Dehradun faces power cuts due to fall in generation
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
There are difficult days ahead for city residents as Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has started roasting (power cuts) in the wake of fall in power generation and its availability in the state. At present, power cuts up to 5 hours in rural areas, 3 hours in small towns and 1.5 to 2 hours in Dehradun have been enforced.

Power generation by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), on an average, has risen from 9 million units (MU) to 12 MU every day, but still it falls short of meeting the demand of 30 MU per day. The Central contribution of 11 MU too is not good enough to provide 24-hour power supply. Hence, rest of the shortage is being balanced with overdrawing of power and roasting.

The power that UPCL had borrowed from West Bengal on a banking basis two months ago would have to be returned this month. In a way, 52.5 MW purchased from the GMRC group this month would be used in returning 52.5 MW to West Bengal. Hence, there was no respite in sight for the people from power shortage during April.

In June, too, the UPCL has to return 100 MW to Punjab, which it had borrowed three months ago. The corporation is relying upon the purchase of 50 MW from the NTPC during June.

According to sources, it is for the first time that the UPCL is experimenting by lending power to other states and then getting it back during the winter when the power generation in the state falls to the lowest level. The UPCL will give 150 MW each in July, August and September to Haryana through the GMRC group and get it back between December and March along with 5 per cent extra electricity supply.

After having a bitter experience with Punjab, which had refused to give power to the UPCL during January and February this year despite having promised to do so, the corporation, henceforth, did not wish to directly enter into any agreement with any state. It is yet to see how far its reliance on the GMRC group would work in later stages.

Tenders for power purchase, which have been cleared, are: 50 MW from NTPC for May; 50 MW from Sri Cement for October; 150 MW comprising 100 MW from NTPC and 50 MW from Sri Cement for November; 250 MW comprising 50 MW from Sri Cement and 200 MW from NTPC for December; 300 MW consisting of 50 MW from Sri Cement, 200 MW from NTPC and 50 MW from TATA for January next year; 200 MW comprising 50 MW from Sri Cement and 150 MW from NTPC for February; and 150 MW comprising 50 MW from Sri Cement and 100 MW from NTPC for March.

The approved rates for power purchase are Rs 4.12 per unit for May, Rs 3.97 per unit for June and Rs 4.21 per unit for other months.

Bahuguna meets Reddy, seeks CNG stations
in Uttarakhand
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today met Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi and demanded setting up of compressed natural gas (CNG) stations at Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, Kashipur, Rishikesh and Udham Singh Nagar. He urged the Union Petroleum Minister that due to increased number of vehicles on the road, the state of Uttarakhand, which is known for its salubrious climate, has been facing threat from vehicle pollution.

He said that Uttarakhand has been attracting a large number of tourists from within and outside the country but increased air pollution levels could harm it's environment. He demanded that initially at least six CNG stations should be started in Uttarakhand cities.

Chief Minister Bahuguna also demanded increased quota of kerosene for the state in view of the Char Dham yatra staring in the state from April 24. He pleaded that already the quota of kerosene by the Centre had been reduced. He said that 52 per cent of the population is dependent on forest fuel and does not have access to LPG connections.

He said that decrease in the kerosene quota would have an impact on the forest wealth as a large number of population would be dependent on forest for their fuel needs. He further said that increased quota of kerosene for the people living in the hilly rural areas would help preserve forests in a better manner.

Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy assured him of timely decision on his demands. Uttarakhand Food and Supplies Minister Pritam Singh was also present during the meeting.

Harish Rawat’s letter keeps the pot boiling
He assures his supporters that he will fight for their interests
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 9
In an effort to assert himself, senior Congress leader and Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat has assured his followers from Champawat to Uttarkashi that he will continue to fight for their interests.

These Harish Rawat supporters have not been given any role in running the state government though their efforts helped the party to return to power this time.

Harish Rawat gave this assurance in a letter written to his followers in the region. “The Congress formed government in the state due to your hard work and support. But despite your overwhelming support to the party, your wish to participate in the running of the state government have not been fulfilled and you have not been given any representation,” said Rawat.

The letter written from his New Delhi residence and addressed to common people of these hill areas stated that he had been working for the people of Uttarakhand since 2001. He had been addressing election meetings at various places. “When a political leader goes to people, he promises and assures them of fulfilling their aspirations. I also did the same in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 elections,” Rawat said.

The Union minister said though the BJP considered itself invincible in Almora in the 2002 Assembly elections as several BJP leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi, KC Pant and Bachi Singh Rawat were from the region, party workers under his leadership won 10 seats for the Congress. The party repeated the performance in the 2007 Assembly elections and again in the last elections.

“Despite your overwhelming support to the Congress, I deeply regret that I could not fulfill your aspirations, and those of thousands of party workers who fought the BJP alongside me,” said Rawat in the letter.

He said he felt embarrassed whenever “he thinks of the neglect of his supporters as for him and the workers Uttarakhand is a mission”. “In deference of the aspirations of the workers, I have decided to continue my fight for them, as I have been doing for the last 64 years. I will continue to do so as your MLAs are standing by me and supporting me though I reside inDelhi,” said Rawat.

HNB Garhwal varsity delegation meets CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
A delegation of agitating teaching and non-teaching staff of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, led by Srinagar legislator Ganesh Godiyal, met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and submitted to him a memorandum against Dr SK Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the university.

The Chief Minister took congnisance of the allegations levelled against the Vice-Chancellor and assured the delegation that he would take up the issue with Union Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal. He also invited two of the delegation members to accompany him during his meeting with Sibal in the coming days.

The Chief Minister took a serious view of the allegation of irregularities in the university and assured the delegation of a probe into the matter. He appealed to students, teachers and the non-teaching staff to end their strike so that annual examinations could be held in the larger interest of the student community.

ROORKEE-DEOBAND RAILWAY PROJECT
Farmers demand adequate relief in lieu of land
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 9
The new Roorkee-Deoband railway line project, which was announced in the financial year 2007-08 railway budget, now seems to be embroiled in a major land acquisition row. The project will shorten the distance between New Delhi and the state.

Farmers whose land areas are being acquired by the government for the project have now come out against the land compensation rates being offered by the government.

They have even demanded the cancellation of the project if the government fails to provide the requisite land compensation market rates to them.

Notably, this broad gauge railway project is 43 km in length with 11.35 km falling in the state, 
rest being in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh. For this track, 45 acres of land has to be acquisitioned in Uttarakhand.

But now, farmers of more than six villages, whose land is being earmarked by the Railways for this project, have now taken to the agitation route.

Affected villagers have formed a forum named ‘Kissan Sangarsh Samiti’, which is taking forward this issue.

They are demanding adequate compensation rates for the land acquisition and a comprehensive rehabilitation process, otherwise they will take to an agitation to make sure the project doesn’t get green signal.

Informing about this, chief of the Kissan Sangarsh Samiti Prahlad Singh said without listening to the concerns of the affected villagers, the Railways and state government officials a few months ago had begun to mark the land to be acquired.

He added that a notice had been served to farmers by the Railways of the earmarking procedure, which is unjustified.

While Jhabreda-based farmer Anis Gaud, secretary of the forum, said recently they had met Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subash Kumar in this regard and had written to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, Governor Margaret Alva and Railway Minister Mukul Roy.

“If no action is taken, then in coming days we will resort to a mass-scale agitation as it’s our ancestral land and agricultural farming is our lone source of livelihood,” said Gaud.

Farmers demand increase in wheat
procurement centres
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 9
Farmers in Udham Singh Nagar have demanded that the procurement of wheat in the district be carried out on the pattern being followed in Punjab and Haryana.

They alleged that wheat procurement by the Cooperatives Department had not given desired results. They demanded that the method being used in Punjab and Haryana be adopted in the district and the number of procurement centres be increased.

The farmers raised the issue at the meeting of the Kisan Bandhu held at Rudrapur today. They underlined that while there were 122 centres of the Cooperatives Department in the district, there was hardly any staff manning them. Instead, they have sought that the procurement be made through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) by increasing its procurement centres.

The issue was raised by leader of the Farmers’ Union Chaudhary Rai Singh and was supported by the others present at the meeting.

District Magistrate PS Jangpangi told the farmers that their problems would be solved on priority basis. He added that the problems that cannot be solved at the local level would be referred to the state administration.

He said the efforts would be made regarding the land belonging to the Terai Vikas Sangh in Rudrapur as per the aspirations of the farmers. He has sought the details of the proposed cooperative bank and Kisan Bhawan projects on this land.

Jangpangi also expressed his displeasure at the move to relocate the the FCI wheat procurement centres from Jaspur and Gadarpur to some other place. The farmers came up with complaints against the said relocations. He has ordered District Supplies Officer (DSO) NC Semwal to take up the matter with the FCI and get the centres to function from their earlier locations. He assured the farmers that the wheat would be procured properly from them across the district and appealed to them to bring their produce to the government procurement centres.

The farmers also raised the issue of pending payments from the sugar mills and pointed out that the mills in the district are yet to pay Rs 147 crore to the farmers. They said the mills would soon be closing for the season and their payments would remain pending till the next procurement season. Jangpangi assured them that the issue would be taken up with the state administration.

He expressed his annoyance at the absence of certain officials at the meet and pointed out that the officials must take the meetings of the Kisan Bandhu seriously. He has asked the Chief Development Officer (CDO) Balkrishna to seek an explanation from the Assistant Cane Commissioner RV Verma for his absence from the meetings on two simultaneous occasions.

Newly elected legislator Rajesh Shukla also came for the meeting and raised the issue of polluted water being released into irrigation canals by the industrial units located in the industrial hubs across the district.

Arya announces school for SC/ST students
Also promises renovation of Bazpur Sugar Mill
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 9
Minister for Irrigation and Disaster Management Yash Pal Arya, who is also the state unit chief of the Congress, visited his constituency yesterday.

He announced a series of populist measures for the area. He also expressed confidence that the Vijay Bahuguna-led state government, which is currently marred with bickering and squabbling, would complete its complete term in office.

Arya made a whirlwind visit to villages in the area on yesterday, including Sadkheda, Jaitpur, Gulzarpur, Bazwala, Dakiya, Nurpur, Mahtawan, Laxmipur, Gandhinagar, Judka, Mahuvakhedaganj, Kundeshwari, Pratappur, Kharmasa and Kharmasi.

Addressing a series of functions organised to welcome him after his electoral victory, he said Bazpur’s development was synonymous with that of Uttarkhand.

He announced that an Eklavya Vidyalya would be set up for the students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes families of Bazpur and efforts have begun for identifying land for the purpose. The proposed school was to be established on 10 acres of land. He said the boarding, lodging and clothing would be provided to the students of the school by the state government. He also announced that an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) would also be set up in the area.

Arya also promised that the Bazpur Sugar Mill would be renovated and the problem of the ash that is spewed from the unit would be dealt with on permanent basis.

The farmers from the area raised the issue of erosion of large tracts of agricultural land by the Kosi river every year and demanded permanent measures to check it. Arya has promised that check dams would be built and other measures would also be initiated in the area.

This was Arya’s first visit to Bazpur after he had been elected from the seat.

Hold B.Ed counselling for 2011-12,
says Youth Cong, NSUI
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 9
Leaders of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), have demanded that the counselling for B.Ed for session 2011-12 be carried out at the earliest.

The leaders organised a protest on the Kumaon University premises here today and submitted a memorandum of demands to the Chancellor and Governor Margaret Alva through the Vice-Chancellor, Dr VPS Arora. The copies of the memorandum have also been sent to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh.

Youth Congress leader Deepak Balutiya said the provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act were being violated in the state and the students were being misled.

He charged that the delay in the starting of the academic session was having a detrimental impact on the morale of the students and was bound to affect their future.

Balutiya said the violation of the NCTE Act indirectly means the violation of the Constitution. He has requested the Chancellor to intervene and direct the authorities to start the counselling for the session at the earliest.

The university authorities said a delegation of officials would meet the Governor on April 12 to take up the issue with her.

Rise in water level in Sharda leads to
more power generation
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 9
An increase in the water level in the Sharda river has led to rise in electricity generation at the Tanakpur hydroelectric project of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the Lohia head power station owned by the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department. The water level in the Sharda has increased due to melting of glaciers at the basin of the river in the Himalayan region, officials from the Sharda headworks said.

The SDO of the Sharda barrage at Tanakpur in Champawat district said after the temperature rose during the first week of April the water level in the Sharda, which was at 4,200 cusecs four days ago, reached 5,796 cusecs today. “This situation has helped in increasing electricity generation from 11 MW to 14 MW at the Lohia head power house in the last four days,” said Dinesh Chaudhari, SDO, Sharda headworks, Banbasa.

Dinesh said, “The water level in the river remains between 3,800 and 4,200 cusecs from January to March, but starts increasing in April and reaches 1 lakh cusecs during the monsoon.”

“From November onwards, the water level in the Sharda starts decreasing and falls to 5,000 cusecs, thus affecting electricity generation in two power houses based on it as well as irrigation of big tracts of land in Pilibhit to Rai Bareilly districts in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

The in-charge of the Banbasa Sharda headworks said more than 11,000 cusecs of water was released from the headworks into the Sharda canal, which irrigates more than 22 lakh acres in Uttar Pradesh. “The highest water flow in the river was recorded in 1934 when during August it witnessed a flow of 5.22 lakh cusecs of water,” said Jagdish Srivastava, an attendant at the Sharada headworks at Banbasa in Champawat district.

64,000 kids to be given polio drops in Pithoragarh
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 9
More than 64,000 kids in the district will be given polio drops during the national pulse polio campaign beginning form April 15 this year, Pithoragarh District Magistrate, R Rajesh Kumar informed here today.

“The campaign includes 7,144 kids in the 0-5 years of age group and 57,885 kids between 1-5 years of age," said Chief Medical Officer of Pithoragarh HC Pant during a meeting called by the District Magistrate at his office to assess the preparation for the campaign, and to speed up preparations for the campaign in the district.

According to the CMO, school children from various schools in rural areas would be involved to make this campaign a success as they will be organieed into "Bulawa Toli" by the administration. "The school children will hold an awareness rally in this connection on April 14. The gram praharies of villages across the district have also been instructed by the administration to ensure the campaign is a success by taking each and every kid to the polio booth on April 15 and to get ready to accompany the door-to-door parties on the following two days," said the DM.

The District Magistrate, who chaired the preparation meeting for the campaign, said that for the successful implementation of the campaign, a strength of 248 supervisors, 2522 booth-level workers, 956 Asha workers, 1060 Aaganwari workers, 364 departmental employees,166 social workers and 16 SSB medical workers will be deputed at various levels of the campaign. "We have also preserved 90,000 dozes of polio vaccines with us,” said the DM.

The District Magistrate informed that during the first phase of the campaign in February last year, 72,360 kids were administered polio dozes in the district.

Camp for patients with burn injuries
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
A team of five doctors and nursing staff from Resevag International, formerly known as Interplast of the United States of America, today held a camp for burnt patients requiring surgeries at Jungle Mungle Hospital in Dehradun.

A total of 250 procedures on 350 patients would be performed tomorrow at the Coronation Hospital by a team of experts led by Dr Yogi Aeron and Dr Shikha Aeron.

“Since a couple of years we have been collaborating with the foundation to conduct surgeries in Dehradun. The reconstructive surgeries for the burnt patients are performed free of cost,” said Dr Yogi Aeron.

In Uttarakhand, accidental burn cases involving children are common. A majority of rural folk still use firewood for cooking. “Small children have a tendency of jabbing their hands in the traditional chullas, with serious repercussions,” said Dr Aeron.

The surgeries are conducted free of cost, as part of a unique arrangement. Resevag International sends equipment and a team of doctors, while the selection of children and cost of the surgeries is borne by the Uttarakhand government under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Chess tournament begins in Nainital
Grand Master Laxman to take part
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 9
The first Nainital International Fide Open Chess Tournament began in the Lake City on Monday. More than 100 players from across the country, including Grand Master RR Laxman and three International Masters, would be participating in the six-day event.

This is the first time that a ranking tournament is being held in Uttarakhand. One of the organisers of the event Ishwar Dutt Tewari said: “The tournament would help the players gain ranking points. Our purpose is to promote the players from the state and help them gain ranking points.”

Another organiser RL Tewari pointed: “We want that at least five to six players from Uttarakhand should reach the international level. Nainital is an ideal place for holding such a tournament since it provides the ideal locale and peace for the players to concentrate on their game.”

Prize money to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh would be disbursed amongst the winners of the tournament.

The opening day saw an exhibition match between RR Laxman on one side and 22 budding players on the other. The competitive rounds would start from Tuesday morning.

The event was inaugurated by the local legislator Sarita Arya. Several senior chess players from the town as well as the region were present on the occasion.

Two thugs arrested
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 9
The cantt police arrested two thugs, Gautam Kumar and Dhanimat Kumar, who hail from Bihar, for applying chemicals to bangles of the mother of Devesh Purohit, a resident of Sangam Vihar.

When his mother realised her bangles getting lighter in weight, they called the police and got the weight of the bangles again. It was seen the duo had taken out 12 gm gold from the pair.

The thugs would roam around in various pockets of the city and would allure woman to give their jewellery to them so that they could polish it.

In the process, they would wash the jewellery with acidic liquid and remove a huge part of gold from it. Later, they would extract the gold contents out of the liquid.