It is being assumed that the girl, whose body was found on late Sunday afternoon, was the missing daughter of the injured woman Saroj of Banaras.

Family members of Saroj were called by the Nainital police to ascertain the identity of the deceased girl till the filing of this report.

Saroj had been found at a distance of about 500 metres from the spot on July 28 with her throat slit. She had managed to climb up to the main road from where she had been taken to Haldwani for medical assistance.

She had left for her residence at Rasoolpur in Banaras on Saturday along with her family members. The injured Saroj had conveyed to the authorities that she had been acompanied by her daughter Shivangi.

It was on late Sunday afternoon that villagers saw the body of a girl lying 15 feet below the road in a gorge in the area. They had informed the police who had taken the body in its possession.

The entire episode continues to be a mystery and a challenge for the police in both Nainital and Banaras.

There are several unanswered questions. To begin with, who had brought Saroj and her daughter to this part of the state to kill them.

Apparently, Saroj was assumed to be dead and her body had been dumped by her assailants in the gorge. Similarly, there was an attempt to cover the body of the girl with a heap of filth.

Saroj was reportedly leading a happy married life with her husband Sanjay and her two children. Both her husband and her father-in-law Kanhaiyya Lal had come to take her back home from Haldwani. It is learnt that she had apparently come to Bareilley in Uttar Pradesh from Banaras to collect her Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) certificate from an institution.

Haridwar, August 1
Acknowledging the brave efforts pitched in by the divers of Bengal Engineering Group (BEG), popularly known as Bengal Sappers, the Haridwar Kanwar administration felicitated the members of a contingent which had saved 115 Kanwariyas from drowning at the Ganga ghats.

Additional District Magistrate SN Pandey awarded certificates, mementoes and medals to the Army personnel who braved adverse climatic conditions working round the clock during Kanwar fair in the state which saw a record 1.45 crore Kanwariyas fetching holy Ganga water.

Lauding the personnel, Pandey said despite limited resources at their disposal, help from the BEG was important as they manned the Ganga ghats along with the Jal Police personnel.

“You (sappers) have contributed to the Kanwar fair immensely as you saved hundred-odd lives as well as guided the Kanwariyas too. We honour your commitment and bravery. Hopefully, we will be getting your services in such important fairs as drowning incidents occur in large numbers in Haridwar,” said Pandey.

The volunteers of the Indian Red Cross Society, National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS), who helped the administration in managing the fair, were also awarded.

Dr Naresh Chaudhari, secretary of the Indian Red Cross Society, said conducting big fairs in Haridwar though is the responsibility of the administration, without cooperation from the local people and various social organisations, such fairs couldn’t be completed peacefully.

Subedar Mehar Singh of the BEG told The Tribune that the Bengal Sappers were one of the few remaining regiments of the erstwhile Bengal Presidency Army, which had been in existence since 1803 and had won numerous Victoria Crosses, Arjuna Awards and Shaurya Chakras.

The Bengal Sappers who were awarded were Ravindra Nath, Pramod Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Jha, Khem Singh, Mukesh Singh, Manoj Singh, Suresh Chandra, Tyagi, Ravi Singh, Dileshwar Sahu, Ranjan and NS Reddy.

Lieut-Gen VK Ahluwalia of Army Central Command, Lieut-Gen SP Tanwar of Northern Region, BEG (Roorkee) Commandant Suresh Sharma, Col Deepak Saran, Lieut-Col Devendra Dobriyal were also presented with acknowledgement letters. 

Dehradun, August 1
Last night’s incident in which drunken youngsters in a semi-nude condition created a ruckus at a private hostel in the Badripur area of Nehru Colony has raised questions on the working of the administration.

Many hostels are being run illegally in the city and the authorities have turned a blind eye to it. The number of such hostels and PGs has increased manifold.

Interestingly, a majority of the owners do not have licence to run hostels. Moreover, they keep no record, including the ID and residence proofs, of those who come to stay here. But the administration and the police seem to be waiting for a big crime to happen.

“We are fed up with the hostel situated near our society. Boys play loud music at night and keep wandering without clothes,” said an elderly resident of the Nehru Colony area.

Residents alleged that after questioning, the police often released these troublemakers and took no action against them. They demanded that the police should act against those who were running these hostels illegally.

SSP Ganesh Singh Martolia said: “People have opened hostels in every street and it is prevalent not only in the city but in other states also. However, whenever any wrongdoing is reported from these places, we take action.”

City Magistrate MS Bisht said the verification of all such hostels that were being run in houses and residential complexes was must. And he also admitted that no verification had been done so far.

He added that the verification was done at the levels of the administration and the police. “But if required, we will do verification of all such hostels,” Bisht claimed. 

Dehradun, August 1
A two-year new course of MSc Cellulose and Paper Technology was inaugurated at the Forest Research Institute (Deemed) University, Dehradun, here today.The course will run in collaboration with the Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute (CPPRI), Saharanpur, for the students of chemistry as one of the subjects in B Sc.

The chief guest on the occasion was Dr DD Negi, Director and Vice-Chancellor, FRI University.

He threw light on the course where two national-level institutions, known for their research and industrial applications, have collaborated to cater to the growing demands of cellulose and paper experts in paper industries.

He further exhorted students to take advantage of the expertise of FRI University as well as CPPRI, Saharanpur, to emerge as leaders in the field.

The ceremony culminated with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr SP Singh, scientists and course coordinator, FRI.

The dignitaries, who attended the inaugural function, were Dr RM Mathur, Director, CPPRI, Dr Vimlesh Bisht, Dr Nitin Endlay, Dr R D Godiyal, Dr Vasundhra Thakur and many more. 

Dehradun, August 1
The police continues to bite the dust in the case of missing IIPM admission head Amit Shah who had gone missing on the night of July 27.A forensic team of the police today searched three different cars parked at the Dalanwala police station. The cars belong to Amit and two other suspected persons Saurabh and Nidhi Rawat.

Experts of the CFSL said they could only find hair in the cars and nothing else. The experts would match these to find clues in the case.

The team had come to the police station today.

On the other hand, a police team under Circle Officer Parmendra Singh Dobhal was busy doing the investigation but there was no clue yet.

“We are completing the investigation and soon we will find out the clues,” a confident Dobhal said.

The police is of the view that either he has been killed in a case of love or gone somewhere in dejection. The police is trying to trace him through his cellphone but in a vain as it is switched off.

His father Munna Lal Saha has lodged a case against Saurabh and Nidhi Rawat. In an FIR, he has suspected the two of abducting his son and murdering him later. The police has lodged a case under Sections 364/368 of the IPC at the Dalanwala police station.

The two had called up Amit to come to a store at Kalidas Road where Saurabh runs a modular kitchen business. He went there and never returned.

Police sources said the three seemed to have a love triangle which might have gone wrong. However, the police said the two had been questioned and they had said they did not know where Amit had gone after meeting them.

Nainital, August 1
The health set-up in the state continues to be in a mess as apart from the shortage of doctors, Uttarakhand also continues to grapple with a scarcity of nurses and Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives (ANMs).

The government on the other hand has once again reasserted that steps are being taken to train more nursing staff and ANMs.

On a visit to Nainital on Sunday, Health Minister Balwant Singh Bhauryal accepted that at present there were 7,000 vacancies for the post of nursing staff and 3,000 vacancies for ANMs available in the state.

Speaking for a government that has failed to provide respite to the masses on the health front over the last four years, the minister once again promised that the posts would be filled soon.

He said nurses and ANMs were being trained in various institutes across the state and recruitments would be made once their training was completed. He also said the government was in the process of setting up a nursing college in Haldwani.

Bhauryal claimed that nursing students would also be enrolled in medical colleges that were coming up in Almora and Udham Singh Nagar next year.

It is learnt that the government is also toying with the idea of enrolling students from the non- science stream for training as nurses and ANMs.

Bhauryal had come to Nainital to lay the foundation stone of the hostel building of BD Pande Government Nursing School that is to be built on the premises of Ramjay Hospital.

The hostel is to be built at a cost of Rs 5.35 crore. The minister promised that the problems being faced by the institution in the form of staff scarcity and lack of equipment would be resolved at the earliest.

He said that the construction works pertaining to the institution would be completed soon. The nursing school had eventually started functioning in September last year after a considerable delay. As of now, the health set-up in the region is in a pathetic condition with there being no doctors and nurses in several of the medical institutions located in the remote interiors. Repeated claims of the government with regards to improving the scenario have proved to be mere mirages.

The hospitals in main towns like Almora and Haldwani, particularly the Sushila Tewari Memorial Hospital in Haldwani are under tremendous pressure to cater to the health needs of the people of the region.

Dehradun, August 1
The annual cross-country was held at Rashtriya Indian Military College here today. The RIMC has produced many national-level runners like Gaurav Hridaya and Vaibhav Bharadwaj. The competition was held in two categories of juniors and seniors. The junior cadets run for 3.8 km while the senior cadets have to run for 9.25 km. The following are the results.

Juniors: 1st — Cadet Mohammad Salman (12.22 mins), 2nd — Cadet Maikel Singh (12.33 mins) and 3rd - Cadet Akshat Raj (12.55 mins).

Seniors: 1st — Cadet Lalit Thapliyal (33 mins), 2nd — Cadet Ligang Kobing (33.50 mins) and

3rd — Cadet Lalit Kumar (34.10 mins).

Overall standings in both the junior and senior categories were: Pratap Section - 1st (790 points), Chandragupta Section -2nd (710 points), Ranjit Section — 3rd (664 points) and Shivaji Section — 4th (584 points).

The Chief Guest for the event was Col PK Kumaria, Commandant, RIMC, who gave away the prizes to the winners. He congratulated them for their courage and determination. The chief coordinators of the event were T Selvan and Birjesh Chauhan. — TNS

Dehradun, August 1
Bajrang Club blanked BC Milan 5-0 in the ongoing Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League underway on the Pavilion Ground here today.Rahul and Saurabh scored a brace each for the winning team in the match. Rahul (20th, 45th minutes) and Saurabh (42nd, 50th) were the main architects of the win. Aman scored early in the seventh minute to open the account.

BC Milan, on the other hand, could not score any goal. Whereas the second match between Sunderwala Boys and CT Young ended in a goalless draw as neither of the side could score.

Tomorrow, Garhwal Sporting will face Dehra XI and DMK will play against Hostel Boys. — TNS