Haridwar, December 11
Some of the members of the Akhil Bharatiya Saint Samiti (ABSS) have expressed resentment against yoga guru Ramdev and Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Hans Vedacharya for not having a “proper conduct” as is desired of persons of their repute.

They also condemned the behaviour of Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya and took exception to his “secret” meeting with Ramdev without taking samiti members into confidence.

Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya is a member of the directorial committee of the ABSS. On April 29 this year, he had met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan demanding a CBI probe into “financial irregularities” committed by Ramdev and his aide Acharya Balkrishan. However, both of them, Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya and Ramdev, are now on good terms. The samiti members said it was the result of a “secret” meeting between both in Haridwar. They alleged that at the meeting, the yoga guru had given Rs 3 crore to Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya to side with him and stop levelling allegations against him.

The Hari Pur Kalan chief of the ABSS, Yogi Raj Satya Vratanand Saraswati, also expressed the saint community’s unhappiness over the “conduct” of Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya for first speaking against Ramdev and now after a closed-door meeting siding with Ramdev.

He said they had sent a notice to Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya in this regard and sought explanation from him. “He had met the President on behalf of the ABSS without taking into confidence the executive working committee of the body and also held a secret meeting with the yoga guru. This is not expected from a saint of such a stature. As we are part of the samiti, we have right to be aware of the steps or stance taken by any member of the samiti,” said Yogi Raj Satya Vratanand Saraswati.

Swami Vinod Giriji also warned of the expulsion of Jagadguru Hans Vedacharya from the saint committee if he failed to clear his stand.

He also flayed him for being at the helm of affairs during the hosting of Punjabi Mahakumbh saying he had violated the moral ethics of the saint community.

“We are against any move which propels the feelings of casteism, regionalism or sect. By hosting a specific community’s function and naming it with century-old Mahakumbh, he has disrespected the ideals of our saint committee,” he added.

This stance taken by the ABSS has caused a furore in the saint community.

Dehradun, December 11
A two-day youth festival organised by the Yuva Kalyan Department and the Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) concluded at Rajeev Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya here today.

The festival was inaugurated by Dehradun Zila Panchayat Madhu Chauhan. She encouraged the young rural youth to participate in the extra curricular activities.

Apart from sports, competitions in essay writing, painting and debates were also held. In the folk dance competition, Raipur block stood first while Chakata block was second and Doiwala block was third. In folk songs, Raipur block was first, Sahaspur block, second and Doiwala stood third. In classical music competition, Oaj Chawla was first while Shivani Silamna stood second. In essay competition, Arun Kumar stood first, Dhawajveer Singh was second and Brahmdutt was third.

The Vivekanand Youth award was presented to Yuvak Mangal Dal, Rajawala. The Mahila Mangal Dal, Hope Town, was given a shield and a cash award of Rs 5000.— TNS

Dehradun, December 11
Members of the Uttarakhand Jan Manch today staged a dharna in support of the fast undertaken by Anna Hazare.

The members sat on a day-long dharna singing Ramdhun of Mahatama Gandhi to support the demand of Anna Hazare for a powerful Jan Lokpal Bill in the country.

Ashok Bahukhandi, founder member of the Uttarakhand Janmanch, speaking on the occasion, said the country needed a patriot like Anna Hazare to weed out corruption from the country.

Suman Dhyani, general secretary of the Janmanch, alleged that there had been widespread corruption in all three power corporations in the state. She announced that the Uttarakhand Janmanch would hold a dharna at the gate of Urja Bhawan on December 17 to demand a CBI inquiry into the working of these power corporations.

Dehradun, December 11
The SPICMACAY organised a folk concert of Sufi Kabir Gyan by Bharti Bhandu at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) today. Hailing from Raipur, Chattisgarh, the singers are famous for their soul stirring recitation of Kabir dohas and bhajans. Their style is also labelled as the “Bharti Bandhu Shaily”.

A Kathak performance by Mahua Shankar was also held at the ONGC. She has to her credit, a dance sequence in two major films- Gadar, with Sunny Deol and Amisha Patel, and Devdas with Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. — TNS

Dehradun, December 11
The land in Ward No. 42 comprising Singhal Mandi and the Pathari Bagh area is uneven as it used to be agricultural land before housing colonies were established here. Even now farms can be seen at some places.

Residents of Singhal Mandi, which is a slum area, and Pathari Bagh are irked over the uneven nature of the land. Pankaj Gupta, a local resident, said: “During the rains, water gets stagnated and takes time to recede owing to the uneven nature of the land.

The entire area virtually turns into a pond and it becomes difficult for us to walk and drive.”

Saroj Devi: “During the monsoon, water had entered my house damaging furniture and other things.”

Shayam Lal said: “It being a low-lying area, we face many difficulties during the rains.

This year also an old house in our area collapsed and a wall of my house developed deep cracks.”

Another resident, Geeta Rani, said: “Despite repeated requests to the Dehradun Municipal Corporation and the administration, nothing has been done to solve our problems.”

Area councillor Rakesh Shaurya, however, expressed helplessness saying the nature of the land could not be changed.

“As the land could not be levelled now, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation and the administration should help drain water out from the houses during the rains.”