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Stone crusher of Diwakar's son sealed
Annual draft plan for Uttarakhand pegged at Rs 8,212 crore
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Bandstand comes alive in Nainital again
Artificial nests distributed in Nainital
World Spiritual Society protests corruption
State lad enters lawn tennis pre-quarters
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Stone crusher of Diwakar's son sealed
Haridwar, May 15 In this drive, an administrative team sealed more than 24 stone crushers on finding various irregularities in their operation. They were being run without the legal permission to stock the quarrying material. A stone crusher being owned by Diwakar Bhatt's son was also sealed in the process from the Shyampur Ganga bed late last evening. Diwakar Bhatt tried to distance himself from this controversy, clarifying that the stone crusher was being operated in partnership with a stone crusher and his son. He added that since last year, this stone crusher had been given on rent to a third party. Though he stated that he would look into this matter that whether the stone crusher was doing illegal crushing or not and assured the administration of full cooperation. Diwakar Bhatt on December 4 last year had created a sensation when he had announced that he would be resigning from the Cabinet Ministry and would sit on fast if prohibition on quarrying in the region was not lifted. For the past few days in Haridwar, administrative teams are carrying out various raids round the clock to check the illegal quarrying network going on in the district. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Harbeer Singh stated that in the coming days too, this drive would continue as the administration wanted the district to be free of illegal quarrying operations. |
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Annual draft plan for Uttarakhand pegged at Rs 8,212 crore
Dehradun, May 15 The draft plan envisages a jump of Rs 412 crore from last year when the total plan outlay for 2011-2012 was Rs 7,800 crore, a staggering increase of Rs 1,000 crore from (2010-2011). Awaiting the final clearance from the Chief Minister, the draft plan will be presented before the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in New Delhi. In the draft plan, the highest allocation has been made for the PWD at Rs 1,170 crore, Rs 743.80 crore for education, Rs 733.42 crore for rural and panchayat raj, Rs 618.76 crore for irrigation and minor irrigation works, Rs Rs 609.9 crore for social welfare, Rs 601.4 crore for water supply and sanitation, Rs 574.25 crore for medical and health, Rs 549.63 crore for power, Rs 422.80 crore for urban development, Rs 225.29 crore for forest and wildlife. While the state has been witnessing an increase in the annual plan outlay every year since the creation of the state, the state’s full utilization of the amount continues to be abysmally low. Besides, there has been a steady increase in funds under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and Madhymik Shiksha Abhiyan by the Central Government for education. The state government will be required to mobilise additional resources worth Rs 3,000 crore to fund the plan. State officials say the government will have to impose taxes and raise other charges in case it does not get a loan waiver or any other relief from the Central Government. Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh has already hinted the same. Interestingly In 2010-2011, Rs 747 crore allocated for the welfare of the SCs and the STs had lapsed, thanks to lack of proper utilisation on the part of the government. In 2010-2011, Rs 1,226 crore was allocated for the welfare of the SCs and the STs. Out of the allocated amount, the government was able to spend Rs 479 crore (39 per cent). The annual plan size (2010-2011) was pegged at Rs 6,800 crore. |
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Bandstand comes alive in Nainital again
Nainital, May 15 the old tradition of entertaining the masses during the tourist season. The formal inauguration of the initiative will be held in the presence of the Director General of Police (DGP) Vijay Raghav Pant on May 17 but the band has started performing from Monday evening. It was a site to watch as people started thronging the spot where police personnel had started playing the drums and brass band along with other wind instruments. With the lake in the backdrop and the players coming out with one retro number after the other, the people could not hold themselves back and quite a lot of them were seen dancing. Among the tunes that were presented on the opening day were the popular number sung by Mohammad Rafi "Choo lene do nazuk hoton se?'. Another tune that proved to be a hit with the visitors was "Husn pahadon ka?". That had been sung by Lata Mageshkar in the movie "Ram Teri Ganga Maili". There was a special performance on the demand of the locals of the popular Kumaoni song, "Bedu paako barah maasa" that was penned by Gopal Babu Goswami. The evening ended with the nostalgic number and title track of Rajesh Khanna starrer "Aapki Kasam". Following the persistence from mediapersons who had been raising the issue of restarting the band performance on various occasions, the new SSP Sadanand Daate has eventually given the plan a practical shape. "It enhances our image in the public eye. People come to know that besides our routine job, we can also be good entertainers". "Playing here reminds me of the late Captain Ram Singh, who had played here for years after Independence. At that time, the Bandstand was a wooden structure. Captain Singh had been a freedom fighter with the Indian National Army. After Independence, he had joined the police and was perhaps the only person who was given the job of performing till he died," said Sub Inspector Jai Kishan Tamta, who was performing amid nostalgia. The band performance had been a regular feature in Nainital till the decade of 80s after which it had been phased out only to be revived shortly by former SSP JS Martoliya in 2008. |
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shortage of LPG cylinders
Pithoragarh, May 15 According to the Gangolihat sub-divisional administration, 450 consumers were waiting for LPG cylinders, which had reached the town after 45 days, but only 300 of them could get cylinders. “We have more than 4,000 LPG consumers in the town, and we need 450 cylinders everyday to cater to their needs. But in the absence of supply from the plant in Haldwani, the consumers have to wait for 45 days this time,” said PS Pokharia, in-charge of KMVN Gas Agency in Gangolihat. About 200 LPG consumers in Didihat town had to return empty-handed last night as a mob gheraoed the vehicle carrying cylinders that reached the town after 10 days. Of 456 gas slips issued by the local agency, only 200 consumers could get the supply today, said Pokharia. He said the people had been waiting for the LPG supply since 7 am yesterday, and as they came to know about the arrival of the truck carrying LPG cylinders they became restive. The administration officials sensing the situation going out of hand called the police to control the consumers. “The police was called as due the people became restless and created disturbance. The LPG distribution could not be started till noon, said an official from the sub-divisional administration. “Against the requirement of 7,300 cylinders per month, we could get only 3,000 cylinders last month, causing a severe shortage of cooking gas in the town,” said Pokharia. In Munsiyari town, besides LPG shortage, the consumers are also facing a shortage of kerosene oil. In the absence of kerosene supply for the last two months, we are compelled to use wood from forests for domestic use, said Jagat Singh Quriyal, a resident of Qurie Jimiya village, near Munsiyari town. The LPG shortage is also being witnessed in Champawat town. In the Patti subdivision of Champawat district, Sub-divisional Magistrate AK pandey has launched a massive campaign against the commercial use of LPG cylinders. “We have recovered five LPG cylinders from consumers using them for commercial purpose without licence,” said the SDM. Tej Bal Singh. District Supply Officer, Pithoragarh, had started a campaign against the commercial use of cooking gas last month. “We have seized 26 LPG cylinders,” he said. “We are receiving 6,000 cylinders less per month from the plant against the demand of 40,000 cylinders in the district. We are writing to our officers daily about the shortage, but even they have expressed helplessness in the matter,” said GS Bankoti, in-charge of KMVN Gas Agency, Pithoragarh. Managers of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), which is the sole distributor of LPG cylinders in the region, have expressed their inability in meeting the demand. Nigam officials said the supply of LPG cylinders had reduced from the plant. “We have a backlog of 50,000 cylinders. We are getting no supply from the refinery due to fluctuating petroleum prices at the international level,” said CS Martolia. General Manager (Gas), KMVN. |
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Barthwal vows to make SP powerful force in state
Haridwar, May 15 Barthwal said factionalism was responsible for the poor performance of the party in the Assembly elections. He warned the party workers that if they continued to indulge in anti-party activities, disciplinary action would be taken against them. “Indiscipline will not be tolerated at any level. We have suffered a lot, but won’t allow factionalism to further damage the roots of the party in the state. We want the party to emerge as the third major party in the state. For this all of us have to work hard as regional outfits like the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the Raksha Morcha and even communists have failed drastically to emerge as an alternative of the Congress and the BJP,” said Barthwal. He said former party legislator Ambrish Kumar did not work in the interest of the party. He added Ambrish weakened the party in Haridwar as he wanted to control it as his personal chattle. A Cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, Rajendra Singh Rana, urged the party workers to make the SP in Uttarakhand as strong as in Uttar Pradesh. Rana said it was possible to strengthen the party in the state, but it required hard work, sincere efforts and better management. Two-time parliamentarian from Haridwar Rajendra Singh Badi hoped that in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014 the SP would give a tough fight to opposition parties in at least in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Tehri Garhwal. Legislator from Uttar Pradesh Mohammed Umar Bukhari said the minorities felt safe under the SP. |
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Give priority to rural women in awards: Amrita Rawat
Dehradun, May 15 She was chairing a meeting of the State Level Committee for the awards, including Tilu Rauteli Award and awards for anganwadi workers, at her Vidhan Sabha office here today. She also instructed the officials not to make the selection criteria too complicated and to consider the outstanding works done by women as the sole criterion of selection. She instructed them to select a total of 22 candidates, ensuring at least one from each district. She said the criteria for the selection should be works done in the field of social service, public awareness, environment conservation, welfare of women and children, health, education and movement against social evils. She asked the officials to request MLAs and social workers to suggest two candidates each also. She said the main purpose of the award was to encourage women to come forward in the society. The meeting was attended by committee Chairman Shushila Balooni, secretary Ajay Nabiyal, additional secretary and Director Amit Singh Negi and Project Director ICDS Kamini Gupta. |
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Artificial nests distributed in Nainital
Nainital, May 15 It has been observed that due to the change in the construction pattern, birds are not nesting in the new buildings. It is being hoped that the artificial nests made of mud and straw would provide them the required place and milieu. “We are hoping that the experiment proves to be a success and even if it does not, these structures would surely be of some use to birds and insects,” said one of the ex-students of a school in the town. The nests will be distributed on May 20. A special cleanliness drive has been initiated by the administration in Nainital with the help of children, concerned citizens and activists since May 10 with an aim to make the Lake City clean and green. According to District Magistrate Nidhi Mani Tripathi, Nainital has been identified by its lake and the people of the town have to play a major role in preserving and conserving the water body. She said such events needed to be organised at regular intervals. The exercise of cleaning the lake would continue till May 20. The administration is trying to involve schoolchildren in the initiative and they are playing a key role in generating awareness on the keeping the town clean and green. Tripathi had earlier made it clear that children would not be involved in any activity that includes physical labour. On May 20, schoolchildren and citizens will make a human chain around the Naini lake. The tourists would also be called upon to join it. Meanwhile, the children will be participating in poster making, essay writing, photography and slogan writing competitions. |
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Children perform classical dances
Haridwar, May 15 The programme was organised in different categories in the age group of 4-12 years. Notable among others who gave performance were Kanika, Aditya, Taniba, Ujjwala, Khushi, Chari, Aditi, Akrti, Sonali, Sonam, Ishika, Avni, Palak, Ashwarya, Karishma and Neha. The programme was coordinated by Alok Garg who also gave insight into classical dance history and renowned practitioners achievements in this field. Kathak gurus Bhawani Singh and Indu Singh remarked that in Haridwar, younger generation was getting inclined to classical vocal and dance forms. |
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World Spiritual Society protests corruption
Dehradun, May 15 They alleged that a large scale corruption was taking place in Uttarakhand and the political leaders had shown least commitment towards ensuring the all-round development of the state. An octogenarian, Thapliyal, said he would continue his struggle against corruption in the days to come. He added another agitation on the lines of the agitation for a separate state of Uttarakhand was needed to curb rising corruption in the state. |
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State lad enters lawn tennis pre-quarters
Dehradun, May 15 Dhruv Pal also beat Cirku Vashisht of Andhra Pradesh in the second round of the match by 6-2 and 6-3, thereby ensuring his place in the pre-quarterfinals which will be played in
Mumbai. |
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