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Traders protest against FDI in retail
Vyapar samiti backs bandh call
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Rogue tusker flees after being hit by tranquiliser dart
Villagers beat up travellers, thrash policemen
HC to pronounce order on Dec 2
BJP to finalise poll nominees in last week of December
VHP opposes proposed violence Bill
Peyjal Nigam employees to hold march today
March against anti-quarrying stir by Matra Sadan
Farmers to get maximum price for ginger in Dec: Experts
People rejoice at upgrading of urban bodies
Students donate blood
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Traders protest against FDI in retail
Haridwar, November 30 As a mark of protest, the protesting traders closed their establishments till afternoon and staged a protest at the city magistrate office. Under the aegis of the Small-scale Traders Union and the National Association of Street Vendors of India, NASVI (Uttarakhand unit), traders expressed concerns over the FDI permission to global retail giants. Addressing a gathering, a representative of NASVI Sanjay Chopra said the decision taken by the Ccentral Government was not in the interest of the small traders, vendors and poor people as millions of people depended on vending trading in India. He added that as more than 60 pc of traders came under unorganised sector, arrival of foreign companies would directly impact the livelihood of the small-scale traders. The traders also demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should instead take steps to uplift the trading market in the country and establish vending and hawking zones on the lines of commercial mall complexes in the country. A memorandum was also submitted through the city magistrate office to Chief Minister BC Khanduri, urging him to implement instantly the National Vendor Policy in the state and organise traders coming under this policy. “While the Central Government is inviting foreign investment in the retail sector posing threat to our existence, on the state front our woes are aggravating due to non-implementation by the state government of the National Vendor Policy” said vendor association leader Bhoopendra Rajpoot. Peasant leader Mahendra Singh Saini warned that if the UPA government didn’t roll back its FDI decision, then in the upcoming Assembly elections, farmers would vote against the Congress. |
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Vyapar samiti backs bandh call
Dehradun, November 30 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, NP Diwan, president of the Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal Samiti, said the traders of Uttarakhand had decided to support the nationwide bandh call against the entry of retail firms in the country. Diwan said the entry in the retail sector would be catastrophic both for the consumers and small-time traders. He said such FDI initiatives would only fuel inflation. Diwan asserted that the Centre was now misleading the public that the FDI would create job opportunities for the youth. He disclosed that even the entry of 20 per cent FDI in the retail sector would end the indigenous retail shops in the country. Responding to a query, Diwan also held that the entry in the retail sector was a ploy of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre to divert the people’s attention from the proposed Lokpal Bill. Meanwhile, the Students Federation of India and the DAV College Students Union have also extended the support to the bandh. Lekhraj, vice-president of the Students Federation of India has also appealed the management of schools and colleges to keep their institutions closed for tomorrow in support of the
bandh. |
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Rogue tusker flees after being hit by tranquiliser dart
Dehradun, November 30 The rogue tusker last night attacked one of the Corbett elephants, identified as Gomti, following which the forest authorities had to undertake tranquilising exercise. Gomti is among the two Corbett elephants that have been brought to the Shivpuri Range for patrol purposes. But the tusker after having being hit by a dart managed to make an escape into the forest making the exercise futile. Hoping for its another sighting, the forest authorities along with wildlife experts from the Wildlife Trust of India today spent the entire day in anticipation of the tusker but the tusker could not be
seen and was sighted for some minutes in Chorpani before it again vanished into the forest. AK Singh from the Wildlife Trust of India, who has been camping in the Shivpuri Range of Rishikesh for the past many days, is hopeful for a successful tranquilising within a day or two. He pointed out that last night’s firing of a dart on the rogue tusker was a case of emergency as the tusker had started disturbing the Corbett female elephants that could have been problematic. Meanwhile, National Wildlife Board member Brijendra Singh has questioned the use of Corbett elephants for managing the rogue tusker in Chorpani. In a strong-worded letter sent to Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden SS Sharma, Brijendra Singh said the Corbett elephants deputed in Chorpani were not fit for the purpose. He said while Gomti has reported 40 injuries, the other female elephant Chanchal too has serious bruises in yesterday
s incident. He argued that the two Corbett elephants were not trained for such operation. |
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Case of Mistaken Identity
Nainital, November 30 The village had witnessed arson and violence following a series of developments that started during the night on Monday. Sources say that villagers had thrashed three travellers on account of a mistaken identity. It is learnt that not only did the villagers beat up 55-year-old Balbir Singh, 35-year-old Harjit Singh and 25-year-old Balvir Singh, but also torched the four-wheeler in which the three were passing through the village. The travellers were the residents of Kachi Khamariya in Pratappur who were on the way to Lucknow. Sources say that the villagers were wary of several instances of thefts and robberies allegedly being committed by a “Kacchha Baniyan Dhari” gang in the area. They mistook the travellers to be a potential threat and thrashed them after a heated exchange of words. When the information of the vehicle having been torched reached the police, a team was sent to the village. Just as the police tried to intervene, the team was attacked by a mob of agitated villagers who allegedly threw stones on police personnel. A police vehicle was also badly damaged in the incident. Sometime later, the police once again descended on the village. This time the police team comprised personnel from Khatima, Nanakmatta, Chakarpur and Jhanghat, besides a team of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). They started rounding up the accused responsible This gradually took the form of a clash and the police allegedly resorted to a cane charge and the women resorted to stone pelting. Reports say that 12 women were injured in the cane charge. The police eventually managed to bring some of the accused to the police station. A case in the matter has been lodged against 500 villagers. The villagers landed up at the police station in a large number demanding the immediate release of the accused. It is learnt that persons rounded up were released on late Tuesday night. Talking to The Tribune, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) at Udham Singh Nagar Pushpak Jyoti said, “Things are normal in Banusa. We have made adequate security arrangements and deployed additional police force to prevent any untoward happening.” |
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Vacation of stay on Balkrishna’s arrest
Nainital, November 30 The matter was taken up for hearing by a single bench of Justice Tarun Aggarwala today who heard contentions and counter-contentions of both counsel representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Balkrishna. Over the last few hearings, the CBI had been contending that the stay on Balkrishna’s arrest should be vacated as the accused was not co-operating in the investigations, a charge that was denied by the counsel defending Balkrishna. The passport of Balkrishna had been submitted before the High Court on August 5 following which hearings had been held on August 29 and September 15. On another couple of occasions, the court had granted fresh dates for taking up the matter. The High Court had granted Balkrishna the immunity from arrest on July 29 and had asked him to present himself before the CBI and help in the investigations. A petition by Balkrishna, charged by the CBI of having furnished fake certificates to get a passport, had been taken up by the court of Justice Tarun Aggarwala in the last week of July. The court while prohibiting the CBI to arrest him had asked the CBI to file a counter-affidavit in the case. The counsel for Balkrishna had pleaded that the CBI had been claiming that the birth of Balkrishna was in Nepal but he got his education in Kankhal, Haridwar, thus misrepresenting the facts. During the course of hearing also, Bakrishna’s counsel had charged the CBI with malafide intention which was denied by the latter. The CBI is being represented by Arvind Vashist while Rajendra Dobhal is the counsel for
Balkrishna.
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BJP to finalise poll nominees in last week of December
Pithoragarh, November 30 “We have divided all Assembly seats into three categories. In the first category of 45 seats, we have put those seats in which we will be winning without much fight. In the second category having 7 seats, we will face a tough contest from Opposition candidates. In the third category having 18 seats, we will be weak compared to the Opposition candidates,” said the BJP leader. The BJP state chief further said that at present, the party was busy training party workers at the Assembly level in the state but soon it would launch its election campaign in the state. “After the meeting of national general secretaries of the party in Nainital on December 4, the party is going to hold two big rallies in the state starting from Srinagar in Garhwal on December 8 followed by one at Almora in the Kumaon region on December 11 with the presence of the party national leadership, including president Nitin
Gadkari,” said Chufal. According to the party president, the BJP would finalise the list of candidates for the Assembly elections in the last week of December. “ BJP workers with integrity and capacity to win will be given preference in ticket distribution.” He said the list of candidates would be issued by the Central Parliamentary Board after the names were cleared by the election committee of the state. |
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VHP opposes proposed violence Bill
Dehradun, November 30 He said: “The Bill holds Hindus solely responsible for riots in the country.” Dinesh further said the VHP would soon launch an awareness campaign across the country to make the public aware of the disastrous consequences of the Bill. He further said: “The proposed Bill also gives right to the Centre to dismiss any state government without assigning any reason in the name of internal peace, which is in itself autocratic.” Dinesh said the VHP would oppose the proposed Bill as those behind the preparation of its draft were biased. |
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Peyjal Nigam employees to hold march today
Dehradun, November 30 At a meeting held at the Peyjal Nigam headquarters here today, the Officers-Employees Joint Coordination Committee, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, decided to hold a rally tomorrow in
support of their charter of demand and also voice their protest against the indifference attitude of Water Resource Minister Prakash Pant. “We will hold a march tomorrow in the Assembly segment of Water Resource Minister Prakash Pant,” said Suresh Thapa, publicity in charge. |
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March against anti-quarrying stir by Matra Sadan
Haridwar, November 30 In view of the sensitivity of the issue, heavy police force was deployed at the Matra Sadan and barricades were put up on the inner road leading to the ashram. Addressing the activists, district chief of the party Surendra Manral said quarrying was important for the maintenance of the ecology and livelihood of those associated with the quarrying trade. Chief of the minority cell of the party Jamshed Khan said no one would be allowed to become a hurdle in the development of the state. Earlier this week, chief of the UKD (Diwakar) who is state Revenue Minister, had termed the Matra Sadan’s anti-quarrying agitation as totally uncalled for. Diwakar had also given a warning to those activists and leaders who want to agitate on the issue of quarrying and hydroelectric projects in
Uttarakhand. |
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Farmers to get maximum price for ginger in Dec: Experts
Nainital, November 30 They have conducted a survey of the Haldwani regulated market, a major market for ginger trade in Uttarakhand, and analysed the wholesale price data that prevailed in the last 21 years in this market. It is on the basis of econometric analysis and the view point of traders that the experts have arrived at this conclusion. According to them, the market price of fresh ginger is expected to be in the range of Rs 2,400 to 2,700 per quintal in December. Such forecasts are being made by the scientists under a World Bank-funded national agriculture innovation project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, “Establishing and networking of market intelligence”. One of the objectives of this project is to make price forecasts of sowing and during the harvesting of selected agricultural commodities. The traders of the Haldwani market also indicated to the economists that the arrival of ginger starts in September and October. In Uttarakhand, ginger is grown mainly in the mid hills. Almora, Dehradun, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar are the four major ginger-producing districts of Uttarakhand accounting for about 55 per cent of the total ginger production of the state. An expert on ginger at the university, Dr YV Singh, told The Tribune, “Ginger continues to be a major cash crop for the farmers in the hilly areas of the state.” He said the farmers of Terai were not inclined to go in for its production on a large scale of late on account of it being disease prone. But in the hills, it is a crop well preferred. According to experts, India ranks first in the production of ginger followed by China and Indonesia. |
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People rejoice at upgrading of urban bodies
Pithoragarh, November 30 ”The government order will reach their respective offices by the first week of December,” said Rajendra Singh Rawat, Chairman of the Nagar Palika Parishad, Pithoragarh. Pithoragarh, which was once a subdivision of Almora district, emerged as a town in the second half of the 20th century when the then UP government declared the town a notified area under the Town Area Act 1914, in 1957. After the sub-division got the district status in 1960, the town had been given the status of Nagar Palika after the inclusion of 15 villages in 1968 increasing the area of the town from 3 square kilometre to 9 square kilometre. ”The population of the town from last 30 years has been continuously on the increase making it from the C grade Nagar Palika in 1971 to the B grade in 1979,” said Rawat. “With the elevation of the Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad from the grade B to A Grade civic body, the state government has made the body viable for more funds to upgrade the civic amenities in the town which has a population of 70,000 today from 27,756 in 1991,” said Rawat. The Champawat town area, which has been upgraded from the Nagar Panchayat to the Nagar Palika status, has started its journey from 1972 when after including five nearby revenue villages, the town was given the status of the Nagar Panchayat from the Notified Area Committee (NAC) status having only the population of 500 at the time. “After the Champawat was given separate district status by then UP Chief Minister Mayawati in 1997, the demand to elevate it as the Nagar Palika was raised and a proposal concerning it was sent to the government,” said Poonam Verma, a former chairman of the Champawat Nagar Panchayat. According to citizens of Chapawat, this elevation will get the rapidly growing urban body more funds to upgrade the civic facilities in the town and also increase the prospects of development in all 13 villages which have been included in the new notification. |
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Drive to boost industry soon
Dehradun, November 30 Speaking today at an interactive meet on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME), Sharma said the spot registration would be held in Srinagar on December 8, on December 10 in Dehradun and December 11 in
Bhimtal. On the other hand, president of the Industries Association of Uttarakhand Pankaj Gupta stressed on the need for cooperation between National Small Industries Corporation Ltd
(NSIC), banks and government in order to strengthen the industrial climate for
MSMEs. The interactive meet was organised in association with the NSIC. |
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Students donate blood
Haridwar, November 30
Prior to the donation, the students were informed about the blood donation process, its impact on one’s body and a question-answer session was also held where students asked their queries. |
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Small-scale traders and street vendors today came out in open against the Union Cabinet decision of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector in
Haridwar.
Uttarakhand traders have supported the nationwide bandh call for tomorrow meant to oppose the Centre-initiated foreign direct investment in the retail sector.
General secretary (organisation) of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Dinesh said today that the proposed Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill-2011 was anti-Hindu and aimed at appeasing the minority communities.
Haridwar, November 30
