|
|
|
|
|
FRI hand in preserving forest wealth at Cambodian site
UP poll: Bus service to Kumaon hit
Harish Rawat visits Daksh Maha Dev temple, ashrams
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
‘Need for global policy to check pollution’
Haridwar, February 11 A world conference on ‘Green technology for environmental rehabilitation’ was inaugurated at Gurukul Kangri University here today.
MP against shifting of NIT
Parties ignored employment, migration issues during poll
New route for Kailash Mansarovar yatra
Intricacies of income tax discussed
Soon, Nainital zoo to have three Red Pandas
Yajna for ‘mental purification’ of Congress leaders
|
|
FRI hand in preserving forest wealth at Cambodian site
Dehradun, February 11 Director General of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, Dr V. K. Bahuguna, recently visited the site and inspected the works being done by Forest Research Institute along with team members S S Negi, VRR Singh, N S K Harsh and S Nautiyal. He was apprised of the research work done by FRI team and treatments done to preserve the trees and arrest further deterioration in their health, including the capacity building of the local stakeholders. Dr Bahuguna appreciated the works done and gave useful suggestions for formulating a strategy to deal with the situation, notably being the nutrient-based approach for rejuvenation of the older trees and targeting the adjoining trees also in nearby areas to check further spread of
diseases. He advised to develop a new formulation to control the decay in trees. Dr Bahuguna also inaugurated a two-day workshop under capacity building programme for monitoring and treatment of trees associated with Ta Prohm temple complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, conducted for the Cambodian stakeholders. Dr Bahuguna later met the Ambassador of India in Cambodia R. K. Sachdeva and impressed assured support of the council in future works for other sites in Cambodia. He also extendes a helping hand in building up the forestry in Cambodia with a community-linked approach. Dr. Bahuguna attended a meeting with the officers of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Regional Office at Bangkok along with the team members and had elaborate discussions on IUCN activities such as landscape and land use issues, mangroves, joint forest management and wetland initiatives in Asia with special reference
to India. Dr Bahuguna emphasised that expertise of ICFRE institutes can be roped in for various activities of IUCN. He agreed with the suggestions by IUCN officers that FRI will obtain IUCN membership for which modalities will be finalised soon. |
||
|
UP poll: Bus service to Kumaon hit
Nainital, February 11 Sources in the Transport Department said the number of buses being run by the Uttar Pradesh Transport Corporation to various destinations in Kumaon like
Ramnagar, Kashipur, Haldwani and Rudrapur had come down by almost 50 per cent these days. This has led to an added pressure on the buses being run by the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation which has increased its services on the routes where there is a shortfall. The worst hit are the passengers who are being forced to shell out more as travel in the buses run by Uttarakhand Transport Corporation is dearer. Besides this, the number of buses that have been increased on various routes is still short of the demand. According to information, since buses have been requisitioned in a large number in Uttar Pradesh, the road transport service has been hit on routes leading to destinations like
Bareilley, Rampur, Moradabad, Delhi, Meerut and Ghaziabad. However, despite the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation having increased the bus service on these routes, there is still a considerable shortfall of buses. Reports say on an average, 120 buses are plied by the Uttar Pradesh Transport Corporation to the region on a daily basis. But their number has now come down to about 60. To meet this shortfall, the authorities in Uttarakhand have started running 20 additional buses on various routes. The situation is expected to become normal only once the election process is over in the neighbouring state. |
||
|
Harish Rawat visits Daksh Maha Dev temple, ashrams
Haridwar, February 11 Harish Rawat was accompanied by his family members, which was for the first time since he became parliamentarian from Haridwar constituency in May 2009. Though he tried to make his family pilgrim visit as personal, yet as soon as the news spread of him being accompanied by his family members, party workers, localites and media personnel thronged the temples. At Daksh Maha Dev temple in Kankhal, Rawat along with his wife Renuka and daughter Anupama offered milk to the holy Shiv Lingam. They also paid obeisance at various ashrams in the city, making the whole visit a pilgrim-religious one with Harish Rawat refraining from holding any party workers’ meeting or media briefing. Many termed his religious visit as one seeking blessings from the Almighty for victory of the Congress, as Harish Rawat is a strong contender for chief ministerial post of Uttarakhand if Congress comes into power. Notably, Rawat’s wife Renuka had contested from Almora parliamentary constituency in 2004 elections but had lost to BJP candidate Bachi Singh Rawat by less than 10,000 votes margin. While Anupama is general secretary of women’s state Congress, son Anand Rawat is state chief of Youth Congress. |
||
|
‘Need for global policy to check pollution’
Haridwar, February 11 The environmentalists present in the conference said it was imperative to invest in green technology for environmental rehabilitation. Former sub-minister for environment, Government of Bulgaria, Prof Venko Vasko, said from such conferences, substantial extracts come out which if applied by all countries and people would be effective in maintaining greenery. Vasko cited growing pollution as a major factor concerning environment. “The need of the hour is to have a global policy to check pollution. If steps are not taken now, the situation can go worse in the near future, added
Prof Vasko. University Vice-Chancellor Prof Swatantra Kumar said environment needed to be preserved as imbalances in ecology could negatively impact human beings and animals both. Experts also cited several diseases caused due to pollution while adding that if the pollution-level goes unchecked, human life will be threatened. Research papers will be read out on the two-day conference and scientists, environmentalists, academicians, scholars and social activists will be dwelling on ways of environmental rehabilitation. Prof PS Ishar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, Prof SP Ojha, Vice-Chancellor, Chaudhari Charan Singh University, Prof Mahavir Aggarwal, Dr Virendra Arora, Dr MM Tiwari, Dr Vivek Goya, Mayank Aggarwal, Dr Sunil Pawar and Lalit Negi took part in the inaugural session of the conference. |
||
|
MP against shifting of NIT
Dehradun, February 11 He also described shifting of the NIT under present circumstances as the violation of the election code of conduct. He urged the Governor to direct the chief election officer of the state to ensure that the proposed NIT was constructed at
Sumadi.
|
||
|
Parties ignored employment, migration issues during poll
Pithoragarh, February 11 “The state has since become “Thekedarkhand” as construction contractors have become the main force behind workers of the political parties, which have been looting the funds given by the Union government for making the state self-sufficient,” says Shamsher Singh Bisht, president of the Uttarakhand Lok Vahini and leading political activist of the state. Bisht feels the issue of a permanent capital of the state, which would have been a symbol of unity between the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, is being ignored by the new brand of politicians who emerged after the creation of Uttarakhand. “The hill people are leaving villages as employment avenues are concentrated only in towns. This has rendered the villagers largely poor,” says Bisht. “The population in 10 hill districts of the state, which was 53 per cent at the time of the creation of the state, is 47 per cent of the total population of the state after 11 years of its existence,” he adds. Bisht says the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal could have been an alternative political force to national parties at this juncture of identity crisis. “The people are upset as their leaders are busy hankering after position, money and power. A new political force having a local agenda of ‘jal, jungal and jameen’ is the need of the hour in the state,” he says. Radha Behn, a leading Gandhian and president of the Gandhi Shanti Pratisthan, New Delhi, says the question of the very existence of villagers in Uttarakhand is being ignored as “politics of loot” has taken over. “The political parties that have ruled the state after its creation are now looting the natural resources of the state. After the plundering of “jungal and jameen”, they have started exploiting “jal” (water resources) of the state by ignoring the interests of the people traditionally dependent on it,” says Radha. She opines that until society and politics do not share the “will to make the state self-sufficient” it is impossible to change its condition. “The state needs a policy concentrating on agriculture as the focal point and small industries around it serving as the supporting base for the village youth to get employment,” says Radha. Suresh Bhai, a leading social activist based in the Garhwal region, says the state has till now seen elections fought only on personal egos of the leaders instead of the issues of the state and the people. “During the elections this time, leaders of the main political parties presented themselves as champions of the issues of the people. They had framed their personal manifestos, concealing the manifestos of their parties that the local people disliked,” says Suresh. He adds that the issues of security to the hill women, who are dependent on forests, and a water policy for the local people were missing from the agendas of the political parties. “The state needs to bring all regional political and social forces at one platform to form a regional political force to be a substitute to the national parties,” says Suresh. Not only social activists but also political activists are of the view that the parties have ignored the local issues during the recent Assembly elections. “Some 40 years ago, our valley of Chaudand in Dharchula subdivision produced 2,000 tonnes of rajmah of rare quality, which was in big demand in the Terai region of this state. Today, the production of rajmah is only 20 per cent of the earlier output as no political party has ever talked about promoting the cultivation to this cash crop,” says Aan Singh Rokaya, a zila panchayat member from the Chaudans area of Dharchula subdivision in Pithoragarh. “The issue of villagers leaving the cultivation of cash crop rajmah, which has a huge demand, has not been raised by any political party during this elections,” adds Rokaya. The people of Talla Danpur in Bageshwar district have ben demanding self-employment avenues through cottage industries based on wool. They wanted to have superior breed of sheep in the area. “We went to local politicians for help in bringing superior breed of Marino sheep to our region, which is highly suitable to the area, but they failed to respond,” says Govind Singh Danu, a member of a zila panchayat from the Talla Danpur area of Bageshwar district. Danu says the issue of providing self employment to villagers of the Talla Danpur area does not appeal to the local leaders, who are busy in mining of sandstones in the area. “The local products of the region, which were once in high demand in the Terai area and its adjoining districts, have no policy support. Now, only raw material is sourced from the hills,” says
Radha. |
||
|
New route for Kailash Mansarovar yatra
Pithoragarh, February 11 According to the plan, batches of pilgrims after reaching Almora from New Delhi will be sent to Chaukori the next day via Bageshwar instead of Pithoragarh. “These changes have been made because the route from Almora to Chaukori via Bageshwar has been found to be unsafe as long as landslides on the route are concerned. This has been revealed in the study done by the ITBP,” said AS Nayal, Managing Director of the Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN). According to new route for the yatra this year, the pilgrim batches will first stay in Almora. The second night stay will be at Chaukori in Berinag hills, followed by Dharchula, Sirkha, Gala, Bundi, Gunji (two days) and then to the Chinese territory of Taklakot for next seven days. “On return journey, the pilgrims will be brought directly to Kalapani from Taklakot in China. They will reach directly to Bundi as the newly constructed motor road between Kalapani to Gunji has made it possible to reach Gala in one day,” said Nayal. “These changes in the route chart have included 70 per cent part of Kumoan region covered under the yatra,” says APS Niambaria, coordinator for the yatra. According to the new chart of the yatra, the yatra will begin on June 1 and 16 batches of pilgrims will be sent. “Due to the new route chart, the pilgrims will not only be able to visit ancient temples of Someshwar, Baijnath, Kosi Garur and Kausani but would also be able to perform morning ‘puja’ at Jageshwar Dham,” said
Nimabaria. |
||
|
Intricacies of income tax discussed
Dehradun, February 11 During the inaugural session on direct tax, Ashwini Taneja dwelt at length on the issue of capital gains and explained in detail the exemptions available under Section 54 F of the Income Tax Act 1961 for investment in residential house and other issues. He said if any taxpayer invested in a house for his or her own use, he could get exemption under in long term capital gains tax. The second technical session of the seminar was led by ITAT practitioner Dr Rakesh Gupta. He gave a lecture on the theme of ‘search and seizure’ operations by the tax authorities. He said this was the best provision available with the government for confiscating black money and the Legislature had made adequate safeguards in order to prevent any undue harassment of
taxpayers. Gupta also shared practical in-depth knowledge on the subject and narrated numerous personal experiences of dealing with such matters, leaving the audience spell-bound. Most senior members present on the occasion put up several complex questions. Gupta also gave other tax-related information. Meanwhile, during the third technical session, Ashok Batra spoke on the themes of taxation rules and regulations as well as Central Value Added
Tax (Cenvat). |
||
|
Soon, Nainital zoo to have three Red Pandas
Nainital, February 11 The zoo is all set to receive three Red Pandas soon. These pandas are to be transported here from the zoological park in Sikkim. Divisional Forest Officer Parag Madhukar Dhakate said: “We are in the process of procuring three Red Pandas along with a couple of other high-altitude
animals.” He further said the Nainital zoo was also in the process of procuring Monal, the state bird of Himachal Pradesh. Another animal that would be brought to the zoo soon is the musk deer. The Red Panda is a small arboreal mammal found in the eastern Himalayan zone and southwestern China. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat and has reddish-brown fur, a long shaggy tail and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs. It feeds mainly on bamboo, but is omnivorous. It has been classified as vulnerable as its population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals. Also known as Impeyan Pheasant or Danphe, Himalayan Monal is a bird of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the national bird of neighbouring Nepal, where it is known as Danfe. It is also the state bird of Uttarakhand. The musk deer resembles small deer with a stocky build and hind legs longer than their front legs. Its feet are adapted for climbing in rough terrain. It has no antlers, but the males do have enlarged upper canines, forming sabre-like tusks. It is famous for its musk gland that is found only in adult males. It lies in a sac located between the genitals and umbilicus and its secretions are most likely used to attract mates. The zoo authorities are also trying to procure a Siberian tiger and snow leopards. Both these species were the main attraction of the zoo till last year but the animals died of old age. Without these animals, the zoo cannot justify its name of being a high-altitude zoo. The authorities are learnt to have taken up the matter with the Russian Embassy in Delhi through the Central Zoo Authority and the Government of India to see if the friendly nation could provide another Siberian tiger for the zoo. The authorities are also engaged in correspondence with other zoos in India which can provide them with a couple of snow
leopards. This zoo in the Lake City is unique as it is the only high-altitude zoo in the country which is compact in size and yet offers a variety of high altitude birds and animals to
the visitors. |
||
|
Yajna for ‘mental purification’ of Congress leaders
Mussoorie, February 11 Ramdev’s followers today condemned the comments by Congress MLA Kishore Upadhyay from Tehri against the yoga guru where he had openly criticised Baba Ramdev and threatened to conduct an enquiry against him if Congress came back into power in the state. They also organised a yagna at the Kaleshwar temple and prayed for mental purification of the Congress fraternity in the state. The followers belonging to Bharat Swabhiman and Patanjali Yogpeeth today described the statements of legislator Kishore Upadhyay against Baba Ramdev as ‘’irresponsible’’ and of vindictive nature. The followers also alleged several Congress leaders were involved in cases of corruption and were feeling jittery after the tirade carried out by Baba Ramdev against corruption. Bharat Swabhiman’s yatra member Gyan Chand said that Kishore Upadhyay should first look at himself before issuing statements against Baba
Ramdev. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Classified | E-mail | |
Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute is doing the prestigious work of conservation of trees at Ta Prohm temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a world heritage site.
Dehradun, February 11
