8 undergoing life term to be released
Dehradun, March 15
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, using special powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, has ordered the state Home Department to release nine prisoners undergoing life imprisonment.

Receding river water level sets alarm bells ringing
Mussoorie, March 15
The decrease in the water level much before the arrival of the summer season in the Hemwal river that flows through Chamba block of district Tehri Garhwal and meets the Ganga at Shivpuri, near Rishikesh, has set the alarm bells ringing among the farmers of  the area.

Dehradun, March 15
The after-effects of the rebellion in the Congress, triggered by the appointment of Vijay Bahuguna as Chief Minister, was visible even at the oath-taking ceremony. At least 17 newly elected MLAs from the Congress failed to turn up for the oath-taking ceremony held today at the Uttarakhand Assembly.

The newly appointed protem Speaker Shailender Mohan Singhal administered the oath of office to 53 MLAs, out of which 31 MLAs belonged to the BJP, 15 MLAs to the Congress, three to the BSP, one to the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and three Independents.

Though the protem Speaker claimed that the abstaining MLAs would be administered oath of office in his chambers on a later day, the missing MLAs have caused huge embarrassment to the Congress that is still grappling with the rebellion fire lit by senior Congress leader Harish Rawat.

Among those who failed to take oath include senior leaders Dinesh Agarwal, Harak Singh Rawat, Indira Hriydesh and Surinder Singh Negi. But Pranav Kumar Champion, Congress MLA from Khanpur, and Ganesh Godyial, MLA from Pauri, who were present during the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, were conspicuous by their absence.

However, Pritam Singh, MLA from Chakrata, a known supporter of Harish Rawat, and Sarita Arya, MLA from Nainital, were among those who took oath today.

Later, speaking with the media persons today, Pritam Singh said: “Harish Rawat is a loyal Congress worker and would not leave the party. He is our senior leader and had aired his grievances within the Congress Party,’ said Pritam Singh.

On the other hand BJP MLA Ajay Bhatt said there were cracks within the Congress. “I am skeptical about the capability of the Congress. If the Chief Minister would be able to prove his majority in the House, even if he does, the government would be shortlived,” said Bhatt.

Despite the absence of several MLAs from the oath-taking ceremony, senior Congress leader Subodh Uniyal continued to maintain that at least 29 MLAs would take the oath and mostly from the Harish Rawat camp, but they failed to turn up. 

Dehradun, March 15
Besides proving majority on the floor of the Uttarakhand Assembly, the newly formed Congress government headed by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna faces another uphill task of winning the lone Rajya Sabha seat, the election for which is scheduled to be held on March 30.

The fate of the Congress government hangs in balance following dissidence by Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat and his supporter legislators. The Congress, which has a razor-thin majority, with 32 MLAs is closely followed by the BJP with 31 MLAs.

Though the Congress has managed support of three Independents, three MLAs of the BSP and the lone legislator of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Progressive), it faces a challenge from its “own MLAs owing allegiance to the Harish Rawat camp”.

At least 12 MLAs owing allegiance to Harish Rawat are still camping in New Delhi despite the Haridwar MP showing signs of relenting. Rawat had announced that he and his supporters were not leaving the party and the Congress government in the state would pass the floor test. The first session of the Assembly would start on March 26 and the state government would seek a vote on account on March 29. It is believed that since Harish Rawat had pledged support to Vijay Bahuguna there would be smooth sailing for the Congress government in the Assembly.

However, the Chief Minister’s camp is sceptical about the intentions of the Harish Rawat camp regarding the Rajya Sabha poll scheduled for March 30. In the past, candidates for the lone Rajya Sabha seat had been selected unanimously. But this time due to the composition of the state Assembly where the Independent, BSP and UKD (P) legislators hold the key and a section of Congress legislators was resenting the decision of the party high command regarding the choice of Chief Minister, the chances of cross-voting are high.

According to Congress sources, the MLAs opposing Vijay Bahuguna could ensure the defeat of the party candidate in the Rajya Sabha poll to put the Chief Minister in a bad light. It is believed that the party would issue a whip to all its MLAs to remain present in the House and vote for the Congress candidate. However, nothing could be said about the Independents and the BSP legislators supporting the government.

Dehradun, March 15
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, using special powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, has ordered the state Home Department to release nine prisoners undergoing life imprisonment.

This decision has been taken on the recommendations of a committee constituted by the government. The committee based its recommendations on the satisfactory conduct of the prisoners and their being old and infirm. Before getting the recommendations of the committee, the Governor had recently toured five major prisons in the state and obtained detailed information regarding the prisoners.

She had given instructions to the jail authorities on various matters related to the prison inmates.

The prisoners who will be released are Jagdish, alias Jaidutt, Balwinder Singh, Devendra Singh, Kamla Devi, Darshan Lal, Sriniwas, Nawab, Ranjit Singh and Mahesh Chandra Punethha. 

Dehradun March 15
Manoj Sharma, BSP candidate for Mussoorie segment, who was shot at by his friend Lalit Yadav on February 29 near Kolukhet on way to Mussoorie, has recuperated and come back to town. Sharma gave valuable information and clues to the police regarding the whereabouts of Yadav, who had been absconding since that incident. He also told police about the presence of a third man, Virender Bhandari, in the vehicle of Yadav on the fateful day.

He said Bhandari, who had been a student leader, knew Yadav and Sharma well. Sharma doubted Ravi Malik, his personal security officer, who had been present in Yadav’s car and let his revolver be used for the crime, for hiding the fact that Bhandari was with them.

Sharma said he knew about the presence of Bhandari from one of his associates, who met the trio on the day of the mishap. He, however, admitted that Yadav made both Malik and Bhandari drink a lot of liquor. It was only Yadav who shot at him.

He said Yadav and his wife were bitter for seeing him rising fast in life and being among the richest candidates, owning wealth of Rs 17 crore to fight the current Assembly election in the state. He said: “I knew him well since I lived in my village Petla and he lived in neighboring village Mavada of Baghpat. He remained confined to liquor smuggling, whereas I rose up high as a flourishing property dealer and owner of two hotels in Rishikesh. But still I helped him. I donated blood for him last year when he was down with dengue. I also got him the job of a security officer for actress Shilpa Shetty for two months in December and January, but he left the job and instead appointed Malik as PSO of Shetty’s cousin.”

He said it was his indomitable will power which saw him through his rags to riches rise and also sustained his life when he was injured grievously with five bullets. He said: “I had no idea that they were chasing me on February 29. When I got down from my Scorpio, I saw Yadav and extended to shake hands but he shot me thrice in stomach. The fourth pierced in my thigh. I jumped into a bush. When I came out, Yadav, who was waiting, tried to shoot me in the head but I snatched the revolver and threw it away on the road. Still the bullet released hit me on the shoulder. After that Yadav fled away. I struggled hard to reach on the road and asked for help. Meanwhile, I made five calls, on 100, to SSP, gunner, wife and my elder brother in Meerut.” His friend, Zakir, who happened to pass, by picked him up and reached Doon Hospital.

Three bullets are still embedded in his stomach as Sharma said it would be dangerous to remove them at present. “I was to catch a flight for Shirdi temple the next day when this incident happened,”he added. 

Dehradun March 15
The Consumer Welfare Committee (CWC) in collaboration with the Dronacharya Institute of Technology organised an awareness camp in the city on the occasion of International Consumer Day today.

General secretary of the CWC Harjeet Singh said, “Since birth a child becomes a consumer of medicines. However, awareness regarding consumer rights among people in India is minimal. People get cheated frequently under influence of misleading advertisements. Hence, consumer awareness camps have become necessary today.”

The state president of the women’s wing of INTECH, Deepali, said the women needed to be made aware about their consumer rights. She rued the lack of awareness among women about their consumer rights.

Hemant Sethi, president of NGO Beginning, said the consumers could file complaints regarding the products costing between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore in the State Consumer Court. For goods above Rs 1 crore, the consumers could approach the National Consumer Court. 

Haridwar, March 15
In view of the large number of accident cases, particularly due to overloading, not wearing helmet and usage of cellular phones while driving, the city police has now started a drive in this regard.

Apart from imposition of penalty and seizing of vehicles, the traffic police is also along side carrying awareness drive among the vehicle riders.

Superintendent of Traffic Police Kiran Lal Shah told TNS that taking into account past two years’ accident cases in the city zone, most of them have occurred due to rash driving, overloading and not following traffic rules.

“As a result the police has now decided to penalise offenders, challan vehicles and even impound them if they violate again the traffic rules,” said Shah.

Autorickshaws which ferry more than stipulated passengers or are seen in prohibited routes and zones are also being booked by traffic police personnel. This drive has created fear among the traffic violators as traffic personnel are deployed at major intersections, highways and congested markets to ensure violators don’t roam freely.

Teenagers, particularly school students, who are found riding without helmets or are carrying more than one pillion rider, are being given stern warning initially taking into consideration the examination season. Such offenders’ parents are also being informed so that they know the risk their children are creating themselves. Kanika Bahuguna, a Ranipur resident, whose college-going daughter was penalised by traffic personnel as she was not wearing a helmet and talking on mobile while driving and ferrying two other girls on a single scooty, appreciated the ongoing traffic drive.

She urged police personnel to inform youngsters’ parents immediately when they catch them as otherwise they don’t come to know of the violation of traffic rules by their children easily. 

Mussoorie, March 15
Ayub Khan, the popular actor in Indian film and television domain, who is also nephew of Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar and son of Nasir Khan and actress Begum Para, on his visit to Mussoorie today said that it is television that has made him a household name in the country.

Ayub Khan is in the town shooting for a serial based on a story of eminent author Ruskin Bond titled “Ek Tha Rusty II” directed by Subdarshini Singh. He is playing the role of Inspector Keemat Lal in the serial being shot here.

Ayub Khan, after completing the shooting for the day, met media persons and said that he was excited to be in the famous hill station for the second time as he was here while shooting for the popular feature film “Salaami” in 1994.

Ayub Khan, who has done more than 20 films and is acting in several television serials, said that both mediums had their own advantages and disadvantages. He further said that there was more money in films in comparison to television but it was the television serials that had made him a household name in the country.

Recollecting his earlier films, Ayub Khan said that he had acted in films such as Toh Baat Pakki (2010), Zamaanat (2009),Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera (2006), Apaharan (2005), Revati (2005), LOC: Kargil

(2003), Gangajal (2003), Dil Chahta Hai (2001). He said his films had performed well at the box office but right now it was television that was consuming his time with so many serials on air in various channels.

Thanking his television fans, he said that it was due to the small screen that he had now become a household name and achieved immense fame, which was not possible earlier.

With many television serials on air, namely Uttaran, Rakhi - Ek Atoot Rishte Ki Dor, Piya Bina, Sambandh, Aandhi etc, Ayub Khan said that he was excited to work in the television serials based on the writings of eminent author Ruskin Bond.

“I have read the short stories of Ruskin Bond and found them immensely engrossing, especially during his childhood, and now working in the serial based on his work was immensely pleasing”. Ayub Khan will be in Mussoorie for a few more days and would return after completing his shooting schedule.