Declare assets by Oct 15, CM tells ministers, babus
n Law to strengthen Lokayukta’s office
n Favours CM’s office under its ambit
n Proposes to bring in public services bill
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 11
Soon after taking over the reigns of the state as Uttarakhand Chief Minister for the second time, Maj-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) has directed all his ministers, IAS and IPS officers of the state to publicly declare their assets by October 15, 2011.

Addressing his first press conference, Chief Minister Khanduri said a decision in this regard was taken at an informal meeting of his Cabinet here today.

He further said his government would work for bringing in a fresh legislation within two months to strengthen the office of Lokayukta in the state. He regretted that the recommendations of the Lokayukta in the state had not been placed before the Assembly since 2006, he said the situation would be rectified.

Talking about the campaign initiated by Anna Hazare against corruption and the proposed rath yatra on the issue by senior party leader LK Advani, Khanduri announced that he would consult senior jurists, including retired judges of the Supreme Court and civil society members, to bring in a new legislation to strengthen Lokayukta in the state.

“The office of the Chief Minister will be brought under the ambit of the Lokayukta to bring in greater transparency in public life,” he asserted.

He further said on the lines of Bihar, another legislation would be brought to take government control over benami properties in the state. “This will help reduce corruption by politicians and bureaucrats,” he said. Khanduri said the Bihar model would be studied further.

The new Chief Minister said he also proposed to bring in a public services bill similar to the one brought by Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh to ensure greater accountability for the public servants in dealing with public.

Asked about delay in bringing in the report of the 56 alleged scandals of the previous Congress regime as promised by the state BJP in 2007, Khanduri replied that there had been delay due to reasons beyond the control of the state government. “There is no dilution of our resolve to bring the culprits to book,” he added.

Khanduri hoped that his government would be able to fulfil the aspiration and hopes of the people of the state and thanked the general public for their continued support.

Earlier in the day, senior party leader Rajnath Singh, who is also election in charge of the state, denied that Nishank was sacked due to any alleged corrupt deal. He said there were no charges against Nishank anywhere whether in any court or investigating agency. “It was purely a strategic decision in view of the coming Assembly elections to bring in Khanduri as Chief Minister,” he claimed.

Hollow promises cost Nishank CM’s post
Rajeev Khanna/TNS

Nainital, September 11
The two-year-and-two-month tenure of now ousted Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was marked by gross inefficiency when it came to governance. Nishank was known for making tall promises and a lot of sweet talk but the result on ground had been a big naught. The tenure was also marked by doling out favours to his critics, particularly the media so that a positive image was sent out to the masses.

His departure has been met with relief by even the cadres of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as the image of the government was sliding down rapidly under Nishank. This correspondent has talked to a whole lot of BJP workers and leaders since the turmoil had started three days back regarding the ouster of Nishank and not one of them expressed any remorse at his departure.

The core areas of governance in Uttarakhand, namely infrastructure, health and education had witnessed the worst scenario during Nishank’s tenure with the ministers making irrelevant statements and promises while the situation on ground went from bad to worse.

The roads saw a massive devastation during the rains in 2010. Despite the money granted from the Centre, nothing concrete was done for the repairs and the situation till now remains more or less what it was at the time of the disaster. The road between Bhawali and Almora, the stretch at Bhujiaghat between Haldwani and Nainital are some cases in point besides several others when it comes to the roads in the remote interiors.

The condition in the health set up has gone from bad to worse during the past two years. Ironically, this degradation took place when Nishank himself had the health portfolio for a long time. The hospitals, particularly those in the interiors of the hilly terrain continue to face a massive dearth of doctors. Nishank and later Bansidhar Bhagat have claimed that efforts have been made towards retaining and appointing doctors but nothing concrete has emerged.

A similar scenario has emerged in the education sector where there are no teachers in the remote areas. The announcements made by Nishank’s close aide Gobind Singh Bisht as Education Minister like watches would be provided to girl students have turned out to be absolute illusions. Several schools still await the supply of text books to be provided to students free of cost and even the scenario with regards to the uniforms being given to students is pathetic. With no tailor having taken the size of students, the uniforms that have been provided are a complete mismatch for the sizes of the students.

The absence of a transparent transfer policy with regards to doctors and teachers has contributed a lot to the failure of the government in these two spheres and also to corruption.

Setting things right in these core spheres of governance within a span of mere three or four months before the poll take place would be a major challenge for the new Chief Minister, Major-General BC Khanduri (retd).

Six buried alive in landslide
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 11
Six persons, including two children, were buried alive under the roofs of their houses that caved in due to a landslide at Daur village in the Narendernagar area of Tehri district today.

Till the filing of the report, the rescue operation was under way and two persons could be retrieved safely and six were buried under the debris. The district administration along with local villagers were doing efforts to clear the debris when the report last came in. According to information, the landslide occurred in Daur village and the debris fell on the four houses, which were situated down the road. Members of the families of all four houses were inside when the incident took place

The roofs of their houses fell and all of them were buried under the debris.

The police said the rescue work was being affected as the boulders continued to fell on the houses.

Circle Officer Narendernagar Rajesh Bhatt confirmed The Tribune that six had been buried alive and two evacuated safely. A man and his two children said to have died on the spot.

Those who died in the accident have been identified as Pushpa, Prakashi, Shobha, Magni Devi, Ishika and Bhag Singh. Meanwhile, the rescue work is going on at a slow pace due to tough conditions in the area.

‘Aanthon’ fest ends with Hill Jatra ballet
Our Correspondent

A demonic dance is performed during the Hill Jatra festival in Kumoar village near Pithoragarh; and (right) women perform a traditional dance.

Pithoragarh, September 11
Thousands today thronged the venue of the Hill Jatra ballet at a village near the town, as this celebration marked the culmination of the 10-day festival of’ “Aanthon”, which is associated with the worship of “Gaura” and “Maheswar”. The idols of “Gaura” and “Maheswar” were immersed in a water body after the Hill Jatra ballet at Kumaur village.

The festival, which is believed to have been celebrated in this valley for 2,000 years, refreshes the memories of Vir Bhadra, a disciple of Lord Shiva, who, on seeing the demise of Goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva, at a yajna organised by her father, felt that his master had been humiliated and went on to destroy the yajna mandap of Daksh Prajapati at Kankhal.

“The programme began at 4 pm when an actor playing the jamadar, a person responsible for sanitation in villages in ancient times, entered the arena set up in a field of the village,” said Yashwant Singh Mahar, organiser of the programme.

“The jamadar is followed by a horseman, who is responsible for the security of fields, and then by three pairs of bullocks, one of them depicted as a lazy animal,” said Mahar. After that women enter the field and depict the ancient method of agriculture prevalent in this part of the Himalayan region.

Lakhiya Bhoot, the main attraction of the programme, enters at the last. Being controlled by four youths, the Lakhiya, in its demonic form, enthrals the audience. “Later in the night, after immersing the idols of “Gaura” and “Maheswar”, the women folk take part in folk dances and sang songs like ‘Jhora’ and ‘Chachari’, marking the end of this 10-day festival,” said Mahar.

“The entire festival of Hill Jatra reflect the agrarian economy of the olden days in the Himalayan region and is organised just before the harvesting of kharif crop. This festival is also held to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva who comes to the village in the form of Lakhiya Bhoot or Bir Bhadra,” said Dr Ram Singh, a local historian.

Pauri district remains epicentre of politics
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Pauri Garhwal, September 11
Despite Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank stepping down as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Major-General BC Khanduri (retd) taking oath as the sixth Chief Minister of the state, district of Pauri Garhwal still holds the remote control of politics of the hilly state. Both Khanduri and Nishank hail from Pauri district and have attained the political stature by gaining confidence of the voters of the district during the past two decades.

Both entered Indian politics the same year i.e. in 1991, with Khanduri wining the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat while simultaneously Nishank entering the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from the Karanprayag assembly seat.

Notably, both have lost only one election till date with Khanduri losing the 1996 Pauri Garhwal parliamentary election to Satpal Maharaj and Nishank losing the 2002 Thailisain Assembly election to Ganesh Godiyal.

Khanduri hails from Margadna village (now named Gokulpur) in Pauri and his ancestral house is situated in the midst of Pauri city, where celebrations seem to be going on round the clock.

The retired Army General, during his post-retirement days, used to tread mostly on foot meeting people and listening to their problems. Along with a large number of presence of ex-Army personnel, his honest, clean and tough image made him the first choice of the local voters.

While Nishank’s birth place is Pinani village, 20 km from Pauri city, and before taking the political route, he had worked as an Acharya (school teacher) in Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir Schools, situated in Pauri and Srinagar Garhwal since 1981-82.

Along with teaching he took to journalism and started his own newspaper, “Seemant Varta”, from Pauri in the late 90s. It is still publishing and is known to be the voice of the hilly people.

He first entered politics by contesting the Assembly elections from Karanprayag where he defeated veteran Congress leader Shivanand Nautiyal, who was till then undefeated in Karanprayag having a hat-trick of wins under his belt.

Nishank also replicated Nautiyal’s success winning three times in a row from Karanprayag but later shifted to his home district contesting from the Thailsain Assembly seat and till date represents the same segment.

Nishank is also a versatile writer having penned dozens of books.

Matbar Singh, Pauri district BJP chief, points out that Nishank has seen many political upheavals and so has Khanduri and herein lays the duo’s success and their proximity with the local people ensures that the home district remains their political fortress too.

Though Yashpal Benam, legislator from the Pauri seat, accuses both the leaders of failing to live up to the expectations of the local people when it comes to development. He told The Tribune that he had submitted many a time development-related proposals but were not seriously considered by the two and as a result Pauri lagged behind in development in comparison to other districts.

“Development of the state should be the prime focus and as Pauri being their hometown we always expect them to do something for the district, as still unemployment, the lack of basic facilities and other developmental works elude the district, despite Pauri producing three Chief Ministers till date,” said advocate Saukar Singh Rawat, who is a close neighbour of Nishank.

High command can’t decide on state issues: 
UKD (P)
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 11
Taking a note of the change in leadership at the Chief Minister level in the state, the president of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar), Trivender Singh Panwar, said the leadership in Delhi would no longer determine the matters of the hill state.

Addressing a press conference in the city today, he said: “Delhi has no right to decide over the issues of the state. It is the people of the hill who will do that. Moreover, change of a person can not overhaul the battered image and functioning of a party,” Panwar said, adding that by indulging in an equal number of 56 scams, the BJP has reached the same level as the Congress. He asked for a CBI inquiry into these scams.

Change of guard BJP’s internal matter: CPM

Dehradun, September 11
While reacting to the changing of the guard at the Chief Minister level in the state, Communist Party of India (Marxist) conveyed that the corruption and bad governance prevailing in the state would not get removed with the change.

Senior member of the CPM Anant Akash said: “To change the Chief Minister in the state is a part of internal matters of the BJP.” — TNS

Caste Certificate Issue
Sangh members to meet Khanduri
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 11
The Bharatiya Jan Sewa Sangh has alleged that caste certificates are being denied to the deprived communities of Uttarakhand.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, President of the sangh Jaisingh said caste certificates were being denied to members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes residing in Uttarakhand for the past many years.

The sangh has filed a public interest litigation with the Nainital High Court for the issuance of caste certificates to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Casts communities. The court has asked the state government to submit its reply by September 19, the day of the next hearing, he added.

Jaisingh said all those who were residing in Uttarakhand from the day of its inception must be considered as the citizens of Uttarakhand for the disbursal of caste certificates. He said at present only those Scheduled Castes members who possessed pre-1950 properties were getting caste certificates. He also held that the members of the sangh would be shortly meeting the new Uttarakhand Chief Minister, BC Khanduri, and apprised him of the problems faced by the Dalit communities of the state. 

Foul means being adopted for admission in medical college
Eight cases come to light in Haldwani
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 11
In a startling case, eight instances of students using foul means to secure admission in Government Medical College in Haldwani have come to light. The entrance exams were taken by one person and it was someone else who had turned up at the time of counselling for the admissions.

It was the innovative approach of Principal Dr NS Jyala, who was entrusted with conducting the admissions, that led to the discovery of foul means being adopted for securing admissions in medical colleges. Dr Jyala had taken fingerprints of those appearing for the entrance exams and again when those, who had qualified, had turned up for counselling.

A spokesperson of the college told The Tribune that these prints were sent for forensic analysis and these led to the trapping of eight miscreants whose admissions had been cancelled and the matter had been reported to the police for further legal action.

Four of the accused are from Hardwar district, two from Udham Singh Nagar and one each from Nainital and Dehradun districts. The action against them was taken at a meeting held at Haldwani on late Saturday night. It is being suspected that there is a gang of professional criminals which is facilitating admissions in medical colleges and possibly other institutions as well.

What comes as a surprise is that despite all checks like videography of students appearing for the entrance exams along with matching of photographs and signatures, eight students had managed to secure admissions in the college. It was the technology that led to their discovery.

Sources point out that such an investigation needs to be carried out in Srinagar Medical College as well where there are very high chances of people having resorted to unfair means for securing admissions. This has been probably the first such case of its kind that has come to light. 

Leopard kills 6-yr-old girl
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 11
A six-years-old girl died after she was mauled by a leopard in Pali village of Gangolihat subdivision of the district on Saturday evening, forest officials informed this correspondent here today.

According to the information, Mamata (6) was sitting near the window of her house when the leopard pounced on her and dragged her to the nearby forest. “Her mother Ganga Devi raised an alarm and villagers gathered at the house. They searched for the body and found it near the forest,” said G Sanbandhan, District Forest Officer, Pithoragarh.

“The body was handed over to the parents after the post-mortem and the department is planning to install a trap in the area,” said the DFO.

BJP govt anti-working class: Dhasmana
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 11
A member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and senior party leader Suryakant Dhasmana has described the state BJP government as anti-working class.

Addressing a convention of the Dehradun District Congress Working Class Cell held at the state party headquarters in Dehradun, Dhasmana said the state government had failed to implement even a single scheme for the benefit of the working class. He called upon the party workers to pledge to uproot the BJP government in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.

He said the condition of workers both in the organised and unorganised sectors was turning from bad to worse. “Most of the workers particularly in the unorganised sector in the state were even being deprived of medical and other facilities,” he pointed out.

Dhasmana said the BJP government had failed on all fronts and was now resorting to blaming the Centre for all the ills of the state. He also announced that the Congress would include the interests of the workers of the state in its manifesto.

President of the cell JP Sharma said while earlier the Congress government provided job opportunities to the youth of Uttarakhand by bringing in more industries in the state, the incumbent BJP government has stopped industrial development.

Cluster farming of herbs ‘boon for farmers’

Dehradun, September 11
Uttarakhand Khadi Gramodyog Board Chief Executive Officer AK Khanduri has said the cluster farming of herbs can yield rich dividends to farmers even while suggesting for better marketing mechanism for sale of indigenous herb products manufactured by farmers.

He was addressing the farmers after inaugurating a two-day National Training Workshop of aloe vera in Dehradun. Khanduri stressed on the cultivation of herbs in clusters. He said cluster-based cultivation would give an identity to a region in terms of cultivation of particular herb. Khanduri also suggested for effective marketing mechanism for herbs. He said aloe vera, in particular, was a very important herb for manufacturing beauty products. He said as the market of aloe vera was growing rapidly, its cultivation could lead to rich dividends for the farmers. AK Khanduri on the occasion also released a book on aloe vera.

Dr Pankaj Rana, member, State Medicinal Plants Board, Himachal Pradesh, said the state had ensured fixed earnings for the farmers who had taken to cultivation of herbs.

Green Foundation managing director Dr Ravindra Sharma said scientific guidance could be a boon for the farmers, particularly when they were taking up the cultivation of herbs and shrubs. Sharma said the Green Foundation had been organising workshops from time to time to benefit the farmers. A total of 50 farmers from four states of the country are taking part in workshop that also includes field visits to herbal industries. — TNS

Use of Pesticides
Advisory issued to paddy farmers in Nainital
Tribune News Service

Nainital, September 11
With various diseases being reported in the paddy crop grown across the district, the office of the Chief Agriculture Officer, Dr AK Verma, has issued an advisory for paddy farmers of Nainital district with regard to the use of pesticides, insecticides and fungicides.

The farmers have been asked to closely monitor the crop as the problems of brown plant hopper, jhulsa and insects boring the shoot have been reported from various parts of the district. With the insect eating into the shoot of the plant, there is no formation of rice grain in the cod.

The farmers facing this problem have been advised to use cartep hydrochloride along with chloropyriphos and cyunalphos at regular intervals.

With regard to an insect, locally known as ‘fudka’, officials have stated that this insect sucks the life out of the leaves giving them the look of having been burnt and yellow in colour. The farmers have been asked to spray emidachloropid near the shoot of the plants.

Similarly, jhulsa leads to the drying of the leaves at the tip which gradually spreads to the entire plant. This problems is also caused by small living organisms.

The officials have asked the farmers to use copper oxychloride and streptocyclin for spraying the plant regularly. They have been advised that they should not use urea for these plants. The farmers have been asked to carry out the spraying of medicines either early in the morning or in the evening. They have also been suggested to cover their face while carrying out the spraying. Paddy is grown in almost all parts of Nainital district. Its mass production takes place in the areas of Terai in Haldwani, Kotabagh and Ramnagar.