Almora blocks get rationed water supply
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 4
The 76 villages in Chaukhutia, Dwarahat and Bhikiasein blocks of Almora district have been put under drinking water rationing by Jal Sansthan, as due to lack of sufficient electricity supply to the pumps of a water lifting project, the water for these villages is not being supplied from the lift project that feeds these villages.

“These villages will now be given drinking wate every fourth day instead of daily, which is not possible due to non-lifting of sufficient water,” said a Jal Sansthan engineer. The Jal Sansthan engineers said that they are getting electric supply for 8 hours instead of the need of 18 hours. “We are not in position to lift sufficient water to feed these villages every day,” said Promod Tripathi, an engineer of Jal Sansthan at Masi.

According to Jal Sansthan officers, to lift water from Naithana Devi drinking water project, which has a capacity of 300 kilo liters per day, they need to run pumps for18 hours daily but they are getting electricity only for 8 hours due to power cuts in the area. “The scheme also gets affected by low voltage of electricity,” said the engineer.

The engineer said that they had divided the village into three categories from the point of view to supply drinking water to these villages. “On Sunday, we supplied water to the villages of Bhakulti, Bhanti and Sure areas. Today we released water to Sureikhet, Choura, Baban, Muili and Batulia village, and on Monday we will supply drinking water to the villages of Daula, Bajan and Pali. This system will continue till we get the required 11,000 watts of electricity to lift sufficient water from the project,” said Jal Sansthan engineer.

“Besides rationing the drinking water for 35,000 villagers of three blocks, we have cautioned the residents of Masi town against using Tullu pumps for irrigation purposes. We have fined 70 per cent people using Tullu pumps for irrigation purposes,” said the engineer.

Jwalapur residents complain of contaminated water
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 4
Residents of various colonies of Jwalapur are facing a major health hazard due to the contaminated water being supplied to them.

More than 20 patients of jaundice have been identified in Maliyan, Mohalla Maidaniyan, Ghosiyan and Jamalpur Kalan colonies in this suburban township, 7 km from Haridwar, in the past two days.

After the local residents held protests a team of Jal Sansthan toured the affected area and found that due to leakages in supply pipes water was getting contaminated by sewer water at various points.

Residents of Maliyan and Maidaniyan today protested holding bottles consisting polluted water. They alleged that though they had apprised the administrative officials of the problem weeks ago, no action had been taken till date.

Nishar Ahmed and Chanda Chauhan, affected residents, complained that residents had taken ill after consuming contaminated water, with many contracting jaundice.

Aman Arora, whose son is suffering from jaundice for the past few weeks, said if the authorities didn’t take any action, they would resort to legal course.

Junior Engineer, Jal Sansthan, Himanshu Nautiyal told The Tribune that the work to repair leakages in water supply pipes had been started in the affected colonies. A Health Department team was taking samples from these colonies which would be sent to a laboratory for examination.

Water being supplied through pipes and tube wells was being chlorinated and distributed free to the residents.

“Normally, complaints of water contamination or water-borne disease increase during the monsoon, but it is strange that such complaints are being reported during the summer,” said Aadesh Chauhan, MLA from the Ranipur-BHEL segment, who visited the affected colonies.

Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra
Pranab assures Tarun Vijay of all help
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 4
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has assured a delegation from Uttarakhand led by Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay of all possible help for the conduct of the Nanda Devi Raj Jat yatra scheduled to held in the Garhwal Himalayas in September next year. The delegation met Mukherjee in New Delhi yesterday.

According to Tarun Vijay, Mukherjee assured the delegation that a high-level meeting with ministries of tourism and culture and the Uttarakhand government would be held to decide the quantum of help for the world famous yatra.

The 1,400-year-old yatra held every 12th year attracts thousands of pilgrims to the Garhwal Himalayas. The fabulous journey of the rich cultural heritage passes through 280 km full of enchanting natural panorama and meadows at an altitude of 12,000 to 17,500 ft high. The yatra is completed in 28 days.

Tarun Vijay, who is leading a nationwide campaign to make the yatra pollution and hazard free, said this time it was expected to attract more than one lakh tourists from all over the world, including the international media. But the travel paths were not ready to take the load of the pilgrims as these were three to five feet wide at many places. “Moreover, the impact of such a tourist inflow will be disastrous for the flora and fauna of Uttarakhand and could mar its rich biodiversity, as there are no plans to protect the natural wealth from the onslaught of the westernised tourist culture that brings in plastic bags, chocolate and chips wrappings and creates mounds of permanent filth in the mountains,” he said in a press note.

Besides, an acute shortage of water, power, inadequate roads and bridges make the situation grave. “Hence, we are demanding from the Union government to step in to help the state government by giving more funds and institute an intra ministry committee to hold the Nanda Raj Jat yatra successfully,” he said.

Tarun claimed that the Union Finance Minister listened to the demands of the delegation which comprised of Thwara Chand Gehlaut, MP and in-charge of Uttarakhand BJP, Maharani Tehri Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Vandana Bisht Vijay, convener of the Women's wing of the Nanda Raj Jat Preparatory Committee.

Tarun said the Finance Minister assured them that he would hold a meeting of all ministries concerned this week or early next week and invite the Chief Minister and BJP MPs also to decide as to how the famous yatra could be made comfortable and hazard free for the pilgrims.

He added it was the first time in the history of the yatra that the Union Government had taken a note of the significance of the cultural heritage of Uttarakhand in a big way.

SP being revamped in Uttarakhand
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 4
Notwithstanding the lacklustre performance in the just held Assembly elections in the state in which Samajwadi Party couldn’t garner even a single seat out of 70, the party now is eyeing the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, hoping that with two-year time left, the party will regroup it's organisation to become a major political force till that time.

This was stated by national secretary Chandra Sekhar Yadav and Mashkoor Qureshi, youth wing chief of Samajwadi Party, Uttarakhand, here today.

Accepting that the party symbol could not tread even the plain areas, let alone hills, Qureshi said the party organisation was being revamped as per directions of party national chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. “We want to replicate the 2004 Lok Sabha election scenario when Samajwadi Party’s Rajendra Singh Badi won Haridwar Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand. It is just a matter of time. We will revamp the party organisation and bring in youth and activists with enthusiasm to work for people,” said Mashkoor Qureshi.

Lashing at the current Congress government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, national secretary Chandra Sekhar Yadav termed it as a total failure as development works are suffering while every cabinet minister, legislator and even CM is busy in furthering his personal interests.

Yadav termed the Sitarganj’s former BJP legislator Kiran Mandal episode as unfortunate. “Earlier, the BJP did the same with induction of the then Congress legislator from Dhumakot segment in Pauri Garhwal district, Lt Gen (retd) Tej Pal Singh Rawat, and now it is tit for tat action by Congress with Kiran Mandal. This is a letdown of politics as well as a blow to the confidence of thousands of voters who had voted for Kiran Mandal as their legislator,” he said.

Vasim Ahmed, Sah Dev Pundir, Mohammed Ikran and Saeed Ahmed were other district leaders present on the occasion.

Cong, BJP wooing expelled former MLA Narayan Pal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 4
The expulsion of former MLA Narayan Pal by BSP has only shored up his fortunes, and now both the Congress and the BJP are actively wooing him. Speculations are rife that Narayan Pal, who was expelled by the BSP state leadership along with his brother Mohan Pal for carrying out anti-party activities, may join either the Congress or the BJP.

While the BJP leaders maintain that in case the former MLA joins the BJP, they may give him ticket to contest the Sitarganj byelection. As Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is contemplating standing from the Sitraganj Assembly seat, the BJP would be able to put a strong candidate against him in case Narayan Pal joins the BJP.

Similarly, the Congress Party is trying to bring Narayan Pal to it's fold. “If Narayan Pal joins the Congress, it would help consolidate votes for the Congress, as he had been twice elected from the Sitarganj Assembly,” said a senior Congress leader.

However, while both expelled leaders are in demand, the expulsion of the BSP leader has come at a time when the BSP’s stock has gone down. It managed to win only three Assembly seats in 2012. In the 2002 and 2007 elections the BSP had done exceptionally well in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar. In 2002 the party had won six seats and in 2007 eight seats. But in the 2012 elections the party could win only three seats.

Cong Sewa Dal vows to take up people’s issues with govt 
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, June 4
Members of the Congress Sewa Dal, at a meeting of the district level executive committee held at Congress Bhavan yesterday, resolved to take up the grievances of the people with the state government. They reviewed the preparations for the Municipal Council elections in the town after six months. It was decided at the meeting that committees would be set up in each ward of the town to ensure the victory of Congress candidates.

The town chief organiser of the Sewa Dal, Sunil Panwar, welcomed mahanagar organising secretary Rajiv Walia, who was the chief guest, and convener Lalit Thapliyal on the occasion. Panwar highlighted various achievements of the organisation in the town and also discussed various problems with the members at the meeting.

Additional chief organiser of the Sewa Dal Sandeep Agarwal demanded more representation for the Dal members in forums of the Congress.

The chief guest laid stress on all members of the Sewa Dal working together as a cohesive unit so that the Congress could know the role played by the Dal members at the organisation level.

He said meetings of the ward-level grievance committees would be held once again so that the problems of the people could be represented to the state government in an effective manner.

The members demanded that the government should provide help to economically weaker sections through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. 

Dharchula MLA hopes CM will fulfil assurances
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 4
Congress MLA from Dharchula Harish Dhami today said he would give full cooperation to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna if the latter fulfilled assurances given to the people of Munsiyari in the coming days. Dhami expressed satisfaction over Vijay Bahuguna’s visit to Munsiyari two days ago.

“If the Chief Minister’s assurances to the people of Munsiyari are not fulfilled, I will again stand with my people to protest,” said Dhami.

The MLA, who is a Harish Rawat loyalist, said he was happy that the Chief Minister had assured the people that they would be allowed to live in the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary. Bahuguna also said the state government would plead in the Supreme Court for the exclusion of all 111 villages which had been deprived of development activities due to their inclusion in the sanctuary. “The BJP government during its five-year rule in the state did not plead effectively the case of the villagers,” said Dhami.

Dhami had stopped protesting after the Chief Minister visited Munsiyari.

“My protest in the Assembly ended on the first day when the Chief Minister called me to enquire about the cause of my resentment,” said Dhami. He added he would meet Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi soon to apprise him of the problems being faced by the people in backward villages located in the sanctuary in Munsiyari. He would invite Rahul Gandhi to visit Munsiyari.

Dy Commandant’s parade
IMA cadets put up a good show
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 4
The 657 Gentlemen Cadets of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) put up an excellent show at the Deputy Commandant’s parade here today as a precursor to the main passing-out parade to be held on June 9.

The gentlemen cadets marched elegantly while singing the IMA song.

Maj Gen TS Gill, Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor, IMA, reviewed the parade.

The General had been an instructor at this academy in 1982-84.

In his address, he complimented all the cadets on having reached the doorstep of a world of enormous challenges and adventure.

He said, “The euphoria radiating from your demeanour makes me confident that you will live up to the standards of the IMA and display impeccable discipline throughout your life.

"I compliment you all for gainfully utilising the training at the IMA and am sure you will prove your mettle in the challenges that lie ahead."

He said that being a warrior was not enough as that the cadets should aspire to become ‘scholar warriors’.

The reviewing officer also emphasised on the current challenges before the Indian Army and the Army's role in nation building.

He said that the profession they have chosen, demanded physical fitness, professional skills, leadership, and most importantly, decision making.

He added, “You should carry the same momentum with which you cross the ‘Antim Pag’ throughout your entire career.

"There may be times when the result may be different from what you foresee or expect, but do not get disheartened.

"Re-organise and emerge stronger - that is the hallmark of a true soldier."

In the end, he wished them a rewarding career in the profession of arms.

Jod Mela begins in Champawat
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 4
A three-day Jod Mela began at Reetha Mitha Sahib Gurdwara in Champawat district yesterday. More than 50,000 devotees from across the country are taking part in the mela being organised by Guru Ram Das Sewa Samiti, Reetha Sahib.

This place is known for the sacred visit of Guru Nanak Dev, who had here made the normally bitter fruit of a soapnut tree sweet to satisfy the hunger of his devotees. Langars (community kitchens) have been organised at various places on way to the gurdwara. Sikh devotees, especially from the Terai region, visit the mela in a large number.

Spokesperson for the samiti Balbir Singh said they had organised langar and shabeel at every 30 km.

Akal Takth Jathedar Gurbachan Singh, Giani Iqbal Singh, head granthi Giani Jaswinder Singh, Baba Surendra Singh from Delhi and Baba Sukka Singh from Karnal visited the mela on the second day today, said Balwant Singh, manager, Guru Ram Das Sewa Samiti, Sitarganj.

According to the organisers of the mela, the ITBP also organised a free health check-up camp at the mela, where thousands of pilgrims and villagers from nearby villages were examined.

Karuna Prem, a Delhi-based NGO, and the medical department of Champawat district had also organised separate medical camps, where hearing aids and lenses were being distributed free of cost to people, said Balwant Singh.

The mela will conclude tomorrow on the day of full moon. 

Kailash Mansarowar pilgrims flagged off
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 4
A 47-member first batch of Kailash Mansarowar pilgrims were today flagged off from the base camp Dharchula by Pithoragarh District Magistrate CMS Bisht. The batch later reached at the first trek route camp at Sirkha, near the famous shrine of Narayan Ashram.

“The batch started it's trek from Sirkha today on way to Gala camp, 17 km from Sirkha,” said Liaison Officer of the batch KP Singh,

All the pilgrims are visiting the holy mountain of Kailash for the first time as the ministry has laid the policy of stopping repeating pilgrims this year to give chance to new incumbents for this pilgrimage. “The batch included 7 women pilgrims; all are enthusiastic for the pilgrimage and are in good health,” said KP Singh.

Woodstock School students given warm send-off
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, June 4
Students of class XII of Woodstock School were given a warm send off at an emotional graduation ceremony held at the school’ Win Mumby gymnasium on June 2. These students will now be heading towards various universities and colleges around the world. A good number of them have already left for institutions in North America.

The students have received offers from many prestigious institutions, including Yale, Harvard and Stanford in the USA, and the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London, in the UK.

Adam Grotsky, Executive Director of the United States-India Educational Foundation, addressed the annual ceremony on the occasion. Adam oversees the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship Programme.

He urged the graduating students to pursue a “philosophy of regret minimization” to follow their passions and “inner drumbeat” in life and career choices, taking risks to get out of their comfort zones.

Valedictorian student Priyankar Chand, who will be joining Yale University to pursue cognitive science and South Asian studies, addressed the ceremony. He urged fellow graduates to combine their thoughts, feelings and actions coherently to create a hope for the transformation of the world.

School principal Dr Jonathan Long said the ceremony was an occasion of celebration and at the same time sadness as the students were moving out.

The Class of 2012, called Sapare Aude (Dare to be Wise) consisted of 89 students hailing from 16 nations, including the US, South Korea, Thailand, Canada, Afghanistan and Australia. 

Haridwar police busts gang of metal thieves; three held
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 4
Three members of a gang of thieves, involved in the stealing of copper, brass and related materials on large scale, were arrested by the Haridwar police.

Informing mediapersons at Ranipur police station, Senior Superintendent of District Police Arun Mohan Joshi said that the three suspects were Guddu alias Ajay, Mohammed Anis, Dilshad Ahmed, all residents of Bijnore district in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

They were arrested by a special operations group from Ranipur, Sector 1, BHEL, when they were moving about in a suspicious manner in a Scorpio.

SSP Joshi said that the trio had carried out a robbery of 4,500 kg copper wire, brass fittings and related materials from Modern Transformer Pvt Ltd at SIDCUL on May 21.

They had also stolen a transformer from Sector 8-A that very day.

A case had been registered against the miscreants at Ranipur police station under Section 395 of the Indian Penal Code.

Dilshad, a member of the gang, told mediapersons that the three other members in the gang — Pahalwan alias Fakal, Bheem and Mishra — had carried out the looting at Modern factory.

They took the loot to Ghaziabad on a truck and sold it for Rs 2.5 lakh.

SSP Arun Mohan Joshi, along with SP City Dr Yogendra Singh Rawat and Circle Officer Ajay Joshi, lauded the Special Operations Group on their success.