8 Wakf Board members for chief, CEO’s removal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
All eight members out of a total 11 members of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board (UWB) who were present at a meeting held here today passed a unanimous resolution to recommend to the state government to remove Chairman of the UWB Rao Sharafat Ali for indulging in “corruption” as also Chief Executive Officer Sher Ali for “failing” to execute his duties effectively.

City Magistrate Meharbaan Singh was present during the meeting to avert any untoward incident though the police had to use force to disperse a crowd, allegedly called at Rao Sharafat Ali’s behest, who was demanding the cancellation of the meeting. The meeting was convened at the intervention of the state government after the Chairman refused to hold the meeting despite the insistence of the members.

Those members who were present at the meeting were Taslim Ahmad, Mohd Shahzad, Razia Beig, Mohammad Akram, Hafizurrahman, Asgar Ali, Mufti Raees Ahmad and Dr Zakir Hussain.

The resolution put up by Mohammad Shahzad where he accused the Chairman of usurping absolute power under Acts 32 and 27 was backed by the members. Razia Beig said all actions taken under these Acts till now would be considered null and void. She also demanded legal action against the Chairman for alleged mishandling of funds.

Mohammad Shahzad alleged that be it the appointment of employees at the shrine, distribution of shops, opening of donation boxes, awarding works to contractors, Rao Sharafat Ali took all the decisions by himself without having been given any such rights. The members also passed the resolution of handing over the arrangement of mass kitchen and construction of embankment at the shrine in the supervision of the District Magistrate, Haridwar, until the state government took a final decision on the fate of the Chairman and the CEO of the board.

Taslim Ahamd, MLA, recommended the dissolution of all committees floated by the Chairman which was approved by the board’s members.

Rao Sharafat Ali, in his defence, said Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister Balwant Singh Bhoryal had failed to understand the intricacies of the functioning of the UWB. He said there was no provision in the Wakf Act to remove him.

Govt awaits Forest Ministry clearance for dam project
Tribune News Service

Nainital, October 24
The state government is awaiting clearance for the execution of the ambitious Jamrani Dam project.

Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari has stated that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has already given clearance to the project. He said a detailed project report was being prepared.

However, the project stands still in the wake of objections coming from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF).

Kandari said the MOEF had stalled the project on the ground that it would lead to the inundation of an area with about 85,000 trees. “Our contention is

that afforestation will take place in a very large area and many more trees will be grown once the project becomes a reality. We hope that clearance will come soon,” the minister said.

The execution of Jamrani Dam project is becoming a contentious political issue. The BJP leadership in the

state has been contending that the project was given the go-ahead by the Planning Commission way back in 1975 and the CWC had also agreed to its execution in 1989. However, it could not be completed during the past two decades. It is being said that former Union Water

Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had agreed in principle to its completion two years ago.

If it becomes a reality, the project will help solve the problem of drinking water in Haldwani and irrigate more than 60,000 hectares of land in Nainital district alone.

Meanwhile, Kandari has claimed that the state government has an ambitious plan to develop a series of manmade lakes in different districts to conserve water.

Talking to the mediapersons here on Monday, Kandari said that such lakes had been developed at Sariyatal in Nainital district, the Rudrapur lake and Drona lake in Udham Singh Nagar district. He said similar lakes were being developed in the Baijnath area of Bageshwar, Champawat and the Dwarahat area of Almora district.

The minister further said that a survey was being done with regard to the building of a dam on the Kosi river and Rs 35 lakh had been spent on the same.

He said the BJP-led state government had made tremendous strides in bringing agricultural land under irrigation. At present 7 lakh hectares of the total 12.5 lakh hectares of agricultural land had been brought under irrigation.

BJP leaders call on CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
Former Union Finance Minister and senior BJKP leader Yashwant Sinha and famous actor Shatrughan Sinha called on Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri here on 
Monday.

Both BJP leaders congratulated Khanduri on taking over the reins of the state for the second time.

They also appreciated the efforts by the Chief Minister to bring in a strong Lokayukta Bill and launching a tirade against corruption in the state.

Nishank hits back at his detractors
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, October 24
Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank hit back at his detractors terming them liars and sought from them an apology on making baseless allegations of corruption while he was the Chief Minister of the state. He was speaking on the sidelines of a college function held here today.

Nishank addressing the media said the judiciary had dismissed all charges of corruption levelled by the opposition against him and his government thus proving that such allegations were an attempt to tarnish his image and nothing more.

On the contrary, the former Chief Minister opined that the development done by the government during his tenure was unprecedented and the people had acknowledged the honest efforts of reaching the last man standing in the remotest village and that would be evident after the coming Assembly elections when the BJP would return to power with a thumping majority.

Nishank further said his government was pioneer in introducing the people-friendly schemes namely Atal Khadyan Yojna, 108 EMRI Ambulance Service, Atal Adarsh Gram Yojna, etc targeted towards improving the life of common man and such schemes introduced by his government would help in garnering votes for the BJP in the Assembly elections.

Nishank, showing his resentment on removing him from the Chief Minister’s post in haste, hit back on his detractors indirectly and said “if a crow sitting on the temple roof starts thinking that he is much nearer to God then he is sadly mistaken.” Taking a dig at Chief Minister BC Khanduri indirectly and without naming him, he said the people understood everything and were not only interested in the politicians with clean image but also with the one who has smiling face too.

When posed a question of his removal from the post by the media, he responded by saying that he was a true soldier of the BJP and was ready to work at any post given to him and senior leaders of the party might have thought that he would serve better as national vice-president.

Nishank also said he would work for the party for the mission 2014 where the BJP along with its allies would regain power at the Centre considering the present status of the UPA government.

Speaking on the announcement made for development works during his tenure as Chief Minister, Nishank said the announcements made by him would be accomplished soon.

Municipal Council president OP Uniyal and the college staff was present on the occasion. 

BJP govt’s days numbered: Cong
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
Senior state Congress leader and member of the Uttarakhand Congress Media Committee Dhirendra Pratap has described the present state BJP government as a sinking ship.

In a statement issued here today, Dhirendra Patap said: “The days of the corrupt and incompetent BJP in power are numbered and it will be voted by the people in the coming Assembly elections”.

He said by changing the face of the Chief Minister, the BJP couldn’t deceive the people as the same band of corrupt ministers of the previous Nishank government were in the Khanduri government.

Lambasting the Chief Minister for his failure in handling the Rudrapur communal riots in which many precious lives were lost, he said it showed incompetence of Khanduri, who was known for his administration.

Commenting on the proposed move by the state BJP government to call a special session of the state Assembly to move the new Lokayukta Bill, Dhirendra Pratap said: “It was an attempt by the Chief Minister to get mileage out of the corruption issue. He urged the Chief Minister to order a probe against former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, if he was really serious on the issue of penalising the corrupt people.

He demanded that the two-day session of the Assembly should discuss making Gairsain in Chamoli district as the permanent capital of the hill state as per the wishes and aspirations of the Uttarakhand statehood activists and martyrs.

Dhirendra Pratap said the success of the Congress rallies held in different parts of the state showed that a wave in favour of the Congress had been sweeping the state.

Plan to open 2 libraries
Tribune News Service

Nainital, October 24
The state government plans to open two libraries in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions where literature penned in the Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari languages will be preserved.

The government also plans to set up a committee in every district that will have persons related to literary activities in the three languages as its members.

The members will be responsible for the collection of books and other materials meant to be preserved in the two libraries. The committees will be set up under the Languages Department.

State Minister for Language Promotion Matbar Singh Kandari has stated that proposals for further strengthening the functioning of the Languages Department with regard to promoting the three languages

will be taken up at the level of state Cabinet. He was speaking at a function in Almora on Monday that had been organised by the Bhasha Sansthan.

Kandari further stated that the works and biographies of local writers and poets would soon be included in the school curriculum in the state.

Speaking on the Kumaoni language, Dr Sher Singh Bisht said everyone must come forward for promoting the language which reflected the culture and society of the region.

A number of speakers asserted that the Garhwali and Kumaoni languages must be introduced as compulsory subjects in schools. 

CM orders CID probe into rape, murder of student
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri has ordered an inquiry by the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department (CBCID) into the alleged rape and murder of a girl student of class VIII in the 
Chinyalisaur area of Uttarkashi district.

Ambika, daughter of Sobat Singh of Kot village in Chinyalisaur block of Uttarkashi district, had gone missing some days ago and was later found murdered.

The Chief Minister ordered the inquiry when the father of the deceased girl met him at a “Janta Milan” programme held in Dehradun today. The father alleged that her daughter was raped and murdered but the district police had failed to nab the culprits. Taking the complaint seriously, the Chief Minister ordered an inquiry by the CBCID into the matter.

The Chief Minister also ordered an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the selection of nurses at Doon Hospital. He also asked the Labour Commissioner to look into the issue of retrenchment of workers at the Surya Roshni factory in Kumaon. A delegation of the labour union of the factory were among those who met the Chief Minister during the programme.

2 youths held with fake currency

Pithoragarh, October 24
The police has arrested two more youths who were trying to circulate counterfeit currency among local shopkeepers in the Purnagiri area of Champawat district.

”The youths, from whose possession counterfeit currency worth Rs 75,000 have been seized, belong to Madhya Pradesh and UP and have admitted to have done such an act earlier also,” said Santhel Abudei Krisha Raj, SP, Champawat.

The police said the youths had been arrested under Sections 489(B) and(C), IPC, and the investigation was on as they had named other members of the team who sent them in the area to exchange the counterfeit currency with the genuine ones.

“Two of the arrested youths, Manohar Patel and MK Srivastava, are from Ratlam and Allahabad. They are arrested on the information given by the youths arrested a day before,” said the SP.

In the Purnagiri area, it is the third incident of such nature. Before it in 2003, two youths from the Baheri area of Bareilly district of UP had been arrested with counterfeit currency worth Rs 3.5 lakh and equipment to print these currency. — OC

Samiti demands UGC package in toto
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
At a meeting held today, members of the Uttarakhand Vishwavidyalaya Mahavidyalaya Sangharsh Samiti has raised a series of demands to give fully the package announced by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

In a memorandum given to the Chief Secretary, higher education, Uttarakhand, samiti members were demanding to raise the age of retirement of teachers from 60 years to 65 as announced by the Central Government and an early payment of arrears pertaining to the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

Farmers allege harassment by Secy, HRDI Director
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
The members of the Aromatic Plants Growers Association (APGA) have accused the Secretary, Horticulture, and Director of the Herbal Research Development Institute (HRDI) of discouraging the farmers who grow aromatic plants by harassing them on various accounts and not paying them any allowance for the past three years.

Vivek Bharti Sharma, president of the APGA, said Secretary Vinod Punia was supporting only the farmers of the Gopeshwar region because his father Kedar Singh is the MLA from that place.

He said, according to the state government plan, 100-odd distillation units for rose water were to be set up in the state but the Secretary banned small distillation units leading to losses to growers of roses. Since these farmers had no option for distillation, their crops were wilting.

Another member, Chander Mohan Bisht said the HRDI was getting several crores in the name of promoting herbal or aromatic plant cultivation but the production was drastically falling down. Herbal Centre at Gopeshwar had received Rs 5 crore from the state government and Rs 17 crore from the Central Government in the past three years but there was no significant improvement in the production except for on paper, he said.

He appreciated the Centre of Aromatic Plant (CAP), Selaqui, for registering a phenomenal growth in comparison to the HRDI.

Bikram Singh, a member of the association, said the decision of the Cabinet to declare the CAP an independent unit had not been implemented despite the lapse of 11 months. He alleged that the Secretary was deliberately not letting the aromatic plantation sector to be separated from Herbal Centre, Gopeshwar, for vested interests.

The members demanded legal action against both the Secretary and the Director of the HRDI and their immediate removal from their respective positions.

Raids in Kumaon to check sale of adulterated food items
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 24
Keeping in mind the festival of Divali, the Health Department today seized 11 quintals of condensed milk and “petha” in the raids on shops in Almora, Pithoragarh and Champawat districts.

“A team, led by official from the Health Department Archna Sagar, raided sweet shops and godowns in Pithoragarh town and seized three quintals of adulterated sweet and one quintal of ‘petha’ which were kept in 27 tins near a roadways depot,” said SC Pant, Chief Medical Officer, Pithoragararh.

“We seized the consignment as its quality does not conform to the hygiene standards set for sweet shops,” said Archna Sagar.

In Champawat district, the raids against adulterated sweets and condensed milk were carried out by Deepti Singh, Additional District Magistrate (ADM). “We carried out the raids on the vehicles plying between Tanakpur and Pithoragarh and found unclaimed condensed milk being transported from the plains to Champawat district. We have destroyed the seized consignment,” said Deepti Singh, ADM, Champawat .

“Besides the condensed milk seizure, we have also carried out raids on grocery shops to check the sale of adulterated food items and seized adulterated turmeric, cold drinks and bread from shops at Aicholi, Gurna and Wadda towns of the district,” said Archna.

In Champawat district, a separate checking campaign was also launched by Anurag Arya, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), against adulterated food items. The team destroyed a large quantity of expired food items, including bread, potato chips, sauce and cold drinks. “If we find any adulterated food items during the Diwali, we will book the culprits under the Food Adulteration Act under which a minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment can be awarded to convicts,” said Deepti.

In Almora district, a team of the Health Department seized two quintals of adulterated condensed milk which was being transported to Bageshwar, Barari (near Bageshwar) and Almora by a private bus driver. “When we enquired the shop keepers whose names were mentioned on the consignment about the condensed milk, they denied owning it. The material was later destroyed by a team of the Health Department,” said Manish Singh Sayana, an official.

1,000 lt of diesel seized
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 24
As a part of the pre-Diwali festive drive, Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) carried out raids on commercial establishments. During one such raid at Bahadrabad, the administrative team confiscated 1,000 lt of diesel, which was illegally stored by the owner of Chaudhari dhaba.

On the directions of District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan, several administrative teams have been formed to tap the adulteration drive in the district. Samples are being taken from sweet shops, restaurants and eateries to ensure safety. Illegal supply of food material is also under a check. The administrative team took samples from various shops at Shankar ashram, Ranipur mod, Inner city and Jwalapur-Bahadrabad and adulterated and low grade food material found was immediately disposed off.

After getting to know about the administrative team’s crackdown, many shopkeepers closed their establishment. The team, however, earmarked all such establishments to carry out impromptu raids on them in coming days.

Food inspector Yogendra Pandey said shops all were being raided on random basis.

Adesh Kumar is Roorkee Marathon winner
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
Hundreds of enthusiastic runners participated in the Roorkee Marathon 2011-Run for Health held yesterday at Bengal Engineer Group and Centre as part of their 52nd Reunion and 209th Group Day celebrations at Roorkee, according to a press release of the Army.

The marathon is an annual feature since 2004 and is held every year in October. The event is eagerly awaited not only by the Army fraternity but also by the civilians and students of Utarrakhand as since 2010 the organising authorities, Bengal Engineer Group and Centre, Roorkee, declared the event open for civilians also.

The marathon was conducted under four categories, the full marathon of 42 km, half marathon of 21 km, senior citizens run of 6 km and 5 km run for women and children. The route followed by the participants was along the Gang canal.

Sapper Adesh Kumar won the first prize of Rs 30,000 as he won the 42-km full marathon within 2 hours, 21 minutes and twelve seconds and set a new record for the event.

Havildar Alfred R from the Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington, won the second prize of Rs 20,000 while sapper Tripurari Singh from the Madras Engineer Group and Centre won the third prize of Rs 10,000.

In the 21 km half-run marathon, Havildar Borappa M of the Madras Engineer Group and Centre won the first prize of Rs 15,000 within 1 hour, 7 minutes and 42 seconds while Sobha Awasthi emerged triumphant in the women category and won a cash prize of Rs 1,000.

Not only young boys and girls, but senior citizens also showed their enthusiasm by participating in the six-km run.

SK Jain, a resident of Roorkee, won the first position in the category by clocking 50 minutes and 37 seconds. The prizes were given away by Brig Suresh Sharma, Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group and Centre.

DIG Gunjiyal does tough talking

Dehradun, October 24
DIG Garhwal, Sanjay Gunjiyal held a meeting with police officials and in charge of police stations here today.

Gunjiyal said the police officers who were not registering cases must be removed from responsible posts. He also made it clear to the police personnel that they needed to abide by the traffic rules such as usage of helmet, etc. The monitoring of the work of the police personnel who were not found efficient in the past must be done. — TNS

Wadia institute founder’s birthday celebrated
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 24
The Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology yesterday celebrated the 128th birth anniversary of its founder, Prof Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia. 

Born on October 23, 1883, in Gujarat, Prof Wadia was a pioneer among Indian geologists and mineralogists.

Remembering Prof Wadia, Dr Harash K Gupta, Professor at the National Geophysical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, said it was Prof Wadia’s dream to have an institute working exclusively on the Himalayan geology, which resulted in the setting up of the Wadia Institute.