Indore residents rescued from drowning in Ganga
Irrigation dept blamed for sudden release of water; SDM calls for explanation
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 26
Prompt help by local people and swift action by Jal Police personnel avoided a major tragedy today as 12 persons were rescued from drowning in the Ganga while they were having a bath.

As per reports, two families from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, came here to take a dip in the Ganga at Parmarth Niketan ghat. At 10 am, due to a sudden flow into the Ganga released from regulator dams, they were caught in the rushing waters of the river.

The pilgrim group comprising mostly women and children cried for help as the water flow was increasing with every minute. Seeing the pilgrims getting stuck in the river stream, the local people rushed to their help and they also called Jal police personnel, specially deployed for such situations.

The Jal police squad and the local people helped the pilgrims from drowning as more than four children and five women were rescued.

A medical team reached the Parmarth ghat to provide medical aid to the victims. Padma Joshi and Deepika Soni, were in all tears as their two young children got stuck in the water flow. As the infants were rescued by the Jal police squad, they embraced their children for minutes even not allowing doctors to check them.

The Irrigation Department which operates the flow of the Ganga via barrages and regulators has been asked by the SDM to explain the sudden discharge of water in the river. While the local people pointed out that the Parmarth Niketan ghat had no protective iron chains gearing, it was dangerous for those who take bath here.

Preparations begin for Kailash Mansarovar yatra
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, May 26
The Pithoragarh district administration, the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) and the ITBP have begun preparations for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra this year, as employees posted at five camps on the yatra routes have been ordered to reach their camps by tomorrow.

“We have appointed three workers each for the five camps on the route to the Kailash Mansarovar at the Sirkha, Gala, Bundi, Gunji Kalapani and Nabhidhank camps, and an equal number of workers for camps on the Chotta Kailash yatra route at Kuti and Jolingkong as both pilgrimages run parallel,” said BR Arya, yatra officer at the Dharchula base camp.

Arya said the registration of ponies and porters for the pilgrimage was going on at the Dharchula base camp. “We have till date registered 30 ponies and 200 porters. As only a few ponies are available in the villages on the yatra routes, their registration will be done by next week,” said Arya.

A survey team sent by the ITBP to find out the condition of the yatra route beyond the Sirkha camp had since returned and given its report to the district administration. It had also sent a copy of the report to the Ministry of External Affairs. “Our team has witnessed heavy deposits of boulders between Lakhanpur and Garbyang and the yatra route has been damaged at several places,” said Kedar Singh Rawat, Commandant, ITBP.

Besides slight damage, 2 to 3 feet of snow on the 7 km route between Nabhidhank and Lipukekh was to be cleared before the pilgrimage begins on June 1, said Rawat.

SDM, Dharchula, Dr Abhishek Tripathi said the snow would be removed before the first batch of pilgrims for the Kailas Mansarovar reached here. “Last week our Patwari visited the route and the camps on the way, but did not find any major hurdle. He informed us that the route was ready for the pilgrimage,” said the SDM. 

Anna, Sri Sri to join agitation by Ramdev
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 26
Not getting perturbed by the income tax notice sent to Swami Ramdev by the tax department and taking back concessions given to the charitable Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust under Section 80(G), IT Act, Yog Guru is busy preparaing for the June 3 agitation to be held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Anti-graft activist Anna Hazare, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and a host of social activists from around the country will accompany Swami Ramdev who will address more than 1 lakh Bharat Swabhiman Trust and anti-graft activists.

Talking to TNS, Acharya Balakrishan, follower of Swami Ramdev, said , of Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB)Initially the agitation was to be held for a longer duration but now it has been decided that the agitation will be held for one day on June 3. The third phase of Swabhiman Yatra will also conclude..

Balakrishan added that the date of agitation coincided with the last year's agitation at Ramlila Maidan held by Yog Guru when the Delhi Police made a deliberate crackdown on his followers.

Apprising that he has got the nod from Anna Hazare,Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and a large number of saints and religious representatives of different religions to take part in this massive agitation, Balakrishan said this would give a new lease of life to 
the anti-black money campaign.

On the white paper issued by the Centre on issue of bringing back black money in Parliament, Balakrishan said this seemed to be a face-saving act.

A large number of Bharat Swabhiman activists have already started registering their names for participation for the Jantar Mantar agitation.

Power project on Ganga
Cong, UKM activists raise voice against Sanand
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 26
Opposing the anti-hydropower projects stance of Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, Congress activists, the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch and a certain section of saints came out in open terming the swamy's statement dramatic.

Congress activists wearing black bands demanded Swami Sanand to leave Uttarakhand as on the Ganga, hydel projects were imperative for development.

District general secretary Himanshu Bahuguna said the Ganga was more polluted in the lower reaches of Uttar Pradesh from where Sanand hailed. So first he should start agitation there only.

JP Pandey, UKM chief, led a protest at Chandi Ghat Chowk where he warned that an agitation would be started against Swami Sanand if he did not leave Uttarakhand shortly. “We are giving warning to GD Aggarwal that if he starts any agitation in Haridwar, he will have to face protest. Also Matra Sadan or any other ashram or organisation that will give him shelter will also be opposed. We want projects for development and those oppose to it are not well wishers of people of this state,” said women cell district chief Meera Raturi.

Meanwhile, Akhada Parishad national spokesperson Baba Hathyogi has remarked that Swami Sanand is playing into the hands of a lobby who wants to destroy the irrigation prospects of the country and pave way for packaged food.

Two from same village clear judicial exams
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 26
Two candidates from Haridwar have cracked the Provincial Civil Service-Judicial exams the results of which were declared by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission today. They are the residents of the same village.

Sachin Chauhan and Neeraj Kumar hail from Jat Bahadarpur village in the Bahadrabad block of the district. The villagers became jubilant as the news about the two youths clearing the exams reached the village.

The village panchayat felt proud at the two youths becoming judges and held a function today to felicitate Sachin and Neeraj. It also distributed sweets.

Sachin was teaching at BSM Law College in Roorkee for the past few years after doing LL.B and LL.M from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. While Neeraj Kumar was a practising lawyer at the Roshanabad district courts, Haridwar, for the past one decade.

Sachin told The Tribune that he succeeded in clearing the exams due to hard work and good guidance from teachers and parents.

Neeraj said he always wanted to be a Judge and had always believed in his ability to clear the exams. Sachin and Neeraj gave tips to those who wanted to follow in their footsteps and said deep knowledge of law came handy while practising or teaching law helped in preparing for judicial services.

They wanted to set high standards while functioning as a judge as the people held the judiciary in high esteem.

Staying cool toppers’ success mantra
Tribune News Service

Ishanka Dimri Himani Deshmukh Garima Gambhir

Haridwar, May 26
Most of the toppers of the CBSE examinations, while attributing their success to hard work, have also laid much stress on ‘staying cool’ during exams. They have called it a success mantra that works during the exam phase.

Ishanka Dimri of Shiv Dale School, who secured A+ in all subjects, said being patient and calm during examination was a major help to her. She said she adopted this methodology from her elder sister Shivani, a CA trainee.

Similarly, Garima Gambhir, her fellow classmate, attributes the being-cool-and-composed methodology to her school head Swami Sharad Puri, who exhorted students to practice yoga and have a philosophy of working consistently. She added that yoga definitely helped her besides the able guidance of her teachers and parents.

Himani Deshmukh of Delhi Public School, Ranipur, said focus-oriented study was the key to getting high grades as it was futile to study at a stretch with dwindling concentration. Her father Dr Vinod Deshmukh said for better concentration, they always asked children to practice yoga and inculcate the habit of reading novels.

Shiv Dale Principal Kiran Sharma, Dayanand Arno Vernacular School Principal PC Purohit and DPS principal KC Pandey said their schools focused on mental conditioning of the students.

Tourism Minister: Prepare plan for Pratapnagar-Tehri-Ghansali circuit
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 26
Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat has expressed discontent over the non-expenditure of fund and slow pace of work to develop tourism potential around Tehri Lake.

Addressing a meeting of the tourism officials, she said the non-completion of work in stipulated time would result in expenditure and delay.

Rawat pointed out that there was a lot of potential for tourism around Tehri Lake and directed the officials to prepare an action plan, taking the local people into confidence through public representatives.

She advocated preparing plan for the Pratapnagar-Tehri-Ghansali Tourism Circuit. She asked the officials of Bhagirati River Valley Development Authority to immediately prepare a master plan for the same. She expected that the THDC would provide jobs to dependents of deceased persons and local people under the Veer Chandra Garhwali Tourism Self-Employment Scheme, road maintenance, forest and beauty of the area.

Various reports pertaining to organising state-level sports festival, water sports, eco-tourism, adventure sports and establishment of water adventure centre near Tehri Lake were presented during the meeting.

Local MLAS and public representatives gave important suggestions on the construction of trekking route, museum, helipad, eco-parks, encouragement of the paragliding fishery industry and adventure sports activities.

The meeting was attended by MP Satpal Maharaj, Tehri zila panchayat chairman Ratan Singh Gunsola, Paratapnagar MLA Vikram Singh Negi, Vice-Chairman of the Bhagirati River Valley Development Authority, BD Raturi and officials of the THDC.

More outposts on Nepal border on cards: IG
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, May 26
A total of 14 new border outposts will be established on the Indo-Nepal border to check the smuggling and wildlife crime cases. At present, the number of outposts are 51.

This was stated by Shyam Singh, Inspector General of Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) while talking to mediapersons after visiting border posts of the force situated at the high Himalayan areas.

According to the IG, the force have plans to open border outposts at every 5 km on the Nepal border to keep a tab on smugglers from across the border but due to unavailability of space at some places, the force has to dilute the standards and leave the long gaps.

“Take the case of border between two countries at Tawaghat to Garvadhar in Dharchula subdivision. Due to unavailability of land, we have to leave a 20-km gap from Tawaghat to Garvadhar to have a outpost as we could not find place in that rocky terrace,” said the IG.

The IG said the number of SSB personnel is also being raised as a new battalion is to move to the Nepal border posts in the next three months.

The new border posts in Pithoragarh district will be set up at Garbiyang, Chiyalekh, Malpa,Chiti, Lakhanpur Khotila Charchum and Chardwari in Dharchula subdivision of the district.

“The same number of border posts is being set up in Champawat and US Nagar district on the border for which the locations are yet to be identified,” said the IG.

Protest over licence to hotels for bar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, May 26
A protest was held here today against the granting of licence to two city-based hotels for the operation of bar on their premise.

Rashtriya Krantikari Manch activists along with people living in the vicinity of these two hotels protested outside the city kotwali demanding an instant cancellation of bar licences and total prohibition in the periphery of at least six km.

Founder of the RKM Ambrish Kumar criticised both BJP and Congress for allowing bar licences in the pilgrim city. He said when it was the matter of pension, driving licence and other government department certificates, there was always a delay, but for bar licences to hotel owners, the governments had always been taking instant actions.

“In Haridwar, alcohol consumption in the periphery of three km is prohibited. It should be extended to another three km as many hotels are opening bars just at the border of this limit,” said Ambrish.

Social activist Murli Manohar said the prohibition in Haridwar should be strictly adhered to as the selling of liquor was already on the rise and now with licences and hotel bars, the environment of the religious city would get affected. A memorandum in this regard was also given to the District Magistrate to be forwarded to the state government, demanding a policy regarding alcohol prohibition in the city.

Chip health card to carry details of 5 family members
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 26
With double memory, the Rashtriya Sawasthya Beema Yojana chip health card would now carry details of five family members who would be the beneficiaries of the facilities under the scheme.

Anil Swaroop, Director General (DG), Ministry of Labour, Government of India, yesterday said the card's memory has been enhanced from 32 Kb to 64 Kb and would carry information of other five family members who would avail the facility.

The data for the health scheme started in 13 districts of the state and providing health cover to the poor would also be updated on the basis of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGHREGS).

In the Garhwal region a total of 68,636 cards have been distributed and in Kumaon a total of 1,14,981 in the year 2011-2012, while the total number of beneficiaries in Kumaon are 1979 and in Garhwal 5184.

Third party is implementing the scheme and a poor beneficiary can avail facilities totalling around Rs 30,000 per year.

In the districts of Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag and Nainital the scheme is being implemented through United India Insurance Company Ltd and for the remaining districts, Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd has been entrusted with the task. 

Border areas to get special police stations
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 26
A high-altitude police force, comprising well-trained police personnel with ultra-modern equipment, will be posted in the border areas of the state.

Special police stations would be set up in these regions, said Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna Thursday in a coordination seminar of the Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP) and Uttarakhand Police at the Rajpur road.

While addressing the officials and describing migration from the border areas dangerous for national security, Bahuguna laid emphasis on ensuring effective implementation of development programmes initiated by the Centre and the state government in the areas. He asked the ITBP officers to keep updating the state government about the shortcomings in these projects and the problems being faced by them.

Bahuguna said the security forces should launch programmes related to the livelihood of local people. This would strengthen their bond with the security forces. He said the state government had decided to pay the Border Area Allowance to the personnel posted in the remote border areas and maintained that this would keep their spirit high and speed up the development process in the areas.

He lauded the ITBP’s role during natural calamities and in maintaining security in the border areas shared with China. Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain, IG, ITBP, Northern Front, VK Upreti, Uttarakhand DGP Vijay Raghav Pant, ADGP Anil Raturi, Inspector General, Law and Order, RS Meena, and DIG Deepam Seth were also present on the occasion.