states

Return of a war horse
By S. M. A. Kazmi & Rajeev Khanna

The General returns to Uttarakhand after Pokhriyal is forced to put in his papers

Back in the saddle: BC Khanduri holds the reins again

MAKING WAY: Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank

The year has left mixed memories in the young hill state. It witnessed its worst communal riots in Rudrapur, and Swami Ramdev and his Patanjali Yogpeeth suffered a setback after the iconic yoga guru tried to escape in the garb of a woman from the Ramlila Ground in Delhi, where his supporters were dispersed by the police. Heavy rainfall and landslides caused considerable hardship for the second successive year but relief, repairs, restoration and construction left much to be desired.

The foundation was laid for the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway line, the first railway line in Garhwal while the Jim Corbett National Park celebrated its platinum jubilee during the year and the state’s first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) began functioning at Kashipur in Udhamsingh Nagar district. The state’s first ‘Ayush Gram’ was launched near Nainital but the annual Autumn Festival, continuing since pre-Independence days, was stopped for the first time due to the paucity of funds. The Uttarakhand Raj Bhavan took a green initiative by opting for solar lighting and rain harvesting.

Politics dominated the discourse as a beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forced to replace Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank with the old war horse, Maj-Gen Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri in September, barely six months before the Assembly elections. Khanduri rushed through the Lokayukta Bill, Right to Services Bill and Government Employees’ Transfer Bill and launched the ‘Atal Khadyanna Yojana’ to steal the thunder from the Centre’s Food Security Bill.

Even as political one-upmanship continued and politics dominated life, rampant corruption emerged as the most popular issue, prompting the popular Garhwali folk singer, Narendra Singh Negi, to come out with a fresh album, titled Aab Kaitga Khaolo (How much are you going to eat anyway?) and lamented at the staple of "Commission ki meat-bhaat, Rishvat ko railon" (rich food sourced from commission and corruption).

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