Distribution of portfolios 
Rift in govt deepens
Yashpal Arya returns official vehicle in protest
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 31
The differences in the Congress-led government by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna have deepened further over the distribution of portfolios, with Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya, who is also a Cabinet Minister, showing his resentment by sending back his official vehicle in protest.

According to Congress sources, Yashpal Arya has been miffed at being ignored constantly since the time of distribution of party tickets and later in the distribution of portfolios to ministers. Although Chief Minister Vijay Bahguna has not yet allocated portfolios to his ministers, it was believed that Yashpal Arya was being offered Cooperative Department, which he was not keen to get.

Chief Minister Bahuguna today went to New Delhi and met party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the issue of portfolio distribution. He told mediapersons in New Delhi that portfolios would be allocated to ministers in Dehradun on his return on Sunday.

It was not only Yashpal Arya who has been exerting pressure to get his favourite ministry but other groups and individuals are also pressurising the Chief Minister to get plum portfolios. In the morning before Chief Minister Bahguna left for New Delhi, Satpal Maharaj (Pauri Garhwal) along with Independent minister Mantri Prasad Naithani called upon him at his residence.

According to party sources, Satpal Maharaj pleaded for plum portfolios for his wife Amrita Rawat and his protege Mantri Prasad Naithani. Already, Chief Minister Bahuguna has been under pressure from Union Minister Harish Rawat, who had shown rebellion to “adjust” his supporters adequately in the ministry.

Interestingly, the war of words between Harish Rawat and Satpal Maharaj also got shriller with both accusing each other of blocking their chances of becoming Chief Minister. Satpal Maharaj accused Harish Rawat of indulging in “blackmail” in getting plum positions for his supporters despite causing rebellion in the party. His wife Amrita Rawat had also lashed out at Harish Rawat during his visit to Dehradun two days ago. Satpal Maharaj said that Harish Rawat should not have rebelled as he himself went to Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad to ask to make either him or Vijay Bahuguna as Chief Minister.

Harish Rawat retorted by saying that Satpal Maharaj should not crib as Vijay Bahuguna, his choice, has become Chief Minister due to his opposition to his (Rawat’s) name.

Satpal Maharaj replied by alleging that Harish Rawat, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Haridwar, has committed a “sin” by his actions.

Even the Independents who have formed their own group are demanding that Dinesh Dhanai, another Independent, should be made a minister. 

Water shortage in Pithoragarh
Villagers, college students hold demonstrations 
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, March 31
Members of the Pithoragarh Jan Manch staged a demonstration while leaders of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) gheraoed the Jal Sansthan office here today as the drinking water crisis deepened in different parts of the district.

Members of the NSUI gheraoed the Jal Sansthan office in protest against the irregular supply of drinking water to students living in hostels of local Postgraduate College. “The students, who are appearing in the annual examinations, have to fetch water for their use as drinking water supply to the hostel has been irregular,” said Rishendra Singh Mahar, president of the NSUI, Pithoragarh.

The activists of the Pithoragarh Jan Manch staged a demonstration at the District Magistrate’s office and demanded a permanent solution to the drinking water problem in the town. “We are agitating for the past one year in support of our demand for regular supply of drinking water to all localities of the town, but the Jal Sansthan officials have done nothing in this direction despite claim of the former BJP government that it has allocated crores of rupees for improving water supply to the town,” said Bhagwan Singh Rawat, organiser of the manch.

Besides Pithoragarh, other parts of the district are also facing an acute shortage of drinking water. In Thal town of Didihat subdivision, 2,500 residents of five villages near the town are reeling under the crisis as the drinking water scheme for these villages being operated for the last 63 years has been damaged. “After the scheme was damaged, the villagers tried to draw and use water from local natural sources, but failed as these water sources have dried," said Parmanand Joshi, a resident of Bhatar village, near Thal town.

Reports from Dharchula say 450 families of Ranthi village are facing severe water shortage as the water scheme envisaged for the village nine years ago has not been completed by the department. "Earlier, when the villagers held a demonstration the department laid pipes up to Ranthi village from the source, but later stopped the work without any reason," said Keshar Singh Dhami, a resident of the village. The villagers have threatened that if the scheme is not completed soon they will again hold a demonstration in front of the office of the Dharchula SDM.

Bageshwar, Almora areas, too, face irregular water supply
Tribune News Service

Almora, March 31
With the summer yet to set in properly, several parts of Kumaon are already experiencing water shortage. The worst-hit areas are in Almora, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts.

In Almora district, while the town is well placed in terms of water supply, the condition in rural areas is deteriorating each day. Even in the town, certain areas like Officers Colony, Makedi, Khagmara, Police Station, Dugalkhola, Narsingh Bari and Golnakrariya Pandekhola are experiencing a regular cut in supplies. People have already started to queue up at the natural sources to fetch water for daily requirements. The situation is worst in the rural areas, particularly in Ranikhet, Lamgarah, Salt and Bhikiyasain.

Officials say that besides initiating a cut in the supplies to rationalise the distribution, tankers would be pressed into service in the days to come. Some areas in the Bageshwar town are also experiencing water scarcity. The worst affected localities are located near Jwaladevi. Residents have been complaining that the water being supplied is dirty and not fit for drinking.

FM radio Hello Doon launched
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 31
The much-awaited community FM radio, Hello Doon of the National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), began broadcasting services here today. Hello Doon will cater to the needs of the visually challenged and the community living around the NIVH and will also provide job opportunities to the visually challenged.

"Though we conceptualised the project two years ago, it got delayed due to technical problems. The problems regarding the range of the community FM radio are still being looked into. We did not want to delay the launch further and disappoint the visually challenged persons, who had shown great deal of enthusiasm in running the community radio station," said Anuradha Dalmia, Director, NIVH.

The NIVH would also start a nine-month broadcasting course for the visually challenged persons from this session. "Ultimately, our goal is to empower visually challenged persons, who face hurdles every day due to lack of a conducive environment," said Dalmia.

While participating in the live broadcast, Dr S Farooq from Tasmia organisation said radio was proving to be a better medium for educating people. The NIVH had spent Rs 25 lakh on upgrading two studios. The community radio would focus on broadcasting programmes on education, family and health welfare, entertainment, employment etc.

Later, a large printing press was inaugurated at the Central Braille Press. This press would allow the printing of study material for persons with low vision.

Hindustan is fighting for survival of its identity: Ex-Governor
Rajeev Khanna/TNS

Almora, March 31
The body of the Indian polity is strong but the soul is sick. The state of affairs can be termed as ‘Bharat balwan, Hindustan durbal’. This was stated by former Governor of West Bengal and Bihar Gopal Krishna Gandhi at the third BD Pande Memorial Lecture organised by the Uttarakhand Sewa Nidhi here today.

The stark difference between Bharat, Hindustan and India was brought out well by him. He spelt out how the three terms despite being the same were looked at and perceived differently in the present scenario. It was underlined that Bharat was more identified with the Hindi term ‘garv’ (pride), India with the Urdu ‘izzat’ (respect) and Hindustan with ‘basera’ (shelter).

Gandhi brought out that Hindustan, which was a more secular and acceptable concept in the psyche of the nation, had been fighting for the survival of its identity sandwiched between Bharat and India.

He drew examples from the past when Parliament of the newborn India was debating the terminology. He narrated how an amendment had been moved by Kamlapati Tripathi who wanted the lines “Bharat that is India shall be a union of states” in the Constitution instead of the earlier one. He narrated how BR Ambedkar and even then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not favour the amendment and it was voted against in Parliament. Gandhi pointed out that while the debate was on, Hindustan had been pushed to the sidelines. The speaker further pointed out that prior to Independence, the term Bharat had been very popular in Hindi films only to be replaced by Hindustan after Independence, which gradually changed to India over the past few years.

Zila Panchayat looks for revenue generation avenues
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar March 31
The 42-member Zila Panchayat, which is facing a resource crunch due to lack of additional revenue generation, is exploring new avenues to increase its income.

This problem was one of the prime discussion points at the general meeting of the Zila Panchayat here today. This Zila Panchayat came into existence last year with Anjum Begum of the BSP as its chairperson.

Anjum today stressed on the need for increasing revenue generation avenues to ensure that the working of the civic body did not get affected. And in view of the large area that comes under its purview, the meagre revenue resources forced the civic body to allow quarrying.

She said though even minor quarrying "chugan" was also prohibited in the region for the past two years, this had been a major revenue source for the Zila Panchayat. Hence, a proposal had been sent to the administration to allow legal quarrying once again.

The issue of giving on lease the twin ropeways at the shrines of Mata Mansa Devi and Mata Chandi Devi also came up for discussion at the meeting. The members demanded that the operation of the ropeways be stopped as the lease of the present company had expired months ago.

Meenakshi, vice-chairperson of the Zila Panchayat, said tax on hoardings on the lines of the municipal corporation be levied as outdoor advertising was a viable tax generation option these days.

Sneh Lata, a panchayat member, mooted the idea of earmarking commercial establishments on Zila Panchayat land with tax rates fixed according to land area, as this would help in increasing the revenue of the civic body.

It was decided that the meetings of the Zila Panchayat would be held twice a month. Chief Development Officer HR Semwal coordinated the meeting.

Khanpur legislator Kunwar Pranav Singh 'Champion', Haridwar (rural) legislator Swami, Mangalore legislator Sarbat Kareem Ansari and all Zila Panchayat members were present at the meeting.

Linguistic minority status sought for Gorkhas

Dehradun, March 31
CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal Saman Pathak has sought linguistic minority status for the Gorkha community.

Addressing a seminar on Gorkha issues organised by Gorkha Democratic Front at Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha in Dehradun, Pathak said the Gorkha population was scattered in a number of states of the country and faced different set of challenges. “You cannot equate the issues being faced by Gorkha population in Darjeeling with the Gorkhas residing in Dehradun,” said Pathak, who hails from Darjeeling region of West Bengal. He said Gorkha population was evenly spread in North India and a linguistic minority status can help the community save its identity.

CPI (M) leader Saman Pathak said Gorkha issues cannot be taken up just on emotive agenda as being done in Darjeeling and asserted that the core issues affecting the community like poverty and unemployment need to be taken up on priority. — TNS

21 women from Haryana attend training camp
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 31
“Coming out of our houses for this training is a unique experience for us. We are feeling as if we have accomplished something,” said Roshini, a member a group of 21 women from different self-help groups established in villages of Haryana who are attending a capacity-building training organised by the Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) here today.

This is for the first time that these women, who belong to the Muslim community, have come out of the confines of their houses to be a part of this training, which is the brainchild of Dr Parvez Ahmed (PCCF & CEO), Wakf Board, Haryana.

The two-day training comprised of sessions on the importance of SHGs, health and hygiene, family planning etc. The mode of training was interactive and focused on games and audio-visual aids.

These women came from two blocks of Chhacchrauli and Bilaspur of Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. Hussana from Buddi village said income- generation activities learnt after becoming members of the SHGs would be of great help to them to make money. Many social issues like problem in relation with midday meals preparation, Asha workers, cleanliness drive in their areas etc. were raised and their queries were answered by the trainers of the RLEK.

In the end, they were taken for an exposure visit to Sahaspur to witness the working of the SHGs and to enhance their knowledge about their effective functioning. 

37,034 bags of soft stone seized
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, March 31
The Bageshwar administration today seized 37,034 bags of soft stone worth Rs 50 lakh from various parts of the district.

"Administrative, revenue and mining officials raided various areas of Kanda subdivision from where the reports of illegal mining were coming in and seized 37,034 bags of soft stone," said Feencha Ram, SDM, Kanda, Bageshwar.

According to Feencha Ram, the raids were mainly carried out at the Tharp and Dhapoli mining sites from where the reports of illegal mining were coming in. A case had been registered in this regard, said Rajpal Legha, a mining official.