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Satpal group protests against Harish’s ‘pressure politics’
Alva opens exhibition based on Sanskrit epic
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Workshop on ‘Digital information system’
Jal vidyut nigam given new targets for next fiscal
MC gets tough with horse owners duping tourists
College students enthral audience at annual function
1,222 animal, 3,375 plant species codified in Pithoragarh
Three jailed for seven years for possessing skins of leopards
Youth booked for killing man
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Satpal group protests against Harish’s ‘pressure politics’
Dehradun, March 28 Senior Cabinet Minister Amrita Rawat, wife of Satpal Maharaj, in a statement today said those who had been opposing Vijay Bahuguna and raised a banner of revolt against the decision of the party high command were being given plum positions while all those who stood with the party and acted as disciplined soldiers of the party were being ignored. Without naming anyone, she pointed towards the candidature of Mahendra Singh Mahra as party's nominee for Rajya Sabha poll and the election of Govind Singh Kunjwal as Uttarakhand Speaker, both Harish Rawat loyalists. Harish Rawat and his supporters had been opposing the decision of the party high command to appoint Vijay Bahuguna as Chief Minister. They had also staged a dharna at the New Delhi residence of Harish Rawat and refused to take the oath as legislators. However, after the intervention of the party high command, Harish Rawat and his supporters had relented and taken the oath. However, in the bargain, Mahra and Kunjwal were "adjusted" much to the chagrin of Satpal Maharaj. He contended that the Chief Minister as well as the party high command had succumbed to the pressure exerted by the Harish Rawat camp. Moreover, the outburst by Satpal Maharaj and his wife, who also have a sizeable legislators with them, is also seen as a tactic to get plum portfolios in the Bahuguna ministry. Vijay Bahuguna has yet to distribute portfolios among his team of ministers and all ministers are exerting pressure on him to get their favorite ministries. Apart from allocation of portfolios, there has also been intense pressure among various groups in the ruling Congress for allocation of offices related to corporations, boards and government bodies to senior party leaders. The Satpal Maharaj group fears that the Harish Rawat group could further get plum ministries and also corner the maximum number of government positions. Interestingly, reacting on the statement of Amrita Rawat, Union Minister Harish Rawat said all leaders who had been given positions were senior leaders and deserved these positions and ministries. Amrita Rawat said she would inform the Chief Minister about the sentiments of the loyal party legislators. |
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Punjabi kranti morcha against hanging of Rajoana
Dehradun, March 28 He demanded the execution of Kasab, main accused of 26/11, Afzal Guru for masterminding Parliament attack, Nalini for killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and those who perpetrated the Sikh riots in 1984. He said, “On the one hand a resolution is passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly against the hanging of assassins of Rajiv Gandhi, politics is played on Afzal Guru, crores from the exchequer is spent to ensure the safety of Kasab and the culprits of assassination of 5000 Sikhs not brought to justice till date, on the other hand the court shows promptness in hanging Rajoana. Let first all accused in the cases be hanged then we will also have no problem with the execution of Rajoana.” While extending his support to Rajoana, he said he had killed former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Moreover, he said, Beant Singh’s family too has exonerated him, so the judiciary should also show mercy to him and turn the death warrant into life sentence. He said he along with his party member would meet President Pratibha Patil and give her a memorandum in this regard on March 30. |
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Alva opens exhibition based on Sanskrit epic
Dehradun, March 28 The Governor congratulated the “Snehil”, the organisation that organised the exhibition, and appreciated the work of the young, women painters who had depicted important scenes from the life of Christ as described by Prof PC Devasia, the writer of the epic. In all, 26 oil paintings were displayed. Dr Sudha Rani Pandey, Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University and patron of the“Snehil”, welcomed the guests and introduced the event. Dr Mamta Singh, president of the Snehil, conducted the inaugural function. The Governor said, “It is fascinating to see a genre of literature (poetry) being expressed through another medium which has its own language of expression. A poet’s feelings and descriptions being painted on the canvas is itself an enchanting thought and has made this exhibition so special and unique.” She said the paintings had set the tone of the solemn occasion of Easter which marked the end of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and penance. “Christu Bhagavatham” is considered Professor Devasia’s masterpiece written on the lines of the Sanskrit epic, “Mahabhagvatham”. Professor Devasia hailed from Kudamalur in Kottayam district and began his teaching career in StThomas College and later moved to Mar Ivanios College in Thiruvananthapuram where he taught for long. He passed away in 2006. The Snehil presented the Governor with an oil painting on the occasion. The Governor presented a cheque for Rs 30,000 to the Snehil for encouraging young artistes. Dr Puneet Saini, secretary of the Snehil, thanked the guests. |
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Workshop on ‘Digital information system’
Dehradun, March 28 A large number of students gathered to attend the workshop and learn about the minutest of the details of physics. JS Rana, Director, Biotech, Uttarakhand, inaugurated the first session of the workshop and enlightened participating students about the nuances of science and technology that could help in research and development. Speaking on the occasion, Professor V A Bourai, Principal, SGRR PG College, said; “We cannot imagine about development without knowing all the aspects of information and technology.” “During the three-day long workshop, students would undergo both theoretical as well as practical training on digital system. Following it would be an interactive session headed by experts and presentation of research papers,” he added. The theme of day one’s session of the workshop was ‘Nano technology and its application’ and ‘Web technology and designing of web pages.’ |
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Jal vidyut nigam given new targets for next fiscal
Dehradun, March 28 Last year, it was 4760 MU for LHPs and MHPs and 139 MU for SHPs. Managing Director, UJVNL, G.P. Patel, said the targets were usually set realistically, taking into account the risks, damages and possible losses; so it did not matter much if the targets were set on lower side as the nigam always tried its best to generate maximum power and exceeding its own generation limits. This year UJVNL set the record by generating 5000 MU in LHPs and MHPs, which, Patel said, would touch the mark of 5020 MU by March 31. Sadly, it fell short of even meeting
its target of 139 MU in SHPss by generating only 129 MU. Given to the dismal performance of SHPs, this wing has now been divided into two parts, operation and generation, which had been given under the charge of two General Manager level officers, Purushottam Singh and Surender Kumar, respectively. Kumar said the small hydro power projects, set up in hills, bore repeated damages due to frequent landslides and took long to repair. He earlier handled both operation as well as generation. He assured the damage or fault in the machines would now be corrected quickly. The local contractors had been enrolled for the purpose. At present, too, hydro power projects in Tilangaad, Son Prayag and
Harsil, too, developed faults, which were being corrected. The tender period even for a small fault is something which is bound to take 25-30 days, whereas in matter of emergency, where the power generation got vastly affected,
the tenders in emergency cases can be wrapped in 3-4 days. In LHPs and SHPs, Patel gave credit to timely and good maintenance of machines and barrages/dams, good discharge in rivers, better coordination between barrages/dams and power stations and monitoring of silt during monsoon period. To assess hydro power projects Derhadun, March 28 |
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MC gets tough with horse owners duping tourists
Nainital, March 28 The issue was brought to light once again by the local media when it was found that the number of horses being plied in the Barapathar area and the adjoining tourist destinations far exceeds the number of licences issued by the administration. It was also highlighted that horse and pony owners were overcharging the tourists on the pretext of fees to be paid on various counts without any authorisation to do so. Reports suggest that while the local municipal body has issued 94 licences for plying of horses and ponies to the destinations like Dorothy's Seat, Land's End and Tiffin Top from Barapthar, there are no less than 150 horses to be found in the area. It has also been reported that the number of these horses goes up to 300 in the summer months. It is also seen that very often it is the minors who are taking the tourists to these destinations on the top of a hill thus putting the tourist to a grave risk. Nagar Palika officials have visited the Barapathar area over the last two days and have issued instructions and warnings to those plying horses. The local administration has also pointed out that any attempt made at fleecing the tourists and bringing a bad name to the town which figures among the top tourist destinations in the state will not be tolerated. The officials have been asked to initiate a licence verification drive over the next few days. It has been stated that the horses being plied illegally will be seized and they may be auctioned. |
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DM plans to bring employees back under control of BDOs
Nainital, March 28 Garbyal disclosed his decision while undertaking an inspection of various facilities in the remote Lamgarah, Jaiti and Baklswad areas of the district on Wednesday morning. He pointed that the decision to make the employees responsible only to their respective departments and taking them away from the control and supervision of the BDOs had adversely affected the developmental activities in the rural areas. He said that he would be asking the administration to revert to the previous arrangement. He ordered the BDO to initiate more employment-oriented programmes so that people find employment avenues in the villages and do not have to go to other places. He suggested that efforts made towards increasing dairy, poultry, herbal, flower and vegetable production can help in creation of wealth at the rural levels. He suggested that the officials must prepare projects keeping this in mind and should involve the Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the exercise. He ordered Director, Planning, DD Pant to start work in this direction. Interacting with the police personnel, the District Magistrate ordered that patrolling be increased and special efforts be made towards checking smuggling of liquor and overloading of vehicles. He also called for increasing a vigil over the anti-social elements. During his visit to the tehsil office in Jaiti, Garbyal ordered the officials of the Revenue Department to give priority to resolving the matters brought to their notice by the people. He ordered that a mechanism be put in place so that the people do not have to visit the offices repeatedly. He also visited Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls' School and took stock of the residential facilities and the food being served to the 65 students enrolled there. |
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College students enthral audience at annual function
Mussoorie, March 28 The students enthralled the audience by performing various items. They presented folk song and dance items of Brindavan and Rajasthan that were appreciated by the audience. The chief guest gave away awards to the students who had excelled in sports and academics. Sunil Radheyshyam was presented a citation award for securing the highest marks in MA-II. The students presented a memorandum to Dhasmana demanding the introduction of vocational courses in the college. Dhasmana said a college was the first ladder towards a successful life and the students should work hard to excel in their pursuits. Dhasmana added it was important for colleges to introduce such courses that assisted students in getting jobs. He assured the students that he would take up their demands with the government. The president of the college employees union, Manjit Rawat, thanked the chief guest and the audience for attending the function. Principal RS Shukla and other college staff members were present on the occasion. Later speaking to mediapersons at a hotel in Mussoorie, Dhasmana said the Congress government under the leadership of Chief Minster Vijay Bahuguna had passed the litmus test by winning the election to the Speaker's seat in the state Assembly. On the other hand, the BJP had even failed to choose its Leader of the Opposition in the House, which showed that it was facing more factionalism than the Congress. Dhasmana said he was saddened by the recents developments in the Congress. He believed most of the Congress MLAs were loyal to the party and would successfully face all trials and tribulations. He identified the priorities of the government and said the Congress manifesto would be the yardstick for the Vijay Bahuguna government in taking the state on the development path. He said the government would take all sections of society along and strive for an inclusive growth. The Mussoorie Youth Congress was represented by Gaurav Agarwal at the function. |
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1,222 animal, 3,375 plant species codified in Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh, March 28 Chandran said he along with a team of department officers travelled long distances to high Himalayan valleys up to 20,000 feet in the district to record and codify these rare animal and plant species. “Till date we could codify 1,222 species of animals, including 103 mammals, 314 birds, 30 reptiles, 1,900 frogs, 103 fish, 200 butterflies, 150 insects and 59 varieties of scorpions,” said Chandran. The forest officer added that 14 of these varieties, including Musk deer, bird Munal and snow leopard, were on the verge of extinction. “During our survey, we also witnessed high Himalayan rabbit, Tibetan varieties of horses called Kiangs in Tibet and rare black monkey, which is considered defunct by some biologists,” he said. Chandran said the district also had 3,375 varieties of plants, including 2,455 flowers, 296 ferns, 226 grass and 331varieties of oak. Of these, 109 varieties are of rare nature and required conservation. A 10-year working plan had been prepared at the division level, he added. |
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Three jailed for seven years for possessing skins of leopards
Pithoragarh, March 28 The culprits were caught with seven skins of leopards by SSB jawans in 2002 at a place named Tapovan, near Dharchula, in Pithoragarh district, and were handed over to the police, which registered a case under Wildlife Protection Act against all three. “The honourable Judge also established that if the convicts are not be able to pay the fine, they will have to spend two months more in the jail,” said the officer. Expressing their happiness on the judgment, the forest officers hoped that the person behind the killing of a snow leopard in restricted area of Rongkong in Dharchula subdivision, the skin of which was recovered by the SSB jawans at Indo-Nepal border near Dharchula on Sunday, will also be nabbed soon. “As we suspected that the bullet signs on the skin of the killed animal were of a banned gun, we sent the skin to a forensic laboratory for testing to know by which gun was used to kill the animal,” said DN Semwal, Conservator of Forests, north Kumaon region. The forest officer said that the department was trying to take the culprits caught with the skin of snow leopard on police remand to investigate their contacts in Nepal across the Indian border as the investigating agencies have suspected 10 numbers found in the mobile phone of one of the of the smugglers involved in wildlife organ smuggling inside Nepal. |
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Youth booked for killing man
Nainital, March 28 When Babu Ram tried to intervene, the accused allegedly hit him with stones and sticks. Babu Ram died on the spot. Hearing a commotion, people gathered at the spot, but were also attacked by the accused. However, some of them managed to overpower Suraj Pal and handed over him to the police. According to information, Suraj Pal , Naresh Chandra and Babu Ram belong to the Baheri area of Bareilley, Uttar Pradesh, and work as rickshawpullers in Haldwani to earn a living. It is alleged that Suraj is in the habit of taking drugs. It was during their recent visit home that Naresh Chandra had complained about his bad habits to his family, following which he had been looking for an opportunity to attack Naresh
Chandra. The youth has been booked. |
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450 units of blood donated
Dehradun, March 28 Students of the Uttaranchal Institute of Business Studies and Law College donated 450 units of blood at the camp. Besides the management of the institute, Dr Vineet Bishnoi, district convener, was present on the occasion. Officials of the Blood Bank of the IMA and Mahesh Indresh Hospital were special invitees. Chairman of the UIT Jitender Joshi, Mananging Director GP Sharma, Abhishek Joshi and others were present on the occasion.
— TNS |
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Jewellers burn Central Govt’s effigy
Dehradun March 28 Former Speaker of the state Assembly Harbans Kapoor came to the venue of protest and tried to dissuade the mandal members from
fasting. Praveen Jain, president of the association, said the fast would would continue till the Central government did not roll back the custom duty hike. |
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In fresh trouble for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, a strong group of party legislators owing allegiance to Satpal Maharaj, Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, has registered its protest against the "politics of pressure" being done by Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat in the government formation and the succumbing to pressure by the Chief Minister.
