10 killed as bus falls into Tons
Khanduri orders magisterial probe
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25
Ten persons were killed while seven sustained injuries when a bus fell into the Tons river in the Tyuni region here today.

The incident took place when the driver of the bus, which was on its way to Vikasnagar from Tyuni, lost control over the vehicle while crossing a bridge near Baderna village at 1.40 pm.

Rescue teams from Kalsi, Shahiya and Chakrata have reached the spot and started rescue operation. The injured have been taken to the Primary Health Centre, Tyuni, and Shellaee Primary Health Centre in Himachal Pradesh.

State Disaster Management Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also visited the accident spot to take stock of the rescue operation.

The minister has directed administrative officials to provide immediate assistance to the injured.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister BC Khanduri has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.

Expressing grief over the incident, Khanduri prayed for the peace of the departed souls.

He has also directed for immediate payment of ex-gratia to next of kin of the deceased.

Governor Margaret Alva has also mourned the deaths in the accident. She has wished for a speedy recovery of the injured.

BBA paper leaked in Nainital
Kumaon University forms panel to hold a probe 
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 25
The Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University, Dr VPS Arora, has set up a two member panel to probe into the incident of paper leak that came to light yesterday.

The paper pertaining to Financial Management for second year students of the BBA course of the university has been rescheduled and would now be held on February 29.

About 3,000 students were taking the exam, which has now been rescheduled.

It is learnt that 15 minutes after the exam had started, someone had called up the university authorities that the paper had been leaked. To substantiate the claims, a handwritten copy of the question paper, which had been supplied to some of the students in advance, was faxed to the office of the Vice-Chancellor.

It is alleged that the paper was leaked from one of the private institutes offering the course under the aegis of Kumaon University. It is being assumed that the paper had been leaked by someone over the telephone and it was jotted down by the students for whom it was leaked. Some of the answers were also found written on the paper that was faxed to the university authorities by the complainant.

It is also alleged that the paper was made available to the students in Haldwani for Rs 2,000.

Taking serious note of the development, the Vice- Chancellor has set up a two-member panel to probe into the incident. The members of the panel are Prof ND Kandpal of the department of Chemistry and Prof Rajnish Pande, who has been a former controller of examinations in the university.

A criminal case in the matter has also been registered in Mallital police station in Nainital.

EC questioned on 25,985 undelivered postal ballots
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25
The Uttarakhand BJP today asked the Election Commission to give reasons for the 25,985 undelivered postal ballots and clarify its position on 55,221 of them.

“The Election Commission is responsible for holding free and fair elections and should first clear its stand on the 25,985 undelivered postal ballots before undertaking counting on March 6,” said Satish Lakhera, BJP spokesperson.

He also questioned the lack of seriousness on the part of the Election Commission in ensuring the full participation of the service voters.

Lakhera also ridiculed the Congress in charge Birender Singh for asking the Congress leaders to keep a watch on the postal ballots.

“Afraid of the Assembly election results, the Congress is now trying to create confusion on the issue of postal ballots and affect the election results,” charged Lakhera.

Purnagiri Mela
Have darshans but from distance
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, February 25
Keeping the advice of geologists in mind, the Purnagiri mela committee has decided to allow the pilgrims to have darshan of the idol of the deity from a distance of 7 ft so that the hilltop could be saved from collapsing due to heavy rush on it.

“On the advice of geologists from IIT Roorkee, an iron net has been erected at the distance of 7 ft from the main idol. They had advices that the load on the Purnagiri hilltop must be minimum,” said Ashok Kumar Verma, executive officer of nagar palika parishad, Tanakpur, the body involved in the management of the fair.

The geologists have suggested that the Purnagiri hilltop is sliding gradually and it cannot bear additional weight. “The main portion, which is declared sensitive to sliding, is being kept away from the pilgrims for the past four years and this will be followed this year as well,” said Verma.

The Purnagiri fair will begin on March 9 and will continue for next three months. “As more than 5 lakh pilgrims from parts of UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana visit the fair every year, elaborated arrangements for the pilgrims have been finalised by the Champawat zila panchayat, the Tanakpur nagar palika and the Champawat administration,” said Verma.

SDIMT holds seminar, annual function
Tribune News Service

An educationist lights a traditional lamp before the start of a national seminar at the Swami Darshanand Institute of Management and technology in Haridwar on Saturday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, February 25
With India taking leap in the information technology and management sector, the need of the hour is to penetrate professional education in rural segments as well so that youths living there can also avail the benefit. This was stated by eminent IIT Roorkee professor VK Nangia at a national seminar held at the Swami Darshanand Institute of Management and Technology (SDIMT) here today.

Prof Nangia specified that educational institutes imparting professional education should also focus on giving information on self-employment avenues.

Prof SC Dhamija, Director of the SDIMT, said Haridwar was becoming a leading educational hub where moral, traditional and professional education was being imparted.

Dr Surekha Rana of Gurukul Kangri University exhorted students to focus on practical training.

The annual function was also organised after the seminar where various cultural programmes were presented by students, which included folk songs, dance and skits.

Megha Taneza, an MBA student, said they had been preparing for the seminar and the annual fest for almost a month. “Now with its successful completion, we are looking forward to the final examinations,” she added.

International symposium from February 28
Tribune News Service

Prof SP Thapliyal, director, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Technology and Sciences, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, February 25
To bring together scientists and technocrats from India and seven other countries, a two-day international symposium would be organised from February 28, said Prof SP Thapliyal, director, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Technology and Sciences, here today.

Prof Thapliyal said academicians, business executives, researchers and scholars from all over the world would participate in the event.

The symposium will be organised on the campus of Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Technology and Sciences by the MCA and BCA departments.

Dharchula route being used by smugglers of animal organs
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, February 25
The subdivision of Dharchula, situated on the borders of India, Nepal and China, is fast emerging as a route to Nepal for smugglers involved in the trade of organs of wildlife, said police officials working to nab the smugglers of wildlife organs having connections across the Nepal border.

They send organs of tigers, leopards and other wild animals to Tibet via Nepal. “After initial investigations into the cases of seizure of leopard and tiger skins last week from Pithoragarh and Najibabad, the police identified some routes being used in smuggling of these goods from Banbasa in Terai region of Champawat district and from Dharchula town of Pithoragarh district,” said S.K. Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Dharchula.

According to Singh, the police, with the coordination of UP STF, forest officials and Union Forest and Environment Ministry, is on the verge of revealing a big network of smugglers operating on these routes. The information will be released to the public only after the some more details about the routes used by these notorious smugglers get confirmed.

“All these organisations are under surveillance. They are in coordination with each other. We are trying to bust the network of international wildlife organ smugglers operating from these routes situated on the Indo- Nepal border towns of UP and Uttarakhand,” said the police officer.

The police officer also said that the international bodies like Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CIIES) are also helping the Uttarakhand police’s initiative by providing significant information on the demand of these organs in China and Tibet. “ We have received the information from CITES about the festivals in Tibet in which the dresses made of skins of tigers and leopards are put on by the elite citizens to display their nobility in Tibet, for which the skins of these animals are smuggled from India,” said Singh. He added that this vital information from the renowned international agency working towards protection of wild animals has given a boost to police confidence in this direction.

Giving details of information extracted by the police by interrogating the arrested youths so far, police sources said that the poachers are killing these animals by poisoning them. “It has been revealed by the culprits that all four leopards, whose skins were seized by the police recently, were killed by poisoning the meat of goat, which was put as bait and the leopards died after eating the poisoned meat,” said the police officer.

“Earlier, the police was investigating the link of Majnu Ka Tila, the area of Delhi, to trace if that link was being used by the smugglers to send the organs to Nepal or Tibet, but later we came to know that Delhi route is being used by the smugglers of Yarsa Gumba, not by organ traders,” said SK Singh.

‘Right leadership needed to realise Nehru’s vision of coherent India’
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25
Though the issues of religion, caste and economic disparities continue to find their sharpest expression in India, the idea of a coherent India as envisaged by Mughal emperor Akbar and the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, have only deepened with the passage of time.

Dr Indu Singh, former Principal of MKP Postgraduate College, said at a panel discussion here today that there was a need to develop the right kind of leadership to take the country forward. “Mughal emperor Akbar realised the assimilative character of the Indian civilisation and set on on the path of nation building by forging reconciliation between the Hindus and the Muslims. Several years later the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, too built the edifice of independent India on these principles. But sadly in the age of coalition governments, where coalition partners are demanding more than their pound of flesh, the leaders dare not take the risk of being visionaries. But I am optimistic that the youth of today, for the sake of the country, are ready to rise above caste and religion prejudices.”

She was speaking at a discussion organised by the Doon Library and Research Centre on the topic, “How do we see the idea of India, moving as we are from a social aggregation of many ethnic types, religions, castes languages etc., to an idea of India as a coherent nation state”.

Dr BK Joshi said democracy was on a firm footing in the country and except for a brief brush with dictatorship in the 70s the countrymen were optimistic that the way forward for India was a lively democratic system. “We need to further evolve our system so that it delivers good governance, transparency and accountability,” he said.

Joshi, a former academician, spoke about Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to nation building and said he was a great believer in social harmony and drew his understanding of India by reading history. “He was a great communicator and created a consensus on the path which he had set for the country and everybody believed in him,” he said.

Dr Shekhar Raha spoke about accommodating the aspirations of the middle class and the need to bring in young leaders who could become a catalyst for change.

Fortis Escorts Heart Centre facility delayed
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25
Inordinate delay in vacating the premises by GVK 108 EMR emergency services has put brakes on the Fortis Escorts Heart Centre facility that will become functional only in March.

The hospital had begun carrying out OPD,TMT (or stress test), blood test and ECG, but the process was stopped midway in view of the construction under way in the patient facility

The delay has exposed the nonchalant attitude of the government that had entered into an agreement with the Fortis Escorts Heart Centre to set up a modern state-of-the-art heart facility in March last year under the PPP mode but failed to get the portion of the second floor evicted which continues to be with the GVK EMRI 108 emergency services that operates a call centre from there.

“The renovation and fitting work is now under way at the hospital. The project has been delayed as the government was not able to provide the premises as promised,” said Dr Asha Singh, Joint Director.

The facility at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (Coronation) Hospital would be the first comprehensive cardiac care facility in Dehradun. Under the terms of agreement, Fortis will invest in infrastructure and technology as the hospital building is already provided.

The initial phase of contract will be for a period of 10 years. The proposed facility will have Cardiac Care Unit, cath lab, cardiac OT, non-invasive diagnostic lab and intensive care unit for the cardiac surgery.

One held in murder case
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 25
The revenue police has arrested Devendra Singh (24) of Naugaon for allegedly killing Joga Singh (36) on Mahashivratri.

The police said Devendra’s father Jawahar Singh had an altercation with the victim a few days ago. During the heated exchange of words, Joga Singh had abused Jawahar Singh. Irked over this, Devendra decided to kill Joga Singh.

On Mahashivratri, the duo consumed alcohol together following which they had a verbal spat. It later turned into a physical fight. Devendra picked up a stone and hit Joga Singh repeatedly on his neck. Later, he allegedly slit his neck with a sharp-edged stone. After killing him, he fled the spot. The fight had taken place near the cremation grounds close to Kakrighat.

The police said it had recovered the stone used in the crime and the spectacles of the accused which he had left at the spot. The spectacles proved to be a vital clue to the case. Victim’s wife Guddi Devi had lodged a complaint in this regard with the revenue police.

Meanwhile, a labourer from Nepal, who was injured while unloading material from a truck in the Khanauli area of Bageshwar district, died at the Base Hospital in Haldwani. He has been identified as 55-year-old Vir Bahadur. The police is trying to contact his family.

In another incident, Madan Singh Bisht, 62, a resident of Bindukhatta, died after he fell into the Gaula river and sustained head injuries.

A Home Guard jawan, Diwan Nath, 35, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. He was a resident of Indra Nagar in Lal Kuan and reportedly took the extreme step due to a disturbed family life. He was rushed to a hospital in Haldwani where he died.

Dhaba owner found murdered
Tribune News Service

Nainital, February 25
A man was found murdered at his dhaba at Kashipur today. The incident took place on the Bazpur road.

According to information, Kailash Singh (32 ) of Kharakpur Devipura village ran a dhaba near Chaiti Mod on the Bazpur road. Around midnight, his brother Nanhe went to see him. He found that the place was vacant while all lights were on. He could not locate his brother even in the kitchen.

Later, he went to the backside of the dhaba, where he saw the body of Kailash. The skull had been crushed with a heavy object by assailants. It is being assumed that a heavy stone or a brick was used in the crime. He reported the matter to the police, which took the body in its custody.

Police investigations are on in the matter and three persons have been detained for questioning.

Adieu to Promilla Khanna, SJA chief coordinator
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25
The student and staff of St Joseph’s Academy (SJA) bid adieu to Promilla Khanna, chief coordinator, on her retirement from the service here today.

Principal, SJA, Brother A J George gave a memento to Khanna and said: “She has been one of the strongest pillars and stalwarts of the school and has dedicated 23 years of her life to the institution as a geography teacher.” He also prayed for her good health and bright future.

Her colleagues Y. Lal and S. Tiwari, who have worked along side Khanna, shared their experiences of the unforgettable time spent with her. S.Tiwari also recited a poem dedicated to Khanna followed by a melodious and heart-touching rendition of “God be with you” by the school choir.