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Haridwar is among top industrial investment hubs
Varsity MoU with GMVN on adventure camps for students
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Slum-dwellers plead with Mayor
Haldwani admn wakes up to garbage disposal problem
Shani temple demolition
Dearth of basic facilities in hill areas causing mass exodus
‘BJP leaders misusing facilities for UP elections’
ITBP team win volleyball tourney
Date for identification of statehood activists extended
Fish production stagnant due to lack of awareness
House, crops destroyed in Pithoragarh landslide
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Haridwar is among top industrial investment hubs
Haridwar, February 17 President of Kuwait-based Industrial and Commercial Groups Alghanim Industries Samir Kaseem said this here today at SIDCUL Kirby firm’s expansion facility plant. He pointed out that despite global economic meltdown, India had emerged quite strongly
as in comparison to other countries of the world, including developed European and American nations. Expressing concern over Iran-USA hostility over nuclear armament, Kaseem said that post-Gulf war, the world economy is not in a condition to have another such war, particularly the industry, whch is keeping a close tab on the Iran
development. With this expansion, Haridwar city has emerged as one of the top industrial investment hubs in the country as Kriby plant will now be producing 1 lakh metric tonnes of pre-engineered steel, which is the highest under one single roof unit in the country. Kaseem also pointed that as part of Uttarakhand state government’s incentive policy in the hilly districts, the company is committed to facilitate the industrial set-up there, too, so
that more and more people of the hilly state get employment. Already the company in its Indian-based plants is hiring local people in the ratio of 80:20 and even giving skill-based labour training, where it finds requisite eligibility doesn’t match to the parameter. While D Raju, CEO of Kirby Buildings, South East Asia, said that in just a span of six years, Haridwar unit capacity has risen from 40,000 MT to 1 lakh MY, which in itself proves the conducive environment like government support, manpower, skilled technicians and facilities that industries get here
in Haridwar. Citing the company’s’ involvement in providing applications for coveted DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), Renault Nissan factory AGM Sudhir Mehta said that the company was committed to lend its expertise in Uttarakhand to make the state best industrial hub in the northern region. |
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Varsity MoU with GMVN on adventure camps for students
Dehradun, February 16 It is for the first
time that the Nigam has bagged such a big project with an educational institution at the university level. Till now 15 of the total 21 camps have been held for rock climbing, rappelling and rafting at Rishikesh successfully. Yudhvir Pundir, Adventure Tourism Manager, GMVN, Rishikesh, said: “Each group comprises 33 students, both boys and girls.The groups are taken for rafting to Shivpuri stretch of 24 km. The camps have been a huge success as students are thoroughly enjoying themselves. It is the first exposure for them. We are also taking good care of their safety during adventure activities.” Bursting the myth that rafting was not suitable in winters as some of the groups postponed it for April, he said: “The water gets crystal clear in winter because of which it is also called white water
rafting. The novices who do not know about rafting feel they would feel cold during rafting but they must know that river water in higher reaches, which is considered excellent for rafting, is always extremely cold.” Prof PS Rana, Dean, Students’ Welfare of the university, said the students were selected on the basis of first- come first-serve basis from the colleges of Pauri, Tehri and Srinagar affiliated to Garhwal University. A complete batch of NCC students was also given the exclusive permission to undertake rafting from Srinagar to Kodiyala, which is replete with the most difficult rapids,
he added. He said: “The university, after it was accorded the status of central university, gets grants for adventure activity every year. Out of a total of Rs 50 lakh grant, half was spent on adventure project with GMVN and half has been utilised in building an artificial rock climbing structure in the university premises, for which CPWD had been chosen as working agency.” |
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Slum-dwellers plead with Mayor
Dehradun, February 16 Shyam Kumar, resident, said they had been paying electricity bills, water bills and had voter cards as well as ration cards. In such a situation they should not be removed from the colony. Rajender Nath also pitched in, saying many of the slum-dwellers were living in the area for the last 10 to 15 years. Earlier, no one ever talked of demolishing their houses. Lalita Devi said they had built kutcha houses of bricks with tin roofs. Poor people like them must not be divested of their shelter. If the state government could not provide them housing facility, then it should not take away the houses that they have in their possession. The Mayor heard them patiently but also added that he could not allow blatant encroachment on government land. “I can understand the view point of those who are living in the area for the last 10-15 years. But I am noticing the new occupants are also mushrooming. Not only this, the occupants have begun selling their houses, which cannot be tolerated,” he said. The residents suggested Chamoli to either plant trees or erect a wall around vacant portions on the land so that these portions could not be encroached upon by any one. |
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Birender Singh awarded
Dehradun, February 16 The award for “Politics of Social Work” was given to Birendra Singh, MP, Rajya Sabha, by Dr Bhishma Narain Singh, a former Governor of Tamil Nadu, at a function in New Delhi today. Birendra Singh, who comes from a political family of Haryana, is also the in-charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh. |
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Haldwani admn wakes up to garbage disposal problem
Nainital, February 16 To begin with, it has been decided that a trenching ground be developed alongside the plastic-recycling unit adjacent to the Gaula river. The process for transfer of forestland for developing the trenching ground has already started. A team of officials of the administration and the local civic body carried out a survey of the proposed site yesterday. In addition to this, the team also inspected the Tanakpur road area where large-scale encroachments on the forestland are learnt to have taken place. A special task force has been created by the officials to remove the said encroachments over the next few days. The disposal of waste in the town, which is booming with population, has become an area of major concern for the authorities. It has been reported that the waste is dumped along the Tanakpur road and the Rajpura locality while the sewer is also dumped in the Gaula riverbed. The residents living in the Gaula Par area have been up in arms against the failure of the administration and the local civic authorities to address the issue. Their public representatives have also been raising the issue from several public platforms. The trenching ground would be developed with assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The execution of the task is being done on priority basis. |
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Shani temple demolition
Nainital, February 16 The LDA had carried out the demolition of the alleged illegal encroachment on a public road that had come up in the name of renovation of the temple earlier this month. This gave an opportunity to the right-wing elements indulging in petty politics to trigger off a misinformation campaign that has had repercussions across the entire Kumaon region. On daily basis there have been protests led by right-wing organisations, which have been giving the impression that the demolished structure was a Shani temple. Contrary to their claim, the temple stands intact and only the encroachment on public land done in the name of renovation was demolished. Ironically, sections of the media also have been indulging in presenting the facts in a manner that serves their interests. In a statement issued here, secretary of the LDA Vijay Chandra Kaushal has dispelled the myths being circulated in the region. He has stated, ”A misinformation campaign is being carried out by certain people saying that the Shani temple has been demolished. The fact is that on February 6, the LDA, with the help of the PWD had removed the encroachment on the Thandi road that had taken place in the front portion of the temple. The prayers and other routines are still being carried out in the Shani temple as before.” The clarification comes with a view to take the fizz out of the campaign being resorted to by certain elements, which are looking for short-term political gains. As reported earlier, the series of events that have followed the demolition are a pointer to the vested interests at work. After the demolition there have been sporadic protests across Kumaon on the issue with small groups of right wing activists participating in these protests. To begin with, the observers say that the said temple was not being managed by any public body or any trust but as a “private enterprise”. Secondly, it has provided an opportunity to the Hindutva activists to indulge in short-term politics and get some prominence in the media. In a protest march in Nainital a few days ago, some 30 odd people with affiliation to various Hindutva organisations had marched through the town in a procession from Ram Sevak Sabha to the Collectorate via the Mall Road, raising slogans. This was in sheer violation of the model code of conduct, which is still in force across the state. There have also been attempts to communalise the issue as it is being pointed out that the authorities have been selective in demolishing “a temple” while ignoring the encroachments done by religious institutions of the other faiths. |
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Dearth of basic facilities in hill areas causing mass exodus
Pithoragarh, February 16 Agreeing with the fact that large-scale migration has been taking place in his Assembly area as well, former Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Mahendra Singh Mahra, who contested from Lohaghat Assembly seat for the third time, said that unemployment and communication gap between the rural folks and implementing agencies are major reasons of migration from villages to nearby towns and big cities. “The villagers need to be made skilled on the trades, for which the raw material is available in their vicinity and the facilities of health and education will have to be provided,” says Mahra. Mahra agrees that due to Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the traditional raw material of hill areas has been banned, leading to unemployment among the classes who were dependent on that. “After asserting that traditional slates cannot be dug for use of roofs, the new cement concrete style houses have come into existence in hill areas,“ said Mahra, adding that during his time as Agriculture Minister, he suggested having research on utilisation of lantana grass, which was rapidly eating up land in hill villages but the proposal could not be implemented by the BJP government. Uttarakhand Lok Vahini leader Shamsher Singh Bisht attributes the migration from hills to the unequal distribution of money and resources in the state after it’s creation, and said that a strong local economy will have to be created and be linked with mainstream economy if the state wants to check migration from the hills. “Even political will of the state does not seem in favour of stopping migration from hills as the stakeholders of the state want to use the meagre resource and not the human resource,” alleged Bisht. UKD leader Kashi Singh Airy attributed migration from hills to lack of initiative by respective governments in the field of commercial crop coupled with lack of quality education and better health facilities in hill villages. “In my constituency area of Dharchula, the commercial production of potato, rajma and medicinal herbs can raise employment opportunities in higher altitude villages, but the respective governments lacked the will to initiate these on the ground,” said Airy. Airy said that the production of these commercial crops could be raised to four times that could give employment to more village youths. “This is not limited to Dharchula, but can be implemented in the districts of Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Bageshwar in the hill state,” said Airy . The UKD leader added that the quality of education being provided to village children in hill villages is also one of the reasons of migration as the programmes being implemented by the government are being implemented only casually by the authorities in village schools. “The health facilities in my constituency are also dismal as there is no health staff and the people are dependent on Emergency 108 medical service and Aasha workers in the village, as there is no medical centre on the 43-km long area between Jauljibi and Madkot,” said Airy. The BJP leader and contestant from Ranikhet Assembly seat, Ajay Bhatt, a former health minister of the state, lamented that despite much efforts by the respective governments, the basic infrastructure in villages could not be made sufficient till date. “To stop migration from the hill villages, our government has planned industrial areas for the hill districts and a few have been identified in Bhimtal area,” said Ajay Bhatt. Former MLA from Gangolihat area and chairman of state SC and ST Commission Narayan Ram complains that if the cement factory proposed in Gangolihat area in 1980 had been working today, more than 1 lakh people would have been employed in the area, stopping the migration from there. “The political leaders, after creation of the state, have patronised a few people in every village for their own political interests. This tendency has created an exploiting class in every village, which neglects general interests of the particular village.” said Ram. According to Narayan Ram, his area still lacks 70 per cent of water, 50 per cent road communication and 60 per cent health facilities as roads mostly lie at the distance of an average 3 km from villages, and health centres at more than 20 km distance in some villages. “Until we change these parametres, we cannot provide the hill villagers the required health services,” said Narayan Ram. All the leaders talked with agreed that until the quality of infrastructure in education anf health is upgraded and linked directly to employment creation, the flow of migration from villages to nearby towns and from towns to metros cannot be stopped. “ The historic city of Almora is facing migration to big cities and to Haldwani as the town lacks facilities of health and employment,” said Naveen Bisht, a journalist based at Almora. |
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‘BJP leaders misusing facilities for UP elections’
Dehradun, February 16 In a letter to Uttarakhand the Chief Election Officer, a copy of which has also been sent to the Chief Election Commission, New Delhi, senior Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana said as per Election Commission directives, the election code of conduct is currently on in Uttarakhand and will stay till March 6, the day of counting. “But the Uttarakhand BJP government, after conclusion of polling in the hill state, has resorted all facilities to the ministerial rank party leaders and now these leaders are using these facilities for campaigning for BJP in UP Assembly elections,” Suryakant Dhasmana said, accusing Uttarakhand BJP of resorting to violation of the model code. He appealed the Uttarakhand Chief Election Officer to ensure that there is no model code of violation in the state. |
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ITBP team win volleyball tourney
Pithoragarh, February 16 Amandeep of the ITBP was declared the man of the match, while Rahul of the Dehradun team was adjudged the man of the series. The tournament was organised by the state promotion committee and the District Sports Office. Chander Mouli Sharma, Commandant, ITBP, who was the chief guest on the occasion, presented a cheque for Rs 50,000 to the winning team. The Roorkee team stood third while the Haldwani team was fourth in the tournament. |
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Date for identification of statehood activists extended
Nainital, February 16 District Magistrate PS Jangpangi has ordered that the verification by the police should be carried out by March 10 in accordance with the fresh instructions received from the state administration in this regard. At a meeting of the administrative officials of the district held on Tuesday , Jangpangi asked the SDMs and other officials to bring about a change in their outlook towards things. He asked them to focus on the revenue collection and told the SDMs that land should be leased in accordance with the rules and availability. He said the unavailability of land must be brought to the notice of the administration in writing. He also called for early disposal of cases at various levels. Jangpangi expressed discontent over the pace of revenue collection in the district and asked the officials to initiate special measures so that the target for the financial year could be achieved. He asked the SDMs and tehsildars to start revenue collections from the bigger defaulters. He ordered that in case they were not able to get the payments they should start the proceedings for auctioning their movable and immovable assets. He also expressed unhappiness over certain banks functioning in a manner that has led to a loss in revenue collection by the administration. He asked that bank officials to work in coordination with the revenue officials. |
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Fish production stagnant due to lack of awareness
Pithoragarh, February 16 He says in Uttarakhand 64 varieties are found in the Garhwal region while 34 varieties are found in the water bodies of the Kumaon region. “The main varieties of fish found in Himalayan rivers and ponds in the state are Snow trout, Golden Manhasser, Kumaon trout, which are most sought after varieties by food lovers,” says Shah. Shah adds Uttarakhand has 3,000 km-long rivers, lakes in the 300 sq km area and other water bodies like ponds and reservoirs in 25,000 hectares. “This water asset is capable enough to produce up to 15,000 metric tonnes of fish annually but due to lack of awareness among the farmers and government officials as well the fish production is not increasing beyond 4,000 metric tonnes. Of this, 2,500 metric tonnes of fish is produced in ponds of the Terai region,” says Shah. The farmers into fishery in hill areas complain of the non-availability of technical know-how to help them increase fish production. “Besides, the quality of seeds given to fish farmers by the department is traditional and that cannot raise the tonnage of fish production,” says Laxman Singh, a fish farmer in Champawat district. |
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House, crops destroyed in Pithoragarh landslide
Pithoragarh, February 16 “The landslide was sudden and unexpected as boulders on the hilltop had been stable since time immemorial,” said R Rajesh Kumar, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh, who visited the village. The District Magistrate said Prem Singh’s house, a drinking water tank for the village and the drinking water pipeline were totally damaged. “The district disaster management team, besides officers from the soil conservation and agricultural departments reached the spot, assessed the damage and discussed the measures to check the further landslide,” he said. District Disaster Management Officer RS Rana said the area had a history of landslides and the present incident happened due to terracing by villagers near the rocks. “The landslide took place during the winter and the situation could aggravate during rain,”
said Rana. He claimed that the district administration was taking sufficient measures to control any further landslide. “It was an unseasonable and unexpected incident as it happened when there was no rain unlike earlier landslide incidents in hill areas. It has made us concerned for those villages in the district which are situated under hills having such stone structures,” said
Rana. |
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A two-storied house, two Max jeeps and crops on two hectares in Himatar village in the district were destroyed in a landslide last night. Large boulders fell on the house of Prem Singh at Himatar village, 35 km from Pithoragarh district headquarters, last night. However, no one was injured as Prem Singh and his family were away at the time of the incident.
