Villagers threaten to boycott poll
Rajeev Khanna
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
Having been failed by the successive governments when it comes to addressing basic problems, the villagers across the region are now trying the threat of a poll boycott as a last-minute tool in the hope of securing something from the government before the elections are held.

The most recent example of such a threat being given by agitated villagers has come from the Dhari area of Nainital district. The villagers are agitated over the non-implementation of the decision to extend the Kasiyalekh-Parbada road up to Dhari.

They claim that the project had been cleared during the erstwhile Congress regime when Narayan Dutt Tewari was the Chief Minister but no one has shown the sincerity to execute it in totality as the project was shelved after the road was built over a stretch of 8 km.

The villagers say that residents of more than 12 villages have been devoid of road connectivity due to the non-completion of the project.

The villagers of the Patwadangar area of Nainital have also repeated their threat on the issue of non-execution of the Basani-Patwadangar road project. The threat was aired at a meeting held in Basani village yesterday.

The villagers from the area have been threatening to boycott the coming Assembly poll if the government fails to deliver on the promise of constructing a road on the Fatehpur-Belbasani-Patwadangar stretch. The agitated villagers had blocked the traffic movement on the Nainital-Haldwani road last month and have threatened to repeat the action if no step is taken in the direction of resolving the matter immediately.

Earlier this year the residents of Gairad village in Bageshwar had threatened not to participate in the polling process if the government does not address their demand for upgrade of the middle school in their village. In order to press for their demand the villagers had launched a protest on the premises of the local temple. They claim that the demand for upgrade of the school has been hanging fire over the past two decades and all that they have got till now is plain assurances. The villagers had pointed out that since their village is about 10 km away from the road, their children, particularly the girls, are deprived of getting higher education.

The residents of the Dhurafat area of Betalghat block of Nainital district also made a similar threat recently on the issue of the government’s failure to link the area to the main road. To send across their point, hundreds of villagers from the area had staged a massive protest on the premises of the Kaushyakutaoli Tehsil office in November. These residents had come from 17 villages of the area claiming that despite the project having been cleared the execution of work has not been completed. They said they still have to travel long distances to reach a road head.

A few weeks earlier the residents of the Pankhu area of Berinag in Pithoragahr district had resorted to a novel method of protest to air their resentment against the failure of the government to metal the Thal-Kotmanya-Dharamghar road. The protesters had gone in a procession to the accompaniment of drums and other instruments to the office of the Public Works Department (PWD) and held a demonstration there in support of their demand. They too had threatened to boycott the coming Assembly poll if their demand is not addressed at the earliest.

Congress for creating small administrative units
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 17
The Congress, if it comes to power in the state, will create small administrative units. This was stated by Congress leader and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat at a Congress rally held in Berinag town of the district today.

“The BJP has only been indulging in corruption in the name of development in the state in the past five years. Its leaders have almost looted the state and increased their wealth four or five times,” he said, adding that the Congress will not only increase the pace of development but also set up an inquiry into the scandals that came to light during the BJP regime.

The union minister said the Congress would survey the old patterns of hill agriculture to make them more viable. The amount being given to girls under the Kanya Dhan Yojana would be increased from Rs 25,000 at present to Rs 50,000. “The Congress will also increase the honorarium of gram praharis and start construction of Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya and Kasturba Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya in the area, the construction of which has been stalled by the BJP government despite those having been inaugurated during the Congress regime,” he said.

Addressing the meeting, which was organised by the Berinag unit of the party, Almora MP, Pradeep Tamta said if the people of Kumaon wanted a railway link from Tanakpur to Bageshwar, they should vote for Soniaji this time in the state as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi had promised to order a survey on this rail line.

“When we met Soniaji last month and apprised her of the resentment among the people of the Kumaon region for non-sanctioning of the railway line from Tanakpur to Bageshwar, she assured us to give it green light just after the Assembly elections,” said Tamta.

Former MLA from the Gangolihat Assembly seat Narayan Ram said the BJP had stalled more that 12 development projects that had been sanctioned during the Congress regime. After coming to power the BJP not only stalled the proposed lift drinking water scheme for the Gangolihat town to be built at a cost of Rs 14 crore but also stopped work on eight major road projects which were aimed at linking the interior parts of this backward subdivision to a highway, he said.

I have fully utilised MPLAD funds: Tarun
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
Asking the media not to take the government position as a gospel truth, Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay has contested the government claim on having stated that he had not utilised his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had made it to the columns of various newspapers for reportedly having scored a self goal. As per reports, Vijay had, in a parliamentary question, asked from the Ministry of Statistics of Programme Implementation the names of Members of Parliament (MPs) whose MPLAD funds for the entire period of their membership had remained unutilised. The ministry, in its response, had reportedly given a list of three Lok Sabha MPs and 22 Rajya Sabha MPs, who had not utilised their MPLAD funds. The last name on the list was reportedly that of Vijay himself.

In a statement issued from Delhi, Vijay said:” I was amazed to see the news item. The government released Rs 1 crore as a first instalment so far, and I have already sanctioned proposals worth more than Rs 2 crore in the last one year till the first week of December 2011.” He has also sent across a complete list of the recipient organisations and schools with details of the funds sanctioned to them.

3 youths held under Wildlife Protection Act
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 17
The Pithoragarh police today nabbed three youths and recovered a leopard skin from their possession. They were charged under the Wildlife Protection Act.

“The youths, arrested from the nearby village of Aicholi, confessed to have purchased the skin from a middleman and were going to sell it for Rs 3 lakh to some contact in the Tarai area of US Nagar,” said NA Barane, SP Pithoragarh.

According to the SP, the leopard seemed to have been killed after it was trapped as there was no sign of bullet injury on the body. “The skin is 230 cm long and 67cm wide and the animal seems to have been killed recently,” said the police.

According to the SP, this was the sixth case of seizure of leopard skin in the district this year till date. All the skins seized were of mature leopards, killed by trapping them. “The poachers put traps at some particular places and also put some dead animals there as a bait,” said the SP, elaborating on the process of killing the animal by poachers.

The police said that though the real network of smugglers could not be traced, the police, after interrogating the arrested youths, reached in the conclusion that the skin was meant to be sent to some contact at Moradabad in UP, and from there to Delhi en route to the international market in China or Gulf countries.

“After China, the Gulf countries are now coming up as potential market for these skins. The poachers are now sending tiger and leopard skins to Gulf countries as the market there fetches more money,” said the SP.

Male tiger found dead
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 17
A male tiger was found dead in the Daichouri range of Ramnagar Forest Division today. This is the fourth tiger death in the Jim Corbett National Park and its adjoining regions in the past five days.

The Ramnagar forest authorities attribute the male tiger’s death to a territory struggle between two tigers. According to Range Officer, Ramnagar, R Bijalwan, they received the information at around 10 am that the body of male tiger around 10 years of age was lying in a pool of blood in the Daichouri range of Ramnagar Forest Division. “We found the tiger’s right hand was broken and there were over 12 injury marks on the body. Probably the tiger had died early in the morning after a fierce fight with another tiger,” Bijalwan pointed out.

On December 14, a female tiger cub aged one month was found dead in the Dhela range of the park. The cause of this tiger death is yet to be ascertained.

On December 13, two tiger cubs were found dead in Terai East Forest Division. Forest guards came across a dead male and a female tiger cub in the Kilpura range of Terai East Forest Division, which falls in the proximity of the tiger-famous Corbett park. The two cubs were about one year of age.

Dispose of cases through mediation, CJ tells lawyers
Foundation stone of ADR centre laid in Rudrapur
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court Barin Ghosh has asked lawyers to develop a mindset that helps in deciding matters through reconciliation, talks and understanding. He stated that knowledge of law was very important for obtaining justice.

Chief Justice Ghosh made these observations today while laying down the foundation stone of the an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre at the district courts premises in Rudrapur. The centre is to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1.46 crore.

He pointed out that in order to deal with the problem of high pendency of cases, the alternative system of Lok Adalats and ADR was being implemented. Mediation, talks and understanding were the right methods to dispose of cases. Besides, justice would be provided at a lesser cost. He asked the lawyers to make use of the above-mentioned tools to perform their duty towards society.

In his address, Justice DS Verma said that delay in justice led to discontentment while raising a question mark on justice itself.

Justice Tarun Aggarwal disclosed that the Union Government had allocated a sum of Rs 17.5 crore to the High Court and district courts for the construction of nyaya sadans. He said that once completed,

identified cases would be referred to the ADR for disposal through mutual consent. He said that lawyers would play a major role in disposing off such matters.

District Judge Jaidev Singh gave an update of the cases disposed off through Lok Adalats. He said that during the six Lok Adalats held in the last six months, 3,000 cases had been disposed off, while Rs 16

lakh was realised as fine and Rs 1.10 crore was got paid as compensation.

The president of the Bar Association, MP Tewari, aired the demand for getting chambers made for advocates and for getting the Sitar Ganj police station attached to the district courts at Udham Singh Nagar.

Sparsh Ganga drive completes one year
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, December 17
As part of the ambitious Sparsh Ganga drive of the state government, several programmes were held in the district under the banner of the National Service Scheme.

Last year, the then Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in the presence of actress Hema Malini, who has been made official ambassador for this project, and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani, had launched Sparsh Ganga Abhiyan to clean the holy river.

Students from government schools held a mass awareness drive. Students of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter-college, Sector-2, BHEL, took out a procession from the school campus that passed through the Chandracharya Chowk and Prem Nagar Ashram and culminated at the Vishwakarma ghat.

Carrying placards, students urged people to make sure they don’t pollute the holy Ganga, which is regarded as mother in the Hindu religion. Coordinator of the programme Pankaj Sharma and Principal of the school Uday Raj Chauhan shed light on the importance of the Ganga and the need for the younger generation to make sure the river remains clean.

Students of Jwalapur Intermediate College also carried out tree plantation and cleaning of Ganga ghats. Under the guidance of NSS in charge Satish Kumar and Principal of the college Phool Singh, the students collected garbage on the ghats and then disposed it off.

Repair of hanging bridge yet to start
Agitating villagers gherao PWD office
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
Villagers residing in the Gaula Par area of Haldwani are worked up over the failure of the administration to get the repair works on the hanging bridge on the Gaula river at Amritpur started.

Losing their patience over the delay in getting the repairs work started on the bridge that was devastated during the monsoons, the residents of Ganja and Bansuli villages staged a massive protest at the Divisional Office of the Public Works Department (PWD) on Friday.

Not satisfied with the assurances given by junior officers, the villagers were convinced only when top officials of the department gave their words that the work with regards to the repairs of the bridge would be expedited immediately. This led to the villagers lifting the siege from the office.

The villagers had been agitated when they came to know of the slow progress on the project.

At present, the villagers continue to cross the Gaula river by making use of the broken bridge. They negotiate the river by hanging precariously on the ropes of the broken bridge. The worst victims of a looming disaster happen to be women and children along with the aged whose reflexes are not that quick.

The construction of a temporary bridge on the Gaula river recently has provided only temporary respite. After making use of this for a few days, the villagers residing in the area are not using it anymore as it is located at some distance from their villages.

The original Amritpur-Dahra hanging bridge had been devastated in the monsoon and the residents of the area had been crossing the river on a daily basis by risking their lives.

It has proved to be a miracle of sorts that no untoward incident took place all this while.

The most vulnerable section that has been crossing the devastated hanging bridge had been the school students studying in government schools at Ganja and Aamiya villages. The parents have been compelled to spend several hours under stress till their wards reached home safely. These children cross the river by hanging on to the wires and ropes on the broken bridge with a river in full spate flowing under them.

The problems being faced by the residents of the area on account of the bridge having been devastated have been repeatedly covered by the media both at the local and the national level.

With the bridge having been devastated in the third week of August, assurances had been given by the administration that it would be repaired soon but the promise continues to be unfulfilled.

After the devastation, then District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli had travelled extensively in the rural areas around Haldwani to take stock of the damage done by the rains and had visited the spot. He had ordered that a Detailed Project Report for repairs be presented to his office at the earliest following a geological survey of the area.

Arms licence of three residents suspended
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
District Magistrate at Udham Singh Nagar PS Jangpangi has ordered the suspension of arms licence of three residents of the Khatima tehsil area of the district.

In his orders, Jangpangi has stated that a First Information Report has been lodged at the Khatima Police Station against Lalit Bora of Jhanghat, Kushal Singh of Bisauta and Prahlad Singh Bora of Khatima for alleged violation of the law pertaining to the prevention of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes.

He has stated that the arms licences issued to them earlier have been suspended keeping in mind that they might misuse the arms and threaten the complainants.

Man commits suicide
Tribune News Service

Nainital, December 17
A resident of the Khatadi area of Ramnagar ended his life after consuming a poisonous substance.

The deceased has been identified as 19-year-old Mohammad Asif.

It is learnt that he had married a woman against the wishes of his family earlier this month. This had led to his living elsewhere along with his wife.

However, he had a heated exchange with his family members when he visited them on Friday following which he consumed some poisonous substance.

Police investigations are on in the matter.

150 children take part in news writing, compilation event
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, December 17
Students of Delhi Public School, Ranipur-BHEL, exhibited their talent by compiling self-made newspapers in a news writing and compilation event here today.

More than 150 children participated in the competition, out of which top 30 creative newspaper creations were selected for the final round.

The theme for the compilation was based on scientific news and four different sections were to be adhered for the tabloid format.

Emphasis was on content, diplay, neatness, compilation, editing and presentation in sync with the newspaper format.

The student tabloids were an eye-opener for the judges and school management as it was quite tough to select the best three. Eventually, it was decided to reveal the top three winners after a self-interview about their projects.

School Principal K C Pandey pointed out that with today’s multi media tools, it was imperative to make aware the students with the fourth pillar of democracy and how the newspaper content was evolved.

Coordinators of the competition Girish Chandra, Namita Johri and Sadhana Maheswari lauded the efforts pitched in by the participating students.

The judges for the competition were Tribune correspondent Sandeep Rawat and literati Radhika Nagrath, who also gave tips to enthusiastic students to make foray into journalism.

Shreya Rawat, a class XII student, said that the event gave them an opportunity to showcase their hidden talent. She said she wanted to be a science reporter in the future.

Grit, persistence vital qualities to become good boxers: Durga Thapa
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 17
Unmindful of the uneven ground allocated near the district games office, several youngsters can be seen training in the afternoon under the watchful eyes of their coach, Durga Thapa. A flagging interest invites a strong reprimand from Durga, who is the state boxing coach (junior, sub junior and senior level). She is also known for putting her pupils through a punishing routine, a filtration exercise devised by her to spot the talented.

“Children of all ages come to me with a plea to make them boxers; this is not a one-way exercise but a two- way process. The budding boxers have to posses inherent qualities of doggedness and determination for us to work upon,” said Thapa.

Now attending the national camp under way at Vishakapatnam, Durga is aiming to break into the national league (coaching).

Though athletics was her first love, Durga shifted track after she came into contact with Padam Bahadur Mal, a bronze medalist in the Asian Games (62 kg) and an ace boxer who is credited with raising a team of talented of boxers. “Mal Sir was the one who inspired me take to boxing; his Army-like training and inspirational talk helped to overcome the initial fear and hesitation,” she said.

During a career as a boxer, Thapa even faced the Manipuri Mary Kom four times as an opponent during the national meets. “I first faced her in 2002 at the Hyderabad national meet. She outsmarted me. Her technique is quite sound and above all her Southpaw stance is much more superior to my stance, which is orthodox,” quipped Thapa.

Quite happy with the way boxing has taken centerstage in the country, she says women pugilists would definitely come close to winning a medal in the London Olympics. “The current breed of young boxers are talented and it won’t surprise me if they win gold for the country. Imagine the impact of the win; so many girls would be inspired to wear the gloves,” she said.

The coach also said the uniform issue confounding the boxers should not be given too much importance. “It does not matter if the boxers have to wear skirts at the London Olympics, I am sure they would be eager to make a statement through a knockout performance and not through their clothing,” emphasised Durga Thapa.

Still struggling to get permanent employment with the state, Durga doubles up as a sports coach for the Army School (Birpur), where she also trains young boxers. “Things would have been easier for me if I had been given a permanent job of a coach, but that has not happened. More than that, the prevailing facilities for boxers in the state too are worrisome. We have been given a small place to practise. It lacks good facilities for boxers,” she rued.

Dharchula defeat Baluakot in V’ball
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, December 17
The volleyball team from Dharchula defeated the Baluakot team by 25-23 and 26-16 points in the final match of a volleyball match in the district level tribal sports held in sports stadium here today.

The annual tribal games are being organised by the district sports officer under the tribal sub-plan of the state plan. “The two days sports competition of youths from the tribal areas of Dharchula and Munsiyari will be followed by a 10-day training camp of tribal sports potentials during which special competitions will also be organised,” said sports officer Vinod Waldia.

The six teams from the Dharchula, Munsiyari and Baluakot areas of the district took part in the volleyball tournament,” said the sports officer.

According to the sports officer, 41 youths from the Darma, Vyans and Chaundas valleys of Dharchula and 21 youths from the Johar valley of Munsiyari in the district took part in this tournament.

The competition was inaugurated by district president of the Janjati Morcha NS Raipa and chief guest at the valedictory function was Direndra Khunnu, superintendent engineer of the rural engineering service department of the state government, said the sports officer.

Doon to take on US Nagar in volleyball final
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 17
Dehradun will take on Udham Singh Nagar in the final of the boys’ section of the Uttarakhand Youth Panchayat Volleyball games being held at Dehradun.

The game today saw semifinal events. In the boys’ category, the first semifinal took place between Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar with latter winning convincingly 2-0. In the second semifinal, Dehradun beat Tehri 2-0. Later, Pithorgarh secured third place beating Tehri Garhwal.

Meanwhile, in the girls’ section, Bageshwar emerged victorious beating Udham Singh Nagar 3-2. Earlier in the semifinals, Udham Singh Nagar beat Nainital 3-0 and Bageshwar beat Dehradun 3-0. Further, Dehradun stood third after it beat Nainital.