BJP MLA goes missing
Party issues red alert against 'poaching'
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 20
The alleged disappearance of BJP MLA from Sitarganj (Kumaon) Kiran Mandal has created a political storm in Uttarakhand, forcing the BJP to issue a red alert against possible 'poaching' from the Congress camp.

Since Friday there were rumours about the BJP MLA coming to some agreement with the Congress on vacating his seat for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for contesting the byelection. "The Congress Party has been in constant talks with some of the BJP MLAs ever since the election results but the plan had fizzled out. We too had heard rumours about a senior emissary of Bahuguna being in constant touch with Mandal but nothing is clear. Kiran has not submitted his resignation," said a senior BJP leader.

The rumours of Mandal going underground gained further currency after former Chief Minister BC Khanduri claimed at a press conference in Haldwani that the MLA had indeed gone incommunicado and was not taking up telephone calls.

While officially there has not been any word from the BJP about Mandal's whereabout or his possible resignation, but his son has claimed that his father was safe and may submit his resignation shortly.

According to sources, a senior Congress leader who is also a minister and also stood for elections from the Sitarganj seat in the past was behind the "whisk Kiran Mandal opeartaion." Services of another Congress leader have been enlisted for arranging a meeting of Kiran Mandal in Delhi with senior Congress leaders. As the MLA hails from Sitarganj, he has demanded concessions for rehabilitation of members belonging to the Bengali community who are settled in Sitarganj. They are in a majority but have no land rights. Bahuguna may or may not stand from the seat; in any case it would help the Congress increase it's tally. The caste and other political combinations are in favour of the Congress. Even senior Congress leader Harish Rawat, for that matter, cannot do much to upset the applecart of Bahuguna," said a senior Congress leader.

Even as the BJP has been left licking it's wounds, the party has once again started taking measures to protect it's MLAs from possible 'poaching.'

Interestingly the first time BJP MLA was given ticket on the recommendations of senior BJP leader B.S Koshiyari and the party had fully funded his election expenditure.

Nishank calls Bahuguna govt a negative one
'Most BJP decisions have been reversed'
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 20
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today termed the two-month tenure of Congress-led coalition government as negative one as only reversing the decisions of the previous BJP government has been the norm of this government.

He pointed that be it transfer policy, reorganisation of four new districts, Atal Khadyan Yojana, Gauri Devi Kanya Yojana and other similar projects run by BJP government that have been stalled, all this has exposed the negative mindset of the Congress government.

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank refuted to comment on the recent appointment of Ajay Bhatt as Leader of Opposition, saying that the decision has been taken by party high command and as a true party worker he takes it in his stride.

On the question of former CMs' Khanduri-Koshyari projecting Bhatt so that he couldn't become Leader of Opposition, with a smile Nishank said that whatever be the situation, his mantra has been always to look ahead and as BJP national vice chief, he has to make sure all party workers and leaders work together for the party's cause.

On the upcoming Cabinet meeting at Gairsain as announced by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, Nishank questioned the very motive of having only a Cabinet meeting.

"Just a Cabinet meeting means Congress is denying Gairsain being made as state capital; otherwise CM Bahuguna would have declared Gairsain as capital openly. Similar voices are arising from other parts of the state for holding a Cabinet meeting, which is not viable. Bahuguna should issue a clarification," said Nishank to TNS.

Rejecting allegations of Maha Kumbh scam, Nishank, under whose tenure Maha Kumbh fair was held in 2010, said that when the High Court and apex court had given their decision and he getting a clean chit, then how come this issue is being raised again.

He also reiterated for Noble Peace Prize to Uttarakhand state for holding the world's biggest fair at one place in which more than 8.5 crore people from 140-odd countries participated, taking a holy dip in river Ganga during four months of the Maha Kumbh.

With BJP legislator from Sitarganj Kiran Mandal missing for the past few days and speculation rife that he is joining Congress, Nishank, who is a legislator from Doiwala, expressed ignorance of having any knowledge about Manda's resigning from BJP.

He said that until official confirmation or declaration is made by Kiran Mandal, he is very well in BJP and if any 'poaching' methodology is being adopted by Congress leaders, then it will be a blow on the democratic ideals only.

Human chain formed around Naini Lake
Cleanliness drive concludes in town
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 20
Sunday was a special day for Nainital town as the people of the Lake City came out in large numbers in support of a cause of keeping their town clean and green.

The day marked the culmination of a 10-day initiative undertaken by the local administration with active support from various institutions, organisations and individuals on the sanitation of the town.

A special function was held at the Tallital Boat Stand where a large number of people from all walks of life had gathered to express their support for the cause.

The highlight of the function was a human chain that was formed around the Naini lake. The chain was around two kilometre in length with children from various educational institutions in different uniforms forming it with the support of the local population.

Another highlight of the event was an oath administered by District Magistrate Nidhi Mani Tripathi to the people of the town for keeping the Naini Lake and their own surroundings clean and healthy.

A musical performance by children of various schools marked the event at the Tallital Boat Stand while the Police Band too came up with a scintillating performance at the Bandstand in Mallital.

The lake with yachts and boats sailing all around presented a beautiful sight. A large number of fish were also released into the waters on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Director General of Police (DGP) Vijay Raghav Pant, who was the chief guest, said, "Nainital is a collective property of everyone who is residing here and the onus is on the people of the town to keep it neat and clean."

Tripathi once again reiterated that the cleanliness is a continuous exercise that needs to be carried out on a regular basis.

It needs to be pointed out that a majority of the population in Nainital which has emerged as a major tourist station is dependent on the Naini Lake for its livelihood. Without the Naini Lake, the town would have been like any other small hillside hamlet. People linked to the tourism industry get their daily bread because of the lake.

Recent attempts at aeration of the lake which was followed by Mission Butterfly, an exercise in solid waste management, have proved to be successful in the town.

However, the town is grappling with the problem of filth that is deposited by people living in the higher areas into the drains which have an outlet into the lake.

It also needs to be pointed out that at several places, the people and some hoteliers have encroached upon these drains. The concerned locals feel that the administration has to set an example on this front to ensure that Nainital retains its glory.

Waste management project yet to take off
Environment clearance main hurdle
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 20
It is ironic that the Scientific Land Fill (SLF) plant and Composting Cell (CC), which should have been readied when the project Dehradun Valley Waste Management (DVWM) was started in the city by Delhi-based SPML Company in August last year, is still under construction at Shishambara. The modalities such as environment clarification for it has still not been completed. So the DVWM project which was undertaken at the cost of Rs 24.5 crore under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission did not take off the way it should have been at the first place.

According to reliable sources, the subsequent process of garbage collection and disposal should have followed only after the required infrastructure regarding SLF and CC had been completed. In reverse,the garbage collection and disposal at old trenching ground on Sahastardhara is continuing like earlier. The garbage from the city is dumped without being treated here.

Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, Dehradun Municipal Corporation, Harak Singh Rawat, said: “The ideal way under which garbage disposal will be handled after the construction of SLF and CC gets complete will be to segregate bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste from the houses only. The same process will be repeated at the Transfer Centre, under construction at Haridwar, where the garbage collected from all over the city in small vehicles will be dumped and further segregated here before finally taken through in big vehicles to Shishambara.”

He said at SLF and CC, the bio-degradable will once again be finally separated on the conveyor belt where the plastic material will further be taken for recycling and the biodegradable will be treated in composting cell. He said the SPML Company would be earning revenue with the methods of recycling and composting. The extraction of methane gases from the processing of garbage too could be used in future for electricity generation.

The only hurdle at present which has stalled construction at Shishambara and Haridwar road is delay in environment clearance. The company IRG hired by DMC to prepare the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was later rejected as it was not an accredited company. Much time was lost in that. Senior Health Officer, DMC, Dr Kailash Joshi, that the new company, Grass Root, engaged to prepare EIA had been given a deadline of 10 days to submit the report, which would then be forwarded to Ministry of Environment and Forests for clearance. Once this stage is crossed, the pending work at Shishambara and Haridwar Road too be will be completed with further allocation of funds from the Centre under this project.

Music album to banish exam fear of students
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, May 20
Agni Verma an internationally renowned Sitar player who has performed as a Sitar Soloist in India's prestigious music conferences and festivals has come out with a novel idea to remove the fear of studies among students through Pyramid Music Therapy CD that was released at a function held in Mussoorie International School today. Agni Verma is also the music teacher of the school.

The main objective of the pyramid music therapy is to remove the fear of exams among the students and also to improve their memory so that they can retain whatever they have learnt.

The music album was released by the chief guest Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Padamvir Singh who was accompanied by the Mussoorie Municipal Council president OP Uniyal.

Padamvir Singh, later addressing a gathering, said the music was a form of penance. He commended the efforts of the musician Agni Verma to release such a music therapy CD from which the students would benefit immensely in the long run.

Agni Verma said this album was the effort of his seven years of hard work and he was pleased with the outcome.

He further said this pyramid music therapy would assist the students to excel in their exams. He also said following this release, he would also attempt to break his own world record of playing sitar for seven hours that he created a few years back.

Principal of Mussoorie Public School Mukesh Lal, Principal Mussoorie International School Priya Peters and others were present on the occasion.

Woodstock school band enthrals tourists
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, May 20
It was a welcome musical relief for the guests at Jaypee Residency Manor Hotel in Barlowganj when more than 20 members of the High School Jazz Band from Woodstock School trooped downhill to the hotel and mesmerised the audience with their scintillating live performance this evening.

More than 20 musicians from the school performed music ranging from a 
jazz interpretation of the late James Brown's classic rhythm and blues roof-raiser "I Got You" to the ever popular signature back ground music from the film "Mission Impossible".

The band also performed numbers by artistes like Stevie Wonder, Joe Garland, Herbie Hancock.

The musical evening reached its crescendo with the rendition of original songs by Lady GA-GA that was received with loud cheers from the audience.

The school administration speaking to The Tribune said it was a great opportunity for music students to be exposed to live setting and such encounters would not only help in boosting their confidence but also assist in enhancing their musical talent.

The conductor of the Woodstock High School Jazz Band Lindsay Boyd assisted the students in the musical evening here.

Hasty decision leads to losses: Stocks expert
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 20
With an objective to make investors aware of their rights and responsibilities, the risks involved and the safely measures one needs to follow while dealing in the stock market, an investors awareness programme was organised by the National Stock Exchange and the Citizens Awareness Group under the aegis of the Security Market Awareness Campaign launched by the Securities Exchange Board of India at RLEK Auditorium, here today.

The programme started with the welcome speech by Ruchi Kukreti of the Rural Litigation Entitelement Kendra (RLEK). Participants were enlightened on procedures relating to the trading and settlement system, general safeguards and the grievance redressal mechanism for investors at the NSE.

“It is felt that awareness pertaining to the stock market is lacking among investors. A lot of people cannot invest or hesitate to do so and many tend to make wrong decisions due to lack of information. Advising people not invest in a business they do not understand, investors were asked to look for companies with a sound management.”

“You would not buy a colour TV before visiting a few dealers and taking advice from some friends. But a rumour might prompt you to buy stocks worth Rs. 2 lakh. So most of the losses occurred in the stock market are a result of hasty decisions, greed and fear” said Surinder Verma, Chairman of (SEBI recognized Investor Association) Citizens Awareness Group, Chandigarh.

Ankur Grover, assistant manager, National Stock Exchange, said the equities were the best class of investment and an effective edge against inflation. He advised the investors to deal with SEBI registered brokers only and suggested that one should invest for over a period of time.

Tiger found hurt, tusker dead

Dehradun, May 20
A tiger was found injured in the Bhandarpani area of Jim Corbett National Park while another wild elephant was found dead in the Rajaji National Park on Saturday.

The officials are trying to tranquilise the tiger for its rescue and treatment. Meanwhile, a wild elephant which was found unwell for the past 10 days died in Rajaji National Park on Saturday. A team of forest officials did try to give it the treatment but it did not survive and died. — TNS