More voters’ turnout this time, says poll officer
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, February 3
The voters’ turnout this time has been slightly higher by 12 per cent in all four seats of the district as compared to the Assembly elections of 2007.

The total turnout was 1,92,364 in the 2007 elections, while it was increased to 1,96,226 in 2012. The data has been issued by the district election officer today.

According to the data, women voters have increased slightly in this elections. The number of women voters in the 2007 elections was 98,134, which increased to 99,235 in all four seats this time.

According to the figure, the highest number of women turned up in the Bhatiura polling booth of Pithoragarh where out of 175 women voters, 158 cast vote. “The lowest number of women voters exercised their right to vote in the Silingia polling booth where no woman voted. At Bungli, out of 259 women voters, only 62 turned out to cast vote,” said the election officer.

According to the officer, besides Silingia and Bungli polling booths, Sirkha and Baramo booths also witnessed low turnout of women where not more than 40.17 per cent of women voted.

“The highest number of women voters at the Kumti polling booth in the Dharchula Assembly seat, where out of 138 women, 118 cast vote, was at 85.5 per cent, which was more than those of men voters that was 74.4 per cent,” said the election officer.

Besides Bhatura in the Pithoragarh Assembly segment, Badnidhar of the Dharchula seat, where out 271 voters, 223 voted followed by the Baltir polling booth where out of 379 voters, 299 turned out to vote.

The lowest voters’ turnout was at the Bungli polling booth in the Gangolihat Assembly seat, where out of 526 voters, only 159 voters came to vote, taking the percentage of the total voters’ turnout to 30.23 per cent.

“Bungli was followed by Rung in Dharchula where the voting percentage remained low at 38.8 per cent, as out of 312 voters, only 121 turned up for voting” said the election officer.

Delay in supply of LPG cylinders
People block highway, threaten to launch stir
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 3
The town of Haldwani and the villages in the adjoining areas of Bhimtal are facing hardships due to the lack of basic amenities.

Irked over the delay in the supply of LPG cylinders, a large number of people blocked the Bareilley highway yesterday to register their protest.

Meanwhile, villagers from the Chyurigad gram sabha in the Bhimtal area have also threatened to launch an agitation if steps are not taken to restore the power supply to their villages at the earliest.

The present situation has exposed the administration with regard to the tall claims that have been made in the recent past.

A large number of localities and villages in the vicinity of Haldwani town have been experiencing an inadequate supply of water over the past few days. The continuing works on the covering of a canal flowing in the town has led to breakage of supply lines by the excavators that are plied in the areas where the covering works are on. There is a delay in repairing of the broken supply lines.

A large section of the population is engaged in spending a major portion of the day trying to procure water. Those who are affluent have been purchasing water while the others are left to fend for themselves.

While the Jal Sansthan authorities claim to be distributing water through tankers, people contend that the supply is either erratic or inadequate.

The worst hit areas with regard to the water supplies are Shyam Vihar, Adarsh Nagar, Mukhani, Rupnagar, Chandravati Colony, Judge Farm and Kriya Shala. The village areas in the periphery of the town, where the water supply has been badly hit, include Lohariyasal Malla, Kusumkheda, Unchapul, RTO Road, Gas Godown Road, Talli Haldwani, Mota Haldu, Gaulapar and Teen Pani.

The villagers have complained that they have been managing without power for the past 20 days. They have underlined that despite having complained to the Power Department repeatedly, their requests have gone unheard. The villagers have pointed out that the children who have to take exams are the worst sufferers. It is learnt that a fault in the transformer has caused disruption of power supply in the area.

Satpal Maharaj writes to Centre

Nainital: Lok Sabha member from Pauri Satpal Maharaj has written to the Minister of State for Petroleum and Gas RPN Singh requesting him to increase the supply of cooking gas in the Himmatpur, Peerumdara and Maldhanchaur areas of Ramnagar.

The residents of these areas had recently complained to him about the scarcity of LPG cylinders. They had complained that they were being forced to spend extra money to procure fuel for cooking.

Maharaj has stated that he has asked the minister to increase the quota of LPG cylinders for these areas.

Choliya dancers to perform in Korea
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, February 3
The visiting Koreans will invite the selected Choliya teams of Pithoragarh district to Korea to participate in the international cultural festival scheduled to be held in September this year.

This information has been given by Prof Jung Yuan Yong of Seoal University on the last day of their stay in the district.

The nine students of Korean university in Seoul have been felicitated by the Choliya Mahotsava Samiti in Pithoragarh today.

Prof Yong said by getting information through the Internet about the marshal traditions of the Choliya dance, they reached Pithoragarh only to find its in-depth information as it resembled with the traditional Korean marshal dance named, “Geom-mu”.

“The traditional Korean dance is performed with special motions and music like that of the Choliya,” said Prof Yong.

According to Professor Yong, the, “Geom -Mu” dance developed as royal marshal dance between 14th and 20th century.

“The costumes and performance of Choliya dance in Kumoan are similar to that of the Korean dance,” said the Korean guest.

The Korean team also visited the local ancient temples to find out the relevance of Choliya dance in ancient temple architect of the Kumoan region. “We, in Korea, keep the tradition of our marshal dances in temple architect too as it makes us remember of our traditions,” said Yong.

The Korean team also went through other Kumoani dances and music like Chapeli, Chachri and Jhoora and tried to find out if these songs also have marshal traditions in ancient Kumaoni traditions of Choliya.

Truck drivers ‘looted’ of Rs 1.42 lakh 
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 3
Some miscreants allegedly managed to make 10 truck drivers and cleaners unconscious after offering them sweets laced with some intoxicant.

Later, they allegedly decamped with Rs 1.42 lakh collected from the pockets of two of the victims.

According to information, the victims were sitting outside a paper mill while waiting for their trucks laden with sugarcane waste to be unloaded. They were approached by a youth who offered them ladoos as prasad. After consuming them, they became unconscious. Seeing them collapse, people gathered at the spot.

They were taken to the nearest health centre. Four of them are in the ICU of a local hospital.

Meanwhile, one person was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a vehicle in Rudrapur. The deceased, Shyam Lal of Uttar Pradesh, was going to attend a religious congregation along with his wife and another person when the accident took place. The trio was rushed to a hospital, where he died.

Four more arrested for Rudrapur boy’s murder
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 3
The police has arrested four more persons for the murder of nine-year-old Rahul, a resident of Rampura in Rudrapur. Those arrested had been demanding ransom from Rahul’s parents for his release.

One of the accused, Bhairav, was arrested following a complaint by Rahul’s father, Sompal, immediately after the boy went missing on January 22.

Sources said Bhairav and his four accomplices, identified as Omkar, Sonu and Sohan Singh, all residents of Dopahariya village near Kitcha, and Surendra Singh, a resident of Shivanand Colony of the Punjabi Bagh area in Delhi, abducted Rahul following a tiff during a cricket match.

However, they killed the boy soon after abducting him. Though the police had arrested Bhairav earlier, his four accomplices started demanding a ransom of Rs 7 lakh from Rahul’s parents, giving them the impression that the boy was safe.

The boy’s body was found from the Kalyani river in the neighbouring Bilaspur area of Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh. Constant surveillance of mobile phones from which the ransom calls were being made to Rahul’s parents led the Special Operations Group (SOG) team of the police to the four accused.

A local woman had seen the body and informed the police. Later the deceased was identified as Rahul. The boy’s parents had reportedly received a ransom call for Rs 7 lakh on Monday last and the caller had agreed to release Rahul on the payment of Rs 1 lakh.

Rahul had gone out to play on January 22 and had not returned home since then. After a frantic search for Rahul in the locality proved futile, his parents had accused Bhairav, a resident of Preet Vihar locality, of abducting him.

The Heritage School win cricket match
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 3
The Heritage School won over Doon Blossom School by 19 runs during the Dehradun Cricket Council Tournament, 2012, played at Raja Ram Mohan Roy Academy here today.

Doon Blossom won the toss and chose to field first.

In the first inning, The Heritage School made a good opening with Ayush and Piyush scoring 24 and 27 runs each. The team made a total score of 125, losing seven wickets in 20 overs.

In reply, Doon Blossom School made a total score of 106 runs, losing nine wickets in 20 overs.

Openers Pravav and Prateek made highest scores of 21 and 17 runs respectively, while Sahil and Anubhav of The Heritage School took two wickets each during the second innings.

Brothers Club, Parade Ground teams win

Dehradun, February 3
In the finals of the Senior District Volleyball Championship here today, Brothers Club and the Parade Ground team were crowned champions in the boys’ and girls’ categories, respectively, In the boys’ final, Brothers Club got the better of Rishikesh Club 25-19, 25-22, 30-28.

In the girls’ final, the Parade Ground team beat NSM Club 25-11, 25-11 and 25-19. — TNS

20% rise in sugar output in state

Dehradun, February 3
The sugarcane industry has an important role in strengthening the economy of plains of Uttarakhand. The sugar mills in the state employ a large number of people, besides being a major source of income for the cash crop growers.

Ten sugar mills are operational in the state during the current sugarcane crushing season. Up to January 31, 21,40,000 quintals of sugarcane have been crushed and 14,12,304 quintals of sugar have been produced. This is 20 per cent more than sugar produced during last season.

With regard to payments to sugarcane farmers, of the Rs 431 crore of dues, Rs 290 crore has been paid up to January 31. The department concerned has directed the sugar mills to ensure timely payments to the farmers. A review cell has also been set up in the Terai area to monitor the process of payments. — TNS

UKD (P) against biased coverage to Cong, BJP
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 3
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) president Trivender Panwar has warned the print and electronic media against election coverage showing the contest was mainly between the Congress and the BJP.

He said his party would no longer tolerate this inclination. He said his party was re-launched a year ago.

“Yamunotri, Dwarhaat and Dharchula are some of the seats where the UKD (P) is giving a tough fight to other parties. Despite that, none of the newspapers and local news channels mentioned about our party,” he asserted.

He said if they won 10 seats, the Chief Minister of the state would be from his party and they would declare Gairsain the capital of the state. If they won less than five seats, he said, they would prefer to sit in the Opposition.

He blamed the BJP government for luring voters with a gift of Rs 5,000 to each family in many constituencies and offering liquor in 108 Emergency Ambulance. He also ridiculed the star campaigners of the BJP and the Congress saying that the Assembly elections in the state covered what these leaders said in their speeches while ignoring the local issues.

He suspended NK Gusain from the position of the district president for not contesting the Assembly elections, supporting an Independent candidate from Dhanaulti and not campaigning for his party candidates. For the time being, he has been replaced by party member Goverdhan. Soon a new working committee would be floated for the district unit of the party, he added.

Pak devotees reach Piran Kaliyar
Tribune News Service

Pakistani pilgrims being welcomed at Roorkee on Friday. A Tribune photograph

Roorkee, February 3
With holy Urs of renowned Hazrat Makhdoom Syed Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir Pak Kaliyari entering its main phase today, devotees (Jayreens) from Pakistan reached Roorkee to pay obeisance at the shrine.

As many as 179 devotees, including two from the Pakistan High Commission, reached early this morning at Roorkee.

In view of the visit of the Pakistani devotees, adequate security arrangements have been in place for the visitors.

Currently stationed at Sabri guest house, the Pakistani devotees are being accompanied by security personnel and local intelligence personnel too. The entry of outsiders in the guest house is prohibited.

Circle Officer Kamlesh Upadhyay said,“The Pakistani nationals have come on a religious visit. So their movement is restricted only till the mela zone area and they will not be allowed to venture outside the Urs mela zone.”

The devotees from Pakistani were accorded a warm welcome at the railway station and were ferried on a highly security cavalcade to the guest house.

CEO Uttarakhand Waqf Board Sayyed Ali, along with mela officer Savin Kumar Bansal, mela security in charge Pradeep Bisht, expressed happiness over the visit of the devotees from Pakistani for the holy 743rd Urs fair at Piran Kaliyar.

Ex-servicemen’s dependents apprised of facilities
Tribune News Service

Army personnel of the Garhwal Rifles, Lansdowne Regiment, Pauri Garhwal, listen to the woes of war widows at the Army Welfare Office in Haridwar on Friday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, February 3
To address the complaints of the dependents of ex-servicemen, a camp, ‘Satat Prayas’, was organised at Army Rest House here today. The camp would be held at three blocks of Haridwar district till February 14.

A large number of dependents of ex-servicemen were present on the camp .

Under the aegis of the Army Welfare Board, officials of Garhwal Rifles, Lansdowne in Pauri Garhwal, are apprising people of various schemes, benefits and facilities being provided by the government to the ex-servicemen martyr families, dependents and war widows.

Also, World War -II Army personnel dependents are being provided information about pension and other similar facilities.

Nayab Subedar’s Darshan Singh, Mukesh, Kailash and Teja Puri of Garhwal Rifles listened to the complaints of the dependents and elaborated on various government-run schemes for the ex-servicemen.

Jayanti Devi, a widow, said pro-Army dependent schemes were taking care of her family and she was getting timely pension.

Retired Subedar Densh Chandra Saklani said the state government was now providing a computer diploma course to the children of martyrs while adding that more of such camps should be held from time to time.

CII team visits Mumbai, Pune companies
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 3
The Uttarakhand State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) took a 15-member delegation to Tata Motors Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd and SKF India Ltd in Pune and Mumbai on January 30 and 31. The objective of the trip was to learn the manufacturing practices these companies had adopted that had made them leaders in their respective areas of work.

SE Vinayagam, Divisional Manager, Business Excellence Services, Tata Motors, briefed the visitors about the Tata Business Excellence Model. He also talked about the good manufacturing practices like Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Low Cost Automation and Benchmarking adopted for excellence in manufacturing. He apprised the delegation about the innovations of the company and its social commitments. Sudhir Hasamanis, AGM, Business Excellence Services, Tata Motors, replied to the queries of the delegation and told it that Tata Motors had been rated as the 17th most innovative company in the world.

At Bajaj Auto, the Manager, Support Services, talked about Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a proactive approach that essentially aims at identifying issues in the early stages of a manufacturing process and accordingly taking remedial steps to achieve excellence in manufacturing. VM Sonar, Manager, Human Resources, shared the information about the practices being followed in the training and development of workers for enhancing quality in manufacturing.

AP Hardikar, Senior General Manager, Corporate Manufacturing Engineering and Projects, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd, talked about the manufacturing capabilities of the company, including the use of lean manufacturing techniques and the introduction of new technologies such as powder-coated engines. SP Inamdar, Senior General Manager, Corporate Manufacturing Engineering and Projects, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd, briefed the delegation about the green practices being followed in the plant.

At SKF India Ltd, Srikant Savangikar, Vice-President, talked about the manufacturing processes of the company and replied to the queries of the delegation. Earlier, Dushyant Pathak, Deputy General Manager, Manufacturing Excellence and TPM, talked about making SKF, Pune, world class.

The delegates were from Tata Motors, Pantnagar, Saraswati Dynamics, Haridwar, Ashok Leyland-Nissan, Videocon, Kalpatru Power, Indofil Industries and Omni Active Health Tech.

EC allows ministers official cars
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 3
The facility of official cars that was withdrawn from ministers and ministerial rank holders in view of the imposition of the model code of conduct has now been restored to them.

In an order issued late last night by the Election Commission, all ministers and ministerial rank holders will now be able to travel in their official cars.

Besides, the Election Commission has also relaxed the model code of conduct in five areas. Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi said now the ministers and officials concerned could undertake tours in areas to assess the work under way. The ministers could participate in meetings with officers to evaluate the performance of the schemes. Evaluation meetings would also be held in district headquarters.

Provisions under the model code of conduct have also been relaxed for inviting of bids, their evaluation and awarding of bids.

Man strangles wife, surrenders
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 3
In a bizarre incident, a man allegedly strangled his wife for not satisfying his conjugal needs. Later, he surrendered himself to the police.

Narendra Arya (25) of Sanjay Nagar locality, Lal Kuan had married Poonam (19) of Ramnagar eight months ago. After the marriage, Poonam’s mother Deepa Devi had also moved in with the couple.

It was a love marriage.

According to reports, marital discord had started between the couple just a few days after the marriage.

Things had come to such a pass that he had started being suspicious of his wife of adultery.

On late Wednesday night, he came home in an inebriated state and the couple had a fight over some issue. During this he lost control over himself and allegedly strangled his wife. After the incident, he surrendered himself to the Lal Kuan police.

Poonam’s mother came to know about the incident only when the police reached the spot. Narendra has also accused his mother-in-law of spoiling his marital life.