Cabinet nod to madarsa board
Tribune News Service

Other decisions n Separate directorate for minority affairs to be formed n Area of spending under the MLALAD fund increased n The Uttarakhand Urban Street Vending and Business on Pavement (Regulation and Management) Rules, 2011, approved n Nagar panchayat status to Purola and Gairsain n Free bus travel for girls in government buses n Award of Rs 50,000 for students getting admission to prestigious medical, management and engineering institutions

Dehradun, November 22
At the third Cabinet meeting held in November, the Uttarakhand Government gave its approval to the creation of a madrasa board, a separate directorate for minority affairs, an increase in the area of spending under the MLA local area development (MLALAD) fund along with the Uttarakhand Urban Street Vending and Business on Pavements (Regulation and Management) Rules, 2011.

At a press briefing held last night, Chief Secretary Subash Kumar said the Muslim Education Mission would be merged with the new board. This would sort out the problem of 500 madarsas and their issue of affiliation. The board would comprise a total of 13 officials, including the director, chief registrar and the accountant.

The government also gave its approval to the creation of a separate minority affairs directorate that would play a role in the implementation of the minority welfare schemes. The main office of the directorate, which is to be located in Dehradun, would have the services of 11 officers, including the director.

The Uttarakhand Urban Street Vending and Business on Pavement (Regulation and Management) Rules, 2011, approved by the Cabinet call for demarcating separate space for vendors and also allowing them to do business legally. It will be implemented in three Municipal Corporations of the state.

Now, under the MLA LAD fund, the MLAs would be able to allocate Rs 10 lakh towards equipping yoga centres and fitness centres by the Yuva Mandal Dals as also towards providing office furniture for the Mahila Mangal Dals.

In another important decision, the Cabinet also gave its nod to according the nagar panchayat status to Purola and Gairsain and also gave approval for making “nazul” land free hold on the basis of the rates that prevailed in 2000.

The Cabinet approved the populist announcements made by Chief Minister BC Khanduri in early November, including free bus travel for girls in government buses, award of Rs 50,000 for those students getting admission to the prestigious medical, management and engineering institutions.

To further improve the government’s image and usher in transparency, the Cabinet also gave approval to signing an agreement between the government and the parties undertaking supplies and other works to ensure no bribes are taken.

Lohaghat land gets ‘nazul’ status
Now, residents can convert land into freehold after paying circle rates
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, November 22
The residents of Lohaghat town in Champawat district are happy as the state Cabinet has given its nod to convert 166 acres of land of the town from the “kham” to “nazul” status. “The order in this regard sent by the Principal secretary has reached the office on November 18, 2011,” said Ashish Joshi, District Magistrate, Champawat.

“According to the orders, the entire land on which the residential houses and the shops are situated in the town, has now been declared as “nazul” (government) land thus facilitating the people of the town to claim ownership right under the existing government laws,” said the DM.

After the order reached the town, the main political parties have started claiming credit for it. The BJP leaders claimed that what the Congress government could not do during its regime, their party had done it in the interests of the people of Lohaghat. “This is the biggest gift from the party to the people of Lohaghat before the Assembly elections,” said Puran Singh Fartiyal, a senior BJP leader.

But, the Congress leaders are not in a mood to relent. They have given the whole credit of the resolution of the issue to the local MLA, Mahendra Singh Mahra. “Mahra was the first public representative, who had submitted a memorandum to the Assurance Committee of the Uttarakhand Assembly in 2009, which led to the passing of an order by the committee in this connection and presenting the matter before the Cabinet,” said DD Pandey, a senior Congress leader in the town.

Now, the people are waiting for announcement of the circle rates on which the land will be converted into freehold. “We hope that the circle rates will not be high so that even the poor can convert their land to freehold,” said Bhupal Singh, Chairman, Lohaghat Nagar Panchayat.

40 taken ill after eating rotten meat in Tehri
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 22
In yet another incident of suspected case of food poisoning, at least 40 persons were taken ill due to the consumption of rotten meat in Budhakedar village that falls under Ghansali block of Tehri district.

According to the reports, most of the patients are out of danger and were given anti-dehydration therapy at the Primary Health centre at Pilkhi. “The patients, who were suffering from repeated vomiting and diarrhoea, were admitted to the Primary Health Center (PHC) at Pilkhi. Those brought to the hospital had consumed uncooked meat of a lamb that was probably four days old and as there is a practice to eat raw meat in these parts, the meat was not cooked,” said Dr Harish Chandra, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Tehri.

A few days ago several deaths had occurred after the villagers had taken ill on consuming wild boar meat. The disease was later diagnosed as trichinosis. The doctors from the disease surveillance wing had even toured the area informing the villagers not to consume raw or undercooked meat. “Every effort is being made to educate the villagers about the hazards of eating raw and uncooked meat,” said Dr CB Singh, an epidemiologist.

Remarks Against UP’s Division
Statehood women activists burn Mulayam’s effigy
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 22
Women who had faced police bullets, atrocities and manhandling from the Uttar Pradesh Police on the Rampur Tiraha-Muzaffarnagar border on October 2, 1994, during the Uttarakhand statehood movement, took to streets today protesting against Mulayam Singh Yadav against his anti-small states’ remarks.

Under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Rajya Andolankari Manch, these women statehood activists blamed Mulayam for the mass atrocity on tens of thousands of Uttarakhand activists, who were going to New Delhi to participate in a statehood rally but were violently stopped by the UP Police.

The women activists said Mulayam was always against smaller states, particularly against the formation of Uttarakhand, as he always had bias against hilly people.

Led by women cell chief of the UKM Meera Raturi, dozens of such activists gathered at Bhagat Singh Chowk and took out a procession on the inner roads.

Raturi said while Mayawati had proposed the division of Uttar Pradesh into four new states, its only Mulayam who was against this step, which will usher in development into these regions.

Reacting sharply to Mulayam making similar comment about the creation of Uttarakhand while on a visit to Dehradun last week in the presence of former Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, veteran manch activist Deveshwari Gairola termed it deliberate attempt by Yadav to put salt on the wounds of those who got affected during the Rampur intersection police firing.

“Tiwari despite being the first CM of Uttaranchal should have objected to Mulayam’s comments, neither did BJP leaders condemn his statement. This is the sad part of people of this hilly state. We fought on ground, but its only politicians who gained from this statehood,” said Nafeesa.

These activists burnt the effigy of the leader seeking a public apology from the people of Uttarakhand for allowing the police to first stop and then fire on the innocent statehood activists at the Rampur intersection.

Brahm kamal faces extinction: Researcher
Courtesy ecological degradation and excess exploitation of this variety
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, November 22
The existence of Brahm kamal (saussurea obvallata), the state flower of Uttarakhand, is in crisis due to the worldwide ecological degradation and the excess exploitation of this high-Himalayan variety after the creation of the state, claimed Dr Naveen Joshi, an Ayurvedic doctor and researcher on this flower.

According to Dr Joshi, due to religious uses in the Himalayan region and accessibility of the villagers to the areas where it grows, the exploitation of this flower has increased in the recent years leading it to its possible extinction. The height of 11000 feet at which this flower starts appearing is now accessible and as a result, the specific variety of ‘Kasturi Kamal’ cannot be found,” said Dr Joshi.

He said due to its aphrodisiac and aromatic values in Tibetan medical system, the oil of Brahm Kamal is being extracted in a large quantity in Tibet.

“The handbook of traditional drugs cites 174 formulations of this rare flower in Tibet,” said Dr Joshi.

”Not only in Tibet, but in the Chinese medical system a number of perfumes are prepared out of the oil extracted from this flower, which are used for aphrodisiac purposes in that country. Due to this increased use, the Chinese are purchasing this flower from the Tibetan nomads,” said Dr Joshi.

He said in the Indian Ayurvedic system, the Himalayan flower is known as ‘Kooth’ in Ayurveda, which has described its 64 varieties in the Himalayan region. ”In Ayurveda, the uses of Brahm Kamal are meant for antiseptic medicine, medicine to be used for paralysis,

asthma, cholera and many other skin diseases,” said Dr Joshi, who has been researching on the medicinal uses of this flower for a long time.

“But the flower found in the Himalayan glaciers from Yangon in Myanmar to western China on both side of the Himalaya in 62 varieties, including all 36 varieties in the Indian Himalayas, is in a bad shape as the Tibetans are extracting its oil for medicinal uses and the Indian villagers are using it for religious purposes,” said Dr Joshi.

The special variety of this flower, named Kasturi Kamal, known in Ayurvedic as the king of Himalayan flowers, is found at heights of more than 16000 feet, especially in the areas of the Chiplakedar and Hiramani glaciers of Uttarakhand, are in danger of being extinct as the villagers are recklessly extracting these flowers in large quantities to offer it to the goddesses of Nanda and Sunanda in September every year.

”Until this tendency of indiscriminate plucking of this flower is not checked, the state flower of Uttarakhand will be in danger,”’ cautioned Dr Naveen Joshi.

5 jumbos go on rampage
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 22
Panic has gripped residents of the BHEL complex and Tibdi colony as five elephants from the nearby Rajaji National Park forest terrain entered the areas early this morning and damaged trees, plants and temporary parking shelters.

Residents said the elephants came very close to their houses, causing fear among them. They said it had become difficult for them to come out of their houses as it had never happened before.

The residents said despite informing the officials concerned about the presence of the elephants in the residential area and the damage being done by them, no one reached the area.

Ahsaan Ansari, a resident of Sector 1, BHEL, said they heard sounds of the jumbo movement while they were sleeping. When they looked outside, five elephants were damaging trees and plants on their residential premises.

“All residents of the area closed their doors and windows in fear and informed the forest officials. For nearly 40 minutes, the jumbos wreaked havoc in the area. It was only after they burnt firecrackers that they left. However, they damaged many trees and temporary shelters,” said Ansari.

Last night also, two elephants were seen at the Tibdi railway crossing, which later entered a slum colony. Residents of the colony, however, started beating drums following which they ran away. On the other hand, Tibdi forest ranger MS Negi said a special monitoring was being done the nearby colony people had been asked to vacate the area.

WII survey on bears under way

Dehradun, November 22
The Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has begun a countrywide survey on bears in as many as 26 states, including Uttarakhand. The survey has come up at the behest of the Wildlife Trust of India, an NGO, which is the funding agency.

The survey has already begun and the field work is expected to end by June. The final bear survey report will subsequently be released by November next year on the occasion of World Bear Conference which will take place in Delhi.

According to S Satyakumar, Senior Scientist with the WII and who is supervising the survey, the survey work started in March and is expected to gain momentum in the coming months. He disclosed that the survey was aimed at formulating a data to facilitate the formulation of the National Bear Conservation Action Plan.

Satyakumar, who has to his credit earlier bear surveys of 1995 and 2006, is hopeful of better outcome this time. Meanwhile, the World Bear Conference to be held in Delhi in November next year is expected to see the attendance by the representatives of more than 50 countries. — TNS

Officials told to check quality of midday meal
Tribune News Service

Nainital, November 22
District Magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar PS Jangpangi has ordered the officials of the Education Department to identify buildings that can be taken on rent for running those schools whose buildings are yet to be built on account of the delay in the transfer of forest land.

In an order given to Deputy District Education Officer (DDEO) AK Singh, the District Magistrate has asked that the midday meal being served to children in various schools must be checked regularly and ensured that it had proper nutritional value.

At a meeting held in Rudrapur to evaluate the performance under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan today, Jangpangi said the shools that had been approved must be started so that the children could benefit from them. If there are delays in the construction of buildings on account of the delay in transfer of forest land or otherwise, they must be run from rental accommodations.

The Education Department officials have been told to fix targets for the inspection of the mid-day meal in different schools and initiate action against those not carrying out the inspections.

Jangpangi also ordered that the School Management Committees (SMCs) be activated for ensuring that quality food with high nutritional value is served to the children. Instructions were also given to carry out routine health check-up of the children studying in different schools.

The officials disclosed that construction of buildings for four schools is being delayed. It was also related that three teams of doctors are involved in carrying out health check-up of children.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer HS Pangti said 45,780 children studying in 591 schools had been subjected to health checkup till now and 1,175 of these will get treatment.

Move to unite workers’ unions at SIDCUL
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 22
With several cases of exploitation being reported individually by workers and more than four strikes on a mass scale in industrial firms of the Integrated Integral Estate, Roshanabad, several labour unions have been taking up this issue at various levels.

Now the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) has decided to unite all employees’ unions in the SIDCUL area to make sure that companies don’t exploit their basic rights.

Apprising about this at a meeting, city chief of the union Saurabh Shivpuri said their union was in constant touch with workers of more than 100 industrial firms in SIDCUL and would be organising protests and rallies against such firms that were indulged in exploitation of workers.

He even revealed that since their union had taken up the cause of SIDCUL workers, union executive members were also receiving threatening calls, for which they would be complaining to thedistrict police chief.

“We are with workers who are toiling for more than 10 hours in these firms, yet don’t get the minimum pay and are even not allowed to form an internal labour union themselves. The company management is also not providing basic facilities and documented salary, perks and other privileges to these labourers,” said Shivpuri.

While, Deepali Mehal, chief of women cell, said the district administration as well as state government is keeping silent on this issue, which is further aggravating the situation only.

“Even the 70 pc stipulated quota for native residents of Uttarakhand is not being adhered to by these companies, despite availing of concessional industrial package from the Central Government. Just setting up of industries is not enough, as development at the cost of exploitation and one’s fundamental rights is not appropriate in any way” said Deepali who also inducted new members in the union.

Among others present included district chief Vinod Puri, Seema Arora, Dinesh Pehalwan, Mukesh Giri, Jaswant Chauhan, Surendra Chauhan and Yashpal Chauhan.

Furore over encroachment demolition
Rajeev Khanna
Tribune News Service

Nainital, November 22
Furore that has been generated over the demolition of the alleged encroachment by those managing a Shani temple in Nainital is a grim pointer towards the vested interests at work in the Lake City when it comes to acquisition of land.

On Monday, a team of labourers, led by officials of the Lake Development Authority (LDA), the Municipal Council and the Public Works Department (PWD), demolished the alleged encroachment that had taken place on the Thandi Sadak while the said temple was being reconstructed after it was badly damaged in the rains.

The team was opposed by a group of smalltime politicians and some people at their behest which led to the officials returning before the matter got out of hands.

Tuesday saw those opposed to the demolition of allegedly encroached area marching to the office of the LDA and submitting a memorandum of demands.

The first point that has emerged from the episode is that the developments have given a platform to smalltime politicians to cash in on an issue of encroachment by giving it an emotive touch of being a “subject of faith”. It is these smalltime politicians who were seen giving bites to the electronic media in an attempt to get publicity for themselves when the Assembly poll are just a couple of months away. Some of them were also heard trying to generate protests in other towns while talking on the telephone to their friends.

A segment of the media that is inclined towards a particular ideology had earlier described the temple to be “pauranic” (one finding reference in the Hindu scriptures of Puranas) whereas the locals say that the temple had come into being barely some years ago.

The Thandi Sadak, that has always been a walkers’ delight, has witnessed a series of temples coming up or the expansion of old ones over the past few years. Whether these expansions and new constructions are legal or not remains to be answered by the administration.

To make matters worse, some of the people in the crowd that had marched to the office of the LDA on Tuesday could be seen trying to give a communal colour to the whole issue by saying that why encroachments by those managing shrines of other religions were not targeted. Some others were questioning why the authorities have not been demolishing other illegal structures in the town while only targeting the temple. A couple of rationalists in their reaction to the issue said that existence of some illegal buildings did not give a license to others to resort to illegal construction.

Decomposed body of missing child found
Tribune News Service

Nainital, November 22
The badly decomposed body of an eight-year-old child who had been missing from his home for almost a month has been found in a field near his house in the Halduchaur area of Nainital district.

According to information, the body of Raju was found in the sugarcane field close to his house in Parma village.

The body was discovered when his father, Lakhan Singh, came across a strong stench emanating from a field while he had gone to irrigate his fields.

He first came across a shoe belonging to the boy and then his shirt before he finally saw his decomposed body.

The child had gone missing on October 24. Lakhan informed his brothers who later reported the matter to the Lal Kuan police.

The body was cremated after a post-mortem examination.

While members of the deceased’s family have expressed the possibility of the child having been murdered and the body being dumped in the field, the police is also looking into the possibility of the child having been attacked by a wild animal.

The news has sent shock waves through the area. Further investigations are on in the matter.