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On Chellum, 44 youngsters donate blood
Thousands take dip on Makar Sankranti
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Yoga guru found violating pact with expelled workers
Bisht seeks support for his candidature as Independent
Doon Civic Blues
Dehradun Diary
CPM star campaigners
9 killed as utility vehicle falls into gorge
Nine persons were killed and 15 others were injured when the utility vehicle they were travelling in fell into a gorge near Lakhamandal here. They were on their way to Chakrata from Badkot.
Wild boar kills 1, injures 2 in separate incidents
Matches decided by spin of coin
Angry fans burn effigy of Indian cricketers
With the Indian cricket team suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Perth, the anger of the fans came to the fore in Haridwar. An effigy was burnt of the Indian cricketers by a group of young sports fans, who had posters of Sehwag, Dhoni, Gambhir, Laxman and others. 
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On Chellum, 44 youngsters donate blood
Dehradun, January 15 The credit goes to the organisers for achieving this feat of convincing the youngsters who had otherwise been hurting themselves with sharp edged objects and bleeding profusely to mourn on Moharram and Chellum to not to let their blood washed away but be used for saving precious lives. This campaign, which began last year, was further strengthened by holding it successfully this year as well. Sadly, due to bad weather, the number of donors came down from 64 to 44 this time. Reinforcing this view, Maulana Shehenshah, member of the AMM, explained, “Earlier the mourning was confined to the individual’s house which with time became elaborated and the ways to mourn touched to the extreme. People of the other religions and communities, who do not understand the intricacies of our religion, take a wrong message from the spine chilling scenes of self-harm and blood letting in full public view during Moharram and Chellum. So we wanted to discourage our youngsters from the tendency to bleed themselves out of extreme emotions and rather donate blood in the remembrance of Imam Hussain.” Zilla Hasnain, whose house, Imambara, has been the starting point for Moharram and Chellum processions since 18th century in the city, said they could merely persuade and not forcibly stop somebody to harm themselves during the mourning processions. Sajjad Hussain, BA II student of DBS College who was all set to participate in the mourning session after donating blood, said this Chellum he did not mourn by flagellating himself on the road and had instead donated blood after being cajoled and convinced by Maulana Shehenshah. AH Naqvi, general secretary, AMM, said the organisation was planning to take more districts under its ambit to spread the message of blood donation on Chellum. Blood donation was not a possibility during Moharram as Hasnain pointed out the devout observed fast on that day and would not consume anything, which was necessary after blood donation; so this campaign would remain limited for Chellum. Meanwhile, the Chehlum procession proceeded from EC Road and passed through Parade Ground, Darshan Lal Chowk and culminated at Imambara Gandhi Road amid drizzling in the city.
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Thousands take dip on Makar Sankranti
Pithoragarh, January 15 The main function of this pre-Aryan festival was celebrated in Bageshwar district on the confluence of rivers Saryu and Gomati, where a week-long festivity was inaugurated by District Magistrate Deepak Rawat. “The ancient festival of Uttarayani, celebrated in Bageshwar, has significant political meaning for the Kumoan region, as on this day in 1921, the Gandhian leaders of the region led by BD Pandey threw all registers containing the details of Kuli Begar, or forced labour, imposed by the British on the poor people of Kumoan into the river, and awakened the people to take part in the Gandhian freedom struggle,” said Subodh Shah, chairman of Nagar Palika Parishad, Bageshwar. The District Magistrate, inaugurating the festival, said that from this Uttarayani, the district is beginning adventurous sports activities for the youths of the district, who will be able to get employment. “We are beginning competitions in Kayaking, river rafting and boating in the river for the first time from this year,” said Rawat. The inauguration followed the bringing of a colourful cultural procession by the artistes of various cultural troupes. “The processions reached Numaish Khet ground, after a taking round of the town, which began from tehsil campus,” said Subodh Shah, chairman of Uttarayani mela committee and head of Nagar Palika Parishad. The festival of Uttarayani was also celebrated in other parts of Kumoan, especially in the eastern part, where the households offered food cooked on the last night to crows and sought blessings from bird. “The offering of cooked food to crows is the symbol of ancient sun worship prevalent among the Kumaoni people, as the mighty bird crow has been thought to be able to reach the sun taking with him the offerings by the people,” said Ratan Singh Kirmolia, a cultural activist in Bageshwar. In Pithoragarh district, people thronged the confluence of the rivers at Rameswar, Thal, Pancheswar and Taleswar to take a holy dip on the occasion of the beginning of auspicious month of Magh on the day. “Even litter in these holy ghats did not deter the people from taking a bath,” said Devki Nandan Bhatt, a priest in Rameswar temple of Pithoragarh district, where people gathered in big numbers to offer the worship in the temple of Shiva in the form of Rameshwar Mahadev. In Champawat district, the people flocked the ancient temple of Biyan Dhura on the day of Makar Sankranti, offering prayers to the ancient deity, Airi, the deity of animal herds, and offered sets of hand-made bows and arrows to the deity. “This is the only temple in the whole of Kumaon region, where sets of bows and arrows are offered to the deity,” said Shankar Dutt Joshi, head priest of the Biyan Dhura temple. In Tanakpur area, the people thronged the ghats of the river Sharda to take a holy bath there and offered prayers in nearby temple after taking a holy bath on the beginning of holy month of Magh.
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Yoga guru found violating pact with expelled workers
In a directive by the Nainital High Court, the state government has been directed to ensure in four weeks time that the agreement between 115 expelled workers and Swami Ramdev-run Divya Pharmacy firm being operated by Divya Yog Mandir Trust, signed on May 21, 2005 be implemented. The court has also termed the state government’s decision of shifting this matter to labour court as wrong and directed that the pre-21-05-2005 agreement condition be maintained, which means reinstating of these expelled workers, providing them minimum wages and end to their “victimisation.” Notably, these 115 workers were dismissed in April 2005 by Divya Pharmacy management without prior notice as they had been protesting against the management's decision of them being denied minimum wages and coverage under the provident fund and employees' state insurance schemes. Neither were they given proper appointment letters, nor salary certificates and were removed without prior notice. Later, this issue was taken by Communist Party of India Marxist and CITU leaders, which had become a national issue that time. Brinda Karat, veteran Communist leader, had then visited Haridwar and met the affected labourers, who were mostly of poor background and majority of them were uneducated, comprising 50 women. As the resentment grew, a tripartite meeting involving the workers, the trust and the district administration was convened on May 21 and an agreement was reached. In the agreement the company management had agreed to pay the minimum wages, as per the government notification and also assured not to initiate any disciplinary action against the expelled-agitating workers. While the workers gave an undertaking to restore normalcy at the workplace from the very next day onwards, when they went to join work, they were not allowed to enter the pharmacy premises and a dozen- odd were booked with police cases. Then Mahendra Jakhmola,CITU Haridwar unit secretary, went to the High Court filing a writ, which was accepted.
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Bisht seeks support for his candidature as Independent
Mussoorie, January 15 He said the Congress, after utilising his services for 30 years, denied party ticket to him as he did not belong to an affluent class. Bisht also described the Congress manifesto a farce. Bisht further said he would contest on the basis of ‘jan bal’ (people’s power) and not ‘dhan bal’ (money power). He said he was aware of the basic problems of the people as he remained the block pramukh and his that experience would come in handy if people voted him to power. Bisht said he had fought even against his own government for strengthening the panchayats and due to his efforts the government was forced to increase the fund allocation to the panchayats. Bisht said he would also try to get the Doon Ghati Vikas Pradhikaran shut down due to the arbitrary guidelines being followed by it.
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Doon Civic Blues
Dehradun, January 15 The Congress councillors along with leader of opposition of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) Ashok Verma also supported him and joined him in the protest. It was then that the DMC officials swung into action and put up a battery of sanitary workers in his ward and also cleared the held-up sanctions for various development projects. Poor sanitation had become a massive problem in the ward. Meena Rani, a resident, said the garbage was found strewn around everywhere in the area. “The sight of garbage would present a despicable sight. I could clean the patch of road in front of my house but not the entire road,” she said. Councillor Gupta said, “I got tired of complaining time and again about the frequent absence of sanitary workers who had otherwise been assigned to my ward and were getting regular salaries as well but were not coming for work. So I decided to go on a fast as the last resort, which finally solved this obstinate problem. Now the workers are coming and cleaning the lanes in my ward regularly.” But what has continued to persist is the tendency of people to dump collected garbage in the vacant lying plots. They cannot be blamed too as there is no arrangement of door-to-door garbage collection and disposal. Anand Kumar said, “The garbage thrown in the vacant plots keeps on depositing in the area for a few days before it is burnt by the sanitation workers. This is not a full-proof method of garbage disposal but we have no other way out.” The door-to-door garbage collection, as started by a private agency under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Misson Scheme in the city, is yet to cover Ward 47. Anil Kumar Gupta, another resident, found the uneven structure of small drains faulty enough to clog the flow of the water in the drain. He said, “People had been tampering with these drains and had rendered them uneven because of which the water and the litter flowing it gets blocked at various points and stinks.” Saroj Gupta, a resident, said, “The fault in the drains needs to be rectified and more drains need to be built in the area.“
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Dehradun Diary
Dehradun , January 15 The party had decided to counter the anti-incumbency factor being faced by the state BJP Government by bringing in new faces. Senior RSS functionaries were pressed into service to convince the dissidents bent upon marring the chances of the official BJP candidates. The party leadership believes that they would be able to manage most of the dissidents and they are getting success also. In the Congress camp, the dissidents have been more intense. With Congress expecting to return to power, the party leaders are more concerned about such dissidents. Even the party high command has been alert to the developments on the front. The Congress high command has taken it seriously as they expect to win both Uttarakhand and Punjab Assembly polls to reverse it’s electoral fortunes tainted by lot of issues from rising price rise, corruption in high places and Lok Ayukta Bill faced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Since most of the senior party leaders of the party are also contenders for the top post of chief minister if the party manages to win the Assembly polls, most of them have also put up their own candidates as dissidents to have their own winning party legislators after the polls. However, the Congress high command has sought a list of such dissidents and their mentors to pressurise them to join the mainstream. Birender Singh, party general secretary and in-charge of Uttarakhand, was candid in admitting that efforts would be done to persuade them. Senior Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and C.P.Joshi have been pressed into service to persuade, threaten, cajole and even promise positions after the party returns to power in the state. Senior state party leaders, who are mentors of such dissidents, have also been told clearly to do the needful. Interestingly, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs, a front-runner for the post of chief minister in Congress, has the highest number of dissidents to his credit. Similarly, state party chief Yashpal Arya, party MPs Satpal Maharaj, Vijay Bahuguna are others who have their supporters as dissidents in the field. Both the parties are working hard to contain dissidence to improve their electoral chances. Tewari factor
The N.D.Tewari factor played an interesting part in the distribution of the Congress ticket in Uttarakhand. The tainted veteran Congress leader, who was sidelined by the party after a sex scandal in the Andhara Pradesh Raj Bhawan in 2009 after being caught on camera with three women in compromising condition, has bounced back. He thoroughly blackmailed the Congress high command to get two party tickets for his personal assistant and nephew. Tewari threatened to field candidates under the banner of his social organisation Nirantar Vikas Samiti to pressurise the Congress into submission. With Birender Singh, a former close confidant of Tewari, the grand old man managed to get what he wanted and then pledged support to the party. Birender Singh privately admitted that Tewari could have played spoilsport if he was not placated with two party tickets, particularly in Udham Singh Nagar district and Kumoan region in general. Asked about the reasons for bending over backwards to please Tewari, Birender Singh had an interesting observation. He explained that after taking over as state in-charge of party affairs, despite his past cordial relations, he maintained distance with Tewari due to Hyderabad Raj Bhawan episode, thinking that people of the state would not like it. But to his surprise, people as well politicians of the state have the highest of regards for Tewari and brushed aside his sexual exploits as insignificant. He is regarded as a man of development and eulogized as a demi-god by politicians as well as bureaucrats.
Congress manifesto
The Congress manifesto promises to provide a transparent, accountable and corruption-free government. But the senior leaders are doing exactly the opposite. At the first press conference addressed by Birender Singh, general secretary and in-charge of the party, and Vijay Bahuguna, MP from Tehri Garhwal, after finalisation of party nominations for Assembly polls, both the leaders tried to evade questions. After making announcements regarding the entry of ace shooter Jaspal Rana, both the leaders were baffled by the barrage of questions about allegations of favouristism and even money changing hands in giving party ticket. They immediately announced that they did not want to discuss the issue of ticket distribution with media and called off the press conference. Their attitude spoke volumes about the talk of transparency and accountability. At the next press conference to release the election manifesto, the party, despite hiring a public relations company, was ill-prepared, as only a few copies of election manifestos could be provided to the media. Most media persons were seen fighting and to get a copy. If the party could not provide election manifesto to a hundred-odd media persons in a room, how could it reach people in the far-flung hilly areas of the state? This was the question being asked.
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CPM star campaigners
Dehradun January 15 Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) has complained to the district election officer (DEO) and election observers (EO) regarding open violation of the model code of conduct by candidates of BJP and Congress in Dehradun district, especially at Sahaspur constituency. Surender Singh Sajwan, CPM secretary, said yesterday these candidates were using vehicles and monetary allurement in an illegal manner to influence the voters. The DEO and the EO assured him appropriate action on the complaints.
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9 killed as utility vehicle falls into gorge
Dehradun, January 15 The accident took place at 10 am when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn near Lakhamandal. The deceased include state forest officer Gopal Rana and his wife Indira. Meanwhile, Chief Minister BC Khanduri has expressed grief over the accident. He has directed for immediate medical assistance to those injured in the mishap. — TNS
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Wild boar kills 1, injures 2 in separate incidents
Pithoragarh, January 15 Before relatives could rescue him, he succumbed to his injuries. “Guman Singh, son of Maha Singh, resident of Chamdoli village of Barakot block, succumbed to the injuries after he was attacked by the wild boar in the forest near his village yesterday,” said forest officer in Champawat district. In another incident, a five-year-old child, Rohan, and his mother, Laxmi Devi, were injured by a wild boar when the mother came to the rescue of her child after the he The doctors attending to the mother-son duo in hospital said the bones of arms of both the injured persons had been fractured and the child has received head injuries also. “Both have been admitted in the hospital and are being treated,” said DK Srivastava, a medical officer at the community health centre at Dharchula.
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Matches decided by spin of coin
Dehradun, January 15 While the first match was left halfway, the second match was totally abandoned. The first match saw clash between the Collage Group and the Bhiwani Bulls. Bhiwani Bulls piled by 143 runs at a loss of 8 wickets before the rain. With no possibility of second match, BDM Delhi was declared the winner against the Ghaziabad team. — TNS
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Angry fans burn effigy of Indian cricketers
Haridwar, January 15 As election code of conduct is on, the annoyed cricket fans burnt the effigy near the secluded BHEL stadium. They displayed self-written placards, conveyed their anguish, with many comparing the defeat to the ‘Ashes’ (burial) series for India. With today being Sunday, cricket lovers rose early to watch live telecast of the Test match. But as the remaining six wickets tumbled cheaply, they got disheartened. ITC unit cricket team player for past three years Umesh Dimri termed the defeat as curtains for the ‘fab four’ players - Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman, as none could show their class on the bouncy track of Australia. Even at tea-café shops, despite the chilling winter, election talk, for a change, took the back seat. The topic of discussion was the dismal performance of Team India. “My father and brother all were glued to the live telecast but what we got in all three Tests were humiliating defeats. Instead, we should promote our national game hockey, kabaddi and shooting as those players live up to the expectations, despite limited resources,” said Payal Bisht, an avid cricket fan. Veteran cricketer Inder Mohan Barthwal, though, termed the anger as totally uncalled for, urging fans to treat cricket as a game only, as win-loss is a part and parcel of any game.He has an advice for BCCI to make sure that swinging and bouncy pitches be made in India, too. — TNS
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Dehradun, January 15
Haridwar, January 15
