VAT on petrol cut by 25 pc
Dehradun, May 24
To give relief to the consumers in Dehradun, the Uttarakhand government has decided to withdraw 25 per cent VAT on petrol after the recent hike in petrol prices announced by the Central government.

Tension in Tehri village as girl dies after police interrogation
Dehradun, May 24
The situation is tense in Chara village of Tehri following the death of a15-year-old girl. Anchal was picked up by the Tehri police for interrogation in a case where her cousin had eloped with a girl of Tehri. Anchal died after she was dropped home by the police today.

Dehradun, May 24
A crisis in Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) over the resignation threat by 13 Superintending Engineers (SEs) following a move to promote a junior officer has been over as of now after the assurance of Secretary, Power, Dr SS Sandhu, that the issue will be decided after consultation with the state Advocate General.

There are five sanctioned posts of Chief Engineer (CE) level 2 out of which one is reserved for the SC category and four are for the general category. Sanjay Tamta, General Manager, Distribution, Garhwal, became the Chief Engineer availing the benefit of only one post reserved for the SC. There is another sanctioned post of Chief Engineer level 1 for the unreserved category which is lying vacant. The name of SS Kanyal of the 1976 batch, seniormost among all SEs, is being considered for this post.

Now, the race is for the post of CE level 2. There are two conditions to occupy this post. First is 19 years of service and secondly, out of the total service, four years’ service as SE is required.

RS Burfal, who is from the 1987 batch, got many promotions on the basis of his SC status. He became SE in 2001 whereas engineers much senior to him remained Executive Engineer (EE).

Burfal fulfils both conditions and aspires to occupy CE Level 2 position as well. But since the promotions will be made on the basis on merit-cum-seniority for this post of unreserved cateogry, other SEs are opposing Burfal’s name.

Burfal has been eyeing for this post since 2006. If he holds the position of CE level-2, then SE SK Jain of the '79 batch, who is the seniormost after Kanyal, will lose the opportunity.

Their second assertion is that it is a service law that if a junior is promoted by bypassing his seniors, the seniors automatically become eligible for notional promotions and hence they should also be promoted.

The insiders alleged that due to the influence of much senior IAS officer of the ST category, the pressure had been built to approve Burfal’s case and a note had been prepared to take up the issue in this regard in the Departmental Promotion Committee meeting.

Once the decision was taken, it had been difficult to review it. So all 13 SEs decided to resign to oppose Burfal’s name from the race for the unreserved category.

Haridwar, May 24
A steep hike in fuel prices has drawn mass resentment in the district with both common man and political organisations expressing their dissent over the sudden hike.

Mass protests were held in several parts of the district by the BJP, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the BSP, the Samajwadi Party and regional outfits such as Rashtriya Krantikari Manch and Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha.

Rashtriya Krantikari Manch founder Ambrish Kumar led a massive protest march in Jwalapur in which large number of local people participated.

Accusing the Congress of having double standards, Ambrish Kumar questioned the decision of the UPA government of allowing petrol companies to decide and dictate the petrol prices.

“On one hand the Congress terms it a party of poor having tag line of ‘Congress ka haath aam aadmi ke saath’, but in reality ‘Congress ka haath udhyogpatiyo ke sath’. It is industrialists who are running the government from behind which has paved way for corruption, scandals and inflation. BJP activists protested at city-based petrol pumps against the UPA government, terming it a blow to a common man.

Youth wing chief Naresh Sharma accused the Congress of playing with common man’s sentiments as in the past few years, the petrol prices had been increased by Rs 20 since UPA came into power.

A protest was also held by the UKD (P) in which party leaders blamed the inflation in past seven years on UPA’s failed economic policies. Bal Singh Saini, district chief of the UKD (P), however, welcomed the step taken by state Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna of Rs 1 concession to the consumers.

He said lack of vision in the Centre was paving way for inflation and petroleum prices should not be allowed to be decided by petrol companies as every month they cite a rise in international barrel prices and other reasons to pave way for hiking the fuel prices.

The BSP has also condemned the hike with its veteran leader Suraj Mal stating that party would start state-wide protests in this regard.

Similarly, the Samajwadi Party, has also expressed concern over fuel prices with city chief Rajendra Parashar fearing that now its seems LPG cylinders price will be raised.

Dehradun, May 24
The situation is tense in Chara village of Tehri following the death of a15-year-old girl. Anchal was picked up by the Tehri police for interrogation in a case where her cousin had eloped with a girl of Tehri. Anchal died after she was dropped home by the police today.

The villagers blocked the traffic by keeping the body of the girl on the road and demanded an immediate arrest of the accused police personnel.

Uttarkashi SSP Rajiv Swaroop said an inspector and four sub-inspectors along with a woman constable had been suspended in the case. The investigation has begun to find out if the police personnel were responsible for the girl’s death. He said the situation was tense but under control.

It was a week ago that Deepak Mohan of Purola village of Uttarkashi district absconded with a girl of Tehri. It was on Tuesday night that the girl’s mother filed an FIR against the boy in the Tehri police station.

The station police reached the residence of Mohan’s brother-in-law Dinesh Rawat, who was not present in the house. So the police picked up his daughter, Anchal, for interrogation.

After this, the assertion of the police and villagers differs.

According to the family members and villagers, the police kept the girl in its custody whole night and dropped her home in the morning after which her health started deteriorating. She was then taken to the hospital where she died.

According to Dehradun Range DIG Sanjay Gunjiyal, the story circulated by the family members was wrong and the fact was that the police came at the girl’s place at four in the morning where the girl expressed willingness to give them clue about the incident. As per the information given by her, the police took her with them and dropped her back at her residence after two hours. It was later in the day that her health started deteriorating and she was taken to a hospital.

When her health improved, she was brought back home but after some time, she again felt uneasy and was taken to hospital, where she was declared brought dead. The police is suspecting the role of her parents in the matter as injury marks were found around her neck.

Inspector General, Law and Order, Ram Singh Meena, said it was wrong on the part of the Tehri police to pick up the girl for the investigation. He said the police personnel, if found guilty in the matter, would not be let off.

Dehradun, May 24
Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi had darshan at the Badrinath shrine in Chamoli district today.

Later, the Governor said the objective of his visit to the shrine was to give a message of brotherhood and mutual respect for each other’s religion to create a compassionate and harmonious society.

The Governor, who went to Badrinath from Dehradun by road, assessed the facilities for pilgrims on the way. He took detailed information from the local administration and the shrine committee.

The Governor said there was need to improve roads leading to pilgrim destinations. He said discussions would be held with the government on this issue.

Dr Qureshi said more attention would be paid towards the facilities for pilgrims, tourists and nature lovers who visited Uttarakhand from all over the country and abroad.

Accompanying the Governor were his family members, ADC Major PPR Chowdhury, Chamoli DM SA Murugeshan, Police Superintendent P Renuka Devi and office-bearers and the staff of the temple committee. The Governor will return to Dehradun on May 25.

Dehradun, May 24
In a major decision the Uttarakhand Cabinet last night approved conferring ownership rights upon people engaged in farming for the last 30 years on government land not falling under the purview of the Non Zamindari Abolition Act.

The farmers who were given land between 1950 and 1980 by the government for farming would benefit from the decision. However, the farmers would have to apply for getting land freehold within seven months and pay the government the tenth part of the circle rate prevailing in 2000.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna decided to replace the hill allowance with the border area allowance to be applicable for government employees posted in Dharchula, Munsiyari, Joshimath, Bhatwari and Khatima. The employees with a grade pay of Rs 5,400 would be eligible for border allowance of Rs 1,300.

Besides, the Cabinet also approved a hike in VAT on tobacco products comprising cigarette, bidi and pan masala. On cigarette, VAT has been raised from the existing 17.50 per cent to 20 per cent and on bidi from 4.5 per cent to 8 per cent.

It also approved the cabinet structure for the State Election Commission, making room for more appointments. In another decision, the government decided to remove entry tax on non-levy sugar and instead imposed 2 per cent VAT.

During the BJP government a decision was taken to abolish trade tax posts in the state to facilitate the decision. The Cabinet approved amendments to the VAT Act to be tabled in the Assembly during the upcoming budget session. 

Haridwar, May 24
Taking into consideration Newton's third law - every action has an equal and opposite reaction - it seems the Rs 7.50 hike in petroleum price is having a direct bearing on the usage of petrol-run vehicles.

If today's sales of bicycles in the city region are any indication, then Newton's law holds well in this aspect too. The sale of bicycles went up today while there was hardly any buyer of motor bikes and scooters.

An unexpected 5-10 pc increase in daily sales of bicycles was reported from from across the city-based cycle sellers which can be easily linked to the rise in petrol prices, which if taken with pollution angle, holds good for environment. too.

One of the largest selling bicycle dealers in the district, Amar Cycles, located at Chandracharya-Bhagat Singh intersection, witnessed highest sales this year, which as per the owners can be attributed to the petrol hike.

Talking to TNS, Raj Kumar of Amar Cycles,who has been in the bicycle business for almost 42 years, said that unprecedented petrol hike had surely made people think about the bicycles as a good option for short-distance commuting.

He pointed that he has been selling bicycles when petrol prices were Rs 5 but now they have touched an all-time high of Rs 75; so people buying bicycles to minimise the fuel consumption.

Most of the consumers coming are from lower middle class on whose monthly budget LPG cylinders and petrol prices have a direct impact.

Also, parents were seen insisting their school going children to opt for bicycles so that be it school or tuition classes, fuel consumption bill can be lessened to a certain extent.

"In the 90s when loan facility began for purchasing motor cycles and scooters, sale of bicycles has since then got affected. Also, now people link expensive designer motor cycles with social status. That is why youngsters don't prefer bicycles as was the case in our times," said Raj Kumar, while showing a Rs 5000 multi-gear bike to a consumer.

Similarly, Atlas cycle showroom in Jwalapur saw 10 cycles being sold in a single day, whereas their average was of 2 per day.

Tanbir Ali, a Jwalapur resident, said that he had three school going children who he used to ferry on his motor bike. Sometimes they used to go themselves, but now with fuel prices skyrocketing, he has decided to buy two bicycles.

In comparison sales of petrol-run two-wheelers got affected due to the, though it was seen that a majority of bikes sold today were having highest mileage options.

At Hero Honda showroom at Ranipur Mod, the sales manager informed that instead of heavy 220-250 cc bikes who consume more fuel, it was the lesser cc bikes which have high mileage of 70-80 km per litre that were demanded by consumers.

Dehradun, May 24
The Uttarakhand Poorv Sainik Avam Ardh Sainik Sangathan has submitted a memorandum to State Minister for Sainik Welfare Surender Negi regarding the alleged irregularities in the Uttarkhand Poorv Sainik Kalyan Nigam, also known as the UPNL.

President of the organisation Ganga Singh Rawat said they had been getting many complaints against the UPNL, hence they decided to urge the minister to enquire into it.

The irregularities include ambiguity regarding the government order under which the officials working with the UPNL are withdrawing their salaries, different allowance to ex-servicemen working on contract on the same post and the violation of the rule under which the employees had to be given seven days’ prior notice before their removal.

Dehradun, May 24
A team of doctors from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) yesterday visited the sick new-born care unit (SNCU) for routine appraisal at District Women’s Hospital.

Dr Archana Srivastav, CMS of District Women’s Hospital, said team members led by Dr Renu Singh from New Delhi expressed satisfaction with the functioning of the unit that had been set up to reduce the infant mortality rate in the state.

The National Rural Health Mission has funded the state-of-the-art unit and the state Health Department is planning to set up more such units at the district hospital.

The Uttarakhand with the high infant mortality death rates was specially selected under the NRHM scheme for setting up of the SNCU.

“Earlier, on an average, about 20-25 per cent of neonates admitted here were discharged immediately as we did not have facilities to treat them. At times, lives could not be saved. But with the setting up of SNCU, things are under control,” said Srivastav.

Haridwar, May 24
Former legislator from the Roorkee Assembly segment Suresh Chand Jain, while inaugurating a free medical health camp at BIT Ganj situated Jain Dharamshala, termed social service equivalent to worship, adding that every religion taught service to mankind and non-violence.

Suresh Chand Jain added that the Jain sect had been since ages lending its services to mankind and sages had always been preaching the message of love, brotherhood and non-violence.

He also urged people for voluntary eye donation terming it a noble work as it would give light to the lives of those people who couldn't see the world.

At the camp, a team of doctors lent their services led by Jolly Grant based Himalayan Hospital eye specialist Dr OP Verma and six medical doctors.

Eye checkup and patients earmarked for cataract operation were examined which numbered more than 700. At the camp, 70 people also voluntarily filled eye donation forms.

Jain Milan Society chief Manoj Kumar said the expenses of cataract and other eye ailments would be spent by the society which had been indulged in various social welfare programmes.

Dehradun, May 24
Inhabitants of the Pindar valley in Chamoli today staged a demonstration in opposition of the proposed Devsari hydropower project in the region.

Led by Bhu Sangarsh Samiti and an NGO Matu Jan, the demonstrators said they would not allow the construction of the Devsari hydropower project on the Pindar river.

At the old Shiva temple at Deval, the demonstrators today held a protest meeting followed by burning the effigy of power project.

One of the protesters, Mahipal Singh Kathait, said the villagers would no more tolerate the forcible construction of a project in the Pindar valley region. Echoing similar sentiments, Dinesh Mishra said the entire Pindar valley could face a threat if the Devsari hydropower project was allowed to be constructed.

Balwant Agari, Shobhan Singh and Deepa Devi were prominent among the 
protesters.

Dehradun, May 24
As a part of its commitment towards society, the local unit of HDFC Bank has joined hands with the Nainital police to improve the traffic scenario in the Lake City.

At a function held at the Mallital police station, the top brass of the police and the local bank authorities reiterated their resolve to bring about a qualitative change in the traffic management in the town. The bank authorities handed over 10 barricades to the police, which are to be distributed equally among the Tallital and Mallital police stations.

Branch manager of the bank Manoj Bhatt said, “We have also gone in for the branding of the local police offices by getting new boards installed. We have also got a board displaying information about local tourists places at a taxi stand in Mallital.”

Senior police officials, including DIG (Kumaon Range) DJ Ghildiyal, SSP Sadanand Daate and senior bank clients were present at the function.

Mussoorie, May 24
Four persons were injured when a bus carrying Char Dham pilgrims on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road collided with the parapet yesterday.

The incident occurred when a bus heading towards Mussoorie tried to overtake near the Magi point collided with a parapet. The bus halted with a jolt injuring four persons in the process. The injured were taken to the Doon Hospital.

All pilgrims in the bus are reported to be from West Bengal.