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7 per cent DA hike for state govt employees
Apparel showroom gutted in fire
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BJP to finalise name for Sitarganj seat on June 16
Annual reports of NCST not tabled in Parliament since 2004
60 species of birds spotted during camp
Camp for young horse riders begins at IMA
Sports Hostel win
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7 per cent DA hike for state govt employees
Dehradun, June 11 The increased DA would be paid to be the employees retrospectively from January 1, 2012. “The increased DA from January to June will be deposited in the General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts of the employees while from July onwards it will be paid with the salary,” he said. Bahuguna also announced that the government would bring the minimum wages of unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labourers in the state on a par with that paid in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The minimum wages of an unskilled labourer in Uttarakhand is Rs 4,017 per month while it is Rs 4,500 in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, the minimum wage of a semi-skilled worker in Uttar Pradesh is Rs 5,100 per month while it is Rs 4,500 in Uttarakhand. A skilled labourer was getting only Rs 5,200 per month in Uttarakhand while in Uttar Pradesh it is Rs 5,700 per month. “We have decided to revise the minimum wages of all three categories of labourers on a par with Uttar Pradesh and the notification in this regard will be issued soon,” he said. The Chief Minister regretted that the revision was due in 2010 but the previous BJP government sat on the matter. Bahuguna also announced that all contractors whether government or private hiring contractual labourers would have to pay them salaries through cheque only. The Labour Department would help the migrant labourers from outside in opening bank accounts for the salary purpose, he added. In another decision, the state government also decided to increase the relief amount in case of natural disasters. Bahuguna said the amount being given by the Central government in case of loss of life, limbs, house and injuries would be doubled in the state. “The state government will bear the burden of additional amount over and above given by the Central government,” he said. The Chief Minister also announced that the Veer Chander Singh Garhwali Yojna aimed at providing employment to unemployed youth in the tourism sector would be diversified to 20 other sectors, including adventure sports, yoga, toilets, motels, dhabas and hotels in remote areas, heritage hotels, amusement parks, ropeways and houseboats. The unemployed youth gets a loan up to Rs 20 lakh to start their own ventures and are given subsidy by the state government. Bahuguna also said a proposal had been sent to the Union government to include contractual labourers, taxi drivers, ASHA and anganwari workers and PRD jawans in the National Health Insurance Scheme. “I am hopeful that the Centre will accept our demand. Otherwise, we will try to include these categories on our own,” he added. Asked about the severe power shortage, he said there had been a huge gap between supply and demand leading to power cuts, as the state had to buy one to two millon units of power from outside every day. On the issue of hydropower projects, the Chief Minister reiterated his demand that the stalled projects be restarted in the state. He said he had all respect for the saints and was willing to talk to each one of them on the issue, but the development of the state should be of supreme concern. “We want to take care of the religious sensibilities of the saints and have assured them of an uninterrupted flow of the Ganga waters,” said Bahuguna. However, he said if the Central government wanted to shut down the power projects on the rivers, it should compensate Uttarakhand by Rs 25,000 crore per annum. Bahuguna also expressed concern at incidents of forest fires in the state and said only 2,000 km of fire lines had been created while 9,000 km of fire lines were needed to save the precious forest wealth of the state. “We have got six proposals to start power generation from pine needles that are the prime reason for forest fires in the summer. We will soon take a decision in this regard,”
he said.
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Apparel showroom gutted in fire
Dehradun, June 11 It took 10 fire engines and five hours to control the fire. The smoke was still billowing from the building at the time of filling this report. It was at 10.30 am when the staff of the showroom arrived and opened it that a ball of smoke came out. They tried to enter the showroom to extinguish fire burning far inside, but failed in their attempt. They then called the Fire Department. The firemen too could not enter the showroom through the common entrance and exit door and a heavy smoke gushed out of it whenever opened. They tried to throw water through pipes by lying down on the floor. Then the glass door was broken, splinters of which injured three firemen. The heat was so intense that the rubber mask of a fireman also melted and got loosened that he had to rush out to breath. The water was thrown in the shop but the firemen could not know the point from where the fire had started and this exercise consumed a lot of time. By the time the fire was controlled, both floors of the building had completely devastated. A small store built on the roof, however, remained unaffected. Fortunately, a multi-storied jewellery shop on the left of the showroom and a big shopping mall on the right remained untouched by the fire. It is usually at 10.30 or 11 in the morning that the commercial outlets are opened on this high-end road, where most of the branded items showrooms or eating outlets are situated. Chief Fire Officer CS Jeena, who also reached the spot, said the showroom had defaulted on many points because of which the fire had erupted and the loss of property was incurred. He said, “The showroom was airtight and had a central air-conditioning system. There was only one entry and exit door with no system in place for ventilation. The clothes, chiefly of nylon, helped the fire
to spread.” Senior Fire Officer Harish Kumar said, “Fire extinguishers were kept in the shop. Hydrants, the pipeline of which was connected to a water tank to extinguish fire, too was installed but was not active and no one in the staff knew how to operate it. The MCB coating, which nullifies the possibility of fire due to a short-circuit, was installed only on the first floor and not on the ground floor where the fire erupted. The clothes were stuffed on the roof of the storeroom in such a way that it was difficult for a single person to enter or come out of it. Thankfully, the fire did not reach it. Then plastic and plywood panels also fuelled the fire in the shop. The electricity panel was also fixed on a false ceiling touching a plywood panel, which ignited the fire.” Harish said with the temperature rising, the chances of electricity wires getting short-circuit due to overloading had also multiplied and the heat was only helping the fire
to fan out.
Fire incidents are increasing in the city due to intense summer heat. Today, the house of former state minister and MLA Banshidhar Bhagat in Haldwani caught a fire due to short-circuit. Jeena said it was compulsory for commercial outlets to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire department, but most of them did not bother about it. He added if the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) did not clear the maps of such buildings, provided they got
the mandatory NOC from the Fire Department, such fire incidents would become a few and far between. Vice-Chairman of the MDDA could not be contacted for his comments on the fire incidents.
Safety measures for commercial outlets
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BJP to finalise name for Sitarganj seat on June 16
Dehradun, June 11 Hamstrung by absence of a strong candidate to take on Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna from the Sitarganj Assembly seat, several names of candidates are doing the rounds, including former CM B.C Khanduri, former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Yamini Roy Choudhury, wife of BJP senior leader and Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi. With a majority of Bengali settlers from Bangladesh comprising a sizeable population in Sitarganj, the BJP is once again on the lookout for a strong local candidate. “We are still to zero in on the name of the candidate. Several names are doing rounds, and Yamini's name, too, is one among several names. She is a Bengali married to Varun Gandhi. The majority community inhabiting Sitarganj comprises of refugees from Bangladesh and as such a candidate who is among the Bangladeshi population would be a strong contender for the Assembly seat,” said
B.S Chuphal.
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Annual reports of NCST not tabled in Parliament since 2004
Dehradun, June 11 Chairman of the commission Rameshwar Oraon grudgingly admitted here today that despite being a constitutional body, its reports had not been tabled since 2004 in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
“The credibility of the commission will be severely dented if the government does not table the report and take suitable action,” he said. The NCST was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the 89th Amendment Act, 2003. By this amendment, the erstwhile NCST was replaced by two separate commissions namely- the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) in 2004.
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60 species of birds spotted during camp
Dehradun, June 11 Dr Raman Kumar from the Nature Science Initiative, Dehradun, conducted the camp. The camp included birdwatching sessions, lectures and slideshows. Copies of field guide ‘Uttar Bharat ke Pakshi’ were distributed to all local participants and field staff. The camp had 21 participants, including 10 forest guards and foresters from the Govind National Park and eleven villagers from Sankri, Saur and Jakhol villages. The villagers work as trekking guides, tour operators and representatives of social and environmental organisations and included two women and a schoolgirl. As a part of the field exercise, the participants visited forests around Sankri as well as Taluka on the Har-ki-Dun track. The participants spotted over 60 species of birds during the camp. Some notable bird species that were spotted were Spotted Nutcracker, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Booted Eagle, Black Eagle, Himalayan Woodpecker and Eurasian Jay. GN Yadav, Deputy Director, Govind National Park, gave away certificates to the participants on the conclusion of the camp. Referring to the importance of the bird watching camps, Rajiv Bhartari, Chief Conservator of Forests Eco-tourism, said, “We are trying to promote destinations across Uttarakhand that are rich in bird life and have a significant community involvement in tourism through bird watching camps.” “Uttarakhand has nearly half of all bird species found in India and bird life is evenly distributed throughout the state, making it one of the most promising activities for ecotourism,” he added. Raman Kumar, who conducted the camp, found Sankri to be an ideal venue for bird watching. “The area has wide bird diversity and at the same time it is extremely scenic,” he said. He had also previously conducted similar camps at Asan, Chhoti Haldwani and Chilla as a part of the Uttarakhand bird watching programme. The bird watching camp at Sankri is the sixth in the series. The seventh camp will be organised at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary from September 28 to 30.
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BKU (Ambavat) chief tells peasants to unite
Haridwar, June 11 He was speaking during the two-day annual national conference of the BKU at the Alaknanda ghat. Hundreds of peasants from various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, are participating in it. He gave an assurance to the peasants that their issues would be taken up with the respective state governments and the Centre. Ambavat said a five-member union would be formed in all states, which would bring to his notice the problems of farmers. He further demanded old-age pension for farmers and the implementation of the 'Ladli' scheme as enacted by the Haryana Government. He further demanded that peasants should be given subsidy for diesel, power tariff, agro products, equipment, fertilisers and seeds. Debt up to Rs 5 lakh should be waived and more pro- peasant schemes should be launched.
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Trekking expedition to Khankul Khal flagged off
Dehradun, June 11 The team comprising three officers --- one medical officer, one JCO and 11 Sappers, will trek the route from Vishnuprayag to Khankul Khal, a distance of 120 km, in eight days. During the course of trekking, the team will halt at Palnka, Jowri Kharak, Farsan Baink and Bamul Khal. “The team will be crossing treacherous terrain comprising steep mountains and deep valleys over the next eight days. The heights of the places being crossed by the team range from 9,000 ft to 1,7200 ft at Khankul Khal,” said Brigadier Sharma. The expedition will commence from Vishnuprayag near Joshimath on June 15. On the successful completion, the expedition would be flagged in at BEG & Centre, Roorkee on June 23.
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Camp for young horse riders begins at IMA
Dehradun, June 11 To revive the old association and tradition and give an opportunity to young riders to be under the able guidance of experienced and capable equestrian staff, Lt Gen Manvender Singh, AVSM, VSM, Comdt, IMA, and president of the Equestrian Federation of India, Lt Gen Munish Sibal, AVSM, decided to organise the camp
at the IMA. The selection committee of the National Federation has selected 15 riders from all over the country to attend this camp. The camp will be conducted under the able guidance of Lt Col Rajesh Pattu, VSM, Equestrian Officer, Arjuna Awardee and thrice Asian Games
medalist. The aim of the coaching camp is to promote and improve riding skills of the young riders.
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Sports Hostel win
Dehradun, June 11 In reply, the Sports Hostel team scored 130 runs for six wickets to win the match by four wickets. Rishab Mishra of Asian school was adjudged the best batsman, Manas Singh of Asian School the best bowler and Satyam Chauhan of Sports Hostel as the best all rounder of the tournament. Rahul Singh of Sports Hostel was adjudged as the player of the tournament.
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