Bandh call evokes mixed response in state
Tribune News Service & PTI

Shiv Sena workers hold a march in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun August 27
The state bandh call in support of the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare, given by the Prantiya Udyog Vyapar Pratinidhi Mandal, evoked mixed response in Uttarakhand.

The strike did not affect the functioning of the public transport and traffic plied normally in most parts of the state.

"The response to our bandh call was excellent," said Anil Goyal, President of the Mandal.

Mandal urged the UPA government at the Centre to bring a strong Lokpal Bill to check the menace of corruption.

Reports pouring in here said school and colleges were closed in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Tehri and other places

The bandh was by and large peaceful with markets remained close in Dehradun. Apart from Dehradun, institutions were closed in other districts of Uttarakhand too.

Traders hold a demonstration against corruption at the Clock Tower in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

In the state capital, Anna supporters held rallies and march at major junctions. Also members of the Shiv Sena extended their support to the veteran activist and took out a massive march along with donkeys personifying corruption in the country.

Ashish Singhal, district general secretary, Shiv Sena, described the bandh in Uttarakhand as historic event.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Nav Bharat Sangh also staged a demonstration and took out a march in the city. Starting from Parade Ground, the bandh supporters passed through Kanak Chowk, Globe Chowk, Rajpur Road, Gandhi Park and finally culminated at Clock Tower.

Hari Bhandari, president of the Sangh, maintained that the bandh in the state had commendable impact. He also expressed gratitude to the general public for their support.

March in Mussoorie

Mussoorie (OC): Under the banner of the Mussoorie Traders Association, traders observed a one-day bandh today to express solidarity with Anna Hazare. A march was also organised, which began from Landour Bazaar and culminated at Gandhi Chowk. A large number of traders and women participated in it. They also raised slogans in support of Anna and the Lokpal Bill. The president of the association, Rajat Agarwal, said corruption was the bane of the country, which needed permanent solution.

A large number of NGOs and social activists also joined the march. Meanwhile, tourists and local people faced inconvenience due to the bandh. They heaved a sigh of relief only in the evening with the opening of some shops. 

End fast, Congress leader urges Anna
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, August 27
Mussoorie Congress minority cell president DX Johny alleged that the BJP was indulging in politics of opportunism and inciting Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption due to ulterior political motives which was not good for parliamentary democracy.

DX Johny, in a press note released today, said the minority community saluted Anna Hazare for his movement against corruption but as this was just the beginning of the movement, it could take a long before any concrete results weare achieved. Therefore, it was imperative for Anna Hazare, who had emerged as the mass leader against the fight against corruption, to end his fast and stay on till the final goal was not achieved.

Johny further said the country required the services of Anna Hazare for a longer period and the team Anna should also persuade him to end the fast and take the movement to the next level otherwise political parties such as the BJP and other anti-social elements could hijack the movement which could spell disaster for the nation. DX Johny said these were not only his feelings but also of other minority communities in the town as well. 

Thousands join Khanduri’s march against graft
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 27
Giving a fillip to the Anna Hazare movement in Haridwar, thousands of citizens participated in a late evening march which was led by former Union Cabinet Minister for Surface Transport Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd).

The march saw equal participation from different sections of society, prominently from ex-Army personnel, youth and Bharatiya Janata Party workers.

Under the banner of the Rashtriya Chintan Pravah Manch, the march was one of the biggest in Haridwar since August 16 when Anna Hazare began agitation in New Delhi.

Honest people were seen eagerly waiting for former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Khanduri to address and take part in the procession which commenced from the Vaidik Vivah point Dheerawali in Jwalapur.

Urging people not only to depend on Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed, Khanduri said corruption at all levels needed to be opposed and brought to light.

“This is the first time since independence that such a mass peaceful uprising is being witnessed in the entire country which is good for the nation. But we have to make sure that each and everyone starts from himself not to sit silent when one encounters corruption. First we have to make sure we are honest then only we can cleanse the entire system” said Khanduri, who is legislator from the Lansdowne assembly.

While sloganeering in favour of Anna Hazare was done, so were these raised in praise of Khanduri which itself pointed the mass popularity and honest image the Army man turned politician has among public.

Meanwhile, the Kamgar Sena, a social outfit, urged Khanduri to lead the people supporting the Anna Hazare movement in Uttarakhand on a mass scale owing to his honest but tough image. State chief of the Kamgaar Sena Rekha Valmiki said during the tenure of Khanduri, first as the Union Minister for Road Surface Transport and Highways and later as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he carried out the task honestly and in a transparent way.

People deserting border villages
Lack of basic facilities to blame
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 27
Public representatives in the Talla Johar area of Munsiyari subdivision of the district have requested the state government to provide basic facilities like roads, school teachers in educational institutions, drinking water, communication and medical facilities in their villages which are situated in the interior part of the district as, according to them, due to lack of these facilities, the people are gradually leaving the villages making the border villages completely deserted.

“Out of nearly 500 families in four Gram Panchayats of our area situated at the Indo-China border, 137 families have shifted from the village and settled in Delhi, Faridabad, Haldwani, Pithoragarh or at the nearest area of Thal in the past 10 years,” said Geeta Mehta, a block development committee member from Napad village of the Talla Johar area of Munsiyari block in the district.

The public representatives, including gram pradhans and Block Development Committee (BDC) members of the area have written a letter in this connection to Planning Minister of the state Parkash Pant.

According to the member, after the creation of the state, 50 families from Napad village, 12 from Nainthal, seven families from Murti, 18 families out of 25 in Surkhet, 35 families out of 125 families in Khatera and 35 and 17 families from Seeri and Chama villages have left their villages to settle in other towns.

“This is the figure of only four villages in the area. The overall picture is more surprising than that, as more than half of families of 36 villages in the area have left their villages and settled outside,” said Geeta Mehta.

“In the village of Nainthal, all 12 families have left and only one disabled person has remained there,” added Geeta.

Citing the causes of this migration, other public representatives say that when the people living in these villages see better facilities in nearby towns, they also want to live better lives and give their children better education and whenever the opportunities come to them, they say goodbye to their villages.

“Besides, lack of basic infrastructure in these border villages, the latest reason of their shifting is frequent attacks by wild animals on their crops,” said Narain Singh, gram pradhan of Khatera village, who has written a letter to the minister to take this migration seriously.

“Last month, when BJP MP from the state Tarun Vijay visited the area we were hopeful that he would raise the concern of the continuous migration from border villages but he did nothing. We are now writing to the minister,” said Rajendri Devi, gram pradhan of Napar village.

According to Planning Minister Prakash Pant, he has taken the case of migration from the border villages seriously and the government will set up a panel to inquire into the matter. “I am surprised as why the local administration has not reported it to the government so far,” said Pant. 

CM to discuss issue in Cabinet
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 27
With the announcement of four new districts, Didihat, Yamunotri, Ramnagar and Kotdwara, people are now demanding the district status for Roorkee.

Roorkee legislator Suresh Jain had met Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Chief Secretary Subash Kumar in this regard recently. He had also organised an all-party meeting of all politicians from Roorkee.

Talking to TNS, Jain said during his meeting with the Chief Minister, he had apprised him of the long-pending demand of the public for the district status for Roorkee. He said the Chief Minister had given an assurance that he would discuss the issue with Cabinet ministers.

Jain also met the Central leadership of the BJP and apprised it of public sentiments and the benefit the region would have once the demand was met.

Meanwhile, Rashmi Chaudhari, state Congress general secretary, has also demanded the district status for Roorkee.

She claimed that if the Congress was voted to power, the long-pending demand of the people would be taken care of.

BJP expels TPS Rawat
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 27
Taking stern action, the Uttarakhand BJP today expelled senior BJP leader and former MP Lt-Gen TPS Rawat (retd) and his associate Rajender Singh Bhandari, vice-chairman of the Food and Civil Supplies Board for carrying out anti-party activities.

Last week, the party had issued show a cause notice to Rawat which he failed to reply, “Both Rawat and Rajender Bhandari have been suspended for carrying out anti-party activities for the period of six years,” said Bishan Singh Chufal, President of the Uttarakhand BJP.

Sources claim that Rawat’s expulsion would dent the BJP’s popularity among exservicemen who have always voted for the BJP in the assembly elections.

Meanwhile, Rawat, who has already floated an apolitical front, Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha, denied reports of his expulsion.

“The expulsion followed after I declared at a rally held today in Srinagar that I was quitting the BJP. There was pressure on me from exservicemen and even folk singer Narinder Singh Negi to move out of the party fold in order to fight corruption. All political parties are corrupt,” said Rawat while speaking with The Tribune.

“The leaders from the BJP had approached me with all kinds of inducements, but I was not interested. I may be still a green horn in politics but I think time has come to forge a united front to fight against corrupt political parties,” stressed Rawat.

Today Rawat received a good response at his rally in Srinagar, besides exservicemen, people from different fields made their presence felt.

Youth up in arms against bank mgmt
Tribune News Service

Nainital, August 27
The youth of the Kumaon region is up in arms against the management of a co-operative bank alleging irregularities in the recruitment process with regards to certain advertised posts.

A large number of youth from Nainital have approached the office of District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli demanding a probe into the matter, besides seeking a free and fair recruitment. A similar dissent has been aired by applicants from Haldwani, Almora, Bageshwar and Ramnagar also.

These youth were alleging that the admit cards for the written test for filling the vacancies had been sent only to the select few people while a large number of applicants have not received their admit cards.

The advertisement for the recruitments had been issued in the leading vernacular dailies and the applicants had been asked to send their applications to a post box number. A large number of applicants had applied for the posts.

They claim that they had not received admit cards till now for the examination which is scheduled to be held on August 28. The examination is supposed to be held by a Delhi-based consultancy company.

The agitated students propose to hold protests at the examination centres on Sunday.

Sanskrit Nagar, Sanskrit Gram on the cards: CM
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 27
The Uttarakhand government as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party is serious on the issue of corruption and supports Anna Hazare-led civil society-drafted Jan Lokpal Bill as it’s a public interest Bill which can be gauged by the fact that people are supporting the movement in all parts of the country.

This was stated by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at a function on the Sanskrit language at Kankhal-situated Jagadguru Ashram this evening.

Nishank again pointed out his government’s stance on corruption saying that already the Lok Sewa Adhiniyam was being drafted which would make accountable the government employees and prove to be a deterrent for corruption.

Accusing the Congress of being not serious on the issue of corruption, Nishank said, “The BJP has always been strict on the issue with former BJP national chief Lal Krishan Advani voicing for a Jan Lokpal Bill way back in 2006. But without the UPA alliance supporting the proposal, we couldn’t do much but now we are making sure that the UPA government is forced to pass a strong Bill”.

On the Sanskrit language, Nishank highlighted the step his government had taken in giving it coveted status of second official language of Uttarakhand. He also disclosed that the identification of several towns and villages would be done across the 17 districts of the state which would be developed as Sanskrit Nagar and Sanskrit Gram.

While presiding over as special guest, former Union Minister for Human Resource Dr Murli Manohar Joshi pointed out that in Vedas lies immense knowledge which should be read by each and everyone. Further Joshi stated that while going through Vedic literature, one could find numerable scientific aspects which today’s western world or science claims to be evolved by them only.

Joshi, who hails from Almora district and also heads Public Accounts Committee, refrained from commenting on the Anna Hazare movement saying that he had already spoken on this matter and the onus lies on the Congress to make sure a strong Bill was passed in Parliament.

On the occasion, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Raj Rajeshwaram launched a compact disc which depicts the facets of Sanskrit language, its importance in literature and the impact it has on other languages due to which it is considered as the mother of all languages.

Poll lollipop from Sainik Samaj Party president
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 27
President of the Sainik Samaj Party BS Parmar, while addressing mediapersons here today, said: “Even after independence, the country has not been able to provide electricity and safe drinking water to every household. Most of the roads are in bad shape.”

Parmar claimed that if their party was voted to power, they would implement various people-friendly programmes like proper supply of drinking water, electricity, roads, food, health, education and various other facilities. “The aim of our party is to provide all facilities to countrymen,” he added.

Parmar claimed that their party would undertake agricultural infrastructural development in the state and reduce the prices of agriculture inputs.

He said they would provide better remunerative prices to farmers by introducing direct marketing strategies.

Parmar further said: “There are 64 types of taxes levied on citizens and the party if was voted to power, it will review all direct and indirect taxes.”

He said their top priority was to identify permanent state capital.

“We will introduce the community service concept for women in the age of 22 to 60 years who will be paid salary for rendering community public services. All senior citizens will be paid old-age pension. This will ensure food security to every family,” he added.

He said educational institutes would be opened in all blocks. 

Resentment over govt’s failure to open 8 colleges
Tribune News Service

Nainital, August 27
With promises made by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and the then Education Minister, Gobind Singh Bisht, far from taking real shape, resentment prevails among people in Kumaon over the failure of the government to start eight degree colleges for which announcements were made during the past few months.

Reports say the administration is yet to clear the proposals for starting the colleges and issue the relevant orders for the purpose.

The colleges were supposed to be opened in the Okhalkanda, Chorgaliya, Lal Kuan, Betalghat and Bhimtal areas of Nainital district besides Danya in Almora district and Pati and Devidhura in Champawat district.

As of now, students from these areas have to travel long distances to reach the nearest college.

It is learnt that proposals on the opening of the colleges were sent to the state administration almost two months ago. In

Nainital district, there is hardly any land available for the opening of the proposed colleges.

The failure of the government to start the institutions has drawn criticism from people living in these areas.

In fact, villagers around Danya had resorted to a protest a couple of days ago. Bisht in particular has been drawing flak for making announcements that are rarely implemented.

He has come up with fancy proposals at regular intervals like giving wrist-watches to schoolgirls.

Even the government’s tall claims with regard to providing free school uniforms are proving to be a failure on the ground.

With there being no tailors to stitch the clothes as per the size of the children, these have been stitched randomly and are either too loose or too tight. 

Award for centre for adult education
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 27
The State Resource Centre for Adult Education, Uttarakhand, under the aegis of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a voluntary group, has been selected for the prestigious National Literacy Mission Award, NLMA--UNESCO Literacy Award, for its outstanding achievements in the field of adult literacy.

The citation and trophy will be conferred by the President of India on the occasion of the International Literacy Day function to be held at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt, on September 8.

The State Literacy Mission Authority of Uttarakhand has also won the Satyen Mitra Literacy Award for its work in the district of Udham Singh Nagar this year.

The RLEK was awarded the first UNESCO-NLM Award in 1998 in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the Adult Education Programme for minority communities where 21,000 Van Gujjars were made literate by the innovative programme on adult education by the RLEK.

It was then that the Van Gujjars acknowledged the importance of education and from here arose the demand for children's education. The RLEK since then has built 18 primary schools in distant, inaccessible areas of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to cater to the needs of these marginalised communities.

“The time has now come for the state government to recognise and help these schools being run by the RLEK. The organisation solicits philanthropic gestures from organisations and individuals to adopt the salary component of the teachers of these schools,” says Avdhash Kaushal, Chairperson, RLEK. 

‘Run for fun’ today
Theme song of marathon released
Tribune News Service

Nainital, August 27
The theme song of the Nainital Monsoon Mountain Marathon-2011 was released here today in the presence of brand ambassador Sudhanshu Pandey, a Bollywood actor who had spent his childhood and youth in the city.

The theme song with the opening lines “Run, run, run to live…care for the old” gels with this year’s theme for the event ‘Care for the old’. It has been recorded by a group of singers in Mumbai.

KM Binu, an international athlete who had won silver in the Asian Games and gold in the Asian track and field events will be the chief guest at the event to be held tomorrow morning.

Binu is the brother of KM Beenamol who had brought laurels to the country in the Asian Games. Binu is himself an Arjuna awardee.

Pandey has worked in several films like “The Myth” (Jackie Chan starrer), “Murder 2” and “Singham”.

International athletes, Hoshiyar Singh of the BSF, and Harish Koranga of Udham Singh Nagar are expected to participate in the mens’ and junior open sections of the race.

The “Run for fun” is being organised by Run 2 Live, a local organisation. Cash and other prizes worth Rs 2.70 lakh would be given to the winners.

There will be men’s and women’s open events in which the first prize would be Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively. In girls’ and boys’ event, a large number of students from various schools in the district are expected to participate. Besides this, there will be a special event for veterans going with this year’s theme in which people above the age of 45 years will be participating. The local people would be running for fun on the Upper and Lower Mall roads.

Apart from these events, there will be a competition for individual and group costumes on the themes of social causes for which prizes would be given.

While the men’s open event will be flagged off from the basketball court in the Flats grounds, the women’s event will start from Tanki Bend and the race for girls and boys would be flagged off from Bara Pathar. All races will conclude at the Flats grounds.