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Closure of Munsiyari-Milam route may hit ration supply
Resumption of mining in Sharda riverbed demanded
Kunjwal promises improved water, power supply
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Save-Ganga activist breaks fast
PFA secy told to appear before court on May 8
DM inspects areas prone to waterlogging
Institute students protest against teacher's removal
‘Ease process of issuing domicile certificate’
Minister takes ADB officials to task
150 tour operators to attend seminar
Cultural event marks foundation day function
Pal appointed Chief Whip
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Closure of Munsiyari-Milam route may hit ration supply
Pithoragarh, April 17 “The 55-km Munsiyari to Milam track route has been blocked at Laspagari, Hanyamail and Rasgari due to snowfall. As a result, migrant villagers from the upper valley areas could not return from the lower valley, which otherwise would have begun in the first week of April,” said Devendra Dingh Deva, president of the gram pradhan sangthan of Munsiyari. According to Deva, if the returning villagers would not be able to reach their high altitude homes in time, they would not get time to sow the summer crop of potato there, and would suffer a loss thousands of rupees. The potato grown in Milam area sells at a high cost in local markets of Munsiyari and Haldwani. “Not only the potato crop will not be available this year, the other high altitude local crops of palthi, kalazeera, cheepee, gandrayani and phafar also will not be sown this year as their sowing time has passed due to late arrival of tribals in their villages,” said Devendra. The PWD division, which maintains this track route, has said that they don’t have money to maintain this track route this year and are not in a position to send labourers and equipment to the place. “If we get budget for the work from the government, we will only then start the repair work on the route,” said Jag Mohan Chauhan, SDO, PWD, Didihat division The tourism traders of Munsiyari have threatened to sue the PWD if the department fails to open the route before April 20, as they have booked 500 trackers from across the country to track on the Munsiyari -Milam route from April 21. “If the route was not opened in time, the tourism traders in Munsiyari will incur heavy losses as they earn their revenue during this tracking season, which begins in the month of April,” said Jagdish Rawat, president of Hotel Association Munsiyari. The contractor, supplying ration and other essentials to ITBP border posts situated on the China border, has also said due to the damaged route he would not be able to supply required quota of ration assigned to him under the contract. “At present the jawans are dependent on the ration stocked during the winter, but the fresh supply that needed to be given to them from this month will not be made as the sequence of supplying ration has been disturbed due to the closure of this track,” said Kundan Singh Pangti, contractor. The contractor added if the route remained blocked the ITBP would have to airdrop ration at its Bugdiya post. From there it is transported by mules from to Milam, Dung and Lilam posts. |
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Resumption of mining in Sharda riverbed demanded
Pithoragarh, April 17 According to administration sources in Tanakpur, the state government had allowed mining on 4.9 hectares of riverbed at Ucholigoth, near Tanakpur, but due to the non-fulfillment of new conditions imposed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for mining in the riverbed the approval was scrapped. “After teams of the revenue and forest departments and mining nodal agency KMVN locates the area for mining, only then mining of sand and stones from the riverbed could be considered,” said Shiv Charan Dwivedi, SDM, Tanakpur. The sources said as no help was taken from the surveyor of the Forest Department, some violations had taken place in identifying the area for mining in the past. To correct this discrepancy, the Forest Department surveyors had been asked to be present on April 18 with maps during a joint inspection of the mining area at Ucholigoth. Though the Uttarakhand government had given permission for mining at Ucholigoth, it could be carried out only after the land was identified in the presence of officers of the forest and revenue departments,” said Umesh Kumar Tripathi, a manager of the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation. On the other hand, thousands of labourers and transporters were demanding the opening of mining as they were on the brink of starvation. “More than 350 trucks are involved in the transportation of sand and stones from the Sharda riverbed at Tanakpur. All of these have gone without work after the closure of mining in the riverbed on April 7,” said GD Khullar, president of the Shaktiman Truck Union at Tanakpur. The daily wage labourers were starving due to the ban on mining. “My family of four is starving as we were dependant on daily earnings from mining work,” said Mohan Sharma, a daily wage worker. |
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Kunjwal promises improved water, power supply
Nainital, April 17 During his visit to Nainital yesterday, he was informed that that there were several villages in his constituency reeling under power and water shortage. The Speaker took serious note of the issue of water scarcity in the villages and said that it was time that long-term effective measures were put in place. He candidly admitted that day by day it was becoming difficult to supply power and water to the villages located on highlands. “The sad part is that everyone has been talking of recharging the water sources while very few genuine efforts have been made in this direction,” he said. He claimed that during the Congress-led state government in 2007, the government had approved setting up two water lifting schemes for the area, the Saryu-Danya scheme and the Godamgram scheme. He pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had added these two schemes in one of his declarations made at that time and even a letter of approval had come from the Centre to the then state government. But the state saw a change of guard and the projects were pushed to the backburner. He said no move was made for their execution despite protests in the past five years. Kunjwal claimed that with the Congress government coming back to power, he had taken up the matter with the Principal Secretary (Finance) last week. “Since the financial year was coming to an end, no allocation was ordered at that point of time but I am sure that money would be provided for these schemes during the current financial year,” he said. On the issue of villages bereft of power supply, he said a private company entrusted with the job has not worked to the satisfaction. He said the company had been asked to install the power infrastructure in all villages by June following which it would be taken over by the Power Department. It would ensure that all villages are electrified and get a proper power supply. |
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Save-Ganga activist breaks fast
Haridwar, April 17 Sanjeev Chaudhary, who is quite impressed with noted environmentalist-cum-saint Professor Guru Das Aggarwal, alias Swami Sanand, was on fast at Pt Gobind Ballabh Pant Park for the cause of the holy river Ganga. He had declared that till the third meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority is not held, he will be on fast as he had demanded stopping of hydro electric projects on Ganga river in Uttarakhand state. Chaudhari pointed out that after being involved with Guru Das Aggarwal during his agitation against Lohari, Nagpala-Pala, Maneri-Bhairon Ghati hydel projects and his recent tapasya for cause of the holy Ganga at Matra Sadan, he felt that youths need to come out in the open. "If a 70-year-old man can agitate, then why can't the youth?" he asked . He also vowed to carry on the save Ganga river movement in the near future as apart from deep religious sentiments with mother Ganga, environmental impact is occurring in the hilly districts, which affects the sanctity and natural flow of the holy river. Now with Prime Minister giving an assurance of a technical-scientific-environmental approach to be taken with inputs from IIT, Roorke, and Wildlife Institute, for allowing hydro power projects, Chaudhary today broke his fast in presence of a large number of Ganga and social activists. Activists of Rashtriya Hindu Kranti Dal urged the agitating Ganga devotees to break their fast in view of the forthcoming meeting. |
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PFA secy told to appear before court on May 8
Dehradun, April 17 Petitioner DC Dhasmana, proprietor of Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, has accused the member-secretary, People for Animals, of filing a false complaint against him and one of his employees, alleging violation of Animal Cruelty Prevention Act. Dhasmana in his petition said that People for Animals, Uttarakhand, had alleged that Himalayan Institute of Medical Science, Jolly Grant, was not following the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, little knowing that the institute was not covered under Section 11 of Animal Cruelty Prevention Act. He said the incident which was widely covered in the newspapers brought a bad name to the institute. District and Sessions Judge, Dehradun, Naseem Ahmed, held that the court has taken cognizance of accusations levelled by Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences and has directed Gauri Maulekhi to appear before court on May 8. Meanwhile, Gauri Maulekhi disclosed that she was not aware about any development in Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences case and would first read the court order. |
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DM inspects areas prone to waterlogging
Haridwar, April 17 Accompanied by Subdivisional Magistrate Harbeer Singh, the District Magistrate took stock of the preparations being made to make sure that minimum damage occurs to the public-private property and people face no inconvenience. Besides, those places where rain water gets accumulated or landslides occur are being earmarked so that prior to monsoon, adequate steps could be taken to counter the threat. The DM inspected railway station, bus stand, the Lal taura bridge area and Har-ki-Pauri core mela zone, where he directed the officers concerned to make sure drains are made of substantial height. The officials also visited various other sites prone to waterlogging. |
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Institute students protest against teacher's removal
Haridwar, April 17 More than 300 students gathered on the college premise, raised slogans against the college management and demanded reinstatement of the teacher. A meeting was held between the college management and the students which ended in vain. As a result, the students locked the college gate, stayed away from the classes and went on indefinite agitation till their demand is met. In view of a large number of students protesting aggressively, the police was called in the college. SHO Kankhal Mahesh Chandra Joshi also tried to bring the students and the management for dialogue process, but students resented, saying they wanted the expelled teacher reinstated. Joint director Mayank Chauhan said they had not removed Suraj Rajput but he had given resignation citing personal causes. When questioned Suraj Rajput accepted that he had resigned but added that it was only due to pressure tactics applied by the management as he didn't want to have a tag of being removed from teacher's post. Till filing of the news, students had been on protest on the college premises. College principal Shashi Sharma, who was on a leave, is expected to reach the city. "Earlier too, many teachers were removed by the institute using such pressure tactics. As our examinations are near and college have dearth of good teachers, our studies are getting affected", said Suresh Saini, a II year polytechnic student. |
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‘Ease process of issuing domicile certificate’
Dehradun, April 17 Given to the ambiguity still persisting over the issuance of these certificates, he said: “Ninetyeight unemployed youth from the state were declared ineligible for recruitment by the Army for not having domicile certificate when they went to deposit their forms. This way the issue pertaining to domicile and caste certificates is no longer confined to state but is also important for Central government services as well. It is unconstitutional on the part of state government for divesting the unemployed youth of the state of job opportunities by not providing them with domicile and caste certificate.” He said the state government was playing partisan role on this issue as the residents of hill districts did not face this problem. — TNS |
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Minister takes ADB officials to task
Dehradun, April 17 He warned them that if they did not execute their work effectively, all ADB projects in the city would be stopped. Aggarwal said the public was not happy with the working of the ADB. Despite having a huge workforce of engineers, specialists and employees, the work was not progressing, he said, while stressing on mutual coordination and monitoring among officials. He said all works must be carried out with a sense of responsibility and transparency. He said it is sad that roads had not been recarpeted after the digging work. He ordered that roads be repaired as soon as the digging work is over. He directed officials to complete the sewerage work in Lakhibagh Muslim Colony before the monsoon and also speed up work in Bhandari Bagh, Majra, Patel Nagar, Lukhi Bagh, Azad Coloy and Sewala Kala localities of the city . — TNS
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150 tour operators to attend seminar
Dehradun April 17 Over 150 tour operators from all over the country will participate in it. Chairman of Uttarakhand Chapter of the IATO KP Sharma said the discussions would be held on subjects like self-employment, requirement of responsible tourism, ways to prevent accidents during adventure activities, effective marketing and burning issues which normally arise between tour operators and Tourism Department. — TNS
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Cultural event marks foundation day function
Dehradun, April 17 Members of the sabha performed traditional dances and sang Gorkhali songs. The chief guest on the occasion, Laxman Chowk MLA Dinesh Aggarwal, inaugurated the programme by lighting a lamp. Jot Singh Gunsola, former MLA, Mussoorie, was a special guest. A large number of people from the Gorkha community living in Dehradun attended the function. The association aims at fostering a spirit of unity and brotherhood among Gorkhas living in the state. On the occasion, the families of the martyrs were honoured and their children were given scholarships by the sabha.
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Pal appointed Chief Whip
Dehradun April 17 The position had been vacated by former councillor Raj Kumar who was elected an MLA in the Assembly elections. Pal has been accorded the right to convene the meeting of Congress councillors and issue the whip during the elections on the DMC premises.
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Young Ganga activist Sanjeev Chaudhary, who was sitting on hunger strike for the past 11 days, today broke the fast in view of the Ganga Basin River Authority meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Students of Swami Darshanand Institute of Management Technology stayed away from their classes today owing to the removal of a college teacher. In support of the polytechnic teacher Suraj Rajput, students came out in open against this decision of the management.
