The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Food crops from hills on display
Women have a look at various products on display at a mela in Shuklapur village near Dehradun on Wednesday. Dehradun, April 11
The food crops from the hills were on full display at the kisan mela held today at Shuklapur. The mela was organised jointly by Himalayan Environment Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) and International Development and Research Centre (IDRC).

Women have a look at various products on display at a mela in Shuklapur village near Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Moot court competition
Justice MM Ghildiyal (retd), Lokayukta, Uttarakhand, gives away the winning trophy of the Third Sushila Devi Memorial Moot Court Competition to the winners in Dehradun on Wednesday. Dehradun, April 11
The third Sushila Devi Memorial Moot Court Competition was held at Law College here today. The team comprising Vibhuti Bahuguna, Jyoti Bhatt and Aishawrya Chandra were declared as the winners of the competition, while the team of Angi Mehta, Swapnil Kaushik and Sahil Sharma were declared as runners- up.

Justice MM Ghildiyal (retd), Lokayukta, Uttarakhand, gives away the winning trophy of the Third Sushila Devi Memorial Moot Court Competition to the winners in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Stalemate over varsity deadlock continues
Talks between agitating Save HNB Garhwal University Committee and the university authorities fail
Members of the ABVP hold a protest against the Vice-Chancellor of HNB Garhwal University in Dehradun on Wednesday. Dehradun, April 11
Talks between the agitating Save HNB Garhwal University Committee and the university authorities failed yet again here today. Under the leadership of Srinagar Congress MLA Ganesh Godiyal, the talks between the committee and the university authorities, led by Registrar US Rawat, were held at Bijapur Guest house today.

Members of the ABVP hold a protest against the Vice-Chancellor of HNB Garhwal University in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Tae kwon do event in Sangrur
Gayatri Vidyapeeth students win 10 medals
Haridwar, April 11
Tae kwon do players of Gayatri Vidyapeeth with their medals and certificates in Haridwar on Wednesday. Students of Gayatri Vidyapeeth, Shantikunj, have brought laurels to the state by winning a total of 10 medals, including two gold, in the National Inter-Zonal Inter-school Tae kwon do Championship held at Sangrur recently.

Tae kwon do players of Gayatri Vidyapeeth with their medals and certificates in Haridwar on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Conference on rabies today
Dehradun, April 11
A group of 15 experts from around the country will gather on April 12 at the Sri Guru Ram Rai (SGRR) Institute of Medical Science to participate in the annual national conference of consortium against rabies CARCON-2012.

Power tariff raised by 7% in U’khand
Plan to roll out prepaid metering approved
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 11
The consumers in Uttarakhand have to pay more for power with effect from April 1, 2012. Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) has increased power tariff by 7 per cent as against the demand of UPCL for 46 per cent increase. In order to facilitate better services to the consumers, the commission has approved a plan to roll out prepaid metering for low tension connection consumers up to 30 KW w.e.f. from October 1 this year.

Tariffs of un-metered category in rural hilly areas have been increased by Rs 5 per connection per month and other areas by Rs 25 per connection per month.

Energy charges for domestic consumers have been increased as follows: First 100 units - Rs 0.05 per unit from Rs 2.25 /kWh to Rs 2.30 /kWh; 101-200 unit - Rs 0.10/unit from Rs 2.50/kWh to Rs 2.60/ kWh; 201 and above units - Rs 0.30/unit from Rs 2.80/kWh to Rs 3.10/kWh.

The general increase in tariff of other category of consumers has been restricted to 35 paise/unit in energy charges and Rs 5 to Rs 20 in fixed/demand charges.

A marginal increase of Rs 1 per connection per month in fixed charges for lifeline consumers (from Rs 5 to Rs 6 per connection) and consumers in snowbound areas (from Rs 5 to Rs 6 per connection) has been done. However, fixed charges for single phase domestic consumers and 3-phase domestic consumers have been increased by Rs 5 (from Rs 25 to Rs 30) per connection per month and Rs 20 per connection per month, respectively. The charges for un-metered in rural (Hillly) areas have been increased from Rs 125 per connection to Rs 130 per connection. Charges for un-metered in rural (other) areas have been increased from Rs 260 per connection to 285 per connection.

UPCL had filed a petition of its Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Tariffs for the financial year 2012-13 before the UERC on November 30 last year.

The consumers having prepaid metering shall be eligible for a rebate of 4 pc (for domestic use) and 3 pc (for other LT consumers) on energy charges. In addition to rebate, consumers will not need to give security deposit. There will be no problem for incorrect meter reading, and late delivery of bills.

	Land acquisition policy for industries soon Tribune News Service Dehradun, April 11 To provide hassle-free industrial climate to new investors in the state, the Uttarakhand Government will soon frame a land acquisition policy and also introduce land banking in the state. Asking officials of the Industries Department to spur industrial growth in the state, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the availability of land remained a crucial requirement. “We should have a proper land acquisition policy in the state so that investors do not face problems while setting up industries. A land acquisition policy incorporating various judgements is the need of the hour. We need to look at the policies of other states such as Karnataka before drafting our own policy,” he said at a meeting with the officials of the Industries Department. He said automobile company Wools Wagon has shown keen interest in investing in the state. “We will have to open doors for new investors and look for availability of land for them in Rishikesh and Haridwar,” he said. The Chief Minister was of the opinion that if the small-scale industry under the special integrated hill policy was given impetus, it could become a source of employment for the youth. Taking initiative at his end, the Chief Minister said the Union Industries Minister's cooperation would be sought for the utilisation of 800 acres of land of Nepa Industries at Kashipur. He also directed the industries to ascertain the possibilities of setting up thermal power plants in the state. He suggested that it could be set up outside the state and then could be availed through the main grid. While reviewing the works of the mining sector, the Chief Minister said strict action would be taken against illegal mining. So far, the state has attracted an investment of Rs 30,000 crore which managed to attract around 2 lakh jobs in the state. In the automobile industry alone, Rs 14,000 crore has been invested. To attract investment, the Industries Department has set up single window system in the state.
	Ramlila Ground Crackdown Ramdev refuses Delhi Police relief to injured Tribune News Service Haridwar, April 11 A team of the Delhi Police visited the Patanjali Yogpeeth here today regarding the financial compensation for the lone deceased, Bharat Swabhiman activist Raj Bala, and 18 other activists who were injured during the police crackdown on Swami Ramdev followers at Ramlila Ground on the night of June 4 in New Delhi last year. But the cops, led by a DSP rank officer, were not provided the details of the injured. Later, the police team left emptyhanded as Patanjali Trust office-bearers made it categorically clear that they didn’t want any compensation from them as it were they only who started forceful eviction of the followers. Swami Ramdev refused taking any compensation from the government side as the Patanjali trust has been bearing medical expenses of the injured activists themselves. Swami Ramdev said the Delhi Police, which staged a massive crackdown on him and his followers at Ramlila Ground when they were protesting non-violently, was now offering compensation which was not acceptable to them. He added that this was also due to apex court directives which had ordered that compensation should be given to the injured. The apex court in its February 22 decision had said the crackdown could have been avoided if both parties had treaded carefully. The court then directed the Delhi Police and Baba Ramdev to give Rs 5,00,000 to the kin of Rajbala . Moreover, a compensation of Rs 50,000 was directed to those who got serious injuries for which the Delhi Police would give 75 per cent of the total compensation while 25 per cent would be given by Ramdev's trust.
	Food crops from hills on display Tribune News Service Dehradun, April 11 The food crops from the hills were on full display at the kisan mela held today at Shuklapur. The mela was organised jointly by Himalayan Environment Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) and International Development and Research Centre (IDRC). Farmers from the hills put up stalls of different varieties of coarse grain grown in the hills, which are known for their high nutritive value. For the first time the people were introduced to different varieties of millets and other grains grown in the hills. While inaugurating the mela, Dr Anil Joshi said over-reliance on wheat and rice had proved detrimental to the popularity of traditional crops. These crops have high nutritive value and should be made part of the child' s and adult persons' diet, he said. Due to excessive promotion of rice and wheat, the farmers in the hills do not find worthwhile to grow their traditional crops,added Dr Joshi. He said the traditional crops' sowing and consumption should be promoted in a big way to ensure food security and end malnutrition. Unlike the rice and wheat crops, the traditional crops are grown together and are dependent purely on organic manure.
	Moot court competition Tribune News Service Dehradun, April 11 The third Sushila Devi Memorial Moot Court Competition was held at Law College here today. The team comprising Vibhuti Bahuguna, Jyoti Bhatt and Aishawrya Chandra were declared as the winners of the competition, while the team of Angi Mehta, Swapnil Kaushik and Sahil Sharma were declared as runners- up. Vibhuti Bahuguna was also declared as the best speaker. Justice M.M.Ghildiyal (retd), Lokayukta,Uttarakhand, who was the chief guest on the occasion gave tips to the law students. He said that mere knowledge of law was not sufficient and the students should also know the circumstances also to use the relevant laws.

Tae kwon do event in Sangrur
Gayatri Vidyapeeth students win 10 medals
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 11
Students of Gayatri Vidyapeeth, Shantikunj, have brought laurels to the state by winning a total of 10 medals, including two gold, in the National Inter-Zonal Inter-school Tae kwon do Championship held at Sangrur recently. A total of 16 schools from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand participated in this championship.

Dhara Sharma and Shailja Sharma clinched gold medals while Ayushi, Khushi, Suraj, Aditya and Rithik bagged silver medals. Shubhanshu and Naman won two bronze medals.

Gayatri Vidyapeeth was also given a shield for the best performance in the championship.

Tae kwon do coaches Gagan Bhandari and Ankit Kumar said these students had been working hard for the past one year and their hardwork had bore fruit.

Kailash Mahajan, Principal, Gayatri Vidyapeeth, congratulated the students on their success and gave them an assurance that they would be provided the best of the facilities in the school.

Shantikunj Gayatri family head Dr Pranav Pandya and Shail Jiji also appreciated the efforts pitched in by the players and the coaching staff.