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BJP reversed clock on development in state: Sonia
Promises medical college in Tehri
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Congress efforts to placate
Jot Singh Bisht fail
Cong rebel to fight from Doiwala as Independent
Janmanch wants poll put off
Sidelights
Holiday on Jan 30
Dying dialogue
The Uttarakhand Youth Twenty20 Cricket Tournament started today at Kasiga School, Dehradun, with a total of 2 matches played on the first day. A batsman in action in a match in the Uttarakhand Youth Twenty20 Cricket Tournament under way at Kasiga School in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Meerut team victorious
Success Point team beat Saket Club
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BJP reversed clock on development in state: Sonia
Roorkee, January 17 Sonia, while addressing her maiden election rally at Roorkee in Haridwar district, assailed the BJP government for allegedly reversing the clock on development in the state and siphoning off public money. In her 20-minute address, Sonia said the BJP government had only exploited the natural resources of the state in the name of development by handing them over to private parties and ministers pocketing money. “Uttarakhand is a land of abundant natural bounty and resources, but instead of conserving them and using them for people’s welfare, the BJP government has been misusing them,” said Sonia. The Congress president criticised the state government for having two chief ministers in five years. She said, “It was a move to befool the people. But the BJP leaders don’t know that the public understands that by changing the Chief Minister the party cannot hide its corrupt practices and nefarious designs.” She reminded the people of the previous Congress government in the state and urged them to vote for the party candidates to ensure unhindered and corruption-free development. Sonia said be it IIM, Kashipur, AIIMS, Rishikesh, NIIT, Pauri Garhwal, or employment to rural people under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had been instrumental behind all these. “Development means providing employment, improving the living standard of the people and working for all sections of society. The BJP has failed on all these counts and this is what we (Congress) promise to do,” she added. Sonia looked content with the 20,000-plus gathering and termed Roorkee as a prominent city of the country while referring to the premier Indian Institute of Technology, the Central Building Research Institute, the Bengal Engineers Group and numerous educational institutes. Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, Congress election in-charge for Uttarakhand Birendra Singh, state party chief Yashpal Arya, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Harak Singh Rawat and other prominent party leaders of the state were present at the rally.
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Promises medical college in Tehri
Dehradun, Januaty 17 Addressing her second election rally at the Borari Stadium in New Tehri town, Sonia Gandhi appealed to the people of the area to vote for the Congress candidates in the coming Assembly poll and help in changing the government in the state. She charged that the BJP government had cheated the people of the state by its alleged corrupt practices. She promised that if the people of the state bring in a Congress government, the problems of the people of Tehri would be taken care of. She promised to develop the Tehri lake and start a medical college in Tehri. Amid speculation about weather conditions, Sonia Gandhi, who addressed a rally at Roorkee, flew into Tehri and addressed a well-attended election rally. Senior Congress leaders Vijay Bahuguna, MP Tehri Garhwal, Birender Singh, general secretary and in charge of the Uttarakhand Affairs and Congress candidates from Tehri district were present at the rally.
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Congress efforts to placate
Jot Singh Bisht fail
Mussoorie, January 17 According to sources, Jot Singh Bisht was being approached through his old friends in the party and was being offered plum posts such as president of the state finance commission or working president in the party at the state level. Jot Singh Bisht admitted that he was being enticed to step down in favour of the Congress candidate by his old friends in the party but he had refused the offer and made clear that he would contest in the elections on the symbol “Kettle” allotted to him by the Election Commission. Jot Singh Bisht said now after filing his nominations, going back to the party that had denied him ticket from Dhanaulti was out of question and considering the mass support that he was receiving from the voters he was ready to face the consequences, come what may. Jot Singh Bisht further said the rumours of his sitting in favour of any candidate were nothing but a conspiracy to tarnish his image and create confusion. Bisht also said the Congress fearing debacle for their candidate from Dhanaulti was now indulging in activities which were beyond its dignity. Jot Singh Bisht will be campaigning in the Kaman village tomorrow and expose these national parties. Congress officials from Dhanaulti refused the claims and said the party was an ocean and leaving the party did not make much difference. They also said party workers were behind Manmohan Singh Mall and canvassing despite inclement weather to ensure his victory. The contest has become interesting with Jot Singh Bisht also sounding his bugle in the elections from Dhanaulti that could hurt the prospect of national parties, especially the Congress.
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Cong rebel to fight from Doiwala as Independent
Dehradun January 17 Congress candidate Heera Singh Bisht is pitted against BJP heavyweight and former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the seat. SP Singh said the Congress never gave him any position in the party and hence it could expunge his name where ever it had mentioned it with any position. He stressed that he was doing the Congress a favour by giving Nishank a tough fight and not letting the latter have an easy victory. He, however, did not agree to the assertion that he was also cutting into the Congress votes and creating a serious problem for Heera Singh Bisht. He said the party ditched him as he was promised a ticket in Delhi but back home things were entirely different. SP Singh also accused party leaders of backtracking on their promise of fielding a mass leader from the Doiwala area. This, he said, led to resentment among activists of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India and they sat on a fast for several days. The Congress rebel said he decided to contest the elections as an Independent candidate in deference to the wish of the protesters and the people of Doiwala. He added if he won the elections he would vacate the seat for the Chief Ministerial candidate in case the Congress had enough seats to form a government in the state. SP Singh, however, said he would campaign for Congress candidate Dinesh Aggarwal unless the latter publicly announced that “my support was not needed”. On the charge that some ticket were allotted in lieu of money, he said the decision regarding ticket allocation was taken in Delhi and not in the state. SP Singh was considered a strong contender for Congress ticket from Doiwala, but the party gave ticket to Bisht.
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Janmanch wants poll put off
Dehradun January 17 In a letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, party general secretary Rajen Todariya stated that hills of Uttarakhand were facing the worst snowfall in the last 60 years. All hilly villages and roads at the height of 5000 ft were under snow cover due to continuous snowfall for the last 9 days. He said the weather conditions in the hills were unprecedented at present. It was an extraordinary situation and no normal election campaign was possible under such adverse weather conditions. He also accused the office of CEC of preparing a non-scientific election programme for the hills in the month of January and added that they were not ready to learn from the weather or nature, which had proved their assessment wrong. The candidates had only 87 hours to convey their election symbols to the voters, which was impossible in the hills where villages are scattered and situated at difficult snowclad hilly terrain, he said. The CEC was trying to create unfair and unequal poll conditions, whereby only Congress and BJP could gain the undue lead over their political rivals, he complained. — TNS
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Sidelights
With today being the first visit to Roorkee by Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi, the enthusiasm not only among the party workers touched a new high but the local people also thronged the venue to see and hear her speak. Such was the craze that by 8 am onwards, despite the chilly winds and foggy climate prevalent in the region, thousands of people, including a large number of women, old persons and people from rural segments, came on tractors, trollies and even bullock-carts to the venue to attend the rally. Arrival hiccup As previous two rallies of the UPA chairperson in Gauchar and Haldwani had got cancelled, today’s rally also began on a cautious note when thick fog and chilling winds reverberated in Roorkee. Though keeping in mind the weather aspect, Sonia Gandhi had arrived a day earlier and was in Dehradun, yet on everyone’s mind the weather factor was playing. Congress leaders were seen with fingers closed, seeing the sky and remaining in touch with Dehradun-based party leaders about the arrival of their party chief. Sonia’s attire Known for keeping her dress simple but elegant, Sonia Gandhi today impressed everyone with her attire. Her light grey woollen long suit with simple embroidery on the neck worn with a traditional shawl was also a point of discussion among the female crowd, with one person terming her visibly as more ‘Indian’ than some other firebrand rival political party women leaders. Elaborate security With Sonia Gandhi being a VVIP and Special Protection Group (SPG) giving her security cover, multiple layer of security arrangements were done in and around the Lido Press Ground rally venue. Apart from SPG sleuths, paramilitary personnel and more than 700 Uttarakhand state police personnel were on duty for today’s high profile visit. The entire 3 km road path from the helipad to the Lido Press ground was manned by 200 police personnel, while 2 Superintendent of Police,11 Circle Officers and 100 inspectors monitored the security setup. Crowd goes berserk Sonia got close to the two-layer barricade circle, waving towards the people, acknowledging their chantings of her name and also conveyed the traditional ‘namaste.’ This move made the public almost go berserk, as everyone wanted to see her closer, which easily conveyed the love and regard the asses have for the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Party candidates on stage At the dais where only seven seats were placed, in presence of their party supremo, all the 11 Assembly segment candidates from Haridwar district were called on to the stage. They waved to the crowd as their names got announced one by one. Election code The impact of tough guidelines on election campaign expenditure was easily visible at Sonia Gandhi’s rally. To cut the expenditure, rally organisers implanted big hoardings at only selected intersections and buildings, relying on more cost-effective flags, depicting party name and election symbol hand. A local citing previous election pointed that had the Election Commission not been stricter, then the whole city would have got painted in Congress posters, banners, hoardings, but today the rally buzz almost got concentrated at the rally venue only, which shows the impact of steps taken by the Election Commission in controlling election expenditure.
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Holiday on Jan 30
Dehradun January 17 He also declared holiday in all government, non-government institutes and industries on January 30 so that the voters could exercise their voting rights on the day.
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Dying dialogue
Strangely, it’s not just the work overload that becomes culprit for the loss of real communication. Doctor Sukriti and Doctor Neeraj have been married for close to two years now; working in the same hospital has not helped when it comes to sharing. “Whatever little time we get seems to be good enough for us,” says Dr Sukriti. “But, yes, at times we miss out on important things,” she admits. Coming from families of doctors, this couple knows that ‘time’ is a rare commodity in the profession they have chosen and are fine with it. “We come back to each other at home; that is the greatest assurance. Working in different shifts plus long working hours do take their toll,” she says. Work overload is the culprit for Avinash and Manju not getting enough time together, coupled with the responsibility of a baby. “My work has no scheduled offs. Except Sunday, I rarely get to talk to my wife,” admits Avinash. By the time he winds up his pharmaceutical shop and reaches home, it is already past 11 pm. By that time, his kid and working wife already pack up for the day. “I understand that she has to wake up early to ensure that our baby reaches school on time and she reports to her office also on time. Therefore, I can’t ask her to be up and waiting for me,” says Avinash. The couple, however, makes up for the lost time on Sundays, which they have reserved for the family. Work follows Atul and Nayna home. Both in the corporate sector, Atul, an engineer, and Nayna, in corporate communications, reach home late. “Making a meal is just not possible after such a hectic day. We rather pick up food prepared by the maid and eat it in TV’s company; too tired to talk,” they share. Well, it’s not the just working couples who miss exchange of ideas, its virtual communication that takes precedence in the life of youngsters over the ‘real’. If Facebook and Blackberry messenger take much of their time, so does talking with ‘friends’ spread across the globe over phone or Skype. “I so miss the evenings when my kids would share their day. Now despite being at home, they are on their own trip engrossed in gizmos. Talking to mum isn’t as cool as changing their profile pictures. All they talk to each other is also about downloads,” says Madhu Sharma, mother to a teenage boy and a girl. We take expert opinion. “We have surrounded ourselves with a virtual wall. We are not talking because we have nothing to say,” says Professor Jitendra Mohan, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Panjab University. In the recent times virtual reality has replaced the real life, turning us into apathetic beings with no values or sense of bonding. The information overload mainly consists of sensational news. “We are so mechanised that we fail to feel the loss. It’s only when the child goes astray that one realises that the connection is long lost.” But all is not gone, there is still hope. “Our conversation is in ‘comma’, not dead. It’s time to revive the Cs — conversation, communication, commitment, curiosity and connectivity,” he stresses. mona@tribunemail.com
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Dehradun, January 17 In the first match played between Sunrise and IME, the former won by 89 runs. Batting first, IME scored 193 runs losing just 1 wicket. Ravi Thakur scored unbeaten 95 runs. Sahil Yadav scored valuable 57 runs. Chasing the target, Sunrise could only score 105 runs. In the second match, YSM won by 16 runs its match against Kings XI South India. Batting first, YSM scored 145 runs whereas Kings XI South India could only score 129 runs. — TNS
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Meerut team victorious
Dehradun, January 17 Electing to bat after winning the toss, the JSM team scored 248 runs at the loss of 8 wickets. Gaurav Goel scored the highest runs (61) for the team. Sunil took two wickets for Malik Sports. On the other hand, the Malik Sports team could only score 232 runs. Rahat Elahi of the JSM team was declared as the man of the match.
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Success Point team beat Saket Club
Dehradun, January 17 Chasing the target, Saket Club could only pile up 79 runs thereby ensuring 68 runs win for Success Point. Sunny scored the highest 12 runs for Saket. Sahil of Success Point took 4 wickets.
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In the age of instant communication, strangely, it’s the ‘dialogue’ that’s getting lost. A recent survey in UK revealed that ‘one in four couples speak to their partner for less than 10 minutes a day’! Called ‘conversation coma’, the survey undertaken by Bigham’s Ready Meals blames ‘increasing workloads’ for the loss of interaction. We did a quick survey in order to know if this was true for city folks as well.