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Quarrying on Ganga River Bed
‘Honour’ Killings
Assembly Poll |
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Panel formed to prepare SP’s manifesto
Teenaged girl raped at Tanakpur
Blood camp held at Law College
NCP flays attack on Pawar
Free bus travel for girl students
Regional front draws up common minimum programme
Call for revival of Central Board of Forestry
Almora, Bageshwar villages to get high-speed Net facility
Peyjal Nigam staff to continue stir
Foodgrain production up by over 10%
Rs 1.75 cr for UCF
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Quarrying on Ganga River Bed
Haridwar, November 25 Swami Shivanand said he would not let Ganga activist Swami Nigmanand’s sacrifice go in vain and now it’s up to Matra Sadan activists to take forward his social fight for a noble cause. Matra Sadan chief also sought an explanation from the district administration for allowing a government agency, Van Vikas Nigam, to do quarrying in
the region. This agitation has once again brought into limelight the issue of quarrying in Haridwar and with Swami Shivanand pointing fingers at the district administration for
having double standard on quarrying, it seems this time there will be a decisive action from the government side. Meanwhile, the Ganga Mahasabha of Benaras has extended its support to the Matra Sadan ashram on this issue. Its delegation met Swami Shivanand yesterday. Acharya Jitendra, general secretary of the mahasabha, said taking a cue from on the Matra Sadan, they too had formed in Banaras a similar Ganga Action Force.The Samajwadi Party too has extended its support to the Matra
Sadan agitation. |
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‘Honour’ Killings
Nainital, November 25 According to information, the youths, Rajkishore (18) and Upendra (15) of Baguliya village, were allegedly having an affair with two girls from the same village. Members of the victims’ families alleged that Rajkishore and Upendra, who were neighbours, were watching television when they received calls on their cellphones from the girls. The girls asked them to come near a water body on the outskirts of the village. When Rajkishore and Upendra reached there, they were allegedly attacked by a group of men which had been waiting for them. According to reports, the accused allegedly hit them with sharp-edged weapons and then strangled them. The bodies were thrown in the sugarcane fields. The parents of the girls were aware of their daughters having affairs with the two youths. Those accused in the matter are former pradhan Ramadhar, Amar, Videshi Prasad, Ajay, Pappu, Pardesi, Deenanath, Satyendra, Ramagya, Karan Yadav, Mohan and both girls. Some of the accused, however, managed to flee. The police is suspecting that they might try crossing over to Nepal. Vigilance on the routes leading to Nepal has been increased. Further investigations are on. |
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Assembly Poll
Pithoragarh, November 25 “Five or six sitting MLAs have lost their seats due to the reorganisation of the Assembly seats by the Election Commission. How many of them will be able to adjust themselves in new seats is being studied by the party,” said Joshi, who was talking to mediapersons here today. He said the BJP was of the view that the party candidate should not only be sound in party ideology but should also be an asset for the party. “At present the party is assessing its candidates keeping the candidates of the main Opposition parties in mind. We are looking into that who should be dropped from the list and who are the new faces to be introduced included in the party list of contestants,” said Joshi. The new party manifesto is being prepared by the manifesto committee headed by former Union Minister Bachi Singh Rawat and it will be finalised on December 6 when the final meeting of the committee will be held. “The party will focus on the development as the main priority in the manifesto instead of the issue of a corruption-free state which has been publicised by the media till now. Being a party having ruled the state for the past five years, it is obvious that it is the development that the BJP government has done in the state during its rule in the past five years and it should be the priority issue,” said Joshi. “After making a balanced development of the state, the BJP state government will focus on making Uttarakhand a corruption-free state and how to stop migration from the hill villages,” he said. The BJP general secretary said LK Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra had left a positive mark on the morale of the party workers in the state that would help it in coming back to power in 2012.” |
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Development of Water Projects
Dehradun, November 25 Representing the interest of Mekroot, Israel’s national water company, AFII corporate advisers met Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh Rawat and apprised him of Israel’s interest in supporting the efforts of Uttarakhand in developing water infrastructure that directly impacts the life of the urban population. At a press conference today, Dr Mahesh PS Gandhi, CEO (AFII), said being a local resident, he was aware of the geography of the state, which could benefit from the expertise that Israel
had in the area of water resource management, water supply, water quality and security, desalination, waste water treatment reclamation, rain enhancement etc. “Based on our study, we understand that there is a need to streamline water infrastructure in the state. In Uttarakhand, there is no problem of water availability but of the optimum use of water in which features such as water treatment and water harvesting could play an important role. We will be preparing a detailed project report and submitting it to the government soon,” he said. In view of the religious importance of Haridwar and Jerusalem, he said both cities could be developed as sister cities. “We could take up the cleaning of rivers in both cities and promote the practice in other cities as well,”
he added. |
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CM urges youth to take advantage of self-employment schemes
Nainital, November 25 Claiming that his government has started several schemes aimed at providing self-employment and putting an end to the emigration of youth from the region, Khanduri said by making use of such schemes, the youth could become an active partner in the development of the state. Addressing a public meeting in the Someshwar area of Almora district on Friday, Khanduri said the government was committed to the development of Uttarakhand and had been taking people-oriented decisions while rising above the party politics. He promised that several more decisions would be taken by his government in the interest of the people before the Model Code of Conduct gets implemented in the state prior to the next Assembly polls, scheduled to take place in the next couple of months. He once again played up the steps taken by the government with regards to tackling the menace of corruption in the state. Khanduri said laxity on the part of officials and contractors or anyone else would not be tolerated when it comes to execution of development-oriented projects like construction of roads, supply of water and power and provision of health and education facilities. He claimed that his government had taken a lead by enacting the Lokayukta Act and underlined that several other decisions like implementing a transparent-transfer policy have also been taken for the first time since the creation of the state. He also announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh to the family of Deepa Bisht of Rengal village who had died in labour pains on account of a traffic jam at Chitai. The incident is currently being probed by the Almora administration. The Chef Minister had come to participate in the wedding of Ajay Tamta, a local legislator. Apart from congratulating Tamta, he applauded the work being done by him for the development of the
Someshwar area. |
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Panel formed to prepare SP’s manifesto
Dehradun, November 25 Addressing mediapersons on the party premises today, Barthwal, on the issue of the inauguration of the Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway track, said: “The Congress and the BJP are trying to take the credit for this railway line, but both parties are not bothered about topographical implications this project will have in the area.” He also discussed about poor condition of the road between Survey Chowk and Raipur and said the Chief Minister must see the condition of the road that was among the busiest roads in the city and assess the plight of commuters. The party will hold a district-level meeting on December 1 to discuss preparations for the elections. |
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Teenaged girl raped at Tanakpur
Nainital, November 25 It is learnt that a taxi driver raped a 13-year-old girl who had come to attend a wedding. The suspect, who has been identified as 22-year-old Shankar Thakur, dragged her to a garden near the place where the wedding was being held. The screams and cries for help made by the victim were stifled under the loud music being played by the Disc Jockey at the function. The matter was reported by the victim, who is a resident of Ward No. 5 of the town, to her mother. Afraid of the social stigma attached to rape, the family could not gather courage to report the matter immediately to the police. In was only after a lot of persuasion and discussions with the friends and relatives that the victim’s father went on to relate the incident to the police which promptly registered a case in the matter. According to the police, the medical examination of the victim has been done. Efforts are on to nab the suspect who is said to be a resident of the same Ward No. 5 locality. |
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Annual sports meet begins
Haridwar, November 25 Naina won the 80 mts hurdles race followed by Gauree and Yashika. In the boys category, Rachit, Keshav and Chirag shared the podium. In the football matches, Group 4 sailed through the semi- final with a 3-0 win over Group 3. In other events, Bhumika Rathi, Drishti Singh, Bhumika Modi, Ananya, Yashvi Aggarwal and
Tihu Adhikari in girls and Vansh Bargava, Lakhwinder ,Rajat, Raunak, Aditya Raj and Nidah Shah in boys made it to the finals in athletics meets. In hurdle race, Oyash, Ashin, Shivam, Aditya, Kartavya and Amit in boys and Mananya,
Aayushi, Gurlin, Inderpreet, Vanshika and Priyadarshi in girls made it to the finals. Inaugurating the sports meet, director of the Bachpan Play School Nitin Ahluwalia emphasised the need of instilling healthy sports activities in students. Academic Heights Principal Dr Ashok Kumar Sharma lighted the lamp and assured students of more sporting facilities and equipments in the coming academic session. |
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Blood camp held at Law College
Dehradun, November 25 The staff from three blood banks from Himalayan Hospital, Mahant Indresh Hospital and Doon Hospital conducted the camp. The Vice-Chancellor, Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, Dr Vijay Dasmana, was the chief guest. Assistant Director of the Uttarakhand State AIDS Control Society Meenaxi Uniyal and Liaison Officer SS Uniyal were special guests.
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NCP flays attack on Pawar
Dehradun, November 25 Party spokesman Manoj Dhyani has said: “The way Sharad Pawar was attacked by a ‘cheap publicity seeker’ appears to be a deep-rooted conspiracy. The way the youngster openly brandished the weapon reflected the real motive behind this dastardly act and it needs to be investigated at the highest level”. — TNS
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Free bus travel for girl students
Dehradun, November 25 The move would benefit nearly 10 lakh girl students
— PTI
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Regional front draws up common minimum programme
Dehradun, November 25 The members, however, did not finalise the issue of the distribution of seats as important members, Lt-Gen TPS Rawat (retired), president of the Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha, and Munna Singh Chauhan, president of the Janwadi party, were not present today. The discussion on this matter has been deferred for another two days. The members also passed resolutions that included a demand for a probe into the involvement of two state ministers in quarrying activities as they alleged that it was a quarrying mafia that was behind Swami Nigamanand’s death. The members also decided to support Swami Shivanand who has launched an indefinite fast against quarrying in Haridwar. They also condemned the BJP government for making “hollow” announcements and demanded punishment for those responsible for the Shantikunj incident. The main points of their CMP included an alternative to the BJP and the Congress in the state, the declaration of Gairsain as the state capital, a probe into land use and deals of the past 12 years, the constitution of the
Panchayati Van in each village and a minimum support price for agriculture produce in the hills. Those present at the meeting included president of the UKD Trivender Singh Panwar, state secretary of the CPM Vijay Rawat, Samar Bhandari of the CPI , URM’s Manzoor Ahmad, Rajiv Kothari from the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, Surat Singh Chauhan from the Uttarakhand Janwadi, Gurcharan from the Lok Janshakti and Harjinder Singh from the Janata
Dal (secular). |
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Call for revival of Central Board of Forestry
Dehradun, November 25 KP Singh, public relations officer (ICFRE), said here today that the Indian Forest Congress, among its other recommendations, had suggested for the revival of the Central Board of Forestry that was constituted in 1970 and its conversion into an apex body of forestry in the country headed by the Prime Minister to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders for policy formulation. The congress also sought an extensive research in eco-tourism and asked the ICFRE to take up such projects in the country. It also stressed the need to accelerate forest extension activities on a priority basis to ensure that non-forest lands are brought under tree cover to meet the national target of bringing 33 per cent land mass under forest and tree cover. A need to give a push to futuristic research in themes like tree genetics and breeding, genomics, proteomics, genome mapping, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, bamboo fibre and medicines was also raised at the forest conference so that future demand and expectations of society from the forests are met. “The speakers at the Indian Forest Congress were of the opinion that forestry issues at the national level need to be
inculcated in our planning and developmental process for holistic and sustainable development and, therefore, it is necessary to professionalise the forestry matters in policy and decision-making process, KP Singh added. |
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Almora, Bageshwar villages to get high-speed Net facility
Pithoragarh, November 25 “Villages situated in the remote areas of the circle will be covered in the second and third phases,” he said. According to the general manager, the district, tehsil and block headquarters of these districts were already connected with the Internet service besides some villages near the town and the subdivisional headquarters. “The towers that had been installed at Bageshwar, Majkhali, Palari, Berinag, Vijaypur and Champawat recently have started functioning and the installation work at 27 other places will be completed by March next year,” he added. “Later, the e-governance facility will also be available to these villages through a common service centre,” he said. The general manager further said as the service was wireless, there was no fear of theft of cables. “We have linked the district and subdivisional headquarters of the Kumaon region by installing towers at Karardevi, Ranikhet, Gangolihat, Kapkot and Bhikiasain. Now we are trying to cover more than 75 per cent of the area of the region by installing new towers,” he added. |
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Peyjal Nigam staff to continue stir
Dehradun, November 25 To access World Bank Aid, the government had changed its status to a nigam by an enactment in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in the 70s. In other engineering departments of the states like the PWD and Irrigation, the Jal Vidyut Nigam and the Jal Sansthan, which are also engaged in commercial activities, their establishment charges are to the tune of 18.45 per cent, 100.86 per cent, 68.77 per cent and 47.46 per cent. These charges are borne by the government. But the Peyjal Nigam is forced to pay its establishment charges through the 12.5 per cent centage charge. “The nigam is paid only 12.5 per cent centage on the drinking water supply and sewerage works, which is insufficient to meet the actual expenditure of the establishment of the nigam. But the government is not willing to accord government department to it,” said SP Singh, Chief Engineer, Garhwal region. Employees fear that a rise in expenditure on the establishment of the nigam in 2011-2012 is expected to come around Rs 100 crore which might not be possible to meet through the centage payable to the nigam by the government. “After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, the establishment charges of the nigam have increased to 40 per cent. Things have come to such a pass that new recruits are not willing to stay as they fear they may not get their salaries,” he said. |
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Foodgrain production up by over 10%
Dehradun, November 25 “Owing to the steps taken by the Agriculture Department, despite a year of droughts and floods in some parts of the state, the total foodgrain production stands at 18.16 lakh metric tonnes in 2010-2011. It was 16.47 metric tonnes in 2000-2001,” he said. Addressing a press conference here today, the minister said even the recently announced Agriculture Policy-2011 is aimed at giving a fillip to agriculture and also provide opportunities to the farmers to increase their income. The minister also said despite doubts raised in certain quarters about the feasibility of cow urine, the Uttarakhand Animal Husbandry Department has managed to earn a revenue of Rs 22.83 lakh with the sale and distribution of cow urine. “As soon as the BJP government came to power, we established a Cow Commission dedicated to promote cow-based research and also utilise cow urine for both medicinal and fertility purpose,” he said. The minister further said the between 2012-2017, a total of 6,000 hectares would be brought under horticulture activities. A total of 558.6 hectares had been brought under floriculture. |
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Rs 1.75 cr for UCF
Dehradun, November 25 Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar directed
the UCF to prepare a proposal in this regard for the government during a meeting here, according to an official release. The amount of Rs 1.75 crore, which
will be provided from the contingency fund, will be used by the UCF for the transportation and storage of fertilisers, it said. Stating that the government was committed to providing fertilisers to the farmers,
Kumar said the timely use of fertilisers would increase the yield of agriculture products by 10 per cent. — PTI
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Haridwar, November 25
Development of Water Projects
With the state Assembly elections nearing, Vinod Barthwal, state president of the Samajwadi Party (SP), has constituted a committee of 17 members to prepare an election manifesto.
Addressing mediapersons on the party premises today, Barthwal, on the issue of the inauguration of the Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway track, said: “The Congress and the BJP are trying to take the credit for this railway line, but both parties are not bothered about topographical implications this project will have in the area.”
